BOOK LOG

The Sky's the Limit

2012-02-07T16:20:00.005-06:00

In the great city of New York, I hear a parade is planned today. Something about a football game. However, my mind is on another event in the Big Apple, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. This annual festive celebration is made possible by one man’s quest to make things move.

BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY, the True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade, by Melissa Sweet, Houghton Mifflin, 2011

For Tony Sarg it may have started when he was six years old and didn’t want to get out of bed to feed the chickens. He analyzed the problem, made a plan, and rigged up a pulley system that worked so well Tony stayed in his warm bed, the chickens were well fed, and reportedly, his amazed father never asked him to do another chore.

From London to New York to Broadway where Tony Sarg’s Marionettes performed, to Macy’s holiday windows where Tony entertained hordes of jostling shoppers with his mechanical marionettes, to a parade of street carnivals from around the world, Tony Sarg was always looking for the next step toward making his puppets look and move like actors on a stage.

Author/illustrator Sweet also loves to figure out how to make things move. Her characters on the page of this charming book have a light airy movement of their own. Sweet's well researched text flows easily along a timeline that is easy for young readers to grasp. This is a biography of Tony Sarg and a brief mini-biography of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The first Thanksgiving Day parade was held in 1924, from Harlem to Harold Square. Do you suppose Tony Sarg ever dreamed his creative genius would result in today’s annual extravaganza watched by thousands on the streets and hundreds of thousands more on TV?

In the recent frenzy of award ceremonies, this charming, fun biography of Tony Sarg which is also a mini-biography of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade won both the Sibert Award and the Orbis Pictus Award. As a result, there may be a waiting list at your library or the book may be back ordered at your favorite independent book store. It’s worth the wait.

In the meantime, for more about these whimsical puppets, take a look at the author’s web site. This could open up a new path of expression for your young readers.

Or you.

Go Ahead—Be a Kid Again

2012-01-26T15:46:00.001-06:00

Here’s a picture book that can shake up your day, literally. I’ve read other reviews of this delightful concept book and, frankly, didn’t get it. I’ve spent a lot of time with a toddler and a picture book on my lap asking questions about each page and enjoying the fresh insights of a two or three year old, untarnished by the ho-hum thinking of us adults. How could that be improved upon?

PRESS HERE by Herve Tullet, Chronicle Books, 2011

Colors, shapes, numbers, and a wonderful feeling of accomplishment pour out of this hard cover book that feels like a board book, but it’s more like a small size picture book with pages that are thinner than a board book but feel sturdier than a lap size picture book. Confused yet? Add motion. Shake, shake, shake.

I shared PRESS HERE with a friend who directs a pre-school and after she read, shook, laughed, and re-read the book again, she pulled out a pencil and notepad and jotted down the title and author. “Twisted,” she said. “The kids will love this.” The next time I’m in her office, I’ll look for this book on her “to read” shelf for her giggly, wiggly students.

Translated from the French, PRESS HERE first appeared in 2010 published by Bayard Editions under the title “Un Livre.” It’s more than un livre. It’s an invitation to enter a toddler’s world, and how many times are we that fortunate?

You’ll have to read this book for yourselves. I’m glad I did. And yes, “twisted” is the perfect word. Let me know what you think.

And Now a Ghazel

2011-12-22T16:50:00.000-06:00

Intrigued? I was. Haiku has fascinated me for years and now comes another poetry form, the ghazel (say guzzle and you’ll be close). Of course, it’s not new—except to me. This poetic structure dates back to the 7th century (at least) and is Arabic. The challenge in this rhymed couplet lies in each word that is next to the last. As it rhymes with the next to the last word in the line before it, it carries the story forward. What better way to introduce it than by experiencing it in the hands of a master story teller.

NAAMAH AND THE ARK AT NIGHT by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, illustrated by Holly Meade, Candlewick Press, 2011.

We know about Noah and his faithfulness. We know he built the Ark in spite of the derision of his neighbors. We know he rescued the animals two by two and set sail on a storm tossed sea. What then? What was it like when it got dark aboard the ship? Were Noah’s sons and their wives afraid? And what do we know of Noah’s wife?

Her name was Naamah (say Na-ah-mah or Nay-ah-mah). Scholars think she was a pleasant woman because that is one interpretation of her name. I have to wonder whether anyone of lesser temperament could have survived that crammed existence on a violent sea.

Another interpretation of the name Naamah is “great singer.” Author Bartoletti postulates, “Perhaps she sang.”… to Noah and their sons and the wives of their sons. While Bartoletti imagines Naamah into being, the reader relaxes, feeling the warmth of Naamah’s courage and confidence. Naamah, too, had great faith, just like Noah.

The poetic structure with its smooth, rolling lines creates a mood of peace. So, too, does the sweep of the art, the light and dark, enveloping, revealing. Here is a lullaby story that begs to be read aloud and a young reader will insist that it be read many times. Naamah’s song will bring calm to your stressful day, too. It’s already on my gift list for several friends, of different ages.

Both author and illustrator have won awards for their work. More importantly, they have won the hearts of young readers.

Water, Water, Anywhere?

2011-11-21T09:40:00.000-06:00

Except for times of drought when we’re asked to water our lawns before and after 10 o’clock on set days of the week, we take water for granted.

In the mid-1800’s our ancestors didn’t have that luxury. They couldn’t pretend they were opera stars singing in daily hot showers or gulp a glass of cool water from the kitchen sink. If they wanted water to keep their cattle, crops, and themselves alive, they had to hire a dowser, a person with the gift of finding water.

Not everyone had this gift. It seems to me that a dowser must have been as necessary to his community as a doctor. A dowser would have his future planned and his security assured. Wouldn’t he? But what if the dowser was determined to escape the reach of his gift and do something else?

THE WATER SEEKER by Kimberly Willis Holt, Christy Ottaviano Books, 2010

Dowser and trapper Jake Kinkaid uses a forked branch to make his living. He’s saving his money so he can stop dowsing and do what he wants. The plan is simple. Jake’s life gets complicated.

A wild, red-headed woman named Delilah runs to Jake’s cabin to escape her abusive father. In very short order, they marry, produce a son, and Delilah dies, leaving Jake to raise his son, Amos, alone. Amos inherits his mother’s artistic talents and his father’s gift of dowsing, but, as the reader learns, Amos is not entirely alone. Other women who love and care for Delilah’s boy, sometimes see a wild, red-haired apparition who seems more approving than threatening.

Jake’s gift of dowsing doesn’t make him happy. He longs to spend all his time hunting and trapping. As a scout for a wagon train going west, he is injured trying to rescue another man on a treacherous river crossing and his leg must be amputated. By now Amos is 14. He knows that he, too, has the gift of dowsing, but he keeps it to himself because he knows how unhappy his father is about his own gift. Instead, he tries to help his disabled father dowse and struggles to keep him from falling into a deep depression.

Amos’s life parallels the expansion of our country during the middle part of the 18th century. This is historical fiction at its best. As the author follows Amos from his birth in 1833 to the birth of Amos’s son in 1859, the reader absorbs how the early pioneers learned to work together, take care of each other, share, grow, settle, and branch out with their own families.

Author Holt won the National Book Award for When Zachary Beaver Came To Town, and her book My Louisiana Sky was made into a movie. She was launched on her quest for information for The Water Seeker when her own husband mentioned that his father was a dowser. Mentioned? What a happy discovery! There is more on her website: www.kimberlywillisholt.com

This book should travel well in the days ahead. Tuck it into your tween’s carry-on. A book can stay open after the captain orders all electronic devices shut down.

Firestorm!

2011-11-12T12:23:00.000-06:00

Today’s tweens and teens might think the word firestorm refers to political rhetoric. No one who is of interest to the media can say much or tweet much without drawing a barrage of withering comments—a firestorm. When I looked up the word in a dictionary, it wasn’t there. Another dictionary, same year as the first, defined it as a fire driven by a violent wind. Yes, lots of hot air. I like the middle grade novel by the same name much better than the storms raging on radio and tv talk shows.

FIRESTORM! by Joan Hiatt Harlow, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2010

Poppy’s mother leaves her in a Chicago alley where the little girl is picked up by Ma Brennan, a female Fagin, who teaches girls to steal. Ma has 2 biological daughters whom she favors, but Poppy becomes a skilled pick pocket, and this is what keeps her alive and gives her a place to sleep.

Justin Butterworth is 13 and privileged. His father is Chicago’s most important jeweler. Poppy and Justin meet, and thanks to a pet goat named Tick Tock, they begin to see each other as people, not stereotypes. They become friends. Poppy meets Justin’s sister Claire who tells her she is like a geode. Inside is a sparkly crystal of goodness. This reaches deep inside Poppy, getting underneath all the hurt she has suffered. Poppy doesn’t want to steal anymore. She wants to belong to a real family.

Ma is not willing to give up her star thief, however. She manipulates Poppy by threatening to turn Tick Tock into goat stew, and the plot thickens.

The characters interact, grow, and deepen against the historical background of the Chicago fire which was NOT started by Mrs. O’Leary’s cow. Only the Butterworth family, Poppy, and the girls and Ma Brennan are fictional, although there was a Mary Brennan who taught girls to steal. Other famous people are mentioned but they are in place historically and accurately portrayed. Author Harlow skillfully weaves in bits of history to enlarge the reader’s knowledge of this tragic event. Publication of this novel was timely, during the 150th year observation of the fire.

This is definitely a middle grade novel which girls especially will enjoy. Sensory details are so engaging one can taste the smoke, hear the fire alarms and trucks rushing to respond, feel grit in eyes and nose. A dramatic arc swings wide from tangled relationships to a frantic escape from the raging fire to the resolution of the characters’ complicated problems. In spite of a burned and blackened landscape, this ends well.

Kudos to the author. She’s written other books for this age group and you can find them at www.joanhiattharlow.com her website.

Covered in Cobwebs

2011-10-29T11:26:00.029-05:00

It’s that time again. Carve the pumpkin, or purchase one that has a permanent grin. I still have the coated cardboard jack-o-lantern (my guess as to what it’s made of) I carried as a child, thanks to my mother and an attic with magical stretching powers. That space above the pull down stairs always had room for one more box of treasures. Even creepy ones with eerie smiles.

THE GARGOYLE ON THE ROOF by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Peter Sis, Greenwillow Books, 1999.

If this book is in your attic or buried in the stacks on your bookshelves, drag it out and dust it off. Poetry and pictures in the hands of these talented legends is never out of style.

This book of clever poems has longevity. Moms and dads can read it to their younger kids and dramatize as much as the youngest listener can handle. Older kids will enjoy doing their own dramatizing. One can almost hear the illustrator chuckling to himself as he creates the gruesome characters soaring, diving, and gliding across the pages. Other characters react in fright, shock, surprise, and a few smiles, but these are not the smiles one trusts.

My favorites: the plight of the Vampire who can’t see his image in the mirror,and the social problems of the Headless Horseman and the lonely Troll. It isn’t too difficult to see middle school students identifying with some of these characters.

Without any magic at all, today’s young readers will be tomorrow’s older kids. Here are two Halloween books reviewed on Book Log last year. The links either won't work on reviews that far back or the gremlins are haunting my computer. You can, however, find them by going to the archives
at left and clicking on 2010.

Trick or Treat, Old Armadillo by Larry Dane Brimner, featured October 26, 2010.

On a Windy Night by Nancy Raines Day, reviewed October 22, 2010.

They are still scary good fun!

Reader—A.K.A. Writer

2011-10-13T16:07:00.003-05:00

I’ve been away from my blog, but not away from my books. Time to share.

THE CASE OF THE CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY by Mac Barnett, with illustrations by Adam Rex, Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2009

If you’ve been searching for a book for a reluctant reader boy, here’s one that just might grab his interest. Does he like playing detective and solving crimes? Being a hero? How about his ego? Can it stand a good natured tumble or two?

He’d relate well to 12 year old Steve Brixton, the main character of this fun to read adventure. Steve is a fan of the Bailey Brothers detective novels and he is so good at solving crimes that he’s mistaken for a real detective. The chase is on. While he searches for a missing quilt containing coded information, he must elude librarians, police, and the mysterious Mr. E. Along the way, he learns to laugh at himself when his ego is trounced and keep his focus on the crime at hand.

Girls will enjoy this book, too, even though there are no girls in it, just two chums. That word is an inside joke. Read the book to get it. However, this is not one of those books you need read first to understand why your reader is chuckling. Just be glad he’s reading.

References to the Bailey Brothers detective novels does not slow the action. If the Bailey Brothers series is real, this book builds on them. If the idea of such a series was created only for this stand alone title, someone should write it. A readership awaits.

This was a finalist in the juvenile division of the Edgar awards given by the Mystery Writers of America.

I have a hunch the author’s website is fun.

Good-Bye, Irene

2011-09-05T15:21:00.003-05:00

The rains fell, the winds blew. An introduction to Hurricane Irene thundered on the tin roof of my cabin in the Poconos where I recently spent a week in the company of other writers. Nothing like a good book to take one’s mind off a threatening storm. While Irene tossed her wet and shaggy locks like a quick-tempered drama queen, I sailed the Polar Sea with Captain Mac.

CAPTAIN MAC: The Life of Donald Baxter MacMillan, Arctic Explorer, by Mary Morton Cowan, Calkins Creek, 2010

The son of a seaman, Donald Baxter MacMillan was an orphan by the time he was twelve. He faced and overcame many hardships, but at the end of a long and adventurous life, he could look back on a career of Arctic exploration that lasted almost 50 years.

Author Mary Morton Cowan combed notebooks, diaries, and ship’s logs to craft this fully researched text that reads like a novel. She takes the reader out to sea with Captain Mac to endure homesickness, cold, isolation, and darkness for months at a time. 5 of Captain Mac’s 25 sailing expeditions, the last in 1954, lasted longer than a year. On some expeditions, the crew was forced to subsist on seal, walrus, polar bear meat -- or starve. Excellent maps and photos are well-placed to expand the reader’s understanding of the action in the Polar North.

Bowdoin College figures prominently in Captain Mac’s life. He worked diligently to pay his way and graduate with a degree in geology in spite of financial and health problems. His schooner, which he captained for 18 expeditions, was named the Bowdoin. In 1918 Bowdoin College awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Science degree. The Peary-Macmillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin College, dedicated in June 1967, houses stuffed, mounted polar bears, Mac’s camera, the watch Commander Robert Peary gave Mac that he took every time he sailed north and the letter he took on every expedition: “To be opened when everything’s gone dead wrong.”

There is so much more to know about Captain Mac. His sense of fairness. His sense of humor. Cowan lightens dark moments with anecdotes about the man himself.

The bear cub he rescues and names Bowdoin causes mayhem, becomes playful and somewhat trainable, but eventually leaves. It’s a bittersweet good-bye.

Mac learns to choose his crew with these criteria: to sign on, a scientist must be or become a sailor and a hunter. He must also be personable. Who would want to be stuck in the dark and cold for months with a man who complains all the time? Cranky men need not apply! (Interpretation mine.)

And then there are the college students, “Mac’s boys,” that Mac and his wife Miriam treat like family. Additionally, their care and concern for the Inuit children and the Inughuit culture becomes a legacy.

The author provides a time line of expeditions, a list of awards and major recognitions, chapter notes, an index, and a selected bibliography as well as suggestions for further reading. For more, see the author’s website.

Author Cowan weaves a tantalizing tale. Readers ten and up and their parents will find this information packed adventure story accessible and enjoyable.

Irene may have turned off the lights, shut off the water, and closed down all the airports offering me a ride home, but I was equipped with a small clip-on book light, a Christmas present from my son. That book light goes where I go. Take note, you East and Gulf Coast weather watchers. Another hurricane or two is spinning toward us. Along with fresh batteries and a supply of bottled water, you might want to have a copy of Captain Mac on hand.

40 Years of SCBWI

2011-08-16T09:34:00.032-05:00

Fatigue has faded. Euphoria has not. Last week I was among the 1,342 lucky writers, illustrators, and other publishing professionals who journeyed to Los Angeles to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. The founders, Lin Oliver and Stephen Mooser, are still young. Writing for children creates one’s own private Fountain of Youth. Most of us are the age of the main character in our WIP (work in progress.)

Judy Blume, Gary Paulsen, Ben Small, Bruce Coville, Henry Winker (“The Fonz”), Ellen Hopkins, Jerry Pinkney, and Richard Peck were just a few of the many mesmerizing speakers. I will focus on three: Jo S. Kittinger, Rukhsana Kahn, and Laurie Halse Anderson.

Jo S. Kittinger, author of 22 books, led a workshop titled, “Digging for Gold: Nuggets That Make Your Nonfiction Books Shine.” Shine is something Jo knows about. Her most recent nonfiction book, Rosa’s Bus, blogged here, won a Crystal Kite, an SCBWI peer award given for the first time this year. Jo is also the Co-Regional Advisor of Southern Breeze,a region of SCBWI composed of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. In October Lin Oliver will travel to Birmingham to present the Crystal Kite award to Jo at the Southern Breeze Writing and Illustrating for Kids annual conference.

Rukhsana Kahn won a Golden Kite for her book The Big Red Lollipop blogged here. Her acceptance speech showcased her storytelling talents. A flutter of hands, a sly gleam, and a mischievous smile transported us to those moments in her life that inspired this award winning tale about sisters. Sibling rivalry is universal. Rukhsana admitted the real life ending and the ending in her book are different. Wouldn’t we all like to relive a part of our lives and write a different ending?

Laurie Halse Anderson was the final speaker. She spoke as though she had been perched on the front row, listening to each speaker, soaking up every word. Her summary, quoting speakers, emphasizing concepts and challenges, reminded us of the extraordinary task we have as creators of materials for children. For her body of work which includes the well known novels Speak, Chains, and Forge, blogged here. Laurie received the 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award given by YALSA, a division of the American Library Association for “significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.“

While Laurie quoted others in her stirring summary, I raced to take notes in order to share her her quotes:
“The job of the artist is to disturb the universe.”
“We are dreamers who dare to create.”
“To write is to terrorize yourself.”
“Our children need us to tell the truth.”
“In children’s literature, we are not competitors, we are co-conspirators.”

And, finally, “Go forth and disturb the universe.”

Too Little, Too Much

2011-08-01T16:24:00.003-05:00

Weather is a news maker. Floods. Droughts. These are the calm sisters of the bullies, tornadoes and hurricanes. Yet, they are just as damaging, maybe more so. Too much water and people lose their homes in overwhelming floods. Too little water and drought kills crops. People suffer from famine or prices so high in the supermarket that dinner tables are often bare. We know the role water plays in the way we live. Do our children? Do they know how water works? Do they know where it comes from and where it goes?

ALL THE WATER IN THE WORLD by George Ella Lyon and Katherine Tillotson, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011

Where does water come from and where does it go? Did you know it goes on a round trip?

An acclaimed poet and a skilled artist combine talents to take us around the world while our growing understanding of the importance of water hitch hikes on a drop, slides down a gutter, bounces on a sidewalk, or just dries up. We can see it, hear it, taste it, and wake up in the middle of the night hoping someone will bring us a glass of it.

The author is also a novelist and an activist wielding a pen. She won the Jane Addams Award given to books that further the cause of peace and justice for You and Me and Home Sweet Home. . Visit her online here

Illustrator Tillotson loves jumping in puddles and pours her energy into a number of books. See her webpagehere.

Do you hear the rumble of thunder in the distance? Time to make a lap and hold your toddler in place with a book that will make the storm a memory. A good memory.

All the Water in the World ties generations,cultures,and countries together.

What a Revolution Looks Like

2011-07-11T16:32:00.003-05:00

Tweens and Teens who watch the news see revolutions all around the globe, in the Middle East and Africa, especially. Those countries seem far away. However, their grandparents will remember a revolution in the 1960's that happened only 90 miles away.

90 MILES TO HAVANA by Enrique Flores-Galbis, Roaring Book Press, 2010

This is about the Pedro Pan operation in 1961 during the Cuban Revolution. 14,000 children were sent from Cuba in a mass exodus. Parents were prevented from leaving, so the children sailed to new homes alone. Told in first person, present tense by Julian, youngest son of a well to do family, the story pulls the reader in with Julian’s mother’s command, “Don’t look away boys...I don’t want you to ever forget what a revolution looks like.”

Julian loves family and wants to please, save, help, take care of each member. His loyalty is steadfast. He makes friends from whom he can learn. His observations and developing skills build to his maturity and usefulness. An artist at heart, Julian expresses himself differently, with insights that surprise. This is a coming of age story, but it has so many layers of meaning and richness within that story.

