Weekend Reviews (I)

A Happy Weekend to one and all! I'm beginning to catch up from my very quick week on the road, so if I owe you an e-mail, I'll be writing to you over this weekend.

I wish everyone beautiful weather and time to enjoy the outdoors and a good book. On to the reviews!

Scott Timberg finds proof in Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret that "we're living in a post-textual age." (Los Angeles Times)

Suzanne Condie Lambert reviews Easter and Passover books for the Arizona Republic.

Amanda Craig turns to children's books to survive the holidays for the Times. She recommends a number of new books, including Lady Friday, Skulduggery Pleasant, and Philip Reeve's Here Lies Arthur. (Okay, I really want this last one.)

Katy English reviews new children's books in capsule form for the Globe and Mail.

Kathryn Ross reviews many a new children's book for the Scotsman. Titles reviewed include Emily Gravett's new picture book and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing.
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Bonus Interview: Sally Williams talks to Emily Gravett about her life and award-winning picture books for the Telegraph. There's a slide show too!

OT: Adult Book Recommendation

I know there are many Henning Mankell fans in the kidslitosphere.

So, as a public service announcement, I highly recommend Asa Larsson's Sun Storm. For an atmospheric Swedish mystery, Sun Storm can't be beat. Ice, snow, eccentrics, religious extremism, and a top-notch accidental detective (she's a lawyer by day) make Sun Storm a compelling read. Don't miss it if you're a Swedish mystery fan!

Sun Storm was the winner of Sweden's Best First Crime Novel Award.

Blogging Question

Fellow bloggers, I have a question for you. In the past two days, certain unsavory blogs have been linking to this wholesome blog about children's literature. They're showing up in technorati. Is there anything I can do about it?

2007 Booksense awards

The 2007 Booksense Awards have been announced. The Booksense awards recognize those books "independent booksellers most enjoyed handselling during the past year, as voted by the owners and staff of ABA member bookstores." Children's winners are:

• The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
• Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship, by Isabella and Craig Hatkoff, Dr. Paul Kahumbu with photos by Peter Greste.

Kimberly Maul reports for The Book Standard.

Speaking of Markus Zusak, he's guest blogging during the month of April over at Inside a Dog. Don't miss it! (Speaking of Inside a Dog, here's another blog I thought was on my blogroll, but when I switched over to "new blogger" it didn't make the transition!)

Poetry Friday and an apology

I'm so sorry for the lame posting this week. I've been on a quick deliver-children-to-grandparents trip, with no time for visiting, sightseeing, or exploring. Add to that unreliable internet and food poisoning and I've been worthless the past few days.

Usually when I'm in Southern California I get to go to restaurants, visit with friends or fellow bloggers, and go to supermarkets. (Not this time, though.) There's nothing better than an excellent supermarket in LA. I love to marvel over the fruits and vegetables, the fresh sushi selection, and foods from all over the world. Apparently I am not alone. Allen Ginsberg took a little trip himself back in 1955:

A Supermarket in California
by Allen Ginsberg

What thoughts I have of you tonight Walt Whitman, for I walked down the
sidestreets under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon. In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images, I went into the neon fruit supermarket, dreaming of your enumerations!
What peaches and what penumbras! Whole families shopping at night! Aisles full
of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!--and you, Garcia Lorca,
what were you doing down by the watermelons?

For correct spacing and the rest of the poem, click on over to PoetryFoundation.org.

I hope to be back on my feet, blogging and traveling home tomorrow.
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Susan at Chicken Spaghetti has this week's roundup. Head on over and drop her a comment.

Booklist # 2

I have some catching up to do in the kidlitosphere. I've read so many interesting posts, interviews, and reviews, that I'm going to do a bit of visiting a la Jen Robinson this evening.

But I'm on the road this week and haven't a moment to really sit down. In the meantime, inspired by a visit to the Reptile House, I'm in the mood for another booklist. This time, the topic is snakes! Here are some of my fallback snake books:

Slinky Scaly Snakes! by Jennifer Dussling
The Best Book of Snakes, by Christiane Gunzi
Scaly Slithery Snakes, by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent (ill. by Kendahl Jan Jubb)

Which are your favorite snake books? (I'm going to put the booklists up on the Children's Book Reviews wiki as well.)

Call for Submissions

This is a call for submissions for the April issue of The Edge of the Forest. We're looking for the following this month:

• Feature articles
• Reviews in every category

Drop me an e-mail or a comment and let's talk.

Big book deal (and rags-to-riches backstory)

Derek Landy has scored a huge book deal (1 million British pounds) for a middle grade trilogy. (Owen Bowcott reports for the Guardian. Read the article for the rags-to-riches and cauliflower story.)

The first in the three-book series--Skulduggery Pleasant--comes out in the U.K. on April 2. It stars "a smartly-dressed skeleton detective and a 12-year-old girl."

ETA: Here's the video link (via A Fuse #8 Production).

Review: Being Teddy Roosevelt

Claudia Mills' Being Teddy Roosevelt is a small school story with a big punch. Aimed at the 1st- through 4th-grade reader, Being Teddy Roosevelt stars Riley, a fourth-grader who lives with his single mother and isn't always a grade A student, though his intentions are good. You see, he's forgetful and those math worksheets just have a way of disappearing.

When Mrs. Harrow, Riley's teacher, announces the class will be preparing reports on famous historical figures and attending a biography tea in full costume, Riley is concerned. He knows he'll have trouble reading a full biography on his subject: Teddy Roosevelt. He's concerned about being in costume and preparing for the tea. Adding to his biography problems is the announcement about instrumental music in 5th grade. Students have been invited to enroll, but Riley knows his mom can't afford to rent him a saxophone.

Despite his reservations, Riley gets caught up in his subject and learns that Roosevelt never went around an obstacle--instead he faced them head on. Riley decides he'll earn the money himself to buy a sax and his friend Grant, a well-off child with millions of video games, is happy to help. (Grant drew Gandhi for his biography subject--to hilarious results at the tea.) In working towards his goal, Riley earns an A- on his Roosevelt report AND, with the help of Grant and two other school friends, finds a way to get a saxophone. Erika (a pushy Queen Elizabeth) and class brain Sophie (a frustrated Helen Keller) convince Riley to just ask the band director for a sax: "As they got close to the cafeteria, Riley could hear the fifth graders playing a lively march. It made him feel braver inside. Music could do that for you. It could change the way you felt. It could make everything better." (86)

Mills' Being Teddy Roosevelt is a realistic tale, with recognizable child characters and a lot of heart. I've always worried about kids not having access to instrumental music, simply because they're too afraid to admit their families can't afford the rental fees. Being Teddy Roosevelt combines this issue with an entertaining school story every child will enjoy. R.W. Alley's illustrations are generous and funny and readers will recognize each and every character in the drawings. Highly recommended for elementary audiences.

Heartwarming Children's Lit Story

Margie Goldsmith contributes a heartwarming tale of how a letter and drawing from Ludwig Bemelmans (Madeline) brightened her dark childhood. (Washington Post)

Writers and illustrators, out and about

Writers and illustrators are out and about this weekend, being interviewed, profiled, and writing essays themselves.

First and foremost, our own Don Tate writes about talking writing and illustration with juvenile offenders for the Austin American-Statesman. It's an inspirational piece. Great work, Don!

Carolyn Peirce interviews Jennifer L. Holm for the Baltimore Sun.

Mary Schulte talks to three writers for the Kansas City Star: Esmé Raji Codell, Mordicai Gerstein and Pam Muñoz Ryan.

