No Crystal Stair - Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson illus. by R. Gregory Christie
This is a documentary novel of the life and work of Lewis Michaux. Nelson begins this look into Michaux life, in 1906 when he was a young boy growing up in Virgina. The documentary novel is broken up into several sections. Within each the reader learns more about Lewis Michaux and his journey to starting the National Memorial African American bookstore in Harlem, in the 1940's. It was the first Black owned and operated bookstore in the world.

When Michaux decided to open a bookstore the odds were against him. The great depression had recently ended, and there were few publishers catering to Black authors or books about the Black experience. When Michaux decided to take a chance and secure a loan I feel completely in love with No Crystal Stair. There was simply something about Michaux determination, which Nelson does an excellent job of getting across to the reader.

The documentary aspect of this novel can be found in the FBI files on Mixhaux, included throughout, or the photographs of people essential to the civil rights movements, like Malcom X and Black Panthers shopping at the Bookstore. Nelson delves into the close relationship Michaux had with Malcolm X. There are also a lot of other wonderful photographs, including exterior shots of the bookstore.

In an effort to give readers a full picture of the impact Lewis Michaux and his bookstore had on the Black community, Nelson created a few characters, like Snooze, a young teenager Micahux encourages to read for free in the back of the store. All the characters fit seamlessly into the narrative. The book is illustrated by R. Greogory Christie. He uses a light touch which complements the text nicely. No Crystal Stair is a 2012 favorite.

An excerpt
Starred Kirkus Review
Starred Horn Book Review

My interview with Vaunda Nelson at White Readers Meet Black Authors

Reflections of a Bookaholic and Mocha Girls Read are hosting the first annual Black History Month Hop. The 5th -11th is dedicated to the business of Black Books. And I do believe a documentary novel about Lewis Michaux fits the bill.

Interview with Jack Ferraiolo (2011 SBBT, Day 1)

I discovered Jack Ferraiolo's first novel by chance. It was one of those pass-a-book-by-an-author-who-I’ve-never-heard-of-but-I-can't-help-but-stop moments, and I was right to stop. I loved The Big Splash, the author's 2008 debut. When I found out Ferraiolo had a new book coming out this year I was very excited. I wanted to know more about the author but asking a lot of questions could be weird unless its an interview.

Hi, Ferraiolo and welcome. Please tell us a little about yourself and Sidekicks?

I grew up in Southern Connecticut (which gives mea bit of a split personality, since Connecticut is New England as interpreted by New York). I now live in Massachusetts with my wife and two kids, where I write and develop animated tv shows. I co-created the PBS show WordGirl, and won an Emmy for being the head writer for the first season

As for Sidekicks…well, that’s kind of my love letter comic books. I LOVED Batman as a kid. Loved him. I had the plastic Batman Halloween costume (with utility belt!!!),and I wore that sucker out. It was a little embarrassing when I started to outgrow the size requirements (I looked like a miniature, over-the-hill, maybe-you-should-hit-the-gym-a-little-more version of Batman), but I didn’t care. I was Batman!!

As for Robin… well…as he got a little older in the seventies (DC even sent him to college), the little, green bikini briefs no longer seemed appropriate. Even as a ten-year-old, I always wondered if he felt a little—oh I don’t know – exposed…running around the city, trying to catch thieves and murderers in nothing more than a pair of green jockey shorts.

Which leads us to Sidekicks…

It's the story of Scott Hutchinson, a.k.a. Bright Boy, sidekick to New York City’s own superhero, the dark and mysterious Phantom Justice. Bright Boy has one major problem at the moment: He’s been Bright Boy since he was eight years old. He’s now thirteen, and still forced to wear the same costume – little, red cape and bright yellow tights (with bright orange accents). These tights leave very little to the imagination. When Bright Boy saves a very attractive woman from falling off the side of a building, he loses a very embarrassing battle to puberty…

How do you think working in animated television influenced your writing books for young readers?

It influenced me in a huge way…in a sense that if I hadn’t been writing for tv, and I hadn’t actually finished writing something (and seen it actually get made), I might never have even started a book. The thing is, I never really wanted to be a writer growing up. I was a reluctant reader/writer who couldn’t sit in a chair long enough to finish reading or writing something (unless it was a comic book…or The Great Brain series….loved those…)

I never consider writing for kids any different than writing for adults; my voice and sensibility remain the same. I always try to amuse myself first(as I feel like my sensibility hasn’t changed all that much from when I was a kid…I just have less hair…)

Pre teen boy, yellow tights, close contact to an attractive women. Bright Boy's embarrassing moment caught on tape was inevitable yet I didn't see it coming since there aren't a lot of YA novels that broach the subject of preteen male hormonal excitement.

Why do you think that is?

It’s an odd, little gray area…if not handled correctly, it can become like a scene from one of those bad 80’s movies (like “Losin’ It!”). There’s a belief, I think, that it’s somehow “sexualizes” a moment, and if handled improperly, it can be verrrry inappropriate (especially when you consider the ages of the characters). But speaking as a “survivor” of such incidents, “preteen male hormonal excitement” is as normal as breathing. It’s going to happen (usually at the worst possible time), and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop it.

Sex isn’t really the point…it’s that feeling of a lack of control over your own body. It’s mortifying. The only thing on your mind at that moment is, “How do I stop this?!?” even though you know there’s absolutely nothing you can do. That’s the truth of the situation. But again, if handled improperly it can become doofy and slapstick… or worse, suggestive in all the wrong ways.

There are some very funny scenes in Sidekicks from the hero/ villian scripted banter, to Phantom Justice taking himself too seriously. I laughed out loud a lot.

There's a fine line between funny and just a bit over the top.When writing for laughs how do you know when to say enough?

Well, everyone has a different line. It’s all about personal taste, and how that gets translated through tone and voice. I have a certain comic sensibility… I tend to err on the side of subtlety (some people call it “dry”… Others may call it “not funny”). I’d rather a joke not go far enough than go too far and wear out its welcome. I know what I find funny, and what I roll my eyes at, and I learned from watching a lot of movies. Early Mel Brooks, Airplane!, Police Squad/NakedGun… It also helps having a few people you trust give your stuff a read-through…

Sidekicks has a lot of boy appeal, it's funny and action filled. And you easily slip in a love interest and a little romance like a ninja without wanting to make your core audience say eww.

How did you make that work?

I’m not sure Sidekicks isn’t going to make the audience say eww… Look, they can deny it all they want, but most boys are romantics at heart. Look at comic books, movies,books geared towards boys…Guys want to be the hero…but not only that, they want that awesome girl from school to SEE them be a hero. Even better, they’d like to save that awesome girl from certain doom, and then have that awesome girl pine for them. If that isn’t one of the top-ten boy fantasies, then Spider-man wouldn’t have made a kajillion dollars…

One thing I loved, the It girl had some slick moves of her own and didn't have to be saved.



I love cover. It was interesting to read Chad W. Beckerman, talk about the process of developing the cover for Sidekicks.

Are you kept in the cover loop?

I am. Chad Beckerman (the art director at Amulet) is awesome at keeping me involved in the process. But ultimately, it’s his vision, hard work (and the work of the talented artists he picks…Greg Horn for The Big Splash paperback cover; Joshua Middleton for the Sidekick cover) that produces the results…

Do you plan on writing a sequel to Big Splash?

