Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat

Just this very minute, I have finished one of the best children's novels I have read all year! All I can say is, Finally! I feel like it's been months since anything truly wonderful crossed my desk. Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, by Lynne Jonell, is extremely well-written, with bathroom humor, pathos, and believable and sympathetic characters of both the human and rodent kind.

Emmy is a very rich, very lonely little girl. Her parents are constantly going off on long trips and leaving her with a horrible nanny, Miss Barmy. Worse, she recently changed schools and no one in her class acts like she exists. When Emmy starts hearing the class pet rat talking to her, a whole exciting and fantastical series of events unfold.

The rat has special powers; in fact, he is one of many rodents with special powers, most of them living in a shop in town where the evil Professor Vole does experiments with them. Soon Emmy begins to learn the powers of the other rodents and she realizes that Miss Barmy is using the rodents to control her, her parents, and even her classmates! Miss Barmy is after Emmy's family's fortune and she will stop at nothing to get it.

Emmy, the rat, and Emmy's new friend Joe join forces to stop Miss Barmy's evil plan. Using the resourcefulness of the other rodents, some ingenious catapults, and a lot of sneaking around, they wage war against Miss Barmy with hilarious and satisfying results.

This book has everything a good children's novel should: abandoned children, talking animals, a truly evil villian, and a little bit of magic. Hooray!

I mustn't forget to mention the terrific illustrations by Jonathan Bean on each page of the novel. As the reader creeps through the story, a rat creeps across a tree branch and then falls, very slowly, into outstretched hands. It is a flipbook and a beautifully done one, too.

A+

More Picturebooks

I haven't spent much time in the past, in this blog, talking about picturebooks. I'm a novel reader and that's what I love most. Necessarily, however, I read a lot of picturebooks too and I'm coming to understand the beauty, simplicity, and power of picturebooks more and more. So now you get to read picturebook reviews too. Lucky you!

Orange Pear Apple Bear (Simon & Schuster, 5/07), by Emily Gravett
Orange Pear Apple Bear is a delightfully artistic book designed for children, but fun for adults. It opens as an object book, an orange on the first page, a pear on the next, then apple, then bear. But what comes next makes the book surprising and fun to examine. Next, we have an orange bear. Later, the bear juggles, changing the order of the simple words, apple, bear, orange, pear. So, it's a deceptively simple and clever picture book that will serve a variety of functions in early literacy. On the basic level, there is the vocabulary. Next there is the playing around with the meanings of words, nouns, adjectives, etc. Finally, there is word order and how it changes the meaning of a sentence. Best of all are the beautiful and simple watercolor illustrations.

A Dog Needs A Bone! (Blue Sky Press, 8/07) by Audrey Wood
What is your dog thinking about all day long? Bones! Toy bones, treat bones, squeaky bones. The dog in this story promises to do all kinds of funny, crazy things, if only his mistress will give him a bone! How about a carrot? No? Will this dog ever get a bone? This doggy sees bones everywhere! How many bones can you find in the illustrations? This newest offering from the classic Audrey Wood is full of her humor in both rhyming text and illustrations and is perfect for younger children.

Cutie New Picturebooks

I read a lot of picturebooks now, so here are a couple I really liked recently.

Taking a Bath with the Dog and Other Things That Make Me Happy (Candlewick, 6/07), by Scott Menchin.
Sweet Pea is feeling sad today, so she sets out to find what makes other people happy. Taking a bath makes her dog happy. Counting tree rings makes the old man in the park happy. Shoes make the centipede happy. All of these things remind Sweet Pea that there are lots and lots of things that make her happy - especially taking a bath with the dog! What makes you happy?


Big Bad Wolves at School (Simon & Schuster, 6/07), by Stephen Krensky
Did you ever wonder how the Big Bad Wolf learned so many sneaky tricks? He went to Big Bad Wolf Academy, of course! But Rufus the wolf doesn't like going to school and learning how to blow down houses and dress up like a granny. He would rather roll in the grass and run around and howl. The other wolves call Rufus old-fashioned, but when a group of hunters comes to the forest, only Rufus knows what to do! This is a really funny book with great illustrations!

Epic

Here is a book review from my archives. I put this in the hands of those boys who play RuneQuest on my computers all day at the library. I must confess, after reading the book, I really wanted to start playing those role-playing games.

Epic (Viking, 4/07), by Conor Kostick.

Long ago, the people of Earth were sent to the planet New Earth to escape the violence and destruction that mankind had wrought. In order to rule New Earth in peace, no violence of any kind would be tolerated – no yelling, hitting, or kicking, no matter how just the cause. Knowing that it would be necessary to ease tension and aggression somehow, the forefathers created a computer game, Epic, where the citizens of New Earth could fight in the arena and settle disputes. Generations later, Epic seems more real than life away from the screen. Children go to school to learn Epic strategies, the only way to earn money is through Epic, and the law is upheld through arena battles. Central Allocations, the government, has an unfair advantage in the game and rules with an iron fist. Erik and his friends spend all of their time playing Epic, like everyone else they know. One day, after dying in Epic, Erik decides to shake things up. He creates a new avatar with a skill set that seems impractical and no one has used before. Surprising things begin happening in the game when the new avatar, Cindella, begins to play. Her unusual skills seem to make the game more vivid and exciting than it ever was before; even fun again. As Cindella plays her way through the levels of the game, Erik and his friends discover a way to take down the entire corrupt system of their government and change the way the game is played, and the way their lives are lived, forever. The first-time novelist is the creator of the world’s first live fantasy role-playing game and brings his expertise in this field to create a compelling alternate universe. The story effectively explores the dangers of living purely in a fantasy world that are timely considering the growing popularity of games like Epic for children and adults. With both well-rounded characters and plot, this novel is a welcome addition to the science fiction shelf.

Into the Wild

I just finished reading Into the Wild . What a creative, fun, and well-written book! Just looking at the other author raves all over the cover got me excited about it and the premise is just awesome. This is the most innovative twist on fairy tales I've seen in a long time.

Into the Wild (Razorbill, 7/07), by Sarah Beth Durst.

Julie is a modern girl who doesn't quite fit in at school. Mainly this is because her modern school world and her world at home are so very different. See, Julie's mom is Rapunzel and their personal lives are overrun with all sorts of fairy tale characters. Puss n Boots is Julie's adopted brother. Snow's Seven come over for dinner all the time and they're so sexist! Cindy is the worst driver ever and she always wants to pick Julie up at school.

To make matters worse, THE WILD lives under Julie's bed and she is its keeper. The Wild is a magical force that is manifest in a thick, enchanted forest, now shrunk down to a pile of hungry vines living under Julie's bed. If The Wild gets ahold of Julie's shoe, it turns it into something else. Same with anything else it grabs. Julie is responsible for keeping The Wild locked up and never talking about it to anyone.

One night, someone makes a special wish at Granny's Wishing Well Motel and The Wild becomes powerful once again. Almost instantly, there is a huge, primeaval forest growing in the middle of town, sucking in anything that gets near it. All of the fairy tale characters are forced to back to their stories, re-enacting them over and over, in their own kind of prison. Only Julie understands enough about the world and the ways of The Wild to rescue her family and put The Wild back in its place. Julie doesn't belong to a story - yet - so she can manipulate what happens, as long as she plays by The Wild's rules.

