October 2008 Archives

A huge hurrah!  Neil Gaiman's wonderful Graveyard Book seems to be on its way to being made into a movie.  In an interview with MTV, Gaiman reveals some of the pieces of the plan.  All of them will set a fan's worries to rest. 

Gaiman sought out a UK special effects house (which was involved in The Dark Knight) to be the studio to do it.  The story will still be set in Britain and will feature a British cast (I can't wait to see who gets which part!) And to shepherd it through successfully, Gaiman will be a producer of the film.

Sigh.  Bliss.  This is the sort of control an author of the magnitude of Gaiman has.  If only other authors could shepherd their works to film with the same amount of involvement.

That Book Woman by Heather Henson, pictures by David Small.

In poetic lines, Henson paints a picture of Cal's life as a farm boy in the Appalachian Mountains.  He helps with the plowing and caring for the livestock, while his younger sister sits always reading.  Cal doesn't like to read, because he hates to sit still that long and he really resents it when his sister tries to teach him things.  Cal is the first to hear the approaching horse when the Book Lady comes to their farm.  She has a bag filled with books, and Cal's father tries to barter for a few, but the Book Lady leaves the books for free!  And will return in a few weeks with more!  Of course, Cal really doesn't care, until that is the Book Lady comes to their house in the middle of a winter storm solely to deliver books.  Cal realizes that there is something more than the physical books driving her, and he intends to find out what it is.

Henson's long slim stanzas on each page, echo the lanky figure of Cal.  They also evoke a certain solitude and strength in their structure.  And like Cal, there is much more than meets the eye.  In those slim stanzas, readers will find evocative images and real depth of thought.  It is all done without losing young readers, instead drawing them further into the story.  This book is masterfully written. 

Small's pictures also evoke the lonely quality of life in the mountains.  At the same time, they are often centered upon family as Cal's life is.  Lamps and fires glow warmly, and though the rooms are spare they are filled with people and light.  This is not a cold existence, but a loving solitary one.  Small has captured the feel of solitude without loneliness entering his images. 

Highly recommended, this book will expose children to the importance early libraries and librarians put in books.  It could be used by modern librarians to start a conversation about the importance of books even though there is no need today for horses.  I can see it being used by our Book Mobile Ladies too, an added connection to the history of mobile library service.  Really though, it is wonderful enough that it can be read and shared with all sorts of children in all kinds of libraries, classrooms and families.  Appropriate for ages 5-9.

The Farrelly brothers will direct the Jonas brothers in a script based on Walter the Farting Dog.  The script was written by Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen of Toy Story fame. 

Sounds like they have talented writers and directors, I'm only sorry to see the Jonas brothers as the main cast.  But I'm obviously not the Disney/Nickelodeon demographic they are going for.

Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears by Emily Gravett.

Little Mouse has found a big book that explains phobias one-by-one.  On each page, he has space to document his own personal fears that fit under that phobia.  The book starts with arachnophobia and ends, wonderfully, with musophobia (the fear of mice.)  Throughout the book, there are cutouts in the pages, chewed on edges, and flaps to lift, that bring this story even more fully to life.

The book design here is the star, starting with the title page's cutout that shows Little Mouse peeking out and then when turned shows a spider for the arachnophobia page.  Each page looks aged, mouse-read, and well-loved.  Corners appear dog-eared, moist, ripped, or just plain messy.  Building from the successful design is the clever story, done with wit and style.  There are many touches that combine storytelling with the book design, making both more vivid and real. 

This is a book to pore over, touch, and experience for yourself.  It is one of the few books with this sort of design that should work well for public use.  The flaps are not delicate or many.  It will also work well with a group, though they will be eager to look at it personally when you are done sharing it.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Coppernickel, the Invention by Wouter van Reek.

