December 2006 Archives

Happy Holidays to all of my wonderful readers! Thank you for tuning in to my ramblings and sharing my love of books and children. It is a treat to read your comments, receive your emails, and get to know you.

I will be taking a break for the holidays through January 1st. Though I will be checking frequently on New Year's Day to see what the finalists for the Cybils is. I look forward to working with the other judges for YA fiction! I look forward to the discussions and debates.

May you have holidays filled with candlelight, tradition, and love.

Kiddie Lit is a children's and teen literature site written by a librarian who enjoys graphic novels! Snow is serving on the YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens committee, reading her way through over a thousand award-winning books, and much more. I appreciate her expert reviews of graphic novels. Look for her as a judge on the Cybils as well!

Blogcritics Magazine has a really nice interview with author, Adele Geras: 'Write the Best Book You Can': An Interview with Poet, Novelist and Children's Author Adele Geras. She is amazingly prolific, having written 90 books for children, as well as novels for teens and adults!

You can also visit her website, which has incredible images from some of her picture books. The Sleeping Beauty ones by Christian Birmingham are particularly stunning.

The Guardian has announced the final Harry Potter title! Click on the title: href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1977216,00.html">Final Harry Potter title revealed to find out what it is.

But if you want a little more atmosphere and fun, visit Rowling's website and follow these instructions:

1. Go to http://www.jkrowling.com and choose the graphic interface (not text-only).
2. On the main page, click on the eraser. This will take you to a room with a door.
3. Click on the door in the mirror: It will open, revealing a Christmas tree.
4. Click on the top of the main door: A wreath will appear.
5. Click on the mirror above the Christmas-tree door: Garlands will appear.
6. Click on the cobwebs: They will disappear.
7. Click on the second chime from the right: It will turn gold.
8. Drag the golden chime and it will become a key. Insert it into the lock, and the door will open.
9. Click on the present, and it will unwrap.
10. Click on the page you can see sitting inside the present. A game of "Hangman" will open.

Have fun! Then you can head over to the Leaky Cauldron and start debating the meaning of the new title. Remember all the speculation about the last one?

Little One, We Knew You'd Come by Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrated by Jackie Morris.

This incredibly lush and lovely picture book tells two stories, one of the miracle of everyone's birth and the other the miraculous arrival of Jesus.  The words echo the feelings of longing of all parents while the illustrations show Mary and Joseph on their way to the stable.  The poetic language of the text rocks with a quiet rhythm of cradle, rocking chair, and arms.  The illustrations are deeply colored, filled with butterflies, fruits, animals, angels, and touches of gold.  This is a beautiful book for the Christmas Season.

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, illustrated by Henry Cole.

With all of the hub-bub about And Tango Makes Three, I thought I should actually take it home and read it.  I shared it with my five-year-old son at bedtime with his nine-year-old brother listening avidly in the background.  This is a sweet book about two male penguins hatching an egg.  One of the most touching parts was when the two penguins are trying to hatch an egg-shaped rock.  The story focuses on the love that the two penguins share and bring to their hatchling.  It is a beautiful book.

Why are people attacking this book?  It is about the true story of these real-life birds, so there's not much to dispute there.  Additionally, it is a great picture book on its own, whether the two penguins are male or are a male-female couple who failed to hatch an egg of their own.  The illustrations are child-friendly, the language is accessible, and the story is universal.  (Much of which could not be said about the earliest picture books to feature gay families!) 

I do know that some families will have problems with this book.  They can choose not to share it with their children.  But public libraries and school libraries should certainly have it.  Both to serve the children in gay families and to share with children in more traditional families that there are different sorts of families in our communities.  Heck, Sesame Street has said this since I was a small child!  Why can't our picture books! 

Confessions of a Bibliovore has started a meme for YA and kidlit bloggers.  Here are my answers to her questions:

How many other kidlit blogs do you read?

Many and the number is constantly changing.  I drop and add them constantly in an often circular pattern as I get overwhelmed by the number of blogs I am following and then realize that I am not reading what I want to read. 

What's the most recent add?

pixie stix kids pix a great blog full of book reviews

How often do you post a book review to your blog?

Whenever I finish a book I want to share.  Some weeks it is almost every day and other weeks (like this one) I am in the middle of a teen novel and not finding picture books that are amazing.

Do you post about anything else?

I rant about books being banned, find little pieces of news, just try to stop me!

Do you only blog books you like, or the stinkers too?

Almost 100% books I like, but if there is a big name book (perhaps one that features a stuffed rabbit) that I don't appreciate as much as others seem to, then I post my own perspective. 

How do you keep track of what you want to read?

