Archive for Bystander

Fan Mail Wednesday #105 (Thursday Edition)

January 6, 2011 / / 2 comments

Here’s one . . .

I replied:

Hey, Kyle.

Thanks for your kind letter. I’m glad that . . .

Wait. You have a favorite condiment? And it’s . . . ketchup?

Really?

I’m worried that you might have rushed into this, Kyle. There’s a lot of condiments to consider. Think about it: Salt! How do you beat salt? Let’s review the basics. According to the Posh Gourmet, a condiment “can be salty, spicy, or savory and may be in the form of a relish, sauce, or mixtures of herbs and spices.”

There’s relish, mayonnaise, croutons, horseradish, baco bits, jalapeno, chutney, and so much more. That’s not counting the various sauces out there, from soy to tabasco to au jus. Or even everyday dressings, like thousand island or tahini. Not to mention the madcap craziness of nutella or vegemite.

No, favorite condiment is a huge decision. Not something you want to take lightly.

I’m not criticizing you, Kyle. I’m sure you’re a decent human being. But ketchup? Please ponder more deeply.

Anyway, I may have possibly gone off on a slight tangent. My apologies. Thanks for your ideas for future books. As you probably know, I like to try different kinds of writing, from picture book to young adult, but so far I haven’t done much of anything with monsters or aliens. That may change — in a peculiar way — with the book I’m currently writing. I’d love to tell you about it, but I have a rule about these things: Don’t talk about books until the first draft is finished.

This might sound strange, but I always worry if I’ve got another book left in me. Even when I start strong — and I usually don’t — I’m never 100% confident that I’ll finish it. That those scribbled words in a composition notebook will actually turn out to become a real book. I think the worst thing I can possibly do is to TALK about a book that isn’t finished; it puts the jinx on it. So though my next book doesn’t have monsters or aliens, there will definitely be a reanimated corpse or two. That’s all I can tell you so far.

Thanks for writing to me. My best,

JP

Share Share Tweet Follow Share Print Email
Category: Bystander, Fan Mail, the writing process / Tags: , , ,

New Beginnings

January 3, 2011 / / No comments

I love the idea of a new year, of turning the page and fresh beginnings, old failures pushed away and forgotten, a clean slate, room with space enough for wild new hope to grow.

Happy new year everybody.

I want to post about my 2011 Word of the Year — authentic — but don’t have time to get to it today. But that focus, those thoughts, really do connect to today’s post. I’m writing to share a really tremendous review of Bystander that I found on the blog, Teen Book Discussion . . . All Grown Up. It was almost spooky reading it, in a Twilight Zone kind of way, because it’s as if the reviewer, Brandy, climbed into my head and absolutely understood why I wrote the book the way I did.

It’s just so validating to have someone get out of a book what you, as the author, think you put into it. Click here to read the whole dang review.

The money quote:

This is the most realistic look at middle-school bullying I’ve read. It’s not a flattering portrait, but it is realistic, and I think that’s important. By “realistic,” I mean that the kids mock the “don’t be a bully” assembly; our hero admits that the kid being bullied sort of asks for it, even though that doesn’t make it right; school administration talks a good game but ultimately the bullying persists; in the end, the bully is still a bully, he’s just moved on to different targets. Because of its realism, I think this would make a great book for discussion and I’d love to see it replace the hokey Revealers that’s currently the 7th grade Required Summer Reading book. Unfortunately, because of its realism, I don’t think that will happen — much better to leave kids with the idea that three outcasts can write letters to their classmates about being bullied and not be mercilessly teased for it, or that lots of people sharing their stories of being bullied will make the bullies have this epiphany and suddenly become choir boys. Ahem.

Share Share Tweet Follow Share Print Email
Category: Bullying, Bystander, Uncategorized / Tags: , , , , ,

One Book, One School: Some Photos & Reflections

November 22, 2010 / / No comments

I love this photo, somehow it says everything. This is why you write for children, those faces up there.

A while back I posted about how Bystander was being featured in some special “One Book, One School” reading programs. Lately I’ve been getting more requests in that area, and all I can say is that I love the idea of a shared reading experience that cuts across, and unifies, an entire school. It’s a tremendous honor when the educational leaders of a school select my book for that purpose. Stunning, amazing.

I was recently sent some photos by Joan Scott, the Library Media Specialist at Ephraim Curtis Middle School in Sudbury, MA. Here’s a few more:

For this particular visit, I was able to enjoy lunch with a select group of students. It’s just so much fun to sit down with these kids and really talk together — and for me, to hear them speak, and watch them fiddle with their Oreos, and listen as they share their thoughts and more than a few laughs.

I’m sorry that I can’t recall the name of this particular teacher, but it’s a great opportunity for me whenever I get the chance to sit down with real teachers in the trenches and learn from their perspective.

I’ve said it before. Just as in every other aspect of life, what a school puts into an author visit has a direct correlation to what the students get out of it. At Ephraim, the students were focused, prepared, and engaged — and that’s the key to a successful author visit, and a tribute to everyone at the school.

