Lori Scott Blog Tour Give-Away-Meghan Rose Books

mr_has_a_secret443.jpgAs parents, we’ve tried to provide wholesome books for our kids. We did it when they were young as we read out loud to them and now we still try to find such books for our independent readers. At ten years old, Spencer likes anything with a mystery to it. Thirteen year old Mitch goes for the sports biographies and Kenzie, seventeen in a few weeks, can often be found with her nose in either C.S. Lewis or an antique classic such as Peter Pan. What about you? Are there young ones in your house or in your life that would enjoy a Christian based fiction book geared for younger elementary children?     If so, then check out the Meghan Rose series. This new series from Standard Publishing introduces Meghan Rose, the bounciest first-grader in the world! Young readers will get to share Meghan’s adventures, laugh, and learn important life lessons. Each title also includes a bonus section with discussion starters and fun activity ideas.I am excited to welcome author Lori Z. Scott, joining us today to talk about the newest releases in her Meghan Rose series—Meghan Rose All Dressed Up and Meghan Rose Has a Secret.

loriheadshot.JPGSince 2000, Lori has published over fifty short stories, devotions, puzzles, poems, and articles for children, teens, and adults.  She has been published in Focus on Your Child, MOMSense Magazine, Spirit Led Writer, Pockets, and Devozine. She is the author of  Busy Moms’ Devotions to Go and four Meghan Rose titles. In addition, Lori has contributed to over a dozen books including Real Moms, Cup of Comfort Book of Prayers, and 2007 Eppie Award winner  Infinite Space, Infinite God. A graduate of Wheaton College, Lori has worked with children for over twenty years, both as a teacher in the classroom and as a volunteer for local churches, museums, and schools. When she’s not busy driving her two children to various church, sporting, and artistic activities, she moonlights as a speaker for women’s groups and schools.

 

Lori, welcome. Thanks for taking time to be with us today.

 

My pleasure.

You often introduce yourself as first a mother, then a teacher, and finally a writer. Why is that?

I feel like being a mother is my highest calling in life. And that means I’m a caregiver, nurse, tutor, cheerleader, counselor, transportation expert, and nutritionist.  Doing all those mommy things is a bit like filling a jar jam-packed with marbles. I pursue my own interests in the empty spaces around those marbles because being a mommy trumps all.

I call myself a teacher second because working with kids has been such a huge part of my life. Just as God gifts different people for different tasks, I feel like God has given me a special ability to understand and work with children. Or maybe I’m just not ready to give up playing and comics yet.

I call myself a writer last because I often feel like writing too much fun—and pays too little—to be a real job. But then again, writing is another interest in my life I have felt called to pursue. God blessed me there too. When I decided to start writing, my first submission won second place in a science fiction writing contest. My second submission won MOPS International story writing contest.I guess what I want moms to realize is, it’s okay to put the mommy part of our lives first and to trust that God will still bless, fulfill, and lead us in other areas as well.

 

Why would parents like your series? A good question—one that I have to answer from my own experience. When my daughter was in first grade, her teacher started reading the Junie B. Jones books in class. Since Meghan liked them, I picked up a few copies.

Well, I enjoyed the humor in those books, but had to edit out some of the grammar slips, name calling and attitudes. I thought there had to be an alternative choice—a book that was just as funny, but also had a good take-away value. I scoured the Christian bookstores. I couldn’t find any fiction for that age group, only devotional books and Bible stories.

When I asked about it, bookstore owners often commented that they wished they could offer such a book. In fact, they’d had numerous parents come to the store, all asking the same thing: Do you have a fiction book my young child will enjoy reading? And, like them, I walked away empty handed.

So I wrote the book I couldn’t find—a book for my daughter AND for all those other mothers just like me. I put in everything she wanted—an interesting story filled with giggles and characters worth rooting for—and everything I wanted—good moral values (but with nothing preachy about the story at all). And because I don’t believe I’m alone in those desires, I’m convinced other parents (AND THEIR KIDS!!!) will like the series too.

Why did you include discussion questions and activities at the end of each book? That’s the teacher part of me flaring up big time! LOL. But seriously, how many times have you as a mother read a book and thought, “There’s a good lesson in here” but didn’t know how to draw your child into a discussion about it? I remember reading Where the Red Fern Grows with my daughter and wanting to talk about the tender topic of death that book touches on. Since I didn’t know where to start, I couldn’t fully take advantage of that teachable moment. (Instead we both just cried all the way through the last few chapters.)

That’s why I included questions for parents or teachers to use after they read the story, so they can capitalize on the book’s underlying message. (Although I hope people laugh through the last few chapters of Meghan Rose instead of cry!)

