Quercus, vol 1, no 5

Marsha Qualey and Vicki Palmquist, editors

October 2006: vol. 1, no. 5

Congratulations to Nancy White, the winner of our September drawing for $250-worth of new books. Nancy teaches fourth and fifth grades in Iowa, so we hand-selected a number of books we believe her students will enjoy. Encourage your colleagues to sign up for this free newsletter so they can be the first to know about new books, authors, and more ... and for their chance to win wonderful books. Our next drawing will be held December 30th.

Kari Baumbach, Winding Oak consultant, volunteers her time at the media center in her son's school. Impressed with the active, vital atmosphere and the number of students who visit each day, Kari interviewed media specialist Cathy Nelson to find out how she keeps it that way.

The Secret of Her Super Powers

Media specialist extraordinaire Cathy Nelson shares her methods

How does a school media specialist draw middle school students, who typically drop away from reading, to books? How does a media specialist reach English language learners, reluctant readers, and win the support of parents? One veteran Minnesota media specialist has the answer: money, a creative imagination, and a truck load of determination.

Cathy Nelson has gained the independence to do the programs she wants by actively seeking funds. In her ten years as media specialist at South View Middle school in the Edina, Minnesota school district, she’s written over thirty-eight grant proposals. She keeps copies of each in a three-ring binder. Most have the letters DNR (did not receive) written on them. But once they’ve been written, they can be used again and again.

“I always keep my eye out,” Nelson says. “When you belong to professional organizations like the American Library Association and the International Reading Association for a certain amount of time, they have grants available to go to conferences or to get funds as an outstanding library. The Minnesota Reading Association has grants out there too.” She often finds out about larger grants from the publications these organizations publish. Corporations often have foundations that award educational grants and their web sites are good resources for information. Recently, for example, she applied to Best Buy for a technology grant to fund eBooks.

The Edina school district also makes funds available for grants, and she keeps up on what’s available. “I might have an idea about something and then I go try to see where I can get money from. I can always make it fit,” she says. She was awarded funds to buy nine MP3 players to be used for audio books for English language learner (formerly ESL) students. Fifty kids participated in an informational session about the program. The MP3 players have been checked out continually and the students who’ve used them have done an evaluation on what they read and how it worked for them. Nelson will give that feedback to the granting source. Next year she’ll ask for more MP3 players.

In the News

The featured author/illustrator in our last newsletter, Julie Jersild Roth, sends word that Knitting Nell will be highlighted in Vogue Knitting's holiday/winter issue. It also is being reviewed in the next issue of Knit It magazine (from Family Circle/Meredith). Another review appeared in Yarn Market News, which goes out to folks in the knitting industry. Julie has had several successful school visits this past month, where the kids are very excited by finger knitting.

We welcome Anita Silvey to the Winding Oak list. Well-known in children's literature circles as the long-time editor of The Horn Book magazine and former publisher of Houghton Mifflin's Children's Books, Anita is contributing can't-miss guidebooks to children's literature that find a well-thumbed place on the bookshelves of parents, teachers, librarians, and reading enthusiasts. She recently gave a presentation about "500 Great Books for Teens" to a packed room in Minneapolis, launching her new book by the same name. Winding Oak is working with conference organizers to book Anita for this topic as well as "100 Best Books for Children," and more.

Author William Durbin embarks this week on a multi-state tour to talk about El Lector, his recent book set in Ybor City, Florida, in the 1930s. Bill will be featured in a teleconference with all of the students in Pinellas County, as well as visiting a number of schools.

Quercus editor Marsha Qualey will be a keynote speaker at the Minnesota Reading Association conference in November. She'll share her experiences as an author of teen literature, helping reading teachers understand why these books can play such an important part in secondary curricula.

Lauren Stringer's just-released book, Winter is the Warmest Season, has received a starred review from Ilene Cooper in Booklist: "A special book worthy of many readings, this radiates warmth." Lauren's lush artwork and the witty idea behind this book will be perfect for teaching about opposites ... and for curling up on a chilly (or is that warm?) winter evening.

Margo Sorenson's second picture book about Ambrose, the brave mouse, will be available at the end of October. Together with Hungarian illustrator Katalin Szegedi, Margo has created Ambrose and the Cathedral Dream, a book set during the construction of a medieval cathedral that not only shows how the smallest among us can make a difference, but details the astounding architecture in these gothic marvels.

For more information on Winding Oak and our clients, please visit our website. Bring an author or illustrator to your school to excite primary and secondary students about reading, writing, and art.

Cathy Nelson,
media specialist

Did You Know?

As described by Cathy Nelson, it takes hard work, imagination, volunteer support, and—yes—money to energize a media center and related school programs. Do you have any fundraising suggestions to share with others? Let us know and we'll share those ideas in a future issue of Quercus.

Because she believes that meeting an author can spark and nurture a student’s interest in reading, Cathy Nelson has used some of her grant money to bring authors into her media center. But it’s not just the students who gain something from an author visit. Some of our Winding Oak writers shared a few stories about what they’ve taken away from their school visits.

David LaRochelle

Even though our contact with students is brief, a visit from an author can have a long-lasting impact. The mother of a middle school student sent me an essay from her son. He had written about my visit to his class when he was in third grade, saying that meeting me had inspired him to pursue his dream of becoming a great writer. Notes like this keep me excited about going out to schools and working with students.

Any author who visits schools will tell you that you never know what the students might ask. Here are some of the more memorable questions I've received:

Can I touch your hair?

Why aren't you married?

What kind of underpants do you wear?

Can you touch the ceiling?

How do you print the words so neatly in your books?

And of course, How old are you?

When I told a kindergartner that I was 45, he looked at me sadly and said, "I feel sorry for you. That's old, and you're going to die soon."