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Today was a good day, but what day at NCTE isn’t?  Since we just finished our last session and have dinner plans in a few minutes, you’re getting a list of swirling thoughts.  Expect more blog posts about NCTE  in the future. Choice matters.  Today I’ve been inspired to stand up and defend student choice in [...]

Winter online course registration now open YALSA opened registration this week for its winter session of online courses. Get teens engaged with reading after taking Booktalks Quick & Simple with Nancy Keane and rev up  your special events with Power Programming for Teens with Amy Alessio.  Classes last four weeks. Pricing starts at $135 for YALSA members (10% discount for groups of 10 or more). Learn more at YALSA’s Online Courses page or by contacting Eve Gaus at egaus@ala.org.

YALSA Events at Midwinter Join us for our two ticketed pre-Midwinter events, Libraries 3.0: Teen Edition and Games, Gadgets and Gurus.  Details and how to register for them after the jump (you can read about everything we have planned for Midwinter Meeting at the YALSA Midwinter Wiki).

Libraries 3.0: Teen Edition: Join YALSA from 9-4:30 p.m on Jan. 15 to learn how you can take advantage of free online tools and social networking options to enhance and expand the services for teens, discover strategies to gain funding for technology initiatives and buy-in from administrators, and hear speakers like Stacy Aldrich (futurist & acting California State Librarian), Cory Doctorow (BoingBoing.net, Little Brother), Laura Pearle, Wendy Stephens, and Buffy Hamilton. Lunch included! Libraries 3.0 costs $195 for YALSA members, $235 for ALA members, and $285 for nonmembers. Full details on this event, and all of YALSA’s plans for Midwinter, are available online at http://bit.ly/yalsamw2010.

Games, Gadgets & Gurus: Join us from 8-10 p.m. on Jan. 15! Spend a fun evening networking with colleagues and learning new skills to take back to your library! Come play games – both board and video; demo gadgets like e-readers, mobile phones, digital audio recorders, video cameras and the latest software; and take advantage of the opportunity chat one-on-one with a tech guru. Other participants include Galaxy Press, PBS’ Digital Nation, and Tutor.com. Mingle with colleagues! Enjoy some refreshments! Play with neat tech toys! And go home with great swag! Tickets cost $40; full details online at http://bit.ly/yalsamw2010.

Sign up for both and save! Tickets for both cost $215 for YALSA members, students and retirees; $255 for ALA members; $300 for nonmembers. Register through Midwinter registration or, if you only want to attend these two events, by downloading this form (PDF; skip section I) and following the directions at the YALSA wiki. Want to add these events to an existing registration? You can add events two ways: (1) By phone: Call ALA Registration at 1-800-974-3084 and ask to add a workshop to your existing registration.; (2) Online: Add an event to your existing registration by clicking on this link. Use your log in and password to access your existing Midwinter registration and add events in the “Your Events” section (screen 6). Then simply check out and pay for the events you’ve added.

Apply for $40K in awards & grants from YALSA YALSA members can apply for more than $40,000 in grants and awards! This year, we will award up the YALSA/Baker & Taylor Conference Grants, theYALSA/BWI Collection Development Grants, the YALSA/Greenwood Publishing Group Service to Young Adults Award, the MAE Award for Best Literature Program for Teens, the Frances Henne/YALSA/VOYA Research Grant, and the Great Books Giveaway. Applications for all YALSA member awards are due by Dec. 1. Details on all the awards and grants are available online at www.ala.org/yalsa/awards&grants.

Connect with YALSA members for First Wednesdays YALSA’s new networking initiative launches Dec. 2! Use YALSA’s informal monthly online chats as a centerpiece for face-to-face networking in your area. Find out how to get involved on YALSA’s First Wednesdays page.

YALSA’s Lit Blog Manager Search extended Interested in editing YALSA’s new blog, focused exclusively on teen literature? We’re extending the application period until Nov. 30! Find out what we’re looking for and how to apply here.

Apply for a YA Lit Symposium travel stipend Join YALSA in 2010 for the Young Adult Literature Symposium, Nov. 5-7, 2010, in Albuquerque, N.M, with a theme  of “Beyond Good Intentions: Teens, Literature and Diversity.” We’re also giving away two stipends to offset travel costs, one for someone whose worked directly with teens in a library setting for ten years or less and one for a student in an ALA-accredited MLS program (you must be enrolled in an MLS program at the start of the symposium); stipend applications are due by Jan. 4, 2010. Details on both are available at www.ala.org/yalitsymposium.

