Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass

I received a review copy of Jeremy Fink in a flood of books for consideration for the Middle Grade Fiction Cybil Award, and it took me awhile to get to it. I couldn’t help thinking, “What kid wants to read about the meaning of life? I’m an adult and I don’t even want to read about it.” I could eat those words now because this book was wonderful from start to finish. Wendy Mass is a genious. How does she draw her readers into a quest for the meaning of life? She makes it a mystery even the most skeptic of readers can’t help but be curious about.

12 year-old Jeremy Fink and his best friend Lizzy are hanging out in his New York City apartment when the mailman delivers a package addressed to Jeremy’s mom. Jeremy lives by the rules, but Lizzy can’t overcome her impulsive nature and convinces him to open the package. Inside they discover a wooden box with a keyhole on four of it’s sides and the words, “THE MEANING OF LIFE: FOR JEREMY FINK TO OPEN ON HIS 13TH BIRTHDAY.” Jeremy immediately recognizes the box as the work of his father, who passed away several years earlier. This makes the note explaining that the friend taking care of the box lost all of the keys, even more disappointing. Jeremy and Lizzy are determined to find a way to open the box. A locksmith tells them that he can’t pick the locks or break it open without destroying the box and possibly the contents so they set a goal to find the keys by the end of the summer so Jeremy can still open the box on his 13th birthday.

Lizzy’s impulsiveness gets them into trouble and they wind up having to spend a good part of their summer performing community service. Luckily they are assigned to work for Mr. Oswald, an antique dealer preparing to retire to Florida. He assigns them to run errands for him delivering some special antiques. They have no idea until they reach the first home that they are returning valuable items to their original owners who pawned the items dearest to them when they were only teenagers. Each item is being returned with the original letter stating why they chose to pawn the item.

They are countless mysteries in this book: what is the meaning of life, where are the keys to the box, did the people who pawned their items get what they wanted, why is Mr. Oswald returning the items now? Interwoven between the answers is the story of an admirable friendship between Lizzy and Jeremy as they try to grow and transition into the teenage years. As with any book by Wendy Mass, there are also millions of delightful details, only she could invent.

Pick up a copy! Even if you don’t discover the meaning of life, you’ll have an enjoyable time trying to figure it out, and even if the plot sounds a bit too ridiculous too you, you’ll find the ending satisfying.

Bridge to Terebithia the movie

I know many of you have seen the previews for Bridge to Terebithia and thought the same thing I did, "WHAT? This movie is supposed to be based on the book right? I mean, it has the same title, but I don't remember it being a fantasy adventure!"

Well, a while ago Fuse #8 posted that she heard from friends that the movie actually sticks fairly close to the book and a group of librarians who caught a preview of the movie were happy with it. Add to that this article about the movie by School Library Journal, and I'm actually looking forward to seeing the movie.

The advertising seems fairly misleading and I wonder how many kids will be disappointed when the major plot of the movie takes place in the "real" world.

The Cybils Awards have been announced!

Did you catch the Cybils Award announcements yesterday? If you missed it, you can check out the winners here.

I have to say that I'm a little surprised that A Drowned Maiden's Hair won the middle grade fiction category; it was the last book our nomination committee selected and we had a bit of a hard time agreeing on a fifth book, but I think those who pick it up will really enjoy it.

Congratulations to all of the winners. There are a few that I haven't read and I can't wait to pick them up!

Olivia Fabrics

Continuing my theme of Children's book related products, if you sew or know someone who sews, you must check out this new fabric featuring Olivia by Ian Falconer! They even provide a link to a pattern to make your very own Olivia quilt.

If I ever have a little girl I think I just discovered what her bedding will look like!

And did all of you Olivia fans know that a new Olivia book is coming out in October? It's called Olivia Helps With Christmas.

2007 Schedule

Here's the schedule of our topics for the beginning of 2007:

March
Topic: Fantasy
Host: Jessica
Treats: Emily

April
Topic: Books being made into movies
Host: Brooke
Treats: Kim

May
Topic: Historical Fiction (Cold War Era)
Host: Emily
Treats:

June
Topic: Picture books (classics vs. new favorites)
Host: Rebekah
Treats:

July
Topic: 2007 Newbery and Caldecott winners
Host: Kim
Treats:

August
Topic: New works by past favorites
Host: Tara
Treats:

I'm updating the list of all our past reads and if you'd like a copy just send me an email or post a comment.

Chronicle Books kids contests

So pretend you're a children's publisher running a contest, how do you let people know about it? Spread the word to the Children's Lit bloggers of course! Here's the info:

We thought you may want to share news of this "Best Books of 2006" Chronicle Kids contest with your readers:

http://www.chroniclebooks.com/kidscontests/

In fact, we strive to always have an active contest at this address, with a different children's books-related theme (and prizes!) changing about every 6 weeks to two months.

Thank you for all of your support of Chronicle children's books!

The prizes include some great books, but be aware that if you enter you'll be on their mailing list (but who doesn't want hear more about some of the great books out there?)

A Pigeon Doll!

I love to surround myself with all things children's literature related so I've decided to start posting about some of the fun children's literature related products that I come across. I know some of you are groaning about the marketing ploys of some big publishers, but I love the idea of t-shirts and toys that tie into books. They inspire all sort of conversations with people you might have never known were fans of the same literature, and the toys help kids expand their imaginations as they come up with new adventures for their favorite characters (and search studies prove that when kids can step into a story and pretend to be the characters their reading comprehension gows way up).

That said, here's the find that I'm most excited about today:

Mo Willems' character are becoming stuffed animals! Check them out on his blog! I just bought fabric to attempt to make my nephew a stuffed Leonardo because that's his favorite book character, but it looks like I can spare myself the work. And who doesn't need Pigeon? Mo says the dolls will be available to the public in late March/early April.

March - Fantasy

We will be meeting at Jessica's house in March to discuss fantasy books. If any of you on the membership list have been wanting to join the group, but have been intimidated by the number of books that we read, this might be a great month for you to start because we are going to scale back a little and we will only be reading two books this month. You can find time to read two chapter books, right? Even if you can only find time to read one, we’d be happy to have you at our discussion. Both books should be widely available at the library so hurry and check them out!

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (which also happens to be one of the books being turned into a movie this year)

If you finish those and are looking for another suggestion, try Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge. It won’t be a big part of our discussion, but you might enjoy it anyway.

Potter Mania

Ok, so this news is everywhere, but what kind of children's literature blogger would I be if I didn't mention it here?

J.K. Rowling announced the release date for the next Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released on Saturday, July 21st! As you big fans know, this is the seventh, and final book in the series. Books are usually released on Tuesdays, but we can be sure there will be lots of celebrations at midnight on Friday, July 20th, which explains the unusual release date.

The results are in!

This is all straight from the American Library Association site

2007 ALSC Literary and Related Award Winners:
In order to post the winning information as expeditiously as possible, we are providing a straight list of 2007 ALSC award winners, including book title, author, and publisher. Additional information, including annotations and book cover images for each award-winning title, will be posted to the individual award pages as soon as possible.

