Your Questions Answered

A New Alice Book?

Question:

Hi, I loooooovvveeee the alice books!!! I was just wondering if you were writing a new Alice book and if so when is it going to come out????

Phyllis replied:

I’m currently working on “Incredibly Alice,” to come out next June.

Writing Contests

Question:

Before I found the Alice Books, I didn’t like reading very much. But now I’m hooked on reading! Alice in Charge was so good! Anyway, you books have inspired me to become a more avid reader and a more avid writer. I started looking for writing contests to enter online. There were not any good ones so I thought “Why no start my own so other kids will have a good writing contest to enter”!  I  started my own website, www.kidswriteout.blogspot.com, that hosts writing contests, a while ago. Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You for writing such good books!

Made a Difference in my Teenage Years

    I just love your books and the way you write.  I started reading “Starting with Alice” when my daughter was in 2^nd grade and we would switch off reading to each other.  It was with this first book that I fell in love with the Alice character and how she thought and handled things with good manners and sensitivity to feelings.  So, I kept reading on.  Before we read Lovingly Alice I realized the material covered (periods, sex) was too advanced for my 2^nd grader (7 1/2 yr old).  She understood when I explained it was like trying to do Math you haven’t learned yet and she stopped reading.  However, I was hooked and I kept read the books in order.  Finally we had “the talk” and she was excited that she could start reading Alice again.  She was a little jealous as she saw me reading without her.  I found myself reading about a lot of feelings that I had at Alice’s age but never really understood about myself.  It was comforting to know that I was just as normal as Alice and wasn’t alone in my thinking.  So, once my daughter was ready for the info she started to read a few but then when school started she was reading other books and was distracted by Harry Potter, etc.  She just graduated 5^th grade and has picked up with Alice again and just reading “Alice In-Between”. 

     Anyway, I’m still ahead of her and want to make sure I read the books in order, so please let me know the order from “Alice in the Know” on and where Alice in Charge comes in.

 Phyllis replied:

So good to hear from you.   “Alice in Charge” is the very latest book and is just published.  My editor hasn’t had a chance to add it to the list yet.

Thank you again for making a difference in understanding my teenage years.  I hope you continue creating new Alice books.

Actually Made Me Scared

Question:

Hoping It Will be Perfect

Ingrained into my Brain!

Learned So Much About Growing-Up

Phyllis replied:

It’s terrific when former readers write  to say that they have found the Alice books again.  I’m delighted to know that they were helpful to you in growing up, and wish you the very best as you leave college for the “real world.”  College, of course, is real too, just a different set of problems and decisions.  Volunteer work is real.  The Peace Corps is real.  All decisions and vocations and professions are different facets of the real world, and I trust you’ll find your special place.  Thanks so much for writing.

Too Many Deaths

            I am a 10 year-old girl and I live with my Mom, Dad, brother, dog and fish. I have green eyes and short brown hair. I enjoy the Alice series very much, but my mother and I believe that Alice has gone through too many deaths of family and friends.   That may not be suitable for younger children who have lost loved ones or may not like thinking about characters they like dying.   They might be upset about thinking about deceased relatives.  If you write more Alice books (and I hope you do!), I highly suggest that no one Alice loves dies.   Thank you for taking the time to read this.     (A ten-year old)

As the ten-year old’s mom, I simply want to reiterate what my daughter wrote – that it can be somewhat disturbing for readers to encounter so many deaths in the Alice books.  In particular, I was shocked by the inclusion of a child’s suicide in Alice in April.  While I understand the consequences of child abuse all too well (as a child psychologist), I  believe that conveying a message of hope, by having the character get help rather than committing suicide, might be of greater benefit to your readers.  Just food for thought…  Thanks for writing books that kids want to read!                                             

Phyllis replied:

Thanks to both the girl and her mother who wrote the above emails.  I can understand that some of the Alice books are upsetting, and I should warn you that in the books to come, there are other things that will be upsetting also, as well as happy times, fun, excitement and  hope.  But I cannot leave out some of the sad and tragic things because these too are part of life.  Alice experiences fear and grief and disappointment along with her family and friends, but she copes, she hopes, she works through the events that knock her for a loop, and she goes on.  The most common comment I get from readers is that the Alice series is so “real,” and that Alice is helping them get through the things they encounter also.  To the mother:  If your daughter enjoys series books and this is what has attracted her to Alice, I strongly suggest my boys/versus/girls series, twelve books dealing with the lighter side of life.  Start with “The Boys Start the War” followed by “The Girls Get Even.”  These may be more suitable for her temperament and age level.

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