Welcome to Book Readers Heaven! Find Books, Reviews, Short Stories, Authors, Publicity, a little poetry, music to complement...and other stuff including politics, about life... "Books, Cats: Life is Sweet..."
In the mid 80's, a young child whose name is James Fisher Ford--Fisher to his family and friends--refuses to sever his deep knowing of the mystical nature of the universe. He insists that he be an intrinsic participant in an ongoing song of the spheres. It seems at first that Fisher must pay too great a price for his choices, in terms of his relationships with family and friends. Yet even as he himself is transformed--and the work is deep and difficult--so does he become a catalyst for the transformation of others.
The Dance of the Caterpillars: In a Time Before Texting
By Caroline S. Fairless
This is a fascinating book. It is the first I've ever seen for children, outside of fairy tales, that emphasizes the need for imagination, creativity--freedom--in each of our lives. The book itself is colorfully illustrated with primarily pictures of Fisher and his family similar to the front cover... Fisher had always loved to play, to dream, to be outside, walking or just sitting... He would spend all of his time outside if he were allowed. And even at night, he held on to his friend and continued to talk to him until they both fell asleep... It was quite understandable to me why the author had decided to publish her first story and just add a sub-title. It is very clear and should be for everybody, that the electronic age has greatly changed the lives of children, as they sit playing games on machines, computers, rather than using their own imagination to create the world they wanted to be in through their imaginations. Actually, at this time in this generation, a child could be facing the same issues as Fisher was, but they could just be hiding behind that electronic device rather than allow a natural transformation to occur. Natural Transformation? Why, by that I mean, when the Caterpillars Dance!
"Fisher!" she said. "Mama's crying again. And they were talking about you. I heard them. You been bad, Fisher? Could be. More time than not I'm, in trouble. And sometimes I don't know a thing about it. When they surprise me with trouble, I don't even have a chance to make my story sound good. They're asking questions while I'm trying to figure out how much they know, and what it is they know something about. ~~~
It was the last day of summer. Of course, Fisher had totally ignored that school would be starting again! He heard his Dad downstairs so wanted to spend a little time with him. Dad didn't live with them anymore and he could hear his mother crying; it seemed she always cried when Dad came now...
"You tell him, please? I can't do it. I just can't." "I have to tell him?" "Yes, you tell him. It's your idea. And you'd better tell him tomorrow. You want Fisher to go..." I sucked in my breath so I couldn't hear the rest of what she said. You want? Fisher to go? Go where? I was in trouble so big they were sending me away? ~~~
He was trying to figure out how to get out of bed without waking his sister in the bottom bunk bed...
But she had already sat up and was whispering that Mom was crying again. She went on to say that they had mentioned his name. Of course, she immediately asked if Fisher had been bad! Like she never was!!!
"Fisher!" Mrs. Bennett called down the aisle and I jerked up "Yes m'am?" "Save your laughing for recess. Now take this chalk to the board and add up those numbers." ~~~
Fisher could hear laughter from the back of the room, but he could also see the grass outside the window calling to him. Fisher fisted his hand and shouted "Don't talk to me now." But, of course, the teacher didn't hear the grass calling and thought he had raised his fist at her...
Instead of being close together like they used to be, Dad and Mom both had their arms crossed and were on opposite ends of the room... If they kept talking about him, he wanted to see if he could hear what was being said! I tried to sleep, All curled up in a ball in the corner, wrapped around my pillow like I might never see it again. I wondered what my Daddy meant. Where was I going? I couldn't get it out of my mind. Not school either. School just let go and didnm't even stop to breathe before it chased away the summer. School plopped in my shadow like a squat toad waiting to hop on my back when I was lying in the park flicking bottle caps and watching the butterflies. A warty old toad, blinking its eyes and gulping flies too fat to move. That's school all right. He tried to connect with the other kids in school, but nothing he tried would work. After lunch, all he could think about was what his Dad and Mom were talking about. Finally he knew he needed out! Running down the hall and after a short hide under a bus, he ran out into the fields. But by the time he'd gotten home, his teacher had called and his mother was waiting! And later he heard his mother and father talking about packing his clothes! He saw luggage carried out to Dad's car! He wished he could remember what his mother had said, but he had been so scared and confused... He tried to talk to the grass, the birds, even the next-door neighbor who came out when he heard Fisher smashing his apples against a wall... But it was only later... Once his mom had found a strange kind of caterpillar on our door... Now Fisher was out in the woods, walking, thinking and he saw one just like it only orange... Unfortunately he was so busy looking that he wrecked on his bike. His head hurt! Then he thought he hard somebody ask, "What do we do about Fisher? And the caterpillars kept coming! Hundreds and hundreds! Soon Fisher was covered!
