February - Cybils Award Finalists

I wish we had to time read all of the wonderful Cybils Awards Finalists, but since we didn't we decided first to read all of the fictional picture book finalists:

Pssst! by Adam Rex

Go to Bed, Monster! by Natasha Wing

The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice N. Harrington

Leaves By David Ezra Stein

Four Feet, Two Sandals by Karen Lynn William and Khadra Mohammad

Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems

The Incredible Book-Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

Then we also selected a few of the middle grade fiction finalists. Heather did a great job hosting, and for those of you who weren't able to attend, here are a few of her discussion questions:

Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of A Tree by Lauren Tarshis
How did the author use the two voices to her advantage in the telling of this story? What do we gain as readers from hearing both points of view?Did the ending seem to be missing a final chapter? Was there enough climax? Do the seemingly random subplots get tied up a little too neatly at the end?Did the short length of the book appeal to you or leave you wanting?

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
Why did this win 2007's most appropriate title award? Who or what is a crooked kind of perfect in the book?How does Zoe's father cross over from home-bound to holding an actual job?Describe Zoe's relationship with her mother. How does it change over the course of the book?How did the author demonstrate Zoe's social awkwardness? Was it mirrored by the instrument she had to play?Which relationship is the most believable?What is an example of a funny part you remember from the book? Why is it so hard to write good humor?Was anyone bothered by her swapping her organ for a piano at the end?

The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy
Assign partners. Ask your partners interesting questions and be prepared to introduce something "true" about her.Which girl do you feel worse for, Newt (parents fighting and Dad leaving), or Fox (abandoning mother returning)?What did you learn about masks in this book? When and why did the characters use them?Truth was an important theme in this book. What experiences stood out as "true" to life for you in Wild Girls?Why is it often so hard for girls to get along with their own mothers, but easily relate to the mothers of their friends?

If you read these three and are looking for more to read, check out the other middle grade fiction finalists:

Cracker: The Best Dog In Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata

Leap of Faith by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Leepike Ridge by Nathan D. Wilson

Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden

Miss Spitfireby Sarah Miller

Of course discussion lead to which books we wanted to see win the Cybil awards. We wanted A Crooked Kind of Perfect to win for middle grade fiction (that's probably not a surprise to you since I've been pushing it into the hands of anyone who will read it. Good humor in middle grade fiction is so hard to come by and this book is brilliant!) but we didn't agree on a second choice. We were all in agreement that we wanted Pssst! to win in the fiction picture book category. It's so clever and I love the artful illustrations.

In case you missed it, the award winners have been announced. The Middle Grade Fiction committee saw things the way we did and selected A Crooked Kind of Perfect as the winner! The Picture book committee Chose The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County, which wasn't a favorite among our group. You were robbed, Adam Rex!!!!! Robbed I tell you! (Although he did win the Cybil Award for elementary/middle grade fantasy/science fiction for his book The True Meaning of Smekday so the Cybils did recognize his genius so everything is still good, eh?)

2008 Newbery and Caldecott Awards

The 2008 ALA awards have been announced!

John Newbery Medal
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz (Candlewick)

Newbery Honor Books
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis (Scholastic/Scholastic Press)
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion)
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson (Putnam/GP Putnam's Sons)

Randolph Caldecott Medal
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Scholastic)

Caldecott Honor Books
Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Ellen Levine (Scholastic/Scholastic Press)
First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter)
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtin by Peter Sís (Farrar/Frances Foster)
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems (Hyperion)

To see the full list, check here.

Kaza Kingsley is here today!

I’d like to thank Stephanie Ford and the Children’s Literature Book Club for hosting me today! The blog tour has been a fun adventure. I hope you enjoy this installment, and new questions, as well as the picture of me as a kid! As you may know, there are pictures of me on each post growing slowly older…!

What books or authors have inspired you or influenced you the most?

I have to say, the Wizard of Oz series, by L Frank Baum. I loved these books (fourteen in the series) so much when I was a young kid. I was a really slow reader then, too. I used to picture every sentence, vividly, and it took me a month of constant reading to finish a book!

