FeedPlank Road Summer by Hilda and Emily Demuth (Book Giveaway Contest)
June 1, 2010 in Book Club Possibility, Books With Social Studies Content, Creative Writing activities, Demuth Hilda and Emily, Elementary Educators, Middle Grade Novel, Research Ideas, Tuesday Tales, Writing Skills Tags: Book Giveaway Contest, Emily Demuth, Hilda Demuth, historical fiction for kids, Plank Road Summer, Underground Railroad book
I am happy to be hosting sisters, Hilda and Emily Demuth, on my blog today to discuss their wonderful middle-grade, historical fiction novel, Plank Road Summer. Here’s a description of the book from Amazon.com: ” Welcome to the adventures of two 13-year-olds, Katie McEachron and her friend Florence Mather, who experience an exciting summer in 1852 as the plank road that runs by their homes brings mysterious strangers to their dinner tables and the plight of runaway slaves to their consciences. Katie McEachron is a forthright, impulsive girl who has not yet learned the importance of keeping silent. Her friend Florence Mather, a solemn and hardworking girl, came with her family from Cornwall, England. She has an eager mind, but her mother is less interested in Florence’s education than in having her help at the inn. One day in May, a stranger arrives at the Mather Inn. The visit of the stranger launches a string of events that will make this a most unforgettable summer for the two girls. . . . “
**Anyone who leaves a comment or question for Hilda and Emily will be automatically entered into a comment contest. One lucky commenter will receive a copy of the book. Please leave comments by Thursday, June 3 at 8:00 p.m. CST. Now on to the interview. . .
Margo: Welcome, Hilda and Emily. What made you decide to write Plank Road Summer together?
HILDA: In the spring of 1999, I’d started writing again after a ten-year hiatus, and I was casting about for a new project. Emy had been working on various projects. At some point, she or I mentioned the plank road story she’d had in mind for years. In some free-writing, I described a view of the lilacs from the bedroom window of the farmhouse in which we’d grown up, and somewhere Emy had written a very similar description. She and I had shared that bedroom for many years, after all. For me that was the sign that the two of us were meant to write a story set in our childhood home.
EMILY: It really was my idea to write about the plank road. When Hilda approached me about writing it together, I decided there was a better chance of getting it done if we collaborated. That we were both very familiar with the setting—the lay of the land, the McEachron homestead, the two staircases in the Mather Inn—made the work much easier. We didn’t need to describe to one another what the Mather Inn might have looked like—we’d both been there.
HILDA: And we’d both run across the pasture to visit the neighbor girls, just like Katie McEachron runs across the pasture to visit Florence Mather.
Margo: How wonderful that you took your childhood home and made it into this story! How did the collaboration work? Did you each write different parts, work on it together?
HILDA: That first summer, we spent a couple of days together plotting the novel, sitting up late after our kids went to bed. Emy’s three children and my three, all aged ten and under, were thrilled to spend so much time with their cousins. Early on, Emy and I decided to have two main characters, a toll-gate keeper’s daughter and an innkeeper’s daughter and to alternate the points of view in the chapters. It seemed perfectly natural that each of us would focus on one character. We’d write our chapters and then e-mail the drafts and edit one another’s work.
Margo: E-mail is so wonderful–what did we used to do without it? 
And with it, you both have created a beautiful, interesting, and educational book for children! Why did you choose to write historical fiction and specifically this time period for children?
EMILY: Hilda and I grew up in Racine County, Wisconsin, on Hwy A, which had once been a plank road. Though I read lots of historical fiction as a child, I never read anything about a plank road. I was fascinated by the idea of horses and wagons and stagecoaches stopping to pay tolls—my experience of toll gates was Mom or Dad dropping coins into the gates as we traveled on the Interstate through Illinois. I actually started writing a story about the plank road as a seventh grader. It just took a lot of years and some help from my sister to get it finished.
The plank road era ran from the mid-1840s-1850s, which coincided with the work of abolitionists and the Underground Railroad in Wisconsin. According to the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, runaway slaves, even when they reached free states, had to be returned to their masters. Enforcement of this law made slavery an issue even in Wisconsin, as people tried to determine what to do when confronted with such a law. It might seem obvious to us, 150 years later, to determine the right thing to do. But I think it’s fascinating to transport children to another time so that they can ask themselves, “What would I have done?” Even more interesting is to consider what issues of our own time will be viewed in a different light 50 or 100 years from now.
