tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37045323870892518562024-02-07T00:46:38.373-08:00Six Boxes of BooksThree sisters (Wendy, Laurie, and Kathleen) talk about booksWendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11690852339559706714noreply@blogger.comBlogger156125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-33950492233566612592014-11-29T08:19:00.000-08:002014-11-29T08:19:35.924-08:00Author events in Seattle: Small Business SaturdayJust some of the Seattle bookstores with amazing lineups of authors visiting today. Check out <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/indies-first-states" target="_blank">this list</a> for bookstores in other cities and states.<br />
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<a href="http://www.secretgardenbooks.com/event/indies-first" target="_blank">Secret Garden Bookshop</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.booklarder.com/events/info/indies-first-small-business-saturday" target="_blank">Book Larder</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.elliottbaybook.com/event/indies-first-day" target="_blank">Elliott Bay Book Company</a><br />
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<a href="http://queenannebookcompany.indiebound.com/events" target="_blank">Queen Anne Book Company</a><br />
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<a href="http://www2.bookstore.washington.edu/_events/events_cal.taf?evmonth=11&evyear=2014&eventid=2014092814255900&pre=20141121&pst=20141130" target="_blank">University Book Store</a><br />
<br />LaurieA-Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01482323207701500679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-79112695404237850672013-08-07T09:00:00.000-07:002013-08-07T09:09:54.746-07:00Must-Read Kids' Books from NPRI think I'm suffering from list overload. Most of my Facebook friends are readers, and we love to post lists and check off how many books from each list we've read. Because we're well-read, yo. But I got tired of seeing lists prominently featuring gems like the <i>Twilight</i> series (okay, I actually did read the first book), and my scores were suffering because of this, people!<br />
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So when I started seeing links to the <a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/08/05/207315023/the-ultimate-backseat-bookshelf-100-must-reads-for-kids-9-14">Ultimate Backseat Bookshelf: 100 Must-Reads For Kids 9-14</a>, I was like, yeah, right, whatever, and what's up with this BACKSEAT business, anyway? I can't read in the car. I didn't even click. So the list is a couple of days old now (forever in internet time) and I'm just now getting around to looking at it and HOLY COW, this is actually a good list.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.npr.org/series/141728003/nprs-back-seat-book-club">Backseat Book Club</a> is apparently NPR's book club for young readers. To create the list, they did solicit audience nominations, but they also recruited a <a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/08/05/207315023/the-ultimate-backseat-bookshelf-100-must-reads-for-kids-9-14#panel">stellar panel of experts</a> to curate and create the final list. And it's worth perusing, printing, and posting prominently wherever children are to be found. It includes books from the 19th century (<i>Little Women</i>) to present day (<i>Bomb</i>) and a variety of genres/subject areas (American Stories, Animal Kingdom, Biography/Memoir/History, Everyday Magic, Family Life, Fantasy Worlds, Friendships and Finding Your Place, Good For a Laugh, Graphic Novels, Mysteries and Thrillers, Myths and Fairy Tales, Poetry, Science Fiction, Survival and Adventure).<br />
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Several of my favorite series are included, although the <i>Betsy-Tacy</i> series<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=stevieweeviet-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> is missing, and for some reason only <i>The Saturdays<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=stevieweeviet-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0312375980" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i>
is included from Elizabeth Enright's <i>Melendy Quartet</i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=stevieweeviet-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.<br />
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For the record, I've read 57 out of 100. And I'm adding at least some of the others to my to-read list.<br />
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<br /> Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-69227511695504582112013-04-28T17:50:00.000-07:002013-04-28T18:12:59.836-07:00FangirlingI've had the opportunity to see a favorite author two weeks in a row now!<br />
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Last Saturday, I logged onto Twitter and happened to notice that <a href="http://laurelsnyder.com/">Laurel Snyder</a> (author of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9780375861697?p_ti" rel="powells-9780375861697" title="More info about this book at powells.com">Penny Dreadful</a> and <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9780375873256?p_ti" rel="powells-9780375873256" title="More info about this book at powells.com">Bigger Than a Bread Box</a>) was in Portland to do a reading! The reading was only a couple of hours from then, and across town, but I managed to get my husband to come home with the car in time, and convinced two of my daughters to come along.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5HiT-M_RLMkKYSIpIquZM2kKz_fHZTCJ2GTPE9aDeFuyX9onKYi7USdEM8CcLeK_7XwGPc9Fw6L1V4qfSd6A40PKtygylUIVOZeUFn3wssEwFabVXgj9npcmsqqMataA01X6TbXIIh18/s1600/1366485553724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5HiT-M_RLMkKYSIpIquZM2kKz_fHZTCJ2GTPE9aDeFuyX9onKYi7USdEM8CcLeK_7XwGPc9Fw6L1V4qfSd6A40PKtygylUIVOZeUFn3wssEwFabVXgj9npcmsqqMataA01X6TbXIIh18/s320/1366485553724.jpg" width="320" /></a>Ms. Snyder was an excellent speaker for participants of all ages. Her reading was actually part of an event sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, so she read from one her picture books, <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9780375868689?p_ti" rel="powells-9780375868689" title="More info about this book at powells.com">Good Night, laila tov</a>, as well as <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9781582463155?p_ti" rel="powells-9781582463155" title="More info about this book at powells.com">Baxter, the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher</a>. But she also showed us some of her earliest writing, from when she was a child, and encouraged the children to do their own storytelling, saying that any time they are playing and making up stories, if they write down those stories, they are authors! I bet she does excellent classroom visits. She was also kind and approachable and we were happy to meet her. I would have gotten a book for signing, but unfortunately Powell's did not have her novels available (only the picture books).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxwXD2Dz7Ba66Mi8_mHRuouVateJ25_Za762eH_zCywmcZIfdXgt4Gr6J4Ej0ZfrbwF9QD27gXlNc_sXcJLzTwEHFYiuOfHOl0D-lqjk3hWF9MLjsPptR7H4zEji6AXK4Wukx_gQRj8rY/s1600/IMAG0109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxwXD2Dz7Ba66Mi8_mHRuouVateJ25_Za762eH_zCywmcZIfdXgt4Gr6J4Ej0ZfrbwF9QD27gXlNc_sXcJLzTwEHFYiuOfHOl0D-lqjk3hWF9MLjsPptR7H4zEji6AXK4Wukx_gQRj8rY/s320/IMAG0109.jpg" width="320" /></a>This weekend, we had tickets to a free lecture by <a href="http://loislowry.com/">Lois Lowry</a>, who was in town for the world premiere of a stage adaptation of her book, <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9780547904146?p_ti" rel="powells-9780547904146" title="More info about this book at powells.com">Gathering Blue</a> (second book in <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9780544112001?p_ti" rel="powells-9780544112001" title="More info about this book at powells.com">The Giver Quartet</a>, but stands alone perfectly well). The lecture was actually a panel with Lowry, playwright Eric Coble, and director Stan Foote. It was interesting, but I was also on the verge of tears the entire time, because, LOIS LOWRY! The panel discussed the process of adapting a novel as a play, as well as the banned/challenged books issue, and took questions from the audience. Lowry mentioned, in response to questions, that her favorite of her own books is <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9780440403449?p_ti" rel="powells-9780440403449" title="More info about this book at powells.com">Autumn Street</a>, which she said is very autobiographical and tells about a significant time in her family. She also shared that she never meant to write sequels to <i>The Giver</i>; she didn't even connect <i>Gathering Blue</i> with <i>The Giver</i> until she was nearly finished with it. And, she said that she broke into publishing children's fiction because a publisher read a magazine story she'd written for adults that was told from a child's point of view, and asked her to write a novel. And so, she wrote and published her first novel, <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9780385734202?p_ti" rel="powells-9780385734202" title="More info about this book at powells.com">A Summer to Die</a>, which was one of my favorites for a while.<br />
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We stayed for the play as well, which was excellent, but afterward I got to have my fangirl moment. Lowry had also stayed to watch the play (even though she'd already seen the dress rehearsal), and afterward she took a picture with the cast in the lobby. Yes, I snapped my own picture, but I also waited around to say hello, and to thank her for the talk and for her books. I didn't want to be obnoxious, so I didn't ask for an autograph or for my own picture (they'd announced before the event that she wasn't signing, too). But I did get to speak to her! Yay!<br />
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<br />Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-88783247233581043492012-12-31T21:34:00.000-08:002012-12-31T21:36:59.664-08:00Kathleen's 2012 in BooksNone of us has posted much this year, but we've definitely been reading. My goal was to read at least 100 new-to-me books this year, and I made that easily -- I've read 111, not including re-reads (and I do re-read a good number of books each year; I just don't track them).<br />
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So, here are some of my stats from Goodreads:<br />
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<b>Books I rated 5 Stars</b><br />
There are 11 of these, which is more than I thought there were. Toward the end of the year I felt like I was being really picky and hadn't given out five stars for a LONG time. You can click the titles to see my reviews<br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/415762364">The Girl Who Fell from the Sky</a>, Heidi W. Durrow<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/272477902">The Mighty Miss Malone</a>, Christopher Paul Curtis<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/216834181">Ish</a>, Peter H. Reynolds<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/216834281">The Dot</a>, Peter H. Reynolds<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/244746680">A Monster Calls</a>, Patrick Ness<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/250645.Greensleeves">Greensleeves</a>, Eloise Jarvis McGraw<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/350484255">Anastasia on Her Own</a>, Lois Lowry<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/337658903">How Girls Can Help Their Country</a>, Juliette Gordon Low<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/317864630">Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail</a>, Cheryl Strayed<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/137453223">Countdown</a>, Deborah Wiles<br />