Coppernickel is reading a book about inventions, when he reaches the end, the final page is blank.  This inspires him to create his own invention.  He knows it should be simple and useful, so he decides to create a machine to help pick elderberries that are out of reach.  He starts small and simple, but his imagination grows bigger and bigger and so does his invention!  Soon it is covering the wall.  When his friend, Tungsten, pushes some of the drawing out of his way, the cogs of the machine begin to turn and Coppernickel finds himself caught up in a different way.  At the end, he begins again and ends up with a simple and useful solution.

Originally published in Dutch, this book has a distinct foreign feel that makes it all the more interesting.  The illustrations are humorous and dare I say, inventive?  The ever-growing invention of Coppernickel is very detailed, contrasting nicely with the rough style that the characters and setting are drawn in.  The text is equally successful, using short sentences that allow the illustrations themselves to tell most of the story. 

A great book about imagination and inventions, this book is appropriate for ages 4-6.

Wave by Suzy Lee.

Through simple lines and a deft use of color, Lee tells the wordless story of a young girl playing on the beach with a wave.  The story is the universal one of a sunny day on the beach and playing in the water, having the ocean as a playmate, and just enjoying the moment.

Lee's restraint in her illustrations is what makes it all work so well.  Her use of blue, gray, black and white as the only colors in the book adds to the book's impact.  The figure of the mother who is obviously present but somewhere off the page is evocative of childhood where play makes you forget or ignore all else.  It is truly a study in a moment of childhood.

Highly recommended.  This book is a small wonder.  Share it with very young children who will enjoy telling you the story.  Appropriate for a wide range of ages: 2-7.

The Elephant Wish by Lou Berger, illustrated by Ana Juan.

In this surreal story, Eliza Prattlebottom makes a wish at her eighth birthday party that an elephant will come and take her away.  Eliza's wish comes true and Cousin Floyd, a very large elephant, carries her away to live with the elephants in the jungle.  Cousin Floyd is only noticed by 97-year-old Adele who has perfect posture and once as a girl herself knew Cousin Floyd.  Eliza's family mourns her being gone, thinking of their daughter often.  Adele decides that she needs to return to the elephants herself and heads off to the jungle to demand that Eliza return home and she herself be watched over by Cousin Floyd.  This book captures the desire to remain a child forever.

Berger's language is a joy to read aloud, curving and moving as it is read.  It is filled with small gems of prose that evoke further depth in the text.  Here is one of my favorite passages:

Now, you might think that a ninety-seven-year-old woman pulling a wagon with a two-hundred-year-old dog in it would move very slowly.  But Adelle was moving at the speed of memory.

Berger captures the magical and fantastical elements of childhood and imagination beautifully in his text.  At the same time, Juan's illustrations perfectly embody that same feeling of myth, strangeness, and dream.  Her pictures are often surrounded by the thoughts of the characters being depicted, adding an even further dream-like quality to them. 

This rather quirky and unusual picture book makes a great read aloud to older elementary students who may themselves be struggling with leaving childhood behind and the larger implications of growing up.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

The Day Leo Said I Hate You! by Robie H. Harris, illustrated by Molly Bang.

Pair the storytelling skill of Harris with the illustrations of Bang and you really can't go wrong!  Leo is not having a good day.  Each thing he does, his mother seems to be right there telling him, NO!  Finally, Leo has had enough and storms off to his room.  When he gets there, he draws a mean picture of his mother on his bedroom wall.  His mother comes in and tells him NO!  Leo is so very very angry that he shouts with all of his might I HATE YOU!  at his mother.  Though he doesn't mean it all at, he now has to deal with the fact he has said something so awful to his mother.

Anger is such an important thing for children to understand: their own anger, how their words and actions effect others, and appropriate ways to express their feelings.  Harris captures the inner turmoil of an angry child perfectly without extra drama added in.  The writing is clear, concise and very emotional.  The writing that follows Leo's outburst is warm, calming and filled with an understanding for what just happened.  It is the ideal contrast to the heat and speed of what happens, allowing readers to ride that emotional rollercoaster with Leo.

