Meet Author Polly Horvath

Transcription

1 release dates: Nov (02) Especially and their families e ) \ / ' By BETTY DEBNAM Celebrate Children's Book Week from The Mini Page by Belly Debnam C 2002 The Mini Page Publishing Company nc. Meet Author Polly Horvath Polly Horvath won a Newbery Honor Book award this year for "Everything on a Waffle." t is one of her seven children's books. Her eighth, 'The Canning Season," is due to come out in April. She is also working on her first adult novel. Her work schedule Monday through Friday she takes the dog for a run each morning, then sits down at the computer by 9:30. She writes until 2 or 2:30, when it is time to pick up the kids at school. She writes in a basement office with nice windows overlooking plum and apple orchards. Background Polly Horvath was born in Kalamazoo, Mich. Her mother, Betty Horvath, wrote picture books. Her father, John Horvath, taught high school biology. She said: " remember writing from the time was about 8. t was a natural thing for me. always wanted to be a writer." She started sending books to publishers when she was 14. Several publishers were interested but wanted her to rewrite the books. Finally, her mother wrote the publishers, telling them that this writer was only a child. When she was 18, she moved to Canada to learn to teach ballet. n "Everything on a Waffle," Primrose refuses to believe that her parents are truly lost at sea. She finds comfort with her freespirited uncle and the owner of a very strange restaurant. Some favorites Her family: Polly Horvath, 45, and her husband, Arnie Keller, a writing professor, have two daughters, Emily, 15, and Rebecca, 12. They have a horse, Zayda, and a dog, Keena, a smooth collie. They live in Metchosin, British Columbia, Canada. The first book Several knee surgeries convinced her not to dance anymore, although she continued to teach it. When she was 23, she sent in ''An Occasional Cow." At the publisher's request, she spent seven years rewriting it before it was finally published. By then she was working on her second book, pregnant with her first daughter and still teaching ballet. She spent three more years teaching ballet, and then quit to write full time. Time and place to read: " can't fall asleep without reading in bed at least a couple of hours a night. have done this since learned to read. My girls are the same." Hobbies: She is trying to learn to ride the family's horse. Also, she said, ''We're living in the woods now, so take long, long walks in the woods." Color: orange n "The Trolls," three children learn amazing things about their family and themselves when their funny, wise aunt takes care of them. Advice to kids Polly Horvath said that people tie themselves up with little things that are unimportant. ''You don't have to do so many things that can seem so vitally important. Just do what is important to you."

2 TbeMini 45-2 (02); release dates: Nov. 2-8 u,w... P... Sync:cM. from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam The Mini Page Publishing Company nc. Meet llustrator Brian Selznick "The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins" is the true story of the artist who made some of the first models of dinosaurs. t was a 2002 Caldecott Honor Book. t was written by Barbara Kerley. "When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson" tells of this singer who became great in spite of prejudice. t was written by Pam Munoz Ryan. His work ;~ d Brian Selznick has illustrated about 17 books, and he has also written three of those. He especially enjoys working on books about real people. n an interview with The Mini Page, Selznick said: " love history and love doing research. There are so many amazing people who have had really incredible stories that it's fun to find out about them." Sometimes he works doing research for his books. At other times he works on his illustrations. He might work 10 or 11 hours a day. He works in his home in Brooklyn, N.Y. He tapes finished pictures up on the wall so he can look at them while he's working on the next pages. He also keeps a mirror in front of himself so he can make expressions to see what characters would look like during events in the books. Background He said: "'ve always drawn, for as long as can remember." He had a great private art teacher and high school art teacher. He studied art in college, but planned to design sets for the theater. He realized what he really wanted to do was to illustrate kids' books. To learn more, he took a job at a children's book store. The managers of that store helped him get his first book, "The Houdini Box," published. Brian Selznick, 36, has a sister, Holly, who is a kindergarten teacher, and a brother, Lee, a brain surgeon. Their dad, Roger Selznick, was an accountant, and their mother, Lynn, was a homemaker. from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam The Mini Page Publishing Company nc. Mini Spy... Alpha Betty is reading a wonderful book to her friends in the bookstore. See if you can find: letter A snake bell cat letter D kite word MN letter B carrot letter C number 7 sailboat lips pencil m ~...t Brown M Ba~" ~ ~~~~s Some favorites Colors: "Red is an exciting color, but blue is nice and so is green." Hobbies: going to movies, riding his bike, going to museums. He also is a puppeteer, making and performing with his own puppets. He enjoys collecting souvenirs that remind him of his books. To mark his book about the dinosaur artist, for example, he was able to get pieces of the models Waterhouse Hawkins had made, but that had been broken. He made those pieces into a ring. He also collects miniature Empire State buildings, snowglobes from every city he visits, miniature landmarks such as a tiny St. Louis Arch, and strange dolls such as ones from the movie "Planet of the Apes." Advice to kids "t's really important to do what you love to do." from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam The Mini Page PubUshlng Company nc. Book Week T~~~N Words and names that remind us of authors are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: AUTHOR, WRTER, POEM, WRTE, BOOK, STORY, TTLE, PLOT, CHAPTER, PAGE, READ, PUBLSH, TOPC, DEA, WORD, DALOGUE, WORK, VERSE, EDT. AUT H 0 R A V P K T D E B TOP CY 0 E D A V D Q V C W S TOR Y Z PRE G PER C HAP T E R D B L S A E W R E Q Z M WO R K T Q 0 E F R E EUGOLA D WPTF A KOOBGAWHTORGWTD H T RET R W L R E J H E T J H S L B U P E D U POE M

