In the midst of an avalanche of end-of the school year projects, one caught my eye.

Book twins—comparing and contrasting fiction and non-fiction books.

Book Nerd Mom is so excited.

This is an angle I hadn’t seen before and  is a great way to merge the strengths of fiction and non-fiction while keeping them both relevant and interrelated.

As a writer, parent and school employee, I can’t ignore the importance of schools and libraries in developing readers. There’s a strong push in the classroom toward non-fiction, which as a NF-loving girl I don’t mind—too much. (Click here  to see a chart on page 5 showing the  recommended distribution of reading in the Common Core Standards)

I have to admit, I worry about fiction getting lost in the move toward informational text. Tying fiction and non-fiction together in the classroom is a way to ensure that fiction remains relevant in the current test driven, funding- compromised school climate. Because believe me, not every child has a Book Nerd Mom, Dad or Grandparent at home encouraging them to read.

This project is a great way to help kids break out of their mold if they gravitate strongly toward fiction or non-fiction but don’t really enjoy the other. My son has to do a PowerPoint presentation which also adds technology to the mix.  At home or with younger kids, you could remove the PowerPoint feature—and maybe add a collage, photo album, chart or graph—whatever it takes to keep your reader excited. Or you can simply read and discuss which I have found that even my older kids will still do. Actually, it is one of the few ways I have found to get them to talk to me about things other than what’s for dinner and my chauffeur-related duties (which they usually text to me in a barely comprehensible code anyway).

If I were doing a book twin project, I would choose to compare and contrast Chuck Close: Facebook with Sharon Draper’s Out of my Mind. I choose these two books because I can relate to them personally. Sharon Draper was a teacher in the same district where I currently work as an occupational therapist. My work as an OT also made the subject matter of both books personal which always strengthens a book project.

Single sentence summary: Out of My Mind  is the story of  Melody, an extremely bright girl with cerebral palsy who is also non-verbal, and her struggle to communicate and fit in. Out of My Mind will be released in paperback tomorrow, May 1, 2012.

Chuck Close: Facebook is an interactive biography of the American artist and how he used his unique artistic perspective to overcome dyslexia, learning disabilities, facial blindness and a later stroke that partially paralyzed him. I found this book on April’s MUF New Release page and had to check it out.

How These Book Twins are Alike: Both books show the power of overcoming obstacles with strong main characters who weren’t defined by their disabilities. Melody and Chuck both had supportive families and eventually found ways to use technology and creative thinking to overcome their difficulties. Both Chuck and Melody were focused and disciplined and subsequently outperformed those around them.

How These Books Are Different;  Melody’s disability prevented her from communicating and was apparent to everyone who met her. Chuck’s early struggles were invisible. Melody was a genius trapped by her physical limitations. She had strong verbal skills, but couldn’t express them. She had a photographic memory that allowed her to learn quickly since she was often underestimated and had to learn from her environment. Her disability was visible but her skills were hidden. She had to figure out how to get people to know what she was thinking.

Chuck used his art—a focus on faces–  to make sense of his environment and to help him to remember faces. His art allowed him to clearly show his abilities in a striking way and allowed him to better connect with people. Many of his subjects were friends or fellow artists which he used subjects for his art. This process helped him to better recognize who they were. He used grids in his art as a means to provide external structure due to his difficulty with focus and organization. Later Chuck, like Melody, became confined to a wheelchair and had limited control of his hands. He then had to consider even more unique methods of creating art.

Food for Thought: Melody and Chuck had every reason to give up but chose not to. What would I choose?

“In life you can be dealt a winning hand of cards and you can find a way to lose, and you can be dealt a losing hand and find a way to win. True in art and true in life: you pretty much make your own destiny.” –Chuck Close

In my to-be-read pile:  Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Let’s Talk:  If you were doing a Book Twins project, what books would you choose and why? What other ways can people who love books support the importance of fiction in developing important analytical skills in the current test driven, STEM-focused educational environment? How can fiction and non-fiction work together to deepen knowledge of a subject?

