Tuesday Review Roundup

Okay, it's actually Wednesday (see previous post), but here goes: Tuesday's Review Roundup.

This time, I'm going to refrain from commenting or chatting. Just the facts: title, author, blog. A linkfest in its purest form. If I've forgotten you, please send me an e-mail or comment.

Picture Book

• Abigale the Happy Whale, by Peter Farrelly and illustrated by Jamie Rama (reviewed by Anne at Book Buds)
• The Princess and the Pea, by Lauren Child and illustrated by Polly Borland (reviewed by Deb at Book Buds)
• Hit The Ball Duck, by Jez Alborough (reviewed by Catherine at Book Carousel)
• Little Sap and Monsieur Rodin, by Michelle Lord and illustrated by Felicia Hoshino (reviewed by Camille at Book Moot; also reviewed by Liz B. at A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy)
• Mirette & Bellini Cross Niagara Falls, by Emily Arnold McCully (reviewed by Camille at Book Moot)
• Raising a Little Stink, by Colleen Sydor and Pascale Constantin (reviewed by Liz B. at A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy)
• Capsule reviews of many titles (reviewed by Susan at Chicken Spaghetti)
• Sid and Sam, by Nola Buck (early reader; reviewed by Susan at Chicken Spaghetti)
• My Father's Shop, by Satomi Ichikawa (reviewed by A Fuse #8 Production)
• A Mouse Called Junction, by Julia Cunningham (reviewed by A Fuse #8 Production)
• Else-Marie and Her Seven Little Daddies, by Pija Lindenbaum (reviewed by A Fuse #8 Production; also reviewed by Chris at Bartography)
• When You Were Small, by Sara O'Leary and illustrated by Julie Morstad (reviewed by A Fuse #8 Production)
• Just Teenie, by Susan Meddaugh (reviewed by Tasha at Kids Lit)
• Froggy Rides a Bike, by Jonathan London and illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz (reviewed by Tasha at Kids Lit)
• Who Likes the Wind? by Etta Kaner and illustrated by Marie Lafrance (reviewed by Tasha at Kids Lit)
• Nice Wheels, by Gwendolyn Hooks (reviewed by PJ Librarian at The Magic of Books)
• Crictor, by Tomi Ungerer (reviewed by Melissa at Here in the Bonny Glen)

Middle Grade

• Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins and Wolf Brother, by Michele Paver with spoilers (reviewed by Becky at Bec's Book Reports on May 30)
• The Adventures of Commander Zack Proton and the Red Giant, by Brian Anderson and illustrated by Doug Holgate (reviewed by Camille at Book Moot)
• The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan (reviewed by me at Big A little a; also reviewed by Leila at Bookshelves of Doom)
• Endymion Spring, Matthew Skelton (reviewed by Michele at Scholar's Blog)
• The Callahan Cousins: Summer Begins, by Elizabeth Doyle Carey (reviewed by Little Willow at Slayground)
• The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner (reviewed by Emily at Swarm of Beasts)
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo (reviewed by Gail at Original Content)
• The Hidden Staircase, by Carolyn Keene (reviewed by Leila at Bookshelves of Doom)
• Horns & Wrinkles, by Joseph Helgerson (reviewed by Leila at Bookshelves of Doom)

Young Adult

• Tangerine, by Edward Bloor (reviewed by Becky at Bec's Book Reports on May 26)
• London Calling, by Edward Bloor (reviewed by Camille at Book Moot; also reviewed by The Goddess of YA; Okay, I know I said I wouldn't comment, but, man, do I want this book!)
• Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko (reviewed by Maureen at Confessions of a Bibliovore)
• Bad Girls in Love, by Cynthia Voigt (reviewed by Maureen at Confessions of a Bibliovore)
• The Boy Who Ate Stars, by Kochka (reviewed by A Fuse #8 Production)
• Part of Me, by Kimberly Willis Holt (reviewed by The Goddess of YA)
• It's Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini (reviewed by Jen at Jen Robinson's Book Page)
• Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, by James Patterson (reviewed by Jen at Jen Robinson's Book Page)
• Happy Kid!, by Gail Gauthier (reviewed by me at Big A little a)
• Bass Ackwards and Belly Up, by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain (reviewed by me at Big A little a)
• Between Mom and Jo, by Julie Anne Peters (reviewed by me at Big A little a)
• Here Lies the Librarian, by Richard Peck (reviewed by PJ Librarian at The Magic of Books)
• Incantation, by Alice Hoffman (reviewed by Mindy at Propernoun.net)
• Notes From the Midnight Driver, by Jordan Sonnenblick (reviewed by Mindy at Propernoun.net)
• The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde (reviewed by Michele at Scholar's Blog)
• Pish Posh, by Ellen Potter (reviewed by Little Willow at Slayground)
• Super WHAT? by Jax Abbott (reviewed by Emily at Swarm of Beasts)
• Rebel Angels, by Libba Bray (reviewed by Emily at Swarm of Beasts)
• Pretties, by Scott Westerfeld (reviewed by Gail at Original Content)
• The Looking Glass Wars, by Frank Beddor (reviewed by Leila at Bookshelves of Doom)
• Spy High: Mission One, by A. J. Butcher (reviewed by Leila at Bookshelves of Doom)
• The Folk Keeper, by Franny Billingsley (reviewed by Natalie at Lives to Read)

Non-Fiction

• Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon, by Catherine Thimmesh (reviewed by Anne at Book Buds)
• Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss and illustrated by Bonnie Timmons (reviewed by Becky at Farm School)
• What Do Wheels Do All Day? by April Jones Prince and illustrated by Giles Laroche(reviewed by Tasha at Kids Lit)
• Quilt of States: Piecing Together America by Adrienne Yorinks (reviewed by PJ Librarian at The Magic of Books)
• The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights, by Russell Freedman (reviewed by Emily at Swarm of Beasts)
• Tour America: A Journey Through Poems and Art, by Diane Siebert and Stephen T. Johnson (reviewed by Chris at Bartography)

Other

• You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When it Monsoons: The World on One Cartoon a Day, by Mo Willems (adult; reviewed by Liz B. at A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy; also reviewed by A Fuse #8 Production)
• The Book of Bunny Suicides, by Andy Riley (adult; reviewed by Liz B. at A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy)
• The Summer Book, by Tove Jansson (adult; reviewed by Michele at Scholar's Blog)
• Her Majesty’s Dog, by Mick Takeuchi (anime; reviewed by TangognaT)

This week's most popular category? Young Adult Fiction! This week's most prolific reviewer? A Fuse #8 Production!

Jarrett J. Krosoczka

I'm working through my blogroll putting together the review roundup, but I wanted to direct your attention to an interesting article by Cate McQuaid at The Boston Globe about Jarrett J. Krosoczka, his books, and a Punk Farm movie project.