Has your child had the chance to grow and understand what his new life, at school, at home, or at play might be? This book allows the family to see the respective points of view when some change is planned... It says so much, but in many ways, doesn't say what really is going on... Isn't that the way life is lots of time? This is a wonderful way to help teach as well as learn how your children might feel when the parents are planning a change that needs to occur... Highly recommended, GABixlerReviews
Then this is your lucky guest blog!
I'm going to outline a general scheme for making a book trailer, DIY,
touching on issues of design considerations, hardware and software, video
sources, and editing.
What this isn't is a tutorial on video
editing software - the bad news is, if you want to make your own trailer,
you're going to have to take the plunge and learn how to work the software,
hunt down cheap and rights free videos and images, and put in the editing time.
Trial and error is required, where you'll have to experiment and not be
afraid to mess up a lot. The reward is some control over your promotional
activities for your book. These days, very few publishers are going to make
(read: pay for) video trailers for books.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a Video Dude (VD for
those in the trade). I am by profession a biomedical scientist, who also
happens to be a writer, who taught himself the minimum of what he needed to
know to make promotional videos for his debut novel. No training. No film
school. No worries. :)
Keeping that in mind, here are examples of
trailers for three of my novels:
READER:
Extraordinary Retribution
So, if you generally liked what you saw,
let's continue and I'll explain what you need to do to get started on making
trailers like this.
The Program
1. Why Make a Book Trailer?
This isn't exactly a how-to step, but
nothing will get done if you aren't convinced that a video can help you promote
your book. After all, unless you make movies for a living, the time and
money investment, even for a DIY, will be significant (well, the money depends,
the time, you can count on it!).
Unfortunately, I don't have any research
studies on the impact of video trailers on the sale of books. However,
the use of video, with its visual stimulus and ability to emotionally engage
the viewer with sight as well as sound, certainly works for many types of
advertisements.
Once upon a time, publishers
promoted books with jacket blurbs, bookmarks, and author tours. Then six years
ago, YouTube changed the rules of the game. Today publishers are spending as
much as $20,000 a pop to create book trailers—30- to 90-second teasers, Ã la
movie trailers, designed to generate virtual and word-of-mouth buzz and, of
course, to sell titles. “Trailers are definitely a staple in our marketing,”
says Diane Naughton, HarperCollins’s vice president of marketing. - The Big Tease
2. Ingredients
To create your book trailer, you will need
the following:
A Computer:
PC or Mac is fine, there are video editing suites for both. Most modern
computers will do fine. The more hard drive space you have (video files are
BIG), and RAM, the better. If you are on a 2005 computer, you will be in a
world of hurt. Headphones are a help when mixing and editing (although
make sure to test sound, especially sound effects, on lousy laptop and mobile
device speakers frequently - this is especially true for deep, low frequency
sounds that reproduce badly on tiny speakers). Editing Software: There are many of these, from cheap to professional grade. Do a little web search for your platform, pocketbook, and preference for layout and features.
iMovie Screen Capture for Trailer
for The Ragnarök Conspiracy
I'm on a Mac, and I use iMovie. I can say
that iMovie lacks many things that would make the design and editing of
trailers much easier, BUT, it's very
cheap, intuitive, and makes about 75% of the work easy. However, the
other 25% can make you pull your hair out.
Format Conversion software:
This sounds weird, but I found it a must have. The reason is that you
will be (1) needing to covert the video clips you download online for your
trailers into formats that your editing software can handle, and (2) converting
the output of the editing software (your trailer) into many different formats
for web viewing (.mp4, .wmv, .m4v, .mov, .mpg, etc.). Here is a list of several. I've
liked the program Miro Video Converter a lot, but
I've used many others, including Quicktime Pro.
