From: esme codell <esme>
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:13:43 -0500

Hi,all,

I don't know if this thread is still going (forgive me, I've been out of town for a week!), but I really wanted to let folks know about my book I wrote specifically to address bullying: VIVE LA PARIS (the companion novel to another novel I wrote, SAHARA SPECIAL). It's the story of a boy in the eighth grade who is being mercilessly bullied by a girl in the fifth grade, for a reason no one initially can figure out. It's told through the eyes of his sister, Paris, who is getting angrier and angrier at her brother's antagonist, but is trying to resolve the problem without violence. She is supported by her piano teacher, a Holocaust survivor, who gives Paris the yellow star she has kept through the war. When Paris mistakes the star for a gang symbol and wears it to school, things come to a head.

I don't like to talk about my own work on listservs, but after reading Ruth's post, I wanted to share this because I wrote VIVE LA PARIS specifically to talk about bullying both now and in a historical context, and with classroom discussions in grades 5-8 in mind. I was inspired to to explore the question of how hard it is to be your brother's keeper (plenty hard!) and the catastrophes that happen when we don't step up to the task. I'm very proud because it's the only book to feature an African American protagonist to win a Sydney Taylor honor award, and also, in my opinion, it's been my best writing effort so far. ;-)

Happy reading! Esm? Raji Codell Site Director PlanetEsme.com Be a part of The PlanetEsme Plan! www.planetesme.blogspot.com
Received on Mon 24 Mar 2008 09:13:43 AM CDT