Newbery Medal
The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, illustrated by Matt Phelan (Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson)

Newbery Honor Books
Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm (Random House)
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (Delacorte Press)
Rules by Cynthia Lord (Scholastic)

Caldecott Medal
Flotsam by David Wiesner (Clarion)

Caldecott Honor Books
Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet by David McLimans (Walker)
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Carole Boston Weatherford (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun)

2008 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecturer
David Macaulay

Batchelder Award
Delacorte Press, publisher of The Pull of the Ocean, by Jean-Claude Mourlevat, translated from the French by Y. Maudet

Batchelder Honor Books
Delacorte Press, publisher of The Killer's Tears, by Anne-Laure Bondoux, translated from the French by Y. Maudet
Hyperion/Miramax, publisher of The Last Dragon, by Silvana De Mari, translated from the Italian by Shaun Whiteside

Carnegie Medal
Mo Willems, author/illustrator, and Weston Woods Studios, producers of Knuffle Bunny

Geisel Medal
Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways, by Laura McGee Kvasnosky (Candlewick)

Geisel Honor Books
Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride, written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen (Candlewick)
Move Over, Rover!, written by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by Jane Dyer (Harcourt)
Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis (HarperCollins)

Sibert Medal
Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh (Houghton)

Sibert Honor Book
Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement by Ann Bausum (National Geographic)
Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea, written by Sy Montgomery, photos by Nic Bishop (Houghton)
To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel, written by Siena Cherson Siegel, illustrated by Mark Siegel (Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson and Simon & Schuster/Aladdin)

Wilder Medal
James Marshall


So how did I do with my predictions? Well, I named all three of the Newbery Honor books, but I missed the winner (which I have sitting on my bookshelf and I haven't even picked up because it was impossible for me to read all of the MGF Cybil Award nominees and several of the other committe members read it so I tried to focus on some of the books not many of us had a chance to read). I haven't seen The Higher Power of Lucky on anyone's predictions and it's fairly unusual for a book aimed at younger kids to win the Newbery, but I'm glad for the attention it's getting because there really hasn't been much out there for 8 - 10 year-olds that isn't a series and we could use better literature for that age group. Hopefully the Newbery Medal this year will encourage more publishers and writers to try their hand at something new for this often ignored age group.

Today's the day!

The American Library Association announces their award winners today and in case you've missed this info elsewhere, you can listen to the announcement live! Just click here around 7:45 PST/ 10:45 EST and you can hear all take place live! They tried this last year and it was such a success that they're letting us listen in live again this year. I'm so glad! I can't wait!

I think you will also be able to listen to the announcements later through an archive at teh same link.

The votes are in

As the bookclubbers know, I will be hosting February's meeting and we are reading the five finalist for the middle grade fiction Cybil award. I finally finished the tally from our meeting and here are the topics that we chose for the next few months:

• Fantasy
• New works by past favorites
• Historical fiction (we'll probably focus on the Cold War Era)
• 2007 Newbery and Caldecott winners
• Books being made into movies (Bridge to Terebithia- 2/16, The Golden Compass 11/16, Stormbreaker – a couple months ago, Arthur & the Invisibles – 1/12, the Invisible 1/26, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, etc.)
• Picture books (I'm not sure if we're doing new favorites or classic picture books)

Are there any books being made into movies THIS YEAR that you've heard about? That was all that I could come up with so far, but I didn't have time for much research.

Stephenie Meyer News

Did you know that Stephenie Meyer is going to be speaking at Brigham Young University's Midwinter Symposium on books for Young along with Joan Bauer and Rosemary Wells on February 3rd? The registration is open to anyone older than 13. I would plan to head to my good old hometown of Provo, Utah to visit my parents and here Stephenie speak if baby Ford wasn't due so soon!

All you dedicated Stephenie Meyer fans might also be interested to know that Stephenie is hosting an Eclipse Prom in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, May 5th. What an interesting way to market a new book. I have to admit that I'm curious about what will take place. So far all I know is that Stephenie will be revealing the Eclipse cover and reading the first chapter aloud. Her website says more details will be coming soon.

Newbery predictions?

The Newbery Awards for 2007 will be announced in about a week and I love seeing the predictions of the winners. Fanki and Mary Lee have a great round-up of the predictions so far.

I can't resist adding my two cents. The official criteria for the award states it's to be given to the, "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children published in English in the United States." The immediately eliminates one of my favorite books of the year, Framed by Frank Cotrell Boyce. I could really create two lists here: a list of the books that I would like to see win the Newbery, and a list of the books that I think have a more realistic chance of winning the Newbery. For instance, I would be shocked to find Kiki Strike, one of the finalists for the middle grade fiction Cybil Award, on the Newbery list because it isn't exactly a great literary novel, but kids will love it (and I have to mention that I do not always think that the majority of kids will LOVE some of the Newbery winners).

So, without giving it too much thought (I am on my lunchbreak so time is limited) here's a list of book that I would like to win that I think might actually have a chance:

Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy
Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass

And a few others that I would not be surprised to see on the list:
Gossamer by Lois Lowry
The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman
Penny From Heaven by Jennifer Holm
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (although I have to admit I haven't read this one)
The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages

I'd mention the Mirculous Journey of Edward Tulane, but Fuse #8 is on the committee and I have faith that she will not allow that to happen.

I have to be honest and tell you that I haven't spent anytime thinking about who will win the other awards. I could see Flotsam or Hippo! No, Rhino! as winners of the Caldecott and Moses by Carole Boston Weatherford as a Coretta Scott King winner and it seems like An Egg is Quiet should win something, maybe the Seibert award?

So what are your predictions?

We've been experiencing techincal difficulties

So I finally converted to the new version of Blogger today only to find 41 unmoderated comments just waiting to be posted on this blog! How did that happen? Why didn't they show up in my old account and why are some comments coming through while others aren't? I feel awful that so many of you went ignored! I hate it when I get up the nerve to post a comment somewhere only to have the author ignore it. I apologize to all of you and promise it won't happen again (I just changed all of my setting so it shouldn't happen again anyway).

I've been neglecting this blog a bit because I felt like barely anyone read it so the comments were a happy surprise. If I'd known authors like Grace Lin and other child lit bloggers that I admire were actually reading this blog, I would have been a little more diligent with my posts! I'm turning over a new leaf so you can expect new reviews and other fun info soon!

-Steph

Raskin Redux

This just in from Publisher's Weekly:

Stephanie Owens Lurie and Mark McVeigh at Dutton have acquired five books by Newbery Award–winner and The Westing Game author Ellen Raskin in a major six-figure deal negotiated by Alex Glass and John Silbersack at Trident on behalf of the Raskin estate. The books include two new puzzle mystery novels: The Westing Quest, a sequel to The Westing Game, and A Murder for Macaroni and Cheese, a never-before-seen manuscript nearly completed at the author's death in 1984. The deal also includes the reissue of three backlist novels, Figgs & Phantoms, The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel) and The Tattooed Potato.

I would love to get my hands on a sequel to the Westing Game. I can't wait!

The Traveling Pants Take One Last Trip

Since so many of the book clubbers liked the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, I thought you might be interested in this article about the final book in the series (which comes out on January 9th!)

Mo's blog

How did I miss that my favorite children's author/illustrator has a blog?

Check out Mo Willem's blog here!

The Cybils Nominees

The finalists have been announced for the Cybil Awards! If you haven't seen them already, you must go check them out.

Here are the finalists my committee settled on for the Middle GRade Fiction category:
Drowned Maiden's Hair, A
Laura Amy Schlitz
Candlewick
This gothic page-turner features a feisty orphan, a houseful of secrets, and a villain preying on unsuspecting victims.