Beyond the Oz books, I think I’ve been inspired at some level by most books I’ve read. I just finished “Blink,” by Malcolm Gladwell (read it in a day!) and I know it inspired me in some way, too.

How well do the illustrations in your books capture the imagery you visualized as you wrote?

The illustrations have been fantastic. Some of them, like the trolls guarding a cave in Otherness in Book Two, floor me.

People have pointed out that the illustrations remind them of Mary Grandpre’s (The Harry Potter series.) This I find to be a double-edged sword. If you hold the books together, you can see the artists have entirely different styles. But there is a feel there, and I’m not sure if it is a good thing or not. If it helps people know what kind of book it is, what general genre, I guess that’s good. If it makes people think “Harry Potter,” that’s not so good. I’d be curious to know what you and your readers think!

Is there anything you would change about either of your books now that they are out?

Yes … and no! In one sense, having edited them so many times before I sent them to the “real” editors, it’s hard to turn the editor in me off. When I pick up my work I’m always scanning it for word choice, sentence structure. I’ll always find wording I’d change.

As far as big changes – not specifically. I plotted enough of the series out that I was able to drop the hints I needed into Book One. That was one advantage of advance planning – I knew enough going into Book One that I could do that. But I suppose as I go, and more details get worked out, it would be cool to “step back in time” and drop in even more tidbits. But, at the same time, I’m happy with what is there. The story is on track, where it’s supposed to be. Now I just have to worry about editing Book Three like crazy before I hand it over!

In Book One, where did you come up with the Lia Fail idea – a stone that screams?

Actually the Lia Fail is a real peace of ancient Celtic mythology. They believed there was a stone that screamed to confirm that the king being crowned was a rightful ruler. I loved the concept, and the Lia Fail is going to be an important concept later in the series!

Is Erec going to be tempted by the scepters or influenced by them in future books?

Yes! He’s been infected with the feeling of power the scepters gave him, and that’s really hard to shake. Erec has quests to do, and evil to conquer, but will the scepters help him or get in the way? Something to think about!

Let me know what mythological references you’ve spotted in the Erec Rex books. I look forward to hearing from you!

Love,

Kaza

Newbery Buzz

Did you know that this year the American Library Association is announcing its awards like the Newbery and Caldecott early? It's happening on January 14th! I can't wait. What are your predictions?

I know Hugo Cabret its quite a mix of illustrations and text so I hope that it won't be left out because it doesn't quite fit in any category. Wednesday Wars and Elijah of Buxton seem like shoe in to me to they do like to reward newcomers and I would love to see A Crooked Kind of Perfect Win (and who knows about Elijah of buxton because there are some historical inaccuracies there causing some controversy and then there's also the Coretta Scott King Award to condsider). I also wouldn't be surprised to see Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian or Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree make the list, but I haven't read those two so I can't add my two cents there.

So what do you think?

The Aurora County All-Stars - by Deborah Wiles

Just as House Jackson has recovered from a broken elbow and begins to ready his team for their one and only game of the year, all the mamas in town sign their kids up to be in Finesse Shotz pageant to celebrate the town’s 200th anniversary, which just so happens to be the same time as the big game. Frances and House were already enemies after Frances caused the accident that broke House’s elbow, causing him to miss last year’s game. During his year without baseball, House has spent time reading to the recluse elderly man who lives next-door, and carefully keeping it a secret from the rest of the baseball team. His secret is almost spilled when House discovers the man has died and left him a copy of Walt Whitman poetry. As the publisher says, in the end, “Mysteries are revealed, friendships are healed, and everyone, from youngest to oldest, learns something about love, community . . . and baseball.”

Like Wiles other books, Love, Ruby Lavender and Each Bird Sings; this books is also set in fictional Aurora County and even has an appearance by Ruby, but this book is the first to take a boy’s point-of-view. It’s chock-full of small town stereo types like mamas who spend all of their time together at the Laundromat watch soap operas and a nosey town reporter who publishes articles on rumors she over-hears while buying produce at the Piggly Wiggly.