Any revolution can be better understood by how it looks on a personal level. Bullies in power beget bullies at each level below them. Julian sees bullies in his Cuban neighborhood, at his school, and in America in the camp where he and his brothers are first to learn about America. The bully at the American camp, who was a classmate of his brothers in Cuba, becomes an even meaner bully in the United States, demonstrating how a bully’s inner fears drive his need to intimidate others.

Each character is well fleshed out. There are several casts of characters, from home, to camp, to small communities outside the camp, to Miami, to the school and new home in Connecticut. Trust issues arise. Misery results when misunderstandings occur.

I tried to figure out how old Julian is. He can work math problems that sound as if he could be in the 4th or 5th grade making him, maybe 10 or 11. However, when you are the youngest of 3 boys, it may not matter what your age is, you are still the youngest of 3 boys.

One of Julian’s brothers (Gordo) comes close to being a bully. The middle brother (Alquilino) has more sense and a greater interest in keeping peace, thinking first, acting afterward, weighing the potential. In a reverie near the end of the book, Julian says, “maybe my brothers were making too much noise for me to hear my own thoughts.” To me, that voice seems 9-11, that revelation closer to 11. At this point it’s clear that Julian understands how to make choices for the right reasons.

The author is an artist and lecturer and lives in Forest Hills, New York with his family. He was 9 when his life was changed by Operation Pedro Pan. He and his two older brothers spent months in a refugee camp in southern Florida and this novel is directly inspired by that experience.
Flores-Galbis dedicated this book “To my parents who were brave enough to let go, and my older brothers Anibal and Fernando: tormentors, teachers, and titans whom I will always look up to and love.”

Earlier this year, I blogged about Pedro Pan from a girl’s point of view Under the Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez. Entry here. 90 Miles to Havana is told from a boy’s perspective. Both books will be of absorbing interest to boy or girl readers.

Who’s in Your Photo Album?

2011-07-04T10:57:00.000-05:00

Here’s a great way to prepare for a family reunion, real or imagined.

FINDING FAMILY by Tonya Bolden, Bloomsbury, 2010

Being twelve can be boring. Delana’s homelife is especially bland, considering she’s being raised by her grandfather and her Aunt Tilley who tell her tales about family members she’s never met. Unknown faces stare into space from the family’s many photos, photos on the walls, the tables, and stuffed into albums. Each photo has a story Aunt Tilley loves to tell. Delana isn’t fond of listening. Then Aunt Tilley dies and life turns from boring stories to shocking tales.

Delana finds out her grandfather bought his own freedom and then tried to relocate the many members of his family that had been sold and scattered. His hard exterior gives Delana the idea that he doesn’t love her, but she discovers how much love this man has for family. His life is bound up in finding and protecting family. Delana learns who she is and who her people were, an overwhelming experience in this coming of age tale set in the early 1900's in Charleston, West Virginia.

The author has written more than 20 books for children and young adults, and counts a Coretta Scott King Honor Book Award among them. In her author’s note, she confesses to collecting photos because the expressions on the faces made her wonder about the people and their lives.
The black and white photos illustrating the pages of Finding Family give witness to how well this works.

Many people today store their photos online. Boxes and albums of pictures may be the legacy of past generations only, just as my mother left me stacks of boxes and albums. I have countless pictures of groups, all lined up and smiling, individuals posing with small children in their arms, and many other scenes peopled with vacationers and a variety of state line signs in the background. No information on the back. I have no idea who these people were or why they were important to someone on my family tree. However, author Bolden inspires me to give a second life to these photos, to imagine who they were and make up stories about them. My mother's stacks of photos of unknown people is now a writer's treasure trove of ideas.

Still, I wish somebody had written on the back of my ancestors’ photos Names? Dates? Events?

Memo to self: be sure the photos I’ve taken carry identifying information. Whose feet are those?

Family Ties

2011-06-27T11:13:00.003-05:00

What threads tie one generation to another? In this tribute to family, it is a shovel. Not a huge, earth moving shovel that spades garden plots or digs post holes. A little shovel. But it tells a mighty story.

ALL THE WAY TO AMERICA, The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel, by Dan Yaccarino, Alfred A. Knopf, 2011

“Work hard.”
“Remember to enjoy life.”
“Never forget family.”

Wise words.

Oh, but there is so much more to the big Italian family that author Dan Yaccarino shares with us.

He begins with his great-grandfather’s little shovel, the one his ancestor was given so he could help tend the zucchini, tomatoes, and strawberries in his father’s garden.

Then this talented great-grandson mines the family stories and follows the little shovel as it travels with his great-grandfather from his birthplace in Sorrento, Italy all the way to America.

In a touching fare-well scene, the reader sees great-grandfather receiving from his father the little shovel and the first two lines of advice above. Mom added, “Never forget family.” She gave him photos and tomato sauce. The parting works on several emotional levels. Then the story kicks into high gear.

Great-grandfather changes his name and loves America, but he doesn’t forget family. He uses the little shovel in a bakery, measuring flour and sugar. He marries Adeline, has 5 children, lives in “Little Italy,” and teaches his children, “work hard, enjoy life, love family.”

The line of industrious bread winners and bread bakers continues, brightly illustrated by the author to show the little shovel in all its uses, with its greatest use being the witness it bears to the legacy of a loving family. It is, indeed a big Italian family, so big the family dinners grow too large for anyone’s home. Only a family owned restaurant will hold them all.

The last pages are about the author, Dan. He grows up in the suburbs but moves back to the city and becomes an author/illustrator. He marries Sue. Their son and daughter work on their New York City terrace with the small shovel. They grow zucchini, tomatoes, and strawberries. Dan teaches the family philosophy: work hard, enjoy life, and love family.

Explore the author’s website and visit the two trailers for this book. One is inspiring and the other is stirring. (Which is which? Personal opinion. What do you think?) Both will be the envy of authors who want to create trailers for their books. Either trailer will encourage you to water the soil of your own family tree.

What ties your family together?

A Great Escape

2011-06-21T14:37:00.009-05:00

What is better than a porch swing on an afternoon in June, a frosty pitcher of lemonade at hand, and a great book to escape into?

A TRUE PRINCESS by Diane Zahler, Harper, 2011

There are re-told fairy tales and re-imagined ones. This one is both plus a delightful “what if” creation from an author who knows how to make a good story even better.

Do you remember those lumpy mattresses at summer camp? You probably thought about the “Princess and the Pea” and were certain you were of royal blood. In the Zahler version of the tale, the candidates for bride had obviously not heard the lumpy mattress story, so they slept, even snored away the night and left the next day in tears, having no idea why the Prince rejected them.

However, flash back to long before this mandatory slumber party: a sleeping toddler in a basket is fished out of an icy, swiftly flowing river. The fisherman who plucks her from this predicament takes her home where ten years pass in relative calm. The fisherman’s wife is a surly sort, not caring for the fisherman’s two motherless children and certainly not happy with another mouth to feed. She makes a servant of the newcomer, called Lilia, the little girl with lilac eyes.

Not allowed to eat at the same table or sleep in the farmhouse with the family, Lilia is not a superior servant. Far from it. Her daydreams cost her dearly. Broken dishes. Lumpy porridge. When she hears the fisherman’s wife scheming to sell her to the wretched miller to become his servant, she gathers her wits and not much else and runs away. What she didn’t expect is that the fisherman’s own two children, Kai, who has become Lilia’s best friend, and his sister, Karina, would follow her.

The three unite and travel deep into the dark woods, only to find themselves lost in the sinister Bitra Forest and facing the evil Elf King. Throughout the spells, threats of spells, and un-raveling of spells, runs the thread of Lilia’s lineage. Who is she? Who put her in the basket and set her adrift? Someone who was saving her or someone bent on getting rid of her?

Kai falls under the spell of the Elf King’s daughter and the only way Lilia can save him is to find a jewel hidden in a castle and....the castle is the scene of many comings and goings of hopeful young women, desirous of becoming the prince’s bride. Now we’re getting to the lumpy mattress.

I’m going to stop here and say no more. You wouldn’t hear me anyway. You are already too deeply held in the spell of a really good book, the only kind a girl wants on a warm summer afternoon, lemonade at hand.

Diane Zahler is also the author of The Thirteenth Princess blogged here which expanded on the fairly tale the "The Dancing Princesses." You can visit her
here

Up to Speed

2011-06-13T21:21:00.003-05:00

Things have been really slow at my desk these days. My computer would make snail races look like NASCAR. Three technicians have come to scratch their heads and offer advice. I hope the situation is changed. Seems a little faster today. I might be able to update my blog before the summer ends. :0)

Moving right along, momentum is something you won’t want your boy readers to lose. School is out and they might think books can be put away for weeks. However, the weather is beastly hot and moms are hoping kids will find something to do in the shade. Here’s a great boy book that just might keep those reluctant readers turning pages.

THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA by Tom Angleberger, Abrams, 2010

Question: Is Origami Yoda for real?

In the introductory chapter, Tommy explains that he needs to know if Origami Yoda is real so he can decide if he should follow the advice asked and given.

Tommy wants scientific evidence and sets out to get it this way: Each classmate is asked to relate in writing a story of an experience with Origami Yoda and then Harvey, an avowed non-believer, adds a comment. Then Tommy comments again. Kellen contributes comic art or caricatures or just plain doodles to this growing case file. Art blends with text to create the look of a 6th grade boy’s creation, a journal of sorts. Pages look worn as if the notebook has been passed around.

Harvey, the non-believer, thinks Origami Yoda is a green paper wad. His sharp commentary adds balance to the experiences shared by those who want to believe IF the advice is what they want to hear even though it takes some pondering to figure out what the advice actually means.

The reason for all the doubt is that the green paper wad is a creation of Dwight, a rather unusual classmate, referred to and thought of as a geek, dork, weirdo, misfit, or just plain strange. Dwight produces Origami Yoda, a finger puppet, usually during lunch, when status is indicated by who is sitting where and with whom–or not. When Origami Yoda appears, he makes wise pronouncements in a voice quite unlike Dwight’s.

More questions:
How can Origami Yoda be so wise when Dwight is, well, Dwight?

On the other hand,what if Origami Yoda is for real? His wisdom works out to seem right often enough to keep the kids from thinking it’s all a bid for attention from Dwight.

If your question is whether the boys wonder about girls, remember this is a book about sixth grade boys. You probably don’t have to ask Origami Yoda.

This book speaks boy from cover to cover, page to page, words to doodles.

Instructions at the back of the book aid the reader in making his own origami puppet. Who knows? Maybe the wisdom of another generation of origami heroes will direct a reluctant reader to try another book, and another. It’s worth a try.

Here's what Origami Yoda has to say for
himself.

Books Matter

2011-05-30T15:08:00.000-05:00

Books educate, elevate, entertain, rescue, distract, divert, and ...what did I leave out? Books mean many things to many different kinds of people in a variety of stages of their lives. For the past month I’ve been away from my desk (weddings, graduations, trips, power outages, technical problems) but never far from books. Even if I decide to go all high tech, I’ll keep close at hand books with paper pages, a legal pad, and a pencil that still writes, even if it’s lost its point. A flock of messenger pigeons might not be a bad idea, either.

Summer begins officially four weeks from tomorrow, but the minute school is out, it feels like summer. One sure sign is the number of cars circling the parking lot at our library. If you’re one of those loading up for quiet times (you hope) ahead, here’s something to make you look twice. A square cat.

SQUARE CAT by Elisabeth Schoonmaker, Aladdin, 2011

How do you fit in when you are a square cat living in a round world? That’s Eula’s problem.

Of course, she wants to be round like her friends, Patsy and Maude.

Have you considered what it would be like if you wanted to chase a mouse into a hole or wear circle skirts, or how you’d get up if you tipped over? Well, have you? Being a square cat is definitely not the cat’s meow.

Luckily, Patsy and Maude, who are blue and yellow cats, want to help. (Note: Eula might be orange, but I’d call her terra cotta. Oh, well.)

Patsy and Maude decorate Eula with round things, hoop earrings and rouge spots on her cheeks. They hold their mouths in O’s and dance in circles, eating doughnuts. Even the sprinkles look round on these vividly illustrated pages.

It almost works–until Eula tips over.

Well, maybe it would be easier for Patsy and Maude to become square cats instead of changing Eula into a round cat.

They all tip over.

These three cats learn there are advantages to being who you are. Other cats will learn from them. If you are round or square, why would you want to be any other cat?

This is Elizabeth Schoonmaker’s first picture book for young children. She holds a Master of Arts degree from the University at Albany, and her work has been exhibited in Chicago and New York.

Maybe author/illustrator Schoonmaker was inspired by her daughters to teach colors, shapes, and self esteem in this romp of a book. Or maybe it was her cat, Stanleigh, who is neither round nor square, just gray.

I hope you like this book. It is destined to be the one your toddler will clamor for at least 1,365 times. This summer.

After the Tornado

2011-05-07T10:21:00.010-05:00

On April 27 a deadly swath of tornadoes changed lives forever across our entire region.

What about the children?

In times of tragedy like these, the plight of children weighs especially heavy on everyone. In this morning’s paper I saw the picture of an NFL player holding the child of a friend as he stood in the midst of rubble, a former neighborhood, one he had come home to help.

A hug seems small. It is huge.

We all want to help. Everyone can. We can’t all be first responders. But we can respond as we find needs that our own resources can meet.

DeEtte Currie, a teacher and mother of two young girls shared this
link for “Boxes of Hope.” This is a person to person, child to child, expression of love and caring. Organizers are working toward a deadline of May 16, so I urge you to read through this timely site now and decide whether it’s the fit you’ve been seeking for your own need to help.

Mama's Right, Again!

2011-04-26T15:07:00.003-05:00

Ever hear these words: “He followed me home, Mom. Please? Please, Mom, can I keep him? Please?” Here's a clever twist. To the rescue!

CHILDREN MAKE TERRIBLE PETS by Peter Brown, Little, Brown and Company, 2010

Lucy, a little girl bear, finds a small boy lost in the woods. She thinks he is the most adorable critter in the forest, takes him home and begs her mother to let her keep him.

Mother says what all us mothers say with the added caveat that children make terrible pets. The worst.

Finally, Lucy wins Mother over, promising to take full responsibility for her new pet. She names him Squeaker because, well, that’s the only noise he makes. Squeak!

All goes well at first. But of course, that can’t last, can it? It turns out that Mother was right. Squeaker is hard to train. There are mishaps. What’s a nice bear family to do? Then Squeaker disappears. How Lucy finds him and how she makes a very tough decision will have pre-schoolers offering their own philosophies.

This is a fine way to start or end that discussion about pets. What are the best kinds of pets? Why? Who is ready to share one's home with a pet? These are your questions to pursue.

Only one question remains for me. Just where was author/illustrator Peter Brown when I needed this book for my own pre-schoolers?

What Rhymes with Earth?

2011-04-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

Today is Earth Day. April is National Poetry Month. Here’s a book that’s a happy combination of both.

GRANDPA LOVES by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Illustrated by Kathryn Brown, HarperCollins, 2005

On Earth Day we talk a lot about preserving our planet. That’s worthy of this day of special notice and it’s increasingly necessary that we think, plan, and implement. But what makes our earth so special? What do we enjoy about it the most?

Grandpa Loves is about greening trees in spring, buzzing bees and beaches, sloshing seas, snowy hills. This earth provides a grandpa and his grandchild a huge playground for making memories all year long, not Earth Day alone.

What kinds of memories do they make? I read through several times trying to choose my favorite. Flipping pancakes. Picnics. Naps. Stomping through puddles. Finally, I decided. My favorite most of the time is reading books under a blanket beside a fire. All these things Grandpa loves. And his grandchild will remember forever.

Other books by this gifted poet: Lemonade Sun, In the Spin of Things, Poetry of Motion, Mama Loves, What Is Science? And many more.

Share the beauty of the earth or the beauty of poetry, or both. What Grandpa loves, you will love, too.

National Bookmobile Day

2011-04-13T10:33:00.000-05:00

On this special day of National Library Week, we honor those who drive bookmobiles and connect the farthest flung of our citizens to library materials we urban dwellers take for granted. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate the dedication of these heroic librarians than by sharing a book about them with young readers.

DOWN CUT SHIN CREEK: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky by Kathi Appelt and Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer, Harper Collins, 2001.

Spend a day with a pack horse librarian and your appreciation for your neighborhood library will soar. Authors Appelt and Schmitzer, who is a librarian and webmaster of “Pack Horse Library,” open their thoroughly researched chronology of the Kentucky Pack Horse Library with a chapter titled, “An Ordinary Day. The Way it Might Have Been.”

These talented authors take you there. Feel the cold seeping through thin clothing, the sting of sleet against your face, the hunger gnawing at you as you make your rounds and deliver the prized and welcomed but already worn books and magazines, donated for you to deliver to eager readers on your route. You are one of these people. You live in these hollows. For your pre-dawn to dark deliver route, you are paid the grand sum of $28/month. This job feeds your family. It feeds minds too.

Pack horse libraries were considered one of the most well-liked rural outreach services. The librarians not only introduced many to books, they inspired a love of reading.

It’s possible that a pack horse librarian inspired a young Kentucky teacher who in turn played a part in making our library system what it is today. In 1956 United States Representative Carl D. Perkins from Kentucky sponsored the Library Services Act. This act made the first federal appropriations for library service and helped provide funds “to establish new libraries, build branch libraries, purchase bookmobiles, buy library collections, and hire new librarians.”

Now is a good time to contact your congressional and legislative representatives and ask them to continue what Mr. Perkins started. Hurry! Support library funding.

Here’s a phone number to get you started: Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

Honoring the Human Spirit

2011-04-06T10:25:00.000-05:00

Several writer friends talked for days about a forthcoming book with a strong message. However, although the publiction date had arrived, no one could find the book available for purchase yet. Before I post a review, I always make sure readers can order or pick up a copy at the nearest library or independent bookstore. I kept checking. The book was on order. It was in transit. It arrived! Everything else in my day went on hold so I could read. Here’s a first novel you will want to read, too.

BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY by Ruta Sepetys, Philomel books, 2011.

The first sentence caught me and held on tight. “They took me in my nightgown.”

It’s 1941. This is the brutal Stalin era. 15 year old Lina, her ten year old brother Jonas, and her mother–her father has already been taken away–are given only minutes to pack before the Soviet guards gather them, neighbors, townspeople, some they know and some they don’t, and throw them into a train car meant for cattle and marked for “thieves and prostitutes.” They endure a long, torturous trip from their homes in Lithuania to Siberia where they struggle with hunger, cold, and pure evil displayed daily by their captors.

I was appreciative that the author chose to deliver this story in short chapters. The drama, the human tragedy, the bitterness, the burden of emotion, are all so heavy that a reader needs time to breathe.

The author, whose mother was a Lithuanian refugee, sets out to give voice to a group nearly forgotten in the rush of historical events. Stalin’s reign of terror crushed the Baltic states before the United States joined the allies in WWII. What did we know about these horrible events that occurred before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor? We didn't have nightly newcasts with embedded journalists.

It was a long time before Hitler’s life and influences were chronicled in our books for young people. Now we are learning, in books like Hitler Youth and The Boy Who Dared, both by
Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Her books and others are eye-openers about how youth can be used and abused by tyrants who march in, kill leaders and educated people, eradicate language, overwhelm, intimidate, starve, maim, threaten, kill. Surely, we can learn from this. Can’t we?

Some reviewers are saying this book is for more than kids. It’s their way of saying adults will find this story just as gripping as young adults and older tweens who are avid readers. Each will bring a different level of understanding to the story.

The triumph here is of the human spirit. When the human spirit refuses to become what the brutes have become, there is hope for a future, even if those who so valiantly struggle against the despots die in the attempt. They leave their courage behind as a legacy. They leave others inspired to hold out for another day, and another.

And years later, an author determined to tell their story does so. Brilliantly.

That’s why so many are raving about this book. It has staying power. Its characters will live in your heart of hearts.

Another Break Book

2011-03-24T14:24:00.000-05:00

I don’t want to leave the girls out in my quest for a fun book to take on spring break.

ONLY THE GOOD SPY YOUNG by Ally Carter, Hyperion, 2010

This is the 4th in a series of New York Times best-sellers known as the Gallagher Girls series.

Ally Morgan is a junior at the Gallagher Academy. Her goal is to be a spy, but she didn’t expect her life of dangerous sleuthing to begin so soon. Who knew she’d be facing an ancient terrorist organization out to kidnap her.

Code name Cammie “the Chameleon” and her close allies must lie, steal, hack, and spy their way to finding answers to many puzzle parts. The search is further complicated when Ally discovers that one of her most trusted associates is a rogue double agent. Of course, there is a love interest. Can she trust him?