<a href="http://sixboxesofbooks.blogspot.com/2012/01/morris-finalists-2012-girl-of-fire-and.html">The Girl of Fire and Thorns</a>, Rae Carson<br />
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<b>Books I rated 3 and 4 Stars</b><br />
I gave <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1409924-kathleen?rating=4&read_at=2012">56 books</a> four stars, and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1409924-kathleen?rating=3&read_at=2012">40 books</a> three stars. You can click the links to see which books. <br />
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<b>Books I rated 2 Stars</b><br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/263268846">Twilight</a>, Stephenie Meyer<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/302898582">A Northern Light</a>, Jennifer Donnelly<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/404133275">Little Women and Me</a>, Lauren Baratz-Logsted<br />
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<b>One Star and Lower</b><br />
I didn't give any books one star. In fact, it appears that I've only got two one-star books in my entire Goodreads history. Why? I think I'm at least somewhat picky about what I read. I pick things I know I'll be interested in. But I also tend to put the book down unfinished if I really don't like it. I have only one of those this year - Jennifer Egan's <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/161949177">A Visit From the Goon Squad</a>. It just wasn't for me. And I've currently got <i>Les Miserables</i> unfinished and on hold. I plan to see the movie musical, and I'd never read the novel, so I thought I'd read it, but it's been quite a slog. I mean, I can see why it's considered a great story, but it's also a difficult read.<br />
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<b>Other stats</b><br />
<i>Total pages:</i> 32,355<br />
<i>Longest book</i>: <i>11/22/63</i>, Stephen King, 849 pages<br />
<i>Shortest books</i>: <i>Ish</i> and <i>The Dot</i> at 32 pages each. Okay, I may have read a few more picture books as well. I have a 7-year-old to whom I read aloud. But I don't keep track of all of those books.<br />
<i>Publication dates:</i> 26 of these books were published in 2012. Only 15 of the books I read were originally published in the 20th century. The remainder were published from 2000-2011.<br />
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<b>Book formats</b><br />
I didn't officially track how many paper books vs. e-books I read, but by my count I read 51 of 111 as e-books (most through library loan), and I think the amount of e-book reading I did increased over the course of the year. There are still many books not available through the library's e-book program, but it's gotten better. I don't have a full-size e-reader, but I usually do my bedtime reading on my phone now.<br />
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<b>Books I re-read</b><br />
I don't track the books I re-read, but I can tell you what some of them are. I generally re-read these each year.<br />
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The <i>Betsy-Tacy</i> series<br />
The <i>Little House</i> series<br />
The <i>Dark Is Rising</i> Sequence<br />
Louisa May Alcott: <i>Little Women, Little Men, Jo's Boys, Eight Cousins, Rose in Bloom, An Old-Fashioned Girl, Jack and Jill, Under the Lilacs</i><br />
The <i>Anne of Green Gables</i> series<br />
<i>Tam Lin</i>, Pamela Dean <br />
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I usually re-read several Madeleine L'Engle books (but not always the same ones), and there are many others that I will pull off the shelf and re-read, or read with my girls. <br />
<b><br />Currently Reading</b><br />
As we prepare to ring in the new year, I'm reading Stephen King's <i>Under the Dome</i>.<br />
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Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-11556685595033116102012-12-08T22:08:00.000-08:002012-12-08T22:11:15.709-08:00WarehousingToday I did something I've been wanting to do for years: I went to the Scholastic Books Warehouse Sale!<br />
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Now, I know <a href="http://sixboxesofbooks.blogspot.com/search?q=scholastic">Scholastic has had their problems</a>. And they're not a local, independent bookstore. In fact, I felt a little dirty afterward, like I'd been shopping at Walmart or something. But, books! For kids! My kids, and students I work with. Half price, or even better!<br />
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Aside from Christmas presents, I wanted books for kids to read in the computer lab when they're finished taking tests, and also for my before-school reading area. This year, I'm on duty outside the front door for 15 minutes before school. There's one bench near the front door, which a lot of kids would like to sit on, so I made a rule that they could sit there only if they read (and if space allows). I have a bunch of books that were library discards, or that were left behind and never reclaimed, but many of them do not hold the kids' interest, or they have gotten tired of them. So I was specifically looking for high-interest books that could be read in short spurts. I ended up with some easy-to-read sports biographies, a book about President Obama, and another election-themed book (hey, the election's over, but I figure it's still a familiar topic), as well as copies of <i>Holes, A Wrinkle in Time</i> and <i>Clementine's Letter.</i><br />
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But I'm disappointed by what I didn't find: non-fiction books about women athletes, or really, any prominent women or girls who aren't actors or singers. There are plenty of princess-themed books, High School Musical books, and biographies of Disney Channel and Nickelodeon stars. And Taylor Swift. But no Gabby Douglas, Venus Williams, or Missy Franklin? Not Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton? J.K. Rowling? Or any of thousands of other women doing great things?<br />
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The only thing I saw was a nice, gift-type hardcover about Coretta Scott King, which appeared to be on an African-American-themed table. And that's great, but it wasn't what I needed -- I bought inexpensive and easy-to-read paperbacks.<br />
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Now, Scholastic does list books about some of these women online. I suppose it's possible they were there and I didn't find them, or that they'd already been bought out (which would be great!), but I did look pretty thoroughly, and I would have at least expected books about female athletes to be shelved near books about male athletes.<br />
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Aside from that, the warehouse sale was definitely worth shopping. I got everything for 50% off, including 50% off on books that were stickered with a special, final price of $2.50-5.00. My final total was $30.25 for 13 brand-new books. They also had a section where you could fill a box with books for $24.95, but I didn't like the selection available (mostly Disney and such). I was told that sometimes the selection is better, though.<br />
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The Portland warehouse sale is open through December 18 (closed on Sundays), and Scholastic does hold warehouse sales in many cities throughout the United States (<a href="http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/events/warehouse/">check here</a> for listings and info). Despite my concerns, I would recommend it as a low-cost option for gift-buying and to acquire books for classrooms. Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-91690444335466520692012-05-27T18:33:00.002-07:002012-05-27T19:09:56.464-07:00No Sunday BrunchOnce I tweeted "Does anyone else feel like they're just killing time on Sunday until Peter posts the Sunday Brunch?" And I know at least a few people felt the same way, because they retweeted it.<br />
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The loss of Peter D. Sieruta is a tremendous one, especially for his family, whom he mentioned frequently on his blog, but felt by many who never met him.<br />
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The influence of <a href="http://collectingchildrensbooks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Collecting Children's Books</a> on this blog can't be overstated. I wanted nothing but to be a pale cousin of Peter's blog. He wrote lovely, long posts without a hint of self-advertisement--or ANYTHING-advertisement, except the love of reading. It was always clear that his blog was just for reading and discussing books; he never tried to sell anything or convince anyone of anything. If he ever had any goals about "monetization" or increasing readership, it didn't show. Peter shared with the Six Boxes sisters a deep interest in the oldest books and the newest books. Like us, he seemed less interested in writing reviews and most interested in discussion of books in general, as well as in the little oddities that made his blog a frequent topic of conversation between us, when we wondered either "how can that be?" or "how can we not have known that?" We are greatly looking forward to his <a href="http://collectingchildrensbooks.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-came-early-this-year.html" target="_blank">book</a>, written with Betsy and Jules.<br />
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Peter knew a lot, but he was also quick to research any question that came up. It's hard to imagine going into Newbery Season without Peter here to answer questions about "would this be the first Newbery winner that---" and "has there ever been a year where---".<br />
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Every once in a while, I was able to pounce with glee on some small error or omission about Newbery history or the older books we both loved. Peter was never defensive or at all put out by this; rather than trying to minimize it, more than anything else, he seemed to delight in the new knowledge. This is uncanny in a blogger. It's uncanny in anyone.<br />
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I wonder whether Peter was working on a new Sunday Brunch post while he was laid up with his broken ankle. I wonder what he would have posted about--maybe the new movie of Madeleine L'Engle's <i>Camilla Dickinson</i>, which I would have loved discussing with him. I wonder whether he had already read this year's Newbery winner. Even though I know there will be many Newbery winners yet to come that he should have had a chance to read and won't, I have an irrationally sentimental hope that he did get to read the 2012 winner.<br />
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This post isn't particularly representative of Peter's work, but it is a delightful one that I have often thought of, with a smile. Do you remember the hat Aretha Franklin wore to President Obama's inauguration? <a href="http://collectingchildrensbooks.blogspot.com/2009/02/hats-off.html" target="_blank">I especially like the Giver wearing The Hat.</a><br />
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Thank you, Peter.Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11690852339559706714noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-75205567856538101632012-05-20T16:07:00.001-07:002012-05-20T16:07:33.567-07:00Now playingThis year's <a href="http://www.siff.net/index.aspx">Seattle International Film Festival</a> features adaptations of two young adult books which have little in common except that I really liked both the books--and the movies sound good too.
