Showing posts with label blog tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog tour. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

The MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT Blog Tour is HERE!


















by Laura Purdie Salas
illustrated by Angela Matteson
Wordsong, March 12, 2019

True story: my dolls sat on my closet shelf until just a few years ago when we had to empty mom's house to sell it. I tried to pack them away in a trunk several times, but it never lasted. Because, you see, my dolls were alive. They needed to be out in the open where they could breathe and see.

And, if Laura's new book of poems gets it right, maybe where they could hop off the shelf and take part in a "late-night talent show" while the house slept!

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Laura's imagination roams all through the house bringing to life a Kleenex parachute, an overdue book playing hide-and-seek, a very punny toilet, a basketball with a headache, and many more.

This is a book of poems that's sure to be a hit in our classroom for Poetry Friday presentations!

Check out other links on the blog tour for interviews, give-aways, a peek at the online resources for the book, a Padlet of contributor poems, and more!

Blog tour links:

Monday, 3/11 Mile High Reading
Tuesday, 3/12 Reflections on the Teche
Wednesday, 3/13 A Year of Reading
Thursday, 3/14 Check It Out
Friday, 3/15 Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme
Sunday, 3/17 Great Kid Books
Monday, 3/18 Simply 7 Interview/Jena Benton blog
Tuesday, 3/19 My Juicy Little Universe
Wednesday, 3/20 Live Your Poem
Thursday, 3/21 Reading to the Core
Friday, 3/22 KidLit Frenzy       Beyond Literacy Link


Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Celebrating World Read Aloud Day AND The Knowing Book




by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Boyds Mills Press, 2016

We are thrilled to be celebrating a wonderful new book that is destined to become a classic read aloud...on World Read Aloud Day!

The Knowing Book takes the reader along on the main character's journey from the comfort of home, out into the world to live and grown and learn, and then back home again. It is a wise book, a book of the heart, a book that will surely be given at many baby showers and graduations, and read aloud at important milestones in children's lives.

We were lucky enough to ask the author and illustrator some questions about the book and their process. Interspersed between the Q/A are some early sketches by Matthew Cordell.

When you wrote the book, what were your hopes for readers?

That they would find some comfort in knowing they aren't alone, that there are things they can always count on, that there are universal miracles that no one can ever take away from them; the sky, the stars, the overwhelming oneness and the magic of knowing the world is big and wide and always waiting, whether it be with a new adventure or a new hope in a hopeless situation. More than anything I hope they feel untroubled in some way. –Rebecca



Did you work together as author and illustrator? Can you talk about the process of creating this book together or separately?

Typically authors and illustrators do not work together in a close collaboration. The editor and/or art director of the book is the point person and all comments and communication are ran through that channel. But it was an open channel, and Rebecca and I were both very open to any thoughts and suggestions from each other. Our editor, Rebecca Davis is incredibly insightful and thoughtful and caring too. It was just a wonderful, wonderful process--beginning to end--of fine tuning this book to get it just right. –Matthew



I agree with everything Matthew said. And I love how he refers to it as "an open channel." We both felt so deeply about this book, and I think put so much of ourselves into it, in ways I'm still figuring out. To get each detail, each nuance right, we all had to listen to each other and be open to and respect what the other's artistic expression and heart wanted to share on the page. We were very lucky that our editor was a two-way guiding light. –Rebecca



This book, although a picture book, seems to have a strong message for people of all ages and in all stages of life. Who were you thinking of when you had the idea for this book?

When I had the idea, the feelings and emotions had come from where I was emotionally, and that was sad and a bit hopeless. But then I immediately thought of children who might feel somehow lighter, less burdened, more hopeful if they really, really thought about the universe always being there for them. But after it was all written and rewritten and I looked at it with new eyes, I realized it could be for anyone, any age. —Rebecca 



The title is brilliant. Was it the first idea you had or did it evolve?

