SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: No Frogs in School
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): LaFaye, Alexandria R. T.
BIRTHDATE: 3/9/1970
WEBSITE: http://www.alafaye.com/
CITY:
STATE: AR
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 279
http://motherdaughterbookclub.com/2009/10/author-interview%E2%80%94alexandria-lafaye/ http://www.bookrags.com/biography/a–lafaye-aya/ http://www.alafaye.blogspot.com/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born March 9, 1970, in Hudson, WI; daughter of Patrick and Rita LaFaye; married Dean Thole; children: Adia Margot Thole LaFaye, Althea Katelyn Thole LaFay, Jeron Thole, Kyler Thole, Reagan Thole.
EDUCATION:University of Minnesota—Twin Cities, B.A. (history; summa cum laude); Mankato State University, M.A. (creative writing and multicultural literature); University of Memphis, M.F.A.; Hollins College, M.A. (children’s literature).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and educator. Greenville College, Greenville, IL, former associate professor of English; California State University, San Bernardino, former associate professor of English; Hamline University, former instructor; Roanoke College, Salem, VA, instructor in English, 1997-98; Lee University, professor of creative writing. Visiting associate professor at Hollins University and at Plattsburgh State University, beginning 1998.
AVOCATIONS:Movies, storytelling, fine arts, gardening, horseback riding.
MEMBER:Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
AWARDS:Best Children’s Books selection, Bank Street College of Education, 1998, for both The Year of the Sawdust Man and Edith Shay; Notable Children’s Book designation, Smithsonian magazine, c. 2002, for The Strength of Saints; Spur Award finalist, Western Writers of America, and Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, both 2005, both for Worth; Teacher’s Choice selection, International Reading Association, 2011, for Walking Home to Rosie Lee.
POLITICS: “Democratic Socialist.” RELIGION: “Non-denominational Christian.”WRITINGS
Author of Upriver, illustrated by Peter Catalanotto, published in serialized format in newspapers, 2006. Author of a blog.
SIDELIGHTS
A teacher of creative writing on the college level, A. LaFaye has also gained renown as the author of award-winning historical novels and fantasy tales for young readers. In a trilogy that includes The Year of the Sawdust Man, Nissa’s Place, and The Strength of Saints, LaFaye focuses on young women struggling to survive on their own during the Great Depression of the 1930s, while in Worth and Stella Stands Alone she transports readers back to the nineteenth century, a time marked by the U.S. Civil War and the move westward. Reflecting LaFaye’s interest in how average young people find their place within families and move toward independence, her picture book Walking Home to Rosie Lee also shares her love of history in its well-researched story about a newly freed young slave in search of his mother. Praised by a Kirkus Reviews writer as “a deeply felt narrative” featuring a child’s “distinct voice,” this picture book comes to life in colorful illustrations by Missouri artist Keith D. Shepherd.
LaFaye was “obsessed with learning from a young age, often hunting down odd little historical facts, like what exactly is a ‘coffin corner’?,” and “forever inventing stories in my head,” as she once recalled to SATA. Her talent for writing was bolstered by an encouraging sixth-grade teacher and she continued creative writing into high school. A bachelor’s degree in history and advanced degrees in creative writing and children’s literature led to her career as an academic but also fueled her work as an author.
LaFaye’s first published novel, The Year of the Sawdust Man , was inspired by a television documentary about the Great Depression. Set in Harper, Louisiana, during the 1930s, her story explores the plight of young Nissa Bergen, who comes home from school one afternoon to find that her free-spirited mother has departed, leaving the distraught eleven year old in the care of her father. LaFaye “creates a believable set of characters and a realistic environment, and sustains them well with a lyrical and leisurely use of language,” maintained School Library Journal contributor Darcy Schild in appraising The Year of the Sawdust Man, and a Publishers Weekly critic praised Nissa’s first-person narrative for its “poignant insights into a hurt child’s fragile psyche and resilient spirit.” Calling The Year of the Sawdust Man a “searching, character-driven debut,” a Kirkus Reviews critic added that “LaFaye depicts complex, profoundly disturbed characters with a sure hand.”
