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Live Chat with Caroline Rose

The live chat is now a wrap — see what you missed, below.

 Live Chat with Caroline Starr Rose, BLUE BIRDS(01/14/2015) 
4:42
Nora - EarlyWord: 
We'll begin our chat in about fifteen minutes.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 4:42 Nora - EarlyWord
4:44
Nora - EarlyWord: 
We'll be chatting with Caroline Starr Rose, author of BLUE BIRDS.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 4:44 Nora - EarlyWord
4:44
 Nora - EarlyWord
Wednesday January 14, 2015 4:44 
4:49
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Here's a quick plot summary:
Wednesday January 14, 2015 4:49 Nora - EarlyWord
4:50
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Plot summary:

It’s 1587 and twelve-year-old Alis has made the long journey with her parents from England to help settle the New World, the land christened Virginia in honor of the Queen. And Alis couldn’t be happier. The streets of London are crowded and dirty. But this new land, with its trees and birds and sky calls to Alis. Here she feels free. But the land, the island Roanoke is also inhabited by the Roanoke tribe and tensions between them and the English are running high, quickly becoming deadly.

Amid the strife, Alis meets and befriends Kimi, a Roanoke girl about her age. Despite not even speaking the same language these girls form an impossible bond becoming as close as sisters, willing to risk everything for the other. Finally, Alis must make an impossible choice when her family resolves to leave the island and bloodshed behind.
With a beautiful, tender story of friendship and the meaning of family, Caroline Starr Rose delivers another historical gem.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 4:50 Nora - EarlyWord
4:50
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Kirkus reviewed it earlier this month:

“Composed in varying formats, the descriptive and finely crafted poems reveal the similarities the two girls share, from loved ones lost to hatred between the English and the Roanoke to a desire for peace… Fans of Karen Hesse and the author's May B. (2012) will delight in this offering.”— Kirkus Reviews
Wednesday January 14, 2015 4:50 Nora - EarlyWord
4:52
Nora - EarlyWord: 
I see chat participants gathering! We'll begin chatting at 5:00, EST, but you can send your questions through at any time. They'll go into a queue, and we'll submit as many of them as we can to Caroline before the end of the chat.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 4:52 Nora - EarlyWord
5:01
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Our moderator is Lisa Von Drasek, curator of the Children’s Literature Research Collections at the University of Minnesota, one of the world’s largest collections of children’s literature manuscripts and original art.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:01 Nora - EarlyWord
5:02
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Say hi to everyone, Lisa!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:02 Nora - EarlyWord
5:02
lisa von drasek: 
Hi Everyone! Caroline are you here?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:02 lisa von drasek
5:02
Caroline: 
I am. Hello, all!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:02 Caroline
5:02
[Comment From Pam, Public LibrarianPam, Public Librarian: ] 
Hi, Caroline, thanks for BOTH your beautiful books
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:02 Pam, Public Librarian
 
Caroline: 
Thank you, Pam.
  Caroline
5:02
[Comment From Lila, NewportLila, Newport: ] 
I’ve lurked on many of these chats. Now I’m out of the shadows!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:02 Lila, Newport
5:02
[Comment From Junie BJunie B: ] 
Ready to chat!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:02 Junie B
5:03
lisa von drasek: 
I have a great Question form Deborah
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:03 lisa von drasek
5:03
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
Do you have any Teacher Guides or extension activities available for "Blue Birds?"
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:03 Deborah Baldwin
 
Caroline: 
Not yet. But things are in the works!
  Caroline
5:03
[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ] 
Can’t wait to share this book with my kids!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:03 Julie Wolf
5:04
lisa von drasek: 
Julie, How old are your kids?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:04 lisa von drasek
5:04
[Comment From Reads for a livingReads for a living: ] 
Let’s get this party started!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:04 Reads for a living
5:04
[Comment From Janice P.Janice P.: ] 
Looking forward to the chat.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:04 Janice P.
5:04
lisa von drasek: 
Caroline , Can you talk a little about what inspired you to write this book?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:04 lisa von drasek
5:05
[Comment From Jonas P.Jonas P.: ] 
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us , Caroline
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:05 Jonas P.
 
