Welcome, everyone.

In a few minutes, we will begin our chat with Ellen Airgood, the author of The Education of Ivy Blake, which will be published by Nancy Paulsen Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers on June 9.

The Education of Ivy Blake is a companion to her previous title, Prairie Evers. In that book, Prairie moves from North Carolina to New Paltz, in upstate New York. Her accent, her name, and the fact that she was previously home schooled make her feel like an outsider. Happily she meets another outsider, Ivy Blake and they become fast friends.

Prairie comes from a loving family and Ivy does not. When Ivy's single mom decides to move to another town, Prairie’s family convinces her to let Ivy finish out the school year with them.

The Education of Ivy Blake shifts focus to Ivy and picks up when she rejoins her mother.

In a starred review, School Library Journal says. “Like Anne of Green Gables and many other neglected creative girls before her, Ivy is irresistible, and readers will be rooting for her all the way.”

This is Ellen’s third book. Her first, a novel for adults, South of Superior, was published in 2011.

Hey, great to see you, Ellen. We'll start in a few minutes!

Unfortunately, Lisa Von Drasek isn’t be able to moderate today’s chat, so I am sitting in for her.

We've already got some greeting for you from participants, Ellen, so I will start posting them. First of all, Lisa is out there and says

Hello! Thank you Ellen for being here,

Lisa sent me some questions in advance, so I’ll let her do the honors of beginning --

Question from Lisa:

The education of Ivy Stands alone…

If you read that one first… you want to know more about the Evers…

If you read Prairie first…

You want to know what happens to Ivy…

Did you plan the books this way?

Michigan seems like a great setting. Why did you pick New Paltz for Ivy and Prairie?

Prairie meets Ivy when she changes schools and has to try to learn to fit in. You write about that experience so well – it’s like everyone in the diner stopping and staring when a stranger walks in Did you experience that yourself?

I think this earlier question from Lisa fits in here:

Librarians are talking a lot about diversity in books . Finding stories that express economic disparity this vividly are rare…can you say a few words about your choices.

You said you were a "band nerd." That's more acceptable now -- do you think kids have a wider range of ways to be accepted today, or do they still deal with the same age-old problems, just in new forms?

I like what you said about it being important to have a community of friends, but also to be able to stand on your own. Tell me more about that theme.

That diner does keep you real, doesn't it?

What was the process with your editor like for PRAIRIE?

Did you ever hit a wall in the writing process?

That's a great one -- so true.

Unfortunately, we have less than ten minutes left and some questions piling up. We'll try to run through them quickly.

Lisa's been asking the following and I've been holding her off, but she insists! Just give her a "yes" or "no"!

Thanks, so much Ellen. This was a lot of fun.

And thanks to all of you for joining us. What great questions!

The next title in our program is: The Secrets of Blueberries, Brothers, Moose & Me: A Novel by Sara Nickerson A talented new middle-grade voice tells a story filled with heart about finding something all your own while the world changes around you. Read More »

The next title in our program is: The Secrets of Blueberries, Brothers, Moose & Me: A Novel by Sara Nickerson A talented new middle-grade voice tells a story filled with heart about finding something all your own while the world changes around you. Read More »

The next title in our program is:

The Secrets of Blueberries, Brothers, Moose & Me: A Novel

Sara Nickerson

In case you need a refresher on the plot, below is a summary from the publisher:

When Joey is bitten by an elderly rat, he goes from aspiring seventh-grader to three-inch tall rodent. At first, Joey is amazed by his new rat self. The city streets call to him at night. Smells that would have repelled him before are suddenly tantalizing. (A chicken bone? Yes! A squashed cockroach? Like perfume!) And wow, the freedom! But when a bout of hunger leads Joey to pull the spork from the scone, he finds himself at the center of a longtime rat prophecy. Joey has unwittingly unlocked Ratscalibur; and now, it is up to him to protect his new rat friends from the evil crows who seek to destroy their peaceful kingdom. But what does an eleven-year-old know about actual swordplay? And what happens when Joey no longer wants to be a rat?

Reviews have started coming in:

Publishers Weekly – "…playful retelling of the legend of Excalibur … a charming take on an old favorite about overcoming lifeas twists and finding strength inside oneself."

Kirkus -- "A crowd-pleasing mix of quick action, true valor, clever wordplay, and gross bits"

Booklist -- "Full of clever dialogue and hilarious puns, this is a delightful homage to Brian Jacques' Redwall series, Lord of the Rings, and Arthurian legend."

Our moderator is Lisa Von Drasek will join us shortly.

In addition to being EarlyWord’s Kids Correspondent, she is the 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. Before that, she was the Children's Librarian of the Bank Street College of Education. She’s served on many awards committees including the Newbery, the National Book Awards for Young People's Literature and American Library Association's Notable Children's Books.

I see chat participants gathering!

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 the author before the end of the chat.

Don’t worry about typos – we’ll make them too!

Paricipants -- say hello to Josh!