Blast from the Past

One of the panels at KidlitCon was all about blogging the backlist - that is, older books. We often get caught up in the bright shiny new sparkly books out there, and forget what great books have been published already. Whether these books are four years old or forty, there's a kid out there who hasn't read it yet, and that's why they still deserve to be talked about. Too, if they are forty years old, it's an education to go back and look at them with 21st century eyes.

Over at her Fire Escape, Mitali Perkins is picking up this idea and running with it, by way of what she calls a Cuci Mata reading of classic children's books, to see how they read to our eyes. First on the docket: Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace. If this is an old favorite, or you've never picked it up, stop on by to join the fun.

And of course, I don't need to remind you that most of these marvelous older books are available at your local library.

Top 100 YA Books of All Time

Lo, in those days, Persnickety Snark sent out a command. And she spake thusly: "Thou shalt gather thy top ten YA books of all time, and thou shalt send them unto me. Eleven shalt thou not gather, neither shalt thou gather nine, excepting that it be on the way to ten. Twelve is right out."

And then did the Bibliovore wail, and gnash her teeth, and tear her hair, for it was a grievously difficult command. But finally it was done, and sent in, and hopefully, the Internet shall see it and know that it is good.

1. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton - I'd heard about this book for years, but never read it. When I finally picked it up, I thought, It can't be that good. Nothing can be that good. OH BUT IT IS. Bobby and Suzy can just go suck their malts, because this is real life--doing your best with what you've got, which frankly ain't much, and navigating the unholy mess that is the adult world, where people hate each other or love each other for the way they comb their hair.

2. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume - Okay, this one's a little young. But I think that older teens can still read it, because it takes the biggest questions about growing up and looks at them head-on. Who is God? Who am I? Am I really ready for this grown-up stuff? And best of all? Blume gives us no answers, just the reassurance that it's OK to ask the questions.

3. A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle - Another Big Question book. Why do people die? And how is it possible to live with joy knowing that it will all end someday?

4. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - The high school ostracism, the slow reveal of What Really Happened, the healing through art . . . another book that couldn't possibly be as good as people say it is, and yet it is.

5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Just like the Outsiders, this is about doing what nobody ever have to do and facing what nobody should ever have to face, and coming out the other side. (BTW? TEAM PEETA.)

6. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler - Being yourself when yourself isn't good enough for your family takes a special kind of courage. I especially loved that she didn't lose any weight but got buff instead. Kick-boxing girls FTW!

7. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot - Actually, the whole series, with all its tangle of embarassments, false starts, mistakes in love, and the agonizing process of constantly redefining friendships, relationships, and self. Which proves that just because you're a princess doesn't make your life perfect. Far from it.

8. Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr - The slut/stud dichotomy, the fracture of family, the daddy's little girl syndrome . . . I could talk for hours about this book.

9. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by David Levithin and Rachel Cohn - This is the kind of thing that could only happen when you're a teenager. And yeah, it's not likely to happen to a lot of teenagers, but falling in love almost at first sight, the trippy Alice-in-Wonderland odyssey through New York's indie music scene, the weird friends . . . it could only happen once in your life, if it happens at all.

10. Boy Toy by Barry Lyga - Another one about sex and power, and the messed-up way our society approaches it.

And since I only remembered about it a couple of days before it was due, this was all those books I could think of right away. (And there you have a summary of my entire scholastic career.) I know I'll see the final list and shriek, "OH MY GOD HOW COULD I FORGET THAT ONE?!?!" several times.

What's on your top ten list?

Top 100 Children's Books of All Time - My Score

It's a rule of the internet - you give us a list, we'll give you a meme. Another rule is that if it exists, there is a fetish community for it, but this post has nothing to do with that.

This one's based on Betsy Bird's top 100 children's books of all time and has been bouncing happily around the kidlitosphere since Betsy announced the number one book on Monday morning. It's very simple, bold the ones you've read. I'm going to go one further and star the ones that I read as a kid. Of course, it being me, I have to provide color commentary.

