Let's Not Forget - The Green Book

First published in 1981, The Green Book tells the story of the last colonists to leave a dying Earth and rocket towards an unknown planet.

My favorite edition!

The most appalling privation they suffer is that each colonist, adult or child, can bring with them only ONE book.  When Pattie's book is shown to be an empty notebook, the other colonists are appalled.  The only entertainment they have is reading.  Musical instruments were too unnecessary to be loaded on the ship.  Paper is too precious to be wasted on drawing.

Technology has changed a lot since 1981.  The science of this book may feel dated.  But the tension of trying to make a new life on a planet that is similar to our own, and still so alien, is the main thrust of the story.  Once the colonists start making a life on the planet that they call Shine, all old world technology is moot.

The voice is that of one of the children in Pattie's family.  One is never sure, until the very end, which child is telling the story.  The point of view seems to shift among the siblings and that adds to the suspense.

Shine appears to be uninhabited and then, in a most magical scene, the denizens of Shine arise.

As I write, I keep remembering small details that delight me.  The colonists discover that the sap of the trees is edible through the children's play rhyme.  (NOTE TO SELF:  research the political and social significance of children's play rhymes.) The children end up leading in this book in so many ways.

This is a gentle tale, a cautionary tale.  The death of Earth has been caused by extreme pollution.  Shine is clean and clear and almost purely crystalline in comparison.  And yet, if they cannot produce their own food, the colonists may not survive.



 (Thanks to Chavivah (Cyndi) Simen for reminding me of this awesome book.)

LBB...One More Time

(His name is Little Blue Bunny.  D says he is 8 years old now because she wants him to get a cell phone soon.)

It gets harder and harder to find trouble that Little Blue Bunny has NOT gotten in to.

Flooded the Squirrel family abode?  Done that!
Messed up his parent's closet?  Check!
Turned fairy princesses into flowers?  Duh! Of course!
Climbed the Eiffel tower?  At least twice.
Scaled a volcano?  Yep.
Kidnapped various toys with the help of various other toys? Ho hum.  It's been done.

He got trapped on an amusement park ride.
He joined the pirates.
He swung from a ceiling fan.

I think he bungled up Project Runway: Toy Edition at least once.
He ran away from home.
He ate too much cake and threw up.
He stepped on everyone's toes at the Ball.
He teases his sisters and his older brother.
He causes Mammy Mammoth to have conniptions almost weekly.

Poor Mammy!

His favorite escapade of all is climbing.

So, yesterday, Little Blue Bunny decided to climb the lamp connected to the lamp table.  The bottom of the lamp table is Little Blue Bunny's room and it's also where we store the board games.  The top of the table is Lila's room.  She's a teenager and likes to be near the phone.

D warned him not to do it.

"I know how to climb." He scoffed.  (He's a good scoffer.) Off he went, higher and higher.  He got to the bend in the lamp's arm and slid close to the base of the bulb.

D covered her mouth.  "No!" she breathed.  Then, she turned stern.  (Whoa, no one does stern like D!) "You will burn yourself, you silly bunny."

D reached over and took Little Blue Bunny and made him climb up the inside of the lamp shade - away from the bulb.

Just then!!  The front door opened and in walked Daddy to take D home.  Startled, Little Blue Bunny lost his grip, bounced off the bulb, and landed on top of Lila who never even noticed because she was texting someone on her domino phone.

Nana took care of the rascal.  D gathered her things and Daddy heard about her day and talked to Gramps.

But before she left, D took Nana aside and whispered what Little Blue Bunny should do the next time we play with him.

It's a good one!  Honestly, I can't wait.

5 Intriguing Title Words

1.  Bone.  Stick the word "bone" in your title and people will pick that baby off the shelf. 
The word is fluid enough to suggest darkness when it may mean simply "the essence, core" of a matter, or something that is used to mollify or placate, as in "throw him a bone".

2. Glass.  Glass is solid but old glass shifts and ripples with time.  (New glass might shift in years to come.  We won't be here to see it.)  Glass is transparent.  It is fragile.  It is reflective.  The word "glass" is used to indicate any barrier that is not easily seen.  Bingo!  ("Crystal" can work, too.)

3. Colors.  I mean the names of actual colors - not the word "colors".  The book may be about lions but if you add "golden" to the title, you have an attention grabber.  "Blue", "green", "red", - oh, and this is a winner - "amber" all give your title an edge.  "Amber" is much better than "yellow" or "orange", by the way.

4.  Moon.  This is a perennial favorite.  Anything about the night sky will make readers take a second look, but "moon" is top of the list.

5. Directional words.   I mean the class of words that indicate direction, - "into", "on", "through", "over", "under".  These prepositions give a sense of depth to the title, a sense of things not easily seen.  The book will take the reader somewhere else and reveal details that only the author can impart.

So, how about this title?  "Bones Under the Amber Moon".... oh, I want to read THAT book.  Oh wait, I skipped "glass". 

How about, "A Bone Moon in a Purple Glass" ?

Write me some books. Carry on.

Moody Monday

Actually, Friday, Saturday and Sunday were the Moody days.  Today, I feel cooooolll - as in summer breezes blowing through my window.  Yeah.

