About Mike Peterson
- Author and editor Mike Peterson has worked with students and teachers since 1993, creating educational materials that are both engaging and educationally sound. He has given workshops for educators on local, regional, state and national levels, has had articles on educational topics published in a variety of publications, and has won international awards for his youth and community programs. His serial stories have appeared in newspapers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Bermuda. He has also been a newspaper reporter and editor, radio talk show host, magazine writer and advertising professional.
« Chapter Three - The Stupid Law | Main | Chapter One - Town Boys »
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What made you pick the title "hooch"?
Posted by: wbeyer | 02/01/2011 at 02:38 PM
You are a very good writer mike!
Posted by: dpeebleslacs | 02/03/2011 at 04:03 PM
Why did you choose George to be thr rumrunner? Why not Martin?
Posted by: hmoshier LACS | 02/04/2011 at 07:13 PM
Nice chapter, but why are there two people in the car? Why not Kenny trying to hide in The Roadster?
Posted by: C.Case L.A.C.S. | 02/07/2011 at 04:00 PM
C.Case -- I think you're looking at the "logo," the illustration for the whole story. The illustration for this chapter is of the family sitting around the table. And if Christopher had drawn a picture of Kenny getting into the roadster and finding the beer, it would have ruined the surprise when you read it!
I think those other questions will be ones you can talk about after you've read a couple more chapters.
Posted by: Mike Peterson | 02/08/2011 at 08:27 AM
Why did you pick Uncle George to be the rumrunner?
Posted by: O.Moyer LACS | 02/08/2011 at 11:05 AM
How did you think of this chapter?
Posted by: joshlacs | 02/08/2011 at 03:06 PM
Okay, here's a little information on how I came up with this story: When I visited Watertown last year, we got some teachers together and we talked about that year's story ("Anna's Story") but we also talked about what this year's story could be. We talked about a couple of different possibilities, but the Prohibition Era was the one that appealed to me most, because I had read the newspapers from that period and I felt like people today treat it like kind of a joke, but it was serious and I felt it should be treated seriously. So that's how I decided to write the story.
As for questions like why a particular uncle is the rumrunner or why Kenny lives on a farm, you'll have to read all the chapters and then you'll understand. Right now, it's like saying, "Why is this piece of the jigsaw puzzle shaped like this?" You have to put the puzzle together and see how it fits, and then you'll get it!
Posted by: Mike Peterson | 02/08/2011 at 04:01 PM
Why did you decide to have Kenny and the kids play Hide-and-Seek backwards.
Posted by: sdenney lacs | 02/08/2011 at 04:01 PM
In this chapter we discover that Uncle George is a rumrunner. Why did you decide that Kenny should find this out during a Hide-and-go-Seek game?
Posted by: Alyndaker LACS | 02/08/2011 at 07:18 PM
why don't you let them speak French in the school
Posted by: hhardy lacs | 02/08/2011 at 08:11 PM
Let's talk about the hide-and-seek game for a minute, since you've asked.
Remember that I've only got nine chapters, and they're not very long chapters, so I have to tell a whole story in a pretty short space.
Now, first of all, the rumrunner isn't going to leave the beer out where people will see it, so Kenny would only find it if he were poking around. So having him trying to hide from his little cousins means he would be trying to find a place most people wouldn't look.
The hide-and-seek game also means I get to show that Kenny is a pretty responsible guy -- he babysits his little cousins and thinks of games for them to play.
But, even though he's responsible in some ways, he's still a regular kid. So he plays reverse hide-and-seek because it gives him a chance to be by himself for a few minutes without a bunch of little kids pestering him. And, if you've got little brothers or sisters or cousins, maybe you've wanted to do that sometimes yourself.
Posted by: Mike Peterson | 02/08/2011 at 08:20 PM
Making kids who speak other languages at home speak English in school was simply part of history. Teachers felt that, if they spoke their own language, they'd never learn English. Most people understood having a rule that you had to speak English in class, but a lot of people felt it wasn't fair to punish kids for using their own language on the playground or at lunch. You can tell by the conversation that some of Kenny's family think it's no big deal, but Martin feels very strongly about it.
Posted by: Mike Peterson | 02/08/2011 at 08:27 PM
Is this your first serial story? Have you ever gotten a book published?
Posted by: k.morris | 02/08/2011 at 09:10 PM
Why did you write this story. Is this story all all most like if it is it's so funny and fun.
Posted by: mdelaney lacs | 02/09/2011 at 08:43 AM
why did you write hooch
Posted by: Alj4jmj | 02/12/2011 at 02:48 PM
this is a very signifigent story, it has alot of detail and i am very anxious to read the rest ofth story!!
Posted by: rsnyder | 02/17/2011 at 09:24 AM
Why did you create Hooch?
Posted by: michael | 02/17/2011 at 02:33 PM
What would you do if you were Kenny in chapter 3??????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Jordon Mack | 02/17/2011 at 02:46 PM