In Nissa’s Place Nissa is thirteen years old and attempting to focus on her own future rather than worrying about her mother. Dealing with her present circumstances, she also has to make room in her life for her father’s new wife, Lara. Visiting her mother in Chicago, Nissa gains perspective on the woman’s bohemian lifestyle as well as on her family back in Louisiana, where racism has created divisions within her home town. Calling Nissa’s Place a “fine, upstanding sequel to The Year of the Sawdust Man,” Booklist critic GraceAnne A. DeCandido went on to praised LaFaye’s characters as “full-hearted.” Equally enthusiastic, a Publishers Weekly contributor concluded of Nissa’s Place that the author “surpasses the lyricism and emotional depth of her sparkling debut.”
When readers rejoin Nissa in The Strength of Saints it is 1936, and the treatment of African American has polarized the residents of Harper, Louisiana. Using her leverage as the daughter of the editor of the town’s main newspaper, Nissa attempts to balance the racial equation by founding two libraries, one for blacks and one for whites and both with identical book collections. She is supported in her endeavor by her mother, who arrives to offer moral support for Nissa’s venture, but a violent denouement results due to the passions of people on both sides of the race issue. Appraising The Strength of Saints in Booklist, Gillian Engberg asserted that “LaFaye writes confidently in Nissa’s first-person voice, which captures the lilt of southern phrasing.”
Set in post-Civil War America, LaFaye’s novel Edith Shay blends travel and adventure with the coming-of-age story of Katherine Lunden. Assuming the name Edith Shay, which she found inscribed on an abandoned suitcase, the sixteen year old leaves her home in small-town Wisconsin and takes a train to Chicago. Finding work as a seamstress, the teen then sets about locating the real Edith Shay and returning her suitcase, a quest that takes her to Richmond, Virginia, by way of Philadelphia and Washington, DC. A Publishers Weekly critic wrote of Edith Shay that here “LaFaye offers a multi-dimensional portrait of a young woman in transition, one capable of seeing her flaws and rising above them, revealed in poetic and poignant language.”
Winner of the prestigious Scott O’Dell Award for historical fiction, Worth is set in late-nineteenth-century Nebraska. After eleven-year-old Nate Peale is crippled in a farm accident, his parents adopt John Worth, an orphan from New York City who lost his parents in a tenement fire. Nate is initially jealous and resentful of the newcomer, but as he adapts to his own circumstances he gains in compassion and becomes a mentor to the angry and unhappy city-born boy. When fence-cutters intensify the growing conflict between Nebraska’s ranchers and farmers, the preteens band together to warn the community about a cattle stampede. LaFaye “convincingly conveys the boys’ gradual realization of the value of one another’s friendship,” reported Joel Shoemaker in his appraisal of Worth for School Library Journal, and a Publishers Weekly critic cited the novel for “paint[ing] … a realistic picture of the hardships for average families at the time the Orphan Train rode the rails.” In Booklist Rochman noted LaFaye’s ability to create an “exciting climax,” adding that Worth “tells its own story of darkness and courage.”
Stella Stands Alone is a work of alternate historical fiction that finds an orphaned fourteen year old hoping to save her family’s plantation from foreclosure. Left in control of Oak Grove after her father is murdered and her mother dies of illness, Stella begins the search for her father’s will, a document in which he ceded his property to the former slaves who work on the land. Harassed by townsfolk and members of the Ku Klux Klan, the girl is fortunate to find a benefactor in Mr. Dooley, a Philadelphia attorney with whom she enters a partnership. “Stella’s ideas and actions are extremely modern but readers feel her frustration at the social constrictions she faces,” noted School Library Journal reviewer Lisa Prolman. While Rochman found its story somewhat elaborate, she concluded of Stella Stands Alone that “the sadness and anger, and the wrenching legacy of slavery are present throughout” LaFaye’s tale.