Editing my first draft right now! It’s called The Quick Fix and it’s coming out in the fall of 2012

What are some of your favorite comic books?

Oh man…I’ll try to keep it brief … Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, of course.Batman: Year One. The New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Daredevil: Born Again,Some of the new JLA stuff, Joss Whedon had a great, limited run on X-men. Grant Morrison’s Batman run has been great. The Walking Dead series. I loved James O’Barr’s The Crow series. Marvels by Alex Ross. Anything by Brian K.Vaughan (no surprise there…) Love the classic Avengers stuff, and LOVE the whole Marvel “What if…” series (old and new). I can pretty much pick up any comic, starring any character,and get sucked in…I’m a sucker that way…

Jack thanks so much for your time and another great novel. I will be on the look out for The Quick Fix in 2012.

Be sure to check out the other SBBT Day 1 interviews

Tara Altebrando @ Chasing Ray
Shirley Vernick @ Bildungsroman
Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen @ Writing & Ruminating

Baseball Season is Here

Author Audrey Vernick was kind enough to answer a few questions about She Loved Baseball, the story of Effa Manley. The first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame

1 How many baseball books did you read for research purposes?
I wrote this book so long ago I don't even remember! And I'd be hard pressed to distinguish which ones were really for research and which ones were just about baseball and kind of irresistible

Also, I relied more upon newspaper accounts and recorded interviews than books for this particular project. Though James Overmyer's QUEEN OF THE NEGRO LEAGUES was also a vital research resource.

2 One fact about Effa Manley or the game of baseball that you wished you were able to fit in the book?
There were so many! There was a great scene in which Effa Manley really gave it to Branch Rickey for raiding Negro League teams without any compensation. There were more Newark Eagles players in earlier versions--like Willie Wells, first player to wear a batting helmet (though his was more of a construction helmet). And the fact that Effa made such a lasting impression on her players; Larry Doby asked Effa and her husband, Abe, to be his child's godparents.

3 Picture book authors run the risk of be paired with an illustrator, whose style doesn't enchance the text. Thankfully that didn't happen to She Loved Baseball. Don Tate's illustrations are great and fit the text perfectly. When did you know you'd be paired with Tate?
Over a year after the manuscript was acquired! It took a long time to find the right person, and there were lots of people with lots of opinions involved in the decision-making process. But boy, how lucky was I? I can't imagine this text paired with any other art; Don Tate did a perfect job.

4 What is it about baseball fans and baseball books? ( I am not judging. I also get baseball book fever. Looking forward to reading The Baseball by Zack Hample)
I think that link makes sense. Baseball's a pretty cerebral sport, and watching baseball allows one's brain to roam a bit, time for thinking, considering.

5. Who is your favorite team? Any predictions for this season?
My team is the New York Yankees, despite the fact that I grew up in Queens, not far from the shadow of Shea Stadium. Predictions for this season? Mine is a house divided down the middle. My husband and daughter root for the Phillies. I have to admit, on paper, anyway, that their pitching rotation is nothing short of stunning. (Well, the first four. Sorry, Joe.) I don't know what to expect from my Yankees this year. A lot depends on A.J. Burnett which is a kind of chilling thought.

Audrey, thank you so much for your time. She Loved Baseball is such a wonderful book, I'll forgive for being a Yankees fan. Huffingtonpost on She Loved Baseball




My Review
Vernick first introduces us to a young Effa Brooks in first grade. Effa loved playing baseball with her brothers but wasn't allowed because she was a girl and was lighter in skin tone. In 1932 after finishing high school Effa moves from Philadelphia to New York City.

Upset by the unfair treatment of Blacks. Effa gets involved to make a difference. White store owners were refusing to hire Black workers.

"She organized the Citizens League for Fair Play, a group of community leaders. They urged Harlem's largest department store to hire black salesclerks. The owner said no. Nobody believed a group of Black people could change a White bussinessman's mind, but the league fought anyway. For weeks they marched in the street. They convinced their neighbors to shop elsewhere. The store lost money. But still no Black salesclerks. The league kept marching. Finally they won. Newspapers reported the boycotts success."

In 1935 Effa marries Abe Manley. The couple started the Brooklyn Eagles, in the newly formed Negro National League. Effa played a vital roll in the teams sucess, even after they moved to New Jersey in 1936. She always fought for the rights of her players. In 1970, decades after the end of the Negro Leagues, Effa Manley started a letter writing campaign to get some Baseball Hall of Fame to induct some of the best Negro League players.

When I finished this biography, (which I loved, in case that's not obvious) my first thought was why, am I just know hearing about Effa Manley. As much as I love baseball and its history, Effa Manley is someone who I should know. And now I do.

This was a serious trifecta for me. 1. A woman who loved baseball. 2. a woman who refused to be stop because of her gender or race 3. It bridges the gap between the Negro Leagues and Majors.

Two of the players on the Eagles last team were Monte Irvin and Larry Doby. * Vernick also seamlessly includes 1946 Negro League world series between, the Newwark Eagles and the Kansas City Monarchs. Vernick makes the reader feel the excitement of that last game in the series.

Don Tate's colors and style have a very open feel , making them a perfect fit for this story. Tate paid close attention to details from the clothes to the model of the bus the team used. Towards the end there's a close up of Effa Manley that's simply beautiful.

When I read that in 2006 Effa Manley was the first woman ever to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, I got a little choked up. Thanks to Vernick and Tate, they did such a great job telling Effa Manley's stories. This is a must read for baseball fans of all ages.

Interview with Erica Perl (Blog Tour)

When I first saw Erica Perl's new picture book Dotty I had to stop what I was doing and read it. My review. I loved it. So, I've happily agreed to participate in a blog tour.

Hi, Erica. Congratulations on a great new picture book. I love the Julia Denos’ cover. There was something about it that said "pick me up and read me now." I did and was rewarded with a wonderfully different story.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover diversity amongst Ida's classmates. (Yet another reason to love Dotty).

Thanks so much. Diversity in the classroom was really important to me and Julia when we discussed how the book would look. I was particularly thrilled that she also made Ida’s beloved teacher, Ms. Raymond, such a stylish and savvy African-American woman.

It's nice to hear that you and Deno's made a conscious decision to embrace diversity. I noticed Ms. Raymond right away, since there aren't many teachers of color featured in picture books.

Tell us about Dotty?

Dotty is a big, cozy imaginary creature who tags along with her best friend, Ida. As the school year continues, kids begin to outgrow their imaginary friends. All except for Ida, whose friend Dotty has no intention of leaving.

Who came first Ida or Dotty?


Dotty came first because when I was little I had two imaginary friends named “Sahti” and “Dahti.” They were twins but they weren’t the same age (a detail that always made my parents smile). So “Dotty” definitely came from “Dahti.”

Sahti and Dahti are great names.

When Ida starts school, everyone has an imaginary friend. In a few months they all disappear except Dotty.

Dotty sees no reason to go – she loves being with Ida. Yet Ida feels conflicted… should she say goodbye to Dotty, even though she really doesn’t want to.

What did you want young listeners/readers to take away from Ida and Dotty's relationship?

