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The Kids and Young Adult Kids Writers’ Network at The Hughenden Hotel in Sydney was abuzz with e-news.

William Kostakis has put his popular young adult novel ‘Loathing Lola’ online in parts. Yeah to William!

Sarah Davis has been working with author Chris Cheng on their fabulous new picture book SOUNDS SPOOKY creating a fun and spooky trailer with heaps of interactivity and a dedicated SPOOKY website.

Talented illustrator Lesley Vamos brought out her laptop and the apps were terrific.

Even I showed my new trailer for ‘Butterflies’ coming out in the USA at the end of MAY by Kane Miller Publisher at the New York Book Expo. Love you to check out my youtube channel

www.youtube.com/user/sgervay

Sarah’s going to run some sessions with us so we get online. THANKS SARAH!

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The Accidental Adventures of India McAllister
By Charlotte Agnell
middle grade
(151 pp with some b/w illustration)

I won the advance arc for this book on Sarah Laurence's website and eagerly awaited its arrival. My youngest daughter is a serious Junie B. Jones, Judy Moody, Flat Stanley, Geronimo Stilton, you-name-the-series-she'll-read-it kind of kid. I wondered if India would fit the bill.

She more than lived up to my expectations. One of my pet peeves with series books these days is the flatness to the characters. This is not to say they don't have their own quirks, but rather, that they all seem to come from the same amorphous, fictitious middle America neighborhood. It's a great marketing ploy, but gets a little boring after a while, at least for me.

Which is what drew me into this book immediately. India is a adopted from China. Her parents are divorced. Her dad is gay and in a relationship with another man. Her mom is a self-sufficient artist (that really sealed the deal). India lives in a real place, Wolfgang, Maine. It is not middle America. It is a little town with a forest where you can get lost! There is so much texture to this story and its characters. The adventures India has are regular kid adventures. She has a boy who is her friend but not her boyfriend, Colby. He has a crush on a girl India cannot stand. India and Colby sleep out in a field to watch for UFOs. India spends time with her elderly neighbor next door. And all around these adventures is the enticing flavors of real setting, modern day family, and real life.

Go India!

Add to that the gentle illustrations with which Agnell enlivens the pages, and it's a winning combination. I cannot wait to read more.

For more adventurous tales, hop over to our fearless leader, Barrie Summy's blog!

On a tangentially related note, I got to see the inside illustrations for my upcoming picture book, ROPE 'EM, that comes out in March 2011 with Kane Miller. Gorgeous (author swoons).

I'm in love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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The Civil War's Most Famous Mascot written by Patrick Young illustrated by Anne Lee Traditionally-told biography of a bald eagle who was a wartime mascot, which is sort of odd when you think about it.  I thought so at least. But this book has bigger fish to fry, like the fact that it's riddled with inaccuracy.   "Found" in a nest high in a tree (i.e. stolen from its home) a Native American (

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Noodle Pie by Ruth Starke. Kane Miller. 2010. Review copy from publisher. Book website.

The Plot: Andy, eleven, travels with his father to Vietnam. His father left Vietnam over twenty years before, surviving multiple pirate attacks to arrive, penniless, in Australia. Andy is Australian; not Vietnamese. His father may be "going home," but to Andy, it's a strange country, strange relatives, strange language, strange food. Even his father seems strange in Vietnam, wearing clothes, a gold watch, no longer the frugal man Andy knows.

The Good: This book is a two-fer for American readers. It's a look at modern Vietnam, through the eyes of a child who is a visitor. It's also a look at Australia, with Andy missing such foods as meat pies. Meat pies!! Just as mysterious to most American readers as pho for breakfast is to Andy. (Pho, by the way, is noodle soup.)

I loved the depiction of the emigrant returning home. Andy's father left when he was teenager; it's twenty years later. Much has changed in Hanoi; much remains the same, and the connect / disconnect, familiar but strange experience is conveyed in the places and people Andy and his father visit.

Andy is Australian. He was born in Australia, his name in Andy. He also has a Vietnamese name (Anh) and can speak and understand some Vietnamese (he calls it Vietlish). Both his parents were born in Vietnam. Andy views and understands Vietnam as the foreigner he is; but has his father to explain what is different and strange to Andy.

Because we see things through Andy's eyes, the reader first encounters Vietnam as "the other" and "strange". Here is Andy, observing a street scene: "a skinny woman squatting over a charcoal fire or a few sticks of burning wood -- right there on the roadside, amid all the dust and refuse and traffic fumes. Andy was shocked. Where where the health inspectors?" Andy's thinking is very much that of an eleven year old, especially an eleven year old experiencing culture shock. Andy's attitude softens as he learns more about the cultural and economic differences between Vietnam and Australia. His attitude and reaction is balanced by occasionally seeing things through the eyes of his cousin, Minh. Andy may start by seeing Vietnam as "the other," but as the story progresses he matures past that, just like the reader will.