Video clips and still images:
Unless you film your own stock (which, if you don't know what you're doing,
will look very amateur, believe me), you'll be stuck with using other people's
video. You'll need to search sites that offer such video without strings
attached. What this means practically is that you need to find websites
that for free or for a fee will let you download clips and images royalty free,
and which are allowed to be used online for your own promotional videos. There
are a lot of sites for these purposes. Some of the ones I've used (or at
least visited):
Some of these are free, some are
expensive. Some (usually the free or cheap ones) have low-ish quality video,
some have breathtaking shots (the expensive ones). You mostly get what you pay
for. But remember, a simply "ok" video if used the right way -
briefly, action oriented, etc - may do well enough for a small trailer size.
If you need slow, higher-quality shots (say for a romance novel trailer),
some of the free sites have decent "natural footage” for free (vimeo
is an example). You just have to try and see. Also, this list is by no
means complete, and these video sites popup and disappear a lot.
Remember, just because it's on YouTube
doesn't mean there are no copyright issues. In fact, there usually are
copyright issues for videos on YouTube. Make sure the clips you get are clearly
noted with a contract that you can legally use them. In the joyful event
that your video/book goes viral, and you get 700K hits, you will get noticed by
the owners of the video and they will not be happy. Also, YouTube now has a lot
of very competent algorithms for scanning uploaded videos and comparing the
images and music to databases of copyrighted material. If you have ripped
off stuff, they usually find out. Sometimes, they will just stick ads on
your video in that case, which is a nice compromise and avoids unpleasantness.
But still, you never know.
Music: The
effect of music on the viewer CANNOT be overemphasized. Let me repeat this:
Music, often more than the video itself, can emotionally move the viewer. A
weak score for your trailer will leave a weak impression. A powerful musical
score can turn "ok" video into something with a punch. It seems
counterintuitive, perhaps, but sound often does as much or more for the impact
of a video trailer as sight.
Scoring Lord of the Rings
For this reason, I ended up spending the
most money for my trailers in getting the rights to music. For this, I
did two things:
(i) Searched Youtube for musical samples
of "trailer" music (yes, it's an entire category with composers who
make a career of it). There are different genres (action, epic, romance,
horror, etc). You can listen to the clips on YouTube and identify those
you like and look into the rights by contacting the companies handling it.
Many of these companies won't talk to you unless you are a Hollywood
group, but you can try anyway and curse the darkness when they ignore you.
Some of them will work with you, however.
(ii) Used sites like this one
set up for downloading (for a price) trailer music that is royalty free and
licensed for online use.
YouTube (or similar "cloud"
storage) account: You'll need to either host the
movie file on your server, link to it with something like Dropbox, or upload to
YouTube and link/embed via their tools.
3. Design Considerations
Theme:
You've likely written short blurbs about your book for promotional
purposes. In a similar manner, you need to visualize a short "scenic
blurb" that will grab a viewer and make them interested in your story.
The idea is not to tell the story, the book does that, but to give hints
and suggestions about the content and genre through the medium of moving
images and sound.
Go to the Apple
web site and watch 10 trailers for films that are
close to your book's genre. See how they do it. Some things you
can't emulate like dialogue etc (best to keep your characters shadowy for the
reader to imagine them), but the atmosphere, pacing, music, and editing will begin
to guide you. I recommend movie trailers for viewing over book trailers
for the simple fact that movie trailers tend to be much better. The world of
book trailers spans beginner to amateur, and you can hit a lot of them that are
just awful. The film industry at the least has polish and tight
professionalism in their products, and it's a good standard to aim for. But
it's also good to view some book trailers as well, as the products being
marketed are obviously different.
Storyboard:
Plan out the visual scenes of your trailer and how they will connect. Start
lining up draft images/clips to get a sense of the assembly of it in the
editing software. Re-work this until you are happy with the overall flow of the
trailer, the timing of music and edits. Then do the hard work of finding the
best royalty free clips that you can afford, replace your drafts, re-edit to
optimize.
