August 5, 2013 · 8:56 pm

Response to NPR 100 Must Reads for Ages 9 – 14 — Part 2

It turned out that I have more to say and more wish lists to compile:

First off, According to a child_lit member, “In the first 50 books, there are only 8 books published since the turn of the century.  The average age of the first 50 books?  44.  The average publication date is 1969.”

And I noticed that some of the titles/series seem to belong on another, slightly younger recommended list, such as, Sarah Plain and Tall, Romana, the Little House series and Hundred Dresses.  Or perhaps I’m off base here?  I’m also surprised that there is no School Life section — perhaps it should be grouped with Family Life.

Here are the rest of the sections and my Wish Lists!

 

Family Life (I want School Life to be added here)

Agreeing:

Walk Two Moons (11, 12, 13)

The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 (10, 11, 12)

One Crazy Summer (10, 11, 12)

FAIRROSA’S WISH LIST

Casson Family series (Saffy’s Angel and sequels) (10, 11, 12)

Frindle (if School Life is here) (9, 10)

Al Capone Does My Shirts (9, 10, 11)

Bell Prater’s Boy (9, 10, 11)

A Corner of the Universe (11, 12, 13)

 

Fantasy Worlds

Agreeing:

The Chronicles of Prydain (10, 11, 12)

Peter Pan (11, 12, 13, 14)

Oz, The Complete Collection (10, 11, 12)

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (9, 10, 11)

The City of Ember (shouldn’t this be SciFi?) (9, 10, 12)

A Wizard of Earthsea (12, 13, 14)

The Chronicles of Narnia (10, 11, 12)

The Giver (11, 12, 13, 14)

His Dark Materials (11, 12, 13, 14)

The Hobbit, Or, There And Back Again (9, 10, 11, 12)

FAIRROSA’S WISH LIST

(Fantasy is my favorite genre, so I can probably come up with about 50 Must Reads just here.. haha… )

Gregor the Overlander series (9, 10, 11, 12)

Bartimaeus series (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)

Howl’s Moving Castle (10, 11, 12, 13)

Inkheart (11, 12, 13)

The Neverending Story (11, 12, 13)

Friendships And Finding Your Place (probably school stories can go here, too)

Agreeing:

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (9, 10, 11)

Are You There, God? (10, 11, 12)

The Secret Garden (9, 10, 11, 12)

Harriet the Spy (9, 10, 11)

Wonder (9, 10, 11, 12)

Bridge to Terabithia (10, 11, 12)

Holes (9, 10, 11, 12)

Maniac Magee (10, 11, 12)

FAIRROSA’S WISH LIST:

Hope Was Here (11, 12, 13)

So B. It (10, 11, 12)

A Mango Shaped Space (10, 11, 12, 13)

Olive’s Ocean (10, 11, 12)

Six Innings (10, 11, 12)

Black and White (13, 14, and older)

 

Good For A Laugh

Agreeing.. sort of:

Matilda (Not really just funny.. should be in Everyday Magic) (9, 10, 11)

The Phantom Tollbooth (should be in Everyday Magic) (9, 10, 11)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (9, 10)

Joey Pigza series (9, 10, 11, 12)

The Grand Escape (9, 10, 11)

Jack and the Seven Deadly Giants (9, 10, 11)

Graphic Novels

Bone (9, 10, 11)

The Arrival (9, 10, 11, 12)

American Born Chinese (13, 14, older)

FAIRROSA’S WISH LIST

Rapunzel’s Revenge (9, 10, 11)

Amulet series (9, 10, 11, 12)

Persepolis (I know. this is a memoir… but) (13, 14, older)

Mysteries And Thrillers

Agreeing:

Wolves of Willoughby Chase (9, 10, 11)

The House With a Clock in Its Walls  (9, 10, 11)

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (9, 10, 11)

The Invention of Hugo Cabret (9, 10, 11)

When You Reach Me (9, 10, 11)

FAIRROSA’S WISH LIST:

The Westing Game (9, 10, 11)

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (11, 12, 13)

The Face on the Milk Carton (11, 12, 13)

Killing Mr. Griffin (13, 14, older)

Coraline (10, 11, 12)

And Then There Were None (yup.. I went there!) (12, 13, 14)

Myths And Fairy Tales

Agreeing:

The Dark Is Rising Sequence (11, 12, 13)

D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths (9, 10, 11)

The Little Prince (10, 11, 12, 13)

Ella Enchanted (9, 10, 11, 12)

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (9, 10, 11)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (9, 10, 11, 12)

FAIRROSA’S WISH LIST

A Tale Dark and Grimm (9, 10, 11)

Fairy’s Return (containing 6 stories (9, 10, 11)

Science Fiction (weird to have only 3 titles!)

