INTRODUCING....

This is the cover for BEHOLDING BEE, which will be in bookstores in February.

Inside the front flap, the copy will read:

"Bee is an orphan who lives with a carnival and sleeps in the back of a tractor trailer. Every day she endures taunts for the birthmark on her face, though she prefers to think of it as a precious diamond.

Then one day a scruffy dog shows up, as unwanted as she, and Bee realizes she must find a home for them both. Soon she discovers a cozy house with gingerbread trim that reminds her of frosting. There two mysterious women, Mrs. Swift and Mrs. Potter, take her in. They clothe her, though their clothes are oddly out of date. They feed her, though there is nothing in the house to eat. And, strangest of all, only Bee seems able to see them. Whoever these women are, they matter. They matter to Bee. And they are helping Bee realize that she, too, matters to the world. If only she will let herself be a part of it.

This tender novel from an acclaimed writer beautifully captures the pain of isolation and the healing power of community."

I am proofing final edits this month, and am getting more and more excited to welcome BEE into the world!

WRITING WORKSHOPS

Writing Workshops

with

Kimberly Newton Fusco 

As a children’s author, I enjoy meeting young people and sharing my passion for writing. I love to watch the faces of students who realize that when we write from the deepest places within ourselves we become very powerful writers.  My role is to encourage, and I do that with great enthusiasm!

I offer hands-on, practical writing strategies that directly support school curricula and standardized writing assessments.  My workshops are creative and inspiring and consistently receive high praise from teachers and students.

 

Since I write for middle grade and young adult audiences, I am able to present a range of programs to fit many curriculum needs and grade levels.  I also speak with teachers and give writing workshops to adults.

 

Workshops:

DIGGING FOR GOLD - A writing workshop on inspiration and the creative process, with free-writing, imagery, metaphor, and figurative language.  Students learn to shut down their inner-editor so they can write deeply and poetically.  Students “show” without “telling,” and are often surprised at how much their writing improves when they write from a place deep within themselves.  With group sharing and revision. All ages.

CREATING CHARACTERS THAT LEAP OFF THE PAGE – Great characters don’t just happen, they are planned. What makes a strong character?  What’s the difference between a boring character and an awesome character?  How do you create main characters who are worthy of their starring role, and villains who have some depth and a little bit of goodness to them as well?  Remember, most people aren’t ALL good or ALL bad.  This workshop will focus on creating characters that sizzle. Includes handouts. All ages.

READY FOR A RIDE?  - A rollercoaster is a great way to picture how to plot a novel.  In this workshop we plan the Beginning (What kind of rollercoaster are we riding?), the Exciting Event (Getting on the Rollercoaster), Rising Action (Climbing the Big Hill) the Top of the Rollercoaster (the Climax), the Falling Action (Speeding Down the Tracks), and the Ending (Getting Off the Rollercoaster).  This workshop (requires a  2-hour presentation) is a fiction planning workshop and when the day is over, students will be ready to begin writing a short story or novel on their own.  Includes handouts.  Grades 4 and up.

ONE AUTHOR’S LIFE – I have written three successful novels and love to talk about how I dreamed up each one.  I talk about where ideas come from, how I plot and plan a novel, how I created characters that would resonate with readers, and how I kept writing when the writing got tough. Students are often surprised how much rewriting is involved in the writing process. This is also a workshop on having a dream and the persistence and discipline necessary to stay on course.  All ages.

A WRITER ON THE SIX TRAITS OF WRITING – Professional writers use the Six Traits of Writing that teachers are teaching nationwide because they work: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions.  An author might call coming up with “ideas” day-dreaming and “organization” might be a plot or scene sketch.  An author might check for “sentence fluency” and be thinking, where is the poetry in this line?  An author usually calls “conventions” editing or the final draft.  But the truth is, we use these traits every day.   Find out how an author incorporates these traits into the writing life.  Includes handouts and writing/revising time. All ages.

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Additional Information

- I give up to two presentations per school visit, plus a book signing if desired.  Each presentation runs 45 minutes to one hour. (An alternative would be a two-hour workshop for 25 students, such as is required for the READY FOR A RIDE? workshop.)

- Each presentation should include no more than 25 students, and should be offered in a classroom or similar small space.

