40 Fun Facts About The School Story

In The School Story, what is the title of the novel Natalie secretly submits to her mother's company?

The Cheater follows a girl who is caught cheating at school and whose dad stands up for her anyway. Natalie is twelve when she writes it.

In The School Story, which pen name does Natalie use so her mother won't recognize the author?

Cassandra Day is the name on the manuscript, so Hannah ends up editing her own daughter's book without knowing it.

In The School Story, what job does Zoe invent for herself to get Natalie's manuscript read quickly?

A literary agent can put a manuscript straight onto an editor's desk. So twelve-year-old Zoe plays one herself, with a made-up firm behind her.

In The School Story, Zoe defends pen names by citing Ted Geisel, better known as which author?

Dr. Seuss was the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel, who first adopted it as a student at Dartmouth College.

In The School Story, whom do Natalie and Zoe recruit as the grown-up adviser for their scheme?

Their English teacher, Ms. Clayton, is only in her second year on the job and nearly backs out more than once.

In The School Story, at which event staged by Zoe does Natalie's mother learn who wrote the novel?

A publication party at the publishing house is where the secret comes out. Natalie walks in thinking she is only giving Ms. Clayton a tour.

In The School Story, what do editors call the heap of unrequested manuscripts that Natalie dreads?

The slush pile is where unsolicited manuscripts wait, sometimes for months, and Hannah admits it almost never holds anything worth publishing.

In The School Story, what does Zoe's dad do for a living?

A lawyer was just what the scheme needed: Zoe's dad goes through the fine print with the girls and signs the paperwork on Zoe's behalf.

In The School Story, why does Natalie hide her name from her mother, her chosen editor?

To be judged on merit, Natalie wants the novel accepted for what it is, not because an editor's daughter happened to write it.

In The School Story, which made-up woman's name does Zoe give the fake company on her printed stationery?

Sherry Clutch exists only on paper: Zoe has the letterhead and logo printed before Natalie has even agreed to the plan.

In The School Story, which nickname does Zoe use to hide her identity from Natalie's mother?

Zee Zee is Zoe's own nickname, and she also pronounces her last name differently so Hannah will not link the caller to her daughter's best friend.

In The School Story, which fictional publisher employs Natalie's mother and buys her daughter's novel?

Shipley Junior Books is the children's publisher where Hannah works under a sharp-tongued boss nicknamed Lethal.

In The School Story, which post does Hannah's fearsome boss, Letha Springfield, hold at the company?

Editor in chief Letha Springfield outranks Hannah, and she uses that rank to grab the promising new manuscript for herself.

In The School Story, who loves Natalie's manuscript and overrules Letha Springfield about its editor?

The company president, Tom Morton, gets his own copy straight from Zoe, with a letter saying the author will work only with Hannah.

In The School Story, what do Natalie, Zoe and Ms. Clayton call the three-person group they form?

The Publishing Club has only three members, and its first project is a real one: getting a twelve-year-old's novel into bookstores.

In The School Story, which relative signs Natalie's contract so that her mother stays in the dark?

Her uncle Fred, who is close to the family, agrees over the phone to sign in place of the parent the girls cannot ask.

In The School Story, writing her novel at an old family computer helps Natalie feel closer to which person?

Her father died in a car accident, and Natalie writes on his old Macintosh, sitting in his red desk chair.

In The School Story, whom does Zoe secretly invite to witness the moment Natalie's secret comes out?

A local news crew films the girls' confession, and the coverage that follows helps turn the book into a hit.

In The School Story, what does Letha Springfield demand from Zoe before she will publish Natalie's novel?

An apology is the price Letha sets after an argument over who will edit the book. Zoe finds another way around her.

In The School Story, what does Ms. Clayton secretly do with Zoe's expense money?

She saves it in her bank account and pays the bills herself, feeling guilty about spending a twelve-year-old's $500.

In The School Story, what becomes of Letha Springfield after the success of Natalie's novel?

