Review: Mama, I'll Give You the World

Mama, I'll Give You the World is one of those picture books I'd never be able to read aloud without taking a break on each page to breathe deeply. It's a tear-jerker in the worst way.

That being said, Mama, I'll Give You the World is a beautiful, inspiring picture book. Roni Schotter's text is powerful and compassionate, and S. Saelig Gallagher's illustrations draw you into a warm, vibrant world.

Luisa arrives to Walter's World of Beauty every day after school. Her mother works cutting, curling, and setting hair. Luisa's mother works hard because she wants to give her daughter the world. And she expects the best from Luisa in return:

• When she finishes her homework, Luisa takes out her scissors, her glue, and her paper and does what Mama does--cuts and colors and curls--portraits of her customers. 'Everyone in the world is a flower,' her mother always tells her. 'Together they make a bouquet.' So Luisa cuts slowly, noticing how different each flower is, and how each one comes in a special size and shape.

Mama works too hard to enjoy life herself. Luisa would like to see her mother smile more, like she does in Luisa's favorite photo of her. So Luisa plans a special surprise for her mother's birthday--she finds a way to give her mother the world and to bring back her smile.

Audio books review

Carole Mansur reviews audio books for children in the Telegraph. Titles reviewed include:

• Doctor Who: the Resurrection Casket, by Justin Richards (read by David Tennant)
• Slawter, by Darren Shan (read by Rupert Degas)
• Framed, by Frank Cottrell Boyce (read by Jason Hughes)
• The Foreshadowing, by Marcus Sedgewick (read by Anna Maxwell Martin)
• The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, by John Boyne (read by Michael Maloney)
• Half Moon Investigations, by Eoin Colfer (read by Tom Farrelly)
• The Boy with the Lightning Feet, by Sally Gardner (read by Andrew Sachs)

Peter Pan in Scarlet leak

Remember that review of the forthcoming Peter Pan and Scarlet by Dinita Smith in the New York Times two days ago?

Turns out the book was leaked to the NYT. (the Guardian)

More from the Independent.

Review: Augustine

Look at this beautiful cover! It's almost a review in and of itself.

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Augustine, as you can tell from the cover, is an adorable penguin with a big problem. She has to move from the South Pole to the North because Dad has a new job. *

Augustine, named after Pierre-Auguste Renoir, is sad about leaving her school, her room, her friends, and her family. Most tragic is leaving grandma and grandpa.

A new home means a new school. Augustine tries to hide, but to no avail. Mom finds her and sends her packing. Augustine worries about her accent and fitting in. Fortunately she has her stuffed penguin, Picasso, with her and at recess they entertain each other:

• "I sit by myself in a corner of the playground. I'm glad I brought Picasso to keep me company. I draw pictures with my blue colored pencil. I think I will call this my 'Blue Recess Period.' Picasso agrees.

Augustine's art draws the other children to her and inspires her teacher to put on an art show.

Mélanie Watt's Augustine is a great book for kids scared of a move, but it's more than that as well. Watt expertly introduces the art of Renoir, Mondrian, Picasso, Dali, Munch, da Vinci, Matisse, and Magritte (among others) into the clever, color-infused illustrations. Augustine would be a great read-aloud after an art lesson. Ask the kids if they can spot The Scream or the Mona Lisa (in penguin-crayoned variants) in the illustrations.

New from Kids Can Press, Mélanie Watt's charming Augustine is one of my favorite picture books of 2006.

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* (My 5 year old had a bit of a problem with this detail. "Penguins don't live at the North Pole, mom!")

Writing Girl Scientists

Here's a NSF-funded project for children's writers who want to write fiction about girls and science. (The Feminist Press at CUNY)

They're looking for scientific detective stories, stories about "real young women" ..."aspiring gymnasts, ice skaters, actors, dancers--using a knowledge of science to help them become really good at what they do," and manga. Or, anything you'd like, really, if you read the call closely.

Sounds like an interesting proposal, though I have to say I think excellent, engaging, enthusiastic math teachers at all U.S. junior and senior high schools might be more effective!

link via Critical Mass

Peter Pan in Scarlet

Peter Pan in Scarlet will be published Oct. 5. Dinita Smith gives us an advance review and some news about the publication in the New York Times.

How does Peter Pan and Scarlet compare to Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's prequels? Smith writes, "A copy of Ms. McCaughrean’s manuscript obtained by The New York Times is more in keeping with the style of Barrie’s educated, British voice, and her Peter is truer to the original: as selfish and egomaniacal as ever. "

There is one big difference between the original and Peter Pan and Scarlet, according to Smith. Geraldine McCaughrean tells her: 'I wanted Wendy to be more spunky than she was in the last book. I wanted her to take a hand in the adventures, be a bit more of a feminist. I did not want the kind of female that hangs on Peter’s every word.'

Hooray for that. I'm really looking forward to reading this one.

Sunday reviews

Here's a roundup of reviews of children's books in the Sunday Papers:

• Liz Rosenberg reviews picture books for the very, very young (2 and up) for The Boston Globe. Titles considered include Can You Say Peace?, by Karen Katz, In the Fiddle Is a Song, by Durga Bernhard, and All in Just One Cookie, by Susan E. Goodman (illustrated by Timothy Bush).
• Zoe Hedges loves Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference!, by Lynne Truss (illustrated by Bonnie Timmons). For the Guardian.
• The Top Ten Ways to Ruin the First Day of School, by Ken Derby, is the Washington Post's Book of the Week.
• The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless, by Ahmet Zappa, is the Times' Children's Book of the Week ("Undemanding but engagingly presented, it will surely appeal to children who love grossness.")

