Chanda's Secrets - Need a Good Cry?

A good cry is like a summer thunderstorm, clearing out the stickiness of emotions and replacing them with a cool breeze.  Tears that fall because everyday life can scar us with questions and confusion and uncertainties - these tears cleanse and let us recalibrate, reorient, and get back on track.

On a night when no one has emailed me and no one is home to chat, on an evening when my husband must go to bed early to prepare for his early morning job, when suddenly the home I rejoiced in several hours before seems echoing and empty, at times like these doubts and fears come creeping, creeping.

Times like these call for a good cry.  And if YOU need a good cry, read Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton.  Young teen Chanda has the horrible task of hiring an undertaker for her baby sister's funeral.  Her sister's father is off drunk somewhere and her mother must stay home with the younger children, Iris who is five and Solly who is four.  In a South African community where people die of "TB" or "cancer" and where the disease AIDS is not even discussed - where making plans for death is just bringing on bad luck, Chanda and her mother are barely keeping things together.  When Papa and the older boys died in a mine explosion, the family spiraled downward.  They were lucky that a married man hired them, but unlucky when he turned his wandering eyes on Chanda - lucky, when a neighbor couple took them in, luckier still when an old, kindly widower married Mama and left her the house.  Now Sara has died and Mama can't get out of bed and Jonah, the stepfather has left and whispers, whispers, whispers make the whole family outcasts.

Secrets, superstition, unkindness that comes from fear, and a disease that cannot be stopped because no one will admit that it exists add up to the perfect catalyst for a good cry.  The ending is victorious.  Chanda faces her mother's illness and refuses to hide it.  Her busybody neighbor steps up to be a support and a comfort.  And there is hope, hope for change and hope for Chanda.

And you won't just get a good cleansing cry out of this book.  You will get perspective because Chanda's Secrets (watch the book trailer) may be fiction but it is based very firmly in the facts of HIV/AIDS and how ignorance, superstition and fear keep people from dealing with the disease.  And an empty inbox just can't compete with that for sadness.

The book has become a movie, Life, Above All,  and was highly acclaimed at the Cannes Film Festival last year.

A Quick Note!

I finished my ARC of The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly at 2:48 am today.  It was worth the loss of sleep.  I laughed out loud several times, much to Honey's discomfort and confusion, and hugged myself a time or two with delight.  I even got a catch in my throat.  The book comes out on June 7.  More details in a later post.

Friendly Games

Last night, our Friends' Meeting's Connections Committee, aka the Party Committee, hosted a games night.    We did a lousy job of publicizing it (because the Recording Clerk did not get the minutes out in a timely fashion and Oops, I'm doing it again THIS month!)  So we expected that we and our significant others would be the only ones in attendance.  We were happily surprised!

Those expecting to play "Kiddie" games were disappointed.  Cribbage, Cranium and Bridge - BRIDGE!! - carried the evening with a lot of laughter and groans.  Some people played with the mind game "Stargate", a deck of cards that are supposed to help the user solve problems and clarify matters of concern.  It looked fascinating but I was re-learning the art of bidding in bridge.

Other games that were opened that night included Apples to Apples, and Scrabble.  It was a lot of fun!

And this reminds me of The Cardturner by Louis Sachar.  I know I mentioned this book during the Battle of the (kids') Books but it deserves another mention.  The idea of writing a Young Adult novel about the game of bridge seems ludicrous.  Now, up the ante.  The book isn't about party bridge.  Oh NO!  It's about tournament duplicate bridge, which is a world of its won.  Duplicate Bridge has its own ethics, its own language and its own hierarchy.  Drop a 17-year-old boy, whose only reason for being there is that his Great-Uncle, who is blind, needs someone to turn up the cards and tell the uncle what they are, and then play the cards that the Uncle wants played, -  yeah, stick him into this rarefied world.  And why is he there??  Because his Great-Uncle has a great deal of money that the boy's parents hope to get their hands on if they, excuse the pun, play their cards right.  There is so much more than bridge in this book.  But if you are even a little bit interested in this game, which is absorbing and requires concentration, The Cardturner will make you want to take a trick or two.  Maybe even play a full rubber.  Read it and tell me if that isn't so.

Oh and there are a couple of romances in this novel, some stolen identities, a road trip of epic proportions.  Just read the book. 

And find some friends and play some games - offline for a change.  It is so much fun.

