Not Your All-American Girl by Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang
Hello, Madelyn Rosenberg! Hello, Wendy Wan-Long Shang! Thank you so much for returning to Watch. Connect. Read.
Story is like super glue, like energy, like a LEGO; story connects us.
Wendy, please finish the following sentence starters:
Madelyn Rosenberg is a True Blue friend, a phrase that will have more meaning once you read the book! I can’t imagine my publishing journey without her.
Did you know we made up a whole musical for the book? We were originally going to use an existing musical, but when we got worried about copyright issues, we invented Shake It Up, a musical with hula hoops, big dreams and Elvis. There’s also a theatre ghost (or is there?!).
School librarians are the keepers of every school’s reading culture, helping to make books a vital and meaningful part of students’ lives.
Lauren and her best friend, Tara, have always done absolutely everything together. So when they don't have any classes together in sixth grade, it's disastrous. The solution? Trying out for the school play. Lauren, who loves to sing, wonders if maybe, just maybe, she will be the star instead of Tara this time.
But when the show is cast, Lauren lands in the ensemble, while Tara scores the lead role. Their teacher explains: Lauren just doesn't look the part of the all-American girl. What audience would believe that she, half-Jewish, half-Chinese Lauren, was the everygirl star from Pleasant Valley, USA?
From amidst the ensemble, Lauren tries to support her best friend. But when she can't bring herself to sing anymore, her spot in the play and her friendship are in jeopardy. With the help of a button-making business, the music of Patsy Cline, and her two bickering grandmothers, can Lauren find her voice again?
Acclaimed coauthors Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang return to the 1980s world of Sydney Taylor Honor Book This Is Just a Test with this laugh-out-loud coming-of-age story.
Wendy, I was just thinking about the time we ate dinner together during a conference. I believe it was during the Virginia Reading Conference. ☺
Wendy: John, what an incredible memory you have! I believe we were in Norfolk, Virginia when I last saw you, and Madelyn and I had just gotten our cover to This is Just a Test.
Yes, it was in Norfolk. I was in Virginia last week for VAASL. :)
Madelyn, I loved chatting with you in the receiving line during the 2019 Newbery-Caldecott-Legacy Banquet.
Madelyn: It was a hard-fought battle to see who could be the last one to congratulate the winners. We were, quite literally, at the end of the line, but victory was yours.
Indeed! Memories!
Madelyn and Wendy, what do you want everyone to know about Not Your All-American Girl?
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| Illustration Credit: Chris Danger | Design Credit: Baily Crawford |
Wendy: Part of Not Your All-American Girl is about having hard conversations - how do you tell your best friend when she’s hurt you, especially when she doesn’t mean to?
Madelyn: Wendy once called this our “sibling book.” It’s about Lauren Horowitz, David’s sister from This Is Just a Test, so there’s some overlap with our characters. (The grandmothers are back!)
We also want readers to come away from it knowing that we are all a combination of so many things; we’re Chinese and Jewish and country music fans and entrepreneurs and so much more.
Madelyn, please finish the following sentence starters:
Madelyn, please finish the following sentence starters:
Wendy Wan-Long Shang makes me a better writer. She lifts me up and talks me down. Also, she makes me laugh.
I hope Not Your All-American Girl helps kids talk to each other (and to adults) when they experience something they know is wrong.
Story is like super glue, like energy, like a LEGO; story connects us.
Wendy, please finish the following sentence starters:
Madelyn Rosenberg is a True Blue friend, a phrase that will have more meaning once you read the book! I can’t imagine my publishing journey without her.
Did you know we made up a whole musical for the book? We were originally going to use an existing musical, but when we got worried about copyright issues, we invented Shake It Up, a musical with hula hoops, big dreams and Elvis. There’s also a theatre ghost (or is there?!).
School librarians are the keepers of every school’s reading culture, helping to make books a vital and meaningful part of students’ lives.
Look for Not Your All-American Girl on July 7, 2020.
Scholastic's Description:
But when the show is cast, Lauren lands in the ensemble, while Tara scores the lead role. Their teacher explains: Lauren just doesn't look the part of the all-American girl. What audience would believe that she, half-Jewish, half-Chinese Lauren, was the everygirl star from Pleasant Valley, USA?
From amidst the ensemble, Lauren tries to support her best friend. But when she can't bring herself to sing anymore, her spot in the play and her friendship are in jeopardy. With the help of a button-making business, the music of Patsy Cline, and her two bickering grandmothers, can Lauren find her voice again?
Acclaimed coauthors Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang return to the 1980s world of Sydney Taylor Honor Book This Is Just a Test with this laugh-out-loud coming-of-age story.
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