Agreeing:

Ender’s Game (12, 13, 14)

The House of the Scorpion (11, 12, 13)

A Wrinkle in Time series (10, 11, 12)

FAIRROSA’S WISH LIST

The Hunger Games (12, 13, 14)

The Boy Who Reversed Himself (11, 12, 13)

Epic (11, 12, 13)

Incarceron (12, 13, 14)

Airman (11, 12, 13)

The Dead (series) (12, 13, 14)

Ender’s Shadow (12, 13, 14)

Atherton (11, 12, 13)

Survival And Adventure

Agreeing:

Julie of the Wolves (11, 12, 13)

Island of the Blue Dolphins (11, 12, 13)

Hatchet (11, 12, 13)

The Twenty-one Balloons (9, 10, 11)

FAIRROSA’S WISH LIST

Trash (10, 11, 12)

Peak (11, 12, 13)

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August 5, 2013 · 5:25 pm

Response to NPR 100 Must Reads for Ages 9 – 14 — Part 1

I don’t know whether I’ll have time to finish this since we’re getting ready to travel and I have too many chores (including shopping.. ugh! my least favorite thing to do.) But, some initial reactions:

1st Reaction: I wish that they had indicated ages for each title — a 9-year-old probably should wait a few years to read An Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian; and a 14-year-old probably will not be the ideal reader to be introduced to Bunnicula for the first time.

2nd Reaction: WHAT? No, Nonfiction???? Really? Are we saying that there are no worthy, must reads for kids ages 9 to 14? Or are we saying that they do not have to read Nonfiction. Period? Actually.. there is a Biography, Memoir, and History section — just no general knowledge or science. So they go on my short wish list here IF they had included a Nonfiction section:

Swords: An Artist’s Devotion (9-14)

Scientists in the Field series (9-12)

The Race to Save the Lord God Bird (10-14)

Fossil Fish: Found Alive (10-14)

3rd Reaction: WHAT? Only ONE book in POETRY???? And Linda Sue has that amazing Soji poetry collection that’s so worth reading by EVERY school child! So, her book gets on this wish list:

Agreeing:

Inside Out and Back Again (9, 10, 11)

FAIRROSA’S WISH LIST:

Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems): (8-12)

Blue Lipstick (12-14)

Diamond Willow (9-12)

Keeping the Night Watch (11-14)

God Went to Beauty School (11-14)

Peace, Locomotion (10, 11, 12)

4th Reaction: WHERE ARE THE FUNNY BOOKS? Doesn’t it deserve its own category? Oh, well.. probably not — but that’s what the kids constantly ask for by APPEAL TERM. There are enough humor sprinkled throughout the list I guess… (It is pointed out to me that there IS a Good for a Laugh Section. My bad!)

I also went through the first few sections and marked down which ones I strongly agree that they belong on MY list of top 100, tagged them with recommended ages, and added my own WISH LISTS:

American Stories

Agreeing:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian — (14+)

Caddie Woodlawn — (8, 9, 10)

The House on Mango Street — (12, 13, 14)

The Birchbark House — (11, 12, 13)

To Kill a Mockingbird — (13, 14, +)

The Witch of Blackbird Pond — (10, 11, 12)

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry — (11, 12, 13)

FAIRROSA’S WISH LIST:

Weedflower (11, 12, 13)

Out of the Dust (11, 12, 13)

Count Down (11, 12, 13)

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (12, 13, 14)

 

Animal Kingdom

Agreeing:

The One And Only Ivan (8, 9, 10)

Poppy (8, 9, 10)

Because of Winn-dixie (8 , 9, 10)

Redwall (9, 10, 11, 12)

The Complete Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh (10, 11)

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (9, 10, 11, 12 — should be in SciFi)

Charlotte’s Web (8, 9, 10)

FAIRROSA’S WISH LIST:

Little Gentleman (10, 11, 12)

The Tale of Despereaux (9, 10, 11)

Babe, the Gallant Pig (9, 10, 11)