LaFaye moves into fantasy in Dad, in Spirit , which takes place during the present and includes otherworldly elements. Described by a Publishers Weekly reviewer as “far-fetched yet engaging,” the novel finds nine-year-old Ebon Jones feeling like an outcast in his family; everyone else is highly creative, while Ebon’s skill is being a good audience. Only after tragedy strikes in the form of an accident that leaves his father in a coma does the boy’s talent come to the fore: he alone is able to make contact with his comatose father and lead the man on the path to recovery. Miriam Lang Budin noted in a School Library Journal review that, while Dad, in Spirit requires leeway on the part of rational-minded readers, LaFaye’s story is “original, provocative, and ultimately joyous.” In Booklist Kay Weisman dubbed Dad, in Spirit an “introspective fantasy,” adding that its greatest strength is its “believable depiction of strong family bonds.”
Water Steps , another fantasy, evokes the legend of the shape-shifting seal creatures known as selkies. Eleven-year-old Kyna has been terrified of the water since the boating accident that took the lives of her parents and brother. Raised by Mem and Pep, the couple who saved her from drowning and eventually adopted her, the youngster has slowly overcome her fears. While spending the summer at Lake Champlain, Kyna befriends Tylo, a youngster who claims to have spotted some mythical selkies, and through her investigations into his claim she makes an amazing discovery. In her School Library Journal review of Water Steps, Jennifer D. Montgomery wrote that LaFaye’s “engaging writing style flows smoothly and is well paced,” while in Booklist Cindy Welch remarked that “Kyna’s story is a satisfying journey to hope and understanding.”
While returning to the past in The Keening , LaFaye also incorporates supernatural elements in her tale. The novel takes readers back to 1918, and introduces fourteen-year-old Lyza. Lyza lives with her gifted but eccentric father, a sculptor, and her mother in rural Maine. When the flu pandemic hits northern New England and claims her mother’s life, the teen must choose between college or remaining with her surviving parent, and her decision is made easier when she discovers her father’s otherworldly secret. Calling The Keening a “powerful and unsettling book,” a Publishers Weekly critic added that here the author effectively “explores the thin line between artistry and mental illness.” “This mature, challenging work is bleak,” Daniel Kraus observed of LaFaye’s unusual novel in Booklist, but it is also “haunting in its careful use of suggestion and nuance.”
“My grandparents lived in a time when there was no radio, television, remote controls or microwaves,” LaFaye remarked to Teaching Pre K-8 interviewer Becky Rodia. “Just because of a difference in time, a person’s life can be entirely different from what we know. One of the things I want to do with my writing is point out that everyday people lived in the past.”
LaFaye published No Frogs in School in 2018. Bartholomew has many pets at home, including several dogs, several types of birds, a goat, a snake, a spider, and fish. Despite his teacher Mr. Patanoose’s dismay, Bartholomew brings a new pet in to school each day. He brings Ferdinand the frog in on Monday, to which Mr. Patanoose claims that frogs are not allowed in school. The following day, he brings Sigfried the salamander, which is countered by Mr. Patanoose banning all amphibians. So Bartholomew brings in Horace the hamster on Wednesday. Mr. Patanoose then bans rodents. Bartholomew continues trying to avoid breaking one of Mr. Patanoose’s rules before deciding to donate one of his gray rabbits to the class so that everyone can have a pet.
