Belle Teal

by Ann Martin

  Q: There are several important themes found throughout the book. What is the one thing you hope the reader walks away with after reading it?

  A: The one thing I hope the reader walks away with is the one thing I hope the reader walks away with after reading many of my books, especially Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe, and Here Today, and that is the idea that, as Atticus Finch tells Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, you never really know a person until you’ve stood in his shoes and looked at things from his point of view. In Belle Teal, not only does HRH Vanessa need to be more open-minded about Belle Teal and her friends, but as it turns out, Belle Teal needed to be more open-minded about Vanessa. This general theme affects all of the more specific themes in the book: racism, bullying, abuse, and even Gran’s battle with what we would now call Alzheimer’s.

  Q: What do you think Belle Teal grew up to be?

  A: Belle Teal is smart, sensitive, protective of her friends, strong-minded, brave, and doesn’t allow others’ opinions to affect the way she thinks about things. I’d like to think that she grows up to be an activist or a champion of civil rights. She might also become a writer!

  Q: Belle Teal adores Miss Casey. Did you have a favorite teacher growing up?

  A: I had several favorite teachers, but the one who stands out in my mind, and who was probably most like Miss Casey, was Miss Kushel. She was my teacher in third grade, and like Miss Casey, she was young and creative. She encouraged my story writing (on the day President Kennedy was assassinated, my tall tale “Why the Grass Is Green” was published in our school newspaper, The Littlebrook Gazette). Also, Miss Kushel read aloud to our class, and she chose stories that we wouldn’t have chosen to read to ourselves, the most memorable being by Pearl S. Buck.

  Q: What is a typical day of writing like for you?

  A: I’m an early riser. I usually get up between 5:00 and 5:30. I do my best writing in the morning, so I write until it’s time to take my dog Sadie for a walk. Then I take a break for lunch and to run errands. In the afternoon I do other work, such as answering mail and letters, or reading galleys.

  Q: Belle Teal keeps a journal. Did you, or do you keep a journal?

  A: I have never been much of a journal- or diary-keeper, although I often suggest this activity to aspiring writers, as journals are a great source of story ideas. I kept a diary sporadically as a child and also as an adult. My mother kept a diary for herself, for my sister, and for me, though. She wrote in them meticulously. I have the ones she kept for me and for herself, and I have found them very helpful when writing these stories that are set in the 1960s.

  Q: Little Boss has a difficult relationship with his father, Big Boss. Towards the end of the book, Little Boss gets hurt and they eventually leave town without telling anyone. Why did you decide to leave what happens to these characters open-ended?

  A: If this storyline had been about the narrator or the main character of the book (in this case, Belle Teal), I wouldn’t have left it open-ended. However, this was Belle Teal’s story and I felt that, unfortunately, this was probably the most realistic ending — that Little Boss and his father would leave town, and Belle Teal truly might never know what happened to them. I also felt that Belle Teal would probably not forget this, and that wondering about Little Boss might affect who and what she becomes when she grows up.

  Q: Since a good portion of this story takes place around the holidays, would you mind sharing a fond holiday memory from your childhood?

  A: I have to admit that I LOVE the holidays — all holidays, but especially Thanksgiving and Christmas, which not only are times when families gather, but take place during the winter, my favorite season of the year. I love the short, dark days, when people cozy into their homes, when fires are lit, when the snow falls. I’m not sure I have one particular favorite holiday memory, but I will say that Christmas Eve is my absolute favorite day of the whole holiday season. I have always loved the sense of magic that I felt as a small child, and the excitement of what was to happen on the next day. On Christmas Eve my parents and sister and I often went to church to see the Nativity, then we would eat dinner at a restaurant in town, come home, and in front of the fire, read The Night before Christmas before hanging our stockings. As far as I was concerned, this was the best night of the year!

  Q: Did you dress up for Halloween as a child?

  A: I loved dressing up for Halloween, and I often made my own costumes. I think my favorite was the one I wore in sixth grade, when I made myself a leprechaun costume. Somewhere is a photo of me sitting on the floor in our rec room with yards of green fabric spread around me. I don’t know what the end result was — I wasn’t even using a pattern!

  Q: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

  A: I love “making things” and always have. My favorite activity is sewing. I make clothes for my nephew and godchildren. I also like knitting and other kinds of needlework, and “crafting,” especially making greeting cards. Of course, I also love to read, and I belong to a book club, which is great fun.

  Q: Did you consider yourself, or were you known as a good writer growing up?

  A: I loved writing when I was growing up, and I had many wonderful, encouraging teachers, especially Mr. Dougherty, who was my creative writing teacher for two years in middle school. I wrote lots of short stories, and also, during sixth grade, my friends and I wrote and published a newspaper for our neighbors. We collected news from them, wrote the articles, and made copies with sheets of carbon paper, which was boring and hard to do, but this was before Xerox machines and computers!

