Happy Mother's Day to all of the parents out there!

Shannon Hale is perhaps best known for her retellings of fairy tales. This month, she's hanging out with the readergirlz, as we've selected her novel Book of a Thousand Days to be this month's spotlighted book.

Shannon is one happy (and busy) mom. I was tickled that she spared a little time to talk to me about her published works and her writing process. Perhaps this interview will prompt you to read a story to the munchkins tonight - or write one of your own.

When plotting out a retelling of a fairy tale, how much leeway do you give yourself to deviate from the original?

I try to think first about what this story needs. With The Goose Girl, I wanted to stay as close to the original as made sense, because it felt like such an old, well-rounded story. With Rapunzel's Revenge, the story is knowingly in conflict with the original, which is half the fun. Book of a Thousand Days, I kept the skeleton of the tale but made whatever changes I had to in order to make it fully the maid's story. In my opinion, part of the definition of a fairy tale is a story that is retold many ways, changed for what the teller and the hearer/reader need at that time.

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Visit Shannon's website and blog. She recently posted a sweet list of little things she does to snazz up life for herself and her family.

Shannon Hale will be chatting live at the readergirlz forum on Thursday, May 22nd at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST. Mark your calendars and join us then!

Read the May 2008 issue of readergirlz.

Here is the complete readergirlz line-up, past, present, and future:

February 2007 - the premiere issue!
March 2007 - Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) by Justina Chen Headley
April 2007 - On Pointe
May 2007 - The Phoenix Dance
June 2007 - Dragon's Keep by Janet Lee Carey
July 2007 - Goy Crazy by Melissa Schorr
August 2007 - Ironside by Holly Black
September 2007 - Sold by Patricia McCormick
October 2007 - 31 Flavorite Authors
November 2007 - A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt
December 2007 - Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller
January 2008 - Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
February 2008 - Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
March 2008 - Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
April 2008 - Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham
May 2008 - Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
June 2008 - Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson

On behalf of the readergirlz and postergirlz, I invite you to join us at the readergirlz forum to discuss these and other fantastic books. We hope the issues inspire you to start your own book groups and to get active in your communities!

I am a readergirl! Are you?
Read the new issue of readergirlz. This month, readergirlz are discussing Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale and honoring Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

Talk About It

Discuss this month's book and other great reads at the readergirlz forum.

Check out our roundtable discussion of Book of a Thousand Days.

Join our hour-long chat with author Shannon Hale on Thursday, May 22nd at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST at the readergirlz forum.

Recommended Reads

Considering this month's selection and this month's theme, the readergirlz divas and the postergirlz advisory council also recommend the following books:

Fiction:
Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins
Good Enough by Paula Yoo
Keeping Corner by Kashmira Sheth
Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Non-Fiction:
Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez

Recent Reads
Last month's featured book and author: Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham
Next month's featured book and author: Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson
Visit the readergirlz archive.

Related Posts
Meet the readergirlz divas and the postergirlz advisory council
Read the original readergirlz press release
View all of the readergirlz-tagged posts at Bildungsroman
My interview with Shannon Hale

What would you do if you were locked up with your friend in a tower for seven years? Five people - one bookseller, one librarian, one huge Shannon Hale fan, and two published authors - gathered to chat about Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale, the readergirlz book selection for May 2008. Luckily, we all brought our keys and our escape plans.

Miss Erin: Before we start, everyone should know that I am one of THE biggest Shannon Hale fans you can possibly find. I would say biggest, but I think the girls at the Little Red Reading Hood forum would protest. Over there, we all pretty much tie for that position. I just thought that everyone should know that Shannon is my hero, and the most wonderful person I've ever met. Now that we've got that clear, let the conversation commence!

Lorie Ann Grover: I'm so glad Shannon was free to participate, Miss Erin. I did hear you hit the floor when you received the news.

Little Willow: Whenever I shelve Shannon Hale's books, I think of Erin because I know how much she enjoys them. Were any of you familiar with the folktale upon which Book of a Thousand Days was based?

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Discuss Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale at the readergirlz forum.

Learn more about the book and its author in the May 2008 issue of readergirlz.

Check out previous roundtable discussions at Bildungsroman.

Feel free to read my interview with Shannon Hale.

Please feel free to repost this at your blog.

YALSA and readergirlz are partners in Operation Teen Book Drop (TBD). To celebrate April 17th, 2008, Support Teen Literature Day, we've organized a massive, coordinated release of 10,000 publisher-donated YA books into the top pediatric hospitals across the country!

