Archive for Robert Young

Farewell Borders

July 22, 2011 Writers 2 comments

The news became official this week – Borders book stores are closing for good. While this announcement does not come as a complete surprise (Borders has been “on the ropes” for quite some time), it does bring sadness. I have enjoyed shopping at my local Borders since it came to town. I know, my preference for Borders helped bring about the demise of small, local bookstores, and I’m truly sorry for that. But dang it, driving downtown to the small, indie bookstore, trying to find a parking spot, feeding a meter, and forever watching the clock to make sure you weren’t ticketed took something away from the experience. And the selection? No contest.

Sure, Borders wasn’t my ideal bookstore – that be Powell’s in Portland – given that its kids’ section, especially the nonfiction area, has dried up over the years, the cashier lines could be ridiculous at times, and their book buying became directed by headquarters, eliminating local decision-making and thereby drying up the a good market for local authors, but the store was convenient and comfortable to hang out. And the words, surrounded by millions of words and, with them, endless possibilities. I’ll miss the place.

Nonfiction Toolbox update

July 11, 2011 Educators No comments

Ahhh…those lazy, hazy days of summer. NOT! There is no haze here (it’s clear as crystal) and no laze, either. There is much work to be done. I’m not composing these days, but tightening and readying. Barry Lane and I have been working on The Nonfiction Toolbox for the past century…er…four years and it’s soon-to-be-published. It’s a book of nonfiction reading and writing lessons grouped by grade levels. I’ve been working on tightening up some of the entries (= editing and revising) as well as connecting the lessons to the six traits of effective writing. that way, if a teacher is looking for a lesson to support the trait of Organization, she can look one up in the index rather than having to page through the book and figure out which lesson will support that trait skill. Making the trait connections is not difficult, just tedious given that there are nearly 150 lessons n the book. There will also be a bibliography of nonfiction picture books that connect to the traits. These can be used as mentor texts by teachers. Our plan is to update the listing of books overtime, and to do it on the Discover Writing website. Clever, huh?

Summer!

June 28, 2011 Educators, Writers No comments

Summer has arrived, and with it, rain. This should come as no surprise, this being Oregon and all. Yes, we’ve have some beautiful, warm sunny days. This particular day happens to be a reminder of the long, squishy-damp winters we have here. A perfect day to stay inside and write!

This wonderful day finds me happily working away in my writing office. I’m fine-tuning a couple of e-books that will be put up soon on eReadia (www.ereadia.com/publishing), getting out specs for artwork on an educational activity book I’m working on, and doing some groundwork on an update for my Game Day book that’s 10+ years old. You know, getting a licensing agreement with Major league Baseball, things like that.

While I’m not actually doing writing per-se (well, right now I am), I’m doing a lot of writing-related tasks. Do I count these things as writing? Absolutely not! But each of them is necessary nonetheless. After recently completing my picture book bio of Yogi Berra, now I’m trying to find it a publishing home. I scour my contacts file as well as my publisher catalogs, notes, and market surveys done by various groups. Right now I have seven different publishers targeted. Now I need to go onliine to make sure the info is current (hopefully their websites are updated), then start sending things out. And yes, I have a query letter all ready. Yes, I’ll send the complete manuscript when asked for, and yes, I’ll send it to more than one publisher (and tell them what I’m doing) unless they specifically forbid it, in which case I’ll wait and send to them later.

Enough talk; it’s time for action!

Book signing

June 16, 2011 Writers No comments

A.C. Gilbert book signing

Book signings are those curious events that can buoy your spirits, drop you to the depths of despair, or just leave you wondering. Last weekend I did an event at the Gilbert House in Salem. What an appropriate place to sign books about A.C. Gilbert, who spent his early years there. There were a sprinkling of kids (mainly preschoolers) and parents that came around, and I had many interactions during my two hours there, but one stands out.

A middle-aged woman, wearing graying hair and a jeans jacket, sidled up to the table where I sat. I told her a little about the book, what it’s about and how I came to write it. The woman picked up the book, examined the cover, then opened it up and began reading it to herself. No skimming it, or paging through and scanning. She read it, every page of it.

As she read, I sat there uncomfortably, much like at a garage sale where someone is examining one of my prized (although I’m willing to sell it) possessions. But a book – my book – is harder. It is not merely a possession; it’s a creation. My creation, from start to finish.

After what seemed like a month, the woman finished reading, closed the book, and set it back on the table. What was she thinking:

“Gawd, what a boring book!”

“I could have written this myself.”

“I already read it, so why buy it now?”

Patiently, I waited for a critique, a comment, a question. But, I got none. The woman just turned and walked away. What did she think of the book? I’ll never know.

So it goes at book signings.

Happy June!