100. The Egypt Game - Snyder (1967) *
99. The Indian in the Cupboard - Banks (1980) *
98. Children of Green Knowe - Boston (1954)
97. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - DiCamillo (2006)
96. The Witches - Dahl (1983) *
95. Pippi Longstocking - Lindgren (1950) *
94. Swallows and Amazons - Ransome (1930)
93. Caddie Woodlawn - Brink (1935) *
92. Ella Enchanted - Levine (1997)
91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School - Sachar (1978) *
I still remember, vividly, the kid who got the potato tattoo. Potato! Tattoo!!
90. Sarah, Plain and Tall - MacLachlan (1985) *
89. Ramona and Her Father - Cleary (1977)*
88. The High King - Alexander (1968)
I don't actually remember if I did or not. Ugh. Isn't that awful?
87. The View from Saturday - Konigsburg (1996)
86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Rowling (1999)
85. On the Banks of Plum Creek - Wilder (1937) *
84. The Little White Horse - Goudge (1946)
83. The Thief - Turner (1997)
I remember reading this for the first time and going, "Hey, MWT can't do that in first person! But she DID. And it was AWESOME."
82. The Book of Three - Alexander (1964)
81. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Lin (2009)
Loved it. Reviewed it. Smirked at my own perspicacity. Then had to spell-check perspicacity.
80. The Graveyard Book - Gaiman (2008)
79. All-of-a-Kind-Family - Taylor (1951)*
78. Johnny Tremain - Forbes (1943)*
77. The City of Ember - DuPrau (2003)
76. Out of the Dust - Hesse (1997)
75. Love That Dog - Creech (2001)
74. The Borrowers - Norton (1953)*
73. My Side of the Mountain - George (1959)
72. My Father's Dragon - Gannett (1948)*
71. The Bad Beginning - Snicket (1999)
70. Betsy-Tacy - Lovelace (1940)
69. The Mysterious Benedict Society - Stewart ( 2007)
68. Walk Two Moons - Creech (1994)
67. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher - Coville (1991)*
66. Henry Huggins - Cleary (1950)*
65. Ballet Shoes - Streatfeild (1936)*
64. A Long Way from Chicago - Peck (1998)
63. Gone-Away Lake - Enright (1957)
62. The Secret of the Old Clock - Keene (1959)*
61. Stargirl - Spinelli (2000)
60. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - Avi (1990)
59. Inkheart - Funke (2003)
58. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Aiken (1962)*
I still remember figuring out the secret of a secondary character and going, "Oh! OH!" I love that feeling.
57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 - Cleary (1981)*
56. Number the Stars - Lowry (1989)*
55. The Great Gilly Hopkins - Paterson (1978)
54. The BFG - Dahl (1982)*
53. Wind in the Willows - Grahame (1908)
I tried! Honestly, I did!
52. The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007)
51. The Saturdays - Enright (1941)
50. Island of the Blue Dolphins - O'Dell (1960)*
49. Frindle - Clements (1996)
48. The Penderwicks - Birdsall (2005)
47. Bud, Not Buddy - Curtis (1999)
46. Where the Red Fern Grows - Rawls (1961)
45. The Golden Compass - Pullman (1995)
44. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing - Blume (1972)*
I was traumatized by Fudge eating the turtle. That poor turtle! Swimming around in Fudge's stomach!
43. Ramona the Pest - Cleary (1968)*
42. Little House on the Prairie - Wilder (1935)*
41. The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Speare (1958)*
One of my first swoony romantic books. Oh, Nat! With your huge, manly . . . ship.
40. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Baum (1900)
39. When You Reach Me - Stead (2009)
38. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Rowling (2003)
37. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Taylor (1976)
36. Are You there, God? It's Me, Margaret - Blume (1970)*
Like practically every American girl since 1970, I owe my understanding of menstruation to Judy Blume. I was also kind of blown away by Margaret's Jewish/Catholic family.
35. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Rowling (2000)
34. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - Curtis (1995)
33. James and the Giant Peach - Dahl (1961)*
32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - O'Brian (1971)*
31. Half Magic - Eager (1954)*
30. Winnie-the-Pooh - Milne (1926)
Parts of it. Do parts count? Do I get, like, .5 point?
29. The Dark Is Rising - Cooper (1973)*
Probably kickstarted my Anglophilia.
28. A Little Princess - Burnett (1905)*
27. Alice I and II - Carroll (1865/72)*
26. Hatchet - Paulsen (1989)*
Weirdly enough, the old cover looked exactly like my brother. No. Exactly. It was freaky, I tell you.
25. Little Women - Alcott (1868/9)*
24. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Rowling (2007)
23. Little House in the Big Woods - Wilder (1932)*
22. The Tale of Despereaux - DiCamillo (2003)
21. The Lightning Thief - Riordan (2005)
20. Tuck Everlasting - Babbitt (1975)
I know. I know!
19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Dahl (1964)
18. Matilda - Dahl (1988)*
Did anyone else jump up in the middle of class and shriek, "I KNEW IT!" when Miss Honey revealed who the Trunchbull was? No? Just me then.
17. Maniac Magee - Spinelli (1990)*
16. Harriet the Spy - Fitzhugh (1964)*
15. Because of Winn-Dixie - DiCamillo (2000)
14. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Rowling (1999)
My favorite Harry Potter. I knew from the beginning what Harry would do for his parents' murderer. I got the identity wrong, of course, but I knew what he'd do.
13. Bridge to Terabithia - Paterson (1977)*
I . . . I . . . I'm getting a little verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves.
12. The Hobbit - Tolkien (1938)
Never got the love for this book, or LOTR in general. Only reason I finished it was because I was reading it for a class. I am now erecting a tomato barrier.
11. The Westing Game - Raskin (1978)
Actually, I may have. Or maybe it was her other one. Y'all, I just don't know anymore.
10. The Phantom Tollbooth - Juster (1961)
9. Anne of Green Gables - Montgomery (1908)
True story, I once declared my intention of naming any future children Anne and Gilbert. Luckily for them, they haven't materialized yet.
8. The Secret Garden - Burnett (1911) *
First child I ever encountered in a book who was a brat and not ashamed of it one bit. Too awesome.
7. The Giver -Lowry (1993)*
I never knew there was a controversy about the end until years after I read it. Amazement. Wasn't it obvious that he lived?
6. Holes - Sachar (1998)
I once used this book to explain the concept of magical realism to a family member. Still not sure they got it.
5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - Koningsburg (1967)*
I was so envious of these kids. They got to swim in a fountain.
4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Lewis (1950)*
I felt soooo smart for spotting the resurrection allusion when I was ten. Of course, I had no notion it was intentional. I thought it was a neat coincidence. Oh, small me. So clever and yet so dumb.
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Rowling (1997)
Ensnared from the first line. ". . . perfectly normal, thank you very much!"
2. A Wrinkle in Time - L'Engle (1962)*
Speaking of book crushes, raise your hand if you still have a secret soft spot for gangly, smart redheads who talk about "dreamboat eyes.". . . The rest of you are lying.
1. Charlotte's Web - White (1952) *
After sobbing my way through Charlotte's exceedingly gentle death, the ending soothed my bruised heart.

