Comment Challenge Begins!

Why yes, I am doing Lee Wind and MotherReader's annual Comment Challenge, the commitment to post at least 100 comments over the next 21 days. What's that? You are too? Well, isn't that delightful!

Alternatively . . .

What do you mean you haven't signed up yet? I'm sure you just aren't aware of this wonderful yearly opportunity to connect or reconnect with your fellow kidlit book bloggers, discover some awesome new blogs, and show off your own lovely blog!

Hogwarts: A History (in Movie Posters)

Betsy Bird of Fuse #8 pointed me at this fascinating blog post from Empire Magazine's website: Harry Potter movie posters through the years. It's a neat little encapsulation of the changes from the first book/movie to the last, in character and tone.

I particularly like how Ron went from being the silly sidekick to (finally!) more dark and interesting in the posters for the last two movies. That's always annoyed me about the movies, that Ron, who is a goofball but brave and smart in his own unique way in the books, got relegated to comic relief while Harry and Hermione got to do all the good stuff. Naturally, the Ron bits were my favorite part of the most recent movie, because he got a lot of good stuff. Huzzah!

For Your Blogroll

In honor of Veteran's Day today, I want to point you at a neat little blog I heard about at KidLitCon: The Children's War. This blog focuses on current and older books written about kids during WWII.

That sounds like a pretty narrow field of focus, and it is, but they still manage to post really neat books at least once or twice a week. It's a young blog, only since June, but I like the mix of fiction and nonfiction, newer and older, and the in-depth reviews.

Happy Veteran's Day everyone. Go hug a soldier.

A Brand New Way to Mock the Awards

. . . huh. Something about that title just don't sound right.

January is only three months away, which means that award speculation started some . . . uh . . . nine months ago. Mock awards are a staple of school and public librarians looking to expend some of that speculative energy. Well, now some genius on Goodreads has come up with a new way to hold Mock Newbery/Caldecotts/Printzes - lists which the public can add to and vote up. Here they be: Newbery 2011, Printz 2011, and 2011 Caldecott Hopefuls

Let the frenzied ballot-box-stuffing begin. All my Newbery clicks are currently going to Sharon Draper's Out of My Mind, but that may be because I haven't read Deborah Wiles' much-loved Countdown yet.

Okay, and I know I may get tomato'd for this, but I don't think Mockingjay belongs on the Newbery list. Printz, oh, hells yes. All kindsa yes. But not the Newbery, folks. What do you think? Who will you vote up?

Thanks to 100 Scope Notes for the link.

Edited to Correct: the title of Mockingjay. I said The Hunger Games at first. Thanks for the correction, Mike!

Banned Books Links and Stuff

It's Banned Books Week again, which means links are cropping up like daisies in spring.

• HuffPo recently posted a slideshow of 15 (count 'em) movies that were made from books that have been banned or challenged. Some of them are not so much of a surprise (Harry Potter, Brokeback Mountain) and some were new to me (Gone with the Wind?)
• The Goddess of YA Literature gives us some tips about knowing thine enemy.
• 100 Scope Notes shares a Mental_Floss quiz about why certain books have been banned. It's a few years old (hence question 9), but it still might surprise you.
• The librarian response to book banning is to explain that it's each individual parent's responsibility for what their own child reads. We don't hear much from the parent end of it, but author Aprilynne Pike shares just that in a guest post over at Eve's Fan Garden. Awesometastic, Madame Pike.
• Stop on by the comic strip The New Adventures of Queen Victoria for their 2010 Banned Books tribute, which started last Saturday. My personal favorite is Monday's. Bwaha.
• Last but not least: a video! It's from last year (hence the hinky dates) but this much awesome does not expire. 

Lee Wind and the Great Debate

Hop on over to Hunger Mountain, kiddies, and watch our own Lee Wind weigh in on "GLBTQ Teen Coming Out Stories: Move Beyond Them, or Keep ‘Em Coming?"