Kirkus reviews states that sections of this book originally appeared in serialized form in the Boston Globe, which may explain why there are some great scenes, but most of the book drags on and feels a bit pieced together. There were some parts of the plot that I really enjoyed like Ruby worming her way onto the all-boy baseball team because she’s such a good player, and a subplot involving the discrimination in early professional baseball, but the majority of the book I found humdrum as the major problem of the book (whether there will be a baseball game or a pageant) was easily solvable.

The part of the book that I found most odd was all of the literary references. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed picking them out, but this book is written for a child audience people!!!! The references are everywhere; there’s a dog name Eudora Welty and large part of the plot is based on the poetry of Walt Whitman so many chapter begin with a Whitman quote. Many comments like, “Don Quixote directed her Sancho Panza to take the vote.” and, “He’s as dead as beautiful, young Emily Webb in Our Town by Thornton Wilder!” will be lost on the intended audience. It makes me question why these references are there. Does Wiles think the average fifth grader who picks up this book is also reading “Death of a Traveling Salesman” in their free time or more likely is she trying to appeal to English teachers?

Kaza Kingsley blog tour

Kaza Kingsley is doing a blog tour to promote her new book, The Monsters of Otherness, book two of the Eric Rex series.

Here's the schedule:
1/7 – A Fort Made of Books
1/8 – Books4Ever
1/9 – Baseballs and Bows
1/10 – Fanatic Space Blog
1/11 – Bibliophile's Retreat
1/12 – Children's Literature Book Club
1/13 – Stephanie’s Confessions of a Book-A-Holic
1/14 – A Year of Books
1/15 – Author Chris Rettstatt's blog
1/16 – Deliciously Clean Reads
1/17 – Into the Wardrobe
1/18 – Real Gurlz Magazine
1/19 – Chauceriangirl

That's right folks, Kaza will be here on Saturday, January 12th! She's a fellow Ohioan and has decided to stop by our blog for a visit! She's closely following all of the blogs on her tour so if you have any questions you can post comments here for her. Click here for an excerpt of Book Two! I can't wait to see what Kaza has to say!

January - Early/Middle Grade Fiction Series

This may look like a lot, but this month we are focusing on early/middle grade series, especially fairly new ones that are popular now, so they are all very very fast reads and it won't take you long to read your way through the list.





We'll be meeting at Amy's house on the SECOND WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH so everyone will have a chance to get back from vacation and spend some time reading. For the most part, we picked the first book in each series to give you a feel for it, but if you can't get your hands on the first book, pick any book in the series, in fact that might add to discussion.

Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus - by Barbara Park

Frindle - by Andrew Clements (this is not quite a series, I'll explain later)

Judy Moody - by Megan McDonald

Knights of the Kitchen Table- Time Warp Trio Series – by Jon Scieszka

Dinosaurs Before Dark, Magic Treehouse Series - by Mary Pope Osborne

Ivy and Bean - By Annie Barrows

Elephant and Piggie - by Mo Willems (choose any, there is no specific order)

Clementine - By Sara Pennypacker

Hot Hand, Come Back Kids - by Mike Lupica

Mercy Watson To The Rescue, Mercy Watson Series- By Kate Dicamillo

Welcome to Camden Falls, Main Street Series - by Ann M. Martin

December Picture Books

In December we held a book exchange and we discussed some of our favorite Christmas picture books including:

Olivia Helps With Christmas - by Ian Falconer

Wombat Divine - by Mem Fox

Welcome Comfort - by Patricia Polocco

Auntie Claus - by Elise Primavera

The Trees of the Dancing Goats - by Patricia Polocco

Olive the Other Reindeer - by Vivian Walsh

The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza -by David Shannon
Too Many Tamales - by Gary Soto

Yoon and the Christmas Mitten - by Helen Recorvits

There Was No Snow on Christmas Eve - by Pam Munoz Ryan

Santa Claus, The World's Number One Toy Expert - by Marla Frazee

Harry Potter Halloween Party

I just realized that I only posted about my Halloween party on my personal blog, but some of you might be interested in reading about it because this year's party theme was Harry Potter. You can read all about it here, and here are a few pictures to get you interested.