Framed
Frank Cottrell Boyce
Harper Collins
Take a small grey Welsh town. Add great works of art. Stir.

Heat
Mike Lupica
Philomel
A heartwarming tale of immigration, baseball and familial love. It's a reminder of what the U.S.A. and Americans can be.

Kiki Strike
Kirsten Miller
Bloomsbury
What's better than Girl Scouts, books, and an underground world under New York City? Absolutely nothing! That's why Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City one of the most entertaining books of the year.

Weedflower
Cynthia Kadohata
Atheneum
WWII serves as the backdrop to this tale of internment, friendship, and growing flowers in the dry desert dust of Arizona.

More about these titles and a few of my other favorites coming up!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

ok, this isn't actually a children's book, but I wanted to let you all know that Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, had a Christmas story/article in the December issue of the Ensign. It's called "Hero at the Grocery Store" and you can find it online here.

On the Ninth Day of Christmas . . .

I'm posting a few of these post-Christmas because I prepared them before Christmas and didn't have access to publish them as often as I thought I would.

Anyway, last, but not least is Welcome Comfort by Patricia Polacco.
This is another unusual Christmas tale because the main character, Welcome Comfort, is a foster child who is befriended by the school janitor. I don't want to spoil any suprises but I love Polocco's idea of who Santa Claus really is.

On the Eighth Day of Christmas . . .

I've been focusing on some lesser-known titles so I wasn't even going to mention The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, but I just can't bring myself to leave this off the list. Forget about the monstrocity of a movie created with the same name. Oh no! Instead curl with the book and some hot chocolate and you'll be greatly rewarded.

On the Seventh Day of Christmas . . .

Wombat Devine by Mem Fox is a good Christmas story for the younger set. Poor wombat wants to be part of the Christmas pageant, but bumbles all the parts he tries to play, the rest of the animals work with him and they come up with an idea for wambat to be included too.

On the Sixth Day of Christmas . . .

Author Illustrator Grace Lin and her husband Robert got several illustrators to decorate snowflakes which were auctioned off to raise money for cancer research. in order for more people than the lucky new owners to enjoy the snowflakes they created this beautiful book. You can read more about it here

Even the end papers are amazing
It's fun to look for illustrations by some of your favorite illustrators like this one by Ian Falconer.
Since the proceeds are going to such a great cause, you have a good excuse to add it to your collection!

On the Fifth day of Christmas . . .

I present Robert Sabuda's Christmas books. I can't choose between them. I recommend them all. They're a little too delicate for toddlers' hands, but that's just a good excuse to sit them on your lap and read these books to them. I am in awe of everything Robert Sabuda creates.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

The Night Before Christmas
The Christmas Alphabet
And his newest book, Christmas, which is actually a small book designed to be a stocking stuffer. It uses some of the Christmas Alphabet pop-ups to spell Christmas.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas . . .

The Tree of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polocco

Patricia Polocco has several holiday books, and this is certainly not the most popular, but it's my favorite. There aren't many picture books out there that involve both Christmas and Hannukah and this one combines them so beautifully.

I'm borrowing the publisher's description:

TRISHA LOVES THE eight days of Hanukkah, when her mother stays home from work, her Babushka makes delicious potato latkes, and her Grampa carves wonderful animals out of wood as gifts for Trisha and her brother. In the middle of her family's preparation for the festival of lights, Trisha visits her closest neighbors, expecting to find them decorating their house for Christmas. Instead they are all bedridden with scarlet fever. Trisha's family is one of the few who has been spared from the epidemic. It is difficult for them to enjoy their Hanukkah feast when they know that their neighbors won't be able to celebrate their holiday. Then Grampa has an inspiration: they will cut down trees, decorate them, and secretly deliver them to the neighbors. "But what can we decorate them with?" Babushka asks. Although it is a sacrifice, Trisha realizes that Grampa's carved animals are the perfect answer. Soon her living room is filled with trees-but that is only the first miracle of many during an incredible holiday season.
Based on a long cherished childhood memory, this story celebrates the miracle of true friendship.

On the Third Day of Christmas . . .

I present one of my favorite Christmas picture books, The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza by David Shannon. Many of you are familiar with David Shannon's child-like illustrations, but your in for a treat with the gorgeous illustrations in this book.
Mr. Merriweather begins his holidays season with his usual strand of lights and wreath on the door, but after being goaded by a neighbor he becomes determined to put together an amazing Christmas Extravaganza. It gathers so much attention that is makes the neighbors anger and Mr. Merriweather is so caught up in decorating that he doesn't have time left for his family.

The books manages to be a good reminder to us all without getting too sentimental. It also ends on a humorous note that kids will enjoy.

On the Second Day of Christmas . . .

The six Herdman children have the reputation of being the worst kids in town so church members shudder when the Herdmans show up to be in the Christmas Pageant after hearing the cast gets free cake. I know this is a Christmas classic that most of you are familiar with, but I've been surprised the number of people that I've recently met who have not read this book. It's hilarious and heartwarming. This is a great book for those who wail that Christmas has become too commercial and want a reminder of what it's areally all about.

One of my best friends' family reads this together every Christmas because it one of the few Chrismtas books that appeals to both the young and old.

On the First Day of Christmas . . .

I know you're just all dying to know where my book reviews are. I been reading more than ever, but I've only been reading Cybil Award nominees, and I feel a little weird reviewing them here before my committee announces our five finalists (although I have reviewed a few of the nominees here in the past and I'm not going to remove my reviews). At any rate, I should have lots of reviews for you in January, but in the meantime I've decided to highlight a few of my favorite Christmas books.

I love receiving holiday treats from my friends and neighbors, but Larry and I are not the best bakers so instead of spending time in the kitchen we tend to alternate gifting forced bulbs or paperback Christmas books. This year, since so many of our neighbors have little ones, I selected Santa Claus The World's Number One Toy Expert by Marla Frazee so that's the first book that I'm going to highlight. If you you don't have a copy of this book in your collection it's a great one to pick up (or maybe you'll be getting one from me).
The book begins:

Then it goes on to cover how Santa carefully prepares for Christmas and has some hilarious illustrations of Santa testing the toys. My favorite line is, "He gives the exact right toy to the exact right kid, 99.9% of the time . . . no one is perfect. Not even Santa Claus." I can picture many a parent referring to this picture book when a child is upset that Santa didn't bring them what they wanted.

The illustrations are simple with a lot of white space and the text is short so it's a great book to read with a toddler, but older kids will enjoy it too because it's really quite funny and of course Marla Frazee's Santa is very endearing.

Brainstorming new topic ideas

We'll be voting on new topics next month so it's time to give some serious thought to what you would like to be reading. Here are the suggestions so far. Feel free to add more suggestions in the comments.

• Fantasy
• Classic authors (like Beatrix Potter)
• Cybils finalists
• Mystery
• Westward progression or settlement of the West
• Ohio/Columbus authors
• New works by past favorites
• Historical fiction
• Favorite picture books
• Robert McCloskey
• Science fiction
• Mother/daughter or mother/son stories (coming to terms)

January - Thief Books

So many books with "thief" in the title came up during our favorites month that we decided to read three Thief books for our January meeting.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusack

The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Tips for writers

I attended a local SCBWI meeting last week and heard Tanya Dean from Darby Creek Publishing speak (who pointed out that one of their books Cryptids has been nominated for a Cybil Award). She had some interesting advice for writers that I thought I would pass along.

