All this week, the kid-lit-o-sphere is celebrating the undersung with Radar Recommendations. These books may have gone "Under the Radar", but they are excellent and well deserving of attention. Here's the complete schedule, courtesy of Colleen at Chasing Ray. So read up, take notes, and get thee to the bookstore or library!

My first Radar Recommendation is Robert Sharenow's MY MOTHER THE CHEERLEADER. "Gee, Jenn, I'm not really into chick lit!" you say ... well, it isn't chick lit, actually, despite the name, it's historical fiction. It's also really beautifully written, compelling and important. What does it have to do with CHEERLEADERS, you ask?

The book is set in 1960's in the 9th Ward of New Orleans. A little girl named Ruby Bridges was the first black child sent to a white school. In protest, parents pulled their white children out of school. A group of these dames stood outside cruelly taunting Ruby the first-grader every day. These women were derisively dubbed "cheerleaders."



MMTC follows Louise, the thirteen-year-old daughter of one of the cheerleaders, who helps her mother run a boarding-house. When an unusual new tenant moves in, Louise and her mother are forced to confront their own prejudices. Full disclosure: I myself lived in the 9th Ward for many years, and I can tell you, Sharenow gets the feel of a certain side of New Orleans with dead accuracy. Today I'm going to check in with Robert Sharenow, to ask him about his inspirations and more.

Hi Robert! I read that you got the idea for the book from reading TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY by Steinbeck -- can you tell us a bit more about that?

Travels with Charley is a non-fiction account of a driving trip across the country Steinbeck made with his poodle, Charley. The book climaxes with a visit to New Orleans to witness the spectacle of the Cheerleaders protesting the integration of the city’s public schools in the Ninth Ward.

I read the book around the time of the birth of my first daughter. For me, becoming a parent was an experience that cut across all racial, social, and religious barriers. Everyone loves their babies and wants the best for them. So when I read Steinbeck’s book, I was astonished at the savage actions of the Cheerleaders toward Ruby Bridges, who was just six years old. These were, after all, mothers. How could they treat a child so horribly when all she was trying to do was go to school? What kind of person would make death threats to a little girl just because of her skin color? I really set out to write the book to explore what causes people to hate like that.

Although 1960 isn't ancient history, it is a time in American History that a lot of us don't really know much about -- did you have to do a ton of research? How did you go about it?

I read a stack of books on the Civil Rights movement. I also befriended a wonderful historian who is an expert in the field who helped direct me to the best sources. She also shared with me hundreds of pages of FBI reports on the Cheerleaders that were incredibly helpful.

You aren't from Louisiana originally -- did you ever live there, or spend time there?

I’m originally from the Boston area. But I’ve visited New Orleans and I really fell in love with the city. It’s got such a unique culture. The Ninth Ward, where the action of the book takes place, was one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, so almost nothing remains that was there in 1960.

Was it hard to write convincingly from the POV of a girl?

Surprisingly – no. In fact, that was one of the easiest parts of the writing. Once I discovered the voice of Louise, the writing became much easier.

You work in the TV biz - do you think that helps you with your ability to write a story? Which is harder, novel-writing, or your regular job?

Great question. I’ve been very fortunate in my day job as a TV producer in that I’ve had the opportunity to meet and get to know an incredibly diverse group of people, from bounty hunters to magicians to rock stars to actors to criminals. It’s really widened my view of the world and what people have in common across all boundaries.

Producing television shows and writing novels are vastly different experiences. TV is completely collaborative. For every show you watch, it takes a small army of people to get it on the air, including producers, editors, camera people, writers, sound engineers, composers and musicians. If any one of the people on that chain doesn’t do their job well, the final product will suffer.

On the other hand, novel writing is a relatively solitary endeavor. In some ways that’s great because the author is in complete control of the work (at least in the first draft). Once the manuscript is finished everything becomes more collaborative, as editors and the team at the publishing house get the book in shape for publication. Yet, you rarely spend a lot of face-to-face time with each other.

I will say that having strong writing and story telling skills is the most important part of the TV producing process.

How long did it take you to write CHEERLEADER? Can you tell us a bit about your "path to publication"?

I researched the subject for several years and was writing and rewriting for about two years. Once I had a draft I was happy with, I sent query letters to agents who I thought would have an affinity for the book. Thankfully, I found a great agent, Maria Massie, who really had a passion for my story. Once she sent it out, it look about two months to make a deal with Laura Geringer Books at Harper Collins. Laura Geringer has been an amazing partner in this process. In any creative endeavor it’s important to find and nurture relationships with people you like and respect, because they are very rare.

Did you know you were writing a teen novel the whole time?

I had no idea. I was actually writing it for an adult audience. But I’ve never really made a strong distinction between the two. When I was a teen, I read adult novels. As a young reader, I liked escaping into an adult world. I guess it made me feel grown up.

What were your favorite books when you were a teenager?

To Kill a Mockingbird made a big impression on me (and influenced the writing of my novel). I loved Jack Kerouac’s One the Road. I also went through a big Kurt Vonnegut phase when I was in high school. It broke my heart when he passed away. He always had such a young spirit in his writing; it was hard to imagine him getting old and sick.

What advice would you give an aspiring teen writer?

Just write whatever you are passionate about. Don’t try to write what you think is cool or what you think you’re supposed to write. I had no direct connection to the subjects of my book. I’m not a 13-year-old girl. I’m not from New Orleans. And I wasn’t even born when the book takes place. Yet, I was inspired to write that story. Follow your passion.

What book (besides your own) do you think Not Your Mother's Book Club members would love?

I always recommend Pride and Prejudice. It’s one of the few books I’ve read more than once and enjoyed just as much if not more with each reading. I just read Kent Haruf’s Plainsong, which I loved. Sophie’s Choice by William Styron is also one of my favorites.

And finally, did I miss anything you wish I had asked?

I’m a big music fan. So I always like to recommend bands that are a little bit under the radar.

Right now I’m really into Hem, The National, Spoon, The Davenports, Regina Spektor, Brandi Carlile, and They Might Be Giants.

Thanks, Robert!

Click here to purchase MY MOTHER THE CHEERLEADER from a very nice independent bookstore.

Click here to learn more about Ruby Bridges.

Click here for the rest of the Radar Recs!