North Carolina Reading Association Conference 2014

On March 18th, I led a workshop at NCRA called, "A Writer's Toolbox and How to Apply It In the Classroom." Here's the official description:

See inside author Shannon Hitchcock's Writer's Toolbox. Learn how to use an idea folder, writing prompts, and even an egg timer to engage your students. Shannon will touch on all parts of the writing process: idea generation, first drafts, revision, fact checking, proofreading, and how to be a successful critique partner. She will share how professional writers approach these tasks and how those strategies can be adapted for the classroom.

I also used NCRA as a learning and networking opportunity. I attended a workshop taught by Tammy Powell, an educational/historical consultant, titled "Brown Bagging History: Not Your Typical Lunch." Tammy gave each participant a brown lunch bag. Inside were items linked to NC history: a picture of the Shackleford wild horses, carrots, representing Carrot Island, seashells etc. Tammy shared how these brown bags pique students curiosity and get them interested in researching and writing about history. I have since corresponded with Tammy and sent her a copy of The Ballad of Jessie Pearl. Maybe there is some synergy between my historical fiction set in North Carolina and Tammy's work. Only time will tell.

Another favorite workshop was "Exploring Untold Stories of WWII through Text Sets," taught by grad student, Emily Roderique and Dr. Jeanne Swafford both from UNC Wilmington. A text set is a collection of resources, (articles, photographs, brochures, websites etc), focused on a common topic, theme, or anchor text. Emily says text sets have some great advantages:

1. They give reluctant readers access to a variety of interesting texts and texts of varying levels of difficulty.
2. Text sets foster collaboration among teachers, (cross-disciplinary projects).

Emily has developed text sets using Between Shades of Gray and Bomb as anchor texts. I introduced myself to Emily afterward and she agreed to help me develop a text set for The Ballad of Jessie Pearl. That should be a great learning experience for me and hopefully a marketing tool to use with teachers as well.

I had a wonderful time at NCRA: presenting, learning, and networking. An author can glean lots of useful information hanging out with teachers and librarians. I hope to participate again next year. 

BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY by Ruta Sepetys

BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY is a haunting book about a little known piece of history, the attempted genocide of the peoples of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Under Stalin's rule of terror, these countries were wiped off the map, their male inhabitants thrown into prison, while the women and children were sent to Siberian work camps. That anyone survived such extreme conditions is nothing short of miraculous. 

Author, Ruta Sepetys is the child of a Lithuanian refugee. To recreate this story, she traveled to Lithuania, interviewed survivors, visited a Soviet prison, and spent time in one of the train cars used to transport prisoners. The authenticity of her research makes this novel an exceptional work of historical fiction.

The book begins, "They took me in my nightgown." Fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother, and younger brother, Jonas, are rounded up along with many of their neighbors and thrown into cattle cars. Thus begins their journey.

It's a journey of starvation, scurvy, dysentery, backbreaking work, and bitter cold. But it's also a journey of kindness, forgiveness, and first love. 

I can't do this story justice, but the author has recorded a book trailer that does. Listen to it here and I'll bet you'll be inspired to read this book. http://www.betweenshadesofgray.com/