Archive for Big Idea Gang

A Quick Stop at My Childhood, Hometown Library in Wantagh

While in the area to visit a couple of local schools — Mandalay and Wantagh Elementary — I stopped off at the town library to give them a few spare titles for the collection. The director actually knew my books but didn’t realize I grew up there. We had a nice conversation.

I took a quick snap of a seating area that I remembered across all these years . . . 

. . . and that I had reimagined for a scene from Bee the Change. Illustration by the wonderful & ridiculously talented Stephen Gilpin. When I present before young readers, we often talk about where ideas come from, and valuing the core experiences of our lives. Our families and pets, our town and community. This is a small example of that, I suppose. 

Here’s the book cover, the third in my “Big Idea Gang” series. Books that are about young people who work together to make their world a better place. In this case, installing a bee-friendly garden at their school.

Stephen –

Fan Mail Wednesday #304 and #305: Two Letters from Alaska

 

Here’s two for the price of none! The third book in my “Big Idea Gang” series, illustrated by Stephen Gilpin, seems to be getting some positive attention. Perhaps the environmental, activist message strikes a chord. Here two students in Anchorage wrote to me about it, so I thought I’d do a combo post here.

Here’s Hailey . . .

 

I replied:

 

Dear Hailey,

Thank you for reading my book, Bee the Change, from my “The Big Idea Gang” series.

You noticed an interesting detail in that story – how Kym, in that situation, was brave; but Lizzy, who was usually bolder and more confident, felt nervous.

It kind of flipped, right?

I think life is like that. No one can be great at everything. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. There are people who are nervous around big dogs, while other people just want to give ‘em a big hug. For the purpose of this story, it gave Kym an opportunity to shine (after Lizzy was mostly the “star” of the first book, Worst Mascot Ever).

Writing these books (there are three so far), I wanted to show how when we are faced with big problems, that it is often best to think small and make a difference in your community. There used to be a popular expression: “Think globally, act locally.” We can all become overwhelmed by the Big Problems in the world –- asking ourselves, “What difference can I possibly make?”

Hopefully in these stories I help shine a light on the small but important ways that children like you can help make the world a better, kinder, safer place in your own communities. You are our best hope for the future.

My favorite character in Bee the Change was absolutely Otis Smick. He makes me smile, and I love the way Stephen Gilpin, the illustrator, drew him.

Thanks for your sweet letter,

James Preller

And here’s Mia . . . 

I replied: 

Dear Mia,

I wonder if you go to the same school as Hailey? I’d bet a dollar that you do. Anchorage, Alaska. Wow. I’ve never been there, but it sure sounds like an adventurous place to live.

Are bears just like always eating people?

“Where’s Penelope?”

“Oh, she got eaten by bear.”

“Darn, I hate when that happens!”

 

Okay, probably not. But still, the Alaskan wilderness strikes me as vast and formidable and a little bit scary. What a cool place to live.

Anyway, thanks for reading Bee the Change. As you might have guessed, I am very interested in our natural environment –- I love the great outdoors, hiking and camping and exploring — and our connection to all the living creatures that share this planet with us. To quote the poet Gary Snyder: “We must try to live without causing unnecessary harm, not just to fellow humans but to all beings.”

Recently I’ve read fascinating nonfiction books about beavers, and coyotes, and buffalo. It’s just something I enjoy and care about. Some time ago I read about “colony collapse disorder” and became worried about honeybees. Later, when doing research for a different book (Better Off Undead), I met a middle school science teacher who kept a hive box in the school garden! My visit with her was similar to when Kym and Lizzy visited Ozzie’s farm. Like Ozzie, Ms. Ford enjoyed sitting quietly in a chair, a book on her lap, and watching the bees come and go. That’s where most ideas come from for me –- from real life, the things I see, the people I meet, and, yes, the books I read.

I am excited to learn that you and your friends are involved in a cleanup project. That’s so awesome. You are making a difference in our world! Imagine if everyone did just a little bit? What a difference we could make!

My best,

James Preller

 

ALSO IN THE SERIES . . .

       

Good News: Green Earth Award Nomination for BEE THE CHANGE

“A fresh new series
nudging emerging readers towards social change
and kindness toward others.”

Booklist.

 

       

I never expected this. Bee the Change, the 3rd book in my “Big Idea Gang” series (all published in 2019), was nominated for an actual award.

Where I live, being nominated is an award. So, yeah, I’m just going to eat a whole bag of marshmallows now. Back in sec.

Whoa, chest pain. Back to the good news!

Illustration by Stephen Gilpin.

But win it? I don’t think so, and that’s okay, it’s nice just to be recognized for contributing something positive, and earth-friendly, for young readers.

There’s literally a zillion books nominated for the “long list,” so I encourage you to JUMP ON THIS LINK for the complete lowdown on about 100 titles (not quite a zillion, admittedly), ranging from picture books to young adult, including fiction and nonfiction.

ABOUT THE GREEN EARTH BOOK AWARD

The Green Earth Book Award is given annually to children’s and young adult literature that best conveys the message of environmental stewardship.  They have bestowed the award for the past 15 years to bring national recognition to important works and their authors with its highly qualified “seal of approval” for environmental literature.  The winners are chosen by a panel of literary, environmental and educational professionals.