Jenny Deam talks to Anita Silvey (100 Best Books for Children and 500 Great Books for Teens) for the Denver Post.

Someone (where's the gosh-darned byline?) talks to Jen Bryant for the Chester Daily Local Online (PA).

Erica Anderson covers a Walter Wick (I Spy) and Rodman Philbrook event in Walla Walla, Washington for the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.

Joanna Carey profiles Alexis Deacon for the Guardian.

The question is: who hides during the winter? Journalists or children's writers and illustrators?

Weekend Reviews (II)

More weekend reviews...

Liz Rosenberg reviews two new sheep picture books for The Boston Globe: One More Sheep (by Mij Kelly and illustrated by Russell Ayto) and The Big Bad Wolf and Me (by Delphine Perret)

Skyscraper, by Lynn Curlee, is the Washington Post Book of the Week.

Not a children's book, but one teens would surely appreciate, is Bryan Talbot's Alice in Sunderland. Miles Fielder writes for the Scotsman that Alice in Sunderland is a "historical and literary investigation of the Tyne-and-Wear town Talbot now calls home and of Lewis Carroll's Edwardian fantasies."

Mary Harris Russell reviews six new books for the Chicago Tribune. They include:

• If: A Father's Advice to His Son, by Rudyard Kipling, photographs by Charles R. Smith Jr.
• Twisted, by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Broken Moon, by Kim Antieau
• Some Dog, by Mary Casanova, pictures by Ard Hoyt
• The Dumpster Diver, by Janet S. Wong, illustrated by David Roberts
• Rhinos Who Rescue, by Julie Mammano

Weekend Reviews (I)

This first issue of this weekend's reviews is coming to you from the Las Vegas airport. We're only traveling through and I have to compliment the Las Vegas airport for its FREE wireless. You guys rock! Now onto the reviews before boarding...

Elizabeth Ward reviews The Invention of Hugo Cabret for the Washington Post. (Hint: she's underwhelmed.)

Susan Faust reviews Passover books for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Not a review, but Amanda Craig considers the classics in the Times.

More tomorrow....

Meme.meme.meme: 5 Non KidLit Blogs

I've been tagged by Liz. B at A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy to name 5 Non KidLit Blogs I Read. Hmmm...I read so many. How do I chose the top five? (Probably by cheating a little bit!)

1. My favorite television show is Project Runway. I rely on Blogging Project Runway and Project Rungay to keep me up on the news and gossip related to the show. From these guys, I learned they're finally casting for season four. (See, I've already cheated.)
2. My favorite celebrity blog is I'm Not Obsessed. I like it because its author (Very Vera) isn't as mean as some of the others out there. Her grammar is decent as well. A class act for a celebrity blog, if that's possible.
3. I really enjoy Anne's husband Brett's blog DadTalk. He blogs about kids, social and political issues, and is just an all-around smart guy.
4. I read all the major book blogs, but I really like Shaken & Stirred, Bookseller Chick, and Kate's Book Blog.
5. Okay, since I cheated so flagrantly on #1 and #4 I'll just call it a day with a blog everyone reads, but one I can't look away from: Post Secret.

I'm going to tag some newbies in the kidlitosphere: lectitans, Readathon, book, book, book, Charlotte's Library, Zee Says, and Bri Meets Books.

A Seed is Sleepy giveaway

Chronicle is sponsoring another book giveaway. This time it's an autographed, first edition of Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long's miraculous A Seed is Sleepy. You'll also receive its predecessor, Cybils award-winning An Egg is Quiet and some actual sunflower seeds.

The catch? I believe you'll have to sign up for Chronicle's newsletter. But, believe me, folks--these books are worth it.

Click here for the details.

Say hey to Margo Rabb!

I'm thrilled to welcome Margo Rabb to the blog today. I loved her Cures for Heartbreak (as did Jen Robinson) and it's great to have the opportunity to ask her some questions.

(Would you like to read Cures for Heartbreak? Then send an e-mail to contest@margorabb.com. One lucky [random] winner will win a copy today if you mention you visited with Margo here. I hope you win!)

Now on to the interview:

Tell us a little bit about Margo Rabb. Where do you live? How do you spend your days?

I live in Brooklyn, New York, not far from Queens, where I grew up. I think there are more writers per capita in Brooklyn than anywhere else in the nation. There's an application for local authors to get their books displayed in the window of the neighborhood Barnes & Noble. As for spending my days: I have a 4-month-old baby girl, so I spend my mornings with her, and then I write for a few hours in the afternoon, when I have a babysitter.

Beer, wine, or a soft drink?

Red wine. I'm a petite person, and a very cheap date--I can't handle more than two glasses.

Who is your favorite writer?

Alice Munro. The only fan letter I've ever written (aside from one to Shaun Cassidy when I was 12) was to Alice Munro. She wrote back, though Shaun never did.

Beach, city, or forest?

All of them--in my dream life I'd own a brownstone in Brooklyn, a country house in the woods, and a place on the beach. At the moment we own none of the above, however. Buy some books, people!

You also write short stories. Which do you prefer--the short story or the novel? Which do you prefer to read?

I love both, and am usually reading a story collection and a novel simultaneously. I enjoy writing both also--I only wish that publishers were as enthusiastic about short stories as they are about novels. (They aren't--mention the words "short story collection" to most literary agents and they turn pale and fidgety.)

Coffee, tea, or a triple skinny latte?

Coffee coffee coffee! (as Lorelai Gilmore says.)

You have said that Cures for Heartbreak took eight years to write (from Backstory). When did you decide it was complete? Was there one moment when you knew it was perfect?

I decided it was done when I found myself taking out words and then putting the same words back in. Then again, I was giving a reading from the book last week and crossing out entire sentences and re-writing them in the margins--so apparently I'd still be re-writing it if I could. As for knowing it's perfect--that never happens!

Movie, Theater, or a Concert?

Theater. One of the things I love most about living in New York City is going to the theater. The last play I saw was the Roundabout Theater's production of The Pajama Game starring Harry Connick, Jr. I'd never liked Harry Connick, Jr. before, but after seeing him in that...let's just say my husband is tired of hearing about Harry.

If you had an entire week and unlimited resources to do whatever you'd like, what would you do and why?

Since I've been dealing with the sleep deprivation of having a young baby, first I would check into a nice hotel and sleep and sleep and sleep. When I finally woke up I'd love to travel to Italy when truffles are in season and eat them with everything.

Halloween, New Year's, or Valentine's Day?

Halloween, definitely. Another advantage of being a mere 5' 1" is that I already have big plans for future Halloweens with my daughter. I'm going to go undercover as another kid so we can go trick-or-treating together and I can get as much candy as possible. Then I'll share it with her and her friends. If they're nice.

BOOK QUESTIONS

1. What is it about sisters? What I especially appreciated about Cures for Heartbreak was your description of Alex and Mia's relationship. Polar opposites, yet still close (although sometimes combative). Did you base this relationship on ones you know in your own life or on observation of strangers?

Seeing as my sister is sitting right next to me as I type this, I should probably say that my fictional portrayal of the relationship is utterly and completely a product of my imagination. (Sister nods at this approvingly...) She isn't a polar opposite at all (though I'm wearing heels and she's wearing hiking shoes and I have on lip gloss while she wears chapstick...) We weren't as close when we were in high school, but we've become very close now.

2. While Mia certainly struggles in Cures for Heartbreak, I felt so sorry for dear old dad. Does he find happiness after such amazing loss? (I did read the "Afterword," so I know it can't have been long-lived, but in a fictional world perhaps?)

