Interview with author (and CCBR reviewer) Lori Z. Scott!

Merry Christmas to all our wonderful CCBR readers! This month, I'm pleased to feature author and CCBR reviewer Lori Z. Scott - author of the Meghan Rose series. Award-winning author Lori Scott has a husband (Jim) and two children (Michael and Meghan Rose). Lori teaches second grade at Richmond Elementary, but she used to teach first grade, just like her books' Mrs. Arnold! Unlike Mrs. Arnold, however, Lori buys cereal for the prizes and reads the comic section of the newspaper first. To entertain kids, sometimes Lori writes her name forward and backward at the same time or recites "Jabberwocky," a silly poem by Lewis Carroll.

CCBR: Lori, we're so excited to celebrate the publication of the new books in your series! How did it feel when you found out the Meghan Rose series would actually be published?

Lori Z. Scott: I wasn’t home when the editor, Robin Stanley from Standard, called with the good news. She left a message on my answering machine. When I listened to it, I felt - BLAM! SHOCKED! - like I had walked into a huge surprise birthday party just for me. Plus I think I screamed like a girl. (But then, I AM a girl, so I guess that’s not too unusual.)

CCBR: Tell us a little bit about Meghan. How old is she? What makes her unique? What inspired her character?

Lori: Seven-year-old Meghan is one of the bounciest girls in first grade. She is creative, quirky, outspoken, full of energy…and loves God. Like most young children, she asks perplexing questions, like "Why isn’t gravy purple?" Plus she shares wise thoughts, like the fact that monkey bread doesn’t actually have any monkeys in it.

As a former first grade teacher (and current second grade teacher), I already had a wealth of experience to draw on when I created the character. Even so, one child inspired me most … my own then-first-grade daughter, Meghan! Initially, the fictional character was a mixture of about 80 percent of the “real Meghan” antics, 10 percent of my own eccentric musings, and 10 percent total fiction. Now that my girl is a teenager, the percentages run more like 40, 50, and 10.

Even though Meghan is the main character, one of her best buddies is a boy. I have had parents email me specifically to tell me that their SONS love the books.

CCBR: Are there lessons you try to teach through the Meghan Rose series? What are some examples?

Lori: I want my stories to do more than entertain. I also want to them to hold a strong take-away value. Plus I want readers to laugh. As the good Dr. Seuss once said in reference to all kinds of silliness, “These things are fun, and fun is good.” I agree. So each book has a message that is subtle but still clearly evident. None are preachy. (I hate preachy, but love amusing.) The books run heavy on the humor and very, VERY light on the lesson…yet neither quality is lost on the child.

As for examples, Meghan Rose On Stage talks about discovering talents, but it’s ultimately about friendship. Meghan Rose Has Ants in Her Pants explores the idea of patience - a difficult area for most kids to deal with. Meghan Rose All Dressed Up tackles inner beauty while Meghan Rose Has a Secret addresses the power of words. The two newest releases, Meghan Rose Takes the Cake and Meghan Rose Knows it All, target generosity and humility.

CCBR: What advice would you give parents to help them initiate conversations about those lessons with their children?

Lori: That’s a good question. I remember reading Where the Red Fern Grows with my daughter and wanting to talk about death since that topic came up the end of the book. But since I wasn’t prepared for the discussion, I didn’t fully take advantage of that teachable moment. (Instead we both just bawled our way through the last few chapters.)

With that in mind, at the end of each book I included discussion questions for parents or teachers to help them initiate those conversations. For some parents, this is their favorite part of the book.

In addition to what I’ve provided, I advise parents form a connection with their child by sharing stories from their own lives, and then see where it goes from there.

CCBR: When did you first discover your desire to write books? How did you get started? What was your favorite book as a child?

Lori: I always enjoyed writing. I wrote for my high school newspaper and yearbook, wrote sappy teenage poetry, and sketched the Adventures of Super Cat in my science notebook. But teaching was my main calling, and that’s what I did for nine years after graduating from college. Interestingly enough, when I took one of those interest and ability tests in high school that determine your best career options, my results came back with teacher ranked on top… and writing second. Then I had kids, and quit teaching for a new job that wasn’t listed on the career survey: being a mom.

It was during that teaching hiatus that I rediscovered my love of writing. It started with contests. I saw a flyer for an amateur science fiction/ fantasy writing contest. Almost on a whim, I entered…and got second place. Encouraged by my success, I tried MOPS International story writing contest…and WON! After that, I tried and won several other small writing contests. Then I joined a writer’s group, learned more about the publishing industry, and started publishing magazine articles, devotions, poems, puzzles, and short stories. Eventually my path led me to the Write-To-Publish conference where I landed a contract for the Meghan Rose series.