  What Was Desegregation?

  Belle Teal takes place in a rural community during the 1960s. Some of the white parents and students in Belle’s town don’t want African-American children like Darryl attending their school. Disliking someone because of the color of his or her skin is an example of racial prejudice or discrimination. The practice of having “separate but equal” facilities for African Americans and white people had been in place in some parts of the country since the late 1800s. The laws making this possible, known as Jim Crow laws, forced African Americans to have completely separate or designated areas in places such as schools, restaurants, theaters, restrooms, railroad cars, buses, and parks. In many cases, the African-American facilities weren’t nearly as nice or were in poor condition compared to the white facilities.

  It wasn’t until 1954 that the United States Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Brown vs. Board of Education that segregation, or the separation of people because of race, in public schools was unconstitutional. An eight-year-old girl named Linda Brown hadn’t been allowed to go to her local, all-white elementary school in Topeka, Kansas, because she was an African American. Thurgood Marshall, a lawyer for the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) won the Brown vs. Board of Education case for the Browns, as well as twenty-seven similar cases. He led the battle against segregation and eventually became the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.

  Public schools across the country began the process of desegregation, or integration, by having children from all races going to the same schools. In September of 1957, the Governor of Arkansas ordered the National Guard to surround Little Rock Central High School in order to prevent any African-American students from entering on the first day of school. A few weeks later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent one thousand troops from the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock to uphold the law. Nine African-American students, later known as the Little Rock Nine, were escorted into school surrounded by a mob of police, protesters, and supporters. The troops stayed at the high school for the rest of the school year. Despite being abused and harassed by some of their fellow students, eight of the nine teenagers made it through to the end of the year. Luckily, a lot of white students accepted their new peers and supported the Little Rock Nine and their right to an education.

  In November of 1960, Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old girl, entered William Frantz elementary school in
New Orleans, Louisiana. She became one of the first African-American children to attend a formerly all-white public school in the Deep South. For months, Ruby had to be escorted by federal marshals through an angry mob on her way to school. White parents wouldn’t allow their children to go to school with Ruby and pulled them out of school. She was the only child in her first grade class, and was the only student in the whole school for most of the year. Ruby’s teacher, Mrs. Henry, greeted her every morning with a hug. They spent the entire day together in her classroom learning, eating, and playing games at recess. By the next September, the federal marshals and the protestors were gone. Ruby’s school was fully integrated with both African-American and white children.

  Desegregation wasn’t limited to students attending elementary or high school. It was occurring in colleges, too. James Meredith risked his life in 1962 to become the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi. Because so many people were upset by the university’s decision to admit Meredith, Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent federal marshals to protect him. When a riot broke out at the school, two innocent bystanders were killed, and 160 marshals were injured. Undeterred, Meredith continued to study at the University of Mississippi and graduated in 1964.

  The integration of public schools was just one aspect of the civil rights movement that occurred during the 1950s and 1960s. The March on Washington in August of 1963 was one of the largest peaceful demonstrations in the history of the United States. Over 250,000 people showed up in Washington, DC, to support civil rights. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, which included a wish that his children “will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Finally, in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. This act made racial discrimination, or segregation, in public places illegal. It also required employers to offer equal opportunities in the workplace.

  African Americans struggled and fought for many years to receive the same rights and opportunities as white people. The desegregation of public schools was an enormous victory in the civil rights movement, and an important step in the right direction towards equality.

  Related Reading from Scholastic:

  A Dream of Freedom by Diane McWhorter

  I Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King by Margaret Davidson

  Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary by Walter Dean Myers

  Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America by Sharon Robinson

  Rosa Parks: From the Back of the Bus to the Front of a Movement by Camilla Wilson

  Separate But Not Equal: The Dream and the Struggle by Jim Haskins

  Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges

  The Journal of Biddy Owens: The Negro Leagues, Birmingham, Alabama, 1948 by Walter Dean Myers

  Things to Do from Belle Teal’s World

  Making Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

  Darryl’s mom makes delicious chocolate chip cookies, which he shares with Belle the first time they eat lunch together. Later, he brings them in for the Christmas feast at school. Did you know that chocolate chip cookies were invented by a woman named Ruth Wakefield back in the 1930s? They are just as popular today. Here is a basic recipe that you can make and share with family and friends. Be sure to have an adult assist you.

  Ingredients:

  2 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  1 teaspoon salt

  1 cup (2 sticks or 1⁄2 pound) butter, softened

  3⁄4 cup granulated sugar

  3⁄4 cup packed brown sugar

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  2 eggs

  2 cups (12-ounce package) milk and/or dark chocolate chips

  Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.

  2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

  3. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.

  4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one has been added.

