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Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month

Since Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month is September 15-October 15, I thought I’d write about why I wrote MARIO’S NOTEBOOK.

About the Book

MARIO’S NOTEBOOK is a middle grade novel that tells the story of ten-year-old Mario who must flee El Salvador with Mama and little brother Nico to come to the U.S. after his journalist father is killed during the Salvadoran Civil War in 1980.

The provocative cover illustration is by Elizabeth Gomez. Check out her other amazing art here.

Kirkus reviews calls MARIO’S NOTEBOOK, “A well-crafted, emotionally resonant tale for younger readers. Atkinson writes in a smooth, conversational prose that perfectly enlivens Mario’s first-person narration, capturing both his anxieties and excitements.”

For the rest of the review, click here.

Inspiration

I was inspired to write Mario’s Notebook in the late 1970s when I was a young Spanish bilingual elementary school teacher living in Cincinnati, Ohio. During that time I also hosted a Spanish radio program on community radio station WAIF. Many people from the Hispanic community in Cincinnati, including several families from El Salvador, tuned into and were guests on my weekly program, Arroz con Leche. Through them, I learned about the Salvadoran Civil War and their often harrowing journeys and experiences coming to the U.S.

I began to wonder what it must be like for the children who have to leave family and friends behind during the war. Though Mario’s story began churning in my imagination way back then, it took decades to write.

I’d never been to El Salvador and knew little of its history so I had to do extensive research including using primary sources in Spanish. I had to learn how to write a novel. As a teacher and mother of two small children, it was difficult to find time to write. Most of all, I had to chase away the voice inside my head that asked, “Who the heck are you to write a story about a boy from El Salvador?”

But I stuck with it because the deeper I got into my research and the meanderings of my own imagination, the more I needed to tell Mario’s story. I wrote a draft and put it away.

Much later, with my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College in hand, I was ready to go through revisions of the novel and finally submit to publishers. While several editors expressed interest and guided me in further revisions, in the end, they decided not to publish MARIO’S NOTEBOOK.

Once again, I put the manuscript away. I tried to forget about it as I worked on other projects like OWL GIRL, TILLIE HEART AND SOUL, and writing poetry for magazines and anthologies.

But with all that’s happening in our world today, I couldn’t let Mario’s story sit in my desk drawer. I believe even more so now that Mario’s story as a child who has to leave his country because of war and seek asylum in the U.S. where he isn’t always welcomed by everyone, is an important one that, unfortunately, many such children and their caregivers will relate to.

As El Salvadoran author René Colato Lainez said in his endorsement of MARIO’S NOTEBOOK, “Mary Atkinson gives voice to the voiceless in her excellent novel Mario’s Notebook. There were many atrocities in El Salvador during the civil war. Mario’s story is one of them. This book is a testimony and resistance for all those children who are living in the middle of a war. Mario’s story needs to be heard and read.”

But, “who the heck am I to write a story about a boy from El Salvador?”

The Twitter hashtag #OwnVoices first appeared in 2015 as a way to indicate that a book was written by a member of the marginalized community it depicts. It continues to gain momentum in the children’s (and adult) publishing world of today. I wholeheartedly support the #OwnVoices movement.

But MARIO’S NOTEBOOK is clearly not an #OwnVoices book. I’m not from El Salvador; I’m not a ten-year-old boy; I haven’t experienced war or had to leave my country to seek asylum. I was inspired to write MARIO’S NOTEBOOK long before #OwnVoices and at a time when Salvadoran children’s authors were not being published in the U.S.  We are now fortunate to have the books of René Colato Lainez and Jorge Argueta.

 

I carried Mario’s story in my heart for such a long time. I was unable to find a traditional publisher for the novel so I decided to publish it myself through Amazon. You can take a look at it here. Or read the first chapter here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the things that I love about summer writing workshops is that I can experiment with new workshop ideas to use when I visit schools and libraries during the school year.

I recently had an opportunity to do just that at the Charlotte Hobbs Library in Center Lovell, Maine.

Librarians there had the great idea to include pizza, most likely to entice kids away from swimming, exploring, and playing outside on a perfect summer’s day instead of going to the library to write poetry…

I’d discovered Two Voice Poetry many years ago from the work of Newbury Award winning poet and author Paul Fleishman.

I’ve written several on my own but had never used them for a workshop.

What is Two Voice Poetry? Two Voice Poems are poems written from two different points of view on the same topic. They’re also meant to be read aloud, which makes them especially fun for children to write and perform.

The poetry usually has two columns—one for each person who is reading the poem.  One person reads from the left-hand column, the other from the right. If the poet wants the two readers to say something at the same time, the words can be written in both columns on the same line, or a third column can be added.

Here’s an example from Honeybees by Paul Fleishman:

Click Honeybees to download the rest of the poem.

Fleischman’s work inspired me to write my own poems for two voices. For example, My Tree.

Okay, back to Charlotte Hobbs. I’ll admit it—I freely experimented on my small group of 12 kids, ages 7-11. I didn’t have much of a plan, but I’ve come to trust myself, children, and the joy of playing with words. (and many years of “winging it” as a teacher…)

The Workshop (times are approximate)

Step One: (10 minutes)

I introduced the concept of poetry for two voices by asking kids to read some poems I’d printed out.

Honestly, at first, they didn’t really get it. The lines on the page, skipping back and forth, sometimes reading alone, sometimes together. It was confusing, and the form was new to them.

But it was summer! No pressure!