I think that both in fiction and in real life, the father found happiness. After my mother died, I was surprised by my father's amazing resilience--he went from the grief and depression after losing our mother to really being happy again.

3. One sentence on the final page of the novel is particularly moving. Mia thinks, while on the roof with her beau--"cancer boy" Sasha--"If grief had a permanence, then didn't also love?" Do you find both grief and love permanent, or do they both fade over time?

I think both are absolutely permanent. I'll never get over the grief I've felt for my parents, and will always love them. I've kept a journal almost daily since I was fifteen, and whenever I read back on old loves the feelings return--they haven’t gone away, they're just buried under new ones.

4.What can we look forward to next from Margo Rabb?

I'm about halfway done with a new novel...and I promise there is no one bearing any resemblance to my sister in it.

To learn more about Margo Rabb, check out her website. You can also drop her a comment or two (or five) at her MySpace page.

Thanks, Margo. It was great fun to interview you! To catch the rest of Margo's whirlwind tour, here's the itinerary:

3/19: Colleen Mondor at Chasing Ray
3/20: Lizzie Skurnick at The Old Hag
3/21: Jen Robinson at Jen Robinson's Book Page
3/22: Betsy Bird at A Fuse #8 Production
3/23: You are here
3/26: Liz Burns at A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
3/27: Jackie Parker at Interactive Reader
3/28: Little Willow at Bildungsroman
3/29: Leila Roy at Bookshelves of Doom
3/30: Mindy at propernoun.net


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Editorial notes:

1) I was Alex. Heck, I'm still Alex.
2) That darn Shaun Cassidy. He was lousy with his fans. Hooray for Alice Munro!
3) Colleen Mondor wrote an amazing reaction to Cures for a Heartbreak.

Poetry Friday: Baudelaire again

I'm on a Flowers of Evil kick at the moment.

The poems become darker and darker as you read through the cycle, so I've chosen a happier one from the beginning of the collection.

There's an excellent website devoted to Charles Baudelaire and Flowers of Evil, with multiple English translations included for each poem. As the authors of the site say, Edna St. Vincent Millay's translations are, in many ways, the best. I'm quoting six lines from The Sun in St. Vincent Millay's 1936 translation. To read the poem in its wonderful entirety, please click here.

Le Soleil

....

I walk alone, absorbed in my fantastic play, —
Fencing with rhymes, which, parrying nimbly, back away;
Tripping on words, as on rough paving in the street,
Or bumping into verses I long had dreamed to meet.

The sun, our nourishing father, anemia's deadly foe,
Makes poems, as if poems were roses, bud and grow;

...

=======================

Elaine Magliaro is hosting the roundup at Blue Rose Girls. Leave her your links in the comments!

Review: Star Crossed

This review was written by Alice Herold

Star Crossed, by Linda Collison, is an adventure book for young adults. The author has spent a great deal of time sailing and her expertise shows in her writing. ( She has included a glossary explaining sailing and medical terms at the end of the book.)

The year is 1760. Three months earlier, Patricia Kelley's father died leaving her with no means of support at age 16. She knew one day she would inherit the Hatterby Estate which was a West Indian sugar plantation in Barbados. But all sorts of questions arise as she travels across the seas to claim the property.

1. Is the main character Patricia Kelley or Patricia Hatterby?

2. Is she a stowaway or a guest on the ship "Canopus"?

3. Is she a sailor or a medical assistant?

4. Is she a wife to Dr. MacPherson or a girlfriend to Brian Dalton?

5. Is she really Patricia Kelly or Patrick MacPherson?

6. How did her father die?

The author wrote a work of fiction, but based much of the story on facts. For example, she states in author's note, "Eighteenth-century merchantmen and British naval ships did indeed carry women-wives, girlfriends, passengers, prostitutes, laundresses--even though the admiralty had rules prohibiting it."

Patricia concludes she can never be an ordinary woman, but it occurrred to her that there were no ordinary women--just extraordinary ones. She might be referring to the author--Linda Collison! She's been a nurse, a skydiving instructor, scuba diver, volunteer firefighter, sailor and now a novelist. Read this book to be entertained and educated at the same time.

Out and About in the Kidlitosphere

It's been a remarkably slow week in terms of book news, hasn't it? Fortunately we have Margo Rabb's book tour to follow. Yesterday she was over at Jen Robinson's, and today she stops by Fuse's house. Tomorrow she'll be here!

Ms. Mac at Check It Out has been revamping her blog focusing on what happens at her school library. New features I love include "New at the Library" and "What We are Reading at Silver Star." For real, check it out!

I have a review of Jeanette Winter's The Tale of Pale Male over at Book Buds. Remember Pale Male? That New Yorker of a Red-tailed hawk who took up residence in Mary Tyler Moore's Fifth Avenue building? It's his story.

Cybils Post Mortem

In planning for the 2007 Cybils, we're looking for your input. 2006 was the first year for the Cybils and we want to know what you think. (Okay, "you guys stink" isn't exactly what we're looking for.) What went wrong? What could go better? Head on over and spend your two cents.

Bird Books: A Bibliography

A few weeks ago, spring was in the air and the birds (and I) were in high spirits. I asked for bird book recommendations in celebration of the season. Then, spring suffered a bit of a setback. Now it's back and in fine form, so it's time to share the wonderful bird book list. (Water fowl and penguins were excluded from this list. At some point, they'll have a list of their own) Books are presented in no particular order, and some may be out of print.

Picture Books

• The Best Nest, by PD Eastman
• An Egg is Quiet, by Dianna Hutts Aston (illustrated by Sylvia Long)


• Wild Birds, by Joanne Ryder


• Sophie's Window, by Holly Keller.


• Grumpy Bird, by Jeremy Tankard (out April 1)


• Feathers for Lunch, by Loise Ehlert


• The Pinkish, Purplish, Bluish Egg, by Bill Peet


• Inch by Inch, by Leo Lionni


• Flute's Journey: The Life of a Wood Thrush, by Lynne Cherry


• She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head! by Kathryn Lasky


• The Subway Sparrow, by Leyla Torres.


• Sparrow Jack, by Mordecai Gerstein


• Grandmother's Pigeon, by Louise Erdrich (illustrated by Jim LaMarche)


• The True Story of Stellina, by Matteo Pericoli


• Birdsong, by Audrey Wood (illustrated by Robert Florczak)


• Birdsongs, by Betsy Franco and Steve Jenkins (also a counting book)


• Dancers in the Garden, by Joanne Ryder


• The Birdwatchers, by Simon James


• Mole and the Baby Bird, by Marjorie Newman


• The Baby Beebee Bird, by Diane Massie

Poetry

• Feathers:Poems About Birds, by Eileen Spinelli (illustrated by Lisa McCue)


• on the wing, by Douglas Florian


• The Company of Crows, by Marilyn Singer


• Wings on the Wind, compiled and illustrated by Kate Kiesler


• Hummingbird Nest: A Journal of Poems, by Kristine O'Connell George


• If the Owl Calls Again, by Myra Cohn Livingston


• Bird Watch, by Jane Yolen


• Wild Wings, by Jane Yolen


• Fine Feathered Friends, by Jane Yolen


• Today at the Bluebird Cafe: a Branchful of Birds, by Deborah Ruddell and Joan Ranki

Non Fiction

• Tony's Birds, by Millicent Selsam


• Audubon's Birds, by Roberta Sewal


• Birds Do the Strangest Things, by Leonora and Arthur Hornblow


• Sing, Nightingale, Sing! A Book and CD for Discovering the Birds of the World, by Francoise de Guibert


• The Bird Feeder Book: An Easy Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Understanding Your Feeder Birds, by Donald and Lillian Stokes


• The Burgess Bird Book for Children, by Thornton W. Burgess


• The Bald Eagle's View of American History, by C.H. Colman (illustrations by Joanne Friar)


• The Boy Who Drew Birds, by Jacqueline Davies (illustrations by Melissa Sweet)


• Backyard Birds, by Jonathan P. Latimer and Karen Stray Nolting (illustrations by Roger Tory Peterson)


• The Lives of Birds, by Lester L. Short

Middle Grade Fiction

• Wing Nut, by M. J. Auch

Help! (MySpace question)

I'm new to the whole MySpace thing. I joined up to participate in Readergirlz.