She takes a job elsewhere once the book is a hit, and Hannah is promoted into the seat she leaves behind.

In The School Story, how does Natalie explain the manuscript package she herself carries in to her mother?

A messenger delivered it, Natalie claims, and then she has to hide her excitement while she waits for her mother to read it.

In which city is the publishing house where Natalie's mother works in Andrew Clements's The School Story?

New York is where Hannah edits children's books, and Andrew Clements knew the scene: he was an editor there himself in the early 1980s.

In The School Story, what do the girls rent so that Zoe's made-up company seems to have a real address?

An instant office becomes the fake firm's headquarters, and Zoe adds a phone number and an answering service to complete the illusion.

In The School Story, how does Zoe's dad react when the girls confess their whole secret scheme to him?

He is impressed, above all with Ms. Clayton: he phones to commend her and insists that she send him the bill.

In The School Story, how does Letha Springfield react to the unfamiliar name of Zoe's made-up company?

She pretends to know it and assigns Hannah to read the package, which is exactly what the girls were hoping for.

Which illustrator, a later Caldecott Medal winner, drew the pictures for Andrew Clements's The School Story?

Brian Selznick's portraits give each character a face, and he illustrated other Clements novels too, among them The Report Card and Lunch Money.

Which Caldecott-winning book about an orphan and an automaton did the illustrator of The School Story later write?

The Invention of Hugo Cabret won the 2008 Caldecott Medal, the first long book to do so, at 533 pages with 284 pictures.

Which real publishing house, whose Atheneum imprint issued the paperback, first published The School Story?

Simon & Schuster published the book in June 2001, having already brought out The Landry News and The Janitor's Boy.

In which US state did schoolchildren vote Andrew Clements's The School Story their Young Reader Medal winner?

California's Young Reader Medal is decided by the votes of the state's own schoolchildren, and the novel took the prize in 2004.

Which Andrew Clements debut novel, about a boy who renames the pen, came five years before The School Story?

Frindle is the word its hero coins for a pen, and the book went on to win children's-choice awards in about 20 US states.

In which US state did The School Story author Andrew Clements spend childhood summers at a lakeside cabin?

Maine summers meant no TV and no phone, only swimming by day and reading by night, which Clements said helped him think like a writer.

Before writing The School Story, Andrew Clements spent seven years in classrooms just north of which city?

Chicago's northern suburbs gave Clements his feel for school life: he worked with fourth graders, eighth graders and high schoolers there.

Andrew Clements, author of The School Story, was born in the city of Camden in which US state?

New Jersey was home until the middle of sixth grade: Clements also lived in nearby Oaklyn and Cherry Hill before his family moved away.

In The School Story, how does Zoe first alert Natalie's mother that a brilliant new manuscript is on its way?

A voicemail does the trick: speaking as a grown-up, Zoe tells Hannah she must look at this fantastic new author right away.

Which Andrew Clements novel, published the year after The School Story, won the Schneider Family Book Award?

Things Not Seen follows a fifteen-year-old who wakes up invisible and is befriended by a blind girl he meets at the library.

At which university did The School Story author Andrew Clements earn his bachelor's degree in literature?

Northwestern is where Clements studied literature; while there he was invited to lead creative-writing workshops for high schoolers, his first taste of the classroom.

In The School Story, why does Ms. Clayton make Zoe drop the first invented name for her grown-up persona?

To avoid legal trouble: posing as a made-up person could count as impersonation, so Zoe goes by a version of her real name instead.

Which book prize did The School Story author Andrew Clements win for his novel Room One: A Mystery or Two?

The Edgar Award for best juvenile book went to Room One in 2007; the prize takes its name from Edgar Allan Poe.

In The School Story, which gadget does Zoe order with a rented phone line so her made-up company can be reached?

A pager is on Zoe's list along with an answering service, all spelled out in an envelope of instructions she hands to Ms. Clayton.