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So Kailana (
The Written Word) and I really LOVED participating in Jenni Elyse's
30 Days of Books. We thought it would be fun to do a movie-theme list of questions! Feel free to switch "favorite" to "least favorite" if that is more applicable to you!
Today's question:
What is your favorite animated movie?I'll be LISTING, of course!10. Aladdin 9. Big Hero 6
8. Inside Out 7. Robin Hood 6. 101 Dalmations5. Wall-E 4. Home 3. Aristocats2. Peanuts Movie
1. Beauty and the Beast
© 2016 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Love drinking tea? Love reading books? Love reading a book while drinking tea? Have I got a reading challenge for you! In 2017, I'll be hosting the Share-a-Tea Reading Challenge. You can start a little early, if you want, maybe considering it a 'trial period.' But it officially starts January 1, 2017 and officially ends December 31, 2017.
Who can join? Anyone who enjoys reading. You don't need to have a blog. You don't need to have a twitter account.
Are coffee drinkers welcome? Well. You can still join in, I suppose. But you might be outnumbered by tea drinkers.
Which books count towards the challenge? Any book that you primarily read while drinking tea. Not every single page needs to have been read while drinking tea. (I'm not that strict!!!) But this challenge is all about celebrating SLOWING DOWN and SAVORING the moments.
How many books? Is there a set minimum? This challenge is about QUALITY and not quantity. It's not about reading fifty books or even twelve books. This is an anti-rush reading challenge. Enjoy where you are in a book, and, engage fully in it. Live in the book.
This challenge has a focus on SHARING. How can you share? Several ways:
1) When you sign up in a comment below, share one favorite tea and one favorite book. And if you've got one handy: a favorite quote.
2) If you write a post on your blog announcing the challenge (and making a place to keep track of what you've read), consider sharing a bit about yourself--your reading and drinking habits. You might consider a longer list of recommendations!
3) If you're on twitter, tweet me as often as you like. @blbooks OR @operationbible Tweet about favorite teas, favorite books, favorite authors, favorite quotes, what you're currently reading, what you've just finished reading, etc.
4) Consider adding me and fellow participants to your blogroll, and cheer on other participants by reading reviews and leaving comments.
5) At the end of each month, I'll publish a check-in post. You can leave comments sharing what you're reading, what you've read, tea recommendations, etc. Even if you haven't finished a book, you can share where you're at. Remember, it isn't about how many books you read per month!
6) I'll do my best to keep an ongoing list--either in this post--or on my sidebar--of participants of this challenge.
Be aware that comment moderation is turned on. So if you sign up for the challenge, and don't see your comment published, it just means I haven't published it...yet. But I will.
Do ask questions if you have them. I'll do my best to answer them.
© 2016 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Every time I think about the change,
I think about you,
Every time I see someone strange,
I think about you,
Every time moon hides behind the clouds,
I think about you,
Every time when blindness shrouds,
I think about you,
Every time when it rains,
I think about you,
Every time when something pains,
I think about you,
Every time when I swear & dare,
I think about you,
Every time when I hear about care,
I think about you,
Every time when a tear rolls down,
I think about you,
Every time when no one is in town,
I think about you,
Every time when I reach so early,
I think about you,
Every time I see something curly,
I think about you,
Every time when I touch the dew,
I think about you,
Every time when I think something new,
I think about you.
An extended look at the animation in Sony's fully-animated "Smurfs" feature.
The post Sony Releases First Full Trailer for ‘Smurfs: The Lost Village’ appeared first on Cartoon Brew.
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By: LAURIE WALLMARK,
on 11/21/2016
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Just the Facts, Ma'am
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Successful novels in verse often follow these general guidelines.
http://diannematich.com/2016/09/five-free-verse-guidelines/
Synopsis: Forge and Ashes are the 2nd and 3rd books in the Seeds of America trilogy by Laurie Halse Anderson. Way, WAY back in 2009, I reviewed the first book, Chains, and was so glad to know there was a sequel in the works: it was an absorbing tale... Read the rest of this post
I was listening to a podcast this week that talked about this series of graphic novels, so I went to our public library to check them out. This is the first one, which I have started but am not too far into. I did check out all the other ones I could so that I could whip through them during Thanksgiving break.
I got a few books from Simon & Schuster and some from my public library this week.
From Simon & Schuster:
From my public library:
Raging Sea by Michael Buckley: This is the second in a series, I really enjoyed the first one but kind of forgot about continuing in the series until the third one popped up on Edelweiss. I hope to get this one read over Thanksgiving.
You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott: I don't read a ton of adult books, but I consider Megan Abbott to be more of a crossover author. Her books are always fascinating and quick reads. This one sounds especially good.
This past week the filming of A Wrinkle in Time was brought to my attention by
this video. A Wrinkle in Time was a book I didn't get read until I was in my 30s, but I think that made me love it all the more, because I understood it better. Then I discovered that Chris Pine would be playing the father in the movie! I adore him. My excitement went through the roof but since I have to wait over a year for the movie, I decided to re-read the book!
What have you added to your list this week?
By: cmills,
on 11/21/2016
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This November has been a hard month for many of us, including me. My salvation during dark seasons of the soul has always been to revisit the books I loved as a child, loving them more deeply with each re-reading. I pull from my shelf one of the Betsy-Tacy books of Maud Hard Lovelace, or the Shoes books of Noel Streatfeild, or the Moffats books of Eleanor Estes. My friend Diane says (accusingly) that I retreat to my "Betsy-Tacy bubble." The charge is well founded. But sometimes the only way I can survive the reality of the present is to re-inhabit fictional worlds of the past.
