| |
|
 |
 Meet Akaela |
Table of Contents
Akaela S. Michels-Gualtieri
Akaela S. Michels-Gualtieri lives in Washington, DC with her writer-mother, her scientist-father, her younger brother, a baby sister and three cats. Akaela is 13 years-old - and is in the 8th grade at The Field School in Washington, DC. She was born right in Washington DC and raised to be a traveler. Akaela has already visited Europe and China.
Akaela became a sister for the first time at age 3 ½. That's when she and her mom started working on I Was Born to Be a Sister. By the time the baby was two-years old, they had written a book and a song. The book was originally called Naptime Surprise. They put the project away at that point. Then, when Akaela was ten-years-old, her baby sister was born.
Inspired by the joys and challenges of having a baby in the house again,
Akaela and her mom dug out the old song and manuscript and decided to work
on them again. This time, they brought in professional editors, songwriters
and an illustrator. Says Akaela, "It was really fun to be a big sister
again and to remember what it had been like when I was so much younger. It
was neat to try to capture all the feelings in words and pictures and
sounds. I'm really proud of the book and I love when other people love it!"
When Akaela is not playing with her brother or sister, hanging out with friends or playing the piano, she is usually doing gymnastics. She competes in both gymnastics (she's a Level 6) and cheerleading. Her favorite way to end each day is with a good book. She is a big Harry Potter fan, but also particularly enjoyed reading The Diary of Melanie Martin or How I Survived Matt the Brat, Michelangelo, and the Leaning Tower of Pizza by Carol Weston and Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate Dicamillo.
An Interview with Akaela Michels-Gualtieri, March 2001
- Why did you write this book?
- My Mom was a writer and I wanted to be like her. She used to write stuff all the time. I loved my brother a lot and just wanted to have a story about it.
- When did you write it?
- My brother was born was I was 3 1/2. My Mom and I worked on the book and wrote the song when I was around 5. We put it away for a bunch of years, then dug it out and worked on it again after my baby sister was born.
- What was it like to work with the illustrator?
- It was really cool to get to tell her what I like and what I didn’t like and then to watch her change the pictures. At first, she had me doing a somersault, but I really wanted to be doing a cartwheel so she changed it for me. And she didn’t have nearly enough toys in the bathtub picture at first, but then she added more.
- What was it like to work with the editors?
- It was really cool because they teach you how to say things more clearly and how to see things differently. Sometimes I didn’t like it when they wanted to change some of my words, but they explained why it made the book better, and then it was ok.
- What was it like to work with the song writers?
- It was really cool because they taught us that you can have an idea, but that in order to make the idea work out, you have to fit it into a structure. I knew what I wanted the song to say, but they helped me to redo it so that it said what I wanted in a musical way. I thought writing a song would be just like writing a book, but actually, it is quite different. I think writing a book is easier, but rhyming the words in the song was pretty fun.
- Do you like to read?
- I really like books, but I’m not a very fast reader. I didn’t read really well until I was in the 4th grade. That was hard because one of my best friends could read perfectly in kindergarten! Even today, it takes me longer than anyone else to read stories in class. But I love books and I really love when my teacher or my Mom or my Dad reads out loud.
- Do you like to write?
- I really like to write because then you get to make up the whole thing and it doesn’t matter if it is silly or anything.
- Do you want to write another book?
- I don’t really know because there is nothing I need to write about right now. I want to just want to enjoy this book for a while, and besides, I’m also in all the Look What I See! books, and I have to study for my Bat Mitzvah, so it isn’t like I need another project. But I’ll probably write another one in a while.
