Black History Month - Appalachian State University



Cynthia Rylant

and the

Appalachia Influence

Tracie S. Howard

RE 5130-375

Dr. Beth Frye

11/01/05

Cynthia Rylant

and the

Appalachia Influence

Multigenre Project

Table of Contents

• 20/20 with Barbara Walters

Meet the Author Segment

with guest author

Cynthia Rylant

• What’s in a Name?

Cynthia Rylant

I poem and Acrostic Poem

• Splitting Hares

Recipe for Rabbit Stew

• Fact Finder

Cynthia Rylant

Brochure

• From Cool Ridge to Caldecott:

My Journey to Becoming an

Award Winning Author

Power Point Presentation

20/20 with Barbara Walters

Meet the Author Segment

with guest author

Cynthia Rylant

Walters: I’d like to welcome popular children’s author, Cynthia Rylant, to our stage. Ms. Rylant, I have been looking over some of your books- When I Was Young in the Mountains, The Relatives Came, This Year’s Garden, Night in the Country-among others. Why are so many of your books set in the Appalachian Mountains?

Rylant: I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. My parents split up when I was four years old and after that I lived with my grandparents for nearly four years, until I was in the third grade. It’s that time that seems to have sunk thickest into my brain and my heart and much of what I saw and heard then has come into my books. My first book, When I Was Young in the Mountains, is about those years I lived with my grandparents. And Night in the Country, This Year’s Garden, The Relatives Came…, all these came from my memories of those four years. It was hard for me, being away from my parents during that time, and so maybe everything I felt during that time I felt more intensely. And when you write stories, it’s always your most intense feelings that come out. At least it’s so for me. It’s very important to me for my books to capture the spirit and integrity of Appalachia families through life’s joys and hardships. I want to give attention through my books to a group of people I feel don’t get any attention from the world. I want to make them feel valuable.

Walters: Tell us more about your childhood.

Rylant: I was born on June 6, 1954, in Hopewell, Virginia. My father was an alcoholic so there was a lot of fighting, yelling, and unhappiness in my family. I don’t have many memories from that time, but I do remember feeling responsible for our situation- like I was not good enough to make my parents stop fighting. Not long after, my parents divorced, and I was sent to live with my grandparents in Cool Ridge, West Virginia so that my mother could attend nursing school. My grandparents were a poor, coal mining family. They lived in a small house with no electricity or running water. They had no car, and they mostly grew or hunted for the food they ate. As difficult as it was to be away from my mother, I did have a loving, extended family to take care of me. When I was 8 years old my mother finished nursing school. I moved with her to Beaver, West Virginia where we lived in a three room apartment by the railroad tracks. There were mostly boys to play with in my neighborhood, so I became a tomboy. We enjoyed riding bikes, playing war, and reading Archie and Fantastic Four comics. That started to change by the time I was in the 6th grade. I discovered the Beatles, and I was in love with Paul McCartney! I became more interested in paperback romance books and playing spin the bottle. I even became a majorette in the marching band. After I graduated from high school I was going to marry my high-school sweetheart, but that didn’t work out so I was ready to get out of Beaver, West Virginia.

Walters: You were 28 when your first book was published. What did you do before that?

Rylant: After leaving Beaver, West Virginia, I went to Morris Harvey College (now the University of Charleston) for my BA degree, and then on to Marshall University where I earned my Master’s degree in English. I tried to get a job teaching English, but there were no jobs available so I worked as a waitress for a while. With no teaching jobs on the horizon, I accepted a job as a children’s librarian at the Akron Public Library. As a librarian, I discovered and fell in love with classic children’s literature like Goodnight Moon and Charlotte’s Web. I was inspired to write my own stories, so without telling anyone I began writing at home. It only took me about an hour to write my first book. When I was finished I sent it off to as many publishers as I could I find. Just two months later I received a letter from a New York editor who loved my book and wanted to publish it. That book was When I Was Young in the Mountains. After that project, I returned to college for my Master’s of Library Science, and I’ve been writing ever since.

Walters: You write several series for beginning readers. One of the most popular is your Henry and Mudge series. What was the inspiration for those books?

Rylant: My Henry and Mudge books are about the exciting adventures of a little boy named Henry and his 180lb dog Mudge. My son, Nate, was the inspiration for the main character Henry. Mudge was inspired by the pet of a family friend.

Walters: What other series do you write?

Rylant: I write the Poppleton series about the daily experiences of a large pig named Poppleton and his community of friends. I write the Mr. Putter and Tabby series about an old man and the companionship he finds with an old cat. And I write the High-Rise for Private Eyes series, which is a set of mysteries solved by ace detectives and best friends Bunny Brown and Jack Jones.