Here's what I love most about these books: they are suffused with
kindness. This isn't to say that their characters don't quarrel. Betsy and her sister Julia have a heated disagreement in
Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill in which the whole town takes sides. Lala seeks to destroy her best friend's promising skating career in
Skating Shoes. Estes's Newbery-Honor-Book
The Hundred Dresses gives a portrayal of bystander complicity in bullying that is unsurpassed since its publication in 1944.
In all of these stories, however, those who act badly - as all of us do sometimes - are heartbroken at how they have hurt someone else. Those who do wrong - as all of us do sometimes - try to make it right. Sometimes they succeed; sometimes they fail. But always they try.
This from Betsy and Julia: "Then from the other side of the bed [Betsy] heard a sound. It was a sob, a perfectly gigantic sob. 'Betsy'! cried Julia, and she came rolling over and hugged Betsy tight. 'I'm sorry.' 'I'm sorry, too,' Betsy wept."
This from Lala: "I've been an awful beast, the nastiest beast that ever, ever was."
Finally, this from Maddie in
The Hundred Dresses:
At last Maddie sat up in bed and pressed her forehead tight in her hands and really thought. This was the hardest thinking she had ever done. After a long, long time she reached an important conclusion.
She was never going to stand by and say nothing again.
If she ever heard anybody picking on someone because they were funny looking or because they had strange names, she’d speak up. Even if it meant losing Peggy’s friendship. She had no way of making things right with Wanda, but from now she would never make anybody else so unhappy again.
I spent the last two weeks massively revising a paper I wrote several years ago on Ginger Pye
and
Pinky Pye by Eleanor Estes. Last night, I gave it one final proofreading and sent it off as a submission to the
Children's Literature Association Quarterly. Now it will undergo the arduous process of double-blind review, where two scholars in the field will read it, not knowing my identity as I will not know theirs, and send extremely challenging comments for still further revision, I won't hear back from them for perhaps three months. But at least it's off my desk and onto someone else's, and what a wonderful feeling that is.
Work has also always been for me an antidote to despair. How I love the adrenaline rush of pushing onward toward even a self-imposed deadline, and then the thrill of attaching a file to an email and pushing SEND. But this time what I loved best was the excuse to spend so many hours poring over every line of two of Estes's best-loved books. No one has ever understood what it is like to be a child better than Eleanor Estes. She gives children the gift of being truly
seen, with loving eyes, for who they truly are.
I wish all of us that gift in this month of late autumn darkness, for today and always.
Marius Roosendaal has continued to craft impressive work since we last featured him. He’s invested in a number of self-initiated projects in which he’s designed typefaces inspired by geometry and gothic scripts. I’m especially impressed with his typeface, Causeway, which is highly customizable and can be shaded to appear three-dimensional in isometric perspective. In addition to his typographic work, he’s also released prints of complex explorations with geometric patterns and organic forms. Roosendaal’s work is a great example of how artists can use passion projects to heighten their curiosity, expand their creativity, and refine their skills.
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Jordan Metcalf
Garbett Design
Anne Jordan
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Sponsor // Foto Sushi
The staff of Black Athlete.net felt this article was worth re-publishing, especially on this day in which America celebrates the massacre of the original inhabitants of the land.
by Eric D.Graham NORTH CAROLINA (BASN)—Every year, we engage in the European cult ritual known as Thanksgiving. Not surprisingly, the NFL promotes this holiday with its
Thanksgiving Classic, which is a series of games played during the Thanksgiving holiday since the league’s inception in 1920. This year’s game, however, had a little more meaning.
Why? Because, while we were eating
Turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce, the Washington "Redskins" will be playing the Dallas Cowboys, which highlights rookie sensation Dak Prescot and Ezekiel Elliott against Kurt Cousins. Yes, the classic battle between Cowboys versus Indians, which is the premise of American’s violent culture, was showcased during this year’s so-called Thanksgiving Classic. Plus, let’s not forget that psychologically the Dallas Cowboys are considered America’s team. Believe me, this is not a coincidence. And as much as I love a good conspiracy theory, this, however, is the reality of this sad situation.
(Read my article I am dreaming of an all-white Christmas and an all-white team on BASN)
Yes, this so-called Thanksgiving classic, should have been called a game of genocide. Why? Because, symbolically and subconsciously it represents the psyche reenactment of the American Holocaust, in which over 19 million Indigenous people were exterminated.
Good Indian; Dead Indian Remember, US Army General Phillip Sheridan said,
“The only good Indian is a dead Indian.” This, however, wasn’t only Sheridan’s philosophy. It was also the military strategy of the United States government, in which
Thomas Jefferson was also an advocate of and openly admitted with his own words. “They [Europeans] are nations of eternal war. All their energies are expended in the destruction of labor, property and lives of their people.”
Some people, however, might not see it that way. But the truth, is the truth. According to Dr.Tinga Apidta’s book
The Hidden History of Massachusetts: A Guide for Black Folks, Governor Joseph Dudley declared in 1704 a “General Thanksgiving”-not in celebration of the brotherhood of man-but for [God's] infinite Goodness to extend His Favors…In defeating and disappointing… the Expeditions of the Enemy [Indians] against us, And the good Success given us against them, by delivering so many of them into our hands… Old-fashioned fable Comedian Jon Stewart of the Daily Show, tried to make lite of the Day of Mourning for the Ingenious people by joking,
“I celebrate Thanksgiving an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.” Unfortunately, despite Stewart’s attempt to be funny, this was the real history of Thanksgiving, even though we continue believing in the fairy tale rendition of Pilgrims and Indians holding hands and praying together. Why? Because, there is nothing hilarious about the Holocaust involving the death of 19 million First Nation people, through the methods of constant warfare, chemical warfare through smallpox filled blankets, disease, sterilization, the 1830 Indian Removal, assimilation through education, the slaughter of the Buffalo, colonization, starvation, and reservation.