Weekend reviews

There are lots of reviews this weekend in the Washington Post's "Book World." Here's what you'll find:

• Rhona Campbell recommends new adventure titles from National Geographic: Exploring Caves: Journeys into the Earth, by Nancy Holler Aulenbach and Hazel A. Barton; Onward: A Photobiography of African-American Polar Explorer Matthew Henson, by Delores Johnson; and Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement, by Ann Bausum
• Olivia Ludwig, age 14, talks about reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with her father
• Jabari Asim gives a thumbs up to Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's latest, Who Won the War?

Wolves

Amanda Craig talks to Michelle Paver about wolves and the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series for the Times. It's a fascinating article so I encourage you to read the entire piece, but here's an excerpt:

• Paver’s Wolf is all animal, from his tingling whiskers to his hard, sensitive pads, but Torak can talk to him, and their adventures are told from both their viewpoints. Torak is brave, loyal, proud and clever; Wolf is simple but intelligent and often funny (he sees Torak as 'Tall Tailless'). Together, they have redefined a generation’s view of wolves: long the villains of children’s literature. This, Paver points out, is only a return to the way that they were seen in ancient times, by hunter-gatherers. 'It’s only since people became farmers that wolves were demonised as a threat to livestock,' she says.

Review: The Heights, the Depths, and Everything

Sally Nemeth's The Heights, the Depths, and Everything In Between is one of those books that sneak up on you. On the surface of things, it's a quiet tale of two friends--a boy and a girl--and their entry into Junior High. But, as we know, the surface of things is always deceptive. Especially when you're in Junior high.

Lucy Small thinks she's a "freak." She's 5'10'' at age 13 and her best friend, Jake Little, is much shorter than she is. Actually, he's a dwarf. Small and Little cause quite a stir in the school hallways. Moreover, both Lucy and Jake are having problems at home this year. Jake's mom is dating again, and Lucy's father sets off in attempt to find himself, leaving Lucy and her mom at home.

The Heights, the Depths, and Everything In Between is the story of a friendship and of learning to truly see yourself as you are. Over the course of the novel, both Lucy and Jake, with the help of new friends (including the thuggish, but sweet Gary Geary), understand that they are not freaks and that the world is not a simple place. Mom and Dad don't always end up together. The tough kid with a reading problem may not actually be mean and stupid. Just because the nearby Amish community has many dwarves, it doesn't mean you belong there. And, sometimes the popular kids can be kind.

The Heights, the Depths, and Everything In Between is a simple story exceptionally told.

Poetry Friday: Late Edition

Okay, it's late Friday already, but I still wanted to take part in poetry Friday.

Today, I'd like to share 1/2 of "I Am Riding on a Cloud" (copyright issues) from Jack Prelutsky's classic A Pizza the Size of the Sun:

I am riding on a cloud
in the middle of the sky,
making idle conversation
with the birds who happen by.
I'm uncertain how I got here,
but I surely do not care.
I'm enchanted to be floating
unencumbered in the air.

Just how I feel sometimes.
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Yay! I see Liz B. at A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy and Jen at Jen Robinson's Book Page have both compiled Poetry Friday roundups! Head on over and read all the poetry choices.

The Edge of the Forest 6

The 6th (August) issue of The Edge of the Forest is finally up.

Here's what's in store this month:

• An interview with Linda Sue Park. (Need I say more?)
• This month's blogging writer, Melissa Wiley (Here in the Bonny Glen), talks about the intersect between blogging and writing.
• Pam Coughlan (MotherReader) defends Junie B. Jones with Plus Also, She's Funny.
• Allie (Slayground/Bildungsroman) recommends books starring her favorite furry friends. That's right, cats!
• Adrienne Furness (What Adrienne Thinks About That) takes a closer look at funny books on a very serious topic in The Lighter Side of Death
• Betsy Bird (A Fuse #8 Production), Children's Librarian at the Donnell Children's Room in New York City, talks books and more in What's in Their Backpacks
• Reviews in all categories—from Picture book to Young Adult (Reviewers from the kidlitosphere include Liz B. of A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy, Anne of Book Buds, Kim of One Over-Caffeinated Mom, Jocelyn Pearce, of Teen Book Review, and, of course, our Sorceress of Fantasy, Michele of Scholar's Blog. Additional reviewers include Kerry Millar, of The Flying Dragon Bookshop and a new teacher, and my writing group friend Cynthia J. Omololu.)

Enjoy! If you're interested in submitting reviews, a feature piece, or would like to do one of our columns for the September issue, please drop me a line.

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I'm going out to dinner. Poetry Friday with roundup (I heard you, MotherReader) to follow later this evening.

Update: Grown-Ups read Young Adult books too.

ETA: Jen Robinson actually comments on this article over at Jen Robinson's Book Page.

ETA2: Leila at Bookshelves of Doom has posted a list of YA books adults will love. Top on the list? How I Live Now. I completely agree. How I Live Now is a stand-out book.

Back-to-School Reviews

Bob Minzesheimer reviews four back-to-school titles for USAToday. Amongst them are:

• Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct, by Mo Willems
• So Few of Me, by Peter H. Reynolds
• Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind, by Judy Finchler and Kevin O'Malley, illustrated by Kevin O'Malley
• The American Story, by Jennifer Armstrong, illustrated by Roger Roth ("not as comprehensive as a textbook, but the storytelling is better")

MotherReader reviews the new Mo Willems (but, of course) today as well. Head on over and check out her great review!