That being said, I'm still not sure I know how everything works. Here's my question du jour:

• If someone leaves you a comment, how do you respond? I click "add comment," but it says I have to be a friend. Hmmm...

Thank you for your patience.

Carol Lay on the run

Carol Lay penned a cartoon on scrotumgate a few weeks back.

Today she feels the pressure of a "special interest" group. Librarians, you'll want to check this out.

Review: Notes on a Near-Life Experience

You may think you've seen Olivia Birdsall's Notes on a Near-Life Experience before, but you'd be wrong.

15-year-old Mia thought she had a normal life, complete with an older brother, a much younger sister, a mom and a dad. The novel opens as Mia lists her family's rituals: dinner at 7, Friday date nights for mom and dad, Saturday cleaning, Jeopardy! Then her world falls apart. Dad leaves the family one afternoon and does not come back. Before long, he's living in his new condo with a hot Peruvian girlfriend he brought back from vacation. Mom works all the time. Older brother Allen begins drinking--at home, and at work, and all the time. Little sister Keatie is forgotten after violin lessons.

What makes Notes on a Near-Life Experience special is in the way it is told. This is a true slice-of-life novel told only from Mia's point of view. Her thoughts are presented in short, fragmented, non-linear chapters. We never learn, for example, how and why Allen begins drinking. We never discover why Dad is such a jerk. We may want to kick him, but Mia still loves him so his presentation is clouded. And, because Mia is a fifteen year old, the story of the divorce is intertwined with first love (Allen's best friend, Julian) and problems with a best friend.

Notes on a Near-Life Experience is a beautifully written gem of a novel, uniquely told. It's a great choice for discussing narration with Junior High students and is appropriate for readers of Young Adult fiction as young as 10.

Out and about in the Kidlitosphere

It's a busy morning in the kidlitosphere. Here's what's going on:

• Don't miss the 12th Carnival of Children's Literature over at Midwestern Lodestar. ML did a fantastic job putting the submissions together! (My cholesterol is up by 10 points just by reading.) Speaking of carnivals, Susan at Chicken Spaghetti gives us the 411 on running and submitting to carnivals.
• The fantabulous Jen Robinson has been 7-Imped. It's a fascinating interview.
• Margo Rabb (Cures for Heartbreak) begins her blog tour over at Colleen Mondor's Chasing Ray.
• The children's book wiki is now located at a lightning fast server.
• For those of you who have been archiving your reviews at Children's Book Reviews, I've switched over to PB wiki's new editing platform. Now adding your links is as easy as posting them in a blog entry or e-mail. Let me know if you have questions.

Happy Monday!

The Biggest Carnival ever?

Midwestern Lodestar hosts what may be the biggest Carnival of Children's Literature yet! Number Twelve. And she turns it into a State Fair, complete with tasty treats like pork chop on a stick and snow cones.

Enjoy! Like the State Fair, this Carnival will take a few days to cover everything--from the Quilting Exhibition to the butter cow.
==============================

Jen Robinson hosts lucky number 13 next!

Wiki Novel

The very first children's wiki novel* has moved. It has come to my attention that the site was working very, very slowly. Not much fun if you're writing a collective novel!

Here's the new link: witches and wiki.

The password is the same and I've saved all content.
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*A wiki novel is one written by multiple writers. Anyone can participate. If you'd like to write for fun and with friends, then, please, send me an e-mail and I'll send you the password right away.

Weekend Reviews (II)

I'm not used to having busy Sundays, but today was one of those. So I'm a bit late with the second installment of weekend reviews and hope you will forgive me. Here's what else I've found:

Mary Hoffman reviews I Am the Great Horse, by Katherine Roberts, for the Guardian.

The Golden Compass is the Washington Post Book of the Week.

Janet Christie reviews children's books for the Scotsman. Books reviewed include Cathy's Book, by Jordan Weisman, Sean Stewart and Cathy Brigg

Mary Harris Russell reviews six new books for the Chicago Tribune, including:

• Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend, by Melanie Watt
• Dreamquake, by Elizabeth Knox
• Good Sports, by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Chris Raschka
• The Tale of Pale Male, by Jeanette Winter
• If You're Happy and You Know It: Jungle Edition, by James Warhola
• Different Like Coco, by Elizabeth Matthews

Being, by Kevin Brooks, is the Times' Children's Book of the Week.

Weekend Reviews (I)

It's Saturday and time for the weekend reviews. I'm enjoying a wonderful egg and cheese salt bagel and life is good. Here's what's up so far:

Susan Perren reviews new titles for the Globe and Mail, including:

• Goodnight Sweet Pig, by Linda Bailey, illustrated by Josee Masse
• Mission! The Extraordinary Adventures of Sir Wilfred Grenfell, by Colleen Shannahan
• Sweet! The Delicious Story of Candy, by Anne Love and Jane Drake, illustrated by Claudia Davila (Mmmm...this one sounds good!)
• Set in Stone, by Linda Newbery

Amanda Craig reviews "worm books" for the Times. Awesome!

• Boobela and Worm, by Joe Friedman and Sam Childs
• The Tinderbox, by Hans Christian Andersen
• Akimbo and the Snakes, by Alexander McCall Smith

More later. I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful day, even if spring has suffered a bit of a setback.

URGENT

The deadline for submissions to the 12th Carnival of Children's Literature is TOMORROW. Midwestern Lodestar is the host. You can either submit via her site or through the carnival site.

Off to submit...

Update on Children's Book Reviews

With The Cybils, I got really behind with Children's Book Reviews. Some of you have been great about updating and I really appreciate it. Now I'm getting caught up. I've added in my own reviews (since October!) and half from The Edge of the Forest. By tomorrow, I'll be able to get to Fuse #8 reviews and then to the rest of the list.

If anyone would like to archive their reviews, please let me know.

Poetry Friday

Happy Poetry Friday!

I can always count on Stephen Colbert to brighten my days. While Rahm Emanuel may find Colbert and his "Better Know a District" too risky, I love it. Last night an Illinois Democrat held his own when Colbert suggested Carl Sandburg was murdered in his district (completely silly, and yet so funny). In honor of Stephen Colbert and the Illinois' "fightin' 16th," today's entry comes from Sandburg.

Languages
by Carl Sandburg

There are no handles upon a language
Whereby men take hold of it
And mark it with signs for its remembrance.
It is a river, this language,
Once in a thousand years
Breaking a new course
Changing its way to the ocean.
It is mountain effluvia
Moving to valleys
And from nation to nation
Crossing borders and mixing.
Languages die like rivers.
...read the rest of the poem here

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Liz B. is on the roundup, so head on over and leave her your comments!

A Seed is Sleepy review

My review of A Seed is Sleepy, by Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long is up over at Book Buds.

Now I understand what all the fuss was about re: An Egg is Quiet. A Seed is Sleepy is brilliant in every way.