Our party invitations:

Our family costumes (I was Dolores Umbridge, Larry was both of the Weasley twins and every time he left the room and came back he alternated introducing himself as Fred or George and getting annoyed that people kept getting him mixed up with his twin, then our baby was a Mandrake)

Lookybook

Have you seen LookyBook? It's a web site that lets you view whole children's books from cover to cover. The point of the site is to help you make informed purchases. The site is only in beta form, but it's pretty cool (not sure how it's legal or feasible, but it's very cool).

Check it out.

The Castle Corona - by Sharon Creech

Sharon Creech is one of my favorite authors so I was prepared to fall in love with her latest book, The Castle Corona, but I just couldn’t. Creech takes a far departure from the realistic fiction in present day settings of her other novels. The Castle Corona is tale set in Midieval times, full of peasants and royalty.

The book itself has torn edges and the illustrations are made to create the feel of an illuminated manuscript, in fact, the cover even says, “Illuminated by David Diaz”. Diaz, known for his multi-cultural illustrations in books like Smokey Night and The House that Juan Built, is also trying something new with the flourishes framing his bright illustrations. Each chapter begins with a half-page illumination, but many readers have expressed their disappointment that the illustrations repeat throughout the novel so they are not getting all of the artwork that they bargained for when they purchased the book.

My disappointment was not in the illustrations, but in the storyline. The chapters alternate between the lives of the spoiled royalty, and two orphaned peasants, Enzio and Pia. Enzio & Pia spend their days working and dreaming of how wonderful it would be to be royalty, while the royal family spends their time thinking about how tough it is to have royal responsibilities. One day Enzio and Pia discover a pouch stolen from the castle, which leads to a series of events that intertwine their lives with the royal family. In the end, the puzzling mystery falls flat and the ending wasn’t satisfactory. I totally agree with one review that I read that said, “the BIG REVELATION was neither big nor a revelation nor even remotely interesting.”

The book feels a bit more like an allegory than a fairytale so of course everyone grows and learns in the end. The book is more about growing up than exciting adventures, and I suspect it will be a hard sell to many young readers.

No Talking - by Andrew Clement

Andrew Clements has done it again. Those who like Frindle or the Landry News will also enjoy No Talking; in fact, they may even like it more. War of the sexes is going on among the fifth-graders at Laketon Elementary School and Dave and Lynsey suddenly become the generals when they make a bet as to whether the boys or girls can manage to say the fewest words for two days.

It all started when Dave was working in his report on India and read about Gandhi and came across the statement, “For many years, one day each week Gandhi did not speak at all. Gandhi believed this was a way to bring order to his mind.” Dave decided his mind could use a little order so he tried to go a whole day without talking, which went really well, until he had a run-in with Lynsey. Their run-in sparks the bet, and suddenly all the fifth-graders are thinking of language in a whole new way. They decide if an adult in school asks them a question they can answer, but they can only use three words and contractions will only count as one word.

I really enjoyed the unbiased, all-knowing narration that said things like, “It’s also a shame to have to report this, but Lynsey was just as proud and stubborn as Dave.”

If this book is used in a classroom, I’m sure it would inspire a lot of thought debate about language and gender.

I think it’s also going to cause some debate among teachers because it doesn’t exactly portray them favorably. The principal HATES the competition because she likes complete control so she does not appreciate that the kids she’s been trying to shush for years are quiet because she was not the one to quiet them. Another teacher, Mr. Burton fights for the kids’ right, but merely as a matter of self-interest because he thinks it will be a good topic for his thesis. Meanwhile, Mrs. Marlow fights to stop the contest from disrupting her lesson plans, but then gives up because, “demanding that they all go back to being noisy, self-absorbed chatterbrains—it simply wasn’t logical.” OUCH! While the principal comes around and learns her lesson, the other teachers don’t and I was a little disappointed by how selfish they were. On the other hand, kids will probably appreciate the portrayal of teachers who are out to get them and love the book all the more for it.

Elijah of Buxton - by Christopher Paul Curtis

Elijah is the first child born into the town of Buxton, Canada, a community of free blacks and escaped slaves. He’s been sheltered from the realities of slavery because of his “fragile” nature, which he is often teased about. As we follow Elijah through his adventures escaping from snakes and chunking stones, he tries to prove to his parents that he’s growing up. Hi new strength prods him to face his fears in order to help others gain their freedom.

