Hello Mixed-Up Filers!

Can it really be only five months since I last posted? Wow, time sure does fly! I admit, that it’s sometimes tough trying to keep up with this grueling every five-month schedule they have me on, but that’s why I get paid the big bucks, I guess.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, when I was debating what to write about for my Mixed-Up Files piece, I realized, that it also just so happened to be Holocaust Remembrance Day as well. I thought that would be a perfect thing to write about.

Why? And why write about it on a site dedicated to Middle-Grade books.

I know the usual reason given, is that we should familiarize ourselves with the events that happened in the past, so that they aren’t repeated again and that is very true. But, ethnic cleansing has happened again. In some places in the world it’s still happening. But, that’s too general an idea. The reason I decided to write about it today, is because I believe it is important to see what happens when hatred manifests itself. There is hatred around the world today, and it is too easy to make disparaging remarks about people. Or particular groups of people. When it becomes easy to make remarks of hatred or stereotypes against a group of people, then the next step after that becomes easier as well.

In Nazi Germany, this became the norm. Ugly stereotypes were pushed by the government. One of the first times an entire country’s government made discrimination legal, with stating publicly how one group of people was to be considered inferior to everyone else. Where the government committed itself to eradicating the existence of one group of people.

By making it a government-backed doctrine, it became easier for the citizens of the nation to accept. There is a thought-process of, ‘Hey, if our government is telling us that these people are evil and inferior, then they must be’.

That is the danger of discrimination and allowing these types of things to happen. Yes, Nazi Germany was an extreme form of this, but it is what happens when people stay silent and make no attempt to stop discrimination or prejudice.

Today, people make little remarks about people, thinking that they’re being funny or harmless or not thinking anything about it at all. But making any remarks are offensive and once again, makes it easier to stereotype a people. I, personally, get offended every single time I hear somebody make a remark about Jews and money. Whether it is things like saying that Jews know how to get good bargains, or hearing people make comments about being cheap. For example, I am involved on the board of my daughters’ softball league, and sat in on meetings, where on two different occasions, somebody mentioned that we have to “Jew” somebody down in order to get a better price. Well, I after recovering from being stunned, I stopped that really fast, but it’s not the point that it was stopped, but the point that it was said in the first place. People who I’ve told the story to, say that they can’t believe that was said in front of me. Well, once again, not the point. Point was, that this is what they felt inside. This was part of their belief system.

Again, these remarks are meant to be funny or just taken as matter of fact, but what they actually do is reinforce negative stereotypes and make it easier for the next step. For the next thing. A negative comment is just that. It’s like making the comment, “That’s so gay.” Well, substitute ‘gay’ for any other group and they wouldn’t like it at all. It has a negative connotation to it. And I don’t care if the person making the remarks belongs to that particular group. They say, “It’s okay, I’m________.” A negative remark is just that and it doesn’t matter who says it. And here’s what they don’t realize, if you in a particular group make negative comments about your own group, then other people think, ‘Well, if they’re saying it, then it must be true’.

Have respect for yourself. For your people. Your ethnicity. Your sexual orientation. Don’t make it acceptable for others to say.

I know, who cares what I have to say? I’m not anybody. I have maybe four people read my column here, one of whom may or may not be my mother, but as I say every time I write, it’s my column and I can write what I want to. So now, after getting all preachy, and getting back to why I started this post to begin with, I’d like to mention some books that deal with the subject of the Holocaust.

First off, there is absolutely no discussion about this topic without including Night by Elie Wiesel. I have read this book, I don’t know how many times. I read it on my own as a kid. Reread it again as a teen and now teach it in school. And I have to say that this book gets to me every single time. The book chronicles Elie’s experiences going through the death camp at Auschwitz with his father. From the time he is callously separated from his mother and sister for the last time without any “goodbye” to those last moments with his father, I am choking up all the time. The part with his father really, really works me over. See, my father has cancer. Thankfully, he is doing okay now, but reading the part where Elie loses his own father, destroys me. There have been times where I had been reading with my high-school class, and I struggle to hold back the tears. Really. (Can you imagine being a teacher and crying in front of a bunch of high-schoolers??) Anyway, this book shows the terror and cruelty endured by these families under Nazi barbarity. Any Holocaust reading has to include this book.

Another book that most kids read is The Diary of Anne Frank. It was kept by Anne Frank during her time in hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam, giving powerful insight into what it was like, living in cramped quarters with other people, always scared for your lives. This book was fascinating since it kept track of the day-to-day activities of a young girl, who was roughly the same age as the kids who are reading her diary now. That enables them to perhaps identify with her a little bit more. This book also gets to me, and to be honest, I guess all Holocaust books do, but this gets to me because you go in knowing that she is ultimately captured and dies. But, the power of a book is such, that you read anyway and even though you know, you find yourself hoping against hope that she will make it through alive.

Another, I highly recommend is Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegeman. This book is done in comic book format and represents Jews as mice and the Germans as cats. It can be very disturbing at times, but it is a very well done depiction of life then.

