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5th Annual ASTAL Luncheon Honors 8 Rhode Island Authors
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Left to right, front row: Ellen Emerson White, Kelly Easton, Nancy Carriuolo (interim Vice President for Academic Affairs),
Jean Brown (Chair of ASTAL), Natalie Babbitt, Janet Taylor Lisle, Mark Peter Hughes. Back row: Tom Cobb, Ann Hood, and Peter Johnson |
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On March 29, 2008 ASTAL held its 5th Annual Author Luncheon featuring three Rhode Island
speakers who have recently published novels: Tom Cobb's Shavetail is the powerful story of Private Ned Thorne's struggle to reconcile his past with the relentless challenges of army life in the remote
Arizona Territory. Ann Hood joins the ranks of YA authors with How I Saved My Father's Life (and Ruined Everything Else), the engaging story of Madeline, a charmingly quirky 12-year-old who
struggles with the move from Boston to Providence, with her father's departure after her parent's divorce, and with her mother who (in Madeline's eyes) does just about everything wrong. Ellen
Emerson White, the highly regarded author of over 20 books including YA fiction (contemporary and historical) and biographies, recently published Long May She Reign, the compelling fourth novel about
Meg, the President's daughter, as she struggles to reclaim her life after a harrowing ordeal (in Long Live the Queen).Following the speakers, the ASTAL Rhode Island Books of the Year
were announced. The recipients for 2008 are Hiroshima Dreams by Kelly Easton, ASTAL's Writer-in-Residence, in the middle school category and
What Happened by Peter Johnson in the secondary school category. ASTAL is proud to
acknowledge these excellent books as part of a growing body of outstanding literature with a Rhode Island connection for young people. Easton is a full time author from Jamestown and Peter Johnson is a
professor of Creative Writing at Providence College and he resides in Providence.The speakers along with Kelly Easton and Peter Johnson joined award-winning authors Natalie Babbitt,
Mark Peter Hughes, and Janet Taylor Lisle, long time supporters of ASTAL, as table hosts for the luncheon. All eight of the guest authors participated in a new feature after luncheon, "Conversation with
the Authors." The authors moved from table to table so they had the opportunity to meet and talk with everyone who attended the luncheon. All of the authors also signed books for the participants. ASTAL Honors Catherine and Montie Ciarlo
The Executive Committee of ASTAL has established the Catherine and Montie Ciarlo Scholarship in memory of two outstanding educators and good friends to our organization. The scholarship will be given
annually to support the registration and fees for an individual to attend the ASTAL Summer Institute, Writing for Young People.
Preference for this scholarship will be given to Cranston residents.
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Catherine Ciarlo, Patricia Reilly Giff
and Montie Ciarlo, 2002 |
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The Ciarlos were long-time residents of Cranston where Catherine spent 47 years in the public school, most recently as
superintendent from 1997 until her retirement in June of 2006. She was Superintendent Emerita at the time of her death in September. Her effectiveness as an administrator was the
product of her commitment to instruction and her vision. Because Catherine was always a teacher at heart, she relentlessly sought to make the Cranston schools better for her teachers, her staff,
and mostly for all students. Her great passion for improving literacy led her to recruit Jean Brown in 2002 to establish an ASTAL/Cranston Literacy Partnership with Bain Middle School, an
association that has been mutually beneficial. Both Catherine and Montie received their preparation to teach at RIC. Catherine earned her BA at the college before beginning her career in the Cranston Schools. Montie
came to RIC to earn a second BA to teach when he was seeking a career change. He was a highly effective and well-loved English teacher at Shea High School when he died in December 2004. Montie
was one of the original members of the ASTAL Executive Committee. ASTAL gives two Educator Grants for the Fall Conference in Monte's name.