It’s nice to see Christopher Paul Curtis return to historical fiction, don’t get me wrong, his other novels are fun, but teachers across the country applaud The Watsons go to Burmingham and Bud, Not Buddy because they manage to teach about history through really funny, endearing, male main characters between the ages of nine and eleven. So yes, Curtis published ANOTHER historical fiction novel narrated by a young, black male; but this novel still manages to be fresh and original. How does he do that?

This book does contain some violence, but it would hard to portray slavery without it. The other matter some teachers are having a hard time with is Elijah’s dialect. I recently attended a book talk where the speaker brought the debate about dialect up and said that some teachers are worried that it will be too difficult for some young readers who might otherwise enjoy this book. She questioned whether or not it’s too much and I can see where she’s coming from.

I think Curtis really deserves some praise for the gentle ways he explains how slaves must have felt when they escaped. It provided some really beautiful interesting moments in the book. Elijah explains that escaped slaves who reach Buxton alone and are spotted hiding in the forest have to be approached very carefully. Elijah says:
“Even if they ain’t seeing no white people they still caint bring theirselves to show who they are. We learnt a long time ago to make no big commotion when we first seen ‘em. We learnt that all the running they’d been doing, all the looking their shoulders and not knowing when they were gonna eat again or where they were gonna sleep or who they could trust made ‘em skittish and even dangerous and not likely to take to no one running at ‘em. Not even if you were smiling and waving and showing how happy you were that they got through. Afore you’d reach ‘em they’d just melt back into the woods and you’d be standing there wondering if you’d really seen anything atall. If a bunch of us went charging at ‘em whooping and raising Cain they might disappear back into the forest for another two, three days. And that was two, three days that they were free but didn’t know it, which Pa says is tragical ‘cause you ain’t never gonna know how much time you got here on earth and each day you’re free is precious.”
Wow! They end up sending a young girl wandering the way of newcomers so they don’t feel threatened and run away. I think that’s really eye-opening.

There’s just so much in this book that I never thought about and I learned from. Like instead of playing cops and robbers or Indians and cowboys, the kids in Buxton played abolitionists and slavers. Another instance is when Elijah mentions his friend’s grandmother is about 50 so she’s so old and frail they are afraid to leave her alone even a moment. And any kid who ever even thinks about using the N word should read what happens when Elijah almost says it; Mr. Leroy explodes and explains what it means and why it should NEVER be used. He says, “Ya’ll young folks gotta understand that’s a name what ain’t never called with nothing but hate . . . You saying that word aitn’t showing no respect for no one what’s had that word spit on ‘em whilst they’s getting beat on like a animal.” Elijah’s father later goes on to tell him that he needs to be especially careful around people who used to be slaves because, “They’ve seen people acting in ways that caint help but leave scars and pecularities.”

And without spoiling anything, this book didn’t end the way that I wanted it to, but it ended the way that it had to. Anyone who picks it up will really learn a lot from it.

A Crooked Kind Of Perfect - by Linda Urban

Bloggers all over the kidslitosphere have been shouting praises of A Crooked Kind of Perfect, and I should have known that they would be right. It wasn’t love at first sight (although I do love the title and the cover is beautifully simple). During the first few pages, I wasn’t sure what I was in for, but boy am I glad that I picked this book up. It’s definitely one of my favorites of the year.

Zoe Elias had big dreams of recitals on grand pianos in front of audiences that proclaim her a child prodigy, instead she got a Perfectone D-60 organ with a vinyl seat and music to the hits of the sixties. Her dad doesn’t leave the house and spends all his time on correspondence courses like “Make Friends and Profit While Scrapbooking” and “Golden Gloves: Make a Mint Coaching Boxing”. Her mom is absorbed in her work. Her friend just informed her that Zoe has been replaced with a new best friend. And Wheeler, the class bully, has started following her home to hang out with her dad every day. Sounds a little depressing, doesn’t it? But oddly enough it's not; it’s brilliantly funny!