First the DON'Ts:

• Don't innundate an editor with calls and letters and emails once you've submitted something. Wait patiently then followup gently with an email or postcard. She said she likes it when an author follows up with a letter and includes a postcard with postage paid that has boxes that she can check off to let them know where she is with their manuscript i.e. I'm not interested, this manuscript is still in consideration, I did not receive this manuscript please send it.
• Don't tell an editor, "This still needs work, but that's what you are for." You better be sending your very best work and consider hiring a freelance editor before submitting if you need help with spelling, grammar, etc.
• In a picture book every word better matter.
• When you're writing a query don't be a robot, be a person and let your personality shine through.
• Don't be afraid to cut before you send a manuscript to an editor.
• Don't depend on secondary sources, talk to experts and view the primary sources yourself.

Now the DO's:

• Create a loveable, memorable character.
• If you're getting specific feedback from an editor keep sumitting your future work as your writing improves.
• Remember non-fiction shelf life is longer than most fiction.
• Know what's going on in schools and how your writing might support current curriculum
• Find a fresh way to approach your topic.

Fairest - by Gail Carson Levine

Fans of Ella Enchanted will be so happy to learn that Gail Carson Levine has published her own version of Snow White and it has numerous connections to Ella Enchanted. Ella’s best friend was Areida, a girl from the kingdom of Ayortha. Fairest takes place in Ayortha and the main character is Aza, a 15 year-old girl who was adopted by Areida’s family after she was abandoned at the inn they run when Aza was only one month old.

Aza has always assumed that she was abandoned because she is so ugly and out of place in a kingdom that highly values beauty. She is larger and wider than everyone else and her pale skin and black hair seem strange among the other Ayorthaians. She spends her time helping at the inn trying to avoid the guests who can’t help but gawp at her, but Aza is not without her charms. The Ayorthaians also value singing voices and she was born singing arias instead of crying. One day while cleaning a room she discovers she has the ability to throw her voice in a magical way which she calls illusing.

One of the inn’s frequent guests is a duchess who becomes fond of Aza because Aza cares for her pet. When her traveling companion becomes ill she chooses Aza to attend the King’s wedding with her. Aza is terrified at the prospect, but upon arriving at the castle she meets the Queen-to-be and after she discovers Aza’s illusing powers, they become quick friends. At first when the queen asks Aza to be her Lady-in-waiting, she doesn’t suspect ulterior motives, but they soon become clear and Aza is stuck working for the Fairest of them All.

I found this book a little heavier than Ella Enchanted; maybe because there’s so much negative focus on Aza’s appearance or maybe because there isn’t as much humor in it. I love figuring out the elements of Snow White that the author decided to keep and the connection to Ella Enchanted (another gift from the fairy Lucinda is causing trouble in this novel too). I really enjoyed Gail Carson Levine’s unusual twists that make Fairest so much more than just a Snow White story.

I was a little bothered with how passive Aza was, but I guess that’s just the nature of Snow White. I’d still highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good fairytale.

91!

Alvina posted this list of the 100 best children's books from the National Education Association's page (from 1999, I think). The challenge is to mark the selections you have read in bold. If you liked it, add a star (*) in front of the title, if you didn't, give it a minus (-). Then, put the total number of books you've read in the subject line.

*Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
*The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
*Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
*The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
*Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
-Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
*The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
*Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
The Mitten by Jan Brett
*Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
*Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
*The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
*Where the Sidewalk Ends: the Poems and Drawing of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein
*Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
*Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
*Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss
*Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
*Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
*Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr.
*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
*The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
*A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
*How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
*The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
*Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by John Archambault
*Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
*The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne (I've read some, but not all)
*The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner (I was totally addicted to this series in third and fourth grade)
*Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
*Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
*Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
*Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
*The BFG by Roald Dahl
*The Giver by Lois Lowry
*If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
*James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
*Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
*Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
*The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
*The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner (this was a school assignment and I don't remember a thing about it other than the fact that I had to read it)
*Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
-Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien (I was terrified by the cartoon)
*Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
-The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
*Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
*The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
*Corduroy by Don Freeman
*Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
*Math Curse by Jon Scieszka
*Matilda by Roald Dahl
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
*Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
*Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
*The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
*Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (only the first, so I'm not sure that I can count it)
*Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
*One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
*The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
*The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
*The Napping House by Audrey Wood
*Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
*The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
*Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
* The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
-Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (You've already heard the explanation so please don't hate me!)
*Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
Basil of Baker Street, by Eve Titus
*The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
*The Cay by Theodore Taylor (another school assignment I couldn't tell you about)
*Curious George by Hans Augusto Rey
*Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
*Arthur series by Marc Tolon Brown
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
*Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
*Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
*The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
*Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
*Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
*Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
*A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
*Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Stuart Little by E. B. White
*Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
*The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
*The Art Lesson by Tomie De Paola
*Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
*Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwel
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
*Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
*The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
*The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch

You can see how Fuse #8 did here

Book Sale Time

Someone recently asked me when the next Scholastic warehouse sale is scheduled in the area so here's the info:

Lewis Center
Read Street, 459 Orange Point Drive, Suite A, Lewis Center, OH 43035 (800) 557-7323
Thurs, 12/7/2006 - Fri, 12/22/2006

Dec. 7th 10 AM - 7 PM
Dec. 8th and 9th 9 AM - 5 PM
Dec. 11th - 14th 10 AM - 7 PM
Dec. 15th - 22nd 9 AM - 5 PM
Closed Sun.

For those you you who haven't been to a sale, the Scholastic Warehouse Sales are a great place to build up your book collection because everything is at least 50% off the Scholastic price. As usual, this sale is really designed to reward teachers and volunteers for their help selling books, but in the past they didn't seem to mind that I'm not a teacher. They do count homeschoolers as educators so some of you that teach pre-school at home probably qualify that way. You can go to their site for more information or to register early. When you register online they usually give you a coupon too.

Rules - by Cynthia Lord

Rules by Cynthia Lord is one of those books that I didn’t want to pick up because I thought it was going to be totally driven by its message. Instead it was one of those books that I read late into the night that left me unable to sleep because I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Rules is about 12 year-old Catherine who writes rules for her autistic younger brother, David, to help him behave. She reasons that David doesn’t understand things they way most people do, he has to have people explain everything to him, thus the rules are necessary to help him learn things other people would naturally know such as, it’s fine to hug mom, but not ok to hug the clerk at the store.

Catherine is full of anticipation when she learns a girl her age will be moving in next door. She’s determined that they’ll become best friends, but a little worried that David will get in the way. Meanwhile she begins to make another new friend, Jason, as she waits for David during his occupational therapy sessions. Jason is paraplegic and can’t speak so he uses a book of words that he points to in order to communicate.

See, it sounds like a book trying to drill its message into your brain doesn’t it? But it doesn’t come off that way at all. The author carefully balances Catherine’s desire to be normal and her frustration with David with her love for David and the need every twelve-year-old has to be accepted. By the end of the book she learns the difference between rules and excuses.

As much as I enjoyed reading about Catherine’s relationship with her brother and her friends, it was her relationship with her parents that really got to me. Most preteens will be able to really relate to Catherine’s intense need for her parents attention when her parents are focused on other important things. Catherine could have easily come off as mean or selfish during certain points of the book, but Cynthia Lord does a wonderful job letting the reader understand her actions in order to balance things out, and I really appreciated that Catherine was a realistic kid, not a saint. I wasn’t surprised at all to learn that Cynthia is the mother to children, one of which is autistic, because I found myself often wondering how she could be so insightful about the familial relationships in this book.