And the activities are all for the kids. They love extending the story experience by creating their own volcanoes or whatever. I also put a ton of other ideas for parents and kids on my website under the BLAM (Brilliant Little Activities to Make) link (www.MeghanRoseSeries.com). So each book has an underlying message? Tell us about that. As I mentioned, I wanted the stories to do more than entertain. I wanted them to have takeaway value. Each book’s message is very subtle but still evident throughout the book. While Meghan Rose on Stage! talks about discovering your talents, it’s ultimately about friendship. Meghan Rose Has Ants in Her Pants explores the idea of patience—a difficult area for most kids to deal with. The newest two books—Meghan Rose All Dressed Up and Meghan Rose Has a Secret—address inner beauty and kind words. But again, none of it is preachy. It’s heavy on the humor and very, VERY light on the lesson…yet neither quality is lost on the child.  Are the books just for girls?Not at all! One mother of two boys emailed me about how much her sons enjoyed reading them with her. She said they could hardly read for laughing so hard—they were all HOWLING!! The youngest one loved it so much he started sleeping with the first book under his pillow at night. In fact, the comment I hear most from people who read the books is, “I laughed out loud.” The second comment I hear most often is about how much kids (and parents) like the discussion questions and activities. How can all that just be for girls? Where do you get the inspiration for the humorous parts of the books?Most of that comes from my upbringing. My dad was always coming up with puns and jokes. He made them up on the spot, and they were hilarious! I can’t tell you how many hours we spent laughing around the dinner table. I think dad influenced all my sisters. In fact, one of my sisters was part of an improvisational comedy team. (She’s also a pastor’s wife—it’s a fun combination.) I also grew up on a steady diet of comic books. Peanuts and Garfield were my favorites, and later Calvin and Hobbes. And we’d also watch comedy on television, especially The Carol Brunette Show.That said, some of my inspiration just comes from everyday life. My kids crack me up. They both have a great sense of humor.  The main character in the Meghan Rose series shares your daughter’s name. Why is that?She was the foundational basis for the character. When I started the series, I needed someone likable, outrageous, clever, spunky, and sensitive all rolled into one. Well, that’s my Meghan. And since I originally wrote the books just for her, I simply used her name. You’ll also see the names of other people I’ve met, although the character they’re named for is totally fiction. Mrs. Arnold, for example, was the name of Meghan’s real first grade teacher. But she’s not like the Mrs. Arnold in the book. Are any of the characters like you?

I think maybe there’s a little bit of me in all of them. Certainly a lot of me is reflected in the teacher, Mrs. Arnold. Then Ryan shows the jokester side of me, Kayla has the goofy side, Lynette has the rule-following, show-off side, and Meghan’s Mom has the practical side. The Meghan character herself is about 80 percent of the “real” Meghan, 10 percent of me and my creative musings, and 10 percent total fiction.

 

Do you ever visit schools to talk about the books?

 

Yes! I’ve visited several schools and talked about the steps a writer goes through to get from idea to published book. I’ve also shared ways to boost everyday creativity and develop writing ideas. All three presentations seem to fire up everyone, even the reluctant writers. Kids tell me that what they enjoy most about the time we spend together is learning my two-handed drawing trick and discovering how to write their own jokes.

 

As a teacher, I value school visits. I think it’s important to inspire and encourage all children…to help them see opportunities and possibilities. As a mom, I can’t help seeing my own children reflected in the faces I meet. That gives me extra incentive to make kids want to reach their dreams, whatever they might be.

 

Can you share one idea for mothers to help their children be more creative?

 

Sure. Hmmm. Hard to pick one. I guess one great idea is to encourage your children to be involved with artistic endeavors. That can include a whole variety of options, like drawing, painting, or making things out of shoe boxes.  Children can listen to or dance to music. Or make their own music. They can dress up and put on a show for family or friends, or memorize a silly poem. And it should be fun, not work.

 

Where can readers learn more about you and the Meghan Rose books?

meghan_rose_covertrimmed.jpgThey can visit my website at www.MeghanRoseSeries.com. My award-winning illustrator, Stacy Curtis, designed it. It offers jokes, puzzles, and activities for kids and great ideas for teacher and parents (on Mrs. Arnold’s BLAM page). It also introduces the books and characters, provides links to book reviews, and gives ordering information. I posted a retold fairy tale reader’s theater that gives visitors a good feel for the style of humor found in the books at www.meghanroseseries.com/teachers_LittleRed.asp .

 

That sounds great. Well, thank you for your time!

Thank you for letting me visit with you.