The myth and the massacre Despite all of this, every year through out America, elementary school teachers continue to dress up little children in these stupid black Pilgrims costumes with those big buckled shoes and place feathers on their innocent little heads as if it was a made for Disney movie version of Pocahontas and John Smith, while sitting down for a big dinner, singing
“One Little, Two Little Indians” with a table filled with pumpkin pies and cranberry. Glen Ford, the Executive editor of Black Agenda Report, wrote an excellent article entitled
The end of Thanksgiving: A Cause for Universal Rejoicing which brilliantly dissembled this myth, which has become apart of the so-called American dream and lexicon.
The fable (of Thanksgiving) attempts to glorify the indefensible, to enshrine an era and mission that represent the nation’s lowest moral denominators. Thanksgiving as framed in the mythology is, consequently, a drag on that which is potentially civilizing in the national character, a crippling, atavistic deformity. Defenders of the holiday will claim that the politically-corrected children’s version promotes brotherhood, but that is an impossibility – a bald excuse to prolong the worship of colonial “forefathers” and to erase the crimes they committed. Those bastards burned the Pequot women and children, and ushered in the multinational business of slavery. These are facts. The myth is an insidious diversion – and worse.
Ford was correct with assessment of this holiday which we shamefully celebrate as a day of thanks. Why? Because there were no
turkey, cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie served on that day but there were about 700 Pequot Indians slaughtered and killed by a savage group of Pilgrims. William Bradford, who was the former Governor of Plymouth at that time, chronicled the event by giving his first hand account of the great massacre of 1637 that marked the beginning of what we know as Thanksgiving today:
Those that escaped the fire were slain with the sword; some hewed to pieces, others run through with their rapiers, so that they were quickly dispatched and very few escaped. It was conceived they thus destroyed about 400 at this time. It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire…horrible was the stink and scent thereof, but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the prayers thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them, thus to enclose their enemies in their hands, and give them so speedy a victory over so proud and insulting an enemy.”
Shockingly, this day of mass murderer was proclaimed by Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts as a day of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving Day, as a national celebration, in fact, was originally called for by George Washington, who was a slave owner and made a regular holiday later by Abraham Lincoln, who some considered a white suprmacist, right before he signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865, which did not free the slaves, when he assigned the fourth Thursday in November as the day of celebration.
(Read my previous article on BASN entitled: The Political Football: Secession, Lincoln, and Obama) The sacred made shamefulUnfortunately
, we
have forgotten the true history of this day, in order to applaud touchdowns, missed field goals, and bobbled snaps. We have, in fact, rejected the natural and embraced the unnatural. We have shamefully accepted the killing of beautiful people, the theft of beautiful lands, the contamination of beautiful oceans and the pollution of sacred skies in order to foolishly celebrate the festivities of a football game. Matter of fact, we have reduced a sacred people into a few racists mascots and lousy logos like the Cleveland Indians’Chief Wahoo and the Washington Redskins. We sadly mock them by participation in Towahawk chops and chants during Atlanta Braves baseball games and Florida Seminoles football games, while some insensitive sports reporters write headlines like the Seminoles massacred the Gators.
This is, however shear insanity being paraded in front of the world to see. Seriously, celebrating Thanksgiving is like Germany having a day of celebration for the Holocaust. Let’s not forget that according to author John Toland’s The Autobiography of Adolph Hitler,
Hitler’s concept of concentration camps as well as the practicality of genocide owed much, so he claimed, to his studies of English and United States history. The North American Indian holocaust was also studied by South Africa for their apartheid program.
1492 
And even though, we would like to cover our eyes to this bloody truth, and live in denial, we must as Princeton professor Dr Cornel West stated ” must always view the world through the lens of what took place on 1492….” And if 1492 is our historical reference point, …”when Columbus sailed the ocean blue” in the
NiZa, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, which would eventually be utilized as slave ships, we can’t forget the genocide of the Ingenious people, with eventually led to the African slave trade. Therefore, in dispelling the myth of Thanksgiving, we also must shatter the myth of Christopher Columbus as well. First of all, we must realize that Christopher Columbus never set foot in what is North America, or the United States.
Matter of fact, Norwegian settlers preceded his arrival in America by some five hundred years. Second, instead of referring to him as an explorer, we should call him an exploiter, a gold digger, a mass murderous missionary, and a slave trader. Honestly, in his quest to find India in the Caribbean, he mistaken called the inhabitants of Hispanola, now modern day Haiti, Indians, while thinking Cuba was Japan.
Christopher Columbus Historian Dr.John Henrik Clark remained us that when Christopher Colon set foot on Samana Cay, in the Bahamian Islands, he, in fact, set in motion western racism, colonization, mis-education, distorted history, and the bogus concept of the chosen people through a Manifest Destiny philosophy, which promoted the divine white right to conquer, kill, and Christianized another people .
“In his mind, it was enslavement from the very beginning.”
Clarke said.” His intention were not good. Evidence of Columbus’s evil intentions were written in a letter to Spain’s Queen Isabella, when he wrote:
We can send from here, in the name of the Holy Trinity, all the slaves and Brazil wood which could be sold.” Plus, he added these words, to remove all doubt about his intentions.
