For the past nine years, Bo(K)B has been my go-to guide for books that may have slipped under the radar. The consortium that chose the books always surprised me. I have been forced to travel far beyond my comfort zone in reading.
So, now I feel a little lost? A little forlorn? WHERE DID YOU GO, OH BOOKLOVERS?
No more witty commentary from writer/judges and savvy, sassy Kid Commentators. No more arguments in the comments. No More Battle of the Kids Books.
Is that a lone bugle I hear sounding in the distance?
1. Battle of the Kids Books begins tomorrow. I did not get to read the two contenders in this first match up but I predict... nothing. Check back later.
Also, Strangeways to Oldham by Andrea Fraser - but that is an adult murder mystery. Still, I read it and it was a good old fashioned "cottage" mystery with adult tricycles, a stolid butler and a hilarious cast of characters.
All of these books - except for the murder mystery - are e-galleys. Sorry, you can't read them yet. I enjoyed them all. They are a mix of styles and genres - some fun, some suspenseful, some heartbreaking. I will review several, if not all, in future posts.
It is once again time for a bunch of bloggers over at School Library Journal to pit THEIR favorite children or teen books against one another. The books might be chosen from floods of suggestions and maybe they are but, when all is said and done, three people make up the list of contenders.
I have reasons for pointing this out.
Reason #1: I have only read two books on this year's list. I think that is my lowest count so far.
Reason #2: At least, two totally awesome books did not make this list and I am thunderstruck.
Reason #3: I did not know this. I thought that the books were chosen from the floods and floods of book suggestions.
I usually enjoy following this battle - even when I don't read every single title on the list. And here is a link to the action. I linked you to the list of The Contenders but if you look to the right, you will see "the brackets". It all starts on March 7th, with one book I haven't read going up against another book I haven't read. Oh well. Stop with the whining already. Perhaps, by then, I will have read them BOTH.
As I age, I continue to wonder who decides what books should be published for children. I wonder about a lot of things. For instance:
1. Why do people put all their stuff on Facebook?
2. How many reruns of Rockford Files can one person watch in a row?
3. Doesn't anyone stay in one place anymore? (apologies to C. King)
But just what criteria publishers use to choose the books that get published - this is a quandary.
Here are MY criteria for a good kid's book.
1. Simple - ish. As the kids get older the simplicity can fade.
2. Makes the kid think.
3. Takes the kid somewhere they have never been - not necessarily geographically
4. Teaches the kid something
5. Funny at least part of the time
6. Makes the kid feel like part of a bigger world
Current? Well, sure, but that changes in a wink!
Diverse? Yes. This is not a shopping list, though.
STEAM, STEM, CORE, ???? Don't work so hard.
Difficult subjects?? Anything that makes a person suffer is a difficult subject. Asking a three year old to hop on one foot before he is able to can make him cry! See what I mean?
I am venting here. I will stop now. And go back to wondering what to do with a 4 year old princess for a week - besides reading.
I went away. Internet was expensive and spotty. I am back.
So, it seems, is Battle of the Kids Books. Here are this year's contenders. I have only read FOUR of them. Oh MY! I must get some eye drops and those clips that keep your eyes open and hire a house minder so that I can read, read, read.
Three adult mysteries - one set in Singapore (Aunty Lee's Delights), another featuring crossword puzzles (The Crossworder's Delight) and a short story starring Hercule Poirot. All a lot of fun.
I started The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett. Not quite done with it yet. Considering that the first version was written - and published - when Sir Terry was 17, it's pretty darn good. I am, I confess, a Pratchett fan.
Still in pjs - retirement is awesome! - now I must get moving or the day will be done before I know it.
I neglected the first rule of BoB. Consider carefully the judge. Care-ful-ly. Knowing the judge of each match may very well change a prediction. Yesterday, I gleefully proclaimed the winner for today without even noticing who the judge is. Sarah Mlynowski writes books with edge, even when writing for middle graders. If I considered that carefully, I may have guessed that she would pick Far, Far Away as the winning book in this match. ***strikes forehead with palm!**** Duh.
That said, her praise of both books convinced me that she chose wisely and well.
