squeetus

Leaner, meaner trim size coming your way!

I'm mostly shy about self-promoting. In my real life, I never bring up my profession with people I meet. When asked about it, I usually answer briefly and then change the subject. I've mentioned here before, I spent years doing school and book store visits usually without ever mentioning my books. But there are two consistent exceptions:

RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE and CALAMITY JACK, y'all!

I don't know why it's so much easier for me to tout these books. Probably because they're not mine alone. I co-wrote them with my husband Dean and artist (no relation) Nathan Hale.

Possibly also because they're FREAKIN' AWESOME.

Here's the thing about these books. Librarians who know them and stock them tell me they can't keep them on the shelves. I hear this constantly from school, public, and classroom libraries across the country: the kids fight over these books. The kids read them again and again. My avid readers read these books. My non-readers read these books. My non-readers became readers because of these books.

They're absolutely life-making for me, these comments.

Then I also hear: I can't find these books. Bookstores don't carry these books.

When we first wrote Rapunzel's Revenge, I couldn't name a single other graphic novel for young readers. Children's book publishers were not yet publishing graphic novels. We thought we'd have to try to publish it with a comics publisher. That world was new. Bloomsbury took up the book, and when we decided on a trim size, we chose a comic book size, because that was what had been established.

Shortly thereafter traditional children's publishing got into graphic novels in a huge way, and they all went for a smaller trim size, one that could fit on bookstore shelves beside other novels.

So my publisher, Bloomsbury, has decided to revisit these books. Since their reception by readers has
been so great but bookstores can't fit them on regular shelves, they are re-releasing both books in a smaller trim size. The smaller size will start replacing all the other books in about two months.

What does this mean?

Hopefully that you will start seeing these books regularly available in your local bookstores!

But it also means that the larger size will disappear. So if you like that size (I do) then BUY NOW!

And may I recommend? Boldly again, since I only speak about these books boldly. Buy the hardcover. They get re-read. Lots and lots. And paperbacks fall apart. So invest in the hardcover. That thing, as Nate says, will stop bullets.

Happy reading, and yee-ha!

And now for something completely different...

After publishing Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack, one of the most common questions posed to me and my husband/cowriter Dean is: "What is it like to collaborate?" We made this 90 second film hoping to shed more light on that question.

So, does that answer your question? #helpful

We made this movie a couple of years ago for our talk at the SCIBA dinner (So-Cal indie booksellers). We also demonstrated our collaborative process through a Spanish telenovela and interpretive movement, as is our wont. I think it was enlightening--especially for those in attendance who had taken advantage of the open bar. Our dear friend An Dinh shot and edited it. He and his awesome wife Tamiyah make a random appearance. Shout out to Bugsy the Guinea Pig, the true star of this profound work of artistic genius.

Also, please join me weekdays in July for the Squeetus Summer Book Club. A chapter a day in Princess Academy in preparation for the August release of Palace of Stone.

Rapunzel: no cape, no tights

This made my day! Fabulous librarian and graphic novel guru Robin Brenner made a Rapunzel outfit and sported it recently at ALA. (Which reminds me...I will be doing a costume contest around Halloween. Dressing up as characters from any of my books gains you entry. Send photos.) This outfit is what we called Rapunzel's superhero outfit from calamity jack. I love it.

In rapunzel's revenge, Rapunzel wears pretty ridiculous clothing for the first half of the story. Then Jack buys her some new garb. In the script when she first puts it on, we described it to Nate Hale (illustrator) as the moment Superman emerges from the phone booth. It's her kicking-butt clothing, the clothes that express the kind of girl she's become. Jack buys them for her, showing how well he knows her, and how highly he thinks of her awesomeness. This is a lad who is not intimidated by a powerful girl. You gotta love Jack. (He was pretty easy to write. I happen to be married to a man who is the least sexist person I've ever known. Can you imagine I'd marry him otherwise? How lucky his three daughters are/will be to have a dad like him!)

In calamity jack, Rapunzel goes to the big city and tries to fit in with how she thinks Jack wants her to be. She spends the first half in a cumbersome (though lovely) Victorian dress. At one point she goes out to buy Jack a piece of clothing (I won't spoil it if you haven't read it yet). It is the one thing in all the world he would want and best expresses who he is. While she is out, we decided she would shed her constricting garb and buy herself a new, updated superhero outfit, one that combined elements from the previous but with a slick, urban style. This is Rapunzel Kicking Butt in the Big City. Nate grew up in a theater family and has a wonderful sense of costumes. He did lots of research and sketches until he found just the right look for her. I LOVE the jacket. She's so awesome in these clothes.

Nate really is incredible. I could pour over calamity jack for hours, examining all the little details he includes. Genius. He created a live, bustling, turn-of-the-century, steampunk/fairy tale city and perfectly expressed a hundred different characters. Pure genius.

Graphic novels: the great satan

re: last post, Charlotte's Web was the #1!

I was at TLA in San Antonio, Texas these past few days. I love Texas librarians! Seriously, librarian conferences rock. You meet up with old author friends and hang out with new librarian friends. I spoke on a panel about graphic novels with Jennifer Holm (Babymouse) and Jarrett Krosoczka (Lunch Lady). Good folk. At one point I got emotional (I hate when I do that) trying to express how grateful I am to librarians. It was so lame, because I know I sounded like a complete suck up, but I feel passionate about it, and in case I didn't express myself well, I want to try again here.