Caroline: 
Happy to be here!
  Caroline
5:05
Caroline: 
Absolutely.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:05 Caroline
5:05
[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ] 
My kids are all ten year olds.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:05 Julie Wolf
5:06
Caroline: 
In 2008 I was teaching fifth-grade social studies. We’d gotten to those textbook paragraphs about England’s first colony in the Americas. Not Jamestown, the Virginia settlement started in 1607. Roanoke, the community established twenty years before…
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:06 Caroline
5:07
Caroline: 
… Reading about the Lost Colony along with my students, I remembered the fascination I’d felt the first time I’d encountered the story: 117 missing people. The word CROATOAN the only clue left behind.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:07 Caroline
5:07
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
Where did you get the idea for the character names and spelling?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:07 Deborah Baldwin
5:08
lisa von drasek: 
were you at a reader as a kid?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:08 lisa von drasek
5:08
Caroline: 
In reading first-hand accounts from the 1500s, it didn't take long to notice nobody consistently spelled their names the same way...
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:08 Caroline
5:09
Caroline: 
...Sir Walter Raleigh ususally spelled his name Ralegh...
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:09 Caroline
5:09
Caroline: 
...Alis was one of many variations of Alice....
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:09 Caroline
5:10
Caroline: 
...So little is known about the Roanoke, I ended up taking both Kimi and Alawa's names from an Algonquin name list I found on-line!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:10 Caroline
5:10
[Comment From Jonas P.Jonas P.: ] 
This is your second book and both have been in verse form. Why do you like that form?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:10 Jonas P.
 
Caroline: 
Verse is as close to the bone as I can get.
  Caroline
5:10
[Comment From Jonas P.Jonas P.: ] 
Are there any drawbacks to the form?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:10 Jonas P.
 
Caroline: 
I see verse as a collection of snap shots and prose as a running movie. There isn't always a lot of room to work within a snap shot, but you can certainly evoke emotion and really focus on the moment.
  Caroline
5:13
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
Verse form seems to really place an emphasis on choosing your words carefully and helps to get to the heart of the thought.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:13 Deborah Baldwin
 
Caroline: 
Yes. Exactly. Drafting can be very slow work!
  Caroline
5:13
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
Your book is spot on for fifth graders. It works well as a mentor text for creating "aged" journal entries.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:13 Deborah Baldwin
 
Caroline: 
I love hearing this, especially because the book started for me when I was teaching fifth grade. A circle completed.
  Caroline
5:13
[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ] 
Did you come across any great discoveries in your research?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:13 Julie Wolf
 
Caroline: 
One thing that didn't make the book but I found to be both interesting and a cruel irony: The day Gov. White returned to Roanoke in 1590 was his granddaughter, Virigina Dare's, third birthday.
  Caroline
5:16
lisa von drasek: 
I noticed that you had a very specific sense of place. Did you think about including maps?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:16 lisa von drasek
5:17
Caroline: 
I hoped Putnam would choose to include a map. So happy they did...
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:17 Caroline
5:18
lisa von drasek: 
whoops I missed it
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:18 lisa von drasek
5:18
lisa von drasek: 
it is right in the front!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:18 lisa von drasek
5:18
Caroline: 
...It required a flurry of emails and conversations with rangers at Ft. Raleigh.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:18 Caroline
5:18
lisa von drasek: 
Can you tell us a little about your own childhood reading?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:18 lisa von drasek
5:19
lisa von drasek: 
Any authors who inspired you?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:19 lisa von drasek
5:19
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
The map is very helpful!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:19 Deborah Baldwin
5:21
Caroline: 
My computer froze! Sorry about that. Trying again.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:21 Caroline
5:21
Caroline: 
I was a voracious reader! Reading was a huge part of my life. I loved Laura Ingalls Wilder, LM Montgomery, Beverly Cleary, Mary Poppins, Doctor Dolittle, Cheaper by the Dozen, Ginger Pye, The Railway Children, Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles, the Shoe books (Ballet, Dancing, etc.) and so many more…
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:21 Caroline
5:22
Caroline: 
… My school librarian used to host a "kite contest" every year. She hung a kite on the ceiling and attached a long tail. When a child finished a book, a paper bow was added to the kite. This was magical to me. I read like crazy to get my bows added.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:22 Caroline
5:22
Caroline: 
Authors that inspire me: Katherine Paterson. I want to be her when I grow up. She writes with such compassion. I feel the same way about Beverly Cleary. Is there a more human character than Ramona Quimby in all of children's literature? Karen Cushman has taught me so much about historical fiction. Karen Hesse so much about verse...
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:22 Caroline
5:23
Caroline: 
...And here are the books that inspired me to write historical fiction:
Catherine, Called Birdy - Karen Cushman
Our Only May Amelia - Jennifer Holm
Fever 1793 - Laurie Halse Anderson
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:23 Caroline
5:23
[Comment From Josie, School LibrarianJosie, School Librarian: ] 
I'm SO stealing the kite idea!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:23 Josie, School Librarian
 