“Now, more than ever, these and many other eco-authors are delivering the goods that our younger generation hunger for –- how to make our planet healthy and sustainable,” said The Nature Generation President Amy Marasco. 

The 2020 Green Earth Book Award Short List and winners will be announced on April 22, 2020 – Earth Day. Winners will be awarded in the fall at the Salisbury University Children’s & Young Adult Literature Festival.

ABOUT THE “BIG IDEA GANG”

First: oh yeah, I like that, “eco-authors.” Nobody ever called me that before. It’s catchy.

The series grew directly out of our current political reality. These are simple stories about empowerment, about a diverse group of young people making a small difference in our world. And by featuring persuasive writing as a subtext, the books help provide some of the tools that are necessary for changing minds, for becoming powerful instruments of positive change. Hopefully these little books (grades 2-4) will help inspire a new generation of budding activists. The books intentionally focus on kindness and cooperation, on compassion and friendship, on seeing the world at an extremely local level and working together to make it better.

FROM BOOKLIST . . .

“Preller addresses topics such as kindness, activism, immigration, community involvement, and the dangers of gossip in an approachable way for a young audience. Readers will appreciate the numerous cartoon illustrations, short chapters with snappy titles, and large print with wide page margins . . . A fresh new series nudging emerging readers towards social change and kindness toward others.” — Booklist.

 

 

 

BEES IN BOOKS: “Anna Karenina” & Jen the Beekeeper

 

Illustration by Stephen Gilpin from BEE THE CHANGE, which is the third book in  “The Big Idea Gang” series.

We all have them, those books we feel that we “should” read . . . someday. For me, one such book was Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.

I am pleased to formally announce to my Nation of Readers that I finally got around to it. And I enjoyed the book, too. Tolstoy gives each character a full interior life, and allows them the room to inhabit contradictions and complexity. Good writer, he might make it!

The book’s hero is Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin, an educated landowner in touch with the rhythms of the natural world. I was charmed when at the end of the book, sometime after page 800, we learn about Levin’s “new interest in bees.” It came out of the blue. Levin even takes his guests to visit the apiary. This is a clear sign — from Tolstoy — directly to me — that Levin is truly a good guy. He gets bees.

I admire bees, too. They’ve crept into my books of late. A bee plays a pivotal role in Better Off Undead, and (bizarrely) delivers the key line of the book, “It all connects.” In addition, a small group of students and a wonderful science teacher keep a hive on the grounds of the middle school. Bees are a theme that buzz through the book.

Here’s Jen now, smoking the hive to settle things down.

I borrowed the hive idea from a local science teacher and beekeeper, Jennifer Ford, who teaches at nearby Farnsworth Middle School in Guilderland. Jennifer met with me, answered my questions, and even took me to commune with the hive at the middle school garden. Jen’s beekeeping activities extend beyond the school where she teaches; Jen and her partner Keith have run the Bees of the Woods Apiary in Altamont, NY, since 2008. They currently have about 20 chemical-free hives and produce beeswax candles, honey, and mead (honey wine).

For the third book of “The Big Idea Gang” series, Bee the Change, the narrative centered around honeybees. Lizzy and Kym visit with a beekeeper, learn some things about pesticides and colony collapse disorder, and become inspired to make a difference in their local community. These are characters who ask, “What can we do to help the honeybees?” Essentially the story revolves around the specific things they do to make positive change, concluding with the creation of a bee-friendly garden at their elementary school.

It’s funny how it works with books and reading and life in general. Once our antennae is up, we receive all kinds of signals that we’d have otherwise missed. If I read Anna Karenina even five years ago, I would have missed Levin’s bee infatuation. I’m glad I caught it.

Send a Photo of Your School’s “Buddy Bench” & (Very Probably) Win a FREE BOOK!

 

I’m a big fan of buddy benches. I like the idea of them, I love the conversation that surrounds them, and I even dig the benches themselves. They look warm, inviting, creative. A nice little beacon of hope and acceptance on a school playground. Why not!

I took these photos at my neighborhood school. If you send me a jpeg of the buddy bench at your school, I’ll send along a signed copy of my book Everybody Needs a Buddy, from the “Big Idea Gang” series. 

Yeah, that’s right, I like buddy benches so much I even wrote a book about one, more or less. Email your photo to me at Jamespreller@aol.com, along with the subject heading, BUDDY BENCH. Please include a return address and I’ll get a signed book to you in the mail — while supplies last!

Thank you.

 

FROM BOOKLIST REVIEW . . .

“The narrative features children of various cultural backgrounds and genders hanging out together and cooperating in order to improve their community. Preller addresses topics such as kindness, activism, immigration, community involvement, and the dangers of gossip in an approachable way for a young audience. Readers will appreciate the numerous cartoon illustrations, short chapters with snappy titles, and large print with wide page margins. This title has classroom appeal and is perfect for kids not quite ready for Wonder. The other title in the set, The Worst Mascot Ever, appears to be the series opener, but readers can jump into this volume with no trouble. VERDICT A fresh new series nudging emerging readers towards social change and kindness towards others.–Kate Nafz, Fair Lawn Public Library, NJ