For me, I love GLBTQ books that show kids who are homosexual and that's their life. The coming out to the major players in their life is accomplished, and now they're dealing with other Life Stuff, just like any other kid. They're a gay kid or a lesbian, but they're not The Gay Kid or The Lesbian, like that's the sum total of their existence. For gay or lesbian kids reading about themselves, it's good to know that they are not their sexuality. For straight friends and family, that's also good to know that their friend/brother/sister is still their friend/brother/sister even with this new aspect of their identity.

On the other hand, as Lee says, a lot of places and people aren't so accepting as we would like, and for a lot of kids, understanding their sexuality and coming out are a major source of angst and even fear. They need books that show these experiences honestly, with all the bumps and bruises but the reassurance that's it's better to be yourself than to live a lie.

So . . . what do you think? Do we still need coming out novels on our shelves or should we focus on books with kids who happen to be gay?

GLTB YA (and Libraries) in the New Yorker

Via E. Lockhart's Facebook feed, I found this article in the New Yorker, Books With Gay Themes for Young Readers Take Off.

Libraries didn't come off very well: the article interviews one teen who got a flat-out "No way," when asking for GLBT books at his middle school library, only found books for adults at his public library, and had to go to a bookstore to find the real stuff. Ouch. He's not alone, either:

Recent research in Texas, for instance, indicated a strong ''I don't serve those teens'' attitude among librarians.

''It's the argument that drives me crazy,'' said Teri Lesesne, who teaches young adult lit in the Department of Library Science at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.

''It's like, `Yeah, you do.' They might not be coming in and saying, `Hi, I'm gay or I'm bi or I'm transgender or I'm questioning my own identity,' because they're afraid,'' she said. ''But they're there and they're looking for these books.''

Now, I know not all libraries or librarians are like that. Couldn't they have found one example of a public or school librarian who said, "Oh, yeah, I recommend those books all the time. Wanna see my display?" Sigh.

Still, it's a good article, with mentions of the recent John Green/David Levithin collaboration Will Grayson, Will Grayson and the book that peeked around closet doors the same year that man landed on the moon, John Donovan's I'll Get There, It Better Be Worth the Trip.

Things I wish they'd included? A booklist. They did mention some great authors (Julie Anne Peters! Woot!) but would it have killed 'em to go, "Check out these awesome books too!"?

Still, they did get a wonderful quote in there:

''I see the [gay] characters trickling into the mainstream genres. I really like that,'' Brent said. ''It makes being gay feel natural, which it is, of course. Books give you hope.''

Dooooooooooom . . . or not

So I hear that the TV show "Glee" is going to be releasing prequel novels in August, just to whip us all into a musical-theatre frenzy before the show's return in the fall. And normally, I would put my Cynical Hat on at the news of another cheap TV tie-in. (AHEM Hannah Montana AHEM.) 

But I'm going to confess that I love Glee. And my Cynical Hat is appalled to learn that I actually think the events and characters in this show would translate to reasonably decent YA novels, in the hands of the right writers. I mean, we're probably not going to get the singing and dancing. But Rachel, Finn, Quinn, Kurt, Mercedes, Artie, and Tina, with all their drama, dreams, and identity struggles, would not be out of place in my YA section.

What do you think? Is your Cynical Hat on? And what does it look like? Mine is a large black stovepipe with foghorns, by the way.

Linkity Linkity Loo

Yes, kiddies, it's time for me to clean out my Google Reader once again. Aren't you lucky!

