Tag Archive for A Pirates Guide (Series)

This Morning’s Sweet Photo

A friend sent along this note . . .

“He fell asleep reading your book. I couldn’t resist a photo.”

Fan Mail Wednesday #127 (Writing Advice)

Certainly by this point, faithful readers of jamespreller.com have realized that for me, “Wednesday” is a mystical proposition rather than, say, an actual day. Fan Mail Wednesday happens when I get around to it, basically, and these days it’s been tough. I’m traveling like never before. On Tuesday I was in Hudson, NY, and yesterday in Deep River, CT. In both cases, everyone had read my book, Bystander. Teachers, administrators, students, everybody. Incredible. Even the janitor gave me hug (no, not really).

I gave my fancy new Power Point presentation and I think I’m getting the hang of this thing. Talking about Bystander — my writing process, yes, but also about the bullying themes in the book — really challenged me. In the end, I realized that I did not write an anti-bullying prevention program; I wrote a story. And that story, and literature in general, can be a powerful tool for standing in someone else’s shoes. For learning compassion, empathy.

Frankly, at this point, I sense that many of us are becoming a little sick to death of bullying as the pervasive “it” topic. As I darkly joked with an administrator yesterday, predicting the spat on new bully-themed books that are surely to come, “Bullies are  the new wizards.” But I do know that this subject matters. And matters deeply, urgently. Character matters. Building community matters. Caring, tolerance, relationships, peacefulness, civility — all these things are a vital part of school, and life. Bullying is just a subset of those overall goals. There is no learning until community exists.

Anyway, here’s an absolutely terrific letter from K . . .

Hi, it’s the girl that was going to email her piece of writing to you at Mt. Greylock Regional High School (AKA: K_____)

I’ve never actually written an email to an adult before, so I have no idea how or what to type. I wish I could’ve had more time to talk to you at the workshop — Bystander was AMAZING. I spent hours reading it and then had to hide it in my bed with a flashlight when I was supposed to be in bed. Please don’t tell my parents. (:

(Oh, and I have a question. I was dying to ask you but completely forgot to. When you were in the auditorium with us, you said you had some pictures in your books (I’m having a short-term memory loss at the moment, can’t remember which books they were…) that were done by somebody that also drew graphic novels, if I’m correct. Which graphic novels were they? I could’ve sworn I heard you say “Kanon” and “Clannad,” which are my two favorite books/shows ever. )

Your blog is also amazing. The picture of the little kid getting “eaten” by the shark costume made me smile. It made my day.

By the way, when I got home, I showed the paper that you signed to my little sister. She said that you actually showed up at her school, too. Lanesborough Elementary. And she was incredibly jealous about the autograph. She says hi, by the way. 🙂

And… I’ve decided to type out the writing piece that I wrote on here because I reaaally want your advice on how I can become better at writing. (I’m starting to think about being an author, it sounds fun. ♥)

—–

[K’s Writing Sample]

The adrenaline flowed through me, being the only thing that made me keep moving onwards. Whenever I slowed down, the fear crashed into my mind, interuppting all tired thoughts.

I was running from my once-best friend. Dakota, the girl I had once shared my feelings with and had fun with, was now hunting me down. Slowly, a little hand grasped my bigger one, our fingers entwining. Angel. I would never let you go.

Staring downwards, still running for my life, big blue eyes met my brown ones. They were curious, wondering what exactly what was happening, but overall, terrified. Her lower lip trembled.

“Why is she chasing us?” Was Angel’s question. I had no idea myself. Shaking my head, I turned away. Angel whimpered softly, and clutched my hand so tight my fingers went numb. “I’m scared.”

Smirking, trying to stay brave (although my insides were crashing apart), I turned back around. “Me too.”

“I miss Dakota,” Angel started wiping her face with her dirty sleeve. How long had we been running? Gritting my teeth to keep back tears, I sniffled.

“Me too.”

Then, like God despised the both of us, he performed his “magical powers,” and created a miracle. Rain. I finally let my tears go, collapsing to my knees as I called out Dakota’s name over and over again. Wide-eyed, Angel stared at my tear-stricken face. She gripped my shoulders, glancing around cautiously.

“What’s wrong?” Her horrified whisper made a lump appear in my throat. I swallowed.

“N-Nothing,” I stuttered, although the tears kept falling. Angel stroked my cheek, trying to stop the tears. How great, I thought despite myself, for a 6 year old to be comforting a 13 year old.