You don’t see a lot of books aimed at this age group that include parents dealing with a mental illness. It was so nice to read about a father with anxiety issues who still manages to be a loving and supportive dad, and while their relationship is important to the book it’s not the main focus. The characters all have their quirks, but they are believable and I quickly bonded with them and hoped for the best.

The chapters are short, Zoe’s narrative is witty, and the book goes so quickly, you’ll be left wanting more. This book earned the title, it truly is A Crooked Kind of Perfect.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac - Gabrielle Zevin

I really fell for Gabrielle Zevin’s first book Elsewhere so even though her second novel, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, had a plot seemingly plucked straight from a soap opera, I didn’t hesitate to pick it up.

This book is a far departure from Elsewhere’s science fiction premise. 16-year-old Naomi falls on the front steps of her school one evening and when she wakes up, she can’t remember the last four years of her life. Another teenager, James, discovered her on the steps and accompanies her in the ambulance to the hospital. Naomi is disappointed to discover that athletic Ace is her boyfriend, not James. In fact, there are a lot of things that surprise her about how her life has changed since sixth grade, like her parents’ divorce and the birth control pills in her nightstand drawer.

While the premise of amnesia may seem a little too cheesy, and the crush on a dangerous boy was also a little too soap opera for me (I could have done without James in the novel at all because I don't really get the bad boy appeal), the reader really connects to Naomi’s experience and can’t help but ask themselves if they would be happy with who they’ve become if they were in Naomi’s situation. Would you be happy with your friends or would you wonder why you chose them? Would you love the things you’d committed yourself too, like the yearbook and playing tennis, or would you take the opportunity to go in a different direction? When your memory of the last four years comes back, would you be happy with most of it or would you want to try to permanently forget it?

Zevin created a believable teenager’s voice in Naomi and I hypothesize that most teens who pick up the book will be able to predict most of the plot, but they will still enjoy the novel. It’s not as fresh and Elsewhere, but it’s still thought provoking.

Book of a Thousand Days - by Shannon Hale

Shannon Hale is one of my favorite authors so I was thrilled to see the glowing reviews rolling in for her latest book, The Book of a Thousand Days. I picked it up at the library, and I’m sorry, but it must be said, this is my least favorite of Shannon Hale’s novels! Of course her other books meant for the young and young-at-heart were so wonderful, that to say this is my least favorite doesn’t mean that it was horrible or even bad; I just won’t rush out to buy my own copy to highlight and cherish. I hesitated to review the book because I thought maybe it was just me, but the reality was confirmed when three other bookclubbers agreed it was definitely their least favorites too.

It’s loosely based on the Grimm fairy tale Maid Maleen (and if you’re saying, “Huh?” you are not the only one). The best I can explain it is part Rapunzel, part Cyrano De Bergerac, part Little Red Riding Hood set in country loosely based on Mongolia.

The main character, a fifteen year old girl named Dashti, approaches the castle seeking a job after being orphaned. Because Dashi knows the healing songs of muckers (a nomadic people) she is hired to be the maid to Princess Saren. Unfortunately for Dashti, she finishes her training and approaches the Princess the same day the King declares the Princess must live in a sealed tower without light for seven years as punishment for refusing to marry the suitor he selected for her. The Princess convinces Dashti to volunteer to be imprisoned with her and their solitude and boredom begins. As you might imagine, it’s hard to describe a few years of tedium without becoming a little tedious. While in the tower, two suitors visit Saren, Lord Khasar, who strikes fear in both Dashti and Saren; and Saren’s secret betrothed, Khan Tegus. Saren is “tower-addled” and forces Dashti to talk with Tegus while pretending to be the princess, and Dashti falls for Tegus’s tenderness.

After a few years they manage to escape from the tower only to discover the King’s land has been conquered by Lord Khasar, and all the people have fled or been slain. Dashti resorts to dragging the Princess to Tegus’s home, where she refuses to identify herself as royalty so they resort to finding work scrubbing pots in the kitchen.

This is one of those books where everything would be quickly solved if everyone was just honest and open in the beginning instead of avoiding the truth, a premise that drives me nuts! If Dashti would reveal that she wasn’t the princess and the princess was posing as a dishwasher, she would avoid much heartache. If Saren would tell Dashti the truth about who Lord Khsar is, she wouldn’t seem crazy and wimpy and he could be easily conquered. But of course neither will share their secrets and the book goes on and on.