Thank you, first of all! I would have said it was The Knowing Book from the start. But as I was putting together all of my drafts and correspondence having anything to do with the manuscript into its own box (I keep labeled boxes for each book) I saw a draft that had The Always Book jotted down, then crossed out with The Knowing Book written next to it. The "always" would have referred to the line "it is what you will always know." But I remember now repeating the word know, know, know, over and over and realizing that was the most important thought I wanted the reader to gain; that these are the things they will always know. –Rebecca 



How did you decide to illustrate this as a bunny rather than a child? What process did you go to to decide on that?

We went through a series of tests before I began illustrating the book. I wanted the character to be universal. I wanted all boys and girls (and grown-ups too) of all different backgrounds and ethnicities to be able to plug her or himself into this book and these words. In my experience, making the character an animal--if it works--is a sure fire way to do this. I tried a few different animals at first. A bear, a mouse, and a rabbit. The bear and mouse had the sweet sincerity I wanted, but they were almost too cute. And this book is not about being cute. It's much more honest than that. Of the three, the rabbit had the most insightful and inner wisdom and worth. We did also try a child, for the sake of trying. I did some sketches of a child that might be construed as a girl OR a boy. Depending on who might be reading it. But in the end, the rabbit was a unanimous choice. –Matthew



The illustrations and text work together to be serious and hopeful. How did you accomplish that?

I'm so glad to hear you say it that way. Because that's how I hope readers will see it. I think everyone who worked on this book saw and wanted for the same things. It really was such a good fit! If anything ever strayed from that path, it was gently corrected back into place by someone. From the moment I read Rebecca's manuscript I had a vision in my mind of how it would play out. I never wanted this book to be silly of funny or even sweet. Joyful, yes. But even dark at times, in a poignant sort of way. Real. Because that is real life for all of us. Children and adults. –Matthew



I'd like to add that my hope had been for The Knowing Book to be illustrated in a thoughtful, serious ("joyful" is perfect) way mixed with a whimsical spirit roaming through the pages. And Matthew made it happen. –Rebecca



It seems like your work is so perfect together! Will you do more books together, do you think? 

Gosh, I sure hope so! I love Rebecca's writing. It was an honor to be chosen to illustrate KNOWING, and I hope it's not the last!  –Matthew



I second that. I have my hopes that down the road there will be a very special book I write that might be just right for another Matthew Cordell pairing, and that he'll say yes when he sees it! –Rebecca


Thank you, Rebecca and Matthew for joining us on your blog tour, and congratulations on a fabulous collaboration.




Tuesday, January 27, 2015

George O'Connor Blog Tour





Ares: Bringer of War
by George O'Connor
First Second, January 27, 2015
review copy provided by the publisher

"The stories that make up the body of Greek myths are what remain of their culture’s deeply held beliefs. The stories of Zeus and his family are more than just entertaining yarns about giants who slice open the sky and monsters so fearsome their gaze can turn a person to stone. They were, and are, an explanation of the world that that ancient culture’s people saw around them: a lightning storm could only be the King of Gods hurling his thunderbolt; a volcano could only be the escaped vapors of an entombed Titan. 
Not many people today believe in the gods of Ancient Greece. But their stories are still around, and they live on in all of our memories." George O'Connor (from his website, The Olympians).
The volumes in George O'Connor's Olympians series (Zeus, Athena, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Aphrodite) do so much more than simply retell a story from Greek mythology. They also feature a detailed family tree at the beginning of the book. At the end are extensive G(r)eek notes that cite page and panel numbers and are a combination of author commentary, historical context, and vocabulary and classical art connections. After that, there are resources for the reader who wants to know even more.

The whole premise of Ares is pretty amazing -- in it, O'Connor retells the Illiad with a focus on the gods' role in the Trojan War. In a 66-page graphic novel. For kids.

Wow.

Everything you know about Ares is shown to be true in this book -- when it comes to warmongering, he is the opposite side of the coin from Athena, who is the disciplined strategist of war. Ares represents the violent, crazed, bloodthirsty side of war. But in this book, we also see that he is a father with at least a teeny tiny soft spot in his heart.