I wanted to whisper to readers that imagination can – and should – be a part of your life that you don’t need to outgrow. I don’t know about you, but my imagination is still a great friend to me… it makes me smile, keeps me from getting bored, and takes me to all sorts of unexpected places.

Although Dotty is about imaginary friends, I also see it as a book about the pressures kids sometimes feel to give up "babyish" things, especially when they start school. I firmly believe that growing up doesn't have to mean letting go of all the things that comforted you when you were little. In fact, I still have my old dog-earred teddy in my office.

Ida feels some of that pressure when her classmates begin to tease her about Dotty. Ida's dilemma, to stay true to herself or listen to others is one of my favorite parts of this story.

How does a child hold onto the belief in imagination?

I think adults need to be role models in terms of imagination. Just as we show children by example how to be kind or how to be careful, it is important to show them how to be creative. For me, this often manifests itself in silliness. I make up rhymes and reinvent songs with new lyrics and encourage kids to do the same. Writing and drawing games like Mad Libs and making three-panel creatures encourage imagination as well. It’s part of my general outlook as well. My kids have gotten to the age where they claim they don’t believe in things like fairies any more. But I tell them I do and I always keep an eye out. Because if you’re not looking for them, you’ll never see them. So – just to humor me, you understand – they end up keeping an eye out, too.

Erica, your lovely text and Denos’ beautiful illustrations complement each other so well. Thanks for writing a story that makes me smile every time I look at it.

You’re so welcome! Thanks for having me over.

Erica and Dotty will be visiting a few more blogs this week. So pick a date at random and enjoy. That's what I plan on doing.
9/1 Alison’s Book Marks
9/2 A Patchwork of Books
9/3 Jean Little’s Library
9/4 Pragmatic Mom
9/7 Links to Literacy
9/8 The Book Bag Blog
9/9 The Hiding Spot
9/10 Bookmark, The First Book Blog

Author Interview with G. Neri

Welcome to part two of three blogger interview with G. Neri. on his latest release Yummy. Feeling a little lost, check out part one at Crazy Quilts. My review of Yummy.

4. I am going to quickly piggy back on Edi's second question. Neri - Yummy is just your third novel. You've written a free verse novel, a YA novel, and now a graphic novel. Your debut Chess Rumble (which I loved) was very well received, getting many honors including 2008 ALA Notable Book and 2009 ALA quick pick for reluctant readers.

Did you ever consider writing Yummy as a free verse novel?

No. Yummy was written before I wrote Chess Rumble, which is where I discovered the free verse form, again quite by accident. For CR, I had two characters from two different stories who seemed to want to be in the same story. It was an odd thing but I listened my characters. So I made a Word Document with 2 columns and copied both stories into it, side by side. By some
miracle, they seem to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, and I copied one slowly into the other, leaving me with a long, thin column of words. When I saw how the sentences where being broken up, I noticed it gave it more power and rhythm, and more of a distinct voice. I’d never written free verse, but loved Alice Walker poems, so I ran with it. And I guess, it worked. Now some folks would call me a poet because of that and the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award I won. But I wouldn’t dare call myself a poet. I’m just a storyteller.

5. Who was Yummy? Why tell this story?

Yummy Sandifer was an 11 year old wannabee gangster who made the cover of TIME magazine in the 90s because of 5 days that captured the nation’s attention. Trying to impress his gang, he tried shooting at a rival gangbanger but accidentally killed a neighbor girl he knew growing up. He became a fugitive hiding in the Southside of Chicago as the story grew bigger by the day. But he became such a liability that his own gang took him out before he could squeal to the cops.

What grabbed me and most people who read or saw these tragic events unfold, was how polarized the opinions were between the media, politicians, adults and kids. Some thought he was a straight up thug who got what he deserved. Others thought he was as much a victim as the girl. Others thought he’d been abused by his parents, the state system, his gang and the laws they took advantage of by using these little shorties. It was a great opportunity to talk about the gang issue in a bigger context and from all perspectives, without me moralizing about it.

6. Neri, you've written a powerful story. Reading Yummy I couldn't help but think about how this story plays out across the U.S. every day. Maybe not to this extreme but many boys are lost to the streets. Yummy has the ability to open eyes and minds.

Is there anything you'd like to say to librarians or teachers who may think the gangs and violence within the story are too mature for their students?

It really depends on the area and who the readers are. I know urban schools that could handle this story in 4th or 5th grade and most definitely by middle school. Some white suburban schools might respond to it in 8th, 9th or 10th grade. But to me, it is vital to begin this discussion at an age where young kids are getting sucked into gangs and these days, that could be anywhere from ages 8-14. Me or any teacher telling young people to stay out of gangs has no effect. Showing Yummy’s story is a powerful tonic that may plant a seed in a young person’s mind.

I hope you are enjoying Neri's answer as much as I have. He is an author well worth reading. Neri is on my read it as soon as it comes out list and I have yet to be dissappointed. My review of Chess Rumble. My review of Surf Mules

Part three and conclusion of this three blogger interview with G. Neri is at Ari's Reading in Color blog.

A NerdsHeart YA Interview With Neesha Meminger

This the second year of the NerdsHeartYA . This year the tournament is looking at under represented YA literature. A few of the shortlisted authors have been interviewed by bloggers turned judges. I am second round judge. I hope people are paying attention to NerdsHeartYa since it feature 2009 YA titles that deserve and need a little more recognition. I have reviewed and enjoyed 15 of the 32 of the very diverse shorlisted titles.


One was Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger It was released in paperback this week. This debut novel came to my attention after reading a guest post Meminger's did at Racialious called On Race and YA Lit After reading Meminger's guest post I wanted to read Shine Coconut Moon. Meminger just has a way with words. My review


Hi Neesha - I suppose everyone doesn't follow your blog. For those who don't please who is Neesha Meminger? And what is Shine, Coconut Moon about?

Neesha Meminger is an Indian-born, Punjabi, Sikh woman who grew up in Canada and now lives in the US with her husband and children.

Shine is about an Indian-American teen who grows up with little knowledge of her family background and history, but after the attacks on September 11th, 2001, her uncle comes back into her life, opening the door to so many of the mysteries of her past.

While I was reading Shine, Coconut Moon, I kept thinking about how different everything felt right after the 9/11 attacks. I saw a lot of American Flags on cars and in houses. Patriotism that can be attributed partly to fear scares me.

Do you think Shine, Coconut Moon being one of the first YA novels set right after 9/11 made it harder or easier to get a publisher?

Hmm, this is a good question. I think some publishers were probably afraid to touch the issue at all. I was lucky to find an editor who connected with the characters and the story, and saw the potential for Shine with teens and older readers, alike.

17-yr-old Samar (Sam) and her mother, Sharan have assimilated into western culture. Neesha, from reading your blog and a few interviews I know you are well acquainted with your South Asian heritage. So why did create two characters who weren't?

Actually, Sharan (the mom) grew up quite immersed in her South Asian-ness. That was part of the reason for her rejection of it. Her culture felt oppressive to her, restrictive. She blamed all of her pain and childhood struggle, in part, to the way her parents raised her - in strict adherence to cultural norms and traditions. And, because she wanted to spare her own daughter the pain of being "different" and alienated, she raised Sam to see herself only as American - as no different from any of her peers. Obviously, it backfired because Sam *wanted* to know more about herself and her history. Growing up without it left her feeling rootless and without community.