Graphic novels for kids are important for many reasons. Here are a few:

1. They provide an important transition book from picture books to chapter books.
2. They provide a storytelling hook for visual learners of any age.
3. They are the most likely kinds of books embraced by "reluctant readers"
4. They teach kids to interpret sequential art, a brain-taxing activity that teaches visual literacy, valuable in our increasingly graphical world.
5. They allow younger kids to stretch their reading abilities. (e.g. the vocabulary in rapunzel and jack is above most 4-8 year-olds, but younger kids are still willing to read them and can understand because the text is supported by visual storytelling. People I know who are life-long comics readers tend to have amazing vocabularies, and an advanced vocabulary is important for literacy.)
6. They require a different kind of brain work than reading prose and much, much more brain exercise than watching a movie.
7. Kids who will only read a certain genre of prose novel are more likely to leave their genre comfort zone for a graphic novel than a prose novel. A kid only reads fantasy? Offer a non-fiction or realistic fiction graphic novel.
8. Readers with disabilities, English as a second language, and other obstacles have often thrived with graphic novels.
9. Advanced readers also thrive with graphic novels, gaining insight from analyzing text-and-picture storytelling and uses of the visual medium. It's a highly creative exercise.
10. P.S. They're also fun.

Many adults are still hesitant about graphic novels. I've heard from many school librarians that when classes come in to check out books, some teachers will tell their students they can check out anything besides graphic novels. They should only check out "real books." Obviously not all teachers feel this way. I know many teachers who are passionate supporters of the medium. But others do. I hear the same thing from booksellers with regards to parents. A parent might be willing to buy a prose novel for a child, but not a graphic novel.

Why are so many adults down on this medium? A few reasons:

1. The fear that once kids start reading graphic novels, they'll only read graphic novels. (Studies have shown this fear false, and teens who read GNs are more likely to read other kinds of books for pleasure than their non-GN reading friends. There are those who only read comics...but I know those people, and if they weren't reading comics, they wouldn't be reading anything at all.)
2. The cultural bias against books with pictures. The goal, for many parents, is to wean their children from picture books. Aren't GNs a step back? (There are still words in GNs. Kids are still reading! And visual literacy is an important part of our world too. This idea is peculiarly American.)
3. The belief that graphic novels are, in fact. GRAPHIC! (The medium of sequential art doesn't necessitate violence and sexuality. Some GNs are graphic in that way, many are not.)
4. Generations of belief that comic books are trashy and no good. (Some of the best writers alive today are writing GNs. Again, the medium doesn't determine content. As Jarrett pointed out at TLA, Stephen King and Beverly Cleary write in the same medium.)

If it weren't for libraries, I don't think there would be enough of a market for graphic novels for young readers to validate their publication. Comic book stores are starting to carry more books for the younger set, but like the other book stores, their selection tends to be limited and I hear from them that the sales are not great. This is, I believe, because it's the adults doing the buying, not the kids. I think this will change, as the prejudice against GNs has been changing, but slowly.

And yet I hear from dozens of librarians (especially elementary and middle school librarians) that "I can't keep rapunzel's revenge on the shelf." You are far more likely to find calamity jack in a library than in a book store, and I think that's because a library is where the kid is doing the selecting. A school library is the place where a child is most likely to be able to pick out her own book, unsupervised by a parent or (sometimes) a teacher. A library is where children choose. A library is where children can discover what they love to read without someone trying to push them onto "harder" material or more "grown-up" books. A library is magic.

I hope I never come across as speaking in absolutes. Most of the teachers and parents I know are passionate supporters of any good books that can transform a non-reader into an eager reader. And I don't blame those who are hesitant or fearful of GNs. That's their own understanding. Meanwhile, libraries have been stocking manga and GNs years before anyone else caught up. Without libraries, I don't think books like rapunzel's revenge and calamity jack would ever have seen print. And I never would have had the inexpressible joy of receiving the dozens of emails and notes from parents who tell me, "My son/daughter never read a book in his/her life until your graphic novel. And now, he/she reads all the time." That is worth anything. Thanks, librarians. In a time when we're seeing libraries disappearing, book budgets cut, and librarians taken out of schools, I hope you know that the kid lit authors know what you do, why you're essential, and appreciate you. I vote for libraries.

Calamity Jack party: a GRAPHIC account!

Here are some (shocking!) photos from our (alarming!) King's English launch party for (earth shattering!) calamity jack. Intrigued...? I thought so.

Dean, Nate, and I talked about making the book. Blah, blah, blah. Why does my husband's shirt have a bloody hand print? Because it's his Intermural Zombie Hunting League team shirt. Obviously.

 
Nate's awesome presentation on the making of a graphic novel. The cutie kids sat on the floor. Where they could better put their hands in front of the projector. Obviously. Nate made a graphical homage to this moment on his blog.

 
More talking. Questions answered. Two super secret projects revealed. Does Nate look like he's keeping his distance? Almost as if...he doesn't trust us, for some reason? Weird.

Through Interpretive Movement, Dean and I explain the process of Collaboration.

With a big finish!

Look at these cutie kids! Rapunzel is decked out from head to foot. Awesome! And cowboy little brother was definitely smiling on the inside.

Two Rapunzels show the world how to whip evil! A shout out to Mindy Hale who knit this unbelievable wig for me at the Rapunzel launch. It appeared on the Today Show even, the most famous wig in America! I should have just worn this wig the entire time. My other hair looked awful. Just texted my hair dresser: emergency!

Check it out! Freddie came! I love costumes. I really do.

Thanks to the King's English and Anderson Library, and everyone who came out. We had a wonderful time. I found it interesting that for this book release, our audience was mostly adult women and young families. A really wonderful crowd! But I wondered, where are the teens? Are Saturdays just too busy? It is commonly acknowledged that picture book and middle grade events tend to be better attended than YA events, because teens just don't get out there much on their own. So teenagers, what gets you to a book event? What day/time, what incentives, what gets you to push pause on your busy lives and get to a bookstore?