Another Jacqueline Wilson interview

Jacqueline Wilson is interviewed again, this time by Hannah Pool for the Guardian.

I think one of the reasons Wilson really reaches her audience is her honesty. Take a look at this exchange:

Q: Divorce plays a big part in your books. Does the high divorce rate make you angry?
A: I think it's sad, but then I'm divorced myself.

Love it!

She also has a unique take on the recent UN report that concluded that kids in the U.K. and the US are worse off than children in any other industrialized country:

Q: There have been reports recently that British children are the least happy in Europe. Do we fail our children?

A: I think most parents do take parenthood seriously and try very hard to please their children. I think all of us just want to muddle through the best we can. I wouldn't know where people are going wrong; maybe our teenagers are just a bit more articulate in moaning about their lot in life.

(Okay, I agree with Wilson that maybe parents are not at fault, but I hardly think we can chalk this up to articulate children!)
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Also in the Guardian--another Minister (British) wants boys to read more.

2007 Astrid Lindgren Award

The Astrid Lindgren award has been announced. This is a big one because of the money involved--approximately $700,000. Last year, Katherine Paterson was the big winner. This year? Banco del Libro in Venezuela. Here's the jury's statement:

• In a true pioneering spirit, with ingenuity and a sheer determination, the Banco del Libro has constantly sought new ways of disseminating books and promoting reading among children in Venezuela. Enthusiasm, professionalism, closeness to the children and a refreshing lack of bureaucracy are the hallmarks of the Banco del Libro's work, whether in shanty towns, mountain villages, universities or out in cyberspace.

The Astrid Lindgren award is, obviously, not just for writers. Here's the foundation's statement on its purpose: "Not only authors are eligible. Illustrators, story-tellers and people or organisations that make valuable contributions to the promotion of reading can also be recognised. "

Review: The Dark Thirty

This review was written by Alice Herold

What book can entertain a couple of 60+ year olds on a nine hour car trip?

Recently, I read Patricia McKissack's The Dark Thirty aloud to my husband who was driving from southern California to northern California. McKissack writes award winning tales rooted in African-American history. For example, one is about the Ku Klux Klan in the 1930's, another is about the first black union (Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1926), and a third is about the boycott of the buses in 1955-56. The Dark Thirty is a collection of ghost stories "that should be told at that special time when it is neither day nor night and when shapes and shadows play tricks on the mind." There are eleven stories in the book meant to be read or told aloud.

My personal favorite is "Boo Mama." A two-year old boy disappers into the woods in eastern Tennessee. After one year, two months, three days, and four hours, the baby is found on the steps of the church, naked and smelling like skunks. Who took the child? Why? Who potty trained him? What language is he speaking? Brian Pickney brilliantly illustrated the child, Nealy, in black and white, looking into the woods with his arms outstretched. Why was he looking longingly into the woods? Why was he crying? Read this remarkable book to discover answers to these questions and to be entertained during the thirty minutes before dark--the dark-thirty.
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Editorial note: The Dark Thirty was originally published in 2001 and is a Newbery Honor Book. It was reprinted in 2006.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

New (or new-to-me) Blog Roundup

It's that time again! Time for another tinkering of the blogrolls. A lot has been happening in the last few weeks, so this will be quite the post.

• I've been meaning to do a "for kid/teen readers" heading for awhile now. Readergirlz needs a spot, so I'll be working on that. If you know of any superb sites for child and teen readers, please do let me know.
• Somehow Brotherhood 2.0 never made it onto the blogroll, though I've been following it from the beginning.
• Here's a great livejournal site: lectitans. It always takes me longer to find the livejournal sites. Anyone else suffer from this problem?
• Readathon is a new participant in the kidlitopshere, now running a Girls You Should Know series.
• In the Pages is another general book blog I'm watching. Becky writes about children's and adult fiction.
• book, book, book: "Rants, ruminations, and recommendations, on kidlit, teen lit, libraries, and divers topics tangentially related to any of the above."
• Charlotte's Library. Charlotte is an "archaeologist by day, and the president of the Friends of small New England library by night."
• Zee Says is a new librarian blog. Zee is a film addict and a teen librarian and writes about books, movies, teen issues, and teen tech.

Book Reviewing

Meg Rosoff explains why she only reviews books she likes in the Guardian Book Blog. She sums it up with this story:

• "A journalist friend told me about reviewing an Elmore Leonard novel negatively, then meeting the author a few months later at a literary festival. The critic found him dignified, charming, and modest, writing and speaking with as much care and professionalism at 84 as he'd done for the past 50 years. The flaws of the novel seemed suddenly insignificant, my friend told me, and he felt ashamed."

There's something about those negative reviews. I avoid them too, even if I'll mention a book I didn't like in the comments.

The Edge of the Forest, March 2007

The March 2007 Issue of The Edge of the Forest is now up. Here's what's in store this month:

• Sounds from the Forest, a podcast column produced by Andrea and Mark of Just One More Book!!, is back. This month Mark talks to Daniel Pinkwater.
• An interview with Newbery Honoree Kirby Larson (Hattie Big Sky), by Liz Burns.
• I celebrate the launch of Readergirlz.
• Pam Coughlan explains, in true MoReader fashion, How to be a B-list Blogger.
• Adrienne Furness considers the spate of Sock Monkey books.
• Kim Winters talks to children's writer and bookseller (The Flying Pig Bookstore), Elizabeth Bluemle, for the In the Backpack column, and the marvelous (and marvelously- productive) Laura Ruby for A Day in the Life.
• Allie interviews a hilarious Jenny Han in our Blogging Writer feature.
• Reviews in all categories--from Picture book to Young Adult. (Don't miss Brian Farrey's Open Letter to Adam Selzer)

Don't forget to subscribe to The Edge of the Forest with our Subscribe feature. Just enter your name and e-mail address and you'll receive notification when each new issue is published.

Monday morning notes

I'm busy this morning editing the March edition of The Edge of the Forest, but don't miss the newest 7-Imp interview with Susan Thomsen of Chicken Spaghetti.

Weekend Reviews (II)

I hope you're all having a happy weekend. (Celebrate the happy parts over at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.) Here are the latest reviews:

Elizabeth Ward reviews "Easter" books, old and new, for the Washington Post. They include:

• Ward writes that two versions of the gospel story are better than all the rest: In Easter, by Jan Pieñkowski, and The Easter Story, by Brian Wildsmith.
• "For a secular take on Easter" Ward recommends The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, by Du Bose Heyward
• Thunder Bunny, by Barbara Helen Berger
• Hurry! Hurry!, by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Jeff Mack
• The Bunnies Are Not in Their Beds, by Marisabina Russo
• That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown, by Cressida Cowell, illustrated by Neal Layton

Mary Harris Russell reviews six new titles for the Chicago Tribune, including:

• Fox, by Kate Banks, pictures by Georg Hallensleben
• The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart
• Half a World Away, by Libby Gleeson, illustrated by Freya Blackwood
• The Flying Bed, by Nancy Willard, paintings by John Thompson
• The Little Red Fish, by Taeeun Yoo
• Piper, by Emma Chichester Clark

The Legend of Bass Reeves, by Gary Paulsen, is the Washington Post Book of the Week.

Jacky Daydream, by Jacqueline Wilson, is the Times' Children's Book of the Week.

Amanda Craig reviews Dirty Work, by Julia Bell, and Life as we Knew it, by Susan Pfeffer, for the Times.