Now I juggle all three passions - teaching, writing, and being a mom. And, well, I have a few gray hairs but I’m still alive!

As for favorite books… well, it’s hard to pick just one. There are many authors I admire. Even today, I adore picture books and well-written YA novels. That said, I remember the first book that held me spellbound was Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Many of the Dr. Seuss books also fascinated me. And in fifth grade, I simply fell in love with J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

CCBR: How long does it take you to write a book? What is your writing process like?

Lori: I’ve discovered that the writing process varies greatly from one author to another. In my case, the training ground for writing children’s chapter books came in the form of writing short stories for magazines. Usually magazines provide a theme or topic. Authors take those few words and ideas and build a story from there. When I transitioned from magazines to chapter books, I kept a similar writing approach. I treated each chapter like it was a short story for a magazine.

Often, however, even though I start down a carefully planned story path, I stray. Simply put, the characters come to life and carry me off course, thereby transforming my original plot. Luckily, I’m not above taking a story in a whole new and unanticipated direction. Sometimes the ending even surprises me!

CCBR: What is the purpose behind your books/writing? Why did you decide to write children's books?

Lori: It’s a long story. I’ll try to be brief.

When my daughter was in first grade, her teacher started reading the Junie B. Jones books in class. Since Meghan liked them, I picked up a few copies.

Well, I enjoyed the humor in those books, but when Meghan started acting and talking like Junie B., I started editing out those grammar slips, name calling, and bad attitudes found in the books, I thought there had to be an alternative choice - a book that was just as funny, but also had a character I wouldn’t mind my child emulating. I scoured the Christian bookstores. At that time, I couldn’t find any fiction appropriate for her age group, only devotional books and Bible stories.

Still, I kept going back and asking about chapter books for K, 1, and 2 grade children. Again and again I walked away empty handed. Finally, my daughter got fed up with my hunting. She said, “Mom, you’re a writer. If you can’t find the book you want, write it yourself!” So I did. I wrote the first book just for her and put in everything she wanted - an interesting story filled with giggles and characters worth rooting for - and everything I wanted - good moral values (but with nothing preachy about the story).

In retrospect, I see how God prepared me for writing this particular series. Through teaching, I had worked extensively with kids in the K-2 age group. I understood the challenges they faced, the jokes they enjoyed, the way they talked and acted, and how they played. That knowledge, paired with my writing experiences, not only equipped me for writing chapter books, but also gave that writing authenticity.

CCBR: How does your faith influence what/how you write?

Lori: Faith influences everything. Writers pour all they are, all they believe, and all they hope to be into their stories. The same is true for teachers. And parents. And everyday people. It doesn’t matter what you do… faith and life go hand in hand. How you chose to share that faith can come in the form of written words, or a beautiful dance, or in a shared meal, or simply a smile.

CCBR: Are there more books in store from you? Can you give us an insider's preview of what might be coming down the road?

Lori: There are two more books due to be released in March 2011. They are called Meghan Rose Is Out of This World (about honesty) and Meghan Rose is Tickled Pinkish Orange (about joy). This past summer, I wrote a first draft for a Christmas story and hope to draft either an Easter or Valentine story this upcoming year. If Meghan continues to connect with readers, I think those stories might be next in line.

CCBR: Where can our readers go to find out more about you and your books?

Lori: I have a website that highlights the first four books. I hope to update it soon to include the newer titles. You can find it at www.MeghanRoseSeries.com. You can also find the books many places online, like Amazon, CBD, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, and Mardel. Many bookstores carry them. If your local one doesn’t, they can easily order if for you. Just make sure they spell “Meghan” correctly!

CCBR: Thank you so much, Lori, for joining us in this month's Insider Column and for sharing about your writing, your books, and your faith.

Healthy Living for Kids

I'm a first-time mom - yes, a paranoid, worrying first-time mom. You veteran moms can remember those days, no doubt. I am constantly concerned about getting enough vegetables, dairy, and protein in my child's diet, and making sure she's as active as she can be. I'm in the "green" generation, too. I am worried about exposing my child to VOC-laiden paint, and other harmful environmental toxins and chemicals. I'm concerned about vaccinations, SIDS, autism, childhood obesity, swine flu, and countless other diseases, illnesses, and dangers. That's it - we're never leaving the house again!

That might be going a bit overboard, but my biggest concerns for my child are that she learns to love her Creator early in life, is healthy, vibrant, and able to enjoy just being a kid. I am constantly trying to figure out good ways to enrich her body, mind, and soul. So for this month's column, I went in search of good, biblically-based, engaging healthy-living books for children - books that encourage kids to live healthy lives. I contacted most of the major Christian publishers (and some not-so-major ones) to see what they had either already published or were planning to publish that falls into that category. And...I came up dry! I was extremely surprised. I thought that in an era where Cookie Monster only eats cookies as a "sometimes food," there would surely be engaging books for kids on eating healthy and being active, from a biblical perspective. Nope!