Length:
Many go by the rule of thumb is 60 to 90 seconds. However, like
movie trailers, there are a lot of exceptions to this.
Music: Again,
the power of music is usually not appreciated. If you are going to spend time
and money, make sure this is a place you do it. Get good music, and edit with
the visuals PERFECTLY. Here is the place to be OCD. Time the musical
beats, changes, moods to the images. The music gives soul to the video.
Voiceover:
Very few people can do voiceover well. It really is a talent, a gift. So,
that means you will typically pay for it. However, I got discounts by letting
some know I was a struggling author who promised to send a signed copy of my
book to them! You can also use text super-imposed over images or dark,
transitional screens. You have to work within your budget.
4. Editing: The Key
Assuming you have decent clips, great
music, sound effects, a good plan for your trailer, and editing software, now
you have to edit. How you edit the trailer will literally make or break it.
I spent several tens of hours editing 2-4
minute trailers. You may be looking at my trailers and reading this and
thinking: "that's just sad." Perhaps! But even to get them to the
level they are took me a lot of work.
The issue for my trailers, being trailers
for thrillers and science fiction, was to create a sense of tension, momentum,
and fear, while revealing just enough of the story to get the viewer interested
in my book. Editing involved usually cutting more and more from clips, syncing
them to musical phrases and beats, and overlaying 3, 4, 5 or more sound effects
and other videos/images over the main video.
However, if your book is a romance, or
something else lighter, your use of editing should reflect the mood of your
narrative. A high society, historical romance will not do well with fast paced
edits and industrial epic music. A global thriller like some of mine, however,
does well with that, and will fall flat with a romantic soundtrack. Use common
sense.
With amateur video editing software, many
of the limitations will drive you nuts as you try to achieve certain effects.
Sometimes, you won't be able to accomplish what you have in mind due to
technical limitations, and you'll have to rethink your approach or storyboard.
It can be very frustrating. Save your work frequently. Make backups. If you
make big changes, rename the files or projects (e.g., Trailer1_v1.1). You never
know: a corruption of a project file can literally kill a week of work, and
more of your lifespan.
5. Get feedback
Show your draft trailers to the least
friendly people you can trust enough to open up about doing this. People who
get bored easily.People who aren't going to try to like it. Grumpy assholes.
Watch them as they view it (if you can). Listen to what they say. And make
changes. However much it hurts, the final goal is not to feel you did a good
job and great about yourself, but to engage your viewer.
Remember, you are a beginner, at best an
amateur. You have generally lousy stock clips you paid $10 for online. You have
non-professional software. You aren't a movie-maker. Your trailers will reflect
this. Your job is to pretend you are a kick-ass producer of film and fake it
the best you can, and produce something that will do more good than harm in the
promotion of your book. If it's more harm than good, scrap it. If your feedback
is that "it's not bad" or better, congrats, you have a video promotional
tool!
"I'm Draco! "Hello There! My name is Draco. I am only a young dragon, but I come from a large family with many relatives. They live all around the planet. Like your cousins, aunts and uncles, some of them look like me, and other ones don't. "Even though they look different, they are still my family. I would like you to meet some of them, so that you can learn more about me and all of my relatives. Come with me, and we will take a trip through time, and around the world, to meet them!
All My Relatives are Dragons
By Alice Cussler
The first thing that caught my eye was that the front cover and narrator is a friendly little dragon that children will love. Draco is going to provide a lot of educational material for children, but they won't realize that so much since Draco has already become a friend!
But once you move on, the pictures are of real animals, which will help them begin to recognize the species...
And speaking of species, the use of words such as relatives--aunts, uncles, cousins--is, in my opinion, an excellent way to begin to learn about biology and all that good science stuff that will be part of their school days!
I don't know of any kid who has never had a set of toy dinosaurs.
My nephew would patiently tell me that this one was a Tyrannosaurus Rex, while another was... And I would pretend to repeat but choose the wrong toy... So which one is the Rex? Do you know???
Well, Draco will help you if you aren't sure! But I didn't know they had "stinky breaths!"