Teen Tech Week registration open Register now for Teen Tech Week 2010! This year’s theme is Learn Create Share @ your library. Registration gives you access to this year’s theme logo. Teen Tech Week will be March 7-13. Visit the Teen Tech Week website for activity ideas, planning and publicity resources, and more!

That’s it for this week’s update! To stay up to date on the latest from the YALSA Office, sign up to follow YALSA on Twitter or become a fan of YALSA on Facebook!

Riddell, Chris. Ottoline Goes to School. Harper, c2008.

Poor Mr. Munroe. His status in Ottoline's life is rather unique - and rather unclear to outsiders. In fact, most folks can't quite tell what manner of creature he is, and so when he accompanies Ottoline to boarding school (the Alice B. Smith School for the Differently Gifted), he is labeled a dog and sent to stay in the east wing with the other assorted pets and companions (all of whom are at least as eccentric as Mr. Munroe).

This isn't Mr. Munroe's only dilemma. He is also suffering pangs of jealousy and sadness brought about by Ottoline's new friendship with Cecily Forbes-Lawrence III, a girl with rich but often absent parents (not unlike Ottoline herself, but they react to their similar situations rather differently). It is Cecily's attendance at the Alice B. Smith School that prompts Ottoline to enroll as well - and it's a good thing Mr. Munroe goes along, because he helps solve the mystery of a marauding ghost at the school.

I do love Mr. Munroe. He's not supposed to be the star of this book (it's not called Mr. Munroe Goes to School, after all), but his appearance is so odd (he's pretty much all long hair and feet, with a couple of large eyeballs peering through the mop that Ottoline loves to brush for him), his origins so mysterious ("Norway"), and his personality such a lovely blend of moroseness, optimism, and loyalty that he altogether steals the show as far as I'm concerned. Oh, Ottoline is a trooper, with her penchant for wearing different shoes on the same feet and absolutely making the best of her strange life living alone (well, except for Mr. Munroe and a bunch of helpers) in an apartment while her parents travel the world collecting stuff. But that Mr. Munroe...

Light on text and and liberally sprinkled with Riddell's intricate and piquant drawings, this airy, funny book will work well with readers ready for their first chapter books and as a one-on-one read-aloud. And here's a secret - my 15-year-old daughter is simply mad about the Ottoline books, so I know this one spans a great many grade levels. Cheerful, weird, and sweet. Recommended for ages 7 to, er, 15.

Here's a video of Chris Riddell drawing Mr. Munroe...

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published by an American publisher in the United States in English during the preceding year. There are no limitations as to the character of the picture book except that the illustrations must be original work. The award is restricted to artists who are citizens or residents of the United States. For additional information on the terms and criteria for the award, you can find the Caldecott Manual on the ALSC Web site.

Please send your Caldecott suggestions to Rita Auerbach at rita.auerbach@alum.barnard.edu.

REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services, is pleased to announce that the San Francisco Public Library, Topeka & Shawnee County (Kan.) Public Library, have been selected to be the recipients of the 2009 Estela and Raúl Mora Award for their commendable efforts in promoting El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros.

The Estela and Raúl Mora Award was established by author and poet Pat Mora and her family in honor of their parents to promote El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), also known as “Día.  This family literacy initiative is now housed at the Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Día is a daily commitment to link children and books that culminates in celebrations around the country on April 30th.  The Mora award is presented annually, in partnership with REFORMA, to the most exemplary celebration(s).  The San Francisco Public Library and Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library will each receive $1,000 and a plaque commemorating their efforts.

The San Francisco Public Library hosted its 10th El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros event celebrating 10 years of bringing children, families and books together in San Francisco.  A series of special programs were held in neighborhood libraries throughout the month of April.  These programs included bilingual storytimes and crafts, Native American stories, and dance performances.  The library also hosted a Día exhibit in which original artwork, posters, and memorabilia from the past 10 years were displayed.  A 10-year anniversary reception was also held to recognize volunteers, community supporters, funders, activity sponsors, and the event organizers for all the work they had done over the past 10 years.  The grand finale for El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros was held at Dolores Park with approximately 1,000 participants and included multicultural performances by Asian storytellers, Spanish bilingual puppeteers, an Afro-Brazilian dance, drumming and stilting ensemble, and a kid-centered hip-hop group.  The event also included many activities such as interactive art, 3-D animation, book making, lotería, and a free book distribution where approximately 825 multilingual books were given to children and their families. 

Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library celebrated its 4th El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros celebration on April 30, with more than 550 participants attending the event.  The library partnered with 18 community agencies, and targeted 35 pre-schools and 20 elementary schools.  The library in its effort to reach the Hispanic community targeted agencies that worked with the Hispanic community to help them promote the event through community meetings, bulletin boards and flyers.  These agencies also encouraged their clientele to participate in the event.  The celebration included a bilingual puppet show, bilingual reader’s theater, traditional dancers from Bolivia, a high school mariachi band, and bilingual storytelling and book displays.  Participants also had the opportunity to receive a free book and to participate in book-making activities, arts and crafts, lotería, and other activities.

Details about the Mora Award application and guidelines for 2010 will be announced and posted by February 2010 at http://www.reforma.org. Additional award information, photos, and links can also be found on Pat Mora’s website www.patmora.com/dia.htm. The ALSC page lists planning resources and celebrations across the country at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/initiatives/diadelosninos/index.cfm.

Questions can be directed to Lucia M. Gonzalez at Luciagonzalez@bellsouth.net or further information can be found on the REFORMA website at www.reforma.org

Grumpy Grandpa by Heather Henson, illustrated by Ross MacDonald

A little boy talks about his grandpa who is always grumpy.  Every year he and his parents drive to spend two weeks on his grandpa’s farm.  The little boy has to be quiet and not disturb his grandpa.  He tries to stay out of grandpa’s way so that he isn’t yelled at like the TV or the dog, but it’s not so easy.  Every afternoon, after a nap, Grandpa leaves the farm alone.  The little boy wonders where he goes.  Then the next day, Grandpa takes the boy along.  They head to a boat on a pond with fishing poles.  Now he has to be really quiet and still.  Grumpy Grandpa just keeps getting grumpier.  The little boy decides to leave, forgetting he is in a boat.  Splash!  Now how will Grumpy Grandpa react to being tipped overboard?

So many picture books show grandparents as bread baking, snowy haired saints, but many children have grandparents who don’t naturally bond with young children.  The beauty of this picture book is that yes the grandfather is grumpy, but it turns out he has a great sense of humor and remembers being a boy himself.  Henson’s text is humorous and allows readers to see that Grandpa isn’t that grumpy even before the young boy understands it. 

MacDonald’s illustrations have a vintage feel.  Done in watercolor, they evoke picture books from the 50s. This works particularly well with the homey and timeless nature of the story.

As someone who had a rather grumpy grandma, I am happy to see a book that really shows what’s underneath the crusty exterior of some grandparents.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

According to School Library Journal, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear arguments to overturn a decision by the Miami-Dade School District that took Vamos a Cuba off of public school library shelves. This means that the decision of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stands.

Opponents of the book described it as factually inaccurate because it "paints too rosy a picture of life in the communist nation."

The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this week declined to take up the case of the controversial book by Alta Schreier, letting stand a 2–1 decision earlier this year by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that the school board's decision to remove the book was not censorship in violation of the First Amendment. Instead, the Atlanta-based appeals court said the school board was seeking to remove the book because it contained substantial factual inaccuracies. Vamos a Cuba is one of a series of books on various countries in the world written for children aged four to eight.

A Flutter of Gauzy Fabrics for Vogue Italia, 2006. Huh. Is anyone else thinking “oh my those books are going to get all messed up!”

Muktar and the Camels by Janet Graber, illustrated by Scott Mack

Muktar lives in a Somalian orphanage after his parents have died.  His parents had roamed Somalia with camels before the drought and war changed everything.  Now all Muktar has of his old life is a withered root that his father gave him and told him to use wisely.  Then one day, a man arrives with three camels loaded with books.  Muktar is asked to help unload the camels and as he does, he notices a wound on the foot of one camel.  The librarian is too busy to listen to his concerns, so Muktar creates a poultice with the root his father gave him.  By the time the librarian discovers the problem, the camel’s foot is better and Muktar has impressed him enough to offer him a job with the camels.