Caroline: 
Your kids will love your for life! I'll come be a student in your library.
  Caroline
5:23
[Comment From Reads for a livingReads for a living: ] 
I'm always curious about the editing process. What was it like for you? Do editors need any special skills to deal with books in verse?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:23 Reads for a living
 
Caroline: 
This was my editor's first verse novel and only my second. I am generally an under writer (not the insurance company type...the kind that needs to flesh things out). We talked a lot about things I would suspect would be true of any book: rising tension, believable character development.
  Caroline
5:26
 lisa von drasek
one map from the front of the book
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:26 
5:26
[Comment From FranFran: ] 
You certainly seem drawn to young women who are living in difficult circumstances!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:26 Fran
 
Caroline: 
It's kind of funny, actually. I'm a self-proclaimed wimp. I think that's why I'm fascinated with these strong girls living in challenging times.
  Caroline
5:26
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
I love the kite idea too!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:26 Deborah Baldwin
5:26
[Comment From Blue StockingBlue Stocking: ] 
In both your books, the main characters are 12-year-old girls. Are you just a 12-year-old at hearts, or is there some other reason you pick this age?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:26 Blue Stocking
 
Caroline: 
Twelve feels like a middle grade sweet spot to me. I taught sixth and seventh grade for most of my teaching years. It just feels like a good fit for me.
  Caroline
5:28
[Comment From Jane DoeJane Doe: ] 
The Roanoke story seems to be ones that kids are fascinated by, as you were. I wonder if it's because it's one of the few historical stories where text books just admit nobody now for sure what happened?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:28 Jane Doe
 
Caroline: 
I think that's a huge part of it. There are still debates now. No one really knows. Did they go inland, as a recent map seems to indicate? Did they go to the Chesapeake, as planned? Some surely went to Croatoan. Jamestown settlers spoke of possibly seeing white-skinned men working Native copper mines. It is fascinating!
  Caroline
5:28
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
How long did it take for you to write this book?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:28 Deborah Baldwin
 
Caroline: 
The first niggling idea came in 2008. I sat down to research in 2010. Drafted 2011-2012. Sold it in 2013. Worked and reworked and reworked until last summer, 2014.
  Caroline
5:29
[Comment From Blue stockingBlue stocking: ] 
Good answer about 12-year olds -- I agree. It's old enough for middle graders to look up to, but not so old that they can't relate.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:29 Blue stocking
 
Caroline: 
Yes! Exactly.
  Caroline
5:32
[Comment From Jane DoeJane Doe: ] 
Thanks for understanding my question -- ugh, typos!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:32 Jane Doe
 
Caroline: 
:) Didn't even notice.
  Caroline
5:32
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
Do you do author visits or Skype with schools?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:32 Deborah Baldwin
 
Caroline: 
I do both and absolutely love it...
  Caroline
5:33
Caroline: 
...I feel like I get to pretend for an hour that the students are mine. I also really love seeing kids get excited about reading and history all at once.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:33 Caroline
5:33
[Comment From Jane DoeJane Doe: ] 
Have kids every asked you questions out of left field?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:33 Jane Doe
 