Contributions to the Catherine and Montie Ciarlo Memorial Scholarship can be made to ASTAL at the Rhode Island College Foundation. ASTAL WELCOMES RISCIRA TO THE FALL CONFERENCE
We are delighted that our colleagues from the Rhode Island State Council of the International Reading
Association (RISCIRA) will be joining us for the keynote address of the 8th Annual ASTAL Conference, Literature in All Classrooms: Putting Your Best Foot Forward on October 20. Both groups will convene in
the RIC Student Union Ballroom to hear the keynote address by Joan Bauer, the 2007 recipient of the ASTAL Award for contributions to literature for young people. Bauer books include Backwater, Rules of
the Road, Hope Was Here, Best Foot Forward, among others. Following the keynote we will have workshop sessions exploring various aspects of literacy. After the
workshops, we will reconvene in the Faculty Center for lunch. We will present the 2007 Joan I. Glazer Award at the luncheon. Kelly Easton, ASTAL Writer-in-Residence, will deliver a keynote during lunch. We
will be celebrating the publication of Kelly's two recent books, White Magic and Hiroshima Dreams. Our book raffle and book signings by the authors round out the day. Professional development certificates
will be available at the conclusion of the conference. HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS, RIWP
ASTAL thanks our good friend, Dr. Marjorie Roemer and the Rhode Island Writing Project for their support
of this year's fall conference through a Title II grant. Dr. Roemer has frequently provided partial support for this conference through grant activity. In conjunction with RIWP we will also be expanding our
Authors in the Schools Program this fall. ASTAL BOOK CLUB 2007-08
The ASTAL Book Club is a monthly meeting of teachers and librarians to talk about literature for young people. Participants meet each month September to June and then work in small groups after school
ends in June together to create standard-based teaching materials and units for the books we have been discussing. This year's readings will focus on Award Winning Books. The Book Club is designed to
serve the following needs of the participants by:
- providing a structured opportunity to read books that can be used in their classrooms or to stay current in the field of young adult literature;
- establishing a community of teachers and librarians who can share their knowledge and interests in YA literature and using the resources that ASTAL is developing; and
- offering participants the opportunity to earn graduate credit in English.
Each participant will read two books each month and come prepared to talk about both books. Additionally, participants will post a one paragraph annotation of the optional book on a course
discussion board. Once during the course participants will do a book talk on a recently released book. This year we will be meeting in the home schools of participants. For more information contact Jean Brown at astal@ric.edu. PROGRAMS ON HIATUS
Two of the regular ASTAL spring programs, Under the Spell of Books (our Friday evening program for
young people from the community), and the ASTAL Conversation Series (lectures by nationally recognized authorities in the field of adolescent literature) are being suspended for the 2008 academic
year. Our annual luncheon honoring authors from Southern New England will be held on March 29, 2008. ASTAL chair, Dr. Jean Brown, will be on sabbatical during spring semester; thus, she will not be available
for these programs. The ASTAL Committee will reassess all programs during the next few months. We welcome constructive suggestions at
astal@ric.edu.
ASTAL RHODE ISLAND BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
With so many quality books by Rhode Islanders or with Rhode Island as their setting being published, we
have established an award to recognize the ASTAL Rhode Island Book of the Year. The criteria for selection include: the book's Rhode Island connection; literary quality; and age appropriate to the
adolescent audience (either middle school or high school). Additionally, books will be eligible for the award for three years from their initial publication date.
The announcement of the ASTAL Rhode Island Book of the Year will be an addition to the Annual ASTAL Authors Luncheon. Please plan to join us for the inaugural presentation that will be made at the ASTAL Luncheon on March 29, 2008. ASTAL BOOKS FOR KIDS PROGRAM
For the past couple of years, I have taken authors out to the schools when they come to RIC. We took Rodman Philbrick to Gorton Junior High School, Rita Williams Garcia to Shea High School, and Patty
McCormick to Shea -- in memory of Montie
-- and to Central Falls High School. In some cases, the schools had fund-raisers to help pay for the author's visit; but in others, the authors went without additional compensation.
