Book Week, Hat-flipping and the Reason Why

 Book week has an osmotic way of seeping into the weeks around it, whether its preparation or pre and post book Week school visits. It’s an exhausting time. Most of my commitments are in Sydney so it’s a four hour round trip on the train each day. But I love it. The kids are the best reward ever.

I never intended to visit schools. I was comfortable and experienced speaking in front of a hall full of adults but a library full of children terrified me. How could I possibly be entertaining? They would laugh (I have since discovered this is the pinnacle of success – when you can get a roomful of kids to laugh!).

But the year my first book was released, the Primary School English Teachers Association (PETA) decided to run a course to encourage debut authors to present in schools and I was invited to attend.

The message in Val Noake’s opening speech spoke directly to me. She said  you can write in your office and go nowhere and kids will still love your work or go into schools and use your persona as an author to encourage children to read and write. How could I ever even think of foregoing that?

Over two days I learned from the experts. I remember sessions by Sue Whiting, Deb Abela and Jeni Mawter. Then I was paired with a “mentor” who helped me prepare for my first school visit. If I wasn’t already on convinced, working with Deb Abela (enthusiastic, talented and all-round lovely person) would have persuaded me.

To my surprise, I found I loved school visits. Even the “hat-flipper” couldn’t faze me. There’s usually one in a session – the pre-bored child who doesn’t want to be there and fiddles with his/her hat or shoe-laces or pen or whatever they just found in their pocket.  They became my motivation. If I could get them engaged, the presentation was a win!

Just this week, yet another instance confirmed why I love working with kids and literature. After a large Year 3 – 6 session, a group of kids crowded around to ask one more question or share their current WIP. One small boy, probably Year 3, waited until everyone else had left. Then he blurted: ”I’m going to try hard. I’m going read all your books. I’m going to try really, really hard.” I guessed that my books would be a struggle for him and we had a talk about reading in general and how much fun it might be to read alternate paragraphs with mum or dad.

After he left the librarian said: “I never thought I would ever hear him say that.” I asked if he would be able to read my books and she shook her head. “He’s not at his reading year level yet.” So my work was not done. I hadn’t put the right book in his hand. I had inspired but once the book was opened, he would probably give up.

I often show kids the first book I wrote, Ratbags, part of an Aussie Schoolbooks leveled reading set for Year 3. I figured it would be just right, especially with its wonderful quirky illustrations by Peter Viska. So I gave it to the librarian and asked her to tell my newest fan that I had donated it to his library because I was so impressed with his determination to get reading and I had specifically asked for him to be given the first chance to borrow it.

I hope he did. 

First Day of Book Week

I love Book Week when schools turn their focus to celebrating books. Even in this National Year of Reading, Book Week remains a highlight, expecially for primary and younger readers. And their authors. Like me.

I spent the first day of Book Week at Moriah College in Bondi Junction. Wonderful school. Wonderful kids.

The day had an unusual start. Moriah College is a security-gated campus and the security guard wasn't quite sure what to make of an author toting a wooden practice sword. "Is it a weapon?" he asked. "It's a bokken. It's used for weapons practice but I use it as a prop for my talk," I explained. "I think we need to show this to the principal," he said.

Source: Moriah College Website

The great Japanese 17th century samurai Miyamoto Musashi wielded his bokken as a formidable weapon but in my hands it really is just a big stick. The principal had no concerns and the business of books began.

The kids laughed. I laughed. Great fun was had and excellent questions were raised. After I explained that Samurai Kids began as a stand-alone book and almost book-by-book evolved into a series, one boy asked: Wasn't that hard to do? When you write a series you need to have a problem at the start that isn't resolved until the end." Spot on! When a second book was mooted I had to search through White Crane looking for a thread I could weave through the subsequent books.