Wecome Back, Me

Ever since I started my new children's librarian job, I've been busy reading tons and tons of stuff, but not posting about it at all! I've missed the blog and now it's time to get back online. I will try to post all the stuff I've been working on and keep up with what I'm currently reading.

This is also going to be come a pretty exclusively kid lit blog from now on. Hope you enjoy it!

On my bookshelf right now, I have:
Greetings from Planet Earth - Barbara Kerley
Book Crush - Nancy Pearl
In Search of Mockingbird - Loretta Ellsworth
In the Shadow of the Ark - Anne Provoost
Into the Wild - Sarah Durst
Me and the Pumpkin Queen - Marlane Kennedy
The Perfect Nest - Catherine Friend
Samurai Shortstop - Alan Gratz
The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs - Betty G. Birney




And a review:
The Princess and the Peabodys (HarperCollins, 9/07), by Betty G. Birney
Casey and her grandma love to go yard sale shopping, so when they discover a cheap, mysterious, old box that won’t open, they are sure that there something good inside. When they finally get the box open at home, a princess pops out! Turns out that the royal wizard was supposed to make the box appear and disappear, but he wasn’t very talented and not only did the box disappear for good, but it took the princess with it! Now the princess is stuck living in modern California with the Peabody family until the wizard can learn the right spell. While Gran, Dad, and little Shane seem entranced by the princess, Casey is the one who will have to show her how to get along in junior high! Princess Eglantine bosses people around, speaks a medieval sort of English, and doesn’t have a clue how modern inventions work. Casey is sure that this is going to make her a laughingstock! This very funny premise makes a great fish out of water tale and explores diversity in a new way. I like that the story is told from the point of view of the tomboy who is being imposed upon by the princess, making this is not your typical pink, sparkly princess story.

How to Get Suspended and Influence People

How to Get Suspended and Influence People
Adam Selzer
Leon is one of the kids in the gifted pool of his junior high. While he considers himself a metal-head to avoid being labeled nerd, Leon feels like he comes from pretty pathetic stock. His dad loves to come up with things that have already been invented and his mom’s hobby is to cook really gross food from other eras, like the 1950’s. At least the other kids in the gifted pool are pretty cool, rebellious kids. When Leon’s teacher assigns a project to make new films for the younger grades, Leon chooses to make a sex-ed film. He figures that there are lots of things kids need to know that never get mentioned in the old films and he sets out to make the best, most memorable sex-ed film he can. To get around the censors, Leon decides he will use nudes from famous paintings; no one can object to great art, right? Wrong. Before Leon’s film is even finished, he gets in big trouble. Will his new infamy land him in the doghouse or make him really popular? This hilarious look at censorship is engaging and depicts a realistic school social class system.
BIBLIO: 2006, Delacorte Press/Random House, 12 up, $15.99.

Time of the Eagle

Okay, this one doesn't come out until July, but it may be the best thing I've read in years, so mark it down and look for it this summer!

Time of the Eagle
Sherryl Jordan
The Shinali people have been exiled from their land for many years, but rather than being discouraged, they look forward to the Time of the Eagle, a time when they will rise up with other displaced peoples and take back their land as the prophecy foretold. Avala is the daughter of a healing woman and a peacemaker who came from the enemy Navorans. On her sixteenth borning-day, Avala receives a new prophecy; that she is to usher in the long-awaited Time of the Eagle, as a peacemaker between all enemy peoples. With so much responsibility on her shoulders, Avala longs to shrug off her destiny and follow her own path. But no one can hide from fate; Avala is swept into powerful events that will change the course of history. The award-winning Jordan crafts a sweeping and unforgettable fantasy epic in a world she has created to parallel our own. Full of love, betrayal, adventure, and memorable characters, this sequel to Secret Sacrament can stand alone as a novel in its own right.
BIBLIO: 2007, Eos/HarperCollins, Ages 14 up, $16.99.

Song of the Sparrow

Song of the Sparrow
Lisa Ann Sandell
Elaine lives among the men and boys of Arthur’s Round Table as a sister, healer, and friend. She is happy with her place in that world and her relationship with Lancelot, Arthur, Gawain, and the others, but is afraid of what will become of them all in the never-ending wars. With Picts invading from the north and Saxons from the south, the Britons are constantly at war. When a new woman arrives in camp, Elaine hopes to find a sister and friend to share her life in this world of men. Instead, she meets the beautiful and divisive Gwynivere. What follows traces the beginnings of Arthur’s reign and plants the seeds for the well-known story of love, loyalty, and betrayal. Told in Elaine’s voice and written in lyrical verse, with lovely depictions of the natural world around her, this is a welcome addition to the ranks of Arthurian novels. Elaine of Astolat, or the Lady of Shalott, is a character of Arthurian legend who has inspired poets and artists for generations; this revisionist novel tells her story in an entirely new and humanizing way.
BIBLIO: 2007, Scholastic, Ages 12 up, $16.99.

Dragon Slippers

Here is the official review of Dragon Slippers. I hope you can tell that I love it! Please ignore the clunky cover art, in this case, you really can't tell a book by its cover!

Dragon Slippers
Jessica Day George
Creel is a poor, orphaned, farm girl with a talent for embroidery. When her aunt decides to sacrifice her to a dragon in order to lure a knight or prince who might marry her, Creel sees it as a way to escape her boring life. She doesn’t expect to meet a real dragon in the caves above her village, so she is even more surprised when the real dragon doesn’t want to eat her. Creel makes a deal to keep the approaching mob away from the dragon’s lair if he gives her a pair of fabulous shoes from his hoard. The shoes Creel picks turn out to be the most valuable treasure in all of her kingdom and they enable her to communicate with the dragons. As she sets off on her way to pursue her dream of working in a dress shop in the king’s city, Creel is rescued from bandits by another friendly dragon. Creel and the dragon Shardas strike up a special friendship that becomes the centerpiece of the novel. Creel continues on to the king’s city where she finds work, friends, and adventure. As the story goes on, Creel discovers that her special shoes have the power to save or destroy the kingdom and she must face the future with bravery. The novel’s female characters are spunky, the dragon lore is well-crafted, and the story is a balance of comic and tragic elements. This is a fun first novel from George that would delight fantasy fans of Shannon Hale or Gail Carson Levine.

Library News

I have been catching up on my library-related stories of the day and have a few that were of particular interest to me and so I must share:

"'Shhh' -- the one thing you won't hear in a library" from the L.A. Times

"Trolley book wins odd title prize" from the BBC

"Libraries Must Follow Rules of Secrecy to Get New 'Potter' Book" from Fox News

And finally, a sad one, "Bookstore gets perilously close to final chapter" from the Chicago Tribune

Austenland

Oh my gosh!

My colleague just forwarded me this great website for Shannon Hale's new adult novel Austenland. If you are a reader of this blog you KNOW what an Austenite I am and this is the book for me! I also just adore Hale's award-winning young adult novels, so this is really going to be a treat.

The novel doesn't hit shelves until May 29, and I'm tempted to make a countdown chain like at Christmas! This book is not only for Austen freaks but also for those fans obsessed with the BBC's wonderful mini-series of Pride and Prejudice. If you check out the website, be sure to read Hale's letter to Colin Firth (the best Mr. Darcy ever). Fun, fun, fun!