Additionally, we completed our third annual Author-in-Residence program at Bain Middle School with Joyce Hansen in 2005. In that case, ASTAL added compensation to the funding provided by Title 1 as
part of the ASTAL/Bain Literacy Project. With Patty McCormick's visit, I initiated a new program when she declined ASTAL's offer to pay for her
expenses. I used that money to buy books which we then gave to students at Shea and at Central Falls (ASTAL's Books for Kids Program). The books were given directly to students, not to the schools. In
addition to that, when Caroline Cooney spoke at Under the Spell of Books in 2005, she donated her whole honorarium to purchase books for kids.
Through our annual Spring Authors Luncheon, raffle ticket sales, and other fund raising efforts, this is a program (taking authors to the schools and giving their books to students) that I am deeply committed to continue.
Dr. Jean E. Brown
APRIL 27, 2007
BLACK DUCK
NAMED ASTAL RHODE ISLAND 2007 BOOK OF THE YEAR
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Janet Taylor Lisle, winner of the 2007
ASTAL Rhode Island Book of the Year Award. |
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We are proud to honor Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lisle as the inaugural selection for the ASTAL
Rhode Island Book of the Year, established to recognize the excellence in the literature for young people that is either set in our state or written by Rhode Islanders. The award was announced at the ASTAL Spring Authors Luncheon. In Black Duck, 14-year-old David, a budding journalist, befriends Ruben, an elderly neighbor in his coastal Rhode Island town (Little Compton). David is in search of a story and Ruben has a secret in his past.
Using chapters that alternate decades, Janet Lisle skillfully weaves a tale, part mystery, part adventure, and part morality play as David teases from Ruben the story of the Black Duck, a rum-running ship and
its violent fate. In this riveting examination of Prohibition, Lisle demonstrates once again her ability to enrich and enliven her story with rich historical detail that frames the social and ethical issues of the time.
AUTHORS' APPEARANCES NOW AVAILABLE ON TAPE
ASTAL speakers, beginning with Janet Taylor Lisle's appearance at RIC in 2002, have been videotaped
and will be available to local schools for a rental fee of $5.00 a week. Teachers may borrow the videos for up to two weeks. Tapes available for rent are as follows:
- Janet Taylor Lisle, April 2002
- Lois Lowry at the Under the Spell of Books Conference, 2002
- Kelly Easton, Summer 2002
- Ellen Wittlinger, November 2002
- Jack Gantos and Patricia Reilly Giff, both at the Under the Spell of Books Conference, 2003
Janet Taylor Lisle's and Rodman Philbrick's appearances this fall will be available at a later date, as will the tape of the RI Authors' Luncheon, the ASTAL Lecture by Dr. Gary Salvner, and future programs. If
interested, contact Dr. Jean Brown at 456-8457 (352 CL Hall) or astal@ric.edu.
CHRISTOPHER-GORDON GRANT SPONSORS SPEAKERS
We are delighted to announce a grant from
Christopher-Gordon Publishing Company of Norwood, Massachusetts to establish the Christopher-Gordon / ASTAL Speakers Program. This grant will sponsor
"Authors on Campus" lectures three times a year (fall, spring, and summer semesters). The funding will provide honoraria for the speakers, some travel funds, and expenses for videotaping the speakers. All
lectures will be videotaped and the tapes will be available to area educators. This program makes it possible, in spite of difficult economic times, for us to continue to provide teachers and students in this
area with opportunities meet and interact with authors of outstanding works for teens.As we reported in the first issue of our newsletter (News from ASTAL), Christopher-Gordon became the
first corporate sponsor of ASTAL by donating a selection of teacher resource books about using YA literature in the classroom to Adams Library at Rhode Island College. Publisher Sue Canavan has
indicated that the company will continue to donate appropriate titles to the library. They also contributed a subscription to their outstanding journal, The New Advocate. Our thanks to Christopher
Gordon for their support and we look forward to future collaboration. |
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