Luckily, I found one waiting for me! The teacher, Sensei Ki-Yaga is an ancient and eccentric, very wise man. A retired samurai warrior of once legendary fame. An almost magical figure - some people think he is a wizard. But I didn't want him to be too perfect so I told how the old women of the village muttered he might be Tengu - a samurai forced at night to assume the guise of a goblin mountain spirit until a terrible past misdeed was redeemed.

The greatest challenge in writing Samuari Kids has been taking this small thread and helping it grow and strengthen as it weaves through the books that followed. And I also had to answer the difficult question I had never intended to address - what could such a good man have once done that was so terrible. I think I have succeeded in pulling the thread tight. I get lots of emails asking me to reveal Sensei's secret.

Just before I left the college, the librarian (hello Chelsea) showed me a photo of one of the boys, listening to me talk. He looked enthralled. I felt thrilled to be able to connect like that, even more so when she said he was a student who was usually not interested in anything about books or reading.

Did I mention I love Book Week?

Book Week Wrap Up

Book Week was a blast. Exciting, exhilirating, exhausting and downright dangerous. A decision to stay in Sydney overnight (to avoid six hours of travelling on each of the first two days of a busy seven day schedule) literally kick-started the great toe trauma. Which to cut a long story short (my editor would be pleased to hear I am learning to do that!) is basically a warning - do not ignore a badly stubbed toe and continue Bookweeking without even looking or you will discover how big a toe can swell, how many colours it can go and how it can hurt more than you ever imagined.

My last visit had to be cancelled and the ever patient Warrawee PS (and their wonderful librarian Bronwen) enthusiastially welcomed me a few weeks later than expected. I have to admit having surived the whirlwind Book Week proper, as I dragged myself out of bed at 5am for the three hour haul up the train line, I wondered: why am I doing this? Standing in front of all those smiling faces later in the morning and I knew my answer. Because it is fun. Because the kids. Because I love being a children's author. And I secretly wish I was a teacher librarian.

And because there are such wonderful rewards. Like this one . During question time a Warrawee Year 5 boy asked me what book I was most proud of. I started to tell how Shaolin Tiger is my favourite book then realised that wasn't the question. The book I am most pproud of is Jaguar Warrior. It took far more effort and rewrites than any other. Twice I put it aside to write more Samurai Kids books. Each time I came back to it I had to work hard to reimmerse myself. And by the time I finished enough time had transpired that I was a better writer than the one who had written most of the book. I started again.

Later that same night as I sat down to a major re-engineering of Golden Bat (Samurai Kids 6), I felt tired after a long day and a little overwhelmed by looming deadlines. Then I remembered what I had said earlier in the afternoon - how hard and how long the rewrite had been but how proud I was in the end. Suddenly I felt re-energised. It's a few weeks later and that big rewrite is well underway. I'm of proud of how it is coming together.

CBCA Book Week Resources - Polar Boy

I had heaps of fun creating Interactive Whiteboard activities for Polar Boy. Hopefully they will be useful during Book Week 2009 and beyond. Here's another sample - a quiz about arctic animals. Click on ice block to answer a question about an animal or bird found in Polar Boy. The notes also include ideas on how to play the quiz as a team game.

BOOK WEEK - CBCA on YOUTUBE

Ive always wanted to try embedding a YouTube video into my blog. All I needed was a good excuse. I do have a video of me talking and you can find that here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7IUCoRjguU but I needed a better excuse than that.

And here it finally is. The excuse I've been waitng for. Drum roll... The Children's Book Council promotes Book Week by going on a YouTube Book Safari:

SANDY WRITES

Sometimes Sandy writes and then sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes she plays around creating teaching resources to go with her books. You can download a Teacher's Resource Kit for Polar Boy including Interactive Whiteboard activities here.


The pictures here are sample screens from the Build an Igloo Quiz. A question is asked about Polar Boy (page number hints provided). Each correct answer results in a brick being added to the igloo. The wonderful artwork is the creative talent of Jeffery E Doherty of Words and Pictures.