We invite you to celebrate Support Teen Lit Day with us. Donate one of your own books to your community, then join our amazing online book bash, The TBD Post-Op Party, the night of April 17th.

Donate a Book

First, download and print the appropriate readergirlz/YALSA/TBD bookplate. Paste it into the book you plan to donate.



If you are an author, download this plate.
If you are a reader, download this plate.

Blog about Operation TBD and place the I Rock the Drop icon on your site. Get the icon at http://www.readergirlz.com/tbd.html - Simply cut and paste the code we've provided into your blog or at your site, and the result will look like this!



Talk About It

At the readergirlz MySpace group forum (http://groups.myspace.com/readergirlz) look for the threads entitled TBD rgz! and TBD Authors! Post a reply in the thread that applies to you, and participate in other TBD threads as they are posted in the forum.

Drop a Book on April 17th

Leave one copy of your novel, with a TBD bookplate pasted inside, in a teen gathering spot in your community. Place it where the book will be found, taken, and read. (i.e. a coffee shop, the park, your school, a bus stop.) Imagine the fun someone will have when they find your donation! This is the same day all 10,000 publisher-donated books will be dropped in pediatric hospitals across the country, and it is the same day authors and readergirlz worldwide will release their own books into their communities just as you have.

Join the TBD Post Op Party on April 17th

We invite all readergirlz and authors to join our online two-hour book party hosted at the readergirlz MySpace group forum on April 17th, Support Teen Literature Day, from 6 PM - 8 PM Pacific / 9 PM - 11 PM Eastern. The chat will be in a thread titled TBD Post Op Party. The readergirlz divas will be giving away books and prizes, and chatting with teens and authors from around the world.

Operation TBD has special meaning to the readergirlz divas. After researching pediatric oncology wards for her novel GIRL OVERBOARD, Justina Chen Headley spent a year purchasing autographed YA novels to donate to her local Children's Hospital, specifically because most hospitals do not have comfort objects for teens. Lorie Ann Grover (ON POINTE) and Dia Calhoun (AVIELLE OF RHIA) personally know the healing power of stories during hospital stays, since they both live with chronic illness. Mitali Perkins (WHITE HOUSE RULES) has recently joined the team and is eager to support a readergirlz/YALSA special project.

We all know that books give hope. Together, let's show our love of teen lit and ROCK THE DROP.

Read, reflect, and reach out!

~ Dia Calhoun, Lorie Ann Grover, Justina Chen Headley, and Mitali Perkins (readergirlz divas / authors)

TBD Recommended Reads

The postergirlz advisory council recommend a variety of titles for teens dealing with health issues. Their list of picks is split into two sections: Under Redefining Normal, the book characters are facing similar trials themselves or their friends or family have health concerns. Escape Reads are for all teens who need a moment to journey to another place and refuel their own energy and hope. The readergirlz divas and postergirlz hope that many find comfort and encouragement through these works of literature.

YALSA librarians selected books all about teens whose lives are affected by illness and injury, either their own or a loved one's. Some of these books are realistic fiction, some nonfiction, some historical fiction, some science fiction and fantasy. By reading these books, ill and injured teens, or those with sick family members or friends, will know that they are not alone in their battles against disease.

Download the list of books recommended by the postergirlz

Download the list of books recommended by YALSA

Download, print, and share the TBD bookmarks



Official Press Release

For more information contact:
Sara Easterly, Publicist for readergirlz
Sara Easterly & Friends
sara@saraeasterly.com
206-632-8588

RECORD NUMBERS OF YOUNG-ADULT BOOKS WILL BE DONATED TO TEEN PATIENTS THURSDAY AS PART OF READERGIRLZ AND YALSA LITERACY PROGRAM
“Operation TBD” puts 10,000 books into North America’s top pediatric hospitals in celebration of Support Teen Literature Day on April 17

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Download the press release (DOC or PDF)

For more on this and other literacy and activism projects, plus recommendations of remarkable books for teens and adults, please visit www.readergirlz.com

Trying to think of a place to drop books? Here are some ideas!

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Please feel free to repost this at your blog.