Joanne Prushing Johnson would like to acknowledge her fellow occupational therapists who work to see potential and possibility in their students, clients and patients. April is National Occupational Therapy Month. Photo from www.morguefile.com. Book cover photos from www.indiebound.com.

As a mother of a daughter (and a son), I’ve long been aware of this country’s ‘princess problem’ – the cultural stranglehold of a certain franchise of princesses on our culture’s collective psyche. I’ve also been aware of resistance to this type of pink, tiara-ed narrative of girlhood — through organizations like princess-free zone or even this viral video of 5year old Riley sounding off about big business, the color pink, and gender marketing.

But much to my chagrin, nay, shame, I’ve really never given a second thought to this issue through the eyes of the concerned princes. I mean, what must it be like, as a fairy tale character, to be so completely overshadowed all the time by princesses like Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty? To be made essentially anonymous, stripped of your individual and autonomous identity, and lumped together with every other Prince Charming of legend and lore?

Luckily, the wildly talented Christopher Healy is coming to the rescue of neglected princes everywhere with his hilarious and imaginative forthcoming The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom (Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins, May 2012).  I was lucky enough to read an ARC of the novel and interview Christopher; and one of you will be lucky enough – just by leaving a comment below – to win a signed hardcover copy of his hot-off-the-presses forthcoming book! (unless you have some kind of aversion or allergy or something to laughing – in that case, please DON’T leave a comment. Because this book will make you laugh – and laugh a lot!)

But first, the most awesome interview of this most awesome author, in which he reveals which Prince Charming he is most like, why he has a soft spot for witches, and what really “ooks” him out as a writer of fractured fairy tales:

Question: Christopher, your book has four main protagonists – Frederic, Gustav, Liam and Duncan — all former Prince Charmings (er, I mean, Princes Charming. As your character Duncan would remind me, the noun is made plural, not the adjective).  Where did you come up with their off-kilter personalities? And tell us the truth – which one is closest to your own?

Christopher: Well, the original fairy tales don’t give us much to go on, but it was still important to me that my princes’ personalities made sense with what little we do know of these guys already. I asked myself, for instance: What do we know about Cinderella’s prince? He can dance. He’s sophisticated. And he’s got noble ladies swooning over him. But beyond that, we don’t know much. So I took what Charles Perrault gave me, and got creative with the rest. From that starting point, it’s not too much of a stretch to think that Prince Frederic is probably not very outdoorsy, perhaps a little too focused on his fashion choices, and (to put it mildly) not the most daring guy in the world.

I did the same for all the princes. Rapunzel’s prince wants to rescue her, but never thinks to get a ladder — so Gustav is the kind of guy who rushes into things without thinking. Sleeping Beauty’s prince actually rescues an entire kingdom in his story, and gets major kudos for it — so Liam bases his entire identity on heroics and has a bit of an ego about it. Snow White’s prince gets lucky by wandering through the forest and stumbling upon a bewitched princess to kiss — so Duncan is a carefree oddball who spends a lot of time walking the woods by himself, just waiting to see where life takes him next.

And while there’s definitely a little bit of Duncan in me, the prince who most represents me is Frederic. As a child, I shunned cotton candy because it I was afraid it would make my hands sticky. That says it all, really.

Question: Your book plays with the princess stereotype as well. How did you decide on your princess’ personalities?

Christopher: While I did work to make sure that my princesses were different from previous depictions of those same characters (especially their film incarnations), I crafted their personalities the same way I did the princes. I built them out of the original stories.

Cinderella worked hard labor for years, so she’s tough and strong. Rapunzel has the power to heal people with her tears (in the original tale), so here she’s got a bit of a savior complex. Sleeping Beauty was hidden away and catered to for her whole childhood, and has thus ended up somewhat spoiled. And Snow White, just like her prince, spends a lot of time wandering the forest and chatting with wildlife, so as it turns out, she’s actually a good match for Duncan.