Weekend Reviews (I)

The weekend is starting off with a bang, with the New York Times Sunday Book Review. Here's what's up this week:

• John Schwartz reviews The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick ("It's enough to say that 'Hugo Cabret' sits at the nexus of magic and storytelling and film...") There's an awesome web special related to this review: Video: 'A Trip to the Moon,' by Georges Melies (1902. Courtesty of archive.org)
• Finally. Someone appreciates the genius of Nicola Davies. Richard Conniff reviews Extreme Animals: The Toughest Creatures on Earth (ill. by Neal Layton).
• Kerry Fried reviews Ysabeau S. Wilce's Flora Segunda.
• This week's Bookshelf is devoted to children's books. Many blog favorites are included, such as How We Are Smart, What Elephant?, and The Police Cloud.

Also...

Philip Ardagh reviews Kevin Brooks' Being for the Guardian.

Review: So Totally Emily Ebers

This review was written by my 11-year-old daughter, who is Lisa Yee's biggest fan. Objectivity cannot be assured.

So Totally Emily Ebers is Emily's side of the story told in Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time and Millicent Min, Girl Genius.

So Totally Emily Ebers is written as a journal that Emily wants to give to her dad. Then, as Emily gets mad, she writes Dear Diary, instead of Dear Dad.

It also shows how Emily feels about her mother, her father, and their divorce. At school, Emily gets tricked by popular Julie (who makes Emily charge a bunch of stuff on her brand new credit card). Dad calls about the credit card, and Emily is miserable and in trouble. This causes her to become closer with her mom, Alice.

It is also nice that Emily and Stanford are boyfriend and girlfriend, but it doesn't seem as grossly detailed as in other books. In the end, Emily works everything out with Alice, her friends (AJ and Nicole) from New Jersey, Millie, and Stanford. She figures out that Julie is bad, and her father was mean and found a new wife.

It is really cool how Lisa Yee shows all the characters' feelings, and not just one side of the story. Lisa Yee wrote her book very well, and I hope she writes more!

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Editorial note: Anna's observation that Emily and Stanford's relationship "doesn't seem as grossly detailed as in other books" is the highest possible praise from my daughter.

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This book was purchased at Anna's Middle School Bookfair. Review was received in payment for first reading rights.

Gender Bias in Picture Books?

You've probably all seen this study about gender bias in children's picture books. It's been out and about in regional media the past few days. Here's the upshot:

• "Dr. David Anderson, professor of economics, and Dr. Mykol Hamilton, professor of psychology, have documented that gender bias is common today in many children's books in their research published recently in Sex Roles: A Journal of Research titled 'Gender Stereotyping and Under-Representation of Female Characters in 200 Popular Children's Picture Books: A 21st Century Update.'"

Their study set included Caldecott winners from the past seven years and the 200 top-selling books from 2001. The results of this study include:

• There were nearly twice as many male as female title and main characters
• Male characters appeared in illustrations 53 percent more than female characters
• Female main characters nurtured more than did male main characters, and they were seen in more indoor than outdoor scenes
• Occupations were gender stereotyped, and more women than men appeared to have no paid occupation

This study, frankly, surprised me, because it seems to me that I see picture books with female protagonists two times more often than those with male protagonists. This makes me think, then, that the people choose the books with male protagonists to purchase. I also think there's a real nostalgia factor when people buy picture books. They like to find the titles they had as children, meaning the best sellers are books from the 1950s-1980s.

What do you all think?

Poetry Friday

This week's Poetry Friday entry is "Le Chat," by Charles Baudelaire. I'm quoting part two of the poem, in translation by Geoffrey Wagner. The poem in its entirity can be seen here.

From its fair and dark fur
Comes a scent so gentle,
that one night I was caught in its balm,
by having Caressed it once, only once.

It is the familiar spirit of the place;
It judges, presides, inspires
Everything in its empire;
It is perhaps a fairy or a god?

When my eyes, drawn like a magnet
To this cat that I love,
Come meekly back again
And I look inside myself,

I see with amazement
The fire of its pale pupils,
Clear beacons, living opals,
Looking at me fixedly.
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On with the roundup!

Anne joins the party this week with "Cynthia in the Snow," by Gwendolyn Brooks. I share your pain, Anne. It will soon be over.

Elaine is in with another stunner of a post--this time a review of Valerie Worth's Animal Poems.

Franki reviews Shout! Little Poems that Roar at A Year of Reading.

Charlotte recommends a poem that would make a great picture book ("Cargoes," by John Masefield) at Charlotte's Library.

Michele is in with a little Thomas Hardy at Scholar's Blog.

Nancy contributes some Whitman at Journey Woman.

Tricia shares "Birches," by Robert Frost, at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

Erin quotes from Loose Threads, by Lorie Ann Grover.

Jules puts together a great post on "resonating with usefulness" via the works of Haven Kimmel, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Marge Piercy at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

Kelly Fineman takes Harold Bloom to task (and rightfully so) in a great Poetry Friday post.

Gregory K. contributes a funny original at GottaBook. (I'd love an emu clock!)

Wendy reviews Bing Bang Boing, written and illustrated by Douglas Florian, over at Blog from the Windowsill.

Mitali is SO NOT ALONE when she shares Shakespeare's take on winter at Mitali's Fire Escape.

Hooray! A new participant. lectitans contributes her favorite Shakespearean Sonnet, #29.

MotherReader shares the lyrics from 1985, by Bowling for Soup, for this Poetry Friday.

Hey, Katie from Pixie Palace is in and she contributes some of Cicely Mary Barker's Rose poems. I learn from Katie's post that today is "Middle Name Pride Day," a holiday I just can go in for, I'm afraid. Maybe if my name were Rose?

Els shares a wonderful friendship poem by Judith Viorst at book, book, book. (I'm sensing a new blog roundup happening this weekend...)

Becky at Farm School is back with "The Revolving Door," by Newman Levy.

Emily at Whimsy Books contributes "The Rider," by Naomi Shihab Nye.

Vivian contributes "Sally" from Flamingos On The Roof, by Calef Brown, at HipWriterMama.

Little Willow shares "Part Two: Nature: LXXXV," by Emily Dickinson, at Bildungsroman.

Yay! Jane Yolen is in with an original written in college--"Rhinoceros."

Monica Edinger uses podcasting in the classroom with the help of the poet Natasha Trethewey. Check out her students' poems. They want comments!!

What a fabulous gathering this week. A cup o' tea or a glass of wine to you all. Please let me know if I've missed your link.

Bird Books

We still have snow on the ground, but spring is in the air. So is bird song. They're gearing up for good times ahead--sunshine, warm breezes and long days.

The birds made me think of recent bird books, like Matteo Pericoli's The True Story of Stellina, a stand-out from 2006. (Susan and Junior are enjoying this one too at Chicken Spaghetti.)

I'd love to compile a list of bird books for spring. Which are your favorites? ============================
And while I think Tad Hill's Duck & Goose is a wonderful book, I'm looking for books about your standard birds, not water fowl.

My first Book Buds review is up.

This week I review How to be a Baby--by Me, the Big Sister, by Sally Lloyd-Jones (illustrated by Sue Heap).

YA Fiction

Check out this article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer about teens and YA fiction. Cecelia Goodnow takes a look at teens and their buying (and checking-out) habits and the new popularity of Young Adult fiction.

In the article, Goodnow writes, "As for which came first--the surge in quality or the receptive audience--no one is entirely sure." As a former teen, albeit 20 years ago, I believe the market was always there, as was the quality. The difference is in the quantity of quality. While 3-4 excellent YA books were published per year 20 years ago, now there are hundreds of worthy titles available for teens each and every year. It is a golden age.

