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Re: Author/Illustrator Notes
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From: Jeri Chase Ferris <jchaseferris_at_sbcglobal.net>
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 08:20:42 -0700
Congratulations on your book, Monica.
My bio of Noah Webster will be out next week from Houghton Mifflin, and even though it is a picture book we definitely wanted to include an author's note, bibliography, and time line.
Author's note because the text in a picture book is limited (!) and there was more to say about what Webster did for our country. Bibliography because primary and secondary source documentation is essential. Time line (wait until you see what the illustrator did with this) because it helps clarify exactly what was happening to whom and when.
On historical fiction – I love this genre, but I get very testy about HF without any documentation for what is true and what is fiction. Not only kids, but most adults, tend to believe as fact everything they read.(not us, of course).
Also, as a teacher, I needed and wanted the source information right there in the book I was using with my students.
When I do school visits I talk a lot about the difference between primary and secondary sources, showing an actual letter from Frederick Douglass, for example, in contrast to a book about Douglass. I explain carefully that *I* use primary sources for my books and never copy from unproven sources. After one such visit I received this letter from a 3rd grader: "I like how you make up true facts in your books." Obviously I had not made my point!
Jeri www.jerichaseferris.com NOAH WEBSTER & HIS WORDS, HoughtonMifflin/Harcourt, 2012
See book trailer at http://youtu.be/o8NegSLNxlk
A Junior Library Guild selection
"...a wonderful success in introducing Webster in such a charming manner." Kirkus Reviews, Sept. 2012
"This picture-book biography bursts with charm in telling Webster's story. …a great addition to dictionary lessons or to studies of the formation of the United States." Starred review in School LIbrary Journal, Sept 2012
"This book captivates and draws readers in … Educators will appreciate the embedded definitions and the historical context and timelines provided." Starred review and "highly recommended" in LIbrary Media Connection, Aug. 2012
On Oct 19, 2012, at 2:54 AM, Monica Edinger wrote:
This is a topic of great interest to me. When it comes to historical fiction I've discovered that there are many adults who absolutely detest any sort of back matter arguing that it pulls them out of their enjoyment of the imaginary world. And kids, in my long experience as a classroom teacher, almost never read back matter unless required to do so. I think the tension here is interesting as it speaks to different reasons for reading. If you are reading a work of historical fiction for the story and not to be informed about the past perhaps you don't need anything further. But teachers indeed may use such a work more didactically and then back matter can be enormously useful.
Received on Fri 19 Oct 2012 08:20:42 AM CDT
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 08:20:42 -0700
Congratulations on your book, Monica.
My bio of Noah Webster will be out next week from Houghton Mifflin, and even though it is a picture book we definitely wanted to include an author's note, bibliography, and time line.
Author's note because the text in a picture book is limited (!) and there was more to say about what Webster did for our country. Bibliography because primary and secondary source documentation is essential. Time line (wait until you see what the illustrator did with this) because it helps clarify exactly what was happening to whom and when.
On historical fiction – I love this genre, but I get very testy about HF without any documentation for what is true and what is fiction. Not only kids, but most adults, tend to believe as fact everything they read.(not us, of course).
Also, as a teacher, I needed and wanted the source information right there in the book I was using with my students.
When I do school visits I talk a lot about the difference between primary and secondary sources, showing an actual letter from Frederick Douglass, for example, in contrast to a book about Douglass. I explain carefully that *I* use primary sources for my books and never copy from unproven sources. After one such visit I received this letter from a 3rd grader: "I like how you make up true facts in your books." Obviously I had not made my point!
Jeri www.jerichaseferris.com NOAH WEBSTER & HIS WORDS, HoughtonMifflin/Harcourt, 2012
See book trailer at http://youtu.be/o8NegSLNxlk
A Junior Library Guild selection
"...a wonderful success in introducing Webster in such a charming manner." Kirkus Reviews, Sept. 2012
"This picture-book biography bursts with charm in telling Webster's story. …a great addition to dictionary lessons or to studies of the formation of the United States." Starred review in School LIbrary Journal, Sept 2012
"This book captivates and draws readers in … Educators will appreciate the embedded definitions and the historical context and timelines provided." Starred review and "highly recommended" in LIbrary Media Connection, Aug. 2012
On Oct 19, 2012, at 2:54 AM, Monica Edinger wrote:
This is a topic of great interest to me. When it comes to historical fiction I've discovered that there are many adults who absolutely detest any sort of back matter arguing that it pulls them out of their enjoyment of the imaginary world. And kids, in my long experience as a classroom teacher, almost never read back matter unless required to do so. I think the tension here is interesting as it speaks to different reasons for reading. If you are reading a work of historical fiction for the story and not to be informed about the past perhaps you don't need anything further. But teachers indeed may use such a work more didactically and then back matter can be enormously useful.
Received on Fri 19 Oct 2012 08:20:42 AM CDT