Question from my Mom

Don't worry, this is a ChildLit related question :)

If you had $500 to spend on children's books for children in the first-fifth grades who also happen to be weak readers (fourth-grade level tops), what would you buy and why? Most of these students are reluctant readers and really need to be drawn into a book.

ETA: This small collection will amplify the school library collection. Budget cuts have been tough the past 10 years or so and the library could use some fresh, fun books.

I'd like to compile a list for her. Tops on my list would be the Babymouse series, by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm. What would you suggest?

The Quills

I think I'll just stat here with the Literary Saloon's introduction: "There are possibly sillier book awards elsewhere in the world, but in the English-speaking world The Quill Book Awards surely take the cake."

If you remember, the Quills are book awards the public votes for and then the results are televised.

What's up in the KidLit categories?

Children's Illustrated Book

• Fancy Nancy, by Jane O'Connor, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser
• If You Give a Pig a Party, by Laura Joffe Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond (no, really?)
• John, Paul, George & Ben, by Lane Smith (vote for this one!)
• Walter the Farting Dog Goes on a Cruise, by William Kotzwinkle, Glenn Murray and Elizabeth Gundy, illustrated by Audrey Colman (These books are written by committee? I had no idea.)
• Winter's Tale: An Original Pop-up Journey, by Robert Sabuda

Children's Chapter Book/Middle Grade

• Flush, by Carl Hiaasen
• Inkspell, by Cornelia Funke
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo (this is for you, MotherReader)
• The Penultimate Peril, by Lemony Snicket
• Ptolemy's Gate, by Jonathan Stroud (Okay, I did love this one)

Young Adult/Teen

• The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
• Dairy Queen, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
• Eldest, by Christopher Paolini (Ummm...for book award?)
• Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin
• King Dork, by Frank Portman (Okay, loved it.)

Review: The Cremation of Sam McGee

Okay, I must profess my ignorance here and admit that I did not know "The Cremation of Sam McGee" before I received this book for review. What drew me in despite the title, however, were the illustrations. Take a look at the beauty of the cover illustration!

By way of an introduction, let me quote from Pierre Berton's foreword to the new Kids Can Press edition of this work:

"This book represents a happy marriage between the most eloquent of the Yukon poets and the most brilliant of the Yukon artists. Robert W. Service and Edward Hardy Harrison have more than that in common: both were born in England; both roamed the world; both were caught up by what Service called 'the spell of the Yukon.' No one caught that spell in words better than Service; no painter has captured the particular essence of the Yukon experience better than Harrison."

That's a beautiful introduction to an amazing work. The Cremation of Sam McGee tells the tale of one man's attempt to get warm in the Arctic, and another man's dedication to fulfilling that wish despite the odds. Here's the problem:

• Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee,/where the cotton blooms and blows./Why he left his home in the South to roam 'round the Pole./God only knows. He was always cold, but the land of gold seemed to hold him like a spell;/Though he'd often say in his homely way that/'he'd sooner live in hell.'

Now, old Sam has just one request for our narrator--if something happens to him, would our narrator please cremate him? So, when worst comes to worst, he does, despite the hardship. He uses an abandoned ship, the "Alice May," as a "cre-ma-tor-eum." The narrator sets the ship on fire and, later, decides to check on McGee. What does he find?

• And there sat Sam,/looking cool and calm, in the heart of the furnace roar;/ And he wore a smile you could see a mile, and he said:/ 'Please close that door./It's fine in here,/but I greatly fear you'll let in the cold and storm--/Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee,/it's the first time I've been warm.'

Just enough humor to overcome any fear in a child.

Harrison's paintings are stunning, iconic, and truly evocative of the Arctic. And, this book (as Tara from Raab Associates has informed me), was the subject of an NPR conversation between Daniel Pinkwater and Scott Simon this weekend!

(For more on the great Daniel Pinkwater today, check out Susan's post at Chicken Spaghetti.)

Where's The Edge of the Forest?

I'm running a few days behind with Issue #6 (August) of The Edge of the Forest. It should be up on Wednesday with lots of new content.

(Contributors: Look for the proof link early Tuesday morning.)

Weekend Reviews

Welcome back to Liz B. (A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy) and A Fuse #8 Production. I hope your vacations were great. You've been missed!

Here's a roundup of this weekend's book reviews:

Elizabeth Ward reviews four new titles in the Washington Post "Book World." They are:

• Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City, by Kirsten Miller ("Perfect for bright middle-schoolers hooked on history and mystery and bored witless with pre-teen chick lit.")
• Changeling, by Delia Sherman ("another novel in which the Big Apple sprouts parallel worlds, doing for Central Park something like what Peter Pan did for Kensington Gardens")
• The Unresolved, by T.K. Welsh ("an equally unflinching exploration of issues from anti-Semitism and corruption to adolescent sexuality makes this one strictly for older readers")
• Grimoire: The Curse of the Midions, by Brad Strickland (a "tribute to London")
• The Three Witches, by Zora Neale Hurston, adapted by Joyce Carol Thomas, illustrated by Faith Ringgold ("Ringgold's exuberant primitivist paintings sport colors as lush as a Deep South summer")

Room One: A Mystery or Two, by Andrew Clements, is the Washington Post's Book of the Week.

