KAREY SHANE

Cynthia Leitich Smith Interview By Brigid

Congratulations to Brigid Gorry-Hines, the 17 year-old, tap-dancing high school junior who has the honor of interviewing  Cynthia Leitich Smith for the first in Café Skill's You Do the Interview series!

Amazingly enough, Brigid is also a writer, and she's got some big stuff happening right now: she submitted her manuscript for Walking Shadow to Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award this year, and it's one of 250 in the quarter finals out of 5000 submissions. Wow. Congratulations Brigid! You can download an excerpt here: Brigid's Book: Walking Shadow

Before Brigid does the interview, here's a fun teenage Did You Know? quiz, full of interesting and unusual facts about Cynthia Leitich Smith. Did you know . . .

Find Out Which of You Got Picked

As promised, today I put all the names for the first ever Teens Do the Interview in a bowl and filmed in live so you'd feel like you were there when it happened. Watch the video to see whose name got picked. Of course, each piece of paper had the name of someone who had entered to have their name drawn. I'll be contacting YOU, whoever you are, so get your questions ready. And for those who didn't have their name picked, stay tuned for future Teens Do the Interview chances!

Today I got three letters from students in the after-school enrichment program in Swakopmund, Namibia called Mondesa Youth Opportunites. And it's my birthday. What a fun present! I've posted each letter separately. This is letter #3. My reply is below each student's letter. Their letters are unedited. Who knows, maybe we are looking at them in this video!

Dear Mrs Karey Shane

I have just heard about you now.  My name is Veronica.  My surname is Helao.  I just want to know more about you.  so would you like me to you about me?

I am a black girl with long hair.  I live with both my parents and live with my brother and two sisters.  I live in Swakopmund in Namibia.  I was born on 15 October 1998 in the capital city of Namibia, Windhoek, but now I stay in Swakopmund.

I am in Grade 6A at Vrede Rede Primary School.  My favourite colours are pink, white and blue.  My favourite sports are running and tennis.  My favourite thing that I like to do when I have nothing to do is reading.

When I grow up I want to be a teacher.  I choose to be a teacher because, from when I was small till today, I am always dreaming of being a teacher.  I like teaching children just like the teachers like to teach us when we are at school.

Thank you so much for being willing to write to us

Your beloved
Veronica

Hello Veronica,

Thank you so much for writing and telling me about your life! I am very happy you wrote. Since you like pink, white and blue, I wrote in pink and blue. Your plan to become a teacher is a wonderful goal! I'm also glad to hear you enjoy reading.

May I ask you to do something today? Find a pebble and fill a bowl with water. Drop the pebble in the water and see what happens. Now I would like to ask you a question: how is the pebble that fell in the water like being a teacher?

Will you write and tell me? I will give my answer in orange-colored writing below, but before you read it, you might want to come up with your own answer. Or, you can read my answer and give me your own answer. You choose.

Teachers are like a stone that is dropped in water: when it touches the water it ripples out and touches all the water, not just the place it first touched. In the same way, you will be able to teach children, who go out to do wonderful things in the world. And just like water ripples outwards from where the stone fell, they will want their own children to learn important things at school when they are old enough so they can do wonderful things in the world, too.

You will be able to do the same thing as a teacher, just like your teachers are doing for you. 

I am happy you like running and tennis. Did you know that students who do well at things like running sometimes get something called a scholarship that helps them pay to attend university? The word scholarship has the word, "scholar" in it. That is a wonderful word that means a learned person who has profound knowledge about a certain subject.

Do you plan to study hard, keep running, and playing tennis so that you can get a scholarship some day? I hope so. I see you.

Kind regards,

Miss Karey

MYO Pen Pals: Veronica

Today I got three letters from students in the after-school enrichment program in Swakopmund, Namibia called Mondesa Youth Opportunites. And it's my birthday. What a fun present! I've posted each letter separately. This is letter #3. My reply is below each student's letter. Their letters are unedited. Who knows, maybe we are looking at them in this video!

Dear Mrs Karey Shane

I have just heard about you now.  My name is Veronica.  My surname is Helao.  I just want to know more about you.  so would you like me to you about me?

I am a black girl with long hair.  I live with both my parents and live with my brother and two sisters.  I live in Swakopmund in Namibia.  I was born on 15 October 1998 in the capital city of Namibia, Windhoek, but now I stay in Swakopmund.

