Your Questions Answered

I love your Boys vs Girls Series!!!

I love your Boys vs Girls Series!!! They are the best!

That series was a lot of fun to write.  It takes place in the West Virginia town where my husband grew up, so I knew it pretty well.  A number of fifth grade teachers read those books aloud to their classes at the end of the day, I understand. Your email address didn’t work.  I’d be glad to send a small poster of the boys/versus/girls books to you if you send me your mailing address.  I will not post it on this website.

Boys Start The War Series

Hello! I was so thrilled to find your site and found your prompt responses so encouraging! Reading your books (specifically the beloved adventures of the Hatford boys and Malloy girls) in my middle school library was my favorite pass time. They are still my favorite childhood series to revisit. I am a children’s pastor in Houston, TX and frequently tell my students about these books – I’m always on the lookout for children I know will appreciate them as I did. I had almost the full collection of the books with the old artwork which I am particularly fond of – as they feel nostalgic having been a 90s child. Unfortunately, my mother donated my beloved collection after I had moved out for college and I have recently started to rebuild it. I haven’t been able to find hardcovers with the old artwork on any book after the Boys Return to my disappointment. Was this style discontinued after the Boys Return? … I so appreciate your time and pray blessings of safety on you and your family through this season. Thank you for the way you’ve served the world with your stories- you have brought joy to so many!

I just checked my personal library, and it seems that with the next book in the series, “The Girls Take Over,” the publisher gave all the hardcover books the same look as their paperback copies.  Like you, I favored the old fashioned kind where the cover depicted some action in the book.  Made it so much more enticing.  I’m so glad you enjoy my books and find them helpful in your work.  I would think you might find my Shiloh quartet especially useful.

Ebooks

Our 169 fourth grade Title 1 students were set to read Shiloh on ebooks and eaudio via our public library. Then I was informed by the public library Overdrive has changed their policy within the last week and are now charging $36 per ebook. Our public library can it afford this price for the multiple ebooks we need.
Can you tell me how I might access the ebook for Shiloh for the remainder of our students (80). As you know student’s learning modalities are different with most preferring the print. In the past we have classroom copied if Shiloh and have supplemented with books from the public library. Now our school is closed as is the public library. As the library media specialist, on behalf of all the students who have loved the Shiloh quartet, thank you!

I wish I could help  you, but I know absolutely nothing about rules and arrangements for ebooks.  I’m referring your letter to my editor but I truly don’t know if you’ll get the information you need.  Most of the editors and others in the publishing business are working from home and may not have the access to all the things they need.  But we’ll give it a try.

The Girls Get even

I am a 4th grade teacher in Massachusetts. My school is shut down for Covid-19 . I was in the middle of reading your book, The Girls Get Even to my class. We already read, The Boys Start the War earlier in the year. Do you have an audio file of the book? I am still teaching my class using the Google Classroom format. I would love to surprise my class by posted the book for them to listen to. Let me know if you can help me.

There is no audio of the book, but many teachers are using that series in their classroom, and have asked permission to record or film themselves reading from the books and using that in their online classroom.  The publisher permits this as long as you are using a private “channel” that is only accessible to your class, and that you only use this during the current crisis.  I hope this will work for you.

2 questions about the Hatfords and the Malloys

My students LOVE your series about the Hatfords and Malloys!!! I’ve been reading it to them at this year. I also would like permission to read your books to the kids on Zoom, please.

My kids (students) and I always have questions for you as we read. If you have time to answer a few, I’ll share the answers with the kids.

1. Did you live in Buckannon WV?
2. Did you actually know the Oldakers? (I’m realated to them.)
3. Are any parts of the books based on real people…like Caroline?

Thank you in advance for allowing me to share.

You have my permission to read the Boys Versus Girls series online to your students as long as it is on a private “channel” and that you use this only for this particular crisis.

I’m delighted that your class is enjoying these books.  I never lived in Buckhannon, but my husband grew up there and we went back to visit his friends and neighbors many times.  When he lived there, the swinging bridges were still in place over the river, and his family’s house was on Island Avenue.  He went to grade school, high school and college there, and knew the Oldakers very well.  I autographed at their bookstore when I was there, and they let me see in the trap door in the floor.   But no, all the characters are from my imagination.

 

 

York trilogy

I am rereading your York Trilogy. I have vacationed in York, so I love the historical significance. I have a good friend with Huntingtons. Im just curious as to what your connection to Huntingtons was before writing this series? I am 54 by the way. L

Many years ago, before I began writing books, I was writing stories and articles for teen publications, and I was interviewing some teenagers who were volunteers at the National Institutes of Health.  They were given various jobs to do, and they were recounting some of their experiences.  One of the boys told me that he could never forget a patient who had four teenage daughters.  He himself was slipping into slow dementia, something called Huntington’s disease.  If you have it, all your children will have a 50% chance inheriting it also.  But they may not know if they have the disease until it shows up, usually in middle age.  He was so concerned for these girls.  I researched Huntington’s disease myself and couldn’t help but  use  it in a novel about life’s uncertainties.