<a href="http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=45333&FID=254">Fat Kid Rules the World</a>, based on the novel by K. L. Going, was filmed in Seattle. I missed it at SIFF, but look forward to seeing how the humor and punk rock music come through on film at a future screening.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyQybq3Qp1bVPK4vRqgUV-H9SCyCh-xcur_KNB9hx5qXH9nRhtMhKCdYTyEaytBpAoHBUNMjZ-95qpn08Aurhi3tN1i51hhqylNGYO70ByfusWwvCWrlMRhyXerjT-JdetGNdpPzbu6E/s1600/IMG_3921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyQybq3Qp1bVPK4vRqgUV-H9SCyCh-xcur_KNB9hx5qXH9nRhtMhKCdYTyEaytBpAoHBUNMjZ-95qpn08Aurhi3tN1i51hhqylNGYO70ByfusWwvCWrlMRhyXerjT-JdetGNdpPzbu6E/s320/IMG_3921.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=45478&FID=254">Camilla Dickinson</a>, based on the 1951 novel by Madeleine L'Engle, premieres tonight. I am so excited to see it, even though I have avoided all previous L'Engle film adaptations. Somehow I have high hopes for Camilla. It probably has something to do with how, upon first hearing about the movie a few months ago, I went to the <a href="http://camilladickinson.com/">movie website</a>, and said, "OMG that's Pompilia Riccioli!" I look forward to seeing Camilla's New York, which I have walked so many times on the page, on screen.LaurieA-Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01482323207701500679noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-51567127095507924182012-03-22T11:00:00.005-07:002012-03-22T11:51:58.253-07:00Hungry for the Hunger Games?<span style="font-style: normal; ">Wendy made me read </span><i>The Hunger Games</i> AGES ago (my Goodreads account says November 30, 2008). I enjoyed it and gave it four stars, but never sought out the sequels and read them (I think <i>Catching Fire</i> was never available at the library, and I never cared enough to put it on hold).<div style="font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; ">And so, I am not one of those who has tickets to see the movie at midnight. I probably won't even go to see it in a theater, unless my 12-year-old daughter insists.</div><div style="font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div><span style="font-style: normal; ">She did insist that I read </span><i>Catching Fire</i>, though, which she just checked out from the middle school library and read. And so I did, staying up well after I was ready for bed last night to finish it. I liked it quite as well as the first one (which is to say, liked it a whole lot, but don't think it's the best thing ever), and we're moving on to <i>Mockingjay</i> over spring break.</div><div style="font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div><span style="font-style: normal; ">I do see why people become obsessed with the world of </span><span><i>The Hunger Games</i></span><span style="font-style: normal; ">. It is a well-developed and well-described world, and one does become immersed in it, as well as the story, while reading. That's why I found this <a href="http://aimmyarrowshigh.livejournal.com/32461.html">map of Panem</a>, and the description of how it was made, intriguing. V. Arrow is also the author of the upcoming unofficial book, </span><i>The Panem Companion</i>. Arrow (and collaborator "badguys") combined what we know about the districts of Panem from the books with possible geological and climate-change catastrophes to come up with a spiral-based map of Panem (formerly North America). No, it isn't entirely plausible -- but it's fiction anyway, right?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a href="http://aimmyarrowshigh.livejournal.com/32461.html"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 443px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPKXGNYf2WuCG-dm0ssLx3A288cz5cEWUQMsBh_SzRIvgg-XFQeSQSXo5FcpVDL4ofTRtlMKYO63Q0svQ6kCc8-0qE4PN7lQVIDoYT9pT9WYkpgtiVkHDCOykqe2qzQc35xF2ge6cv_U/s320/panemmap.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722794368810087426" /></a><br /></div>Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-80262920743198891632012-02-03T09:25:00.000-08:002012-02-03T13:45:52.245-08:00Roger Sutton: "I loved terrible books" (an interview)What's more fun, Roger Sutton (editor of <a href="http://www.hbook.com/" target="_blank">The Horn Book</a>) or the Scott O'Dell Award? Happily, we don't have to choose, because Roger Sutton is the chair of the Scott O'Dell Award committee.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHfsDl7aLEvD5u6nerHK3sqLtIF4IbNNU9kojxMWZC5OfBQJgiYcgylMveOnLP1Vptp8rInm83JcYDC5j7S0o-f1j_dcU3RyW3fTGEO9DUPHDyas6FCLUYDCCJWI_JCdlMyqN0IezhhDL/s1600/green.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704950020524159682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHfsDl7aLEvD5u6nerHK3sqLtIF4IbNNU9kojxMWZC5OfBQJgiYcgylMveOnLP1Vptp8rInm83JcYDC5j7S0o-f1j_dcU3RyW3fTGEO9DUPHDyas6FCLUYDCCJWI_JCdlMyqN0IezhhDL/s200/green.jpg" style="float: left; height: 200px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px; width: 134px;" width="134" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Here's what the medal <br />
looks like, on a book chosen </span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">totally at random.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>I love the Scott O'Dell Award. I love it because twice it wasn't awarded when the committee didn't think anything was good enough--a bold move when the award is given for juvenile historical fiction set in the Americas, which makes up about 80% of kids' books published today<a href="#fn*" id="ref*">*</a>. I love it because once they awarded it to Scott O'Dell himself. I love it because there's a cash prize attached<a href="#fn**" id="ref**">**</a> and most authors I know<a href="#fn***" id="ref***">***</a> are not rolling in independent wealth.<br />
<br />
</div><div>I love it because I love historical fiction. The <a href="http://www.scottodell.com/pages/ScottO'DellAwardforHistoricalFiction.aspx" target="_blank">website</a> is great. You can get a list of the books grouped into historical periods. They say this is for teachers; I say it's for me, because I am more interested in some periods than others, and because it makes posting those statistics I love<a href="#fn****" id="ref****">****</a> so much easier.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Roger Sutton is a busy man, as well as a <a href="http://www.hbook.com/category/blogs/read-roger/" target="_blank">witty</a> one. He generously took some time out of his day recently to discuss the award with me. I borrowed his <a href="http://www.hbook.com/category/authors-illustrators/interviews/" target="_blank">five-question</a> format. Because otherwise I would have tried to talk historical fiction with Roger Sutton all day.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Wendy: <b>When you are choosing books for this award, what works really well? What makes great historical fiction?</b></div><div>RS: We're always looking for a book that needs to be set at the time and place that it is. Not just a story kind of thrown into another era, nor is it a book that has great history, but there's no story.</div><div>Wendy: That's interesting, because it was suggested on Heavy Medal that <i>Dead End in Norvelt</i> wouldn't win [the Scott O'Dell] because it didn't have enough history in it<a href="#fn*****" id="ref*****">*****</a>.</div><div>RS: Well, when else could that story have taken place? I thought that story not only told us a lot about that time and place, which in itself was historically significant--I think what also pushed the committee in its favor was that its character is so interested in history himself.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Wendy: <b>What is something that you see over and over again in the books you read, a common mistake that authors make [in writing historical fiction]?</b></div><div>RS: The thing that always bothers me the most, both judging this award and reviewing books, is undigested historical information thrown into a story. There was this great article in <i>School Library Journal</i> by Joan Blos called "Bunches of Hessians" where she talks about the various mistakes that are made in historical fiction. She said to take something from a historical novel--for example, a mother making dinner--and translate it into contemporary fiction. And then she wrote this hilarious passage about "Mother stood in front of the white box and carefully adjusted the black dial." It has to be natural to the person telling the story. They shouldn't be noticing things that only an outsider would be paying attention to. That always pulls me right out of the story.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Wendy: <b>Now, considering this award, I'd like to know something about the logistics--how many books each of you read, and what it's like for three people to come to a consensus.</b></div><div>RS: Probably about sixty books were submitted [by the publishers], but the committee is not limited to books that were submitted. I would say, personally, I probably read close to 50 books. Some of them I could dismiss very quickly; carefully read... maybe 20 books.</div><div>Wendy: Was there a list of books that you discussed seriously as a committee?</div><div>RS: It's a very casual process, because we've known each other for thirty years. I would say we seriously discussed fewer than half a dozen books.</div><div>Wendy: A very different experience from the Newbery, I imagine.</div><div>RS: Oh, yes. I mean, there are criteria that you can see on the website--the author has to be an American, the book has to be set in the New World--which I'm guessing is a term we're not supposed to use anymore. Do you know?</div><div>Wendy: Yes, I was describing it to someone who wasn't familiar with the award and said "it has to be set in the New World--I mean, I guess I should say that it has to be set in South, Central, or North America"--and then I wondered why they didn't say that in the first place.</div><div>RS: Well, I'm guessing that's Scott's wording. And he was very big on that, that he thought we needed more books told to American kids about their own history, rather than books that go back to Europe.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Wendy: So, speaking of setting, <b>is there a particular setting or historical period that you'd like to see more of?</b></div><div>RS: I haven't really thought about it... The last two books have been set in the sixties. I feel like we're doing pretty well with colonial times, Civil War does well. In more recent years it's been the twenties and the thirties... what are we missing?</div><div>Wendy: I would love to see more books about Latinos and American Indians, South America. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I have one more question. This award has only been around since the early 80s. <b>Is there a work of historical fiction that stands out to you from your childhood, a classic, or something that you feel like is a great exemplar of historical fiction?</b></div><div>RS: Oh, I loved terrible historical fiction when I was a kid. I loved the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Were_There">We Were There</a></i> series. That's what I read over and over and over again. Don't look to my personal reading history for excellence here.</div><br />
<b><i>Thank you, Roger! I found this most enlightening.</i></b><br />
<div><br />
</div><div><sup id="fn*">* not intended as a factual statement<a href="#ref*" title="Jump back to footnote * in the text.">↩</a></sup>.</div><div><sup id="fn**">** Scott O'Dell donated his prize money to charity.<a href="#ref**" title="Jump back to footnote ** in the text.">↩</a></sup></div><div><sup id="fn***">*** Read: "who have twitter feeds I follow"<a href="#ref***" title="Jump back to footnote *** in the text.">↩</a></sup></div><div><sup id="fn****">**** 17% of winners have a World War II setting.<a href="#ref****" title="Jump back to footnote **** in the text.">↩</a></sup></div><div><sup id="fn*****">***** What Jonathan actually said, which shouldn't be taken as a criticism of the book: "I also think they tend to prefer books where the history is front and center, rather than a backdrop. So I’d be inclined to think that because OKAY FOR NOW, DEAD END IN NORVELT, and THE TROUBLE WITH MAY AMELIA don’t have those easy taglines–WWII, Civil Rights, etc–they might not contend as strongly as some of the other stuff."<a href="#ref*****" title="Jump back to footnote ***** in the text.">↩</a></sup></div><div><br />