Bang's illustrations capture the mood of the text as it moves from frenetic emotion to calm.  Colors move from oranges through to deep purple and reds and resolve with bright yellows and deep blues.  Beautifully done in her collage style, Bang captures a mother and son who could be of almost any ethnicity.

Highly recommended, this picture book should be paired with Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt and When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang for a real emotional set of stories!  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott.

This is one of the most gripping and brutal novels for teens I have ever read.  It is the story of Alice, who was abducted as a 10-year-old by Ray, who has sexually and emotionally abused her for five years.  Alice knows that if she tries to escape, her entire family will be killed.  Now Ray has started starving her to try to maintain her childlike body, not allowing her to get over 100 pounds.  His violence is also increasing as are his death threats.  Alice has long wanted to die, but death eludes her time and again though she wishes for it often.  Ray now wants a new little girl to join them, so Alice is allowed to head to a park and start scouting for what she can only hope will be her replacement.

This is a book that makes you want to scream.  It's depictions of the horrors of Alice's life are so plainly laid out, unflinchingly documented, and horribly vivid.  Scott's writing can be poetic at times, underlining the brutality and desperation of the book.  Her pacing is perfection, leaving readers gasping for air as the oppressive nature of the story becomes too much.  This is a book that you will set down, only to return to immediately.  It is a book that will linger in your mind, enter your dreams, and change the way you see.  It is a book that is brutal truth that we often turn away from.  It is suffocating, dreadful, horrific and supremely, magically human all at the same time.

Heart-wrenching in its honesty, this book will appeal to many teens.  Hand it to the fans of A Child Called It.  Appropriate for ages 16-18.

Artie and Julie by Chih-Yuan Chen.

The author of the great Guji Guji returns with a very clever picture book that follows the stories of Artie and Julie.  Artie is a lion who is taught by his family to walk without making a sound, roar loudly, and to eat rabbits out on the grasslands.  Julie is a rabbit who is taught by her father to listen carefully, run quickly and jump high to escape from lions.  The book is split in two, literally, with Artie's story on top and Julie's below.  Each story can be read on its own until they merge, or readers can read both stories in tandem.  The illustrations bridge the cut pages, turning into complete page illustrations when matching pages are open. 

The playful physical design of the book is far more than just a design trick.  It allows readers to create their own experience in the book, then start again and read it an entirely different way.  This sense of free will is such an integral part of the story itself that the design is really the theme of the book brought into reality.  The book's themes of family allegiance, stereotypes and prejudice are softened by the use of animals as characters, but still stand strong.

The book is a joy to share with children.  It may take some wrestling with pages to use it with a group of children, but a small group would work very well.  It is a great picture book to start discussions even with young children.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

The 2008 Teens' Top Ten has been announced by YALSA.  The Top Ten is a list with books from the previous year nominated by teens and then voted on by teens across the country.  This year over 8,000 teens participated in the voting.

Here's the list:

1. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

4. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

5. Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson

6. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

7. The Sweet Far Thing  by Libba Bray

8. Extras by Scott Westerfeld

9. Before I Die  by Jenny Downham

10. Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Dead Girl Walking by Linda Joy Singleton.

Left or right?  Amber's sense of direction is so bad that she can get lost in her own hometown, finding a cemetery that she never knew existed.  And all in front of the girl she hopes will be her first management client.  Amber's day goes from bad to even worse. When she finally makes it to the party, she hears a group of girls mocking her.  And to cap off the entire dreadful day, she is hit by a mailtruck.  When she heads toward the light, her grandmother and dog are there to greet her.  Her grandmother tells her that it is not yet her time, and sends her back, but on the way, Amber gets lost.  When she wakes up, she finds herself in the body of the most popular girl at school.  A girl whose flawless life has driven her to suicide.  Now Amber must find out if she can get back into her own body and along the way come to understand what drove this girl to do something so tragic.

