Book Review: The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

Book: The Perilous Gard
Author: Elizabeth Marie Pope
Published: 1971

Kate Sutton has always existed in the shadow of her lovely sister. When she earns the Queen’s disfavor for something Alicia did, it’s just business as usual. But this time, she gets exiled to the wilds of Devonshire. Her new home is a strange place called Elvenwood, haunted by a mysterious Lady and legends of merciless Fairy Folk under the hill. More recently, it’s haunted by Christopher Heron, the younger brother of her new guardian, whose sudden disappearance is taken as just another uncommon event in Elvenwood.

When Kate is taken by the Fairy Folk and held prisoner under the hill, things look bad. They’re worse when she realizes that Christopher Heron is being held for a human sacrifice on All Hallow’s Eve, just a few weeks away. Now all Kate’s got is her wits and her nerve. It’s not much to save both their lives, but it might be just enough.

Kate is the kind of person who would be difficult to like in real life, but whom you can’t help rooting for in a story. Tough-minded, stubborn, practical in the face of whatever horrors the Fairy Folk can throw at her, Kate’s strength and charm lies in her contrariness.

Elizabeth Marie Pope herself was an academic specializing in Elizabethan England, and you can see the influence of various theories regarding fairy folk tales in her portrayal of the cruel Fairy Folk. They seem mostly to be regular mortals, practicing an ancient and barbaric religion, although the origins of the Lady are more in doubt. However, readers can take the Fairy Folk whatever way they want to and enjoy this story of a damsel who’s more than capable of getting herself out of distress.

P.S. For the ludicrously romantic out there, the last few pages are worth reading multiple times. They’re so true to character that it makes me grin maniacally every time.

Kidlitosphere 07

What do I say about this day?

I could gush about the warm and friendly faces-of-blogs that I met (too many to list), or thank Robin endlessly for all the hard work that she did, or even gabble about the authors that I forced to sign my Planet Esme poster (ironically, only Esme Raji Codell herself was left out, as she was circulating the room with cookies rather than being parked at her spot signing books and chatting like everyone else).

But I figure that a majority of the people reading this blog were there, so they don’t need a reiteration of what are sure to be their own feelings. Instead, I’ll talk about what I came away with.

Link, baby, link
One of the discussions was on how to promote your blog without being completely obnoxious, led by MotherReader, arguably the queen of self-promotion and blog community in this sphere. She pointed out that not only should you thank other bloggers for heads-up on neat stuff by linking to their websites, when someone does the same for you, you should go thank them.

Various sites were thrown around to help keep track of linkiness. Technorati, Statcounter, and an RSS-ized Google search are all ones I’m going to put into use.

ARCs
Turns out that getting ARCs (advance reader copies) is basically a matter of writing publishers or authors and begging. I practiced on PJ Haarsma, Ellen Klarges, Julie Halpern, and Micol Ostow and others . . . and it worked! Also, when you’re at conferences, if you let people know you have a kidlit blog, they are much more responsive now than they would have been even a year ago.

Just Keep Writing
Finally, the good blogger (like the good writer in general) just has to blog every day. Whether it’s writing more reviews, joining in on stuff like the 48-hour Read or the memes that go around constantly, or just putting up fun stuff that you’ve found on other blogs, you’ve got to keep cranking out the content.

This is by no means everything I took away. Not by a long shot. It's just the most important stuff.

Special "HI" to all the people I hung out with the most, like Ellen Klages, Brian Mandabach, Fuse #8's Betsy, Susan of Wizard's Wireless, Kristen from 2ndgenlibrarian, a really cool chick with "Celery Soda" written on her nametag (I don't remember your name and Google is failing me on your blog! Comment if this is you), and Barbara Shoup.

Super-special thanks to Jen Robinson, who lent me her brand-new copy of Robin McKinley's Dragonhaven when I begged and whined, and Kathy, who gave me a ride to the train station at 11:00 at night.

I loved meeting you all and thank you everyone for a fine, fine conference. See you next year in Portland!

ETA: So apparently, Celery Soda is one Lisa Chellman, which proves that Barbara Shoup is much more observant than I am, as she noted the name in her report, hosted over at The Flux Blog. Sorry about that, Lisa!

Set Your TiVo - Phillip Pullman on "Today"

Loved His Dark Materials? Slavering for the movie? Phillip Pullman will be on the "Today" Show on November 2nd, and the show already has a form up so you can email your questions. What are you waiting for?

Thanks to the Child_Lit listserv for the heads-up.

Mitali Perkins and Sparrowblog

Okay, I promise I'll write up an account of Kidlitosphere 07. In fact, I have the beginnings of my thoughts organized on my computer. (Yes, but that doesn't do us any good, you say. Tough cookies.)

I ran across something on the Child_Lit listserv that intrigued me because I recently finished Mitali Perkins' First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover. (Good book, by the way.) In it, Sameera/Sparrow's blog is very important to her retaining her voice and sanity amidst the madness of a presidential campaign.

Well, this being an election year (Yeah! I know! I was surprised too!), Mitali Perkins has set up a blog where "Sparrow" comments on the ongoing campaign and the children of the frontrunners. Definitely interesting to check out if you liked the book or are into politics.

KidLitosphere 07 Eve!

Just typing a quick line to y'all because I'm in the Windy City (a little outside of it actually) for the 1st annual Kitlitosphere Conference! I'm so excited I may pass out. Or go to sleep. At this time of the night, and considering how early I have to get up in the morning because my brother lives a considerable distance from the hotel (isn't mooching on relatives grand?), going to sleep is probably the better option, if less attainable.

To those I will meet tomorrow: can't wait!

To those I won't meet tomorrow: maybe next year?

That steady thumping sound . . .

. . . is me kicking myself for missing last night's chat with Meg Cabot and tonight's with Tiffany Trent over at Readergirlz. Gah! Gaaaaaaaaah! However, there's a month of great authors to go, so I hope to see us all there. Including me.

Banned Book video

Your stroke for today is sponsored by the challengers of And Tango Makes Three.



Okay, folks, seriously, check out the comments on this video over at YouTube. Reading them makes it clear to me that for all our righteous rage over banned books, many non-librarians don't have a clear idea of whether we're actually for or against this practice, and just what a banned book is. When you're doing displays or programs on censorship and Banned Book week, how do you make this clear?

The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean

Book: The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean
Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Published: 2007

Harriet Bean has always thought it was just herself and her absent-minded dad. But one day he happens to say, “Your aunts would like to hear about that!”

Uh . . . what aunts?

Undeterred by years of lost time, Harriet Bean is off, tracking her brand-new aunts down across the country. And what marvelous aunts they are . . . a circus strongwoman, a ventriloquist opera singer, two mind-reading private detectives, and the bossiest teacher ever.

There’s an off-kilter feel about this book (like the names of the aunts: Veronica, Majolica, Harmonica, Thessalonika, and Japonica) that reminds me of Roald Dahl at his poker-faced dottiest. It’s also a very fast-moving story, great for reluctant readers, fans of Roald Dahl, and reading aloud.

Alexander McCall Smith is best known in this country for his Number 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books. I’ve never read those, but if they’re anything like as sly and charming as The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean, I’m putting myself on the list now.

Fan-girl time

Next up in my mission to break your blog aggregator, a conversation between Megan Whalen Turner and Shannon Hale, two women who wrote blow-your-hair-off fabu series, neither of which have actual catchy series names. But this is okay, because everybody knows about Attolia and Kildanree.

Well, you should.

Monday Funny

Why does this make me giggle?



I don't know. But it does.

More Cybils News

Okay, people, it's October 1 and you know what that means.

No, it's not time to buy mammoth bags of candy and pretend that you're stocking up for Halloween. Psshh. Don't you know the proper time to start that is July?

No, it's time to nominate for the Cybils! You don't need to be a blogger, a librarian, or a kid to nominate. You just have to read and love children's and YA lit. Go to!

Smart Bitches and Banned Books

This is kind of neat. The Smart Bitches over at Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books are posting reviews from readers of some of the 100 most banned books from the ALA. Some they love, some they hate, but in Smart Bitchery tradition, they're always honest. This is one of my favorite non-kidlit blogs. Go check it out, and maybe submit your own review!

Sunday Funny

This is the kind of thing that makes a librarian simultaneously laugh and cry.

ETA: Mildish spoiler for HP7, if you haven't read it yet.

Yum!

Mo Willems posted a few recently taken author pics on his blog. How much do I love that first one?

The answer is, as the bastard love child of Georgia Nicolson and Cute Overload would say, vair vair moishe.

Best Books 2007: Ze Grande Liste!

So MotherReader posted her final list of Best Books of 2007, as nominated by bloggers all over the kidlitosphere. And it only took me, ummm, a week to post it? Go me. Clearly on top of things. In my own defense it took me that long to write down all those titles in my Blue Journal of Stuff I Gotta Read Before I Die.

The Arrival in New York Magazine

Shaun Tan's The Arrival is being excerpted in the New York Magazine this week. Go see! It looks so cool!