Amanda Craig reviews Eoin Colfer's newest Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony and Daniel Morden's Dark Tales from the Woods for the Times.

Moonbird, by Joyce Dunbar and illustrated by Jane Ray, is the Times' Children's Book of the Week (reviewed by Nicolette Jones)

Review: Happy Birthday, Coco

I have to say upfront, before beginning this review, that I am not a dog person. That's right, I'm one of those two curmudgeonly people on the planet who does not like or appreciate dogs.

That being said, I really, really liked Happy Birthday, Coco--a beautiful picture book written in honor of a spirited dog named Coco.

"Today is Coco's birthday. Today, Coco is one year old. Coco's day begins like any other day. 'Good morning, Coco. Is it time for a walk?'" Coco's birthday is, in fact, like most of his days. Full of walks, sunshine, friends and good food.

It's a simple story, but what's really spectacular about Happy Birthday, Coco are the illustrations and the production value. This is one gorgeous book. Authored by oneones ("Hitomi Sago, a graphic designer, Tatsuro Kiuchi, an illustrator, and Shoko Nagamatsu, a copy writer"), the illustrations are works of art. Beautiful watercolors with added detail (a checked, transparent inlay for a tennis net, cutout pages) make Happy Birthday, Coco come alive. Kudos to Kane/Miller for this beautifully produced book.

I highly recommend Happy Birthday, Coco to children ages four-eight and to dog lovers of all ages.

Poetry Friday: Jillian Jiggs

One of my all-time favorite rhyming books is Jillian Jigs, by Phoebe Gillman. The rhythm is fast-paced perfection and the illustrations are cheerful and full of good humor.

Jillian just can't clean up her room because there are always friends to play with and new costumes to create. Mom pleads with her daughter to pick up the mess, but Jillian tries to prolong the dress-up fun with her friends Peter and Rachel. (Jillian's baby sister dresses up as well, but in a poignant touch, she's always one costume change behind the big kids.)

Here's a sample from this wonderful book:

"Jillian, Jillian, Jillian Jiggs!
It looks like your room has been lived in by pigs!"
"Later. I promise. As soon as I'm through,
I'll clean up my room. I promise. I do."

Now, Jillian meant every word that she said,
But later the promise flew out of her head.
When Rachel and Peter started to shout,
Jillian had to, just had to go out.
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In perusing Phoebe Gilman's site, I discovered she passed away in 2002. Tragic.

Poetry Friday links to follow later in the day. ETA: MotherReader has rounded up the links. Head on over and check 'em out.

HELP!!!!

I'm not so good with computers and I'm having a bit of an issue.

Technorati stopped tracking my posts 24 days ago. This means they've stopped sending out any links I've created in posts or added to my blog roll. Incoming links are noted (but not in my composite score).

I've pinged and I've ponged. I've written to the folks at technorati, but nothing seems to help. Do any of you smart, computer-literate readers have any advice?

Update: Children's Book Reviews

This is just another brief update on my progress with Children's Book Reviews. Reviews have been entered from:

• Propernoun.net
• Chasing Ray/Bookslut
• Slayground/Bildungsroman
• A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
• Big A little a
• Jen Robinson's Book Page

I'm currently working my way through Scholar's Blog/Scholar's Blog Spoiler Zone. Next on the list: Bookshelves of Doom.

Interesting review

Eliot Schrefer reviews Jasper Fforde's The Fourth Bear for USAToday.

"He tackles bear racism; the politics of Porridge Pushing ('a restricted-quota foodstuff for bears, along with honey, marmalade and buns'); the domestic violence of Jack's new neighbors, Punch and Judy; and the secret sex lives of otherwise well-to-do space aliens.

The Fourth Bear is brilliantly, breathlessly odd."

A off-topic call for help

Dear Readers: I really need your help with an urgent matter. I've nearly finished listening to Ali Smith's The Accidental, and I need a new audio book selection.

Any recommendations for a good read/listen? As I spend so much time lately reading children's books to review, I'd like a title intended for readers ages 18 and up.

The History of the Berenstain Bears

Doogie Horner tells the History of the Beloved Children's Book Series The Berenstain Bears in McSweeney's.

Acording to Horner, the series was sold to to "Dalton Trumbo, who wrote the remainder of the series under the pseudonym "Dan and Jan Berenstain" (putting the man's name first—typical), sometimes collaborating with Mario Puzo, most notably on The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies."

(Link via Bookslut)

More on the classics

Stephen Moss responds to the reading list changes taking place in the U.K. (In the Guardian's Comment is Free blog)

It's a funny piece, but also true. Take a look at Moss' thoughts about Henry James:

• "Why do teenagers need to read the 'classics'? What on earth do they make of Henry James, whose late novels should be read at a funereal pace?...Sometimes you read James and think you are going mad, so complex is the prose and intricate the thought: this is literature to be interrogated, not read. It is madness to instruct teenagers to read it, and will probably put them off reading for life. Certainly off James."

Henry James is for that year after college when you're working a really boring job in advertising. Trust me, I know.

Kindergarten

Camille's lovely post at BookMoot made me think of a big transition that's just around the metaphorical corner at our house. That's right, kindergarten. My youngest is headed off in a week and he's nervous.

One of my favorite books about kindergarten is Rosemary Wells' Timothy Goes to School. I really appreciate this book because Wells addresses a fear kids aren't able to articulate at this age and one parents don't expect: that the other kids will be better, smarter, and cuter.