Thanks to cloudscome for mentioning Poem in Your Pocket Day. I researched it and discovered the PIYP website:

In honor of April's National Poetry Month, New York City is hosting the 6th annual Poem in Your Pocket Day (PIYP) on Thursday, April 17, 2008. This series of events is intended to celebrate the versatility and inspiration of poetry by encouraging New Yorkers of all ages to carry a poem in their pockets to share with friends, classmates, coworkers and family. Readings across the city throughout the day will culminate in a public poetry open-mike session for kids and adults in Bryant Park at 42nd Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan.

This year, Poem in Your Pocket Day and Support Teen Literature Day are the same day, April 17th. Perhaps you New Yorkers will attend a PIYP event, then leave behind a book as part of Operation Teen Book Drop!

I am rocking the drop - are you?

Each @ symbol represents the recommendation of one postergirl. A title followed by @@@@ was recommended by four postergirlz.

Classic Picks from Postergirlz (Published Pre-1930)
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett @@@@
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen @@@@
Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery @@@
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald @@@
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott @@@
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte @@@
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett @@
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll @@
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas @@
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit @@
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne @
A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter @
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy @
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens @
All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor @
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathon Swift @
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte @
Call of the Wild by Jack London @
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo @

Many postergirlz also enjoy the works of Shakespeare.

Modern Classics (Post-1930 But Pre-1980)
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster @@
The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge @
Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis @
The Chosen by Chaim Potok @
The Promise by Chaim Potok @
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok @

Additional Resources
Jen has posted her own favorite classics booklist.

I am a readergirl! Are you?
Read the new issue of readergirlz. This month, readergirlz are discussing Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham.

Talk About It

Drop by the readergirlz forum to talk about this and other great reads.

Listen in as Little Willow, Miss Erin, and Lorie Ann Grover discuss Shark Girl.

Chat with author Kelly Bingham on Thursday, April 24th at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST at the readergirlz forum. The chat will last for about an hour.

Recommended Reads

Our April theme is Triumph. Considering this theme and the spotlighted book, the readergirlz divas and the postergirlz advisory council recommend the following books:

Fiction:
Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley
Side Effects by Amy Goldman Koss
The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

Non-Fiction:
Nerves Out Loud edited by Susan Musgrave


Operation TBD

YALSA and readergirlz are partners in Operation Teen Book Drop (Operation TBD). To celebrate April 17th, 2008, Support Teen Literature Day, we've organized a massive, coordinated release of 10,000 publisher-donated YA books into the top pediatric hospitals across the country! Learn more about Operation TBD at the readergirlz website and feel free to repost this post.


New Downloads and Shareables

Come and get your readergirlz downloads! Imagery by Dale Leary, Dia Calhoun, Lorie Ann Grover, and Holly Cupala. Show your support for readergirlz with cool avatars/icons, banners, bookmarks, logos, and more. We even set up cut-and-paste code to make it easy for you to post the images at your blog or website. Enjoy!

Recent Reads
Last month's featured book and author: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Next month's featured book and author: Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Visit the readergirlz archive.

Related Posts
Meet the readergirlz divas and the postergirlz advisory council
Read the original readergirlz press release
View all of the readergirlz-tagged posts at Bildungsroman
Check out my interview with author Kelly Bingham and my review of Shark Girl

The readergirlz book selection for April 2008 is Shark Girl, a verse novel by Kelly Bingham about a young woman whose life changes after she loses an arm. Little Willow, Miss Erin, and Lorie Ann Grover gathered around a virtual roundtable to discuss the book.

Little Willow: I'm fond of saying that Shark Girl is 95% verse novel but 100% heart.

Miss Erin: When I finished reading it, I felt that the story wouldn't have been as good if it'd been told using prose. For certain "tough subjects," verse novel seem to make the story feel starker, more real, more close somehow. Does anyone else feel the same way?

Lorie Ann Grover: Verse is the perfect format to carry intense emotion about hard subjects. Shark Girl definitely deals with these. Verse allows readers to jump in and out of the poems. We have a chance to consider and recover and move forward. It's not as daunting as, say, an entire prose chapter on amputation.

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LW: Any closing thoughts?

Lorie Ann: Thanks, Kelly, for writing a book to encourage readers to redefine themselves after life changing events. Thanks for inspiring us!

"Big picture, Jane," he says.
"You could have died.
Instead, you are here. You have time to find out why.
You have your whole life to discover
and rebuild."

If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll check out previous roundtable discussions, which include three friends giving A Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian a try and the postergirlz for readergirlz considering Just Listen by Sarah Dessen.