There is a great balance between what Andy figures out on his own, and what needs to be explained to him. Andy, for example, sees his Vietnamese relatives (and other Vietnamese) as greedy and rude, demanding and expecting money from his "rich Australian" father. Andy knows his father is a gardener, that both of his parents fret over bills. Yes, they have a house, a car, Andy and his sister Mai go to school -- but they aren't rich! How did his father afford this trip, all the presents? And then Andy discovers that for years, his father has been sending money back home to his family. Even though the family owns a successful restaurant!

It takes the book for Andy to r

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The Best Family in the World, written by Susana López and illustrated by Ulises W

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A question I'm often asked when conducting picture book workshops is, "Do you think that e-readers will someday replace picture books?" I've always answered, "Never," perhaps too emphatically, hiding the bit of doubt that I actually felt. But then along comes a picture book that defies the possibility that this literature form will be replaced anytime soon.

The Best Family in the World, written by Susana López and illustrated by Ulises Wensell, is such a book. Young Carlota anxiously awaits the arrival of her new family, and in her sleep imagines the possibilities. What will they be like? Will they be pirates, or tiger tamers, or pastry chefs? None of the above, as it turns out. But her new, ordinary family, while not as fascinating and adventurous as any she imagined, is in many ways even better.

The Best Family in the World is what a picture book is meant to be. It first of all is slightly oversized, just begging to be shared aloud. Its saturated illustrations fill the pages, to the very edges in most cases, with purposeful blank spaces playing their roles in others. And its theme of possibilities is fully realized by the illustrator's generous use of whole page spreads. Reading this book on an electronic reader would be akin to viewing the Mona Lisa on a postage stamp, and arguing that the latter experience was equally satisfying and edifying.

But it doesn't stop there. Like all excellent picture books, this one works on a number of levels. As Carlota imagines each possible family, author Susana López describes that family in a lyrical paragraph, the language pattern of which is repeated throughout the book. When considering her future pirate parents, for example, Carlota imagines that

She'd live on a pirate ship! She'd sail the seven seas, decorate flags with skulls and crossbones and look for treasure troves of gold doubloons. She'd carry a monkey on her right shoulder and a parrot on her left. She'd have a patch over her eye and a wooden leg. Yes, a family of pirates would be the best family in the world!

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The Museum of Mary Child by Cassandra Golds. Kane/Miller. 2009. Review copy from publisher. Ages: middle grade and up.

The Plot: Once upon a time. There was a girl. There was a doll. There was a city. There was a prisoner. There was a museum. There was a madhouse. And there were birds.

Heloise is raised by her godmother and a housekeeper. Her memories of how she arrived at the Cottage are sketchy. The rules of her godmother are odd. Both love and imagination are forbidden. All Heloise wants is what she cannot have -- a doll. When she finds one hidden in the floorboards of her room, the doll whispers "you may call me Maria."

The dark secrets that haunt and govern the lives of Heloise and her godmother are about to be revealed.

The Good: This was one crazy book; both terrifying and reassuring, full of hate and love and the impossible.

The reader has to believe -- believe in the Secret Society of Caged Birds who assist and comfort prisoners. Believe in a Museum full of dolls....all the same doll, over and over, half hidden in walls and floors and chairs and gardens, all with their faces hidden behind a mask of stitches. Believe that a girl can run away and birds can guide her to a safe haven where for once she finds love, acceptance, music and colorful clothes. Believe in magic.

What happens in The Museum of Mary Child is unexpected and full of twists, of nightmares and dreams come to life. It is horror and miracle. It's not the twists of a "gotcha" mystery; rather, it is a stunningly original story that dares to ask what is a miracle? What is faith? What is love? What is life?

Who is the reader for this book? It's fairy tale-ish, yet also scary. On one level, it will work for younger readers looking for a spooky tale. Dolls that talk? Birds that guide people to safety? A museum that haunts ones dreams? This delivers on the horror front.

The Museum of Mary Child also has a distinct literary style, with metaphors and allegories that will appeal to those readers who want something more from a book; who want the caviar, not just the chocolate. It's Margo Lanagan for tweens. Actually, because of the uneasy questions asked and not answered, teens will appreciate this book, also. It may be a harder sell -- Heloise, the main character, is a child for most of the book -- but if they trust you to read the first twenty or so pages, they'll be hooked.


Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

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

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Hannah's Winter by Kierin Meehan. Kane/Miller. 2009. Originally published in Australia. Review copy supplied by publisher. Middle Grade.

The Plot: Hannah, 12, is staying with friends of her mother in Kanazawa, Japan. It's supposed to be an opportunity for Hannah to polish her Japanese language skills. Instead, it turns into an adventure to help a ghost.

The Good: Japan and Hannah's Japanese family are never portrayed as the "exotic other."

Hannah's parents, and Hannah, had lived in Japan when Hannah was a toddler; Hannah continued studying Japanese back home in Australia. Her mother, a horticulturist and writer, is visiting Japan to write about gardens so believes this is the perfect opportunity for Hannah to improve her Japanese skills. Meehan studied and taught Japanese and lived in Japan; her love and respect for Japan, it's culture, history, and language shines through.