And in comes Sandeep who reaches out to his older sister and niece after 9/11. When I think of Uncle Sandeep, I always think of Ah Yuan's review of Shine, Coconut Moon. She's right, there is a lot to love about Uncle Sandeep.

Is it more satisfying to create a main or secondary character readers can relate to or love?

I love that people love some of the characters I've created! I try very hard to put ALL the aspects of my characters on the page - their flaws, their imperfections, their annoying habits, as well as their endearing qualities. They are like the rest of us - multi-faceted, full of contradictions, and still learning. If that's something readers can relate to, wonderful! If not, then that's okay, too. I don't necessarily like everyone I meet, either *smile*.

You said you wrote Shine, Coconut Moon for your daughters. Has your oldest one read it yet?

She is desperate to read it. She has read the first chapter and, since it is geared to ages fourteen and up, she knows she'll have to wait just a little longer to finish it! :) But in saying that I wrote it for my daughters, I meant that both literally and figuratively. I wrote the story for them and their generation - those who were born on this soil and have grown up here. Theirs is a very different experience than those of us who crossed over. We are the bridges and they are the seeds we've planted here.

Our parents were raised and nurtured on the soil of the past and of the other side of the ocean. I wanted to explore what it would be like, for this new generation, to grow up on foreign soil, but soil that was called "home", nonetheless - whether this land accepts them or rejects them, it is home. I wanted to see what it must be like for them to be leaning, like sunflowers toward the sun, to the other side of the ocean for clues as to who they are, where they are from . . . reaching, reaching for echoes of a distant past and getting only fragments.

If you met a mother like Sharan who thought the best way to get along was to blend, what would you say to her?

I would tell her to read my book - ha! LOL. No, seriously - I don't judge any mother's decisions. I might ask her if what she was doing was working for her and for her children. If it was, I would be glad. If it wasn't, I might ask what community, traditions, culture, etc., she was including for her children. Did they feel connected to a community - whatever that might be? Were they secure and comfortable in their identity?

Those are some of the tough questions we "hybrid moms" have to struggle with.
We're a blend of cultures, yet we exist within this push for homogeneity. We raise children among their peers - other children who are often taught to value sameness and punish difference. It's a tough place to be and requires a fine balancing act.

Fiction by South Asian authors is pretty popular. Unfortunately, that popularity doesn't cross over into YA fiction. Why do you think that is?

Thank You for pointing this out. Lately, there have been many discussions online about why there isn't more writing by, for, and about people of colour. I think this industry is changing, but it is s-l-o-w. I think children's/teens books are behind adult books when it comes to representation and diversity, though the numbers there are not great, either. Still, there are more and more people who see this disparity as the glaring problem it is and want things to change.

In terms of South Asian writing, I see a couple of things: 1) South Asians in the US have a very different history than South Asians in Canada and the UK. There is far more South Asian representation in Canada and the UK. More books, more on television, more in films, more in magazines. Part of that is the long history between Britain and South Asia, particularly India. So, Canadians and the British are far more versed in all things South Asian, are more familiar and, perhaps, accepting of South Asians in their cultural products.

Gurinder Chadha, who directed films like Bend it Like Beckham, Bhaji on the Beach, Bride and Prejudice, The Mistress of Spices and several others, came out of Britain, as did Narinder Dhami, author of the Bindi Babes books (which were made into a television series). South Asians have also made far more headway in cultural products in Canada than in the US, as well. In short, I think the US is allowing its own myopia to swallow opportunities for reaching wider audiences. The engrained belief that certain types of work "won't sell" is simply the result of focusing on a narrow market. There's a whole world out there that wants to read. And not all of it is monochromatic.

Thanks, again, Doret.

Thank you Neesha. Good luck in tournament.

A NerdsHeartYA Interview W/ Terra Elan McVoy

This the second year of the NerdsHeartYA . This year the tournament is looking at under represented YA literature. Over the next week or so, a few of the shortlisted authors will be interviewed by bloggers turned judges. I am a second round judge. I love the diversity of the shorlisted titles. I've read reviewed and enjoyed 15 of the 32 titles.

Including Pure by Terra Elan McVoy. I do hope you'll take a moment to check out the shortlisted titles. After reading this interview of course. Because right here, right now, its all about Terra Elan McVoy and her wonderful YA debut Pure. My review



Hi Terra - congratulations on the recent release of your second novel After the Kiss. Can you tell us a little about yourself and Pure?

Well, I grew up in Tallahassee, FL, and was in love with reading and writing pretty much as soon as I learned how to them. I've always written poems and stories, and I've almost always had jobs that have something to do with reading or writing in some way, including teaching fiction and composition when I was a grad student at Florida State University.

I started writing Pure when I was working in publishing in New York. I was reading a lot of YA fiction that I felt didn't really represent what life was like being a pretty "normal" teenager, and I thought that was weird. I mean, I didn't go to an elite boarding school; my parents weren't incredibly rich (and always leaving me on my own while they traveled to Japan or wherever), or dying of cancer; I wasn't plotting the revengeful murder of any of my friends, and I certainly wasn't in love with a vampire (as far as I know). I had pimples and boys and clothes and work and church and friends to deal with, and that was dramatic enough! So I wanted to write something about how hard it is, having to grow up, define yourself, and choose your own morality. When I was given an article about purity rings, it all sort of clicked together, and I felt like I'd found the hook for my story.

A "normal" teenager, so that's why there was homework and actual test to study for.
Purity rings is a topic I would have bet serious money, I would never have read a book about. Terra, you cost me a lot of imaginary money and I know I can't be the only one. Pure has been out for over a year. What has the feedback been from readers who were tentative about picking it up because of the subject matter?

Happily, for me, most people have had the same reaction you did. They thought "Oh my gah. I cannot read a book with all this Jesus stuff in it!" Some people have been put off, sure, but it seems like ultimately, when they got into it and gave it a chance, they saw that there was a lot more to Pure than a bunch of preaching in one direction or another. It was really, really important to me to be fair to everyone in the book, and to take each side as seriously as they would themselves, and that included religion. But nothing in life is really simple and clear-cut, even if, like Morgan, we want it to be sometimes. I'm glad that a lot of people are finding out that this book isn't clear-cut, either.

Pure is written in such a balanced and thoughtful matter, it could easily lead to questions and conversations. I will never understand purity rings, though in the end it comes down to respecting the choices of others. One way to do this is through dialogue.

That is definitely one thing I was trying to accomplish with this book.

I found your main character 15 Tabitha very likable and realistic. When you started writing, did you always know the type of girl Tabitha would be? Or did that change over time?

Tab was very, very clear to me from the second I started writing. I heard her voice right away and knew her pretty completely, including knowing how she'd handle things in the end. It's why I was able to write the book in the first place: something I'd never done before and never thought I'd try to attempt. Tabitha, thank goodness, was more certain and solid than I was a lot of the time!

Tabitha's friendships with her three closet friends (who also have purity rings) is broken when one of the girls has sex. Tabitha's best friend Morgan is strong in her convictions and will not have anything to do with the other girl. Tabitha must choose between a friend or a life promise. Being 15, its the first time she faces something like that and struggles with it. I always assume authors become very close to their main characters. Was it hard to put Tabitha in such a difficult position?