This book is based on the library service of the Kenya National Library Service which has camel convoys of books eight times a month that serve schools and orphanages in the outlying areas.  Muktar and his love of animals shines in this book.  His skill with camels is impressive as is his strength in the face of such overwhelming change in his life.  Graber’s text tells the story plainly, not dwelling too long on the loss but more on the present.  Mack’s illustrations, done in oils on canvas, show a land dried and hardened, but people who are surviving despite the obstacles.

Recommended as a window to another way of living, this book is appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Gaskell, Elizabeth. 1848. Mary Barton. Penguin English Library. 488 pages.

There are some fields near Manchester, well known to the inhabitants as 'Green Heys Fields,' through which runs a public footpath to a little village about two miles distant. In spite of these fields being flat and low, nay, in spite of the want of wood (the great and usual recommendation of level tracts of land), there is a charm about them which strikes even the inhabitant of a mountainous district, who sees and feels the effect of contrast in these common-place but thoroughly rural fields, with the busy, bustling manufacturing town, he left but half an hour ago.

Jem Wilson has always only loved Mary Barton. He may not be rich. He may not live in a grand house. But his heart and soul have belonged to Mary Barton. And there's nothing he wouldn't do for the love of his life. Even if he feels that love is unrequited.

On the day he proposed, Mary Barton refused him thoroughly. And, to poor Jem, it seemed rather cruel, heartless, and final. He dramatically declares:

'And is this the end of all my hopes and fears? the end of my life, I may say, for it is the end of all worth living for!' His agitation rose and carried him into passion. 'Mary! you'll hear, may be, of me as a drunkard, and may be as a thief, and may be as a murderer. Remember! when all are speaking ill of me, you will have no right to blame me, for it's your cruelty that will have made me what I feel I shall become.' (175)

If you're reading this on a site (other than Becky's Book Reviews or Becky's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Pigeon & Pigeonette by Dirk Derom, illustrated by Sarah Verroken. Enchanted Lion Books. 2009. Official book website. Review copy provided by publisher. Picture book.

The Plot: Pigeonette, small, can see but not fly; Pigeon, large, can fly but cannot see. What will happen when these two become friends?

The Good: Pigeonette's small wings means she is left behind in winter, hopping across the snow. Pigeonette cannot see. Eventually they realize teamwork will save the day, with Pigeonette shouting instructions ("Flap!" "Turn Right!") as Pigeon flies. Pigeon and Pigeonette is a beautifully illustrated story of teamwork between friends, with each using their own strengths.

The illustrator, Verroken, wrote and illustrated Feeling Sad. I love her work. As in Feeling Sad, Verroken uses woodcuts; but with Pigeon and Pigeonette, there is much more color, from the pigeons to the grass, the trees and leaves. The background is awash in colors; greens, blues, reds, browns. Even the endpapers are delightful; the soft background colors, with two sets of footprints, one small, one big.

The publisher's website for this book, Pigeon and Pigeonette, provides not just samples of Verroken's work but also book-related games, coloring pages and such. In terms of "cool fun facts," Derom and Verroken were both born in Belgium and now live in New Zealand.


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© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

When I walked in my library this morning, I had no internet. No intranet, even–I couldn’t load the high school home page at all.

On another morning this might have sent me into a panic, but I already knew I had a light schedule for the day and wouldn’t be giving out many library passes because today’s an advisory day for frosh and sophomores, so I headed over to the front office, remembering that one of our secretaries was out for the day and her counterpart might need a hand.

Half an hour later, I returned to find that one of our paras had graciously stepped up and made a pencil and paper list of passes for juniors and seniors as well as one for a handful of book checkouts.

Low tech? Absolutely. Just as effective in a pinch? You bet!

Technology is absolutely woven into my daily life. I spend most of the day at work in front of a computer, whether I’m checking the library’s Google calendar or renewing a book or asking colleagues reader’s advisory questions via Twitter. But the more I think about it, the more I realize I still have a lot of low-tech tasks in my life–for better and for worse.

On the annoying-but-perhaps-necessary side, there are things like hall passes (written by hand) and purchase orders (multiple carbons for each order).

But then there are the helpful things–notes to myself, post-its on books or magazines I leave in teacher mailboxes, handwritten lists of call numbers when I’m pulling reserve items, a bulletin board with clippings from school sporting events or plays.

Could I be using technology for these tasks?

Sure, I could use email or Google docs to leave notes for myself. I could send emails to teachers instead of using post-its. I could print out call number ranges and write about recent events on the library blog instead of sitting at the paper cutter in the morning and carefully stapling football articles to construction paper.