“We shall take you and your wives, and your children, and shall make slaves of them, and we shall take away your goods, and shall do you all the mischief and damage that we can, and we protest that the deaths and losses which shall accrue from this are your fault .”
With that in mind, consider the fact that with Columbus’ arrival to the New World, who himself, was a professional slave trader,he along with his Spanish conquistadors killed up 5 million Tainos, whom were mis-named “Indians” in the Caribbean, within three years, according to primary historian of the Colombian era and Catholic priest Father Bartolome’de las Casas, who was an eye-witness to the destruction. De las Casas, in fact, wrote about it in his multi-volume “History of the Indies,” which was published in 1875.
(The Spaniards) “thought nothing of knifing Indians by tens and twenties and of cutting slices off them to test the sharpness of their blades. They forced their way into native settlements, slaughtering everyone they found there, including small children, old men, pregnant women, and even women who had just given birth. They hacked them to pieces, slicing open their bellies with their swords as though they were sheep herded into a pen. They even laid wagers on whether they could manage to slice a man in two at a stroke, or cut an individual’s head from his body, or disembowel him with a single blow of their axes. They grabbed suckling infants by the feet and, ripping them from their mothers’ breasts, dashed them headlong against the rocks. Others, laughing and joking all the while, threw them over their shoulders into a river, shouting: ‘Wriggle, you little perisher.’ They slaughtered anyone on their path …” Nothing worth celebrating
Despite these horrible facts, the United States of America still considers him to be a American hero worthy of celebration and praise. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, however, doesn’t think so. There’s nothing to celebrate,” said the Venezuelan president, who in 2002 signed a decree to change the name of its Oct.12 Columbus Day to the Day of Indigenous Resistance.
“They executed an aboriginal every 10 minutes – the biggest genocide registered in history” Columbus Day, which was made a federal holiday in 1971, in fact, is one of only two holidays to honor a person by name, the other of course is Martin Luther King Jr.
Not surprisingly, in a speech in 1989, President George Bush proclaimed:
“Christopher Columbus not only opened the door to a New World, but also set an example for us all by showing what monumental feats can be accomplished through perseverance and faith.” These words alone from the former President of the United States should put to rest all of this “New World Order” talk, because it is actually an Old World Order, which the West have been practicing since they came in contact with the First Nation People of the earth.
Records and recorded history So, regardless, of how much you celebrate the laser precision passes thrown by Dak Prescot during the game, or how tender the turkey is, or how many times Tony Romo prays that he gets his starting position back, we must keep the true meaning of this day always on our mines.
(Read my previous article Testing the Testimony of Tebowism on BASN)
Why? Because, originally, football wasn’t America’s favorite sport. It was the hunting and killing of “Indians” And as a famous football coach once said, “You are, what your record says you are."
Eric D.Graham, a graduate of Winston-Salem State University, where he received a B.A. in Mass Communication with a concentration in Radio and Television, with a minor in History, with an emphasis in African-American Studies, is currently the Managing Editor of Black Athlete Sports Network, where his articles appear daily along with his controversial cartoon character Bobbee Bee “The Hater.” Graham can be reached at [email protected] or go to www.bobbeethehater.blogspot.com
Jiggers. Joy Muchmore Lacey. Illustrated by Marge Opitz. 1963. 28 pages. [Source: Bought]
First sentence: Jiggers was a little black and white dog. He came to live with Judy the day she was six years old.
Premise/plot: Jiggers and Judy are very happy together for the most part. But one day while Jiggers is watching Judy begin her walk to school, he is a bit naughty. He does not go back into the house, or even the yard. When Judy returns home that day, Jiggers is not there and has not been there all day. The search is on. Where did Jiggers go? Can Judy and her family find him again?
My thoughts: I liked this one well enough. It is a lost dog story that is sweetly predictable. (They find him and all is well in the end. Not all lost pet stories have a happy ending in real life.)
Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 7 out of 10
© 2016 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
By: James Preller,
on 11/21/2016
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Nancy Castaldo, international jet-setter, thank you for stopping by. You know, I’ll be honest. I already read Ruth Kraus’s The Carrot Seed. I figure it’s one of the most perfect books ever created. When it comes to seeds, she pretty much said it all: dirt, water, sun, and hope. Then you come along and blow my mind. In all seriousness, I didn’t realize there was a much, much bigger story to tell –- and yet, you found it. How’d that happen?
Ah, The Carrot Seed! That’s a great one. My favorite as a child was What Shall I Put In the Hole that I Dig? I think the subject of seeds has been with me ever since. But, like you say, The Story of Seeds goes a little deeper. I was bombarded by a bunch of news back around 2008 about heirloom vegetables, seed banks, and GMOs. I started to become aware of a global concern – crops were going extinct. I had no idea that could even happen! Then I learned about seed scientists who have risked their lives to protect these valuable treasures. I knew I had to spread the word.
Why is biodiversity important?
Let’s chat about potatoes. The Great Famine in Ireland occurred mainly because there was a lack of diversity. Once the potato crop died, there wasn’t any more food. Biodiversity gives us options. In the Andes Mountains in South America there are countless varieties of potatoes. If one suffers from a blight, another might still flourish. Biodiversity insures a healthier planet.
Your book has a decidedly global outlook. We hop around from Russia to Norway, India to Iraq, to places all over the United States. You must have put a ton of work into this – and it shows and all 136 pages. Tell us about your research. And don’t worry, we have all day here at James Preller Dot Com. Most of my readers are unemployed. I mean, both my readers.