One of my favorite spreads in the book is p. 12-13. It takes you by surprise as a reader, because the top half of both pages is one large panel. It shows the gods gathered around a sort of table that is the battlefield in the mortal world. The panels below the large top panel read left to right as usual, but all the way across both pages. When you turn the page, the story continues in the usual page-by-page format until the climax on p. 52-53 when the gods can't stand it anymore and they go down to the mortal world to battle it out "god-on-god" (p. 73 in the G(r)eek Notes) All of this is to say that besides being a master of mythology and storytelling, George O'Connor is an amazing graphic artist.

I recommend this book for students in grades 4 and up...all the way up to adults who would like a refresher course on mythology and a peek into some of the best graphic novels around.

You can follow George O'Connor on twitter @GeorgetheMighty.


STOPS ON THE BLOG TOUR:

Monday, January 26th
Kid Lit Frenzy

Tuesday, January 27th – A Year of Reading -- You Are Here!

Wednesday, January 28th
Great Kid Books

Thursday, January 29
Charlotte’s Library

Friday, January 30
Graphic Novel Resources

Saturday, January 3
Librarian’s Quest

Sunday, February 1
Musings of a Librarian

Monday, February 2
The Graphic Novelologist

Tuesday, February 3
Supernatural Snark

Wednesday, February 4
Panel Patter

Thursday, February 5
Finding Wonderland

Friday, February 6
The Book Rat

Saturday, February 7
Teen Lit Rocks

Sunday, February 8
The Brain Lair

Monday, February 9
Haunting Orchid

Tuesday, February 10
Alice Marvels


Thursday, April 10, 2014

Thrive by Meenoo Rami

We are thrilled to be part of the blog tour for Meenoo Rami's new professional book Thrive: 5 Ways to (Re)Invigorate Your Teaching . We are early in the blog tour and there are many great stops coming up where you'll learn more and more about the book and Meenoo. So, our post will be the random things we love about Meenoo and the book--the reasons you'll want to pick it up soon!

I first "met" Meenoo on Twitter as #engchat was one of the first Twitter chats I participated in.  It was the one that hooked me on Twitter chats because it taught me just how powerful these conversations could be. And Meenoo INVENTED #engchat.  I remember her telling me when I finally met her in person at NCTE one year, that she created a talk for teachers on Twitter as a way to give back to the community that has given her so much. I realized then what a generous and genuine person Meennoo is. She mentioned that she was thinking of writing a book and I knew that whatever book she would write, I would buy it. I knew that whatever she had to say would be thoughtful and important.

I was lucky to interview Meenoo several weeks ago for a Choice Literacy Podcast. The podcast, "Finding Meaning and Joy in Teaching" can be found at Choice Literacy's website. So much of what she said in the interview continues to live with me.  As I think back on my 27 years of teaching, so much of what she teaches us are the things we don't learn in student teaching, but things that are most important to our lifelong work.  What she writes about are the keys both to being a true professional and to staying true to our students.

There couldn't be a better time for Meenoo to share her voice on the topic of (re)invigorating our teaching lives.  It is easy to be tired about our work these days -- tired from the mandates and the politics and the testing and the criticism.  And Meennoo describes, with honesty, how lonely this work can be if we don't reach out.  Then she reminds us how wonderfully energizing our work can be when we do reach out. I love that this book focuses on the people in our lives.

I love this book because after 27 years, it totally resonated with me.  I think no matter how long you've been teaching--20 days or 20 years, there are ruts in our teaching lives. There are times when staying energized gets hard and times that we feel alone, no matter how many wonderful colleagues we have.  Meenoo talks about those first few years of teaching and how lonely they often were, how isolated she sometimes felt. But she took charge of her teaching and her learning and reached out and found people to learn with.

And I love this book because it reminded me of mentors and I love the way that Meenoo thinks about them. She talks honestly about mentors who were assigned to her and she shares mentors who have been part of her teaching life.  I love that she doesn't talk about one mentor but the idea that we need lots of mentors and each mentors us in a different way.

Meeoo is someone you want to follow. Her book is powerful but so is her blog and her Twitter feed (@meenoorami). She shares thoughtfully and generously and invites us all into the network she has created-- a network of learners who thrive in even the toughest times.