I did find in interesting that Hales continues her theme of the strength of language. The Goose Girl could speak to the elements, in Princess Academy, they could communicate through stone, and Dashti can heal people through song. While I didn’t love this book, I did enjoy it and I hope Hale continues to entrance us with her lyrical language.

November - Mysteries

Here are the books that we are reading this month along with some questions to get your thinking. Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass
These questions are from Wendy's site, http://www.wendymass.com/ and they contain some major spoilers!

1. What three items did Jeremy and Lizzy need to deliver for Mr. Oswald?
   Discuss the significance of each item (in relation to the respective
   owner, in relation to Jeremy, etc.) What “life lesson” did Jeremy take
   away from each encounter?
2. “I have named the hour between eleven and midnight the Hour of
   Jeremy (H.O.J. for short).” (p. 27) During the H.O.J, Jeremy reads, does
   research on the Internet, etc. If you had a specific time allotted just for
   yourself, what hour would you choose? What would you do during that
   time?
3. In a conversation between Jeremy and Lizzy, she asks “So what’s your
   strength?” “Good question, replies Jeremy. “What is my strength? Do
   I even have a strength?” (p.18) Ask students how they would answer
   that question. Then read aloud the story about the fight between two
   wolves on page 271. Discuss the concept of good vs. evil and the notion
   that the wolf you feed can be considered your strength. Ask students to
   write a list of their own strengths.
4. Jeremy has an internal battle with himself over the difference between
   fate and bad luck. (p. 82) Conversely, Lizzy sees the fact that they
   missed their stop as “a good sign for sure.” (p. 83) Do you believe in
   fate? Do you think there is such a thing as bad and good luck? Many
   people think that the number 13 is unlucky, as Lizzy and Jeremy discover
   when the 13th floor is missing (p.86). Do you think there is any truth
   to this custom? As an extension activity, have students research the
   mystery of the number 13.
5. Mr. Randolph defined the meaning of life as finding one’s potential and
   embracing it. (p. 156) And Dr. Grady is referring to life in his statement,
   “It’s the journey, not the destination.” (p. 186) How are these two
   declarations related, if at all? Would you agree with Mr. Randolph and
   Dr. Grady? Does the letter written by Jeremy’s father reflect these
   sentiments? How?
6. There is a central theme of loss in this novel: the death of Jeremy’s
   father and the abandonment of Lizzy’s mother. Do you think that
   is what draws Jeremy and Lizzy together as friends? Describe their
   relationship. When Samantha moves in, Lizzy begins acting strange
   and all of a sudden becomes concerned with what Samantha may
   think of her. Why do you think Lizzy is behaving differently? Does it
   impact Jeremy and Lizzy’s friendship? Cite several examples of the bond
   between Jeremy and Lizzy.
7. Were you surprised to discover that Jeremy’s father had planned this
   entire adventure and that everyone was in on the plan? What lifelessons
   did Jeremy learn? How has this experience changed him? Do
   you think that the summer’s events helped Jeremy better deal with his
   father’s death? Describe the transformed Jeremy?
8. Jeremy spends the entire summer trying to discover what is in his
   Meaning of Life box. When he finally gets it opened, his father informs
   him “…that’s all life is, really, a string of moments that you knot
   together and carry with you….The trick is to recognize an important one
   when it happens.” (p. 272) And within the box are numerous rocks—
   each one representing an important moment. Think about your own life, what meaningful items would you save and what would you write in your letter?
   

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Start off by checking out the book's website http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/

• The Invention of Hugo Cabret has almost as many pictures in it as words. How did the art affect your experience of reading the book?
• How is the book like a movie or how does it remind you of movies?
• Did you learn anything new from reading this book?
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret takes place in Paris in the 1930s. Do you think this story could have taken place somewhere else or at another time? If so, where and when?

