Children & YA
The Way He Works
David Macaulay talks with Chapter 16 about a career built on curiosity
by Susannah Felts
May 14, 2013 Twenty-five years ago and long B.G. (before Google), illustrator and writer David Macaulay published his groundbreaking book, The Way Things Work, now a classic of educational children’s literature. In 2008, he published a follow-up of sorts, The Way We Work, which applied his innovative and meticulous show-and-tell approach to the human body. Truly an artist for all ages, Macaulay has received both the Caldecott Medal and a MacArthur genius grant. On May 18 at 2 p.m., he’ll deliver the commencement address to the 2013 graduating class of Watkins College of Art, Design & Film in Nashville. The event, which will be held at the Downtown Presbyterian Church, is free and open to the public.
Published Tuesday, 14 May 2013
The Language of the Heart
Vince Vawter’s semi-autobiographical novel for children is about overcoming obstacles
by Tina LoTufo
May 7, 2013 “I was an eleven-year-old kid standing on a street corner in Memphis in short pants,” observes the narrator of Vince Vawter’s Paperboy. “I felt like I was so small that I would be blown away if the slightest puff of wind came up. But you didn’t have to worry about any kind of a breeze showing up on a late July afternoon in Memphis.” Paperboy is a rare treat: a gentle coming-of-age story that manages to be smart, funny, poignant, and original—the perfect marriage of style and substance—with a narrative voice that rings true. Vince Vawter will discuss Paperboy at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on May 14 at 6 p.m., and at the Knoxville News Sentinel on May 21 at 6 p.m., where Union Ave. Books will be on hand with book sales. Both events are free and open to the public.
Published Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Great Stories Live Here
Chapter 16 hits Chattanooga for the seventeenth biennial Celebration of Southern Literature
by Tina LoTufo
May 6, 2013 “Being Southern is something you just are,” novelist Elizabeth Spencer said at last month’s Celebration of Southern Literature: “I couldn’t turn it off if I tried. And I never tried.” Held April 18-20 in Chattanooga and sponsored by the Southern Lit Alliance (formerly the Arts & Education Council), this year’s gathering—the seventeenth biennial—included participation by more than twenty-five members of the Fellowship, who handed out ten awards for fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and drama, including the Cleanth Brooks Medal for Lifetime Achievement to Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley.
Published Monday, 6 May 2013
Found in Translation
Jennifer Uman discovered the story for her first children’s book through a language she doesn’t speak
by Susannah Felts
April 25, 2013 While many illustrated children’s books are collaborative efforts, few involve an international partnership quite like the one that resulted in Jemmy Button, a beautiful new work by Nashville illustrator Jennifer Uman and Italian illustrator Valerio Vidali. Their creation, based on a fascinating true story from the annals of Victorian-era exploration and colonialism, looks at the ways in which linguistic and cultural boundaries and identities can—and can’t—be breached or dismantled. But it also tells a story of estrangement, homesickness, and a journey across the sea that should engage young children and adult readers alike.
Published Friday, 26 April 2013
Finding Solace
R.A. Dickey makes the rounds to speak with 60 Minutes and the National Post about abuse and redemption
by Bradley Hartsell
April 24, 2013 In the Internet era with its unceasing news cycle, athletes tend to speak in platitudes and PR statements, but memoirist R.A. Dickey, the Toronto Blue Jays’ new knuckleball pitcher, has never resorted to trite or banal responses in interviews. Since the publication of his memoir, Wherever I Wind Up (newly released in both paperback and a young-readers’ edition called Throwing Strikes),
Published Wednesday, 24 April 2013
The Box of Hope
Memphis native Anna Olswanger has written a tiny but powerful book of Holocaust literature for middle-grade readers
by Susannah Felts
March 6, 2013 Anna Olswanger’s new children’s book, Greenhorn, tells the story of Daniel, a young Polish Holocaust survivor who arrives at a Brooklyn yeshiva in 1946. He’s carrying nothing but a mysterious small tin box, the contents of which he refuses to reveal. For his silence, Daniel is the object of both cruelty and compassion from his American peers. A tiny book with an enormous heart, as heartbreaking as it is brief, Greenhorn is a poignant, powerful addition to the canon of Holocaust literature for young people.
Published Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Serious Funnies
Comic artist Gene Luen Yang talks with Chapter 16 about getting graphic in school
by Joe Nolan
February 27, 2013 Next week, groundbreaking graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang will make two public appearances in Knoxville in events co-sponsored by the Knox County Public Library and the Center for Children’s and Young Adult Literature at the University of Tennessee. On March 4 at 7 p.m. at the University of Tennessee Hodges Library Auditorium, Yang will speak about how to use comics to promote literacy and help students to think critically about media. On March 5 at 6 p.m. at the East Tennessee History Center Auditorium, Yang will give a workshop on how to make comic books. Both events are free and open to the public, but the workshop requires pre-registration by calling 865/215-8700 or registering online here
Published Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Decisions and Destiny
A new YA novel by Ruta Sepetys, bestselling author of Between Shades of Gray, tells a story of vice and victory in the Big Easy
by Tina LoTufo
February 6, 2013 “My mother’s a prostitute,” observes seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine. “She’s actually quite pretty, fairly well spoken, and has lovely clothes. But she sleeps with men for money or gifts, and according to the dictionary, that makes her a prostitute.” Thus begins Out of the Easy, the new young-adult novel from bestselling Nashville author Ruta Sepetys. As Josie fights her way to self-knowledge and a better future, one small victory at a time, Out of the Easy will remind readers of classic coming-of-age stories like Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Sepetys will appear at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on February 13 at 6 p.m.
Published Wednesday, 6 February 2013
One For the Records
At age twenty-five, Nashville resident Victoria Schwab has published her second YA novel, The Archived
by Sarah Norris
January 30, 2013 At only twenty-five, Nashville author Victoria Schwab has experienced the kind of success most authors only dream about. Her debut novel, The Near Witch, was published when she was barely twenty-three. Two years later, her second YA novel, The Archived, has just hit shelves. This year will also see the arrival of Vicious, Schwab’s first novel for adults. And she’s already sold the sequel to The Archived. Schwab will celebrate with a book signing and launch party hosted by East Nashville’s Art & Invention Gallery on February 1 at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Published Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Entertainment First
Dan Gutman talks with Chapter 16 about his bestselling strategy for getting kids to read
by Tina LoTufo
January 24, 2013 Coke and Pepsi McDonald never planned on a life filled with danger and adventure, but after the thirteen-year-old twins are invited to join the Genius Files—a group with a mission to solve the world’s problems—they find themselves dodging murderous villains and outsmarting zany attempts on their lives. Unfortunately for them (but luckily for their fans), a cross-country trip with their parents isn’t going to save them. In You Only Die Twice (The Genius Files #3) by bestselling author Dan Gutman, Coke and Pepsi’s journey home begins, and the action and suspense are exceeded only by the number of nutty roadside attractions their parents make them visit. Gutman will discuss You Only Die Twice on January 29 at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Brentwood.
Published Thursday, 24 January 2013
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