I am in Grade 6A at Vrede Rede Primary School.  My favourite colours are pink, white and blue.  My favourite sports are running and tennis.  My favourite thing that I like to do when I have nothing to do is reading.

When I grow up I want to be a teacher.  I choose to be a teacher because, from when I was small till today, I am always dreaming of being a teacher.  I like teaching children just like the teachers like to teach us when we are at school.

Thank you so much for being willing to write to us

Your beloved
Veronica

Hello Veronica,

Thank you so much for writing and telling me about your life! I am very happy you wrote. Since you like pink, white and blue, I wrote in pink and blue. Your plan to become a teacher is a wonderful goal! I'm also glad to hear you enjoy reading.

May I ask you to do something today? Find a pebble and fill a bowl with water. Drop the pebble in the water and see what happens. Now I would like to ask you a question: how is the pebble that fell in the water like being a teacher?

Will you write and tell me? I will give my answer in orange-colored writing below, but before you read it, you might want to come up with your own answer. Or, you can read my answer and give me your own answer. You choose.

Teachers are like a stone that is dropped in water: when it touches the water it ripples out and touches all the water, not just the place it first touched. In the same way, you will be able to teach children, who go out to do wonderful things in the world. And just like water ripples outwards from where the stone fell, they will want their own children to learn important things at school when they are old enough so they can do wonderful things in the world, too.

You will be able to do the same thing as a teacher, just like your teachers are doing for you. 

I am happy you like running and tennis. Did you know that students who do well at things like running sometimes get something called a scholarship that helps them pay to attend university? The word scholarship has the word, "scholar" in it. That is a wonderful word that means a learned person who has profound knowledge about a certain subject.

Do you plan to study hard, keep running, and playing tennis so that you can get a scholarship some day? I hope so. I see you.

Kind regards,

Miss Karey

MYO Pen Pals: Amy

Today I got three letters from students in the after-school enrichment program in Swakopmund, Namibia called Mondesa Youth Opportunites. And it's my birthday. What a fun present! I've posted each letter separately. This is letter #2. My reply is below each student's letter. Their letters are unedited. Who knows, maybe we are looking at them in this video!

Dear Mrs Karey Shane

How are you doing?  I'm doing well on my own.

Well, this is my first time to write to an author.  The way I imagine an author is a person with a lot of courage.  A person that can deal with any kind of problem or at least try to solve them.

About books, I like reading a lot of books.  The books I love are mystery, romance and comic books.

I would also like to know how you became a writer and what you usually did that made you to write books.  I don't actually have my dream on being an author but I like reading a lot.  Sometimes I make up a story about what happened during the day.

My plans for the future are to become a doctor and to own a house that will be big enough for my husband, our children and me.  I would also like to have a beautiful car of my own.

That's all I could say to you now.  Hope to hear from you very soon.

Your friend

Amy

Dear Amy,

I am doing very well, thank you. I'm glad that you are doing well on your own. You have a wonderful goal to become a doctor, own a home for your children and husband, and have a car. Having a dream of what you want to become helps you go in a focused direction. I wish you much success as you study to learn the skills you will need to become a doctor.

Even though this is your first time to write an author, I hope you found it is easy and fun! I believe I am a person with a lot of courage who can solve problems. But I would say it's because I had good teachers who showed me how to grow into who I was meant to become, like your wonderful teachers are doing. I can see that you are a person with courage. You have the ability to solve problems, too.

That is wonderful that you like to read mystery, romance, and comic books. Our children and I loved to read the French comic books, Asterix, Lucky Luke, and Tin Tin when they were small. We would laugh so hard!

One thing I did to become a writer was something that is very simple, but important. I wrote in my journal almost every day when I was young. Sometimes I would write just a few sentences. Sometimes I would write pages and pages. It's like having a friend to talk to, and it helped me practice my penmanship, and writing skills. Some people who write in their journals draw pictures, too. That sounds like a fun thing to do.

When you make up stories about what happened during the day, do you write them down? I would like to read one of them, just for fun! Thank you again for writing, Amy. I see you.

Kind regards,

Miss Karey

MYO Pen Pals: Armanus

Today is my twin sister's--and of course--my birthday! My son called me last night to let me know he had just proposed to his sweetheart, and my daughter and family wished me happy birthday. They'll be spoiling my sister and I during a family dinner tonight.