Luckily I had my colored pencils. I quickly color-coded and drew arrows and we were back in business.

Step Two: (10 minutes)

I suggested we write Two Voice poems organized around the seasons. I asked each kid to fold a piece of paper in four and fill each square (okay rectangle, I was corrected!) with what they loved to see, do, smell, hear for each season. It was quiet then, except for the lovely, rhythmic sound of pencils clicking on paper, which, as a poet, of course, I had to point out to them.

Step Three: (10 minutes)

When they ran out of ideas, I asked them to pair up (or triple up) and circle all the things they had in common for each season.

Then, because this is what I always do in my poetry workshops because I always do myself when I’m writing, I asked them to push themselves and each other to expand on their ideas. “What do you mean, soccer? What do you mean about trees changing color? What trees? What colors? What do you mean hot chocolate in winter? How does it smell? Taste? Give me some more words!!!!”

Step Four: (20 minutes)

With their partners, or trios, it was time to write the poems. If they were stuck or didn’t know where to start, I suggested they introduce themselves in the poems and start with spring.

Here’s an example from the beginning of rising second graders Ezra and Eliot’s poem:

Seasons

I am Ezra

I am Eliot

In spring                                              In spring

I like                                                      I like

when the birds come back

playing baseball

We both like                                       We both like

MUD!                                                   MUD!

 

The kids then dispersed themselves around the library—some writing in a corner on the floor, a group of three in a small meeting room, others at tables. Even though it was very hard for me, I decided to trust the process, not suggest or interrupt, and Leave. Them. Alone.

Even when the pizza arrived, they kept writing!

Step Five: (20 minutes)

Pizza and Poetry!

Apparently, writing made this group really hungry. Twelve kids devoured three pizzas while taking turns to share their poems. We even went overtime!

This is just the first page of five that three girls wrote and performed:

Final Thoughts

I made it a point not to Google Two Voice Poetry before the workshop. Whenever I do writing and poetry workshops with children of all ages, I want to be authentic. I feel we do our best work, at least initially, when we all come from a place of who we are without using outside influences. I trust and honor the creative process. Coming from my own authentic place, I connect more deeply and honestly with others.

That said, I later Googled away and found tons of information on the Internet. If this form is new to you as a teacher and you want to try it in your classroom, you might start by getting ideas off the Internet, but it’s better to immerse yourself by reading and writing on your own. Here’s a poem floating around on the web that might get you started.

Thank you for reading and please stay in touch!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer is almost here! Time to pile up those books for summer reading. I’m excited to host my first 3-Book Giveaway. These books are for kids 6-12 and kitlit lovers of all ages! Click on this link to enter! And please spread the word!

 

 

A couple of things: TILLIE HEART AND SOUL just won another award—this time a Moonbeam Gold Award in the Pre-Teen General Fiction category. Add that to TILLIE’s Best of Kirkus Indies 2017 award and to the shiny star it got from Kirkus and rave reviews from real children who’ve read it, and well, you just might want to get a copy for yourself or your young friends. You can find TILLIE in independent bookstores in Maine (yay!) and on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle. [Read more…] about Another Award and Maine Craft Weekend

I realized half way to a book event at the Charlotte Hobbs Library in Lovell, Maine that I’d forgotten my iPhone. The library had ordered copies of TILLIE HEART AND SOUL, kids had read it, and they were coming to meet the author (me!), discuss the book and eat pizza. What an opportunity for photos to put on social media! The pizza alone would make people buy my books!

I had enough time to turn around and get my phone, but then I decided, no. I’ve lately been noticing how thinking up marketing strategies has been taking up too much space in my brain. This marketing “habit of mind” depletes my creative impulses, and like most writers, I’m not happy about it.

Wouldn’t it be nice just to meet with the kids, talk about TILLIE, do some writing, and eat pizza without always looking for that perfect photo op to splash over social media?

I’m so glad I forgot my phone. I had the best author visit ever. I was totally present. I relaxed into my presentation, our conversation, the writing exercise, and yes, the pizza, too.

I tried a new activity that really worked out well. To get the conversation rolling (like I really had to encourage this group to talk…ha!), I’d selected quotes from the central characters the book—Tillie the protagonist, her best friend Shanelle, new girl Glory who unwittingly disrupts Tillie and Shanelle’s friendship, and Uncle Fred, Tillie’s guardian.

I read the quotes and asked the kids to identify the characters. I was thrilled when they were able to do it. It meant they’d read my book and I’d succeeded as a writer in differentiating my characters (which, as I told the kids, comes from spending lots of time with them and finally letting them speak for themselves.)

Then, using prompts, the kids created their own characters and drew their pictures. (Sorry no photos—not even of the seven-year-old detective whose high heel shoes were really weapons, or the teenager who lived in 5000 A.D. in the world’s tallest building, or the girl who lived in a camper and saved wild animals). I suggested that the young authors get their characters in lots of trouble over the summer and write their stories.

Later, when parents came for pick up, the authors shared their characters and pictures. And here’s the exciting part: at the children’s request, parents exchanged phone numbers. They wanted to arrange a writing group at the library like the critique groups I described because they wanted to keep writing!

Would all of this have happened if I’d been clicking pictures with my phone? Maybe. Maybe not. But I know one thing for sure, I was 100% my true self and I had a blast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please join me at Books N Things,

a wonderful bookstore in Norway, Maine

on December 9, 2017 from 10:00 – 2:00. I’ll be signing copies of Tillie Heart and Soul and Owl Girl.