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| TAMERA WILL WISSINGER |
Happy Independence Day!
In celebration of our nation's birthday, Today's Little Ditty is throwing a bang-up fandango with some truly all-American, knee-slappin', boot-scootin' entertainers. Who needs fireworks when you've got a wild west cowboy jug band?!!
I'm happy to welcome bandleader and author Tamera Will Wissinger to the spotlight. A graduate of Hamline University's MFA in Writing for
Children and Young Adults program, Tamera lives with her husband in south
Florida, where she writes poetry and stories for children. Visit
her website and her online journal,
The Writer's Whimsy, for all the latest goings on.
Tamera's debut novel, GONE FISHING: A NOVEL IN VERSE (HMH Books for Young Readers), is well-loved in these parts, having released in March of last year to a fanfare of praise. It is an ALSC 2014 Notable Children's Book,
a Children's Book Committee 2014 Best Children's Book of the Year, and
an International Reading Association 2014 Teachers' Choice Book.
Now she's back with her first picture book, THIS OLD BAND, a counting
concept book from Sky Pony Press.
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THIS OLD BAND
Sky Pony Press, June 3, 2014
ISBN: 978-1628735956
(Click here for purchasing information.) |
Based
on the popular nursery rhyme, "This Old Man," this book is the perfect
read-aloud (or sing-aloud). It's sure to delight many a young cowpoke at
storytime or bedtime with its silly wordplay and a wagonload of rhyming
and counting fun. Matt Loveridge's illustrations are equally fresh and
lively and will tickle the funny bones of children and adults alike.
So grab your instrument, get your twang on, and let's find out more about Tamera and this fun, new picture book.
Let's start off with some favorite things. Please tell us a few of yours:
FOOD: Does fudge count as food? [Heck, yeah!] I’m going to say penuche fudge.
I don’t eat it often, but when I do, that brown sugar/butter combo is
heavenly.
COLOR: When I was very young I would have said red. In my
teens, purple was my favorite. I still love those colors, but my
favorite right now is a pastel blue-green. I’m not sure of a color name,
maybe sea glass? It’s so fresh and welcoming.
SMELL: Oh, there are so many smells that I love - outdoor there
are magnolias, pine trees, waves, barbeque, and indoor there is baking
bread, clean towels, but I’m going to go with the smell of the onions
and celery as they begin to cook in butter for the stuffing on
Thanksgiving morning. (I’m seeing a trend here; maybe butter is my
favorite food and I’m just not admitting it!)
SOUND: Laughter.
QUOTE: Again, there are many. This line from THE WAKING by
Theodore Roethke is currently capturing my attention:
“I learn by going
where I have to go.”
What inspired you to write for children?
Some of my best early childhood memories are of books and listening to
stories and poetry being read. Having a story read to me made me feel
special, and that feeling grew when I learned to read to myself. I fell
in love with the stories themselves, and also the way the words sounded
and worked together. Those early stories helped me develop an ear for
rhythm and rhyme, and are my earliest inspiration. Being connected to
those memories allows me to write for the spirit of the child that I
used to be.
What do you enjoy most about being a children’s author?
It’s such a privilege and a responsibility to write stories that might
appeal to children and that’s a great source of joy to me. I also love
connecting with readers, fellow writers, and the children’s literature
community.
Give us a peek inside your “writing zone” – when, where, and how do you do your best work?
My favorite time and place to write are mornings in my office. I’m most
creative very first thing while I’m waking up, or after breakfast, so I
try to take advantage of that window of time when I can.
When I sit in one place for too long I can become fidgety, so one habit
I’ve adopted in recent years is to sometimes write while I’m standing
up. Maybe that’s quirky, but to me it’s just another tool that helps me
get my work done. Here’s a peek inside my office at my standup desk
setup – it adjusts up and down. (Yes, I cleaned for my company!) It
isn’t fancy, but it allows me to have an option to keep working even if I
need to stretch my legs.
Where did the idea to write THIS OLD BAND come from?
The original idea came after a trip to Jackson, Wyoming with my husband
and friends a few years ago. I had traveled to the west and southwest
several times before, but on this trip I began to pay more careful
attention and take notes. Everything there is different from what I was
used to with my Midwestern background – there are ranches instead of
farms, and cowboys instead of farmers, the contrast of color and terrain
between mountains, valleys, mesas, desert is a world apart from the
rolling green farm fields in the area that I called home for most of my
life. And there was amazing wildlife that I had heard of but had never
seen before. After that trip I was driven to write something for
children that featured that part of the country. Once I realized that
the main characters wanted to perform and sing, I decided to write in
the rhythmic pattern of the old folk song This Old Man and I was on my
way.
What do you hope children will take away from your book?
I hope the rhythm and rhymes in THIS OLD BAND are written in a way that
will be fun for the children and adults who are reading the book. My
goal was to write an engaging text that could stand up to repeated
readings or singings. There are other elements in the book: the band
members are counting down from ten to one and there are many
west/southwest references in the text and delightful Matt Loveridge
illustrations that I hope readers will also enjoy.