</div><div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>I am contractually obligated as a Betsy-Tacy fan (you think I'm joking) to mention Maud Hart Lovelace on every occasion, at least where it's applicable. So let me sneak in that Scott O'Dell was buddies with Maud Hart Lovelace and her husband Delos, and they gave him advice about writing, and Maud read the manuscript of </i>Island of the Blue Dolphins<i> and was the first to tell him he'd written a children's book, a very good one.</i></span></div>Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11690852339559706714noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-25150234641542839312012-01-23T07:11:00.000-08:002012-01-23T07:38:09.836-08:00Newbery: What I Said Before They WonIt's incredibly difficult to review Newbery winners and honors in an objective way after you KNOW they've won. Sometimes you feel stupid about what you said earlier, after you found out they won. (Though I don't take the attitude that I was "wrong" about a book based on its win; I just figure "well, we like different stuff, then".) <div><br /></div><div>I'm going to own what I said earlier. I don't know if I would do it if I didn't like what I'd said, though. These are from my Goodreads reviews and comments on Heavy Medal. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Honor, <i>Inside Out and Back Again</i>: </b></div><div><br /></div><div>(three stars) I find it difficult to review this, just like I found it difficult to review the last novel-in-verse about a Vietnamese refugee in the 1970s that I read, <i>All the Broken Pieces</i>. Like anything negative I might say is me judging the immigrant experience itself. At first I didn't like this that much, but it's growing on me some after the fact. Ha reads like a more original character than many, and the thoroughly-sketched mother and sketchily-sketched brothers are all so clear to me in my mind. One heartbreaking sentence at the very end made me feel that Brother Khoi has his own fascinating book in a parallel universe. The sense of place is much greater for the scenes in and memories of Vietnam than they are for Alabama. Overall: good, but not great. I don't think it's a Newbery.</div><div><br /></div><div>******************</div><div>Hmm. While <i>Inside Out and Back Again</i> isn’t one of my top choices, nor is it one of my favorite novels in verse (a small group; I react to these with distrust and they have to win me over), I don’t find the line breaks ineffective. They feel a little more daring, innovative, than what you quote from <i>Eddie’s War</i> (which I haven’t read). And the style also evokes to me (I hope I can say this without sounding horribly racist) both the harshness of life depicted in the book, and the rhythm/sound/feel of what spoken Vietnamese sounds like to someone who doesn’t understand it. [ETA: I should have said "what it sounds like to me as a nonspeaker"] I felt like it added to my perception of the mother, in particular, as a living breathing character.</div><div><br /><b>Honor, <i>Breaking Stalin's Nose</i>: </b></div><div><br /></div><div>(four stars) An intriguing little book, certainly a perspective I have not read before (devoutly Communist child). Does not waste any words or any time. The ending is pretty ambiguous and I'm not convinced it will work for young readers. I don't know enough about Stalin and Communist Russia to know how much of this is realistic and how much might be propaganda. Pulls no punches.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Winner, <i>Dead End in Norvelt</i>: </b></div><div><br /></div><div>(three stars) I got impatient with this about halfway through. Occasional moments of clever brilliance, but Newbery-wise, I can't see this standing out in a field that includes <i>Okay For Now</i>. Also, the punk kid with quirky elderly neighbor plot ought to be locked in the vault for the next ten years or so. </div><div><br /></div><div>***********</div><div>I finished <i>Dead End in Norvelt</i> last night. I thought there was a great sense of setting–I was interested enough to read the Wikipedia article on the town, and as I read I could picture the town I’d imagined from the book very clearly. But I agree on the plot getting lost, and I’m also iffy about most of the characters. I’m not sure whether this is intentional or not, though. Jack is a fully-realized character; Miss Volker comes close; but everyone else felt pretty muddled to me. Mrs. Gantos, in particular, I couldn’t get a handle on. I didn’t understand her or her relationship with Jack, and certainly not her relationship with her husband. But since so much of the book takes place in Jack’s head, maybe we’re seeing all the characters through his eyes without nuance. I could sort of support that.</div><div><br /></div><div>It irritated me that there are a couple of references to Girl Scouts selling cookies to make money for themselves/their families. That’s one of those small things that shouldn’t matter and probably only matters to people with specialized Girl Scout knowledge, right? It’s a much smaller point than the Eagle Scout inaccuracies that actually affected the plot of <i>Mockingbird</i> last year.</div><div><br /></div><div>Miss Volker felt like the secondary character equivalent of a Mary Sue. She always seemed to have the precise 21st-century liberal view of every issue. The teasing Harold-and-Maudey jokes about Jack being her boyfriend that people kept making did not ring true to me as being things people would really say, especially not the boy himself.</div><div><br /></div><div>I did think there were moments of comedic brilliance. My favorite scene was the initial one with Miss Volker cooking her hands. I’m unfamiliar with Gantos’s work, so I can’t compare this to my reaction to his humor in general.</div><div><br /></div><div>****************</div><div>The books have a lot of similarities and it’s unfortunate that they came out in the same year; I said in my Goodreads review that I didn’t think <i>Norvelt</i> would get attention in <i>Okay For Now</i>’s year. Yet looking back on both books, after not having looked at either in quite some time, it seems like <i>Norvelt</i> is the more daring, risky book; <i>Okay For Now</i> is easier to like. It may actually be better (as was my first impression) or it may just be more comfortable.</div>Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11690852339559706714noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-26510741898862662292012-01-16T11:54:00.000-08:002012-01-16T22:21:47.005-08:00Morris Finalists 2012: Under the Mesquite<a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9781600604294?p_cv" rel="powells-9781600604294"><img src="http://www.powells.com/bookcovers/9781600604294.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #4C290D; margin-right: 10px;" title="More info about this book at powells.com (new window)" align="left" /></a><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9781600604294?p_ti" title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9781600604294">Under the Mesquite</a> is the story, told in free verse, of Lupita, a Mexican-American immigrant in Texas. Lupita's mother is diagnosed with cancer when Lupita is 14, and of course this drastically changes life for her family. The novel follows Lupita through her high school years, but her family life is the real center of the book.<div><br /></div><div>And it's a heartbreaking tale. But the free verse didn't really work for me. I didn't see a compelling reason for it to be told in verse, besides that being what the author wanted to do (apparently it grew from a group of poems to a novel in verse). For instance, in the case of Inside Out and Back Again (a 2011 National Book Award winner), the use of verse complemented the story, which was being told by a younger child in a child's language. I felt like the use of verse also helped make the story more intense with that book. But in Under the Mesquite, I wanted more. I wanted more details; I wanted to get more inside Lupita's head and Lupita's world. </div><div><br /></div><div>Maybe there's more to that than the use of verse. I suppose the author (<a href="http://guadalupegarciamccall.com/">Guadalupe Garcia McCall</a>) could have gotten more in-depth while still using verse. And she did skim right through a lot of Lupita's life. It's a short book, only 144 pages (of verse, which has fewer words per page), considering the amount of time it covers and the potential depth of the story.</div><div><br /></div><div>So while it's a good novel, I think there could have been more to it, free verse or not.</div>Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-74684334215336699952012-01-14T20:50:00.001-08:002012-01-14T21:44:48.657-08:00Morris Finalists 2012: The Girl of Fire and Thorns<a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9780062026484?p_cv" rel="powells-9780062026484"><img src="http://www.powells.com/bookcovers/9780062026484.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #4C290D; margin-left: 10px;" title="More info about this book at powells.com (new window)" align="right" /></a>Yes, I really did read this in between posting about <a href="http://sixboxesofbooks.blogspot.com/2012/01/morris-finalists-2012-between-shades-of.html">Between Shades of Gray</a> last night and right now, 24 hours later.<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9780062026484?p_ti" title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780062026484">The Girl of Fire and Thorns</a> is Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle, soon to be Queen Lucero-Elisa de Vega né Riqueza of Joya d'Arena, and familiarly known as Elisa. We meet her on her wedding day, when she is to be married to King Alejandro de Vega of Joya d'Arena. It's a political match, naturally; she's given in exchange for an alliance and protection from the invading forces of Invierne.</div><div><br /></div><div>And while the names and titles sound impressive, Elisa is actually the fat, awkward second daughter of the king of Orovalle. But she's also the chosen one of her generation: on her naming day, as a baby, a stream of light from the heavens bestowed on her a Godstone, a blue gem embedded in her navel. A child is chosen in this way every hundred years, destined to complete some great service to his or her people.</div><div><br /></div><div>So Elisa is an unlikely heroine, about to undertake her heroine's journey in this book. And she is a heroine, though she doesn't always feel it: strong, intelligent, morally and spiritually aware, but not afraid to question. She is a leader of others; a true queen.</div><div><br /></div><div>I enjoyed both the story and the setting. Author Rae Carson builds a world that is both strange and familiar. It's earthlike, but there is just a bit of magic, and it's made clear that this is not the first world that these people have lived on. There are references to the old world that died before God brought them here. It's also a pre-modern world -- people ride horses and camels and fight (mostly) with swords and arrows and spears.</div><div><br /></div><div>The story moved along at a good pace and never went quite where I expected it to, especially in terms of romance. </div><div><br /></div><div>Spirituality is an important part of Elisa's life. Neither she nor anyone else in the story ever questions the existence of God. After all, he put the stone in her belly, right in front of everyone! And she senses God through the stone when she prays or when she is involved in worship. However, Elisa does have questions about God's will and God's purpose for her. She wonders why everyone, both friend and enemy, has a different interpretation of God's will. And she wonders whether all of the killing she and her people have to do is worth it, even if it is done to protect others.</div><div><br /></div><div>Elisa doesn't resolve these questions. She completes her mission to protect the people of Joya d'Arena and Orovalle, but people do die. And I had other unanswered questions after reading the book -- like where <i>did</i> the people of this world originally come from? Their religious practices do have things in common with Christianity. For instance, Elisa prays something called the <i>Glorifica</i>, which is similar to Mary's <i>Magnificat</i> (and it's entirely fitting for Elisa):<br /></div><div></div><blockquote><div>My soul glorifies God; let it rejoice in my Savior</div><div>For he has been mindful of his humble servant</div><div>Blessed am I among generations</div><div>For he lifted me from the dying world...