A brief hiatus--Extended!

***Edited to add:

To the right is Chateau d'If off the coast of Marseille. Location of events in The Count of Monte Cristo.

See you Monday! Weekend internet in Paris equally and unexpectedly bad. Monday we'll be back in London and on the way home. I never thought I'd miss writing and reading about kids' books so much.


Hello Everyone!

Finding internet in France has been more difficult than anticipated. Apparently we are in a post internet, pre-wireless cafe period here in the south of France. So.... I'm off until July 29 when I will be online again consistently.

In the meantime check out Book Moot, Achockablog, Kids Lit, A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy and Wayfarers All for your reviews, news, information and discussion about all things children's books.

Cheers and see you Friday!

Questions

QUESTIONS:

Many questions remain (of course) after reading HP 6.

1) The most obvious is (and everyone is discussing it)—who is R.A.B. and why is he or she after the horcruxes? Most votes seem to go with Regulus Black, of whose death we have been told many times by many characters. My daughter is voting for Amelia Bones. Maybe her first name is Rebecca or something?

2) Will Hermione and Ron end up together in the end? Will they name their first child Harry?

3) Will Bill be cured of his ½ werewolf bite and, more importantly, will he be handsome again?

4) Has Draco become Harry's own Snape? Will he always feel sorry for him?

5) Who is really dead? Sirius' death and the slipping behind the veil was quite different from Dumbledore's death and entombment. Lots of people on the child_lit listserv seem to think that Dumbledore is not really dead, but I think it more likely to be Sirius who can come back from "behind the veil." One thing is for certain—the two deaths were so different from one another that this difference has to be significant.

Well, it was a fun read. And I'm sure there will be more questions. If anyone has more ideas, please let me know. I'd love to add to my very short list! Still in France with limited resources, so I'm moving on to Cornelia Funke's Dragon Rider. I have put off reading this one because I really disliked (gasp!) The Thief Lord and only made it through half of it. But Dragon Rider was on sale at Waterstones, so I thought I'd give it a go.

The Bad (Spoilers)

The Bad (Spoilers):

I write this section with the understanding that there is something off about any book. Which is true in 99% of the cases, I believe. Perfect books are hard to find. Even my favorite, War and Peace (really, I'm not just being hoity-toity here), has a big old 150 page weakness at its end.

Okay, so here is a list of what I didn't care for in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.


Spoilers follow.

1) Snape. How could it have been Snape? And while there's a possibility that he had to kill Dumbledore because of the unbreakable vow he made with Narcissa Malfoy, there's no going back now. He won't be the same Snape—i.e., my favorite character—he was before.

2) Now that Harry and even Ron and Hermione have decided to go out into the world and pursue Voldemort and his horcruxes will it be the end of Hogwarts as far as the reader is concerned? As a huge fan of Blyton's Mallory Towers and St. Claire's in childhood, the school parts of Harry Potter were amongst my favorites.

3) The half-blood prince stuff was totally a red herring unless something else happens in the next volume. It was a bit of a nothing in this tome, that's for sure. I understood the prince was Snape as soon as the potions began succeeding for Harry in class. Maybe Harry will need the book to defeat Snape in the seventh book? Then the whole detour would be worth it.

4) The pairing up. Ron and Hermione should end up together, it's true. And I even liked the strengthening of Ginny as a character and it makes sense that Harry would be attracted to her. She has a large family, she's a strong personality, and she looks like his mother and Mrs. Weasley. But Tonks and Lupin too? What was that all about? I hope it leads to something plot-wise.

5) Speaking of pairing up. Is Gabrielle competition for Ginny? I sure hope not.

I'm sure I'll think of more in the future. (Off the top of my head, for example, I didn't like the Bill/werewolf business, but I think it will have serious plot implications in HP.

The Good

Okay, as I am one of those crazy people who did actually wait for and then enjoy Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I am going to devote 3 days to it in my blog. I've read it twice now and (overall) found it measured up to the others in the series. Leaving the reviews to the reviewers, I'm going to focus on The Good, The Bad, and Questions.

The Good:

1) The writing. The writing and editing in The Half-Blood Prince is much better than in The Order of the Phoenix and parts of The Goblet of Fire despite a few typos here and there.