I Was a Rat (9, 10, 11)

 

Biography, Memoir And History

Agreeing

Anne Frank the Diary of a Young Girl (13, 14)

Eleanor Roosevelt (11, 12, 13)

Bomb (11, 12, 13, 14)

FAIRROSA’S WISH LIST

This Land Was Made for You and Me (12, 13, 14)

Bill Peet (9, 10, 11)

Guts: The True Story Behind Hatchet and the Brian Books (9, 10, 11, 12)

True Notebooks: A Writer’s Year at Juvenile Hall (13, 14, older)

Maus (13, 14, older)

Horrible Histories series (9, 10, 11)

We Are the Ship (11, 12, 13)

Good Masters, Sweet Ladies (10, 11, 12, 13)

 

Everyday Magic

Agreeing

Tuck Everlasting (10, 11, 12)

James and the Giant Peach (8, 9, 10)

Half Magic (8, 9, 10)

The Graveyard Book (10, 11, 12, 13)

Harry Potter series (9, 10, 11, 12)

A Series of Unfortunate Events books (9, 10, 11, 12)

FAIRROSA’S WISH LIST

The Spiderwick Chronicles (9, 10)

Savvy (9, 10, 11, 12)

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat (9, 10, 11)

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So NPR’s 100 must reads for ages 9…

So, NPR’s 100 must reads for ages 9 – 14 is finally published…. juried by a very solid panel, based on suggestions from readers all over… — what do you think? Where’s Jacqueline Woodson? Where’s Linda Sue Park (she’s on the selection panel)? Where’s Kadohata? How about Tamora Pierce and Jonathan Stroud? I’m going to go over the list and say yes and no about my own child who just went through the 9-14 years… (and we had a discussion online already about how 9-14 is SUCH a RANGE!)

http://www.npr.org/2013/08/05/207315023/the-ultimate-backseat-bookshelf-100-must-reads-for-kids-9-14

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August 5, 2013 · 4:20 pm
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waiting for Doll Bones to get good um…

… waiting for Doll Bones to get good… um.. it’s already half way through… scratching my head trying to figure out why 4 out of 5 people have told me how much they loved this book..

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August 5, 2013 · 3:15 pm
August 4, 2013 · 9:11 pm

Boxers / Saints (Boxset)

boxersandsaintsby Gene Luen Yang

As I said in my notes earlier, my reactions to this two-book graphic novel set are complex and still unresolved even after several days’ reflection.  Partly because that I found so much of it outstanding, so I did not want to be nitpicking about certain details and I don’t want to color anyone’s reaction to this historical fiction based on my largely emotional reactions as a Chinese American reader who wants everyone to know THE WHOLE STORY!!  I also don’t want anyone to think that I KNOW the WHOLE STORY.  In fact, I had to do some research as I read the book since my textbook history knowledge of this rebellion was also mixed with folklore and stories I saw on tv when I was little.

I am quite aware that Yang did not set out to write a historical treatment of the entire movement, but to personalize individual experiences so that he, and the readers, can explore the impacts of these events.  He couldn’t have been more successful in reaching his goal.  I greatly appreciate how there are never easy answers in Gene Luen Yang’s stories — the readers are left to wonder whether to be angry or sympathetic toward the characters; to admire or abhor what they do; and to be enlightened or perplexed by their reasons for their actions.

I’m glad that Yang included a list of the books he used to create this narrative since the origin of the Boxers and their practices are much debated topics amongst Chinese historians.  The references to the boxers’ being spiritually possessed by powerful deities based on folk beliefs are in agreement with most historians’ findings and there was a real leader of the movement named Red Lantern Chu.  I wish, however, that some sources translated from Chinese scholars were consulted and that the main sources have more balanced views from both sides.

I wish that I could have been convinced of Bao’s ignorance of Qin Shi Huang who is one of the most famous personalities in Chinese history — even if he might not have featured greatly in the opera — but was glad that the First Emperor is portrayed with a complexity of his own.

I wish that I had not cringed so much by Yang’s referencing/highlighting the more exotic but less significant aspect of the rebellion: how some boxers believed that foreign forces’ success was due to their utilizing the “yin power” (usually refers to the female spiritual power) which is evil and undesirable (drinking menstrual blood, flags woven from women’s pubic hair, etc.)  Even if these were documented facts (as Diana Preston claims in her The Boxer Rebellion,) I simply couldn’t help feeling ashamed and hoping fervently that young readers won’t mistake such “foreign” notions as typical of my fellow countrymen in the 21st century. (Does the inclusion of such claims enhance the storytelling and the power of this book?  I am too shaken by it emotionally to see it… perhaps someone else could convince me otherwise!?)