3 Go dot to dot and color '0 6'0' ~5 4~ _ 69.! ~ from The Mtnl Page by Betty Debnam The Mini Page Publl$hing Company nc. Rookie Cookie's Recipe 45 3 (02); release dates: Nov. 2-8 ~'TM ~oo e Morning Mushroom Bake You'll need: - 12 slices bread, tom into small pieces 1 (lo-ounce) box frozen chopped broccoli, thawed 2 cups mushrooms, sliced 6 eggs, beaten 3 1 /4 cups milk 3 cups cheddar cheese, grated What to do: 1. Place bread pieces, broccoli and mushrooms evenly in bottom of greased 12-by-S-inch baking dish. 2. Combine remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well. 3. Pour liquid mixture over mixture in pan. Refrigerate overnight. 4. Bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for 1 hour. Serves 6 to S. from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam C 2002 The Mini Page Publishing Company nc. Meet Nelly Furtado Nelly Furtado says she was born to sing and create music. She has done very well at it. Her first hit song was "'m Like a Bird." Nelly grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Her family, originally from Portugal, is very musical. Her parents are both singers. When she was 8, she began recording songs on a tape recorder. As a teenager, she played the trombone in school bands. She also plays the guitar and ukulele. Her big break came at 18 when she was discovered at a talent show. She was encouraged to move to Toronto, Canada, and work on a career in music. She likes going to movies, writing poetry and reading. from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam C 2002: The Mini Page Publishing Company nc. from The Mini Pa98 by Betty Debnam C 2002 The Mini Page Publishing Company ~~~ Mfirmfi Jf@~@~ All the following jokes have something in common. Can you guess the common theme or category? Hugh: What kind of cowboy steals teapots? Daisy: A kettle rustler! To order, send $3.00 plus $1.50 postage and handling for each copy. Send check or money order (U.S. funds only) payable to: Andrews McMeel Universal, P.O. Box 6814, Leawood, KS : Please send copies of The Mini Page Presidents of the United States Poster (tem #9939 6) : at $4.50 each, including postage and handling. (Bulk discount information available upon request.) Toll free number Name: Address'. City: State: Zip: ~ ~ Stuart: Why did the cowboy put his bunk in the fire? Carla: He wanted to sleep like a log!