2) The first chapter races along and drops you directly into the action of the story. I also liked the interaction between the Prime Ministers (although I noticed some of the younger kids interviewed for the Sunday London Times did not like this addition!) Then, in Chapter Two we are whisked away with Dumbledore, while at the same time filled in as to what's been happening in the magical world through newspapers lining Hedwig's cage and Harry's conversations with his teacher.

3) The garden gnomes are back. Need I say more!

4) Ron's appropriately pathetic romance with Lavender Brown is so typical of first relationships, I could hardly believe it. I also like how Rowling acknowledges Ron and Harry are a bit slow in the relationship department.

5) Slughorn! What a great character. Who hasn't known teachers (and others) like Slughorn? Playing favorites, collecting stars, but yet essentially a good person and an excellent teacher.

6) Harry. For the first time I actually liked Harry as a character. She has created a hero who has come through childhood trauma and early adolescence and is maturing into an honorable, good, brave person. We begin to see that he may live up to his promise and curse.

7) Dumbledore's big mistake. This troubled me the first time through. How could Dumbledore, the wise, kind headmaster make such a huge mistake--the mistake that kills him in the end? Dumbledore (or Rowling, who has said--and now I can't remember where--that when she speaks she speaks through Dumbledore or Hermione) explains on p.187 of the British edition: "Naturally I do, but as I have already proven to you, I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being--forgive me--rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger."

The Results are trickling in...

Well, the reviewers are beginning to review! The formidable Michiko Kakutani wrote a favorable review for The New York Times and Robert McCrum questions whether or not HP 6 could stand alone (I also wonder about this) in The Guardian but generally gives the book a good review.


I am now on my second read. I do agree that if you picked up HP 6 without reading any of the others you'd be totally lost. However I found her prose greatly improved from HP5 (though many experts are still weighing in with leaden prose comments and exhortations "to show and not tell"). Harry's development as a character is especially intriguing. I agree with much Kerry has to say at Wayfarers All and look forward finding an internet place I can use reliably (and with an English keyboard) to chime in!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and...

Okay, I have to admit it. I was wrong, apparently, about "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." The New York Times loves it, Stephanie Zacharek (whom I usually trust) loves it, and even David Edelstein, my favorite film reviewer, of Slate finds it to be "freakishly amusing."

Sorry, Tim Burton and Jonny Depp, for douting you!

Incredible Finds in France

Yesterday my sisters, husband, and I visited a medium-sized city (which will remain nameless) somewhere in France. We were just walking along after a leisurely lunch and there in the window of a bookstore were two copies of HP in English. Can you see them?

We walked in and asked if they were for sale. Of course, answered the saleswoman. We have to wait until Saturday to sell the French ones, but you can buy the English ones now. So we did! I'm being a good girl and not saying much about this adventrue, but funny things can happen when you're out and about in unfamiliar territory!

Magic in France

Believe it or not, this--> is where we are staying in France. Isn't it beautiful? A real chateau. This kids are having a great time!

Internet is not easy to find in the Loire Valley. I am currently in the only internet place within 60 miles open today (it's Bastille Day). And we have yet to find wireless at all.

Today I am catching up on endless e-mails discussing the literary merits or lack thereof of Harry Potter. I'm not sure why anyone cares, really. Millions of people love the books and, frankly, that's good enough. Dickens was not considered to be "literary", yet we read him as such today. I for one consider the Narnia books too blatantly programmatic to be literary, yet the same folks who criticize Harry hold Narnia up a "literary" children's fiction. To each his own, I say!

Horrid Henry

Nicolette Jones has a new reading list for the summer in the Sunday Times. Jones recommends the newest title in the wonderful Horrid Henry series by Francesca Simon. These books are wonderful! I am currently reading them to my four-year-old and he laughs and laughs at Henry's antics (and at Henry's clueless parents).

In the first chapter of the first book, Horrid Henry tries to be perfect just like his brother Perfect Peter--just to see what will happen. Here's an example of what follows:

Back home, when Perfect Peter built a castle, Henry did not knock it down. Instead, Henry sat on the sofa and read a book.
Mum and Dad ran into the room.
"It's awfully quiet in here," said Mum. "Are you being horrid, Henry?"
"No," said Henry.
"Peter, is Henry knocking your castle down?"
Peter longed to say "yes". But that would be a lie.
"No," said Peter.
He wondered why Henry was behaving so strangely.
"What are you doing, Henry?" said Dad.
"Reading a wonderful story about some super mice," said Henry.
Dad had never seen Henry read a book before. He checked to see if a comic was hidden inside.
There was no comic. Henry was actually reading a book.
"Hmmmmm," said Dad.