THRIVE Blog Tour Stops!
Be sure to visit all these great blogs who are celebrating Thrive
Hear what they have to say about Thrive 
and read guest posts and interviews from Meenoo herself!
4/9/14
Jen Vincent at Teach Mentor Texts!
4/10/14
Franki Sibberson and Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Reading
4/11/14
Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy
4/12/14
Kira Baker Doyle at Kira J Baker-Doyle, Ph.D.
4/13/14
Sarah Mulhern Gross at The Reading Zone
4/14/14
4/15/14
Kate Roberts and Maggie B. Roberts at Indent
4/16/14
Beth Shaum at Use Your Outside Voice
4/17/14
Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
4/18/14
Troy Hicks at Hickstro
4/19/14
Joy Kirr at Genius Hour
4/20/14
Tara Smith at The Teaching Life
4/21/14
Antero Garcia at The American Crawl
4/22/2014
John Spencer at Education Rethink
4/23
Kellee Moye and Ricki Ginsberg at Unleashing Readers






Monday, November 11, 2013

Celebrate Writers! Blog Tour


It's Here!!

Celebrating Writers: From Possibilities Through Publication by Ruth Ayers with Christi Overman 



Ruth's writing (on her blog and in her books) have been a huge inspiration to me over the last few years.  It is a hard time to stay grounded in teaching--to continue to keep our classrooms joyful places for children.  It is easy to lose energy and to fall back on practices that don't match what we know about children or about learning. But Ruth's work always gives me the confidence and energy I need to stick with what I know is right. She understands children and writing and teachers and she celebrates every piece of the learning process, especially the messy ones! I've come to count on Ruth's blog, Ruth Ayres Writes for a daily does of sanity, groundedness, and celebration.

A while back, I was lucky enough to interview Ruth Ayres for a Choice Literacy podcast. The topic was on Celebrating Writers and her insights were so powerful for me. 

Last month, we were lucky enough to hear Ruth Ayres speak all day at our annual Literacy Connection event.  She spoke on the topic of Celebrating Writers and it was just the energy boost I needed!

Since then (and before), I have been anxiously awaiting this new book, Celebrating Writers:  From Possibilities Through Publication. I was thrilled when Stenhouse sent me an advanced copy of the book and invited A Year of Reading to be part of this book celebration blog tour!  The new book is already an important one for me as Ruth and Christi are brilliant at weaving celebration into all that they do with young learners.

You can follow the Celebrating Writers! Blog Tour all week:

Nov. 11: A Year of Reading
Be sure to stop by each blog and leave a comment or ask a question for a chance to win a free book.

To kick off the blog tour, A Year of Reading interviewed Ruth about her newest book!




What is the biggest thing you want people to come away from when reading your new book?

I’d like them to see the beauty in the mess of student writing. I get so much energy from being around young writers because they are passionate and interested in their writing. Too often, in the name of standards and conventions and teaching we squelch their energy. I hope this book helps us celebrate the imperfections of young writers and gives us more energy for teaching writers and students more energy to be writers.

 What one change can teachers make that will move toward more purposeful celebrations?

Look for the thing a student is almost doing as a writer and acknowledge it. For example, you might say to a first grade writer, “I see you know periods go at the end of something. Instead of putting one at the end of every line, let’s put them at the end of sentences.” Then teach into the error from this stance of celebration.

 You take the theme of celebrating into all areas of your life. Did that life stance begin from writing celebrations or did the way you live your life help you think differently about writing celebrations?

Yes. Can I answer with yes? It’s both. At first I thought writing celebrations were fluff. Then as I began being a writer myself, I realized celebration is fuel to keep me going. The more I started thinking about it in terms of teaching writers, the more I realized it could be applied in all areas of my life. At the time of writing this book, we were adjusting to life with our daughters who we adopted as older children in 2008. Then in January 2013 we adopted our son who was 7 at the time. In the midst of writing about celebrating writers, I was experiencing how celebration could fuel me in other hard parts of life besides writing.

 Tell us about a few of your favorite writing celebrations in schools you work in.

My very favorite celebration is the moment in a conference when a student has more energy for writing because he has talked with me than before we talked.

As far as formal celebrations, I’m a sucker for poetry jams. I love to dress like a beatnik, sip smoothies, and weave words with young poets.