I wish that the slogan on the war banner had been written out in traditional Chinese characters because the events happened way before the simplification of the characters.

The above are all pretty much about Boxers — and I didn’t really get a chance to talk about Saints — which, for some odd reason, I found thoroughly convincing and more intense, although it is only half the length of Boxers.  I found the timeline crisscrossing of the two books very effective and the two pages (282 in Boxers and 158 in Saints) depicting compassionate deities (Guan Yin and Christ) with the same visual design absolutely breathtaking.

These two books can generate so much discussion and are so thought provoking that I have to tag them Highly Recommended even if I had some personal reservations…

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Finished Boxers Saints very complex reactions to it…

Finished Boxers/Saints — very complex reactions to it. Much like my reactions to American Born Chinese — I feel that I’m too close to the source material to accurately assess the book — there are always moments of cringes and the thoughts of how the telling could have been better… but then, I look at other people’s overwhelmingly positive reactions and start doubting my own emotionally ladened evaluation. So, a post is forthcoming to parse out all my various reactions.

Started reading Holly Black’s much adored 2013 book, Doll Bones. Easy to get into, anticipating interesting turn of events, and hoping for satisfying conclusions.

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August 3, 2013 · 1:39 pm
August 2, 2013 · 4:27 pm

The Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit (Ninja Detective #1)

NinjaDetective1by Octavia Spencer

I usually approach books written by celebrities with a bit of trepidation. More often than not, I don’t even bother reading them — just waiting for others’ reactions. But for some reason, I got a positive vibe from the galley. Perhaps because its multi-ethnicity cast portrayed and neatly presented on the cover? My gut feelings proved to be not that wrong. Much like what Spencer enjoyed reading as a child (Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown,) the story is just complex enough to keep the readers’ interest without too many confusing layers and the solutions are somewhat on the easy and happy side — which are thoroughly appropriate for its intended middle grade readership: both entertaining and comforting.

Do I sense that Spencer tried too hard to “balance” the cast with the inclusion of a hearing-impaired Hispanic kid, a black kid, and a Chinese house-keeper/friend? Yup. I sense that. But I’m ok with it because she actually created solid characters whose identities and friendships ring true and whose ethnicities are not the focal point or the plot driving elements. For the most part, the ethnical references are cringe-free. (Except for when Mei-Ling says, “Ni Hao” for a quick morning greeting to those she knows well… instead of the more appropriate “Zao” – for early/morning.) I will have no problem recommending this book to my students and hopefully they will enjoy this mystery with its positive message of community building.

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Quick thoughts of the day Don’t have knee…

Quick thoughts of the day: Don’t have knee jerk reactions to this story: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/08/masturbation-gets-book-banned-summer-reading-list/67872/ — the inclusion of Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian probably does not belong on a summer required reading list (with required writing assignment attached) for INCOMING 6th Grade students in the first place!

And … seen on twitter – a list of YA books for adults who will NOT read YA. And Reluctant Adult YA Readers have to be cured… because……?

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August 1, 2013 · 5:17 pm
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Finished the Ninja Detectives Vol 1 enjoyed it…

Finished the Ninja Detectives Vol. 1 — enjoyed it. Notes to come. Starting on Gene Luen Yang’s Boxers and Saints… excited. The books have such strong (and oddly unpleasant smell) from the color ink, I guess. Shouldn’t have taken a long whiff. haha.

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August 1, 2013 · 9:46 am
July 31, 2013 · 4:28 pm

Magical Realism: A definition?