Lots of other things happens, not the least of which is that Perfect Peter loses his cool and throws spaghetti at dinner. The chapter concludes with, "Who would have thought being perfect would be such fun?"

Summer Picks in July?

All these wonderful summer reading lists from the U.K. tell us one thing beyond what to read. Kids are only getting out of school now. I hope they all have a wonderful holiday!

Speakikng of holidays, we're off to France today on the Chunnel. I'm a bit nervous, but I'm sure it will be okay. I may be out of touch for a few days!

Platform 9 3/4

My Harry Potter fan finally made it to Platform 9 3/4 today. Her brother tagged along too. Behind us waited a French family. Behind them was a British family.

Speaking of the Harry Potter, if you're an adult waiting to read it, Joel Stein thinks you're stupid. I wonder if he's even read Ulysses?

The Guardian (again!) has a new list of summer reads up for kids this morning. Besides the usual suspects (Potter, another G.P. Taylor) there are some interesting suggestions. I'm going to definitely check out Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz.

The kids rode on the upper deck of a double-decker yesterday and were quite proud of themselves. They plan on doing the same today enroute to the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert (the Underground is too much for my little one, not to mention the fact that all the stations around us are still closed). This evening we'll finally venture into King's Cross for our touristy picture of 9 and 3/4. We're also going to finally make it to Trafalgar Square. We tried to feed the Pigeons on the July 6, but Olympic Celebrations had closed the square down!

Frank Cottrell Boyce tells the Guardian this morning that writing a children's book was his greatest ambition.

It's interesting that this year both Boyce and Riddell (the winner of the Kate Greenaway award for illustration) were succesful writers/illustrators in completely different fields--Boyce as a screenwriter and Riddell as a political cartoonist.

Here's a link to Chris Riddell's political cartoons.

Boyce is also nominated for the new Quills Awards (thanks to Anastasia Suen at Create/Relate for the link). It will be interesting to see how these awards work. Consumers will be voting--either online or at Borders--for one of five finalists in each of nineteen categories!

In other news, Slate has a great roundup of new music for kids. Things have come a long way in the past few years! (And, no, Raffi is not on the list.)

London on July 8

Via achockablog, the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards ceremony has been postponed in England. Announcements were due nonetheless this morning, July 8.

Well... it was just announced that Frank Cottrell Boyce has won for Millions (Carnegie) and Chris Riddell has won for illustrations (Kate Greenaway) to Martin Jenkin's Gulliver. Congratulations! The short list nominees for both the Carnegie and the Kate Greenaway awards were amazing as well.

My favorite writer for adults wrote a brief editorial piece notable for it amazingly apt title "How could we have forgotten this was always going to happen?" for today's Guardian. London is impressive and wonderful this morning. Our neighborhood--Russell Square--is still partially cordoned off, but everyone is going about his or her business. On the Underground, on the buses (even on the top decks!), on the streets. Beautiful.

No Kids Books Today

Well, I'm currently located in a hotel 2 blocks from the Russell Square station and 1 block from Kings Cross in London. Kids, husband, and I were headed to Kings Cross station this morning to get on the underground (they were headed toward the Natural History Museum in Chelsea by way of the Underground and I to the British Library) and began passing sooty people all headed the other direction. Taking a clue, we decided to head back to the hotel and, perhaps, go to the British Museum instead. Uh, no chance. We are now cordoned off in our hotel. We'll see what happens. I hope all is well. London is my favorite city in the world.

Roald Dahl and Adults?

Camille at Book Moot and Michael at Achockablog are discussing Anthony Horowitz's article for The Telegraph on Roald Dahl. Horowitz's article focuses on Dahl's staying power (50 years and counting) and the appeal of his "cheerful malevolence."

Margaret Talbot takes quite a different approach for her article on Dahl for The New Yorker, focusing instead on Dahl's critics. I actually had not known there are adults who don't like Dahl, adults who ask his books be pulled from library shelves because "children misbehave and take retribution on adults, and there’s never, ever a consequence for their actions." My goodness, isn't that part of the point of children's books? Fortunately, Talbot defends Dahl concluding, "Dahl’s purse-lipped critics fail to recognize that his stories don’t merely indulge a child’s fantasies—they replenish them."