A contributor to Kirkus Reviews conceded: “Visual stumble aside, each page lends itself to an energetic seek-and-find storytime that promises new discoveries upon multiple reads.” A contributor to the Bookworm for Kids blog concluded: “Summed up, this is a super cute picture book with a laughter inducing tale, which kids will easily fall into and enjoy reading again and again.” A Bookfoolery blog contributor reasoned that “No Frogs in School is also an excellent introduction to what it’s like inside the classroom for children who are on the verge of attending school and a great laugh for animal lovers.” A contributor reviewing the book in the Little Lady Plays website found it to be “a really funny book. We had tons of fun with this read. It was one of those reads in which both the adults and children giggle throughout.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, August 1, 1999, Hazel Rochman, review of Strawberry Hill, p. 2058; October 15, 1999, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of Nissa’s Place, p. 444; July, 2001, Kay Weisman, review of Dad, in Spirit, p. 2006; June 1, 2002, Gillian Engberg, review of The Strength of Saints, p. 1724; June 1, 2004, Hazel Rochman, review of Worth, p. 1731; July 1, 2008, Hazel Rochman, review of Stella Stands Alone, p. 57; March 15, 2009, Cindy Welch, review of Water Steps, p. 62; April 15, 2010, Daniel Kraus, review of The Keening, p. 57; November 1, 2011, Hazel Rochman, review of Walking Home to Rosie Lee, p. 74.
Horn Book, July 1, 2004, Susan P. Bloom, review of Worth, p. 455.
Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 1998, review of The Year of the Sawdust Man, p. 740; May 15, 2004, review of Worth, p. 493; June 15, 2011, review of Walking Home to Rosie Lee; June 1, 2018, review of No Frogs in School.
Publishers Weekly, June 1, 1998, review of The Year of the Sawdust Man, p. 63; June 29, 1998, Cindi Di Marzo, interview with LaFaye, p. 28; October 12, 1998, review of Edith Shay, p. 78; October 18, 1999, review of Nissa’s Place, p. 83; June 4, 2001, review of Dad, in Spirit, p. 81; July 26, 2004, review of Worth, p. 55; April 27, 2009, review of Water Steps, p. 132; March 22, 2010, review of The Keening, p. 70; June 6, 2011, review of Walking Home to Rosie Lee, p. 41.
School Library Journal, July 1, 1998, Darcy Schild, review of The Year of the Sawdust Man, p. 97; October 1, 1998, Bruce Anne Shook, review of Edith Shay, p. 138; June 1, 2001, Miriam Lang Budin, review of Dad, in Spirit, p. 152; June 1, 2002, Susan Cooley, review of The Strength of Saints, p. 140; July 1, 2004, Joel Shoemaker, review of Worth, p. 106; November 1, 2008, Lisa Prolman, review of Stella Stands Alone, p. 126; September 1, 2009, Jennifer D. Montgomery, review of Water Steps, p. 163; June 1, 2010, Sara Saxton, review of The Keening, p. 108; September 1, 2011, Jayne Damron, review of Walking Home to Rosie Lee, p. 124.
Teaching Pre K-8, October 1, 2003, Becky Rodia, “Alexandria LaFaye: Dare to Be Different.”
ONLINE
A. LaFaye website, http://www.alafaye.com (September 16, 2018).
Bookfoolery, http://bookfoolery.blogspot.com/ (September 4, 2018), review of No Frogs in School.
Bookworm for Kids, https://bookwormforkids.blogspot.com/ (August 18, 2018), review of No Frogs in School.
Little Lady Plays, http://www.littleladyplays.com/ (August 12, 2018), review of No Frogs in School.
About A. LaFaye
when I started elementary in a small town in central Wisconsin, I discovered that I had a serious problem--I was a complete and total geek! I showed up at school with my clothes on backwards (not to start a new fashion trend, I just didn't pay a lot of attention when I was getting dressed); I talked to myself (why not, no one else would); and I was constantly making up stories.
By the time I was 8, most of the kids in school hated me. They called me names, threw things at me, and generally made my life miserable. I want to do something to make them want to get to know the real me, becuase I felt sure that they'd like me if they really got to know me.
My big plan back then was to break a World Record in the Guiness Book of World Records, then I'd become famous and everyone would want to get to know me. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a record I could break. Then I found Dorothy Straight who published a novel when she was six. I thought, "If a six year old can do it, then so can I." That's what started me on the road to becoming an author
About Alexandria LaFaye
Family is at the core of who I am which is why I'm sharing this picture of me and my family and why families are at the center of most of my books whether it is families torn apart by injury (Worth) or absence (The Year of the Sawdust Man) or drawn together by tragedy (Water Steps and The Keening) or seeking each other (Walking Home to Rosie Lee).