• This is an older Booklights post, but one worth re-reading: When I Was Your Age . . . Susan talks about her experience with parents who can't understand why their second-grader isn't interested in Nancy Drew or other classics. After all, the parent loved them when they were a kid! As Susan points out, when did you love them? In second grade? Or in fifth? She gently explains why the Hardy Boys might be daunting to a kid fresh off Magic Tree House and gives suggestions as to what to explore next.
• When I heard that Hope Larson, author of Chiggers and Mercury, was adapting A Wrinkle in Time in graphic form, I went, "Hmmm!" I'm cautiously intrigued. The lady's good at translating inner turmoil into graphic novel form, and who's more tumultuous than Meg Murray?
• Oh, did you know Dan Gutman corrupted America? All by himself? Quite an accomplishment, if you ask me. Especially considering his weapon of choice was "depraved, acrimonious dribble." Seriously, this is a marvelous response to a parent's indignation over content in his "Weird School" books.
• On her blog, Shannon Hale has a similar response to an objection to Jeff Smith's "Bone" series. Always interesting to see this stuff from the authors' point of view.

That's all you get for today!

Links Ahoy

Yes, children, once again it's time for me to clean out my Google Reader stash.

• How well do you know Judy Blume? Take the quiz and find out. Thanks to 100 Scope Notes.
• Shannon Hale, author of Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack, defends the place of graphic novels in literacy. I may copy this out and hand it to parents who slap the manga out of their dismayed child's hands. Y'know, to keep myself from slapping them.
  
•  And in the oh-my-God-just-freakin'-awesome column: Everything about this enthralls me. The original Tenniel. The use of the iPad's accelerometer to control the illustrations. The music! It almost makes me want to buy an iPad. 

Friday Glee: Oh, These Kids Today

Check out this recently published article: Teachers Bemoan Thrilling Books and Cinema

Recently, in this case, being April 2, 1932. The Irish Times dug this out of their archives to share with us all.

Just in case you thought this generation was the only one crying, "Such trash is being published nowadays! Won't somebody think of the children?"

Children's Authors' Exquisite Corpse

Although they probably would leave exquisite corpses, I'm not talking about imminent death. Unless it's in the story.

Exquisite Corpse is apparently a game in which writers write a chapter each, picking up where the last left off. Other than that, no rules. Sound awesome yet? Wait, it gets better. Jon Scieszka wrote the first chapter in this game, with other chapters to be written by fellow children's lit writers. Chapter 2 is up now, written by Katherine Paterson. The game runs for a year, with a new episode by a new author every 2 weeks.

It's hosted by the Library of Congress at Read.gov. You can get emailed updates or follow them through RSS. Thanks to KidsLit for the heads-up!

And It Rages On

About a month back, the New York Times published an article about letting kids pick their own books. Wow! What an astonishing, avant-garde educational philosophy!

In response, Meg Cabot posted about "How to Foster a Hatred of Reading," talking about her own experience with the Great Books and affection for (read: obsessive love) of the novelization of The Fantastic Voyage.

Here's another side of the discussion. Over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books a few weeks back (yeah, I'm a little late on this one) Smart Bitch Sarah talks about the two camps in literary-land, which might be called the snobs and the slobs.

The slobs think the snobs think everything you read should be a work of literature that will enrich your life forever, and be a statement of art and the human condition. . . . The snobs think the slobs are intellectually lazy, and don’t understand why you’d want to read something poorly-written, or that adhered to a formula. . . . Both sides are really annoying, because they both, by and large, have it wrong, even if they do get a couple of things right.

(There's more; click through for the full, fascinating post.)

Like any really good debate, I find myself nodding at some things all the debaters say, and going, "Ummm . . ." at others. As a public librarian, I'm more firmly in the "Pick Your Own" camp, but some of the things Sarah mentions about the two camps' pre/misconceptions of each other resonate.

Where do you fall?

YA for Beginners

Liz over at A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy pointed me at Mary Pearson's rather excellent discussion, "What YA Lit Is and Isn't" at Tor.com. She addresses some of the things being said to adults who read or write YA, and ponders why this particular field of literature gets more than its fair share of derision.

I wonder if everyone’s very strong opinions about this one segment of literature comes from our attitudes about the teen years? We fear them. We want teens to “get over it” quickly, and heck, let’s not mess with books that just dwell more on the teen years! Move on!

