WAR GAMES: preparing for the Battle of the Books

From Spring Hill to St. Pete, students all over the Tampa Bay area are gearing up for the 2008 Battle of the Books competition. Right now, students are reading and rereading the Sunshine State Young Readers and Florida Teens Read nominated books and talking about them at the Times Book Battle Blog. In a couple of months, participating schools will give a qualifying test to determine which students are the most familiar with all the stories from the books on the list. Next, participating schools have their own battle and winning school teams will move on to participate in area battles then district battles. It is exciting as any game show you will find on television and the competition is fierce!

Starting today, Times Book Battle Blog has a new discussion category that is focused on preparing for the battles ahead. We are looking for your ideas and tips on how to get ready for the big event. If you have book battled before, send a study skill or game strategy that helped you get in fighting shape to jwilson@sptimes.com. We will be awarding string backpacks and Subway coupons for the best ideas, so be sure to include your name, grade and school along with your submission.

Copper Sun by Sharon Draper

Copper Sun by Sharon Draper

Amari is a 15-year-old Ashanti girl who is happily anticipating her marriage to Besa. When slavers arrive in her village, her family is slaughtered and her world shattered. Shackled and frightened she is shipped to the Carolinas and forced into slavery, Amari develops friendships and struggles for freedom in this historical fiction novel.

Most historical fiction authors spend a lot of time researching the era when their characters lived. Getting the details right makes their novels more believable and real to the readers. Imagine you are a historical fiction novelist living in the future and a friend has just given you a copy of the St. Petersburg Times from the year 2007, suggesting that you use a person you read about in the paper as the inspiration for your main character. Write a “sales pitch” to your publisher that describes your story. Be sure to mention the article that inspired it (date, headline, page number). Share your novel idea with other students participating in Florida Teens Read by posting it below. (Hint: you can write your pitch in a word processing program then cut and paste it into the comment box).

Runner by Carl Deuker

Runner by Carl Deuker

Chance Taylor's father, a Gulf War Veteran and alcoholic, is fired from his job. Chance worries where they will get the money to pay the moorage for the run-down sailboat they call home. Running along the Seattle waterfront is an escape from all his problems. When a marina employee offers to pay him $250 a week to pick up packages, Chance finds himself in danger and gets a glimpse of the heroic man his father once was.

Stories about soldiers, veterans and their families appear almost every day in the St. Petersburg Times, giving readers a tiny glimpse of the struggles our military families face. Look for a story in the Times about a member of the military and imagine that this person was your father or mother. Write a letter to the editor about what others can do to support military families. Give specific examples of challenges your “family” faces. Share your letter with other students participating in Florida Teens Read by posting it as a comment below. (Hint: you can write your letter in a word processing program then cut and paste it into the comment box).

The Old Willis Place

The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn

Diana and her younger brother, Georgie, have been living on the grounds of the old Willis place for years. The children have seen caretakers of the Willis place come and go, but Diana, who has no friends, is tempted by the sight of Lissa, the caretakers’ daughter who is her age. Both girls are lonely and would like to be friends but Georgie reminds Diana that it's "against the rules" to have friends; that they must remain out of sight. The suspense continues to build as Diana narrates the story and Lissa writes in her diary.

Author Hahn uses two different storytelling devices in The Old Willis Place: Diana’s first person narrative and Lissa’s diary entries. The St. Petersburg Times provides news stories in many different writing styles, but a common tool that many reporters use is called “5 Ws an a H” (who, what, when, where, why, and how). These are the major questions that good reporters answer in the “lead” (beginning) of a newspaper article. Look through the Times for articles reporting on a mysterious situation (like a missing person, an unsolved criminal act or an anonymous act of kindness). Use one of these stories as a model and write the first paragraph or two of an article about the Old Willis Place as if you were a newspaper reporter covering the story. Share your story with other students across Tampa Bay by posting it below in the comments section. (Hint: you can write the story in a word processing program then cut and paste it into the comment box).

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Have you ever had a special possession (like a stuffed animal or action figure) that you thought of as real? Maybe even a friend? If so, you will like this story about a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. Instead of being a friend to his loving owner, 10-year-old Abilene, Edward is selfish and cold-hearted. When Edward falls overboard during the family’s ocean voyage, he begins to learn about fear, love, and humility.

Family keepsakes like a china rabbit, coin collection or teapot sometimes get lost like Edward, are given away or sold at a garage sale or in the classified ads. Look through the Times' classified ads and find an object that you would like to have as a special friend. If that object could talk, what would it say to convince you to bring it home? Describe the object and tell us its story by clicking on the comment button below.