Rash

Book: Rash
Author: Pete Hautman
Published: 2006

Welcome to the United Safer States of America, where everyone wears helmets and road rage is punishable by prison time. Bo Marsten’s got a few strikes against him already--criminal behavior runs in his family. Both his dad and his brother are doing time for getting in fights. So it’s no real surprise when his temper gets the best of him after a classmate plays a nasty trick. He gets sent up the river . . . or in this case, up to the tundra.

Sentenced to hard time in a pizza factory that has only a wire fence between the prisoners and the hungry polar bears, Bo is suddenly hip-deep in an unsafe world that’s been outlawed for a hundred years, out in civilized America. He catches a break when he makes the prison football team (another outlawed sport). They get special privileges--among them, carte blanche to be as violent as possible in the name of football. It’s like some lawless mirror world that exists in the shadows of a country wrapped about with as many rules as possible.

Initially, Bo revels in it. But he begins to understand that somewhere in between utter safety and utter freedom lies an important question--who is responsible for his actions? Society, with all its rules and regulations? Or himself?

I really enjoy sci-fi, especially dystopic, society-questioning sci-fi. Especially especially dystopic, society-questioning sci-fi with the world all thought through and rendered in just enough detail to light up the story but not send everyone to sleep. (J.R.R. Tolkein, I am LOOKING AT YOU.) Little details really put Bo’s world into three dimensions, like Bo’s complaint that most normal mothers would call the ambulance for a bee sting, or the wild popularity of a “survivor chair” that can extend someone’s life up to seventeen months--if they stay in it 24/7.

But aside from this well-realized world, the story is one familiar to everyone who’s ever come to realize that blaming others can only take you so far, and at some point, the only person controlling your fate is going to be yourself.

Bragging Rights

So you know that Cybils thing? They've just posted the list of the nominating and judging committees. Check out the YA group . . . notice anybody familiar?

Yep! That's me!

Hysterical Laughter

For perhaps the first time in my life, I wish I lived in Wyoming.

Here's why.

Apparently Wyoming libraries have come up with this fun campaign, including the reading Mud Flap girl, who is apparently causing a bit of a flap all by her nekkid self. Check out the website for more.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go perform some Photoshop on that first bookmark.

My Favorite Holiday!

No, it's not Christmas. It's Talk Like a Pirate Day!

I'm all wenched out, or as wenched out as you can be in a government job, for the Talk Like a Pirate Day program at my library. The kids loved it. And why shouldn't they? How often does anyone get the excuse to yell "ARRRRRRR!!" and call someone a swabbie?

To celebrate, check out this video:



My favorite part is the facial expressions on the face of the regular Joe who accidentally gets on the bus. Thanks to Fuse #8 for the link.

The Body of Christopher Creed

Book: The Body of Christopher Creed
Author: Carol Plum-Ucci
Published: 2000

On the day that town weirdo Christopher Creed disappeared, his high-school principal got an e-mail from him, with a strong implication that he plans to kill himself. His mother refuses to believe it, and his classmates treat it as a joke. One of the popular crew, however, is deeply disturbed by seeing his own name in the e-mail. As Torey Adams reflects on how he and his classmates treated Chris from kindergarten on, he begins to see that the other boy might have some reason for killing himself. But did he? Or did someone else help him shuffle off this mortal coil?

As Torey and two other town outcasts probe into Chris’s life and disappearance, two questions haunt them. One, to what extent are they, personally, responsible for Chris’s emotional turmoil? And two, could it be possible that he’s still alive?

Plum-Ucci won a 2001 Printz Honor for this book about perception, gossip, reputation, and collective guilt in the destruction of one person. We’ve all known somebody like Christopher Creed--a social cripple, someone who seems to get on everyone’s nerves just by existing. How many of us have stopped to consider what makes them that way, and how much of it is their fault and how much ours?

Support Robert's Snow for Cancer's Cure

I was very saddened to hear recently that Robert Mercer, husband of author Grace Lin, passed away from cancer late in August. My sincerest sympathies are with this family right now.

If you want to support cancer research, check out this auction or send donations directly to the address below:

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund
Attn: Lauren Nash
10 Brookline Place West, 6th Floor
Brookline, MA 02445-7226

Playing Dad's Song

It seemed like an appropriate day for this one.

Book: Playing Dad’s Song
Author: D. Dina Friedman
Published: 2006

Ever since Gus’s dad died in the 9/11 attacks, there’s been a hole in him that nothing can fill up. He doesn’t have the constant pressure of work, like his mom, or the love of acting that sustains his sister Liza. He spends much of his time alone.

His mom, concerned by how much time he spends under his blanket, signs him up for oboe lessons. While initially apathetic, Gus finds that he has a gift for music, both playing it and composing it.

9/11 is such a huge national and international tragedy that it’s sometimes hard for us to realize that for thousands, it’s intensely personal as well. Friedman gives the rhetoric a miss and focuses instead on the terribly painful story of the people who were left behind.

Not a Box

I’ve been thinking for awhile that I should start talking up some of my favorite preschool books. I talk about chapter books and teen fiction all the time, but I come across so many amazing picture books that I decided I had to start sharing.

Book: Not a Box
Author: Antoinette Portis
Published: 2006

Why are you sitting in a box?
It’s not a box.

Of course it’s not! Anybody can clearly see that it’s a racecar. But apparently the narrator is blind, because he keeps asking the bunny protagonist what she is doing with the box. The bunny answers, increasingly irritated, that it’s NOT a box . . . it’s a mountain! a burning building! A balloon! An elephant!

Okay, I have to say right here and now . . . I love this book. While it may not be the most eye-catching spine on the shelf (cardboard brown), the boldness and simplicity of the front cover make it a beautiful display, and the story inside is just about as interactive as you could wish. Portis’s art clearly delineates the real from the imagined, but also emphasizes the richness of the bunny’s imagination.

The androgyny of both narrator and bunny (the pronouns I used above were strictly for the sake of clarity) also makes this as broad-appeal as possible.

And by the way . . . it’s not a box.

Changes for the Bibliovore

I've spent the evening fiddling with and tweaking my blog, and I'm proud to announce it's almost as good as it was before I started.

No, seriously, my BlogRoll over there was getting moldy, it was so old. I pared a few old links, added a bunch of new ones, and created a separate BlogRoll for the author blogs I read. Additions of note:

The YA YA YAs - All YA, all the time
Apparently I am way overdue to start reading this blog.

Cuentesitos - Recommendations on Latino YA and Children's Literature
I definitely want to start reading some more Latino kidlit. I mean, there's Alma Flor Ada and Pam Muñoz Ryan, but there's more out there, I just know it.

Worth the Trip - Queer Books for Kids and Teens
I like the Retro Reads feature, which digs up well-known and not-so-well-known GLBTQ books from the past. Their first one, John Donovan's I'll Get There, It Better Be Worth the Trip, was where they got the name.

Annietown - Annie Choi's Blog
I haven't read her Happy Birthday or Whatever yet, but if she writes like she blogs, it'll be a scream.

Mo Willems Doodles
Dude! Did you know Mo Willems had a blog where he regularly posts original artwork and talks about the Pigeon and . . . oh. You did?

I've also started putting the picture books I read into my LibraryThing. Because I happen to read so many in the course of my job every day, I thought it would be too much work to keep track of them. Then MotherReader asked for the Best Books of 2007 (So Far) and I went to my trusty LibraryThing to jog my memory. It worked peachy keen from High School on down, until I hit Picture Books and screeched to a halt. I realized . . . I have no idea when all those picture books I read were published. I have my favorites, sure, but nothing published in this year immediately leaps to my mind. Ugh.

So a lot more picture books should be appearing on that LibraryThing widget, and maybe when MotherReader asks for Best Books of 2008 (So Far) I'll be able to tell you.

Sad News

Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time and A Ring of Endless Light has died at the age of 88.

ETA: Sorry about the brevity of that earlier version. I was writing it in the last thirty seconds of my lunch break. Along with the rest of the kidlitosphere, I'm in mourning here for an amazing writer. Her books opened my mind to ideas about science and the universe that it otherwise might not have run across until all the amazement portals were closed. And I was always delighted to read of things she talked about in my science textbook.

Yesterday, I had a girl from one of the classes that regularly visits my library run up and tell me that she was doing her book report on the book I'd handed her: A Wrinkle in Time. Hearing the news today, that's all I could think of . . . that we lost a fine human being but she's left a legacy.

Thanks for some really great reads, Madeleine.

The Cybils Are Coming! The Cybils Are Coming!

It's almost time for the second annual Cybils! Just in case you lived under a rock last year, these are the awards that kidlit bloggers give out to their yearly favorites. Nominations are open October 1. Hurrah!

Can I get off this horse now?

Thanks to Wands and Worlds for the heads-up.

The Best Books of the Year (So Far): Elementary School

The Best Elementary Book of the Year (So Far):
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Twelve-year-old orphan Hugo Cabret is convinced that his clockmaker father left him a message in a clockwork man. But it needs to be fixed first. He lives secretly in the walls of a Paris train station, stealing bits and pieces from a toymaker to repair his father's legacy. However, Hugo's not the only one with secrets around here . . .

