Next Big Thing Comes to Life on Stage

U of Minnesota Orchestra filing getting ready to play The Rite of Spring

I answered the questions for my next big thing here. In less than a week, my new book When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky, Two Artists, Their Ballet, and One Extraordinary Riot will be available and it seems impossible that this time a year ago I was just beginning the final illustrations!

Last fall, as I was looking up where the centennial performances of The Rite of Spring were going to be happening all over the world, I noticed that the Joffrey Ballet was going to be performing the original choreography by Nijinsky along with a live orchestra playing Stravinsky's music here in Minneapolis. When I bought the tickets months ago, February 26th seemed like it would never arrive. Last night I sat in the audience of the Orpheum Theatre downtown and oohed and ahhhed with the rest of the audience at the first two contemporary ballet pieces performed en pointe with legs turned out and giant leaps that were breath-taking. Then after the second intermission, the orchestra filed in-- filling the orchestra pit and spilling out on the next level up. (see the timpani filling the left side?) Stravinsky wrote Le sacre du printemps for an extra large orchestra and the University of Minnesota Orchestra rose to the occasion of celebrating this historic event. When the curtain finally rose to reveal the dancers I nearly swooned. It was as if one of my illustrations had come to life. I kept hoping to see the ghosts of Nijinsky and Stravinsky in the wings. Legend has it that Nijinsky stood on a chair with Stravinsky steadying him by his coat tails in the wings yelling the beats of the music in Russian to the dancers because they could not hear the music over the cries and shouts of the audience.

Illustration for When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky © Lauren Stringer

What was so interesting about the evening is that most of the audience seemed to be there to see the Joffrey Ballet, not the historic re-enactment of The Rite of Spring complete with sets and costumes. They were there to see point shoes and tutus, pirouettes and leaps. Several people walked out in the middle of the performance in disgust. Many people did not know what to make of it-- and it became clear to me why this ballet 100 years ago caused such a ruckus-- indeed it caused a legendary riot at its premiere on May 29, 1913. There was no riot, but it still asked the important questions about art and beauty and comfort and surprise. A night to remember!

My Next Big Thing

What is your next Big Thing?

Top Goat, a novel about a goat who becomes the leader of his herd after he and his fellow goats escape the confines of their pen and embark upon the adventure of their lives.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was watching a pair of goats head-butting each other at a local farm, and I thought, "Hey, those goats would make good characters for a novel."

What genre does your book fall under?

Middle Grade fiction

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Um, some type of CGI-generated goats?

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Buck, a young outcast goat, earns the respect of his herd after leading them on an adventure beyond the confines of their pen.

Who is publishing your book?

TBD

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

About 3 months

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Pigs Might Fly or Find the White Horse, both by Dick King-Smith.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

In addition to the above reference to head-butting goats, I was intrigued by the possibilities for exploring the theme of bullying in a way that does not involve a school setting.  Plus, I think goats are interesting characters!

What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

Lots of mayhem and humor, I hope.

The Next Big Thing Blog Tour

Ashley Wolff tagged me to be the next stop on The Next Big Thing Blog Tour. This tour provides a chance to get to know various children's book authors and illustrators through their blogs. Here at OnePotatoTen fellow members were also tagged, so we will devote a round to answering these ten questions.

1) What is the working title of your next book?
I have a few titles under development, but will use this post to discuss How Sophany Saved the Dance

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
The author, Daryn Reicherter, MD is a Psychiatrist and Clinical Associate Professor at Stanford University, School of Medicine. He is the Director of Cross Cultural Trauma Psychiatry at a refugee clinic in San Jose where he met and became friends with Sophany Bay, a Khmer Rouge survivor who immigrated to this country and started a Cambodian dance school in San Jose.



Daryn's wife, YA author Heidi R.Kling, was a member of my writer's group. She shared Daryn's picture book story and I was eager to give the story form. I enjoy researching other cultures. I used to enjoy folk dancing from many cultures and ballroom/social dancing. My daughter has been a dancer since she was three (jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, hip hop) so I've watched many kinds of dance and have wanted to do a dance book. I created a sketch dummy and tried a few color studies combining collage of decorative papers and rice papers with watercolor and brush markers on sumi paper.

3) What genre does your book fall under? How Sophany Saved the Dance will be a picture book.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition? I wish Sophany could play herself. She danced before the king of Cambodia in her early years. She still teaches but no longer performs. The movie rendition needs to honor the traditional dance form by starring an accomplished Khmer dancer.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? How Sophany Saved the Dance is a true story of hope and resilience set between two cultures.