Listening for Lions

Gloria Whelan’s novel, Listening for Lions, takes place in British East Africa in the year 1919 when 13-year-old Rachel loses her missionary parents during an influenza epidemic. Instead of her neighbors, the Pritchards, helping her, they involve her in a scheme to pass her off as their daughter and send her to visit their father who has disinherited them. Upon arriving in England, Rachel and the seriously ill grandfather develop a surprisingly strong, affectionate friendship. Rachel continues the scheme, believing that one more shock will kill the old gentleman. Rachel continues to grapple with her dishonesty, grief for her parents and homesickness for Africa.
Listening for Lions author Gloria Whelan will speak at the St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading on Oct. 27 at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. What question would you like to ask her about this book or her writing career in general? Post it on our blog and we will find out the answer at her session.

Have lots of questions or just want to meet this author? Join us at the Festival of Reading this Saturday. Be sure to bring your book for an autograph! For more information, go to www.festivalofreading.com.

Cabin on Trouble Creek

Can you imagine the movie Home Alone set in the harsh winter wilderness of the early 1800s? More dramatic than funny, Cabin on Trouble Creek is a gripping frontier tale based on an actual incident that occurred in 1803. This realistic tale of survival in the wilderness tells the story of Daniel, 11, and Will, 9, left alone after Pa leaves Ohio to go back to Pennsylvania to bring Ma and the rest of the children back to the wilderness. Pa had quickly built a cabin before leaving and the boys must finish it while waiting for Pa and Ma to return in a few weeks. Unfortunately, sickness keeps the parents from returning and the boys must survive the harsh winter on their own. Luckily, a Native American trapper teaches them some basic survival skills such as how to set snares to catch food. As the boys struggle through the winter, Daniel and Will mature as they learn to rely on themselves, their wits, and one another.

Cabin on Trouble Creek author Jean Van Leeuwen will speak at the St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading on Oct. 27 at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. What question would you like to ask her about this book or her writing career in general? Post it on our blog and we will find out the answer at her session.

Have lots of questions or just want to meet this author? Join us at the Festival of Reading this Saturday. Be sure to bring your book for an autograph! For more information, go to www.festivalofreading.com.

Under the Same Sky

Cynthia DeFelice’s Under the Same Sky is about fourteen-year-old Joe Pedersen, a spoiled rich kid who begrudgingly joins the migrant workers on his father's upstate New York farm to earn the $1000 he needs to buy a Thunderbird motorbike. Determined to show his father he can keep pace with Manuel, the 16-year-old Mexican crew boss, Joe painfully acclimates to the grueling farm routine. Joe soon learns to respect the “illegal aliens” and to understand their hardships and courage.

This story highlights the plight of the immigrant Mexican farm laborers. Many migrant workers live, work and raise their children here in the Tampa Bay area. Look through the Times for articles about migrant families and the challenges immigrants (both legal and illegal) face. Imagine yourself in Joe Pedersen's situation -- only you are picking strawberries in Plant City instead of working New York state. Using details from articles you found in the Times about migrant and immigrant families, compare and contrast your life today with how it would be if you were a migrant worker.

Just Listen

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen is a novel that deals with many heavy topics – anger management, eating disorders, and sexual assault. The main character Annabel finds an unexpected ally through these problems in a boy named Owen, who is also battling his own demons. Annabel and Owen are two teens with nothing in common on the surface.

In the story, Owen tries to persuade Annabel that music is “ the great uniter”. Look through the entertainment sections of the St. Petersburg Times for stories about music and musicians (daily on page 2B, in the Floridian section and in Thursdays' WEEKEND tabloid). Read about music events in Tampa Bay and think about the audiences. What age groups and types of people would you expect to see at these concerts? In what cases does music truly act as a “uniter” like it did in Sarah Dessen’s novel? Why do so many teens use their musical identity to exclude others? Use an example of a music event, group or musician you read about in the Times to express your own view.

Seven Wonders of Tampa Bay

The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs by Betty G. Birney is a book with an old-fashioned, folk-tale feel. Eben is fascinated by the seven wonders of the world, and his father challenges him to find seven wonders right in his small, rural home town of Sassafras Springs. Eben doubts that it is possible, but his father says that he can travel to Colorado if he manages to find all seven wonders in seven days.

The Tampa Bay area is home to some amazing wonders as well. Look through this week’s editions of the Times for pictures and stories about special people, places and things in your neighborhood or the entire Tampa Bay area. Share your list with us here by clicking on the comments link below.

Last Apprentice: Can you find this job in the classified ads?

In Joseph Delaney’s story, the main character Thomas Ward is apprenticed at the tender age of twelve. The St. Petersburg Times has both a classified section for job listings and also many feature stories that discuss people’s careers. Looking at news articles that deal with careers, what jobs do you feel would benefit from apprenticeship instead of formal training like college? Select an apprenticeship-style job and a job that requires a college education. Write a short essay that compares and contrasts these two jobs and training paths. Be sure to tell us which path you would choose and why. Send your essay to jillwilson@sptimes.com and you might see it featured in the future on our Times NIE Web site.

