Letters From Rifka Character Traits

[Elenor Waas]

heykaren hesse my name is rianna im 15 year old a freshman i love your book safekeeping i wish i could meet you in person right now im doing this project in school its sway what book im reading so i choose you but im go try read all your books.

Hello there, I am a high school student at Glenwood Springs High School and I am currently reading your book Safekeeping. It is an amazing book might I add. Point to my comment is, we have to do a book project and I need to gather some author information. I would love for you to send me some author information if you will. I ADMIRE your work so much! Get back to me as soon as you can!

Thank you, Rachel. There is no comment that touches me more deeply than when a non-reader tells me that she or he has become a reader because of my work. You have made me so happy with your kind and generous words. I wish you the best of luck in all you do.

Out of the Dust is one of my favorite middle grade books. EVERY kid I have recommended to, boy or girl, has said what a great book it is.

As a writer I am curious how you submitted the manuscript. I have a middle grade novel in verse I am shopping around. Since most agents and editors adamantly claim not to take poetry( even though this is a novel) should I send my sample pages in prose paragraphs?

Thank you so much.

Laura Moe

Hey! Just wondering if you could tell me the location of the beautiful abandoned staicase on page 196 in Safekeeping. I understand that some of your photos were taken on your walk through Vermont; and others were taken from years past. I was hoping that you could narrow down the possiblities. Shoot me an e-mail if you would like! Thanks!

Hi! I am Ava Ponczoch. I am 9 years old, and in 4 grade. I read your book called Out Of The Dust. It is the best book I have EVER read! Right now I am also reading Dear Mr.Henshaw, but your books are by FAR better than that book! In the book Dear Mr.Henshaw, Leigh Botts from Backersfield,California asks Mr.Henshaw 10 questions, I would like to ask YOU those 10 questions:

1.)How many books have you written?

2.)Is Karen Hesse your real name, or is it fake, like some authors?

3.)Why do you write books for children AND adults?

4.)Where do you get your ideas, for your books?

5.)Do you have any kids?

6.)What is your favorite book that you have written?

7.)Do you like to write books?

8.)What is the title of your next book going to be?

9.)What is your favorite animal?

10.)Please give me some tips on how to write a book, so I can become a famous author like YOU!

Hello, Ms. Hesse,

My name is Elise Hasseltine, and for school we are reading Out of the Dust. We each got a topic that relates somewhat to Out of the Dust and I got you! If you could tell me a bit about yourself and why you wrote Out of the Dust, that would be amazing!

Thanks!

Elise Hasseltine

Thank you, Easton. The best way to get a letter to me is by sending it to: Karen Hesse, c/o Scholastic, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, Attn: Author Mail. I look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes, Karen Hesse.

Have you ever thought about writing a sequel to Witness? When was the story named (beginning, middle, or end of writing) and was it your only choice? And finally, we did a lot of character analysis looking at how characters changed in addition to courageous decisions and actions that help shape people and who they become. Do you have any additional thoughts on courage that you could leave with the students?

Hello Ms. Hesse,

In class, we had to write a companion book to go with a book of our choice we have previously read. I chose Safekeeping. I included a letter to you and I was wondering if there is anyway I could share it with you?

Thanks!

Last year my now 8th Graders & this year my new 7th grade students were & are addicted to making the connections through this reading. When the bell rings for the next class, I have to force them to stop reading and wait til we meet again. I love it!!!-

Hello Karen,

5th graders at our school just finished reading OUT OF THE DUST. They loved it! Have you ever thought about doing a Google Hangout with a class? Would you be available to do one with us?

So glad the fifth grade students loved OUT OF THE DUST. My technological skills and my internet connections are quite limited so I would not be able to do a Google Hangout with you but thank you so much for asking and for your support. My best to all. -Karen Hesse

What is the background information about the book JUST JUICE?

What inspired you to become a author and write about the culture of the book JUST JUICE?

What is your future proyects or actual ones ?

I am an eighth grade middle school English teacher at Mount Anthony Union Middle School in Bennington, Vermont. My classes just finished Out of the Dust, and last year we read Witness together. We would welcome the opportunity to meet you in person! My students are busy writing letters to you at this time, and we are wondering if there is a Brattleboro, Vermont post office box number we might send them to?