I use a Word document that I add to whenever I find a book that sounds good.  It is divided into picture books and novels and I highlight the books that everyone else is raving about so that they don't get lost in the huge list.  I never worry about running out of books to read!   I have a couple of publishers who share their free galleys with me and those aren't on the list but instead sit near my computer and glare at me for not reading them faster.  I also keep track of what the libraries in my library system are purchasing and put myself on the holds lists.  When I visit neighboring libraries they always recognize my name in the children's departments because of the number of holds I place.  It is a dark day when I don't receive a hold at the library.  Shocks my staff too!

How do you keep track of what you've read?

This blog helps a lot.  Almost all of the teen novels I have read fully, I include here.  Picture books are harder, but they are easier to read a second time by mistake.  I do try to use LibraryThing, but never remember to. 

Do you work with kids?

Well, I used to up until 6 months ago.  Now I am a library director who is occasionally allowed to fill in at the children's services desk.  I also make sure I wander through the children's department on a daily basis to see the children and parents and feel the vibe.

Do you read grown-up books?

Not much at all.  I do have a love of cookbooks, so I read those often, but mostly it is teen and children's fiction for me.

Incredibly frustrating news from Charlotte, NC: School district bans book about gay penguins. And Tango Makes Three is the new favorite book to protest about. Let's not notice the fact that it is based on a real story about real birds and of course let's dismiss the fact that a school of any size, much less the size of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, has children with gay parents, gay relatives, gay friends, or may be gay themselves.

The worst part is that the school has in place a material reconsideration policy that was not followed at all. Yes it may have been oversight, but I have seen library directors panic in the past and just pull books from shelves because they believe that it is easier to get rid of the offending material than have to defend it publicly. Defend it people! This is what democracy is all about. Let us demonstrate to the children in our communities that books are worth fighting for, that books are the basis of ideas and learning, that books are valuable even if one parent is concerned. Let's have a conversation, hear each other out, and let the process decide the result. Fear of controversy is the worst reason to take this type of action. I can't think of any good reason myself, but fear has to be the lowest of the low. Grow a spine! Defend the book!

ALA has announced that the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) will be offering four online courses in February and March of 2007. They are:

Making the Match: Finding the Right Book for the Right Teen at the Right Time
New Technologies & New Literacies for Teens
Reaching Teens Virtually
YALSA Competencies Live

What a great way to provide top-notch programming nationwide. You can get more information on each session on the site as well as finding out how much participating will cost you.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a nice article about cookbooks for kids: Cookbooks feature kid-friendly recipes. They look at the new Williams-Sonoma series for children, as well as the Dr. Seuss cookbook, Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook. My favorite is the final book on the list: Mom's Big Book of Cookies, because what kids doesn't love cookies and doesn't love to help make them. Even better, the author Lauren Chattman has some very clever tricks up her sleeve like using melted butter rather than softened butter in her recipes. I love this! I don't know how many times I have tried to soften butter in the microwave to use in baking and end up with a golden puddle of melted butter anyway. Chattman's recipes will at least save me the angst in between.

AnimeNewsNetwork as an article about TOKYOPOP's Fruits Basket series reaching two million books in print!  Amazing!  Fruits Basket was one of the first manga that I ever read and one of the first I purchased for the library. 

I love the quote from the author:


When TIME Magazine asked Ms. Takaya her feelings on having the

top-selling manga in the U.S., she responded, "That definitely flatters

and pleases me. Thank you very much. As for a reason, I can't clearly

distinguish one, but if people read Fruits Basket and think 'I like

this,' then that alone is enough to bring me joy."

This series certainly brings a lot of people around the world joy too.

The Nestlé Children's Book Prize Award from the UK has been announced! And the winners are:

Ages 9-11

The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding.

Silver:  The Tide Knot by Helen Dunmore
Bronze: The Pig Who Saved the World by Paul Shipton (out in paperback in the U.S.)


Ages 6-8

Mouse Noses on Toast by Daren King.

Silver: Hugo Pepper by Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell (coming in Feb. 2007 in the U.S.)
Bronze: The Adventures of The Dish and The Spoon by Mini Grey (available in U.S.)

Ages 5 & Under

    That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell (available in the U.S.)

Silver:  The Emperor of Absurdia by Chris Riddell (available in the U.S.)
Bronze:  Wibbly Pig's Silly Big Bear by Mick Inkpen (available in the U.S.)

NPR has their own list of recommended titles for gifts.  Or in my case, for hoarding all to myself and reading!  Covering picture books to teen novels, they have some of my favorite titles and more that I haven't read yet.  Hurrah!