Someone asked for definitions for Magical Realism on Child_lit listserv — largely due to the fact that there is not truly academically agreed upon hard definitions for this “genre” (or sub-genre, or simply, a style.)  I offered the following personal observations:

Post 1:
Magical Realism has to take place largely IN a REAL setting – normal people, regular time/space, as you would find in books like Anne of Green Gable, or The Outsiders, or Frindle.
But — this Real World wears a thin gossamer of something magical — it might cover the entire realm and manifest here and there, but very very faintly and is almost never full-on addressed; it might only inhabit a few characters’ lives/minds, and it is usually unspoken, too — merely experienced: in an unsurprising manner, unspoken, but understood by all the characters.  A typical instance will be for a character to be visited by a dead relative who gives advice or sheds light on current event in a semi-dream state, with no fanfare, no fear, and not even confusion.
To me, It differs from high fantasy where there is a whole made-up world for the magic to happen.  It also differs from other kinds of fantasy but then largely in TONE and in the characters’ reaction to the existence of Magic in the Real World.  City of Bones, taking place in current day world is NOT magical realism because it is still a re-built world where Shadowhunters and other magical creatures co-inhabit with humans and the world’s fate hinges on the actions of those magical creatures.  This is a straightforward fantasy.
A Monster Calls, on the other hand, feels to me more like Magical Realism because the “magic stuff” overlays gently on top of a very real world.  (And that’s even debatable.)  Weetzie Bat and other books by Block have been called magical realism — I’m on the fence about this, too.
And when someone mentioned that Holes is cited as a work of “magical realism,” I responded:
Post 2
[Holes] feels more like a folk tale or a tall tale, which is different from Magical Realism in my bones.  The tone is too bright, too straightforward, and the magic and legend too “told” and, if this makes sense, too directly involved in moving the plot along.  It serves as a plot device and not as a sheen…

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July 28, 2013 · 10:56 am

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume One

leagueofextraordinarygentlemenby Allen Moore, Kevin O’Neill, Ben Dimagmaliw and Bill Oakley

The concept of bringing a lot of 19th century literary characters together to solve a mystery is definitely a fun one — although not unique, at least, not any more in an age of mash-up stories. I enjoyed spotting literary allusions and also learning more about characters or original stories that I was not familiar with. The art is superb. The section with all the Chinese dialog is actually fairly accurate. Kudos! I think I’ll go over all the panels more than once just to enjoy the artists’ talents. Another aspect that’s extraordinarily fun is how the whole thing is done in an 1898 serial publication style. All in all, worth my time!

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July 27, 2013 · 4:39 pm

The Ocean at the End of the Lane (and Word Count)

theoceanattheendofthelaneby Neil Gaiman

This is typical Gaiman: the nightmarish landscapes and events are always presented with a reassuring glow of beauty that makes the scene and the story much less horrifying. Rather, it becomes purely entertaining. A bit of chill here and there and things mostly work out — except that there is always that trademark tinge of melancholy – like a lonely tinkling of a music box that plays a haunting and unfamiliar tune, slowly coming to a pause. The book reads like an expanded short story and I think it probably would have benefited from being a short story, rather than a novel (which even though meets the “novel” length requirement, reads more or less like a novella, with such a local setting and a tight plot time frame.)

Did I enjoy it? Definitely. Did it sweep me off of my feet? Not like some of his other work did in the past. However, since Gaiman proclaimed that this is as close to an “actual account” of his childhood as he could manage, the readers do get a glimpse of this creative writer’s mental landscape and the psyches that bring us illuminating stories.

I got a bit curious about the definition of novels, novella, etc. by length, and found this list on the Nebula award:

  • Short Story: less than 7,500 words;
  • Novelette: at least 7,500 words but less than 17,500 words;
  • Novella: at least 17,500 words but less than 40,000 words
  • Novel: 40,000 words or more.
  • At the author’s request, a novella-length work published individually, rather than as a part of a collection, anthology, or other collective work, shall appear in the novel category.

Source: http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/nebula-weekend/faq/

On the same site, I also found an article about the definition of “a word”:

“So, years ago, publishers set up a standard definition: a word is six characters (including spaces).” — more detailed explanation and rationale for this can be found here:

http://www.sfwa.org/2005/01/what-is-a-word/

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July 26, 2013 · 2:02 pm

Dune

duneby Frank Herbert

I was much more impressed with the book during the reading of the book than after having finished it — largely due to my expectations of having something transcendent, something heart-felt, something truly world shattering that the journey might have led to than what actually transpires at the end.  I definitely liked the world building, the presentation of technology and training of various warrior/assassin types, and the drawing upon non-Euro-centric traditions in constructing the beliefs and social structures within the world of Dune.  (And the Sand Worms… are such cool Desert Dragons!)

