No cowboys in white linen on the streets of Laredo

But there is an absolutely amazing librarian in Laredo Texas: Carmen Escamilla of J.B. Alexander High School. She put together a dream program for the fall, and invited teachers in the district to join her. Students read Laurie Halse Anderson's Chains, about a slave girl during the Revolutionary War, and then read my book, Marching for Freedom, kids' part in the success of the civil rights march for the vote in 1965.

The students in Laredo face serious challenges every day. Most of the students in Mrs. Escamilla's district are on reduced or free lunches. Some kids live in stables or with their families under trees. Gang activity from Mexico is leaping across the Rio Grand River. But Mrs. Escamilla is not going to let any kid drop out, fail, or fall behind if she can help it.
Carmen Escamilla

From fifth graders through high schoolers, students in Laredo read the books, joined mixed-grade online discussion groups, made Vokis and Ven Diagrams. One group of readers made t-shirts and posters, and organized a literacy march. Two ninth graders, Troy Lomas and Eric Garay, wrote and recorded an incredible, complex song, "Keep on Reading."

Here's an excerpt:

"Last name Partridge
Fist name Lizzie,
Like a serious story she ain't nuttin to play with,
Started off local, but thanks to all those lovers,
She is signing autographs on those front book covers,
She keeps on encouraging kids to read, So Cool
She just wants everybody to be free, So true
Marching for the freedom come and join us, People

She can't do it all so get involved, niños
Drop the segregation we are all internally equal..."

© Troy Lomas and Eric Garay

Last Monday I spoke to 700 of these Laredo students and listened as the students shared their excitement about reading the books.One of the speakers had me from the first couple of lines of his speech.

"Hello, my name is Miguel Malacara and I am not a reader. I don't read much but I do have an outlook on life and a bit of passion for history. This is why this book got my attention." Incredible.

Miguel Malacara and his classmate.

She spoke about how she was born in the United States but grew up in Mexico, and had recently returned to the US. She was so discouraged by all the negative press about Hispanics that she had been just waiting to go back to Mexico. She went on to say: "Marching for Freedom changed my destiny. I used to want to go back to Mexico because I heard so many bad things about Hispanics. Now, I will stay and fight." (I'm so sorry I forgot your name!) later: Itzamara De La Garza, above with Miguel! Thank you Itzamara for your wonderful heart!

I absolutely love how Marching for Freedom jumped cultures from African American to Hispanic. As Miguel said after reading about the students in Marching: "If we had just a bit of their determination and confidence we could literally accomplish anything we want."

I have a feeling you do have more than just a bit of their determination and confidence.

Thank you Mrs. Escamilla, thank you teachers, and thank you students. I am honored to have been with you. You are truly an inspiration.

There's a nice shout-out in Publisher's Weekly (scroll down a bit).
And an article in the Laredo Sun.

John Lennon

Tonight on public television at 9 pm:

LennonNYC.

I am eager to see this film from American Masters. Several years ago I did a biography, John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth. I was amazed by Lennon. He was incredibly smart, well-read, and political. He had no tolerance for BS. His NYC time was an interesting part of his life. He was no longer a Beatle, and had to find out who he really was. New Yorkers generally treated him really well, saying hello when they saw him in a cafe, but not bothering him. The kind of anonymity you can only have in a big city.

There were two great resources for doing a bio. on him: lots and lots and lots of photos. I managed to get just over 100 into the book! And Lennon liked to find someone in the press he clicked with, and then he would sit down for extensive interviews with the reporter. It is almost like he used the interview as a way of exploring his own thoughts and feelings.

I'm sure I'll learn new things about him in this film. And mourn, all over again, his shocking murder.

National Council for the Social Studies

I had a fantastic time at NCSS in Denver. Was it cold? Yes, it was very, very cold. Check out how this marsupial daddy kept his baby warm.


It was my first time to be with a big group of social studies teachers. What totally dedicated people! Hard, hard working. I did a presentation on using Marching for Freedom in the classroom, focusing on how to use Google Lit Trips. My presentation went well, though I had some tech difficulties. The teachers were incredibly patient about it. I realized they've all been there before, struggling with computer problems. I'm sure they were kinder to me than a room full of teenagers!


Penguin sponsored me for a signing with free books, and I had a wonderful group of teachers who wanted Marching for Freedom to use in their classrooms. Thank you Uncle Penguin!

I went to as many lectures as I could possible fit in. There were great talks about using technology in the classroom and how to use trade books in the classroom. I also had dinner with the unquenchable Marc Aronson, and another with writer Ann Bausum, our first time meeting each other, though we both do nonfiction.

Also just received news that Marching was chosen for Texas Library Association's TAYSHAS list. An amazing list of books. I'm honored to be included.

And of course, I had to take a picture of this great big whimsical guest:

I was imagining that he wanted in, not to munch up social studies teachers, but wanting to be at a book signing for his latest book Big Blue Bear in the City.