Possibly the neatest thing about this book is its design. Half traditional novel, half graphic novel, Selznick riffs on his silent-movie theme by interspersing chunks of wordless illustrations with regular narration. Illustration, in fact, may be the wrong word, because that connotes words that explicate the text, and that's not the case here. Instead, the storytelling medium moves gracefully from words to pictures and back to words, trusting in both to tell the story.

It could just be a gimmick book, except that Selznick's got the storytelling chops to draw us into this story of 20th-century Paris and the world of silent film. In the end, we barely notice the transition because the story has enveloped us.

This one might be a hand-sell for librarians everywhere because of its intimidating bulk (550 pages!), but I guarantee, the minute you flip it open to the first of Selznick's black-and-white illustrations, that book will be out of your hands and on the checkout counter.

Best Book of the Year So Far: Middle School

Looking at my two picks tonight, I realized I had two distinct types represented: "Suitable for Middle School Readers" and "Tween."

The Bibliovore's Best Middle School Book of the Year (So Far)
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landry

I must have heard about this book from six or seven different bloggers. I thought for sure it couldn't be that good. I was wrong. I enjoyed the hell out of this book. (No pun intended.)

At thirteen years old, Stephanie has inherited an entire house. Unfortunately, the person she inherited it from was murdered . . . and she might be next. Lucky thing she's got the walking, talking skeleton on her side.

Tongue firmly in cheek, Landry takes us through a roller-coaster adventure with a sensible, gutsy heroine and a seen-it-all-and-done-more hero. Possibly the best example of why this book was so much fun can be contained in this quote from Stephanie, after Skulduggery Pleasant gives a long-winded and confusing explanation of something or other.

"Wait, I think I almost understood that . . ." The car went over a bump. "No, it's gone now."

I hope this blog isn't the first place you've heard about Skulduggery Pleasant, but if it is, run out and pick up your copy today.

Honorable Mention
The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney by Lauren Barnholdt

Devon Delaney's in trouble. See, while visiting her grandmother over the summer, she told her new friend Lexi all about her wild popularity and her cuter-than-cute boyfriend. Only problem? It was all a lie.

It seemed safe enough when Lexi didn't even go to her school, but guess who moved just before school started? Watch the feathers fly as Devon scrambles to make the facade real. The harder she works, though, the more she wonders if it's all worth it.

Tween books are strange animals. (Almost as strange as tweens.) There's a temptation to dismiss them as watered-down YA, but they are about a very specific period in a kid's life, not so much an age as a dividing line between child and teenager. Most kids trip over it. The best tween books, like The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney, show the trip, the splat, and the getting up again in brilliant 3-D.

Best Books of the Year (So Far): High School

Hey, I'm back! It's been a wild summer, but I lived through it, and they tell me they can take the straitjacket off just as soon as I stop talking to my toenail clippings.

Anyway, I thought my first real review back should be a good one. I have many saved up, but not one quite special enough. What to do? Then MotherReader, who is the champion of kidlitosphere challenges, offered up another one.

If you want to join in, starting after Labor Day, post your "Best Books of 2007 (So Far)" in any or all of the categories: Picture Books, Early Elementary, Elementary, Middle School, High School. Mix in your nonfiction or graphic novels by the age categories.

Well, okay then. I'm starting today with my pick for best High School book of 2007. Drumroll please!

The Bibliovore's Best High School Book of 2007 (So Far): Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

I've already blogged this, so I'll just point you at that entry: Story of a Girl Bibliovore Review

Honorable Mention: The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

This was a photo finish, folks. You should have seen the wailing and tearing of hair here at Casa de Bibliovore. This sequel to Dairy Queen, which I also blogged last year, is the second story in the life of D.J. Schwenk, where Catherine Gilbert Murdock takes on all the untold stories from the first book. We get to know both the estranged brothers (Win and Bill) better, and DJ's relationship with Brian Nelson takes some unexpected turns. Murdock continues what I loved about the first book: DJ's frank, colloquial voice and the focus on interpersonal relationships. Without giving too much away, she diverges from the obvious story and talks about what's really going on in this family and this young woman. More, please? Maybe?

Coming tomorrow: Middle School!

Robin McKinley New Book!

Why, why, why didn't I hear about this before? Robin McKinley is coming out with a new book! I prostrate myself before the altar of R. McK and I can't believe I'm just hearing about it right now. I guess when it comes to Robin, you take what you can get and just hope that the next one comes out before you have grandchildren.

Anyway, super-quick synopsis . . . Dragons exist. They're a protected species, the center of a firestorm (HA!) of controversy. On one hand, they're endangered and nobody's proved they ever ate a human. On the other hand, they're freakin' eighty feet long and breathe fire. One day, a hiker discovers a dying dragon and a dead poacher . . . and a surviving baby dragon. What he decides to do about it . . . well, that's Dragonhaven.

Can't wait! September 20!

Well, that's my calender filled up . . .

Readergirlz is having a big, big October. Every night they'll have a live chat with a YA author. Red-hot diggity! The authors range from Meg Cabot (October 1) to Stephanie Meyer (fittingly enough, on Halloween), and lots more in between. This includes featured-in-this-blog authors Lisa Yee, Sara Zarr, Brent Hartinger, Carolyn Mackler, and E. Lockhart.

Spread the word!

Thanks to lots and lots of other blogs for the heads-up.

This Calls for a Happy Dance

. . . no pun intended, I swear.

The BBC is making a movie of the classic Noel Streatfield book, Ballet Shoes! Yay! Don't you remember gulping those suckers down like popcorn when you were like, nine or ten? I remember one in particular, (not Ballet Shoes however) where the protagonist got extremely full of herself and went around acting like a proper bee-yotch. I was scandalized and delighted. Didn't they know the main character was supposed to be the good girl? Well, I certainly wasn't going to mention it!

Looking back, this may explain a lot of things about me.

More fun: Emma Watson, of Hermione Granger fame, is going to play the oldest girl. Here's her website, but take a moment to find the little (teeny, tiny) speaker hidden in all the curlicues on the left-hand side. After five minutes trying to navigate it with the sound turned on, I wanted to shoot myself in both ears.

Thanks to Bookshelves of Doom for the heads-up.

Stephen King on Harry Potter

I'm probably trailing waaaaaaaaay behind in posting this, but oh well. Horror-meister Stephen King has always been one of Harry's most vocal fans, and he bolsters that reputation in this reflection on the effect of Harry and J.K. Rowling on kid lit and pop lit in general over at Entertainment Weekly. Pretty keen!

More Bartlesville News

Anyone who's been reading Maureen Johnson's blog (and if you aren't, I say, why the heck not??) knows about her continuing battle with the school board of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, who took her book The Bermudez Triangle out of general circulation at the high school and placed it on the reserve shelf. Here's an article from the Bartlesville newspaper about the kerfuffle, and a little something from both sides.

Mush and Gush Ahoy!

There's a neat conversation over at the Ya Ya Yas blog about YA romance. I'm all for it! I love romance, I love YA lit, and the combination of the two is maaaaaaaaahv-lus, dahling. But they have a point--where are the YA romances for older teens?

Even better, there's the beginnings of a fair book list in the comments. Wooot! You know I've got my Blue Journal of Things I Gotta Read Before I Die out right now. If you'd like to read a title list, Liz B's got one over at her blog.

I'd say Stephanie Meyers' Twilight and New Moon, but I got seriously annoyed with the Romeo and Juliet vibe in the second one. I have very little patience with doomed lovers. Give me Beatrice and Benedick any day. Speaking of that, anybody know of good YA romances with a dueling lovers theme? Leave it in the comments!

Sing it, Hank!

I was absurdly tempted to bust out my candle lighter and wave it in the air along with this song from Brotherhood 2.0's Hank Green.

Because We All Need A Little Eric Carle

NPR published this slideshow of Eric Carle's art. The narration is Carle talking about his technique, his love for color, and the way his experiences in WWII Germany affected his relationship with color and art. I just wanted to stop and stare at every single slide--the blue horse, the hungry caterpillar, the sun--until I fall in and swim around in it.

Key Quote: "I treat every page like it's a poster." You may now stand up and cheer.

Thanks to Fuse #8 for the link.

Another Kewl News Break

Caridad Ferrer's Adios to My Old Life won "Best Contemporary Romance from the Romance Writers of America. I loved this book about a Cuban-American teen competing in a Spanish-language American-Idol type show called Oye Mi Canto (Hear My Song). The backstage backstabbing, the very genuine Latin flavor, and Ali's passion for her music shine through, and while I was startled to hear that it was recognized by RWA, I think she totally deserves it.

Unfortunately, it's created somewhat of a controversy within the world of romance fans.

Weigh in! What do you think?