But do I really want technology for these tasks?

So often we engage in the Big Picture debates when it comes to technology and libraries. How do print books stack up to e-readers? What role does social networking play in learning and teaching? Do teens need libraries to be full of shelves or monitors?

But the big picture is made up of so many little pictures. By saving ourselves time and energy, are we losing out on face time with colleagues–or teens? I communicate with teachers a lot by phone or email, but I’m thrilled when they come down to the library in person. Just yesterday one came by to say she’d read my interview in the student paper and thought I might be interested in a movie that mentions The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. How much nicer to get a DVD handed to me than an email suggesting I add it to my Netflix queue!

So what low-tech tasks are still a part of your daily life? Which ones do you treasure, and what kind of carbon copies do you wish would catch up to the times?

Cheng, Andrea. 2009. Brushing Mom's Hair. Wordsong. 60 pages.

Ann's mom has breast cancer, and this has changed everything. Just fourteen, Ann is worrying about so much, such heavy stuff, she wishes that life could be, would be okay again. Brushing Mom's Hair is a verse novel told from a young teen's perspective on how cancer changes her family.

This is the opening poem:

Ballet

We stretch,
thin arms
touching toes.
Linda says,
Can you believe
my mom's friend
had one of her breasts
cut off?
Becky covers her mouth
with her hand.
Really?
I look at them
in the mirror,
eyebrows raised,
eyes open
wide.
I bend
and touch my forehead
to my knee.
I don't say,
My mom
had both her breasts cut off
and now she has stitches
covered by bandages
where they were.

It's a quick read. An emotional story as you'd expect as each family member seeks to cope in their own way. Each finds a way to deal with their own emotions and at the same time to provide support for the one with cancer.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

If you're reading this on a site (other than Becky's Book Reviews or Becky's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Jacket description:
"Growing up in Hong Kong in the 1960s, Yeung Ying is tired of hearing how important boys are. After all, she can write letters and recite poems as well as-even better than-her boy cousins.


Luckily, Yeung Ying's mother thinks 'girls and boys are just the same.' Despite protests from her husband's family, Ma uses what little money the family has to send her daughter to private school. There Yeung Ying begins to fall in love with books and writing. Combining this new passion with the colorful experiences of her daily life, Yeung Ying discovers that even girls can dare to dream."

Tofu Quilt, a collection poems by Ching Yeung Russell, is actually a story of the poet's life. Each poem helps to connect the pages into a beautifully written story, allowing for an experience of life in Hong Kong as a young girl, as well as a pretty great interpretation as to what it's like to turn a dream into reality. Russell wanted to be a writer more than anything, but was consistently turned away by male family members. She lets the reader in on just how she came to realize that big dream that previously seemed so impossible.

I loved the individual poems and the seemless way they seemed to flow into a single book. The main character was incredibly likable and left me really cheering for her, in hopes that she would indeed get to write (though I knew she was the author and obviously HAD succeeded).  The added glossary of Chinese words was very helpful and the cover was intriguing. Overall a great addition to any poetry collection, but one that can also be handed to a preteen/teen that enjoys historical fiction.

Tofu Quilt
Ching Yeung Russell
136 pages
Poetry, Middle Grade
Lee & Low Books
9781600604232
October 2009
Review copy received from publisher

To learn more or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon. I am an Affiliate and will receive a small commission from your purchase. Thanks!

This has been a season of firsts. I did my first Albert Whitman preview a week or so ago. I'll be doing my first National Geographic pr... Read the rest of this post

And all too soon it's over. Here's the last of the best of the week, my loves. Lisa Schroeder at Writing & Ruminating Alan DeNiro at ... Read the rest of this post

The Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy, illustrations by Tom Percival, despite the fact that it is currently only three books long, has had three different cover designs as well as a title change since book one, Scepter of the Ancients (the new title of the first book in the series) was published in 2007. Since I often judge a book by it's cover, this phenomenon caught my eye right away.

I'm just curious how many, if any, of y'all do any sort of reading on your smartphone (iPhone, Blackberry, Droid, Palm, whatever).

There was an interesting article in the New York Times the other day about this very thing... yet I don't know people who are reading like this. Then again, I'm a writer, so I don't get out much.

Anyone reading on their phone? Liking it? Hating it? I'm curious!

