Archive for The Courage Test

FAN MAIL WEDNESDAY #346: Noelle Inspires a Longer Than Usual Response

February 24, 2026 / / No comments

 

To get a letter, any letter, is a wonderful thing. 

Here’s one from Durham, NC . . .

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I replied . . .

Dear Noelle,

It is a kind and generous thing, to sit down and write a letter. Especially in these times, when letter-writing feels like a thing of the past.

In our whirlwind of days, it is the gift of time and thought and presence and, yes, words. And for that letter to be sent to an author, after reading a book, it’s all the more meaningful.

So thank you, Noelle, very much. It means a lot.

When I think about it, I’m amazed by how books connect us through space and time. We can read a book written 150 years ago and somehow co-exist with that writer —- who lived a life very different from our own. A different time and place. And yet by reading we are linked.

Books are remarkable, don’t you think?

You have an Etsy shop! Holy wow. At 12 years old! And you crochet?

From that I gather that you are not the standard edition, everyday, run-of-the-mill preteen. You might even be, I suspect, quite extraordinary.

You asked a few questions: I can’t exactly remember how long it took to write The Courage Test. Less than a year. I know that it required quite a bit of research. I had much to learn about Lewis and Clark’s journey. I sent away for river maps, read up on hotels, had to figure out where Will and his father might actually go for breakfast, on and on and on. But at a certain point, a writer has to push the research aside and start writing, despite never knowing enough.

On that note, you might enjoy this post.

Or this one.

The one true thing I’ve figured out is that the only way to learn how to write a novel . . . is to write a novel. If you wait until you know enough, until you’ve got it all nailed down, you’ll never get started. The learning is in the doing.

Your questions touch on support and guidance and inspiration. Those are important things. It’s so valuable in life to have someone who believes in you, who roots for you, who thinks you can do it — even when, or especially when, you yourself have doubts. Don’t we all? It may be a teacher, a parent, a friend, or someone you meet in a book. Whoever it might be, hold onto that person for dear life.

For myself, I can think of different teachers I’ve met over the years. Co-workers, friends. As for my parents, I can’t say that they ever encouraged me to write, or were particularly interested in the arts. They never dragged me to museums or asked me to watch foreign films. They weren’t big readers. But I grew up the youngest of seven children. I saw so many living pathways, directions I could take. And the gift that my parents gave me was the sense that it was all available to me. I was swimming in the world of the possible. I could do what I liked, dream my own dreams, and no matter what they would love me and support me. They wanted me to find my own way.

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What more could I ask for?

Thanks for reading my book and inspiring me to sit down with my thoughts, and a blank screen, and put down some words. Sorry I prattled on so long!

My best,

James Preller

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SOME REVIEWS . . .

“Preller stirs doses of American history into a first-rate road trip.” — Booklist, starred review.

“There is plenty of action . . . A middle grade winner to hand to fans of history, adventure, and family drama.” — School Library Journal.

“Whatever young explorers look for on their literary road trips, they’ll find it here.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.

 

THE COURAGE TEST WAS LISTED AS ONE OF “THE BEST CHILDREN’S BOOKS OF THE YEAR,” 2017 EDITION, BY BANK STREET COLLEGE. 

IT WAS ALSO A JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION.

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Category: Fan Mail, The Courage Test / Tags: , , ,

Guerrilla Art: Bust of York Mysteriously Appears in Portland, OR, Park

February 23, 2021 / / 2 comments

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I’m loving the story of a statue that mysteriously appeared in a Portland, Oregon, pubic park — reportedly without the knowledge of city leaders. The statue is of York, an enslaved man who participated in the Lewis & Clark Expedition. The only Black man to make the two-and-a-half-year journey. 

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From the 2/22 New York Times, written by Alan Yuhas:

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Over two years, York trekked some 8,000 miles from St. Louis to the Pacific Northwest and back, hunting, tracking, foraging and, at least once, voting as a Black man held in bondage by another, more famous member of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Last weekend, almost 215 years after the group made it back to Missouri, a large bust of York was raised in a Portland, Ore., park without fanfare or explanation, on the spot where a statue of a prominent conservative had been toppled last year. City leaders, acknowledging that they had no idea who put the monument to York there, said it looked great.

“This is what we’re calling guerrilla public art, but it was a pleasant surprise,” said Adena Long, the director of Portland’s parks bureau. York, she said in an interview, is “a figure that in my mind that we need to do a better job of proactively and thoughtfully celebrating.”

Ms. Long said that she was not aware of any message about the bust from those responsible, but that it would be allowed to stand so long as it does not pose any safety risks, in line with a bureau policy regarding tributes. “We’re hopeful the artists will make themselves known so we can have a conversation, but it will stay,” she said.