Starbucks Audiobooks

Everyone is talking about Starbucks' move into book retailing. Here's what AP is reporting (via USAToday):

• "Meryl Streep is narrating a pair of children's classics, The Velveteen Rabbit and The Night Before Christmas, that will be released later this year as audiobooks at Starbucks coffeehouses."

I only bring this up because I need your help. I don't understand this at all. Why would anyone buy a four-minute audiobook? Why wouldn't you just read The Velveteen Rabbit to a kid? I understand ten-hour audiobooks--for the car, on the airplane, etc. But why would you want a picture book audiobook? Can anyone explain this to me?

Um.....

...you mean today is Wednesday?

Darn! Those three day weekends can really mess a girl up. I spent all day yesterday thinking it was Monday. Only this morning did I wake up and realize, I'd missed Review Round-up Tuesday!

I'm off to work now on the Wednesday edition of Tuesday Reviews. See you in a couple of hours.

Review: Happy Kid!

I've been waiting for many a month to read Happy Kid!, by Gail Gauthier. First of all, I love Gail's blog. She's a great writer with a funny, dry sense of humor. Second, Camille at Book Moot had already given the book a big thumbs up at The Edge of the Forest.

I'm happy to report that Happy Kid! is all I expected it to be. It's laugh-out-loud funny and a sharp piece of social commentary at the same time. I loved the main character, Kyle, and his family (especially his safety-conscious grandmother), as well as all the kids at Bert P. Trotts Middle School. Here's the long and short of it:

Kyle's sixth-grade year did not end well. One day on the school bus, a screwdriver he made in Technology falls out of his backpack and catches the attention of the bus driver. Well, you can guess what happens to poor Kyle. Yep. He's accused of bringing a weapon to school. And, although charges were not pressed when it became clear he made the screwdriver under the supervision of a teacher, the whole school finds out about the incident.

Kyle spends the summer holed up in his room. Just before school starts, his mom gives him a present: Happy Kid! A Young Person's Guide to Satisfying Relationships and a Happy and Meaning-filled Life!. Kyle is not feeling happy--about school or this ridiculous book. But his mom bribes him--one dollar per chapter.

Soon Kyle discovers the book falls open to the same page time and time again--until he addresses the problem or suggestion the chapter entails. The first chapter he encounters is, "It All Begins with Hello! Building great relationships begins with the word "hello"!" You can't build a satisfying relationship if you won't even open your mouth." (p. 12) And, sure enough, Kyle finds himself saying "hello" to everyone at school on the first day.

Over the course of a few months, Kyle tries something new, reconnects with old friends, learns to look on the bright side, figures out how to fight fires, and stands up for someone who needs help. In the end, the book instructs Kyle to give it to someone who needs it more.

Happy Kid! is more than a story of Kyle's learning to navigate the treacherous waters of Middle School. School testing and Accelerated Classes play a large role in the plot of the novel and no social group is safe from scrutiny.

Happy Kid! is a Young Adult novel for kids ages ten to fourteen. It's funny and touching and Gauthier does a great job in showing the adult world through the eyes of a confused seventh-grader. Happy Kid! is highly recommended and a Favorite of 2006.

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize

The long list has been released for the Guardian's Children's Fiction Prize. The eight selected books (with U.S. publication info) are:

• Clay, by David Almond (out July 25 in the U.S. and on my "to read soon" pile)
• Framed, by Frank Cottrell Boyce (out Sept. 1 in the U.S.)
• Blown Away, by Patrick Cave
• A Swift Pure Cry, by Siobhan Dowd (out Feb 7, 2007 in the U.S.)
• Fly By Night, by Frances Hardinge (just out May 1 in the States and also on my "to read soon" pile)
• A Darkling Plain, by Philip Reeve
• The Survival Game, by Tim Wynne-Jones
• The Worst Witch Saves the Day by Jill Murphy (already published in the U.S.)

Challenges on the Blogs

A couple of kidlit bloggers are putting us to the test with two very different challenges.

• Jen at Jen Robinson's Book Page is compiling a list of Cool Girls from Children's Literature. Lyra and Hermione are my two favorites. Who are yours? Head on over and vote, if you haven't yet.
• MotherReader challenges kidlit bloggers to a forty-eight hour read and review-off. How many books can you read and review during the weekend of June 16? I'm afraid I'll fare poorly as I'll be traveling with two children over that weekend, but still I'm game. Which forty eight hours is up to the individual blogger.

Sunday's News and Reviews

Nicolette Jones disagrees with Amanda Craig's reading of The Road of Bones (by Anne Fine) at the Times. The Road of Bones is the Times "Children's Book of the Week." Jones says of Fine's new novel, "evidently based on the Soviet Union under Stalin, although it never names either the leader or the regime":

• "The shocking ending shows how tyranny is born, and that nothing is learnt from brutality except how to be brutal. This book is subtle, stimulating and morally complex, but it is also evocative and convincing: we feel keenly the chill of both soulless hegemony and its frozen wastes. "

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Donna Novak covers how one librarian want to add some cool factor to her library for teens (The Boston Globe).

• Gaye Kulvete follows the lead of a Michigan librarian (Bill Harmer), who organized a 35-stop library tour for the bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre Band and The High Strung. Kulvete hired the bands for her library in MA, The Groton Public Library .

The question is, then, do teens go into the library after the concerts?

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Chris d'Lacey's Icefire is the Washington Post "Book of the Week."

I saw this one in the bookstore yesterday, and thought I should pick it up. You see, my five year old's favorite book is Cornelia Funke's Dragonrider. He still can't read, but I've read it to him and he's listened to the audio book too many times to count. Icefire ("This magical tale involves a powerful clay dragon that belongs to a boy named David. Add some mystical polar bears, and you've got a dragon story unlike any you have ever read") sounds perfect!

The Sea of Monsters

There have been so many good articles about children's lit today, I'm afraid my review of The Sea of Monsters may have been buried amongst it all. And, I really want you guys to read this book. So here's a link to the review!

(Blogger users, do you know if you can rearrange your posts in any way short of deleting and reposting?)