The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead

In this first novel by Paul Elwork, Emily Stewart discovers early in the summer of her thirteenth year that she can making a knocking noise when she cracks her ankle.  When she frightens her twin brother, Michael, with this trick one night, he devises a game that they call "spirit knocking".  The two start with the "ghosts" of relatives.  Michael asks the ghosts questions that can be answered "yes" - two knocks, or "no" - one knock.  Soon children from all over the rural neighborhood come to the little tea house on the Stewart estate to ask questions of "ghosts", mostly created from Michael's boundless imagination.

When adults show interest in the game, Emily wants to quit but Michael insists that they continue and they do...longer than they should.

The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead is set in the years after World War I, when people were desperate to reach their dead loved ones, lost in the war and to influenza.   The stories of the twins' widowed mother, their dead father, their parents' friends and ancestors and the losses of their neighbors are all woven into the story of a child's game, made all too serious because of the grief that pervades the era.  Changes in attitudes towards the landed rich, like the Stewarts, also flavor this book.  Emily carries a lot of the narrative burden.  Michael is a shadowy puppet master, pulling the strings, plotting their next moves.  He is a boy of immense talent and too much energy and restlessness.  Emily is, as the old women who interview her say, "an old soul" at the age of thirteen.

This is a book that moves with the gentle pace of a swollen river, carrying the reader along, closer and closer to the rapids, lulling the reader into a bemused and fascinated calm.  And then, we are beyond our depth and drowning.   Read it!

Patrick is back

Geoffrey Hayes has developed some lovely comics for beginning readers starring his loveable little bear, Patrick.  I remember Patrick from the book Patrick Eats His Dinner.  My son, who is now 35, was only 4 at the time and we both loved the song Patrick sang as he avoided eating his peas.  Something about "little green balls of smooshy poison", I think.  The out of print editions available on Amazon start at $299. 

BUT you can read about Patrick in a brand new series of books starting with Patrick in A Teddy Bear's Picnic and other stories, put out by TOON BOOKS, an imprint of Candlewick Press.  At $12.95, this book is a bargain.  It's at least twice as big as Patrick's first outing with the peas and it includes several sweet, funny, exciting, but ultimately reassuring, stories about Patrick, his Ma, his Daddy, a bully called Big Bear, naps, parks and a trip - all by himself - to the store.  BTW, Big Bear is no match for Patrick in the end.  Hayes is right on target with Patrick's view of the world, concerns and talents.  Beginning Readers will identify with Patrick right away! The graphics have that soft edged look and bright but not glaring colors that Patrick fans have always loved.   I am so glad Patrick is back, just in time for new generations of young readers.

A World Withour Fish

Mark Kurlansky's book, A World Without Fish is a warning of the devastation of our oceans perpetrated by commercial fishing and pollution.  Punctuated with comic strips about the naturalist Kram and his daughter, Ailat, this book first outlines the problem of quickly disappearing fish species, then Kurlansky describes how these fish became scarce.  Finally, Kurlansky gives some advice on slowing down the devastation of the seas.

Frank Stockton's comic strips and full color illustrations make this a graphically inviting book.  Changes in the font and size of print emphasize important points.  Kurlansky also includes archival photos within the text.  A Resources list at the end gives young activists all the information they need to start a movement to reclaim the oceans.

A scary book, this, and discouraging at times!  Kurlansky does his best to be fair to the various groups involved in the plundering of the seas.  He champions fishermen, who warned of disappearing species long before scientists did.  The one thing I wish he had added was a bibliography but his resource list gives some links to further research.

I am going to have trouble eating fish, now that I know what happens to the seas to get those fish to my table.  Kurlansky gives a list of fish to avoid (Never eat sharks!  he tells us.)  So, perhaps, if I am very careful, I can enjoy fish and not further the destruction of our oceans. 

Kutztown Children's Literature Conference

Time to rave about children's literature, the people who produce it and the people who love it-(that would be ME!)

Beth Krommes, Pat Mora, Linda Sue Park and Jerry Pinkney all presented to an enthusiastic crowd of teachers, librarians and kids book afficianados  at Kutztown University yesterday for their thirteenth annual Children's Literature Conference.

Here are some highlights:  Beth passed around her Caldecott medal so all of us could hold it, turn it over and see the reverse side.  We all see Caldecott's famous illustration of a man riding a horse on the gold seals on picture book covers.  I never knew another Caldecott illustration decorated the reverse.  I was thrilled to hold it.

Sitting next to Pat Mora at lunch.  She's delightful!  Her presentation was wonderful as well and she reminded us how very important it is to welcome diversity in our classrooms and libraries.

Linda Sue Park's Top Ten Things that Happen When you Win the Newbery Award was hilarious.  Bring this woman into your schools whenever you can.  She is a lively speaker and will keep your audience captivated.