Underwater turns out to be a place of caves and covert places to meet or hide. Hidden chambers and secret passageways abound. Nothing that looks like what it seems to be is really what it becomes when a code is used or a lever or some other means of accessing the secret places. It’s like watching a James Bond movie with teen players.

Enough romance to keep the girls happy. Enough action that guys won’t get antsy. A lucky reader can pack all four books, read long hours into the night, and sleep late. After all, it’s break time.

Books for Breaks

2011-03-23T11:20:00.003-05:00

Spring Break. Summer Break. Whatever qualifies as a break from the routine, whatever takes the family to a beach house or a mountain cabin, or the backyard hammock, parents are always on the look-out for a book or an author that will grab the interest of reluctant readers. The book reviewed here might do that. So might the author. He's considered by many to be a “rising star” among science fiction writers. This, his first novel for young adults, took top awards and honors this past year.

SHIP BREAKER by Paolo Bacigalupi, Little, Brown, and Co., 2010

This is not a book one puts down willingly. Every page has someone dangling into the uncertainty of another encounter with a villain or a dangerous turn of events.

No gender biases. In this dystopian world, boys and girls pull their own weight and are fairly equally matched.

Instead of werewolves and vampires, our characters interact with a mixed breed of humanity, tigers, and dogs, called half-men. This is a sinister warrior creature, bred to serve. Most are fierce, almost invincible, and nearly always loyal to the death. That’s right, “almost” and “nearly.” Some half-men have ideas of their own, skewing the action and increasing the terror.

The setting is the Gulf Coast region. Teenaged Nailer works on a crew of “ship breakers,” breaking down grounded oil tankers for parts. After a city killer storm (called hurricanes in earlier years when they weren’t as frequent), he finds a beached clipper ship. It’s elegant, expensive, and could make a huge difference in his day to day struggle to stay alive. He also discovers a survivor aboard, a wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life. Maybe. Does he opt for riches or rescue?

Class warfare, environmental hazards, religious conflicts, all rumble beneath the surface of a boy escaping an abusive father and a girl trying not to place her powerful, but vulnerable father (he loves his daughter), in an untenable position. Deep discussions may or may not develop, but the drive of a first reading is to find out how it ends and if the unlikely duo will make it to the last page alive. After closing the book and catching up on breathing, readers will hope for a sequel.

Ship Breaker was a National Book Award finalist and won the Prinz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature given by the American Library Association. It just might win the interest of your reluctant reader, too.

Drum Roll, Please

2011-03-19T15:05:00.003-05:00

March is Women’s History Month. I still remember the first book I read that fit neatly into this category.

It was a biography of Abigail Adams. Wow! How amazing! Until that day, those first chapters, I thought our country was founded and shaped by George Washington and his soldiers. I also thought mothers were people who let their children back into the house after a long, boring day at school.

But not Abigail! At the same time she was a wife and mother of many children, she was a letter writer whose ideas and opinions influenced our country. (I discovered post-Abigail that my mother was a quite a letter writer,too, but I'll save that for another time.)

Since that enlightening day years ago, I've found many other books on women who achieved, prospered, broke barriers, and changed the world for the better. One I reviewed on Book Log is SHE SANG PROMISE by Jan Godown Annino about the amazing Betty Mae Jumper, Seminole Tribal leader. That was last March, and I’m still thinking about Betty Mae's courage and determination. The review is here.

Of course it helps that I keep up with the author, Jan Godown. A friend, mentor, and sister writer, Jan is observing women’s history month on her Bookseed Studio blog.

It was on Jan's blog that I picked up this link to Kidlit Celebrates Women’s History.

If only we had time to read all the books written about us!

Stories of St. Patrick

2011-03-17T13:58:00.000-05:00

Myths and mayhem, gypsies and goblins. Intrigued? Before this St. Patrick’s Day celebration fades from memory, place this well spun tale near a comfortable chair. Once you open this book, you'll be seated for hours.

TYGER TYGER by Kersten Hamilton, Clarion Books, 2010

Although the author has published many books for children, this is her first novel for young adults. Her new and older fan club of readers will be glad this is a “first”–and that it launches a series dubbed the Goblin Wars.

Author Hamilton says the Goblin Wars are based on a re-imagining of Celtic pre-history and mythology. She “borrowed stories of St. Patrick and St. Drogo, and the life of Myrddin Wyllt, the Welsh bard who became Merlin of legend, as well as the modes and manners of Ireland’s gypsies, the Irish Travelers, in order to fasten this story securely in our world.”

16 year old Teagan Wylltson communicates with chimps. A young Jane Goodall? Maybe. She works at the zoo, studying and training chimps, using sign language.

This dedication is interrupted by the arrival of Finn, a character the author based on the young Fionn Mac Cumhaill, the great Celtic hunter/warrior of myth, a paragon of Irish character. Finn is both complicated and magnetic, or maybe he’s magnetic because he’s complicated. My prediction: readers who loved Twilight will be as drawn to Finn as they were to Edward.

The chemistry simmers and other events befall Tea’s family, consisting of her mother, a free thinking painter, and her father who seems dazed and confused. Could he be under a spell? Tea’s younger brother surprises with his own set of unusual abilities.

When Dad disappears, Tea, her brother, and the mysterious Finn set out to find him. The characters they meet are stranger still, and before long, everyone is at risk. Tea’s best friend Abby could be in danger, too, but since Abby’s father is into the Mob, it’s hard to worry about her. The reader gets the feeling that if it comes to Goblins vs. Mob, the Mob would win. Maybe.

That’s for another book.

Any RRB’s at Your House?

2011-03-12T10:59:00.009-06:00

Parents of reluctant reader boys have a tough time finding something to compete with boy-friendly action video games. Here’s a book that offers plenty of page turning.

THE LAST LOON by Rebecca Upjohn, Orca Young Readers, 2010

The first thing going for this book is that it doesn’t look intimidating. It’s not long. Set in Canada, it has wilderness and adventure seeping out from behind the inviting cover.

Evan is 11 and makes choices that are not always wise. A city boy, he feels dumped by his family when he’s sent to spend Christmas holidays with an aunt he hardly knows in her lake cabin--a way too desolate place for Evan's taste. The lake is freezing, literally, and one loon has not left with the others. Evan fights the impulse, but the plight of the loon and its likely death leads Evan to risk his own life.

Evan makes a friend, Cedar, who is a little better than Evan at following directions from the well-meaning, concerned adults. But then, Cedar has to live there after Evan goes home. He might be concerned about being grounded forever.

The boys’ voices are authentic and their actions are believable.
The author lives in Toronto with her sons. The cover and first 14 pages of this book are displayed on her web page, a great introduction to Evan and his dilemma.

I wonder if the author has experienced similar escapades with her own teens? If not, my hunch is she knows parents who have.

I know I do.

Does the Universe Know?

2011-03-10T11:25:00.003-06:00

Schools are under stress. Redistricting. Closing. City schools. County schools. What about a one room school house on an island? Can you keep it open by letting the universe know?

TOUCH BLUE by Cynthia Lord, Scholastic Press, 2010

When ll year old Tess’s best friend Amy moves out of town, that lowers the student number in the local school and throws the town educational plan–and Tess–into chaos. The town is an island community and the school is a one room school with one teacher, Tess's mother. The state of Maine will close the school due to dwindling enrollment and Tess and her family will be forced to move to the mainland, UNLESS the school population increases. Therein lies a plan.

The town has one plan; Tess and her friends have several others. Islander families are encouraged to take in foster children to increase the school enrollment number. This works well within some families and not others. It also brings out the usual bullies, the ones who look for any weakness or sadness to exploit.

Tess has a normal family, a pleasant change from many of today’s novels. Mom is a teacher and Dad is a fisherman, a nice guy, one who listens. They become foster parents to Aaron, a trumpet playing youngster who has seen many types of foster homes and could easily head down the wrong road. Tess misses her best friend and fears losing the only home she’s ever known. Common bonds are difficult to forge, but similarities do bring the two closer together. Of course, there is a typical little sister, ready with comments Tess doesn’t want announced. I said the family was normal, remember?

Aaron wants to leave the island to search for his mother, to find out why she left him. That could mean the school would close. Tess has every reason to keep Aaron on the island. What if she finds Aaron’s mother and brings her to their home?

Every chapter begins with a superstition, how to get or keep good luck or how to get rid of bad luck. Tess wishes and spins around three times when needed and asks the plaintive question, "Why take chances? Especially when it’s so easy to let the universe know what you want by touching blue or turning around 3 times or crossing your fingers?”

Tess needs all the luck she can get when she takes matters into her own hands and gets in big trouble. How does she get out of her self-created pickle? I’ll save that for the reader to discover.

This is a warm and humorous book written by a Newbery Honor winner. If you’ve been wishing for a book like this for your middle grade readers, luck is on your side.

Little Boy Blue, Go Blow Your Horn

2011-03-04T16:16:00.003-06:00

Everyone has a book of nursery rhymes. Pat-a-cake, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Jack and Jill. You can recite most of them. Jack Sprat Could Eat No Fat, See Saw Margery Daw, Little Miss Muffett. No need for a book. Yes? No. You haven’t seen this book.

POCKETFUL OF POSIES: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes by Salley Mavor, Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010

If this book hadn’t won a Golden Kite, awarded by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, I wouldn’t have known about it. Now that I do know, I plan to buy several for gift giving as well as one for myself.

Salley Mavor is an artist with a needle, fabric, and when needed, buttons, beads, and outdoor discoveries of acorns, driftwood, stones and shells. She collected these nursery rhymes and then set about illustrating them--intricately. One of my writer friends said every page could be an “I spy game.” Indeed, every page of this amazing book is a work of art.

The artist is the daughter of an artist. She recalls having art supplies which included not only crayons and paper but time to create and one would also think the support of both parents since she dedicated this book to the memory of “my remarkable parents, Mary and Jim Mavor.” Her unique artistic gifts and talents were further encouraged at the Rhode Island School of Design.

The jacket cover boasts, “This will be a book to be pored over again and again and passed down from generation to generation.”

I agree.

A Writer’s Best Friend

2011-02-26T11:22:00.009-06:00

Where do you get your ideas? A writer hears that question more than any other. Maybe the person to ask is the writer's best childhood friend.

ZORA AND ME by Victoria Bond & T. R. Simon, Candlewick Press, 2010

This middle grade novel is a fictionalized account of the childhood of author Zora Neale Hurston. A debut for both writers, Bond and Simon, this is the only project endorsed by the Zora Neale Hurston Trust that was not written by Hurston herself.

Hurston’s best known work, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is considered the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in African American literature. Praised as a tribute to the strength of black women, it raises the question in the mind of the reader, “Where did she get her ideas?”

That, in turn, takes us back to Hurston’s childhood in Eatonville, Florida, an all black township incorporated by 27 African-American men soon after the Emancipation Proclamation. Hurston and family moved there when she was a toddler and it’s in this community that her writer’s heart was nourished.

Eatonville is also the setting for this story about solid friendships, the difference between lies and storytelling, and how life and death and pretending are tangled up together in the world of the adolescent.

Zora’s best friend, Carrie, is the narrator. Her own insights and observations lend a surprising depth to this well-told story. Sometimes a sentence is so profound, it takes several readings to explore it, let it sink in, and wonder if the authors planted it there for parents or kids. Their Eyes Were Watching God is on high school reading lists. If I’d read Zora and Me first, I’d have a better understanding of the adult book. (I'd also be younger.)

Sadly, Hurston’s writing career didn’t bring her fortune. She received little for her work and died destitute. Her burial was in an unmarked grave. When Alice Walker was a young writer, she found the grave and made sure that a monument was placed to honor the life and achievements of this brilliant author.

Bond and Simon included an annotated bibliography of Hurston’s works as well as their own sources. A short biography of Hurston and a timeline of important events in her life are helpful references. more

Escaping Into Art

2011-02-23T11:17:00.006-06:00

How many times have you heard, “Reading saved me” Or “Writing saved me”? The arts have power. Music, dance, painting, sculpture. Art can take us away. Poetry. Pottery. No matter what holds us captive, escape is built into the art that calls us away, nurtures us, rests us, and allows us to breathe free.

DAVE THE POTTER: Artist, Poet, Slave, by Laban Carrick Hill, Illustrated by Bryan Collier, Little, Brown and Company, 2010.

Author Hill calls Dave, a slave who lived about 200 years ago in South Carolina, “An important American artist.” We have no idea how Dave learned to read and write. It may not have been safe for him to write on his pottery, but this is how we know about him, from the inscribed pottery he left behind.

The story follows the potter’s hands as clay is dug from the earth and carried, wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow, to Dave’s spinning potter’s wheel. The sight of Dave’s hands, covered in the dusty wet clay, shaping and pulling the pot into being, is made even more dramatic by a triple spread fold out. The intensity on Dave’s face as he works makes the reader feel the pull in his fingers as he works against the pull of the wet clay, pinching and squeezing the resistant mass.

Then it all comes together. Dave stands proud, beholding the clay pot, the shape he "saw" before he began to pull the pot from the earth.

The next step is to turn wood ash and sand into a glasslike brown glaze, the outer covering that would extend the pot’s life “to withstand time.”

Still Dave isn’t finished. Before the clay hardens, he picks up a stick and scratches a poem of his own imagining into the clay.

The luminous illustrations, awarded a Caldecott Honor, were done in watercolor collage by an artist who began painting at the age of 15 and earned a BFA with honors from Pratt Institute in New York. Bryan Collier is no stranger to the field of outstanding children’s books. He is the illustrator of over 20 picture books including Martin’s Big Words (also a Caldecott Honor Book and a Coretta Scott King Honor Book) and Rosa (which won the Coretta Scott King Award.) He lives in Harlem, where he directs mural programs throughout the city for any child who wants to paint.

I wanted to see more paintings by this talented artist, scrolled through the web page gallery of Bryan Collier and picked favorites,“Circle of Daddy’s Arms” and “Blessings are Free.”

Award winning author Laban Hill was inspired to delve further into the artist’s life by reading one of Dave’s poems. He needed to know. Who was this talented man? We need to know, too. How did Dave soar above the bonds of his slavery? Somewhere, in his art, lies the answer.

To begin your quest, see the online biography of Dave.

Blistered Feet and Itchy Clothes

2011-02-16T16:47:00.000-06:00

What is war like? TV, movie, and video game thrills and chills are one thing. The real thing is quite another.

FORGE by Laurie Halse Anderson, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010

Following the success of her best seller Chains, which received the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction in 2009, acclaimed author Anderson continues the story of Curzon and Isabel.

In the first book, the pair escaped slavery. At the opening of the second book, the two are separated and 15 year old Curzon is a free man serving in the Continental Army at Valley Forge. Where is Isabel? Is she still alive?

A descendent of soldiers who fought in the American Revolution, the author carried her research beyond a plethora of primary sources. She walked barefoot in the snow, cooked over open fires, wrote by candlelight, and split wood, grinding into her writing bones the cold and hunger the soldiers suffered.

Anderson’s characters forge bonds of friendship in spite of the chains forged to defeat Curzon and Isabel. The settings are believable enough for adults but not so harsh that young readers will recoil. Shelter, clothes, shoes, blankets, and tools were scarce and sometimes nonexistent. The soldiers ate firecake, squirrel, and opossum. What they had in great supply was determination and indomitable spirits. Their pluck adds depth to the meaning of Freedom.

Quotes from real people add authenticity. Each chapter is headlined by a quote from a diary, letter, speech, and newspapers of the day.

My favorite: “‘I wish most sincerely there was not a slave in the province. It allways appeard (sic) a most iniquitous Scheme to me-fight ourselfs for what we are daily robbing and plundering from those who have as good a right to freedom as we have. You know my mind upon this subject.’–Abigail Adams, whose father owned slaves, writing to her husband, John.”

My favorite quote from a character is Curzon’s: “For all the talk of battles and gun fire, soldiering was mostly about blistered feet and itchy clothes.”

To read more about the author, follow her

on twitter

or her blog

For readers ages 8 and up, Chains and Forge bring American history to life. They fit perfectly on any list of books to read during Black History Month.

Looking for more titles for Black History Month? Here's an excellent blog I follow

Something Sweet

2011-02-14T15:55:00.000-06:00

Here’s a treat for young listeners that won’t take its toll on teeth. Read a sweet book.

BIG RED LOLLIPOP by Rukhsana Khan, illustrated by Sophie Blackall, Viking, 2010

This is for all those first children who wish they’d enjoyed a different birth order. Speaking as one of them, I know what it’s like to carry high expectations on one’s shoulders, when inside your head, your best instincts are battling with the green-eyed monster’s let’s-get-even
child instincts. Add a culture that your parents bring to their new country, but you, the new kid in class, don’t. I can’t speak for that experience, but Rubina can.

Rubina has, at wonderful long last!, been invited to a birthday party by a classmate. It’s a feeling of acceptance, belonging, all those kid needs that are separate from any adult understanding. Mother, Ami,thinks it’s wonderful, too. She’s thinking from a grown-up mother standpoint.

Rubina’s little sister, Sana, speaks up, “I want to go, too!” Ami agrees. Rubina must feel like grinding her teeth. It isn’t, simply is NOT done this way in America. Sana insists. Ami does not relent. Off they go, Rubina and Sana.

Of course, as any first grader could predict, this is a disaster waiting to happen. It does.

The sweet twist comes much later. Sana is invited to a birthday party. Oh, great joy at last! And her little sister, Maryam, wants to go. Ami thinks that’s just fine. Sana must feel like grinding her teeth, (Sound familiar?) But what does Rubina think? Say?

This is a book for great discussions. I don’t know about you, but I was proud of Rubina.

Author Khan moved to Canada from her birthplace in Pakiston when she was three. This well told story comes from her own childhood. Guess which sister she was? Illustrator Blackall is originally from Australia.Not sure about her childhood parties, but she says one of the worst things about being a grown-up is not being offered a goody bag at the end of a party.

Take a look at their websites:

Rukhsana

Sophie

For all of you out there attending parties today, may your little candy hearts have uplifting messages.

Even if the only valentine you can think of is your fluffy cat.

Flu Season Friends

2011-02-09T15:52:00.000-06:00

Statistically speaking, February is flu month. Although flu can strike during other months, on a bar graph of numbers of reported cases each month, February wins the chicken soup trophy. What children dislike most about flu, besides feeling terrible, is missing their friends. Here is a prescription for housebound snifflers.

A SICK DAY FOR AMOS McGEE by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead, Roaring Brook Press, 2010

Amos is a kindly zookeeper who talks to his sugar bowl and counts as his friends the elephant, tortoise, rhinoceros, penguin, and owl.

One day Amos is too sick to go to work. He is missed. The animals decide to visit Amos. They even ride the #5 bus, the very same bus Amos rides to visit them.

I loved sharing this with a couple of bright pre-school classes. They identified with what it’s like to be sick. They thought it was the right thing to do for friends to come visit and bring a red balloon. (The cover clearly shows the penguin carrying a red balloon.)

As I read, the children sneezed (covering their sneezes with crisp white tissues, of course) along with the allergic rhino and poor sniffling Amos, and made sympathetic and friendly hooting sounds when Owl’s name was mentioned. Poor Owl. We knew his secret: he’s afraid of the dark.

The children quickly made friends with the little elephant puppet who came along to help me read the story. (After all, the elephant’s picture is on the cover.) In the meantime, grown ups in the room wondered how that red balloon managed to survive the trip. Ah, the beauty of fiction!

These tiny students were well coached. They knew, as one little girl said, the illustrator is the one who “colors the pictures.”

Although she has undoubtedly colored a lot of pictures, this is the first children’s book Erin Stead has illustrated (her husband wrote the text) and it won the Caldecott. Now the pressure is on. What will she do next?

Think Spring!

2011-02-03T20:42:00.006-06:00

The groundhog gurus have decided. Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania says spring is around the corner. That's welcome news to Pennsylvania residents who are digging out from the last snow and looking skyward for the next one. Down south, Birmingham Bill in Alabama says six more weeks of winter. Garden enthusiasts there are already seeing buds on early bloomers. More winter? More cold with deceptive patches of ice? Yuck. Let’s honor the state of Pennsylvania today and hope Phil is the critter with the correct inside information.

BALLET FOR MARTHA: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, illustrated by Brian Floca.

How do you translate movement and music into words? This book is about collaboration.

First came Martha Graham, the godmother of modern dance. She wanted to create a ballet, “A legend of American living” set in the hills of western Pennsylvania on the wedding day of a young farmer and his bride.

Then Aaron Copland, the composer, responded to Martha’s invitation to create music for her ballet.