No more predictions for me. My arrogance is justly punished.
Eleanor & Park has moved on to Round 2 of the Battle of the Books. Did I not call it? I did. And this success has given me enough arrogance to think I can predict tomorrow's winner.
Far, Far Away goes up against the Newbery-winner, Flora and Ulysses. One is about the ghost of Jacob Grimm. The other is about a squirrel who has a life-changing run-in with a vacuum cleaner. Hmm, ghost? Or Squirrel? Ghost...squirrel...ghost...squirrel.
Before I cast my prediction into InterSpace, let me say I found both books to be great reads. The language in Flora and Ulysses is delicious. Far, Far Away is populated by people who appear to mimic stock fairy tale characters... and then, they don't. One is a romp through family dynamics and poetry. The other takes breath-taking twists through grief and loss into depravity. It's pretty much like deciding between a flashlight and a coil of rope. Both are useful but pick the wrong one and you are stranded.
There. My weighty analysis is done. I pick the SQUIRREL!!!!!!!! (Full disclosure here. I am a big fan of stories about squirrels.) And for those who didn't read either book, that would be Flora and Ulysses as tomorrow's winner.
SLJ's Battle of the Books started already. I missed the first two matches. The results of Round 1, Match 2 are here: Round 1, Match 1, click here.
Here's Match 2. Just guess which one wins.
Sometimes, the best part of each match is the anticipation. In these cases, since I haven't even had a chance to look at one of the entries in each match, the judge's comments will help me a lot.
Check out the brackets below. I am ready for the next Match and I predict..... Eleanor and Park will win! Except that Doll Bones was awesome, too. Glad I'm not a judge!
It's official. The books have been chosen and I have ONLY read THREE of them. I have a lot of reading to do. A blessing and a curse.
Click here to see what to read before March 13th when the competition begins.
Oh what the heck! Here's the list
ALL THE TRUTH THAT’S IN ME by Julie Berry
THE ANIMAL BOOK by Steve Jenkins BOXERS AND SAINTS by Gene Yang
A CORNER OF WHITE by Jaclyn Moriarty
DOLL BONES by Holly Black
ELEANOR AND PARK by Rainbow Rowell
FAR FAR AWAY by Tom McNeal
FLORA & ULYSSES by Kate DiCamillo
HOKEY POKEY by Jerry Spinelli
MARCH BOOK ONE by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
MIDWINTERBLOOD by Marcus Sedgwick
P.S. BE ELEVEN by Rita Williams-Garcia
ROSE UNDER FIRE by Elizabeth Wein
THE THING ABOUT LUCK by Cynthia Kadohata
TRUE BLUE SCOUTS OF SUGAR MAN SWAMP by Kathi Appelt
WHAT THE HEART KNOWS by Joyce Sidman
Well, whoop-de-doo. I read FOUR of them. Time to get serious.
To predict tomorrow's Battle of the Kids' Books winner I need only my "incredible powers of book discernment". But first I must cogitate.
Similarities:
Both titles reference the stars: Jepp, who Defied the Starsvs Starry River of the Sky.
Neither book's action is from around these here parts - geographically or chronologically. Both bookschampion hope.
Hmmmm, yep, I think that's about it.
Differences: Jepp is historical fiction and describes the indignities suffered by people who appear different from the norm. The writing avoids being ponderous even when considering the time period and the weight of Jepp's indignities and difficulties. There is a touch of wishful thinking in Jepp's story that may toss the book overboard in this round. For instance, I found the ending to be anachronistic - far too modern for the time period, even though the main historical character, Tycho Brahe, was famous for his wildly unorthodox behavior and teachings.
Starry River of the Sky is fantasy through and through. The author alternates the main character's story with folk tales that seem to move that character's story along. The audience for this book seems to be younger than the audience for Jepp, Who Defied the Stars. Because of that the plot is simpler and the problems the characters meet are more immediate - the heat, the darkness, grouchy neighbors. The writing is more lyrical. The pacing has more drama. Less happens but more emotional ground seems to get covered.