No because I knew she was going to be okay. And that dilemma you pinpoint is exactly what I wanted to write about. When you are in high school, you can lose friends almost overnight by making certain decisions: who you're going to hang out with, what classes you're going to take, if you'll get a job, what you wear . It's painful and awful and horrible, but it's also amazing and very, very important. I knew Tab was going to suffer, but because I had to go through very similar things once myself, I knew she was going to come out okay, and stronger in herself.

Tabitha's bestfriend Morgan likes to be in control and have the best of everything when compared to her friends. What did you want readers to take away from their relationship?

Mainly just that life is change. As you grow and develop, the relationships you have need to grow and develop with you --make room for who you have become-- because if they can't or don't, they aren't going to last very long. But also that growing and changing (and maybe losing things in the process) is okay

Religion is always a touching subject. How do you think you did? Would you have changed anything?
You're right that religion is touchy. But it's also a big part of a lot of people's lives. The hardcore stuff we see or hear about on TV is only a tiny-miney fraction of what's out there. Which is part of why I wanted to take on something like this: to show that there are other ways of believing in God, and trying to practice that in your life. I based a lot of Tabitha's church experience on my own background, so I think there I did okay. If there's one thing I'd change it's maybe where the Ring Thing celebration is in the book. With it being in there so early, and being so intense, it might've set a weird tone for some readers. But it makes such an impact on Tab, I couldn't have taken it out altogether!

Terra, thanks again and good luck in the tournament.

Thanks again to you, Doret, and I'm looking forward to the competition, though being chosen at all is a terrific honor to me!

NerdsHeartYA just announced two great prize packs that can be won for promoting the competition. There is a signed copy of Pure in second one. And remember every time you spread the word about NerdsHeartYA others get wiser to the goodness of the shortlisted authors.

Interview with Karen Healey

I recently finished and loved Karen Healey's YA debut. Guardian of the Dead. (my review) Healey was kind enough to answer a few questions.

Hello Karen. Congrats on a wonderful debut, that was released in simultaneously in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I'm a New Zealander living in Australia writing a dissertation on American superhero comics culture. People occasionally find this confusing.

I love the U.S. cover. Who is the person behind it?


Ben Mautner, a very talented designer/producer/DJ. Check out his site

17 Ellie Spencer is not your typical YA female protagonist. She has a Black belt in Tae Kwon Do. When strange things begin to happen, she pays attention and takes action.

Did you always know the type of girl Ellie would be? How would you describe Ellie Spencer?
Impatient, sarcastic, directionless, isolated, determined - there's a lot of words for Ellie. I always knew she was going to be physically capable and interested in what was going on around her - for one thing, those traits were necessary for the plot to proceed!

Ellie doesn't speak to many people but she has her eye on Mark Nolan. I didn't know what to make of Mark, one minute I thought he was a good guy, the next I knew he was up to no good.

Have you received any fan feedback on Mark or his bracelet yet?


Not a lot, which I think is interesting. Perhaps many readers are likewise uncertain of what to think of him? He certainly does a lot of ethically dubious things, and he sabotages himself every chance he gets. I think his actions start from good intentions, in that his main motivations are always to protect people from harm, but he's very quick to take care of people without giving them any say in how such caretaking ought to proceed, and that's extremely dodgy behaviour.

I am sure you will get some I love Mark, I hate Mark, never trust a man who wears a braclet letters soon.

Guardian of the Dead is set in New Zealand. For many readers in the U.S. (including myself), this will be the first time reading a novel that takes place in NZ. One of the many things that stood out for me was the care you took in describing the setting.

When writing and incorporating the setting did you consider your audience? If so were you thinking about New Zealander's and people familar with the country or readers who had never been to NZ?
Both. I wanted to write a New Zealand that was familiar to New Zealanders without too much overdescription, as well as provide enough context for a setting that I knew would be unfamiliar to many other readers. It was a real tightrope. I think the glossary and afterword are helpful infodumps for people unfamiliar with New Zealand and Māori language/mythology.

I've had people say things like, "I read the whole thing, and then I went to the library and researched your country and read it again!" That's immensely gratifying. And then I get people saying, "I tried to understand, but it was just too confusing and I didn't get it." So obviously I failed some readers, and I'm sorry about that, but I tried to strike as neat a balance as I could; it was important to me not to write a New Zealand that New Zealanders would roll their eyes at, one that felt real to them.

A few pages in, it was clear there would be a diverse cast of characters. When a novel easily reflects a world filled with many culture reiligons and races, I enjoy it that much more. Did having a multicultural cast come naturally?
I wouldn't say it came naturally; I had to consciously work on it. I put a lot of thought into creating a cast that reflects New Zealand's diversity and even then I slipped up - I don't think there's a single non-Māori Polynesian character identified as such, which is pretty dumb, since that's the fourth biggest ethnic grouping in the country.

Guardian of the Dead is influenced by Maori mythology. What is your favorite Maori myth? Why did you decide to draw upon the mythology of another culture for your novel?
My favourite myth is that of Hine-nui-te-pō, the guardian goddess of the dead, as you can probably guess! I can't say much about it, for spoilery reasons, but I love the way she refused to stay a victim, that she got away from an intolerable situation and found her own strength. She's such a powerful, vital force. There's a wonderful book of artwork and story, "Wahine Toa: Women of Māori Myth", by Robyn Kahukiwa and Patricia Grace, that seeks to underline the strong women often at the centre of Māori mythology. That had a really strong effect on the way I imagine her.

The reason I drew on Māori mythology is that these are the first stories of my land. My ancestors are much more recent immigrants to Aoteoroa/New Zealand than the Māori are, but despite that, and despite living in two other countries for extended periods, no other place is home to me. I wanted to write about the stories of home, the way they shape us and the land, and are shaped by our belief. I wanted to try and write about how Pākehā could ethically engage with those imaginative forces.

Since, I am not familiar with the Maori people, culture or mythology, I can't say you got it right because I don't know. Though, I appreciate the work and effort you put into writing outside of your culture, and I loved the story. Your cultural consultants post last September is a must read.
Oh, thank you! I learned a lot from that process, and I'm doing the same thing for my next work, Summerton, which has three PoV characters - one Pākehā, one half-Pākehā/half-Kāi Tahu, and one New Zealand-born Samoan. And I started gathering contacts a little earlier this time to fend off the panic!

What is Summerton about?
It's a YA paranormal adventure set on New Zealand's West Coast, in a small town that is picture-postcard perfect. Three teenagers uncover the real forces behind their older brothers' apparent suicides, and discover that Summerton's sunny weather hides stormy secrets.

How did you decide which mythology versions to use?
I mostly tried to use the most popular versions, the ones that would be most familiar to New Zealanders - although there's quite a lot of regional variation. I also did diverge from some of the portrayals of certain mythological creatures a little, a process I outlined in the afterword so that people could see what was genuine myth and what was my extrapolation.

It's funny, actually - my Australian and North American readers often don't know what's up until it's actually stated, while a number of my New Zealand readers hit Chapter Two, and go, "red-haired, pale-skinned people who can't stand the smell of cooked food? RUN RUN RUN AWAY."