Hello! I am a student teacher in a 4th grade class and we just read the book Sable and loved it!. My students wrote a short letter (pretending to be Tate) to Mam and Pap giving all of the reasons they should be allowed to keep Sable.

Hi Karen Hess,

My friend Saul and I want to put on an adapted production of Witness, we read your previous comment about another production, but was just wondering if you could tell us a little bit more about the process.

Thanks,

tosca

We would invite you to visit us in Colorado if you happen to be in our neck of the woods, but since this is likely difficult, we would enjoy connecting with you through google hangouts or another video conference platform.

Thank you for your kind comment, Beau. You have done some excellent analysis and interpretation. Thank you for taking the time to share your ideas with me and with other readers. All best wishes to you, Karen Hesse

Dear Karen Hesse,

I enjoyed your book a lot, but I have a few questions for you that I hope you could answer.

Is Johnny dead or alive?

Did Ira get out of the hospital?

What made Merlin change his thoughts about Learnora?

What made Leanora at the end of the book stick up for Merlin?

What made you think of writing this book?

Your book made me wonder what was going to happen next. I really like that.

I think everyone should read it and I think everyone will enjoy this book .

Sincerely,

Kayla Lorenz

Dear Mrs. Hesse, I have been assigned a project of making a slideshow of your biography as my Advanced English Assignment. It would be great if we could talk over email and I could ask you a couple of questions. Up to you.

Sincerely,

Andrew Lane

Just read Out of the Dust. Very touching I felt I really knew Billie Joe. She is a young girl with wisdom beyond her years. I lived in Texas for thirty years, this girl is a real character with a good heart. What shall I read next?

Heather, thank you for your comment. I love hearing from Oklahoma readers. Clearly OUT OF THE DUST has special significance to you and your family. Thank you for sharing that with me. During my research I read Oklahoma newspapers from the 1930s. Many of my name choices in the book came directly from the newspaper articles I read. But I also used an assortment of baby naming books, combing through my options, looking for names with the right sound and meaning. Hope this helps satisfy that curiosity of yours. Best wishes, KH

Hi, my name is Lilly I am 12 years old and am from oklahoma and i would like to say that your book is my all time favorite and has been for a long while. I hope that you will one day make this into a movie. No one in my family are readers besides me, of course but they like watching movies and i would like to share the experience of the book OUT OF THE DUST with them. I hope you take my suggestion to consideration, it would mean alot to me if you would reply as you are my idol

best of wishes -Lilly Rigg-

Karen, the other day my girlfriend and I were browsing a used bookstore when she came across a copy of Out of the Dust. This book was deeply affecting to both us when we read it many years ago for school. My girlfriend tells me she remembers it vividly. I too remember being moved, and also haunted by the stark picture of a harsh reality you created.

Later in the evening we discovered that this was, in fact, a signed copy, addressed to a young fan. We were so happy with this discovery. I know that my girlfriend will cherish this possession. I write only to tell you that your work has impacted our life and provided her with great joy upon discovering your handwriting.

Hi Karen-

I am a 7th grade Social Studies teacher. My content partner nad I would like to use your novel Stowaway to teach our 30 Honors students about exploration and discovery. Is it available digitally? We are a one to one iPad district and I have not been able to find it.

Thank you!

Thank you for your wonderful comment, Lindsey. How fortunate your students are to have such an exciting classroom environment. My suggestion to your young writers is to pay attention to the little details of their lives and subtly weave some of those details into their stories. The other piece of advice for them is to use all of their senses in their writing. Most of us write using our sense of vision pretty naturally; make certain your young writers employ smell, taste, sound, and texture in their stories, too. It will make their tales spring to life. Good luck to you all. -Karen Hesse

Thank you for letting me know. I remember Frank with such fondness. We had such delicious phone calls at the beginning of my career as he subtly built my self-confidence and helped in his generous way to spread the word about my work. Frank was an extraordinary man who made a significant difference in this world with his passion and his humanity.

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