Saturday's Sunday Reviews

Elizabeth Ward reviews "other world" titles in her "For Young Readers" column. Books reviewed include:

• Avi, Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation. I like what Ward calls Avi very much: "the man with one name but 1,001 story ideas." Funny! In any case, Ward also liked this one.
• Guus Kuijer, The Book of Everything (an "electrifying short novel")
• Chris Abouzeid, Anatopsis. Except for the fact Ward calls this novel "new" (it was written 20 years ago) and rides on the coat tails of Jane Yolen and Rick Riordan, it's a good review. ("witty romp"). ETA: Michele reminds me that the first draft was written 20 years ago, but that Abouzeid rewrote Anatopsis for publication. (Thanks, Michele!) Still, it's not derivative.
• Anne Ursu, The Shadow Thieves ("the novel is about 50 pages too long--but the whole thing is redeemed by Ursu's signature playfulness")

Ursula Le Guin and Anne Fine

Amanda Craig reviews Ursula Le Guin's Voices and Anne Fine's The Road of Bones for the Times.

Of Le Guin's Voices, Craig writes, "Children will want a lot more magic, but as an allegory about how freedom can be snatched from political oppression, Voices is excellent. "

Anne Fine's The Road of Bones fares less well: "Fine, the former Children’s Laureate, has addressed many contemporary problems, from divorce to bullying, with a robust and engaging wit. This is a departure from form, an angry, biting book about the horrors of the former Soviet Union that will repel and confuse many children. "

I'm actually quite interested in reading Fine's book. It's an unusual topic and one I think older teens might find compelling.

Boys and Girls and Fiction

Josh Lacey takes a look at spy fiction for boys for the Guardian. Lacey begins with the following question and scenario:

• "Why don't boys read fiction? This is a question that is often asked by worried parents, teachers, librarians and other guardians of public morality. The answer, of course, is that boys do read fiction. If they didn't, publishers wouldn't be spitting out so many books aimed specifically at them. Pursuing the success of Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series, most follow fairly neat guidelines."

Lacey reviews a series by Andy McNab and Robert Rigby (the first book Boy Soldier, was published in the U.S. last spring; future titles are forthcoming) and finds, "It's all good dirty fun, assisted by lots of jargon, acronyms, gadgets and authentic-seeming procedures," but also has some "sadism" and "carnage."

Lacey also considers Higson's Young Bond series and Robert Muchamore's Cherub series and finds them both fun reads. And, despite "clunky writing," Lacey recommends the Cherub series (first two titles, The Recruit and The Dealer have been published in the U.S.; future titles forthcoming), writing, "his characters are lively, likable and completely believable, his plots are gripping and his stories have surprisingly serious undertones."

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Julia Eccleshare considers what girls like to read and writes:

• "Seen as the more natural and omnivorous readers, pre-teenage girls are now far less explicitly targeted by authors/ publishers than are boys. And it shows."

Eccleshare takes a look at new publications at The Hay Festival and highlights the following new titles:

• Jaqueline Wilson, Candyfloss. ("Wilson handles the family difficulties with her usual deftness, and Floss's mix of resourcefulness and hopelessness is endearing and convincing.")
• Jeanette Winterton, Tanglewreck
• Cathy Cassidy, Scarlett ("...captures the fury of girl teen rebels everywhere, especially those living with the aftermath of family break-up.")
• Malorie Blackman, Checkmate ("As the trilogy has unfolded, Blackman has escalated the tension, giving insight into what prejudice is and why it leads young people to rebel against the pigeonholes in which they are trapped.")
• Sue Limb, Girl 16: Pants on Fire ("Against a background of duplicitous friends, confusing families and unfair teachers, Jess's embarrassments will be all too easy to identify with.")
• Meg Rosoff, How I Live Now ("Rosoff's themes - and the situations she creates to illustrate them - are as profound and challenging as anything published for adults in the past few years.")

Review: The Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson is back in The Sea of Monsters, the second volume of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. And, guess what? You'll hardly believe it, but The Sea of Monsters is even BETTER than The Lightning Thief.

Percy makes his way back to Camp Half-Blood after another disastrous school year. Annabeth arrives to rescue Percy and a young homeless boy named Tyson after Percy inadvertently (a battle with giants) sets the school gym on fire.

When Percy arrives to Camp Half-Blood, he discovers a couple of disturbing facts. First of all, the homeless kid he befriended at school is actually a Cyclops. Second, Chiron is gone and has been replaced by Tantalus, whose idea of fun are chariot races to the death. Also, when the camp debates where to house Tyson the Cyclops, Poseidon claims him as his own son! Meaning, Tyson is Percy's half-brother.

Before long, Grover (the satyr from The Lightning Thief) begins invading Percy's dreams and Percy learns Grover is being held by Polyphemus, a huge, ancient Cyclops guarding the Golden Fleece on an idyllic island in the Sea of Monsters.

Percy and Annabeth present the situation to the campers, who cry for a Quest. Tantalus selects Clarisse (daughter of Ares) to undertake the Quest. But, needless to say, Annabeth, Tyson, and Percy also set out to rescue Grover, take the Golden Fleece and save Camp Half-Blood. And, Percy has help this time from from Hermes, father of Percy's nemesis, Luke.

The Sea of Monsters is a faced-paced adventure story. But it's also more than that. Riordan has really hit his stride with this one and I found myself dog-earing the book on pages with particularly funny passages. Here's one that made me laugh out loud:

• We did all the standard camp numbers: "Down by the Aegean." "I Am My Own Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandpa." "This land is Minos's Land." (p. 89)

Or, when Annabeth gives in to the Sirens' song in order to learn about herself, the following dialogue takes place between Annabeth and Percy:

• "My fatal flaw. That's what the Sirens showed me. My fatal flaw is hubris."
• I blinked. "That brown stuff they spread on veggie sandwiches?"
• She rolled her eyes. "No, Seaweed Brain. That's hummus. Hubris is worse."
• "What could be worse than hummus?" (p. 199)

And how can you dislike a book with the chapter title, "We Meet the Sheep of Doom"? You can't. It's that simple. This book rocks. Big Time. And, it's a Favorite of 2006.

Nancy Wride profiles children's writer Priscilla Maltbie for the Los Angeles Times.

Maltbie is a paraplegic, who was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. She's also the author of Picasso and Minou, a wonderful picture book published in 2005. Picasso and Minou is illustrated by Pau Estrada.

Maltbie is writing another book currently again featuring a cat and his famous partner. This time, the famous human is Mark Twain.

Malthbie lives, writes, and signs books in a nursing home. A fascinating and inspiring article.

New Blogs

Like Liz B. (A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy) and Susan (Chicken Spaghetti), I want to highlight the launch of two new blogs.

• Michele, our resident Sorceress of Fantasy at Scholar's Blog, has begun a new blog called Scholar's Blog Spoiler Zone. I actually like spoilers a lot. I enjoy a book more if I know what will happen in the end. But, apparently, I'm weird that way and many of Michele's readers don't agree. So, spoilers go onto the new blog.
• Melissa Wiley of Here in the Bonny Glen has a new ClubMom blog, called The Lilting House. Congrats, Melissa!