Caroline: 
Yes. And they're extra fun. If you've read May B., they're often about the fate of Mrs. Oblinger. Sometimes they get gruesome.
  Caroline
5:34
lisa von drasek: 
Have the kids made you think any differently about your writing?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:34 lisa von drasek
5:35
Caroline: 
Yes. I realize how different our world is today. Things like the responsibilities a young person might have. I want kids to really feel those differences. With May B., which is a frontier story, I have kids think about all the ways they've used water up to that point in the day…
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:35 Caroline
5:35
Caroline: 
...and all the ways they'll use it later. Then I tell students pioneers in the 1870s didn’t have running water. If they were really lucky, they had a well. It’s one of many ways to show how different life is now…
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:35 Caroline
5:37
Caroline: 
...But I also love talking about the similarities...
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:37 Caroline
5:38
Caroline: 
...Those come in an emotional connection. We have all felt anger, sadness, joy, or fear. These are the timeless things that connect us.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:38 Caroline
5:38
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
Those different perspectives and life experiences are so important to have represented. Thank you!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:38 Deborah Baldwin
 
Caroline: 
Yes! I remember once telling children to imagine no cars, TV, computers, etc. I asked how they might spend their time. One boy told me he'd play Monopoly. I had to tell him even that wasn't around during pioneer times!
  Caroline
5:38
lisa von drasek: 
You really captured Alis's loneliness . Was there really only one girl in Roanoke?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:38 lisa von drasek
5:39
Caroline: 
17 English women and 11 boys made the journey to Roanoke. No young girls were on the 1587 manifest. But with both the Dare and Harvie families having babies a few days apart, adding Alis to the Harvie family felt practical. She could serve as a nursemaid to both children.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:39 Caroline
5:40
[Comment From Jane DoeJane Doe: ] 
I loved your comments about spelling. I've read that it was actually PRINTERS who made us regulate spelling. I always say I prefer the creative approach, rather to the tyranny of printers!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:40 Jane Doe
 
Caroline: 
Preach it!
  Caroline
5:40
[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ] 
How difficult was it to get your first book published? And, BTW, congrats on the success of it. I loved it and this one will be received at least as well.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:40 Julie Wolf
 
Caroline: 
My goodness. Thank you! It took me a long time to sell a first book. May was novel number four (I also had written six picture books). Though I got some kind feedback from agents, most felt verse was a really hard sell, and literary historical MG was the trifecta of difficult.
  Caroline
5:42
[Comment From Junie B., ChicagoJunie B., Chicago: ] 
Do you have another book in the works, or do you need a break?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:42 Junie B., Chicago
 
Caroline: 
I'm working on a prose novel, which is a new challenge for me. It's about the Klondike gold rush with a Huck Finn-like character. My sons (sixth and eighth grade) have wanted me to write about a boy for years.
  Caroline
5:43
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
Your writing lends itself to the reader to form "text to text" and "text to self" connections.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:43 Deborah Baldwin
 
Caroline: 
Oh, I love this! One of my favorite moments is a small one: Alis talks about the "luxuries" of London. I wanted readers to really see and reflect on her concept of a luxury vs. their own.
  Caroline
5:44
[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ] 
Thanks for saying that about literary historical MG being a tough sell. I wondered about that!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:44 Julie Wolf
 
Caroline: 
It's too bad. BUT. I have to believe a good story will get its chance. My writing motto for years has been "maniacal optimism".
  Caroline
5:44
lisa von drasek: 
I was wondering what your writing day was like. Can you say a few words about that?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:44 lisa von drasek
 
Caroline: 
I'm not sure if there is a typical day. I do almost always start with a trip to the gym or am out the door for a run. Then I settle in. I try to hold to Roald Dahl's philosophy: At least two hours a day with your work, whether or not you have something to say. Of course, some days it's much longer. Other times life butts in.
  Caroline
5:46
[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ] 
But I haven't found it tough to sell to kids -- they open it and immediately see that it's easy to read (it doesn't hurt that there are fewer words on the page than in other books).
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:46 Julie Wolf
 