Park officials, who received word of the bust on Saturday morning, believe it was installed the night before. The bust, apparently made of hardened plastic, portrays York as bald and looking down with a somber expression, above a plaque describing him as “the first African-American to cross North America and reach the Pacific Coast.”

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I made sure to include York’s role in my novel, The Courage Test (2016 Library Guild Selection), which mirrors the historical exploration of Lewis & Clark with a fictional boy’s experiences following the same trail with his estranged father. 

Late in The Courage Test: Will and his father, a historian, are hiking along the Bitterroot Range. Will passes one evening by looking through one of his father’s books (pp. 142-144). They have this conversation:

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Painting by Charles M. Russell, depicting York’s first encounter with disbelieving Hidatsa tribe member at Fort Mandan, 3/9/1805.

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I come across a reproduction of a painting. I call to my father, “Hey, Dad, who’s the Black guy?”

He glances over; I hold the book up to show him the picture.

“That’s York, Clark’s slave. He came along on the trip.”

I take this in for a moment. I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed it before. They actually brought a slave across the country. And somehow that’s not totally creepy?

“They dragged him along, like you dragged me,” I say.

“Hardly,” my father scoffs. “You’re just another spoiled kid who watches too much television. York was a real slave. William Clark owned him. They grew up together.”

Chill, Dad, I was joking. I know I’m not actually a slave.

“Wherever the expedition traveled, the Native people were amazed by York, who by all reports was very large and muscular,” my father the professor can’t help but explain. “They’d never seen a Black man before. On at least one occasion, the Native people rubbed dirt on his skin to try to make it come off.”

“So did Clark let him go free after the trip?” I ask.

“No, things got even worse,” my father says. “After they returned, York argued for his freedom. He said, in essence, ‘Look, I traveled as an equal with all of you for two and a half years. We hunted, hauled, and faced many dangers together. Every man was paid money and given land. All except for me. I got nothing. So in payment, I ask you, please set me free.'”

I waited. “And?”

“He got bupkis.”

“Bupkis?” I asked.

“It’s a Yiddish word. It means ‘nothing.’ Clark wouldn’t do it. He refused to grant York his freedom. In fact, in later years Clark became quite unhappy with York, who he considered impudent.

Impudent? Dad! Speak English!

“It means, ‘not showing due respect,'” my father explains. He sighs, runs a hand across his jaw. “Times were different back then.”

“I guess so,” I say, thinking about how much changes, and how much seems to stay the same.

 

I wrote in an “Author’s Note” at the end of the book:

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Painting by Michael Haynes, depicting a hunt as recorded in Meriwether Lewis’s journals.

York, a slave — a man owned as the property of William Clark — eventually did earn his freedom, though it took at least ten years after the expedition’s triumphant return before Clark freed him. The historic record is incomplete and conflicting, as if York was a man little worth noting. One legend has York returning to upper Missouri as a free man, going off to live with a tribe of Crow. However, most historians believe that York contacted cholera and died somewhere in Tennessee after working in the trade industry. The exact date and location of his death remains unknown. In many ways, York’s stunted life serves to illuminate the tragic, cruel legacy of slavery in America. 

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REVIEWS FOR THE COURAGE TEST . . .

 

“A middle grade winner to hand to fans of history, adventure, and family drama..” — School Library Journal.

“Preller traverses both domestic drama and adventure story with equally sure footing, delivering the thrills of a whitewater rafting accident and a mama bear encounter, and shifting effortlessly to the revelation of Mom’s illness and the now urgent rapprochement between Dad and Will. Whatever young explorers look for on their literary road trips, they’ll find it here. — Elizabeth Bush, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.

“Preller stirs doses of American history into a first-rate road trip that does traditional double-duty as plot device and coming-of-age metaphor. Will is initially baffled and furious at being abruptly forced to accompany his divorced father, a history professor, on a long journey retracing much of the trail of Lewis and Clark. The trip soon becomes an adventure, though, because as the wonders of the great outdoors work their old magic on Will’s disposition, his father and a Nez Perce friend (who turns out to be a Brooklyn banker) fill him in on the Corps of Discovery’s encounters with nature and native peoples. Also, along with helping a young runaway find a new home, Will survives a meeting with a bear and a spill into dangerous rapids — tests of courage that will help him weather the bad news that awaits him at home.”—Booklist, Starred Review

 

2016 JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION!

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Category: Current Events, The Courage Test / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Last Skype of the School Year

June 11, 2019 / / No comments

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Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain! My last Skype visit of the school year, this one with a nice group in Miami. I am always horrified when I am sent a photo from their point of view — my giant grizzled floating grayhead — but the kids seem to enjoy it. Who knows!