When I'm not joining my family for a board game, a jaunt to the park, or a trip to the zoo, I'm usually writing or reading, but I'm also an associate professor of English at Greenville College in the academic year and a visiting associate professor in the Hollins University Summer Graduate Program in Children's and Young Adult Literature.
Family (l. to r.): Jeron, Regan, my husband, Dean, me (A. LaFaye), Adia, Kyler, Katie
As a kid I collected living salamanders and tree toads. My biggest collection was 22 tree toads and 7 salamanders, all living in a window well.
My first book was called Phantom on the Terrace. It was a handwritten novel about a group of girls (me and my school friends) investigating a haunted house Scooby-style.
I love to work in the garden—planting, weeding. My favorite flowers are poppies, roses, and hibiscus.
A. LaFaye (the "A" is for Alexandria) is the author of Worth, for which she received the Scott O'Dell Award, as well as The Year of the Sawdust Man, Nissa's Place, The Strength of Saints, Edith Shay, Strawberry Hill, and Dad, in Spirit. She teaches at California State University at San Bernardino during the school year and at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, in the summer. She lives in Cabot, Arkansas.
My blogs
Wordy Wanderings
About me
Gender
FEMALE
Industry
Arts
Occupation
Author
Location
Illinois, United States
Introduction
I'm an author, mother, professor, and curious to the bone. I love spending time with family and friends. I love to write, read, visit new places--especially zoos, museums, parks, schools, libraries, and any interesting place along the way.
Interests
Learning new things and any and all new things I've learned about.
Favorite Movies
I love movies with quirky characters played by unusual actors.
Favorite Music
Classical, Celtic, contemporary music with a powerful message. I love singer/songwriter/muscians with a socially conscious agenda.
Favorite Books
I couldn't pick one if you paid me! I LOVE to read.
LaFaye, A.: NO FROGS IN SCHOOL
Kirkus Reviews. (June 1, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
LaFaye, A. NO FROGS IN SCHOOL Sterling (Children's Fiction) $16.95 8, 7 ISBN: 978-1-4549-2698-6
Bartholomew's love for his pets extends to the classroom, much to the dismay of his exasperated teacher, Mr. Patanoose.
Bartholomew can count a great many species of animals as pets: a goat, dogs, a snake, birds, fish, a spider--he has them all, and a few more in between. Each day of the week Bartholomew brings a different pet to school. On Monday, after he brings in Ferdinand the frog, Mr. Patanoose says, "No frogs in school." So on Tuesday, Bartholomew brings in Sigfried the salamander--after all, a salamander is not a frog. Amphibians are then banned. On Wednesday Bartholomew brings in Horace the hamster (not an amphibian), leading to a no-rodents rule. Bartholomew continues skirting Mr. Patanoose's rules until finally he decides to donate Rivka the rabbit to the class so that the adorable gray bunny can be everyone's pet. This charming story uses repetition and humor to cleverly share information, as Bartholomew, a brown-skinned boy with black curly hair, uses his love for and knowledge of animals to find loopholes in Mr. Patanoose's increasing list of rules. The cartoony illustrations are a colorful mix of watercolors abundant with vibrant yellows and pale greens. In the depiction of Bartholomew's multicultural classroom is one notable misstep, as it includes a black girl with plaits sticking up all over her head, harkening unhappily back to the Little Rascals' Buckwheat and other pickaninny stereotypes.
Visual stumble aside, each page lends itself to an energetic seek-and-find storytime that promises new discoveries upon multiple reads. (Picture book. 4-8)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"LaFaye, A.: NO FROGS IN SCHOOL." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A540723342/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=027c0d81. Accessed 5 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A540723342