But those were just starting points for the princesses. The ladies come into the spotlight a whole lot more in Book II, and the further changes you’ll see there should come across as a natural evolution for the characters.

Question: Usually, middle grade novels need middle grade-aged protagonists.  But except for Liam’s younger sister, and a juvenile delinquent of a robber baron, none of your characters is kid-aged (and in fact, two are married). Was this a deliberate decision? Did you ever consider making them younger?

Christopher: The fairy tales I’ve based my book on all end with their protagonists being set up for a happily-ever-after wedding. And even if Perrault and the Grimms wouldn’t have had a problem marrying off tween characters, I was ooked out by the idea. So I went young adult-ish. I intentionally kept their ages vague, but yes, they’re definitely older than the average middle-grade reader. I think my characters will still be relatable to kids, though —they’re not exactly the most mature adults you’ll ever read about.

Question: The poor bards and minstrels of your story have it hard – they get captured and almost killed by a notoriety-crazed witch and then given a hard time for getting their stories ‘wrong.’ Tell us about your journey to publish this novel. Any similarities to those bards and minstrels?

Christopher: The bards deserve every bit of misery they get. They have no journalistic integrity. They pump out whatever kind of story they think their fans will want to hear and never bother checking the facts. I, on the other hand, went back over my manuscript and revised it about a zillion times before it was finished. Unlike the bards, it was very important to me to make sure I’d truly captured the personalities of these princes and princesses. Plus, before I could even turn the thing into my editor, I had to get it past my wife and daughter — and they are not an easy audience.

Question: Did you have a favorite fairy tale as a kid? Now?

Christopher: As a kid, it was probably Hansel and Gretel. It was one of the few where I was able to relate to the male protagonist. In so many of the others, the male heroes were personality-free, generic princes — which is exactly why I wrote Hero’s Guide.

Currently, though, I have to say my favorite fairy tale is one I discovered only recently: “Great Claus and Little Claus.” It’s a more obscure Hans Christian Andersen story and it is completely insane. It’s basically this little guy getting revenge on a bully in the freakiest ways, but all sorts of really absurd stuff happens along the way. My favorite part is when Little Claus meets a farmer with an irrational hatred of sextons. A sexton is a church employee who handles daily chores — why in the world would the mere existence of sextons inspire fits of rage in someone? I have no idea if it was meant to be hilarious, but it is. In a very, very dark way.

Question: How about a favorite fractured fairy tale? Now?

Christopher: Well, I loved the original “Fractured Fairy Tales,” the cartoon shorts on the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show that inspired the phrase. That was the first time I remember seeing classic stories being treated irreverently — and I thought it was awesome.

In terms of current entertainment, I’ve really enjoyed Michael Buckley’s Sisters Grimm series. It’s not technically a fractured fairy tale, but Buckley put some really fun, creative twists on characters we’ve seen a hundred times before.

Question: The humor in this novel is so over the top hilarious. Let me repeat, HI-LA-RI-OUS. How did you hit upon that hysterically funny voice? (And did you laugh while you were writing?)

Christopher: I’ve always had a rather eclectic sense of humor. I can laugh just as hard at slapstick pratfalls as I can at highbrow literary references and esoteric wordplay. To be honest, I was a little worried about how my humor would hit with readers. Could I expect the same person to chuckle at the hero face-planting in the mud and then also laugh at grammar jokes about pluralizing nouns? A person other than me, I mean. Because yes, I laugh. Not so much while I’m writing, but afterwards. I mean, as a writer, you’ve got to like your own stuff, right? If you don’t, why are you writing it? But I’m incredibly happy to hear you enjoyed it too.

Question: Ok, the hard part of the interview. A test! But luckily, it's multiple choice:

1. Glass slippers or combat boots?

Christopher: Glass slippers are utterly useless. I don’t think Cinderella actually lost hers; I think she kicked it off because she’d finally gotten tired of tiptoeing all night.