Man, I was in a funk.  I had some very angst-ridden conversations with two people - about each other - and I came away wondering which version was closer to the truth.  When that happens to me, I begin to find cracks in all the safe places.  I start to wonder if other people have secrets that would shock or upset me... if everyone is hiding some horrid past.

Then I snipe at those people closest to me.  And I cringe at my own tone of voice.

I found the absolutely PERFECT book for my mood; Lauren Myracle's The Forgetting Spell. 

 

I suspect I may have found Darya's confusion a bit much at another time, but I was that perplexed and twisted that it was a relief to read about someone - even a young teen - who had similar feelings.   

If you read Wishing Day, you understand the set up.  The girls of Darya's town have a tradition of making three wishes (one impossible wish, one wish she can make come true, and one wish closest to her heart) by the wishing tree three months to the day after their thirteenth birthday.  Darya's family, rumored to possess magic,  started the tradition ages ago. 

The flashbacks - most involving the mysterious Bird Lady - help fill in the gaps.  Darya approaches her thirteenth birthday full of doubts.  A new friend missed the tradition of wishing.  Darya wonders if she should use one of her wishes for that friend.  Someone from Darya's family pressures Darya to use one of her wishes to solve a long standing problem.  The request is almost threatening and certainly creepy.  Darya doubts everyone, including herself.  

It was like we were emotional twins.  I feel your pain Darya and I am 5 times your age.

She makes her wishes. Whew!  That pressure is off.  And, like almost everyone else who admitted their wishes, she regrets them and hopes they work out in the end.  The pressure ends but not the drama.

Darya is the second of three sisters, all aged a year apart.  There will be one more book, for sure.  This is good because a lot of stuff is left hanging.  And I want someone to let me, and Darya, know that her wishes -or anyone's wishes -  are not the cause of happiness or pain in other people's lives. 

I had one wish - to return to equilibrium.  I read a book.  It worked. 

Let's not Forget - Friday - Betsy and Eddie

So, who remembers Eddie?  Or Betsy?

They were stars in their day.  (Does anyone remember "Betsy's Little Star"?)

Carolyn Haywood (1898 - 1990) wrote 47 books about every day kids doing every day things.  They were free range kids, sort of, wandering the neighborhoods, playing with friends, making grandiose plans of the Leave It To Beaver variety.

These truly were the perfect first "chapter" books for second, third and fourth graders - accessible, interesting and easy to relate to.

For instance, in Eddie the Dog Holder, Eddie and a friend go into business painting dog portraits.

I picked the oldest book covers I could find.

Eddie gets to hold the dog while his friend does the portrait.  Just imagine how this rather inspired business could go awry.

In Haywood's New York Times obituary, (also referenced above) a reviewer, Phyllis Fenner, is quoted as saying this about Haywood's books. "...Carolyn Haywood makes the everyday doings of children exciting and funny, entering into them from a child's level. That is sheer genius and can't be done by calculation."

 It is hard to find Carolyn Haywood's books in print today.  But check your public library.  These books are still readable and fun.

BTW, does anyone remember Phyllis Fenner's great story collections?


APOLOGIES:
(I vegged yesterday. No excuse. At all. None.)

Little Blue Bunny Climbs

(His name is Little Blue Bunny. D says he is six years old.)

Which, by the way, is TOO YOUNG to go mountain climbing alone!!  Does this bother Little Blue Bunny?  It does not!  He is a Free Range Bunny, running wild and free.

Ready to climb.

 Because he is being brought up by squirrels, Little Blue Bunny has NO FEAR of heights.  (He is afraid of carnivores - and dryers.)

He loves to climb - towers, bannisters, just about anything.

On Tuesday he decided to climb a mountain.  Not just any mountain - oh no! - LBB wanted to climb a volcano.

D sprang into action.  Volcanoes don't just burst through the floor around here.

"I need black paper, orange paper and a stapler!"  D ordered.

In short order, a volcano appeared.

Meanwhile, Nana made Little Blue Bunny a backpack, with a water bottle and a pair of binoculars.  (I know people say "pair of binoculars" but doesn't the "bi" indicate two already?)

Have backpack!  Will Climb!

With lava flow and everything!

Bunny!  You dropped your bottle and binoculars.

 He made it to the very top but he burned his paws.  A trip to the aloe vera plant restored his paws to normal.

WARNING:  Little Blue Bunny is NOT a role model. He is a toy.  (He doesn't like to admit it, but it's true.  Just a toy.) DO NOT CLIMB A VOLCANO!  DO NOT TURN FAIRY PRINCESSES INTO FLOWERS!  DO NOT SLIDE DOWN THE EIFFEL TOWER!

Thank you.

(Next adventure:  Little Blue Bunny and the ice cream truck.)

3 Lists to OOMPH Your Summer Reading!

Need ideas to spark your reading lists for young (even if in mind only) readers?  Take a look at what the book-makers  suggest.  (That's publishers, not the other book-makers.  Kidlit, remember?)

Brightly has must-read lists for all age groups here.  Brightly is a Penguin/Random House product but their suggestions are right on target.

Griffin Teen touts it's summer list here.  Look at the line-up in THIS book.  Oooh, summer love💕💕💕

If you don't already subscribe to The Book Reporter newsletters, take a look at TeenReads.com.  With reviews written by actual readers, not just by industry spokespeople, these newsletters have a homespun, authentic feel.  PLUS, they give stuff away!!!