So, what's your favorite book about heading off to (real) school for the first time?

Review: Let's Go, Pegasus!

Jean Marzollo has written and illustrated a colorful, accessible retelling of the Perseus myth.

Let's Go, Pegasus! begins when the King announces he will marry Danae, Perseus' mother. The King gives Perseus one chance to save his mother--if he kills Medusa and brings home her head, Danae will be spared. Perseus is obviously worried and seeks the help of the gods. With Athena's shield and Hermes' boots Perseus is victorious and, "out of Medusa's body rose a beautiful white horse with wings. The horse gave Perseus a look, as if to say, 'Well, what are you waiting for?' Perseus leaped upon it, and together they flew into the sky."

Let's Go, Pegasus! is conversational and straightforward in style, perfect for children ages 3-7. Marzollo's illustrations are colorful, cheerful, and offer a child a lot to examine while listening. In a charming touch, owls serve as the Greek chorus in a band along the bottom of the pages. When Perseus seeks help at Mount Olympus, for example, the owls chime in: "There are twelve gods, but only two are listening to Perseus. Two is enough when it comes to Greek gods! Hoot! Hoot!"

Review: An Abundance of Katherines

Poor Colin Singleton. He's been dumped by 19 Katherines in a row, and the last one, Katherine XIX, was special. Moreover, he's just graduated from high school and he's afraid he won't live up to his potential.

Why, you might ask, might a high-school senior not live up to his potential? Well, Colin is "special." He's a child prodigy who speaks a ton of languages, remembers almost everything he reads, and anagrams each and every phrase or word he comes across. Dad and Mom have made sure their son has had the best of everything, including one-on-one homeschooling in addition to a prestigious school, "geek" camps each summer, and a steady does of inadvertent parental pressure.

Fortunately, Colin is lucky in a way he doesn't appreciate at the beginning of the novel. He has a rockin' best friend, a Lebanese-American, regular-type gifted kid named Hassan. Hassan scoops Colin off the floor of his bedroom and takes him on a roadtrip.

Colin and Hassan don't get very far. They end up staying in Gutshot, Tennessee, working for a woman who owns a tampon-string manufacturing plant. There they find the grave of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (I LOVED this), meet a cool girl named Lindsey Lee Wells (daughter of the factory owner, Hollis), and Colin begins working on his great Katherine Theorem. In other words, he tries to predict, by designing a mathematical theorem, who will dump whom and when.

An Abundance of Katherines, John Green's second novel, is a hilarious and compelling read. Told from Colin's point of view (with the help of a compassionate narrator here and there), the novel is full of spectacular, but true moments like the following:

• "When you spend your entire life in and around the city of Chicago, as it turns out, you fail to fully apprehend certain facets of rural life. Take, for example, the troubling case of the rooster. To Colin's mind, the rooster crowing at dawn was nothing more than a literary and cinematic trope. When an author wanted a character to be awoken at dawn, Colin figured the author just used the literary tradition of the crowing rooster to make it happen."

Colin grows up over the summer, while working in Gutshot. And, so do Hassan and Lindsey Lee. Even though Colin is "different," his struggle is a universal one. He wants to be special forever, and he has to come to terms with the possibility that he may turn out to be just ordinary.

An Abundance of Katherines is a fun, perceptive, and hilarious novel. It's one of my favorites of 2006.

Review: The Wrong Hands

How can you possibly put down a book that starts with the following:

"I was going to start with the plane crash because that's how come I met Jennifer. But you need to know about my hands first.
I was born with disaster areas for hands. My fingers had these folds of flesh between them that looked like the inside of an umbrella when it's closed up."

Graham's hand are even bigger by the time he's fourteen and he witnesses a plane crash and meets Jennifer. They rustle and crack when he flexes his fingers. And, when he puts his mind to it, his hands expand and he can fly. This is his big, big secret and the first two times he shares his secret, he's met with disastrous consequences.

Nigel Richardson's The Wrong Hands is a murky, yet fascinating book. Murky because Graham doesn't always fully understand what is happening to him. We only learn the truth when he does. And what happens to Graham is truly horrifying. When witnessed flying in an act of heroism, he is cruelly taken advantage of by the glamorous Jennifer. When he tells his secret to a classmate, he is shipped away from home to live with a self-centered, boorish uncle. No one is in Graham's corner--the secrets have caged him in.

The Wrong Hands is a fascinating read. The narration is masterful and the plot and characters completely original. I hope we'll see more of Graham Sinclair one day.
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Hey, and Patrick Anderson has reviewed The Wrong Hands for The Washington Post today (Monday).

Sunday Book News

Thomas Gagen defends Babar in today's Boston Globe.

Eoin Colfer's Half-Moon Investigations is the KidsPost Book of the Week in the Washington Post.

Meg Rosoff's Just in Case is the Children's Book of the Week in the Times. (I'm waiting on pins and needles for this one!)

Saturday reviews

David Bellamy pays homage to Gerald Durrell in the Times on the occasion of a new publication of My Family and Other Animals. Bellamy writes,

• "If you lent your copy to someone and never got it back, buy another and stage a family read-in. Let your kids in on the secret that there is more to life than electronic health and safety and that real insects and spiders play games of survival. "

I adored Durrell as a child and just might take his advice.

