Author and teacher, Dr. Kimberly (Weiner) Greene returned to TASIS England in April to speak with middle school students about the process of writing and connecting with readers. Her book series was originally inspired by her experiences and observations teaching child actors on set in Los Angeles. The titles include: My Sister's a Pop Star, The Fame Game and Me, and My Life on TV (published by Usborne Press). Each book follows the life and adventures of 12-year old Sam Devine, who gives backstage insights into life in and behind the lights.
After earning a BFA at New York University, Dr. Greene's first career was in the world of entertainment, touring and performing with Up the People. She moved to California and attended Pepperdine University, where she received her Masters of Educational Arts and a Doctorate of Educational Technology. In addition to being an author, Dr. Greene is an educational media and technology specialist and Assistant Professor of Education at Chapman University. In 1998, she founded EdTech 21 to consult on children's programming - evaluating scripts, storylines, and character development.
Combining education and entertainment, Dr. Greene was hired by television studios to teach child actors. To stimulate more enthusiasm for reading and writing, she began creating her own materials for students that were based on authentic dialogues and direct observation of people. Speaking to TASIS England middle school students, Dr. Greene revealed one of her methods to illustrate the point: visiting the local mall with pen and notebook in hand to eavesdrop on conversations between teenagers and to record the expressions they used.
Along with the students, Debi Cross, Middle School Head, was impressed how she engaged the attention of the 11- to 13-year-old audience, and her portrayal of writing as an exciting adventure.:
"Kimberly was very realistic in her presentation. She didn't make writing sound mysterious and explained how she got her ideas. It's clear in her work that she really studied the way children speak and understands what was going on in their lives. The kids enjoyed her presentation a great deal and were also very interested and entertained by her memories of her time at TASIS England, which were fun for them to hear."
Reviewed as "fantastically funny," main character Sam Devine is frank and insightful. She offers running commentary on the whirl of the entertainment industry, and her observations give her young readers points to think about and relate to their own lives:
"If my sister hadn't made it as a pop star, how would my life be different today? It's funny how something that seemed like 'just another typical thing in our life' - taking my sister to yet another one of those teen beauty pageants - ended up changing everything. Have you ever had something that should have been 'just another typical thing' change your entire life?" Excerpted from Sam Devine's blog: notmyreality.com.
Reproduced from My Sister's a Pop Star / The Fame Game and Me / My Life on TV by Kimberly Greene, by permission of Usborne Publishing, 83-85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT, UK. Copyright 2006, 2008, & 2010 Usborne Publishing Ltd.
This article first appeared in the TASIS England Today magazine, Autumn 2010 issue.