The next best thing about celebrating this gift of life that God has granted me, is that I got my very first letters from three Grade 6 students at Mondesa Youth Opportunities, in Swakopmund, Namibia. I've developed a friendship with one of the teachers there, Sue Wagner, who has a daughter that runs under my husband's coaching tutelage at BYU (Angela Wagner.)

Angela and her team-mates are writing letters back and forth the the students, and more. Sue has given me permission to post the student's letters which you can see in separate posts in their unedited beauty. I've also posted my responses below each letter. Who knows, maybe we can see them in this video! Armanus' letter is below the video.

Dear Ms Shane

Greetings!  Thank you for the opportunity to write you a letter.  I would just like to ask questions.

I just want to know how you started your talent as an author?

I love reading true stories.

With what kind of books did you start? 

I would like to read your book "The Secret Speakers"

Will you please send me a picture of you and your husband?

Your penpal

Armanus Awaseb

Hello Armanus,

Greetings to you! Thank you so much for taking time to write me.  I am honored. Today is my birthday. Your letter was a wonderful birthday gift, indeed. You asked some very interesting questions. I will answer them for you here. Then I would like to ask you a question.

There are many correct answers to how my talent as an author began. The answer that comes to mind right now is this: after my father died when I was six, I spent a lot of time day dreaming. I spent a lot of time in the gully behind my house where I built forts with my younger brother out of sticks, played in the river, and let my imagination soar.

I also liked to read, and lose myself in stories where children were doing brave things, and who were strong. So, I believe my talent began because I liked to daydream and read books.

The kind of books I started with when I was young were The Boxcar Children, and a book I loved called, My Side of the Mountain. both stories were about children who went out on their own to do brave things, then came back home.

I also liked to read books about secret codes and languages! I taught myself to read the Greek alphabet when I was your age. I didn't understand many of the words, but I could sound out words.

Other books I liked were biographies, or stories about real people's lives. I especially liked reading about the life of Harriet Tubman and what she did to help free the slaves in America. I also liked the story of George Washington Carver, who discovered ways to use peanuts, other than eating them.

You will have a chance to read Secret Speakers, because I am going to send some copies of the book to your school. The very first boxes of Secret Speakers shipped to a building close to my city two days ago, so now I can send them right away. I am so happy about that. It makes me smile.

You also asked me to send you a picture of my husband, Coach Shane, and myself. I will post one at the bottom of this letter. It is a picture of Coach Shane and me at the Post Office. I'll find a better picture and send it to MYO!

What kind of true stories do you like to read? You may call me Miss Karey. When my family lived in New Orleans in the southern part of the United States, the children called adults Miss or Mr.  I've always liked that. I see you.

Kind regards,

Miss Karey

You Are Powerful

Do you want to keep learning why girls around the world need education? This video is about seven minutes, so it's longer than some, but it's worth watching, even if you just watch the first part. By the way, have you memorized the poem, Invictus, by William Earnest Henley, yet? The character of Long John Silver was  inspired by him. Check it out a few posts below. :) You are powerful! Grow into who you are. Be sure to leave a comment below and let me know what you thought. Thanks!

The Power of Girls Pledge

I just took the Girl Scouts Power of Girls Pledge and thought you and your teachers might want to know about it! This is a picture of the website, and it's one of my favorite websites for girls so far! Way to go Girl Scouts! Keep up the good work girls. :)

Take the Power of Girl's Pledge !

P.S. Come back here to let me know you took the pledge and leave a comment below! We'll be cool together. (Well, OK, you'll be cooler than me, but that's alright.)

Memorize This ! : Invictus

How about celebrating our Memorize This! series by starting with the poem, Invictus? It gave the name to Clint Eastwood's Oscar-nominated film about Nelson Mandela, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.

As Nell Minow describes it, "The poem was a source of inspiration to Nelson Mandela during his captivity and he wrote out a copy by hand for the captain of the rugby team to inspire him to lead them to the world championship." The poem has a special story behind it, because the poet William Ernest Henley had his leg amputated after he became a victim to tuberculosis of the bone. He wrote Invictus from his hospital bed. His friend Robert Louis Stevenson based the character of Treasure Island's, Long John Silver on him!