</div></blockquote><div></div><div>There's also a ceremony similar to a communion service in which people are pricked with the thorn of a rose instead of receiving communion bread (hence the thorns of the title, I suppose). Aside from these elements (and the priests and monasteries which are also in the story), there are no overt references to Christ or Christianity. So I'm interested in seeing whether anything else will develop in future books (this is apparently the first of at least 3 books).</div><div><br /></div><div>I'd have to say this one is my favorite of the Morris finalists so far. I've got one more to read -- <i>Under the Mesquite</i>. </div>Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-74828960182221227292012-01-13T20:17:00.000-08:002012-01-13T20:54:55.512-08:00Morris Finalists 2012: Between Shades of Gray<a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9780399254123?p_cv" rel="powells-9780399254123"><img src="http://www.powells.com/bookcovers/9780399254123.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #4C290D; margin-right: 10px;" title="More info about this book at powells.com (new window)" align="left" /></a>Yes, I did read this over my holiday break! But then, well, life got in the way and I never reviewed it. And it had to go back to the library! <div><br /></div><div>But I can tell you that it was well worth reading. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9780399254123?p_ti" title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780399254123">Between Shades of Gray</a> is the story (not based on any one true story) of 15-year-old Lina, whose family is taken by pre-KGB Soviet secret police from their home in Lithuania and sent to Siberia. Horrible things happen. The ending is not particularly happy.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is good storytelling. Author Ruta Sepetys does a good job unfolding the events in a not-totally-predictable manner. I also liked a theme that ran through much of the book: kindness matters. Lina's mother is in the habit of being kind to people, even when they are not kind to her, and it does matter in the end, even though Lina thinks it silly.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, I did notice that despite the really horrible things that happen in this book, emotionally, it didn't pull me in as deeply as other books have (for instance, <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/33573/biblio/9780786814541?p_ti" title="More info about this book at powells.com" rel="powells-9780786814541">The Birchbark House</a>). I couldn't pinpoint exactly why; perhaps just because this story is told fairly starkly.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Between Shades of Gray</i> takes place during World War II (it begins in 1939), but tells a different, little-known part of the war story. It would make a good companion to World War II studies in the classroom. And if you've read <i>Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl</i>, this would make a great comparison read.</div>Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-77069731182070841962012-01-08T04:53:00.000-08:002012-01-08T17:25:07.109-08:00The Newbery is ComingIt is possible that I have completed my pre-Newbery reading for the season, with sixty books.<div><br /></div><div>Sixty! That's almost as many as I had to read in order to read all the winners in the first place. I have a better-funded library system here, so I was able to read almost twice as many contenders as I was last year. (The two years before that I didn't keep track in the same way.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Yet still, I have the nagging feeling that I'm missing something. Even though every year I've already read most of the books that get make the podium, and this year I've read so much more. I think there are always the books that don't get attention from any of the attention-makers that the committee has ferreted out. And, of course, sometimes the ways of the committee are mysterious.</div><div><br /></div><div>My ideal Newbery results are when I have read everything on the podium except one book; it gives me a good feeling of satisfaction, but I still have something exciting to read. (Last year it was <i>Moon Over Manifest</i>, which I did have out of the library to read next; it hadn't escaped my notice. In 2010 it was <i>Homer P. Figg</i>, which I admit I still haven't read because the cover is so wildly unappealing to me. In 2009 I hadn't read <i>The Graveyard Book</i>, because we didn't think it was eligible, or <i>The Surrender Tree</i>, which would have been my own frontrunner if I'd read it.)</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't feel invested in the results this year. There are so many books that are considered frontrunners that I don't think are good enough that none of them even particularly stand out as "ANYTHING BUT THAT". There are a lot of books that I think are pretty good. Most of all, I think the theme of this year for me is the number of books that I really enjoyed but don't think will win. They're books for readers, regardless of award podiums. Books like <i>One Day and One Amazing Morning</i></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOf5cLdIz_QVd6dLikUvDVzHW1_wzLQfjgmNMDEq3F91rBdbgaqSqrO-uokX568QXdree6oWtAxEU5lNrQk8C93IbSZa1fnVGCGWTMiWKo8LBKNWlzlpBJa5JfaZ8MYP4byfw6XsV1M4bp/s200/akata.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695250088836391634" style="float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 138px; height: 200px; " /><i>on Orange Street</i>, and <i>Jefferson's Sons</i>, and <i>The Great Wall of Lucy Wu</i>, and <i>Akata Witch</i>, and <i>Icefall</i>.<div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBpBAcrT768ckQBOgyy9S6fxMeqzqycOdz2zlzSNgc5BG9G4_0LcOy80aRWujOGzfcNw6Eej7OaQNp_jHr5m9y7zsVCxp-Q85rEFueDAi7AThRgKWskNpqPLoT6zBbarQAxF0flkQ5FAz/s200/orange.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695250502941810290" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 144px; height: 200px; " /></div><div><br /></div><div>You can see my list of everything I read that has been mentioned as a possibility for the Newbery somewhere <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/378822?shelf=2011-award-possibilities">here</a>. (You'll see only 57 books. I count 60, but I didn't include any of the three Mo Willems books that have been suggested as possibilities. I can't bring myself to believe that these books' Newbery chances are anything but manufactured by the blogosphere.)</div><div><br /></div><div>And the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8873.Newbery_2012">Goodreads poll for Newbery winners</a> always makes for interesting reading. I've read 50 of the 69 listed there as of today.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are still a few books I would like to read--Wildwood, Blizzard of Glass, The Freedom Maze, Eddie's War--but looking at the hold list, I'm unlikely to get to read them before the ALA Youth Media Awards on January 23.</div><div><br /></div><div>As soon as they're over, I'm going to read NOTHING but adult non-fiction for a solid month.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11690852339559706714noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-90931292932733662732011-12-27T22:30:00.000-08:002011-12-27T23:34:31.310-08:00Morris Finalists 2012: Paper Covers Rock<a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780385740555-2"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswp3EAtRd3EEKdeI3seeqALxbItjYz6FhC9RxUoXx5ynbYY1tBdcQP7WRq6B0SUhQFl4sGRb7RXUS-3BlQvFxHRvrrCLWbRCUmrRkbwn5D6yPcIy3iN1LbTjxJ2mJ-8KNUfQtzjxlqxM/s320/papercoversrock.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691079059351501394" /></a><br /><br />Alex is a junior at a boys' boarding school in North Carolina. He and three friends decide to drink some vodka and jump off of a rock into the French Broad River. One of them dies. This book is about the aftermath. Will the school find out that the boys were drinking? Will Alex and his friend Glenn get kicked out? Or is there something more going on?<br /><br />Alex is also a talented writer who has a crush on his fresh-from-Princeton female English teacher. The book is told from his point of view, as a journal/novel he's been writing.<br /><br />I kept hoping the novel would turn into something better, but it pretty much stayed the same throughout: annoyingly angsty. I also kept wondering why the book was set in 1982. It didn't seem relevant to the story. Pop culture references were few and unnecessary. There were no 1980s fashion references. There were no news stories from that time involved. I didn't feel like I was being immersed in 1982 in any significant way. The only thing I could think of is that there are some issues around homosexuality in the story, and I suppose it was more of a taboo to be gay in 1982 than it is now.<br /><br />There were two parts that really struck me. One is when then English teacher, Miss Dovecott, really gets the boys talking about Emily Dickinson's <a href="http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/emilydickinson/10341">"There's been a Death, in the Opposite House."</a> Alex brings God into it, suggesting that the minister in the poem represents God, who in the poem owns "all the mourners...And little boys. Dickinson is saying he owns all of us." And his friend Glenn promptly shuts down the discussion, saying that "God does not own any of us." And no one has anything to say after that. I could relate to the frustration of that moment. "One of these students...wants desperately to come back to her world -- her heavenly, wide-open world -- but it is roped off now, like an unsafe balcony."<br /><br />The other is another God-moment. One of the teachers substitutes in chapel and preaches a sermon.<br /><br /><blockquote>"There is God in all of us," he says. "God is programmed into our DNA, so He's there under our skin, biologically there, to connect us to a force larger than ourselves. It's what makes me feel not so alone in this world, as if inside of me is a seed, and if I nurture that seed, I can become my best far-reaching self." This is the first time that God has made sense to me, and I am writing it down so I won't forget it.</blockquote><br /><br />This is followed by:<br /><br /><blockquote>The other guys do not see what Miss Dovecott is doing for us. They do not see how she is working by degrees to get us back to a time when our inds were freer, more connected to the world around us. More connected to what was programmed inside our DNA, just like Mr. Parkes said.</blockquote><br /><br />Things get even weirder after the sermon. I had a really hard time with the ending, and I'm going to hash it out here, so if you don't want to know, don't read any further.<br /><br />--SPOILERS BELOW--<br /><br />Okay, so all through the book, Glenn has been trying to convince Alex that Miss Dovecott suspects they were drinking and is trying to get them to reveal it. And Glenn has a plan to harass Miss Dovecott, possibly going as far as to get her to leave or be kicked out of the school.<br /><br />Alex doesn't want to follow the plan, although much of the time he ends up doing it anyway -- because, as he says at one point, the real honor code at a boys' school is between friends -- you protect your friends and you never, ever turn them in.<br /><br />I didn't think he'd really end up getting Miss Dovecott kicked out, though, but he does. And that bothered me.<br /><br />Alex thinks that Glenn thinks Miss Dovecott is onto them about the drinking. But when Alex finally confesses to Miss Dovecott, she's not so worried about that. What she thinks she saw was Glenn possibly suffocating Thomas (who may or may not have been already dead) while Alex ran for help. She doesn't know why, but Alex knows that if Glenn had done it, it might have been to hide his own (Glenn's) homosexuality -- because Thomas had seen Glenn and another boy coming out of the same shower stall.<br /><br />But NOBODY, besides Glenn, knows whether Glenn is really gay, or whether he tried to kill Thomas. Glenn says neither is true, and swears on the Bible that he was only checking to see whether Thomas was breathing.<br /><br />And then, after Glenn swears on the Bible, Alex goes through with the plan, invites Miss Dovecott to go for a walk, and kisses her in front of a waiting Glenn. Glenn reports this to the school authorities, and voila, no more Miss Dovecott. And she doesn't report anything at all on her way out.<br /><br />Alex's final actions don't make any sense to me, except in the context of the honor code between friends -- Alex decides in the end that his friendship with Glenn is more important than the teacher he respects and thinks he loves? Alex decides that this action really is in his own self-interest? I don't like either of those motivations.