With such a rich and realized world, in the end, the book is just a fairly standard story of a hero that’s born with amazing abilities who cannot escape the paths set up for him and who walks all the way to the end as destined and even though losing a few precious things along the way, there seems to be little to no effect on his person. Much of the plot is propelled and explained away with mysticism and basic political maneuvering. At a certain point, I muttered, “Paul’s better not succeeded in accomplishing this as he has planned…” — but, as always, he did. He managed to achieve all that he set out to do, from outwitting enemies, to changing the ways of a tradition, to earning back trust easily from his old pals. Yes, he did lose a son in the whole process — but his reaction? They would be able to create more heirs and the heirs will inherit the world.

The volume ends as the two generations of concubines having a short exchange where Paul’s mother assures Chani (his true love but not the proper empress) that even though they would never have the title during their lifetime, they will be remembered in history as “Wives”!! Woop-dee-doo! What an achievement!

Granted, it was created in early 1960s and perhaps Herbert was not trying to question science or future worlds as harshly as we might these days — I still couldn’t help but putting a 2013 lens on it.

I know I will not be reading the sequels any time soon.   I searched and read some book summaries of the two sequels — it seems that the question of lineage and political power play are even more centralized in the next two books. Definitely not too exciting for me!

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July 25, 2013 · 7:13 pm

Simon and Schuster Fall Preview

This morning was the Fall Preview hosted by Simon & Schuster School/Library marketing.  We each received a bound presentation “booklet” (TOME) — it was huge and heavy with glassy full color pages…

Here are just some highlights — mostly books I’m interested in reading and purchasing for my Middle School Library:

The Boy on the Wooden Box is a memoir by Leon Leyson who was one of the youngest children on Schindler’s list.

It has been five years since the last Click Clack book was out.  This time it is Halloween themed.  Click Clack Boo with a twist ending.  Although I will not buy it for my library, this presentation definitely brings back fond memories.

Mischievians is a new wacky book by William Joyce — with illustrations echoing those in A Day with Wilbur Robinson.

nowilltellyoueverythingOne thick galley that we all received was the final book in the Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, in which the now sixty-year-old Alice recalls all the years in between that last Alice book (Always Alice).  After 28 books (including the 3 prequels,) we are finally going to find out the entire life of Alice (college, marriage, kids, etc. etc.)  And the book is called Now I’ll Tell You Everything.  We were told that Naylor has been writing and updating the book for fifteen years and kept the manuscript in a safe … In case she had any mishaps, it could still be published according to the most recent events in the newest Alice to date.  I have a personal relationship with this series because, believe it or not, Alice McKinley has served as my daughter’s (now 14) confidant since she was 10 or so and she has gleaned kindness, appreciation of others, tenacity, and many other positive outlooks on life through the advice from Alice.  I feel indebted to Ms Naylor and can’t wait to share this final title with my daughter!

Thrice Told Tales by Catherine Lewis is a fun and inventive book of advice to writers with very witty illustrations!

Brian Floca (Moonshot, Lightship) has yet another book out called Locomotive — and has already received 4 starred reviews.

lordofopiumThe room exploded into loud cheers when we saw the projected cover for The Lord of Opium — the surprising (dan long awaited?) sequel (after 11 years) of Nancy Farmer’s highly decorated, still widely read and loved, The House of the Scorpion.


battlebunnyAnyone with a wicked sense of humor and enjoys some meta-fiction exploration will definitely fall for Battle Bunny: a great, funky, new book by the naughty Jon Scieszka and his partners in crime Mac Barnett and illustrator Matthew Myers.  This touches on the youth current mash-up culture (sampling? anyone?) and what it says about pent-up or liberated creativity. It was revealed that The Birthday Bunny (the “fake” original, goody goody picture book) was originally illustrated with massive oil paintings reproduced for the book.  Can’t wait to hear more people’s reaction to it.  (We had fun sharing the galley with some middle grade kids!)


Fans of The Monstrumologist books will be thrilled to know that a fourth and final title is soon to come out, called: The Final Descent.


randirhodeOctavia Spencer, Oscar winning actress, has created a series for middle grade readers, Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective.  The first is The Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit. Although the main character is a white girl, at least, judging from the cover, there are non-white supporting characters in the book.

Friday Never Leaving by Vikki Wakefield sounds really great and disturbing.  This is an import from Australia and has already garnered many honors and awards overseas.

Susan Cooper’s new book Ghost Hawk is coming out soon and it already received starred reviews.