Now I, for one, was happy to read about what they call mythological dragons! Were they real? Well, they certainly have become a part of our world, haven't they? And who knows whether they were real except the prince who slayed them so that he could save the beautiful princess who would be his from then on! Draco made a point of saying they were quite friendly once you got to know them...
forteana-blog.blogspot.com "My great grandma went all over China. She would look for dry farms and make it rain for the plants. She controlled rivers, and when she was angry she brought storms called hurricanes! Whew She was sommme lady!
Now if you haven't realized it, the kids will also be learning about ancestry as they start to look how the various dragons are related! Cool, right? In fact, this is a book that parents should possibly introduce to the children, depending upon age, so they can take the time to point out these topics! But, you know, when Drago introduced me to his grandparents, I was a little more hesitant--I've seen some of those relatives and I'd just as soon let them live their own lives while I live mine!
"My Grandma is an alligator, and my Grandpa is a crocodile. They were alive when the dinosaurs were, and still are today. People always get then confused."
Now if I've got this right, crocs to the
left of me... Alligators to the right... But there is no way I'm going to spend time to learn which are which of these dudes! Just my personal opinion, of course! Hey, I don't mind you making fun of me if you like these relatives...But did you see the way that guy up above on the right is looking at me... And I did NOT, I reiterate, I did NOT invite him to have dinner with me! Soooo, what am I saying? Well, as cute as little Draco is, and as important as it is to know about all his relatives, another verrrrry good reason to share this book is to talk about safety and what they need to consider if they ever see any of these relatives in their yards... Take the Iguana, for instance... No, go ahead and take him...I had one sitting on my shoulder once when I was on vacation, just to have a picture taken...which has somehow disappeared...LOL
Actually, the Iguana, the Water Dragon and Lizards of the smaller variety could be around some place where you live, so it's good to know about them. Myself, I think the chameleon is my favorite after the mythical dragons (of course). I think it is neat what ability they have to protect themselves!
I also learned about the Goanna, the Monitor Lizard, Gila Monster, and Komodo Dragon... who I didn't know much about...
But themost important thing of all if that we must all work together to make sure all of Draco's family members stick around in the future...And Drago asks for OUR help to do that! So make sure your kids know what the word, extinction, means! That's a very bad word for Draco's family! Find out why! Highly recommended for both fun and learning... GABixlerReviews
Alice Cussleris a mother, and a writer. She has master's degree in psychology. The books, Alice Cussler publishes, intend to develop children's self-confidence and self-esteem. Her animal stories are written to teach children to be responsible towards animals. If children learn to love and respect animals, they will become reliable and responsible adults.
The August heat is stifling; thick with moisture, ninety percent humidity. The walls ooze wet drops of grime; the remnants of ninety-plus years of blood, sweat, tears, dirt; simple wear and tear. Sweat drips down my brow, spreads under my arms, through my shirt, as I, the teacher, walk into the classroom. It is the first day back in school, the start of another year. My stomach twitches in a flutter; sweat stings my eyes as I cross the threshold. This nervousness remains unspoken; the heat is simply too draining. Outwardly, I show only disdain. I hate everything about this place: the building, the classroom, the administration, the students. I hold everything about this place in contempt for the benefit of my fellow haters: the teaching staff. I have always been awkward with my fellow teachers, partners in academic fraud. The majority of those teaching in this building have been doing so for at least twenty years. They began their teaching careers before the school declined. They are invested in the school and cannot afford to begin again. The others are first-years, grabbing a quick shot of experience before bolting for greener pastures. I am different. I have chosen to stay for seven years, even though I could go; should go. Some think I am a crusader, others just think I am stupid; but all are convinced I am crazy. I tailor my behavior to suit other’s needs; not my own. I hate, as I am supposed to hate. Secretly though, I love this place. The students have captured me. They keep calling me back. It is all in the challenge; the challenge of getting through to these children of poverty, of teaching them and giving them a shot at a better life. It is what makes me get up and come to work every morning. As I walk back and forth across the tattered remains of carpet, I run the one-act play I have titled Opening Day through my mind. I believe this is what teaching really is; acting. I must perform a play, for the benefit of the students. The performance must be good to engage this audience for ninety-minutes each day. I am not just the actor in this play; I am the writer, director and producer. I control the entire performance; except for the audience’s reaction. This is the one variable each actor, each teacher, cannot control. How will the audience receive this day’s performance and will they play their own