4 TbeMin' 45-4 (02); release dates: Nov. 2-8 from Tho Mini pago by Betty Debnam Tho Mini Page Publishing Company nc. Caldecott and Newbery Winners ''Book Time" is the theme of this year's Children's Book Week, celebrated from Nov. 18 to 24. This Mini Page is about the 2002 Caldecott and Newbery Medals and Honor Books. Marilyn Nelson is an award-winning poet and an English professor at the University of Connecticut. Caldecott Honor Books Brian Selznick went to college to learn to design theater sets. nstead, he began illustrating children's books. Newbery winners The John Newbery Medal is awarded each year to the author of the most outstanding children's book. This year there were also two Honor Book awards. ''A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park won the Newbery Medal. t is about an orphan boy in Korea 1,000 years ago who dreams of making beautiful pottery. gan victories over the dark things that happen in life. n "Everything on a Waffle" by Polly Horvath, 11-year-old Primrose fears for her parents, who were lost at sea. She is helped by a restaurant owner who puts all the menu items, even lasagna, on a waffle. "Carver, A Life in Poems" tells the story of George Washington Carver. He was born a slave and grew up to become a top scientist. This book also won a Coretta Scott King Honor Award. The Caldecott Medal is presented each year to the illustrator of the most distinguished picture book for children. This year there were also three Honor Book awards. n "The Three Pigs" by David Wiesner, the pigs escape the big, bad wolf by fleeing the story and roaming through the land of fairy tales. Look in the features or sports section of your newspaper and make up a story about someone in the news. Next week The Mini Page is all about our public lands. "The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins" is the true story of the man who built the first life-size models of dinosaurs in the world. t is written by Barbara Kerley. Bryan Collier volunteers by helping young artists in Harlem. n 2001, he won both the Coretta Scott King Award and an Honor Book award. "Martin's Big Words" tells of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. t also won a Coretta Scott King Honor Award. t is written by Doreen Rappaport. Marc Simont has illustrated nearly 100 books. He won the Caldecott Medal in 1957 for ''A Tree s Nice" by Janice May Udry. (No picture of Simont was available.) "The Stray Dog" is based on a true story about a family who falls in love with a little dog they find in the park. Please include au of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page.

5 Meet author Polly Horvath The Mini 1'age [)/stl)uted by UrW.,..1 p,... Syndc_. by Betty Debnam Appearing in your newspaper on (Note to Editor: Above is cameraready, one column-by-4 1 /4-inch ad promoting ssue 45.) release dates: Nov. 2-8 The Mini 1'a ~g~p gost;'d;~;s;;~;gt;;gc~pany~ 0strtbutad by Untve<sal Pross Syndicate Meet Polly Horvath Mini Page activities meet many state and national educational standards. Each week we identify standards that relate to The Mini Page's content and offer activities that will help YOLr students reach them. This week's standards: Students comprehend and respond to a variety of images and text. Students identify forms and elements ofliterature. (Language arts: Reading) Students understand and apply media, techniques and processes. (Visual Arts) Activities: 1. Select one ofthe titles of the books shown in today's Mini Page. Design your own cover for the book. Pick your own art medium, such as colored pencils, markers, paints or colored paper. 2. Several of the book titles in today's Mini Page have unusual words. Find the meanings for the words "shard," "trolls" and "stray." How do these words tell you something about the stories in the books? 3. Select three of the books in the Mini Page. Then find people in the newspaper who might like the titles you've selected. Explain why you chose those people. 4. Look at the Newbery and Caldecott winners shown in the Mini Page. Which titles (a) are about real people, (b) are make-believe, (c) are about animals, (d) are about an earlier time in history? 5. Read one of the books described in today's Mini Page. Write a review of the book recommending it to a family member or friend. You can find the books in your school library, community library or a book store. (standards bv Dr. Sherrve D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) 45-5 (02) ~MGus aoodsport;.;;; Supersport: Terrell Owens Height: 6-3 Birthdate: Weight: 226 College: Tennessee-Chattanooga Terrell Owens is in his seventh season playing wide receiver for the San Francisco 4gers. Last year he caught a total of 1,412 yards and 16 touchdowns. His touchdown total was best among all players and the best of his career. He also played in his second Pro Bowl game. He had six games where he caught for more than 100 yards. n 2000 he scored 13 touchdowns and had a career-high 97 catches for a career-high total of 1,451 yards. Terrell was born in Alexander City, Ala. n high school he was on the football, baseball, basketball, and track and field teams. He is single and lives in Fremont, Calif (Note to Editor: Above is the Standards for ssue 45.) (Note to Editor: Above is copy block for Page 3, ssue 45, to be used in place of ad if desired.)