Way cool!  Mo Willems has a blog filled with doodles, letters from children, and art galore.  I particularly like the Kung-Fu pigeons and the suggestion for a new Pigeon title. 

Thanks to A Fuse #8 Production for the link.

The Monster in the Backpack by Lisa Moser, illustrated by Noah Z. Jones.

Annie just got a beautiful new backpack with pink and blue flowers.  But an unexpected surprise came along, a little orange monster.  The monster eats Annie's lunch, except for the carrots, puts gum in one of her boots, and rips up her homework.  Annie is very annoyed, but by the end of the day, she realizes that what she has in her backpack is actually very special and something that she could never get rid of. 

With this unique premise for a beginning chapter book, the book is a lot of fun.  The monster is incredibly cute and nonthreatening.  Readers will giggle at his antics that drive Annie crazy.  The book leaves everyone wishing for a monster in their backpack too.

Recommended as a beginning reader with a great sense of fun.  Beginning readers in first and second grade are sure to enjoy it.

pixie stix kids pix is a great blog from Kristen McLean, author of children's books and Executive Director of The Association of Booksellers for Children. Her site is filled with book reviews that are rated on a 10 point scale. It is great to get the perspective from the bookselling industry.

What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles. 

Where do I start to tell you how wonderful this novel is?  Perhaps with the skill of the writing that manages to create a breakneck speed buts stays firmly in control of the plot points and horror.  Perhaps with the fantastic characterizations that slowly reveal what is lacking in these teenage lives.  Perhaps with the simple fact that it is Gail Giles and we know to expect great quality fiction from her.  Or perhaps with the way that this book with enter your psyche and stay with you whether you are reading it right then or not. 

It is the story of Cass McBride, a perfect daughter to an imperfect father, who strives to do her best in all things but can't help being a little bit catty.  When a loser asks her out, she nicely says no, but then writes a horrible note about him to her friend.  The boy reads the note and later that day commits suicide.  The boy's older brother blames Cass for his death and kidnaps her, trapping her in a crate buried beneath the ground.  And there is where all of the characters reveal more and more of themselves until the tension finally breaks.

The book is riveting with a pace that matches the frenzy of the older brother but controlled and forceful like Cass herself.  It moves from a book about the search for Cass to a character study of two teens who couldn't be more different and more the same.  The writing is accessible and clear, helping the pace of the book stay zippy and the tension build to almost unbearable levels.

Recommend this to every teen out there.  It is a creepy, fast-paced thriller of a novel.  It will be one of those books that is devoured and then shared with friends.  Read it, enjoy it and then pass it on. 

On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman.

I am not a fan of most books that tell children about the day/night they were born and how special it was.  They tend to be overly sweet and to not capture the real amazing magic of birth.  So it wasn't until I saw this book on several lists from independent booksellers as a top pick that I decided to take a look at it. 

It turns out that all of those independent booksellers are right.  This is a magical book with appeal to parents and children alike.  Filled with evocative paintings that create a mood of quiet amazement, the text tells children not of the fact that they were born, but about how unique and special they are. 

I shared this one in bed with my five-year-old son.  At the beginning of the book, it says " There had never been anyone like you... ever in the world."  He turned to me with a look of such wonder on his face and whispered, "Never?"  It was a moment of pure connection with the wonder of himself, a moment that every child should have. 

Take this one home to your little one or recommend it to families who adore reading bedtime stories.  It is one to be shared quietly and lovingly in parent-child pairs.  It would also make a fabulous gift for new babies or young children of any age. 

Mugglecast is a podcast for Harry Potter fans.  They have done 67 shows and offer them not only in audio form but also have transcripts.  They have a sweet Podtrac interface that allows you to easily listen to the podcast even without an mp3 player loaded.  Sweet! 

Sara's Holds Shelf is a fairly new children's lit blog that deserves some attention. She writes reviews of the books she reads. Recently she has been reading mostly teen novels, probably because she is serving on the YA nominating committee for the Cybils. I am on the judging committee and hope that they pick a bunch of fab titles for us to select from. I must admit that I have some on my list that I am having trouble getting through and I hope hope hope that those do not make the final group for us to judge because then I will have to force myself to read them. :)

The Golden Compass Film site is now online. Gorgeous, atmospheric, magical music, and a great glimpse at the Alethiometer. How thrilling! Only a year to wait...

I am sorry to report that many if not most of the legitimate comments on this blog have been being junked by my blog software without me even being informed that there was a comment! I didn't figure it out until my own replies to comments were disappearing as well. Turns out that most of the junked items were real comments and not spam!

Anyway, it is fixed now and should not happen again. Please feel free to repost any comments that have disappeared. That way I will see them and be able to reply.