New Socks

New Socks
Bob Shea
A little chick named Leon wants to show you something new. Is it his glasses? No! It’s his great new socks! They’re orange, they slide on hardwood floors, and they help make Leon brave on the big kids’ slide. Leon thinks the socks can help him do anything. When the President calls and invites Leon to the White House, it seals the deal. Now Leon can’t wait to get new pants too! Simple three-color digital graphics are vivid and eye-catching and give the book a retro feel. While the pictures and text convey obvious enthusiasm, that’s as far as this book goes. The disconnected and overwrought incidents may amuse adults, but kids might not sit through the whole thing or ask for a repeat telling. Similar in design and attitude to Mo Willems’ Pigeon books, the chick central to Bob Shea’s first foray into picture books lacks the humor and sparkle that make Willems’ books so fun for kids. Rather, this title has the feel of an art school assignment, with the text stuck on as an afterthought.
BIBLIO: 2007, Little, Brown, Ages 3 to 6, $12.99.
FORMAT: Picture Book
ISBN: 0-316-01357-9
ISBN: 978-0-316-01357-4

My Weird School: Mr. Macky Is Wacky!

Mr. Macky Is Wacky!
Dan Gutman
Pictures by Jim Paillot
A.J. hates school and when he grows up, he’s going to be President so he can outlaw school for everyone! President’s Day is coming up, so the teachers at A.J.’s school want the students to elect a school president and do oral reports about United States presidents. All A.J. wants is the day off from school and maybe a big screen TV! This is a weird school though, so elections and reports are not as boring as they sound–on Crazy Pets Day, a ferret runs for school president against the teachers! Mr. Macky, the wacky reading specialist, dresses up as all of the presidents to help the kids learn quirky facts, like how FDR’s mom made him wear a dress until he was five years old or who was the shortest president. This fun story sneaks in other information too, such as how a democracy works and which famous Americans are on our money. The comic illustrations help the reader get an idea of how A.J.’s mind works. Filled with goofy humor, this fifteenth title in the “My Weird School” series will attract the most reluctant reader.
BIBLIO: 2007, HarperTrophy/HarperCollins, Ages 7 to 10, $3.99.
FORMAT: Chapter Book
ISBN: 0-06-114151-8
ISBN: 978-0-06-114151-5

New Job, New Reviews

Just look at this! It's been well over a month since I last wrote anything! I do have to say that this may have been the busiest month ever, though. I travelled to San Francisco and Seattle, had a friend in from Boston, got a new job, and started reviewing for the Children's Literature Comprehensive Database. Whew!

I'm going back to full-time children's lit, so my posts may start to mirror that again. Sorry adult interest readers! We'll see if I have time to read adult stuff, let alone write about it! And I'll be reading tons of stuff for Children's Lit, so I'll post all that stuff on here too.

Exciting times!

In the meantime, all my favorite authors have had terrific new novels out this spring and they're keeping me on my toes. Why does it happen this way? I mean, I understand the publishing cycle, but even "retired" Maeve Binchy had a new book and how often does that happen? I'm just swamped! Here's a quick list of my favorite people and their new books:

Whitethorn Woods, by Maeve Binchy
Friends in High Places, by Marne Davis Kellogg
Aunt Dimity Goes West, by Nancy Atherton
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, by Alexander McCall Smith

I'm also currently reading the young adult samurai mystery The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Thomas and Dorothy Hoobler. It's really great so far.

In addition to all this reading, I'm trying to re-design my landscaping and I'm reading tons of dry land gardening books. We'll see how far I get either on the gardening or on the reading! Ha!

This weekend I also finally put my home library in Dewey order. I know, NERD, right? What else is a librarian supposed to do at home for fun! :)

Your Friendly Librarian

Bookshelf

I haven't shared my bookshelf in a while. Mainly because there hasn't been very interesting stuff on it. Right now I'm back on an art history kick and I've been reading a lot of non-fiction lately. I've also been trying to expand my horizons with some manga. Here it is:

Loot, by Aaron Elkins
The Man Who Stole the Mona Lisa, by Robert Noah
Chibi Vampire, Vol. 1, by Yuna Kagesaki
Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud
Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Tasmanian Tiger: The Tragic Tale of How the World Lost Its Most Mysterious Predator, by David Owen
Enthusiasm, by Polly Shulman
Evil Hour in Colombia, by Forrest Hylton
One-Eye! Two-Eyes! Three-Eyes! by Aaron Shepard

Hugo Cabret

I want to talk about the most incredible book I read this week. It is called The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scholastic, 1/07), by Brian Selznick, and it's a children's novel with illustrations. Well, at it's most basic, that's what it is. It's like nothing that has been done before, completely original. It is this gorgeous melding of the graphic novel format (sort of) and the written word, with some fantastic historical photos as well. About half of the novel is told in words and half in pencil drawings that could be enjoyed by all ages. It's just so original and the story is beautiful and the illustrations are amazing. Could I rave any more? It's a masterpiece!

Set in the 1930's, the story follows a young boy, Hugo, who has been orphaned and lives inside the walls of a train station in Paris where he continues in the tradition of his dead uncle to keep all of the clocks in the building wound and accurate. He is fascinated with mechanics and clockworks and steals parts from a toy seller in the station to build his own wind-up creations. Hugo is obsessed with repairing an automaton that his father rescued from a burning museum because of the beauty of its design. He is also convinced that it will bring him a message from beyond the grave. What it does eventually bring to Hugo's life is connections to real people and a surprising and wonderful story about the origins of cinema. I really can't do justice to the plot at all, you'll just need to have a look for yourself.

What I love about the use of the illustrations is how cinematic they are. Each image has a specific purpose and they are often zoomed views of the character's face to show an emotion. The text will break and we see what is going on. The text story always resumes after the pictures have finished the story they are telling, fitting together as a cohesive whole. And it works so well because the story partially revolves around the cinema. Rave, rave, rave. This is fine art, folks.

I would love to see this book get a lot of interest, especially during awards season. I read in my Entertainment Weekly this week that Martin Scorsese has the film rights and plans to start working on a film adaptation soon. That will be really interesting. The book made me want to see the original films that are described and maybe those would be incorporated into a film version. It's also super scary to think of this getting into anyone's hands as a film, but you gotta trust Marty, right?

A colleague of mine said this was the best children's novel she'd read in a couple of years and I, too, think it's wonderful. Please try it yourself and pass it on to a young friend.

A+!

Here is the official website for The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

Here is a link to a photo and story about the automaton that Selznick studied while writing the novel. It is housed at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

Here is a link to Brian Selznick talking about the book on NPR.

Here is a link to a Variety article about Scorsese and the film.

Happy Birthday, Cat in the Hat

Today was the 50th anniversary of Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat. There was a really great story on NPR today that talked about the history of the book. My favorite professor from library school, Anita Silvey, spoke on the program, which I enjoyed.

I do feel the need to fess up, though. I don't like The Cat in the Hat! In the program, the commentator mentioned that those who grew up with the Cat pass the Cat on to their children, while those who didn't, generally don't. My mom didn't like Dr. Seuss and now I find myself similarly impatient with Seuss. Also, like the fish in The Cat in the Hat, I am made very nervous by the Cat's antics. (Okay, extremely stressed out.)