Oh dear, what have I done? When I started this post, I thought my choice was clear. I must pause here and think carefully. If I was the esteemed judge, truly, which would I choose? (Note to BOB organizers: I NEVER want to be an esteemed judge.)
Jepp teaches us about a swatch of scientific history and gives us insight into the constant battle of all human beings to be treated with respect. Jepp also encourages the reader to look inside for his or her own talents and pursue a path that is meaningful and satisfying.
Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin is about anger, betrayal but most of all, this book is about forgiveness. How Lin gets there is a journey worth taking. The stories are like pearls disbursed on a strand with earthen beads. Did I love this book? Oh, yes, yes, I did.
And still, I choose small and sturdy, young and indomitable, clever, sometimes clueless, but eventually courageous Jepp as the winner of this battle.
Unfortunately for me, the two largest public libraries close to me do not own Endangered! Yeah! I know! It's a National Book Award Finalist, for golly sakes! They both own Three Times Lucky, but obviously the word is out that this is an awesome book because it is on hold at my hometown library and out at the "other" library.
(And, with huge apologies to all the booksellers out there who do such awesome work keeping literature alive, I only buy books that I have learned to love. It's a cheapster thing.)
So I have read a few reviews and I have investigated the judge. And, even though I am totally unqualified to make a prediction, I will! I predict that the small-town girl will beat out the orphaned chimpanzee.
Who can resist a message in a bottle?
I predict that tomorrow, Three Times Lucky will move on to the next round. I predict this for three reasons.
Reason 1: Kathi Appelt's own work leans toward small-town and rural characters.
Reason 2: Sassy orphans beat out orphaned animals most of the time.
Reason 3: The American South is more appealing than the Congo, especially now.
But the New York Times review of Endangered! gives me pause.
There just might be a surfeit of small-town mysteries in children's books right now. The suspense and tension of Sophie's attempt to save her small bonobo friend may tip the scales in Endangerd!'s favor.
He looks so frightened. I want to save him, myself.
I wish I had a chance to read just one of these books!!!
I have nothing to lose! I stand by my prediction. Three Times Lucky will win tomorrow. (maybe)
Over at Battle of the Kids' Books, Bomb has (insert your explosion related verb here) to victory! I have already used one incendiary pun. I can not in good conscience use more.
I had a sneaking suspicion that this would happen but since I have not even been able to get a look at the cover of the winning title, I could not make a reliable prediction. I WANT to read this book.
(Person, who is reading it from my local library, please return it, NOW. Waiting is hard.)
HOWEVER, Wonder was a gasp-producing masterpiece of enlightenment and consciousness-raising. I may have chosen it, anyway.
Tomorrow, though, fiction will win out. Titanic is a gripping revisit to the most famous maritime disaster of all time. ButCode Name Verity is ...I have no words to accurately convey this book's power.
I have been very busy this week with non-bloggy things - sitting for a grandchild; following my Dad from the hospital to Rehab to another room in Rehab; catching up on Committee work for my worship community; and reading.
Ah, reading... It is a salve to my weary - and sometimes restless - soul. Over at Battle of the (Kid's) Books, you can now vote for the one book in the entire contest that you want to return to the Final Round if it gets voted off. I LOVE this part of BoB because sometimes a worthy book falls short of a worthy judge's expectations. Ya know what I mean? Judges are human.
Here is how my reading and Battle of the Kids' Books stands. I have ONE book yet to read in the first match-up of Round One. I need to get hold of Bomb! by Steve Sheinkin before March 12th.
In the next set of match-ups, I have to read two books, Endangered by Eliot Schrefer and Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage.
In the next set of four contestants, I haven't read THREE of the books; Moonbirdby Philip Hoose,Seraphinaby Rachel HartmanAND No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson.
Some very heavy reading will be going on in this house.
If you would like to see all the books in the competition, and by elimination the books I've already read, click here.
I've voted for MY Undead Choice. It was a close call. Join in the fun, today.
Battle of the Books Brackets have been chosen. I knew there was a good reason to return to the land of ice and wind and Internet access. i just knew it.
Here they are:
Once again, I have read some, but not all, of the books. I have direction! I have purpose! I have a goal. I love Battle of the Books.