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Simon Rodberg reviews three new children's books for the New York Times. They are:

• Malian's Song, by Marge Bruchac, illustrated by William Maughan ("This true story, about a 1759 attack north of Montreal, shows the other side of our multicultural history: a violent taking, not a joining.")
• Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom, by Tim Tingle, illustrated by Jeanne Rorex Bridges. ("'In stories or in life, trouble comes,' Tingle writes; in literature for children, this is a lesson as old as the Grimms. But these realities cut deeper than any fantasy.")
• The Old African, by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney ("depicts the brutality of the slave trade with stunning effect.")

Coming to terms with the Underpant man

Writer Denise Hamilton has written a funny, but true story for the Los Angeles Times about how she came to terms with Captain Underpants.

Hamilton explains, "There are endless jokes about poop, wedgies, toilets, farts, boogers and diapers. Kids love these books; they sell by the millions. They're said to be a gateway book the way marijuana is a gateway drug, especially for the reluctant boy reader. The hope is that once kids get hooked, they'll branch out into Harry Potter and eventually graduate to the hard stuff, such as Charles Dickens and F. Scott Fitzgerald. It seems to be working — my 8-year-old is now happily working his way through the Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine. "

Stolen Book Meme

Here's a new book meme I've stolen from the academic blogger world. I'm going to try to keep with children's books answers, though I'm going to have to deviate from that with question #3.

1. One book that changed your life?

Probably A Wrinkle in Time and The Phantom Tollbooth. Both books taught me that reading can take you to another, yet believable, world entirely.

2. One book you have read more than once?

I'm a re-reader, so I've reread most of my favorites many, many times.

3. One book you would want on a desert island?

War and Peace. It's long. I'm fond of most of the characters. I've read it many times already and its truths haven't dulled for me.

4. One book that made you laugh?

Most recently King Dork made me laugh out loud. Oh, and Happy Kid! by Gail Gauthier.

5. One book that made you cry?

Hmmm...This one thing is getting tough. Recently, though, Hugging the Rock, by Susan Taylor Brown, had me in tears, as did a classic, Good Night, Mr. Tom, by Michelle Magorian.

6. One book you wish had been written?

My mom recently found a book I had completely forgotten about. And, it was my favorite, most loved book for a time--The Secret Language, by (the) Ursula Nordstrom. I wish there had been a sequel to The Secret Language.

7. One book you wish had never been written?

Again, can't keep to one here. And, my choices may be controversial. First choice: Notes from the Underground, by Dostoevsky. Second choice? Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed! by Katharine DeBrecht and Jim Hummel (I see there's a sequel to this one: Help! Mom! Hollywood's in my Hamper! I'll put that on the list too.)

8. One book you are currently reading?

Again, the one thing is difficult. I'm reading Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching series. I'm also reading The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood, by Susan Wittig Albert, and The Wrong Hands, by Nigel Richardson. I'm listening to Ali Smith's The Accidental.

9. One book you have been meaning to read?

Again, there are so many. But #1 on this list is Diana Wynne Jones' Fire and Hemlock.

10. Now tag five people:

I tag all you guys in the kidlitosphere. I can't wait to read your answers. I'll link up over the course of the next few days.
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Laura Atkins at Tockla's World of Children's Literature (a new blog to the kidlitosphere) has posted a response. So has Wendy from Blog from the Windowsill (Horray for The Secret Language!) and Michele at Scholar's Blog.

Journey Woman joins in with the meme. Jen from Jen Robinson's Book Page is back in CA and has put up her meme. Stephanie from Children's Literature Book Club weighs in with her favorite and not-so-favorite (Love You Forever) books. Becky Levine posts her answers and I'm happy to find her site! And, Becky at Farm School has posted her meme as well. (Love You Forever appears again!)

Tasha at KidsLit is also in. Check out her comments. MotherReader has posted her meme and has some truly wise words about Winnie-the-Pooh. Little Willow has put up her responses to the meme. Check 'em out at Slayground/Bildungsroman. Susan at Chicken Spaghetti joins in the fun. And, Liz at A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy has posted her meme answers. A Year in Reading has posted a double meme (with two responses to each)--there's a Children's Literature meme and Professional Books for Teachers. Patricia at It's All About the Book decided to answer the meme a second time, this time with children's books.

Gail Gauthier (whose Happy Kid! made me and Jen Robinson laugh [see #4]) has posted her answers at Original Content.

Lazygal takes the meme back to the adult world at Killin' time being lazy.

Kate S., one of my favorite bookbloggers, posted the meme way back in July (at Kate's Book Blog). I missed it, as it was posted during my unexpected internet outage in CA. Thanks, Kate!

Gregory K. at GottaBook responds to the meme, and Melissa Wiley responds AND takes a closer look at question #7 at Here in the Bonny Glen.
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Thanks everyone for commenting. The comment to e-mail function doesn't seem to be working well, and technorati takes several days to register any links.

More on the U.K. reading lists

John Sutherland writes "this reading list fails the test" for the Guardian. Here's his opening sentence:

• "Anyone looking thoughtfully at the curriculum prescribed by Alan Johnson's Department for Education and Skills will be inclined to sum it up in one phrase: 'Conservative'."

Why conservative? Partly for the very same reasons Pooja Makhijani mentioned in the comments to my previous post on this matter.

This controversy isn't new, Michele of Scholar's Blog reminds me. She reported on the list controversies earlier this year.

This is interesting!