Poetry Friday: Review

Okay, first I must preface this post by saying that last week I was a bad, bad blogger. I forgot, completely forgot, to link the other Poetry Friday contributors. It won't happen again!

Also, I wanted to give a big shout out and thanks to Ella of Box of Books for sending readers my way when shutting down her poetry Fridays. I hope you'll be back sometime soon, Ella!

Okay, this Poetry Friday contribution is a review of a picture book by Tony Mitton (illustrations by Selina Young) called Once Upon a Tide. The good thing about Poetry Fridays and kid books is that many, many children's books are actually rhyming, so there's lots of material.

Enough rambling on my part. Here we go:

Once Upon a Tide
by Tony Mitton, illustrations by Selina Young

Once Upon a Tide is a picture book in verse for the very young. It is narrated from the point of view of a young boy who tells of his adventures at the sea with his older sister, Bess. (Actually, Bess looks like his sister, but it isn't clear from the text.) In any case, the story begins as follows:

Down by the seashore
Bess and I
stood on the sand
and looked at the sky.

Bess got the hammer.
I got the saw.
We both built a boat
right there on the shore.

And off they go. They make a sail, meet a Sea Captain and a whale. They find an island and buried treasure. Pirates make an appearance, only to be frightened away by the whale. And then they sail home and build a hut from their boat. The story concludes:

We made our home
on that same shore.
And we both lived there
forever more,
singing songs
of far-off seas,
with children sitting
round our knees...

Once Upon a Tide is a bit fanciful, not always logical, but always charming. Selina Young's illustrations are warm and child-friendly. They bring the magic of the sea to life. Highly recommended for the very young.
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Oh, my goodness. When doing a search for Selina Young, I found she is deceased at the age of 35. What a tragedy. Her illustrations are gorgeous.
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Kidlit bloggers are up and at 'em early this morning! It must be the summer-like weather.
Speaking of summer, Liz B. shares "Casey at the Bat" at A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy.
Michele is celebrating the beautiful weather with Gerard Manley Hopkins' "Spring" at Scholar's Blog.
Melissa Wiley shares the Dylan Thomas poem ("Fern Hill") that inspired the name for her new ClubMom blog, The Lilting House.
Chris Barton travels the country vicariously with a review of Tour America: A Journey Through Poems and Art at Bartography.
Anne at Book Buds shares an e.e. cummings poem any parent can appreciate.
Jen Robinson brings us Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride" at Jen Robinson's Book Page.
Susan at Chicken Spaghetti quotes Julia Donaldson's wonderful "A Day in My Life" (a poem I must glue to my computer, pronto!)
Little Willow cites three gorgeous lines from David Levithan's The Realm of Possiblity at Slayground.
MotherReader writes her own FIB, "Ode to Mo" (You know who she's talking about!)
Leila at Bookshelves of Doom reminds us poetry can be banned too!
Christine M. at The Simple and the Ordinary weighs in with a beautiful Arthur Guiterman poem called "The Whole Duty of a Poem."

Sick of Fairies

I've always loved Cicely Mary Barker's Flower Fairies, but, truth be told, they don't really fit my personality. So, they're gone, despite the fact I think they're beautiful in a kitchy sort of way.

Meet my new friend--a witchy black cat. Fits much better, I'm afraid to say!

Summer Reading Lists

Bob Minzesheimer recommends summer reading for the youngsters at USAToday.

Two titles caught my interest in particular. They are:

• Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference! by Lynne Truss (illustrated by Bonnie Timmons). Call me a geek, but I really can't wait for this one.
• Gideon the Cutpurse by Linda Buckley-Archer. "First in series about 21st-century kids whose anti-gravity machine lands in 18th-century London." Sounds interesting!

And in a completely different vein...

Bass Ackwards and Belly Up, by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain.

While Between Mom and Jo is a serious, heartbreaking novel, Back Ackwards and Belly Up is pure fluff. But it's good fluff and lots of fun.

Four best friends are headed off to college. (There's more than a nod to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants here--there are several references in the novel as well.) On the evening before departure day, one of the girls, Harper, announces she's not attending NYU as planned, but instead will stay home and write the Great American Novel. Harper's announcement sets of a chain of events certain to upset parents everywhere. Sophie decides she will not attend college either, but instead heads out to LA and follow her dream of becoming an actress. Straight-laced, perfect Kate (Harvard-bound, no less) decides to defer enrollment and to travel abroad instead. Only Becca, afraid of love, sets out for college. After all, to ski at Middlebury IS her dream.

There is only one big problem with this scenario (besides the parents, that is). Harper lied about her dream. While it is true she wants to write, the fact is she was rejected to NYU and it was the only school she applied to. Throughout the novel, she feels guilty that her false "dream" inspired her friends to follow theirs.

Bass Ackwards and Belly Up follows each of the four girls over the course of four months through first-person narration, e-mails, letters, and phone conversations. The girls learn about themselves and each other and, needless to say, happy endings abound.

I liked some of the girls' stories more than others. Kate's trip through Europe and the challenges she accepts and meets were particularly compelling to me as a reader. Harper's struggle to write and to hide her big lie was also true-to-life and painful. I even enjoyed Becca's challenge to find true love, despite the fall out from the traumatic divorce and remarriages of her parents. Sophie's dream to become an actress in LA was less appealing to me, though I suspect many teens will be inspired.

Back Ackwards and Belly Up is a perfect beach read. Young girls are going to love it.

Review: Between Mom and Jo

Julie Anne Peters' Between Mom and Jo is a serious novel about what happens when a never-married couple breaks up after a long term relationship and after having a son.

The story is told from the son's point of view and you feel for this kid (Nick) who has to struggle with losing a parent, the selfish, but well-meaning, control of his birth mother, and the introduction of a "new parent" all at the same time. And, there's a hitch: Nick's parents are a same-sex couple.

Nick has already suffered discrimination at school, in the neighborhood, and with his otherwise kindly grandparents because of his two moms and is just feeling relatively stable and safe when his biological mother, Erin, is diagnosed with breast cancer. This sends everything into a tailspin. His other mom, Jo, begins drinking even more. A new friend, Kerri, becomes everpresent in the home.

When Erin kicks Jo out and sets up house with Kerri, Nick is steamed. More than steamed. He feels lost, betrayed, alone. While Erin is his biological parent, Jo is, as Nick puts it, his "real mom." He wants to live with Jo, while Erin is determined to keep him. Nick acts out in a number of ways and his frustration is palpable.

Between Mom and Jo is what I like to call high Young Adult--in other words, it deals with mature themes and controversial issues (drinking, same sex marriages, swearing), so it isn't for the very young. But, Between Mom and Jo is an extremely compelling novel. Nick is a wonderfully attractive narrator--you feel for him in his frustration and completely understand him even when he's badly behaved. What the adults have done to him, often out of good intentions, has been destructive and hurtful and, most of all, unfair.