As I have visited other libraries and talked to many librarians across the country I can’t help but feel very thankful to live in Idaho. Why is that you may ask? Because Idaho partners!

I’m amazed at the Idaho Commission for Libraries (ICFL) and all of the partnerships that it has and shares with all of the libraries across the state and the partnerships that my library here in Rexburg, Idaho has. I would like to share a few examples.

Idaho Family Read week falls in November. This year the theme is “Idaho is Wild About Reading.” The ICFL formed a partnership with the Be Outside organization. This partnership allowed all the libraries across the state to receive or have access to wonderful materials for their program. There were posters, bookmarks, handouts, and many great program ideas that came to any library who wanted them. In my eyes, everyone involved benefited greatly from this partnership.

The other partnership I wanted to talk about was the partnership between our library and the state Juvenile Correction Center (JCC) that is located near our town. The last few years we have received a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to put on The Big Read. In our advertising we attracted the attention of a patron who was interested in the program for herself. In talking with her we learned that she is an instructor at the JCC. We told her we would love to include her students. She was very excited and told the other teachers who quickly wanted to be a part of the program as well. One thing I learned is that the teens who are out there love to read. It is in a lot of ways their escape from their world and their only involvement with the outside world. In my mind, who better to partner with than the library? “…May I add how grateful I am to have gotten involved in that conversation! It has been an incredibly rich experience for all those involved out here!” said Stacey Bergeson, instructor at the JCC. We were able to involve them in our program and have plans to keep the partnership going and hopefully help some of these teens find a better life.

So in the end I realize that there are many other partnerships we have here in Idaho that really allow us to reach out. I wish I was able to share the all! How many partnerships can you have? You will only know if you will try. Go ahead, ask! That is how you find out.

Ray Lusk
YALSA Member
Partnerships Advocating for Teens Committee Member

Feed by M.T. Anderson    Candlewick 9780763622596

Marirosa Mia: While in our last semester of MFA both Julie and I had the pleasure of reading M.T.Anderson’s FEED.  Only 'pleasure' isn't the right word for it.  Here's what Julie's said about FEED in a recommendation on her prior blog:

Julie:  Feed is not a pleasant book.  It's the dystopian tale of a society in which independent thought has been virtually replaced by the "feed"--a consumer-oriented transmitter implanted into the human brain.  The book's protagonist acts reprehensibly; Anderson makes an eerily frightening statement about contemporary society; and the book's sole truly sympathetic character doesn't fare well.  It's also one of the most compelling books I've read in a long time.  It's the one I remember most clearly.  The language and structure perfectly suit the theme.  Its message resonates (though it does so less and less as the economy continues its free-fall).  And Anderson's writing puts practically everyone else to shame.  He's also the author of The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party and its sequel (books for teens), which have received uniformly stellar reviews.     

M: I agree with Julie 100% on this one. Every time I pick up an M.T. Anderson book I am just amazed and supremely jealous of his writing and his ability to just delve into the language – and at times create his own vernacular. While reading FEED there were moments were I stopped and asked myself ‘Would I have been able to maintain this for so long?’ He just amazes me. Which is why I have yet to pick up OCTAVIAN NOTHING, as I feel it’s a book I need to lock the door/turn off the phone before I can read; a book that requires as much dedication to reading it as it did in writing it.  Am I wrong?

J:  Maybe not that much dedication!  But it impressed me even more than FEED did.  I'll cheat again and include here part of my recommendation from my earlier blog:  Anderson is interested in language; the intersection of thinking and feeling; what it means to be human; and what it means to be peculiarly American.  In both FEED and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party (about an American slave subjected to the experiments of a group of rational philosophers), Anderson manages to interweave compelling stories with powerful ideas.  In each, he uses period language (in FEED, an imagined future-speak; in OCTAVIAN NOTHING, eighteenth-century prose).  There's not a false note to be found in either.  The man is a marvel.  I marvel at him

M: Ditto.

You probably saw this on the tubes today. Library workers in Jessamine County Kentucky [a library system I've featured in talks before, though I can't remember why] got fired when it was discovered they’d colluded to sort of permanently check out graphic novels to keep kids form being able to check them out Please feel free to read more

• Alan Moore, destroyer of library workers
• Child protection or censorship? [with 105 comments!]
• Jessamine library board hears public comment about book-checkout policy

Amusingly, the graphic novel in question was Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier. Yesterday was his birthday.