Galaxy British Book Awards

Shortlists are available for the Galaxy British Book Awards, aka the Nibbles.

Here are the nominations for Children's Book of the Year:

• The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, by John Boyne
• Flanimals of the Deep, by Ricky Gervais (Ooh! I love the Flanimals.)
• Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend, by Francesca Simon
• The Incredible Book Eating Boy, by Oliver Jeffers
• Peter Pan in Scarlet, by Geraldine McCaughrean
• Wintersmith, by Terry Pratchett

That's quite a diverse set of titles.

News via the Independent.

Review: At the Firefly Gate

Sometimes good things really do come in small packages. Linda Newbery's At the Firefly Gate is a gem of a 152-page novel for the Middle Grade reader.

At the Firefly Gate weaves together two stories set some fifty years apart with the help of one ghost, some visions, and an elderly neighbor. The contemporary story begins when sixth-form student, Henry, moves from London to Suffolk: "3, Church Cottages, Crickford St. Thomas, Suffolk, was the sort of address Henry's mum had always wanted."

Henry doesn't share this dream, however, and to add insult to injury his parents moved before the last week of school. To help him make friends over the summer, they force Henry to spend time with his prickly next door neighbor, Grace. Grace is a year older than Henry and wants little to do with him. Fortunately, her great aunt Dottie takes an instant liking to Henry and makes him feel at home.

On his first evening in Suffolk, Henry catches sight of a man standing by the gate at the end of Henry's garden, staring up at him. The man is smoking and surrounded by fireflies. Soon Henry is dreaming from the point of view of this man, the dreams taking him back fifty years to a war-time food stand and a pretty girl with bright blue eyes.

Newbery brings the present and past together beautifully in At the Firefly Gate. The ghost story never seems contrived--the present and past overlap neatly in Henry's new village life. I also appreciated that Henry, albeit momentarily freaked out by the changes in his life, is more curious than frightened by his glimpse into the past. Henry takes his challenges as they come, be they real world (Grace, new school, new friends) or ghostly.

Linda Newbery is an exceptional writer. My mother reviewed her recent YA novel, Set in Stone, and compared her to Austen. I can see now that mom was not exaggerating. At the Firefly Gate is a stunner--a book I'll be pushing on everyone I know older than eight years old.
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I received this book from the publisher.

Call me Bud

I love a good picture book. But I also love MG and YA. What's a girl to do? Become a Bud, that's what. A Book Bud.

Once a week, my picture book reviews will be up over at Book Buds. I'll also continue to review picture books for The Edge of the Forest, which is up monthly. This new arrangement allows me to post reviews of primarily Middle Grade and Young Adult titles here. (I'm in the middle of a review of a fantabulous MG title at this very moment.)

Thanks, Anne!

Link, link, linkety-link

There's tons of great content out in the kidlitosphere. So much, in fact, I'm going to have to do a roundup.

• A Fuse #8 Production has the first review of The Titian's Curse (the third in the Percy Jackson series) I've seen. Please correct me if I'm wrong. She's right: the cover is awesome!
• Lisa Yee is the 2007 Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence. But of course she is. I can't think of a better choice. Lisa Yee is the real deal. Congrats, Lisa!
• Speaking of real deals and new talents, check out the Melanie Watt interview up at the Cybils. I'm a huge fan of Scaredy Squirrel and Melanie Watt promises more of our beloved neurotic.
• Gail Gauthier took my challenge and responded to the Jenna Bush publishing deal. Gail, as always, responds with reason and takes a "let's wait and see approach." (P.S. I still adore her.)

Biggest BACA alert ever

We've all heard Jenna Bush has been planning to write a YA title. It's now official. Here's the scoop: "HarperCollins announces today that it's publishing Bush's Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope this fall. Jenna says the book "about a 17-year-old single mother in Panama who is living with HIV--will end with a 'call to action.'"

Jenna talks to Bob Minzesheimer for USA Today. Here's the best part of the article:

• "She says she 'very, very modestly' hopes her book will have some of the influence of two books about girls caught up in the Holocaust: Lois Lowry's novel Number the Stars and Anne Frank's The Diary of Anne Frank.

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Gail, you know I adore you, but defend this one.

MotherReader, this one's for you.

Purses, quivers, and the issue that wouldn't go away

Carol Lay takes on the scrotum issue (in cartoon format) over at Salon.

(The cartoon doesn't make much sense to me. Let me know if you get it!)

Review: grief girl

While the power was out, I read a couple of YA titles that left me thinking Wow! This is really different. Erin Vincent's grief girl is one of them.

grief girl is a memoir that reads like a YA problem novel. The narrator/author is fourteen years old when the unthinkable happens. Her beloved mother dies in a car crash and her father is severely injured. A month later, Erin's father dies from a blood clot to the heart.

Erin is the middle child, and much of her struggle after her parents' death results from her powerlessness. Older sister Tracy turns eighteen just days after their mother dies. She has already left school (grief girl is set in Australia) and begun a training program in cosmetology. Tracy has a steady boyfriend--a solid guy named Chris--and she assumes full responsibility for Erin and their much younger brother, Trent. As is only natural, she tries to shield Erin and Trent from responsibility, but is also angry that everything fell to her.

What I most appreciated about grief girl is its honesty. Vincent asks brutal questions, even if they don't have an answer and, in fact, reflect badly on her. Before her parents' death, Erin imagines the following scene while rehearsing a play with her theater group:

• "I'll be sitting in this same chair a week from today and Mum and Dad will be gone. Tragedy will strike. Life will be ruined, changed forever. But the show must go on. I'll have to struggle on without them. I'll be up onstage rehearsing through the pain and everyone will think I'm noble and brave. Most people, if their parents died, would never be able to perform...but not me. I'm amazing and strong. It will be the best performance of my life. Everyone will say, 'Look at her! Isn't she incredible? A true star.'" (30-31)

Erin is not always likable as she narrates her story. While in school she becomes absorbed in her grief and it defines her. She wears her father's shirt for months on end. She fights with her sister and dreams of success only she can bring to her family. But, she's honest and straightforward, and grief girl resonates long after you've read the last page.

Save Witches and Wiki

Witches and wiki has stalled. It went down in the ice storm for five whole days and now poor Moctor is left in an attic hearing an approaching creak. What will happen to him? Will he be caught?

Ask me for the password and write away!

Readergirlz

I know that I'm absolutely the last person to post about the awesomeness that is Readergirlz. I have a really good reason, though. I'm writing a feature on the site, the authors and their mission for the March The Edge of Forest.

I will say now that what I most especially like about Readergirlz is the link the divas make between reading and community enhancement. By reading, girlz can make a difference not only in their own lives, but in their community. Likewise, the divas reach out to girlz who may not have the opportunity to meet an author and hear about the writing process. Very cool.

On a related note, I had to join MySpace to follow Readergirlz. Please help, you younger, hipper members of the kidslitosphere. I have no idea what to do! I already have one friend named Tom. Who is he? Where did he come from? Is he the generic friend? As you can see, any assistance is welcome.

Finally, a big tip o' the hat to Little Willow of Bildungsroman. She designed the Readergirlz site! She's a real Renaissance woman.
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Update! I figured out that Tom is the MySpace guy. Man, I have a lot to learn.

Weekend Reviews (II)

The reviews keep coming this weekend. Here's what's online:

Dexter Bexley and the Big Blue Beastie is the Times' Children's Book of the Week. (Reviewed by Nicolette Jones.)