The Shadowhunter’s Codex is a fun gift book beautifully designed and illustrated for fans of Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices series..

Patricia Polacco wrote and illustrated a companion story to the excellent The Keeping Quilt .. The Blessing Cup – quarter of a century later.

god-got-a-dog-coverI can’t be more excited about the newly illustrated version of Cynthia Rylant’s God Went to Beauty School.  It is now called God Got a Dog with illustration by Marla Frazee.  I took home the F&G that was in the very full goody bag — in each of the accompanying illustrated, God takes on a different form – God is white, God is black, God is Asian, and God is male or female, and God is old or young.  These are wonderful poems that should be shared again to a new group of young readers and with the new illustrations, the message is even more clear: (whether you believe in any specific religion) that God can be found everywhere and in each and every one of us.

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July 25, 2013 · 10:36 am

Simon and Schuster Preview with Ashley Bryan

What a treat… What a marvelous treat…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqqXDwAQ6nw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

It is a celebration of Ashley’s 90th birthday (July 13) and we got to hear him reading to us his new book: Can’t Scare Me.  Here is just a little taste.  Because I need to focus on him now.

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July 23, 2013 · 9:09 am

Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity

farfromthetreeby Andrew Solomon, read by the author

This book took me 40 days to listen — the audio book version is about 42 hours long.

There were days that I just couldn’t get myself back to listen to the next segment because the emotional exhaustion experienced in a previous segment prevented me from delving back into the book — mostly because some of the personal stories that Solomon reported are incredibly intense and affecting.

My reaction toward the book changed several times through this long journey: at first, I was just in awe and was glad that I got to learn something about situations that I don’t have personal experiences with — that I learned about Deaf Culture and the polarized opinions on whether deafness should be cured; about families with Little People and the historical and medical aspects of Dwarfism — and the perils and blisses of “cures” such as limp lengthening procedures; about children and adults with Down Syndroms, their defeat and success and what researchers are still finding and what life is like for so many of them…

Then, my relationship with the book changed slightly, listening to the chapters on DS, Autism, Schizophrenia, and Disability.  Even though the conditions described differ from chapter to chapter, some recurring themes emerge. Mainly we are shown (and told) by Solomon repeatedly that just because two people or two families have the same “problem” does not mean that they have the same views and reactions on the situation.  Indeed, it’s proven over and over and over (yes, there are a lot of repeating patterns in the book, both in the reporting and the reflecting from the author, although there were always new expressions to say the same thing) that each and every situation is inherently complex: there are the matters of the illness (condition,) the matters of the economics, the matters of the societal views, and definitely matters of the heart: the heart of the parents and the children.  I complained a bit then about how each chapter seems to repeat itself… and was reminded that perhaps very few readers of this tome would have gone through the book the same manner I did.  The way Solomon put together the book allows for essential information and themes to not be lost even if a reader only reads one or two chapters.

I settled down then and became more open minded to the worlds of Prodigies, Rape victims and their children, Criminals and their parents, and Transgender people.  I don’t know whether these chapters were better put together or whether my mind was more willing to appreciate them. Nonetheless, I found myself constantly finding revelations and new information worth learning in these final segments.  They let me consider situations and hardships and joys that I NEVER contemplated.  Yes, I felt like I was made a slightly “better” person by sharing the author’s empathetic and compassionate views and by being more educated about situations that I didn’t really understand before.

The final chapter of Solomon’s personal story of fatherhood (3 families, 5 children, fathered by himself and his partner for others and for themselves) serves as a wonderful and hopeful conclusion to a heavy — in all senses — book.

Since the reports are so thorough and the stories so well told, there might be an illusion that after reading this book, one could feel quite an expert in the ins and outs of these various conditions and their ramifications.  I cautioned myself to not “just take Solomon’s words for it” since even though I found myself agreeing with him a LOT, I don’t really know enough about anything presented here (socio-economic, historical, societal, medical, ethical, etc.) to judge the book’s validity in its entirety.  Did I learn a WHOLE lot about all these conditions?  I sure did.  But to me, there is an even more important added value: Solomon’s book is a great reminder for me to pay attention to wide angles on many issues and to consider the multitude of outcomes that changing of one or few small factors could cause.

I am so glad that I got to experience this book this summer.  I hope some others do too!