Code Orange: As current as today's headlines

As current as today’s headlines, Code Orange will keep you turning pages to see if Mitty can save New York City from small pox. Mitty has discovered a smallpox scab in an old book and now he needs to know if he has been infected. Look through today’s St. Petersburg Times for articles about health, medical research or disease control. Write your own story idea with a similar theme to Code Orange and enter it in our Headlines Book Battle Contest. Click here for more information.

A Bear Named Trouble: A story from the headlines

In Marion Dane Bauer’s book, A Bear Named Trouble, ten-year-old Jonathan and his father move to Anchorage, where his father is the new zookeeper. Jonathan loves animals and befriends a young, injured bear named Trouble who had broken into the zoo. After killing Mother Goose, the zoo’s favorite attraction for children, Jonathan struggles with his grief for the goose and his anger with Trouble. Eventually, Jonathan understands Trouble’s actions and plans a way to save the bear’s life.

A Bear Named Trouble is based on a true story. Look through the St. Petersburg Times for a story about an animal in trouble (or a photograph). Write your own story idea with a similar theme to Bear Named Trouble and enter it in our Headlines Book Battle Contest. Click here for more information.

Headlines Book Battle Contest

The Book Battle Blog for Sunshine State Young Reader’s Award and Florida Teens Read participants provides discussion questions tying the books' themes to stories in the news today. Have you ever thought about how many books started as an idea from a newspaper article?

The relationship between newspapers and books has always been an interdependent one. Many specific ideas for books come from the news and it is not unusual for reporters to become book authors. Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen had written a dozen books before he penned the young adult novels Hoot and Flush. What they all have in common are story lines that began as newspaper reports. Illegal dumping of fertilizer into the Everglades, construction destroying a colony of burrowing owls and the struggle of hurricane survivors are just a few of the topics Hiaasen has turned into best sellers over the years.

To honor this long tradition of mutual benefits between book writers and newspapers and to celebrate the debut of the Book Battle Blog, the Times would like to invite all our young readers to pitch their best story ideas for books that spring from the pages of this newspaper. We will share some of the best ones with our readers and the top three will win some great prizes.

You can download a “Headlines Book Battle” contest form at tampabay.com/nie/.

Here is the format and sample responses students should use to submit their entries:

Name: Bill Bookwriter
Grade: 9th
Teacher: Ms. Readwell
School: Bestseller High School
Teacher email: readwell@pcsb.org

Proposed Book Title: INTERCEPTION

Story idea:
Student reporters Liam Boyd and Tami Namath discover the much-loved football coach at their high school has been illegally videotaping their competition. Do they break the story or support their friends on the team who are up for major college scholarships because of the team’s success?

What St. Petersburg Times article(s) inspired your story idea?

Headline: It’s a mad, mad, mad world
Subhead: In the NFL spy game, videotaping depicts
just the tip of the iceberg
Section and page number: C-1
Writer(s) Joanne Korth, Gary Shelton
Date: Friday, Sept. 14, 2007

Times article summary:
After New England Patriots Football organization is caught videotaping New York Jets defensive play signals in the Sept. 9 NFL game, players and coaches talk about different spying techniques teams use to gain advantage and what does and does not cross the ethical line.

Hit the Road: Talkin' about my generation

In the book Hit the Road by Caroline Coone, sixteen- year- old Brittany acts as a chauffeur for her grandmother and Gran's three friends on their way to a college reunion. Can you imagine spending that much time with a group of senior citizens? Look through today’s St. Petersburg Times and find two photos, one of teens and one of senior citizens. After examining both photos, determine why these two groups are sometimes leery of each other. What assumptions or stereotypes do both groups have for each other (based on appearance) that might prevent interaction? If you could write an article for the Times on Teen/Senior relations, what would you say? Write at least one paragraph in the comments section below and describe the photo or photos you found in the Times that would illustrate your points. Give the page number and photographer's name when possible.

The Anybodies: facing family challenges

Fern and Howard Bone were switched at birth. As a result Fern is growing up with a family that does not understand her. Harry Potter was not switched at birth but he is growing up in a family that fears what he is able to do. In the St. Petersburg Times, there are often stories about family misunderstandings and challenges. Find a story in today’s Times about a family clashing over differences. Click on the comments section below, give the article name and page number, briefly describe the family’s problem and explain what magical power you would use to change their lives.

Whittington: Life-Changing Decisions

In the book Whittington, the character Dick Whittington must make many decisions on his journey. Which do you think was the most difficult? Which of his decisons might be considered life-changing? Does Ben need to make a big decision about his reading ability?  How could his decision change his future? Look through the St. Petersburg Times for a story or picture that shows someone making a decision or dealing with the result of an earlier decision. Click on the comment button below and share a personal connection that links your example from the Times with a decision made by either Dick or Ben in the story Whittington.