Add the sculptor Isamu Noguchi, one of the world’s most revered artists. As the musical progressed, he collaborated with Martha Graham on over twenty sets which came together to produce Appalachian Spring.

This is only part of the story. Behind the scenes of the book itself are three more creative talents. Authors
Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan have worked together before. If you enjoy this book, you will want to look up the stunning picture book Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Through the Gates and Beyond. Acclaimed as a pair, Greenberg and Jordan teamed with illustrator Brian Floca who is also accomplished and award winning. None of this has anything to do with awards, however. These three artists are like the three they bring to life on the page. Determined. Detailed. Thorough.

The illustrator captures the most subtle movement of the dancers, put there by Martha to deliver the most power. The writers embrace the energy, the swirling, twirling, strutting, leaping, contrasted with a sudden stillness, quiet, rest, as contemplative as rocking a baby. Art and text stitch a tapestry of life and love.

Even as the players move toward the stage lights to take the final bow, it’s obvious that this classic will be performed for generations to come by generations of dancers and musicians, set builders, actors, and producers. A link from past to future.

Martha Graham found the words "Appalachian Spring" in a poem and liked the sound of it. So do I. Hurry, spring!

A Place Called Timbuktu

2011-01-31T10:11:00.000-06:00

In my family somebody was always going to Timbuktu. It’s where you went for a difficult to find item on your shopping list or if you had to drive car pool to an out of town game and got lost after dark or if your teen daughter’s lost or borrowed possessions were scattered all over town at friends’ houses. Then you had to go from here to there and all the way to Timbuktu. The journey led by writer Christina Kessler to the real town called Timbuktu has been much more interesting, and a lot less wear and tear on my nerves.

TROUBLE IN TIMBUKTU by Cristina Kessler, Philomel Books, 2009

Ayisha and Ahmed are 12 year old twins living in changing times. They are of the Bella people and until slavery was outlawed in 1976, their people were slaves of the Taureg. Although the twins themselves were not slaves, Ayisha observes that the Bellas’ knowledge of the desert and their survival skills made life after slavery easier for the Bella than for their Tuareg masters. Yes, this observation is going to matter.

When the story begins, Ayisha is neither rich nor poor. Her father earns a comfortable living, that is he is able to support his family, as a blacksmith. Bold and bright, Ayisha must live within a set of restrictions different from slave and master, the customary place of women in Timbuktu society. Girls do not go to college or have careers, but that is exactly what Ayisha hopes to do.

Ayisha is close to realizing this dream of receiving permission to further her formal schooling when she and her brother are swept into protecting their country’s national treasure from the toubabs (meaning, tourists). Somehow the word suits this pair of scheming foreigners, but I will leave the reader to decide this and follow Ayisha and Ahmed on their adventure. If you watched recent newscasts of Egyptian citizens locking arms and surrounding their museums to protect their priceless artifacts, you will have an idea of the passion driving Ayisha and her brother.

Award winning author Kessler lived in Africa for 19 years, and this is where her books are set. She now lives with her husband Joe on St. John, in the U. S. Virgin Islands.

It’s clear the author knows the setting intimately and has a love for the land and the people. She plunges the reader into the raucous sounds of the marketplace, the cries of the merchants, the bellowing of camels. Cahaaaaaarh, cahaaaaarh.

Fast forward to the revelry of a wedding. Fabrics rich in color clothe the women who tell stories with their faces and hands as they dance. The men stamp to the drum beat. The women ululate. Aiyaiayaiyaiyaiyai.

While the twins protect their country’s ancient treasure, they slide like shadows into a family mystery. All this against the burning beauty of desert sands and sunsets.

The author thoughtfully provided glossaries in French, Tamashek, and Arabic. I wish she’d also included a key to pronunciation. Languages matter in this carefully crafted book, as the reader will appreciate.

And what does Timbuktu mean? This is the legend: 11 centuries ago Buktu was left to guard a tim--the word for well in the Tuareg language of Tamashek.

Guarding a well in the desert was no small duty. Nor is having to go to Timbuktu when you are a car pooling mom.

From Cuba to Nebraska

2011-01-26T15:03:00.003-06:00

America is a land of opportunity, freedom, and safety. Most of us–or our ancestors--came here from someplace else, different times, different reasons. Our stories are our treasure.

THE RED UMBRELLA by Christina Diaz Gonzalez, Knopf, 2010

Lucia is 14, a typical teen with a best friend, a social life about to blossom, and a crush on a boy her best friend thinks might feel the same way. Does he?

It’s 1961, two years after the Communist revolution. Not much in Lucia’s life has changed. Yet. Then soldiers arrive in her town. Freedoms disappear along with some of her neighbors. Her friends are changing, too. Then comes the creepy realization that her family is being watched.

Fearing that the new regime might take their children away to indoctrinate them, Lucia’s parents do what they must. Fearfully and bravely, they make arrangements for Lucia and her brother to travel to America alone. Ultimately, the children arrive in Nebraska and a life with a family, neighbors, schools, classmates, and customs very different from the land and home they remember and miss.

Most histories are written from the perspective of adults. It’s their letters, diaries, and journals that writers delight in discovering. Author Gonzalez based The Red Umbrella, her first novel, on the experiences of her parents and the children who came to the United States to escape Castro’s regime. The program was called Operation Pedro Pan and 14,000 unaccompanied minors were participants.

Young teens will relate well to Lucia and her struggle to fit in as a teenager in a new country. They will note that teen attitudes are much the same, however. Most of all, they will want to befriend her.

To ground the reader, each chapter is introduced with a headline from a major United States newspaper reporting on the revolution. A list of Spanish words and English translations adds authenticity.

Read more about the author at her website.

My thanks to two Book Log readers who sent links to lists of books and authors that expand on the immigration experience in general and Latin-American roots in particular. Some of the listed authors also write books for children, so if you decide to focus on a culture, as our home schooling readers do, I hope these links will give you much to explore.

Erin Lenderts sent a link
to “20 Essential Works of Latin American Literature”

Julia Watson sent a link to “50 Greatest Works of Immigration Literature”

Enjoy!

Another Winner

2011-01-23T17:18:00.003-06:00

Birmingham Sunday by Larry Dane Brimner was recently named an Orbis Pictus Honor Book by the National Council of Teachers of English.

The Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children is an annual award for promoting and recognizing excellence in the writing of nonfiction for children The winner this year was Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, illustrated by Brian Floca.

Birmingham Sunday was one of four honor books.

Among other awards won by Birmingham Sunday:

Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies awarded by the National Council for Social Studies/Children's Book Council.

Teachers’ Choice Award

Moonbeam Silver Medal
The Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards are presented by publishing services company Jenkins Group, Inc.

National Parenting Publications Awards: Gold Award and "Top Pick"
More here

EUREKA! Gold Award (California Reading Association)

Kirkus “Best Book” List for 2010

Chicago Public Library “Best of the Best” Book

Kansas Reading Circle “Best of the Best” Book

For more about the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
see website.

Honoring Sacrifice with Service

2011-01-18T11:52:00.000-06:00

Yesterday many observed Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a day “on,” not a day “off.” Acts of service took place in communities across the country. A book which sums up the challenge, the courage, and the continuing march forward was published two years ago. I discovered it recently and am so glad I did. Its message is timeless.

OUR CHILDREN CAN SOAR: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change, by Michelle Cook, Bloomsbury, 2009

The sweep of history and the flow of this meticulously executed book are enhanced by these gifted artists, some of the most celebrated illustrators in the children’s field: E. B. Lewis, James Ransome, Eric Velasquez, Pat Cummings, Leo and Diane Dillon, Cozbi A. Cabrera, R. Gregory Christie, Bryan Collier, AG Ford, Frank Morrison, Charlotte Riley-Webb, and Shadra Strickland

Inspired by phrases that appeared at rallies, on blogs, and in text messages during the 2008 presidential campaign, author and editor Michelle Cook collaborated with Bloomsbury on developing the text. Bringing the interpretations of major talents together could so easily have resulted in a choppy effect. It works! The synergy of the parts and the power of the whole make a strong impression on readers, no matter their ages.

Each double page spread leads to the next, just as the courage and accomplishments of each generation lay a foundation for the children to come. As the jacket announces, this is a story for everyone, “for it is on the backs of our ancestors that every child is raised.”

Ancestors singled out here are George Washington Carver, Jesse Owen, Hattie McDaniel, Ella Fitzgerald, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Barack Obama. Short biographical sketches of both historical figures and illustrators are included.

This book doesn’t lead to a conclusion. It does point to a future. The title is repeated in the last lines, the final spread, illustrated by E. B. Lewis:. “so our children can soar! And higher and faster and stronger they go.”

May this always be true: higher, faster, stronger.

Everybody Wins!

2011-01-15T13:21:00.008-06:00

Focusing a spotlight on “the best of the best” as the American Library Association calls its awards presentation at its annual mid-winter conference benefits everyone. The awards announcement brings to the fore books a committee of thoughtful, bleary eyed–from all that reading--librarians judge to be quality, literary books. Before and after the awards are announced Newbery “buzz” inspires discussion among writers, teachers, librarians, parents, avid readers of children’s books, and authors, the ones who won, the ones who were considered on the short list, and the ones who look to the winners as models for making their own work better. Young readers become the ultimate winners because the bar for quality literature is kept high.

For a complete list of winners announced this past Monday see the website for the American Library Association!

Happily, I reviewed a number of those honor and medal winners, and they are linked here. Others that I haven’t read are now on my to-read list so I'll know what everybody else is talking about.

Coretta Scott (Author)Book Award recognizing an African American author of outstanding books for children and young adults
Winner: One Crazy Summer by
Rita Williams-Garcia

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults finalist:They Called Themselves the K.K.K.:The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Literature Written for Young Adults honor book: Stolen by
Lucy Christopher

Pura Belpre (Author) Award honoring a Latina writer whose books best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience.
Winner: The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan,Illustrated by Peter Sis

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picturebook for children
Honor Book:
Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature
Honor Books:
Dark Empire by Joyce Sidman
One Crazy Summer by
Rita Williams-Garcia
Heart of a Samurai by Marji Pieres (Read weeks ago and to be blogged along with several books relating to Samurai warriors and their code of honor.)

Night Noises and Newbery Buzz

2011-01-04T14:37:00.012-06:00

Poetry explodes across the imagination like fireworks across a dark summer sky. Fireworks fade. Poetry changes lives.

DARK EMPEROR & Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen, Houghton Mifflin, 2010

Here’s a book that’s perfect for reading on a summer night, whether you are reading to yourself or aloud to a young listener, or even sharing each page, like a piece of hoarded dark chocolate, with your entire family. Your setting for this read-aloud should be a porch swing or a screened porch, so all the sounds of the night can accompany your voice. Why am I blogging about this book now when so much of the country is digging out from holiday snows? The
Newbery discussion is on. When asked to name favorites for this prize that will be awarded on January 10, Dark Emperor comes up, again and again.

Young people are discovering poetry, the pace and rhythm of words and phrases, syllables that slide, slither, or soar. Both boys and girls are filled with questions. Always. Pair poetry with information and add illustrations that match the depths of the text. Voila! You have Dark Emperor and a whole community of readers is abuzz with discussion.

Poet Joyce Sidman says she has always loved the concept of nighttime. ...”there are all sorts of creatures that prefer the night and thrive in the dark. Why? And how?” Dark Emperor is her exploration of those questions.

Poetic introductions to unsung critters that often sing tunes of their own are accompanied by sidebars that add eye-popping information. Who knew baby porcupines are called porcupettes? Or that Mama Porcupine keeps her babies happy with treats of raspberry leaves?

Sidman’s books have already won Caldecott Honors, including Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems and Red Sings From Treetops.March 25 Book Log!

See Sidman’s website and
enjoy the night sounds on the trailer for Dark Emperor.

For more information about the Newbery, see the website for the American Library Association!

Do you have favorites in this year's Newbery hunt?

Positively Resolved, Maybe

2010-12-30T10:34:00.000-06:00

Have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? Are you giving up something or starting new projects? Or are you just giving up on resolutions?

SQUIRREL’S NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION by Pat Miller, illustrated by Kathi Ember, Albert Whitman & Co, 2010

All of Squirrel’s friends have new year’s resolutions. Squirrel is the only one who doesn’t. Searching for help, Squirrel goes to a great place to find it, the Lonewood Library. There the wise and helpful Bear defines the word. That's certainly a good start.

Squirrel's next stop is to visit Skunk who is sick but even so has resolved to learn to read. Squirrel plays games with Skunk hoping to help her feel better, and indeed, she does. Skunk is laughing out loud when Dr. Owl comes by and pronounces his patient much improved and ready to begin working on her resolution. Half the day is over by now and it’s time for lunch at the Hidey Hole Diner.

Of course, the journey and the list of Squirrel’s deeds lead the reader to a discovery. The book ends with a chorus of her animal friends shouting, “Hurray for Squirrel!”

Do your children wonder what resolutions are all about? Adults seem to have trouble with this concept, too. Maybe reading this book to your young listeners should be your first resolution.

Author Miller is a writer, teacher, and school librarian. wonder what she's resolved to do in 2011?

The True Meaning of Kwanzaa

2010-12-26T13:46:00.003-06:00

Coming together to help others. That’s the true meaning of Kwanzaa. But what if you are too little?

LI’L RABBIT’S KWANZAA, by Donna L. Washington, illustrated by Shane W. Evans, Katherine Tegen Books, 2010.

Li’l Rabbit could recite a litany of what’s wrong with being the littlest rabbit in the family. For starters, he’s always in the way. Then guilt sits on his small shoulders like a rock when he’s upset because his grandmother is too ill to be the guiding force behind the family’s Kwanzaa preparations.

Grandmother is too ill to take part in the dinner, his favorite, a feast called Karamu, and his mother is too busy taking care of Granna Rabbit to cook all the traditional foods. Then Li’l Rabbit thinks about the meaning of Kwanzaa. He decides to take Granna Rabbit a special treat for Karamu. How hard is that?

First Li’l Rabbit learns that Mamma Oriole, Groundhog, the frogs, Momma Field Mouse, and Poppa Squirrel don’t know anything about Kwanzaa or Karamu. What they do know is all the kind and helpful deeds Granna Rabbit has done for them. Shows you don’t have to understand or know much about a person’s beliefs or traditions as long as you know that person’s heart.

What the animals do and how they surprise Li’l Rabbit–not realizing their actions are examples of Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa, results in Granna Rabbit teaching everyone a new word: Harambee! It means, “Let’s Pull Together.”

Even though Li’l Rabbit has a great celebration with his friends, dancing, singing, and eating, he is still sad that he didn’t bring Granna Rabbit something special. Young readers will be quick to catch on to what he really did, and Granna Rabbit snuggles him up and tells him, too.

If you have faith, there’s always hope. Granna has faith in Li’l Rabbit. She also thinks this was the best Karamu ever, probably because the whole community got involved.

No matter what your holiday traditions, Harambee!

Serious About Series

2010-12-23T14:33:00.003-06:00

Kids love series, or so they tell us. “They” are an impressive lot of book professionals, but none more impressive than the readers themselves, the kids who read series.

When is the best time to pick up on a series? Do you start from the one that suddenly captured everyone’s interest, not always the first in a series, or read the latest first, or wait until all are out, as in a predicted trilogy? Then what? Do you read from start to finish, bidding your family and friends good-bye for a week of binge reading?

I read the Twilight series from the middle out in each direction. Confusing at times. A friend waited until Mockingjay came out before she began Hunger Games. Such discipline! She planned to read Catching Fire next and figured by the time she got through these two, her name would rise to the top of the waiting list at the library and she could sacrifice another night’s sleep to the third and final book in this Suzanne Collins trilogy.

The following is a Newbery Honor book which won other awards, too. As you can see from the publication date, I waited long enough that when I read the last page, the next book was ready to pick up. And the next and...

THE THIEF by Megan Whalen Turner, Greenwillow 1996

Gen is a master of many talents. One of them is stealing. His boast, “I can steal anything,” lands him in the king’s prison and sets off a string of events. The king’s advisor wants Gen to steal a treasure from another land, a land not so likely to welcome them. Some of their party die, some live. Who and why?

Threaded throughout the adventure is the imagined history of countries and the gods they hold responsible for their fortunes and misfortunes. These stories are surprisingly interesting. Don't ask. I won't even hint how this turns out. The conclusion came as a complete surprise to me. It should be that way for you, too.

The lucky reader who begins to read this series now, as I did, will be eager to dive headlong into another cauldron of characters and quests seasoned and stirred by story chef Turner in The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia. The latest novel, A Conspiracy of Kings, is generating Newbery buzz this year.

Boys and girls from ages ten and up will get lost in these novels. You might, too.

Sequel, Trilogy, Series?

2010-12-20T12:11:00.000-06:00

In this third middle grade novel set in the North Carolina mountains in the nineteen sixties, Livy Two continues to give us a front row seat at the Weems family gatherings where all sorts of plans and dreams and schemes are afoot. Daddy’s recovery from his automobile accident is not going as smoothly as hoped. He hears radio songs in his head and seems to remember only one of his children, the one who moved away.

LOUISIANA’S SONG by Kerry Madden, Viking 2007

Now we meet another strong Weems woman, Louise, the painter. She’d rather paint than talk and besides, she can always turn to her sister Livy Two for the talking. It takes quite a sales job on Livy Two’s part to convince Louise that she should sell street-side charcoal sketches of passersby to tourists in Waynesville.

Considering the dire state of finances in the Weems family and that Grandma Horace continues to pressure the family to move to Enka-Stinka (as Livy Two calls the town) so Mama can get a job with Champion Paper or American Enka which will pay regular and give benefits and, well, the reader can see that everyone needs to get a job and help out.

Mama knits sweaters and baby blankets for sale. Emmett has already gone off to work at Ghost Town in the Sky, promising to send money home, but Livy Two isn’t satisfied with how he makes good on this promise. She gets a job in the bookmobile. Becksie gets a job in the Pancake House.

With people and bills coming and going, Livy Two struggles to love the dad who taught her to sing. A talented songwriter and singer who has yet to reap monetary rewards, Livy Two uses her music to cope. She writes a new song, “...and I sing like I’ll never quit, because it’s only when I’m singing that I can quit hurting for Daddy and start loving him again the way I used to.”

Songs are scattered throughout the prose, and the family’s stories will sing in the reader’s heart long after the last page is turned.

What’s next? Will the family have to move to Grandma Horace’s home in Enka, start a new school, give up the wild freedom of their mountain home? Will the radio in Daddy’s head ever be quieted? Will he remember all of his children?

Do you suppose the author could be persuaded to write another novel or two? When does a sequel become a series?

Another Madden Maggie Valley Novel

2010-12-18T16:57:00.003-06:00

If you read Gentle’s Holler, you may be like me, ready to slide your feet under the supper table at the home of the Weems family just up the mountain from Maggie Valley, North Carolina. From Livy Two to Gentle to Grandma Horace, to Uncle Hazard, the family dog, these warm and irresistible characters will capture your heart and have you cheering for them.

I’m glad I won’t have to wait to see what happens next. The sequel is already on the book shelves.

JESSIE’S MOUNTAIN, by Kerry Madden, Viking, 2008

It’s 1963. Winter is harsh in the mountains, but even the bitter cold can’t suck the heat out of Livy Two’s enthusiasm for traveling to Nashville to sell her songs and save the family future. Daddy isn’t well enough to work and Grandma Horace is pressuring her daughter, Jessie, to move the family to her home in Enka.

Livy Two has other plans. She thinks selling her songs to pay the back rent and other debts will be just the miracle she needs.

Grandma Horace gives Livy Two her mother’s long forgotten diary, and this plays a part in the outcome of the third novel, but I won’t spoil it for you. Privacy issues among the generations loom large.

This, in my opinion, is the best of the three Maggie Valley novels as it mirrors the stronger, sassier growth and development of Livy Two. Mothers looking for “wholesome” novels for their middle grade daughters, ages 10 and up, will be thrilled with these books–but I don’t want to ruin their appeal by calling them wholesome. They are fun, busy, delightful, warm hearted, with realistic relationships. The kids treat each other like real human beings, bantering, arguing, fussing, but cuddling and standing behind each other, no matter what, proving once again that real riches have nothing to do with dollars.

And lucky us, we have a third novel to enjoy.

Monday: Louisiana’s Song

Taking Time to Read

2010-12-17T11:28:00.000-06:00

If you’re going to write about books, you need to read them. And that’s where I’ve been: reading, reading, reading. Ever since I met the author, I’ve wanted to read three books set in one of my favorite parts of the country, the Lake Junaluska area, near Maggie Valley, North Carolina. The bonus in discovering these books a few years after publication is that I got to read all three right away and didn’t have to wait and wonder and wish.