Well, you might have all day, but I have to keep writing! LOL. But actually, I could talk all day about the research. I am a research junkie. It’s the best part — part scavenger hunt, part Indiana Jones. I wish I could have traveled to all of the places in my book, but some were off the table — like Iraq. Those places I had to visit by the magic of technology. I did, however, travel to Russia and many wonderful farms and seed banks. Russia was by far a place I never thought I would visit. Due to the seed scientists’ schedules and our calendar, and my deadline, I ended up visiting in the dead of winter when it is the coldest and darkest. I felt like I really experienced Russia! I was able to use that experience to understand more of what went on during the Leningrad Siege I was writing about.
You put a spotlight on what you call “Seed Warriors.” Did you create that term? How did that narrative strategy come about?
I stole it from myself! I highlighted people who are champions of the environment in my book In Keeping Our Earth Green, by calling them 
Earth Heroes. I wanted something similar for this book and since this feels like a battle I used the word warrior to describe these scientists.
Here’s comes a two-parter, so I hope you’re sitting down. Who do you think reads a book like The Story of Seeds? And also, were you once that kid?
That’s a good question.
Finally!
I would hope that teens are my first readers. They can do great things when empowered. I have faith in them. I also have lots of adults who are readers.
I loved reading books about the environment when I was a kid, like that picture book I mentioned earlier. When I was older I loved reading the essays and books by John Burroughs, Rachel Carson, John Muir and others who wrote about our world. I still draw inspiration from them. (Of course, I also read books about investigator, mystery-solver Nancy Drew!)
I loved that the book concluded with a five-page “Call to Action,” where you offer practical ideas for motivated readers who want to make a difference. I identified with that, because I recently wrote a fictional, middle-grade book set in that near future that touches on some of the negative effects of climate change. It can bring us, writer and readers both, to some dark places. Did you feel it was important to leave your readers with a sense of hopefulness? Or at least, purpose?
Like I said — my readers can make a difference. I just want to give them some tools to help them do that!
I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you about your work with SCBWI. I know you are busy with that organization. First, how do I pronounce that word? Is it a kind of fish? Like scrod? I’m confused.
SCBWI stands for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and you are right, it’s a mouthful! I am the regional advisor for the Eastern NY region. So, that means that when I’m not writing, I’m planning events and meet-ups for other writers and illustrators. I love it! It’s a great organization for both published and aspiring children’s book creators. Just take a look at the website scbwi.org — it’s chock full of info on creating kids books!
I know that SCBWI has been a great source of perspiration — wait, strike that, inspiration! — for many aspiring authors and illustrators. As always, Nancy, I’m somewhat awed by all the good work you do. The Story of Seeds stands as an important, meaningful book. It’s what our world needs, now maybe more than ever.
Hey, thanks Jimmy Preller, for this great chat. It’s been fun. I can’t wait to read your latest eco-fiction title! Climate change is a big topic. It’s really frightening, but there’s hope!
Hope is not my strong suit, Nancy, but I’m working on it! If your comment makes any readers curious about that book, Better Off Undead, they can click here.
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NANCY CASTALDO is the author of several nonfiction books, including Sniffer Dogs, Keeping Our Earth Green, The Race Around the World, and many more. She lives in the Hudson Valley but she cares about the whole dang planet.
ABOUT THE “5 Questions” INTERVIEW SERIES: It’s a little project I’ve assigned myself, hoping to reach 52 authors & illustrators in the course of a year, always focusing on one book. I almost called it “Author to Author” but I didn’t want to push myself to the front of it, though that is part of what makes these interviews unique. We’re in the same leaky boat.
Coming next Monday, Aaron Becker (Journey). After that, my great pal Matthew Cordell (Wish) You can hit the “SUBSCRIBE” icon and, hopefully, it will work. Scheduled for future dates, in no particular order: London Ladd, Lizzy Rockwell, Matthew Phelan, Bruce Coville, Jeff Mack, Jeff Newman, and more. To find past interviews, click on the “5 Questions” link on the right sidebar, under CATEGORIES, and scroll till your heart’s content. Or use the handy SEARCH option.
Guests so far:
1) Hudson Talbott, “From Wolf to Woof”
2) Hazel Mitchell, “Toby”
3) Ann Hood, “Ada’s Violin
4) Matthew McElligott, “Mad Scientist Academy: The Weather Disaster”
5) Jessica Olien, “The Blobfish Book”
Learning to be unselfish is one of life's hardest lessons. For most of us remembering to think of others before ourselves is a daily battle, one that we sometimes lose. We know what we are supposed to do. We know that we are supposed to share with others and sometimes give up things we want for their sake, but doing so is just so hard.
In this wonderful picture book we see what happens when a pair of friends find something that they both want. How will they resolve a tricky situation? Will they put friendship first?
We found a hatJon Klassen
Picture Book
For ages 4 to 7
Candlewick Press, 2016, 978-0-7636-5600-3
One day two turtles are walking in a desert together and they find a wonderful hat, a tall, elegant Stetson. They both try the hat on and compliment each other on how “good” the hat looks. The hat “looks good on both of us,” they say but the problem is that there is only one hat and it would not be fair if one of the turtles had the hat and the other did not. There is only one thing to do. They are going to have to leave the hat where it is and “forget that we found it.”
The two turtles walk to a nearby rock and settle down to watch the sunset. One of the turtles says that he is thinking about the sunset, the other says that he is thinking about nothing but we know that he is thinking about the hat, and looking back to where it lies on the ground. The pull of the hat is strong and the turtle is having a hard time staying true to his friend.