Walters: Do you write anything other than children’s books?

Rylant: Yes, I have also written two autobiographies-Best Wishes and But I’ll Be Back Again, young adult fiction-A Blue-Eyed Daisy, A Fine White Dust, A Kindness, Missing May, and The Islander, collections of stories-Every Living Thing, Children of Christmas: Stories for the Season, and A Couple of Kooks and Other Stories about Love, and collections of poetry-Waiting to Waltz: a Childhood and Soda Jerk.

Walters: You are a critically acclaimed author. You have been praised by the Children’s Literature Review for the “gentle, but honest way you discuss difficult subjects like death with your simple, yet evocative words.” What awards and honors have your books received?

Rylant: I have been very fortunate to have had many of my books recognized and celebrated with awards and honors. My first book, When I Was Young in the Mountains, was named a Caldecott Honor Book and was awarded the American Book Award. Another one of my Appalachia stories, The Relatives Came, was named a Caldecott Honor Book and received the Notable Children’s Social Studies Trade Book Award. I received the John Newbery Medal and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Missing May, one of my novels for young adults. Another one of my young adult books, A Fine White Dust, received the John Newbery Medal and the ALA Best Books for Young Adults Award. Three of my books- All I See, Henry and Mudge in the Green Time, and Night in the Country-were named Junior Literary Guild Selections. Two of my books, Birthday Presents and A Blue-Eyed Daisy, were named Children’s Choice Books. The School Library Journal Best Book of the Year Citation was awarded to my book, Children of Christmas, and the Ohioana Award was given to my book Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds.

Walters: You certainly are an accomplished writer. What do you enjoy doing when you aren’t writing?

Rylant: I love going for long walks and playing with my pets, Martha Jane, Leia, Blueberry, and Edward Velvetpaws, but my favorite thing to do is go to the movies with my friends. I buy popcorn and chocolate, and for two hours I am lost and happy. I also enjoy collecting teapots and quilts.

Walters: What is the best advice you have ever been given?

Rylant: Best advice? Always do the best you can with what you’ve got. My grandfather taught me this by words and by example. I have never forgotten his words, and I try to live my life by this rule.

Walters: What advice do you have for young writers?

Rylant: I believe the best thing for young writers to do is play. Playing helps you to love life, to relax, and to cook up interesting stuff in your head.

Walters: Will you continue to write books?

Rylant: I am working on a new book that is scheduled to be released in November 2006. I like being a writer, but I don’t know if I’ll be one all my life. It seems like a long time to keep writing books, a whole lifetime. But I’m grateful that I’ll be leaving something important and beautiful on the earth for other people, something honest for them to read.

Walters: Something important and beautiful indeed. Thank you for joining us Ms. Rylant.

Cynthia Rylant

I poem

I am Cynthia Rylant, award-winning children’s author.

I wonder what I would have become if I had married my high school sweetheart and stayed in my hometown.

I hear my grandfather say, “Always do the best you can with what you’ve got.”

I see the quiet dignity of the Appalachia families.

I want to leave something here on earth to make it better, prettier, stronger.

I am Cynthia Rylant, award-winning children’s author.

I pretend my dad stopped drinking and didn’t really leave me.

I feel my writing conveys hope despite themes of loneliness, fear, and death.

I touch readers with my simple, yet evocative words.

I worry that children who suffer great loss will grow up believing that life is supposed to be hard for them.

I cry when I fail in ways other people can see.

I am Cynthia Rylant, award-winning children’s author.

I understand that I may not be and author my whole life- a lifetime is a long time to write books.

I say play is the best thing for young writers to do.

I dream of conquering my feelings of insecurity.

I try to give attention through my books to a group of people who don’t get any attention in the world.

I hope every child grows up and finds something to do that seems important and precious.

I am Cynthia Rylant, award-winning children’s author.

Cynthia Rylant

Acrostic Poem

Caldecott Award for When I Was Young in the Mountains and The Relatives Came

Young children love her beginning reader’s series

Newberry Award for Missing May and A Fine White Dust

Took an hour to write her first book

Hobbies are going to the movies, collecting teapots and quilts, and playing with her pets

Influenced by her childhood in Appalachia

Author of picture books, children’s chapter books, young adult fiction, and poetry

Read quality literature for the first time in college

Young writers should play is her advice

Librarian at Akron Public Library when she discovered and fell in love with children’s books

Always do the best you can with what you’ve got is advice from her grandfather

No books as a child, just Archie and Fantastic Four comics

Tried her hand at illustrating in Dog Heaven, Cat Heaven, and The Whales

Recipe for Rabbit Stew

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