This novel is very clever with great touches of humor throughout, the snarkiness of teens and siblings, and yet a serious side which supports the story with its strength.  Amber is a well-written protagonist who offers the perfect perspective on what is happening.  Equally nicely drawn are her friends, though the adults in the book trend toward stereotypes.

An intriguing but not dark look at death and life, this story will be enjoyed by teens who read teen novels, rather than those who read fantasy.  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman was highlighted in a piece by National Public Radio where Gaiman is interviewed and the wonderful qualities of the novel are mentioned.  Their web site also has a review of the book and an excerpt.  Enjoy!

Cat & Mouse by Ian Schoenherr.

Cat and Mouse play together, wrestling over a paper umbrella.  The text follows a nursery rhyme, changing into Hickory Dickory Dock, and then returning to the original rhyme.  As Mouse gets the best of Cat time and again, will they end up as enemies or friends?

The lively illustrations bring the old-fashioned text to vibrant life.  Both animals are captured with attention to minute details, but then are made wide-eyed and action filled to great comic effect.  Families who have kittens or cats will recognize Cat's movements and body postures as being purely feline.  Mouse is much more human than Cat.

Enjoyable, laugh-out-loud nursery rhyme fun.  This book will work well for groups of children, and is ideal for use in story times or classroom units.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Mimi by Carol Baicker-McKee.

Mimi is a little pig who has two great friends, her stuffed animal Bunny and her roly-poly bug Frank.  When she tries to share some of her breakfast banana with Frank, he isn't there!  Mimi goes on with her day, heading to the library for story time, playing at the park, taking a nap, waking up cranky, blowing bubbles to improve her mood, and finally heading for bed.  Through all of that, there is no sign of Frank anywhere.  Until Mimi climbs into bed and feels something strange crawling on her!

The illustrations are what got me to pick up this book.  Baicker-McKee combines fabric, clay and paint to create three dimensional tableaus that are eye-catching and interesting.  Her text is equally successful and child-friendly with every-day events at the center of the story.  The quiet tone of the text perfectly suits the style of the illustrations.  Both parents and children will know that they are in a soft, sweet childhood story here.

While the story is sweet, there are no saccharine overtones here.  Just a gentle story that toddlers and preschoolers will enjoy and relate to.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

The National Book Foundation just announced the finalists for the 2008 award.  Here is the list for Young People's Literature:

Laurie Halse Anderson for Chains

Kathi Appelt for The Underneath (Yippee!)

Judy Blundell for What I Saw and How I Lied

E. Lockhart for The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (Hurrah!)

Tim Tharp for The Spectacular Now

Brava, Strega Nona! A Heartwarming Pop-up Book by Tomie dePaola, Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart.

While the subtitle claims to be a heartwarming pop-up book, I would describe it as a heart-stopping pop-up book.  Some of the pages fly open to form such complex and amazing structures that I found myself simply sitting and closing and opening the book again and again to see the pop-up work. 

The combination of dePaola's simple illustrations and these amazing pop-ups is utterly charming.  Though the pop-ups are complex but stay in tune with the style of the illustrations, embracing the feel of Strega Nona entirely. 

This is a winner of a pop-up book.  My favorite spread is the grape arbor which pops to life before your eyes.  Though I must say that the one that got a gasp out of me is the noodles spilling - literally- right into the reader's face.  Enjoyable and great fun, this of course will not survive classroom use or public checkouts in a library.  But what a treat to pull out for special storytimes.

The grandson of Ludwig Bemelmans has written a Madeline book.  The amount of pure chutzpah that must have taken is staggering.  Simply being a children's book author with that familial link would have been filled with pressure, but writing a Madeline book is jaw-droppingly brave. 

Madeline and the Cats of Rome is the first completely new Madeline book in more than 40 years.  It will be interesting to see if the grandson managed to recreate his grandfather's charm, wit and feel. 