You are a strong advocate for teachers finding time to do their own writing. How does your work with celebrations fit into adult writing outside of the classroom?

Thank you. I do hope teachers find time to put some words on the page. I think when teachers are writers themselves they realize the importance of genuine celebration. It doesn’t need to be grandiose and it doesn’t have to include forced feedback, rather celebration is the natural outcome of being in a writing community.  When we are writers working alongside other writers, we understand how celebration is fuel and we are positioned to make it an integral part of our writing workshops.

Tell us about a few of your favorite personal writing celebrations.

I finished a manuscript of a young adult fiction story a few years ago. I doubt it will ever see book form on shelves but just the fact that I finished is big to me.

Whenever someone tells me they started writing or started a blog or started a notebook because of me, that’s the ultimate writing celebration.

Recently I wrote a blog post (http://www.ruthayreswrites.com/2013/10/when-you-want-to-quit.html­) that triggered a lot of response. In addition to comments, people sent me direct messages on Twitter and Facebook, emails, texts messages, and even a letter in the mail, telling me their stories that my post made them remember. I was touched by the way my words impacted others.

These are the celebrations that fuel me.

 RuthAyresWrites has just started a Saturday tradition inviting people to share weekly celebrations.  You’ve had a huge response almost immediately.  Why do you think so many people jumped in right away?

I’ve been asking myself the same thing! I think we are overwhelmed by our daily grind. When we take the time to look for celebrations, we are able to see growth and purpose in our work. I’m inspired each Saturday by all of the powerful teaching and learning happening across the globe. Unless we document it, it is too easy to overlook.


What’s next for you as a writer?

I just started a new writing project on different topics than I’ve written before – faith and adoption. Interestingly enough, I think Celebrating Writers was much of the collection phase in my writing process for this new project. The message of this next book is: Life is for celebration not survival. I’m planning to weave stories of our adoptions with truths of life about living celebration.


Monday, May 20, 2013

Assessment in Perspective BLOG TOUR!


BLOG TOUR!

by Claire Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan
Stenhouse, 2013


Here are Claire and Tammy's answers to Franki's interview about the book:

What made you decide to write a book on assessment?
Good question! Not the liveliest of topics we know. We found ourselves spending most of our time talking with teachers about assessment regardless of the focus of our professional collaboration. For such a dry topic, it seems to evoke so much emotion in all of us. Teachers care so deeply about their students and many see assessment as the means to decide if they are teaching well. We wanted to bring teacher voice and professional discretion back into the assessment conversation. Assessment should not be just about numbers, and not just about standardized tests. Many of us are feeling that assessment is no longer about the work we are doing in the classroom. Writing a book about the broader perspective of assessment, and how to make it meaningful for students and teachers every day, is exciting for us.

What is the biggest challenge teachers face when it comes to assessment today?
The biggest challenge is using the assessment data we have available effectively. So much time is put into the administration of assessments, but often no time is taken to look at the results and think about what the assessment results mean for our learners. For example, when a school adopts a new assessment the professional learning typically only focuses on how to administer the assessment, not on how to analyze and interpret it. When this happens we can get caught in a cycle of continually collecting assessment data without fully understanding how the assessment was designed and what aspects of reading or learning the assessment measures.

Assessments are complicated and we need to understand what each assessment measures and how to interpret the results. We then need to analyze the results with our learners in mind so we can use them to set learning goals. Our rule is: if we have it, we use it. Any piece of data, especially when triangulated with other sources of data, can provide useful information on our readers. The challenge is to add “use” to the typical cycle – we need to break the cycle of just administering, collecting, and reporting assessments, and use them!

What advice do you have for teachers to stay grounded when stakes of testing are so high?
Respect the test, but keep it in perspective. We try to remember that a high stakes test is only one data point and if we are going to truly understand our readers, then we need to look at multiple pieces of data. With that being said, we do take that data point seriously and use it to help us understand our readers. We stay grounded by not dismissing it, not over-valuing it, and most importantly by using it.

