SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Ten Ways to Hear Snow
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: www.cathycamper.com
CITY: Portland
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 286
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1956, in Madison, WI.
EDUCATION:A.M.L.S. (library science).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Librarian and author. Minneapolis Public Library, Minneapolis, MN, librarian until 2005; currently librarian in Portland, OR. Sugar Needle, co-editor; freelance writer and lecturer. Member of board of Mizna (Arab-American literary journal), 2000-05.
AVOCATIONS:Fossilized insects, martial arts films, swimming, running, exploring, music, making art out of seeds and toy robots out of “junk.”
WRITINGS
Contributor of articles, short fiction, and artwork to periodicals, including Cicada, Cricket, Wired, Mizna, Boy Trouble, Other Voices, Musician, Utne Reader, Sugar Needle, and Giant Robot. Contributor of reviews to periodicals, including School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Five Owls, and Women’s Review of Books.
SIDELIGHTS
For librarian and author Cathy Camper, writing has aways been a part of life, and an interest in paleontology inspired her first published children’s book, Bugs before Time: Prehistoric Insects and Their Relatives. A second book, the graphic novel Lowriders in Space, was motivated by Camper’s efforts to promote diversity in children’s books. As she explained to David Henry Sterry in the Huffington Post, as a youth outreach librarian “I was seeing diverse groups of kids, but all the books were about white suburban children. As an Arab-American, I know what it’s like not to see yourself in books.”
In Bugs before Time Camper provides young readers with an informative and entertaining look at the evolution of insects since prehistoric times. In addition, she examines such related topics as how fossils are formed and the manner in which Earth’s tectonic plates have shifted over time. Steve Kirk’s bright illustrations, along with the colorful timeline accompanying the story, spark reader interest even further. Bugs before Time “is sure to entrance budding entomologists,” predicted Patricia Manning in School Library Journal, and Kay Weisman wrote in Booklist that Bugs before Time should attract “dinosaur enthusiasts who are ready to branch out to other prehistoric species.” Calling Camper’s energetic text “irresistible,” a Kirkus Reviews critic concluded that the nonfiction work “will fly off the shelves and send shivers of delight.”
Lowriders in Space, which Camper developed in tandem with illustrator Raúl Gonzalez, III, finds three car-loving friends—a mosquito, an octopus, and an impala—determined to enter a car competition and use the prize money to purchase their own garage. When they locate a stash of old airplane parts, they set about creating an out-of-this-world automotive machine. “A wild journey through space gives their car one-of-a-kind galactic magic,” wrote a Publishers Weekly reviewer, and in School Library Journal Sujei Lupo noted Camper’s focus on lowriding car culture. Gonzalez’s “quirky characters and illustrations have the potential to engage children,” Lupo added of the boy-friendly graphic novel, while Liz Gotauco argued in Voice of Youth Advocates that Lowriders in Space contains “a big dose of girl-power in the character of Lupe” as well as providing a welcome “introduction to Spanish-speaking culture.” Also in praise of the collaborative graphic novel, a Kirkus Reviews critic deemed Lowriders in Space “a highly entertaining and culturally authentic romp.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, March 15, 2002, Kay Weisman, review of Bugs before Time: Prehistoric Insects and Their Relatives, p. 1252; October 15, 2014, Sarah Hunter, review of Lowriders in Space, p. 38.
Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2002, review of Bugs before Time, p. 330; October 15, 2014, review of Lowriders in Space.
Publishers Weekly, October 6, 2014, review of Lowriders in Space, p. 71.
School Library Journal, May, 2002, Patricia Manning, review of Bugs before Time, p. 166; November, 2014, Sujei Lugo, review of Lowriders in Space, p. 108.
Science Books & Films, November, 2002, review of Bugs before Time, p. 564.
Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 2015, Liz Gotauco, review of Lowriders in Space, p. 72.
ONLINE
Cathy Camper website, http://cathycamper.com (April 8, 2015).
Huffington Post online, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ (October 28, 2014), David Henry Sterry, interview with Camper.*
Cathy Camper is the author of Lowriders in Space, Lowriders to the Center of the Earth and Lowriders Blast from the Past, with a fourth volume in the works, Lowriders to the Rescue, all from Chronicle Books. She has a forthcoming picture book, Ten Ways to Hear Snow (Dial/Penguin), Fall 2020, and also wrote Bugs Before Time: Prehistoric Insects and Their Relatives (Simon & Schuster). Her zines include Sugar Needle and The Lou Reeder, and she’s a founding member of the Portland Women of Color zine collective. A graduate of VONA/Voices writing workshops for people of color in Berkeley, California, Cathy works as a librarian in Portland, Oregon, where she does outreach to schools and kids in grades K-12. Cathy is represented by Jennifer Laughran of Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
Cathy Camper on Lowriders, Graphic Novels and Diversity in Books
12/21/2016 05:22 pm ET
We first met Cathy Camper when she won our Pitchapalooza at the great Portland bookstore Powell’s. The first book in the series did so well that the second one is out now, so we thought we’d pick her brain about books, lowriders, outer space, libraries and diversity in books.