When Hannah is at a local festival, her reaction is open, enthusiastic: "wonderful smells wafted past." Not exotic, not different, not strange -- just, simply, wonderful. Meehan also avoids stereotypes in describing the physical appearance of the family Hannah will be staying with. Miki, the 13 year old girl, "had an oval face and a long nose and her grandmother's wicked black eyes." As for Aunt Yukiyo, "[t]he first thing that struck me [about Aunt Yukiyo] was that she looked like a movie star. Her face was perfectly symmetrical, pale skin, jet-black hair. People who look like Snow White and not like a garden gnome are so lucky." (Hannah thinks of herself as a garden gnome).

What else?

Meehan's description of people captures personality in a handful of words; here is Hannah, talking about her mother: "But if it's logical my mother won't do it. She's opposed to logic and common sense. If there were street marches protesting against logic, she'd be at the front of the crowd carrying the biggest banner."

Hannah and Miki find a mysterious verse in a box of old toys and soon after, a ghost starts to haunt the family. This is a great middle grade story; Hannah and Miki are 12 and 13, so at just the right age for younger kids who want to read up. The story is mysterious and also logical; and the girls (along with a neighborhood boy) have to take action, decode things, figure it out. There is some help from the grown ups; but there is just enough autonomy.

Having finished this, I really want to visit Japan and especially Kanazawa. Books are going to make me go broke; not from buying them, but from all the places I want to visit (and food I want to eat) after reading them. There are some delicious doughnuts described in this book. Yum.

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

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No! That's Wrong! by Zhaohua Ji and Cui Xu.

Oh my...Kane/Miller has brought us a delightful book from China!

A pair of ruffly red underpants blows off a clothes line and lands near a little white rabbit who immediately places them on his head. "It's a hat," he says. The text at bottom corrects him, "No, that's wrong. It's not a hat." But the rabbit doesn't seem to listen and goes about placing the underpants on the heads of other animals. It takes a donkey to set him straight and let him know he's wearing underpants on his head.

But, if the donkey is right, and they really ARE underpants, where does his tail go?

Along the way, the story introduces a number of adjectives and opposites. For example, the "hat" is too small for an elephant, but too big for a fox, and it's simply amazing, magnificent, incredible...you get the drift.

I really can't think of anything that's much funnier than a bunch of animals with hilarious facial expressions wearing underpants on their heads, and children will laugh out loud at this book and its illustrations. I can just imagine them yelling, "No! That's Wrong," as they turn the pages. Even the back end papers will elicit giggles as readers see a number of animals incorrectly wearing articles of clothing and other objects on their bodies.

If you're looking for a funny book that will make your child (and you) laugh and also introduce some new vocabulary words along the way, this would make an excellent choice.

Release date: March 1, 2008 (available now!)

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A day at the office at Random House Children's Books? An idea for Dwight and Jim next season on The Office.

...the 1st Annual RHCB Romano Cup Time Trials on the Cooler Cruiser (A racing hybrid -- a cross between an Electric Scooter and A Beer Cooler). The Race Course is one full lap around the inner corridor of the 10th Floor at work.

Book Moot is a beneficiary of Random House review copies.

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A day at the office at Random House Children's Books? An idea for Dwight and Jim next season on The Office.

...the 1st Annual RHCB Romano Cup Time Trials on the Cooler Cruiser (A racing hybrid -- a cross between an Electric Scooter and A Beer Cooler). The Race Course is one full lap around the inner corridor of the 10th Floor at work.

Book Moot is a beneficiary of Random House review copies.

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Perfect Timing: How Isaac Murphy became one of the world's greatest jockeys, by Patsi B. Trollinger; paintings by Jerome Lagarrigue; Viking, 2006

Today is Derby Day which seems like the perfect day to share this book. Isaac Murphy was a three time Kentucky Derby winner and is the only jockey buried on the grounds of the famous Kentucky Horse Park.

Author, Patsi Trollinger makes the point that Isaac Burns Murphy's timing was perfect in life as well as on the track. The son of a slave, he lived at a time when black jockeys could enjoy a successful career in racing, before they were forced out of the sport early in the 20th century.

Trollinger describes his career beginning with his early training in Lexington where he learned the importance of pace and concentration. Murphy went on to become one of the most sought after jockeys of his time. The exciting match race between Salvatore and Tenny is told in such detail that the reader feels like they are standing at the rail watching the race.

Jerome Lagarrigue's soft focus paintings convey the speed and power of the horses. The colors are dark and muddied which imparts the yesteryear feel of the story. The reader eyes do need to linger on the pictures to fully appreciate and discern the images.

Isaac Burns Murphy had a reputation for honesty and fair play.

"He had rules for himself that were firm: no cheating, no fighting, no swearing. And he rode every race, large of small, as if it was the most important one of his life."

This is a lovely tribute to a man of character and who might otherwise be unknown to this generation.

International Museum of the Horse
The Kentucky Derby 2007

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