Yesterday we had the privilege of hosting Pelican House Productions, the film company behind General Education. If you’re a fan of quirky comedies, this is one that you will want to see in August.

One of the reasons that we hosted Pelican House is that a founder, Elliot Feld, used to be a student at our school and it’s great to see a Hurricane come back to share experiences with current students. Their group did a great job of talking to students about how to pursue goals and how to work as a professional. Over and over again they talked about taking opportunities as they came, but also learning how to say no to things that didn’t line up with their goals.

They were very approachable and related well with the students. They put on a marathon presentation schedule yesterday, but were good sports about it and were happy to meet with as many students as they could. More than once they mentioned to me how much they wanted to give back to the community.

As co-writers of the screenplay, they had great insight into how to create a story that would not only translate well to the screen but would emotionally connect the audience to the subject matter. A big lesson for the students was that planning is free and crucial. The more effectively you plan, the more money you save. Each day filming translates into money. These guys had a budget to shoot for 18 days, not 90 like a blockbuster. Also, you have to be super-planned because it’s not just you and some friends messing around with a video camera. When filming the graduation scene in General Education, 500+ people were on set. Without planning, the movie would have  ground to a halt in the chaos. It was great hearing the producer talk about his role in organizing things ahead of time.

Check out the movie trailer here and marvel at the cast they have listed at IMDB. They can be reached on Twitter at @PHPfilm and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pelicanhouseproductions. Message them to schedule a visit. It’s well worth your time.

It’s interesting to compare author visits with some of the others that have come to our school. Lisa was definitely not jumping on tables. That may have been a unique characteristic of Frank Beddor. She did have some of the rebellious attitude of Heather Brewer, which was great. The students applauded many of her statements and had tons of questions for her.

One thing that stood out was that Lisa read the first chapter of her book to start her presentation. I know that authors do readings all the time in stores and coffee shops, but I’ll be honest: I thought reading aloud to 180 students might not go over well. I’ve presented to that many students, but I’m tall and loud. Lisa McMann does not shout, or at least she did not during her presentation. She read with a quiet intensity that I was afraid people would talk over.

Then I remembered that her book rocks. There were students in the audience who were reading along with her, which is pretty cool considering the book only went on sale at the start of this week.

She shared about her own kids and her husband helped run the PowerPoint. It allowed students to see that an author has a real life and is not a completely mythological creature, although hearing that she wrote Wake in seven days leads me to believe that she has some Olympian characteristics.

If you get a chance to have her speak at your school, take it. It definitely boosted interest in reading her book. Check her tour schedule here. It was a worthwhile experience for students and staff. Thanks to Changing Hands for the opportunity and Ms. Redden for making it happen.

Yes, I’m tall.
Yes, it looks like Ms. Redden is photobombing us.

If I were you, I definitely would want more details after Kirkus (and others) makes a bold statement like, “Hunger Games meets Harry Potter“. Is it realistic to namedrop two of the three biggest titles of the decade? (It would be the YA trifecta if the Death Farm was run by a sparkly vampire.)

I think the world of Unwanteds is split into part dystopia and part fantasy. The book starts out as main character Alex is about to be Purged, sent to to his death for showing artistic ability. The advance copy that I read has a letter in it from McMann explaining the inspiration for the story. Since I’m an educator in Arizona, I’ve seen the budget cuts to the arts. My brother’s a music teacher and one of my closest friends used to be a drama teacher until cuts were made. I get the Purge.

There’s quite an allegory that can be drawn from the story, but the narrative does not suffer. It would have been very tempting for McMann to get preachy or throw in some obvious jabs at current politicians and she refrains, unlike some authors (I’m looking at you, Dante Alighieri).

Unwanteds reminds me so much of The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, which makes sense, since McMann says she drew inspiration from similar greats like Roald Dahl and C.S. Lewis. Despite the dangers, it’s a world you kinda want to live in. Each student has their own talent, a specialized artistic ability, they use to make the world a better place. Teachers help the students hone their craft into powerful weapons.

There’s an ensemble cast, so even though the main character, Alex, is talented in visual arts, there are other characters for students to identify with. The teacher that speaks in iambic pentameter is a particular favorite of mine, although it’s tough not to side with a painting instructor that is part crocodile/part octopus (don’t get me started on the squirrelicorn warrior).

