Eager Readers! We are back with another Worthy Review and even more Worthy Interview.
This blog is focused on Gennifer Choldenko's newest release, One Third Nerd!
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One Third Nerd Cover
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NOW for Drew's review of One Third Nerd:
My favorite book published in 2019 so far is One Third Nerd by Gennifer Choldenko.
Family life can be haywire or hilarious or heartwarming or all three at the same time, especially for neurodiverse families today. In One Third Nerd, Choldenko once again opens up readers lives with her nearly masterfully child driven story. One Third Nerd is also the best early chapter to middle reader crossover book I have ever read.
The book’s refreshingly awkward yet brave first person narrator, Liam keeps readers laughing with his instantly relatable real life adventures. Liam has a loving sister, Izzy, who has down syndrome and a energetic and often frenzied sister Dakota who is 100% nerd. The family struggles to help their dog Cupcake back to health and pay for Cupcake’s vet expenses. With that as the premise, the book reads like a story version of a highlight show of Americas Funniest Home Videos or an equivalent youtube mix with many clever breaks of keen insight full of important conversation starters for kids of all ages. To me The best way to relate Choldenko’s newest book to other books is that One Third Nerd is an updated mashup of the best of Beverley Cleary's books with the most heartfelt of Judy Blume’s writing, with fittingly expressive cartoons.
Now on to the interview:
The interview i refer to in this interview is Publishers Weekly's interview
- Please re-introduce yourself to our audience. Then please introduce One-Third Nerd to our readers?
I’m Gennifer Choldenko and One-Third Nerd is my 15th book for young readers. My most well-known books are in the Tales from Alcatraz series beginning with Al Capone Does My Shirts which came out in 2004 and won a Newbery Honor in 2005. The series has sold more than 2 million copies.
One-Third Nerd is about a ten-year-old boy named Liam who has newly divorced parents, a tiny new apartment with a mean landlord, two sisters who embarrass him on a regular basis and a dog with no bladder control.
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| Yours Drewly with Gennifer Choldenko a while ago |
2. In previous interviews you say Dakota came into your mind when you were doing something unrelated to writing and that you built the book around her. Explain Dakota and how you built an authentic book around a difficult character.
I adore Dakota, but then I have a fondness for difficult characters. Ant in Notes from a Liar and Her Dog, Piper in the Tales from Alcatraz series and Bald Doris in Orphan Eleven (due out in Spring 2020) are all characters who can be challenging to love. Dakota is one of my favorite characters because she’s full to the brim with ideas and plans, and she has trouble tempering herself. In fact, she doesn’t see why taking it down a notch should even be a goal.
As a kid I tried really hard to get good grades and befriend my teachers. But I was secretly rebellious. As an adult, I love writing about kids who are unapologetically their own people. I love that Dakota is more interested in her ideas than she is in pleasing a teacher. I love her energy and exuberance and her outsized vision of herself.
3. I agree with what you’ve said in previous interviews that the book is much more relatable because it is narrated by Liam. Who is the target Audience? It seems the interest level goes much higher than the reading level.
I think the ideal age for One-Third Nerd is 7-10. It’s a book perfect for third, fourth and fifth graders. But you can feel comfortable putting it in the hands of first or second graders, who are strong readers.
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One of the expressive, relatable and deeply funny carton images
by Eglantine Ceulemans in One Third Nerd |
4. What was the writing process like? How did that differ from your award winning Al Capone series? Explain your departure from historical fiction.
Right now, we’re living through the most intensely trying political environment I’ve ever experienced. I’m shocked and horrified every day. I wanted to write a funny, cozy, sweet book, because I think we all need to feel hope now, more than ever.
5. You were involved with the pictures in the book. How were you involved? how do you feel about the resulting images?
Eglantine Ceulemanns did such a beautiful job with the illustrations and Leslie Mechanic did a fantastic job with the art direction. I feel certain that those two talented professionals would have done a bang-up job without my help. I feel fortunate that they were gracious enough to allow me to be a part of the process.
6. Seeing the world in a new and adaptive way seems to be a recurrent theme in your books.
One of the reasons I love writing for kids is because of the rapid changes in their lives. Teeth are falling out of their heads, steel rods are being placed in their mouths, voices are changing, bodies are shooting up, developing curves, muscles. Zits and hair appear suddenly in all kinds of places.
I think most adults underestimate how shocking it is to be in a body that is morphing so dramatically.