Angel sighed, and her eyes caught something glowing in the shadows.

“Celeste,” She whispered my name, terrified. I don’t like the tone of her voice…

“What?” I tried to stay somewhat calm-sounding, but not even her could miss the panic.

“Flashlight beam.”

Dakota.

I got up.

—–

So that would be it. ♥ If I ever do become a author, I’ll aim to make that a part of the first book that I publish. ♥ What do you think of it? 🙂

Sincerely, K_____

I replied:

Dear K_____,

Thank you for your fantastic email and writing sample. I loved visiting Mount Greylock. I don’t normally get the opportunity to teach writing workshops, since schools usually want me to see as many students as possible, and workshops are of necessity small and intimate. I feel inexperienced, like I really have no idea what I’m doing. Yes, I’ve been writing professionally for 25 years — I must know something! — but teaching is a different skill. And teaching writing, well, I’m not at all sure how to go about that.

Personally, I never really took writing classes. I did one workshop in college and didn’t like it. I tried another one some time later, for poetry, and it was okay. So my experience is that I’ve learned by reading — deeply, widely, attentively — and by doing. That is, by writing. Getting published, I’ve also had the opportunity to work with editors who’ve been very smart, so I’ve learned from them, too.

I have no memory of writing in school, though I suppose it must have happened. I did keep journals, though, in my teenage years and beyond. Note the distinction, “journal” not “diary.” I was never one for documenting the day. “Dear Diary, today I went to Auntie Em’s for lunch. We had grilled cheese sandwiches.” And so on. I used my journal to write thoughts, ideas, observations, poems, short stories. It was a place to go with my thoughts, and every writer needs a blank page.

The artist I mentioned was Greg Ruth, who illustrated A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade. You can learn more about Greg by clicking here.

Illustration by the insanely talented, Greg Ruth.

Your writing sample was very dramatic, very exciting — and left me, the reader, with so many questions. In short: I want to know more! I love how you drop us right into this thrilling moment, running for their lives (I think), frightened, desperate. And also, the relationship between the sisters, the hands clutching. This is exciting stuff. Even the name, Angel, is arresting. So, really, I think you’ve GOT TO KEEP GOING with this story.

What’s the deal with Dakota?

You can do that in at least three ways, it seems to me: 1) By seeing your sample as somewhere in the middle of your story, and going back to write what led up to this moment; 2) Through flashback, perhaps entering the thoughts, memories, of the main character; 3) By having Dakota herself appear, and all of this come out through dialogue. My point? You’ve grabbed us, gotten our attention, now you’ve got to answer our questions.

You wrote your piece in our workshop, probably not knowing the answers yourself. Don’t worry; that’s writing. Sometimes we write to figure it out, to discover, to learn. Think of it as a journey — and follow, follow, follow.

I don’t think that it’s productive to worry too much, at this stage in the journey, about getting things perfect. But as a reader, I did feel some confusion about Dakota. They were running from her . . . but missing her? They were running from her . . . but suddenly stopping to cry out her name? Has she transformed in some way? Is the real Dakota gone? What’s happening? You don’t need to answer every question in this one scene, but you do need each character’s actions to make sense and be consistent. Every moment has to ring true.

Thanks for your letter. And say hello to your sister. Good luck with the writing. And please, above all, HAVE FUN with it. Enjoy yourself. I like how in real life you have a younger sister. I think you could go deeper into that fictional relationship in your story. Sisters. It’s something you know in your heart.

My best,

JP

Pirate Crossword: Free Teaching Tool for “A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade”

Forgive me, it’s an unusual blog day here at the jamespreller.com factory. I’ve been unloading some stuff from a found file. Here’s a nice companion for my book A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade, illustrated by Greg Ruth. If you click on the puzzle, you could print it out to share with students. Just saying.

When Keith Sings: The Ultimate Keith Richards/Rolling Stones Mix

I recently finished reading the Keith Richards biography, Life, which I largely enjoyed. It’s not a great book, huge gaps, not particularly well organized or written, and it suffers from a classic case of the unreliable narrator (this is Keith Richards, after all), but entertaining nonetheless. For me, born in 1961, the youngest of seven, those great Rolling Stones albums are woven into my earliest memories. My brothers had the original, gate-fold 3D cover of Satanic Majesty’s Last Request, the actual zipper cover for Sticky Fingers, and so on. I shared a bedroom wall with my brother, Neal, twelve years my senior, and I can vividly recall his two favorites seeping into my sleep: Dylan and the Stones, endlessly. I grew up listening to Keith and all these years later still find new things to appreciate.