Related Posts at Bildungsroman:
Interview: Kelly Bingham
Book Review: Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham
Booklist: Verse Novels

Have an idea to change the world? Do something about it! NOW.
12 grants, up to $1,000 each. Available to people ages 12-20.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Burton Kicks Off Go Overboard Challenge Grant and Girl Overboard Book Tour with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers to Inspire Youth to Give Back; Olympic Gold Medalist Hannah Teter On-Board as Spokesperson

Burton Snowboards announced that it is launching a series of North American events and programs to encourage youth to live loud and give big. In conjunction with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers' January release of Girl Overboard, a novel for young adults by award-winning author Justina Chen Headley, Burton is taking part in a book tour and spearheading a challenge grant – all backed by Olympic Gold Medalist Hannah Teter, who supports numerous charitable causes.

Meet Justina and Headley on The Positive Turn Girl Overboard Book Tour!



Tour Details and Dates

Meet Justina and Hannah in person and get FREE Girl Overboard T-shirts and other fun swag!

April 1st
Peace, Love & Pancakes Dinner
Overlake Club, Seattle
6:30-8:30 p.m.

April 2nd
Lake Hills Public Library, Seattle
3:30-4:30 p.m.

April 2nd
All for Kids Books, Seattle
7:00-8:00 p.m.



About the Book

Girl Overboard is a fictional account of an Asian-American high school girl named Syrah Chen who, due to an injury, is unable to pursue her dream of becoming a pro snowboarder. Instead she leverages her love for snowboarding in an unexpected and philanthropic way. The book hit store shelves in January 2008.

Author Justina Chen Headley has generously agreed to donate portions of profits from the Girl Overboard book tour to Chill, the non-profit organization founded by Burton Snowboards. More details are available at: www.burton.com/postiveturntour

Justina & Hannah's Videos

Hannah and Justina reading Girl Overboard

Hannah and Justina reading Girl Overboard, part 2

Hannah & Justina introduce the Go Overboard Challenge grant

Hannah's reading of Girl Overboard

Hannah's reading, part 2

Hannah Teter & Justina Chen Headley for CHILL

Hannah Teter & the Go Overboard Challenge Grant

About Hannah Teter

Hannah Teter, who donated all of her Olympic-related profits to World Vision, spends much of her off-hill time rallying support and funding for various causes. Her maple syrup charity named "Hannah's Gold" donates all profits to children in need in Africa. Hannah truly embodies the spirit of giving back and was thrilled to take part in the Positive Turn Girl Overboard tour and help promote the Go Overboard Challenge Grant.

"I'm really excited to go on the tour with Justina to inspire the youth of today to get involved in a cause they're passionate about," said Hannah Teter, Burton Global Team rider and Olympic gold medalist. "I want to challenge young people to create changes they believe in and that will make a difference."

Related Post: Poetry Friday: Wise Eyes by Hannah Teter



The Go Overboard Challenge Grant

Burton Snowboards and Girl Overboard author Justina Chen Headley, in partnership with Youth Venture, are co-sponsoring the Go Overboard Challenge Grant to fund the best youth-led ideas to change the world. The Go Overboard Challenge Grant encourages young people to commit to a cause they are passionate about and submit an action plan describing how their team (two or more persons) will "Go Overboard" to create a new, sustainable community-benefiting organization (venture). The challenge grant asks that participants form an entirely new venture to address a problem they have identified in their school, neighborhood, community or the world. The best ideas will win one of 12 grants, each worth $1000, to help them realize their vision. To learn more about the Go Overboard Challenge Grant, visit: www.burton.com/gooverboardgrant

For information on Girl Overboard book and tour, contact:
Tracey Daniels at 828-859-9456 or tracey@mmpublicity.com

For information on Burton Snowboards, contact:
Mia Troy at 802-652-6765 or miat@burton.com

About Burton Snowboards
In 1977, Jake Burton Carpenter founded Burton Snowboards out of his Vermont barn. Since then, Burton has fueled the growth of snowboarding worldwide through its groundbreaking product lines, its team of top snowboarders and its grassroots efforts to get the sport accepted at resorts. In 1996, Burton began growing its family of brands to include boardsports and apparel brands. Privately held and owned by Jake, Burton's headquarters are in Burlington, Vermont with international offices in Austria and Japan. For more information, visit www.burton.com

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Thanks to Burton and Youth Venture for the original press release.

Thanks to Justina for writing a book which will empower readers!

Read my review of Girl Overboard.