The amazing Laura Shovan is joining the #SharpSchu Twitter Book Club tomorrow night. I hope you can join us. I adore Laura. Her writing is amazing, and she cares deeply for kids.
Laura agreed to answer a handful of my questions. Happy reading!
- Can you tell us a little bit about Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary?
4: Imagine that it’s the first day of fifth grade. Finally – you’re the oldest and biggest kids at your school. You’re so excited about the year ahead … until you learn there’s a plan to close your school forever at the end of the year. What would you do?
- What is best part about being a book creator?
3: There are two best parts. The first is seeing the world I’m creating come to life over many, many drafts. The second is sharing the finished book with readers, especially kids.
- What’s the hardest part of being a book creator?
1: My first drafts are worse than the messiest, most disorganized bedroom you can imagine.
- If you could spend one day living in the world of a book, which book would you pick?
2: I love children’s fantasy – The Dark Is Rising series, the Narnia books, Harry Potter – but those worlds are too scary to actually live in. I’d pick the Spiderwick Chronicles, because the setting reminds me of my grandparents’ house in the English countryside.
- What advice do you have for the young creators in my classroom?
5: My best advice is borrowed from poetry. Jot down a lot of different ideas, poem starts, character sketches, beginnings of stories. When you have five or so, put your ideas away for a while, almost as if they’re taking a nap. When you bring those first drafts back out, you’ll know which ideas are eager to get out of bed and make something of themselves. That’s when the real work of crafting a poem or story begins.