Alex beats out Harry. Head on over to Scholar's Blog to find out more. (Michele also has a spoilerish review of Stormbreaker, the movie, up at Scholar's Blog Spoiler Zone.)

Update on...

where I am with Children's Book Reviews.

Chasing Ray's reviews have been added to Children's Book Reviews.

Jen Robinson (Jen Robinson's Book Page), Liz B. (A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy),
Mindy (Propernoun.net), and Becky at Bec's Book Reports have been adding their reviews as well. (Thanks, guys!)

I'll be moving on from this point by order received. Little Willow (Slayground/Bildungsroman) and Michele (Scholar's Blog and Scholar's Blog Spoiler Zone) are next on the list.
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When I've finished adding the review archives from each blog, I'll send you instructions on how to add your reviews going forward.

More on the Classics

The book lists are under question again in the U.K.

Who's In and who's Out? (Anyone as big a Project Runway fan as I am? Picture Heidi Klum speaking here.)

Here's the list from the Guardian:

11-14 English curriculum

Staying in
Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, John Bunyan, Wilkie Collins, Joseph Conrad, Daniel Defoe, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, George Eliot, Henry Fielding, Elizabeth Gaskell, Thomas Hardy, Henry James, Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jonathan Swift, Anthony Trollope, HG Wells

Under threat
EM Forster, William Golding, Graham Greene, Aldous Huxley, James Joyce, DH Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield, George Orwell, Muriel Spark, William Trevor, Evelyn Waugh, JG Ballard, RK Narayan, Berlie Doherty, Susan Hill, Laurie Lee, Joan Lingard, Alan Sillitoe, Bill Naughton, Mildred Taylor, Robert Westall, Chinua Achebe, Maya Angelou, Willa Cather, Anita Desai, Nadine Gordimer, Ernest Hemingway, HH Richardson, Doris Lessing, John Steinbeck, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o

Looks to me like the Americans (with the exception of James) are definitely OUT.

"Politically Suspect" Children's Lit

John Crace takes on "politically suspect" children's literature for the Guardian.

Babar is the first target: "Having returned from Paris to the African jungle in 1931, he promptly built a city modelled on western architecture and forced all his subjects to wear western dress. Any notions of regime change are banished firmly from the page as Babar has never even bothered to go through the charade of a rigged democratic election."

Other works with questionable politics? Tintin, Biggles, and many of the works of Enid Blyton.

Roald Dahl's Birthday

Beth Pearson has written a great article for the Glasgow Herald on the birthday celebrations planned for what would have been Roald Dahl's 90th on September 13.

Here's the main thing:

• "'To be honest, I don't think any of the children believe he's dead,'" says Felicity [Dahl's widow]. 'I still have children coming up the lane and peering over the wall and asking if this is his house and if they can see him. I think they'd worked out that, gosh, he would have been 90, and some of them asked, 'What would he do for a party?' So it grew out of a seed of an idea that children in the UK would wear yellow (Dahl's favourite colour) or their clothes inside-out or share a book.'"

So wear some yellow, or share a book on the 13th of September. (I'm a little reluctant to suggest the inside-out strategy as it often happens inadvertently without a birthday celebration!)

Eats, Shoots & Leaves

Bob Minzesheimer reports on Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really DO Make a Difference! for USAToday.

Lynne Truss says the book was written for your average 8 year old. And, the best news? The apostrophe is next! Eats, Shoots & Leaves is the first in a three-book series covering the comma, the apostrophe, and the hyphen.

Review: Jackie and the Shadow Snatcher

Like Susan, I spent all day going through books. My kids have outgrown quite a number on the shelves (goodbye Babysitters Club!) and, while I was away, boxes of new books had arrived. Jackie and the Shadow Snatcher, by Larry Di Fiori, jumped out of one of those boxes and distracted me from the job at hand.

Jackie is a kid who constantly misplaces things. In fact, the book begins with a quote from Jackie's mother: "If your head wasn't attached to your shoulders, you would lose it." With this phrase literally hanging over Jackie's head, Jackie contemplates what mom is going to say when he returns home without his lunch pail. Then his (amazingly cute) dog, Baxter, notices Jackie is missing something else--his shadow.

Jackie and Baxter seek out Mr. Socrates, "the smartest man alive," for advice. Mr. Socrates gets to work and concludes Jackie's shadow has been stolen by The Shadow Snatcher and the adventure begins.

Jackie and the Shadow Snatcher is told and illustrated in classic comic book style. Di Fiori's illustrations are at once stylish and accessible. The Shadow Snatcher and his minions are deliciously wicked and Mr. Socrates has a wonderful old house crammed with books and instruments. Kids ages 5-10 will love Jackie and the Shadow Snatcher. It's highly recommended.

Reviews here and there

There are a few book reviews in Sunday's papers. We must be heading towards autumn.

• Fergus Crane is the Washington Post Book of the Week. This one is on top of my "to read to my five year old" list.
• Chris Abouzeid, author of Anatopsis, reviews new fantasy for the Boston Globe.
• There's a new translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Bernard O'Donoghue. Nicholas Lezard reviews it for the Guardian.
• The Fantastic Mr. Wani, by Kanako Usui, is the Times Children's Book of the Week. Nicolette Jones reviews.
• Eugenie Allen reviews The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids, by Alexandra Robbins for the New York Times. This is not a children's book, but it seems as if it reads like a YA novel and is right for the season.