GENTLE’S HOLLER by Kerry Madden, Viking, 2005

This is about strong women. Grandma Horace wants to help, but she’s so mean I wanted to tell her to go home. Mama is Grandma Horace’s determined daughter. (Hmm. Wonder where that determination came from?) Livy Two, who tells this charming and warm-hearted story, is just as hard-headed as her mother and grandmother.

Livy Two Weems has never been outside the North Carolina hills, not in her whole twelve years, but she knows her songs will take her to far away places–some day. In the meantime, her daddy’s trying to write a banjo hit, little sister Gentle needs to be seen by an eye doctor that costs money the family doesn’t have, Mama is busy with a new baby, and the rest of the eight brothers and sisters keep Livy Two scrambling, as any big sister can understand.

It’s the early sixties. The rest of the world leaks in now and then. The family knows about civil rights protests. They are shocked and saddened by the assassination of President Kennedy. But this is not their everyday life. Here, in their home at the end of a bumpy road, the Weems siblings hold secret meetings in sun dappled glens and listen to the music of a singing creek. Money may be a problem, but they are wealthy in all the ways that count.

My favorite quote: “Do you know how much folks need to hope?” This is Livy Two’s father encouraging her to sing her songs.

And she does, in the next two books.

Tomorrow: Jesse’s Mountain

Boy Has Book Feeever!

2010-12-10T10:28:00.003-06:00

Once upon a time, an 8 year old boy named Charlie McGlurg wanted a bookstore in his hometown of Dalton, GA. 8 year olds have energy. Lots of it. Charlie started a letter writing campaign among his peers and targeted the CEO of a large book store chain.

Last week CEO Clyde Anderson surprised Charlie’s classroom at Westwood Elementary School with a visit and an armload of kids’ books. Then the BIG news(BIG being a classmate’s description). Anderson announced that Books-A-Million would open a 5,500 square foot bookstore in the city’s mall before Christmas.

“Charlie’s Army” was made up of 500 young readers. One classmate described herself as “breathless” over hearing the news. Charlie said he has “Book Feever!”

500 exuberant, letter writing, book loving young readers.

Parents, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and children’s writers should stand up and cheeeer!

Charlie and his friends are not the only ones who love books.

DOG LOVES BOOKS by Louise Yates, Alfred A. Knopf, 2010

Dog opened his own bookstore. Then he waited for customers. And waited. What does a reader do when he’s waiting? He reads, of course.

Books carry Dog to prehistoric times, from adventure to adventure, to cheer on knights of old, to trek through the jungle, to zoom into the future. Dog is off to “somewhere else” when he hears the jingle of the bell. It’s a customer! Dog knows the right book and where it is for each of the customers who follow. Maybe he just read that book and re-shelved it.

Dog loves books, but most of all he loves to share them–exactly what book lovers do, be they book store owners, librarians, or US.

Do share! What’s your favorite children’s book today?

How to Spell Charming

2010-12-08T11:40:00.000-06:00

What a delight to discover an author who writes the kind of books I loved to find under the tree on Christmas morning!

THE THIRTEENTH PRINCESS by Diane Zahler, Harper Collins, 2010

Spunky Zita, about to turn twelve and nearing the awe-inspiring age of young womanhood, longs for love: love of family, love of parents, love for a boyfriend, but, of course, that’s way off in the future. How delighted she is to find out she is the sister of the twelve princesses who live in the castle!

But why is she working in the kitchen? When she discovers everyone knows she is the 13th princess, she grows even more curious. Wouldn’t you?

Readers will be caught up in the enchantment. They will puzzle over the good witch and the bad witch and try to figure out which witch is which. Of course, there are good guys. And then there’s a hidden message about things not being as they appear. Love and loyalty ring true.

Author Zahler was inspired by the Grimm fairy tale, “The Dancing Princesses” or as it is also called, “The Worn Out Dancing Shoes,” and added a character. Her descriptions are vivid. Building on the original, she creates scenes that are Disney-esque.

Zita, the 13th princess, is the author’s addition to the tale and she is both perky and modest, humble, sweet, daring, courageous, sincere, determined, faithful, yet definitely not of super strength. She has her own weaknesses, a few flaws here and there, enough to humanize her.

How could her father not love her? He is surely under some kind of spell! Well, is he? You’ll have to ask your daughter to read this and find out.

The author has always loved fairy tales and promises us more. Her home is “an old farmhouse held together by magic spells and duct tape.” In such idyllic surroundings, she has turned her lively imagination on “The Princess and the Pea” next. It’s coming out in February as The True Princess. I plan to share as soon as I get my hands on a copy.

Hanukkah Book Ideas

2010-12-04T14:59:00.014-06:00

I asked for suggestions for children's books about Hanukkah, and I was delighted to hear from author Jan Godown Annino:

"I loved reading and the kiddos enjoyed hearing and seeing Patricia Polacco's The Trees of the Dancing Goats one December on this common ground topic.

Jan continues:
A wide-ranging list of recommended Hanukkah picture books is from the Kansas City Public Library found
here

I followed Jan's advice and found an extensive, excellent list.

Thanks, Jan!

At Sundown

2010-12-01T20:21:00.008-06:00

How do you explain Hanukkah to a child? In our diverse lives today, children of all faiths wonder about the celebrations and observances of their friends and neighbors as well as their own. Children’s books create bridges to understanding by showing relevance.

THE HANUKKAH TRIKE by Michelle Edwards, illustrated by Kathryn Mitter, Albert Whitman & Co., 2010

Hanukkah is an exciting time for Gabi Greenberg. All year she looks forward to the 8-day celebration of the Feast of Lights. She loves lighting the menorah. She loves helping to make crisp latkes. But it’s the stories about the brave Maccabees she loves the most. The Maccabees never gave up. Adults know they had to fight for the right to worship their God, celebrate their holidays, speak Hebrew, and restore and rededicate their Temple in Jerusalem. What does it all mean to a young child?

This year Gabi’s parents give her a Hanukkah gift, a tricycle which she promptly names, “Hanukkah.” Gabi plans to ride it everywhere, but her first try doesn’t turn out very well. She falls off. Riding a trike is a lot harder than she thought it would be.

This is when the story about the Maccabees becomes relevant. Now Gabi gets it. Not giving up is about trying again and again. Even when you think you can’t.

There are many excellent children’s books about Hanukkah. Cathy Goldberg Fishman’s book On Hanukkah is one I've enjoyed sharing. Do you have one to recommend?

Santa, We Lost the Tree

2010-11-27T16:32:00.000-06:00

We may still be eating leftovers from our Thanksgiving feast, but during a quick drive through our neighborhood, we spotted half a dozen Christmas trees already decorated and twinkling their holiday greetings. It’s the perfect intro for a picture book about how two best friends, a giant and an elf, met a challenge that has familiar overtones.

THE CHRISTMAS GIANT by Steve Light, Candlewick Press, 2010

Best friends Humphrey the Giant and Leetree the Elf live at the North Pole and help Santa. They make the wrapping paper for all Santa’s gifts, happily and joyfully. They work so enthusiastically that they finish this task ahead of schedule. So Santa gives them another, to grow a Christmas tree for Christmastown. Again, they are delighted. They plant, water, snip, prune, and finally wrap the tree and set off to deliver it to Santa. Along the way, the two friends must rest. While they sleep, the tree floats away on a chunk of ice. Now what?

Humphrey the Giant has a small idea and Leetree the Elf develops a huge plan. I won’t spoil the surprise but it’s thought that no one in Christmastown will ever forget. This could be the first step toward a crafty gifts session at your house. Be sure you have plenty of glue.

The author/illustrator is also a preschool art teacher and a story teller. His ambition was to be Santa when he grew up.

For the Smallest Pilgrim

2010-11-20T15:29:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving books usually make an appearance once a year, but this one could work for a child starting school or moving, getting ready for a holiday, or whenever a change is coming and a young child wants to help but hears a constant refrain: “You’re too little.”

THE LITTLEST PILGRIM by Brandi Dougherty, illustrated by Kirsten Richards, Scholastic, 2008.

The littlest pilgrim is too little to help with the village chores like stacking wood. Her big brother does that. At home, Big Sis mends and Mama bakes. Dad hunts in the forest, but he takes time to suggest that his little daughter pick berries.

After a few more distractions and reminders of just how little she is, the littlest pilgrim bends to the task of picking berries. That’s when she spots a little figure peeping at her from the woods, a young Indian girl just her size. The littlest pilgrim tries to talk to the littlest Indian, but there is a language barrier. The littlest pilgrim holds out the berries in her hands and the two girls smile. A friendship begins.

A bright young listener will get this. Smiling and making friends is something anyone can do, no matter the size or age. What better time to think about this than Thanksgiving when there is so much to do and so much of it is the territory of older siblings and adults?

Purists will have trouble with the Pilgrim dress as depicted here. However, making a friend is never out of style or out of sync with the historians. And it works for any holiday, too.

Congratulations, Kathryn Erskine!

2010-11-18T10:36:00.003-06:00

The winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature is

MOCKINGBIRD by Kathryn Erskine, Philomel Books, 2010.

On August 5, I reviewed Mockingbird on Book Log. The review is reprinted below. If you want to read the comments made by followers at the time, go to the bar on the left and click on August. You'll have to scroll through the month of August, but it's like walking into the bookstore to browse. You might find another book that interests you, too. Joan

From Book Log: August 5, 2010

How Our Lives Might Be Different

Violence makes the news. We can’t escape it. When the media was limited to sources our parents could control, we were shielded. Not true today. School was once a place of safety. Also not true today. We are unable to give our kids the childhood we enjoyed.

Author Kathryn Erskine was devastated by the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech. As she struggled to deal with this violent event that happened in her home state, she wondered how community and family–-particularly families with special needs children-–would cope with this tragedy. How, she wondered, might our lives be different if we understood each other better?

During the days after the shooting at Virginia Tech, following the story on television, watching the families gather on the campus and cling to each other for support, I wondered how they would survive the sadness of the days and nights to come after these bright, shining lives were taken from their midst so senselessly. Of course, children with special needs would suffer trauma, but all children, siblings of those shot, and all parents, relatives, and friends would never come to complete closure without a great deal of emotional work.

MOCKINGBIRD by Kathryn Erskine, Philomel Books, 2010.

Caitlin is a 10 year old who has Asperger’s Syndrome. In her world, everything is black and white, and anything in between is confused and confusing. At home, it’s just Caitlin, her dad, and her brother, Devon, who is good at explaining things to Caitlin. Devon understands Caitlin’s way of thinking. He’s her rock. And then a school shooting takes him away.

Chapter One is titled: The Day Our Life Fell Apart

Caitlin’s father cries a lot. Caitlin wants to help, but she doesn’t know how. When she hears that all the families who suffered loss are seeking closure, she looks up the definition of closure in the dictionary and decides her family needs some, too.

In some ways, Caitlin’s syndrome is like a protective cover. She is trying to learn the skills of relating to others. Her way of expressing herself seems rude and insensitive, but when the author takes us inside Caitlin’s head, it’s much easier to understand why she reacts the way she does. Language, for one, is filled with double meanings. Literal meanings can be most confusing, even when you turn to a dictionary, as Caitlin does.

Caitlin’s coping mechanisms are based a lot on what Devon told her. "Stuffed animaling" is the way she takes her mind away from stressful situations. She gets a recess feeling in her tummy when she feels as if something bad is about to happen.

After the school shooting, Caitlin meets first grader Michael whose mother was shot and she shares a school with Josh, whose cousin was the shooter at the middle school Caitlin will attend next year. How does she get along with these people as everyone is trying to come to closure?

Caitlin’s counselor is very real, not perfect, but human and trying hard to be patient with the special needs children she counsels. The reader sees progress in action when these children recognize and react appropriately to a hurtful comment made by the PE teacher.

It’s almost as if the school shooting brought emotions to the surface. School personnel take this chance to develop understanding and kindness. If only all fifth graders could be well grounded in how to care about the feelings of others by the time they are launched into the outer space of middle school.

Caitlin’s story will enlighten those of you who wonder what Asperger’s Syndrome is. Chances are, you already know someone with Asperger’s, maybe several people. They will come to mind as you read Mockingbird. You will want to read this with your children and talk about it together.

Caitlin is caught up in reading To Kill a Mockingbird which just celebrated 50 years of making us think. Caitlin will make you think, too.

The Nutcracker Tradition

2010-11-16T17:16:00.003-06:00

Are tiny ballerinas pointing toes and pirouetting at your house? Let me guess. There is a performance of The Nutcracker on your holiday calendar. I found a book this week that makes a perfect introduction to the story before the curtain lifts on the scene of Clara’s home and the busy, laughing, swirling party goers. After the curtain falls on the final act, add this book to your children’s bedtime library. The music will swell once again, the flowers will waltz, and small eyelids will droop while visions of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince take over their dreams.

THE NUTCRACKER by Alison Jay, Dial Books for Young Readers, 2010

Based on the story by E.T.A. Hoffman (retold by AnnMarie Anderson) and the Balanchine ballet, this classic tale comes to life in Alison Jay’s distinctive “crackle varnish” art. This technique is a perfect match for the Victorian setting and creates the look of an antique story book, the kind we love to discover deep in the shelves of a musty, mysterious bookshop.

Ask anyone who's seen one or twenty performances of this holiday delight, “What do you like best?” Answers tumble out: the dazzling Christmas tree that grows tall and taller and surely will touch the sky before it stops, the Land of the Sweets, the music that stays in your head long after the holidays end, the waltzing flowers, spinning snowflakes, bouncing acrobats, stowaway children under Mother Ginger’s skirts.

Who are their favorite characters? Again, every cast member has its fans My favorite is Fritz, the trouble maker who breaks the nutcracker in the opening scene. Without him, there would be no conflict, no story.

And that would be a shame.

Surviving Escape

2010-11-13T13:40:00.000-06:00

A kidnapped child is rescued or escapes and returns home. How does a person who changed in order to survive cope with the re-entry? How different is the child? How different is the world?

STOLEN by Lucy Christopher, Scholastic, 2010.

16 year old Gemma is abducted while she’s traveling on vacation with her parents. Gemma is British, a city girl. One with street smarts. Or so she thinks. After a brief flirtation with a stranger who buys her a soda, she wakes up in the Australian Outback

This is the debut novel of an author who grew up in Australia. Christopher’s familiarity with the Outback plunges the reader into a full understanding of the setting. We flick ants away, dodge spider webs, feel blisters rise in the unrelenting daytime heat, shiver when the sun drops out of sight. How could anyone held here against her will hope, dream, or dare, to escape?

Days roll by and Gemma becomes desperate for control. She writes to her captor, opening her inner self to the reader, making her struggles deeply personal, as though we are thinking Gemma’s thoughts before she writes them down. Her letter to her captor becomes her emotional bridge back to the world she left.

This is one of those books a reader might be tempted to put down after the first hundred pages. It moves slowly. Then the action picks up and it’s hard to put the book down for short breaks. The story will stay with you long after you’ve read the final pages.

If you are the parent of a teen, I can’t urge you strongly enough to read this. How easy it is to target and abduct a teenager! At an age when young people think they are most capable, parents think they are well informed and savvy–and they might be–they could also be most vulnerable to strangers who are skilled at breaking down barriers. One turn of the head, one quick action of the wrist, and a drink is drugged. A simple soda can be the first step to a dangerous destination.

Stockholm Syndrome? It’s creepy. It creeps in and takes over the victim. Mid-way through the story, I began to think the title was a reference to how Gemma’s original world was stealing away her ability to be her own person. Stuffy society? Overbearing parents? Sound like a common teen complaint? I began to think Gemma had been rescued by her abductor. The skill of the author was turning the reader into a victim of Stockholm Syndrome, too.

Whatever your family dynamic, however you manage to discuss tough topics with your teens, not sermonizing, not sounding like a worry wart, not turning young people off to reading in general and parents in particular, this book will give you much to ponder and much reason to start a discussion.

If you are lucky enough that your teen reads this book the same time you do, you won’t have to plan an introduction to the topic. A plain old, “What did you think of this book?” will be just fine.

And what did you think? I’d really like to know.

What Do Your Instincts Say?

2010-11-11T10:59:00.003-06:00

Today John Walsh appeared on Good Morning, America and lauded the courage of Elizabeth Smart. In court these past few days, Elizabeth has bravely faced down the horrors she endured when kidnapped from her home and held captive as she grew from child to woman. She refuses to be a victim. Her strength is an inspiration.

Also in court was a young detective who came close to rescuing her, but didn’t. He says he is haunted by that. Doubtless, we all wonder if we might have seen a missing child. Or were we just imagining it?

STOLEN CHILDREN by Peg Kehret, Dutton’s Children’s Books, 2008

Have you ever looked at the pictures of the most wanted on the post office wall or the missing child on a milk carton and later the same day convinced yourself that you didn’t really see that person in the 7-11 or making a quick stop at the gas station? Throughout this thriller, the kidnappers and their young charges almost get recognized, but the good, fine citizen, decides no, these things don’t happen to me.

Amy probably thought that, too, when she discovered that the child she is babysitting on short notice and for the first time has disappeared from the nursery. Kendra, the sweet 3 year old who was so easy to tuck in for a nap just a short time ago, couldn’t be missing, really missing. Such a thing wouldn’t happen to Amy. Toddler Kendra must be playing hide and seek in the house.

Except she wasn’t.

Backyard? Pool? Front yard? That’s where Amy found Kendra’s always present friend Tubby, a grubby looking stuffed cat that Kendra talks through. When Kendra wants something, she announces that Tubby wants it. Therein lies the story. If the kidnappers hadn’t gotten upset over Kendra’s stubborn (as only a three year old can be) insistence that she have Tubby, they wouldn’t have returned to her home. Amy wouldn’t have encountered them. They wouldn’t have had to take Amy, too.

When you were babysitting, did you ever think you were fully prepared? Or that your own babysitter could handle any and all emergencies, as long as she could reach you by phone? How confident should you be?

Amy’s babysitting course taught the basics. It didn’t cover what to do when two strangers break in and steal the baby. To her credit, Amy never stops thinking. While keeping Kendra calm and cared for, she looks for opportunities to escape or send clues. She comes close, but she fails. When her world, the one she wants to escape, intersects briefly with the world you and I live in, she sends signals, but we don’t get them. Anything awkward, out of place, strange? Well, we probably imagined it.

How much should we trust our instincts?

Baby sitting courses are a great idea for middle grade students, and so is this book. It’s a suspenseful thriller crafted by an award winning author. Amy’s resourcefulness and her dedication to her young charge will make any baby sitter proud.

While your ten or twelve year old is reading this absorbing page turner, you might want to pay a little more attention to that “missing” picture displayed at the check out.

Book For a Gloomy Day

2010-11-04T11:24:00.003-05:00

Want to brighten things up? This is the true story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors.

THE DAY-GLO BROTHERS by Chris Barton, illustrated by Tony Persian. Charlesbridge, 2009.

Day-glo colors are those brilliant flashes of color that catch your eye and make you stop and pay attention. They helped win WWII, gave new drama to advertising, made hula hoops look hip, and in general, brightened up every day life. The Switzers got rich while our lives got richer in glowing color.

The brothers’ goal was to find something that would glow in both daylight and ultraviolet light. When they figured this out, they created showy reds, dazzling yellows and greens, and more. Their invention was a timely one, useful when needed in WWII.

In the beginning, when they were still very young and looking ahead, wondering what they would do or who they would be, one brother wanted to save lives and the other wanted to amaze crowds. How they did both is a story kids will love, especially those inventor types who look at ordinary things and wonder, "what if?" A quote from Joe Switzer will inspire them:
“If just one experiment out of a thousand succeeds, then you’re ahead of the game.”

After your kids read this book, they’ll be ready for a new type of “I Spy.” Who can spot the most day-glo colors?

Inside, Outside–Halloween is Everywhere!

2010-10-26T14:49:00.000-05:00

It’s almost Halloween 2010. While you struggle with the decision of whether to celebrate on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, here is a haunting book to read to the most timid reveler. The desert setting and language are Southwestern and add spice to this celebration of ghosts and goblins out on the scary town (with parents bearing flashlights standing by in the shadows.)

TRICK OR TREAT, OLD ARMADILLO by Larry Dane Brimner, illustrated by Dominic Catalano, Boyds Mills Press, 2010

Inside: Warm and cozy as the hot chocolate in Old Armadillo’s mug.