6) Who is publishing your book? Stay tuned!

7) How long did it take you to write (illustrate) the first draft of the manuscript? This was a "back burner" project that I have moved to the front burner. I have been researching and sketching on and off for a few years.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
A Song for Cambodia by Michelle Lord, illustrated by Shino Arihara (Lee & Low, 2008)
Little Sap and Monsieur Rodin by Michelle Lord, illustrated by Felicia Hoshino (Lee & Low, 2006)

9) Who or what inspired you to write (illustrate) this book? I was inspired by Daryn's sensitive telling of Sophany's story. Daryn was inspired by Sophany's resilience and desire to preserve her culture and help her community.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest? The Khmer Rouge trial is coming to a close. Sophany’s story was used in the international criminal court as evidence against the Khmer Rouge.

I am tagging my Stanford YA/MG writing teacher, Annemarie O'Brien who has her first book publishing soon.

The Next Big Thing

For this round, we'll all be answering the questions from The Next Big Thing. I'll be answering them about the forthcoming paperback of my novel The Raft, which came out in hardcover last August.

1)      What is the working title of your next book?

The next book I have coming out is the paperback version of The Raft, my young adult novel that was released in hardcover in August.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

I spent about three years living out on Midway Island. To get there, we took a small turbo-prop plane, which took about five hours over nothing but ocean. I was always worried the thing would go down.
3) What genre does your book fall under? Young adult
4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Wow, well, there are basically two characters: 15-year-old Robie, and twenty-something Max. There are flashbacks to Max in high school, so an actor who could do younger and bit older. For the girl I could imagine someone like Elle Fanning or Abigail Breslin. For the guy, someone on the order of Taylor Lautner, who could look older or younger if needed. Dreaming here, of course: I would love to see the novel be a movie and there are any number of people who would be perfect for each part.
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Robie takes the flight to Midway, which crashes halfway there, leaving her in a raft in the middle of the ocean.
6) Who is publishing your book?

Feiwel and Friends, a Macmillan imprint
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

About a year, I think. It was painful, I didn’t think I was ever going to finish. But I always go through that stage with my books.
8)What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I had a friend tell me, “Hey! You’ve written a female Hatchet!” Not that I would dare put my book in the same category as Hatchet, but for fun we did start calling it Hatchette after that.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book? My experiences on Midway contributed a lot to the story. I didn’t have to research the setting because I had lived it. All the flora and fauna and wildlife was second nature to write about.
10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

The book is on the 2013 TAYSHAS high school reading list in Texas and was named a 2013 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers.

Happy Valentine's Day Potatoes and 1 Potato 10 Readers!

On Valentine's I do the things I love and send love notes to the one's I love! So today I will be painting, reading, writing and listening to music--- all things I love! And here is a love note to you!

A Little Cake?

On Friday, we had the publication party for HOOP GENIUS: HOW A DESPERATE TEACHER AND A ROWDY CLASS INVENTED BASKETBALL. Pictured above at the Red Balloon Bookshop in Saint Paul are my brilliant editor Andrew Karre and his son Edmund. Check out those rosy cheeks on Edmund. We had another snowy night, but that did not deter folks, and I was particularly pleased to have David representing the Spuds. I wish you all could have been with us for some cake and wine.

Wondering...

I love contests and I love children's books, so I always look forward to the ALA announcements regarding their prize winning books of the year. I'll admit that sometimes I have thought, "My goodness, how could anyone have ever chosen THAT book as a prize winner! I can't imagine any kid - or many adults - ever enjoying it!" But the times that I have sat on award panels, for the Minnesota Book Award and the Sid Fleischman Humor Award, the other judges that I've worked with have always been thoughtful, considerate people who have taken their task very seriously. I have to trust that this is the case with the ALA awards as well, and even when I don't agree with their decisions, I believe that the judges undertake their monumental task with as much care and thought as all the other judges I've worked with.

This year most of  my guesses for the awards were in the ballpark. I hoped SLEEP LIKE A TIGER would win the Caldecott (it was an honor book). I hoped CODE NAME VERITY would win the Printz (it was an honor book). But my Newbery choice, WONDER, did not even make an honor nomination, which I think was a surprise to many. Medal or not, it's still a winner.

I recommended the book in an earlier post, but if you don't know the story yet, it is about a 10-year-old boy with a severe facial deformity starting his first year in public school. It is told from the viewpoint of multiple characters, as they encounter Auggie and are changed by the experience. At the heart of the book is the message: choose kindness.

If you haven't read it yet, by all means do so. Even my friends who do not regularly read children's books have found this to be a prize-worthy read.