Guest post: Henry L Herz
6 October 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Beyond the Pale, Henry Herz, Little Red Cuttlefish, Mabel and the Queen of Dreams, Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes, When you Give an Imp a Penny
Today I have a guest post from Henry L Herz. If you’re new to this blog then Henry has been a visitor to my book space on a number of occasions and a very enjoyable guest he is! With a store of books under his belt (check them out on Goodreads) Henry’s latest release is another beautifully illustrated children’s book that brings an interesting spin to the Little Red Riding Hood tale. Today Henry is talking about encouraging young readers to read both fiction and non-fiction (and also to eat broccoli and sprouts (okay sprouts is probably going too far!)) In my book anything that encourages young children to pick up books is greatly welcome:
Hi Henry,
Using Fiction to Interest Young Readers in Non-Fiction
I think it’s fair to say that parents want their kids to develop both the right-brain creativity stoked by reading fiction, AND the left-brain analytical capacity encouraged from reading non-fiction. Both help round out young minds. Both improve school grades and SAT scores. Both are useful life skills.
Sadly, many young readers view only fiction as fun reading; looking down their cute noses at “boring” non-fiction. This makes fiction the chocolate pudding of the literary banquet table. History, math, and science are relegated to the role of lima beans, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Boy are they steamed!
Now, I love fiction. After all, I write fiction picture books – like the fractured fairy tale, Little Red Cuttlefish recently released by Pelican Publishing. And I moderate fantasy literature panels at San Diego Comic-Con. That said, I’ve also been long fascinated by history, math, and science.
So, how do we get kids to use both sides of their brains and eat their literary vegetables? Well, as a parent, I’m not embarrassed to admit that I’ve resorted to melting cheese on vegetables so my co-author sons eat what’s good for them. And why not use the same technique with my writing?
Little Red Cuttlefish is a good example of this approach. The story is an aquatic retelling of the classic fairy tale. In the original, Little Red Riding Hood is swallowed whole by the wolf – not a very savory outcome (for the girl, anyway). In Little Red Cuttlefish, the plucky cephalopod protagonist uses her wits and natural defense mechanisms to thwart a hungry tiger shark.
Aside from a more positive message (they were called the Brothers Grimm, after all), the aquatic version is intended to spark young readers’ interest in learning about sea creatures, zoology, and science in general. Toward that end, the story showcases the superhero-like abilities of cuttlefish, and an author’s note serves up fascinating facts about cuttlefish and tiger sharks, an excerpt of which is below.
Cuttlefish aren’t fish at all. They are members of a class of animals that includes squids, octopuses, and nautiluses. They have a porous shell inside their bodies, called a cuttlebone, which is used to control their buoyancy.
Male cuttlefish have eight arms and two tentacles. Female cuttlefish have only six arms and two tentacles. The arms and tentacles have suckers for grabbing prey. And if that isn’t strange enough, their blood is greenish blue.
Cuttlefish have an amazing ability to quickly change the color, pattern, and texture of their skin. Cuttlefish can use this camouflage to sneak up on their prey, which consists mostly of crabs and fish.
The cuttlefish’s ability to quickly change color also helps it avoid being hunted by sharks, dolphins, seals, and other predators. If camouflage doesn’t work and it is spotted by a predator, a cuttlefish can squirt out a cloud of brown ink to help it hide.
Now, what kid wouldn’t want the superpowers of changing color, squirting ink, and multiple sucker-covered arms? As if by magic, fiction can point young minds in the direction of non-fiction. “Why, yes, I WILL have some broccoli now.”
Thank you for visiting Henry: greatly appreciated as always 😀
For further reading check out this, this, this, this, or maybe even this.
Monster Goose Nursery Rhyme book by Henry Herz (& Sons)
1 February 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Beyond the Pale, Henry Herz & Sons, Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes
Today I’m lucky enough to have a guest post from Henry Herz which I’m combining with my review of this delicious little book. (And, yes, you’ve already heard of HH – check out his Beyond the Pale – also a cool collaboration with Abigail Larson).
Monster Goose Nursery Rhyme’s is exactly what it sounds – a nursery rhyme book with a difference – the focus being on the word ‘monster’!
Okay, if you’re like me you were always drawn to the fantasy stories as a child. In fact, forget that, all children love the unusual – who am I kidding. Anything that is a little out of the ordinary and, well, basically from the land of ‘different’. I loved the fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood – where the little girl goes into the forest and is followed by the big bad wolf. Or Beauty and the Beast – watching the beast in his dark castle. I loved the illustrations showing things hiding in cupboards or monsters sneaking up behind people – the UNDER THE BED MONSTER!! Now, here we have a nursery rhyme book for children with all our favourite creatures. You read these rhymes to the catchy tunes that you already know and love such as Hey Diddle Diddle but the rhymes themselves and the critters they depict are delightfully different.