<br /><br />Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe there's supposed to be some deeper meaning here. I'm purposely not reading any other reviews until I publish this, because I want to be honest about how I saw it. But for me, this ending doesn't work. It's painful, and leaves me not liking Alex. And I mostly didn't like Alex anyway -- he seems like a stereotypical angsty, intelligent teenager.<br /><br />So while this was an interesting book in many ways, it's really not for me, and I'm not sure it's original enough to be award-worthy.Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-52527912249018666762011-12-25T18:09:00.000-08:002011-12-25T21:15:24.586-08:00Morris Finalists 2012: Where Things Come Back<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3wj7Tp8ulPZQEePhE-NeSoPcy5KF9B0AmI9TgAL0M3bp-Llydf3rbJu7cN9HnElhEWTNE6l5-Pbujk3Dt8JifeYibcwELWRLHy2Nglf3hJOvK5ZRm_wDNIHK7i4yE5sLXNKUszJ6F_4/s1600/Where-Things-Come-Back-198x300.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3wj7Tp8ulPZQEePhE-NeSoPcy5KF9B0AmI9TgAL0M3bp-Llydf3rbJu7cN9HnElhEWTNE6l5-Pbujk3Dt8JifeYibcwELWRLHy2Nglf3hJOvK5ZRm_wDNIHK7i4yE5sLXNKUszJ6F_4/s320/Where-Things-Come-Back-198x300.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690300590917259698" /></a><br />I've decided to read the finalists for the 2012 <a href="http://www.ala.org/yalsa/morris">William A. Morris YA Debut Award</a>! If you're new to the Morris, it "honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens" and celebrates "impressive new voices in young adult literature." I've requested the five finalists from the library and am hoping they all come in while I'm on winter break.<div><br /></div><div>My first read is <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9781442413337-1">Where Things Come Back</a> by John Corey Whaley. This book was a bit of a mystery to me after reading the inside of the jacket. The jacket copy talks about lighthearted tales of adolescent love, the disappearance of a little brother, an extinct woodpecker, zombies and talking birds, without weaving any of those items into any kind of plot summary.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I have to tell you that there are no real zombies. Real inside of the book, I mean. They're imaginary, both outside and inside the story. If you're looking for a good zombie story, this isn't it.</div><div><br /></div><div>But it's definitely worth reading anyway. Here's what really happens: Cullen Witter's younger (and not so little) brother disappears around the same time that a college professor arrives in his small Arkansas town to search for signs of a rare woodpecker that is believed to be extinct. The whole town goes gaga over the possibility of the woodpecker being found there, and while they do care about the Witters and search for Gabriel (the brother), Cullen often feels like the stupid and probably non-existent woodpecker is getting too much attention.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, in alternate chapters, we hear about failed teenage missionary Benton Sage, and his college roommate Cabot Searcy. This is confusing, because there is NO explanation in the beginning for how this fits in with the Cullen Witter story. Rest assured, it does tie in eventually.</div><div><br /></div><div>The story as a whole seems a bit haphazard at first, but things are revealed at a good pace, which frequently had me thinking "What the HECK?!" (in a good way). And at a couple of points, "OMG, I'm going to be sick." Again, in a good way.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Cullen Witter portions of the book are told in first person, while the other portions are in third person. I enjoyed Cullen both as a character and as a voice; he seemed like an authentic teenager. Whaley has him simultaneously dealing with his brother's disappearance and dating and worrying about girls and sex, which sounds ridiculous, but it works.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall, this is a well-written and engaging novel. It's complex enough to be interesting, but easy enough to read in a day or so. I look forward to seeing more from <a href="http://www.johncoreywhaley.com/">John Corey Whaley</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-33093720226545521132011-11-12T07:16:00.000-08:002012-01-08T05:52:42.318-08:00Reading BroadlyI keep a list on Goodreads of "award possibilities" each year. It's mostly Newbery; this year it's pretty much all Newbery. (I did not love them all. They're just part of the discussion.) Here are the titles on my list with authors and/or protagonists who I know to be people of color, plus a few that are still on my shelf, waiting to be read.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Hidden</span>, Helen Frost<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Drawing From Memory</span>, Allen Say<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Can I See Your ID? True Stories of False Identities</span>, Chris Barton (some stories)<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Jefferson's Sons</span>, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Grand Plan to Fix Everythin</span>g, Uma Krishnaswami<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Lunch-Box Dream</span>, Tony Abbott<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Akata Witch</span>, Nnedi Okorafor<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Trapped</span>, Marc Aronson<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Great Wall of Lucy Wu</span>, Wendy Shang<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Words in the Dus</span>t, Trent Reedy<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Inside Out and Back Again</span>, Thanhha Lai<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Queen of Water</span>, Laura Resau / Maria Virginia Farinango<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Heart and Soul</span>, Kadir Nelson<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Bird in a Box</span>, Andrea Davis Pinkney<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Never Forgotten</span>, Patricia McKissack<div><i>Close to Famous</i>, Joan Bauer<br /><br /><br />and a shoutout for <span style="font-style: italic;">Between Shades of Gray</span> by Ruta Sepetys, about a cultural minority.<br /><br />What have I left off?</div>Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11690852339559706714noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-54095236369509650992011-10-25T21:17:00.000-07:002011-10-25T22:24:15.801-07:00Newbery WatchI had an extraordinary reading experience at <a href="http://www.elliottbaybook.com/">Elliott Bay Books</a> today. I went there to read some of the easy readers that are being talked up on <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/heavymedal">Heavy Medal</a>. This is going to make me sound like a mooch--I REALLY DO spend money at bookstores usually--but I also went to finish <span style="font-style: italic;">Wonderstruck</span>, which I'd gotten halfway through when I was waiting there for Lauri<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/heavymedal/files/2011/09/Wonderstruck-Cover-198x300.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 114px; height: 174px;" src="http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/heavymedal/files/2011/09/Wonderstruck-Cover-198x300.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>e once. I'm on hold for it at the library, but I'm never, ever going to get it. I was loving <span style="font-style: italic;">Wonderstruck</span> when I stopped. I almost bought it, but it is not an inexpensive book, and I seldom buy books I haven't read, so I am waiting. If I buy it, I promise to buy it from Elliott Bay. If I don't buy it, I promise to buy whatever I do buy from Elliott Bay, EVEN THOUGH I get triple points on my online bookstore-linked credit card if I buy books THERE. I have approximately 72 nieces and one nephew, so I buy a lotta books.<br /><br />I read three Elephant and Piggie books. I was not impressed with them as Newbery Hopefuls. In a way, the <a href="http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/heavymedal/2011/10/20/elephant-piggie/">discussion</a> about <a href="http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/heavymedal/2011/10/24/i-broke-my-trunk/">them</a> (and especially the reading experience) reminded me of how sometimes people tell me things like "you're such a good nurse, you should be a doctor!" I don't want to be<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/heavymedal/files/2011/10/willems24.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 185px; height: 255px;" src="http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/heavymedal/files/2011/10/willems24.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> a doctor. I'm happy being a nurse, which was pretty much always my dream. I try to be the best nurse I can be. The Elephant and Piggie books are great at what they are: marriages of text and illustration. Why try to shoehorn them into an award that's primarily for writing? I think it almost devalues the foundation of what makes these books good. Let them win the <a href="http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/geiselaward/index.cfm">Geisel</a> and let it go.<br /><br />Secretly (oops) I don't think the Elephant and Piggie books are THAT great. I didn't think any of the three from this year were as good as <span style="font-style: italic;">We Are In a Book</span> (also read for the first time tonight) or <span style="font-style: italic;">I Will Surprise My Friend</span> (which I read with surprise and delight during my first year of ALA-awards-fandom), but none of them strike me as great literature. But that MAY have been influenced, tonight, by the fact that I reread <span style="font-style: italic;">Where the Wild Things Are</span> first. In a recent discussion on Heavy Medal, I sugge<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61mzRB7PCmL._SL500_.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 137px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61mzRB7PCmL._SL500_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>sted delicately that it is not the text that makes <span style="font-style: italic;">WTWTA</span> a perennially best-loved classic. I still feel that way (see "marriage is the foundation of our society" or whatever it was I was talking about above), and I think most adults remember the pictures and not the text. But the text is GREAT. I read it three times in a row. I was blown away. That is good stuff. The Elephant and Piggie books paled in comparison. Especially the ice cream one, which seemed overly didactic, and very like the filmstrips we used to watch in first grade that were supposed to teach us social skills but clearly had no effect on most of my generation. (I read a blog post or an article or something recently about those film strips and the theme song I've never forgotten, "The most important person in the whole wide world is you!" The author pointed out that this is not something first graders need to be taught.)<br /><br />I also<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1311705275l/7740753.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 84px; height: 128px;" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1311705275l/7740753.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> picked up <span style="font-style: italic;">No Passengers Beyond This Point</span> by Gennifer Choldenko, which is one of my personal Newbery picks. I read it long ago so haven't been able to defend it well. I flipped through the first chapter and was immediately sucked in. The first chapter alone SCREAMS Newbery quality to me. It is everything that we want all these other novels we're discussing to be.<br /><br />But I still have not gotten to the extraordinary reading experience.<br /><br />I picked up <span style="font-style: italic;">Wonderstruck</span>, and also happened to see <span style="font-style: italic;">Drawing From Memory</span> by Allen Say, a book I have seen mentioned in passing as an unlikely Newbery contender because of too much dependence on illustrations. I hadn't bothered putting a hold on it because it wasn't getting any airtime. (Why is it accepted that we can toss away books for older kids because the illustrations are too important, but if we imply this about easy readers and picture books, we are being closed-minded? Hmm?)