Anne Update

I'm about a third of the way through Anne of Green Gables, and how did I forget how hilarious this book is? Anne's melodrama and love of romantical things, contrasted with the day-to-day sensibility of Avonlea, Green Gables, and Marilla, never fail to crack me up. I think it's more entertaining now that I'm aware of the historical literary context Montgomery is working within. While published in 1908, I think it's supposed to take place around the 1880's or 90's, a time when Victorian melodrama and romanticism was going full throttle.

I was afraid that a book I loved so much as a child would fall flat reading it as an adult . . . but then again, Montgomery actually wrote it for all ages. Probably why it has endured so well.

Anne, Fanny, Librivox, and General Ramblings

The other day I was overcome with the desire to read Anne of Green Gables again, very possibly for two reasons:

1) I haven't read it in years.
2) I don't currently have it in my house.

Two ways to ensure that you absolutely must read the book as soon as possible. I contemplated requesting it from somewhere in my system, (I think our copy is checked out; you're asking me to recall my thought processes?) but then for some unknown reason decided I was going to listen to it in audiobook form.

No, wait, I know. I've been listening to Mansfield Park for a month on my daily walks. Fanny Price is so unremittingly good and sweet that I usually want to hit her by the time my mile-and-a-half is done with. Good for the heart rate, but not so much for the enjoyment. While Anne is not always wise, she is always entertaining.

Then I went to Librivox.org and downloaded the audiobook. I like this website, which archives free audiobooks of works in the public domain. There aren't a lot of children's books on it, but they do have some real gems like Anne, The Secret Garden, and Oz, and they have plenty of grown-up classics. The recordings are done by volunteers, but they have a set of rules about audio quality and a system of "proof-listening" that keeps quality generally high.

Having finished Mansfield Park (still vainly attempting to like Fanny) today, I'll start Anne of Green Gables tomorrow. Now I'm really hoping that Anne-with-an-e stands the test of time. However, considering how long she's been around, I don't think I have anything to worry about.

What Does Your October Look Like?

Other than dressing up as Rapunzel for Halloween (since I have hair that literally reaches my butt, it's either that or Lady Godiva) my October was pretty empty. That is, until I heard about Robin Brande's fabulous idea . . .

The 1st Annual Kidlitosphere Conference

October 6th, Chicago, IL, at a hotel TBA.

Now to see if my brother that lives in Chicago is still talking to me after I forgot his birthday last year.

Will I see you there?

Kids' Books and Homosexuality

Heard about the evil gay penguins yet?

This article over at AfterElton.com discusses the "gay penguin book," known to sane people as the adorable And Tango Makes Three, along with several other books that push homophobic buttons. Probably my favorite was the story of a Philly mom who flipped out and accused The Trouble with Babies of having a homosexual agenda, because it mentioned a two-father family. That thonking sound was my head hitting my desk. Because God knows, two gay minor characters in a children's book is enough to twist all the children who so much as walk by it.

Arthur A. Levine (yes, that Arthur A. Levine) makes a good point that so many of our kids are going to grow up homosexual, or will love somebody who is homosexual, that we shouldn't wait until they're 14 or 15 to introduce the idea that it's a viable life choice. By that time, their opinions are pretty well set. Get 'em while they're young! Ahahaha!

Ahem. That was me, plotting to teach kids acceptance and tolerance. Truly, I should be burned at the stake.

David Levithin, I Am Not Worthy

Totally amazing speech from YA author David Levithin about why it's important to have GLBT lit in your library's teen section. He talks about the kids who need these books, and the fears of librarians and booksellers that might prevent them getting to those kids.

This is one of the authors on my automatic-read list. I want to blog about every single thing he's ever written, down to his grocery list.

Thanks to Maureen Johnson's blog for the link.

This is pretty cool

Colleen over at Chasing Ray has organized a Summer Blog Blast Tour! Check out the list of authors that are going to be interviewed at various blogs in the kidlitosphere. Red hot damn.

I would envy those lucky bloggers, except that I suspect if I got the chance to interview, say, Gene Luen Yang (author of jaw-dropping Prinze winner American Born Chinese), I wouldn't interview so much as babble incoherently and grin like a fool. So overall, it's probably better that classy folks like Little Willow and Liz B are doing it instead.

Booktalking . . . it works!

One of my favorite classes visited the library today, their last visit of the school year. I always describe them as "freakishly well-behaved" because they are the only fifth grade class I've ever met that does not throw the entire library into chaos upon stepping inside. Seriously, though, they're great kids.

A kid came up to me and told me that he really enjoyed a book I booktalked on their last visit. Not only did he devour it, so did his friend. And their other friend. And that one other guy. And . . . apparently, the book is being passed around the male population of the class like a cigarette in the hoosegow. Hah! My existence is thus validated.

For anyone interested, that book is Steve Young's 15 Minutes. If I get time soon, I might write a review, but for now, I just wanted to share that.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

This is the kind of thing that makes my head explode.

Thanks, I think, to Bookshelves of Doom for the story.

Books of the Century

Interesting post (from a while ago, I know) at Monica Edinger's blog about children's books of the century. It's in response to a Guardian article from even longer ago, about defining literature of the 20th century.

I think if I had to pick . . . well, I'm not sure what I would pick for some decades.

1900s - ??
1910s - Anne of Green Gables, although that always seemed to epitomize late-19th century Canada. But apparently it was published in the teens, and has to be counted. Contemporary lit is nothing like historical-looking-back, after all. I'm sure it's a topic for countless theses, what Montgomery's remembered late-19th century Prince Edward Island says about 1910s Canada.
1920s - ??
1930s - The Little House books, Laura Ingalls Wilder, another historical-looking-back. (Okay, they were partially published in the 40's, too, but let's not be lazy here.)
1940s - ??
1950s - The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by CS Lewis
1960s - Harriet the Spy, Louise Fitzhugh. Also Charlie & the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. I love that both these titles have some subversity to them.
1970s - Judy Blume . . . either Forever or Are You There God, It's Me Margaret
1980s - ??
1990s - Harry Potter. Who else? It was like a gigantic bombshell, hitting a children's lit market gone stale and sleepy.

And now another question. Why is it that so many greats of children's lit are fantasy, which by adulthood has been relegated to the paperback stacks of dateless dweebs, at least in popular imagination? And a number of the others are historical. Why do so many amazing books take kids to another place and time, whether real or imagined?

This would be a really cool children's lit/history seminar.

Suggestions for the missing decades welcome! Or even additions to the ones filled.

Summer Break

Hey, y'all. The Bibliovore is taking a summer break, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. I'll still be posting neat little tidbits of kidlit-related news as I come across it, and perhaps the occasional review, but I won't be on my Monday schedule. It's my first summer reading program as a librarian and I'm anticipating a really crazy summer. But I'll be back on Labor Day, with (hopefully) more great books to talk about.

Things Not Seen

Book: Things Not Seen
Author: Andrew Clements
Published: 2002

Have you ever felt like you were invisible?

Like a lot of teens, Bobby knows that feeling very well. But even he’s not prepared for the morning he looks at himself in the bathroom mirror . . . and sees a whole lot of nothing looking back.

You’d think being invisible would be kind of fun. But Bobby can’t make it stop and he has no idea what caused it. He’s not even lucky enough for his clothes to turn invisible on contact. He can’t go to school, he can only go outside if he’s stark naked (which is a lot of fun in Chicago), and he freaks his parents out every time they try to look at him. The only person who doesn’t get scared is his new friend, Alicia. She’s used to not seeing things. She’s blind.

Bobby just starting to settle into his new life when social services gets wind of his long school absence and suspects his parents of wrong-doing. They can’t be fobbed off for long with stories of the flu and extended visits to Great-Aunt Ethel in Florida. Now he’s only got five days to figure out what caused his invisibility, and reverse it . . . or he’ll be sneaking Thanksgiving dinner into the slammer.

Riffing on the universal teenage experience of feeling overlooked and helpless, Clements takes it one step further in a really cool what-if story. Ironically, it’s only when he becomes invisible that Bobby begins to see the world, especially his parents, who become more real to him as he sees their reaction to his predicament. Alicia, too, is a happy change from the wise-beyond-their-years standard of disabled characters. In her own way, she’s as angry and frustrated as Bobby is, and her blindness seems as random as his invisibility.

Except for a rather pseudo-sciency explanation for Bobby’s condition, I found this story completely believable once I accepted the idea that a seventeen-year-old boy could wake up invisible one morning. Read it . . . you won’t be disappointed.

Farewell, Lloyd Alexander

Apparently Lloyd Alexander, author of the Prydain Chronicles and the Vesper Holly series, among others, died on Thursday. He was 83.

I love the Vesper Holly books . . . I always pull them out and give them to energetic little girls and boys. Sigh . . .

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

Book: The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
Author: Carolyn Mackler
Published: 2003

The Shreve family are the perfect examples of--well--perfection. They’re all successful, intelligent, popular, slender, and good-looking. And then there’s fifteen-year-old Virginia. Overweight, underconfident, and directionless, she’s the exception to the Shreve rule, and the unspoken shame of the family. She lives her life under the radar, attempting not so much to get ahead as to get by. She knows the Fat Girl Code of Conduct . . . keep your head down at all times and maybe they’ll let you live.