While Young Adult fiction is not my favorite genre, Between Mom and Jo held me from the very beginning. Highly recommended for the thirteen-and-over crowd.

Leila reviewed this title at Bookshelves of Doom recently as well.

Summer Reading at Slate

Slate discovers what writers and other literary types take to the beach on their summer holidays. Children's literature makes an appearance:

• Joan Acocella, critic, The New Yorker recommends Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy because, "it's hair-raising and also quite serious. You get to visit hell." (I'd be cheering right now, but Acocella also recommends The DaVinci Code.)
• Laura Miller, critic, Salon, says she has little time for recreational reading, "But on those rare occasions when I'm not reading for work, I like to reread the books I loved as a child to remind myself of the pleasures that started me down this path to begin with." This summer she wants to read Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series.

Lemony Snicket's summer advice

Lemony Snicket has advice for the youngsters as to what they should do over the summer.

Via the Los Angeles Times:

• "'Mr. Snicket believes that summertime is such a dangerous season, what with sunburn and melted ice cream and the possibility of summer camp, that it's best to stay indoors and read,' said Snicket's 'representative,' Daniel Handler, who still denies the overwhelming evidence that he is in fact the author of the million-selling Snicket books, A Series of Unfortunate Events"

Snicket's advice comes with a Barnes and Noble Promotion in which kids, after recording their summer reading in a A Summer of Unfortunate Events' journal, will receive free books at Barnes and Noble for eight completed.

Tuesday Review Roundup (Blogger edition)

Tuesdays are slow days in kidlit news. So, I'm instituting a regular review roundup here at Big A little a so I can highlight the reviews of the past week on the blogs. This is partly for myself, and partly to have a record of what's been reviewed lately and where. As usual, if I've missed someone or something, please give me a holler by e-mail or in the comments.

Picture Books

• Becky at Bec's Book Blog reviews Hooway for Wodney Wat, by Helen Lester (illustrated by Lynne Munsinger). It's one of her great "retro reviews."
• Anne reviews Waiting for Gregory, by Kimberly Willis Holt (illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska) at Book Buds. Anne's conclusion sums it up: "I can only imagine what happens when an author picks up the galleys to her book and sees all this. Holt must've thought 'Sheesh, did I win the illustrator jackpot, or what?'"
• Anne also reviews Stellina, by Matteo Pericoli and Gossie and Friends, by Olivia Dunrea at Book Buds.
• Wendy reviews There is a Flower at the Tip of My Nose Smelling Me, by Alice Walker (illustrated by Stefano Vitale) at Blog from the Windowsill.
• A Fuse #8 Production reviews Tina Burke's Fly, Little Bird and finds it, "a sweet little story and should make any child who receives it particularly pleased."
• Tasha at KidsLit has been busy these week reviewing a number of picture books, including Chuck's Truck (by by Peggy Perry Anderson), My Cat, the Silliest Cat in the World (by Gilles Bachelet), Little Sap and Monsieur Rodin (by Michelle Lord, illustrated by Felicia Hoshino), and But Excuse Me, That Is My Book (by Lauren Child).
• PJ Librarian reviews Craig Dorfman's I Knew You Could at The Magic of Books. (PJ Librarian also has a great baseball book list!)
• MotherReader recommends(?) a creepy, freaky children's book.
• Mindy reviews two picture books this week at Propernoun.net--Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant, (by Jack Preltusky, illustrated by Carin Berger) and Mama: a True Story in which a Baby Hippo Loses his Mama During a Tsunami, but Finds a New Home, and a New Mama (by Jeanette Winterson). Boy, that's a title!

Middle Grade

• Maureen reviews Lisa Yee's Millicent Min, Girl Genius and Stanford Wong Flungs Big-Time at Confessions of a Bibliovore. She loves Millicent and Stanford, as do I.
• Becky at Farm School has an absolutely fabulous list, one I'll use immediately--books about locations in children's literature. Check it out! Many great suggestions.
• A Fuse #8 Production reviews Linda Sue Park's Archer.
• Jen Robinson reviews a title that's just Middle Grade (6th grade)--Invisible Detective: Double Life, by Justin Richards, at Jen Robinson's Book Page. Jen also recommends a classic--Elizabeth Enright's The Saturday.
• Sheila Ruth recommends a new adventure tale, Mystery at Blackbeard's Cove (by Audrey Penn), at Wands and Worlds. Sheila wrote in to say Mystery at Blackbeard's Cove has, "dark tunnels and pirate treasure and tripping over skeletons." Awesome!
• Gail Gauthier surprises herself by liking The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall.

Young Adult

• Becky at Bec's Book Blog reviews Susan Taylor Brown's Hugging the Rock and finds it to be "a touching look at the resiliency of kids and families."
• Camille reviews Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Alice Alone at Book Moot and swears her family suffered no ill effect.
• Liz B. reviews Laura M. Zeises' Anybody but You at A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy (May 16)
• The Goddess of YA has a couple of great reviews this week, including a London title--London Calling (by Edward Bloor). Professornana has also reviewed Dairy Queen, a Novel (by Catherine Murdock), Blue Bloods (by Melissa de la Cruz), and Haters (by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez).
• Judith Ridge recommends Jane Godwin's Falling from Grace (and has a sneak peak at Hilary McKay's Caddy Ever After) at the Misrule Blog.
• Mindy reviews Sold by Patricia McCormick at Propernoun.net and finds it "beautiful."
• Little Willow links to her review of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan and to her interview with the authors at Slayground. Little Willow also reviewed Love Will Tear Us Apart, by Tara McCarthy this week. (Love Will Tear Us Apart, LW writes in to say, is an adult title that will also appeal to older teens.)
• Emily Horner takes issue with two sad Newbery winners (Cynthia Kadohata's Kira-Kira and Gary Schmidt's Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy) at Swarm of Beasts.
• Leila at Bookshelves of Doom, as usual, has some great reviews: Defining Dulcie (by Paul Acampora), Blubber (by Judy Blume), and The Lightning Thief (by Rick Riordan). Also, Leila appraises The Secret of the Old Clock, a book I couldn't believe was essentially about probate law.

Fantasy

• A Fuse #8 Production reviews Suzanne Collins' Gregor the Overlander, a favorite title at her library.
• Our resident Queen of Fantasy, Michele at Scholar's Blog, reviews two titles this week: The Johnny Maxwell trilogy, by Terry Prachett (okay, not A title, I know) and and Diana Wynne Jones' The Homeward Bounders. Michele also reviews Michael Buckley's The Sisters Grimm, fantasy/mystery for the younger Middle Grade crowd.
• Emily Horner reviews Black Juice, by Margo Lanagan (a collection of short stories) at Swarm of Beasts.