CHRONICLE BOOKS
The Book Doctors: Tell us about the new book.
Cathy Camper: Lowriders to the Center of the Earth came out July 2016. This graphic novel follows Lowriders in Space. The three main characters are the same, but you can read each book on its own and still understand what’s going on. At the end of Lowriders in Space, Genie, Elirio, Lupe and Flapjack Octopus’s cat goes missing. The three embark on a crazy road trip to find their cat. It leads them down into the Underworld, ruled by Miclantecuhtli, the Aztec God of the Dead. He’s catnapped their gato, and to get back Genie, it will take all their combined wits and camaraderie to outwit La Llorona, Chupacabra driving a monster truck, and Miclantecutli, who wears a luchadore cape of eyeballs! Similar to the first book, Raúl III illustrated it all in ballpoint pen, with the addition of a green pen in this book, because they get lost in a maíz maze along the way.
TBD: How was it different writing the second book after the first book did so well?
CC: Once you have a book out there, there’s always pressure to deliver another book that’s equally good. Luckily, I was already thinking up book two at the same time I was writing book one. I had to do a big rewrite early on, which was tough, but the book kept getting richer and richer the more I wrote. Also – a big difference – when I wrote book one, I didn’t know who would illustrate it, or even if it would be a graphic novel or picture book. But with book two, I was able to write towards Raúl III, and his style. I even asked him, “What do you like drawing?” He said, “Bats and skeletons.” So I wrote the story to let his artwork flourish. In this way, we work together more like musicians, and it’s really fun.
TBD: There seems to be this idea in the publishing community that Latino people don’t read books. Could you address that please?
CC: Well that’s sure not been our experience – every school visit and author talk we’ve done, we have Latinx loving our book, both kids and adults. Those publishers might need to look at it the other way around; if people aren’t buying their books, maybe you don’t have things people want to read. School Library Journal just chose our book as one of their top Latinx books of 2016 for kids, and we got this best books of 2016 shout out from Gene Yang, Ambassador of Children’s Books, so there ya go!
TBD: What are some of the challenges of writing a graphic novel, as opposed to a novel without images?
CC: A graphic novel is a collaboration (unless you’re drawing it too), so you can’t be too precious about your words….lots get edited, cut and changed. Writing a comic is more like writing a film than fiction; your words are instructing actions. So you need to be like a director when you visualize what happens; it’s boring to have lots of static scenes with crowded dialog. Sometimes, you can sneak a little poetry into the text, but more often, the poetry exists in the meld between text and art.
Raúl Gonzalez III and Cathy Camper
Raúl Gonzalez III and Cathy Camper
TBD: Tell us about the process of working with your illustrator.
CC: Raúl III and I are lucky, because we get along super well. When we started to work together, we had only spent around eight hours together (he lives in Boston, I live in Portland, OR), but we both have a good work ethic, a similar sense of humor, and we give each other a lot of give and take in the books’ creation. Generally, I write the story first with the editors, then it goes to Raúl and the art director, for the blocking of panels and pages, and artwork. In most kids’ picture books, the artist and illustrator only communicate via the editor. But Raúl and I often share ideas; he might suggest text, and I might tell him something to tuck in the illustrations. It really is like playing jazz, lots of improvisation and adding in things we discover along the way.
TBD: How has being a librarian affected your work as an author?
Subscribe to The Morning Email.
Wake up to the day's most important news.
address@email.com
CC: I wrote these books because I couldn’t find them to give to kids at my library. We desperately need more diverse books, and books that appeal to boys. Working around teachers, parents and kids all day, I know what books are connecting with folks. I’m also pretty good at pitching books to people – I do it for my job! As a librarian, I’ve also learned a ton about publishing and the business side of books, how books are made, ordered and promoted.
TBD: What is your next project?