Thank You

Dear Phyllis,
I’m a 22-year-old soon-to-be college graduate. After switching my major a few times due to my indecisiveness, I finally decided to study English. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my classes have been moved online for the remainder of the school year, and I’ve had a lot of time to read and think over the course of these past few weeks.
I’m just writing to say thank you. It’s difficult to express how much your writing has impacted my life. When I was in elementary school, like everyone else, I was a big fan of Shiloh. I also loved Being Danny’s Dog. I was especially obsessed with the Hatfords and Malloys series. When I was in third and fourth grade, I read those books over and over again, and they never failed to entertain and amaze me. It was the Hatfords and Malloys books that made me fall in love with the genre of realistic fiction. I was blown away by how much magic was packed into real-life situations, and I loved how I could relate to the characters. I have to give you and your books credit for deepening my appreciation of the little things in life from such a young age.
During the recession of 2008, my father lost his job and our family (my father, mother, older brother, and I) had to move in with relatives. I was disappointed to leave all of my friends behind, but I was looking forward to attending elementary school with my three cousins whose house I had moved into. I was in fifth grade, and my cousins were in fourth, third, and second grade. Unfortunately for me, their school district was suffering from overcrowding, so even though we lived in the same house, I didn’t get to go to school with them. I had to spend 45 minutes every weekday riding the bus to a newly-built relief school all by myself. Being that I was ten years old at the time, I spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself instead of trying to make the best of a tough situation. I was a bright, social child up to that point, and I never had any trouble making friends. At this new school, I isolated myself to the point that I had never been so miserable and lonely.
I was quickly placed into an accelerated language arts class of about only ten kids. My teacher was a kind, caring woman who pushed all of us to do the best we possibly could (as teachers should)! One particular assignment from my accelerated language arts class (called S.O.A.R, and I cannot, for the life of me, remember what that stands for) that still stands out to me required us to write a report on an autobiography, biography, or memoir. I was initially less than thrilled at this assignment, and when I went to the school library to pick out a book, I didn’t find anything of interest at first. I didn’t want to write about a dead politician or athlete. Then, I noticed the name “Naylor” on one of the books, and I was flooded with memories of all the good times I had reading your books. I immediately devoured How I Came to Be A Writer, and I was touched and inspired by your drive and dedication. It’s been over a decade since I’ve read How I Came to Be A Writer, but I remember being particularly inspired by your mentioning of writing at every opportunity you had after you became a mother. I especially admired how you mentioned you might put your child down for a nap for two hours, and that meant you had two hours to write. I also appreciated your mentioning of alternating your blue and red dresses to make it look like you had more than you did. While my family was not financially well-to-do at that particular point in my life, I was always fed and I always had a place to sleep thanks to the kindness of my relatives. Your book helped put things in perspective for my underdeveloped ten-year-old brain: even though I didn’t have as much as I was used to, I still had everything I truly needed.
Part of the reason that assignment still stands out to me after all this time is because most of my class did poorly on it. I don’t know if it was too hard, or if they just didn’t care, but my teacher spent an entire class period scolding all of us about how terrible our work was. My heart sank to the floor and I was fighting back tears. After class, my teacher pulled me aside and told me that she was so impressed with my report, she and the principal went over everything I wrote and talked about how well-written it was. I received a perfect score, and I was over the moon. It was a small victory in the grand scheme of things, but in that moment, I was truly happy in my new school for the first time. I was deeply invested in your book, and the passion spilled into my report. It was amazing to be appreciated for something I cared so much about, especially when I felt so sad and out of place in that school for so long. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that feeling of relief and bliss when I found out I had done well on my report of How I Came to Be A Writer.
Now, over twelve years later, I’m home from college, away from my friends and campus and classes, but still not quite finished with my degree. I’ve been reading the Alice series religiously, and I’m reminded so much of my own adolescence. Since your writing made such an impression on me from a young age, your words have the power to transport me through time when I need to escape the present. Whenever doubt creeps in about my future career, and I wonder how I’m going to make anything of myself with an English degree, I just keep reading, writing, and reminding myself there are opportunities everywhere.
I have to thank you for your work. I’ve always loved reading and writing, and you have been one of my favorite authors throughout my whole life. I’m amazed by your consistent creation of meaningful, moving content. It’s because of people like you that I can get just as excited about reading and writing as an adult as I did when I was a child. Thank you for helping me learn and grow as a child, for all the hours of entertainment, for the positive shifts in my perspective, and for the inspiration throughout the years, during the good times and the bad. I appreciate you, and I wish you and your family happiness and good health. Take care, and from the bottom of my heart, thanks again.

 

I don’t put readers’ names on this website for a variety of reasons, but I thank you so much for your long email (and hope this website will accept it all.  If not, I will write a personal note. )   It’s interesting how people can grow up in different periods of history, in different locations, under different circumstances, and still have so much in common.  I remember one year, during the Great Depression, when we had to spend a year on my grandparents’ farm, and this was a hard time for me.  And yet, bits and pieces of  that experience show up  in so many of my books. I have the feeling that your English degree will benefit you in ways you don’t yet imagine.  Thanks so much for your kind words.

Boys vs. Girls series

May I have permission to use a recording of me reading this series to my students on a closed video link (I saw others were granted permission and I wanted to make sure it is okay instead of assuming permission based on someone else)? We made it to Boys Rock before our school was closed. Thank you! cr

Yes, you have my permission.  This seems to be a popular read-aloud series to students of a certain age.   Fifth grade, I’ll bet.  I’m also supposed to state that it can only be used for this particular crisis.

Teacher read aloud during coronavirus outbreak

I am a 5th grade teacher, and my students love The Boys Start the War, the Girls Get Even series. Do I have permission to read the books to them online since we can’t be together as a class during the Coronavirus outbreak? Thank you.

Yes, that seems to be a very popular series for fifth graders.  You have my permission to read the books to them online providing it is a private channel (not YouTube) available only to your class during this particular crisis.

May I read your book to my class?

Hello! I’m a teacher in Dallas, TX and I’ve just gotten news that our district and schools will be closed indefinitely. Therefore, teachers are required to continue teaching our scholars via online learning. I had planned a two week novel study using our book, Roxie and the Hooligans at Buzzard’s Roost. May I please read this virtually for my students? They loved part1 and are anxiously awaiting to hear part 2. Thanks in advance!

Yes, you have my permission to read this book online to your students as long as it is on a private channel and used only during this particular crisis.