I was one of those clueless North American readers. Karen thanks again for your time. Guardian of the Dead is a wonderful book, I hope it finds its way into the hands of many readers.

9 Authors - 12 Baseball Questions

The Line Up
1 Change Up Baseball Poems by Fehler SS
2. Keeping Score by Park 1st
3 Mudville by Scaletta 2nd
4 Brooklyn Nine by Gratz CF
5 Prince of Fenway Park by Baggott RF
6 Six Innings by Preller 3rd
7 Comeback Season by Smith LF
8 Painting the Black by Deuker - C
9 The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Cochrane - P

In case you missed it
the beginning
questions 1-3
questions 4-6
questions 7-9

10. All of these novels extend beyond the field. Baseball is at the core and its surrounded by love. Depending on which book you read there’s also happiness, fear, understanding, history, forgiveness, recovery, racisim, new beginnings, courage, loss, pain, love and family.

As a writer, how did you find the balance between the game and life?



Fehler - Baseball is a main part of my life. In both you win some and lose some. You don't dwell on the losses but put them behind you. Each day you wake up, you think, "It's a good day (for a baseball game or for life). Today something good will happen. By the end of the year many good things have happened, and you think, "Next year will be even better."

Park - Pretty much the same way I do as a person. During the season, I follow baseball avidly; I rarely miss a televised game. But that still leaves plenty of time for everything else. Likewise, in Keeping Score, Maggie loves the Dodgers, but there's lots of room in her life and on the page for her to learn about war and friendship and what we can and can't control in life. I'm the kind of fan who believes that a love of baseball should enhance your life, not swamp it.

Scaletta - Going into this my model was Mark Harris, who wrote baseball novels that were all about baseball and baseball players -- the in-game action, the weariness of the road, the camaraderie and chatter among players. In his first book, The Southpaw, he didn't really bother to make it about anything else, and that's what made it stand out. He took baseball seriously enough to write a book about it. Then he went and wrote a sequel that showed how real life becomes a part of the game, and to my mind wrote the best baseball novel of all time, Bang the Drum Slowly. I actually wanted more baseball than Mudville delivers, but once you have characters and situations the book becomes what it was meant to be.

Gratz - Baseball has to be the bridge that gets you to the real story. Neither of my baseball books is *about* baseball. It's always about something else, with baseball as a means to solving whatever issues the characters have. That's the key. If there's too much baseball in the book, I'll know it, because the rest of the story is getting short shrift.

Baggott - In the best ways, they’re mirrors of each other

Preller - My idea for “Six Innings” was simple: use a Little League baseball game as a vehicle for exploring these various characters. I don’t believe that “baseball is life,” as the t-shirts proclaim; life is life. But for many boys of a certain age, it is the field of play and the common ground, where character is revealed. So the book takes place on two levels: 1) the game itself, which is fun and exciting; and 2) the back stories and the personalities of the participants. That is, the plays and the players.

Smith - In the book, the two have become something of the same for Ryan. Every Cubs fan is at least somewhat superstitious, but in the years since her dad died, the fate of the team has come to mean everything to her, especially once she meets Nick. She’s had a string of bad luck, and so have the Cubs, but her faith in the team is absolute, and she wants to believe that if they can win, everything will be okay. So it’s not really about balancing the two – baseball and life –- as much as it’s a matter of blending them. The main thread running through the story is really Ryan’s desperate sense of hope, which is more about life than baseball at its core. The book is first and foremost a love story. The backdrop just happens to be Wrigley Field. And, as it says in first chapter, where better than that to learn about heartbreak and loss?

Deuker - I'm attracted to sports novels because, as a person who loves to compete in any game with anything that bounces, I've found that you learn a lot about a person in the heat of a game. Good sport, poor sport, generous, selfish , dogged, a quitter, accepts responsibility, blames others. Even more -if a person changes on the athletic field, you can be sure he has changed in "real" life too. The golfer who stops throwing his clubs is a different person than the hot-head who did. Each game, in fact, is a mini-lifetime. So, in my books, I balance the sports activity with the real-life drama, but both reflect on one another. Howard Cosell once said something like: The games aren't interesting. It's the stories within the game that are interesting. In my books, the games wouldn't be interesting if the reader didn't care about the life stories of the people playing them.

Cochrane - I love going back and forth: between the solitude of writing, for example, andthe sociability of teaching. I like to read and I like to play catch. The beauty of baseball is that it can so easily be folded into your every day life: you can listen to a game while you pay bills; you can talk about a game with the people you work with, and at your son’s little league games, you can talk about your community. It’s not either/or; it’s both/and. It’s all part of the mix of a rich and interesting life.

11. Baseball or sports novels in general can relate to comedian Rodney Dangerfield’s classic line, “ I get no respect” with regards to awards like Newbery and Printz.
Why do you think that is? What do you think will happen first – a baseball novel gets a shiny medal or the KC Royals win a playoff series?


Park - Women heavily outnumber men on the ALA award panels. (And I do mean heavily, easily 90 percent or higher most years.) Many of them are sports fans, but they are probably still in the minority. I do think sports novels have a higher bar to jump to overcome the biases of people who think, 'oh, it's just a game'. One example that comes to mind: Dairy Queen, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. To me that's not just a good sports novel; it's a fantastic novel period. But no predictions from me. I learned that young, growing up a Cubs fan!

Scaletta - Spinelli's Maniac Magee is kind of a sports novel and has one of the great baseball scenes from kids literature. It involves a frog. Great stuff. And of course they slapped a shiny metal on that one about 18 years ago. The Royals last made the playoffs 25 years ago, when they won it all. So I put this at even odds

Gratz - Ha. Well, optimist that I am, I think a baseball novel will win a Newbery honor before the Royals win a playoff series. It's a combination of factors: I think the days of small market teams regularly competing in the Major Leagues is over. Sure, we've seen teams like the Rays and Marlins surge over the years, but that was due to exceptional scouting and development. The teams that invest in those will do well, regardless of payroll. The teams that don't--the Reds, the Pirates, and the Royals all come immediately to mind--will continue to trot out not-ready-for-prime-time kids and over-the-hill veterans, and fill the spaces at the bottoms of their divisions. The last sports book I can remember winning a Newbery award is 1985's The Moves Make the Man, Bruce Brooks' excellent basketball novel. (Which also, coincidentally, is the last time the Royals won the World Series! And, I think, the last time they ever won a playoff series.) It's been a long dry spell for both sports books and for the Royals, but I see a sports book rising to the top before a baseball team from Kansas City.

Baggott - Ha. Funny. It’s genre within genre, in a way, and so I think it’s the ways that the best baseball books play with or subvert the genre within the genre that make them interesting.

Preller - Baseball novel. I was personally gratified and surprised by the general respect directed toward “Six Innings.” I think the overwhelming majority of reviewers treated it as a book, rather than merely a (cough, cough) “sports book.” I wrote that book, in part, because I knew that’s where so many boys live, interact, cry, laugh, form friendships, and passionately care. The larger issue is “books about boys” in a world where the gatekeepers are overwhelmingly women. Look at the Cybils: roughly 85% of the judges were women. Read the blogs; women are writing most of the reviews. Fine, upstanding, well-intentioned women who, for the most part, care deeply about readers of all types. It’s not their fault. But make no mistake, this is a woman’s world and a sports book that’s mostly intended for boys has got a big hill to climb. It’s just a matter of time. Bruce Brooks earned a Newbery Honor with “The Moves Make the Man,” and while not a baseball book, it still makes the point. You can’t do this job unless you believe that good work will find its way – and I do believe that. Otherwise, there’d be no facing that blank page.