CC: I’m working on the third lowrider book. It’s called Blast from the Past; L’il Lowriders in Space. Remember L’il Archies, or the Muppet Babies? This is the same thing - it’s all about our three heroes when they were kids, their families and where they grew up. I have an Arab American picture book that will come out in 2019, called Ten Ways to Hear Snow with Penguin/Dial. There’s another Arab American picture book in the works, and a YA novel called Circle A, about some kids in the ‘80s that meet some punks squatting in an abandoned house. That one deals with issues of social justice, race, sexual orientation and how images are misused in the media, all issues that are front and center right now. I look at each book as a good adventure, you never know where it will lead.
TBD: What or some graphic novels you love, and why?
CC: For kids, I enjoyed Fantasy Sports by Sam Bosma, and The Hilda comics by Luke Pearson are really imaginative. I also recommend March Grand Prix by Kean Soo, for kids that ask for more comics about cars, since it’s about car racing. I thought the Lunch Witch books by Deb Lucke were also great. For adult comics, I love Ed Luce’s Wuvable Oaf, and thought the compilation The Shirley Jackson Project edited by Rob Kirby, of comics about Shirley Jackson, was fantastic.
TBD: Any exciting news about Lowriders in Space, since it came out in 2014?
CC: Yes, Lowriders in Space got nominated for a Texas Bluebonnet Award, so Raul and I have done a lot of author presentations down there, and felt all kinds of love from the Lone Star State. The Bluebonnet committee is made up of awesome librarians and educators, and they posted a lot of fun material educators and parents can use to supplement our book.
Also, both Raúl and I have heard many accounts of how our books connect with kids. The most touching is testimony that they are a gateway books, for kids who just wouldn’t read. For kids that don’t see themselves reflected in books, for kids that struggle with reading, for autistic kids – we’ve heard again and again our book was the spark that lit the flame of how exciting reading can be. As creators, we’d hoped to share a story in our heads with folks, but to have those stories open the door to the pleasure of a lifetime of reading? We are totally awed, and honored.
TBD: We hate to ask you this, but what advice do you have for writers, illustrators, or graphic novel people?
CC: Keep writing. Writing is like a boiling pot; if you have talent and write enough, it will get better and better, something good will eventually boil over and someone will notice. My other advice is to do work in the DIY/alternative world, the same as you do in the mainstream world. Eventually the two overlap, and the adventures and skills you learn in both end up complimenting each other. And for writers of color, and writers outside the mainstream, don’t give up! We need your stories, and you are the future.
Cathy Camper is the author of Lowriders in Space, and Lowriders to the Center of the Earth, with a third volume in the works. She has a forthcoming picture book, Ten Ways to Hear Snow, and also wrote Bugs Before Time: Prehistoric Insects and Their Relatives. Her zines include Sugar Needle and The Lou Reeder, and she’s a founding member of the Portland Women of Color zine collective. A graduate of VONA/Voices writing workshops for people of color in Berkeley, California, Cathy works as a librarian in Portland, Oregon, where she does outreach to schools and kids in grades K-12.
Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry are co-founders of The Book Doctors, a company that has helped countless authors get their books published. They are co-authors of The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published: How To Write It, Sell It, and Market It... Successfully (Workman, 2015). They are also book editors, and between them they have authored 25 books, and appeared on National Public Radio, the London Times, and the front cover of the Sunday New York Times Book Review.
Cathy Camper is the author of several books, including Bugs Before Time, Ten Ways to Hear Snow (2020), Lowriders in Space, Lowriders to the Center of the Earth, and Lowriders Blast from the Past. She also writes zines, and is a founding member of the Portland Women of Color zine collective. A graduate of VONA/Voices writing workshops for people of color, Cathy also lived in Minneapolis, MN, for many years, where she was on the board of the Arab literary magazine Mizna. She currently works as a librarian in Portland, Oregon, as an outreach librarian, serving schools and kids grades K-12.
Lowriders Blast from the Past.
By Cathy Camper. Illus. by Raul the Third.
2018.128p. Chronicle, $22.99 (9781452163154); paper, $9.99 (9781452163161). Gr. 3-6. 741.5.
Elirio, El Chavo, and Lupe have flown to space and ventured to the underworld in their ingenious lowrider, but how did they first meet? This installment in Camper and Raul the Third's effervescent, street art-inspired series reveals the fortuitous occasion of the car show at which they first put their skills to the test. A boorish car club, Los Matamoscas, merciless teases Elirio, El Chavo, and Lupe, but when they underhandedly try to keep Lupe's moms from entering the car show ("Car clubs are for men. Sorry chicas"), it's the last straw. Fans of the first two series installments will be delighted to find the same upbeat tone and adventurous plots, and Raul the Third's artwork is at its best: exaggerated perspectives make cars and words pop off the page, the grotesque bullies' appearances match their foul behavior, and Elirio's bold, beautifully designed murals pay homage to the muralists who inspired Raul the Third. Discussions of indigenous languages, a gentle dose of physics, and a compassionate message about bullying give this cartoonish adventure some meaningful depth, too.--Sarah Hunter
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 8th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Hunter, Sarah. "Lowriders Blast from the Past." Booklist, vol. 115, no. 6, 15 Nov. 2018, p. 39. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A563682564/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=74f13675. Accessed 11 Dec. 2020.
