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Monday, April 5, 2010

You Guys!!!!!!

So, I cheated a little. 

I had actually already decided which two books I was going to work on first before I posted the one-sentence blurb on each.  However, I wanted to know what you thought...you know, which ideas* were intriguing.....that kind of thing.

And then I asked my 4th and 5th grade writing club what they thought.

You Guys = 4th and 5th graders!!

Seriously.

Far and away, the most intriguing (to the kids) concept was #4, Area 51 Elementary School.  (You guys said the same!)  I asked the kids what they liked, since the blurb is ultra-vague.  Basically, they liked it because I told them to stop reading it.  The more I told them I couldn't tell them about the stuff in the book, the more they wanted to know....kind of like the kid on the playground taunting, I've got a secret!  I've got a secret!

In second place (among the 4th and 5th graders) was #1, Calista.  They could not stopp asking questions about this one:

Mrs. Thomas, how did the girl lose her soul to the Lady of the Lake?
  Um...I dunno....yet.
If the otter is a shape-shifter, why does it choose to be an otter?
This comment led to a 10 minute long debate about what could possibly be cooler than to be a shape-shifting otter. 

This title also placed high with you guys, tying with the Willoughby Girls.  (But a few of the boys in the club said that although they don't mind reading about girls, 4 was really an awful lot of them.)

Remarkably, I had already started #1 (because I wanted to spend a little more time in Celtic Folklore) and #4 because, well, it's Area 51.  I probably shouldn't write about it....so I want to.

So, there you have it.

Kind of cool to know that you haveyour collective fingers on the pulse of the middle grade target audience!

And thanks to all of  you who took the time to read and respond. I appreciate it more than you know.

hrh

*If you missed my 4 book idea blurbs, they are in the post below.

12 comments:

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

I'm totally curious about Area 51 School....It sounds great!

Anonymous said...

Arent kids neat! My favourite was the otter but I would never think to ask that question about him. hehe

Julie Dao said...

Yay! My mom told me I still acted like a 5th grader sometimes, and I didn't believe her!

Susan R. Mills said...

Well, there you go. Your audience has spoken.

Kelly Polark said...

Great confirmation from your audience and peers!

Unknown said...

Yes! I'm so happy to know I haven't advanced from that stage in my life. Hehe! I love your discussion with your kids. When my boys hit that age, can I send them to your class? :D

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I guess we know you shouldn't ask for my opinion in a pinch, because I didn't guess either of those. LOL! :-)

MG Higgins said...

Believe it or not, I had a relative who worked at Area 51. I don't have much information (of course), but if you're interested, I'd be happy to share with you what I know. melhig at yahoo dot com.

Kim said...

hehe...I already knew that. I haven't grown up yet! Have fun writing those. I can't wait for Area 51!

Laura Pauling said...

Now, you've got great confirmation and go full steam ahead!

Sherrie Petersen said...

They all sound like cool ideas, but Area 51 School is different from anything else I've read or heard of so I like that unique aspect of it.

Clementine said...

Very cool! Glad to know that our minds are where they should be.