Life is full of difficult choices and often the most hard-to-make ones are those that require that we make a sacrifice. In this wonderful picture book we meet a turtle who really wants something and he is forced to consider if the hat is worth more than the relationship that he shares with his best friend. Thankfully there is someone around who sets an example for him that helps him understand what true friendship is worth.
पांच सौ का नोट और हजार का नोट बंद – मोदी जी का ऐतिहासिक एलान- गैरकानूनी हुए पांच सौ और हजार के नोट – अचानक एक रात ब्रेकिंग न्यूज ने हैरान कर दिया पांच सौ का नोट और हजार का नोट बंद – मोदी जी का ऐतिहासिक एलान पांच सौ का नोट , 1000 का […]
The post पांच सौ का नोट और हजार का नोट बंद – मोदी जी का ऐतिहासिक एलान appeared first on Monica Gupta.
I'm officially in "tour recovery mode" (translation: exhausted, dehydrated, and sick--waaaaah) so I'm going to get right to the links. But don't forget that I still have two final LODESTAR events coming up in a little over a week (click HERE for more info)
Okay, onto
MMGM!
- Melissa Roske is interviewing author Kristin L. Gray. Click HERE for all the fun.
- Kim Aippersbach is spreading some love for THE GIRL WHO COULD NOT DREAM. Click HERE to see why
- Justin Talks Books is talking up HOW THINGS WORK. Click HERE to read his feature.
- Rosi Hollinbeck is reviewing--and GIVING AWAY--THE POET'S DOG. Click HERE for details.
- Bookish Ambition is spotlighting MIGHTY JACK. Click HERE to see what they thought.
- Shari Larsen has a holiday recommended reading list--plus a GIVEAWAY. Click HERE for all the fun.
- Greg Pattridge is giving a shoutout to the CLAYTON STONE SERIES. Click HERE to read his review.
- Children's Books Heal is championing AMANDA ON THE DANUBE: THE SOUNDS OF MUSIC. Click HERE to see why.
- Completely Full Bookshelf is recommending THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY--with a GIVEAWAY. Click HERE for their review.
- Suzanne Warr is championing PRINCESS ACADEMY: PALACE OF STONE. Click HERE to see what she thought.
- Tara Creel has an author interview with Abby Cooper. Click HERE for all the fun.
- Sue Kooky is unlocking THE BRONZE KEY. Click HERE to find her feature.
- Jess at the Reading Nook has an interview with author Will Mabbitt--plus a GIVEAWAY. Click HERE to learn more.
- Dorine White is taking everyone to THE KINGDOM OF OCEANA. Click HERE to see why.
- Shannon O'Donnell is back--and planning a weekly MMGM again. Click HERE to see what she's talking about this week.
- Karen Yingling also always has some awesome MMGM recommendations for you. Click HERE to which ones she picked this time.
- Joanne Fritz always has an MMGM for you. Click HERE to see what she's talking about this week
- The Mundie Moms are always huge supporters of middle grade. Click HERE for their Mundie Kids site.
If you would like to join in the MMGM fun, all you have to do is blog about a middle grade book you love on a Monday (contests, author interviews and whatnot also count--but are most definitely not required) and email me the title of the book you're featuring and a link to your blog at SWMessenger (at) hotmail (dot) com. (Make sure you put MMGM or Marvelous Middle Grade Monday in the subject line so it gets sorted accurately--and please don't forget to say what book you're featuring) You MUST email me your link by Sunday evening in order to be included in the list of links for the coming Monday. (usually before 11pm PST is safe--but if I'm traveling it can vary. When in doubt, send early!) (Also make sure the post you send me is a new post, not one from earlier in the week. I try to keep the content fresh)
If you miss the cutoff, you are welcome to add your link in the comments on this post so people can find you, but I will not have time to update the post. Same goes for typos/errors on my part. I do my best to build the links correctly, but sometimes deadline-brain gets the best of me, and I'm sorry if it does. For those wondering why I don't use a Linky-widget instead, it's a simple matter of internet safety. The only way I can ensure that all the links lead to safe, appropriate places for someone of any age is if I build them myself. It's not a perfect system, but it allows me to keep better control.
Thank you so much for being a part of this awesome meme, and spreading the middle grade love!
Today I have the pleasure of sharing five postcards from my collection. They were all sent to the same address in France, one a year commencing 1950 and ending in 1954. I found the cards at a vintage fair in Blandford, Dorset in 2015. The images caught my attention and when the stall holder told me a story of unmarried girls, fancy hats and kissing between strangers, I found myself reaching for my purse.
Returning home I quickly got down to some research (thank you Google). In essence, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is a Christian Saint and virgin.
Vive La Sainte Catherine
Saint Catherine’s Day, is celebrated each year on the 25th November. Catherine is the patron saint of libraries and librarians, as well as teachers, archivists, and all those associated with wisdom and teaching. Her qualities are reputed to be beauty, fearlessness, virginity, and intelligence.
All very straightforward until I turned to the Free Dictionary which suggests Catherine is a figure from folklore rather than history. It goes on to say her feast day is no longer observed in the Roman Catholic Church calendar. According to Wikipedia the Church, persuaded by the overwhelming opinion of historians that Catherine had probably never existed, removed her from the calendar of saints in 1969. However, in 2002, while the majority of historians had not changed their minds, the Church had, and she was reinstated.