Smith - A good novel is a good novel is a good novel, whether or not there’s some baseball thrown in there. If something truly deserving comes along, and there happens to be a baseball theme to it, then I have faith that it will find its way to the top. Baseball provides such a powerful backdrop to human drama, and it’s a wonderful canvas for so many worthy stories. One of my favorite pieces of baseball writing is the brilliant first section of Underworld by Don DeLillo. So the bar is set pretty high, which is always a good thing.

Deuker - Definitely the Kansas City Royals. This is a good question, though. One of my pet peeves revolves around "boys reading." It's a truism that "boys don't like to read." Maybe what we should say is that boys don't like to read the typical "school appropriate" books. They want action--be it on the basketball court, the battlefield, or the top of Mount Everest. They're not so keen on talk, whether it be talk in the book or discussion about the talk in the book in the classroom. Giving them a book to read, letting them read it, and then not pestering them with discussion questions might be worth trying, at least on occasion. I don't discuss every book I read. My wife and daughter read my books, but they don't read any other sports books. The majority of English teachers and librarians are women. It's not surprising that they don't gravitate toward the sports novel. That said, I will also say that there are many librarians and teachers out there who recognize that boys will read if the right book is put into their hands. If not, my books would never have won six state awards. My hope (and my sense) is that they are slowly winning the battle. I've gotten emails from teachers describing high school courses entitled: The Sports Novel. The teachers tell me that they're finding the boys to be enthusiastic readers often for the first time. That kind of word-of-mouth can be very powerful. So maybe a Newbery or Printz is out there for one of us some day.

Cochrane - I hope somebody, somewhere is working on a book about the Royals beatingthe Pirates in a thrilling World Series and that book wins all the big prizes.

Fehler - I see no reason why a baseball novel shouldn't win a major prize, I've read so many wonderfully-written deserving baseball novels - including more than one on this list. I see less hope of the KC Royals winning a playoff series. But the great thing about baseball is that on opening day all thirty teams begin with the same record, and as we've seen many times through history: surprises happen. A hot hitter, an exciting rookie, a few players having career years, a few breaks here and there, being in a weak division where a five hundred team can make the playoffs. On Opening Day all fans almost everywhere can say: "This is our year." And actually believe it.

12. Do you have anything coming out this year? Or what are you working on?



Scaletta - Yep, I have a book coming out in July called Mamba Point. It's about a kid who moves to Africa and befriends a deadly mamba. There's still lots of rain in it, so fans of Mudville should like it.

Gratz - I'm working on another baseball book! It's called DREAM TEAM, and it will be out in January of next year (2011). It's the story of a boy from Decatur, Georgia, who falls into a fantasy world populated by characters from classic children's books, like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, and Toad from Wind in the Willows, all of whom are playing in a huge fantasyland baseball tournament.

Baggott - The Ever Breath came out in December and I’ve waded deep into the edits of its sequel, The Ever Cure. I also write for adults and my novel The Provence cure for the Brokenhearted will come out this time next year under my pen name Bridget Asher.

Preller - I have two books coming out this summer in hardcover. A picture book, A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade (Feiwel and Friends), brilliantly illustrated by Greg Ruth, who is an absolute star; and a middle-grade title, Justin Fisher Declares War! (Scholastic), which I see as my rebound book after the much more serious Bystander. Justin Fisher is funny, lighthearted, quick and easy to read. A “just for fun” book, which includes several cameos from my 2008 title, Along Came Spider. I’m currently writing my first YA novel. It’s set on Long Island, with many scenes at Jones Beach, and I’ve felt an unfettered sense of freedom while writing it. Untitled, due in 2011.

Smith - I’m working on another YA novel that will be out in 2011, a love story about two strangers who connect on a flight from New York to London. (chiming in for a quick second to mention Smith's other YA novel You Are Here)

Deuker - I have a football/mystery coming out this September. It is entitled Payback Time. In a nutshell, a mysterious boy tries out for the football team. He's a senior, new to the city and to the team. The school newspaper reporter notices his speed, strength, and ability at practice. But somehow the coach doesn't notice, because the boy plays sparingly--only when the game is on the line. When he does play, though, he excels. So why doesn't he play more? Things aren't adding up; with every game, the reporter grows increasingly suspicious. Is this boy really just a new kid at school? What's his real story? The reporter uncovers the truth, and then learns that even though he got everything right, he got everything wrong, too.

Cochrane - I’m working on a novel, which so far anyway, doesn’t have any baseball in it. I’mnalso working on being a good father, husband, and teacher—wish me luck.

Park - Two middle-grade novels coming out this year: Book #9 of The 39 Clues series in May. A Long Walk To Water, based on the true story of a Sudanese refugee "Lost Boy," due out in November. They're very different, but I hope readers will enjoy them both.

Fehler - Never Blame the Umpire, a middle grade novel, was just published at the beginning of March by Zonderkidz. The cancer-stricken mother of a baseball-playing 11-year-old girl uses the umpire as a metaphor to try to help her daughter through the hard times. It's a novel of baseball, tennis, and poetry and also of love and faith and hope

Thank you Gene Fehler, Linda Sue Park, Kurtis Scaletta, Alan Gratz, Julianna Baggott, James Preller, Jennifer Smith, Carl Deuker and Mick Cochrane for saying yes to answering 12 questions without knowing what the outcome would be.

Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs by Ron Koertge is the book showing after question number 10. I used this one because I like the cover. Also its baseball and poetry. April is National Poetry month

The Boys by Jeff Newman is the book showing after question number 11. I used this one because over at Fuse #8 Production SLJ blog, Betsy Bird has this one down as an early caldecott prediction. A review at Fuse#8

She Loved Baseball by Audrey Vernick illus. by Don Tate is the book showing after question number 11. I used this one because I loved it. Its due out in October. The story of Effa Manley the first woman to be inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame.

9 Authors - 12 Baseball Questions

The Line Up
1 Change Up Baseball Poems by Fehler SS
2. Keeping Score by Park 1st
3 Mudville by Scaletta 2nd
4 Brooklyn Nine by Gratz CF
5 Prince of Fenway Park by Baggott RF
6 Six Innings by Preller 3rd
7 Comeback Season by Smith LF
8 Painting the Black by Deuker C
9 The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Cochrane - P

In case you missed it the beginning questions 1-3 questions 4-6

7. Ryan Walsh has fond memories of going to home games at Wrigley Field with her dad. Do you prefer to go to home or away games?


Smith - Home games, absolutely. There are plenty of reasons why Cubs fans are unlucky, but we’re incredibly lucky in at least one very important way: we’ve got Wrigley Field. And there’s nothing quite like it. From the old-fashioned scoreboard to the ivy on the back wall to the bleachers, and of course, the atmosphere of the place itself, there’s nowhere I’d rather spend a summer afternoon.