We always use multiple sources of data when thinking about a reader. So we encourage teachers to always consider and use multiple sources of data when interpreting high stakes test results. If we want to move beyond the number to figure out why a student performed in a particular way we need to analyze that number across multiple sources and intervals of data. For example if a student does poorly on the multiple choice questions of the reading portion of a high stakes test, then we can look at recent running records to determine if it was the text level of the passages on the test that caused the student to miss so many items. If the student had difficulty answering questions on the information text selections, we might look at his reading log to determine how often this student is reading informational texts. We think it helps us feel more in control of the high stakes tests when we use the results to help us teach better.

What kinds of assessments have you found most positively impact student learning?
We don’t think there is one single assessment that has the most positive impact on student learning; we think that the best way to impact student learning is by talking with our students about what we are noticing in all of their assessment data and using it to set instructional goals. That said, informal, formative data is most readily available to us so we can talk with our students more often about that data. We have, therefore, found informal, formative assessments to have the most positive impact on our students. When we do talk with students about the formal, summative data we have we find that our students respond and give us greats insights into the results. It is not that these assessments are not helpful, but we do not have this type of data daily, weekly or even monthly so the frequency of using these assessments cause them to have less of an impact.

Can you expand on your thinking in triangulating data? Why is that important?
Triangulating data is teaching! When we look at multiple pieces of data with a purpose and with questions in our mind we are believe we are laying the foundation to truly teach. Teaching is more than following a script, aligning to standards or pacing. Teaching is understanding the learner in front of us and adjusting our instruction to help each learner meet high standards. When we triangulate we are putting the pieces of a puzzle together so we can see the whole picture and understand why a student is confused or making an error. When we understand the why behind the number we can teach our students effectively – triangulating gives us the why behind the number.

For example, last week we met Tommy, a 4th grader. He is reading approximately 1 year below grade level according to his benchmark assessment. We analyzed a few running records that were administered in the past month and a pattern emerged that showed that Tommy reads inaccurately by substituting incorrect words when reading. When we analyzed these substitutions we noticed that Tommy typically ignores the middle of the word and guesses based on only the first and last letter sounds. We then assessed Tommy using a tool that measured his knowledge of phonics skills in isolation. He had a perfect score. Now we were curious! He knows the sounds and the rules but is not applying them in context. He doesn’t need additional instruction on specific sounds, he needs to learn to notice when he reads inaccurately, apply his knowledge of phonics when reading independently, and to make sure what he says makes sense in the context of the text.

If we only looked at one number, we could have jumped to the conclusion that Tommy needs additional phonics instruction. Triangulating is so important because it really helps us understand our readers and design instruction that meets his or her specific needs. Not to mention – it is fun when you really get into it and begin to notice these patterns and dig deeper to understand.

You talk a lot in your book about the student's role in assessment. Why do you think that is so important?

That was our biggest “Aha!” when we wrote this book. The process of writing really helped us clarify and make explicit what we were implicitly doing with our students. In each section of the book our biggest conversations were around the students. Students are our best source of assessment data- they give us insight into the “whys” behind their actions and help us to understand their thinking process.

For us, it really comes down to the fact that we can’t determine a student’s learning goals without talking with the student to understand his/her own thinking. We also can’t expect a student to learn and grow unless we talk with them about our analysis of the assessment data. Our readers need to know what they are doing well and what they need to learn. To us this is all assessment. If instruction and assessment are inseparable then the student must be a part of the process.

Imagine going to a doctor and not speaking to him/her about your symptoms. Then the doctor completes a physical exam and never tells you the results or what you could do to be healthier. In medicine, both the patient and the doctor are essential. In teaching, both the teacher and the student are essential in identifying what needs to be taught, choosing some goals to meet those needs, and monitoring the progress towards those goals so instructional adjustments can be made.

How do you think Common Core will impact assessment practices?
Of course no one knows exactly how the Common Core will impact assessment practices but we know it will most likely include a formal, quantitative and standards-based assessment due to the number of students being assessed by the same tool. We are hopeful that the process will give us time to learn what the PARCC or Smarter Balanced assessment measures and how to analyze, interpret and use the data. We are also hopeful that the results of this assessment will not be overemphasized but seen as one data point to triangulate with our formative ongoing assessments. In our state, the Common Core has inspired conversations around authentic on-demand assessments and curriculum embedded performance assessments that are being designed by teachers in grade level and district teams. We see a great opportunity for teachers to design meaningful common formative assessments to help them plan and adjust their instruction to meet the needs of their students.