When you look on Amazon, under the Christian books for children, there is no category for health. You will find the same thing at CBD. There are plenty of books that talk about a child's relationship with God (which is wonderful - don't get me wrong), but no books about what that means for our bodies, imaginations, etc. As a publishing industry insider, I have to say that I was definitely disappointed.

However, after a lot of digging, I did happen to find one book (for kids) that talks about taking care of yourself. While it is published by a Christian publishing house in the U.K. and distributed here in the U.S. by another Christian publisher, the book itself is not necessarily written from a Christian perspective. So, if you don't mind that it's not necessarily Christian in its presentation, it is a solid little book for children about being healthy.

Growing Strong: A Book About Taking Care of Yourself (978-0-7459-6158-3, Lion Books, paperback) talks about everything from staying clean and getting a good night's sleep, to exercising and eating well. According to the description on Amazon, "the basic aspects of leading a healthy life are all addressed in this informative look-and-learn picture book. Each image is accompanied by a brief caption that describes how simple tasks can help bodies and minds develop to their fullest potential." The book is a companion to another handy little book for kids about caring for the planet: Growing Green: A Young Person's Guide to Taking Care of the Planet (978-0-8254-7825-3, Lion Books, paperback).

Even though Growing Strong is not necessarily "religious," I think it's the sort of book that can help springboard conversations with children about why we are suppose to take care of ourselves, and why it's important to treat our bodies as a temple. But I think that could be said of most mainstream, secular books on the topic, as well. So, while we wait for more biblically-based healthy-living books for children (hello, publishers!), we can still couple the available non-religious resources with Scripture and solid parental wisdom.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control . . ."—1 Corinthians 9:24-27a (ESV)

". . . offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."—Romans 12:1b (NIV)

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."—1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)

"For this is the will of God, your sanctification: . . . that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor . . ."—1 Thessalonians 4:3a, 4a (ESV)

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."—Romans 12:1 (ESV)

Interview with Author Sally Lloyd-Jones

For this month's Insider Column, I am so excited to interview renowned children's author Sally Lloyed-Jones about her life, writing, books, and faith.

Sally is a British-born children’s book writer who moved to the States in 1989—"just for a year or two"—but she’s still here. She worked in children's book publishing for many years, and left to write full-time. She also lives in Manhattan and loves to run—sometimes in marathons. Sally is a well-known and widely published author of 20+ children's books. Among her best-known books are The Jesus Storybook Bible, Lift the Flap Bible, The Ultimate Guide to Grandmas & Grandpas!, Time to Say Goodnight, Being a Pig Is Nice: A Child's-Eye View of Manners, How to be a Baby by Me, the Big Sister, and Baby's Hug-a-Bible.

CCBR: We are extremely excited to talk with you this month, Sally. Thank you for joining us! Tell us a little bit about yourself. You are a Brit who was born in Kampala, Uganda, and raised in East and West Africa. How did that shape your early reading, and eventually your professional writing?

Sally: I felt life first as an adventure. And I think my best writing still comes from that place of adventure - of freedom and abandon and play. And reading was just another part of that adventure. The first book I ever read all the way through was Edward Lear's The Complete Verse. Nothing has been the same since.

CCBR: When did you first discover your desire to write books? How did you get started?

Sally: I always loved writing. It just took me a while to find my niche. I tried writing one-act plays, and wrote dreadful moaning poems as a teenager. Then I ended up working as an editorial assistant in the history school textbooks division at Oxford University Press. Down the corridor from me was the children’s book department - and I heard wafts of guffawing laughter all the time. I knew then and there - that’s where I belong.

CCBR: How long does it take you to write a book? What is your writing process like?

Sally: Each book is different. With picture books, they’re like seeds. You can’t force them. They take root and have their own time to grow. Your job is to show up and water them, prepare the soil, etc. Usually with picture books - which I think of as poems - I’ll work on a text, then leave it to “cool off” (as Madeleine L’Engle used to say), then come back to (sometimes a year later), work on it some more, then leave it for a few more months. So sometimes a very simple-seeming text has been growing for several years...So a lot of it is about patience and trust. Then with other books - like The Jesus Storybook Bible - I had a deadline and wrote that in a year.

But in the end, I don’t think you can really say how long a book takes to write - because it takes a year PLUS your whole life that brought you to that point where you wrote it.

CCBR: What is the purpose behind your books? Why did you decide to write children's books?