Amanda Craig reviews two new teen thrillers for the Times: The Starlight Conspiracy, by Steve Voake, and The Spellgrinder's Apprentice, by N.M. Browne. Craig has this to say about The Starlight Conspiracy: "it's been a while since anything as much fun as Steve Voake's The Starlight Conspiracy came along. "

Welcome to The Bed & Biscuit, by Joan Carris, is the Washington Post Book of the Week.

S.F. Said reviews Darkside, by Tom Becker, for the Guardian.

Kate Murphy reviews Stephen Cole's teen thriller The Aztec Code for the Scotsman (in the Crime roundup).

Mary Harris Russell reviews six new children's books for the Chicago Tribune. They include:

• The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick
• Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson
• The Tinderbox, by Hans Christian Andersen, retold by Stephen Mitchell, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
• Clancy the Courageous Cow, by Lachie Hume
• Lightship, by Brian Floca
• Tough Boy Sonatas, by Curtis L. Crisler, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Weekend Reviews (I)

Happy weekend to one and all. I still have power, so it's a great Saturday to roundup the reviews.

Nigel Richardson (snarkily) reviews "teen thrillers" for the Telegraph. Titles considered include:

• Desert Crossing, by Elise Broach
• Dirty Work, by Julia Bell
• Life As We Knew It, by Susan Pfeffer
• Cathy's Book, by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman

Susan Perren reviews many a new book for the Globe and Mail, including:

• Dog, by Matthew Van Fleet, photography by Brian Stanton
• Grumpy Bird, by Jeremy Tankard
• Stolen Voices: Young People's War Diaries, edited by Zlata Filipovic and Melanie Challenger
• If I Die Before I Wake: The Flu Epidemic Diary of Fiona Macgregor, by Jean Little
• A Rebel's Daughter: The 1837 Rebellion Diary of Arabella Stevenson, by Janet Lunn
• The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron

Not a review, but I rather liked this little interview of Daniel Handler/Lemony Snicket by Jim Slotek in the Toronto Sun. In it, Handler admits to disliking some of the books his son likes. He says:

• "'But what my son appreciates most is the presence of a train...I just wish I was as sure as he is about what automatically makes a good book.'"

Handler also discusses his writing plans in the interview for you Snicket fans.

Happy Birthday, The Cat in the Hat!

A hearty big 5-0 to The Cat in the Hat. At the moment, my six-year-old and I are reading through this very book. Thank you, dear Cat, for teaching children to read in an entertaining manner for the past five decades.

To celebrate, click here and send the Cat a postcard. Random House is donating a book to First Reads for each postcard received. Send, send, send. So far 813, 911 cards have been sent.

Poetry Friday Review

You Poetry Friday participants know that my favorite book of poetry from the past year is Ted Hughes' Collected Poems for Children. It was published in the U.K. and I had to beg my friend Michele to send it to me.

Well, I've got great news for poetry fans in the U.S. Collected Poems for Children will be out on March 30! Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, this volume includes Raymond Briggs' (Father Christmas, The Snowman) inspired, realistic ink drawings. This book is perfection and a must for any fan of children's poetry.

Ted Hughes' Collected Poems for Children contains over 250 poems. This new volume begins with the collections written for younger children (The Mermaid's Purse, The Cat and the Cuckoo) and each collection becomes more sophisticated, ending with Season Songs. While you can enjoy Poems for Children with kids as young as three, just make sure you watch your child pack for college or this book may walk out the door with her.

Today's Poetry Friday entry consists of two poems. One, "Pebbles," is from The Mermaid's Purse, a collection written for the very young. The other, "Spring Nature Notes," is from Season Songs, a collection written for older children.

Pebbles

Where blown spray falls
We are the stones.

Of lands that burst
From sleep and bowed
Like animals
To slake their thirst
Where waters flowed
We are the bones.

And now the first part of "Spring Nature Notes" (a six-part poem) from Season Songs.

Spring Nature Notes

I

The sun lies mild and still on the yard stones.

The clue is a solitary daffodil--the first.

And the whole air struggling in soft excitements
Like a woman hurrying into her silks.
Birds everywhere zipping and unzipping
Changing their minds, in soft excitements,
Warming their wings and trying their voices.

The trees still spindle bare.

Beyond them, from the warmed blue hills
An exhilaration swirls upward, like a huge fish.

As under a waterfall, in the bustling pool.

Over the whole land
Spring thunders down in brilliant silence.

Buried in snow and cold, this poem speaks to me. I know and wait for that moment when you first feel spring "thundering down in brilliant silence."
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I'm up for the Poetry Friday roundup, so leave me your comments!

Here's what I've noticed so far:

Elaine has a super-fab review of Twist: Yoga Poems and interview with the author and illustrator over at Blue Rose Girls. (Elaine does Poetry Fridays right! This is quite the post.)

A Fuse #8 Production is in with two posts: a review of Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme and a Susan Ramsey poem. (Hmmm...seems as if Fuse's mom is just as cool as Fuse is!)

Mo Willems graces us with his presence and a "poem" of his own. Thanks, Mo! You've made our day.

Tricia is thinking spring with Thomas Nashe over at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

Wendy reviews Good Sports, by Jack Prelutsky, at Blog from the Windowsill.

Michele celebrates Christopher Marlowe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's birthdays over at Scholar's Blog.

Eisha shows what Poetry Friday is all about with an entry dedicated to her new favorite poet, Alan Dugan, at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. (Eisha learned of Dugan from Nancy at Journey Woman.)

And Nancy is here with awesome readings of Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven. Be sure to take a listen.

Adrienne brings us some Macbeth over at What Adrienne Thinks About That.

The Old Coot is back with some "Whisky in a Jar" (The Smothers Brothers). It's been a long week--maybe whisky is in order?

Kelly Fineman contributes an excellent poem this week: "Vitæ Summa Brevis," by Ernest Dowson.

Cloudscome celebrates the arrival of spring with bird poems at A Wrung Sponge. (I can't believe Spring has sprung somewhere. Count me jealous!)

Susan talks poetry, The Poetry Foundation, and the Big Gift over at Chicken Spaghetti.

Liz Scanlon shares some group poetry written by 3rd-5th graders during a Young Writer's Worshop. Awesome!

New blogger Charlotte shares Lisa Westberg Peters' "The Yellowstone Whale" (from Earthshake--Poems from the Ground Up) at Charlotte's Library.

HipWriterMama contributes Robert Service's "The Battle of the Bulge." (Drat those Girl Scount cookies!)

Mitali Perkins shares 15-year-old Mel's poem "Mel?" at Mitali's Fire Escape. Mel won the Fire Escape 2006 poetry contest and I can see why. It's a beautiful piece of work. Mel, those "blini s ikroi" are much better than pizza anyday.

Christine M. celebrates The Cat in the Hat at The Simple and the Ordinary.

Liz B. contributes "I am of Ireland" (original and Yeats use of) at A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy.

MotherReader is also celebrating the good dr.'s birthday with lines from The Cat in the Hat Comes Back and an original "Ode to Seuss." [It's excellent! I love these lines: And then all the titles/Popped right out at me/With a surreal neon glimmer./(Note: Avoid LSD.)]

Gregory K. tells us to celebrate Poetry Friday by pulling a Dr. Seuss title from the shelf and giving it a read.

Little Willow contributes Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky with video (!) over at Bildungsroman.

More Lewis Carroll: Miss Erin is in with "The Mad Gardener's Song."

Franki reviews and recommends Jane Yolen's Here's a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry at A Year of Reading.

This just in! Jone celebrates a year of blogging and two new poetry books in her collection over at Check it Out. Happy Blogiversary, Jone!