This really is a great little book. It’s beautifully illustrated by Abigail Larson whose unique style is just simply jaw dropping. From zombies to werewolves, giants to sprites we run the gamut of dwarves and werewolves! Centaurs mingle with fauns. Yeah – it just sounds divine doesn’t it. Kids will love this book – I know because I still like to think I’m a big kid deep inside and more than that parents will love reading this to their children at night because it’s the very opposite of dull and as everyone knows – if the parents are kept happy – then they keep the children happy – simples!! Everyone loves nursery rhymes and fairytales – fairytales already entered the realm of fantasy a long time ago with wicked witches, fairy godmothers and enchanted castles – well, now nursery rhymes just got painted with the same fantasy brush and frankly it’s awesome (well, I suppose cows jumping over the moon and owls and pussycats going to sea is a bit fantasy but come on – we have centaurs!!) Don’t worry if you don’t have your own tikes – you can just pick up a copy and admire the beautiful strangeness yourself!!
For other reviews check out SF Signal and Dab of Darkness.
Now, I have a wonderful guest post to share from Henry Herz in which he shares with us how this wonderful book became a reality: Welcome Henry!
Josh, Harrison & Dad’s Excellent Adventure
The astute observer will notice that there are three author credits for MONSTER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES. That’s because my young sons were involved in its creation. This is the tale of how two boys became traditionally published authors.
A few years ago (in a galaxy far away), I wanted to share my love of fantasy with my young sons. They were too little for watching most of the fantasy and sci-fi movie classics, and there are only so many good fantasy books available for that age range. Struck by inspiration one day, I came up with a way to share the joy of entering the magical realms of fantasy. I would write a fantasy book for them.
What I did not anticipate was that my boys would give me feedback on the story. They devised some of the character (Nimpentoad) and creature (Neebel) names, and made plot line suggestions. And who better to help make the story appealing to kids than other kids? So, the goal of interesting my sons in fantasy transformed into also encouraging them to write.
Originally, I only shared the story of NIMPENTOAD with family, for their own enjoyment. I had no thoughts of having the book published. But one day, my sister-in-law suggested that I consider publication because she felt the story was much better than many of the books she was seeing for her similarly-aged kids. I thought about it for a while, and decided to give it a try.
The first step was to find the right artist. Once again, my sons were involved, this time in providing art direction. We would explain in words what each illustration should contain. Collaborating remotely via email and DropBox, our artist would give us a rough sketch, and we would provide feedback on details and color palette. NIMPENTOAD came to life, while my boys added another dimension to their experience.
Given the amount of time that had passed, as well as the anticipated challenges with finding an agent or publisher willing to take a chance on an unproven writer, we decided to indie-publish. The response to NIMPENTOAD was encouraging, and we subsequently indie-published TWIGNIBBLE (an easy reader about a mechanically-inclined sloth, who travels the world helping his endangered animal friends), and HOW THE RHINO GOT HIS SKIN (an updated picture book version of Rudyard Kipling’s classic).
We’ve done book readings and signings at schools, libraries, museums, farmer’s markets, book fairs, and bookstores. My boys are now experienced sales professionals! They know how to handle themselves with new people, and easily sell more books than I do.
Like any good author, I am committed to honing my craft. I belong to critique groups, participate in Tara Lazar’s annual Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) event, and took a picture book writing class at UCSD. Part of the class curriculum was to draft some picture book manuscripts. Kids love monsters and I love monsters (being a big kid myself), and so the idea for MONSTER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES was born.
As with our other collaborations, I drafted the book, and then had my sons review it. Then it went through my critique group and more revisions. I subsequently attended the Orange County Editor’s Day event hosted by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). MONSTER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES won best picture book. After that, it was time to query agents and editors. Happily, several editors expressed interest. We chose Pelican Publishing, and the rest is history.
Writing rhyming picture books is very challenging (see why at http://wp.me/p31Xf4-K0). I jokingly encourage newbie writers to visit www.DontDoRhyme.com (not a real website). The irony is not lost on me that my debut traditionally published picture book is in rhyme. My only excuse is that I didn’t have to invent the meter, I just had to twist the words to fit the existing meter.
If you want to interest your kids in mythological creatures, or fantasy literature in general, give MONSTER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES a look. Just take care – MONSTER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES is a gateway book to THE LIGHTNING THIEF and, eventually, to THE LORD OF THE RINGS.