Then something happens that starts to crack the facade of perfection in the Shreve family, forcing Virginia to re-evaluate herself, her position in the family, and every other member in it. When the yardstick by which you measure your worth begins to crumble, what happens to you?

More than simply the body-image and eating-disorder issues explored in this novel (Virginia flirts briefly with anorexia and bulimia), the way Virginia’s family treats her show clearly how she got where she is. The cues are sometimes subtle, sometimes smack-in-the-face obvious, but always the message is, “We would love you and respect you, if only you were someone different.” Even Virginia’s memories of her rebellious and inspiring older sister have the flavor of pat-on-the-head pity about them. It’s her job, in this novel, to move away from this image and into one unaffected by her appearance-obsessed parents.

For some reason, I was expecting a much lighter-hearted book than I got. Maybe because of the title or artwork, I’m not sure. Anyway, I was blown away by this ferocious story of a girl who’s always considered herself to be naturally at the bottom of the ladder, and discovers that the only one who can keep her there is herself.

First Impressions

Book: First Impressions
Author: Marilyn Sachs
Published: 2006

Alice doesn’t understand why everything thinks Pride and Prejudice is such a great romantic comedy. To her, Mary is her soul twin: a middle child, bookish, and underappreciated. Her glossed-over fate is a tragedy. Alice’s paper, explaining this position, is given a C+, and she is horrified. She can’t get a C+ on anything. Ever.

The teacher relents and says she has the chance to redo the paper, if she re-reads the book over Christmas break. Alice reluctantly turns back to page one, and begins to re-imagine the book, giving Mary a more positive role. But to her surprise, she starts to see the other characters as reflections of the people in her own life, and begins to understand both in a deeper way. Maybe you should beware of first impressions, after all . . .

I should admit, full disclosure, that I am a Jane Austen nut. I’ve read five of the six major novels (still can't finish Mansfield Park), and I feel incomplete if I let more than a year go by without reading Pride and Prejudice at least once. I have most of the movie adaptations. Any retold story, I’m there, enjoying the heck out of it. The upshot is, when I heard about First Impressions, I knew I had to read this book.

However, I wouldn’t give this to anybody who hadn’t read Pride and Prejudice first, or at least seen a movie adaptation and has some idea of the plot. Not just because I’m so partial to it, but because the book reveals certain plot points of Austen’s novel that shouldn’t be experienced second-hand.

This is a quick and fun novel, especially for fellow Janeites like myself. Just be sure to have a copy of the original on hand, because you'll want a re-read.

There is a God

. . . because Philip Reeve has written a sequel to Larklight. My life is thus complete, at least for the foreseeable future.

Now the bad news . . . it's not available until October. I read fast. I'm certain to finish Harry Potter 7 by then. Le sigh.

Three Clams and an Oyster

Book: Three Clams and an Oyster
Author: Randy Powell
Published: 2006

Four-man flag football team Three Clams and an Oyster is cursed when it comes to Oysters. Their first one, Glen Como, died suddenly the summer before ninth grade. Their current one, Cade Savage, keeps missing practices and even flakes out on a game, forcing them to forfeit. They choose to hold tryouts for the Oyster position, but Cade is always in the back of their mind.

Now the three Clams--McCallister, Deshutis, and Beaterson--have a hard choice to make. Should they jettison an unreliable player or do everything they can to support their oldest friend in his time of need?

From the cover you would think this is about the team adjusting to having a (gasp!) girl on the roster. In fact, this is nowhere near what the book is about. I suspect the publishers latched onto this one, fairly minor element and ran with it, leaving Powell scratching his head and going, “Huh?”

Instead, this book is about a complex five-way friendship. Glen, in spite of being dead, is still very much present, haunting the story in bits and pieces. (Thank you, Randy Powell, for NOT flashing back.) How much can you hang on to the past? How much should you? And at what point does your friend forfeit the right to your support by slacking off on his responsibility to be there for you?

Pick up this book to find out how three young men try to find the answers.

The Banning Hound is on the Scent . . .

Maureen Johnson's book The Bermudez Triangle has been banned from the school library in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. If you live around there, go to the local public library, to which she will be donating copies of the banned book (plus another one) and make sure everyone sees you reading this NAUGHTY, NAUGHTY book. You're in luck, because besides having no moral fiber (without moral fiber you get moral constipation!), it's a great, heartfelt story about relationships and friendships and identity, sexual or otherwise.

Also drop by MJ's blog and show support.

Banning Hound wants a Milk Bone, too.

This is not what I expected

I Have Nothing to Say . . .

. . . because this is way too cool for words to express.



Okay, fine, it has nothing to do with kidlit. Unless you're figuring on doing a kid's book about William the Conqueror or the Bayeaux Tapestry. Hmmm . . . kind of a cool idea . . . I call it!

Large congrats to David Newton, whoever he is.

P.S. Music is also v. cool.

P.P.S. Thanks to Diane Duane's blog for the link.

Changeling

Book: Changeling
Author: Delia Sherman
Published: 2006

Neef is a changeling--a mortal child stolen away from her parents and taken to live in the fairy world. She has lived all her life in Central Park. Protected and cosseted by her fairy godmother (Astris, a white rat) and fairy godfather (Pooka the trickster), she had no idea how dangerous it is for her in the rest of the fairy world. But then she snuck into the Summer Solstice dance and enrages the Green Lady, who retaliated by kicking her out of Central Park and revoking the protection that’s always kept her safe. Neef can only come back home if she ventures out into the city and brings the Green Lady three little trinkets . . . trinkets that belong to the most powerful fairy folk in Manhattan. Now she's about to find out just how dangerous New York City can be . . .

I'm not the first person to go gaga over this book--it's gotten plenty of buzz on the kidlitospehere and it just made the VOYA 2006 Best of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror list. But having read it, I can join the crowd with glee.

This is one of those books where a place is as important as any character. In this case, the place is New York City--Central Park, the harbor, Broadway, Wall Street, and all sorts of environs in between. The character of the city also permeates the fairy world, where vampires tap-dance on Broadway and the Green Lady wouldn’t be caught dead talking like that pansy Titania.

Neef is no fluffy fairy child--she is savvy, nervy, and mouthy enough to be instantly recognizable as a New York girl, even if her New York is populated with dragons, mermaids, and other magical folk. Her changeling counterpart isn’t as instantly likeable. It took a long time for me to warm up to her, and almost as long for her to start serving any purpose other than annoying Neef. However, even she becomes invaluable at the end. Pick this up for a delicious blend of quest, fairy tale, and love song for New York City.

Save Yourselves!

It's the VOYA Best of 2006 Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror List!

I've read about 25% of this list, and about 50% more is already in my Blue Journal of Stuff I Gotta Read Before I Die. But that still leaves 25% new-to-me titles! I'll never run out of things to read!

Everyone should have this problem.

Thanks to Kids Lit for the heads-up.

P.S. Why, yes, I have had some sugar today. So kind of you to notice.

Pretty Interesting Mix

So the Carnegie Medal in the UK is kind of like the Newbery over here: big honkin' hairy deal, highlighting some of the best in kidlit. So when they put out their list of the best books of the past 70 years, it's one heck of a mix. Here's it is, with itty-bitty summaries.

Carnegie of Carnegies shortlist

* SKELLIG David Almond (won in 1998)

A tale of a creature beneath the garage

* JUNK Melvin Burgess (1996)

The lives of young heroin users

* STORM Kevin Crossley-Holland (1985)

Girl discovers the secrets of a marsh

* A GATHERING LIGHT Jennifer Donnelly (2003)

Novel about a real murder

* THE OWL SERVICE Alan Garner (1967)

A terrifying legend re-emerges

* THE FAMILY FROM ONE END STREET Eve Garnett (1937)

Portrait of a working-class family

* THE BORROWERS Mary Norton (1952)

Tiny people live beneath the floor

* TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN Philippa Pearce (1958)

Adventures in a magical garden

* NORTHERN LIGHTS Philip Pullman (1995)

First of the trilogy His Dark Materials

* THE MACHINE-GUNNERS Robert Westall (1981)

Second World War novel

To read the whole article, click on over to the Independent's website. Thanks to Chicken Spaghetti for the link.

Grand and Humble

Book: Grand & Humble
Author: Brent Hartinger
Published: 2006

On the surface, Harlan Chesterton and Manny Tucker couldn’t be more different. Harlan is a popular athlete whose charmed life is all on the surface, as his domineering mother engineers his whole life to reflect well on his politician father. Manny is a theater geek who is discovering that his loving, supportive father has kept secrets his whole life.

But they have some things in common. They were born in the same town, go to the same high school, and even know some of the same people. Most importantly, they both keep having the same nerve-wracking premonitions of death and disaster. So why have Harlan and Manny never met? And what does the intersection at Grand and Humble have to do with it all?

Brent Hartinger is best known for his novel Geography Club, which I haven’t read (yet). However, I just had to blog this story of two very different boys with a terribly similar problem. Family secrets are the key to banishing the nightmares for both boys, if they can only uncover them. Their lives keep brushing up against each other, but never really intersecting until the fascinating twist at the end, which makes a re-read even more fun.