Now, the brackets are chosen BEFORE the American Library Association announces their Book Award Choices - which ALA did last Monday right before I re-learned body surfing on a Caribbean beach.
To check on all the other awards - for best children's non-fiction, or YA book, or social justice book, concept book, go to the ALA Book Awards page and click on the individual links. There are just too many great books written for young people.
If you go to BoB's current post, you will see how well the Brackets match the ALA Award winners. As always, judge's comments and the Peanut Gallery responses will be some of the best blog-reading of the year.
Oh, I wonder when we get to vote for the Undead. Or, gasp, has that vote been cast? And who will be this year's awesome author/judges? So many questions! So many books! So little time! Excuse me, I have to put books on hold at the various libraries of which I am a member.
Who can think about Kids Book Website Tuesday when the phone keeps ringing and I have to make nametags for StoryFUSION and I haven't collected enough media cords for my workshop yet?????
I can!! Ta Ra Ta Ra! I can think about Kids Book Website Tuesday. Of course, right now my favorite KBW is Battle of the Books. DUH!! With amazingness happening at every cliff-hanging turn! Today, Judge Jewel Parker Rhodes chose Drawing from Memory to move to the semi-finals. I have hope for Inside Out and Back Again to rise from the dead in the final round.
I was hoping to share a Reading Rainbow site but since the show was taken off, PBS no longer hosts a site for it. But, never fear, Reading Rainbow fans. I have heard from very credible sources that Reading Rainbow will come out with an app for your iPhones this Spring!!! YAY! Take a look! It's in a book! Reading Rainbow.
Here you go. Stone Soup, the magazine, has been publishing stories, poems and drawings of young people for decades. So Stone Soup, though not actually a book website, is my choice for this week's Kids Book Website. Sample the writings of children and teens. This magazine never publishes the work of grown-ups. NEVER! Stone Soup is Peter Pan's favorite reading material, I've been led to believe. I'm sure that's true.
Make sure you check out the video on the magazine's home page. Very cool.
Back to BoB: Tomorrow, Life: an Exploded Diagram goes up against Wonderstruck. My first lackluster prediction is that Wonderstruck will head to the next round. But Chris Lynch is the judge and that changes things. Must....think... ... ... I am going to predict Wonderstruck. Just because I feel I should predict something. Is that lackluster enough for you? Both good books. Both worthy opponents. Just not A Monster Calls.
Tomorrow - over at BoB - Chime goes up against Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Now that the book I thought would go all the way has been kicked out, is it a little, um, self-pitying for me to pout and say I don't care which book wins? YES!! Yes, it is. I do have an opinion about this match.
Chime was the second most difficult book in this year's Battle for me to get into. (I still haven't finished Life. I will. I promise.) Briony's stream of consciousness, anxiety-ridden narrative is so confusing. But I was so glad I persevered because none of her rambling is wasted.
On the other hand, I slipped into Daughter of Smoke and Bonelike I was sinking into a fragrant long-awaited bath. Ahhhh, what a lovely setting, ahhhh, what intriguing characters, ahhhh, blue hair. Isn't this indulgent? And then.... there was the battle-y part.
Very Short Digression: I am getting really really REALLY tired of battle-y parts.
Back to BoB; The battle-y part was followed by the heart-breaking romance part and the WHAT??!!! ending in Daughter. That's a lot to pack into one book.
So, there you have it. Hard to get into but satisfying Chime goes against seductive, action packed Daughter of Smoke and Bone.
I could toss a coin as one of our esteemed judges did. I could use my Chobani Oracle Cup and pull out the name. But this time, I think I will just predict that.... Oh, my, this is so hard.
I choose Chime over Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I think it was the battle-y part that pushed me over the edge. I suspect that excellent judge e. lockhart, will have a more intelligent take on this match. And, as I say over and over, I will not be disappointed in either book moving on.
StoryFUSION!!! So much StoryFUSION prep work going on. If you don't hear much from me this week, that is why. Check the Storytelling page for updates and schedules and stuff.