roles? Stopping to make sure everything is exact. I want the room to be perfect and the props ready; all the posters straight, the desks arranged, my own desk organized, my pictures in their place. I linger at the photo of my wife and my two daughters. Having spent lazy days with the girls, running, jumping, throwing, catching, playing; I know the magic of those summer days has slipped through my fingers for another year. Now, my days will be filled with teaching and grading and the talk of things learned and homework to be done, both at school and at home. My girls are my pride and joy. They color everything I do. They are my center. In many ways, my students remind me of my own children, struggling to unlock the mystery of letters and numbers. At five and seven, the girls are learning how to recognize letters and numbers, how to add and subtract, how to read and write. My ninth- and tenth-graders are still struggling to unlock these same mysteries. It is sad, but this is part of the challenge. I continue to pace back and forth across the room, as the minutes tick down, before the students enter the school. The students will not arrive at my door until 7:15, so I still have time to wrestle with my rotten stomach and the adrenaline coursing through my veins. The knot of my tie suffocates. I loosen it an inch, while my throat tightens and loosens, tightens and loosens. My hands begin to tremble, so I grab a yard-stick, which is only another prop, and twirl it around. The back and forth swing is almost relaxing. Almost. The repetition is simply to give my hands something to do, but my stomach wins the confrontation. The need to vomit passes, while I remind myself that I have done this before. I have been teaching for seven years now, and today is no different from any other first day. I think my nervousness is a sign that I still care, about my job and my students; my children. These kids are my children, even though I was not present at their births, or even the first thirteen- or fourteen- years of their lives. They are my children to shape and mold. They are mine for ninety-minutes, each and every day. I want them to succeed, just like I want Sarah and Anne to. I want them to learn and live, to grow and mature, and to take responsibility for their lives. I can show them the way, if I can just reach them, and they can get past the color of my skin. Being able to stand up to and face down racism is difficult for everyone and it is not any different for a light teacher in a dark school. I think back to my very first day of teaching in this place. I was nervous then but not nervous enough. Disadvantaged by the cool crisp October air, instead of the oppressive heat of a Midwest August, I started late. I was a replacement, hired after school began, an innocent lamb walking into a den of wolves, offered up for the slaughter. Although my gut was twisted and my heart was a machine gun, I thought I would get a honeymoon, a few days to settle in and get caught up. Not nervous enough, the honeymoon lasted less than a day, less than an hour, less than even that first minute. It ended the second I walked into classroom. I introduced myself and then the torment began. Every vile name known to mankind, and then some more, spewed from the mouths of those students. They were teasing me, the lamb, before moving in for the kill. They taunted, yelled, racially slurred, left the room, came back, threw things, threatened. Not nervous enough, until the student threw his punch. It was a warning, for the bare knuckles missed my large, round face by a fraction, with a purposeful glare from angry eyes. I was so lost that day, not knowing the students’ names, my fellow teachers, where I was, how to get help. I was alone. I recognized the challenge then. I do not back away from a challenge, even when I am crazy not to. The first days have all been easier since, but they are still awkward and I still get nervous. I think I have the key though. This key requires me to yank the students’ attention away from summer and into the classroom the second they enter the room. A teacher must pull the students away from the summer and thrust them into the reality of the now: school. I know a few tricks,learned over time and from experience. I am known in the school now. I have worked hard on my reputation with the students. The majority know who I am, if not personally, then by reputation alone, and not many are looking forward to my class. Those who do not know me are in for a rude awakening. I am nothing like the teachers they have had before. Out crazy the crazies, as the saying goes. My reverie is shattered by the first bell of the morning and the yardstick tumbles from my hand. It is the warning bell for teachers, the warning that students are now being allowed into the building. My heart accelerates and my stomach flops. It is almost time to begin. Retrieving the prop from the floor, I walk to the door and nudge it open. It swings in the wide expanse of the empty hallway. I savor the quiet for a moment and then cross the room and climb onto one of the desks. Removing the American flag from its holder, I descend back to the floor. Unfurling the flag, I walk back to my desk. My arrival is marked by the second bell of the morning, the bell that frees the students from the restraints of the cafeteria and gives them the freedom of the building. I strain for the first sounds of the morning jungle. When it is carried to my ear by the stale, humid, scorching, school air, I take a deep breath, straighten my tie, step up onto my desk, swing the flag around a few times and begin to sing. The play has begun.