How Apolo Ohno Trains

If you want to get where you're going in life, watch how Apolo Ohno trains, and what led him to bring home eight medals from the Vancouver Olympics. It all starts with what he calls the most important part: preparation. As you watch this video, reflect on Pindar's challenge to, "Become what you are," and what it means for you. What is it that you're passionate about? How can you put the same kind of focus and commitment into whatever that something is? Grow into yourself. Learn from the greats.

Cynthia Leitich Smith Contest Moved to March 24

Because of Spring Break, Cynthia and I decided that it will be better timing to do the drawing next week, on March 24. (It was originally March 17, St. Patrick's Day.) So, keep spreading the word about it! Sign up to be chosen to be the Interviewee in the post below! She'll still be doing the interview the last week of March. Cheers!

Karey

Teens Get to Do the Interview

        

In late March, as part of our first ever You Do the Interview series, Café Skill will be hosting an interview with best-selling youth literature author Cynthia Leitich Smith. As you know, she's the author of Eternal (a companion to Tantalize), and a faculty member of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program. But guess what? There's a big surprise: I'm not leading the Q & A. It might be you, if you're a teenager or close to it. If your name gets picked, you'll get a free copy of Eternal.

It's easy to enter your name: just leave a comment below. I'll be picking one of the names from the comment list out of a bowl next Wednesday, March 24, to find out who the lucky interviewer is!

If the thought of coming up with questions feels daunting, no worries. I'll be happy to talk you through it.  I'll forward the questions on to Cynthia and she'll send me back her answers. She wrote me and said the whole idea sounds fun, so . . . what are we waiting for? Jump in :)

Thank You Deborah Kenny

Thanks to a link I discovered on Rochelle McConkie's Facebook page, I've been following the ripple effect that Deborah Kenny started in education through her Harlem Village Academies. What she has done to raise the bar for teachers is revolutionary. Her approach focuses first on raising expectations for teachers! 

New Standards in Your School

How do schools in the United States compare to the rest of the world? You'll be shocked. Yesterday, Brian Williams did a segment called, New School Standards Raise the Education Bar. It's worth watching.

Have you heard of tapping, or EFT? We're studying what it means to be well-rounded as a person in these areas of your life: social, spiritual, physical, intellectual and emotional. If you're like most people, your negative emotions can really take the joy out of the other areas of your life we just mentioned. If you're angry, don't like something about your body, or feel depressed, feelings like those (and others) can interfere with school, the way you interact and react to people, getting a job, and more. You're not alone in this.

One of the most effective tools I've found for dealing with negative emotions is something called tapping (also known as Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT.) This video walks you through the basics so you can find out for yourself if this tool works for you. Tap away!

Emotions are so important in our lives, that studies are showing that emotional intelligence, and how you respond in situations, is more important to employers than how smart you are. If someone interviewing for a job shows that they are proud, bossy, a know-it-all, or negative, why would an employer want to hire that person?

I just added Google Friend Connect to my blog an hour ago. It's easy to do: just go to Google.com/friendconnect . I've been back here at least a dozen times to see if anyone's started to follow me. Somehow I feel like I did back at East Millcreek Elementary when I would wait to get picked for a game of Four Square. I am moving away from my computer right now so I can be productive and just let it flow. (And if you're wondering, almost all of the images I put on this blog were purchased from shutterstock.)

I'm holding a Secret Speakers Giveaway, where anyone who enters has a chance to win a Kindle, and more. I just put the sign-up form on the Secret Speakers website today. Hop on over! The winner will be announce on June 1st. I'll print up the names, cut each one into a fold-able piece of paper, and shake 'em all up in a jar. Just to be 100% on the up and up, I'll video tape it and pull out the winning name for all to see. Read more about the other prizes . . .

Natasha Maw's Bloggiesta Challenge from last month culminated in a very fun round up with bloggers and local authors at The Golden Corral. It was wonderful to meet Natasha in person, finally. She's adorable! We both recognized each other immediately, which was fun.  She introduced me to her husband, Taylor, and I realized he is not an Olympic athlete, but an Apolo Ohno clone. 

Shannon Hale, James Dashner and his wife, and another author--young enough to be my daughter--all took pity on me and included me at their table. Ha! Emily Wing Smith was one table over with Bree DeSpain, and other wonderful authors and bloggers.