  5. Gradually beat in flour mixture.

  6. Stir in chocolate chips.

  7. Drop by rounded spoonfuls, 1–2 inches apart, on to ungreased baking sheets.

  8. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

  9. Let stand for a few minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

  How to Play Four Square

  This is a fun game played at Belle’s school during recess, and it can be played indoors or outdoors. The object of Four Square is to be the player who remains in square 1 the longest. You’ll need: a ball; chalk, paint, or tape to make a Four Square court; and a minimum of four people to play.

  Directions:

  1. On a hard surface, use chalk, paint, or tape to make a square approximately 8' x 8' with 4 equal size squares inside.

  2. The squares should be numbered: 1 in the upper left, 2 in the upper right, 3 in the lower right, and 4 in the lower left.

  3. The first 4 players begin with each standing inside one of the 4 squares.

  4. The player in square 1 serves the ball by bouncing it into any of the other 3 squares.

  5. That player returns the ball back by bouncing it to any square.

  6. Play proceeds like this until a player allows a ball to bounce twice in his or her square, hits the ball out of the court, hits a line, spikes the ball, or is unable to successfully return the ball to another square. If this occurs, that player rotates out of the game, either by going to the end of the line or to square 4 if there are only 4 players.

  7. The other players in the game rotate up to the empty space. (Player on square 4 moves to 3, 3 to 2, and 2 to 1.) If there are more than 4 players, the first waiting player enters at square 4.

  8. The player in square 1 serves each round. Whoever stays in square 1 the longest, wins.

  Your Own Journal

  Belle enjoys writing in her journal. She uses it to record memories (both happy and sad) and to help her think things through, especially when she feels like she can’t talk to her mom or her grandmother. Sometimes, writing down how we feel can actually make us feel a lot better. Here are some suggestions for creating your own journal. (You could even invite friends over to have a journal decorating party.)

  Directions:

  1. Start with a new notebook of your choice, or make your own notebook by binding pieces of paper together with staples. You could also punch holes through the paper and tie the pages together with yarn, string, or ribbon.

  2. Be creative and decorate the outside using anything you can think of. Especially use things you might already have: gift wrap (new or used), fabric, leftover wallpaper (from your house or from the house of someone you care about), magazine or newspaper clippings, construction paper, crayons, colored pencils, paint, markers, glitter, stickers, buttons, feathers, or beads.

  3. Add personal touches. These could be ribbon from a special occasion, photographs, or scraps from an old blanket or favorite childhood outfit. You could even include original artwork!

  4. Find a special place to put your name.

  Start writing!

  Ann M. Martin’s Writing Tips

  1. Have you heard the old joke about the New York City tourist who asks a taxi driver “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” The taxi driver answers, “Practice, practice, practice.” Well, the same thing applies to writing. It’s something you need to do a lot in order to get better. Don’t worry about how much you write or how good you think it is. Just try to write something every day. Something you jotted down once may give you inspiration for a future story.

  2. Read, read, and read some more. I wrote it three times because it’s really important! Reading is one of the best ways to become a better writer. When you read a book you enjoy, you see how an author tells a story in a way that interests you. Even a book you don’t enjoy teaches you what you want to avoid in your own writing. Use your own voice and style of writing.

  3. Enjoy it! Write abou
t something that interests you. If you love stories about animals, go for it. Maybe you like science fiction or scary stories. If you’re excited about your subject, your enthusiasm will probably come through. But don’t shut yourself off from other types of writing. Who knows? If you sign up to work on the school paper, you may be surprised to learn that you have a knack for writing an opinion column!

  4. Get comfortable. I need to write in a quiet room, but you may want to go outside with a notebook or sit in your room with headphones on. Think about setting up a routine. I write every day and I do all of my writing in the morning. There have been times when I didn’t much feel like writing, but I’ve done it anyway and have been pleasantly surprised with my work.

  5. Think about how you want to get started. In the Peanuts cartoon, Snoopy always begins his novels with, “It was a dark and stormy night . . .” Check out how your favorite authors have caught your attention on the first page of their stories. You are the best judge of what captures your interest and makes you want to continue reading.

  6. Keep at it. Plug away. Don’t quit. (Do you get the general idea here?) If you don’t finish it, no one else will . . . and then we’ll never know how it ended!

  7. Make any changes you want. It’s your story. Experiment a little until you like what you see. And if you like to write your stories on a computer, editing is easier than ever. The image of a writer staring at a typewriter with balls of crumpled paper all over the floor is pretty outdated, now that we can cut and paste with the click of a mouse!

  8. Don’t be afraid of occasional “writer’s block.” (This is when you can’t seem to write anything.) It happens to all of us. Set your work aside for a little while and do something different. Eat an apple, call a friend, or kick a soccer ball around. Chances are you’ll look at your story with fresh eyes when you return to it.

  9. Ask for advice. Don’t be shy about getting some tips from a teacher, parent, or other adult who is interested in writing and willing to read your stories. Maybe you and some friends can start a writers’ group so you can share and discuss your work with each other.