The best outcome from reading Life was that it inspired me to pull out the old disks, and in particular, search out the rare songs when Keith sang lead. There aren’t that many, and I missed some of them, because I skipped much of their post-1983 output. But in doing so, bypassed some gems.

These past weeks I’m obsessed with Keith as a lead singer, on minor songs like “This Place Is Empty,” “The Worst,” “Slipping Away,” and “How Can I Stop,” not to mention classics like “Happy,” “Little T&A,” “Before They Make Me Run,” and my personal favorite, “You Got the Silver.” Despite its limitations, I respond to a quality in his voice, the looseness of his delivery, the bittersweet delicacy, the soul, the undeniable fact that it’s Keith in all his low-slung glory, guitar practically at his knees. It’s so uncommercial, such an American Idol fail. Say what you want about the man, the drugs and the stupidity, but he’s always been the genuine article, committed to the music. As much as it’s possible to say about any one man, you can say it about Keith Richards: He is rock and roll. Seriously, who else in the history of rock embodies the authentic spirit more than Keith? Nobody, that’s who.

So I made a mix of Rolling Stones tunes where Keith sang lead vocals, and added in a select few from his first solo disk, Talk Is Cheap. Keith’s second solo effort, Main Offender, also features some great songwriting, but to my ears it’s marred by a regrettable, monotonous, and headache-inducing drum sound. The mix:

1) “All About You,” Emotional Rescue (1980)

This is from around the time I began to lose interest in the Rolling Stones. Or more accurately, stopped expecting greatness from their new albums. Bands like the Clash and the Talking Heads, to name just two, sounded much more vital. The Stones’ time had passed, the incredible run from Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, to Exile on Main St, 1968-72, as good a run as any band ever had. However . . . there are gems on every disk. “All About You,” the album’s melancholy closing track, is certainly one of them. On the recording, that’s Bobby Keys on saxophone, Charlie Watts on drums. Reportedly Keith played everything else himself, bass, guitar, piano.

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2) “The Worst,” Voodoo Lounge (1994)

Lyric: “Well I said from the first/ I am the worst kind of guy/ for you to be around.” There’s a beautiful fiddle part by Frankie Gavin on the original recording.

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3) “Slipping Away,” Steel Wheels/Stripped (1989)

Another slow ballad from Keith in heartfelt mode, this one off the “Steel Wheels” disc. I prefer the relaxed, natural version from the Stripped CD.

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4) “You Don’t Have to Mean It,” Bridges to Babylon (1997)

Great line: “You don’t have to mean it/ You just got to say it to me, baby.” A reggae-inflected tune with a rock-steady shuffle, surely reflecting Keith’s years hanging out in Jamaica, jamming with the local talent.

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5) “Little T&A,” Tattoo You (1981)

Again, as we often find when Keith sings, this was largely a Richards composition. The lyrics, the vibe: pure Keef.

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6) “Locked Away,” Talk Is Cheap (1988)

This great song comes from Keith’s 1988 solo album, Talk Is Cheap, which many reviewers correctly called the best Rolling Stones album in years. Love Keith’s outro here, the short chord slashes, signature and beautiful.

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7) “Hurricane,” CD Single (2005)

A rare treat, dug out from the vaults and polished a bit, to benefit the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

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8) “How Can I Stop,” Bridges to Babylon (1997)

From the Bridges disk, remarkable as a CD because it includes (over Mick’s initial protests) three tunes sung by Keith. He wrote with such affection about this song in Life, I had to search it out. Toward the end, the tune morphs into pure jazz, with Charlie Watts providing drum flourishes in conversation with saxophone runs by legend Wayne Shorter. You can hear the band improvising, not quite willing to let the song end. An unusual moment in the Stones discography, nice to hear them stretch in a different direction, with no interest whatsoever in making arena rock. This tune closes the disk.

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9) “This Place Is Empty,” A Bigger Bang (2005)

This is pure Keith, nothing particularly great, supposedly written on his couch while at home in his empty house in Connecticut. That’s right: Keith in Connecticut. The mind boggles. That’s Don Was on piano on the original recording. Sings Keith to his wife, Patti Hansen: “Come on, simmer down/ And treat me sweet and cool/ At least by now you have learned/ How to love a fool.”