And for some really great questions, go to this site:
http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/04/21/a-totally-unauthorized-reading-group-guide-to-the-invention-of-hugo-cabret/

Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb by Kirsten Miller

1. Kirsten Miller has further developed some of the irregulars in this book. Which one of the Irregulars do you most relate to and why?
2. What is so appealing about Kiki Strike?
3. This novel continues to introduce us to more young geniuses. What is Kirsten Miller trying to say about geniuses?
4. The novel ends with Kiki headed to claim her home and Ananka revealing her secrets to her parents. Is this the end of the irregulars or do you predict a sequel?
5. Not only are the Irregulars diverse, but so are their families. Describe the different parent/child relationships. Why do you think Miller chose to set the families up the way she did? (and on a side note, why no siblings?)
6. Kirsten Miller keeps track of all sort of odd real life occurrences like underground cities, and stories of haunted houses. I think these intriguing stories that are interwoven into the Kiki Strike novels are part of what making them so intriguing, they leave you with a feeling that this might actually be possible. She chronicles many of them under Ananka's Diary on her web site www. kikistrike.com. Can you think of any real life oddities that might fit perfectly into a Kiki Strike novel or maybe inspire a novel of your own?
   
   

Did you know?

So the other night I was watching Meet the Robinsons, a movie based on the picture A Day With Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce, and I remembered a conversation that I had with my sister when she mentioned that she saw William Joyce on Martha Stewart a few year ago. If you're like me, you're wondering why on Earth William Joyce would be on Martha Stewart. I picked up a copy of The World Of William Joyce at the library to show you the answer.

Joyce says that some of his favorite childhood memories are related to the holidays and family traditions and he wants the holidays to be a magical time for his own kids so he goes all out. He even repaints his house for the holidays! He takes the whole month of October off to decorate for Halloween, his favorite holiday. Here's a picture of his mantle set for Halloween.

Spooky, right? He paints the black walls with snowflakes to convert the room for Christmas.And can you imagine Easter eggs hand painted by William Joyce? That would be an amazing site to behold! Every year, besides taking a month to decorate for Halloween, he throw a huge Halloween party. One year everyone dressed up as characters from his books. Can you identify this couple?And every year his nephews receive a handwritten letter from Santa. One year no letter arrived, but the next year a fat letter came explaining Santa's crazy adventures that had prevented him from writing the year before. The letter gave Joyce the idea for writing Santa Calls. Funny how the doodles on Santa's letters look a little like Joyce's doodles. Hmmmmm . . .

There is surprisingly little about Joyce on the Web (do you hear that William Joyce? We'd love a blog or a better web site!) but you can pick up a copy of The World Of William Joyce to learn more about him and you can see a Reading Rockets interview with him here. (Did any of you know about Reading Rockets? I just discovered them and they have some great author interviews!)

We Met Mo Willems!

We just happened to be visiting family in Irvine, CA when Mo Willems was there doing a book signing there at A Whale of a Tale for his latest picture book, Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity. We flew into Burbank and took our time driving down so we missed the beginning of his talk and reading, but we did get to catch him talking about the next pigeon book. It's being released on April 1, 2008 and mo announced that the title will be five words long. He even shared the first four words with us, The Pigeon Wants A ________. He's leaving it to kids to fill in the blank for now and he says that on April 1st children every where will rush to their local bookstore to be greatly disappointed that he didn't choose their title!

He was just as funny and as personable as you would expect. He's my very favorite picture book author so I felt a little like I was meeting a rockstar. While we were waiting in line to get our books signed I mentioned to my husband that I hoped that I didn't have a MotherReader moment (another kidlit blogger who says that she gushed to the point of embarrassment when she met mo). Mo overhead me and asked if I was a blogger and proceeded to tell me that he LOVES the kidlit bloggers! Then he was even more animated and friendly. (ok, and as if that didn't win me over enough, he oohed and awed over my son and commented on how gorgeous his blue eyes are, and what mom wouldn't love that?)

On April 1st, I will be lined up at my local children's book store to pick up the new pigeon book. I can't wait! Want to know more about Mo? You can view his web site here.

And because he says that he's phasing that out, you can see his blog here.

And his pigeon site here.

A few highlights? On his blog Mo has pictures of a teacher with a pigeon costume (and I thought that I was a big fan!)

And under Mo's Stuff he has a link to info on Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus the Musical, which looks fantastic!