A nice newspaper interview with David Shannon in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Shannon talks about his inspiration for his books coming primarily from his family.  The article also talks about his upcoming book, Too Many Toys.  Nicely, the article ends with a brief look at how Shannon became a picture book illustrator and the final paragraphs are perfect:

While he's won fame and fortune as a children's-book author, however, Shannon says he's still learning things about the picture-book format and using picture books to tell a story.

"I think I have the best job in the whole world," he said.

Isn't it nice to have an article underline that writing and illustrating for children is not easy!  It's a nice foil to the innumerable celebrities who try their hand at it and almost always fail spectacularly at this "simple and easy" format.

Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein, illustrated by Ed Young.

Wabi Sabi is a cat who is doesn't know what her name means.  When her master is asked by another person about it's meaning, she replies, "That's hard to explain."  Wabi Sabi heads out to find out what her name means.  But everyone she asks says that it is hard to explain.  Until she herself begins to experience Wabi Sabi, the beauty in the modest and simple and imperfect, she can't understand it.

The book begins with the definition of Wabi Sabi and then the entire book is dedicated to exemplifying it.  Each double spread page is matched with a haiku poem that immediately connects the mysterious Wabi Sabi feeling with the reader.  Reibstein has created text that tells a story that lives well next to the tiny haiku treasures throughout the book.  Young's collage art is the perfect example of humble items being beautiful.  He uses pine boughs, hair, dead leaves, and paper to create a world in this book that is pure Wabi Sabi.  Exquisitely done.

For classes studying Japan or those working on haiku units, this book is a gem.  The fact that it is also a work of art will draw in other readers, who will find themselves experiencing something at the heart of Japanese culture.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley by Aaron Blabey.

Pearl and Charlie are great friends, but they are also almost completely different from one another.  Pearl is loud, vivacious, brave and silly.  Charlie is quiet, shy, reserved and kind.  How can they be friends?  Well, it turns out that they suit each other perfectly.  When one has a need, the other meets it.  Kindly, warmly and in their own unique way. 

All of us have a bit of Pearl and a bit of Charlie in us, so this is a picture book that speaks to everyone.  Blabey's very short text is perfect to read aloud, often allowing the picture to tell the bulk of the story.  His illustrations are friendly, warm and quite silly at times.  What could have been a saccharine story of perfect friendship is brought to life through humor and the lovely imperfection of the two characters.  The best piece of the book is that these two different individuals did not have to change themselves to be friends, instead they took the parts of themselves that are most special and offer them to the other.  What a great message for children!

Spending time with these two is quite a treat.  Through no lecturing whatsoever, children will see what it is to be a friend without changing yourself at all.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Footprints in the Snow by Mei Matsuoka.

Wolf knows that most books portray wolves to be evil, greedy and cruel. So he sets out to write his own book about a nice wolf.  The book starts with footprints in the freshly-fallen snow that may lead him to a new friend.  Following the trail of footprints, Mr. Nice Wolf discovers that no one trusts him to be a friend, thinking he is tracking breakfast or lunch instead.  When Mr. Nice Wolf reaches the duck who made the tracks he has been following, his natural instincts get the best of him and the duck looks so delicious!  Wolf is torn out of his story as he falls into the bathtub where a rubber ducky is bobbing.  After drying off, Wolf hears a knock on the door and when answering it finds a trail of footprints leading away in the fresh snow.

This book is just as nicely designed as it is written.  Matsuoka has created a book with perfect action and style for children.  His text is light and inviting, though the story is deeply layered, making the book very approachable.  The parts of the book that are Wolf's story have illustrations that are bordered in wood and often have Wolf's hand drawing in them.  A delightful and subtle way to keep children understanding that this is a story within a story. 

Matsuoka's illustrations are filled with small details.  The warmth of Wolf's house in the beginning of the book is brought to life with the tiny touches of munched cookies, books strewn across the floor, and a roaring fire.  Her illustrations tell the story almost as much as the text does.  The two are inseparable and unite to become a very special picture book.