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10) “You Got the Silver,” Let It Bleed (1969)

This song represents the first time Keith had solo vocal chores (though he previously shared lead with Mick on a couple of other tracks, “Salt of the Earth,” “Something Happened to Me Yesterday,” and “Connection”). Checking my iPod, this is the Stones song I’ve listened to the most over the past five years. It just kills me, I can’t explain it, beyond the pure authenticity I feel in Keith’s delivery: “Hey babe, you got my soul/ You the silver, you got the gold.” The guitar playing, of course, is understated and perfect. Nice accompaniment from Ronnie Wood in this live version, almost 40 years later.

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11) “Before They Make Me Run,” Some Girls (1978)

If Keith has a theme song, this might be it. Off Some Girls in 1978, the last, hands-down great Rolling Stones disk. The Stones effortlessly absorbed the punk attitude — perhaps because they helped invent it — and you can hear it in songs like “Shattered” and “When the Whip Comes Down.” As usual, it seems that Keith gets the vocal nod when the lyrics speak directly to his life, or closely reflect his experiences; that is, lyrics that just don’t fit Mick. Impressively, these punk-inspired songs sit comfortably beside disco (“Miss You”), country (“Far Away Eyes”), or the roughed-up cover of the Temptations soul classic, “Imagination.” At a time when classic rock bands were widely considered no longer relevant, this disk proved that some dinosaurs still lived.

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12) “Losing My Touch,” Forty Licks (2002)

Keith seems to specialize in album-closing tracks, and this one concluded the 40-song retrospective, Forty Licks, which included four new tracks: “Losing My Touch,” “Stealing My Heart,” “Keys to Your Heart,” and “Don’t Stop.” After 1985 or so, the Stones tended to be at their absolute worst when they were shooting for the next big radio hit — all bluster and desperation — and those were never, ever Keith songs. This one wasn’t aimed for the airwaves, just the heart.

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13) “You Don’t Move Me,” Talk Is Cheap (1988)

A ton has been written about this song, viewed as Keith’s response to Mick’s efforts to distance himself from the band. At the time, Mick was attempting to launch a solo career, and had refused to tour for the Dirty Work CD. So an outraged Keith made his own solo album, featuring this song, which included these killer couplets aimed at Mick: “It’s no longer funny/ It’s bigger than money,” and “You lost the feeling/ Not so appealing.”

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14) “Coming Down Again,” Goats Head Soup (1973).

A Keith song about the early days of his messy relationship with Anita Pallenberg, who had been living with bandmate Brian Jones: “Slipped my tongue into someone else’s pie,” or so the song goes. That’s the great, great Nicky Hopkins on piano, really an unsung hero from Exile days, and a great musician. It’s notable that Keith uses the Wah-Wah Pedal on this track, because typically he’s not a guitarist who used many effects. Generally for him, it’s about chords and rhythm and riffs, no frivolity, no blistering heroics, no studio trickery, and sound is almost always a function of plugging the right guitar into the right amplifier. Reportedly this song has never been played live on a Stones tour.

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15) “Rockawhile,” Talk Is Cheap (1988)

Keith keeps the lyrics simple and direct, as usual — he’s not a complicated man, really — and gets help here from the founding members of a couple of legendary bands,  Joey Spampinato (bass, NRBQ), and Bernie Worrell (clavinet, Parliament-Funkadelic). Pretty sure that’s Patti Scialfa on backing vocals.

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16) “Salt of the Earth,” Beggars Banquet (1968)

This one is almost a cheat, since Keith sings only the first verse, but it’s such a great song: “Let’s drink to the hardworking people, let’s drink to the lonely of birth, let’s drink to the good not the evil, let’s drink to the salt of the earth.”

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17) “Happy,” Exile on Main St. (1972)

“Happy” grew out of the chaotic, drug-fueled recording sessions for Exile on Main St., recorded in France at the villa Nellcote. From what I recall from previous reading, Keith just sort of did this one on his own. Mick Jagger wasn’t around at the time, so Keith grabbed producer Jimmy Miller who sat in on drums, sax player Bobby Keys, and laid down the tracks for bass, guitar, and vocals himself. The band tinkered with the tune later, adding musical contributions by Nicky Hopkins, Jim Price, and backing vocals by Mick.