Then too your brain makes huge leaps and suddenly you must grapple with all kinds of new challenges. So yes my protagonists must change and adapt.
7. Please Explain how Dakota and Izzy change Liam’s perspective throughout the book? What are some other viewpoint changing plot pivots of the new book?
I don’t want to give away too much here. So let me just say, that some times Liam, Dakota and Izzy drive each other crazy. But when push comes to shove, it’s pretty clear how close they are.
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| another cartoon from One Third Nerd |
8. You chose to include a young girl with Down syndrome named Izzy. How did she come to be in the book? Are there parallels with Natalie from the Al Capone Series?
Sure there are parallels between One-Third Nerd and Al Capone Does My Shirts. The protagonist of both novels have sisters who are neuro-atypical. Though Izzy’s challenges in One-Third Nerd are very different from Natalie’s challenges in Al Capone Does My Shirts. Perhaps the biggest difference is the zeitgeist of the times. In 1935, we viewed kids with challenges very differently than we do now. And those differences had a huge impact on Moose’s family. In writing these two books, I was struck by just how much impact the sensibility of your community has on familes with neuro-atypical members.
9. You once wrote that “I don’t want to make being neurotypical a big thing or to write a problem novel that centers on it; I want to represent reality.” How can readers and writers integrate non neurotypical issues into a better understanding of reality?
The last week I have been out in the schools talking about One-Third Nerd. I begin my presentation by showing the first two minutes of this terrific video created by the folks at the Down Syndrome Guild of Kansas.
When I finish showing this clip, almost invariably the entire multipurpose room full of third and fourth graders cheer. I can’t tell you how good that makes me feel. It is absolutely the highpoint of my day. The video makes the point that we all have strengths and we all have challenges. I am hoping One-Third Nerd can help to “normalize” the experience of having a family member like Izzy who loves school and horses and also happens to have Down Syndrome.
10. How would you compare Liam our narrator in One-Third Nerd to Moose, the protagonist of your Al Capone series?
Liam is younger and less mature than Moose. He’s also more self-conscious, and he doesn’t yet have Moose’s depth. Before we meet Moose in Al Capone Does My Shirts he has already been through an awful lot. Liam hasn’t experienced the kinds of trials Moose has yet. Liam is just beginning to be tested. His parents recent divorce which rocked their family and their finances is one of the first real challenges he’s had to face. His youngest sister, Izzy, has less complex problems than Natalie in the Tales from Alcatraz series, so being her big brother is not so confusing. Also perhaps most importantly, history is on the side of Liam. So much more is known about Down Syndrome in 2019 than the strange unnamed problems Natalie must grapple with in 1935.
11. You wrote that you believe that when someone writes, “who you are and where you’re from leaks out between the words.” You have also written that you feel like you are 11 inside. That clearly comes through in all your middle readers. Would you consider yourself to be one third nerd?
I’m not one-third nerd. Do I aspire to be one-third nerd? Yes. Actually I aspire to be a full fledge nerd. I am a nerd wanna-be.
12. Is it true that is the start of a new series? what's new for you as a writer?
It’s true! I am looking forward to watching how Liam, Dakota and Izzy evolve.
Right now, I’m working hard to get Orphan Eleven to copyediting. Orphan Eleven is historical fiction, with unusual kid appeal. That’s what I look for in a historical fiction book idea. Does it engage my inner eleven-year-old? And if the answer is yes, I’m on it. One of my pet peeves is how many teachers, librarians and kids believe that “kids love fantasy, not historical fiction.” Personally, I think there is a real kinship between fantasy and historical fiction. Consider how many fantasy writers use history to fuel their stories. If history is so often the impetus for fantasy writing than why isn’t historical fiction considered a “popular” genre? I think partly it’s because when a story is really compelling, kids don’t realize it’s historical fiction. Take some of the great novels that have come out in the last few years. The Night Diary, The Front Desk, The War That Saved My Life. I can’t tell you how many letters I’ve received which start out. “I was so unhappy when my teacher picked Al Capone Does My Shirts to read to our class. I hate historical fiction. But now it’s my favorite book ever. Our entire class loves it.”
I can’t wait until spring 2020 when kids get the chance to read Orphan Eleven.
Thank you all for reading this blog.
thankfulness appreciation and Gratitude to so many people, just to name a few organizations involved in the making of this Blog Post
Books Inc Kids,
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