-And for those of you that have read this book, I didn’t things Arnold Lobel’s Frog & Toad could be nearer and dearer to my heart, but after reading Rules it is.

Betsy Lewin

If you're in Columbus on Wednesday, November 8th and you happen to have some freetime, Betsy Lewin will be speaking at Cover To Cover and autographing books from 4:30 - 6:00. It's the perfect opportunity to get your copies of Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type or Dooby Dooby Moo signed.

December - Children's Poetry

We’ll be focusing on poetry for the month of December. Amy Hall will be hosting and she has selected The Random House Book of Poetry for Children for our reading. She also requests that you each choose a favorite poem (not necessarily from the The Random House Book of Poetry for Children) and bring the poem and a little bit of info about the author to share with us next month. Have fun browsing the poetry section at the library!

Wolves - by Emily Gravett

You might think I have a demented sense of humor for saying this, but Wolves is one of my favorite picture books of the year! Wolves begins with a rabbit going to the library to check out a book about wolves.

As rabbit begins to read the book and is drawn into it, the illustrations of the pages that rabbit is viewing in the book get larger and the reader's apprehension over what's going to happen grows until it looks like this (which sort of reminds me of how the illustrations in Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are grow as the story progresses and Max becomes wild).

The text on this page says, "Wolves eat mainly meat. They hunt large prey such as deer, bison and moose. They also enjoy smaller mammals, like beavers, voles and . . . "

You guessed it, "rabbits." I love this illustration because it's not too scary, but it clearly communicates what happened to rabbit.

At this point I know some of you are thinking, "What? This is a children's picture book?" and that is probably why the author included this note on the next page, "The author would like to point out that no rabbits were eaten during the making of this book. It it a work of fiction. And so, for more sensitive readers, here is an alternative ending." After which, we see this illustration with an explanation that this wolf was a vegetarian who shared lunch with rabbit and they became best friends.

Of course, readers who closely examine the next spread will not buy the alternative ending as it shows rabbit's doormat cover with mail that includes a notice for rabbit's overdue copy of Wolves.

I think most kids will find this book very funny. I thought it was rather clever, but the element of the book that I fell in love with was its design. The text of the book doesn't stand alone, it's the pictures that develop it further, as they should in every good picture book. And they make such wonderful use of white space (or cream space in this case) which is rare in the overstimulating picture books we often see these days. The book designer paid attention to every possible detail, even the publication information was formatted to look like a part of rabbit's story. The critical praise on the back cover is all made up to tie in with the story and rabbit puns abound, for example, "'A rip-roaring tail.' - The Hareold"

It's too bad that the author/illustrator is British because I think this book would have been a big contender for the Caldecott Medal, which tends to reward books that challenge the normal format of picture books and have engaging illustrations.

Fall Book Review

For those of you in Columbus, I just heard that Cover to Cover Children's Bookstore's fall book review is coming up. This is one of my favorite events of the year because they staff always has such honest and insightful things to say about the new books out there. Plus it's a great way to start your Christmas shopping because the attendees get an extra discount plus a bag of goodies.

They have two sessions so hopefully you can make one of them.

Tuesday, November 14th from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Thursday November 16th from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

River Secrets - by Shannon Hale

Some book club members recently asked me when the next Shannon Hale book is coming out and I realized that I forgot to review River Secrets. River Secrets is the third book in the Goose Girl series about the people of Bayern. This book follows Razo, a boy Isi met in the first book when she worked as a Goose Girl. In an effort to keep peace with the kingdom of Tira, Bayern sends an ambassador accompanied by Enna (a fire-speaker) and a group soldiers. Razo is happy to be included, but he is surprised to be chosen to go when he knows he isn’t a very strong soldier. Razo may be the smallest and the weakest, but he was chosen for the strengths he didn’t know he had and was soon to discover. On the journey he discovers a charred body and doesn’t know if Enna is burning again or if someone wants people to suspect that she is. Through his investigations he’s easily able to make friends with many Tirans high and low in stature and he becomes the best hope the people of Bayern have to keep peace.

As with her other novels, Hale continues to address the issues of classes, war, and prejudice in a way that’s not too threatening to her young audience. Underdogs will relate to Razo and root for him to succeed on his mission and succeed in love.

The romance wasn't as appealling to me as the relationships between Finn and Enna and Isi and Geric, but I think Hale got in right because Razo isn't as mature as the other characters and isn't ready for too much in the romance department.

I’m already wondering when the next book in the series will be released. I can’t wait!

The Dog in Chris Van Allsburg's books

Awhile ago the Blue Rose Girls posted about finding the dog in Chris Van Allsburg's picture books. I did a project on Van Allsburg a long time ago and I thought some of you might like this key. I haven't added his newest book Probuditi, but if you're having trouble finding the dog it appears as a teapot on a shelf. I think if you click on my key you might be able to see a bigger copy, but if you want me to email you a copy just leave me a comment with your email address.


I also had to share this quote that I think explains a lot of Van Allsburg's work.
"Lucky are the children who know there is a jolly fat man in a red suit who pilots a flying sleigh. We should envy them. And we should envy the people who are so certain martians will land in their back yard that they keep a loaded Polaroid camera by the back door. The inclination to believe in the fantastic may strike some as a failure in logic, or gullibility, but it's really a gift. A world that might have Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster in clearly superior to one that definitely does not."
- Chris Van Allsburg

Vote now!

The Cybils are open for voting so head on over and nominate your favorite books. Don't forget to check out the rules before you vote!

Yellow Star - Jennifer Roy

I’ve been meaning review this book for awhile, but don’t think for a moment that I put off reviewing it because it’s not great. This book was spectacular.

The novel is based on the true story of Jennifer Roy’s aunt Syvia who was one of twelve children who survived the Holocaust in the Lodz Ghetto. It beings in 1939 with 4 ½ year-old Syvia describing the yellow star sewn onto her coat. It follows Syvia and her family as they are forced into the Lodz Ghetto and continues to describe their life until the end of WWII.

Holocaust books for middle grades can be very difficult because they shouldn’t hide the truth, but they shouldn’t be overly graphic and gruesome. Yellow Star walks the fine line perfectly because it’s told from the point of view of a young girl who didn’t always understand the truth and her parents and older sister protected her as much as they could. To support Syvia’s story and prevent any confusion, her story is interspersed with a few brief historical descriptions of the war and the novel contains a detailed timeline at the back of the book.

There are plenty of sad moments, but a few joyful moments too. Since the book begins with the statement that Syvia is one of the children who survived, the readers are spared some anxiety.

Yellow Star is also a good example of one of the few books with a story that is strengthened thru being told in verse. The simplicity of prose matches the descriptions young Syvia lends credit to her perspective as a child.

At the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, Jennifer Roy said her generation was told to “always remember”, but they weren’t told what to remember. In the foreword she said he father was also a Holocaust survivor, but he never talked about it and when he died, his history was lost. I’m certainly glad she was able to preserve Syvia’s experience before it grew too late. Her beautiful story will help children relate to an event that seems so inexplicable to us all.

The Cybils

Sometimes when a new children's literature book award is announced I'm pleased to hear the winners, but often I find myself thinking, "What!?!?!?!?" Well now the children's literature bloggers are creating a new award, and we get to make the nominations and the final decisions. The award just recieved its new name today, The Children's and YA Bloggers Literary Awards, or to keep things simple, The Cybils.