2. Swords or wands?

Christopher: Wands! Or anything that allows you to defend yourself while standing far, far away from your enemy.

3. Towers or Dungeons?

Christopher: I’ll say towers, because I am slightly less afraid of heights than I am claustrophobic.

4. Wolves or Witches?

Christopher: Regular wolves or werewolves? Never mind, I’ll go with witches. Thought both of them get a pretty bad rap in the fairy tale world. It’s not always very fair.

5. Poisoned Apples or Thorns in the Eyes?

Christopher: That might be the worst choice I’ve ever been asked to make. I guess I’ll say apple. I’d rather be peacefully asleep than painfully blinded. And maybe there’d be a chance that someone would come along and kiss me.

 6. Life lessons or Frothy romps?

Christopher: Must the two be separate? I’ll choose frothy romp. Because if you give me a frothy romp, I’ll find some life lessons in it. But if you give me a straight up lesson, there may be no froth to be found.

Question: As a male author, writing about (mostly) male protagonists – what’s your take on the “boy’s don’t read” controversies? Did you write this book for a particular gendered audience? 

Christopher: When I was a kid, I got more than a few scrapes and bruises due to foolhardy attempts at reading while walking. And my son, who is only five, just smashed into a doorframe yesterday doing the same thing. So, I refuse to accept the idea that boys won’t read. However, I know that a lot of boys aren’t reading. So, yes, I did want to contribute a piece of literature that I hope boys will pick up. I don’t consider Hero’s Guide a “boy book,” though; my goal was to create a story that had appeal across gender lines. So, while Hero’s Guide is a fairy tale, it’s also an action-adventure comedy. While it’s about Prince Charming, it’s also about the League of Princes. While there is talk of weddings and romance, there is also talk of troll battles and barroom brawls. I’m hoping that whichever elements bring a reader into the book, the rest of the story will appeal to them while they’re there.

Question: What do you like about writing for middle grade audiences? What are your biggest challenges?

Christopher: My daughter is in that middle-grade demographic right now, and she exemplifies a lot of what I love about that audience.  She appreciates imagination in any setting. She’s open to just about anything from a storyteller — thoroughly accepting unreal, magical worlds just as much as she does slice-of-life middle-school tales. And by this age, she also has enough of a cultural vocabulary to catch literary references and analogies. When I write for a middle-grade audience, I don’t want to write down to them — I want to challenge them, because I know they’re up to the challenge.

Also, my daughter and her friends are all very outspoken with their opinions on the books they read. When they love a book, they LOVE a book. They talk about

it constantly, they re-read it seven times, they turn it into games that they play with one another. If they’re not into a book, though — well, they let that be known too. And that’s the potential downside in being a middle-grade author.

THANK YOU so much for your time Christopher, and for your delicious novel. It’s been a pleasure!

Please leave a comment below to qualify to win a signed hardback copy of The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom!  Winner will be announced on April 12th!

(all images courtesy of indiebound publishers and microsoft office free clipart)

Sayantani DasGupta loves re-imagining fairy- and folk-tales, and has a middle grade novel on submission based on Indian stories of demons, princesses and, or course, awesome princes. Look for her story reimagining "Little Boy Blue" in Month 9 books' forthcoming Two and Twenty Dark Tales: Dark Retellings of Mother Goose Rhymes!