Non-Fiction

• Pixie Palace reviews a new biography--Queen of the Negro Leagues: Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles, by James Overmyer.
• Chris Barton recommends John Muir: America's First Environmentalist, by Kathryn Lasky (illustrated by Stan Fellows) at Bartography.

Other

• Warren Truitt feels sorry for us that we haven't watched Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World, a "mindblowingly awesome DVD." (Children's Music that Rocks)

Another fun, yet ridiculous quiz

Tuesdays are very slow days, I've noticed. I think I'm going to begin my occasional review round-ups as a regular Tuesday feature, so watch for that shortly!

In the meantime, Nick Green tipped me off to a new quiz: What is Your Daemon? (a la His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman). I'm happy enough with my result, but doesn't this make me like Lord Azriel? Is that a good thing?

The resulting code was way too big, so here's a summary:

EAGLE or HAWK - your daemon may be some kind of bird of prey. Yours is a strong spirit, and a fierce sense of liberty. You cannot be confined. You may be shrewdly observant, and like to be aware of everything that goes on around you. You will fight fiercely for the things that are most important to you, and you are definitely a force to be reckoned with. Still, you are not vicious by nature and would prefer to be left in peace. You probably value your solitude very highly - not that you don't enjoy company, but sometimes you just need to be alone - otherwise you begin to feel caged in and confined. You might want to take a drive on your own, just to feel the road beneath you, or to sit alone on your balcony, watching the world go by.
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Actually...make that two. Here's another similar quiz: What would your Daemon settle as? And, here, the code is normal, but result is not! At least it isn't a Golden Monkey.

What Animal Would Your Daemon Settle As?

Your MONKEY DAEMON represents a nature that is admired, detail-oriented, and full of curiosity. Some people might call you self-absorbed. You like to plan ahead, and hone your various talents to perfection.
Take this quiz!








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Which literary heroine?

Via Liz B. (A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy) and Gail Gauthier, the Which Classic Female Literary Heroine Are You quiz? Let's just say, I'm happier with this result than the one Gail got. (Beth, from Little Women? I'm sorry, Gail!)

Which Classic Female Literary Character Are you?

You're Elizabeth Bennett of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen!
Take this quiz!








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Fourth Carnival of Children's Literature

The fourth Carnival of Children's Literature is up at Here in the Bonny Glen.

Many thanks to the indefatigable Melissa Wiley for a job well done! She's put together a smashing carnival despite a broken toe, laundry, and "children everywhere." Head on over and read!

I'll be hosting the fifth carnival. (Gulp!) I'm off to graduation this morning, but as soon as I know the dates this afternoon, I'll send them over to Melissa.

Happy reading, everyone.

Review: Strange Happenings

Are you into fun, slightly creepy reads? Then I greatly recommend Avi's latest offering, Strange Happenings.

Strange Happenings is a collection of five short stories, all with a touch of magic. The stories reminded me of O'Henry with a touch of King. All were neatly written, spare tales of the "be careful what you wish for" variety.

In the first story, "Bored Tom," a little boy complains he's bored and he'd rather hang about and sleep like his cat, Charley. Charley has a solution: Why don't they switch places? With the help of the local magician cat, they do. Of course, all goes well at first, but it's not so easy for Tom to get his old "boring life" back.

My favorite story, "Curious," takes an imaginative approach to team mascots (you know, like that darn chicken?) and what happens when a little boy wants to know who the mascot really is. Because, you see, the mascot is quite unlike anyone else in his medium-sized, midwestern town. He makes fun of people, hugs the pretty girls and kicks the boys, and is generally rude. Brilliant, with a delicious ending.

Strange Happenings is aimed at the middle-grade market and I think it would make a great read-aloud for that group as well. Strange Happenings is perfect for sleepovers, campouts, or for dark, spooky evenings.

Raab Associates sent this one my way and I read it in one sitting.

The Edge of the Forest-May

The Edge of the Forest, May edition is up! There are many excellent reviews and columns this month and some new contributors. Here's what May has in store:

• For upcoming vacations: Summer reads and Books on the Sea from Little Willow of Slayground and Anne of Book Buds.
• An interview with Chris Abouzeid, author of Anatopsis, by Michele of Scholar's Blog.
• The blogging writer column returns. I speak to Mitali Perkins, author of Monsoon Summer and The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen, and blogger extraordinare (Mitali's Fire Escape).
• Want to know the ins-and-outs of writing for children? Check out A Day in the Life, in which Kim Winters talks to writer Amy Timberlake.
• A Fuse #8 Production finds out what New York City kids like in our KidsPick column.
• We've lots of reviews for you by Susan at Chicken Spaghetti, Jen of Jen Robinson's Book Page, Julie Falkner, Kerry Millar (of the Flying Dragon Bookstore), Liz Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy.
• Check out the Fantasy review column this week! Michele of Scholar's Blog shows us why we should all read Charles Butler.
• As always, there's a best of the blogs column. Again, if you think I've missed something truly great, please let me know.

Enjoy. Comments and suggestions always welcome.

Saturday's Sunday Recommendations

BookWorld is running a new column this week, "The Book that Changed Me." In this column, kids explain which book changed their lives and why. First on the list? The Kite Runner. Other choices include:

• The Revealers, by Doug Wilhelm
• The Adventures of Tintin, by Herge
• The Da Vinci Code (sigh. They're infecting the children now)
• The Boy who Became President, by Dan Gutman

and, of course,

• Eragon (kids love ths one. You can't talk them out of it.)

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Also in the Washington Post, a children's librarian recommends titles for kids who like Captain Underpants (millions and trillions of them, I think). Jane Dorfman suggests Snarf Attack , Underfoodle and the Secret of Life: The Riot Brothers Tell All and Amato's Drooling and Dangerous: The Riot Brothers Return!, by Mary Amato.

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Also in the Washington Post: Katie Couric reads with her kids and an interview with Carl Hiaasen.

Poetry Friday: Spanish-language Edition

This week I bring you a poem in Spanish I only half understand.

It's quoted from a beautiful new picture book called Confeti. Poemas para niños, with poems by Pat Mora and absolutely lovely illustrations by Enrique O. Sánchez. Confeti. Poemas para niños is a translation of Confetti: Poems for Children (published in 1996). In any case, the first poem in the volume celebrates the sun--a sentiment I can definitely get behind.

La canción del sol

En las ramas de los árboles los pájaros oyen
la primera canción del sol.
En las rocas, las ranas oyen
la primera canción del sol.
Entre los arbustos, las abejas oyen
la primera canción del sol.
Entre los sauces, el viento oye
la primera canción del sol.