Learn more about MONSTER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES at http://www.birchtreepub.com/mgnr.htm
Come on people – ‘a gateway book to the Lightning Thief and LotR – get on it now!!!!!!!!! HH – bringing fantasy to little ones good and early – that’s something we can all get on board with!!
Beyond the Pale edited by Henry Herz
3 September 2014
Filed under Uncategorized
Tags: Beyond the Pale, Henry Herz, RIP event, Stainless Steel Droppings
I was given an opportunity to take part in a book tour for Beyond the Pale and given the authors involved in this piece of work jumped at the chance. I love the way the book starts out with a definition of what the phrase ‘beyond the pale’ actually means – long story short it actually means to go beyond the boundaries of safety!! I like that. In fact the introduction got me off to a great start. Not to mention that cover. Just feast your eyes on it. It’s simply gorgeous.
The line up is as follows:
Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela by Saladin Ahmed
The Children of the Shark God by Peter S. Beagle
Misery by Heather Brewer
Shadow Children by Heather Brewer
Even Hand by Jim Butcher
Red Run by Kami Garcia
Pale Rider By Nancy Holder
Frost Child by Gillian Philip
South by Gillian Philip
A Knot of Toads by Jane Yolen
The Adventures of Lightning Merriemouse-Jones
by Nancy & Belle Holder
There is undoubtedly much to choose from here and frankly I enjoyed all the stories for very different reasons.
The opening story is a great start involving a hermit and his wife and the man who they seek help from in order to achieve their dream. An unusual tale – prepare yourself for demons!
Then move from demons to Gods and encounter the Shark God and the results of his love affair with a mortal woman.
Misery was completely intriguing. A compelling little number about a strange town where each year the residents are given a gift – unfortunately this doesn’t always result in happiness as Alek is about to discover – he has a bad feeling this year!
Then be prepared to cast back in time as the Shadow Children recall your childhood fears. What does lurk in the shadows? Are there monsters under the bed or hiding in the closet. Maybe! Will you check it out or are you trembling under the covers!
Even Hand is Jim Butcher’s contribution and contains a story showing a completely different side to Dresden’s nemesis Marcone. We see something of a softer underbelly in this story although it ultimately doesn’t bode well for Harry. Fans of the Dresden series will love this story. I certainly did.
We then move to a story called Red Run. This is an excellent and creepy little addition where a young girl sets out on a mission of revenge. To avenge the death of her brother who died out on Red Run – a route that most people, sensible people, never use after sunset! There’s always one!!!
Pale Rider is an unusual tale about tortured souls and a strange world infected and blighted by Goblin and Fae magic leaking between two worlds.
Frost Child and South are Gillian Philip’s additions to the book. The first a prequel to the absolutely fantastic Rebel Angel series which gives a little bit more background into Lilith and Griogair and their first deathly encounter. The second a tale of selkies. Can Philips write? Oh yes. Totally evocative. I adore her writing. It’s dark and powerful and she can make you see the beauty of the landscape in one sentence and totally give you the chills about a character in the next. Fans of Firebrand simply must read Frost Child and for that matter South – after all there aren’t enough stories about selkies!
I also really enjoyed A Knot of Toads by Jane Yolen which is full of superstition, people willingly refusing to see what is in front of them and witches. I love stories of witches so this one definitely caught my fancy. Plus the toad shadows dancing on the walls – just read it and you’ll understand!
Finally we conclude with a rather cheeky little take on Stoker’s Dracula.
All in all – an excellent collection of stories with magic, demons, gods, ghosts, witches, – and, well frankly, a pretty comprehensive grouping of the supernatural.
Now, reading this was a bit of an eye opener for me. I’ve read a number of anthologies and readily admit that short stories are not always my thing. I want something to sink my teeth into as a rule. I want character development, history, world building and plot and it’s pretty difficult to attempt this in just a few pages. So, what was the difference with Beyond the Pale. I think two things – firstly, this is a really good collection of stories from some awesome authors. It almost puts me in mind of bedtime tales or tales that you sit and talk about round a camp fire! They feel like real tales that people would tell, Urban myths! I think the second thing, and a bit of a revelation for me, was to take my time with this story and read the stories individually over time instead of attempting to gobble them all down in one sitting. It made me feel nostalgic reading them in that way, not because they’re anything like Red Riding Hood or Rapunzel – but more because they put me back in time to when I used to love tales being told. Strangely, I always preferred the creepy little numbers that my gran told as opposed to the more conventional stories! Go figure.
This is my first contribution to RIP – an event hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings. Does this artwork look familiar *wiggles eyebrows* suggestively! (The amazingly talented Abigail Larson who is responsible for the artwork for Beyond the Pale – strange coincidence hey!!!!)
Books and travelling with Lynn 