- Teachers interested in a book-signing may order my books through Random House at http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/set-up-a-visit/

- I am also available to speak to larger audiences, assemblies, conferences and literature festivals. To make those arrangements, please contact Lisa McClatchy, Author Appearance Coordinator, Random House Children’s Books. liske@aol.com

- I have many teachers/librarians who will provide references. Please ask.

Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month, and The Children's Book Review wrote that THE WONDER OF CHARLIE ANNE is a book that begs to be read and discussed!

Here's the review:

"Filled with memorable moments and a winning cast of characters, Fusco’s story, set during the Great Depression, is sure to tug at the heartstrings of all who read it. Bringing topics such as the Depression and segregation to life for young readers, this is a beautifully moving story about a spunky young heroine and her determination to overcome the hardships that life has given her.

A story begging to be shared and discussed, Kimberly Newton Fusco’s lyrical novel is the perfect selection for book clubs everywhere, and is the summer read kids will want to get their hands on before returning to school.

In a starred review, KIRKUS REVIEWS said “good humor, kindness, and courage triumph in this warm, richly nuanced novel that cheers the heart like a song sweetly sung.”

A Nutmeg Nominee

THE WONDER OF CHARLIE ANNE has been nominated for Connecticut's 2013 Nutmeg Book Award!

It is very exciting to be nominated because students across the state of Connecticut read the nominees and then cast their votes for a winner. CHARLIE ANNE joins nine other books in the intermediate category. All will be displayed at public libraries, school libraries and book stores throughout Connecticut.

The Nutmeg Book Award encourages children in Grades 4 to 8 to read quality literature. Jointly sponsored by the Connecticut Library Association (CLA) and the Connecticut Association of School Librarians (CASL), the Nutmeg Committee is comprised of children's librarians and school library media specialists.

Here's what the committee has to say about THE WONDER OF CHARLIE ANNE:

"Charlie Anne’s father leaves Massachusetts to find work during the Depression, leaving his family with their miserable cousin Mirabel and a farm full of chores. When another girl moves in next door, Charlie Anne is thrilled, but some townspeople don’t feel the same way. Can Charlie Anne and Phoebe help their town overcome prejudice? "

Congratulations to my fellow nominees:

Baseball Great
by Tim Green

Because of Mr. Terupt
by Rob Buyea

Born to Fly
by Michael Ferrari

The Mostly True Adventures of
Homer P. Figg
by Rodman Philbrick

My Life As a Book
by Janet Tashjian

The Potato Chip Puzzles
by Eric Berlin

Powerless
by Matthew Cody

A Tale Dark & Grimm
by Adam Gidwitz

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
by Grace Lin

A Little Gushing

I loved this review from MUSINGS FROM A MODERN BLUESTOCKING: Book reviews and random ramblings about literary and historical matters:

THE WONDER OF CHARLIE ANNE

"Charlie Anne is growing up during the Depression in a small farming community in Massachusetts. She has lost her mother and now her father and older brother have left to go build roads up North.

Charlie Anne and her siblings are left on the farm in care of her mother's bossy cousin Mirabel who is determined to teach the children manners, especially Charlie Anne. She doesn't give the children any time for fun - only chores and more chores, most of which go to Charlie Anne.

Whenever she can slip away, Charlie Anne heads to the hill overlooking the river to have a conversation with her mother who is buried there. She pours out her feelings on the tough times and her mother responds with kindness and sympathy, teaching Charlie Anne how to be deal with tough times.

When the neighbor, Mr. Jolly, remarries, his wife brings along color and kindness, along with her adopted daughter Phoebe, who happens to be "colored." Charlie Anne quickly finds a close friend in Phoebe. Rosalyn and Phoebe also help Charlie Ann gain the confidence she needs to learn how to read. Together, Charlie Anne, Phoebe and Rosalyn confront racism and classism in their small farming community.

I can't gush enough about this book. The writing is beautiful though the sentence structure is simple... I thought the book was set in the South but the cataloging information says it's set in Massachusetts, which makes it very different from most of the northern-set Depression era kids books. The plot is interesting and engaging though you wouldn't think so because it doesn't have any grand action or adventure. I couldn't put it down.

It teaches important life lessons a non-moralizing hit-you-over-the-head way. This is one of those MUST READS for everyone ages 10+. Some elements may be too harsh for younger children but it would make a good book to read to a 4th grade class. This is one of the best books I've read in a long time!"

For more great reviews, visit: http://bluestockingmusings.blogspot.com/

Huck's Twin Sister!