There is a full website with rich content that one can explore, too: Here – http://www.farfromthetree.com/

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July 21, 2013 · 11:50 pm

The ABC Of It: Why Children's Books Matter

I plan to go see this exhibit (looks AMAZING!! — but of course, it is curated by Children’s Literature Scholar Leonard Marcus and put up in the Main New York Public Library space!) — soon!  Even if it will be around until March 2014… if you plan to come to NYC in the next 8 months, be sure to include this on your itinerary:

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/lifestyle&id=9154103

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Finished listening to 8 chapters about 31 hours…

Finished listening to 8 chapters (about 31 hours) of Far from the Tree (Andrew Solomheavy and heart wrenching materials… I concentrate so much it sometimes feels that I stopped breathing. Four segments (Rape, Crime, Transgender, Father) to go. That’s about 11 hours more.

Started listening to The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicle) just to alleviate a bit of tension.

Dune is progressing well – another text that needs focused energy — well worth it! I’m 1/3 through and hopefully by the end of this week I’ll be done with at least 2 of the three mentioned here. And move on to something shorter and lighter?

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July 8, 2013 · 11:17 pm
July 6, 2013 · 1:40 pm

2013 ALA Personal Highlights – Part 3

For a children’s book lover like me, ALA exhibit hall is truly a wonderland… I didn’t take too many pictures and usually don’t wait in line to get autographs.  Still, I enjoyed the energy generated by the enthusiastic crowd of librarians and their families!

One of the most memorable moments for me this year was meeting and talking with Edward Award winning author (for her lasting, and continuing, contribution to young adult literature) Tamora Pierce.  I only wanted to catch her briefly at the Random House party to tell her how much I have enjoyed her fantasy series.  But Tamora was so gracious and I ended up gushing for a long while (in between grateful and emotional tears and sobs) about how much her books have meant to me as a school librarian: her books are constantly the trusted series that I can recommend to many many students who then come back to me to share their admiration and for more titles.  Those who are already in college (or have graduated from college) still talk to me about their memories of reading her books and of my introducing Tamora Pierce to them.  Her books have forged connections between me and my students and between the young readers themselves.  Tamora told me that she strives to better herself still — she writes at least five pages a day, with a writing buddy, who exchanges his writing with her and discuss and critique each other’s work. I told her that some of her older series tended to end up a bit “soap opera”-like (the Wild Magic series came to mind) and she laughed and said that that’s something she no longer does — as a sign of improvement and maturity in her craft.  A new book (Battle Magic) is coming out this fall featuring Briar from the Magic Circle and Circle Opens series about the major war mentioned in some of her earlier books.  Can’t wait!

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Wilder Award winner of lifetime achievements Katherine Paterson signed books and talked to adoring fans.  The line was extremely long!

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Scholastic unveiled the new paperback covers of the Harry Potter series, artwork by Kazu Kibuishi, creator of the popular graphic novel Amulet series.

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I stopped by the Candlewick booth and took a photo of both the poster and the display copy of  Africa Is My Home a book (coming out on October 8th) by my friend Monica Edinger, a 4th grade teacher, New York Times children’s book reviewer, and contributor to the Huffington Post.  You can read about the book and its history here: The Long and Winding Road to Publication.  (Holding the book in the picture is editor Sarah Ketchersid.)

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At the Macmillan booth, I was delighted to run into James Preller, author of a favorite book Six Innings when I served on the Notable Children’s Books committee.  He held up his other book and urged me to read it.  Just ordered it and will read it for sure!  Bystander received really great reviews.  In the background you can see the cover and display copy of the first book of his new middle grade horror series “Scary Tales.”  The first book is Home, Sweet Horror. We both agree that the worst is when you want to read a scary story and it turns out that some logical, none-scary reason hides behind all the horror you’ve experienced in the book and that makes the book “safer” (and lamer!)  I’m excited about the new series that is coming out next Tuesday (July 9th.)

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At the Little Brown Dance Party celebrating Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Cold Town, my 2013 Newbery committee mates: Amber, Ginni, and Kate, (and me of course) had a ton of fun.  Click on this twitter #coldtown link to see the photos of the night (which were printed out right away at the party!)

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Someone asked how long it took me to…

Someone asked how long it took me to make the newspaper dress (with the help of scissors, a stapler, and some tape, and Monia…) — 10 minutes or less? IMG_20130701_001853

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July 4, 2013 · 10:14 am