I adore the highly negative, stylized adults in Dahl's world. True they are usually awful, but they are also not real. (Though it can be argued that many adults are that monstrous to children.) And, there is always a liminal adult figure in Dahl's stories (Charlie's grandfather, Miss Honey) who negotiates and translates the adult world for the child. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remains my daughter's all time favorite book, loved more than Harry Potter, The Little Princess, and others.

All this attention on Dahl comes with the anticipated release of Tim Burton's new rendition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I've actually already posted my concerns about this one. I hope I'm wrong!

On the Move with Children's Literature

We made it to London!

It's all Harry all the time here--with posters on buses, in the bookstores, in the airports, on walls, etc.

Speaking of Harry (and it's the last time, I promise, until I read the darn thing)...bets are being placed on the death promised in Book Six. I had been ignoring said deaths until I read this article in The Guardian. I'm not sure I'm ready for it.

In other news, there's a new site up devoted to Soviet children's literature. (Great research and design by Irena Murray, Tatiana Bedjanian, Vlad Nabok, and David McKnight.) While the message in some of these books (especially the ones devoted to women and "agit-prop") can be disturbing, the art is universally stunning and worth a look.

Finally, I'd like to mention that Ramona the Pest is just as engrossing to a four-year-old boy as it was to his sister. In my opinion, this is one of the markers of a great book and a great writer. Elizabeth Kennedy has an interesting overview of Cleary's career and approach to children's lit this month on her About.com column.

Film for Children, Blogging, and Other Matters

The British Film Institute has come up with a list of ten essential films all children should know. Some of them I understand--E.T., Billy Elliot, The Princess Bride, My Life as a Dog-- but I don't know many youngsters who would sit down and watch Buster Keaton. Of Miyazaki's films, the film institute selected Spirited Away. Spirited Away IS a great film, but I'm not sure I have ever really understood it well. My personal love is for My Friend Totoro.

In other (blogging) news, The New York Times has a great article (with a funny title) on blogging and writing today. Blogging really does up the word count, I've found. And, if writing and reading is your thing, a new dictionary may be in order: Camille over at Book Moot has the scoop.

Finally, we're off to London today. Our dodgy hotel claims to have wireless, but we'll see. I've saved a great read for the trip--Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I began reading it in January. The first 100 pages flew by in a flash and I knew I wanted to wait and savor it for a time when I wasn't stressed, teaching, etc. I devoted the winter to Henning Mankell's dark Sweden.

Summers are for Reading

Tomorrow we'll be taking off for London. And what is first on our to-do list? Searching out missing titles from my daughter's Enid Blyton collection. I know that Enid Blyton is not considered to be the most literary of children's writers, but I loved her series as a child and now so does my daughter. My favorite was The Famous Five series, while my daughter prefers the boarding school books (especially The Naughtiest Girl). We've acquired a few here and there in used bookstores and on ebay, but she has a list of missing numbers and is ready to buy (used, I hope, on Portobello Road).

Other interesting reading today: Henry Fountain's article "Summertime, and the Livin' Is Crazy" in The New York Times. We don't have any such opportunities in Smalltown. The grass is always greener, I suppose.

Waiting for Harry

Michelle Slatalla describes ordering Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince online in a funny article for The New York Times. I hope for her sake that she's made the right decision! (She chose Amazon)

We're going to be in the south of France with no guaranteed access to the new Harry Potter. My 9-year old daughter is very worried and, frankly, so am I. We may have to (gasp!) wait until August to purchase it.

The message boards I frequent (not HP sites like Mugglenet or The Leaky Cauldron) are predicting Godric Gryffindor, Hagrid, or someone new as the half-blood prince. I was hoping it would be Snape, but apparently JKR has denied this somewhere.

I have to admit that this question doesn't trouble me too much. I'm more interested to find out if Harry is more comforatble in his own skin now that he is a bit older and has lived through much more, if Ron will wake up and realize he likes Hermione (and what will happen if he does), what will become of Dumbledore (and why is Dumbledore so interested in Harry), etc.

Also--a funny article from McSweeney's on the cover art for Book 6. I also noticed the radical color change to green!