I love this review of THE WONDER OF CHARLIE ANNE by Ed Spicer, a reading specialist who regularly writes reviews for Michigan Reading Journal. Mr. Spicer has served on the Michael Printz Committee, BBYA, the Caldecott Committee, Notable Children's Books, the Morris Committee, and very soon he will be on the 2013 Margaret Edwards Committee.

"Charlie Anne’s mother has died and now her father is taking her brother Thomas far from home to build roads. The depression is forcing many families to sacrifice. Charlie Anne has eaten potatoes about a hundred different ways.

Charlie Anne will be staying with cousin Mirabel who attempts to civilize her by reading to her from a manners book. When Old Mr. Jolly takes a new wife, one who wears pants, red pepper red pants, Charlie Anne thinks she may have a friend. Rosalyn has an adopted daughter, Phoebe and Phoebe is "colored."

Mirabel won’t even think of allowing Charlie Anne to associate with this family. The
final straw is when her Aunt Eleanor from Boston takes her younger brother Peter to live with them, all the while making it clear that they have no need for girls.Charlie Anne, however, will just see about any attempt to turn her into something she is not!

The distinguishing characteristic in the novel is the voice of Charlie Anne.
Writers who attempt to depict conversations between dead people and the living
often sound, of course, stiff and unnatural. Fusco’s skill is that when Anna
May and Belle, the cows, comment on the events in Charlie Anne’s day or when
Charlie Anne hears the voice of her mother moving across the river, she makes
these voices seem natural and appropriate:

“When I get myself settled, with my back lying up next to Anna May and my eyes
feeling all happy to be filled up with the sight of my beautiful Brown Swiss
Belle, that’s when the two of them tell me how very sorry they are that I am
having enough troubles to fill a wheelbarrow.” (p. 105)

“When I get to the river, I am out of breath. I go up and sit by Mama and rest
for a minute, and I tell her about my awful day, and she tells me she already
knows about it all, but I can tell her some more if it will make me feel
better.” (p. 32).

Fusco waltzes between issues of race, poverty, education, religion, and
politics with skill and without ever having any of these issues muffle the
voice of Charlie Anne. It is no accident that Charlie Anne mentions the book,
Huckleberry Finn—she is definitely Huck’s twin sister.

Purchase this one for middle school and high school libraries."

Read more of Mr. Spicer's reviews at http://www.spicyreads.org/

Sweet Similes

Writer and teacher Laurie Smith Murphy uses TENDING TO GRACE when she is teaching writing to her fifth-graders. This is what she wrote in a recent blog post ....

"Similes are like tiny jewels in a summer night sky. They help create a poetic portrait of a character or paint a scenic landscape in a reader's mind. They help take your writing to the next level. I love similes and I love teaching my students to use them in their writing. During read aloud, the students give the thumbs-up sign when they hear one. It's like discovering a secret or finding a stone with rings, and the students always get excited when they catch one. Or when they write one. They rush up to me or wave their hands feverishly to share. "Listen to my simile!" It's the same when they find one while they're reading. "Look what I found, Ms. Murphy!" It's like they've found a hidden treasure. And they have.

One of my favorite things to teach my 5th graders is writing. I use Kimberly Newton Fusco's book, TENDING TO GRACE, to teach about the use of language and, in particular, similes. I read it to them but they all have a copy so they can read along with me. When we hear how Cornelia, the main character, feels about her life, we stop and listen while I read a second time. Then we talk about how the author could have written how Cornelia feels lonely. But she doesn't, she writes, "I want to hide because my life, if it were a clothesline, would be the one with a sweater dangling by one sleeve, a blanket dragging in the mud, and a sock, unpaired and alone, tumbling to the road with the wind at its heel." What a lovely, haunting picture it paints of Cornelia's life.

One of the students' favorite similes discovered in Tending to Grace is the following: "The skin on her hand is thin, translucent, like china held up to the light." This compares Cornelia's mother's hand to china. Lenore is a fragile woman who leaves her daughter with her aunt because she is unable to take care for her herself. Another simile that describes Lenore is: "I want to tell her my whole life story in ten minutes, quicklike so the words tumble down fast and furious, like my mother's promises."

Give yourself, or your students, a path to more descriptive writing. Use similes."

Thanks, Laurie! And how lucky your students are to have a teacher who loves to write!
http://lauriesmithmurphy.blogspot.com/