Deuker - Away games for sure. It's great to see how other fans behave. I remember hearing, at a Philly game, the guy next to me say: "Mike Schmidt was a bum. He hit 500 home runs, and not one of them mattered."

Cochrane - I am especially fond of hitting the road to see a game. Every summer for more than 20 years, I’ve gone on a baseball trip with my best friend from Minnesota—we watch a game or two in a new stadium, explore the city, and catch up on each other’s lives. I have a favorite Wrigley memory too: my younger son always loved the Cubs and Sammy Sosa, so I got tickets for a game on his 10th birthday: July 1, 2004. We drove all night from Buffalo after a little league game,and communed with the Bleacher Bums. Henry wore his birthday gift—a Sosa jersey. During batting practice Matt Clement threw a ball in the stands, which I caught somehow. And in the 10th inning, Sammy Sosa hit a walk-off home run over the left field bleachers. Really—you can look it up. I decided that no matter what else happens to Henry, after that afternoon, he’s had a happy childhood.

Fehler - Home games are more fun because of the connection with the crowd.

Park - I like both home and away games. Home for obvious reasons; away, because I love seeing different stadiums, and it's sometimes fun to be on the wrong side of the cheering

Scaletta - My favorite games have been at spring training. Both home and away.

Gratz - I do enjoy home games when I'm a fan, because you can find lots of friends in the stands who agree that the umpire needs to be run out of town. There's a particular pleasure in wearing your colors to an away game though. It's like you have a target on your back. But there's perhaps nothing sweeter than being an away team fan when your team wins away. Everybody else around you is pouting, and you get to walk out all smug and victorious.

Baggott - Home games. I’m a family person and get no thrill from wagging my love for my team in someone else’s face. Besides, I’ve absorbed my husband’s ties. He feels like he grew up in Fenway Park. It’s like visiting relatives, the family homestead.

Preller - Home, definitely. When that home stadium rocks – when something truly great happens (1 in 20 games), it’s an exhilarating feeling. Again: could be the Knicks in Madison Square Garden; doesn't have to be baseball. I have a good friend who lives four hours away, we rarely see each other. So each year we pick a date to go see the Mets play at a new ballpark. We’ve done weekends in Philadelphia, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., and Baltimore. We’re dreaming of L.A.!

8. Away from the game for a few years, Ryan Ward, quickly takes to his new position, catcher. Who is your favorite Molina brother?*

Deuker - My favorite Molina brother is Bengie, naturally, since I grew up living and dying with every game the San Francisco Giants played. But the catcher that really sticks in my mind is the long-time Los Angeles Dodger, Johnny Roseboro. As a Giants fan, I naturally hated the Dodgers. It's just in our DNA. The rivalry in my childhood days was heated--some might say over-heated. Mays, McCovey, Marichal vs. Koufax, Drysdale, etc. If Mays hit a home run off Drysdale, McCovey knew to expect a little chin music. He didn't dig in. Rhubarbs were common. During one infamous Sunday sell-out game at Candlestick, Juan Marichal came to the plate to face Sandy Koufax. After a pitch, Roseboro's throw back to Koufax ticked Marichal's ear (or so Marichal claimed afterward). Marichal turned around and attacked Roseboro, repeatedly hitting him in the head with his bat. Years later Marichal retired and in due course became eligible for the Hall of Fame. The "Roseboro incident," however, kept many writers from voting for him. One year went by; then another. It looked as if Juan Marichal, the Dominican Dandy with the high leg kick, might never get in. And then . . . Johnny Roseboro spoke up for him, saying that one incident should not keep Marichal out of the Hall, and that he (Roseboro) had accepted Marichal's apology. Juan Marichal was subsequently elected to the Hall of Fame and I became -- unbelievably -- a great admirer of a Dodger.

Cochrane - I love all the Molina brothers! I do have a special affection for Bengie, the first to enter my consciousness, but I also like to imagine there’s a fourth obscure one, like Zeppo Marx—wouldn’t that be a good premise for a novel, the Last of the Molinas?

Fehler - Yadier is my favorite because he was the catcher on my fantasy team last year.

Park - Yadier, because he has the coolest name.

Scaletta - I never thought too much about the issue, but I like how those guys play. They are catchers' catchers, all three of them. Tough at the plate, willing to take a hit, and quick on the pickoffs. Any team is lucky to have a Molina behind the plate, if they can't get a Mauer.

Gratz - Bengie. If I were still playing fantasy baseball, he's the one I would choose first. Good power numbers for a catcher, with an average that won't hurt you. Also: who wouldn't like a player whose nickname is "Big Money"?

Baggott - Benji. Not because of anything he did. I just loved that movie Benji when I was a kid.

Preller - They are brothers? I thought the same guy kept getting traded.

Smith - Probably Jose, because he once played for the Cubs. I always joke that I’m not really a baseball fan as much as a Cubs fan, so my knowledge of players outside the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field is pretty much limited to ex-Cubs.

9. Molly’s the only girl on her baseaball team. She’s a pitcher with a wicked knuckleball. It’s a trick pitch that if thrown well will keep hitters confused and the score low. Do you prefer pitching duels or high scoring games?

Cochrane - I am in the minority here, I suspect, but I love watching good pitchers. In thepast few seasons, I’ve developed an appreciation for smart and strategicpitchers, the ones who really know how to change speed and work the corners. I love wily old guys like Tom Glavine and Jamie Moyer, maybe because I aspire to be a wily old guy. Their kind of pitching seems so much like writing.

Fehler - Both. When my team's ace is pitching, I prefer a pitching duel because I know I have an edge. When the other team jumps off to an early lead, I want a high scoring game; I know I'll have a chance. All things equal, I'd pick the pitcher's duel, where one small decision or mistake can make the difference: a bunt, stolen base, playing the infield back instead of in, going from first to third on a one out single, etc.

Park- I love them both. But of course if you're an American League fan, you might not be familiar with a pitching duel, so let me explain... (Just kidding, but I remain rabidly anti-DH.)

Scaletta - Pitching duels all the way. An ugly high scoring game can be entertaining, but the ones you remember are the 1-0 ten inning games, like game 7 of the 1991 World Series.

Gratz - Pitching duels, I think. The games move quickly, and every little hit and run really matters. Slugfests are lots of fun, no doubt, but I do love a chess match of a game brought on by a pitching duel. I've see a few no-hitters on television, and I think they're riveting.

Baggott - I like a game that has at least one high moment in it. Many times, a game will have a home run or a two-run scoring double here and there, but there’s no real pressure moment. It doesn’t matter to me what the score ends up being, so long as there is a unique moment of drama.

Preller - Pitching duels

Smith - I think pitching duels are a lot of fun. High scoring games are great too, of course, but there’s a certain tension that comes along with a good pitching battle, the way everyone sort of holds their breath to see what will happen. That’s pretty hard to beat.

Deuker - Here's the perfect game. After six innings, a 2-2 tie. Then, in the bottom of the 8th, a big hit with two outs for a 4-3 lead. Closer comes in, gives up a double. Runner moves to third on an out. Pop-up, strike out. Two hours and twenty minutes. A beer, a hot dog, some peanuts.

* There are currently three Molina catchers in the majors. Bengi, Jose and Yadier. All are allstars.