Enough confessions. Go out and re-read The Cat in the Hat and decide for yourself.

Lazy

I have been extremely lazy about keeping up with this blog! Look at it! Over a month since I last posted. In fact, I'm so lazy that I could write about all of the books that won the big awards, but instead, I'm just going to give you a link to links. (Yawn, stretch)

By the way, the new Pants book was awesome!

And I am reading tons of great stuff. Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime. :)

Ann Brashares photo gallery

I just heard this week that the final installment in the popular teen series Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares is due out tomorrow. It is called Forever in Blue. I can't wait!

I stumbled across an interesting article with good dirt on Ann Brashares, and a photo gallery of her newly renovated carriage house in New York. Indulge yourself!

Bookshelf

There are a lot of books on my bookshelf now, but I've been spending a lot of time online, watching season 4 of 24 to get caught up, and reading the piles of magazines that came after the snow. Got to start reading this stuff!

The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan

The World to Come, by Dara Horn

Framed, by Frank Cottrel Boyce

The Crimson Portrait, by Jody Shields

Insatiable, by Marne Davis Kellogg

London Calling, by Edward Bloor

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You, by Ally Carter

Blood on the River: James Town 1607, by Elisa Carbone

Clementine, by Sara Pennypacker

I also recently read the amazing and well-reviewed What is the What , by Dave Eggers. It's been reviewed to death by everyone from People magazine to NPR to the New York Times Book Review. Needless to say, I loved it.

Newbery Medal Speculation

Last month I wrote about Caldecott award speculation. This week, my colleagues are getting together to discuss the young readers' novels they think may be contenders for the American Library Association's Newbery prize.

Here is the short list, according to Denver Public Library librarians:

One Green Apple by Eve Bunting
Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone
Victory by Susan Cooper
Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman
The Braid by Helen Frost
The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin
Drita, My Homegirl by Lombard
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson
Clementine by Sara Pennypacker

I have Clementine, Blood on the River, and The Loud Silence of Francine Green on my bookshelf right now, so I'll let you know how they are.

Kiki Strike

I just finished reading the girl-power young adult novel Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller. What an awesome book!

The story follows a group of girls with spy power skills as they navigate an old city under New York and fight crime. It couldn't get any better - with tips on disguises, how to tell if someone's lying to you, and self-defense, this is a sure-fire winner.

I love it!

Caldecott discussion

As the American Library Associaton's all-important award announcements loom closer - they'll be announced January 22, from Seattle - discussion has begun to buzz in the children's library community. Who will win the Caldecott medal for illustrated books? Who will win the Newbury for distinguished children's fiction? It is usually a huge and mystifying announcement, no matter how much we discuss and debate the merits of the year's best. Last year's dismaying win by The Hello Goodbye Window, illustrated by Chris Raschka, threw us all for a loop and makes trying to guess all the harder.

I met with a group of children's librarians from around the Denver Public Library and we discussed books with lovely illustrations and some others that we're not crazy about, but feel could win anyway. Some of these may make great gifts, too!

Flotsam, by David Wiesner. Wiesner is an extraordinarily talented illustrator and has numerous Caldecott honors and medals under his belt for books such as The Three Pigs, Tuesday, and Sector 7. Flotsam is not my favorite of his books, but the committee obviously likes him.

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Carol Boston Weatherford. I am a fan of Kadir Nelson's rich and gorgeous illustration style, but I wasn't as crazy about this offering. However, the serious nature of the subject might sway the judges. The critics have certainly given this book lots of praise this year. I would love to see Nelson get an honor, but I liked last year's He's Got the Whole World In His Hands better.

Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building, illustrated by James E. Ransome, written by Deborah Hopkinson. We all thought that this one could be a contender since the author writes with such detail about the construction site and the illustrations are so beautiful and painterly. It has style.

So Sleepy Story, by Uri Shulevitz. The line and use of color in this one are really amazing and convey the language beautifully. Shulevitz has won awards and honors for others such as The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship and Snow.

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct, by Mo Willems. Willems' books are engaging and fun read-alouds, but I'm not really sure why he keeps getting awards for them. This is one of those where we thought we'd throw it into the mix, but weren't too sure about it. This one would be a great gift book, though. His other honor books are the wonderful Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Knuffle Bunny.

Beach, by Elisha Cooper. The watercolor illustrations in this book really convey the atmosphere and feeling of an East Coast beach in summer. They are fairly impressionistic and fun to look at. A contender? Maybe not, but we like it.

Tiger of the Snows: Tenzing Norgay: The Boy Whose Dream Was Everest, illustrated by Ed Young, and written by Robert Burleigh. I really like Ed Young's unique style. I love the way he characterizes the mountain as an animal. Last year I was rooting for Beyond the Great Mountains. I always like to think his books are in the running because they're unusual and exotic.

Snow Sounds, by David Johnson. This was one of my favorites, partly because it celebrates onomatopoeia and makes a good book for a young one. The illustrations are perfect, grainy and pixilated, like snow. Snow books have a history of winning the award, look at Snowflake Bently; Snowy Day; White Snow, Bright Snow; The Big Snow, etc.

Check some of these out and enjoy some of the best illustrations of the year!

On Judging the National Book Awards

Here is a terrific post on Linda Sue Park's personal blog. She is a Newbery award-winning children's author who sat on the children's literature panel of the National Book Awards and discusses the process in depth while maintaining confidentiality. Very enlightening!

Lois Lenski

One of my favorite picture book authors/illustrators is Lois Lenski. Lenski was most prolific during the 1940's and some of her work is out of date, but much of it has stood the test of time and is dear to me still as an adult.

The Horn Book magazine's website periodically revisits contributions from past issues and this month they're featuring a piece written by Lenski in 1946, titled, "Christmas at Huckleberry Mountain Library." It's fun for me to hear Ms. Lenski's adult voice and opinions. And of course it's fun for me to hear about an old, rural library.

Lois Lenski won the 1946 Newbery medal for distinguished children's literature for her novel, Strawberry Girl. I particularly like her illustrated Mr. Small series, especially Papa Small. Colorized reissues of her picture books have come out recently and her seasonal set, with titles like I Like Winter, are still fun to read with kids.

Lenski also illustrated the Betsy-Tacy series, by Maud Hart Lovelace, my all-time favorite children's series.

On a side note, the Horn Book just released their year-end fanfare of children's books, so here's their list for your holiday shopping.

Your Friendly Librarian

National Book Awards Finalists

I am horribly behind the times and super busy right now! The National Book Awards Finalists were announced on November 15. Here's the link to the winners.

Sweet Treats to Read

Halloween is only a day away and in-laws are coming to stay so I know I won't get a chance to get on-line for a while. Let me leave you with a list some of my all-time favorite novels. I hope you like them too!

Possession – A.S. Byatt
My Antonia – Willa Cather
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay – Michael Chabon
Fifth Business - Roberston Davies
Peace Like a River - Leif Enger
The Master Butcher’s Singing Club – Louise Erdrich
The Forsyte Saga – John Galsworthy
Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
The Jump Off Creek – Molly Gloss
Brilliant - Marne Davis Kellogg
Homestead – Rosina Lippi
Chasing Cezanne - Peter Mayle
Queen of the South – Arturo Perez Reverte
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood – Rebecca Wells

New & Notable for Kids

The big fall pile-up of wonderful children's books is underway. I think these are some of the most notable I've seen so far. But I don't feel like writing full-blown reviews right now, so how about you read what the critics have to say instead?