A couple that my children liked, were The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Devil’s Arithmetic, is about a girl who travels back to the past and experiences what her family went through in a concentration camp. Number the Stars, is about a young non-Jewish girl named Annemarie, who helps her Jewish friend, Ellen, try to escape by having Ellen pose as her sister. My children really enjoyed both these books.

The last book I want to write about for now, is The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. This also tells the story of the Holocaust through the eyes of a non-Jewish child, this time, a boy named Bruno. However, this time, the boy is the son of a Commandant of Auschwitz. Bruno visits the camp every day, but not inside. From outside, he befriends a Jewish boy named Shmuel. I know that the book is far-fetched and I don’t think it in any way could’ve happened. Most likely, Shmuel would’ve been killed right away since he was too young to work, but still, the book provides a very powerful ending, leaving readers haunted long after.

There are many more, of course, but these are just a few that I would start with. It is definitely a subject that is worth exploring and important to know.

And most of all, to remember.

Jonathan Rosen is a high school English teacher, living in South Florida. He writes middle-grade geared toward boys, because he finds they share the same sensibilities and sense of humor. Jonathan has lived all over the world and is hoping to eventually find a place that will let him stay.

Hi Mixed-Up Filers!!

It’s good to be back! Welcome to my semi-annual post with Mixed-Up Files!!  Okay, before I incur the wrath of the all-mighty Elissa Cruz, I am joking! It’s only been fourteen months. Wait, is that more or less than semi-annual? I’m sorry, math has never been my best subject. But, it’s okay. That’s what happens when you write for a popular site like Mixed-Up Files and its eighty-seven members! Still, I appreciate the massive letter-writing campaign that has been undertaken on my behalf, in order to get me more time on this site! Elissa Cruz told me that it literally took her like three to five minutes to go through the two letters she received, clamoring for more of me! I thank both of you for writing!

But, I digress. Back to my post! I was originally going to entitle this Our Firsts, but then I realized that I titled my last post that, and I also believe it makes me sound like some lovesick teenage girl writing an entry in my diary. But, that’s not it at all.

I’m talking about conferences!

This past weekend, the area I live in (south Florida), had its winter SCBWI writing conference. And in another week is the SCBWI winter conference in New York. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the Florida one this year. And the New York conference is strange for me, because while I am originally from New York, I have never attended a conference there. But, thinking about it, reminded me of the first time I went to any writing conference.

I am not sure exactly what year my first one was without putting a lot of thought into it, and as many of you know, whenever I do that, it never turns out well. But in any event, it was quite a few years ago. And what I remember most, was that I was sooooo nervous going. I didn’t know anybody, but was still excited to see real-life authors speak on the topic of writing. I wanted to get better, but I also remember thinking that I was already pretty good. I guess, that is a requirement of anybody that has a creative spark, you better believe in yourself to an extent, no matter what, right?

So, I went down to the conference, pretty much stayed to myself, and just soaked everything in. Not that I was anti-social, it’s just overwhelming when you really don’t know anybody and you are attending an event where it seemed like everybody knows everybody else except for you. After you go for a while, you begin to see that these writing folk are really just regular people. Perhaps, a bit odder and more eccentric than everybody else, but still just people…okay, a lot odder and more eccentric, but still, they are a tight-knit bunch and very welcoming to new writers. I felt amazed at seeing all these people whose books I’d loved, standing alongside of me.  It takes a few moments to get over being star-struck, and remember why you are there.

One of the funny things I do remember, is being extremely confident. Sure, I admired these writers, but I was also ready to dazzle everybody with my own writing. They would hear my work and shower me with praise and adulation, perhaps be carried off on their shoulders , with the well-deserved shouts of “Way to write!” echoing through the halls.

Well, that didn’t happen. What did in fact happen, was the embarrassment of hearing my work ripped apart. Why? Because I wasn’t ready. Plain and simple. So, what did I do? I basically, slunk back home, with tail between my legs and kept trying.  It was either that or give up, and almost every speaker I’ve heard since that initial conference, said that those that persevered, were the ones who made it. If you doubt, then you give up, and of course you won’t succeed.

You have to keep working at it and get better. I mean now, I’m almost ready to use two syllable words on a semi-regular basis. Almost. Since that first time, I’ve gone to many conferences and met many wonderful people and heard some great people in the writing industry speak. I have been getting positive critiques and feel much more polished. And even more important than any of that, is that I’ve made some incredible friends. And if you are a writer, you know that writing friends are necessary and also different than non-writing friends, because they just get what you’re doing. Your other friends just can’t understand. They are the ones issuing questions such as “Why aren’t you published yet?” or “Are you going to be rich doing this?”. You need those other writing friends. Now, when I go to conferences in this area, I feel like I know the majority and it’s certainly a lot more fun when a lot of people know you as well. A much better experience hanging with like-minded people, instead of standing off to the side and observing.