Taylor Maw joined us and we became fast friends with the common language of writing fantasy and illustration. I was in heaven getting to talk with someone who "gets" what's usually just inside my head.

My cyber friend Jenni came over and introduced herself and we started off laughing and said goodbye laughing. Hi Jenni! Here's that picture I promised you:

To end the evening we did a book swap. I'd made a last-minute dive for one of the signed and numbered ARC's of Secret Speakers in my car, and put that in the pile. When they called out my number to give me one of the swaps, it turned out to be my own book, so we all had a good chuckle and someone else got it. She came over, and I feel badly that I didn't get her name, but she came up to me later for a picture. I have no idea why it's upside down!

 

To Richard Peck I give high five--best done while he's still alive--for his one-word-to-authors' clarion call: "responsibility" to the story and its readers, all.

I missed hearing Dr. Peck speak at The King's English last night, because I felt sick, so to console myself I've been watching Youtube videos. This video came from an SCBWI Master Class that he taught. Wonderful stuff.

The Tapping Tool

Have you heard of tapping, or EFT? We're studying what it means to be well-rounded as a person in these areas of your life: social, spiritual, physical, intellectual and emotional. If you're like most people, your negative emotions can really take the joy out of the other areas of your life we just mentioned. If you're angry, don't like something about your body, or feel depressed, feelings like those (and others) can interfere with school, the way you interact and react to people, getting a job, and more. You're not alone in this.

One of the most effective tools I've found for dealing with negative emotions is something called tapping (also known as Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT.) This video walks you through the basics so you can find out for yourself if this tool works for you. Tap away!

Emotions are so important in our lives, that studies are showing that emotional intelligence, and how you respond in situations, is more important to employers than how smart you are. If someone interviewing for a job shows that they are proud, bossy, a know-it-all, or negative, why would an employer want to hire that person?

Google Friend Connect

I just added Google Friend Connect to my blog an hour ago. It's easy to do: just go to Google.com/friendconnect . I've been back here at least a dozen times to see if anyone's started to follow me. Somehow I feel like I did back at East Millcreek Elementary when I would wait to get picked for a game of Four Square. I am moving away from my computer right now so I can be productive and just let it flow. (And if you're wondering, almost all of the images I put on this blog were purchased from shutterstock.)

The Secret Speakers Giveaway

I'm holding a Secret Speakers Giveaway, where anyone who enters has a chance to win a Kindle, and more. I just put the sign-up form on the Secret Speakers website today. Hop on over! The winner will be announce on June 1st. I'll print up the names, cut each one into a fold-able piece of paper, and shake 'em all up in a jar. Just to be 100% on the up and up, I'll video tape it and pull out the winning name for all to see. Read more about the other prizes . . .

Book Bloggers Dinner

Natasha Maw's Bloggiesta Challenge from last month culminated in a very fun round up with bloggers and local authors at The Golden Corral. It was wonderful to meet Natasha in person, finally. She's adorable! We both recognized each other immediately, which was fun.  She introduced me to her husband, Taylor, and I realized he is not an Olympic athlete, but an Apolo Ohno clone. 

Shannon Hale, James Dashner and his wife, and another author--young enough to be my daughter--all took pity on me and included me at their table. Ha! Emily Wing Smith was one table over with Bree DeSpain, and other wonderful authors and bloggers.

Taylor Maw joined us and we became fast friends with the common language of writing fantasy and illustration. I was in heaven getting to talk with someone who "gets" what's usually just inside my head.

My cyber friend Jenni came over and introduced herself and we started off laughing and said goodbye laughing. Hi Jenni! Here's that picture I promised you:

To end the evening we did a book swap. I'd made a last-minute dive for one of the signed and numbered ARC's of Secret Speakers in my car, and put that in the pile. When they called out my number to give me one of the swaps, it turned out to be my own book, so we all had a good chuckle and someone else got it. She came over, and I feel badly that I didn't get her name, but she came up to me later for a picture. I have no idea why it's upside down!

 

Ode to Richard Peck

To Richard Peck I give high five--best done while he's still alive--for his one-word-to-authors' clarion call: "responsibility" to the story and its readers, all.

I missed hearing Dr. Peck speak at The King's English last night, because I felt sick, so to console myself I've been watching Youtube videos. This video came from an SCBWI Master Class that he taught. Wonderful stuff.