Wikipedia goes on to say ... Saint Catherine of Alexandria was a popular figure in Catholic Iconography. She was of noble origins, and dedicated herself as a Christian after having a vision. She was imprisoned by the Roman Emperor Maximus and ordered to be put to death on a spiked wheel. The wheel reportedly shattered the moment Catherine touched it, which may explain why her name is associated with a firework that revolves as it burns.
But what of the stallholders tale of unmarried girls, fancy hats and a great deal of kissing between strangers. Still searching for answers I stumbled across a blog by the name of A Woman's Paris where it all began to make sense. Saint Catherine’s Day is essentially a day when unmarried women over 25 years of age pray for a husband. The Catherinettes (as they are called), wear green and yellow hats made by friends or colleagues. The green represents wisdom and the yellow hope. The choice of colours is not accidental as it is said green and yellow do not “marry” well.
All I know for sure is the cards are very pretty, and I'm happy to have them in my collection.
But something else occurs to me - why no card in 1955 or in subsequent years? Maybe our Catherinette moved home, or perhaps she found her happy ever after... What do you think?
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Checking in on my 2016 One Little Word...
You may remember I posted about the publication of a new book by designer Paul Farrell a few weeks ago. But now I have actually seen the book in the flesh I just had to post again with new pictures as it is just so full of beautiful graphics. Called 'Great Britain in Colour' it is a treasure trove of colour and shape across a whopping 240 pages - just a small sample of which I have snapped
Shannon Hays is a graphic designer and illustrator based in New Hampshire, USA. She is endlessly inspired by children, animals and nature and happily spends her days drawing cute characters and creating whimsical patterns. A past recipient of Print & Pattern’s Scholarship to the Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design, Shannon currently has collaborations with Design House Greetings, Great
Resthaven:By: Erik Therme
Publisher: Kindle Press
Stars: 4
Summary: The last thing Kaylee wants to do is participate in a childish scavenger hunt--especially inside the abandoned retirement home on the edge of town. When she finds a bruised, deaf boy hiding inside one of the rooms, she vows to lead him to safety . . . only to discover the front doors are now padlocked, and her friends are nowhere to be found. Kaylee is about to learn that not everything that goes 'bump in the night' is imaginary, and sometimes there are worse things to fear than ghosts.
Review: Resthaven was interesting to say the least. It caught my attention from page one and I had hard time putting it down. The interesting part of the book was the author wrote in a way to make it sound like everything that was happening was in the girl’s heads. Resthavenmoved at a fast pace and there was never a dull moment. There were moments it the book where you thought something was going to happen but instead went in the other direction. I would recommend this book more for young adults.
-Victoria
It sort of feels like someone took a starting pistol and called out to the universe, “Nutcracker picture books! On your mark . . . get set . . . . GO!” And off they went!
2016, for whatever reason, has turned out to be a VERY Nutcracker heavy year. If you are unaware or only vaguely familiar with what The Nutcracker is, I will sum up. In 1816 Prussian Romantic author E.T.A. Hoffman wrote an odd little children’s story called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It was this wild bit of imagining about a girl who receives a nutcracker from her uncle and the fantastical story that ensues. There’s even a story within a story, which concerns the tale of the Princess Pirlipat and the nut she had to eat to break a spell. It’s good and trippy. There was even a version of it illustrated by Maurice Sendak.
In time this story was adapted by Alexander Dumas into merely The Nutcracker. And from that tale we get the two-act balled choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Tchaikovsky.
For a long time the ballet was done exactly the same way every year. Then people started to get creative. In 1983, Maurice Sendak (who had four years before adapted Where the Wild Things Are to the stage) designed the set for the Pacific Northwestern Ballet’s production of Nutcracker. It was a massive hit partly, as Maria Popova puts it, because it embraced, “Hoffmann’s essential weirdness”. Looking at the art Sendak did for the accompanying book, one really wonders why he never illustrated Struwwelpeter at any point in his career. But I digress.
The Sendak production ran with the Pacific Northwestern Ballet until 2014 when it finally ended its run. Weep not, little children, if you feel you might have missed a chance to see a true children’s book master’s hand on a Nutcracker production. I come with tidings of great joy. Here in Chicago the Joffrey Ballet is presenting from December 10th-30th a production of The Nutcracker choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, with puppets by Basil Twist and costumes and sets by Julian Crouch and our very own Brian Selznick. Marvelous, no? The show will this time be set during Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair. Just bounce that thought around your noggin for a while.
On the book side of things, stories about the Nutcracker are abundant. Last year we saw a couple come out, as well as a nice behind-the-scenes story by Chris Barton called The Nutcracker Comes to America. That may well be the only nonfiction title related to The Nutcracker you’ll find on your shelves, by the way.
This year Nutcrackers have multiplied like so many Mouse King heads. I have found six for starters. Yet for all that they’re now common, writing this book is an incredibly difficult affair. The struggle each one of these books is figuring out how to tell a story that is both familiar to those kids who are either in the ballet or have seen it, and also has some relation to the original source material. To put it plainly, there have been mixed results.
The Nutcracker by Grace Maccarone, ill. Celia Chauffrey
This is one of those books that certainly feels as though it was created to appeal primarily to those kids that get to act in a production of The Nutcracker as party guests and mice. The entire trip to the Land of Sweets is kept incredibly short. All told it’s a pretty rote retelling of the ballet specifically. Perfectly decent but not a top pick.