Story of a Girl

Bit late this week . . . sorry about that!

Book: Story of a Girl
Author: Sara Zarr
Published: 2007

Everybody knows about Deanna Lambert. She’s the girl whose dad caught her having sex with her brother’s best friend when she was thirteen and he was seventeen. She's a slut, a pathetic skank.

Except Deanna knows that nobody really knows about her. But what can she do? She’s been branded and filed away into the untouchable drawer by everyone, even her own father. The only friends she has are Lee and Jason, and even they can’t protect her from the slurs and whispers that are as familiar now as her own name. All she can do is keep her head down and make plans for her escape.

First in those plans is to get some cash flow, which means getting a job at the only place that’s hiring, Picasso’s Pizza. But then she discovers that her new coworker is Tommy Webber, the boy she was caught with three years ago. Now it’s her choice about whether she’s going to keep running away from the event and the actions that have defined her life since . . . or stay and face them.

The really cool thing about this book is that there are no angels or demons. Deanna is no falsely accused innocent--she really was having sex with Tommy Weber when her dad caught them. Even Tommy is a 3-D character, young and unsure and getting the story wrong. The central theme of the story is not Deanna "clearing her name," but coming to an understanding of why she made the choices she did, and finding a way to make different ones now.

And in the end, forgiveness and renewal are not instantaneous. It’s a slow process, as painful in its own way as the initial trauma that requires forgiveness.

This would be a heck of a novel for any author, but for a first-time author, it’s astounding. I can’t wait to see what Sara Zarr does next.

Larklight

Book: Larklight
Author: Philip Reeve
Published: 2006

Art Mumby and his sister Myrtle are having a regular old day at Larklight, their ancestral house which floats on the far side of the moon. The gravity generator has to be turned off so the hoverhogs can eat the floating debris, and they're planning to go out and watch their visitor's spaceship dock at the front door. Also, Myrtle is practicing her new piano piece.

But their new visitor doesn't turn out to be a personable gentleman, as Myrtle was hoping. Instead, he's a giant spider (although he does wear a hat and speak English) who invades their home, wraps their father in a web, and keeps asking for the key to Larklight. Art and Myrtle manage to escape, only to land on the moon. Once there, they almost get eaten by giant moths, are rescued by pirates, and discover that the spiders are actually a prehistoric race from Saturn's rings, intent on destroying the solar system. And the only thing that can stop them is Larklight. But what exactly is the key?

Dear me. This could get a mite sticky.

I adore an off-kilter book, and this definitely counts. Reeves has cooked up a deliciously kooky blend of Victorian adventure novel and space opera, complete with elaborate chapter headings such as "We return home (huzzah!) but discover that it may already be too late to save dear old England from the vengeance of the First Ones (boo!)" It races headlong from exotic locale to exotic locale, bursting at the seams with adventures that are all the more entertaining for their unlikeliness.

For readers that are up on their English history, some of the fun is in seeing how Reeves took actual characters and events (Isaac Newton, the explorer Richard Burton, the Crystal Palace of the 1851 Exhibition) and tweaks them to serve his story. Art’s sister Myrtle can get rather annoying, since she’s usually your traditional fainting maiden, but other than that, Larklight is a grand old time.

A Funny for Friday

I love Frazz. If you're not following this charming comic strip about an elementary school janitor/Renaissance man and the kids at his school, you should be.

If you don't get the one-panel library joke, try this link.

Harry Potter 7 covers

Check 'em out! Beware, however, they're HUGE. I can't get Firefox to shrink 'em down any, but maybe IE will.

Gorgeous, and also food for all sorts of speculation. Like, check out Dobby holding Godric Gryffindor's sword in the British one! What's that all about?! And what's Harry wearing around his neck in the US one? And who's watching? Gah!! I may actually faint. Somebody catch me.

Mary Grandpre, can I grow up to be you?

You Need to Go Watch This

Mr. Rogers testifying about the need for children's programming in 1969

Because. You do. It's been years since I saw Mr. Rogers on TV and I still feel better just hearing his voice.

Do I Actually Read Non-Library Blogs?!

Zee of Zee Says tagged me with another meme, which is to list 5 non-library blogs I read. Thanks, Zee! Turns out I actually do have some.

1. Cute Overload I don't care what kind of day you've had, you have to smile at this blog. Kittens! Puppies! Occasional lizards! All in a state of overwhelming cuteness! Don't read the entire page at once or you may never recover. Also, you may start speaking in a reeeeeediculous Frawnsh accent!

2. Dooce The most famous blogger ever to get fired from her job, Heather Armstrong now writes about everything and nothing, and does it hilariously. My favorites are her monthly letters to her daughter, Leta, wherein she talks candidly and lovingly (and often slightly insanely) about all the changes her preschool-age daughter is going through as she grows.

3. Jane in Progress Television writer Jane Esponson talks about selling scripts, writing for the networks, and writing in general. I first found this because she often works with Godlike-Creator-of-Buffy-and-Firefly Joss Whedon, and let's face it folks, I would watch a hemorrhoid commercial if Joss directed and Jane wrote.

4. Jane Austen Quote of the Day I do love me my Janes. This time it's Jane Austen, with quotes taken from her novels and her letters, each one exceeding your daily recommended allowance of biting wit. It's like getting your daily helpin' o' scalpels . . . but funny.

5. Popcorn and Chain Mail. It doesn't update very often, but when it does . . . ahhh, the snark is strong with this one. Three or four history buffs (or possibly history professionals; they certainly know a lot of stuff I don't, and I enjoy history as much as your next librarian) go after Hollywood's version of history. Notable sporkings have included the cartoon Anastasia, weepie-fest Titanic, and most recently, Tristan+Isolde, otherwise known as Pretty, but they sure can't act.

I do have more, but 95% of my blogs are connected to the library or kidlit world in some way. Good lord, I am a one-track dork. Anyway, if Little Willow at Bildungsroman, Shannon at Clarity . . . perhaps, Fuse #8 or anybody else wants to join in the fun, please do!

Down the Rabbit Hole

I'm back! With a book! Isn't it funny how whenever you think you've hit the drought of a lifetime, bookwise, you suddenly stumble into a patch of really really really good stuff?

Well, that's how it always happens to me.

Book: Down the Rabbit Hole
Author: Peter Abrahams
Published: 2005

Ingrid Levin-Hill should be over the moon. She’s gotten the part of Alice in the stage version of Alice in Wonderland. But it's hard to concentrate on the stage when a woman named Cracked-Up Katie is murdered right after Ingrid was in her house. And when she mounts her own personal investigation, she keeps coming up with questions instead of answers. What's with her parents lately? Who is this guy, Vincent Dunn, and why did he come to Echo Falls? What really happened to Cracked-Up Katie's fiance? Is she ever going to find the end of this rabbit hole?

It’s no coincidence that Ingrid is playing Alice. Abrahams expertly captures the strange, senseless feel of Carroll's classic. There are a lot of loose threads that exist simply as loose threads. They may or may not be connected. They may be connected, but we don’t know how. I finished the book unsure about whether this was Abrahams not bothering to tie it all together, but the sheer volume of these loose ends makes me think this was his way of making Ingrid’s world Wonderlandish, where things happen for seemingly no reason and with no discernable effect.

It’s tempting (and human) to wish for all of them to be wrapped up, for her parents’ behavior, her brother’s, her grandfather’s, to be explained. But that would have been too pat. Life is a bundle of loose ends, after all, as Alice and Ingrid both learn.

Pick up Down the Rabbit Hole for a challenging, twisty mystery about a sane girl in a crazy world.

Just in Case You Suddenly Get a Lot of Extra Time

Presenting . . . The Literature Map! A snazzy little website where you can plug in an author you like, then it displays a cloud of authors similar. The closer the author, the more similar. It's pretty keen, although they do need a little editing (Jane Austin?), and it's kind of fun to follow your own literary tastes through all the different clouds it generates. It's not snobbish about kidlit or genre fic, either.

Thanks to Throwing Marshmallows for the link! What fun!

Interview Meme

Straight from Zee at Zee Says, my entry into the interview meme.

1. Tell me about one holiday tradition your family has that you think is unique.

This may not be strictly unique, but I think it is unusual. We don’t rip into our Christmas presents all at once--there’s a structure to the gift giving. Presents are opened one person at a time, with the person who opened the last one getting to pick the present for the next person. We do this in set rounds--when everyone’s gotten one, we decide whether to do another round or do something like watch one of our new movies or cook or take a break from each other. It is absolutely required that my dad (and his camera) capture the giftee and gift on film. We do one or two rounds on Christmas Eve (after church) and then leave the rest until Christmas day.

The rounds tend to break down by evening, when people who got some big gifts have opened them all and people who got a lot of little gifts are still opening. But I don’t think we’d ever do it any other way. It stretches the day out forever, and it also focuses us on each other and not just the joy of acquisition.