Capturing the power of imagination, the joy of a hunt across a snowy landscape, the fun of creating your own story, this beautifully designed book is perfect for wolf story times.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Chester's Back by Melanie Watt.

I was a big fan of the first Chester book.  This sequel keeps the merriment and fun of the first book, and again showcases Chester defying his owner and trying to create HIS book.  In this book, Chester refuses to allow Melanie to write a book putting him in a jester costume in the Middle Ages.  He uses a variety of tactics to ruin her efforts, including wearing the wrong costumes and scribbling all over the pages with his red marker.  But Melanie may just find a clever replacement for Chester and not allow him to gain the upper hand.  Maybe.

What a delight to have a second book that lives up to the first.  Just as she did in her Scaredy Squirrel series, Watt has created a successful sequel to a wonderful book.  Watt has kept the same feel as the first book and the tone is just right.  Children will once again revel in Chester refusing to cooperate with plans.

A great book to share with a group of children.  Make sure you have your Chester voice set to go, full of cat outrage.  Ideal for ages 5-7.

YALSA has announced their 2008 Selected Audiobooks list.  The books on the list are for ages 12-18 and are pulled from the previous two years of spoken-word publications.  The list has 20 fiction titles and 1 nonfiction title. 

I'm pleased to see that so many of my favorite written titles were so successful as spoken word publications too.  How wonderful to see Mimus by Lilli Thal on the list too.  That's one of those books that has stuck in my head over the years.

The Blue Stone: a journey through life by Jimmy Liao.

A blue stone is resting for thousands of years in a forest, until humans come and split it in two.  The half that is carried out of the forest longs for its other half.  The stone is made into one sculpture after another.  Each time deep emotion is felt around the stone, it breaks a little, remembering what it has lost.  With every breakage, it becomes smaller and smaller, going from huge sculptures to a small piece of jewelry.  Eventually, the stone becomes small enough to lift into the air and float back to its beloved forest and its other half.

Liao's illustrations are glowingly colored and deeply felt.  The use of blue for the stone is perfect, especially when it hides below other colors in the sculpture, non the match for the intensity and beauty of the stone itself.  The text is rhythmic and repeating the refrain of breaking and changing and continuing.  The tie to life's passage and loss is inherent to the book.  Children will understand it immediately even though nothing is firmly stated except in the subtitle.

This is a gentle winner, not to be shared with a rowdy group.  Rather, it is the perfect book for introspective moments.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

In the Night Garden by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Elizabeth Sayles.

Three girls play in the night garden.  One is a bear, who eats berries from the branches.  Another is a whale cruising slowly through the sea.  The last is a sled dog who howls to the wintry sky.  Until bedtime arrives.  The bear pulls on her fuzzy pajamas, the whale spouts water in the bath and the sled dog pulls her covers up tight.  Their adventures are not finished, continuing in their dreams.

The art and poetry here dance together, as imagery comes to life on the page.  Sayles' illustrations are deep colored and blissful as the girls play together, fading to an ethereal dreaminess by the end of the book.  Joosse's poetry is accessible for young readers, but not childlike.  Her words are strong and evocative.

A great introduction to poetry for children, this book captures vivid imagination and the joy of play directly onto the page.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

The Poetry Foundation has announced that Mary Ann Hoberman will be the second U.S. Children's Poet Laureate. 

Here is a quote from their press release:

The award, which includes a $25,000 cash prize, aims to raise awareness that children have a natural receptivity to poetry and are its most appreciative audience, especially when poems are written specifically for them.  "Generations of readers who first discovered poetry in the books of Mary Ann Hoberman remember it not as a dry textbook encounter but as a moment of joyous play.  Her poems tease young minds even as they please young ears with rhythm and rhyme.  We honor her for a lifetime of writing poetry of lasting value for young readers," said John Barr, president of the Poetry Fo