What's my score? 77/100, a little lower than I thought but not utterly shame-making, especially since it counts books I'm not sure if I've read and books I tried to read and couldn't.

Something occurred to me as I was going through this list, and it's that so many of the books I read as a child, I don't actually remember what happens, but I remember the feel of the book. I remember what it made me think of and ponder and obsess over. Also, I remember where I was. I can picture almost perfectly the classroom and the time of day where I first found out who the Trunchbull was to Miss Honey. I remember sitting on my toy chest in my room and reading about Laura in the Big Woods. I remember getting The Secret Garden for my ninth birthday and ignoring my new Barbie doll to read it. I couldn't give you a synopsis of most of these books if my life depended on it, but they're still there, sitting in some corner of my brain like a jewel in a dragon's cave, occasionally sparkling up into my thoughts when the light turns the right way.

And that's why children's literature is important.

Top 100 Chapter Books of All Time

If there's a poll to be done, trust Betsy Bird to take it on. Her latest project is the top 100 chapter books of all time. That link goes to numbers 100-90, but she's added links to the rest of the list at the bottom.

I meant to post about this while the poll was open, but kept putting it off until--oops!--it was closed. So I'm linking to the results. What do you think? Agree or disagree? For my money, the best part is reading the snippets that other people sent in with their favorites. Although I have to say that her inclusion of all the various covers and trailers from movie adaptations is pretty cool as well.

Fantastic Mr Fox Featurette

I got this one from 100 Scope Notes--a featurette on the upcoming "Fantastic Mr. Fox" movie. It's done in that incredible stop-motion animation, and while it does appear to be set in the US, if you go by the accents, everything else about it looks made of awesome.

Why Unshelved is the Best

Awesomeness.

Favorites of our Favorites

I'm always interested to see what today's whizbang children's writers loved when they were kids, and apparently I'm not alone. (For proof, look no further than the recent renaissance of The Little White Horse after J.K. Rowling pointed to it as her favorite childhood read.) Recently, some of Britain's top children's authors each picked their own Top Seven list. As the article writer notes:

Children's laureates Quentin Blake, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo, Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Rosen each selected seven books but have favoured the classics over the modern era. Only five of the 35 books selected were published during the last 20 years.

We could argue all day about why that is, but I couldn't help noticing that some of the titles were new even to me. Hooray, more books to read!

The Original Anarchist

Found this one on the Child_Lit listserv: A Girl in Full from Haaretz-Israel News--an article on Pippi Longstocking, there known as Bilbi.