En las ramas, los pájaros plan
las canción de la mañana.
En las rocas, las ranas croan
las canción de la mañana.
Entre los arbustos, las abejas zumban
las canción de la mañana.
Entre los sauces, el viento silba
las canción de la mañana.

Canción del sol. Canción del sol. Canción del sol.
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Poetry Friday contributions will be listed later today.

More on teen girl fiction

Rebecca Traister takes a look at teen-girl culture for Salon (some ad-watching necessary to read the full article). And, guess what? Traister, like Leila at Bookshelves of Doom and Gail Gauthier at Original Content, does not discover the end of the world in teen-girl books.

Traister finds: "As far as mindlessness goes, I Like it Like That (Gossip Girl) was far less aggressively anti-intellectual than what Wolf had prepared me for. Sure, the basic literary conceit and style are dopey, but since the books are about rich kids in Manhattan, the characters have expensive educations and highly developed senses of irony."

Traister also doesn't see much problem with teen-girl magazines. Rather, the worst of teen-girl culture is seen in the worship of brain-dead celebrities under the age of thirty and in the "celebratory excesses" lauded on shows like "My Super Sweet Sixteen" and "Tiara Girls" on MTV.

Arrgh!

Technical issues are getting me down today. The Edge of the Forest has gone down, potentially for two hours, and I'm almost done editing! A double argh to that.

Moreover, can any of you answer this question for me? Why can't I read mediabistro Galleycat? I really want to and it crashes my browser. It's one of my favorite sites, but every week or so it does this to me.

Here's some fun, though: check out Bookseller Chick's post on "authors behaving badly." The comment thread is excellent too.

Review: How We are Smart

How We are Smart, written by W. Nikola-Lisa and illustrated by Sean Qualls, is a unique picture-book biography. Instead of focusing on one person or a like group of people, W. Nikola-Lisa profiles a number of talented people of all different backgrounds and eras in order to demonstrate the ways people can be smart.

Working from the theory of multiple intelligences, Nikola-Lisa classifies his subjects as being smart in one (or more) "basic ways people can be smart": body smart, logic smart, music smart, nature smart, people smart, picture smart, self smart, word smart. Each biography consists of a quote, a poem, and a short paragraph about the subject. Wonderful illustrations (see the cover to the left for examples) accompany each biographical sketch. Subjects include Maria Tallchief ("of Osage Indian and Scotch-Irish ancestry...regarded as America's first prima ballerina"), Annie Jump Cannon ("the first woman awarded the National Academy of Sciences' Draper Gold Medal"), Matthew Henson (born in 1866 to "free African American parents," with Robert Peary the first to reach the North Pole), I.M. Pei (the architect), and many more.

I'm not entirely sure I fully subscribe to the specifics of multiple intelligences, but I do agree there are many ways people can be smart. And this book makes a strong case to children that creativity and independent thinking is also important. I highly recommend How We Are Smart. Don't let its title throw you off--kids ages six to eleven will really enjoy this book. The biographical subjects are interesting and the illustrations compelling. Highly recommended.
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As an aside here, I have to mention that this book cheered me up a bit in the midst of a depressing political cycle. These "smart" Americans are of all different backgrounds and have all lived and worked successfully in the U.S. during the past two centuries.

Anthony Horowitz interview

Scott Moore interviews Anthony Horowitz for the Washington Post.

Moore and Horowitz talk about audience and violence in much of the interview. Here's a sample of their discussion:

SM: "How do you decide what level of intensity and violence you will have in your books?"
AH: "'I rather like violence in children's books, provided the violence is of a certain sort, divorced from reality: a James Bond villain dying a very grand death. I'm thinking of Damian Crane in 'Eagle Strike' being pushed onto a hostess trolley, which wheels itself out of the door of the aircraft, and he gets sucked into the engines -- one of my favorite deaths. . . . '"

But Horowitz was shocked by Cedric Diggory's death, saying, "'But I saw the last Harry Potter movie, and I was quite shocked. I would never kill a kid in a book. It's too horrific.'"

KidsPost also has a "Meet Anthony Horowitz" section. Favorite Book as a Child? Tintin.

The Edge of the Forest: May

Hey there, contributors and readers! I thought I'd just post an annoucement here and let you know The Edge of the Forest, Volume I, Issue 4 will be up sometime on Thursday, May 18.

I'm busy editing away at the moment and it looks like a great issue with lots of new reviews, new writers, and the return of a blogging writer.

Learning to Fly

Hooray! Kathryn at Bookninja has discovered Learning to Fly, by Sebastian Meschenmoser.

We kidlit bloggers have been singing the praises of this gem of a picture book for months. Here's a sample of the rave reviews:

• Liz B., A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy
• Tasha, Kidslit
• Anne, Book Buds
• A Fuse #8 Productions (Sebastian Meschenmoser is also Number Nine in the Hot Men of Children's Literature series)
• My review here (and at The Edge of the Forest)

I'm sure I'm missing some of the reviews (Jen?). Do drop me a line so I can add to the fan club here. Here's a link to Meschenmoser's page at Kane/Miller.

The Times Children's Book of the Week

This looks like an interesting one:

Nicolette Jones choses Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up in a War as the Times "Children's Book of the Week."

Written by Kathy Henderson and illustrated by Jane Ray, Lugalbanda was, "written 4,000 years ago and is possibly the oldest extant story in the world, but was only translated from cuneiform on clay tablets in the 1970s." From ancient Iraq, Lugalbanda is a heroic tale.

Jones finds Henderson makes the "most of the poetry and the celebration of senses and colours" and that Ray's illustrations are "emotive and delicate...full of decorative pattern and gilded detail."

His Dark Materials

It's a little late for a review of the His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass), but I was so impressed, I thought I'd share what I appreciated most about the trilogy:

Lyra. Lyra is the single best female hero in children's literature. She's smart, daring, kind, innocent, and much, much more. Her characterization is so strong, that the love and admiration she inspires in other characters (Lee Scoresby, Iorek Bymison, even Mrs Coulter) is entirely motivated and believable. I adore Hermione, but she's essentially a sidekick. Lyra is the real thing. Does she have any competition, readers?