 

And calling all readers…be sure to leave a comment to be entered in the drawing. Tell us who would enjoy winning a copy of one of these great books!!! Book Reading Blessings,

Karen 

17 Comments

  1. The little girl I babysit would love these books. I’d love to be entered in your giveaway. Thank you so much. It seems like a great series!

  2. I’m so excited about the book series! My son loves when we read and laugh together. I can’t wait to introduce him to these books! Thanks!

  3. I have struggled to find age appropriate reading material for my daughters that they are interested in that are funny and have wholesome material that doesn’t need to be edited out. I think too often we reinforce their sin nature (sassiness, disrespect etc) with books we read to them or shows we let them watch. So thanks to Lori for following God’s leading! Can’t wait to get my hands on one!

  4. Thanks for introducing me to the Meghan Rose book series by Lori Scott. I’m excited to check it out and introduce it to my daughter who is finishing first grade. She is reading beginner chapter books on her own now and has such a great reader’s voice. I love listening to her read with expression and it will give me even greater joy to hear her read stories that she loves, but that will also teach her important values.

  5. I would love to read these to my kids! I am always looking for new books for them as they receive books for their birthdays etc. I have severaly in-laws who are pastors and I know they would love to introduce these to their children. Thanks!

  6. I felt the same way about the Junie B. Jones books!! As a homeschooler, I can’t wait to introduce these books to my daughter. Thanks so much!!

  7. I think my almost 6 year old niece and almost 5 year old nephew would enjoy these books. My sister is a teacher who enjoys reading to her kids and I think they would have fun finishing their nights out with these books. I have a 4 1/2 year old daughter who might also like this series. I will have to check our bookstore to see if they carry the series. I think I’ll also talk to our church librarian to see if she will order a copy. Thanks for the review!

  8. Just this afternoon I went to the library with my kids … and lamented the fact that there aren’t more christian book series for kids! My daughter has a voracious reading appetite and my son, a first grader, is taking off with his reading skills this year.

    Can’t wait to check this new series out!

  9. Although my daughter is 4 1/2 and perhaps still a bit young for the books, I’d love to have one to introduce to her soon. In the meantime, I’d pass it over to my neighbor: she and I were just talking about the Junie B. Jones books and the infuence they can have on her 1st grader’s attitude at times, and I know she’ll be THRILLED to find out about Meaghan Rose (of course, I’ll spread the word whether I win a copy or not)!

  10. I am excited about the Meaghan Rose series of books for all three of my children. I felt the same as Lori concerning the Junie B. Jones series, and did the same research to find an alternative at the Christian bookstores, but to no avail. My two daughters are 4 and 7 and I am sure will love these books. I imagine my 9 year old son will enjoy them as well! Looking forward to reading them!

  11. I never liked the Junie B. Jones stories for exactly the same reasons. I would love to able to read with my daughters stories that humorously show the conflicts that children face while learning right from wrong. It seems that most media influence teaches kids that grown-ups are stupid and easily fooled and that it’s ok to be bad if you don’t get caught. Teaching children to accept responsibility and giving them good values while they are laughing and enjoying themselves seems to me like the perfect form of entertainment. Please enter me into your contest and thank you for bringing these books to my attention!

  12. What a fun interview. I look forward to buying some of these books for my nearly 6 year old son. I think he will enjoy them tremendously!

  13. I enjoyed this interview with Lori. Her Meghan Rose series of books look and sound SO cute! I have a little 6 year old granddaughter who is just starting to read that would absolutely love them.

  14. Hi, I recently found you from Prov 31’s website and enjoy your blogging! Great insight and inspiration for me, a mom of 3 bouncy girls! My daughter would love these books, I am sure. She is 7 1/2 yrs. old, and enjoys reading. I could relate with Lori’s concern. I have often felt like so many of the kid’s books have so many bad attitudes, characters who are so into themselves, and a ton of sass! =) My girls were born with Adam’s nature and have enough of that! =) Also, I have been thinking about some of the newer and oh-so-popular tv shows (ex. Zack and Cody, Hannah Montanna, etc) and am questioning if I really want my kids to be influenced by them. My personal opinion is that, no, I don’t care for those particular shows for several reasons….tho’ I don’t want to be bashing them. I really do love the kids in those shows! Am I just being overprotective where I should let our daughters be exposed to that influence and teach them that “that is how NOT to be”?? I would love if you would post your insight on this subject! I figure you have more experience in all of this and could share from that! Thanks!

  15. Ooh! These sound wonderful! I just read my first Junie B. Jones book to my 5-year old. He loved it, but unfortunately, I did find myself editing out many parts! These books sound like a terrific alternative!!!

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