The Nutcracker by the New York City Ballet, ill. Valeria Docampo
Apparently an entire ballet company is capable of writing a book together. Here the fact that the show IS a ballet is never forgotten (the cover makes that much clear). Yet the name of our heroine isn’t Clara, as most productions of The Nutcracker name her, but Marie. That’s her name in the original Hoffman book! Yet the book itself acts as a younger introduction for kids to the show. The kind of title you’d read to a five-year-old who was about to go and see their first performance.
The Nutcracker by Kate Davies, ill. Niroot Puttapipat
Just a quick note here. Remember how I said that in the original Hoffman story there was an odd little subplot involving a character with the name Princess Pirlipat? How likely is it that a Puttapipat would illustrate a book that originally contained a Pirlipat? The editing gods work in mysterious ways. This is one of the lovelier Nutcrackers out this year and for good reason. The silhouettes are delicate and delightful and the small pop-up details even nicer. Both the original Hoffman and the subsequent Dumas stories have been combined here to try and bridge the gap between ballet and text.
The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffman, ill. Lisbeth Zwerger
It’s not entirely fair to include this since this is technically a reprint, but the original has been unavailable for years. This is Hoffman’s original story but instead of Sendak’s art you have Zwerger’s. She doesn’t necessarily tap into the oddities of the text, but she has the dreamlike aspects down pat. A lovely one.
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, retold by Renate Raecke, ill. Yana Sedova
I think that when it comes to the story and the mix of text and image, this may well be the most successful. Like the Puttapipat version it does a good job of building a bridge between the ballet and the original story. It also, as you can see here, is has some of the best art. This is my own personal pick of the lot.
E.T.A. Hoffman’s The Nutcracker by Jack Wang and Holman Wang
Aww. The latest from Cozy Classics. I couldn’t finish this post without paying tribute to this one. If you know a kid in a production of this show, just get them this book. It’s quick. It’s cute. And it does a darn good job of showing a ballet slipper in flight in felt. And what more, I ask you, do you really and truly need in this life but that?
Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.
Here's what's on my mind today:
- NaNoWriMo Winner! Yesterday, I was finally able to claim my November 7th victory of writing 50K. My word count continues to count against me, but at least I am officially a winner now.
- Drafting I'm working on book two for this month, but it's going very slowly due to client edits.
- New Author Banner I decided to finally splurge and get myself a banner to stand behind my tables at book signings. I opted for the four-foot one since I don't think the six-foot ones are fully seen anyway since the table covers them. Here's the banner I designed:
- December 3rd Signing My banner I just mentioned is arriving December 1st, days before my next signing, which is taking place at Middle Smithfield Elementary School during their local vendor event. My daughter, Ayla, will be signing with me. Her first signing!
- Editing I'm trying to stay on schedule with the holiday and the days off from school. Wish me luck!
- Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a safe and happy thanksgiving!
That's it for me. What's on your mind today?
Hugo's mother came back home. The next day, when Hugo wakes up, he finds black feathers scattered all over the house.
The post ‘Chez Moi’ by Phuong Mai Nguyen appeared first on Cartoon Brew.
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Once again, our friend Connie hosted her Edinburgh Salon at our flat for Thanksgiving. (This is a dining club that moves around each month.) Being the Americans in the bunch, with the recipes for all the 'strange' Thanksgiving food, it seems only natural. But our flat is a bit hard to find. So, Amandine came over early to help blow up balloons as signage. 
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Yes, this so-called Thanksgiving classic, should have been called a game of genocide. Why? Because, symbolically and subconsciously it represents the psyche reenactment of the American Holocaust, in which over 19 million Indigenous people were exterminated. Good Indian; Dead Indian Remember, US Army General Phillip Sheridan said, “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.” This, however, wasn’t only Sheridan’s philosophy. It was also the military strategy of the United States government, in which Thomas Jefferson was also an advocate of and openly admitted with his own words. “They [Europeans] are nations of eternal war. All their energies are expended in the destruction of labor, property and lives of their people.” 
Well, you might have all day, but I have to keep writing! LOL. But actually, I could talk all day about the research. I am a research junkie. It’s the best part — part scavenger hunt, part Indiana Jones. I wish I could have traveled to all of the places in my book, but some were off the table — like Iraq. Those places I had to visit by the magic of technology. I did, however, travel to Russia and many wonderful farms and seed banks. Russia was by far a place I never thought I would visit. Due to the seed scientists’ schedules and our calendar, and my deadline, I ended up visiting in the dead of winter when it is the coldest and darkest. I felt like I really experienced Russia! I was able to use that experience to understand more of what went on during the Leningrad Siege I was writing about.
Earth Heroes. I wanted something similar for this book and since this feels like a battle I used the word warrior to describe these scientists.
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We found a hat
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Resthaven:
By: Betsy Bird,
on 11/20/2016
It sort of feels like someone took a starting pistol and called out to the universe, “Nutcracker picture books! On your mark . . . get set . . . . GO!” And off they went!
For a long time the ballet was done exactly the same way every year. Then people started to get creative. In 1983, Maurice Sendak (who had four years before adapted Where the Wild Things Are to the stage) designed the set for the Pacific Northwestern Ballet’s production of Nutcracker. It was a massive hit partly, as Maria Popova puts it, because it embraced, “Hoffmann’s essential weirdness”. Looking at the art Sendak did for the accompanying book, one really wonders why he never illustrated Struwwelpeter at any point in his career. But I digress.
On the book side of things, stories about the Nutcracker are abundant. Last year we saw a couple come out, as well as a nice behind-the-scenes story by Chris Barton called The Nutcracker Comes to America. That may well be the only nonfiction title related to The Nutcracker you’ll find on your shelves, by the way.