The story does have elements of the monomyth, but hey, that story’s entertained for a couple of centuries. What McMann does with the archetypes is great. The old mentor that runs the school could have easily been another Dumbledore, yet I felt like Mr. Today (whose name has significance) stands on his own. In one part, he asks the ruler of the dystopia to name any secret Mr. Today is hiding. Throughout the book, Mr. Today emphasizes the need for transparency and how fear is not the way to get things done. That’s a lesson that I hope many readers hold onto after finishing the book.

Unwanteds is its own book and doesn’t need the comparison to Hunger Games and Harry Potter to succeed, but if it draws students to this great book, then I’m all for it. Librarians, get this book. It’s already starting to gain popularity and I agree that it deserves it (and I’m not just saying that because Lisa McMann’s going to be on our campus this Wednesday).

The negative? I don’t work at Desert Arroyo Middle School. I would have to Google it to find where it is.

I’m going to try and edit the Wikipedia page where it’s mentioned.

Oh, Wikipedia. Facepalm.

Notice how there’s a citation, even. It links to a fan site that isn’t even online anymore.

The quote is from my website article here.

Mike Lupica’s great to have speak with your students. A big thanks go to the folks at Phoenix Book Company for making it happen.

He didn’t spend too much time hyping his new book, which I appreciate. He told the story of how he started writing YA books and his inspiration from his own children. You can tell that he loves sports and has a love for the game, no matter which one it is. Something that he emphasized was that in sports, you get knocked down a lot. Many people get knocked down. It’s the people that get back up that show the heroics.

He also explained that one reason people love sports so much is that you can’t go to Blockbuster and rent tonight’s game. It’s unscripted, it’s unpredictable, and that resonates with people because it echoes life.

It was cool to hear him say that Hero was the most fun to write because he was such a fan of comic books growing up. You can tell that he enjoys writing and likes interacting with students. He does tell it like it is, though, and called out a kid because the student’s favorite team had spent a billion dollars on players with not much to show for it. He also found it ironic that you can get a trophy in youth sports just for showing up.

I enjoyed hosting Mike Lupica and I know the kids found it worthwhile, as well. He said that every one of the students had a novel in them and I hope that some will be encouraged to take up writing, whether academically or in a professional setting.

Much like when Frank Beddor visited, I now hear Ridley Pearson’s voice when I read his work. I’m on Kingdom Keepers III right now and many of the real-life stories Ridley shared made it into the book. The characters visit the abandoned carousel room, find the maintenance journal for Soarin’, and ride on a crazed Test Track.

If you ever get a chance to host Ridley, take it. He’s a very interesting individual. Last year he taught English at a university in China and was a substitute teacher in St. Louis. Ridley is very successful – he doesn’t need the extra money. He loves working with students. Every chance he gets he teaches To Kill a Mockingbird, one of my favorite books to read and teach.

He’s in a band with Matt Groening, Amy Tan, Stephen King, Mitch Albom, and Dave Barry. Those have got to be some fun rehearsals. It was during one of those band sessions that Dave Barry and he decided to write Peter and the Starcatchers.

As if that wasn’t interesting enough, he has a pass to get into any Disney location for free at any time. He just calls up, says he needs to do some research, and an Imagineer hooks him up. Ridley showed some spooky photos from It’s a Small World at 5 am. If you’ve read the first Kingdom Keepers book, you know what that’s about.

Ridley was a good mix of fun insider stories about Disney and an experienced perspective on the writing process. He also loved what we’re doing at our school, so I pass the applause on to the teachers for fostering an enjoyment of reading in our students.

1. Were the students engaged?
2. Was there a balance between “Buy my book!” and “Here’s how to be a better student”?

Student engagement is a big one, since a bored audience could be doing something else with their time. Author visits take work to coordinate; Quiet Ball is a much easier way to bore students.

I understand that authors make money from book sales, so of course they would want to hype their books. But by being at the school you’ve already highlighted your book apart from all of the others on the shelf.

James Dashner scores well on both of these requirements. He had some pictures on a PowerPoint to make the students laugh, but what really kept the students involved was asking questions. Dashner asked students about why to pre-write and what makes for a good revising process. He detailed the steps that he takes when writing a book. It was great to hear that pre-writing, first drafts, and revisions (all things our teachers emphasize) are involved in how he gets published.

Our focus on rigor, relevance, and relationships was enhanced by his real world writing examples. I especially appreciated that to be a published author many times you send off your revised manuscript to an agent before you get to the final copy. Students came away from the author visit with a better understanding of strategies for writing (and signed copies of the book).

Librarians, a warning – you’ll need to order more books. Mine are all checked out and on hold.