Outside: As surprising as Roadrunner, Peccary, Coyote, Snake, Tortoise, Bear, and Raccoon, wibbling, wobbling, tumbling, toddling, creeping, swooping, swaggering, shimmying, and shaking in the dusk surrounding Old Armadillo’s casita.

Inside, Old Armadillo reads a book of ghost stories.
Outside, his costumed friends plan treats.

Inside. Outside. Your little listener will giggle at the friends on both sides of the door, because he is in on all the surprises, almost.

As they did for Merry Christmas, Old Armadillo, author and illustrator team up to set scenes to engage and intrigue both reader and listener. How many voices can you create?

Larry Dane Brimner is the author of more than 150 books, including Birmingham Sunday which just won a few more honors, so many in fact, that I’ve decided to do a separate blog on honors and awards.

In the meantime, iQuiero Halloween!

Don’t Look Back!

2010-10-22T15:03:00.002-05:00

Just in time to set the scene for Halloween, here is a book to engage young trick or treaters multiple times.

ON A WINDY NIGHT by Nancy Raines Day, illustrated by George Bates, Abrams BFYR 2010

This rhyming picture book captures attention on many levels.

Imagination.
Art and text combine to keep the mood somber, dark, and spooky, BUT cloud pictures in the sky also provide a good counterpoint to the spookiness.

Drama.
The refrain grows louder with each recitation and soon the listeners are chanting along. Totally engaging!

"Clicklety-clack, bones in a sack. They could be yours--if you look back."

Scary, but not too much.
This is like riding a roller coaster while holding Dad’s hand. Your heart races, but you know, deep down, you will survive to beg, “Read it again!”

The author has surely read zillions of books to children, including her daughter who grew up to become a children’s librarian. On her website, www.nancyrainesday.com, the author lists tips to make Halloween less scary here.

I can’t wait to share On a Windy Night with a group of wiggly pre-schoolers.

Rescuing Halloween

2010-10-12T14:12:00.001-05:00

You may not know Halloween needs rescuing. Contrast your own Trick or Treat days with today. Did you spend hours pondering, deciding, and creating your own costume? Did you and your friends scurry the length and breadth of your neighborhood loading down your decorated grocery bags with all sorts of chocolate and caramel rewards for your scavenging?

You might miss the creativity or the freedom, or maybe your own childhood. It’s enough to make a person put up posters: Missing! Halloween!

CALLIE’S RULES by Naomi Zucker, Egmont, 2009.

“Only Callie can save Halloween...if she can figure out the rules.” shouts the blurb on the cover of this introspective middle grade novel. Callie (Calliope Jones)is in 6th grade. Although the cover leads the reader to think this is a Halloween book, and it is, it is really about middle school relationships and conformity and thinking for one’s self

Callie’s mother is a free spirit, an artist who welds metal sculptures. Her dad is a lawyer. There are 7 kids in the lively household. Callie is beyond bright and is exempt from the pre-tests the other students must take. She has extra time to read and her current choice is Jane Eyre, a novel which provides Callie with a few well timed references. At the end of each chapter Callie summarizes her observations as rules. She grows, the plot advances, and the conclusion is both chaotic and warm hearted.

Did Callie save Halloween? Your 4th-6th grade readers have time to find out before the 31st.

Memo to parents and kids: This is a treat.

Building Sturdy Kids

2010-10-11T18:39:00.002-05:00

Bullying hurts. ALL bullying hurts. Sticks, stones, and words hurt. Some experts say words hurt the most. Scars are deep and hidden. What can parents do? How do you arm a child against a bully without turning him into one? Where can you begin? Is it ever too early? A picture book I read last year keeps coming to mind. It’s a great family book, lending itself to discussion on several levels.

LOOKING LIKE ME by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Christopher Myers. Egmont.

Have you ever made an “I Am” list?

Who you are, who you are becoming, and especially who you are to others, pulses through this energy filled picture book.

This is a build-up book or a motivational book for kids. Sometimes hearing a book read to a young child catches the attention of others who benefit, too. Read this book to young listeners in the presence of anyone starting out, starting over, feeling blue or in danger of giving in to a battered ego, and who knows what positive thinking will result?

Picture books are not for babies only.

Just Plain Fun

2010-10-07T10:51:00.003-05:00

All teens are not wallowing in angst. I know at least one who is not. OK, so he’s a main character in a novel, but that’s not the point. He’s a teen boy who gets caught up in mishap after mishap while tripping over his own feet. The reader pulls for him because the reader could be that boy. He’s my nomination for Everyboy.

AS EASY AS FALLING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH by Lynne Rae Perkins, Greenwillow Books, 2010

Who among us had not tried to find the best place for cell phone reception when traveling in the boonies? Ry is 15 and on a train headed to a new summer camp when he discovers by reading mail he saved to read on the train that the camp closed before it opened.

Ry is a responsible kid. He knows he should get in touch with his parents who just left to sail on the Caribbean, or his grandfather who has come to stay with their dogs in the home they just moved into. The train pulls into a small station surrounded by nothing. No town. No houses. Just vast space. Ry is under the impression that he has plenty of time to climb a distant hill where he can get a cell signal. His impression is wrong. The train pulls out without him–but his belongings for the summer are still on board. Thus is the adventure launched.

One thing leads to another, not only for Ry, but for the grown-ups in his life, too. They are off on parallel adventures, even the dogs. Add the characters Ry meets along the way: Del (who must fix everything), Yulia whom Del loves but can’t apologize to for some long ago spat, Carl, an old codger who rescues Ry and Del from the side of the road in a car which, it turns out, isn’t his. And more.

The author’s name may be familiar. Her novel, Criss Cross, won the Newbery. It was full of interesting characters, too, but I didn’t warm up to them they way I do to Ry and his friends.

Author Perkins is also an artist. She illustrates the dogs' adventures in black and white cartoon style art. Threaded throughout the people stories, they are lively and timely.

I won't try to categorize this as young adult or middle grade. Rollicking along like the wheels of the train Ry missed to begin his comic laden travels, the writing is unburdened with language or themes that might offend. Yes,lessons are learned, but they are there for the readers to discover on their own.

Long before the satisfying ending, I was rooting for absolutely everybody and that includes the dogs. This unfolds like a movie. I hope it will become one. It’s definitely one the whole family will enjoy.

Whether teen and tween readers are boys or girls, they'll be wondering, right along with me, what accidents will befall Ry when he gets his driver's license and begins his junior year in high school. Will there be another book?

From A to Zzzzz

2010-10-05T16:23:00.003-05:00

Do you have a plan for your day, but something interrupts? Are you ever in the middle of telling a really good joke when someone interrupts with the punch line? If anyone interrupts you when you read the following bedtime story, you'll identify with Papa. Maybe you ARE Papa.

INTERRUPTING CHICKEN by David Ezra Stein, Candlewick Press, 2010

Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Chicken Little. Ever tell them to your kids as bedtime stories? Little Red Chicken’s Papa has a full repertoire of fairy tales, but he’s told them so often that now when he gets to the scary part, Little Red Chicken rushes in and warns the characters away from the danger they face.

Papa has had enough. He vows not to tell any more stories until Little Red Chicken promises not to interrupt. The poor little chick just can’t help it. How the two resolve this threat to bedtime will have you smiling when you fall asleep tonight.

I listened to an 8 year old read this picture book to her 5 year old brother. What did they like best, the pictures or the story? They both turned every page again, thinking this one through.

"All the stories," the older reader said. Not just the big story about the father and son, but the beginning of the fairy tales. She didn't mind that the author left it to her to finish telling the well known but interrupted tales. After all, (spoiler alert!)Little Red Chicken becomes the story teller before the book ends.

Her brother liked the pictures and he liked the story, but he liked them best "together."

Author/illustrator Stein has many books to his credit. Leaves won an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. It's easy to see why his books are young readers' favorites.

Feathers aside, who are you in this book, Papa or the child? When you know trouble awaits on the other side of the door in a TV re-run, do you speak up: "Don't open that door. Run!"

I do.

The Wheels of History

2010-10-01T16:29:00.001-05:00

This is the biography of a bus. #2857. Why a bus and why this bus? It’s thought to be the one Rosa Parks rode when she refused to move so a white man could sit. Her arrest set off the Civil Rights Movement. It happened December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, AL.

ROSA’S BUS: The Ride to Civil Rights by Jo S. Kittinger, illustrated by Steven Walker, Calkins Creek, 2010.

Readers hear the jingle of coins as bus riders climb aboard #2857 and pay their fare. The coins jingle alike. But the sameness ends here. Black bus riders must get off and hurry the length of the bus to the back door where they board and sit behind a moveable sign marked “Colored.” A refrain tells readers, surely protesting by this point, “That’s just the way things were.”

As the bus rolls toward its date with destiny, a bit of history is provided so young readers get a sense of the time and how events developed. This is a gentle way to introduce the civil rights movement to young readers without giving them nightmares over the brutal aspects of this battle against Jim Crow laws.

The bus is replicated in different ways in a number of civil rights displays and museums, including the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery. #2857 is much more than a replica. It’s considered to be the actual bus and has been restored as it was when Rosa Parks rode it, right down to the Alabama red clay on the wheels. On permanent display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, Rosa’s bus is a silent witness to one woman’s courage.

Author Jo Kittinger was born the year the Montgomery bus protest began. She grew up in public schools in the South during this turbulent time. Illustrator Steven Walker is a fine artist whose paintings have been exhibited at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. As a team, they bring Rosa’s bus to the attention of young readers and remind all of us that “that’s just the way things were” is never a good reason for disrespecting others.

Where History Leads Us

2010-09-29T21:27:00.000-05:00

This week I’m writing about recently published books ideally suited to time travel, that is, historical novels and biographies. While you’re turning pages, you’ll be “there.” When you finish the book, you’ll be glad to return home, glad you live now and not then, and glad your feet are not actually blistered from walking in the shoes of the main character. Best of all, you’ll want to know more. Warning: history is addictive.

WOODS RUNNER, by Gary Paulsen, Wendy Lamb Books, 2010

The time is 1776. Rumors that Americans are fighting the English in eastern towns and cities seem far removed from the Pennsylvania homestead where 13 year old Samuel lives with his gentle, book loving parents. Then war arrives in their midst with savage brutality. Samuel returns from a hunting trip deep in his beloved woods to discover that British soldiers and Iroquois Indians have attacked and slaughtered his neighbors, leaving their mutilated bodies beside their smoldering cabins. Samuel’s home has been burned, too and his parents have been taken prisoner. Incredulous that his parents weren’t killed and wondering why they were taken instead, Samuel uses his woodsman’s skills to track the captors. His chances of finding them alive, indeed his chances of staying alive to find them, are slim. Yet he meets allies, makes friends, survives, and arrives ready to rescue the people he loves most in the world.

Gary Paulsen is a highly awarded author and a skilled story teller. In a spare 161 pages, the story unfolds about one family caught up in this horrendous war which the author says, from extensive research, “lasted for eight long slaughtering years. Over two hundred thousand men between the ages of 16 and 25 answered the call in the War for Independence and stood to.” He adds, “stood to when that often meant death.”

This is not a rewritten history of the Revolutionary War. The author is very clear that this is not what he intended to write. “All combat is outrageous.” He makes the point. The reader will take Samuel and his family into his heart and the War will “stick” in his memory. This is a job well done.

Yesterday’s Reality Show

2010-09-27T17:30:00.006-05:00

What happens to you today is history tomorrow. Whether anybody else cares or wants to write a book about your life may depend on what else is happening. Cataclysmic events make history. What helps us remember history more than 50, 300 or 2000 years ago is a real or imagined person we can identify with. Ah, yes, we know what it is like to...The more skillful the author, the more likely we are to get blisters on our feet walking in the shoes of that character.

CLEOPATRA RULES! The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen, by Vicky Alvear Shecter. Boyds Mills Press, 2010

How do you make history interesting to teens? Make it relevant.

Get out of your head which may want to impress with vast knowledge gathered over years of study, and get into their heads. Author Vicky Shecter has done just that. She’s found a way to preserve the flow of history in words that relate to the readers, lacing her recital of fascinating facts with humor a teen will find difficult to resist. Latin can’t be considered a dead language when this author infuses its world with such spirit. One can almost hear Mark Antony walking into the palace he shares with Cleopatra and calling out, “Honey, I’m home. ‘Zup?”

Readers who enjoy puzzles and codes will delight in the jokes in hieroglyphics, just waiting to be de-mystified. Yes, that’s right. Jokes.

Let’s be serious for a minute. What did the rich and famous of their day give each other as gifts? To agree to marriage, Cleopatra asked for certain Roman ruled territories. The one thing Mark Antony held back on was Judea, ruled by King Herod. Yes,“that" King Herod. For a wedding present, Mark Antony gave Cleopatra books (undoubtedly scrolls) instead of jewels. The presents Cleopatra gave her children: a temple, a country, and probably some jewels here and there. And we think we have a difficult time figuring out what to give someone who has everything.

As the clever author puts it, Cleo was Queen of the Nile, not queen of denial. This lady was a shrewd politician. Her goal was to make Egypt bigger and stronger. The many power struggles detailed are familiar and reminiscent of present day. To me, the biggest difference is that our senators wear suits, not togas.

Cleopatra is considered the last pharaoh of Egypt. Certainly, she was a woman of secrecy. Neither her writings nor her tomb have been found.

The author has thoughtfully included a time line, glossary, bibliography, and picture sources at the end of the book when the reader is hooked. It’s OK to impress with all those years of study when the reader has been wowed and is ready to be awed. Shecter does all these things, with a little help from Cleopatra. Somebody had to live this amazing life so we could read about it.

A docent at the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University in Atlanta, the author also applied her love of scholarship mixed with a flair for the comedic to her first book, Alexander the Great Rocks the World.

Vicky Shecter makes ancient history addictive.

The Bully and the Bystander

2010-09-21T18:24:00.000-05:00

Recently, I heard a child psychologist say there are three parties to the bullying scenario: the bully, the victim, and the bystander. While the bully is beating up the victim, what are the bystanders doing, thinking, feeling? Children’s authors are asking these questions, too, and their books for kids offer great discussion opportunities for families, whether the families be a classroom "family" or a group of friends in middle school, or the traditional family eating dinner together.

SECRET SATURDAYS, by Torrey Maldonado, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2010.

Justin’s best friend Sean has started keeping secrets from him. What worries Justin the most is where Sean goes on certain Saturdays and why he lies about these times spent out of the neighborhood, one of the roughest neighborhoods in New York City. Justin begins to question what it means to be a friend.

Until now, the two sixth graders used words to settle problems, not fists. However, Justin notices that Sean’s words are becoming sharp weapons, much more hurtful than fists could ever be. This, too, worries Justin. Should he speak up? Or let it go? Move on? Or show Sean that friends don’t give up on each other?

The boys are strong characters, the neighborhood is real, and the every day conversation which will seem like another language to some, is authentic. The boys turn to rap to express their feelings and here their emotions spill over and win over the reader.

In this debut novel, the author, who grew up in the setting, credits his mother for encouragement, support, and the sacrifices she made to help her son succeed. This points up the huge importance of mothers in a neighborhood where fathers have gone missing for whatever reason. These single mothers work at low paying jobs and struggle to make rent and buy food. At the same time they have the burden of worry about where their kids are and whether they are preparing for class the next day or preparing to do time before they turn 16. The neighborhood is tough, and so is the life. The author is to be congratulated for being a role model.

Let’s hope SECRET SATURDAYS causes an outbreak of courage and compassion in middle schools everywhere.

Interview in Cyberspace

2010-09-17T07:43:00.000-05:00

My cyberspace studio is whatever I imagine it to be, so today I’m interviewing Connie Fleming (AKA C. M. Fleming) beside a creek with a slight gurgle.

C. M. Fleming, author of FINDER’S MAGIC, Onstage, 2008

We’re sitting on a quilt, pieced and hand-sewn by my grandmother. Connie has brought along her knitting. We’re munching on molasses cookies. (No ants in cyberspace!) Connie bakes and shares these tasty crunchies at bookstores when she signs FINDER’S MAGIC, her historical novel reviewed on Booklog Wednesday.

Since our setting today is imagined, the interview was conducted by email.

Joan: Welcome, Connie, and let’s get started by explaining how a gal raised in the Southwest came to write a book set on the other side of the country. What led you to write FINDER’S MAGIC?

Connie: “When we moved to Georgia, I became intrigued with the history of Atlanta, both the good and bad history. There is a lot of both. Then a friend told me about a vivid dream she’d had that she couldn’t get out of her head.”

Connie couldn’t forget that dream, either, and it became the opening chapter of her book.
“I HAD to put it on paper. I didn’t own a computer at the time. I borrowed a typewriter and began to write.”

Connie targeted the reluctant reader 4th and 5th grader boy, and describes her novel as one with language that is uncomplicated, “the danger is extreme, and the good guys win.” Two young boys are accidental witnesses to the murder of a textile mill worker. The murderers are determined the boys won't live to tell. Hank, the main character, and Calvin who becomes his unwitting ally, must use all their wits and muster up a great deal of courage to avoid becoming victims, too. While the reader is racing through page after page to keep up with the action, he’s absorbing the history of a volatile and exciting time in Atlanta.

Joan: And who is the Finder? Why does the Finder get title recognition?
Connie: “She’s an ancient African-American mystic. Her magic, Hank comes to realize, is her wisdom.”

Joan: And what about Calvin? What a spunky character!
Connie: “Calvin Yates, an orphaned African-American boy is street-wise, courageous, and has a chip on his shoulder the size of Stone Mountain. I’d love to write a story with Calvin as the main character.”

That brings us to talk of current projects. I asked Connie if she’d share.
“My current work, the one I just finished, is a contemporary Sci-Fi young adult novel. It takes place in my homeland, the Southwest.”

Connie’s husband, Dwain, known affectionately by the children in their neighborhood and at their church as “The Dude,” is also from the Southwest. Both he and Connie were raised in Arizona. A cowboy and rodeo rider in his western days, Dwain has served as an in-house consultant for Connie’s just completed novel. “He is my #1 proofreader and my biggest fan.”

When that novel comes out, I’ll interview Connie and maybe Dwain, too. My cyberspace studio will be a ranch in New Mexico. Yee-haw!

In the meantime, I’d like another molasses cookie.

The Magic of Wisdom

2010-09-15T12:40:00.000-05:00

Written in language authentic for the time and a voice made pitch perfect by the author’s attention to how struggling mill town inhabitants would express themselves, this story pushes each chapter to a cliff hanger and dares the reader to put it down.

FINDER’S MAGIC by C. M. Fleming (Onstage Publishing) 2008

An 11 year old boy witnesses the murder of his best friend and he’s soon on the run to save his own life. Set in an Atlanta mill town in 1911, the story of Hank McCord’s life is already harsh. He thinks it’s his fault his Papa is dead and it’s now his job to take care of Mama–tough to do when you can’t go home. He needs an ally and one arrives in the nick of time. Of course! Meet Calvin who is no stranger to hiding out and escaping bullies. Calvin takes Hank to the Finder who can work all kinds of magic. The murderers hunt for Hank and the KKK goes looking for Calvin. It’s only two weeks until Hank turns 12. Will he make it?

The finder’s magic may seem elusive, but it’s a wisdom Hank and Calvin discover on their own. Readers will, too.

Quote from book: page 20: Calvin said, “Don’t look down.”
Too late! My eyes focused on the muddy river a long way below. Little dots of light winked here and there on the surface while the dark water whispered threats as it tumbled downstream.

Would you keep reading?

This is a good choice for a reluctant reader boy–but don’t be surprised if his sister reads it, too.

Terrorists Among Us

2010-09-13T10:08:00.003-05:00

It’s been a long sad weekend remembering the tragedy of 9/11. Discussions continue to spring up about terrorists, who they are and where they are. We’re reminded of the danger every time we pass through a security point in a courthouse, airport, and even some schools. Enter the term “home grown terrorist.” It’s not just “those” who are “over there.” Actually, this is not new. Home grown terrorists have lived among us for decades.

THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE K.K.K.: The birth of an American terrorist group, by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Houghton Mifflin, 2010

The Ku Klux Klan dates from 1866 when six men decided to form a club. They raided the linen closet of a friend’s mansion and, hooded and draped, paraded through the streets of Pulaski, TN. Many current-day residents wish to disavow themselves from this history.

Why? The six grew from a fraternity-like organization with initiations, handshakes and passwords into the “Invisible Empire” with secret dens spread across the South. The group evolved into sinister night riders who intimidated, terrified, brutalized, and murdered former slaves who dared exercise their freedom as American citizens to vote, own land, go to school, or worship as they pleased.

