Comments for educating alice

Comment on Reflecting on the Noughties by Read Alert » This is the decade that was

Read Alert » This is the decade that was — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:25:05 +0000

[...] that was, the School Library Journal’s Elizabeth Bird has a menu of ideas. And the ever alert Monica Edinger has a [...]

Comment on The Translated Me by Misrule

Misrule — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:49:46 +0000

Why would they do that? I’m puzzled.

Comment on In the Classroom: Thoughts on Teaching The Arrival by CKeys

CKeys — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:55:18 +0000

Hi! I’m actually going to be teaching an integrated unit based on The Arrival starting in February for my APT. Is there any possibility your colleague would share the powerpoint she created?

Comment on The Baobab Prize: An African Literary Award by Mitchell M Wamiridza

Mitchell M Wamiridza — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:15:05 +0000

I have the pleasure in submitting my story titled Rudo’s Strength aimed at the 12-15 yr olds age group with reference to the guidelines appearing in your website.

Comment on Extras by Wendy

Wendy — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:07:04 +0000

I’m mostly anti-lengthy-afterword. I don’t know much about your book, of course, but as an example, Scott O’Dell has a brief author’s note at the end of Island of the Blue Dolphins that explains what little was known about that woman’s life, and that didn’t bother me. But–from my totally non-professional, this-is-only-my-opinion viewpoint–maybe you will consider checking out your eventual afterword with multiple readers, giving it to them to read without, then with, and asking what they thought the afterword added. I can definitely see wanting to end your book at a particular point–that’s fine, it’s a good idea to end wherever the ending would be most powerful. But I think an afterword would have to be crafted just right in order to avoid making it take away from what you wanted for the ending. There’s a difference, too, between an author’s note that explains what happened next to a real person (especially if it’s difficult for the reader to research) and an author’s note that gives background information on the story which, if it’s important, should be in the text–IMHO.

Comment on Extras by medinger

medinger — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:49:01 +0000

Sam, I can’t imagine not having an acknowledgement as there are a number of people who have been so helpful and I would like to thank them. That said, I hope it can be somewhere unobtrusive.

Wendy, how funny that we both posted on such a similar subject. I’m not sure I agree with you about no back matter. I do want to have some for Margru. For one thing, I have chosen to end my story at a particular point in her life and would like to write what is known about the rest of it in an afterward. And we’ve also talked about something about Sierra Leone in recent years. But we’ve years to go so who knows how it will play out.

Comment on A. S. Byatt’s The Children’s Book by Clare

Clare — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:47:37 +0000

Thanks for this review Monica. I’m about 100 pages in and finding it a bit slow going, but I do love the way she writes and I will keep on. She’s already hooked me with Olive’s mining family back story — that’s my heritage too. My grandfather went down the pit in Yorkshire at 14.

Comment on Extras by Wendy

Wendy — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:23:20 +0000

Monica, I posted on a similar subject today: http://sixboxesofbooks.blogspot.com/2009/12/no-afterword-thanks.html

It’s interesting to consider acknowledgments, flap copy, and back matter together… all the packaging that comes with a story. I’ll be interested to see how your thoughts about things like these evolve as you produce your own book.

Comment on Extras by riddleburger

riddleburger — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:18:09 +0000

I’ve already been thinking on this subject this morning because of the rather lenghty set of acknowledgements in my next book. I am very glad they come at the end — after an appendix — to distance themselves from the story.

But it would have been egregious to not have any acknowledgements of the people who contributed to the boo in various ways.

Comment on In the Classroom: Teaching Reading by Not the battle we need to fight « Venn Librarygram

Not the battle we need to fight « Venn Librarygram — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:57:17 +0000

[...] Monica’s post about teaching reading sums up what I hope teachers are doing. No one could accuse Monica of not having a good relationship with her librarian (the incredible Fairrosa), or of working in a school that doesn’t value the library.. [...]