Laura Purdie Salas

Writing the World for Kids

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[Be on the Lookout] Gone Fishing: A Novel in Verse

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I love to get a sneak peak of forthcoming poetry/novel in verse books, because anticipation is half the fun!

Tamera Will Wissinger was a student in an online class Lisa Bullard and I taught, and she’s a graduate of Hamline University’s MFA program. I was so excited when she got in touch to share her news about her novel in verse?coming out next spring from Houghton Mifflin! It looks like a light-hearted novel in verse with boy appeal–there are not enough of those, so this will be a welcome addition to the field. And the cover looks charming (and British, to me,?even though the illustrator, Matthew Cordell, is American). I love the easy-going mood it creates. Here’s the info:

Gone Fishing

GONE FISHING A novel in verse by Tamera Will Wissinger
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, March 5, 2013

Nine-year-old Sam loves fishing with his dad. So when his pesky little sister, Lucy, horns in on their fishing trip, he’s none too pleased: ?Where’s my stringer? / Something’s wrong! / This princess doll does not belong!? All ends well in this winsome book of poems?each labeled with its proper poetic form. Together the poems build a dawn-to-dusk story of a father-son bond, of sibling harmony lost and found?and most of all, of delicious anticipation. Charming line drawings by Matthew Cordell animate the poetry with humor and drama, and the extensive Poet’s Tackle Box at the end makes this the perfect primer to hook aspiring poets of all ages.

Tamera was inspired to write GONE FISHING after writing “Night Crawlers,” a poem that stemmed from her fun childhood memories of night crawler hunting with her family before fishing trips. A graduate of Hamline University’s MFA Writing for Children program, Tamera and her husband share their time between Chicago and Florida. Tamera is represented by Michelle Humphrey of The Martha Kaplan Agency. Online you can find her on her website, Goodreads, or Facebook. In real life you may just find her fishing.

Congratulations, Tamera! Can’t wait to read your book!

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Comments

  1. This sounds wonderful. I hear the term “novel in verse” and I just nod as if I know what people mean when they said that…and actually, I don’t. I figure it’s a whole novel in verse (hee! hee!), but since I’ve never read one, I wasn’t sure of the format. I may make this my first. Thanks for sharing and for getting me to admit….I’m clueless 🙂

    • Too funny, Penny. Novels in verse IS a confusing term because they aren’t really in verse. They are generally defined as novels told in free verse poems, but I think that’s misleading because it’s extremely rare for the poems to really be poems. They’re more like poetic (sometimes), spare snapshots of moments in a story, that taken together, create a cohesive narrative. They’re especially awesome for stories with a huge emotional impact, and they’re wonderful for people who like that “captured moment” feel and also for reluctant readers (lots of white space compared to a prose novel). I love them, even if I think the category name is usually inaccurate! Try Hugging the Rock by Susan Taylor Brown, Kaleidoscope Eyes, by Jen Bryant, any of Sonya Sones’ nivs, Diamond Willow, by Helen Frost, Reaching for the Sun, by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer–oh my gosh–these are just a few of my favorites. There are lots of wonderful ones! (And it’s good to admit you’re clueless. I have to do that frequently, and it’s hard–but it always ends up with my learning something:>)

  2. This sounds wonderful. I hear the term “novel in verse” and I just nod as if I know what people mean when they said that…and actually, I don’t. I figure it’s a whole novel in verse (hee! hee!), but since I’ve never read one, I wasn’t sure of the format. I may make this my first. Thanks for sharing and for getting me to admit….I’m clueless 🙂

    • Too funny, Penny. Novels in verse IS a confusing term because they aren’t really in verse. They are generally defined as novels told in free verse poems, but I think that’s misleading because it’s extremely rare for the poems to really be poems. They’re more like poetic (sometimes), spare snapshots of moments in a story, that taken together, create a cohesive narrative. They’re especially awesome for stories with a huge emotional impact, and they’re wonderful for people who like that “captured moment” feel and also for reluctant readers (lots of white space compared to a prose novel). I love them, even if I think the category name is usually inaccurate! Try Hugging the Rock by Susan Taylor Brown, Kaleidoscope Eyes, by Jen Bryant, any of Sonya Sones’ nivs, Diamond Willow, by Helen Frost, Reaching for the Sun, by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer–oh my gosh–these are just a few of my favorites. There are lots of wonderful ones! (And it’s good to admit you’re clueless. I have to do that frequently, and it’s hard–but it always ends up with my learning something:>)

  11. Very proud of Tamara who was a terrific student in our Hamline MFAC program. Laura, your blog is great.

    • Thanks, Claire! I’m in a critique group with the talented Tracy Nelson Maurer, who (along with many writers I know) sings the praises of Hamline:>)

  12. Very proud of Tamara who was a terrific student in our Hamline MFAC program. Laura, your blog is great.

    • Thanks, Claire! I’m in a critique group with the talented Tracy Nelson Maurer, who (along with many writers I know) sings the praises of Hamline:>)

  13. This is such a good review Laura, of what sounds like a very happy collaboration and a good story too. I know one boy who loves fishing & will love this. Congratulations to your friend and student, Tamera.

  14. This is such a good review Laura, of what sounds like a very happy collaboration and a good story too. I know one boy who loves fishing & will love this. Congratulations to your friend and student, Tamera.

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