Author Bartoletti has won numerous awards for her meticulously researched nonfiction. She wrote Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow, winner of Newbery, Robert F. Sibert, and NCTE Orbis Pictus honors, so young people could understand the vulnerability of youth to dangerous manipulation. She traveled to Germany and taught herself to read the language well enough to save precious time. Her current achievement casts light closer to home.

For this book, the author worked her way through 2300 slave narratives and 8000 pages of congressional testimony called the Ku Klux Klan report. Add to this diaries, memoirs, and newspapers of that time.

Bartoletti followed her research into the field and attended a Klan Congress. In her source notes she describes that meeting. The setting was rural and at a gate marked by a large American flag, she entered the Soldiers of the Cross Bible Camp, attended by families with children. To conclude a weekend of fiery rhetoric condemning public schools and taxes and stirring up fear of other races and religions, a 25 foot cross was burned in the midst of men and women in white robes. What struck the author was how ordinary these people were. “If I had met them at another time, in another place, if I didn’t know their beliefs and their politics, I could see myself swapping recipes and stories about our children.”

Chilling.

When Bartoletti began her research, she asked where she could find plaques, statues, or any other markers recognizing or remembering the victims of Klan violence. She didn’t find any. But she has given those victims a voice.

Striving for Normal

2010-09-09T11:28:00.000-05:00

Keeping loved ones safe has been a priority since the Cave Man fended off a wild beast at the mouth of his cave. If we think we are the first to worry about terrorist threats, history will show us that we must be a pretty hardy bunch or we wouldn’t still be here.

COUNTDOWN by Deborah Wiles, Scholastic Press, 2010

This is called a documentary novel because the story is interspersed with news clips from 1962. Viet Nam. Civil Rights. Castro and Cuba.

In the meantime, beyond those news clips, college graduates signed up for the military or attended interviews for jobs, young people said “I do” in large numbers, babies arrived on their own schedule, usually, and life was lived despite the ever present fear that “an atomic bomb could ruin your day.” (Bumper sticker this writer followed for several hours on a traffic clogged highway under construction.)

At home, the threat of an atomic bomb sent families scurrying to their basements to build bomb shelters. At school, children practiced duck and cover drills in the hallways.

Set against this background, the lives of 11 year old Franny Chapman and her family and friends unfold. The physical setting is Camp Springs, Maryland near Washington D.C. Personnel from Andrews Air Force Base lived there and did their best to create a semblance of normal life.

The characters are fictional, but the author has personal ties to the time and place. Rich details from her own life informed the story. Aprons. Headbands that stretched out of shape. (Always.) TV trays. 45 rpm records. Cloakroom. Chalkboards. Women smoking, one way to stake a claim for equality of the sexes. Franny struggles to communicate telepathically, a problem now solved by incessant texting.

This is Book 1 of the Sixties Trilogy, and it’s written for the peacemakers. That’s all Franny wants. Peace with her friends, peace with her mother, peace with the boy across the street who left for a year and came back as every girl’s crush but seems to be a genuine friend to Franny.

Peace is relative when you are eleven. And that’s the way it should be.

Normal.

A Boy’s Worst Nightmare–Maybe

2010-09-06T15:48:00.000-05:00

The night before a new school year begins is always fraught with grave “what if’s.”

“What if I don’t know anyone?”

“What if all my friends are in the other kindergarten?” Or first grade. Everyone wants someone they can sit by. At least on the first day.

“What if all the kids are friends with each other but don’t want any new friends?”

Of course, the list is endless.

What could be the worst?
“What if I’m the only boy in a class of zillions of girls?”

19 GIRLS AND ME, by Darcy Pattison, illustrated by Steven Salerno, Philomel books, 2006

This is the first day of John Hercules Po’s first week in kindergarten. He’s brave enough to walk through the door, but what a shocking discovery: he is the only boy in a class with, count them, 19 girls.

His brother, a big second grader, taunts him that those girls will turn him into a sissy. John Hercules has another idea. Why not turn all those girls into tomboys?

Each day, a new adventure. From climbing Mount Everest to digging to China to battling alligators in the Amazon River, John Hercules Po and his merry band conquer the world, limited only by their imaginations, which means, no limits at all.

A strange chemistry takes place. The girls don’t turn John Hercules into a sissy. John Hercules doesn’t turn them into tomboys.

This book is for boys, girls, and friends.

Illustrator Steven Salerno can boast of being a student under the legendary Maurice Sendak, but I suspect he spent his earliest student days drawing pictures of his classmates. How else could he capture the energy of 20 high spirited kids? Author Darcy Pattison is well known for her novel revision classes which she conducts all across the country. Here’s proof she knows a thing or two about picture books, too.

You’ll stake your claim on this book, even if you are the only parent in a room full of kindergartners.

Ahoy, Boys!

2010-09-03T14:41:00.003-05:00

No romance in this book–unless you count the romance of the high seas. Pre-teen boys especially will find this seafaring adventure to their liking.

SEA OF THE DEAD by Julia Durango, Simon & Shuster For Young Readers, 2009

Kehl is 13, the 5th son of the Warrior Prince Amatec. His father’s domain is all that he knows.

When Kehl is kidnaped by the Fallen King, he wakes up aboard ship. Soon after he is befriended by Xipi. Somewhere it is surely written in stone that a boy book must always include a dog. The dog in this book is also on board and his name is Sholla.

Forced by the Fallen King to map the entire Carillon Empire, Kehl discovers there is more to the world than his father has told him. A tug of war begins between Kehl’s heart and mind as his knowledge grows and his feelings struggle to keep up. This is about growing up, discovering what lies outside your own small circle, and learning to respect what you find instead of fearing or condemning it.

This book is not long. The action keeps pages turning so fast, some readers will pick it up after breakfast and finish it before lunch. All readers will want to unravel the secret that drives Kehl to make a life changing decision.

You'll smell the sea, feel the roll of the waves under your feet--and you won't have to leave the comforts of home.

Good books really do take you away.

Mixing it Up in a Novel

2010-08-31T10:30:00.003-05:00

This novel is a mix of many things. According to the dust cover: “Part tall tale rich in lore, part thriller, and part gripping historical fiction, this is an artful one-of-a-kind creation from debut graphic novelist Matt Phelan.” All true.

THE STORM IN THE BARN by Matt Phelan, Candlewick Press, 2009

Jack was 7 when the rain stopped.“When the rain went away, it took away your chance to grow up.” This is a wise observation from Jack’s sister who is confined to bed with an illness believed to be dust pneumonia. As the story begins, Jack is 11 and he and his family, friends, and neighbors, are dealing with the effects of the Dust Bowl in 1937 Kansas.

The years of drought changed everything about the farm. Jack couldn’t show his father what a help he could and would be. How could he be in training to run a farm that might never be a working farm again? Add to that Jack’s father’s fear that Jack might have dust dementia. The gap between father and son grows into a chasm.

Dialogue is spare and used only when the pictures can be assisted by it to advance this grim story. Much of the reader’s grasp of the characters’ emotions will come from the expressions on the faces of the main character, the bullies who torment him, his family members, his friend behind the counter, and others who populate this young boy’s world.

I’d want to be present when a young reader reaches the jackrabbit scenes which are quite violent. In fact, it might be wise for concerned parents to read this first and be prepared.

The author/illustrator is considered a graphic novelist even though this is his first graphic novel. He also illustrated the Newbery winner, The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron.

The Storm in the Barn won the Scott O’Dell award for historical fiction.

What if it Rains?

2010-08-30T10:50:00.003-05:00

Who among us has not sat in a cabin or motel room with a variety of ages and stages of kids gathered around us–and watched it rain? A steady, unrelenting, here for the day, maybe the whole weekend, rain.

Prepared parents (ah, what a compliment!) will find in that book bag filled with carefully selected titles for different family members, paper, scissors (don’t forget the lefties), and books like the following that might engage the whole family.

THE ORIGAMI MASTER by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer, Illustrated by Aki Sogabe, Albert Whitman & Company, 2008

While you are listening to it rain and the kids are getting more and more restless, you might envy Shima, the Origami Master, whose company is beautiful origami animals. They don’t complain, fight over the TV, or pout. They just spring from Shima’s talented fingers and look lovely.

However, and of course, there is a BUT or this wouldn’t be a story, Shima is being observed. A mystery develops. What happens next?

Illustrator Sogabe selected the ancient art of Japanese paper-cutting to bring author Lachenmeyer's simple but powerful story to life. Art and story mesh with striking authenticity.

The last two pages are instructions and drawings: “Make Your own Origami Bird,” diagrammed by John Montroll.

You might forget it’s raining.

Another Book for Labor Day

2010-08-27T12:42:00.002-05:00

While you are tossing books into your bag for a 3 day weekend of reading, here’s one for the middle grader who is sometimes ambivalent about his reading tastes. As an author in schools, I’ve had 5th grade boys tell me they wish authors would write about something other than sports for boys in their age group. They haven’t given up on reading–yet--but they are looking for reasons to abandon the book. Here’s one I read when it first came out and after a second reading, I still like it. No sports, promise.

MASTERPIECE by Elise Broach, illustrated by Kelly Murphy, Christy Ottaviano Books, 2008

James worries about all sorts of things, much the same way many 11 year old boys worry. His parents are divorced and he has a new step-dad and a new baby brother. Add to this mix the kids his age that his mother insists be his friends because they are children of her clients or those whom she wants to be her clients.

Marvin is a sweet little beetle who has a code of honor and parents who expect him to be on time for dinner. Sometimes this is a little hard to pull off when you are busy saving your human friend and solving an art heist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Marvin is also a brave little beetle as readers will discover. And, oh, yes, he is a talented artist.

The two lives parallel each other until a special connection is made between James and Marvin.

Be honest. At some time in your life, haven’t you wished a friendly little beetle would rescue you?

And to think, this all started when the author lost her contact lense down the bathroom drain.

Author’s website: www.elisebroach.com

Planning a Labor Day Getaway?

2010-08-26T11:15:00.000-05:00

If you’re off to the beach or the mountains for a Labor Day break, you’ll want a just right book to read.

I pack a bag of books for reading on a sun warmed rock outside a mountain cabin we love or on the screen porch of a favorite beach house with a view of the Gulf. Usually, all of the books turn out to be “just right,” keeping me spellbound until the last page. Many are mysteries, a genre I enjoy as long as it isn’t gory. I’ll share a few titles in the next week leading up to the holiday and maybe you’ll want to tuck a copy or two in your reading bag.

My first choice is a book teens and parents, too, can read with pleasure. Not too heavy. Not too light. Just right.

BLOOD BROTHERS by s.a. harazin, Delacorte Press, 2007

This novel was an Edgar finalist. Considering how many young adult mystery novels are published every year, rising to the top is an indication of the quality of the writing and the heart pumping power of the plot.

17 year old Clay is a medical technician with a driving desire to be a doctor. This ambition will have to be achieved by his own will because he has no connections, no money, and bumps in the road both literally and philosophically.

While Clay’s classmates, young people of privilege, plan parties and futures, Clay’s life revolves around a work schedule at the hospital. His job pays little and contributes little to his savings since his dad makes him pay rent and other expenses. As for transportation, and the miles add up, Clay must ride his bike everywhere–a major complication.

Joey is Clay’s best friend. They are blood brothers. Then something goes horribly wrong.

What happened to Joey? How did he come to be on life support? Did he overdose on drugs on purpose? Was someone else responsible? Is it Clay’s fault? Can Clay save Joey? Can anyone help Clay?

The reader will remember Clay long after the last page and will be pulling for him to find a way to earn that MD diploma. A sequel would be nice. Let's hope the author is working on that.

First Day Jitters

2010-08-20T10:15:00.000-05:00

Has anyone at your house NOT started school yet? Is anyone worried about the first day of school? Take the pressure off.

IS YOUR BUFFALO READY FOR KINDERGARTEN? By Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Daniel Jennewein, Balzer + Bray, Harper Collins 2010

For those parents concerned about having their children ready for school, here’s a quick thought. It could be even more daunting. What if you had to get your buffalo ready for school instead? What if your buffalo is shy and worried that he may be the only one with horns? The best part of kindergarten is that everyone’s special in his own way.

This book is supposed to be for 4 and 5 year olds, but it will come as quite a relief to first time parents. Concentrate most on what is special, not what is different.

Easy, there, dear first time parent. You’ll make it through the first day. If a buffalo can, so can you.

P.S. Sage kindergartners will find this book chuckle-worthy.

It’s Not Easy to Eat Your Words

2010-08-19T11:06:00.004-05:00

Food is basic. We get defensive about the foods we grew up with, the foods that define our very lives. My uncle, the droll historian, used to say the Civil War in this country was started over cornbread. One side said sugar was a necessary ingredient. The other side said, "Absolutely not!" I forget which.

That’s the thing about a food war, maybe all wars. It’s hard to remember who started it.

THE SANDWICH SWAP, by Her Majesty Queen Rania Ali Abdullah, with Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Tricia Tusa, Hyperion, 2010

In this book, the “war” starts over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a hummus and pita sandwich

Salma and Lily were best friends until each criticized the lunch sandwich of the other. All the things these little girls did together did not prepare them for handling the differences in their lunches.

Salma and Lily watched each other at lunchtime for a long time before they reacted.

Then one said, “Ew. Yuck.”
The other said, ”Ew. Gross.”

Once these words were out, they were hard to take back. A wedge was driven.

And then there was a food fight.

Kids will love the illustrator’s vivid and active pictures. (Moms might not. Hopefully, they will be on hand to say their own “ew” and “gross” about the clean-up to come.)

How the girls resolved this will inspire young readers to think about how to bring conflicts to a delicious end. You can probably guess what they did, but read the book anyhow and ask your young reader what he or she thinks.

The Queen of Jordan says this cultural conflict actually happened to her. As UNICEF’s Eminent Advocate for Children, she is “dedicated to defending the welfare of children around the world.” She’s also recognized as a champion of cross-cultural tolerance and a campaigner for global education. Her Majesty collaborates with international organizations and grassroots projects in these areas.

Kids in school will warm to the idea of a cross-cultural classroom swap of sandwiches. How about us? Maybe it’s time for us to share a meal with a neighbor whose background is different.

Do you put sugar in your cornbread? Or not?

Congratulations, Sarah Campbell!

2010-08-15T12:26:00.014-05:00

Sarah Campbell's first children's book, Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator just keeps on winning awards. Its latest is the Mississippi Library Association's Children's Book Award.

Sarah's second book, Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature was reviewed on Book Log on July 3, 2010.

See Sarah's blog to read more about this award and keep on scrolling. Her husband, Richard, has added some stunning photographs of the outdoors we love but have to hike or climb to find. His pictures take you there. No need for insect repellant or sunscreen.

www.sarahccampbell.com/blog

Authors, Authors, Everywhere!

2010-08-15T12:15:00.003-05:00

When a children's author comes to town, fellow authors gather to cheer her on!

Kathryn Erskine and her daughter, Fiona, put Birmingham on Kathryn's book tour for Mockingbird, her latest book,(Book Log August 3, 2010) and her hostess, Irene Latham (Leaving Gee's Bend--Book Log March 18, 2010) handed her camera to a willing picture taker. You can see the result on Irene's web page,

www.irenelatham.com

Humorous Abe

2010-08-12T09:17:00.005-05:00

Here’s a new side to Abraham Lincoln, one you might not know even if your book shelves are like mine and groan from the weight of books about our 16th president.

LINCOLN TELLS A JOKE: How laughter Saved the President (and the Country) by Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer, illustrated by Stacy Innerst, Harcourt Children’s Books, 2010

There’s always a new way to interest young readers in history, especially if a creative parent, teacher, or writer will spend time and effort to search for it and delight us with the results.

Kathleen Krull has that kind of creativity, sure to tickle your funny bone while history sneaks up on you. Her series, Lives of...(the Musicians, Writers, others) and What the Neighbors Thought is like that. Kids love the inside jokes and don’t realize they are absorbing the outside facts at the same time. She’s applied her talents to our venerable president, too.

Krull’s husband and co-writer, Paul Brewer, surely added mirth to the mix. He’s an avid joke collector and has written volumes of jokes and puzzles for kids.

Illustrator Stacy Innerst’s painting of the Lincoln Memorial will tempt tourists to go back for a second look. Is Lincoln reading a book of jests? Is he smiling?

It’s National Smile Week. Honest Abe couldn’t resist joining in.

National Smile Week

2010-08-09T10:13:00.003-05:00

All across our country kids are going back to school this week. It’s also National Smile Week. We’ll leave it to you to decide who is smiling the most. If you are trying to get clothes, books, pencils, backpacks, water bottles, lunches, all those school “musts” organized, you’ll have great sympathy for Mr. Tuggle.

MR. TUGGLE’S TROUBLES by LeeAnn Blankenship, illustrated by Karen Dugan, Boyds Mills Press, 2005

It’s Monday morning. All seems serene. Mr. Tuggle and the cats sprawled across his bed yawn and open their eyes to a bright sunny day. If they knew what was ahead, they’d crawl under the bed and keep sleeping.

Are you hunting for your child’s shoes when the school bus pulls to a stop at the corner? Well, Mr. Tuggle finds his shoes. He just can’t find his hat. So he goes without it, but that soon proves to be a disaster in the making. So he improvises.

The next day Mr. Tuggle can’t find his shoes. So he improvises again.

The week continues and young readers relate. Giggles grow at each page turn.

The artist dedicates this book “To all the Mr. Tuggles of the world (and you know who we are).” Clearly, she had fun bringing the author’s clever story to the cluttered page. The word clutter is meant as a compliment. The youngest reader will return again and again to see Mr. Tuggle’s world, from home to bus, to office, and back. The park bench scene will elicit shrieks. Each face in the ordinary places of Mr. Tuggle’s bus, at his bus stop, and on the elevator registers surprise and amazement at the discovery that there is nothing ordinary about Mr. Tuggle.

The last page rates belly laughs.

The talents of author and artist mesh perfectly for a picture book worthy of launching National Smile Week. Or any time the daily hustle becomes a hassle.

Cold Front

2010-08-07T15:13:00.003-05:00

Along with the rest of our country, my city has experienced the tumble of heat records this year. 101 has come to visit and stayed longer than we’d like. When reading Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, my thirst became so great, I wanted to get a drink of water, but that would mean a break in reading. I couldn’t stop. Not for a minute. I wondered, was there ever a book that made me feel cold. Numb, even? I offer the following as my attempt to bring down the temperatures. Have a sweater handy.

THE WHITE DARKNESS by Geraldine McCaughrean, HarperTempest, 2005

14 year old Symone’s confidante is Captain Titus Oates who was aboard a doomed expedition to the South Pole–-90 years ago. As Sym puts it, “I have been in love with Titus Oates for quite a while now–-which is ridiculous, since he’s been dead for ninety years. But look at it this way, in ninety years I’ll be dead, too, and the age difference won’t matter.”

That’s the thing about Sym. She has her own way of looking at things. Good thing. It saves her sanity when her Uncle Victor, obsessed with seeking Symme’s Hole, an opening that may lead to the center of the Earth, takes her on an adventure in the bleak, unyielding, unrelenting Antarctic wilderness. The entire undertaking becomes a nightmare. Is it cold? Try freezing.

The author thoughtfully provides a brief account of the doomed expedition of Captain Robert Falcon Scott who set out for the South Pole in 1911, a second and final attempt. For Titus Oates, given charge of Captain Scott’s horses, this contemporary novel could grant him a second chance to set a few things straight.

The White Darkness was singled out for the Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature by the American Library Association. Author McCaughrean has won many other awards for her lengthy list of credits, including the Carnegie Medal, England’s most prestigious children’s book award, and the Whitbread Children’s Book Award. She was the first to win the latter award three times.

Reviews on the back cover are, of course, favorable. They wouldn’t be there otherwise. However, The Guardian (UK) spoke for me: “A rip-roaring adventure yarn...with any luck it’ll be read by everyone, whatever their age. No one’s going to forget it in a hurry.”

I haven’t.

How Our Lives Might Be Different

2010-08-05T09:30:00.011-05:00

Violence makes the news. We can’t escape it. When the media was limited to sources our parents could control, we were shielded. Not true today. School was once a place of safety. Also not true today. We are unable to give our kids the childhood we enjoyed.

Author Kathryn Erskine was devastated by the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech. As she struggled to deal with this violent event that happened in her home state, she wondered how community and family–-particularly families with special needs children-–would cope with this tragedy. How, she wondered, might our lives be different if we understood each other better?

During the days after the shooting at Virginia Tech, following the story on television, watching the families gather on the campus and cling to each other for support, I wondered how they would survive the sadness of the days and nights to come after these bright, shining lives were taken from their midst so senselessly. Of course, children with special needs would suffer trauma, but all children, siblings of those shot, and all parents, relatives, and friends would never come to complete closure without a great deal of emotional work.