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/heavymedal/files/2011/10/say42.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 185px; height: 241px;" src="http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/heavymedal/files/2011/10/say42.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />After a few pages of <span style="font-style: italic;">Drawing From Memory</span>, I gasped. After I finished half the book, I stopped and texted my brother-in-law and told him to put it on hold immediately. By the end, I'd held back tears twice.<br /><br />I got up and returned <span style="font-style: italic;">Wonderstruck</span> to the shelf, unread, and went home, so that nothing would interfere with thinking about <span style="font-style: italic;">Drawing From Memory</span>, hopefully ever again.<br /><br />This is a book that will be enjoyed equally by my seven-year-old niece and her father (they are both Japanophiles; the book takes place in Japan) and my mother. Think of that, three generations of moved, delighted readers at once.<br /><br />Extraordinary.Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11690852339559706714noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-9634085449151903942011-10-25T20:41:00.000-07:002011-10-25T21:10:31.973-07:00The Uprise Books ProjectWe at Six Boxes, like many of you, have been known to have <a href="http://sixboxesofbooks.blogspot.com/search?q=censorship">strong feelings and opinions</a> about banned/challenged books. So do the people at the <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/164824505/the-uprise-books-project-fighting-poverty-with-ban">Uprise Books Project</a>.<div><br /></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><blockquote>The Uprise Books Project is dedicated to ending the cycle of poverty through literacy, providing new banned and challenged books to underprivileged teens free of charge.</blockquote></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br /></span></div><div>Uprise Books is currently seeking funding through <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/164824505/the-uprise-books-project-fighting-poverty-with-ban">Kickstarter</a> to establish a website that will help connect underprivileged teens with banned and challenged books, which they might not otherwise have access to. Basically, the program will help get the books from donors to readers.</div><div><br /></div><div>I could go on -- but Uprise has a great explanation up on their <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/164824505/the-uprise-books-project-fighting-poverty-with-ban">Kickstarter page</a>, and I'd love for you to read it. What's <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter%20basics#WhatIsKick">Kickstarter</a>? It's a crowd-funding system. People pledge to donate a certain amount to a project (in return for rewards specified by the project creators), and if the project meets its pledge goal, then Kickstarter (via Amazon Payments) puts all the donations through. If they don't meet goal, then no one gets charged and the project gets no money. :-(</div><div><br /></div><div>Uprise Books is trying to reach a $10,000 goal by midnight, Monday, October 31 (hey, an often-challenged holiday!). They have $5771 pledged so far. Can you help? Donations of any amount are accepted.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/164824505/the-uprise-books-project-fighting-poverty-with-ban">The Uprise Books Project Kickstarter Page</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.uprisebooks.org/">The Uprise Books Project Blog</a></div>Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-81868185904776128712011-09-17T07:51:00.000-07:002011-09-17T08:17:13.105-07:00Best Plot Ever, Where Are You Now?My sister Laurie is a middle school librarian, and I am surfing her couch. To be more specific, I am sleeping on the bottom bunk of my seven-year-old niece's bunk bed ("ONLY THE BOTTOM"; Iris sleeps on the top bunk even when no one's in the bottom, and why wouldn't she? Everyone knows the top bunk is way cooler). I moved to Seattle last Wednesday. After a thorough, exhaustive search, I finally rented an apartment on Sunday. Today all my stuff is being delivered. (When I say "all my stuff", I mean "books and a few other things".)<br /><br />Anyway, as I said, Laurie is a middle-school librarian. A couple of days ago we were sitting at dinner and talking about our days. Laurie said a couple of big classes of kids had come in to take out books. "Did they take out science fiction and fantasy?" Iris asked. "No," Laurie said. "Some of them probably wanted to, but their teacher wanted them to take out real estate fiction and memoirs."<br /><br />I opened my mouth to ask incredulously if there was really "real estate fiction" in Laurie's library. But before the words were even out, about a dozen examples of real estate fictio<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_LXQeEdtNfYtEnO3XN-1Vp8Q_p5aci9INq1F1h8PIeD7uIjBITVwV4C9pQjOotjGQrsRzLNqv0fJ_DocKsVc2p9rGqkJnXV74fj91MthkOMkoA3laln3DsVd4aWNpTMHycmylosYXMSKL/s1600/gone.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_LXQeEdtNfYtEnO3XN-1Vp8Q_p5aci9INq1F1h8PIeD7uIjBITVwV4C9pQjOotjGQrsRzLNqv0fJ_DocKsVc2p9rGqkJnXV74fj91MthkOMkoA3laln3DsVd4aWNpTMHycmylosYXMSKL/s320/gone.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653347780282824658" border="0" /></a>n flashed before my eyes, so I didn't bother.<br /><br />"It's hard, because on the one hand there's so MUCH real estate fiction, but on the other hand, what exactly constitutes real estate fiction?" Laurie's husband Matthew nodded sagely. This is just the kind of topic all four of us like to wax eloquent about.<br /><br />Of course, it was not long before I realized that what Laurie was actually saying was "realistic fiction", and not "real estate fiction" at all.<br /><br />It was a disappointing moment.<br /><br />Not that we didn't discuss real estate fiction ANYWAY.<br /><br />I mean, it's a really common plot in older books, once you start thinking about it. I call it "We move to a new house and everything is awesome."<br /><br />Do I even need to start listing examples of books like this? I can start with <i>Return to Gone-Away</i>, probably the best book about buying a house and redecorating it ever, and then there's <i>The Four-Story Mistake</i>, and <i>Go to the Room of the Eyes</i>. There are variations, like <i>Dandelion Cottage</i>. There is a book I just read by Hilda Van Stockum called <i>Canadian Summer</i> about a big family moving to rural Quebec. There is <i>Anastasia Again</i>, where Anastasia cleverly tries to prevent her family's move by choosing impossible things for the "must have in the new house" list her parents invite her to contribute to, but instead she just ends up in the Best House Ever. (Please to put more examples in the comments.)<br /><br />Clearly, moving to a new house and everything being awesome was a topic of Great Interest to previous generations. BUT WHERE ARE THESE BOOKS NOW?<br /><br />I don't really buy the thing about how all kids' books are problem novels now--I don't think anyone who actually reads kids' books does--but I can't really conceive of a book about a family house-hunting, moving, and redecorating, written now, being a book with a plot other than "we move to a new house and everything is not awesome".<br /><br />I tested this by doing a quick scan of the books I've labeled "award possibilities" over the last few years. It's hardly an exhaustive list, but I don't see many books about moving at all, and none about it being awesome or fun.<br /><br />Is this a lost plot? Did it get tired, or is it just Not of General Interest to readers today?Wendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11690852339559706714noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-50812632486826066142011-08-07T18:48:00.000-07:002011-08-07T19:51:16.879-07:00The Boxcar Children: Graphic Novels<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBJX_dgaoKg4LoxrvGmwz3JrJAGEwBElmwknyiUt1_MCA9HeZdcN8ShdKmCAmdNj-heqSE0zAvp572nX85FcvX6YGEN9wz19h_uZPdfqEdPJ2zirjrW6rGXEgLNFl4HSEOilhha4jGus/s1600/Boxcar+Graphic+Novel.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 120px; height: 155px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBJX_dgaoKg4LoxrvGmwz3JrJAGEwBElmwknyiUt1_MCA9HeZdcN8ShdKmCAmdNj-heqSE0zAvp572nX85FcvX6YGEN9wz19h_uZPdfqEdPJ2zirjrW6rGXEgLNFl4HSEOilhha4jGus/s200/Boxcar+Graphic+Novel.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638311771601561330" /></a><br />I've <a href="http://sixboxesofbooks.blogspot.com/2010/02/new-kind-of-book-order.html">written before</a> about graphic novels for reluctant readers. My kids' school was offering a book order specifically for graphic novels, and I thought it was OK. My kids like reading comics, but they also read regular books at and above their grade levels.<div><br /></div><div>Today, they went to the library and brought home a couple of graphic novels of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boxcar_Children">Boxcar Children</a> books.</div><div><br /></div><div>My reaction was mixed. I do recognize that graphic novels work for some kids. I also think there's some value in simplifying classics and harder works of literature. If kids read the graphic novel versions of Shakespeare now, maybe they'll be more interested in reading the real thing (or seeing the plays) later on.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, the Boxcar Children books are <i>already</i> easy. Here's part of the note about author Gertrude Chandler Warner:</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>"As a teacher, she discovered that many readers who liked an exciting story could not find books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need."</blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>Well, I believe in having informed opinions, so I decided to read the books the girls brought home. These two <i>are</i> versions of original Gertrude Chandler Warner books (she wrote only the first 19 in the series): <i><a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/2-9780807507100-0">The Bicycle Mystery</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780807545478-0">The Lighthouse Mystery</a></i>. Most of the graphic novels published so far are versions of Warner's books. They're adapted by Joeming Dunn and illustrated by Ben Dunn.</div><div><br /></div><div>I read each in about 5-10 minutes. The stories are condensed down to the basic plot elements. Since the Boxcar Children books don't have complex plots, this doesn't leave much. I felt like all of the charm of the original books was missing.</div><div><br /></div><div>So what <i>is</i> the charm of the books? Some people suggest that it lies in being able to imagine what everything looks like. I don't think think that's the case.</div><div><br /></div><div>You see, the Boxcar Children books are about independence. They're about Benny, Violet, Henry and Jessie doing things and solving problems on their own, without a lot of adult interference (other than often supplying money and material things). I loved reading about <i>how</i> they did things: how did they prepare for a bicycling or canoeing trip? What supplies did they need? How did they set up camp? What did they cook for dinner, and where did they get the food? </div><div><br /></div><div>The stories usually involved solving a mystery, but it was the journey that was important, and that's what is left out of the graphic novels.</div><div><br /></div><div>As for the drawings, they're OK. They depict an odd mix of objects from different time periods -- a 1950s station wagon, an older-looking sports car with a modern-day California license plate, simple shorts and t-shirts for the kids (including girls), women in 1950s-style dresses, basic, non-descript bikes, bike helmets worn at all times. Each of the two books I have on hand includes one or two panes drawn in silhouette, which I'm guessing is an homage to the original illustrations.</div><div><br /></div><div>I do feel nostalgia for the original books and original illustrations. But nostalgia aside, since the original books are already so accessible, and far superior, I don't see a need for the graphic novels.</div>Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-59490642308850863542011-07-03T13:34:00.000-07:002011-07-03T17:22:00.040-07:00Joey PigzaI just finished reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312623550/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=stevieweeviet-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0312623550">Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=0312623550&camp=217145&creative=399373" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />, which my 11-year-old daughter was pressing me to read. It's the first in a series about a boy with ADHD (plus family issues). It was also a National Book Award finalist in 1999, and one of the later books was a Newbery Honor book in 2001.