~~~
I sought permission to use the Prologue as part of my article on Sex, Lives and the Classroom by James P. Wilcox. The emotion, intensity and...anger and pain were so pronounced that I believe this is a true story...for somebody...
Just as we are appalled by sexual abuse of children, I was equally horrified while I read this story. We had an accusal of one person of another in the family, which was false. We were all upset when that happened. At the same time, we learned years later that there were a number of children who were abused in our family, including myself. This is not something that ever goes away. But when our children learn that they can use the words as a tool to get an unlikable person fired, hurt, or disgraced, while at the same time they are honest and, in fact, really trying to help...it is quite simply a disaster...
Thus the delicate balance between teachers and school students, especially when race, culture, or sexuality enters the picture.
This is a story about an inner city school, where the weather detracts everybody from wanting to even attend school. There is a predominance of one race in the school. We do not know how or why the teacher, not of that race, has decided to accept a position there.
The way I read the Prologue and the story, we quickly learn that this teacher has recognized exactly what happens in this school and is trying to confront the situation in order to make an impact, good or bad, and gain attention and hopefully discussion and feedback.
For instance, he has started first day classes by waving the American flag and singing "The Star Spangled Banner." Personally I thought it was funny...but for their own reasons, three teen girls talked at and back to their male teacher. I think, for many of us, we are not willing to accept the slang talk from young people these days. So, when that happens, we automatically begin a feeling of disapproval. Those girls wound up being suspended...
And began a campaign to get revenge...
In a radio interview, the author stated his belief that schools are in a crisis situation. When I read the end of his novel, I realized why, perhaps, the statistics of teacher tenure in a job was so low. Please consider this book if you care about the educations of our children. This may be a racial issue, but I believe it's, more, a political and personal issue for anybody who cares! Have we changed so much in our schools that simply prepares students for corporations who want technically savvy employees...and dropped the life skills, arts, and other issues that are important to the personal growth of these young ones?
Highly recommended.
GABixlerReviews
James Wilcox, a former newspaper photographer and writer, is currently a high school social studies teacher in Kansas City, where is lives with his wife and three children. His second novel title The M-16 Agenda is also available at Smashwords.com* * * * * For more information about the author, visit: www.jamespwilcox.com Contact the author at: info@jamespwilcox.com
In the mid 80's, a young child whose name is James Fisher Ford--Fisher to his family and friends--refuses to sever his deep knowing of the mystical nature of the universe. He insists that he be an intrinsic participant in an ongoing song of the spheres. It seems at first that Fisher must pay too great a price for his choices, in terms of his relationships with family and friends. Yet even as he himself is transformed--and the work is deep and difficult--so does he become a catalyst for the transformation of others.
This is a fascinating book. It is the first I've ever seen for children, outside of fairy tales, that emphasizes the need for imagination, creativity--freedom--in each of our lives. The book itself is colorfully illustrated with primarily pictures of Fisher and his family similar to the front cover...
School just let go and didnm't even stop to breathe before it chased away the summer. School plopped in my shadow like a squat toad waiting to hop on my back when I was lying in the park flicking bottle caps and watching the butterflies. A warty old toad, blinking its eyes and gulping flies too fat to move. That's school all right.
Once his mom had found a strange kind of caterpillar on our door... Now Fisher was out in the woods, walking, thinking and he saw one just like it only orange... Unfortunately he was so busy looking that he wrecked on his bike. His head hurt!
Then he thought he hard somebody ask, "What do we do about Fisher? And the caterpillars kept coming! Hundreds and hundreds! Soon Fisher was covered!
.png)