Read all about the rules here on Big A Little a.

I get to be on the nomination committee for middle grade fiction, which is headed by Fuse #8. I can't wait for discussion to begin!

If you'd like to be a part of things it's not too late. There are still some committee positions open!

Framed - by Frank Cottrell Boyce

From the Publisher
Dylan Hughes is the only lad living in his tiny Welsh town. He helps out in his family’s failing garage, managing the petrol log and keeping track of every single vehicle -- including the mysterious convoy of lorries that trundles up the misty mountainside one day. Local gossip soon sniffs out that the slate mines are being used to harbour a valuable collection of artwork, but Dylans more interested in Renaissance inspired Ninja Turtles than the real thing.... But then Dad leaves home, leaving Dylan man of the house and boss of the struggling business. A masterpiece worth a mint might be just what his family needs.

Wow! Just wow! Can I leave it at that? No? Ok, I’m dying to talk to someone about this book anyway. I have finished several books that I need to review, but as soon as I finished this one last night, I knew it had to take priority.

In Framed, Boyce explores how art affects people much like he explored how money changes people in Millions and the result is magnificent. Both books have fictional premises related to real events that make them seen plausible. In Framed, the National Gallery moves all of its painting to be stored in an abandoned mine to protect them after flooding in London makes them hard to insure in the city. The plot might sound crazy until you learn that during WWII the paintings from the National Gallery actually were packed up and stored in a quarry by a very small town. When Boyce learned about the evacuation, he found himself wondering how the world-famous art might have affected the townspeople and thus Framed was born. Dylan’s town, Manod, actually is so far behind the times one might think the book takes place during WWII if it wasn’t for a few modern references here and there like the Ninja Turtles, the movie The Italian Job, and text messaging.

A few parts of the book did seem a bit odd to me, but with Boyce I’ve come to expect a bit of unexplained quirkiness. The beauty in the book is the inventive characters Boyce creates. There’s not a boring person in the book, and I wouldn’t in a million years have guessed the wonderful ways different paintings would change the characters.

I think most people will love this book, but art enthusiasts will especially appreciate Boyce’s illustrations of the power that a few paintings can have when a handful of people have a chance to connect to them.

I think we need to nominate Frank Cottrell Boyce to Fuse #8's Hot Men of Children's Literature series. Some people probably thought Millions was just a fluke and Boyce is a movie man, not a real children's book author, but after reading Framed I don't think anyone can deny Boyce has established himself as an author, and I hope there is much mor to come from him.

The House of Scorpion - by Nancy Farmer

From the Publisher
Matteo Alacran was not Born; He was Harvested. His DNA came from El Patron, lord of a country called Opium -- a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt's first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a cow, where he continued the miraculous journey from embryo to fetus to baby. He is a boy now, but most consider him a monster -- except for El Patron. El Patron loves Matt as he loves himself, because Matt is himself. As Matt struggles to understand his existence, he is threatened by a sinister cast of characters, including El Patron's power-hungry family, and he is surrounded by a dangerous army of bodyguards. Escape is the only chance Matt has to survive. But escape from the Alacran Estate is no guarantee of freedom, because Matt is marked by his difference in ways he doesn't even suspect.

For those of you that missed out discussion at book club, I wanted to share my thoughts on this one. As I was halfway through the book, my friend Katherine remarked to me that she felt the same way reading this book as she felt reading Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card because she felt sorry for the main character who was picked on and disliked by almost everyone around him. I didn’t think much about it until I finished the book and looking back I’m surprised by all of the similarities between The House of the Scorpion and Ender’s Game. On the surface both books seem to have such different plots, but they both boil down to so many of the same main elements. Ender and Matt both stand out as different from everyone around them, but neither of them fully understands why everyone treats them differently. Both are being raised to fulfill important futures that no one bothers to explain to them. Both are relatively uncared for and have potential for evil, but they are each saved by a young girl who loves them and wants them to turn out to be good. After Ender is sent off to school and Matt is sent to a work camp they are both tortured by the other boys, but they earn loyal followers after they prove their bravery and strength. With the help of their new friends, both boys are able to alter the future of the world and accomplish almost impossible tasks.

For all of their similarities, I still felt like Scorpion was an original works the sci-fi fans will love.

Can you think of another book that would fit in with these two? I can’t.

Penny From Heaven - by Jennifer L. Holm

The next few reviews will probably have summaries from the publisher to save me a little time as I try to catch up.

From the Publisher: It's1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. But nothing's that easy in Penny's family. For starters, she can't go swimming because her mother's afraid she'll catch polio at the pool. To make matters worse, her favorite uncle is living in a car. Her Nonny cries every time her father's name is mentioned. And the two sides of her family aren't speaking to each other!

EVERYONE seems to love this book. There are glowing reviews everywhere and if you pick up this book, you will probably love it too so I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I did not love Penny From Heaven. Here’s where the confession gets even more shocking; I think it’s because it sort of reminds me of Anne of Green Gables, which I also did not enjoy (pause for gasps). Ok, let me explain; I know Anne is beloved by many, but I just cringe thinking about all of the crazy situations a “good” kid got herself into. Reading her story I constantly wanted to yell at her to stop what she was doing because I loved her, and I couldn’t stand the anticipation of the trouble she was going to get into. My relationship with Penny was much the same. The story, like’s Anne’s, wasn’t really plot driven, it was more of a slice of her life. Penny kept doing things that I knew would not end well, and I wanted to stop reading to avoid getting to the trouble that I knew was coming. Oh Penny why do you always have to go along with Frankie’s crazy plans?

It didn’t help that I was listening to Penny From Heaven in my car over the same few days that I was reading the Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman at home and since they were set during the same time period and about girls the same age, I kept comparing the two and I related to Francine a lot more. I also felt like I picked up a lot more knowledge about the time period from The Loud Silence of Francine Green so readers wanting to pick up more of a sense of how kids might have been affected by what was going on at the time, might prefer The Loud Silence (although they will learn from Penny From Heaven that some Italian Americans were imprisoned during WWII because some Americans thought of them and the enemy).

And even though I haven’t seen it in anyone else’s review, the prominent stereotypes of Italian Americans in Penny From Heaven bother me quite a bit. Of course Penny’s Italian grandmother has lived in the United States for ages, but hasn’t picked up much English and spends all her time cooking and takes joy in trying to fatten her family up. She’s extremely emotional and always fighting with her daughter-in-law or crying when someone mentions Penny’s father. The character that really bothered me was Penny’s cousin Frankie, and Italian American kid whose dad was in prison who just wanted to grow up to be a gangster and spent all his time reading about them and scheming up plans for his own crimes. Really, did the book have to go there? Do you know a lot of kids who want to grow up to become a famous criminal?

All of that aside, Penny's complicated family relationships are truly touching and I put down the book feeling happy in the end as I suspect many of you will too.

November - Short Stories

Our November meeting will be a little different than usual. We'll be meeting at Jessica's to discuss short stories and we'll even read a few aloud. Jessica would like you to read the following:

Best Shorts, Selected by AVI
Newbery Medal-winning author Avi has selected short stories from the past and present in this entertaining collection for young readers. And whether you begin by reading alone or reading aloud, these stories are some of the very best to share. Featuring loyal pets, rogue waves, ghosts who use cell phones, and young people caught up in events beyond their control, these stories are written by some of the most entertaining and esteemed authors of children"s literature. They will have you savoring a quiet moment by yourself, talking during dinnertime with your family, and laughing in class with your friends. Though it may take only a few minutes to read, a terrific short story can take you on a long journey. Are you ready for the trip?