June 2, 2011 Educators, Kids, Writers No comments

And a very happy June it is! Although rain and clouds dominate the Oregon skies, there is good in the air. My sixtieth birthday is creeping closer (the 9th) and I’m given to a bit of reflection. Having once said, “I can’t ever imagine myself being thirty years old,” in a week I’ll be double that! How curious. I am absolutely amazed at how the time has passed so quickly. I can still remember sitting in high school wishing for time to go faster, wishing for my driver’s license, wishing to go off to college, wishing for my own car. Fortunately, my wishing disease healed over time, and so I’ve chosen to make my adult life about “doing” rather than “wishing.” Oh, there’s been a lot of dreaming, but that’s what often powers the “doing.” I am grateful for the friends, family, and colleagues who continue to touch my life as the journey continues.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention another June happening. I’ll be retiring at the end of the month. I have been working in education since graduating college in 1973. I’ve worked as a classroom teacher in grades 2 through 8 as well as a language arts staff development specialist and grant director. I’m pleased I chose the route of education, and I leave proud of the work I’ve done.

I won’t be going far, though. I’ll continue to do consulting work with schools around writing. I’ll keep doing author visits, too. And make no mistake about it, I’ll be writing as well. All the projects I’ve put “on hold” for past ___ years, I’ll be pulling out of the files, evaluating them, and choosing to develop the ones in which I’m most interested. This will be hard. But, who said writing was supposed to be easy!

Is Your Teacher A…?

May 18, 2011 Educators, Kids No comments

It’s fun to wonder about the many mysteries about your teacher. If you’re tired of alien, vampires, and other unbelievable possibilities, you might enjoy reading The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman by Ben H. Winters. Starting as an inquiry project (a great idea to get kids engaged) to “solve a mystery in your own life,” seventh grader Bethesda Fielding uncovers a secret about the quiet, mousy music teacher: she used to be a rock ‘n roll singer. This discovery sets off a whole series of events that affects her class, and then the entire school. This is a fun read, with lots of humor as well as twists and turns.

What’s a mystery in your life that you would like to explore?

Pleasant Hill Writing Festival

May 15, 2011 Educators, Kids 5 comments

Wow, what a great time in Pleasant Hill yesterday. Met with about 400 bright young writers. Questions filled the air, and that was good because questions form the basis for writing (and reading). Two really important questions we addressed were: “Why write?” and “What should I write about?”

When we did a lead activity, we saw that some students could write leads as good as the leads in published books. Not a big surprise given the expertise of Pleasant Hill students. When I told them about my very favorite book in the world – the dictionary, which contains all the books ever written, with the words rearranged – I saw some jaws drop, but enthusiasm crested when we did a dictionary activity to enhance their skills.

Not only did the students spend time with me during the day. They also attended workshops led by teachers and community volunteers, where they had the opportunity to learn more and become engaged with various types of writing. The afternoon was a celebration of student writing, during which they shared in small groups.

Writing Festivals: what a great way to inspire, motivate, and enhance students’ writing skills. Many thanks to Jeanne Miller, who organized the event; to the community volunteers, who shared their enthusiasm for the written word; to the teachers, who prepared their students well; to principal Devery Stoneburg, for sharing the vision of students as writers; and to the students, whose interest, curiosity, and enthusiasm made for a grand time!

Chicken Challenge!

May 13, 2011 Kids 21 comments

Okay Pleasant Hill kids. You’ve heard my rant about how much I disdain the word “nonfiction.” You know my feelings about calling a word something that it is not. Don’t make me use the boy/girl example again because it won’t be pretty. So, here’s your big chance to come up with a better term than nonf…

Post your ideas right here and the judge (me!) will select a winner next Friday, May 20th. If two people enter the same word, the first one posted will be considered.

Go ahead and stick out your neck. Who knows, you might just win the chicken!

Pleasant Hill or Bust!

May 11, 2011 Educators, Kids 2 comments

I’m setting my sights south this week as I prepare to work with the writers of Pleasant Hill Elementary School in…you guessed it, Pleasant Hill, Oregon. The next best thing to the act of writing is the act of talking about writing. We’ll do that, and we’ll share writing, too. And, of course, there will be some surprises as well, including an ESP demonstration. That’s Extra Sensory Perception, in case you didn’t know.

Stay tuned for the summation…

The Big Question

May 1, 2011 Educators No comments

Okay, I ‘m here with Barry and I’m posing a question – a BIG QUESTION – what’s wrong with education today?

Barry: “Because teachers don’t own their classrooms, students can’t own their learning.”

Care to elaborate?

Barry: “Teachers are not merely dispensers of information; they build bridges into the minds of their students. If assessment and curriculum demands interfere with the bridge-building, test scores might improve but learning will take three steps backwards.”

What’s the most important things teachers can communicate to kids about writing?

Barry: “Writing is a tool for thinking, not just a tool for showing what you know.”

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