MOCKINGBIRD by Kathryn Erskine, Philomel Books, 2010.

Caitlin is a 10 year old who has Asperger’s Syndrome. In her world, everything is black and white, and anything in between is confused and confusing. At home, it’s just Caitlin, her dad, and her brother, Devon, who is good at explaining things to Caitlin. Devon understands Caitlin’s way of thinking. He’s her rock. And then a school shooting takes him away.

Chapter One is titled: The Day Our Life Fell Apart

Caitlin’s father cries a lot. Caitlin wants to help, but she doesn’t know how. When she hears that all the families who suffered loss are seeking closure, she looks up the definition of closure in the dictionary and decides her family needs some, too.

In some ways, Caitlin’s syndrome is like a protective cover. She is trying to learn the skills of relating to others. Her way of expressing herself seems rude and insensitive, but when the author takes us inside Caitlin’s head, it’s much easier to understand why she reacts the way she does. Language, for one, is filled with double meanings. Literal meanings can be most confusing, even when you turn to a dictionary, as Caitlin does.

Caitlin’s coping mechanisms are based a lot on what Devon told her. "Stuffed animaling" is the way she takes her mind away from stressful situations. She gets a recess feeling in her tummy when she feels as if something bad is about to happen.

After the school shooting, Caitlin meets first grader Michael whose mother was shot and she shares a school with Josh, whose cousin was the shooter at the middle school Caitlin will attend next year. How does she get along with these people as everyone is trying to come to closure?

Caitlin’s counselor is very real, not perfect, but human and trying hard to be patient with the special needs children she counsels. The reader sees progress in action when these children recognize and react appropriately to a hurtful comment made by the PE teacher.

It’s almost as if the school shooting brought emotions to the surface. School personnel take this chance to develop understanding and kindness. If only all fifth graders could be well grounded in how to care about the feelings of others by the time they are launched into the outer space of middle school.

Caitlin’s story will enlighten those of you who wonder what Asperger’s Syndrome is. Chances are, you already know someone with Asperger’s, maybe several people. They will come to mind as you read Mockingbird. You will want to read this with your children and talk about it together.

Caitlin is caught up in reading To Kill a Mockingbird which just celebrated 50 years of making us think. Caitlin will make you think, too.

For School Sleuths

2010-08-02T11:23:00.005-05:00

The title gives a shout out to girl readers. Those middle graders who reach for mysteries when left to choose their own books, will want to read this one.

THE RED BLAZER GIRLS by Michael D. Bell, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009

You know you’re in for a bit of mind bending when the copyright page is printed in mirror writing.

This contemporary novel is set in Manhattan in a girls’ Catholic day school. Four seventh grade girls who have a variety of talents and skills band together to help a colorful senior citizen solve a puzzle her own father left to her estranged daughter 20 years ago. Is there a reconciliation? I won’t say. Are there villains? Oh, yes.

The girls notice boys, but giggling about them is not the main way they spend their time. When they become absorbed in the mystery, they don’t hesitate to use their French and Latin, math, and writing skills to tease out the clues that lead to a solution.

The girls collaborate on a skit–-based on Great Expectations–which they act out while the plot thickens all around them. Several pages of math puzzles explained by one of the characters could stop a reader if it occurred early in the book, but by the time this happens, the reader belongs to the group.

Author Bell captures the voices of the girls so well that if he and his wife have teen daughters, he could be a “cool” dad because he understands them. Or they could fuss at him for eaves-dropping.

Is this the beginning of a series? Readers will hope so.

Edge of Chair Edgar Finalist

2010-07-30T15:08:00.003-05:00

The book jacket of this YA spy-in-training mystery promises that the reader will be guessing until the last page. True!

THE MORGUE AND ME by John C. Ford, Viking, 2009.

How nice to read a novel that concentrates on the mystery and doesn’t focus on the gore and grime of crime. OK, there is a body almost from the beginning, but the focus remains on why he was killed and who did it.

Christopher, the main character, just graduated from high school and has a love of photography–just like the author. He doesn’t make dumb mistakes the reader could see coming for a mile. Circumstances trip him up, but not his own feet. He isn’t arrogant and doesn’t get a comeuppance.

Considering all the CSI shows and spin-offs, a high school student taking a job as a morgue assistant doesn’t seem like a strange choice of summer jobs. If a guy plans to be a spy, what better place to start?

It must have been a challenge to keep Christopher’s ten year old brother from stealing the whole show. Maybe author Ford will center a book on Daniel someday.

For kids who love summer because it gives them time to read for pleasure, this book could be one last treat before having to tackle reading assignments for school.

Is There a Fair in Your Future?

2010-07-28T18:05:00.003-05:00

Popcorn, cotton candy, and hotdogs, sideshow barkers, lights, rides, games–-it's more than enough for an entire alphabet.

A FABULOUS FAIR ALPHABET by Debra Frasier, Beach Lane Books, 2010

Wow! I got dizzy the first time through this book. A second trip helped me remember the fairs I’ve enjoyed and realize that the sights, sounds, and smells of a real fair are, in fact, dizzying. The author/illustrator captures all the reasons we go to fairs in bright colors and vivid scenes.

Young readers will want to look at each picture on each page. Your own memories of the fair will keep you recalling family stories or childhood memories.

I liked the full spread of C (cotton candy) and the full spread of L (large lemonade); R (roller coaster) races across another double spread. Lest you think I just enjoyed the double spreads, wait until you get to W (win). You’ll have to pick up a copy of the book to find out what the illustrator chose for D.

Read this to your young listener a number of times before you go to a fair. He or she will be eager to go. And so will you.

To “meet” the creative artist and find fun activities see KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com

Making Sense of the News–maybe

2010-07-23T17:15:00.006-05:00

We hear about Afghanistan on network news every night. Putting a face to the news might help us understand why we are committing ourselves to sacrifices beyond imagining.

NASREEN’S SECRET SCHOOL: A True Story From Afghanistan, by Jeanette Winter, Beach Lane Books, 2009

Nasreen’s parents disappear. In sorrow and great distress, this young girl becomes mute. Her grandmother watches her suffer until she feels driven to take action. She risks everything to enroll Nasreen in a secret school for girls. In this place of warmth and friendship, healing begins. The books Nasreen learns to read and love open windows on the world.

How this secret school changes Nasreen’s life also gives the reader a glimpse–but only a glimpse--into how girls and women are treated in Afghanistan and why the Taliban is such a dreaded foe. The award winning author has written and illustrated many books for young readers based on true-life stories. She writes with sensitivity.

The risk Nasreen’s grandmother takes for her will stay with the reader. The young reader will know that when she hears about the war in Afghanistan, a little girl named Nasreen, about her age, is going to a secret school and enjoying books the same way she is. Maybe they are even reading the same books.

Children’s books are always a good way to make sense out of the world. Even better, they bring hope at the end.

May it always be so.

Sleepy or Creepy?

2010-07-20T16:16:00.002-05:00

The choice is this: go to sleep at a decent hour and finish the book tomorrow, or keep turning pages until the villain is uncovered or caught or the mystery is solved or the things that go bump are explained. Usually, in my arguments with myself, creepy wins. I have to know how it ends. NOW.

SHADOWED SUMMER by Saundra Mitchell, Delacorte Press, 2009

Here is the summary from the book jacket: In the small town of Ondine, LA, 14 year old Iris uncovers family secrets when she conjures up the ghost of a boy missing for decades and decides to solve the mystery of his disappearance.

Yes, there is conjuring and not everyone is comfortable with the effects of dabbling in the dark arts. So be advised. However, the voices of the main character and her best friend are authentic and their boredom in the small town, which they vow to leave as soon as they get their drivers’ licenses, will resonate with a teen reader.

The author is a screenwriter, and it shows. Imagine what ghostly antics can do for a muggy summer in a town of 349 people that’s not more than a supper stop between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. This was a finalist for the Edgar for Young Adult novels. It’s easy to see why.

It’s likely that girls rather than guys will opt to lose sleep over this one.

A Different Underwater Picture

2010-07-19T11:48:00.022-05:00

Oil in the Gulf of Mexico, sharks at the Jersey Shore, our beautiful beaches and wetlands under threat...let’s visit better times.

Do you remember that lovely book by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift From the Sea? My daughter, Carolyn, gave me a copy when she graduated from college with this inscription: “Mom, I hope you love this author." I did. Still do.

Here’s another gift linking us to the sea, and this one can be loved by your young readers, a picture book biography of Jacques Cousteau. When he was young, Jacques Cousteau was given a pair of goggles so he could see underwater. This gift changed his life forever.

The Fantastic Undersea Life of JACQUES COUSTEAU, by Dan Yaccarino, Alfred A.Knopf, 2009.

Writer/illustrator Yaccarino heard Cousteau’s words, “The best way to observe a fish is to become a fish.” He stirs words and art together in a magical mix, pulling the reader deeper and deeper under the sea with Cousteau.

Cousteau’s tv series, The Undersea World of Jacques Costeau, brought sea creatures like whales and dolphins right into people’s living rooms. Yaccarino has accomplished the same feeling for the reader, as if he is standing in an aquarium, but instead of the reader moving from exhibit to exhibit, the exhibits move to him. The placement of double spreads, the vibrant art with blocks of text on one page and circles of quotes from Cousteau on the opposite page, all move together.

Cousteau, who produced 50 books, two encyclopedias, and dozens of documentary films, shot The Silent World, the first full-length, full-color underwater film ever made, in the Mediterranean Sea. His dream was to live and work underwater in labs and actually colonize the ocean. His diving Saucer could descend 350 meters to the Sea Flea which could take scientists another 500 meters. However, the problem, yet to be solved, is this: since people need sunlight to live, how could they actually live underwater?

Your young readers will be transfixed–and maybe take Cousteau’s work to the next level. Or should I say depth?

Be sure to see the trailer:
http://www.yaccarinostudio.com/ys/books/cousteau.html

Enjoy the sea breeze!

Nothing Quiet About Sojourner

2010-07-15T12:59:00.006-05:00

Some people seem destined for greatness, from the very first sound they make when they arrive in the world. That was Sojourner Truth.

SOJOURNER TRUTH’S STEP-STOMP STRIDE by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney, Disney Jump at the Sun Books, 2009.

I can hear a group of youngsters step-stomping around the room in imitation of the famous person they’ll meet via this lively picture book. Some books are meant to be read before a nap. Not this one. After you finish sharing this brief burst of history, get the children up and moving.

Both author and illustrator have won numerous awards. They’ve combined talents to breathe life into a period of history when injustice threatened nearly everyone and overwhelmed the good intentions of most.

Larger than life, Sojourner Truth step-stomped her size twelve feet through a swamp of trouble until at long last she tasted the sweetness of freedom. Did she use her freedom to help others? Of course she did.

That was Sojourner Truth.

Your young readers won’t forget her.

Even Dust Bunnies Have Heart

2010-07-13T10:58:00.002-05:00

If your kids are bored with summer and you’re bored with hearing how bored they are, help is at hand.

HERE COMES THE BIG, MEAN, DUST BUNNY! By Jan Thomas, Beach Lane Books, 2009

Ed, Ted, Ned, and Bob say they rhyme all the time. (Bob?) Enter the monstrous dust bunny and a game is on. Knowing that sat and splat rhyme might make you wonder how this one will turn out. Not to worry. Even on the run, a pun is fun.

A mom might wonder if it’s her kitchen pantry or laundry room where Jan Thomas hides to do her writing. I wondered. Will you?

A Different Kind of Sixties Summer

2010-07-12T09:40:00.006-05:00

Dalphine is used to doing things that are hard–-like being a mother to her little sisters. She’s peacemaker, caretaker, and chief worrier. Her story will pull at your heartstrings.

ONE CRAZY SUMMER by Rita Williams-Garcia, Amistad, 2010.

Delphine wants to understand three things:
Why did her mother leave? (Delphine was four.)
Why did she stay away? (Delphine's little sisters don't remember her at all.)
Why didn’t she want her little girls? (All three girls wonder about this.)

Finally, in the summer of 1968, Delphine, now eleven, gets her chance to ask. Her father and his mother, who have raised Delphine and her younger sisters, send all three girls from Brooklyn to visit their mother in Oakland, CA. They soon discover that their mother has no idea what a mother should be, and she certainly can’t be the mother they want her to be, nor does this perfect stranger have any interest in being that mother.

A revolutionary poet, their mother sends the children to a Black Panthers’ summer camp, the only place that will feed them breakfast and lunch. She keeps saying, hurtfully, in words or actions, “Didn’t ask no one to send you here, no way.”

The girls are not allowed in the kitchen at their mother’s house, but Delphine realizes her sisters need a home cooked meal, something like their grandmother would feed them at home. Delphine goes to the grocery, buys food, and then stands up to her mother and gets admitted to the kitchen–which doubles as a work area for printing protest materials. She cooks and cleans up after supper.

This brings on a comment from her distant biological mother. “We’re trying to break yokes. You’re trying to make one for yourself. If you knew what I know, seen what I’ve seen, you wouldn’t be so quick to pull the plow.”

This is a clue to her mother’s life, but it isn’t understood until much later. You might want to read this book a second time to put the pieces of the puzzle together. If your ten or eleven year old reads this middle grade novel, you’ll get questions. Better be prepared.

The author has won numerous awards including the Coretta Scott King Honor for Like Sisters on the Homefront. Her website is www.ritawg.com She is on the faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts in the Writing for Children and Young Adults Program. Her own two daughters are grown.

Congratulations, Hester Bass!

2010-07-10T12:45:00.004-05:00

And the winner of the

2010 SIBA CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD

is

drum roll, please...

THE SECRET WORLD OF WALTER ANDERSON by Hester Bass, illustrated by E. B. Lewis, Candlewick, 2009

Reviewed here on March 9.

Hurrah for Hester!

Don’t Call it a Weed!

2010-07-10T11:53:00.002-05:00

Weeds, I’ve been told, are plants in places you don’t want them to be. If you like the weeds where they are, does that make them non-weeds?

One summer a much loved aunt of mine who was ill and unable to leave her bed, wrote a full page of her letter to me about the lovely mimosa tree she could see from her window. Imagine my shock to hear someone refer to this tree as a weed. When I discovered a little girl who loved the “stubborn and wild” mimosa as much as my aunt, I hugged this little girl to my reader’s heart immediately.

A TREE FOR EMMY by Mary Ann Rodman, illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss, Peachtree, 2009

Emmy loved all the parts of the mimosa tree growing in her gramma’s pasture: the fuzzy pink blossoms in summer, the seed pods in the fall. Her proud gramma said the tree was a lot like Emmy, “Stubborn and strong and a little bit wild.”

When her parents asked what she wanted for her birthday, of course, Emmy wanted a mimosa. It would be perfect under her bedroom window where she could enjoy it every day, all year.

Her parents set out to buy a mimosa tree. Not so easy. The plant and garden stores don’t sell mimosas just like they don’t sell dandelions.

What’s a mimosa lover to do?

If you have any wild and stubborn young readers at your house, here’s a summer time book to delight. Best read close to a mimosa, sitting on a quilt, with a picnic lunch close at hand. Another glass of lemonade, please.

Uncle Augustus, Where Were You?

2010-07-05T09:48:00.012-05:00

Mosquitoes ring the dinner bell when I step into our backyard. Then I read about a man who suddenly developed an appetite for bugs, so much so, that he raced in, around, and under bushes, hid behind trees, and leapt amazing heights just to scarf up flying insects. Instead of thinking him weird, I wanted to invite him to our 4th of July picnic.

The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival: PETRONELLA SAVES NEARLY EVERYONE by Dene Low, illustrations by Jen Corace, Houghton Mifflin, 2009

Obviously, one woman’s glass of iced tea is another’s dreaded discovery. Petronella is about to be presented at her 16th birthday party when she discovers to her horror that her guardian and beloved Uncle Augustus has suddenly developed a predilection for eating bugs. Yes, bugs!

Set in Victorian London, this is a book for middle grade girls who want to while away hot summer hours on a back porch or in an out of the way spot in the garden. Or not. The reader is swallowed whole by the main character’s adventures (while Uncle is swallowing bugs), so the reader’s setting really doesn’t matter. As long as there are no interruptions.

Kidnaping, bugs for clues, making sure Uncle doesn’t eat those clues, and oh, yes, one’s best friend’s brother, a titled Lord with the Home Office, is simply to be swooned over. Or is that for? The pace is frantic.

Fond of terms of endearment like “old egg” or “old prune”, the trio, Petronella, her best friend and the young man known as one of England’s most eligible bachelors, travel from one crisis to the next. While they unravel clues, they barely escape a pursuing pack of outrageously proper relatives who could (and would!) alter Petronella’s life drastically if they find out about Uncle and his joy of eating bugs.

This will be a fun book for the readers at your house, but sadly, Uncle was a no-show at my holiday picnic.

An Unsolved Mystery!

2010-07-03T14:24:00.003-05:00

Fibonacci numbers appear in nature and nobody knows why. An aspiring detective needs a definition as well as a reason to care. Kids who are “in” on the pattern and how it works love to show you. Add one to one and you get two. Add two and one, and you get three. Add three and two and you get five. Or 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, and what comes next? Aha! Before you know it, you are hooked.

GROWING PATTERNS: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature by Sarah C. Campbell, photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell, Boyds Mills Press, 2010

The author and her husband make this mathematical enigma accessible to readers of all ages. Author Campbell shares enough history to ground the subject, not overwhelm the reader. A one page glossary will probably encourage readers who don’t read the last pages first to go back and start over, or hunt for those pages they want to ponder again. Lavish photographs by both Campbells and easy to follow diagrams support the brief but clear text so even the most math resistant reader will be drawn in, totally unaware of how much he or she is learning.

The challenge to find this pattern in the flower bed, the field, at the beach, on animals, or any other place not yet reported, will inspire a summer of sleuthing.

Imagine that first report of the school year:
How I spent My Summer: Stalking Fibonacci Numbers.

My summer summaries were never that intriguing. Were yours?

Fishing for a Good Book

2010-06-28T12:37:00.003-05:00

His grandmother’s summer cottage on a small lake in Michigan. Idyllic. Perfect place to grow up, to bring your kids and grandkids. It’s the 1970's. Kyle is 12 and sees his life stretching ahead of him, this summer and all the summers to come.

KYLE’S ISLAND by Sally Derby, Charlesbridge, 2010

Then Kyle’s grandmother dies, his parents separate, and his mother decides to sell the cottage. Kyle fights his feelings of bitterness and disappointment by trying to figure out how to save the cottage.

Although his older sister and his twin sister, who seems, somehow, different this summer, offer a little help, they aren’t nearly as engaged in the project as Kyle wants or expects them to be. His younger brother Josh would do anything for Kyle, but there are limits to what a 7 year old can do.

Prospective buyers view the cottage, Kyle takes on odd jobs, and as the summer simmers on, Kyle comes to think of himself as more than a big brother, more like a stand-in dad. He teaches Josh how to fish and go camping. Every day, he thinks about the coming end of summer. Will it be his last summer on the lake?

This is a quiet novel but there are readers, boys and girls alike, who enjoy quiet novels. They will relate to Kyle and his concerns and sympathize with his struggles.

Fishing, camping, sibling relationships, and coping with the realization that grown-ups aren’t perfect, offer much to think about in this warm hearted story of a family’s summer vacation.

Following Footprints

2010-06-25T12:07:00.002-05:00

Summer brings on the patter of little feet in the kitchen all day long. Those little feet leave footprints. Feet of all sizes on the porch, in the hall, and from shower to towel rack and back leave tale telling evidence, too. Do you read feet? Do you know who did what when? Isn’t that part of a mom’s job description? Here’s a book to share with feet owners who can laugh at themselves.

MOOSE TRACKS by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jack E. Davis, Margaret McElderry, 2006

Along with feet, do you also read faces on picture book characters? Jack Davis has worked sly humor into his characters’ expressions. His detailed settings offer clues to the mystery at hand. It’s just plain fun to point out the smug faced mice and boggle-eyed frogs to that two year old who wiggled her way onto your lap. Or you could wonder where the dog went and why the cat isn’t demanding a bigger role. Preschoolers would be happy to offer their opinions. A first or second grader who insists he’s given up reading for the summer might be glad to do this, too.

This book ends with a punch line. I don’t want to spoil it, so I’ll just say that Karma Wilson has written other books for kids to read with their families or for families to read to their kids. Take a stack to the beach or the mountains, or the nearest living room chair.

In the meantime,who left all those moose tracks?