Arc of the moral universe

Finally, finally, finally.

Forty-five years ago, Jimmie Lee Jackson was shot and killed by State Trooper James Fowler during a night protest in Marion, Alabama, near Selma. His death led to the march from Selma to Montgomery, which resulted in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act.

Fowler has just plead guilty and been given a six month sentence. Short? Very, very short. But Fowler had previously maintained that Jackson was not murdered, but that he, Fowler, shot him in self-defense.

As Dr. King said in his famous speech in Montgomery about waiting for justice, "How long? Not long, because 'No lie can live forever.'.... How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."

Here's the New York Times piece.

Check out the archived New Yorker online article, Letter from Selma, by reporter Renata Adler who was on the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery. It will give you a vivid feeling of being on the march. Several times during the five day march, Adler spoke with a young marcher, Charles Mauldin, whom I was lucky enough to interview two years ago for Marching for Freedom.

I'd love to hear thoughts on how to ask the right questions to get students to talk about what this means. I can think of a couple of obvious ones: Why do you think Fowler plead guilty? Do you think a jury would be more likely to convict him of murder today than in 1965? What has changed since 1965 that Fowler would now be more likely to be held accountable for his actions?

Any other ideas?

Two challenges in two days

I don't remember ever being told that recording in a sound studio or leading an online social studies lesson were part of being an author. Turns out they are, for me.

Tuesday I went to Fantasy Records and recorded my author's note to Marching for Freedom for Brilliance Audio. I live about a mile away from Fantasy, but hadn't been there in years (I used to hang around with indie filmmakers who worked there) and it's had quite the makeover.

The sound engineer, Alberto Hernandez, was a sweetheart and put me at ease. And to record, he had me stand with muffling barriers around me. The rest of the room is pretty dark, so it's very cozy, actually. I ended up having a great time.

This morning I did a presentation for Pearson: "Integrating Literature and Educational Technology"on how to use the Google Lit Trip for Marching which Jerome Burg and I put together. Pearson has recorded it (thank you, thank you!) and I'll put a link on my website in a couple days when it's up.

And now, I'm off to a very quiet writer's retreat where we don't talk much at all, but sit at our keyboards writing, writing, writing. Which is, after all, what it's all about. A couple times a day we tear ourselves away to eat delicious food we take turns preparing, and in the evening we hold critique sessions. Bliss.

Jane Addams Children's Book Awards and birthday in NYC

I'm just back from the Jane Addams Children's Book Award Ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for books that promote peace, social justice, world community, and the equality of the sexes and all races. This was an especially celebratory year, as it was also the 150th anniversary of her birth.

I was incredibly honored that Marching for Freedom was the winner for older children. The awardees all came to the presentation, except Phillip Hoose, who had a previous commitment. He sent his publisher, Simon Boughton, to stand in for him. The speeches were all incredible. I was brought to tears by Andrea Davis Pinkney, who came up to the podium and ... sang. I don't even remember what the song was, just that it was so incredibly beautiful to hear her. It was as if everyone in the room stopped breathing, for just a few stanzas. Then she rolled right into a moving speech.

Here are the amazing women who served as the awards committee:


And the Jane Addams Literature Circle for Girls who read all the honored books and talk about the themes of social justice around the world. Amazing girls, amazing facilitators.



Linda Belle, exec. director, closed out the ceremony with: "Become a dangerous woman!" Love that.

And a new experience for me. My hotel was right across from the United Nations. so before I could enter the building, my suitcase was carefully checked out by a bomb sniffing dog.



He looks relaxed here, but he swings into nose-sniffing gear with a quick command.

Teen Crawl in San Francisco

Kevin Wright and jasmine Williams break out their journals.

We just had this incredible Lit Crawl here in the SF Bay Area. On Friday I was the MC for a panel of young published authors at the Koret Auditorium at the San Francisco Library. We kicked off the Teen Crawl. These eight young adults -- 13 to 20 -- were just amazing. Listening to them was like having electricity running through me. Waiting in the green room for our panel to begin was wonderful. Gradually journals and books of poetry started coming out of backpacks. While we waited to go on, we talked and relaxed and Kevin Wright and Brian Hibbeler read and recited Langston Hughes poems.

Laura Jue's journal.

These young adults were an inspiration -- brilliant at both writing and performing. They are passionate, smart, confident and poised. I'm awed. They are involved with WritersCorps, CalSlam, Youth Speaks, 826 Valencia, and Capital City Young Writers.

Here are a few more photos:


Elena Dreisback and Ela Banerjee

Brian Hibbeler

Gabriel Cortez and Laura Jue.


Everybody: Gabriel Cortez, Kevin Wright, Jasmine Williams, Laura Jue, Indiana Pehlivanova, Brian Hibbeler, Ela Banerjee, me, Elena Dreisbach.