Sally: My purpose is simply to try and write the best book I can write - to tell the story the best way that I can. If you come at a story with an agenda I think you won’t do a good job. You might write a good essay or a good book of apologetics maybe, but it won’t be a good story. You will be shoehorning the story in to fit your agenda. It’s more mysterious than that, storytelling. Your job as the writer, it seems to me, is to get out of the way and let the story through. The story will take care of the rest.

CCBR: You have also written a number of books for general children's audiences. How did you come to write books for a Christian children's audience? How would you define your faith?

Sally: I actually don’t separate out audiences into Christian or non-Christian. I always just write for children. And with The Jesus Storybook Bible my goal was to retell this incredible story in the best way I could, in a way that children could understand - no matter their background or faith. And in a way that didn’t dumb it down - that preserved the mystery and the wonder.

CCBR: How does your faith influence what you write?

Sally: Faith is at the center of my life - faith, redemption, wonder, joy - so it infuses everything. And if redemption and joy is at the center of your life, then that will necessarily come out in whatever you write. Without even thinking about it or trying. You won’t be able to help it.

CCBR: One of your most popular Christian children's books is The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name. How did you come to write it?

Sally: I wrote it so children could know that God loves them with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.

CCBR: Are there more books in store from you? Can you give us an insider's preview of what might be coming down the road?

Sally: I have quite a few coming over the next year or so - mostly picture books. Some in verse, some young, some funny, some silly, some serious. But they are all my favorites!

CCBR: Thank you so much for spending time with us, Sally. We love learning more about you!

LEARN MORE ABOUT SALLY & HER BOOKS:

• Sally's web site
• SLJ on Twitter
• www.sallylloyd-jones.blogspot.com and http://sallylloyd-jones.posterous.com
• Jesus Storybook Bible Facebook fan page
• Sally Lloyd-Jones Facebook fan page
• CCBR Reviews of Sally's Books

Books YOU Want on Your Local Bookstore’s Shelves

Greetings, CCBR readers! This is my first column, and I’m delighted to be a part of your community. I hope to provide an insider’s look at the Christian children books industry through my column, provide answers to some of your questions, and have some fun in the process.

In our recent survey, one reader wondered who decides - and how they decide - what is sold in Christian bookstores. Many parents feel that they cannot find the products they want or need for their children on the shelves of their local Christian bookstores, because more popular products may dominate them. How can we, as parents, see the products we want on the shelves of our local bookstores?

To give you an insider’s perspective, let's take a brief look at the Christian publishing industry. Authors and publishers are out to sell their books. To sell their books, most publishers employ a sales team that visits most local Christian bookstores across the country, to introduce their books to bookstore managers and buyers who will hopefully order and sell their books on the bookstore’s shelves. Publishers keep a close eye on sales trends across the country, contemporary events and social trends, and try to publish books that answer the needs of readers, thus providing relevant resources at your local bookstore. Because of this, bookstores partly rely on publishers to inform them of the hottest trends and best-selling products. So, this is one factor that your local Christian bookstore takes into consideration when stocking their shelves.

Pat Walter of the Connections Bookstore in Colorado Springs, CO, said, “As the buyer of our store, I will tell you that I am shaped almost exclusively by two factors. Factor one is the publishers that present their resources to me. Those tend to be the companies that get stuff on my shelves, as they are actively seeking my shelf space and are willing to take the time with me to show me new stuff, what's hot, and what might be really cool for our store.”

But, that’s not all that Paul considers. He added, “Factor two is the customer telling me what they want through purchases and special order requests. I buy based on what I see selling in the store and what is being asked for. There are certainly other factors . . . but mostly I sell what I think my customers are asking for.”

The other major factor bookstores consider is the buying trends of their customers—you. If they see their customers ordering a lot of a particular type of product, they will most likely stock more of those types of products. That gives Christian parents a lot of power over what they see on the shelves. Make your voice heard, through what you purchase. “I do all our purchasing and honestly it is as simple as knowing our customers and looking for what they would want. I study the buying patterns,” says Katy Hardwick Mashburn, Bookstore and Cafe Manager at For His Glory Bookstore and CC Café in Nashville, TN.

If your local Christian bookstore does not stock what you are looking for . . . ask! They can order any resource you want, although you won't be able to walk out the door with it that day. Once enough people ask for the same type of books or products, they will most likely start carrying them in their store on a regular basis. Remember, your local bookstore is most likely struggling in the economic downturn, just like everyone else. If you want to see them stick around, order books from them. They can most likely either have your books delivered to the store for you to pick up (usually free), or they can have them shipped directly to your door (at normal shipping rates). Your local Christian bookstores are a great resource, and they will work hard to provide the resources you want and need.

And as always, online retailers like Amazon.com and ChristianBook.com are also reliable options for finding what you want for your children. And if you buy through Christian Children's Book Review's links, we are always appreciative for the financial support you are providing.