Commenting is one of the best parts of blogging, so I am so sorry that this happened. And pretty ashamed that it took me so long to realize that something was not working right.

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Lawson.

I am a long-time lover of pioneer stories having been raised on Laura Ingalls Wilder.  This novel is a wonderful, more modern extension to the pioneer story.  In 1918, Hattie is left a homestead claim in Montana by her maternal uncle.  Both of her parents are dead and Hattie has lived with a series of ever-more-distant relatives.  The homestead finally gives her a place to call her own.  But in order to stake her claim, she has to farm a certain amount of the land and fence it.  Hattie finds a real life on the Montana prairie, with neighbors she loves and lots of hard work.  The homestead aspect of the story makes it accessible and fascinating.  But into this world comes World War II.  Hattie has a friend who is fighting overseas and people in Montana begin to question whether her German neighbors are actually enemies of the state.  Oppressive fees and demonstrations of patriotism are forced upon the homesteaders despite their meager amounts of money.  It takes the book to another, more complex level.

I completely delighted in this novel.  It starts out and appears to be a story of farming and toil and becomes much more than that.  Nothing is easy in the book, there are no simple answers, no sudden successes, and no miracles that save Hattie or other homesteaders from failure.  It is brutally honest, amazingly readable, and impossible to put down.

Recommend this to teens who enjoy historical fiction, but also encourage others to try it.  Hattie is an incredible female character who embraces a new way of life and builds herself the life she wants.  Teens will find her inspiring and see themselves and their abilities in a new light.  This is certainly one of the best of the year.

The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman.

Cushman, known for her incredible teen novels set in medieval times, breaks from that time period up into the 1950s with great success.  This is the story of Francine Green, a teen who lives in Hollywood and adores all things to do with movies, especially Montgomery Clift.  Francine is a quiet girl, always worried about doing the right thing and avoiding trouble.  When she becomes best friends with fearless Sophie, she struggles with her own need to not be in the spotlight.  Sophie is loud, brash and always getting into trouble, often seemingly deliberately.  As the world around them begins to change, Francine is forced to examine whether she can stay quiet as McCarthyism begins to affect the people she loves. 

As always Cushman's prose is inventive, gloriously clear, and inviting.  She has created two teenage girls who are polar opposites but manage to be best friends.  Both of the teens as well as their very different families ring true with the adults becoming more human throughout the novel. 

This is an important novel for teens today to read.  The parallels between McCarthyism and today's American society are alarming.  Teens will feel themselves called to be vocal about the changes we see happening around us today.  Recommend this novel for classroom sharing and discussion.  It will generate it.  I would also recommend it for book talking.

Beka Cooper: Terrier by Tamora Pierce.

If you are looking for a balanced and impartial review of a Tamora Pierce book, you are reading the wrong blog!  I consider myself one of her biggest fans and breathlessly await her next novel months before it is released.  It feels good to breathe deeply now that I have finished it.  :)

Beka Cooper: Terrier is the first in a new series that leaves mages behind and follows the adventures of a member of the police (Dogs).  Beka is a girl who as a young child was saved from living in the squalor of the worst part of town by one of the police officials.  Now that she is a teen, she is a Puppy, a trainee.  Her adventures begin as she leaves school and starts to work the streets with her pair of Dogs, two of the best in the city.  She is assigned to work where she asked to, in the worst section of town where she will encounter the worst of the society.  Soon she finds herself caught up in one of the largest plots in the city, which she will have to solve if anyone will believe her.

This is one of the Pierce's best novels yet.  Magic is an intrinsic part of every society that Pierce creates, so this is no exception.  From being able to hear dead spirits on pigeons, listening to whirlwinds, and understanding her purple-eyed cat, Beka has a lot of tricks up her magical sleeves, but they only give her the clues to follow.  Pierce manages to use magic to a certain extent, but leaves the solving of the crime up to Beka.

The best thing that Pierce has done is to give us another example of a strong, strong female protagonist.  The writing is clear and easy, allowing the reader to whiz through this long novel in no time at all.  This is a must for most public libraries as are the rest of Pierce's novels.  Give them to boys and girls alike who enjoy fantasy and action.

What the Moon Saw by Laura Resau.

Clara is a fourteen-year-old who has never met her father's parents.  They live in a tiny village in Mexico that her father left almost twenty years ago.  Clara feels restless in her life, not sure if she fits in with her friends and wonders why she feels so different from the others.  Then a letter arrives from her grandparents inviting her to spend the summer with them in Yucuyoo, their village.  When Clara arrives, she is amazed at how at home she feels there.  Over the months she will discover both herself and the story of her grandmother as a girl.