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18) “The Nearness of You,” Live Licks (2004)

Written in 1938 by Hoagy Carmichael and Ned Washington, this standard has been recorded by the Glen Miller Orchestra, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Norah Jones, Paul Anka, Barbara Streisand, and many others. It’s a treat to hear Keith get his crooner on. Brilliant and charming. Exceptionally sweet guitar outro on this one, and a great way to end the mix. Thanks for listening, folks. Hope you found a new treasure or two.

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Other released Stones songs with Keith on lead vocals not mentioned above:

“Something Happened to Me Yesterday,” alternates with Mick Jagger; “Connection” (co-lead with Jagger), from Beneath the Buttons.

“Memory Motel,” alternates with Jagger, Black and Blue.

“Wanna Hold You,” Undercover.

“Too Rude,” “Sleep Tonight,” Dirty Work.

“Can’t Be Seen,” Steel Wheels.

“Thru and Thru,” Voodoo Lounge.

“Thief in the Night,” Bridges to Babylon.

“Infamy,” A Bigger Bang.

————-

James Preller is a children’s book author of Bystander, Six Innings, the Jigsaw Jones mystery series, and many more books. He likes to imagine Keith Richards reading one of books aloud to his grandchildren. So Keith, if you’re reading this — and I’m sure you are — I’d love to send you a signed copy of A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade, illustrated by Greg Ruth. Call me crazy, but I think you’d like it.

“Arrr! Shiver me timbers, what a slobberin’ moist mornin’!

Me great scurvy dog slurped me kisser when I was tryin’ t’ get me winks!”


Come to The Eric Carle Museum, Saturday, June 4: Guest Artists, Demonstrations, Panel Discussions, Wild Fun

Exciting events are happening this Saturday at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, MA, featuring presentations by Tomie dePaola, Diane deGroat,  John Gurney, Astrid Sheckels, and more.

Let’s hear our friend Greg Ruth, illustrator of A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade, tell it. This is quoted from Greg’s recent email:

This coming Saturday, June 4 I will be participating in the Children’s Book Festival at the Eric Carle Museum down in yon Amherst, MA. Come on by and join me and other most excellent children’s book artists such as Roc Goudreau, Linda Graves, John Steven Gurney, Bob Marstall, Astrid Sheckles, David White, Diane DeGroat, Ruth Sanderson and Tomie DePaola as we all hold demostrations, panel discussions and engage in a great bit of fun.

I’ll be featuring process work for A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade all day and participating in a panel discussion on the craft of kid’s lit at 2:30pm, and will have books and a limited selection of sketches from the book on hand super cheap to take home. If you’re in the area or able to migrate, please do stop on by and say hello!

Now double-quick, check out this magical little piece of process:
Now gape, agog, at this calendar of events:

10:15 – 10:30 am
Meet the Very Hungry Caterpillar (Great Hall)

10:15 – 10:45 am
Meet the Artist – David White (Art Studio)

10:15 – 10:45 am
Film: Master Class with Tomie dePaola (Auditorium)

10:30 – 10:50 am
Special Storytime with Museum Staff

11:15 am – 12:00 pm
Presentation by Tomie dePaola (Auditorium) followed by a book signing

11:45 – 12:00 pm
Meet the Very Hungry Caterpillar (Great Hall)

12:00 – 12:30 pm
Meet the Artist – Diane deGroat (Reading Library)

12:30 – 1:15 pm
Performance by José Gonzales and Banda Criolla (Auditorium)

12:45 – 1:15 pm
Meet the Artist – John Steven Gurney (Reading Library)

1:15 – 1:45 pm
Meet the Artist – Astrid Sheckels (Art Studio)

1:45 – 2:15 pm
Meet the Artist – Bob Marstall (Reading Library)

1:45 – 2:15 pm
Film: Picture Writer (Auditorium)

2:15 – 2:30 pm
Meet The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Great Hall)

2:30 – 3:30 pm
Panel Discussion with Linda Graves, Greg Ruth, and Ruth Sanderson; Moderated by Susannah Richards (Auditorium)

3:00 – 3:20 pm
Special Storytime with Museum Staff (Reading Library)

4:00 – 4:30 pm Film (Auditorium)

Ongoing throughout the day:

  • Art Show and Sale
  • Book signings
  • Artist demonstrations
  • Studio and Gallery Activities
  • Face Painting
  • Book Making
  • Food Court with Local Burger and Flayvors Ice Cream – cash only
I WILL TRY TO BE THERE! ANYBODY ELSE DRIVING OUT THAT WAY?