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Re: Versify: Novels in Verse
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From: kellymilnerh_at_aol.com
Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:46:29 -0400 (EDT)
This is my first post at ccbc, so I'll introduce myself. I'm Kelly Milner Halls, a nonfiction writer. My best known book is TALES OF THE CRYPTIDS, b ut I've got more than 30 books under my belt and I'm grateful to write well researched, quirky nonfiction books of great interest to reluctant readers , and others.
Before I wrote children's books, I was a full-time freelancer for magazines and newspapers and I started KidsReads for the Book Report network (TeenRe ads was originally part of KidsReads).
I fell in love with YA literature when I edited KidsReads and had to review two YA books a week (ten books total, per week). I was pretty uneasy abou t novels in verse until I read OUT OF THE DUST by Karen Hess. That book bl ew me away, as it did for so many readers. I've loved many novels in verse since, including Sonya Sones body of work and a relatively new title, EXPO SED by Kimberly Marcus.
I find the novels in verse I love most don't FEEL like individual poems, bu t rather a cohesive story told in more delicate, precise language. But the re are exceptions. Nikki Grimes' PLANET MIDDLE SCHOOL captured my heart an d it is structured as a string of moments, rather than a traditional novel. So I evolve as novels in verse evolve, thanks to these brilliant writers.
It hasn't always been an easy process, but when a novel in verse connects f or me, it connects deeply.
Thanks.
Kelly
Writer, Kelly Milner Halls kellymilnerh_at_aol.com www.wondersofweird.com www.kellymilnerhalls-ya.com
Message-----
From: Megan Schliesman To: ccbc-net, Subscribers of Sent: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 4:15 pm Subject:
Versify: Novels in Verse
It's time to start out discussion for the first part of April: Versify: Novels in Verse.
Do you have any preconceived notions about novels in verse? Do you come to them with anticipation, trepidation, or with expectations no different than you would a prose novel.
I confess that I used to find myself groaning when I open a book and discover it's a novel in verse. But I started doing that less and less thanks to so many outstanding offerings in recnet years. Some of my favorite novels of 2011 were comprised of poems, including Allan Wolf's "The Watch That Ends the Night," Guadalupe Garcia McCall's "Under the Mesquite," and Thannha Lai's "Inside Out & Back Again."
Oh, and then there's Helen Frost. She just knocks me out with every offering, not the least of which is last year's "Hidden."
Reading a novel in poems can be an amazing experience, but one that's challenging to break down. I don't think I initially approach the reading any differently (once I finally stopped groaning): I'm still looking for a good story. But every word matters in a way I'm much more aware of.
What are some of your favorite novels written in verse/poems? And do you approach your analysis of them differently than straightforward prose?
Megan
Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:46:29 -0400 (EDT)
This is my first post at ccbc, so I'll introduce myself. I'm Kelly Milner Halls, a nonfiction writer. My best known book is TALES OF THE CRYPTIDS, b ut I've got more than 30 books under my belt and I'm grateful to write well researched, quirky nonfiction books of great interest to reluctant readers , and others.
Before I wrote children's books, I was a full-time freelancer for magazines and newspapers and I started KidsReads for the Book Report network (TeenRe ads was originally part of KidsReads).
I fell in love with YA literature when I edited KidsReads and had to review two YA books a week (ten books total, per week). I was pretty uneasy abou t novels in verse until I read OUT OF THE DUST by Karen Hess. That book bl ew me away, as it did for so many readers. I've loved many novels in verse since, including Sonya Sones body of work and a relatively new title, EXPO SED by Kimberly Marcus.
I find the novels in verse I love most don't FEEL like individual poems, bu t rather a cohesive story told in more delicate, precise language. But the re are exceptions. Nikki Grimes' PLANET MIDDLE SCHOOL captured my heart an d it is structured as a string of moments, rather than a traditional novel. So I evolve as novels in verse evolve, thanks to these brilliant writers.
It hasn't always been an easy process, but when a novel in verse connects f or me, it connects deeply.
Thanks.
Kelly
Writer, Kelly Milner Halls kellymilnerh_at_aol.com www.wondersofweird.com www.kellymilnerhalls-ya.com
Message-----
From: Megan Schliesman To: ccbc-net, Subscribers of Sent: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 4:15 pm Subject:
Versify: Novels in Verse
It's time to start out discussion for the first part of April: Versify: Novels in Verse.
Do you have any preconceived notions about novels in verse? Do you come to them with anticipation, trepidation, or with expectations no different than you would a prose novel.
I confess that I used to find myself groaning when I open a book and discover it's a novel in verse. But I started doing that less and less thanks to so many outstanding offerings in recnet years. Some of my favorite novels of 2011 were comprised of poems, including Allan Wolf's "The Watch That Ends the Night," Guadalupe Garcia McCall's "Under the Mesquite," and Thannha Lai's "Inside Out & Back Again."
Oh, and then there's Helen Frost. She just knocks me out with every offering, not the least of which is last year's "Hidden."
Reading a novel in poems can be an amazing experience, but one that's challenging to break down. I don't think I initially approach the reading any differently (once I finally stopped groaning): I'm still looking for a good story. But every word matters in a way I'm much more aware of.
What are some of your favorite novels written in verse/poems? And do you approach your analysis of them differently than straightforward prose?
Megan
Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
---Received on Wed 04 Apr 2012 08:46:29 PM CDT