Margo: I love historical fiction for the very reasons you just mentioned, Emily. It really does transport children back in time to understand history much better than what they would learn in a textbook! How much research did you need to do?
EMILY:We spent quite a bit of time researching—in archives, at museums and historical sites, and on-line. Most of our research was helpful and added to our story. However, we now laugh at some of the historical details we included in early drafts of the story just because we were so proud of ourselves for knowing them. Those were the details that sounded out of place when we read our chapters aloud.
But just like any writer knows more details about her characters than actually appear in the story, a writer of historical fiction will know more history than actually appears in the book.
HILDA: Some of our research was funded by a Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship. As an Indiana teacher, I was awarded a $7500 grant for a project titled “Girls of the Plank Road.” Emy and I embarked on what we called the Plank Road Trip in the summer of 2000. We spent a week traveling to Wisconsin historical sites with an entourage that included my kids, Emy’s husband and kids, our mother, and our younger sister. With the other adults along to supervise the children, Emy and I were free to ask questions and discuss our work in progress. We’d start a conversation with: “We’re the Demuth sisters. We’re writing a book,” and the living history volunteers or museum curators would open doors and drawers and cupboards, eager to share their knowledge and their love of the past.
Margo: Congratulations on receiving such a terrific grant, and all your hard work really paid off. Emily, I know what you mean about all the historical details in your manuscript–I had the same issues when I wrote my middle-grade, historical fiction novel set during the Civil War in Vicksburg, Mississippi! What are a couple of activities teachers and/or parents can do with children who are reading this book?
HILDA: Our website has an eight-page teachers’ guide available free to download. Some of the suggested activities include building a plank road with Popsicle sticks, designing a ninepatch quilt featuring scenes from the book, and writing journal entries from the point of view of various characters. Some readers will certainly want to research the history of the Underground Railroad in their own communities.
EMILY: Hilda also visited a school where students wrote scripts and acted out scenes from the book. How wonderful to see our characters come to life in that way!
HILDA: During my visit to that school I taught–or attempted to teach–students a few old-time dances like the ones that the Yorkville settlers would have known. Another way that readers can connect with the world of Plank Road Summer is by exploring opportunities to learn square dances or circle dances of the pioneer days.
Margo: Hilda and Emily, thank you so much for visiting and sharing your book and writing process with us today! Readers, don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered into the book giveaway contest!
June 1st, 2010 at 10:02 am
Oh!! Please choose me! Choose me! Se my hand up and waving? Please pretty please? I’m writing MG and YG, time period is 1950s and early 60s. Need some role models… I learn to write better by reading good writers such as yourself — and Richard Peck.
June 1st, 2010 at 10:24 am
What a fascinating interview about such a fascinating historical book. It is also good to hear the details of how you both worked together and came to write the book.
June Sengpiehl
June 1st, 2010 at 10:26 am
I would love to win this book for my own reading, since I’m an aspiring writer; however, it would be even better if the author could make it an AR book. I teach gifted, and kids constantly check books out of my classroom library. Unfortunately, my students won’t read books that are not AR. How can we get this book added to the AR list?
June 1st, 2010 at 5:52 pm
Please enter me. As I read about how the two of you used your experiences to write this book it increased my interest. I grew up on a farm in Indiana and outside of my parent’s room which was below mine was a lilac bush. I live in southern Florida now and they won’t grow here. I miss them. I think this would be an awesome book to put on my shelves in my classroom. I teach middle school. Either way it is on my TBR and wish list and will make a great asset to my room.
June 1st, 2010 at 7:58 pm
My tween daughter loves reading about young women in different time periods. I’ll look for this. Good luck with it.
June 1st, 2010 at 7:59 pm
I always wondered how people can co-write a book. Thank you for sharing some of your experiences with us. I would love a copy of the book.
June 1st, 2010 at 8:26 pm
Thank you to everyone who has left a comment so far. I find collaboration fascinating also, and I am glad that Hilda and Emily are sharing their experience with us today. Joyce, I’m not sure how AR works exactly–who makes the AR tests for the books? Can you turn titles into some company for this?
Thanks again for your support!