For Young Readers

Hey! Elizabeth Ward's column, "For Young Readers," is back in the Washington Post's "Book World" this week.

Some unsavory animals are on this week's ticket:

• Oh, Rats! The Story of Rats and People, by Albert Marrin, illustrated by C.B. Mordan
• Wolves, by Emily Gravett, has finally made it over to the States and Ward finds it a "riveting little distillation of a nightmare."
• Dooby Dooby Moo, by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin (remember Click, Clack, Moo anyone?)
• Pigs are back in the new Olivia title
• And, dinosaurs are as popular as ever.

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I've returned to CST and Smalltown this evening. (Iowatelecom is back!) I've a stack of books, The Edge of the Forest, and Children's Book Reviews awaiting my attention. It's nice to be home, but it was a great 2 months on the road.

The Center of the World

Meg Rosoff reviews Andreas Steinhofel's The Center of the World for the Guardian. Like Rosoff's How I Live Now, The Center of the World is one of those books that doesn't easily define itself as either YA or adult fiction. Of this Rosoff writes,

• "As an adult reader, the trick seems to be to find books on the subject that live up to Maurice Sendak's pronouncement: 'I don't write for children. I don't write for adults. I just write.'"

Poetry Friday: Ode to the Book

I wonder if someone has posted this one yet (probably!). If you have, please drop me a line.

Today I'm posting a excerpt from Pablo Neruda's "Ode to the Book." It's a poem with a message about art and the role of the artist. It's a message I don't entirely agree with, but it's interesting nonetheless.

No book has been able
to wrap me in paper,
to fill me up
with typography,
with heavenly imprints
or was ever able
to bind my eyes,
I come out of books to people orchards
with the hoarse family of my song,
to work the burning metals
or to eat smoked beef
by mountain firesides.
...
Book, let me go.
I won't go clothed
in volumes,
I don't come out
of collected works,
my poems
have not eaten poems--
they devour
exciting happenings,
feed on rough weather,
and dig their food
out of earth and men.
....
1954

Kid DVD reviews

Roger Holland takes on DVDs for children at PopMatters today. (One note: That's So Raven does not fare well.)

Here's a great quote: "Compared to Raven's Makeover Madness, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody is practically The Philadelphia Story."

More Harry Stories....

A Fuse #8 Production has a sea of Harry stories. Here are some more to add to the tide:

• David Segal talks to The Other Boy Wizard for the Washington Post. Who is the other boy wizard? Emerson Spartz of Mugglenet.
• Segal also recaps the J.K. Rowling reading (you know, the one with those other two writers) for the Washington Post.
• Somehow I always imagined Bellatrix as a tougher type of gal.

Call for Submissions

I'm seeking contributions for the August (#6) edition of The Edge of the Forest. I welcome reviews in every category (except Fantasy this month) as well as Feature article suggestions.

In addition, I'm looking for a Kid Picks column.

Drop me a line if you're interested
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Also, I wanted to let you all know that I resumed work on Children's Book Reviews. I've reorganized the front page and have added some subcateogries for the "busiest" pages (Young Adult and Middle Grade fiction). This evening I'll be finished with adding Chasing Ray's reviews and will move on to the next blog on the list.

Horror and Games

There are a couple of reviews available online today:

• Amanda Craig takes on horror titles for the Times. She reviews Joseph Delaney's The Spook's Secret (which has been renamed for the U.S. market--thanks, Michele!) and Darren Shan's Slawter (Book 2 in the Demonata series). I recently read the first book, Lord Loss, and I'm still deciding what I think about it.
• The Egypt Game is Book 7 in the Washington Post's summer reading series. The Egypt Game is one of my top ten favorite Middle Grade novels.

How stereotypes can ruin an otherwise good movie

Case in point? Monster House.

I was really looking forward to seeing Monster House. It's received some great reviews, the preview was funny and scary, and I really like haunted houses as a rule.

Parts of the movie were really great. The animation, the scary haunted house, the girl lead, the babysitter. It was truly scary in a way kids movies haven't been in awhile. But, the stereotypes really got me down. Here's what bugged me:

• The backstory. One day a skinny man falls in love with the "fat woman" at a carnival. People laugh at her and throw stuff at her. He takes her away and builds her a home. When kids come around and laugh and throw stuff at her, she goes crazy, attacks them, and then falls into the foundation pit and is covered with cement. The fat lady becomes, then, the evil house who eats children. Yuck. Why did she have to be a carnival fat lady? The house itself was so cool. It was cool enough to exist without the backstory.
• The best friend was, of course, the goofy fat kid.
• The absolute worst part of the movie was the pair of police officers. Guess what? The African-American one? He's the goofy one who shakes and trembles when entering the house. Ugh.

So, tell me, friends...am I reading too much into a silly kids movie?

Irving and King plea with Rowling

I love this story! Claudia Parsons reports for Reuters that John Irving and Stephen King beg J.K. Rowling not to kill Harry.

Here's her response:

"Asked about the wisdom of killing off fictional characters, Rowling said she didn't enjoy killing the major character who died in book six -- for the sake of those who haven't read it yet she avoided naming the victim -- but she said the conventions of the genre demanded the hero go on alone."

At least she didn't enjoy it, I guess. I was pretty devastated myself.

Rowling continued, "'I understand why an author would kill a character from the point of view of not allowing others to continue writing after the original author is dead...'"

A Fuse #8 was within three blocks today. I would have enjoyed this event very much, I think. King and Irving were my YA reading.