I am crushed. I was sure that A Monster Callswould take this match. It is a masterful portrayal of the pain of watching a loved one suffer - the guilt, the fear, the resentment, the sorrow, the.... Of course, my personal situation may have made me overly appreciative of this book. My Dad hasn't died but cancer changed him. Sigh.
As for Life : an Unexploded DiagramI can't say much. I could not get into the book. Was it written well? Yes. Was I a teeny bit intrigued by the characters? Um, no. So now that it has earned a Match 2 slot, I will have to trudge through it. Friends who read it tell me they are very glad they did. Hopefully, the second half is better than the first. This is the allure of BoB. I am encouraged to read books that I normally would eschew in favor of OTHER books because there are always OTHER books, aren't there?
It's Whatever Wednesday - a Wet Whatever Wednesday. I have a slate full of stuff to do today so...
I will just remind you to reserve your tickets for StoryFUSION now.
OK, here's my prediction for tomorrow's round. I liked both of these books but I wasn't enamored with either of them. I am going to choose Okay for Now over Wonderstruck. I felt that Wonderstruck felt wooden compared to Selznick's triumph of The Adventures of Hugo Cabret. That's probably a little unfair but life is not always fair and neither am I, I guess.
That said, Scholastic has put together a lovely webpage fore this book. Click here to learn to fingerspell and to learn about constellations, too.
Too many neat coincidences in Okay for Now, I thought. Funny how coincidences are fine and wanted in one book (The Grand Plan) but can feel hasty in another book. HOWEVER, the librarian in Okay is totally cool. Totally. And the artwork connection was intriguing.
So, which? Get on with it. Hmmmmm. Coin toss? Nah. I predict that Okay for Now will move on to the next round. But now that I have been proved fallible I would not put any money down on this. Hey, is there a board in Vegas for this Battle? Does anyone know?
Drawing from Memory by Allen Say is victorious in SLJ's Battle of the Books. I was right again. For some reason, I am a bit nonplussed. I wish there was some way that The Grand Plan to Fix Everything could get the recognition it deserves. Well-written FUN books lack respect in the world of books. And that is not right because the fun books, the so-called "light" or "fluffy" books, are what keep a LOT of kids reading.
Anyone who has ever watched and delighted in the coincidences of a Bollywood film (or "fillum") will understand what is happening in The Grand Plan. The heroine MUST reunite with her jilted lover. The friends MUST stay tight. And the lovely postal worker on his honeymoon MUST find a job in this Eden like village. Barbara O'Connor, the judge in today's BoB match-up, mentioned these coincidences and I think she was not sure she liked them. I LOVED them. These coincidences lifted me from my rather coincidence free humdrum existence to a place where the sun shines and birds sing and the crowds break into dance with colored scarves and bells on their ankles.
HOWEVER, Drawing from Memory is, as Barbara O'Connor so aptly puts it, an "experience". I had tears in my eyes as I closed this book about Allen Say's journey to become the great artist that he is. I felt enriched and enlightened after I read Drawing from Memory and I feel it would best almost any other book on this list. But I am at a loss for words to describe it. It needs to be read and studied and felt.
Both books take American readers into other cultures and climates. Imagine! A twelve-year-old is given his own apartment so he can go to school!!!! Monkeys take over a bakery!!! Reading is the cheapest way to travel.
Tomorrow's match is between Kadir Nelson's Heart and Soul and Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. My vote goes to Inside Out and Back Again.Let's see if I am right.
Readergirlz and Figment are planning a Rock the Drop event on April 12, 2012. It works like this. Get a book. Put the bookplate, below, in the book. Drop the book somewhere that someone might find it. It's like International Book Giving Day but more subversive.
So do it. Easy enough to share a good read with an unknown "friend".
Battle of the Books:Daughter of Smoke and Bone won its first round - as I predicted. I am buffing my chipped nails on my lapel as you read this. Don't forget to read the commentaries after Sara Zarr's thoughtful judging.
One of the comments to BoB's post mentioned the artwork for today. I like the little bomb shelter sign that Dead End in Norvelt so ineffectively uses as a shield. Thanks to RB for drawing attention to these graphics. So read EVERYTHING on the Battle's page; the decision, the commentaries and the comments. All fun, all worthwhile.