Akaela's Favorite Things
- Favorite Books
- All the Harry Potter books
All the Sammy Keyes books
The Shakespeare Stealer
The Diary of Melanie Martin
Because of Winn-Dixie
Flying Solo
- Favorite After-School Activities
- Gymnastics (competes as a Level 6)
Cheerleading
Email and instant messaging with friends
Shopping with friends
Playing piano
Decorating her room
Reading
Helping my parents usher at the theatre and getting to see the plays
- Favorite TV Shows
- State of Grace
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Boy Meets World
The Jetsons
- Favorite Foods
- Beef Lo Mein
Roasted Chicken
Scrambled Eggs with sausage
Wheat Toast and Strawberry Jam
Baked Potatoes
Oreo McFlurry from McDonalds
- Favorite Things to Do with My Younger Brother
- Play Game Boy
Build stuff with Legos
Have squirt gun fights
Wrestle
Play card games (War, Chemes, Egyptian rat screw
Make Arts & Crafts stuff
Catch fire flies
Make brownies
Walk to the neighborhood store for ice cream
- Favorite Things to Do with My Younger Sister
- Take a bath
Do gymnastics
Teach her simple cheerleading routines
Give her rides on my back
Help her pick out clothes
Teach her new words, songs, finger games
Feed the ducks at the reflecting pool
Play with trains
Help her do puzzles
Play with her hair, put on make-up, paint her finger- and toe-nails
- Favorite Subject in School
- Language Arts
From Akaela to her Readers
I think writing is really important and that kids should put effort into becoming good writers. The cool thing about writing is that when you put words on paper, you can express yourself without actually having to talk to anybody. For some people, it is like having a special place where they don't have to pretend they are someone they are not. Writing is not as hard as it seems at first. If you can't get the words out, you should just walk around and look at things or try talking to yourself before you put the paper in front of you Once you do get the words down, it is usually a real relief that it is done and you feel great that you've captured your own words. Plus, the hardest part is getting something written down at all, once you have it down, you can always play with it and change the words around and make it better.
I'm really proud to have a book. I like having a book and being a little bit famous. I like talking to reporters and getting to read the book to kids at schools and bookstores. It is a really nice chance to get noticed just for being myself. I like that the pictures look like me and my family. The whole book is exactly the way it is, like, sometimes I just love being a big sister, and sometimes it is a real pain. Everyone always laughs at the scenes where we aren't getting along. It is funny because it is so true. But the part about getting along and loving each other is also true.
I have Mommy who supports me a lot. We can talk when I am excited or worried about something. A lot of my friends don't really like their moms. When we get together and talk about our families, I feel real lucky. It was fun working with my mom and Marcy on the illustrations, the hard part was working on the words. Mom and the other editors wanted to change a bunch of my words. At first I didn't want them to, but they helped me understand that even though we weren't using all my original words, we were using all my original thoughts and feelings.
My mom taught me that you never know what can happen if you follow your dreams. For her, getting just the right words for the right situation is really important. I want to be able to do the same thing. I really think that kids should learn how to type and send email and work hard in school so that they can figure out what words to use to be understood.
Born To Be A Writer
Eleven-year-old puts experiences to paper
Amanda K. Greene, Observer Staff Writer
From The (Charlottesville, VA) Observer
Volume XXIV, Number 12, March 21, 2001
 As Motheread/Fatheread Day gets under way Saturday, there will be tons of goings-on. One highlight of the day will be the chance to meet one of the younger authors at the Virginia Festival of the Book, 11-year-old Akaela S. Michels-Gualtieri, who will be on hand to give a presentation of her book, I Was Born to Be a Sister.
Michels-Gualtieri's book discusses what it is like to be the older sister of two younger siblings. According to Dia Michels, Michels-Gualtieri's mother, the idea for the book came about when her daughter was 4 after the birth of her younger brother.
"It was like having an au pair," Michels said. "She was so into being a sister."
Michels-Gualtieri, a sixth grader at Stuart Hobson Middle School in Washington, D.C., said the idea for writing the book came easily since she had her experiences with her brother to draw from.
"When my brother was born, I liked him a whole lot," Michels-Gualtieri said. "I didn't really need an idea because he was right there."
Michels said she had been writing for years and last year decided to take "the plunge" and start her own publishing company - Platypus Media. Mother and daughter soon became involved in book shows like Virginia Festival of the Book. And with a book about being a sister, it falls perfectly into the Motheread/Fatheread program.
A Harry Potter fan, Michels-Gualtieri said she does plan to continue as she gets older. "My mom is a writer and I wanted to be like her," Michels-Gualtieri said. "I like writing and you don't have to get up at 8 a.m. and put on a suit."
Michels said her daughter has learned a lot from the experience of writing a book.
"It was really hard work," Michels said. "It's not often that an 11-year-old is edited. She had to learn that although her words may get changed, it is still her work. We've all been learning and growing as a team."
VA Boook! Preview of Motheread /Fatheread Day
When: Saturday, March 24, 2001, 10 am - 2 pm
Where: Charlottesville Ice Park
Highlights: Event features "The Sugar Lady." 11-year-old author Akaela S. Michels-Gualtieri and AlbemarleKids.com journalist workshop
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
1-877-PLATYPS 1-877-872-8977
© 2001-2006 Platypus Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved
Web site designed and maintained by
|
|