So, if you are in the SCBWI New York conference next weekend, and you see a lost soul hailing from Coral Springs, Florida, go on over and say hi!! And then of course have the common decency to introduce him to Julie Andrews!!

And remember, if I receive over 100 comments, Elissa Cruz has promised to cover herself with honey and run through a bear cave. Honestly, you just can’t beat that for your entertainment dollar!

Hi Mixed-Up Filers!

I’m sick. No, this is not an attempt to fish for sympathy comments, although feel free. No, I am actually, honest-to-goodness, lying in bed, shivering sick.

The reason I’m telling you this, is because I just received a heartwarming phone call from our exalted leader, Elissa Cruz. She said, “Make sure you have that post for me.”, which I knew was just her way of checking to see how I was feeling.  So, after explaining that I was sick and had no idea what to write about, she said, “I don’t care what you write about, lackey.” (Lackey, I believe is her term of endearment for me. I’m pretty sure it means ‘great friend’, but I’ll have to look it up to be sure). Anyway, she went on to say, “Just write something.” As you can tell by our banter, we have a great relationship, so not wanting to let her down, I knew I needed to come up with something…fast!

I went back to my first post to see what I wrote then, and by the way, can you believe that it’s only been 95 days since then? Seems like months, but that’s neither here nor there. This is about today and my post. So, after reading my first post,  I thought that this time it might be fun to write about the books that made me love middle-grade in the first place, as well as some recent books have kept me loving the genre through today.

So, without further ado and trying to adhere to Elissa Cruz’s strictly-mandated word count on my posts, let us begin.

Just like first loves, you always remember your first book. My first love was this pretty girl named Jenny.  She had long dark hair and…no, wait! I think that was Karen? No, it couldn’t be. Karen was the one with the ‘condition’. You know, now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure it was Mary Sue. Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter now. But, the first book that I remember reading and loving stands out clearly. It was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis. Now, that wasn’t my first book, obviously. That honor probably goes to either something Dr. Suess, or Sesame Street, but The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first book I remember reading on my own and really loving. It took me off to a faraway place, with enchanted creatures and magical beings. Good versus evil. I have read it many times since and each and every time, I am transported back into my kid-self and have that same sense of wonder I did then. The religious allegory was lost on me back then and I’m glad, because I looked at it as just an entertaining story, and to me it still holds up well today. It’s one of those books, which I’ll still pick up occasionally to this day, and am never disappointed.  That was the one book that got me into reading.

Others of course followed, and another book that I remember loving as a kid, was The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynne Reid Banks. I guess looking at it now, I can see the similarities to Lion, Witch and Wardrobe, although it didn’t occur to me then. Seems, that I like magic portal stories, but what kid wouldn’t. A way to enter a magical world or bring magic into your own house and room? Who wouldn’t love that?  With Indian in the Cupboard, I would always pretend my toys would be able to come to life somehow. Hmmm…toys coming to life? Might make for a good movie. Memo to self: look into that. Anyway, Indian in the Cupboard was something every kid, since there have been toys, probably imagined. And though I usually hate using that ‘m’ word ‘moral’, it also had a nice message in it about messing with things you don’t understand.

Since not every great book was written during the time of my childhood, I also want to mention a couple that my kids have enjoyed (Okay…me too), Aliens on Vacation, by Clete Barrett Smith, was one that I really enjoyed. In it, a boy named David, (The fact that my son is named that, in no way influenced me by the way) visits his grandmother’s bed-and-breakfast to discover that she is running an inn for aliens from other galaxies, who visit through the use of a portal, and… hmmm, I kind of like portal stories don’t I?  Well, the book was a lot of fun and besides toys coming to life, aliens are really cool as well.

Another recent one that I really enjoyed was The Billionaire’s Curse, by Richard Newsome. In that one, a thirteen-year old boy named Gerald, inherits his great-aunt’s fortune. Not only does he inherit her money, he also has to solve her murder. Although, I know most kids don’t care about getting vast quantities of money, the mystery aspect of this book keeps kids (and me) intrigued all the way through, although there were no portals. Maybe in the next one?

Yes, there are many, many other books that I loved as a kid and new ones that I’m adding to my favorites list, but time (and Elissa Cruz) prohibit me from listing them all. Besides, as this fever continues to rise, my memory is blurring anyway.

So, dear readers, what have we learned today? We learned for one, that generation after generation has some pretty darn good middle-grade books and we always remember our first, and two, books with portals in them rock! So, to all you aspiring writers out there, make sure to include portals in your books and plenty of them!

Anyway, I would love to hear some of your all-time favorites in the comment section, and just a reminder, if I get over one-hundred comments, Elissa Cruz has promised to wrestle a bear. Yes, you heard me right, a bear!

So, what are you waiting for? Get commenting!

Jonathan Rosen is a high school English teacher, living in South Florida. He writes middle-grade geared toward boys, because he finds they share the same sensibilities and sense of humor. Jonathan has lived all over the world and is hoping to eventually find a place that will let him stay.