• The literary value of the trilogy. Pullman ties the trilogy to Milton, the Bible, Blake, to the cannon of British Literature. While this may not make an immediate impression on younger readers, it's instant exposure for them. And, for the older reader the trilogy provides much to think about beyond the story itself.
• Speaking of the story, I especially enjoyed the role of storytelling in the trilogy. Storytelling is most important to The Amber Spyglass, but Lyra and Will (and the others) have to discover what their roles are in a tale larger than they are and then find a way to tell the tale to others.
• I may be showing my hand here, but I really appreciated the power corrupts (even, and maybe especially, in the church) theme central to the trilogy. When a story is used falsely for control, the consequences are great.
• Pullman portrays Lyra and Will's love as a story of great innocence, purity, and truth.
• While The Amber Spyglass is long and contains mucho information, when you finish the book you find it was all necessary and motivated.
• I can't stop thinking about the trilogy and want to reread The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass as soon as possible. I know there is more to discover. That's the ultimate test for me.

So thanks to Philip Pullman for what is now my favorite work of children's literature.

Saturday's Sunday Reviews

I'd been wondering why there have been so few reviews of children's books in the Washington Post the past few weeks. They consistently publish the most reviews in the U.S. Well, this week's Book World is full of them. Here's a rundown:

• Elizabeth Ward reviews four new picture books having to do with the water. Also, though it isn't mentioned in the title, Ward reviews picture books about the ascent of Mt. Everest, baseball, and Mozart.
• Abby McGanney Nolan reviews Chew on This: Everything You Don't Want to Know about Fast Food and other books on the dangers of bad food.
• Karen MacPherson reviews non-fiction for children.
• Elizabeth Chang considers Julius Lester's Time's Memory.
• Paul Di Filippo reviews new fantasy titles, including Kristin Kladstrup's The Book of Story Beginnings.
• Jabari Asim takes on new poetry volumes for children.
• Elizabeth Ward reviews The Wright 3 (and finds quite a few plot threads left untied)

The New York Times also has a children's book section this week, including:

• Michael Patrick Hearn reviews Kate DiCamillo's Edward Tulane (I, personally, couldn't bring myself to review Edward Tulane. )
• Sarah Ellis considers children's books about two different animals finding friendship in "Can't We All Get Along?"
• Regina Marler reviews "Journalism for Children," including Chew on This.
• John Green reviews The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
• Jed Pearl enjoys Ballet of the Elephants, by Leda Schubert
• Penelope Green reviews picture books with a "mother worship" theme
• Adam Liptak finds holes in The Wright 3 as well.
• James Hynes reviews Lois Lowry's Gossamer (looks like I'm going to have to buy this one)
• Patricia T. O'Conner takes a look at naughty dog books.

A wealth of riches today, folks. And I can't even read until later! I've a preschool music concert to attend now. Mi-Re-Do.

Cornelia Funke

Amanda Craig interviews Cornelia Funke for the Times.

Craig begins her article as follows: "Corneila Funke is so close to being the German J. K. Rowling that it would be easy to envy her. A former social worker whose gilt-blonde beauty is pure Rhinemaiden, her stories began to be published in Britain only when Barry Cunningham, the editor who discovered Harry Potter, picked them up four years ago. "

Craig discusses movie projects (Brendan Fraser comes up again), the death of Funke's husband this year, and the role of fantasy in Germany. Of the latter, Funke says:

• "'Germans don’t write fantasy,' she says. 'I think in a way we are a little scared of our own tradition because we had the Fascists grab so many myths. I hope that the new generation will be able to grab them back and feel free to use them again — in a responsible way.'"

Poetry Friday

I love my Ted Hughes: Collected Poems for Children (illustrated by Raymond Briggs) so much, I'm going to quote from it one more time. This week's entry is "The Cat."

The Cat

You need your Cat.
When you slump down
All tired and flat
With too much town

With too many lifts
Too many floors
Too many neon-lit
Corridors

Too many people
Telling you what
You just must do
And what you must not

With too much headache
Video glow
Too many answers
You will never know

Then stroke the Cat
That warms your knee
You'll find her purr
Is a battery

For into your hands
Will flow the powers
Of the beast who ignore
These ways of ours

And you'll be refreshed
Through the Cat on your lap
With a Leopard's yawn
And a Tiger's nap.

This lovely, true poem is especially appropriate for this rainy day when I am completing my reading of His Dark Materials (all those cat daemons).
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There are lots of great Poetry Friday contributions this week: Anne at Book Buds reviews Fluffy, Scourge of the Sea (a poem about pirates!), Liz B. at A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy brings us a beautiful ode from Thomas Hood, Becky reminds us of Spring and Mother's Day in the guise of a May Sarton poem at Farm School, Wendy contributes Billy Collin's "The Lanyard" (in honor of Mother's Day) at Blog from the Windowsill, A Fuse #8 Productions reviews Thelonius Monster's Sky-High Fly Pie, Michele celebrates Edward Lear's birthday with "The Jumblies" at Scholar's Blog, Little Willow also blogs of cats with T.S. Eliot's "The Old Gumbie Cat" at Slayground, and The Simple and the Ordinary lets Mary Morrison do the talking for Mother's Day.

Update! Two more entries: Jen Robinson with "Ode to a Grecian Urn" at Jen Robinson's Book Page and Susan Taylor Brown (whose Hugging the Rock) is in my summer reading pile contributes an original work!

One more update! Don't miss Susan's account of an hilarious attempt at Poetry Friday with junior at Chicken Spaghetti.

A sad (but true) admission

It must be said. I had not read Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series before now. How embarrasing! And, how sad for me. Now that I am "reading" (okay, it's my audible selection) the trilogy, I hate myself for waiting so long. What a truly great, miraculous work. I'm awed by how truly good it is.

This admission stems from recent posts at A Fuse #8 Productions and Read Roger about the New York Times' ridiculous Best American Fiction of the Last Twenty Five Years list. I say ridiculous because the whole exercise is silly for the reasons Laura Miller lists at Critical Mass. And, the only effect the resulting list had on me was to make me sad about the state of American Literature.

I'm off to enjoy The Amber Spyglass instead. Poetry Friday to follow later.

Chew on This

Merle Rubin reviews Chew on This: Everything You Don't Want to Know about Fast Food, by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson, for the Los Angeles Times.

Schlosser is the author of Fast Food Nation and, with the help of Charles Wilson, wrote Chew on This for the teen and preteen audience. Rubin finds their efforts to reach a young audience worthwhile:

• "Like many good teachers, the authors know how to be entertaining and informative, funny and serious. Although kids may assume that all new things represent progress, this book offers a salutary view of some recent developments that are more like regress."

The dangers of fast food to the individual and society are the focus of Chew on This and, ultimately, Schlosser and Wilson suggest, "because kids are the chief consumers of these foods, it's kids who have the power (to borrow Nancy Reagan's mantra on drugs) to 'just say no.' Or, as Schlosser and Wilson put it, 'have it your way,' and walk out the door."

Here's another review of Chew on This from the San Francisco Chronicle. Also in the San Francisco Chronicle...(and sorry for the shameless plug here) an article about my sister!