2. What is one thing you regret?

Hiding in a book for most of high school and never accepting any of the overtures of friendship or socialization made to me. A really bad middle school experience made me suspicious and cagey, convinced that anybody reaching out had their own nefarious plans for making my life hell.

3. What is one movie you think all people should be required to see? Why? If it is not a movie that most people have seen, give a 1-2 sentence summary.

The Sixth Sense. It’s one of the few movies that make me cry that I will actually watch again. I love the way it looks at life and death and who’s on which side, and how it affects them.

4. What is your favorite comfort food?
Mexican food, like my mom makes. More specifically, frijoles that still have little bits of uncrushed bean and lots of cheese and milk and you know that some kind of beef or ham bone was involved in the cooking of the beans. The smell and taste and texture just mean home to me.

5. What is the scariest thing that's ever happened to you? How did you maintain the fear from overtaking you?

I temped for about a year in between undergrad and library school. (I don’t recommend that, by the way. Not long-term. Temps are treated like the gum on your shoe in a lot of offices.) I got fired suddenly from a temp job . . . the agency called me and told me not to go to work the next day. I wasn’t even entirely sure why. I’d never been fired or kicked off anything before. I was terrified that I’d done something horrendously wrong that the agency refused to tell me about, and they would never hire me again, and I’d wind up begging pennies on the street corner in order to pay the tuition to the library school that had just simultaneously accepted me and told me they couldn’t offer financial aid. It didn’t help that it was more than a month before I got another job from them, and I just watched my bank account slide toward zero.

I know now that I was expendable, just a temp that they could jettison at will, and there was probably nothing personal in it. But at the time, it felt darn personal.

I got through it day by day. The thing that helped most was going to church, where I also sang in the choir. The friendship and support of that choir helped out so much, and so did the feeling that there were things out there bigger than my stupid little life.

If you want to play, leave comments and I’ll try to come up with my own interview questions.

John Green, M.T. Anderson, and Semi-Rampant Criminality

No review today because I had my own urban adventure, which included a cathedral, a central library, cheap jewelry, lots of walking, hole-in-the-wall cuisine, and being stuck on the train for two extra hours. Four of those things were really fun.

Don't despair, however. Over at Brotherhood 2.0*, John Green has a special guest with him for his bidaily video, and it's none other than M.T. Anderson, the only author I have ever done a doubleheader for besides Lisa Yee. They schlep around Detroit and commit acts of mild illegality, and generally confirm all my impressions of both authors from their books. Check it out!

*What do you mean you're not following it?**

**????

Er . . . huh?

Not to say I've never known any evil librarians. But a book about a boy battling a cult of evil librarians who restrict information doesn't seem like it's doing the ol' image any favors.

However, I'll keep my peace and see if it rocks. If so, I claim the power of the Evil Shush. Or maybe the Evil Bun. My hair's certainly long enough. I wonder if the Evil Bun could strangle people? That's a power I could use some days.

Thanks to Fuse #8 and Zee Says for the link.

Speak

Book: Speak
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Published: 1999

From Day One of high school, Melinda is untouchable, a pariah. She committed the most heinous of high-school crimes--called the cops on a summer party and caused a number of fellow students to get arrested, or at least in serious trouble. Her friends have deserted her and nobody else will get near her. As the school year goes on, she finds herself less and less able to talk. Even her art class, which offers a non-vocal alternative, isn't any help as her year-long assignment goes down the tubes. Her only refuge is an abandoned janitor's closet where she goes to be alone.

But ultimately, Melinda has no choice but to speak.

Okay, I know what you're saying . . . especially those of you who are total YA lit whizzes. Why the heck are you blogging this book, Bibliovore? It's not like we don't know about it! There's even a movie!

But like Melinda, I find I've just got to talk. I'd always heard about Speak as one of those towering classics of modern YA lit, with the result that I didn't have any idea what it was about or what kind of book it was. I wasn't entirely sure I would like it, but I instantly found myself sucked into the bitter, harrowing, and at times deliciously snarky narrative.

While Melinda can't talk to anyone in her life, she can and does pour it all out to us. Everything from her opinions on the constant changes in the school mascot ("Home of the Trojans didn't send a strong abstinence message, so they've transformed us into the Blue Devils") to her near-incoherence in the presence of her attacker is opened up to the reader. Speech and silence seem to feature in every relationship in her life, and the choice between one or the other at certain points directs the narrative.

In the end, I forgot it was a Classic Novel and just sank into the story. And that may be the best definition of a classic yet.

Maryrose Wood Interview!

Those good folks over at Bookslut have interviewed Maryrose Wood, author of Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love. Not surprisingly, the poor book got challenged somewhere. Also not surprisingly, the person doing the challenging had never even seen the book. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to let my ears recover . . . I'm almost deafened by the sound of silly people shooting themselves in the foot.

Anyway, definitely check out the interview. It's hilarious, and not just because of the challenge story.

Thanks to E. Lockhart's blog for the link.

But are they reading them?

Teens buying books at fastest rate in decades
From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Welcome news or wishful thinking? You decide.

I actually think they're right about the sheer quality of the teen lit out these days, and they make an interesting point with one-time Harry Potter readers that still have the reading habit.

How Did I Miss This?

March 1st was World Book Day!

In my own defense, every day is World Book Day in my house. But seriously, I am sorry I missed it. Check out the list of books the world can't live without!

From the World Book Day website:

1) Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen 20%
2) Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkein 17%
3) Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte 14%
4) Harry Potter books – J K Rowling 12%
5) To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee 9.5%
6) The Bible 9%
7) Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte 8.5%
8) 1984 – George Orwell 6%
9) His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman 6%
10) Great Expectations – Charles Dickens .55%

Okay, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights just annoy me, and I've never been able to stay awake through 1984 or Lord of the Rings. But other than that, I love these books! (Yes, even the Bible. It's got some great sex and violence in there.) Hey, 60% ain't so bad.

What's number one? Eh? Eh?? It's all about the Lizzie and Darcy, baby! As if proof of my most excellent taste was needed.

ETA: Thanks to Fuse #8 for the link.

Unfunny YA? Egad!

Stumbled across a link to this blog post by Greg Leitich Smith, about the dearth of funny books in YA. While his survey isn't the most scientific one ever created, in general I have to agree with him. I find my funny YA mostly by luck, and knowing the authors. Of course, some of the best books don't sound that funny from the jacket copy, or even the title (The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie, anyone?)

What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Just want a ham sandwich?

Thanks to Fuse #8 for the link.

Clementine Sequel!

I heard mention of a new Clementine book on another litblog, right after I'd posted my own review. (I've forgotten which blog it is, but if that sounds familiar to you, thank you!) Tonight I remembered about that and went to check the publication date on Amazon . . . lo and behold, it's out in less than a month! Huzzah!

The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie

Book: The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie
Author: Jaclyn Moriarty
Published: 2006

Bindy Mackenzie has got it all going for her. She's the top student in Year 11 at Ashbury School, she runs workshops for fellow students, she even holds down two jobs without breaking a sweat. But she's also humorless, ruthless, superior, and stunningly unable to relate to any other human beings even when she thinks she's trying. Frankly, it's a wonder somebody hasn't tried to murder her before this.

She's sure done a good job of alienating her entire Friendship and Development class. As she begins cracking around the edges, her strange behavior pushes them further away. Unfortunately, they're the only ones who have a chance at figuring out who might want to murder her. Now the question is . . . will they?

I've recently fallen in love with Jaclyn Moriarty's style. She writes epistolary novels that take on multiple voices and points of view, and manage to be warm and funny and just a little kooky without losing their sense of human reality.

As abovenoted, Bindy may be the girl least likely to have a book written about her. Yet even as you goggle at her supreme unlikeability, you actually kinda find yourself . . . liking her. Glimpses into her early life, supplied by the "My Life" assignment given to her by her FAD teacher, show how she got the way she is, and as her slow murder-by-poison sends her life into a tailspin, she begins to realize that the only way she'll make it through is by reaching out to the people she's never had any use for before.

The unlikely murder plot isn't going to satisfy any mystery buffs, but you'll forget about that as you follow Bindy through the torturous, hilarious process of becoming human. Kudos to Moriarty and I can't wait for the next adventure in Ashbury!

Congrats!

. . . to Maureen Johnson, whose truly fab book Devilish has been nominated for an Andre Norton Award.

Clearly, people with this name rock. And how much do I love that people besides the librarians are finally starting to recognize YA?

Also check out Maureen's blog. For someone who writes such deep, heartfelt, almost-angsty books, MJ is a very silly person. If you don’t crack a grin at least once an entry, you are made of stone. STONE I TELL YOU.

The Cool Kids

Now I want to be a super-cool NYC YA author, just so I can hang out with these people.



But they already have a Maureen. Poo. Okay, people, I need you to come up with a frickin' cool, YA-author-sounding name for me.

Clementine

From a terrible paucity of choices last week (or, okay fine, maybe I was just being lazy) to an embarassment of riches this week . . . I've read some great books this weekend. This one, however, really stands out.