Unreal!: Eight Surprising Stories, by Paul Jennings
Two weird, chilling, and wacky story collections from the inimitable Paul Jennings. "Jennings has found the perfect formula for the scary and supernatural sprinkled with just the right touch of humor. . . . Don't miss out on the fun here".--School Library Journal, starred review. (If you can’t get a copy of this, or it’s companion book, Uncanny, try to read any other of his short stories for children.)

Playing Catch-up

There are several reasons I haven’t been posting much here. It’s partially due to having three blogs, and it’s also partially due to being behind in pretty much every area of my life, but it’s mostly due to the fact that I read I few books that I didn’t like, and I wasn’t sure whether or not I should review them. Lucky for me, the children’s lit blog world has been discussing whether or not children’s literature bloggers should post negative reviews (read Jen Robinson’s take on it here and Fuse #8's opinion here). The discussion got me thinking about where I stand, and I think I’m finally ready to start reviewing again.

Here are my thoughts. I originally started this blog a year and a half ago to keep my fellow children’s literature book clubbers updated about book club. Eventually, I started posting my personal book reviews here instead of my personal blog because I figured the book club members were interested in them and any of my family and friends that were interested could easily read them here too. I am thrilled that other people have started reading this blog, but I still primarily review books here simply to let my friends know what I think about them. If a book I recently read came up during a book club meeting, I wouldn’t feel bad about saying that I didn’t like it, and why should that change on this blog?

Hopefully everyone reading this blog knows that I strongly believe every reader connects to a book differently because they bring different experiences and knowledge with them so each person has a unique interaction with each book they read. I’m always so excited to go to book club and hear that someone else had a completely different reaction to a book than I did because I often learn so much from their explanation of why they felt the way they did about it.

While I hate negative reviews that basically say something to the gist of, “I think this books sucks. Don’t read it.” I find negative reviews that explain the reasons for the reviewer’s dislike so interesting. In fact, a good friend recently told me that she’s never liked the book Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, which happens to be one of my favorite books and I immediately wanted to know more; I wanted to hear why, and I was glad I listened and learned, even if I didn’t agree.

Sometimes I read a negative review and think, “Yikes, I already know this is a book I won’t like. Thanks for the warning.” Other times I read a negative review, and think I might actually like a book for the same reasons a reviewer hated it. I recently heard from two friends who read a review I wrote about a book that I didn’t particularly like and they both went right out and picked the book up because the review made them interested in it, and I think that’s the way it should be.

I wish there was a book God out there that would send me a message every time I finished a book to let me know which book I should pick up next because I will absolutely fall in love with it, but there isn’t. Instead I’ll have to browse on my own and use my good judgment along with a little help from some reviewers and friends whose opinions I’ve grown to respect and appreciate.

Besides, I need to pick up some books I don’t like once in awhile or at least read about them because they make me appreciate other books all that much more.

New Moon - by Stephenie Meyer

Let me start off by saying that if you haven’t first read Twilight and then read New Moon, DO NOT CONTINUE TO READ THIS POSTING!!!!! I can’t stand to spoil one bit of the surprise for you. Do not continue, rush yourself to a library or bookstore right now!

We discussed Twilight at book club last night and it was killing me not to say anything about New Moon because it answers so many of the questions book club members had about Twilight. I flew through this book just as quickly as Twilight (although I did miss Edward in the middle). Since you’re only reading this if you’ve read Twilight, I’m not writing a summary, I’m just going to dive right in. I really wondered how Meyer, a Mormon author, would continue Bella and Edward’s love story while keeping it relatively clean. As much as I missed Edward in most of this book, keeping him away from Bella for most of the book was definitely a good solution.

I have to say that I loved the comparison/contrast of Bella and Edward to Romeo and Juliet and how they developed to be more than infatuated teenagers. The comparison also fed right into the way Bella felt when Edward left her. It explained why she became so reckless. Meyer did a wonderful job of describing Bella’s depression. The chapter heading of the names of months with blank pages was brilliant.

I was so happy to learn more about Jacob. Stephenie Meyer posted outtakes from New Moon on her Web site and one of them is from Meyer’s first draft of New Moon in which Bella never finds out from Jacob that he’s a werewolf. As much as I missed Edward during this part of the book, when I read the outtake I realized I wouldn’t change the final version. Bella’s struggle over whether or not to give in and become romantically involved with Jacob is so interesting. If your true love was gone from your life forever would you settle for someone that you really cared about, but didn’t love if you knew it would make them happy and keep you from losing your best friend? And by the way, WEREWOLVES!?!?!?!? First I have to admit that I really enjoyed a teenage vampire romance novel, and now I have to admit that I like a teenage werewolf/vampire romance novel. Try explaining that to someone and still get them interested in reading the book, but the beauty of Stephenie Meyer’s writing is that it’s so vivid and it draws you into the story so that by the time you get to the werewolves, you absolutely can’t put the book down because you’re already hooked.

I was completely surprised by the ending. I think it’s very out of Bella’s character to not jump at the chance to marry Edward when she wants to be with him forever and she doesn’t even like him to leave her side. I think maybe that was a little poor character development because it could have been clearer earlier in the story that because of her experience with her parents’ divorce she was anti-marriage. Instead Bella seems pretty happy that her mom was remarried and happy.

I was also surprised that Meyer covered as much time as she did in this book. It started several months after the first book and went through most of her senior year and Meyer has already said this will be an ongoing series, not just a trilogy. A lot of authors would want to keep Bella in high school as long as possible, but Meyer seems to have no fear of moving on and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

For those of you in Ohio or Utah, Meyer will be touring in the area soon. Check out her tour schedule here.

October Books

We’ll be meeting at Tara’s in October and we are reading books that we selected last night at book club. Here’s the list:

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

The House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo

Shakespeare’s Secret by Elise Broach

Since we had such a hard time narrowing the list down, we will be reading a few of the other suggested books in January under the theme of books about thieves.

New Moon was just released so it will be hard to get a copy. Reserve a copy at the library ASAP and if you own a copy or get a copy from the library, please pass it around to the rest of the group.

Happy reading!

prints

If I was rich I would be on this site right now buying some of this amazing artwork. Who wouldn't want to own a Mo Willems print?

My Life Starring Mum - by Chloe Rayban

13 year-old Hollywood Bliss Wintermann tries to have a normal life at her Catholic boarding school where only her best friend knows that Holly’s mother is singing superstar Khandi (think Cher or Madonna). Khandi yanks Holly out of school and deposits her in a suite in the posh hotel she’s staying in London. She tells Holly that there’s been a serious threat so she wanted Holly near her because the school couldn’t provide enough security and she also says she wants to spend more time with Holly, but Holly’s not too surprised when it seems her mother forgot she exists and hasn’t even bothered to set up tutors. Holly has to make appointments to see her mom and is thrilled when she gets her mother to agree to set up tutors. She isn’t thrilled when dancing and singing tutors show up.