Here I am with the school principal Stephen Lambert and Joan Scott, who spearheaded the event. On some visits, I never meet the principal, as they are busy people with demanding jobs. Other times, I’ll meet one whose presence, whose attention and personal commitment, sends a powerful message to every student. This topic is important to us, we place value on this moment, and we care about you. Throughout the day, I chatted with this Principal Lambert and I can’t begin to express how impressed I was. Our conversations were wide and thought-provoking. Conclusion: This is a good man attempting to do the absolute best for the students and fellow educators in his school.

Honestly: Is this a remedy for bullying? Do events like this help? No one can say for sure. It can’t be measured. But I do believe that open honest dialogue, back and forth, feels like a crucial step in the right direction. Change can’t happen in a day. And a single book isn’t going to amount to much. But when an entire school comes together like this, the message is loud and clear:

We are a community of learners, we value things like respect and tolerance and compassion, because we understand that learning can’t begin without those qualities firmly in place.

In an interview earlier this year, I was asked: Is there anything that readers of [Bystander] can take from this story in order to better deal with bullies? I replied:

There are no easy answers. Quick story: My oldest son is sixteen. I often worried when he didn’t talk about his feelings. He’d clam up. Then I realized, he doesn’t necessarily have the vocabulary to even know what he’s feeling. To paraphrase Ron Burgandy in “Anchorman,” he was trapped inside a glass booth of emotion. Language is important, it’s a tool to help us perceive things, name things, understand. It’s common for kids to say something like, “Oh, I didn’t know that was bullying; I was just making fun of her shoes.” Like any good book, hopefully Bystander enriches the way readers understand their world.

I’m grateful I was able to spend a day at Ephraim Curtis Middle School, and inspired by their effort to address the issue with open, ongoing, thoughtful communication. Everybody pulling on the same oar. My thanks to everyone who helped make it possible. For those who may be curious, please know that Bystander will be published in paperback in Fall, 2011.

Share Share Tweet Follow Share Print Email
Category: Bullying, Bystander, School Visits / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Stand UP!

October 28, 2010 / / No comments

I’m back from visiting some schools down in Westchester, NY. Great time, loved it. When my kids were younger, I didn’t like leaving the house — and overnight trips just weren’t feasible, so I stayed local. But now I find that I’m not needed. Seriously. When I asked Maggie if she missed me, she grumbled, “Dad, I didn’t see you for two weeks this summer.”

I think that’s her special way of saying she loves me terrifically.

Anyway, I’m glad to be back at my desk. A lot of things to do, all of them good. I’ve got a manuscript to revise — and yes, I finally have a title for “the untitled YA” I’ve been working on all year, it will be called Before You Go — and photos for my FATHERS READ project to organize.

Please, please, please send photos to me of men reading. It’s that simple. We need to put those images out into the world.

A while back I blogged about a school in Fairhaven that featured Bystander for a “one book, one school” event. I recently received a photo from one of the event’s organizers of two 6th-graders, Amelia and Linda, who worked cooperatively on a poster and, ta-da!, won a school-wide contest. Pretty great, don’t you think?

I especially love those words at the bottom: Stand UP!

Share Share Tweet Follow Share Print Email
Category: Before You Go, Bullying, Bystander / Tags: , , , , ,

“One Book, One School”

September 22, 2010 / / One comment

I don’t know where to begin, what to say.

Let’s start with a couple of photos that were recently sent me from Hastings Middle School in Fairhaven, MA.

On Thursday, 9/16, all the students, staff and faculty at Hastings participated in a “One Book, One School” Event. This past summer all students read the same book, Bystander. Of all the books in the world, they selected mine. Amazing. The books were purchased with generous donations from individuals and community organizations. The half-day culminated in book discussions, art projects, role-playing, and more — all tied into my book. The goal of this event was to bring the topic of bullying into the classroom and have the entire school participate in the process. Students were asked to take a pledge: “Take a Stand! Don’t be a Bystander, Be a Hero!”

One of the day’s organizers, Ann Richard, sent along this follow-up note:

Mr. Preller,

We all loved the book and had a great time with the discussion.  We sent this press release out after the event with some great photos. I have included them for you to see.

The students created wonderful posters and really seemed to get a lot out of the day.  We used the discussion questions from your publisher as a starting point and created some vocabulary lists and other activities to round out the day.  Each classroom had one poster that they all signed to pledge to not be bystanders, and the entire faculty and staff signed an entire bulletin board to pledge as well.  We also all received a sticker that said, “Don’t be a bystander, be a hero.”

Other area schools are considered using the books in their curriculum this year because we were so successful with it.

Thanks again for such a great book!

And now I return to the same place where I began this post, a little tongue-tied, not knowing where to begin, or what to say, except . . . thanks. I’m honored and grateful.

And, yes, encouraged.

—–

Tomorrow night I head off to visit a school for another “One Book, One School” event, this one at Ephraim Curtis Middle School in Sudbury, MA. So after dinner I powered up the iPod, sat down with my Sharpie and a glass of water, and signed 650 book plates. I’ve always had a lousy signature, and still maintain that nothing beats a handshake, but I feel blessed each time somebody asks.

Share Share Tweet Follow Share Print Email
Category: Bystander, School Visits / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »
Website Hosted by Web Instinct