Alabama Moon, by Watt Key - powerful and entertaining writing by a new voice (To read more of my comments on this book, you can go back to the June 9, 2006, entry where I wrote about hearing the author speak.)

“A winningly fresh look at life and culture almost never seen in children’s books.” —The Horn Book

"Key writes honestly about hunting, trapping and the hardships of survival in this rather unusual coming-of-age story." —Kirkus Reviews

"Well written with a flowing style, plenty of dialogue, and lots of action." --The Horn Book

Peter Pan in Scarlet, by Geraldine McCaughrean - the first-ever authorized Peter Pan sequel (for review, follow link)

Not Another Tea Party, by Mark Shulman - simply wonderful, snide, and humorous (for review, follow link)

1001 Books To Read Before You Die

Earlier this year, a book was released that set out an ambitious list, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, compiled by Peter Boxall, a professor of English Literature at the University of Sussex.

Is it fun to go through the list and count up how many you have read - or not read? Is the glass half empty or half full? Mine is pretty darn empty! I am a regretter. As I counted up my tally, I was thinking, "But what if I own this one and haven't read it yet?" "Oh, I always meant to read this one!" "Why haven't I read that?" "Why aren't the other books I've read by Faulkner, Melville, whomever, on the list?" It was fun and tortuous.

Apparantly the book itself is well written and argues out why books are included on the list. I haven't actually looked at it! I was pretty surprised to see things missing. What was I reading if they aren't on the list? What was I reading in all those English classes? Oh well.

Listology.com has numerous copies of the list. Here's a link to one of them so you can make the count yourself.

My total is a miserable 79 titles. I have a long way to go! (Maybe if I hadn't been reading so much kid lit...)

National Book Award Finalists

The finalists for the National Book Awards were announced on October 11 and the winners will be announced November 15. Now would be a good time to check some of these books out to cast your own mental vote.

Fiction:
Mark Z. Danielewski, Only Revolutions

Ken Kalfus, A Disorder Peculiar to the Country

Richard Powers, The Echo Maker

Dana Spiotta, Eat the Document

Jess Walter, The Zero

Nonfiction:
Taylor Branch, At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68

Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone

Timothy Egan, The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust
Bowl

Peter Hessler, Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China’s Past and Present

Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

Poetry:
Louise Glück, Averno

H.L. Hix, Chromatic

Ben Lerner, Angle of Yaw

Nathaniel Mackey, Splay Anthem

James McMichael, Capacity

Young People's Literature:
M.T. Anderson, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party

Martine Leavitt, Keturah and Lord Death

Patricia McCormick, Sold

Nancy Werlin, The Rules of Survival

Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese

Horn Book Blog

The other day I stumbled across a blog kept by the editor of the Horn Book magazine, the premier children's book reviewing journal. What a great find! I love having a daily dose of a voice I enjoy so much - and maybe I can keep up with children's book news a little better.

The photographs on the blog from the Boston Globe/Horn Book Awards were taken in the Boston Athenaeum, a very special library where I worked in grad school. It's so fun to see these! And the speeches are fun to listen to too.

Check out the blog and check out the Horn Book magazine, possibly available at your local library, maybe behind the children's desk.

Tales of the Otori

Over the last couple of years, I have been reading a wonderful series of novels set in a fictional feudal Japan. The Tales of the Otori, by Lian Hearn, are some of the most captivating novels I have ever read. I am not normally a fan of samurais, nor have I studied ancient Asian cultures since undergrad, yet I have found this series to be one of the most fascinating ever.

The series reads as follows:
Across the Nightengale Floor
Grass for His Pillow
The Brilliance of the Moon
The Harsh Cry of the Heron

Looking at Powell's website, it appears that these novels are categorized as "fantasy" and in that respect, they are similar to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I often think the series would make incredible film. Anyway, the stories follow the fate of an orphaned boy, Takeo, with amazing powers who is rescued when his village is massacred and is adopted by a lord, Otori Shigeru. His new life with Lord Otori leads to the revelation that Takeo has the powers of the Tribe, a network of spies with invisibility, flight, and extraordinary senses.

As the novels progress Takeo is used as a spy, fights in battles,rises in power, and finds epic love with an extraordinary heiress. The inner lives of the characters are beautifully written. The landscapes are gorgeous, the plots are full of intrigue and adventure, the women are powerful - the whole series is just an exceptional treat.

The newest book, The Harsh Cry of the Heron, was just released and was a surprise for me because I thought the end of the third book was a tidy ending for the series. In the fourth novel, we re-join the story after about fifteen years, and watch the unraveling of all that Takeo has built. It is skillfully written and completes the examination of power cycles and the hazards of both war and peace.

Penguin has re-packaged these novels for the young adult audience in a split novel format - making the first three books into six "episodes" - clever marketing!

Try the first novel in the series soon. You won't regret it!

One Book, One Denver

On Tuesday morning, I attended a press conference in the Burnham-Hoyt Reading Room of the Denver Public Library. Mayor John Hickenlooper and officials from the library and the Denver public schools were on hand to announce this year's One Book, One Denver, The Milagro Beanfield War, by John Nichols.

One City, One Book movements have swept the nation since Seattle's Washington Center for the Book came up with the idea in 1998. It's pretty simple - the city will pick one book to focus on for a year and all the reading agencies in the city get behind the title and encourage everyone in the city to read and discuss the book.

This is my first time in a city with this kind of program and I'm excited to see how it works. I'll be leading a discussion group at my library branch and look forward to the varied opinions and points of view that will come out when an entire city reads together.

This is Denver's third year. Past books were:
2005 - Caramelo, by Sandra Cisneros
2004 - Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger

Additional links:

The Center for the Book at the Library of Congress has a list of all the areas in the country that sponser programs of this type.

One Book, One Denver activities sponsered by the Denver Public Library.

Activities and events sponsered by Denver's famous independent Tattered Cover Bookstore.

Let's read together!

Cookbook Confidential

If you're into cooking and cookbooks, my favorite blogger, Heidi at 101cookbooks.com, recently reviewed a number of new books out this season (that would be on her October 16th entry).

This week I read one the most exciting non-fiction books I have read in a long time. The United States of Arugula, by David Kamp, explores the rise of gourmet food in America and traces the history of American food over the course of the last century. Following the rise of French cookery, star chefs from Julia Child to Emeril Lagasse, and the roots of the organic food movement, the author engagingly describes how our national palate has changed. Every chapter was a marvel to me and I found myself discussing each new thing I learned with anyone who would listen. I even find myself contemplating raising my own organic approved cows!!! Maybe this book was especially fascinating to me because while I enjoy cooking and trying new foods, I am certainly not a "foodie" - yet. Sometimes I even want to learn French just so I will know how to pronounce chef terms.

Enough with the confessions! If you're interested in how it seems like there has been a sudden explosion of chain gourment restaurants or how the Food Network got so popular, this is the book for you!

Since I'm discussing food books, let me mention a few things I've been using regularly...