Check out the other stops on the blog tour:

Our Camp Read-A-Lot -- May 21

Reflect and Refine -- May 22

Stenhouse blog to wrap up -- May 24



Monday, December 24, 2012

An Elizabethan Christmas Greeting from Karen Cushman

We were lucky enough to take part in Karen Cushman's blog tour for Will Sparrow's Road. My student, "Suzy," who is Muslim, read the book and helped to prepare the questions for Ms. Cushman. (see blog tour post here and comment for a chance to win a copy of the book) When we received the following information about Christmas in Elizabethan England, Suzy naturally had questions about Muslims in England at that time. Ms. Cushman graciously sent this addendum to her description of an Elizabethan Christmas:

Alexander Ostuzhev as Othello, 1935

Will Sparrow’s Road takes place in England in 1599, during the reign of Elizabeth I. There were very few if any Muslims in England at that time. Shakespeare was familiar enough with Muslims to include such characters in The Merchant of Venice, Titus Andronicus, and Othello, which featured a Moorish Othello as its title character. It is said these plays were inspired by several Moorish delegations from Morocco to England about 1600.



So now is come our joyful'st feast,
 
Let every man be jolly.
 
Each room with ivy leaves is drest,
 
And every post with holly. 
Though some churls at our mirth repine, 
Round your foreheads garlands twine,
 
Drown sorrow in a cup of wine,
 
And let us all be merry. 
(George Wither—16th c. poet)

 
Imagine a Christmas without a tree, colored lights, Santa Claus, presents, or Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. Even without these joys, the Elizabethan Christmas revels were the highpoint of the year. After the sad, solemn, sometimes violent reign of Mary Tudor, Englishmen were ready for gaiety. And Elizabeth, relieved to find herself queen and not martyr, marked her reign with joy, luxury, and extravagance. Her people, starting on Christmas Eve and culminating twelve days later on Twelfth Night, celebrated Christmas with gusto.

Villagers and nobles alike decorated their homes with holly, ivy, yew, bay, laurel--in fact, anything still green. A large log, the Yule log, was brought in and kept burning in the hearth throughout the twelve days of the holiday.

Someone would be chosen as “The Lord of Misrule” and would be in charge of organizing the entertainment and revelry for the Twelve Days of Christmas. There would be dancing and play-acting and the singing of carols. Groups of girls and boys would go round their village or neighborhood with an empty drinking cup, begging for each house to fill it with spiced ale or cakes or a silver penny. It was bad luck to refuse.

Food was the highlight of the celebration. Turkey had only been introduced into England from the Americas during the reign of Henry VIII and was relatively uncommon. Goose was more traditional. It is said that in 1588 Elizabeth I ordered the entire country to serve goose at their Christmas feast, since it was the first meal she had eaten following England's victory over the Spanish. The very rich might serve peacock—skinned, cooked, and put back into its skin and feathers. The poor, of course, ate whatever they could.

Other goodies included wild boar, minced meat pies, plum porridge, and a Christmas pie of birds' tongues, eggs, sugar, lemon and orange peel, accompanied by a beer brewed especially for the occasion. During the Elizabethan age water was not considered fit to drink. Instead, beer was the staple drink for the majority of people, and it was common for country homes to house their own brewery. Mulled wine might also be served as well as syllabub (spiced milk with rum or wine) and lambswool, made by heating cider, sherry or ale, spices, and apples until the apples exploded into a foamy, white head.

The last night of the Christmas celebrations was January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, which commemorated the coming of the Three Kings. Twelfth Night festivities were often the grandest of the year, filled with balls and parties. A special cake would be baked and given out to members of the family and household. This cake would contain a bean and whoever found it would be pronounced King of the Bean.

Whether or however you celebrate Christmas, I wish you great joy of the season and a splendid new year.

-- Karen Cushman