Author Michelle Isenhoff has several books for children and young adults to her credit. She's stopping by today to share her experience and wisdom in this wonderful guest post.
Michelle says,
"I write for kids. In my books, you can expect adventure and substance, but I'll always respect the innocence of our children."
I like that! I remember how challenging it could be to find good books for my kids when they were young. Michelle is currently conducting a blog tour for her latest book, Beneath the Slashings. It is specially priced at .99 for the month of August. (See links below.)
Windows to the Past
“History is boring.”
Oh, those words make me
cringe! Especially when I hear kids say them. You see, I’m a teacher at heart. I
haven’t taught in an official capacity, outside of homeschooling my own
children, for a decade now, but that teacher in me never seems to go away. I’m
stuck with it.
Maybe it’s the teacher, maybe it’s the writer, but I love traveling to historical sites. They are
hotbeds for imagination. The individuals who once lived in those places call
out to me, begging me to set them on paper, and that little story generator in my
brain goes crazy. Often I’ll immerse myself completely in a place or an event
so I can gather a real sense of what it was like, what people may have
experienced or felt. I want kids to experience that sense of wonder!
This is how I came to write
my very first novel, The Color of
Freedom. My husband and I took a vacation to Boston, Lexington and Concord
in Massachusetts. I saw where the American Revolution began—I felt it—and I set
that experience down in the story of Meadow MacKenna, a young indentured
servant from Ireland who found herself caught in the tensions that tore the
colonies apart. Meadow’s story is compelling in itself, but as a teacher and
history buff, I love that it gives kids a window into the past. They get to
experience history, though they hardly realize they’re learning.
I choose Michigan because it is
my home state as well as Mr. Finney’s. It turned out to be an ideal setting. Though
never the site of a battle, Michigan was an important participant in the events
surrounding the war. Strongly pro-abolition, several of her counties were
active in the Underground Railroad, with seven documented routes to freedom and
two hundred safe houses (The Candle Star,
book one). The Michigan home front was also vital to the war effort, supplying
food, materials and men for the northern Cause. But unmanned farms created
challenges all their own, and unscrupulous characters were ever ready to take
advantage (Broken Ladders, book two).
And after the war, families were left broken, and America needed to rebuild. The
lumber camps of Michigan’s vast wilderness lured many who were looking for a
new start (Beneath the Slashings, book
three).
By creating three engaging adventures
featuring three twelve-year-old girls, I was able to surround this period of
history. The setting moves from city to farm to wilderness, viewing the war
from different angles, immersing readers in different years, different challenges,
different viewpoints. My goal, as always, is to create high-quality literature
that provides an entertaining reading experience for children. I want to tell a
great story. My hidden hope, however, is that my readers—young and old—might glean
a little insight along the way.
Michelle
Isenhoff is an elementary teacher and the author of several middle grade and
young adult novels. Ever the teacher, she also likes to make classroom
materials available to accompany her novels. They can be found on her blog.
Do you have any questions for Michelle? When you were in school, did you think history was boring?
Have a great weekend,
Karen
P.S. Ann Gabhart's book giveaway ends tomorrow at midnight. Click here for details.
Photo credit: Stock Exchange