I was already a big fan of Cook's Illustrated magazine, but this summer I started subscribing to Cook's Country, their more down-home version. While Cook's Illustrated was fascinating and informative, I actually try cooking most of the recipes in Cook's Country! I especially love the column where people write in looking for a lost recipe they remember from the past and want to re-create. Then other readers write in with their suggestions, and the editors weigh in with a recipe they create. It's great and unlike with some magazines, the recipes have always turned out.

My husband and I try lots of recipes from James McNair's New Pizza cookbook. We love his cornmeal crust and even experiment with different types of flours as we use his basic crust recipe. We try to make a regular activity of making pizza at home.

I was recently at a bookstore and saw the mammoth Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of America and Thomas Keller of French Laundry fame (his restaurant has a cookbook too). It looks amazing and is so detailed. Definitely one for the Christmas list!

Are there any cookbooks you find invaluable?

Bookshelf

Here is what is on my bookshelf right now:

The Innocent Man, by John Grisham

The United States of Arugula, by David Kamp

The Medici Giraffe: And Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power, by Marin Berlozerskaya

The Harsh Cry of the Heron: The Last Tale of the Otori, by Lian Hearn

The Right Attitude to Rain, by Alexander McCall Smith

Lucy Rose: Busy Like You Can't Believe, by Katy Kelly

A few of my favorite things...

My library has a staff picks section for books, CDs, and movies. I recently wrote down all my favorites so I could remember them more easily when the display is getting empty and I thought I would share some with you.

Here are some of my recent favorite CDs:

Tambourine, by Tift Merritt

Careless Love, by Madeleine Peyroux

We Shall Overcome, the Seeger Sessions, by Bruce Springsteen

American Folk, a compilation by Putumayo

Lifesong, by Casting Crowns

The Ditty Bops, by the Ditty Bops

I also can't wait to get Diana Krall's newest CD, From This Moment On, she's my VERY favorite artist.

You know, I said "recent" favorties, but most of these are from 2004! I guess I need to start listening to some newer stuff!

Your Friendly Librarian

Overdue library book from 1946 returned

Library Journal has a fun story today. Check it out: "Paying that Big Library Fine, for a Cause."


Your Friendly Librarian

Bookshelf

I have quite a stack beside my bed right now:

Alabama Moon, by Watt Key

The King of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner

The Third Sister, by Julia Barrett

The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Bill Bryson's African Diary, by Bill Bryson

Espresso Tales, by Alexander McCall Smith

The Book Shop, by Penelope Fitzgerald

The Spell of the Sensuous, by David Abram

La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind, by Beppe Severgnini

Thirteen Moons

Charles Frazier has a lot to live up to. His very first novel was the highly acclaimed, National Book Award-winning Cold Mountain - a dynamo of a novel that captured the hearts of readers all over America. His second novel, Thirteen Moons, comes out in October, to what response is yet to be seen. I had an advanced reader's copy of Thirteen Moons, so I'll tell you what I think now.

Thirteen Moons is an epic tale set in nineteenth century North Carolina, among the Cherokees and the white men who have settled the land. In a memoir style, the story is told by Ben, who at the age of twelve, was sent off to manage a trading post on the edge of the Cherokee nation. As he forges close ties with the Cherokees, Ben finds family and love among them, and becomes their savior as the government tries to force them to Oklahoma. The sweep of the novel follows Ben to Washington, D.C., into the Civil War, and across the fledgling settlements of the Midwest, through dynamic technological changes and changes in attitudes. Thirteen moons refers to the lunar year, and the cycle of time plays an important role in the novel.

What makes Ben a great character is his unquestionable knowledge that he is just as much a swaggering buffoon as he is full of love, honor, and vengence. He acknowledges his flaws with as much humor as his assets.

Full of memorable characters, yarns, and the same breath-taking scenery that made Cold Mountain such a beautiful book, there is much to recommed in Thirteen Moons. Give it a try and see if you think it is a worthy second novel. I think it is.

The Whole World Over

Since it is September 11th, I think it is appropriate to talk about Julia Glass, a truly wonderful author, who has incorporated the events of 9/11 into both of her highly-acclaimed novels, Three Junes and The Whole World Over. While neither novel revolves around the events of that day, both tell the story through their character's eyes, in tender and memorable ways.

Three Junes, Glass's first novel, won the 2002 National Book Award and The Whole World Over lives up to the author's reputation. Glass's strength is in her characterizations. The Whole World Over weaves together the stories of four different New Yorkers and all the people in their lives. Through unexpected connections, the lives of these four come together through love, loss, family, careers, and just running into one another on the sidewalks of Manhattan.

I loved the surprising twists and turns in the plot and Glass is so skilled that her characters live and breath like friends. Now that the novel is finished, I still want more; I'm not ready to let go of these characters, even if the novel has wrapped up well.

Try either Three Junes or The Whole World Over, to commemorate 9/11 or just for a good read. You won't be disappointed.

Your Friendly Librarian

Artist of Detection

Laurie R. King is a very popular mystery writer - she writes the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, the Kate Martinelli detective stories, and has some stand-alone novels as well. Recently a colleague told me that King's newest Kate Martinelli novel, The Art of Detection, has ties to the most recent Mary Russell novel, Locked Rooms. What a wonderful, genius concept! Even though I had never read the Kate Martinelli series, I'm a huge fan of Mary Russell, so I went right out to get this great concept book.

To be honest, to say much more would give away too much. What I will say is that The Art of Detection fills in some gaps left in Locked Rooms where Holmes wanders off on his own investigation while Russell is pursuing her memories. The novel was well-written, highly original and entertaining, and brought even more of Holmes's character to light, King style.

If you haven't read the Mary Russell mysteries, start with The Beekeeper's Apprentice. This is one of my favorite series!

A+ Laurie King!

Enter the world of Laurie R. King at her website.

Your Friendly Librarian

Fantastic Books

I haven't posted in a while, what with family in town, work on the house and other busy summer pastimes. That doesn't mean I haven't been reading, though. In fact, I have read some really terrific books in the last couple of weeks.


The Lost Painting, by Jonathan Harr, author of A Civil Action, was an exciting find. I'm a big fan of art history mysteries and true ones are always the best. In The Lost Painting, Harr explores the events and characters surrounding the finding of a long-lost Carravaggio painting. I loved this one because it fully explored the research of the provenance of the painting, academic theories, and the techniques to prove authenticity. Colorful characters from the European art world were delightful to meet and the pacing was quick in what could have been a ponderous outlaying of facts. I highly recommend this book for anyone with even a passing interest in art, or those who enjoyed Harr's style in A Civil Action. This volume, just to note, is considerably slimmer than A Civil Action. :)

I also recently finished reading Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen, and I've been recommending it to everyone I see. This book was the buzz of the Book Expo America and has a huge following among independent booksellers. After hearing about it, I had a long wait on my library's holds list! It was definitely worth the wait. This is the touching, exciting, and exotic story of a young man who inadvertantly joins the circus and is forever changed by it. Exploring dark themes of insanity, abuse, and the Depresseion, the novel also has tender relationships and a certain sweetness. It has it all, right? Go pick this up before your summer reading time is up, it's the best thing I read all summer.