Book: Clementine
Author: Sara Pennypacker
Published: 2006

Everyone's always telling Clementine to pay attention. She doesn't understand this, because she pays great attention, better than anyone else in the class. Does anybody else notice the janitor and the lunch lady smooching outside during the Pledge of Allegiance? No! So, see, she pays attention really well.

When her sometimes-best-friend, sometimes-evil-nemesis Margaret tries to cut glue out of her own hair and ends up with a big bald patch, Clementine just does what anyone would and helps out--by cutting all the rest of it off. But really, this is not such a big deal, because she fixes it by giving Margaret new hair with her mother's permanent markers. But she still gets in trouble . . . oh no! Will Margaret's mother ever allow Clementine to play with her again? Will Clementine's parents get tired of her and just trade her in for an easier kid? Will Clementine ever, ever stop getting in trouble?

(The answer to that last is an unqualified no, for anyone who's curious.)

This book is the latest entry in what I call the "Ramona" genre--spunky, funny, clever, warm-hearted little girls who get in and out of as much trouble as the pages will hold. (Other recent examples of Ramona girls include Ruby Lu, Junie B. Jones, and Clarice Bean.) Pennypacker's story is a shining example of what makes these books charming and enduring--an authentic child voice, lots of thoroughly believable and well-meant mischief, and a sunny tone in spite of all the mayhem.

Due to Clementine's narration, this book is destined to be read aloud by teachers and librarians all over the country. Some pages were like reading a train wreck (the moment Clementine borrows her mom's markers, for instance, you know this isn't going to be good), but in a good way. I'd like it if Pennypacker decides to make this a series as so many other Ramona-style books have become. Even if she leaves it a single title, however, it's a great one. Go meet Clementine today.

Fame at Last!

According to this website, I'm a C list blogger. This amazes me. I thought I would be considerably further on down the alphabet. Q, perhaps.

Of course, I am just barely in the C range. C-? Can you be a C- list blogger?

President's Day

This blog celebrated President's Day too. Mostly by spending large amounts of money at JoAnn Fabric (although ironically, not on Fabric) and cleaning the apartment. Conspicuously absent from this list, you will note, is posting a Monday review. I have some great books logged in LibraryThing that I tagged "will blog." For some reason, I don't have the energy to actually do so. Hmm. Maybe this week. Or maybe I'll just blog a really good book next week.

However, I am looking at my stack o' stuff from the library and going, "Dang, I've got some good books to look forward to." So that's a good sign.

Head, meet Desk *THUD*

Doesn't this just kill at least 75% of your faith in society?

Thanks to E. Lockhart, Lisa Yee, and the AS IF! (Authors Supporting Intellectual Freedom) blog for the link.

Hee, hee, hee

The Cybils are Here!

Yep, that's right, you heard it here first.*

The First Annual Children's and YA Bloggers' Literary Awards (Cybils!) have been awarded. Click here if you want to know who got the awards. Congrats to everyone who was nominated and shortlisted.

*Or maybe you didn't. But couldn't you pretend? Just because I've always wanted to say it.

His Majesty's Dragon

Book: His Majesty's Dragon
Author: Naomi Novik
Published: 2006

Captain Will Laurence of the Royal Navy couldn't imagine doing anything else with his life. With the Napoleonic Wars raging, he and his crew have plenty to do on the high seas. But when they find a dragon egg about to hatch aboard a French ship they've taken, he knows somebody will be chosen by the newly-hatched dragon as a handler and partner, and that someone will find their life changed forever.

To his amazement and horror, that someone is him.

Now Laurence is a Captain of the Royal Air Corps, not the Navy, and has to start from the bottom, learning aerial maneuvers instead of nautical ones, attempting to win the respect of resentful aviators, and dealing with the fact that he's suddenly a social pariah, as no respectable woman wants to marry and settle down with a man who must needs give more attention to his dragon than his wife.

Luckily, he's got his dragon, Temeraire--brilliant, inquisitive, and wholly extraordinary. Laurence couldn't hope for a better companion in this discomfiting new world. Now if only they can live through their next battle.

Okay, okay, this alternate history isn't really a YA book. But come on. It's the Napoleonic Wars with dragons. I imagine that's about all that you'd need in the way of a booktalk, especially for an older teen who's already a history or fantasy buff. Novik's research is sterling--it really feels like the Regency era, in social structures, speech, and interpersonal relationships.

While Laurence may be a little too upstanding and duty-bound for some, his warm and loving relationship with Temeraire provides an emotional anchor (ha! unintentional naval pun) for the events of the story. Great characters (human and dragon) , carefully constructed world, and a compelling storyline--you gotta try this book.

Note of interest: I heard about this one from an unusual source, Father Roderick's Daily Breakfast podcast. He mentioned it because it's going to be made into a movie. I'm already in slavering fangirl mode, and as my first act, I'm going to reserve the next two books in the series from my local library. To the OPAC!

Free Books!

Free books, huzzah! As far as I can tell, all you have to do is sign up to Chronicle Books mailing list.

Brett Hartinger Interview

I'm catching up on my entire Blogroll, which is why you got two posts tonight.

Another interview link! This time it's with Brett Hartinger, author of GLBT teen classic Geography Club, about his new book, Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies.

Mmm. With a title like that, it's gotta be good.

ETA: Thanks to Bookshelves of Doom for the link!

Justine Larbelestier Interview

Rather spiffy interview with Justine Larbalestier, author of the really quite neat YA trilogy, Magic or Madness, which is about the choice between rationality and magic. If you don't do magic, you go gaga. If you do, you die young. In a nutshell. Great books, and I'm slavering for the last one. I'll accept an ARC. *she says hopefully*

Anyhow, Justine yaks over at Bookslut mostly about women and gender in SF/F, although she does have some nice stuff to say about her YA career and colleagues. Check it out.

Thanks to (who else?) Blog of a Bookslut for the link.

Maybe This Year I'll Get Some

I haven't gotten a valentine since elementary school (and even then, it was those cheesy ones with, like, Michael Jordan on them. Bleah. Although I was quite touched by the Daffy Duck ones. I really felt some thought went into that choice).

Anyway, this year, I wanna get some valentines, and off to the side is your chance to fulfill my dream. Just click the "send a valentine" button and follow the directions. You don't even have to be a member of Wishroll. And you don't have to attach a Hershey's Chocolate Kiss to the envelope either.

Not that I'd turn it down, of course.

ETA: so, what does this have to do with children's or YA literature?

Uh . . .

Give me a moment. I'm thinking.

E again TA: I actually forgot about the people who read this in syndication. I'm sorry! I'm sorry!!! Click here if you still love me.

Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love

Book: Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love
Author: Maryrose Wood
Published: 2006

Girl loves boy. Boy is baffled by girl's affection. Girl and boy . . . create a science project?

This is love in New York City. At least if you happen to be Felicia, who loves Matthew, who is a scientist creating genius bunnies. The way to his heart, she reasons, is through science. So she comes up with the perfect recipe for love . . . the ultimate science project. The question of the ages. What is love?

For that, they need a hypothesis, experiments, observations, data of all kinds. So Matthew and Felicia set out to get them. Along the way, they and the minor solar system of friends that orbit them hear some great love stories and muddle through a few of their own. What exactly is love? What makes some people attracted to some other people, who are almost always attracted to some other other people? Why is it different for everybody? And why does it have to be so confusing??

In spite of its provocative title, this book is about as racy as The Princess Diaries. (Sorry, Meg, if you're actually reading my little blog! I know you're trying your darnedest to get banned and all, but face it, PD1 is never gonna be a match for, like, Lady Chatterly's Lover.) It is, however, funny, warm, and sensitive to the turbulent ups and downs of first loves, and second and third, and what happens in the times both in between and overlapping. Science may never solve this question, but that doesn't mean the answer isn't out there.

Just In Case You Needed Something *Else* to Waste Time On

. . . today we have The Daily Monster.

What this guy does, see, is he takes some ink, blobs it on paper, sprays air at it to make it all pretty and feathery and fanny, and then he makes a monster out of it. On camera. As if that's not enough joy, he then animates the sucker and asks for a story from us, the blogosphere.

It's really neat because clearly he does not start out the project with something in mind--there's no way. So all these monsters are off the cuff. Plus you get to see the creative process, with different kinds of pens and stuff, and even times when he draws some detail, then changes his mind and colors it in again. (Which in the case of Monster #74 and his lovely background of mountains and trees, I thought was a mistake, but then, I'm not holding the pen, AM I?)

This guy so needs his own picture book. It doesn't even have to have words.

Mr. Stefan G. Bucher, you are a sick, sick monkey. And I hope you will take this for the praise it is, from a person who shocked her entire library by begging them buy a copy of The Book of Bunny Suicides. They think I'm a sweet little children's librarian . . . boy are they wrong.

Muaha.

Oh Harry . . .

. . . I thought I was getting over you. I haven't re-read you in a year. I haven't even seen your movies.

But then I hear your last book goes on sale July 21st, and I'm sucked right back in.

I have to face the facts. I just can't quit you.