Camper, Cathy LOWRIDERS TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH Chronicle (Children's Fiction) $22.99 7, 5 ISBN: 978-1-4521-2343-1
The Lowriders in Space saga continues with an even crazier ride than the first.After an earthquake, Lupe the supermechanic impala, Elirio Malaria the mosquito, and El Chavo Flapjack the octopus realize that Genie the cat has gone missing. Trailing him in their galactic lowrider, they're soon stymied by an amazing maiz maze of gigantic corn, where a punny, Gandalf-like coyote relates a fractured-mythological tale of how the Aztec god of the underworld uses the maze to trap victims forever. Undeterred, the friends plunge into a cave, where they're surrounded by "metaphoric" rocks ("the building blocks of poets everywhere"). In the underworld, a gleefully bizarre and culturally dense adventure ensues. The friends meet the inconsolable, pre-Hispanic legend La Llorona, who believes Flappy is her lost child. Further in, they arrive at a macabre carnival midway where Day of the Dead references abound and the chupacabra drives a monster truck. When the gobsmacked companeros finally find the caged (but still intact) Genie, they also come face to face with their nemesis, lucha libre fanatic and god of the underworld Mictlantecuhtli ("Mic to you, idiotas!"). Lupe must wrestle him for her cat's freedom, but Genie has a surprise for everyone. Raul the Third's ultradetailed crosshatched artwork more than meets the demands of this cast-of-thousands comic opus. The copious Spanish vocabulary is defined in footnotes and again in a glossary in the backmatter.Satisfyingly over-the-top mayhem for all "low and slow" fans. (Graphic fantasy. 8-13)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 8th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Camper, Cathy: LOWRIDERS TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2016. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A452197940/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=69069c53. Accessed 11 Dec. 2020.
Ten Ways to Hear Snow. By Cathy Camper. Illus. by Kenard Pak. Oct. 2020. 32p. Penguin/Kokila, $17.99 (9780399186332). PreS-Gr. 3.
One morning, Lina discovers that snow has fallen. There's enough to blanket the town but not enough to keep her from visiting Sitti, her grandmother, who is losing her eyesight. Walking through the neighborhood toward Sitti's retirement building, Lina listens for different sounds associated with snow and counts eight, from the "scraaape, scrip" of a snow shovel clearing the sidewalk to the "thwomp" of a snowball hitting its target. In her grandmother's apartment, they make Lebanese stuffed grape leaves. While eating them together, Lina hears the ninth sound, melted snow dripping from her mittens. She's surprised to learn that Sitti already knows about the snowfall. That morning, she opened the window and sensed it. How? "Quiet is the tenth way to hear snow." Camper's well-worded text creates a warm, comforting story with a wintry backdrop. The narrative and the illustrations portray an amiable Arab American family and, especially, the loving, playful relationship between granddaughter and grandmother. In Pak's spare, beautiful digital artwork, the clean lines and restrained use of color encourage viewers to focus on the main characters, their perceptions, and their strong kinship. A fine selection for teachers requesting picture books on the senses and a natural for reading aloud before the season's first snowfall.--Carolyn Phelan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 8th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Phelan, Carolyn. "Ten Ways to Hear Snow." Booklist, vol. 117, no. 3, 1 Oct. 2020, p. 67. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A638516290/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=9df9fc3e. Accessed 11 Dec. 2020.
CAMPER, Cathy. Lowriders to the Center of the Earth. illus. by Raul the Third. 128p. (Lowriders: Bk. 2). glossary. Chronicle. Jul. 2016. Tr $22.99. ISBN 9781452123431; pap. $9.99. ISBN 9781452138367.