Fannie Flagg's newest novel set in Elmwood Springs, Missouri, Can't Wait to Get to Heaven is just as full of sweet and sassy characters as the last couple, Welcome to the World, Baby Girl and Standing in the Rainbow. In this installment, set in current times, Aunt Elner and company ponder the meaning of life after a near-death (or back from death) experience. Without the bite of her previous novels, Flagg still creates rich and humorous characters. Of the trilogy, my personal favorite was the second, Standing in the Rainbow, but I love seeing how Flagg wraps up the lives of these beloved people in the last of the trilogy. It's definitely worth checking out.

Today I picked up the second installment in the Newbery award-winning children's series about Crispin, an orphan in the middle ages. Crispin: At the Edge of the World, by Avi, continues immediately where Crispin: The Cross of Lead left off. Crispin and Bear must flee for their lives when a brotherhood of spies believes that Bear has betrayed them. Bear is injured, and while they are hiding out in the forest, the two meet some colorful and interesting characters who join them in their further adventures. This is a worthy sequel to the first, highly acclaimed volume. Full of compassion, insights, and growth, I enjoyed this newest edition by Avi. While the publication date in my advance copy said September, it appears that the book is on the shelves now, so check it out and pass it along to your young reader.

Happy reading!

Bookshelf

My bookshelf is over-flowing right now. Here are some of my current picks:

A Year by the Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman, by Joan Anderson

A Glancing Light, by Aaron Elkins

Can't Wait to Get to Heaven, by Fannie Flagg

Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

Tenderwire, by Claire Kilroy

The Patriot, by Piers Paul Read

Eating Heaven, by Jennie Shortridge

Elements of Style, by Wendy Wasserstein

Hollywood Nanny

This past week I picked up a frivolous little book called You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again!: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Hollywood Nanny by Suzanne Hansen. I would guardedly recommend this as a beach read, but not much else.

This book is a memoir, a non-fiction mud-slinger, that is both defaming and titillating, but is NOT well-written. Suzy went from a small Oregon logging town to Hollywood where she quickly found work as nanny to the uber-powerful Michael Orvitz, a Hollywood agent who had only recently started his firm when the book takes place, in the 1980's. Her naivete is grating and the writing moves from gossipy to whiney as the story progresses. As one might expect, the family's attitudes and behavior are shocking and dehumanizing to any other than the powerful and the story follows the lines more entertaininly set out by the authors of the Nanny Diaries...nanny loves the kids and sees them more than the parents, nanny makes some trifling mistakes that are blown out of proportion, nanny is fired unfairly.

With the movie version of the fictional, but based in reality, Nanny Diaries coming out soon, I would stick to that one if you're going to choose a nanny expose to read this year. Suzanne Hansen's just seems mean-spirited as she names names all over Hollywood.

Amazing Blogger

I saw this story about the most amazing blogger today. Apparently, he started a blog to track his bartering and started with a paper clip...and ended with a house!

Check out this really interesting story.

And here's a link to his blog One Red Paperclip.

Vegas, Baby, Yeah!

I've been away in Las Vegas for the past few days and I didn't read a thing...unless you count the absolutely indispensible Best Places Las Vegas. I love the Best Places guides, which started in the Pacific Northwest and are published by Seattle-based Sasquatch Books. Written by locals and full of actually useful and in-the-know reviews, these are my must guides anywhere they publish. I had the 1st edition Vegas guide, published in 2001, which was a bit out dated in a city so in flux. Unfortunately, it looks like there hasn't been a newer edition. I hope one comes out soon.

Speaking of Vegas, I found a cool website from the UNLV libraries that has a bibliography of books, films, and photographs of Las Vegas architecture.

My personal Vegas bibliography is not too extensive, since I'm not such a fan of Mob histories or road trip books or things like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Here's mine:

Bad Kitty, by Michele Jaffe - even though this one is for teeny-boppers, it is soooo much fun for adults.

Bringing Down the House and Busting Vegas, both true stories of MIT kids with blackjack tricks by Ben Mezrich.

Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker, by James McManus; the title has it all, what more could you ask?

Your Friendly Librarian

YouTube

Apparently, I'm not the only one interested in YouTube this week. Along with Entertainment Weekly, NPR picked up some buzz about it too.

This morning on Morning Edition there was a story about YouTube and NPR's blog, Mixed Signals, features some comments on it as well.

I always enjoy finding out even more about the things the interest me (I guess that's why I'm a librarian).

Entertainment Websites and Blogs

The June 23 issue of Entertainment Weekly had a terrific list of 100 entertainment sites to "bookmark now". They approached their 25 favorite sites to recommend their 4 favorite sites and the results were pretty interesting. I would suggest checking the issue out for yourself.

I highlighted websites that sounded interesting to me and here's my list of cool entertainment websites and blogs, with annotations by EW.

I'll start with my very favorite find:
Celebrities-Eating.com
Just pictures of celebrities eating.

AllMusic.com
A reliable music database of albums and songs by artists ranging from Gnarls Barkley to Shakira.

Internet Movie Database
The unofficial bible of the entertainment world, and also the best way to cheat at the Kevin Bacon game.

National Public Radio
"The radio station that's always erudite but with a sense of whimsy." - Col Needham

YouTube.com
The ultimate source for viral videos, from dancing babies to Brokeback spoofs and beyond.

Metacritic.com
Think of it as a one-stop resource for summaries of film, DVD, television, book, game, and music reviews from various outlets.

CollisionDetection.net
Pop culture with a scientific and tech bent.

Defamer.com
Nobody does snarky Hollywood gossip like these bloggers, who recently influenced the artwork for Snakes on a Plane. (Snakes on a Plane is its own internet phenomenon, to hear a story about it, check out one that aired on NPR back in April.)

Panopticist.com
Cultural commentary.

GoFugYourself
Saucy attacks on celeb fashion foibles with annotations of red-carpet pics of Lindsay Lohan, etc.

Film-Releases.com
Studios' release schedules for the next two years.

Blog of a Bookslut
Guide to lit-world scandals.

Pollstar.com
The best source of national concert listings, broken down by venue.

HomestarRunner.com
A collection of cartoon shorts, emails, and inane games starring the animated antics of Strong Bad and Homestar - I love Strong Bad!

Robscrab.com
Schrab makes coller F/X with cardboard than Industrial Light & Magic, and posts it for free.

Slate.com
Witty pop-culture coverage from critiques of Beyonce's iTunes picks to "why Tom Cruise should disappear for a year."

Arts & Letters Daily
The site "catalogs every piece of high-brow cultural criticism." - Slate

Arts Journal: The Daily Digest of Arts, Culture and Ideas
I stumbled across this one while following links and it's a really cool journal of all kinds of things of interest to those of us in liberal arts.

Enjoy this mixed bag of sites to entertain and educate.

Your Friendly Librarian

Autism and Al Capone

In one of those amazing coincidences, I read Al Capone Does My Shirts , by Gennifer Choldenko, today in one sitting and then listened to an incredible feature on autism and Asperger's Syndrome on NPR's All Things Considered.

In the 2005 Newbery honored book, Choldenko tells the story of Moose, an otherwise normal kid who happens to live at Alcatraz. Set in Depression-era San Francisco, the story weaves together cool facts about the real families of guards and staff who lived in quarters on the famous island, regular juvenile high jinks, and the special relationship between a boy and his autistic sister.