John Flanagan was a good way to end author visits for the school year. He told us about his work in TV but how he really wanted to be an author. I loved the fact that his big celebration was not a big house/car but that he could do his dream and still support his family. (That excitement was demonstrated by looking like a “loon” as he and his wife pulled up to stop lights (instead of the bland faces people normally present.))

He also talked about how he started Ranger’s Apprentice to hook his son on reading. His son’s favorite part was Halt catching Will in the tower. He never knew you could actually feel fear in a story. Flanagan then stuck the stories in a desk for 12 years until his daughter recommended to get them published as Book 1. It’s cool that now we’re talking script by Paul Haggis (who, for the first time in Academy Award history won back-to-back awards for the scripts for Crash and Million Dollar Baby). 

It’s even cooler that Paul Haggis took notice of Ranger’s Apprentice because the scriptwriter’s son loved the books. I am stoked because I still am boycotting the Stormbreaker movie because I’m such a fan of the Alex Rider series and usually young adult books-turned movies stink. (Did you see Eragon? Yeah, me neither.)

Flanagan had a great thing to say about all of the rejection letters (he gets so excited, he says sarcastically). You can’t guarantee success, but you can guarantee failure. He then shared Steven Bradbury’s story. (He also shared how kangaroos go from cutesy to old men kangaroos who lean on golf tees like they owe the place.) 

Flanagan popped the balloon. Students got copies of Book 5, Sorcerer of the North (which comes out in November).

He signed my book “aka Halt”. I’m excited.

1.  She’s funny, in a The Office/Joss Whedon sort of way. You’ve got to pay attention or the wit will fly right by.
2. She knows character development and purpose. A student asked, “Why did you make Josh like he is?” Ally: “Josh is everything that Cammie wants but can’t have. The white picket fence, the mom who bakes giant apple pies.” She went on to explain how Cammie lives in a mansion but eats microwave burritos because her mom doesn’t know how to cook. The normal life escapes her.
3. Ally intended Bex to represent Cammie without any reservations. Bex doesn’t know what it’s like to lose a dad.
4. Book 3 is going to rock, plain and simple. Macey, a character who originally would have left after book one, has some very exciting scenes.
5. In book 3 there is another cool character with some hilarious dialogue.
6. The title is just as fun as the others.
7. If I told more about book 3 (or the rest of the series), Ally would kill me with a piece of uncooked spaghetti. I’ve seen her do it and I’ve had trouble sleeping ever since.
8. The first Gallagher book was dedicated to someone that Ally knew who sounds like an extraordinary woman that deserves the title Gallagher Girl.
9. Ally understands the balance between internal and external conflict. Where I am one to always require more explosions, the balance between Cammie wanting to look elegant at a ball and Cammie tracking down an infiltrator is what I love about the book series.
10. Ally has a secret identity.
11. That secret identity has trouble checking in to hotels.
12. I may not look at the printed signs to tell you which hotel lobby I am in, but I can tell you based on carpet.
13. Ally is very forgiving when you show up and wait to pick her up at the wrong hotel.
14. Ally has great metaphors regarding the writing process. “If you turn on a hose after you haven’t used it for a while, what comes out?” Someone honestly said mice. Ally had a witty response on her feet.
15. Her writing space involves sticky note storyboards on four separate walls, a wall for each story she’s working on. She may describe it as the mind of a serial killer, but I am going to start doing that in my library office. (Maybe that’s not good evidence that she’s not crazy.)
16. I am going to start a letter/e-mail writing campaign to get George Clooney to play Joe Solomon in the movie.
17. When you sign a contract with Disney, it is worded that you are giving rights to the story for it to be a Disney production anywhere in the universe. (Not just measly little Earth.)
18. When you sign with Disney, you agree that your story can take many forms: film, straight to DVD, made for TV movie, stage, and on ice.
19. I would love to see Gallagher Girls on Ice on the planet Neptune.
20. Ally is great with kids (and knows some good songs to sing with a preschooler).
21. My Little Pony Live has higher production values than The Wiggles.
22. Ally is a very humble author who doesn’t complain about carrying a diaper bag and riding to the airport in a minivan with a crying infant.
23. Ally inspired a teacher to follow her own “high concept idea” and start writing again.
24. Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a good friend of hers that wrote The Squad, about covert cheerleaders. They just came out this month and I will be checking those books out.
25. Ally Carter can do well presenting to the large groups but she excels at the question and answers, so keep that in mind when bringing her to your library.

Yes, bringing an author is a lot of work. Yes, I am exhausted (woo, President’s Day!). But it is so worth it and so much fun, especially when you get the talented Ally Carter to your library.