Gr 4-8--Lupe, Elirio, and Flapjack--an impala, a mosquito, and an octopus--work in a garage, repairing and detailing cars. When drey discover their cat, Genie, is missing, they follow his tracks to a corn maze that turns out to be a trap used by the Aztec god Mictlantecuhtli to steal the skeletons of wayfarers. Can the trio challenge him in the underworld, rescue their pet, and return safely home? The artwork is intricate but accessible; the textures and colors invite imitation. The storytelling is inventive, juggling cultural references, surreal circumstances, and educational impulses. As in the previous volume, Lowriders in Space, the dialogue combines Spanish and English slang, with frequent footnotes and definitions for the Spanish terms. This reinforces a narrative distance created by the flat affect of the characters and the woodenness of the included vocabulary. Perhaps the book is trying to do too much, incorporating lucha libre, mythology, Day of the Dead imagery, fanciful geology lessons, and multilingual puns all into one narrative. Or perhaps readers just need to go along for the ride, bajito y suavecito. VERDICT A jumble of creative ambition, the compelling visuals and scattershot storytelling will appeal to those not distracted by the roller-coaster plotting and jagged, more-is-more approach. Purchase where the first installment is popular.--Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 8th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Russell, Benjamin. "Camper, Cathy. Lowriders to the Center of the Earth." School Library Journal, vol. 62, no. 6, June 2016, p. 100. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A453920192/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=090c46ce. Accessed 11 Dec. 2020.
CAMPER, Cathy. Ten Ways To Hear Snow. illus. by Kenard Pak. 32p. Penguin/ Kokila. Oct. 2020: Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780399186332.
K-Gr 3-Perhaps only someone who has lived in a snowy place and loved it would find 10 ways to hear snow. This poetic undertaking is as simple as a walk to a grandparent's home and, ultimately, just as heartwarming. Lina hears a muffled sound, first in the morning when no one is moving after a blizzard the day before, a thwomp when the snow falls off a branch that sways under the weight, and the scrape of shovels as sidewalks are cleared. She wonders if Sitti, her grandmother, will know that it has snowed, and goes to tell her, and to make stuffed grape leaves, a Lebanese favorite. But the 10th way to hear snow is its quiet, and Sitti, who cannot see well, is well aware of the blizzard's aftermath. Camper's straightforward telling is imbued with lyrical moments: "Outside, the late blue afternoon was completely still" perfectly describes the color and cast of the day's blanketed scenery. Lina's skin is light brown, and her hair is black; her parents, too, have similar coloring, he with a moustache and calling her the Arabic endearment "habibti." The inclusion of that and a few other Arabic words is seamless. In muted pastel colors, with foam-like blocks of snow lining branches, roofs, and hedges, Pak re-creates the sculptured effect of snow--that it covers the landscape, and in doing so, highlights it: eyebrows of white over windows, bumps where there had been bushes, drifts scattershot up the trunks of trees. VERDICT Not since Ezra Jack Keats in Snowy Day and Karen Gundersheimer in Happy Winter has snow been so lovingly depicted, in a counting game for children in all seasons.--Kimberly Olson Fakih, School Library Journal
Caption: Ten Ways to Hear Snow (Camper) [c]2020 by Kenard Pak, p.78.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 8th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Fakih, Kimberly Olson. "CAMPER, Cathy. Ten Ways To Hear Snow." School Library Journal, vol. 66, no. 12, Dec. 2020, p. 78+. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A643822038/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ff1421fd. Accessed 11 Dec. 2020.
Lowriders to the Center of the Earth. By Cathy Camper. Illus. by Raul the Third. July 2016. 128p. Chronicle, $22.99 (9781452123431); paper, $9.99 (9781452138367). 741.5. Gr. 3-6.
After winning the contest and raising enough money to open their own garage in Lowriders in Space (2014), Lupe Impala, El Chavo Flapjack, and Elirio Malaria are happily working on cars all day. But when an earthquake strikes and their beloved gatito, Genie, goes missing, they load up their ranfla and follow the trail of tiny cat paw prints. That trail leads them through a gigantic corn maze, toward a volcano, and right into the bone-strewn Realm of the Dead, lorded over by the terrifying Micdantecuhti, the Aztec god of the underworld, who's got his evil heart set on collecting the bones of our valiant trio and their gato. Raul's boisterous, high-octane artwork, stunning in blue, black, red, and green ballpoint pen, matches the manic energy of the story, and when the Lowriders take on Micdantechuti in a lucha libre bust-up, his no-holds-barred style really shines. While the high-flying pace means that some story elements seem a bit rushed, the wild antics, exuberant illustrations, and frequent Spanish will launch the Lowriders straight into many hearts.--Sarah Hunter
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 8th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Hunter, Sarah. "Lowriders to the Center of the Earth." Booklist, vol. 112, no. 19-20, 1 June 2016, p. 73. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A456094242/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=0908fd38. Accessed 11 Dec. 2020.