The story has the typical conflicts of making new friends at a new school, impressing girls, and family disagreements, but the unique setting puts a whole new spin on things. I loved the titular episode where Piper, the warden's scheming daughter, sells Al Capone's laundry services to the kids at school. Al Capone ran the wringer in the laundry room at Alcatraz, where all of the employees' laundry was done, as well as the prisoners'.

Autism was not a broadly recognized disorder until 1943, a fact that makes the story of Moose's sister Natalie all the more poignant. Natalie is 16, but the kids' mother refuses to admit that she has aged beyond 10 years old. The mother's denial is based partly on the fact that treatment centers viewed children past the age of 12 as beyond help and partly because of a harsh comment a relative made when Natalie was 10. A side story in the book deals with the family's attempts to get Natalie accepted to a special school that might help her get past the various obsessions and behavioral disorders that rule her life. A reader now would recognize Natalie's obsession with numbers, her ability to place birthdates, her rocking, and her inability to connect with people as traits of autism, but at the time many people just saw her as crazy and suggested that she be put away. The family's difficult daily decisions and the gentleness between the 13-year-old Moose and Natalie are a wonderful introduction to younger readers of a problem that affects more and more people all the time.

According to the Autism Society of America, autism now affects 4.5 out of every 10,000 live births. To read more about these statistics click here.

Bookshelf

My bookshelf right now is overflowing with teen reads like these:

Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko

A Mango-Shaped Space, by Wendy Mass

The Queen of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner

Zel, by Donna Jo Napoli

24 Girls in 7 Days, by Alex Bradley

Second Sight, by Gary Blackwood

Darcy and Elizabeth

For those of you who know me or have seen which direction my tastes lean over the reading of my blog, you will know that I am a big fan of Jane Austen sequels, no matter how dubious they might seem. Well, imagine my joy to find a sequel to my favorite and the most dubious sequel of all, Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll. The new sequel is Darcy and Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley and just came out in May. I can't wait to get my hands on it! Racy stuff!

Running around online, I found the Austen fan site, The Republic of Pemberley, where most sequels to all the different novels are listed. Pretty cool.

A Death in Belmont

I have to credit Sebastian Junger for writing a masterful and terrifying memoir of how the Boston Strangler touched his life. A Death in Belmont makes a great non-fiction thriller for summer reading!

I first read an excerpt from the book in April's Vanity Fair, complete with eerie photographs. When I picked up the book, I was looking forward to reading it, but found after about two chapters that despite knowing what was to come, the book was actually a little too scary for me to read alone in my house at night! Knowing as much as I do from the excerpt, I will highly recommend it, but I could not get any further. Try it for yourself.

Read an interview with Sebastian Junger from his visit to Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon.

Your Friendly Librarian

Bookshelf

Here are the books sitting on my to-be-read bookshelf right now:

A Death in Belmont, by Sebastian Junger

The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Althea Darcy, by Elizabeth Aston

Fever Pitch, by Nick Hornby

Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies, by June Casagrande

The Geographer's Library, by Jon Fasman

More from BEA 2006

I have a little time now, so I can continue telling you about the exciting new books coming out in the fall that I saw at Book Expo America, and the authors I met.

I am really excited about a novel called Alabama Moon (FSG, 09/06), by first time author Watt Key. This is for middle grade to teen readers and is about a boy who grew up in the wilderness with an anti-establishmentarian father. When his father dies, Moon must make his own way in the world, trying his best to follow his father's philosophy of not taking anything from anyone. Full of adventure, hunting, and survival skills, this will be a favorite of reluctant reading boys and fans of books like Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. I attended a lunch with Watt Key and he was a fun and engaging speaker. Most of the skills and scrapes that Moon experiences are things that he experienced himself, growing up in the swampland of the Deep South and during a survival project in college. The writing is tender and tart and smacks of true experience. Look out for this one, it should be a winner.

New author Obert Skye visited a group of school children I was involved with in Alexandria, Virginia, when he wrote Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo, (Shadow Mountain, 4/05). This fantasy novel completely grabbed the imaginations of these kids, as did the author's own sincere belief in every aspect of the world he created. Months later, these kids were still talking about the book and saying it was their all-time favorite. Well, the second book, Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret, will be released this fall and the series has been picked up by Simon & Schuster with a big advertising campaign behind it. I hope more readers will pick up the series and get sucked in to the world of Foo.

A new mystery series for young readers, Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars, by Tracy Mack and Michael Citrin, will open this fall with The Fall of the Amazing Walendas (Scholastic, 9/06). Written by the editor of Chasing Vermeer, the book uses many of the same techniques to draw kids in, with ciphers, mysterious artwork, and a fairly mature tone. It has been a number of years since a kids book took up the story of Holmes's child spies and this one should be welcome. The book's design is really beautiful, with old-fashioned art and tooling. I am eager to read more of this chapter in the series and hope to see more to come.

Other new books to watch for:
Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull (Shadow Mountain, 8/06)

Kiki Strike, by Kirsten Miller (Bloomsbury, 5/06)

I've Got an Elephant, by Anne Ginkel (Peachtree, 9/06)

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, by Barry Lyga (Houghton Mifflin, 10/06)

Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo (Orchard, 9/06) UK edition available now.

One of the highlights of my trip to BEA was the private pop-up book making workshop I attended, taught by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart. There were about 20 people in attendance and we all were offered personal help as we learned to make creative cuts in paper and create our own pop-ups. These guys are so much fun! The team's most recent pop-up is Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Sharks and Other Sea Monsters (Candlewick, 4/06). They also have Castle (Orchard Books) coming out in August. Matthew Reinhart's new book this fall will be a pop-up version of The Jungle Book (Simon & Schuster, 10/06). I can't believe how many new books they have coming out with so much detail! They are so passionate about what they do.

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Powell's Books Passes the Mantle

I want to thank my grandma and my loyal reader, Libby from Bellingham, Washington, for sending me an article from the Seattle Times profiling the Powell family and the store's changing hands from father to daughter. Powell's is my favorite bookstore in the country and I use their website and online ordering for this blog. If you're ever in Portland, Oregon, it's definitely worth checking out.

Emily Powell is just 27 years old, but she has been planning on running the store since she was 8. I look forward to seeing how she guides the store and hope it continues to be the successful book mecca it is today.

You can check out the article from May 21 on the newspaper's website. You will need to set up a free account to access the archives.

Your Friendly Librarian

Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards

A colleague of mine in Boston let me know that the 2006 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards have been announced. This award for excellence in children's literature is considered prestigious among librarians, authors, and children's literature professionals, but is little known outside of those circles. The Horn Book is the premier journal reviewing children's literature and a starred review is highly coveted.

I highly recommend the journal, which is published out of Boston bi-monthly. Many of my colleagues in Boston, where I attended library school at Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science, are involved with the Horn Book one way or another. The Boston Athenaeum, where I was an intern, annually hosts the award ceremony. This year, as in years past, people I know sit on the jury for the awards. This year my favorite professor, Margaret Bush, was on the jury. Obviously, I really like this resource and hold it close to my heart.

Anyway, I was excited to see that Kate DiCamillo's The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (see my review in March's archive) won the prize in the category of fiction and poetry. Other winners include the gorgeous Leaf Man, by Lois Ehlert, in picture books and If You Decide to Go to the Moon, by Faith McNulty, for non-fiction.

To see a list of the winners and honor books, follow the link to the award page of the Horn Book's website.

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