The expectations for the use profanity in children’s fiction are pretty clear. It’s commonplace in YA novels and completely absent in picture books and easy readers. But middle grade fiction takes the middle ground. Is swearing okay in a middle grade book? Well, it’s complicated. The issue is balancing authenticity with respect for your audience. Everybody encounters profanity; it is a language intensifier and can be useful in conveying the weight and reality of your characters situation. And yet it is the nature of profanity to offend, so any use will have consequences in how the book as a whole is received. As a practical matter MG books with profanity tend to be shelved with YA no matter how young the character is. This is not necessarily a problem, To Kill a Mockingbird and it’s 9 year old protagonist Scout have been doing just fine in the YA section of the library for the last five decades. Even so any use of profanity should be carefully considered. When I’m confronted with an opportunity to use a swear word in my novels, here are five choices I consider.
1. Omit
Every time I use profanity I rewrite the scene with out it, let it sit for a day or two and read the result out loud. I have been surprised by how often the scene was stronger without the swear word. Sometimes profanity is just a habit of the author and not integral to the character’s worldview or the movement of the plot.
2. Reduce
My editor once told me that swearing is loud on the page in a way that it is not in real life. I think of it as the equivalent of yelling or texting in all caps. As the mom of many I can tell you yelling is most effective when used sparingly—usually when lives are at stake. I think the last time I actually yelled at home was when someone’s sleeve caught on fire while roasting a marshmallow. Because swearing functions as an intensifier, it’s power is diluted by overuse. If I am working with a character who would naturally swear a lot, I’ll run a word search and see if I can limit the swearing to places where it will have the most impact.
3. Evade
Sometimes  you can duck the issue when the swearing is done by a non-viewpoint character. When I was working on Second Fiddle I knew that the moment that the girls discovered that they were all alone in Paris with no money, no passports and no return train tickets, any normal eighth grader would swear. But my main character wasn’t really the swearing type. Instead, I had her report that her friend said every swear she knew in English and then moved on to exhaust her supply of swear words in French and German. This preserved the authenticity of the scene without getting into a specific swear word.

4. Substitute
Here is one of the more entertaining devices of MG fiction. Most kids get in trouble for swearing, and yet they have the same need for the occasional language intensifier as everyone else. So kids are great at making up substitutes. It’s the drat, darn, and golly solution, and it has great comic potential. I was recently on a grade school play ground where a shouting match arose over a basketball game and the third graders involved avoided detention by calling each other the names of various icky vegetables—Asparagus Head and Eggplant Face were bandied about with alacrity. The advantage to a curse word substitution is that it can also serve to convey information about the character and setting and lighten the mood of an otherwise tense situation.
5. Commit
There are circumstances in which the first four choices are wrong for the voice of the character or the gravity of the situation. And in those cases swearing maybe appropriate. Freedom of Speech means nothing if we never use it, and if you have used profane speech appropriately in your book you will find both people who passionately attack any use of profanity and those who just as passionately defend your right to tell the story as you must, free of censure. I opted to use swearing to a very limited extent in Heart of a Shepherd, having considered and discarded the above considerations, and it has done no harm whatsoever to the book. A few libraries don’t shelve it in k-4 schools. I really have no argument with that. Most teachers who read it aloud chose to skip or modify the swear word in the classroom. No argument there either. On the other hand, many teachers and parents have told me that because they weren’t expecting profanity in a middle grade book, it gave them a good opportunity to discuss where profanity is socially acceptable and not, and what it was about that particular scene that made a character swear when he ordinarily wouldn’t. That’s a conversation worth having.

In the end I find it helpful to imagine myself sitting down to eat a meal with my reader. If my reader is 7 and the tone of my story is traditional and in the mood of a holiday dinner eaten with extended family, then I’d not use coarse language of any kind. If I was eating a picnic lunch with 10 year olds and parents were not hovering in earshot, I would probably use a substitute word or an evasion. With 14 year olds at the food court in the mall, I might use a profane word if it were appropriate to the conversation at hand, but I’d still use it sparingly because eighth graders are not adults, and the mall is not a high school locker room or a college dorm. There will be plenty of time for them to make the acquaintance of a broad range of swear words in young adult and adult fiction.

I’d love to hear what other people consider when making decisions about profanity, both in terms of writing and in terms of sharing books with middle grade kids as a parent or teacher or librarian. Drop us a line!