I initially thought, "Oh, how interesting, Pippi in translation." (Forgetting, of course, in my US-centric fashion, that Pippi is already in translation, having been written originally in Swedish. D'oh.) Then I got to readin'.

"You have all the elements that create a hit," says Prof. Adir Cohen, an expert in children's literature from the Department of Education at the University of Haifa. "There is imagination, effusive humor, the breaching of frameworks, readable language and characters that readers can identify with. The nonconformism is marvelous, and so are the swipes at sacred cows, such as school and the police."

It's a fantastic article about one of the wildest kids in children's lit. While I was prepared for an account of how Pippi affected one particular country and culture, I realized that just as her appeal is universal, so are her effects. It's long, but you won't be sorry you read it.

The Tripods Are Coming

. . . to the silver screen, anyway. Did that freak you out? I'll admit it, a little shiver went down my spine.

I vividly remember reading that series around the age of twelve or thirteen. For some reason, the thing that sticks in my head was that not only were people mind-controlled (by means of a mesh cap applied by the Tripods in the early teen years), but even the uncapped kids were brainwashed into believing that the cap was a rite of passage, a sign of adulthood. Talk about efficient control of the masses. Yikes.

Luv is in the Air

Fine, okay, I know V-Day isn't until Saturday. But you should still be prepared with this list of teen romances from Donna Freitas. Display time!

I am a sop from way back. I was reading historical romance novels at twelve (and still do, in between kids and teen books), and that made me quite the conneisseur of (fictional) relationships. I've read a lot of teen books with romantic subplots, but it takes something special to make me smile and say, "Yeah, they're meant for each other." They've got to be good, strong, imperfect characters who make each other better. Here are some of my personal favorites.

Eugenides and Attolia - The Queen of Attolia (The Queen's Thief, Book 2) by Megan Whalen Turner (And there's a scene in the sequel that is quite frankly Made of Hot.)
Harry and Corlath - The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Will and Kate - Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott
Katsa and Po - Graceling by Kristin Cashore
George and Beatrice - The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison

And if you love the sweet, sweet mush as I do but get annoyed at the less-than-satisfying "romances" in the teen section, there's a new blogger out there in bloglandia doing the work for us. Ana over at Young Adult Romance Reviews not only features teen books with love stories, but breaks it down for those who love the romance. How much is there? How physical is it? How satisfying is it? (As a romance, you sick puppy!) She seems to be posting pretty steadily, and I hope she keeps it up.

Anyway, that's it for me. What are some of your favorite romantic books?

The Books That Changed Your Life

From the Detroit News, an article that asks, "What are the books that really changed your life?" and answers, "Probably a children's book." Further quotage

It's not that children's books are pure entertainment, innocent of any didactic goal — what grown-ups enviously call "Reading for Fun." On the contrary, the reading we do as children may be more serious than any reading we'll ever do again. Books for children and young people are unashamedly prescriptive: They're written, at least in part, to teach us what the world is like, how people are, and how we should behave — as my colleague Megan Kelso (The Squirrel Mother) puts it, "How to be a human being."

He waxes a bit rhapsodic about the Wholesome Lessons for the Kiddies in children's books, but I think he's got some points in there. And of course, it's nice to see some respect for the literature.

Prepping the Canon

Over at the Guardian, Tim Martin discusses the possibility of a children's literature canon. He offers some title suggestions, but I wonder whether we need one at all.

There are always the books we believe every kid should read, but that tends to fluctuate wildly from person to person. Some of us can't stand the idea that a child hasn't read The Secret Garden, and others believe it's a requirement for graduating elementary school that a kid reads Charlotte's Web.

This is a subject that comes up every now and then. The only benefit I can see is that a canon might lend the study of children's lit some respect in academic circles. On the other hand, maybe not. Canon is becoming something of a dirty word in literary criticism these days.

What do you think?

Friday Glee #1

I come across so many neat little anecdotes and tidbits from the world of kidlit--from news, from other bloggers--that I find myself doing mini-posts that are really nothing more than a link and some sort of comment, often snarky. So this week, I'm experimenting with a collective post.