Seriously, I don’t do a lot of Skypes, for various reasons. But I do enjoy them and am open to more in the future. My strong preference is to do “whole book” Skypes, where a group has all read one of my books. Then I’ll do a 25-minute Q & A about that book and writing in general. In the above photo, the students had all read The Courage Test. 

I’m especially eager to do some that are centered around my upcoming middle grade title, Blood Mountain (Macmillan, October). Keep it, and me, in mind. Just write to me at jamespreller @ aol dot com. Thanks!

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Category: Skype, The Courage Test / Tags:

Fan Mail Wednesday #276: “The suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.”

September 17, 2018 / / No comments

 

I’ll transcribe this letter from Annabel in Massachusetts. The original was lightly written in pencil and my scanner wasn’t up to the task:

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Dear James Preller,

My name is Annabel. I read The Courage Test. William is awesome.

One of the things I like is the adventure. The bear and the water rapids parts have a lot of adventure. In the book it said, “If she is making this display to terrify me, it’s working.” It shows William is scared and has encountered something dangerous. There will be a lot of action in that part of the story that’s interesting to read.

How long have you been an author and what’s your favorite type of book?

Sincerely,

Annabel

 

I replied:

 

Dear Annabel,

I’m so happy to receive a letter from a reader of The Courage Test. With a new book, I’m never sure if anyone will find it. So: yes, thank you and hooray.

I like the exciting parts, too. It’s those moments when you can almost feel, as a writer, the reader leaning in. One of these days I should try to write a book composed entirely of exciting parts, like those movies that are two-hour car chases. Actually, the thought of that exhausts me.

Ideally, I think we want our stories to have shape and pace, quiet moments, important conversations, laughter, insightful description –- and, sure, somebody almost drowning in the rapids. I think when my writing is at its best, all those elements are woven together.

Yesterday I wrote a dramatic scene for an upcoming book, Blood Mountain, that centers on a brother and sister who are lost in the wilderness for six suspenseful days. A lot happens in this book, so if you like exciting parts, you’ll have to check it out. In the scene I wrote yesterday, the boy, Carter, is alone, exhausted, near hypothermia, desperately hiking through a bog. Oscar Wilde has a great quote: “The suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.”

And also, it’s helpful to try to come up with characters that readers care about –- and then do awful things to them. That’s an idea put forth by author Kurt Vonnegut in his famous “8 Rules for Writers.” You might like my newest book, Better Off Undead. It’s about a 7th-grade zombie, Adrian, who meets a girl who can see into the future, along with a beekeeper and a detective, and there’s evil billionaires, and, I promise you, exciting parts.

I published my first book in 1986. The last time the New York Mets made the World Series. And truthfully, I like all kinds of books –- even some of mine!

My best,

James Preller

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Category: Fan Mail, The Courage Test, the writing process / Tags: , , , , , , ,

FAN MAIL WEDNESDAY #275: Free Skype Redux

August 20, 2018 / / One comment

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Can you feel it? Summer’s last gasps. Here on the East Coast, we’re making the big turn and heading into the school year. From the point of view of this blog, that means we’re coming to life again after a quiet summer sojourn.

Nice to see you, welcome back!

A while back, I enjoyed a lovely Skype with a class in Miami. A beautiful, diverse group of students read The Courage Test and I answered questions about the book for about half an hour. No fee.

It’s something I’m trying to be open to in the future — the free Skype — for a variety of reasons. But first this: I’ve managed to survive as a children’s book writer over the past 20 years by actively visiting schools and presenting to young people. It’s been an essential source of revenue for me; the paid visits keep the ship afloat. And I love doing them. I’m immensely grateful for every invitation. So I’ve always been conflicted about “giving it away.” But it can’t be denied: in many situations, Skype is the only way to connect with these teachers and students, for geographic or economic reasons. It’s also rewarding to speak deeply about a book that everyone has read, rather than doing the typical one-sided overview of, ahem, the writer’s life. Also, yes, I believe in my books and I’m trying to get them out there, into the hands of young readers. That’s what it’s all about.

Today I’m sharing the follow-up to one of those Skypes. File this under: some people are raised right.

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Nice, right? The handwritten “thank you” note. A rare sighting!

The package arrived with teal t-shirt and a bevy of beautifully illustrated cards from students, each containing a thoughtful comment about our Skype together. 

Look:

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I don’t need or expect that kind of response, but it’s awfully nice to receive. The satisfaction of coming full circle. Thank you, Denise, thank you, Miami!

For more information about my school visits, please click here. 

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Category: Fan Mail, Skype, The Courage Test / Tags: , , ,
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