Margo
June 1st, 2010 at 8:50 pm
I love the interview. I like the field trip To Wisconsin for on hand materials,
and experience.
June 1st, 2010 at 9:35 pm
I’m so glad I found this interview! I loved reading about all of the research the sisters did, and how they combined their memories and their talents to collaborate on this novel.
My church library needs more fiction for this age group, not to mention I want to read it myself.
I’d love to win this book!
June 2nd, 2010 at 3:22 am
I love historical fiction for young people and this book sounds wonderful. I always enjoy learning about history and getting a great story out of it at the same time.
I like how the book was co-written in such a clever way with each sister taking a character.
This is definitely a book I would enjoy. Sounds great!
June 2nd, 2010 at 5:15 am
Joyce R, we enjoy Richard Peck, too. Emy and I attended a workshop with him a couple of years ago–what an inspiration!
Thanks for the tip on Accelerated Readers, Joyce L. We’ll definitely look into that.
Sandra, you’ll enjoy the significance of lilacs in Plank Road Summer.
Thanks to everyone who responded so far. Happy reading!
June 2nd, 2010 at 7:29 am
My daughter is going into the 7th grade and sooo needs to read this book. I always have a book to read and I have been struggling to find a book that she can get lost in. I personally LOVE historical fiction…. I always have… even as a child… Hoping that your book could be the answer for her.
June 2nd, 2010 at 7:55 am
From Donna Volkenannt:
Great interview questions, Margo, and wonderful answers, Hilda and Emily.
It is so wonderful that you are keeping a part of American history alive for other generations of children to enjoy. And the way you are collaborating to write the story is great! In addition to collaborating on a historical novel, you have also created memories about a summer vacation that your children and family can cherish for a lifetime.
I’m also encouraged by the assistance you received when you told people you were doing research to write a book.
A question about research: You stated that at some point you eliminated some of the historical details. How do you decide what to leave in and what to edit out?
Next question: Do you plan to write another book together?
June 2nd, 2010 at 8:53 am
I’m almost embarassed to tell this story … but here goes: Hilda and I were doing a read-aloud of one of our many drafts, and we had written, “Katie walked up to the 16 by 20 foot farmhouse.” What an absurd thing to write! But we had been in the basement, admiring the old handhewn beams with the bark still on them, and measured the size of the original house, so thought we needed to share this detail with readers.
We learned to focus on keeping the historical details that added to the plot or character development, and eliminate things that detracted from it. One detail we overlooked in our research was caught by a friend who read several of our early drafts. We had a line about a teamster dropping a nickel into Matilda’s hand. Our friend, who collects coins, told us that nickels didn’t exist in 1852–we changed it to a half-dime.
As to the last question: We have written a draft of our sequel to “Plank Road Summer.” The story begins in October of 1871, and involves the children of Katie and Florence. We will be revising and researching this summer–I think we’ve got a better idea of the historical details to watch out for or eliminate this time round.
June 2nd, 2010 at 11:26 am
Reading this interview encouraged me to continue on my quest to write an historical fiction novel in the same vein as Plank Road Summer as well as now wanting to read that book.
June 2nd, 2010 at 5:54 pm
For Catrina Bradley in the comments upstream, who would like this book for her church library: Emily has done church book discussions for adults and young readers. While the book website has a teacher’s guide, I have encouraged her to put her notes together for a church discussion guide. I don’t want to embarrass my lovely wife in public here, but I’m hoping something can be produced soon.
June 3rd, 2010 at 9:04 am
Great interview! I understand this book is being used by some Wisconsin school districts as part of their Wisconsin history social studies units. Emily and Hilda – have you persued your more local school districts or underground railroad historic sites about 19th Century tie-ins/programs you can offer them? Think that would be most interesting.
One that I know of — the Fisher one-room school building is being restored by a local historical museum and will be operated in conjunction with the Elmhurst, IL school district. It would be a terrific place to have some activities/programs related to your book(s)!
June 8th, 2010 at 8:52 am
Great book. I would love to share it with the church book club. With the church guide / resource, I could use it at our Fall women’s retreat. It would be a great addition to our retreat focus on the biblical story of Mary and Martha.
Plank Road Summer engages the reader to ask questions and ponder “what would I do” . I am eager for the sequel.
June 8th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Great Interview, Margo
Keep up the fantastic work.
MOM