• Daphne over at The Longstockings relates what happened when, during a Q&A session at her old high school, a teacher basically asked her when she was going to start writing real books and leave the kidlit behind. It will make you happy in your heart. Thanks to Lisa Chellman's blog for pointing the way.
• More proof that villains have all the fun: Narnia's White Witch and Peter Pan's Captain Hook were named the scariest bad guys in children's literature in a British survey by Penguin books. They polled adults, so it's weighted toward classic baddies, but He Who Must Not Be Named did make the list.
• Confession time: I'm not a fan of James Patterson's novels. But I might be a fan of his website, ReadKiddoRead. It includes booklists broken down by age, author interviews, and a community area for parents. Good show, Patterson. Thanks to Cheryl Rainfield for the link.
• In the I-Laughed-Myself-Into-Hiccups category: I couldn't tell which girl this Twilight doll was supposed to be. Finally, I just clicked through--and found out it was Edward. Pattinson, you might want to have a discussion with those marketing guys. Go see the rest, but make sure you don't have anything in your mouth when you do. Bookshelves of Doom, natch.
• I'm soooo tempted not to say anything about this, but I will. Readergirlz is giving away 25 sets of Ellen Emerson White's The President's Daughter quartet. Yeah, I said 25. Yowza. Drop on by and enter your bad self. Thanks again to Bookshelves of Doom.
• David Lubar is being his usual serious and humorless self, and offering an extremely valuable service to 99.99% of children's and YA authors during this awards season. Go see what it is.
• One of the most neato-keen covers of the year was Ingrid Law's Savvy, with its blazing sunset reflecting off swirling clouds. Turns out Mother Nature was there first. Drop on by the Astronomy Picture of the Day for a surprisingly familiar photo and a scientific-like explanation.
  

Okay, what do you think? Should I bundle together, like a cable company? Or go back to mini-posts?

What Do You Think?

When I heard the news about the proposed Winnie the Pooh sequel, Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, I shared it with my co-worker, who let out a heartfelt groan of disgust.

Of course it's about money, but does it follow that the sequel will be awful? Now I have to be honest. I've never read the two originals *ducking rotten tomatoes* but I have heard that it has a very definite and somewhat solemn ending. Does anybody out there (who has read it) think the same thing as my co-worker? Is this a stupid idea?

The nice thing is that no matter how many bad sequels are made (DISNEY I AM LOOKING AT YOU) nothing can ruin a truly high quality original.

Maybe It's Me

But does anybody else look at this pic from the Astronomy Picture of the Day blog and think of Madeleine L'Engle's Echthroi? No? How 'bout this one?

I am assured that the dark splodges are caused by the presence of something (dust and molecular gas) rather than the absence of things. Still. Yikes.

Like You Needed It . . .

. . . proof that I'm a gigantic dork: Pride and Prejudice told via Facebook updates.

Snrk.

Classics vs. Popular?

Okay, as a recovering English major, I'm really torn on this one.

Check out What's So Great About Shakespeare Anyway? It's an opinion piece where the author begs literature teachers to give the dusty classics a rest and get on board with great new YA stuff. (How new, and how YA, we can argue another time, since she cites only The Giver, The Lovely Bones, and The Secret Life of Bees. Lowry is good stuff, for sure, but I can think of numerous others.)

Now ordinarily I would be jumping for joy, since yes! I do think that teachers should incorporate contemporary literature in their classrooms, both for the appeal and because they do confront thorny issues.

What gets me is that the author seems to view classics as being opposed to contemporary lit, i.e. it's one or the other. As someone who read and loved the complete works of Jane Austen (minus Mansfield Park; bleaaaah!!) as well as knowing my library's YA and children's sections up, down, and sideways, I'm more in favor of using a mix. The reason the classics are great is because they still speak to many. The reason modern lit is great is the same reason.

What are your thoughts?

The Tragicall Historie of Rusty, Prince of Baseball

It's Monday. You need a funny. Here ya go.



ETA: Take a drink for every play you can name from this video.

Happy Birthday Paddington!

Paddington Bear is 50!

To tell you guys the truth, Paddington always struck me as being somewhere in his forties, a dear middle-aged duffer with questionable fashion sense, gently earnest outlook, and comfortable in his own skin.

Check out the link for an article about Paddington Bear, his writer, and his illustrator(s). Also, there will be a new Paddington book in June in the UK, so hopefully soon after in the US!

Thanks to Trisha at Kids Lit for the link.

I Can Haz Wardrobe?

Sarah Beth Durst, of Into the Wild fame, is running a contest on her website to promote the publication of an upcoming essay collection about The Chronicles of Narnia called Through the Wardrobe.

The book sounds very cool, and the contest even better. You've heard of LOLCats, right? (Just nod. It'll make it easier on you. Now go Google it.) Anyway, we have to make up some LOLAslans for the delight and edification of Sarah Beth and all her readers. Winners get a copy of Through the Wardrobe. It only runs through March 30th, so brush up on your LOLspeak and find a good picture to caption.