<div><br /></div><div>Joey begins the book in a regular classroom, but has trouble sitting still and focusing, and keeps getting into trouble when he can't stop himself from acting on whatever his thoughts lead him to. For instance, after his teacher puts him to work sharpening pencils for the class (which seems like a good strategy on her part) he injures himself by trying to sharpen his fingernail in the pencil sharpener.</div><div><br /></div><div>Joey ends up going to the special ed room part-time, for help with sitting still and focusing (not for anything academic). But when he injures a classmate in his regular classroom, he is suspended from school and sent to a special ed counseling center day program for six weeks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, Joey has recently been reunited with his mother. His grandmother had been raising him, in a chaotic and abusive manner. His mother seems to have mostly pulled herself together, and is trying to do the right things for Joey.</div><div><br /></div><div>Joey does get help from the counseling center. They change his medication from pills to a new patch that gives him a constant stream of medication, and it seems to work better than his previous medication. The counselor talks about helping Joey change the way he makes decisions, too, and I was eager to see what they would do with this, but nothing really happened there (at least not on the page). Joey ends up going back to his regular school, although they start him off in the special ed room again.</div><div><br /></div><div>This book, while well-written, left me feeling sad. You see, I work in a school. I'm on the adult end of this story. Joey's the kind of kid I often really don't enjoy working with, because I feel helpless around them. Gantos' descriptions of Joey bear this out -- Joey apparently can't help what he does. He transitions from sharpening pencils to sharpening popsicle sticks to sharpening his finger without really thinking about it. The only thing that seems to help is medication. </div><div><br /></div><div>The teachers in the story don't always make good choices. But sometimes it's hard to see how to really help kids like Joey. Sometimes none of the strategies in your toolbox work.</div><div><br /></div><div>My 11-year-old, on the other hand, doesn't have my biases or adult point of view. She enjoys the Joey Pigza books because they're about a kid her own age, and she can relate to that. And while she doesn't have ADHD, she knows kids who do, and as she just told me "why shouldn't there be books about them? There are books about every other kind of kid."</div><div><br /></div><div>I wonder whether these books are helpful for kids with ADHD? Do kids with ADHD read them, or care about them? Maybe Joey Pigza can help by letting them know that they're not the only ones? And I suppose if typical kids read the Joey Pigza books, it might help them to be more understanding of classmates with ADHD.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was really struck by the difference between my reaction to this book and my reaction to <a href="http://sixboxesofbooks.blogspot.com/2010/03/mockingbird-by-kathryn-erskine.html">Mockingbird</a>, which is about a child with Asperger's syndrome. Children with Asperger's can also be difficult to deal with in school -- but when I read <i>Mockingbird</i>, I was delighted by its accurate depiction of Asperger's syndrome, and even though it deals with difficult subjects, it didn't leave me feeling sad. </div><div><br /></div><div>Anyone else read one or both of these books? Care to comment? </div>Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-44262540125829589712011-06-08T20:15:00.000-07:002011-06-09T08:15:29.722-07:00The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtj7fktegYsETqQ7knIIlmxEKy3H1Qob8_nNs6JWni4H7fmJ26t_PKDAM21dOl4hhY7P_MSF2x-qnjLjldktGRlTjWXUI63Wm1HODvcu9J8FC3_Vhqel0Ep-pIkUw7sWY8xm2rl8qBYE/s1600/Mike.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtj7fktegYsETqQ7knIIlmxEKy3H1Qob8_nNs6JWni4H7fmJ26t_PKDAM21dOl4hhY7P_MSF2x-qnjLjldktGRlTjWXUI63Wm1HODvcu9J8FC3_Vhqel0Ep-pIkUw7sWY8xm2rl8qBYE/s200/Mike.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616238192258878530" /></a><br />Kathy Erskine wrote my favorite book of last year (and winner of the National Book Award for juvenile literature), <a href="http://sixboxesofbooks.blogspot.com/2010/03/mockingbird-by-kathryn-erskine.html">MOCKINGBIRD</a>. Her follow-up novel, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399255052/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=stevieweeviet-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217153&creative=399701&creativeASIN=0399255052">The Absolute Value of Mike</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=0399255052&camp=217153&creative=399701" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />, hits shelves today.<div><br /></div><div>Mike is the child of a single father, an engineer, who suddenly has to travel to Romania for work, and decides that Mike should spend the summer with aging, eccentric relatives. </div><div><br /></div><div>Life with Poppy and Moo takes a lot of getting used to. But soon, Mike gets involved in a project -- raising money to help a local pastor adopt a child from Romania. And along the way, Mike ends up helping several other people in town, too. And he finally tells his dad that he's just not interested in math and engineering, and Dad is OK with it.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Mike</i> is an enjoyable story, and I liked seeing him (and his father) come to the realization that people are gifted in different ways, and that having a learning disability in math doesn't mean that one will be crippled for life.</div><div><br /></div><div>I didn't fall in love with this book the way I did with MOCKINGBIRD, though. I think Mike himself just didn't feel as real to me -- he seemed out of the ordinary for a 14-year-old boy. I don't know many 14-year-old boys who are so community-minded and relate so well to adults! Then again, I suppose he would be different, given that his father is both highly intelligent and displays many characteristics of Asperger's Syndrome (never mentioned explicitly, but it's there). Mike is used to having to take care of his absent-minded father, so he feels he has to take care of others, too.</div><div><br /></div><div>But I and my 11-year-old daughter enjoyed reading this book, and I can recommend it!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Visit author Kathryn Erskine on the web at <a href="http://www.kathyerskine.com/Kathryn_Erskine/Home.html">kathyerskine.com</a>.</i></div>Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-14962410379908178002011-06-04T21:05:00.001-07:002011-06-05T07:38:36.457-07:00Young Adult Books: Too Dark?I'm steaming through the ears right now, because I've just read the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038.html">Wall Street Journal article</a> in which Meghan Cox Gurdon claims that current young adult literature is too dark for most parents and kids.<div><br /></div><div>I won't disagree that there's a lot of dark and paranormal "literature" out there right now. In fact, I think some of it's trash, too.</div><div><br /></div><div>I won't disagree that books with sex, violence, or difficult subjects like rape and incest may not be appropriate for all children. I don't let my 11-year-old read these books. They're generally not intended for 11-year-olds. I don't let her read many of Lauren Myracle's books (mentioned in the article) because I don't think she's ready for them yet.</div><div><br /></div><div>But there are several things I do disagree with in this piece.</div><div><br /></div><div>First, the idea that one might leave a bookstore EMPTY-HANDED because there is nothing, <i>nothing</i> appropriate out there (which is what the mother in the beginning of the piece did). Please. There is such a rich variety of literature available for children and teenagers right now that you'd have to be in a pretty sad bookstore for that to happen. Surely you could at least come away with a selection from the classics of youth literature?</div><div><br /></div><div>And then this:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" ><blockquote>As it happens, 40 years ago, no one had to contend with young-adult literature because there was no such thing.</blockquote></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" ><br /></span></div><div>Are you kidding me? 40, 50, 60 years ago, maybe the term Young Adult Literature didn't exist, but <a href="http://sixboxesofbooks.blogspot.com/2009/09/yes-virginia-there-was-ya-when-you-were.html">the books were definitely there</a>. Look up Rosamond Du Jardin, Maud Hart Lovelace, and Betty Cavanna, among MANY others. Were they different from young adult books today? Yes. The world has changed, and so have the books.</div><div><br /></div><div>But here's the meat of what made me angry:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" ><span><span><blockquote>By f—ing gatekeepers (the letter-writing editor spelled it out), she meant those who think it's appropriate to guide what young people read. In the book trade, this is known as "banning." In the parenting trade, however, we call this "judgment" or "taste." It is a dereliction of duty not to make distinctions in every other aspect of a young person's life between more and less desirable options. Yet let a gatekeeper object to a book and the industry pulls up its petticoats and shrieks "censorship!"</blockquote></span></span></span></div><br /><div>Absolutely you should use your judgment and taste in deciding what YOUR children should read. I do! But please, for the love of all that is holy, why should anyone get to decide what other people's children should read? </div><div><br /></div><div>You're right, Ms. Gurdon. There are a lot of books out there that I don't want my children to read. But I'm perfectly capable of drawing those boundaries for myself, even if my boundaries are different from yours.</div><div><br /></div><div>By the way, your lists of books for young men and young women? I certainly hope my daughters will be reading from BOTH categories. Just saying.</div>Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-72680371773388519772011-04-16T09:12:00.000-07:002011-04-16T09:39:40.208-07:00"Ready!" by Lydia Ondrusek<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzLdC8eci0TptBjH17MFbFrIDfP160dGKCSQp5Zy0XYyW0wCNz9IXlPXuB5pknvlNUjlEhiC3QfyLgk3R-H7cXmwAYRp8eKpisK5RkbJ1HED0vt0HzFl9xIB6VptIQ4ZCNcoVKEVE0ERA/s1600/Ready.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzLdC8eci0TptBjH17MFbFrIDfP160dGKCSQp5Zy0XYyW0wCNz9IXlPXuB5pknvlNUjlEhiC3QfyLgk3R-H7cXmwAYRp8eKpisK5RkbJ1HED0vt0HzFl9xIB6VptIQ4ZCNcoVKEVE0ERA/s200/Ready.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596221503658076770" /></a><br />"Ready!" is the first e-book in <i>King of the Marshmallows</i>, a series of short stories for children and teens published by Echelon Press (publisher of <a href="http://sixboxesofbooks.blogspot.com/2010/06/killer-cows-by-dm-anderson.html">Killer Cows</a>). Mark has Asperger's Syndrome, and has a hard time at school. Mom's looking for solutions, and ends up signing him up for taekwondo classes, where ends up in a class with both adults and kids. And one of the other kids also has Asperger's Syndrome.<div><br /></div><div>Mark also figures out how to deal with his book report at school -- and ends up reading one of my favorites, <a href="http://sixboxesofbooks.blogspot.com/2010/03/mockingbird-by-kathryn-erskine.html">Mockingbird</a>!</div><div><br /></div><div>Author Lydia Ondrusek is a friend of mine, so I can't claim objectivity here. But I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and look forward to the next installment (the first one is only about 3000 words). I would suggest this story for kids ages 9-14 (or younger if they read well).</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/47408">"Ready!" is available through SmashWords</a> for only 99 cents! You can read it either online with a regular computer or on an e-reading device.</div>Kathleen McDadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16871302138291728418noreply@blogger.com0