Caroline: 
I am SO happy to hear this. There is sometimes resistence to verse...but to me it seems to be coming almost exclusively from adults. I think kids are very, very open and accepting and curious.
  Caroline
5:46
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
My students enjoy reading verse as well!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:46 Deborah Baldwin
5:48
lisa von drasek: 
Is there any questions you had wished I had asked?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:48 lisa von drasek
5:48
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
Our Third Graders loved May B. I've introduced our fifth Graders to Blue Birds. Our Fourth Graders will most likely enjoy the Gold Rush book. All of them fit our history studies nicely.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:48 Deborah Baldwin
5:49
Caroline: 
Let's talk about why I write children's books...
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:49 Caroline
5:49
[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ] 
Going back to the issue of an MG historical novel in verse -- what on earth made you decide to do that?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:49 Julie Wolf
 
Caroline: 
What on earth indeed??? I didn't plan it at all. I had actually only read two verse novels before writing May. But as I started drafting, I was frustrated with the distance I felt between my ideas and the words on the page. I returned to my research and noticed the patterns frontier women used to communicate. Spare language. Everything contained. I realized if I could mirror this I could best show May's world and tell her story.
  Caroline
5:49
Caroline: 
These are the books I shared with my former students and the ones I read with my children. They're also the ones that have had a biggest impact on me in my reading life…
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:49 Caroline
5:49
Caroline: 
…I love the way children's books validate children's lives and experiences. My older boy went into the hospital with a staph infection when he was ten days old. As nurses poked around on him, I remember them telling me he wouldn't remember the pain. So what? I wanted to say. He's feeling it right now!…
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:49 Caroline
5:49
Caroline: 
… I think as well-meaning adults we do this sort of thing all the time -- downplay the moment for kids. The truth is those moments, all moments, are real. Children's literature provides an honest, safe place for kids to hear their big and small moments count.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:49 Caroline
5:51
lisa von drasek: 
Do you have contact information for school that would like author visits either real or skyped?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:51 lisa von drasek
 
Caroline: 
Yes! If you go to my website, click on the "author visits" option.
  Caroline
5:51
[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ] 
You've just brought tears to my eyes! What a GREAT way of putting it!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:51 Julie Wolf
 
Caroline: 
Ramona Quimby and Anne Shirley taught me that.
  Caroline
5:54
lisa von drasek: 
Unbelievably the time has sped by and we must say thank you to Caroline.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:54 lisa von drasek
5:54
Caroline: 
www.carolinestarrrose.com
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:54 Caroline
5:54
lisa von drasek: 
Any last words from the peanut gallery?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:54 lisa von drasek
5:54
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
Thank you!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:54 Deborah Baldwin
5:54
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Caroline just gave us the link to her Web site, where you can contact her for author visits.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:54 Nora - EarlyWord
5:55
Caroline: 
My absolute pleasure.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:55 Caroline
5:56
[Comment From Julie+WolfJulie+Wolf: ] 
This peanut loved the chat!!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:56 Julie+Wolf
5:56
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
What advice do you have for young writers?
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:56 Deborah Baldwin
5:57
Caroline: 
Two things: You have something unique to say. Your writing can only get better if you keep trying. These sustained me in the almost fourteen years it took me to see my first book on the shelves.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:57 Caroline
5:57
Nora - EarlyWord: 
That's a great place to end -- Thanks, Lisa and Caroline and all the rest of you -- this was so much fun!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:57 Nora - EarlyWord
5:58
Nora - EarlyWord: 
The next title in our program is Ms. Rapscott's Girls, by Elise Primavera, coming in March. Click here to read more about it:
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:58 Nora - EarlyWord
5:58
Nora - EarlyWord: 

http://penguinyrauthors.ear...

Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:58 Nora - EarlyWord
5:58
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Happy reading, everyone and thanks for joining.
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:58 Nora - EarlyWord
5:59
[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ] 
So glad you persisted, Caroline!
Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:59 Deborah Baldwin
 
Caroline: 
Thank you. Me too.
  Caroline
 
 

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