I can't express how much I adored this novel.  It is a magical story written with expression and vivid details that bring Yucuyoo to life.  I just have to share some of this writing with you:

"With my eyes closed, the sound of the waterfall became clearer.  And other sounds stood out.  It was like listening to a song on the radio, and picking out the guitar, then the piano, and the violin, and all the other instruments, one by one.  In this song there were insects' wings drumming in waves, and about seven different bird tunes, calling back and forth."

See how evocative it is, taking you through different senses into an immediate relationship with nature and this special place.  What I enjoyed most about Clara's character was the ease with which she immersed herself in her grandparents' world.  I didn't miss the drawn out anguish of a girl separated from her hairdryer and DVDs at all.  Instead this was the story of a teen discovering herself and answering her own questions about who she really is. 

Share this novel with teens who also wouldn't mind losing their iPods for awhile.  It is for people who are searchers in life, looking beyond the surface into the depths below.  You know these kids, and they will love this novel.

Off on vacation for the week, so won't be posting much. Will return refreshed and ready to post next Monday.

How did I miss this?  A movie based on Annette Curtis Klause's novel Blood and Chocolate is coming out in January!  The poster looks great!  You can click here for a larger image.  Hopefully they do Klause's book justice.  I completely adored her Silver Kiss which would also make a great film.  Her newer book, Freaks: Alive, on the Inside is still on my list of books to read. 

Publisher's Weekly has an interesting piece The Run-up to Christmas: A Bookseller Survey, which interviews independent booksellers across the country about their picks for what is going to be popular this holiday season. I always like looking at bookseller lists vs best of the year lists because they are often so different. It is rather like collection development in general as we struggle to have both the popular and the high quality titles. This is one easy way to take a look at popularity in places other than Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The Wild Girl by Chris Wormell.

Wormell has once again created a story that will immediately capture children's imaginations.  It is the story of a little girl who lives alone except for a small brown dog.  Her hair is ratty and she is dressed only in a fur slung over one shoulder.  But she is a feisty one.  She makes her own spear, catches fish, makes fire, and gathers other food.  They live high in a cave in the mountains.  In the winter, they sleep in a nest they built so they are warm and cozy.  But then something invades their cave.  A huge bear.  They manage to chase it out of their cave, but then they discover a small bear the other has left behind.  The girl must figure out what to do.

This is a great adventure story filled with self-sufficiency and danger, but also a continual sense of wonder at the skill and grace of this small girl.  Readers will feel the cold as she walks through snow in her bare feet to survive.  Wormell's art truly capture the way a huge bear would look to a small child and their panoramic view is always reminding readers how very alone this child is.  It is an understated, masterfully done work.

I would share this book with preschoolers through first graders.  It could be used in a winter storytime but also could easily be one of those special books that is read just because there is time.  It is sure to capture the attention of an impatient class who are looking for a new adventure.

The Best Beekeeper of Lalibela: a tale from Africa by Cristina Kessler, illustrated by Leonard Jenkins.

Almaz, a young girl who lives in Ethiopia, vows that she will one day be a beekeeper and have the best honey.  When she goes to the other beekeepers (all adult males) for help, she is laughed at and told that she should focus on women's work instead.  But a kindly priest tells her that she can do it.  So Almaz finds a way to raise bees that is different than the way the men do it.  She faces some setbacks, but figures out solutions that allow her to offer the best honey even though she doesn't have the size and strength of the men.

The illustrations by Jenkins are amazing with combinations of stunning colors.  They bring the text by Kessler to life.  Kessler's words make the book easy to read aloud and will capture the imaginations of children in Kindergarten through second grade.  I especially enjoyed the fact that Almaz solves her own problems.  She is shown support by the priest, but stands alone as she solves her problems and invents her own solutions. 

This book is recommended for units on insects or Africa.  It vividly portrays a society and culture that most American children do not know. 

Black? White! Day? Night!: a book of opposites by Laura Vaccaro Seeger.

This is a wonderful lift-the-flap book that should not have librarians groaning in horror.  The premise is that each page has a small window that shows part of the image under the flap.  When the flap is lifted, the opposite of the first image is shown.  So in the first image, a black bat is show for "black?" and the the flap is lifted to show that it is actually the mouth of a "white!" ghost.  The flaps are all full-page size, so there is little chance for them to rip like smaller flaps.  Additionally, the illustrations are child-friendly but also intriguing.  This was a book that would be of interest to small children learning of opposites, but also for much older elementary children who enjoy a good guessing game.  It is pure fun, but also educational.  Libraries looking to get some quality interactive titles that will not fall to pieces immediately should purchase this one.