J u s t P u b l i s h e d
THE DUNDERHEADS
Illustrated by David Roberts
"Never," shrieked Miss Breakbone, "have I been asked to teach such a scraping together of fiddling, twiddling, time-squandering, mind-wandering, doodling, dozing, don't-knowing dunderheads!"
This was her first mistake--the insult. Mistake Number Two: No eye for talent. Further miscues follow, inspiring the group to attempt a caper that requires all their sundry talents: Spider's climbing, Pencil's drawing, Hollywood's movie knowledge, Wheels' cycling, and much more. Will they succeed? Illustrated by wickedly witty Brit David Roberts,
The Dunderheads gives us a well-oiled grammar-school machine that no teacher should ever bet against.
Starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal
Candlewick Press / June 2009
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"O n e B o o k"
P r o g r a m s
C h o o s e
S E E D F O L K S
The community read programs in
Appleton, WI,
Allen, TX,
Natick, MA, and the island of
Nantucket are the latest to choose
Seedfolks--a collection of vignettes by 13 characters describing the first year of a community garden in a Cleveland immigrant neighborhood. Its short length, multicultural cast, and suitability for adults as well as students has led
Seedfolks to be used in One Book programs round the country:
VERMONT used the book as its One-State One-Book choice throughout 2005. There were discussions, dramatizations, readings on Vermont Public Radio, and the participation of dozens of groups--from the Friends of Burlington Gardens to the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Project--in communities up and down the state. For information on Burlington's splendid community gardens and views of my 2005 visit, click here.
RACINE, WI gave away copies of the book, encouraging readers to leave them in public places when finished, posting comments and following the book's journey via BookCrossing.com. Discussions in Spanish, a screening of Greenfingers, writing and virtual gardening at a women's prison are a few of the many activities that took place. The book was chosen as well for the statewide reading program, Read On Wisconsin.
TAMPA, FL gave away more than 15,000 copies of the book and used it in conjunction with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, encouraging citizens to volunteer in an array of community improvement projects.
NEWBURGH, NY connected the book to a month-long multicultural celebration of words, art, and dance, with concerts and classes on everything from found sculpture to African drumming. The local newspaper serialized the book in both English and Spanish.
The book has also been read by communities in California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, and Utah.
"Dear Paul Fleischman: I've bought 20 copies of Seedfolks and given them away."
--PETE SEEGER
The book has been used in connection with
school gardens at every level, performed by community theaters, and used in school-wide and district-wide reads. I've posted an
article--included in the new paperback edition--on
how the book came to be written. Click
here for a newspaper article on how
a New York teenager put the book into action. An
audio of the book is now available from
Audio Bookshelf. If you're interested in using
Seedfolks in a school or community reading program, contact HarperCollins at authorvisits@
harpercollins.com. Click here to download HarperCollins' teacher's guide to the book.
"The size of this slim volume belies the profound message of hope it contains."
--CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
Seedfolks in Spanish!
Translated as
Semillas, Seedfolks is now available in a Spanish paperback edition from Scholastic's
Lectorum Publications.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Photo by Laurie Harbeson
WESLANDIA --
The Musical
Composer Frumi Cohen has brought
Weslandia to the stage! The tale of a grammar school outcast who founds an alternate civilization in his backyard has now been infused with her toe-tapping, lyrical, irresistible music. The 55-minute musical is available both as a large-cast student production and as a touring play for 3 males and 3 females. You can get more information and hear samples at
frumicohen.com .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
C O M P O S E R S
L I V E !
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices may be the only Newbery book never to be translated into another language--but composers rushed in where translators feared to tread. Quite a few have set selections from the book to music over the years, captivating works I can now share with you. Do your children or students think all composers are dead, or that questions have only one right answer? Listen to these very different treatments of the same poem.
The first is the work of
Shirley Hoffman Warren, one of five
Joyful Noise poems she set to music, all performed at SUNY in New Paltz, NY, where she lives. "I often strive for a slightly off-balance feel," she says--wonderfully evident here. To hear more of her work, visit her website at
www.washalee.com .
The second was composed by
Brian Holmes and was recently performed by the Peninsula Girls Chorus in Burlingame, CA. To learn and hear more, go to
myspace.com/brianwholmes. 