I was surprised that it took quite some time for Holly to realize that Khandi was using her and trying to turn her into a superstar too. Although Holly is witty at times, I wanted more emotion from her character. She never lets her mom have the honest criticism she deserves, and I don’t know many teenage girls who would handle things that way. The most interesting part of the book is Holly and Khandi’s relationship and the author spends a lot more time focusing the posh life than the real issues at hand. Although Holly doesn’t become a mini-Khandi in the end, she also doesn’t do much to improve her relationship with her mother. Maybe that means there’s a sequel in the works.

I was a little bored at times, but some pre-teens may enjoy reading about Holly’s disdain for the life of the rich and famous.

Defining Dulcie – by Paul Acampora

This story is told first person by 16 year-old Dulcie. The book begins right after the death of Dulcie’s father. He was a janitor who died after being poisoned when he accidentally mixed some chemicals while cleaning the floor at Dulcie’s high school. Her mother wants a fresh start so she moves Dulcie across the country to California. When her mother decides to sell her dad’s old truck, Dulcie has had it. The truck is the only thing she has left of her dad’s and she is not willing to let it go. Dulcie sneaks out of the house and begins a cross-country journey to return home where she hopes her grandfather will welcome her with open arms.

I know, it sounds like another one of those morbid books, but it’s not. Dulcie and her family have a great sense of humor that kept me entertained. The beauty of the book is in the details. Dulcie stops at a lot of interesting sites on her cross-country trip like the fainting goat farm in Wakeeney, Kansas and The Great American Museum of Custodial Safety in Missouri, and the Maria Stein shrine of holy Relics in Ohio (which is a real place, who knew?). I guess I connected so much because she reminded me a little of myself, I would totally stop at random sites while traveling cross country and I even have a grandfather whose wife has passed away, but still lives on in his home as shown by the pink wallpaper and pink toilet and tub she left behind.

This book was particularly interesting to me after recently reading The Janitor's Boy by Andrew Clement because the main character in The Janitor's Boy is completely embarassed that his dad is a janitor at his school. Dulcie's lack of embarassment was refreshing, she never seemed to mind that her father and grandfather were janitors and even worked as a janitor part-time herself. I thought it was interesting that both kids used their dad’s keys to sneak around the school and both of them were surprised to discover their dad's were secretly helping other kids in need.

Dulcie was a vivid character, and I loved growing along with her in this novel. I think that you will too.

Born to Rule - by Kathryn Lasky

Harry’s at a school for wizards so why shouldn’t there be a school for princesses someone out there too? Princess Alicia heads for a summer of learning to be a proper princess at Camp Princess, where arts and crafts involve real jewels and there’s a different required outfit for every activity, including swimming tiaras for lessons in the moat.

The premise is kind of silly, but I would have still been entertained if the main characters weren’t so flat, and the main mystery wasn’t really just a sidenote to frame all of the funny details of camp.

All in all, it was fluff, but it was fairly entertaining fluff that some preteens girls will still enjoy. It reminded me a little of One Over-Caffeinated Mom’s post about planning Camp Pickalicious for her daughter and friends. How many girls do you know that would love to have their own Princess Camp?

Author visits

I've been meaning to post for awhile that I got a mailing from Cover to Cover Book Store announcing a few author visits. I'm just going to copy the flyer word-for-word:

Twin sisters and authors, Julia DeVillers and Jennifer Roy, will visit Cover to Cover on Tuesday, August 15th from 6:00 until 7:30. This year, Julia's How My Personal Private Journal Became a Bestseller premiered as the Disney Channel Original Movie "Read It and Weep". Jennifer's historical novel Yellow Star was recognized with a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award for Excellence in Children's Literature. Please join us as we welcome two very talented writers.


Award-winning author Kimberly Willis Holt will speak and autograph at Cover to Cover on Saturday, September 23, from 11:00 until 12:30. Her most recent work, Part of Me: Stories of a Louisiana Family, traces five generations during their adolescent years as they face struggles, sorrows, and triumphs. An earlier title, When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, recieved a National Book Award.

Book Meme

I've been reading as much as ever, I'm just behind in reviewing, so what's a girl to do? Procrastinate a little longer of course, and do this survey instead.

Here's a new book meme that Kelly from Big A little a has passed along. I'm going to make a rule that you can only answer with children's/young adult books.

1. One book that changed your life? I don't know about a book that's changed my life, but Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin really made me think.
2. One book you have read more than once? Growing up I read Little Women over and over again
3. One book you would want on a desert island? How could I possibly choose one book? It probably wouldn't be something beloved, it would probably non-fiction about surviving in that region or how to escape a desert island.
4. One book that made you laugh? Donuthead by Sue Stauffacher
5. One book that made you cry? The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. You have to read it if you haven't!
6. One book you wish had been written? I wish all of the Twilight series was already written so I wouldn't have to wait for them.
7. One book you wish had never been written? Ugh, gee, let's think about this one. I know a million people love the book Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, but I CAN"T STAND IT! Yes, it makes moms everywhere cry, but come on, an elderly mother breaking into her adult son's house to hold him while he's sleeping and chant, "love you forever"? Creepy!
8. One book you are currently reading? Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng. I've never been interested in reading this book, but it was one of very few book on tape options at the library and I'm liking it a lot more than I thought that I would.
9. One book you have been meaning to read? Uglies by Scott Westerfeld or The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman
10. Now tag five people: All the Chld lit bloggers have already been challenge so how about my book club members? If you don't have your own blog, you can post it in the comments here.

Donuthead - by Sue Stauffacher

Since Fuse #8 is always singing praises of Donuthead by Sue Stauffacher, I figured it would be worth picking up, and I discovered Fuse #8 was certainly right about it; it was wonderful. Donuthead (full name Franklin Delano Donuthead) has one main aspiration in life; to remain as safe as possible at all times. He only eats strictly healthy food, he avoids large bodies of water and motor vehicles because drowning and car crashes are two of the highest causes of kids’ deaths, and he measures his arms and legs everyday because he’s convinced one side of his body is smaller than the other. As you might imagine, the closest thing he has to a friend is Gloria, the woman at the National Safety Department that he calls for updates on safety statistics. Then Sarah Kervick shows up at school. Franklin is immediately repulsed by her because she’s filthy, but she bullies him into meeting her to help her brush out her messy hair. Before Franklin knows it, Sarah ends up at his house and his mom becomes her new chum. As Franklin helps Sarah in her quest to be normal, Franklin learns a few lessons himself.

I’m not sure how she manages it, but somehow Stauffacher makes Franklin seems funny instead of a pitiful kid with OCD. I think the author managed to create a main character that kids will be able to relate despite the fact that he’s incredibly quirky. The relationship between Sarah and Franklin reminded me a little of Freak The Mighty, because Franklin seems unsure of why Sarah befriends him in the first place, but he warms up to her and is anxious to help her achieve her dreams.

A few things that I loved about this book: first, that Franklin’s mom is a great single mom (although I’m not sure how she can financially support her family and still have so much time off and I also wonder whether a lot of the intended audience will know about artificial insemination), and second, I love the message that there are kind, wonderful people out there helping people they barely know achieve their dreams. Then add the beautiful ending and you’ll know why I finished this book feeling so happy about life.

I agree with Fuse #8 that I’m not really sure what the author is trying to say about kids who don’t like sport and about fighting, but I found the book highly entertaining. I’ll be anxiously awaiting the release of Donutheart in the fall. In the meantime, I will have to keep checking Sue’s blog on Amazon.