As someone who works with teens and reads 99.5% teen or kids' books, I'd say she's got a point. I was once told "Grow up!" by a co-worker because of what I read. I'm sure he meant it to be funny. If I hadn't read books like Looking for Alaska, Speak, Boy Toy, The First Part Last, Living Dead Girl, and many other books that some adults might not be able to handle, I might have laughed.

Click on through to see her follow up.

Unshelved Zombies

I do love the Unshelved Book Club. They featured The Forest of Hands and Teeth a few weeks ago. While I read it for the 48-Hour Book Challenge, this comic made me kind of interested again, and capped it with a line that made me giggle plenty.

Grownups Who Read YA

Well, blow me down--an article about adults reading YA fiction that's actually respectful of the people and the genre. Actually, it's not an article, but an answer in an advice column. Cynthia Crossen of the Wall Street Journal recommends YA novels for an 80-year-old woman who's lost her taste for adult fiction.

Crossen gives the "kiddie books" appellation a miss in favor of sentences like this one:

Good YA is not dumbed-down adult fare; it’s literature that doesn’t waste a breath.

Later on, she staunchly defends YA against allegations of being minor-league. Cynthia, don't take this the wrong way, but I think I love you.

And folks, don't miss the comments.

Garth Williams Article

Remember Garth "Charlotte's Web/Little House/Stuart Little Illustrator" Williams? Well, now you do. This article talks about all those books and more, including the exhaustive research and work Williams put into his illustration.

Williams then embarked on a long, ten day driving expedition along the same trail that the Ingalls family had taken, and eventually re-located the place on the prairie where the Ingalls house had once stood. The trip culminated in a search along the riverbank along Plum Creek where the family had built their sod house home, so long ago.

Zowie. I'm kind of intimidated now.

Quitting is for the Weak

Over at YAnnabe, Kelly posts 7 Tips for Quitting a Book. Yes, my children. Quitting. It's okay.

When it comes to books, a lot of people seem to feel that it reflects on them morally if they don't finish every book they start. As if they're Bad People because they couldn't make it through a book. As if books, unlike movies and TV shows and webpages, don't vary wildly in their quality and content. No, you must Finish the Book. Otherwise you are weak. Weak! They tell their kids the same thing, and what's the result? Reading is a chore. Moooo-ooom, don't make me reeeeeeead. It goes hand in hand with the idea that books are Good For You, like broccoli.

I quit eating broccoli a long time ago.

Meg Cabot occasionally reiterates her own personal motto that quitters actually do win, because they've tried it, discovered that it wasn't for them, and gone on to something better. Awesome.

I recently computerized my TBR list on LibraryThing and was amazed that I have over 1500 books on my list that I want to read. Granted, many of them are picture books, and I read fast, but . . . 1500?! And with the number of blogs I read, more gets added than subtracted. I've had a fifty-page rule for years, but it's only been recently that I even started weeding my TBR list, glancing at plot summaries and reviews to decide whether I really want to spend my reading time on this book, I mean really.

I've quit a book for all sorts of reasons--"who really talks like that?" dialogue, "as you know, Bob" infodumps, plots with all the twistiness of a block of wood. A few months back, I quit a book because the romantic interest was too damn perfect. (Author, please. He's a teenage boy. He can make a fart joke or something. It's allowed.)

What's your personal tipping point?

Chaos Walking Prequel Story!

Bless his little heart, Patrick Ness wrote a prequel story to The Knife of Never Letting Go and posted on the Booktrust website for all of us. You can read it without having read the book first--it spoils only a very little bit. But I'd still read Knife first.

Thanks to the adbooks listserv for the link.

What Do You Think About Sex in YA Novels?

Lynn Biederman would like to know. She's a librarian planning a talk at ALA this summer about sex in YA books, and what teens really think about it. Actually, that's a talk I'd love to hear myself.

If you're a teen and you take this survey, or you can point a teen at this survey, Lynn Biederman would be extremely grateful. It's all confidential, too.

Thanks to the Story Siren for the link!