What about this book makes you the most proud?
I’m pleased with how the text in THIS OLD BAND came together. The rhythm
and rhyme constraints that I imposed caused me to try many different
word play combinations, adding and removing until I found the right
balance and mix. I’m also so happy that Matt Loveridge was able to
reference the text to develop illustrations for the setting, characters,
and even a story line. I don’t take credit for his illustrations, but
I’m definitely proud of the way the text and illustrations work together
to create the book.
And proud she should be! Check out this wonderful opening spread...
This old band, ten through one,
Play their music in the sun.
With a clang clang boodle bang,
Play the sky a song.
This old band plays all day long.
If you played an instrument in a cowboy jug band, what would it be and why?
I’d have to go for something in the percussion section…maybe I’d play, “dub dub on the tub,”
since it resembles a drum. Either that, or I’d click with a stick, or
knock with a block. Yes, definitely something that would allow me to
drum or tap. Since fifth grade I’ve wanted to be a drummer, Michelle,
and this is my big chance! Thank you!
Personally, I play a mean "ting ting with a string." I hope readers will let us know in the comments what they would like to play!
So what’s coming up next for you?
Up next for me is THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO GOBBLES A SKINK. It’s a
cumulative story in the vein of the old lady who swallows a fly. In my
story, the old lady is a fisherwoman at water’s edge and is gobbling all
sorts of fishing bait and tackle. It’s arriving from Sky Pony Press in
2015.
Fun! (If she's still hungry, I have a few skinks in my back yard that the old lady is welcome to.)
If you had all the world’s children in one room, what would you tell them?
What an intriguing question…if I had the attention of all the world’s
children I think I would convey the good advice that I learned by
studying the wise lessons of legendary football coach Lou Holtz. Here is
a small part of the essence of Lou’s teaching:
We will all face trouble in our lives, and each of us
can choose how to react to that trouble.
No matter what the situation, try to:
Do what's right and avoid what's wrong.
Do your best.
Treat other people the way you want to be treated.
(The Golden Rule.)
Maybe that’s idealistic, but I believe if everybody thought, spoke, and
behaved this way we would all be a whole lot happier and more
successful.
Finally, please tell us what you have chosen as this month’s ditty challenge.
Since THIS OLD BAND is a tribute to a traditional folk song, I’m going
to choose the parody or tribute poem as this month’s ditty. To begin,
choose a well-known or classic poem or song that someone else wrote.
Follow the rhyme and rhythm pattern of the poem that’s being honored,
but change most of the words to your own. Keep only those words that are
essential for a reader to be able to identify the original. I find
nursery rhymes and folk songs are good places to start.
[For some examples, have a look at Kenn Nesbitt's online tutorial: "How to Write a Silly Song Parody."]
Although they are
often funny, tribute poems don’t have to be humorous. My friend Claire
Rudolph Murphy recently released a book called MY COUNTRY ‘TIS OF THEE,
and she is inviting people to write different versions of that classic
patriotic song. In honor of July 4, any readers could also write their
own take on this classic. Here’s a link to Claire’s project: http://www.clairerudolfmurphy.com.
Regardless of the type of tribute poem you write, if you get stuck or
off track, go back to the reference poem and see how the classic was
done, then dive back into your version. Have fun!
I'm sure we will have fun with this month's challenge! It was a joy to have you here, Tamera.
Thank you for hosting me here at Today’s Little Ditty, Michelle. I had a great time!
I hope many of you will put on your best bib and tucker and join in the fun! Throughout the month, send your poems to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com or use the contact form in the sidebar to the right. For children under 13 who would like to participate, please read my COPPA compliance statement located below the contact form. Some poems may be published on the blog as daily ditties, but all of them will appear in the wrap-up post on Friday, July 25th.
And just in case you need a little extra incentive to cowboy up to the challenge, Tamera has graciously offered to donate a personalized copy of THIS OLD BAND as a giveaway! All participants will be eligible for this random drawing at the end of the month.
Just a couple more exciting pieces of news to share
before I mosey on into the sunset...
First, the winner of June's ditty challenge giveaway. Thank you, again, to everyone who expanded their horizons last month, and challenged themselves to think about and express poetry in a new way. I enjoyed every one of the contributed Poem Movies and Poem Pictures immensely!
The winner selected by Random.org to receive a complimentary copy of THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY FOR SCIENCE compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong is:
BRIDGET MAGEE – Congratulations Bridget!
The other piece of news I wanted to share is that I've had three children's poems – "The Emperor's Greenhouse," "The Plight of the Honeybee," and "Compost Bin" – selected to be in DEAR TOMATO: AN INTERNATIONAL CROP OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE POEMS, edited by Carol-Ann Hoyte and scheduled to release this October! (Stay tuned for further details this fall on
my Facebook page.) I'm delighted to be in the company of a star-studded lineup of children's poets, several of whom I enjoy visiting each Poetry Friday.