The rain pounding on the roof as Jerry Pinkney showed his slides for Noah's Ark.  He couldn't have planned that to happen.  What a nice, nice man, Jerry Pinkney is! and what a huge talent.  Meeting him was a thrill.

I also enjoyed presenting book reviews to a nice crowd of teachers and librarians.  (I've posted the booklist on my Scribd account and someday I will learn how to link to that.)

Many, many thanks to the committee that made the conference possible especially Dr. Sycherz and, of course, Dr. Robert Dorney, the guiding light for the conference. 

So what did I do when I came home?  I picked up an ARC of Shimmer by Alyson Noel.  It was a good quick read.  I'm not going to say it was "fun", because it dealt with souls trapped on earth by their own anger and pain.  There's not much fun about that.  I liked the character of the ghost, Riley Bloom.  I liked her feistiness and her stubborn streak.  I also appreciated that she was willing to learn once she calmed down to listen.  There's an historical link in this story of slaves and slave owners and their ghosts on the island of St. John Virgin Island.  Noel keeps the story moving and leaves a great opening for the next installment in this series. 

So, now, I feel like I am truly retired but my brain is spinning with ideas of what I want to do next.  Podcasts?  Write and publish my own books?  Story programs for the Summer Reading Program theme?  There is just NOT enough time to fit everything in.  The world is full of possibilities!

BIG KAHUNA ROUND approaches

So, it has come down to this.  SLJ's Battle of the Kids' Books will end tomorrow. Kathi Appelt's Keeper and Jonathan Stroud's The Ring of Solomon meet in the final head-to-head match-up.  But wait!  What's this?  A THIRD contender?  Yes, Back from the Dead, A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner has risen to challenge the two finalists.

And what sage of the writing world has the enviable task of choosing among these three???  It is Richard Peck, Newbery winner and all round great storyteller.  Whew!  Better him than me, is what I'm thinking right now.

Ok, here's my take on these three books.  I didn't read the Ring of Solomon so it is a little crazy that I am cheering for that book.   That's how powerful the character of Bartimaeus, the djinni, is.  Stroud's humorous writing, the excessive but effective use of tongue-in-cheek footnotes and Bartimaeus' oddly honorable amorality, MUST all add up to a compelling read. My former partner-in-storytime, SC, has told me - and I trust her - that this book is better than all three of Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy books.  So that is the book I WANT to win.  That is the book I think will win.

Here's why.  A Conspiracy of Kings is a marvelous adventure, well-plotted with characters the reader cares about.  The world Turner creates is credible and detailed.

Keeper is a dreamy book with lush descriptions, not only of the seaside setting but also of the workings of the young girl's thoughts and hopes.

But neither of those books have as strong and as original a character as Bartimaeus.  Bartimaeus is the quintessential lovable rogue - funny, powerful and unexpected.  With all of his thousands of years of experience how could a handful of monarchs and a girl and her dog expect to compete?  I'm just saying!  Bartimaeus will rise victorious tomorrow - (I hope.)

Okay, I lied. My next post was a poem. But I'm ready to share book reviews and book review sites again.

I am surprised and distressed that I have not written about Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas. This is one of the books I found on "Read It First". I'm SURE I wrote about this already. But where?

Okay, so Hennie is 86 years old and her daughter, Mae, wants Hennie to leave Middle Swan, a gold mining town in Colorado. The year is 1936. As winter approaches, a new couple moves into town and the young wife stops by Hennie's fence where her late husband hung a sign, as a joke, that reads "Prayers for Sale." This meeting leads to friendship and stories, lots of wonderful stories.

I loved the way the book was structured. Dallas drops hints about the events of the last few chapters in a way that piques interest but doesn't intrude on the story at hand. When all the puzzle pieces fall in place, there is a sense of release and relief.

So here's the short version. Gold mining town, the Depression, Old Woman, Young Woman, friends, love, friendship, lots of local color and some hard choices.

Here's a new book review site I found on one of my other book review sites, Twenty by Jenny.
Jenny has been a book editor, and a teacher and a mother. She reviews books and book related toys that she considers the best for different age groups. Her reviews link to an online bookstore in case you just have to have the book.

My best experience with BookReporter.com was when I won a Christmas gift basket during their Christmas book giveaway. (Now, I KNOW there is a Santa Claus.) The site is text heavy with links to dozens and dozens of book reviews, some of the Best Seller/Hot Author variety, some more unusual. The people behind BookReporter also fuel the book review sites Teenreads and Kidsreads. I subscribe to those two newsletters so I don't visit the sites that often but the sites offer some great features, such as a link to reviews of Great Books for Boys.

So, I have kept my promise to share some more book review websites, though a post late. My work here is done.