Monday's match. Hmmm. I haven't read The Grand Plan to Fix Everything. It's hard to imagine that it is better than Allen Say's Drawing from Memory. So I'm going with Drawing as Monday's winner. HOWEVER, I might change my mind.
So what happens next? Come on March 31st to see!
I still have two passes to the Elizabeth Ellis performance on March 31st at Northampton Community College. Listen to the interview and story at the link above. Honestly, she is so good we should charge TWICE as much as we are charging. Try something new.
Well, I have two passes to Saturday, March 31st show at StoryFUSION. Any takers? This is no longer a blog Giveaway. This is a First Person Gets It Giveaway. Just post a comment and the passes are yours.
I am performing - with Larry Sceurman, who is amazing and magical, - on Sunday afternoon, 2 pm, at Godfrey Daniels, 7 East 4th Street, Bethlehem, PA 18105. I will bring my accordion, just for fun. Larry will bring his magic. We plan to tell a story together, too.
So, my storyteller of the week is...ME! I am awesome. Actually, I am pretty good, even if I say so myself.
Here I am as Monsieur Maurer (Mah-ray)
Here is my storytelling history.
30 years ago, I had only seen two actual "storytellers" at that time, Kathy Pierce and Ed Stivender. The idea that anyone could actually make money doing something I just did naturally - honestly, try to shut me up when I get going - was amazing!
So I began to tell stories everywhere I could - in storytimes, to church groups, at Halloween bonfires. I made up a flier and sent it out - cut and paste since design software was very expensive back then.
A year or two later, a F(f)riend asked me if I would be her storytelling partner, and Ollie Ollie Infree Storytellers was born. We told at schools and camps and church groups and retirement dinners and ladies' clubs, in PA, West Virginia and Ohio. We even told at Mayfair, which was a brand new festival back then.
Before or during this partnership, I started an intergenerational storytelling troupe at the library where I was the YS librarian. Storytellers' Circle, the group was called and it was a lively fun group. We put on shows for the library, visited senior groups and nursing homes and nursery schools and day cares. We had parents and children join together. And children who joined without parents and parents who joined without children. We were all learning together. Chaz Kiernan and his daughter, Emily, were members of this troupe. YAY!
This is how the Black Rose Tellers began - and that is Kelly on the right!
I started the Black Rose Teen Tellers in 2004. And it continued until I resigned from that library in 2011. The Teen Tellers did reader's theater, planned and performed for Dr. Seuss Birthday Parties and Teddy Bear Costume Parties, Tellabration, for benefit events, and BEST of ALL, these teens helped plan and carry out annual workshops for younger tellers. In Fall 2010, I started Tellers2 with tellers in grades 3 through 5.
Over the years, two of the Teen Tellers qualified to compete in the National Youth Storytelling Showcase, Aleah Goldin and Josh Langman. (Three if we count Emily Kiernan but she wasn't a member of any troupe when she competed.) Two of them starred in the YouTube below, the amazing Kelly Fitzpatrick and Erik N.
Me? I tell stories with and without my accordion. I have visited West Virginia, Ohio, Texas and PA, telling stories at festivals, schools, parties, church groups and leading workshops for young tellers and teachers. Like reading and reviewing children's books, storytelling is what I do, who I am. Join me - at StoryFUSION, at Godfrey Daniels. I will gladly tell you a story - anytime.
BoB Update: Chime goes on to the next round, just as I said it would. Tomorrow's winner, I predict, will be Daughter of Smoke and Bone. However, Dead End in Norvelt did win the Newbery and just might win again.
I called it! See my post yesterday if you don't believe me! I picked Between Shades of Gray by Ruth Septys and Gayle Forman agreed. Here is my guess for tomorrow's BoB match between The Cheshire Cheese Cat and Chime. As much as I adored the cheese-loving cat in the first book, I am choosing Chime as the winner. I may well be wrong. But I won't be disappointed. Both books have a lot to offer to their readers. By the way, don't forget to visit The Cheshire Cheese Cat's website for a lot of London and Dickens fun.
