How to use this Page

Hello, friends, hope you had a creative week. I've been thinking a lot about honesty lately. Here is a thing I've learned -- if I am brave and write down the things that I'm afraid to write down, then I find that my writing stretches beyond me. Locked doors open inside me as I let the deep things I think live on the page. I find this whole bravery thing snowballs into my work. My vision clears. Writing what I think helps me. I see what is right and true. And if anything is wrong with what I am thinking that comes out to. Putting my thoughts on the page helps me get at heart of things.

I've also found all this honesty spills into my work. I am more willing to take risks. I don't feel the weight of censors or critics, and I get to the business of shaping my stories the way they want to be shaped. I'm able to make my way into the deepest water of understanding. Emily Dickinson wrote a little poem that sticks with me. "I never saw the moor. I never saw the sea. Yet know I how the heather looks and and what a wave must be. I never visited God, nor visited in heaven, but sure am I of the spot as if the chart were given." Her assurance of things unseen gives me boldness. Her truth changes me. I hope you are getting the sense of the absolute power of writing what needs to be written.

So this week, write down your secret, write down that thought you don't write down because you know it will offend others, write down your anger, your grief, write down something hidden. See what happens when you open wide the door of honesty. I'm just saying, try it. Seize the day. See you next week.

My doodle this week is a little collage. I call it "Sunrise".



The highest compact we can make with our fellow is - "Let there be truth between us two forevermore." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

We spy the Forests and the Hills,
The tents to Nature's Show,
Mistake the outside what we saw.

Could Commentators on the sign
Of Nature's Caravan
Obtain "admission," as a child,
Some Wednesday afternoon?

- Emily Dickinson

View all posts tagged as Emily Dickinson at Bildungsroman.

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

View the roundup schedule at A Year of Reading.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.

The daisy follows soft the sun,
And when his golden walk is done,
Sits shyly at his feet.
He, waking, finds the flower near.
"Wherefore, marauder, art thou here?"
"Because, sir, love is sweet!"

We are the flower, Thou the sun!
Forgive us, if as days decline,
We nearer steal to Thee,-
Enamoured of the parting west,
The peace, the flight, the amethyst,
Night's possibility!

- by Emily Dickinson

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

View the roundup schedule at A Year of Reading.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.

Some things that fly there be,
Birds, hours, the bumble-bee:
Of these no elegy.

Some things that stay there be,
Grief, hills, eternity:
Nor this behooveth me.

There are, that resting, rise.
Can I expound the skies?
How still the riddle lies!

- by Emily Dickinson

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

View all posts tagged as Emily Dickinson at Bildungsroman.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.

The pedigree of honey
Does not concern the bee;
A clover, any time, to him
Is aristocracy.

- by Emily Dickinson

Read other Emily Dickinson pieces I've posted.

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

Consult the Poetry Friday roundup schedule at Big A, little a.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.

As if some little Arctic flower,
Upon the polar hem,
Went wandering down the latitudes,
Until it puzzled came
To continents of summer,
To firmaments of sun,
To strange, bright crowds of flowers,
And birds of foreign tongue!
I say, as if this little flower
To Eden wandered in-
What then? Why, nothing, only
Your inference therefrom!
- Emily Dickinson

View all posts tagged as Emily Dickinson at Bildungsroman.

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

Consult the Poetry Friday roundup schedule at Big A, little a.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.

Shop Indie Bookstores


The spirit of poetry past comes shining through in My Uncle Emily, a 2009 release from Jane Yolen. We can always depend on Ms. Yolen to deliver a wonderfully crafted story. This one is stellar in its use of lyrical prose to capture the tone of Emily Dickinson's poetry and time period.

Emily Dickinson's nephew, Gilbert, is the child friendly entry point to Ms. Dickinson's poetry. Gilbert wonders about the symbols in his "Uncle Emily's" poetry. Gilbert must share her poetry with his class, but he is afraid the other students won't like or understand it either. When he finally learns to decode her ideas he lights up, "like a lamp."

My Uncle Emily, has clear themes of honesty and peaceful resolution of conflict but none of them are preachy or heavy handed. The actions and reactions of the characters are true to the story and true to life. In fact, Ms. Yolen ends the book with a piece entitled, "What's True About This Story."

Patti Lee Gauch of Philomel is the editor for this beautifully designed book. It is not often that the editor is cited in the front matter. However, Ms. Gauch is well known for her editorial achievements and her own use of lyrical prose in Thunder At Gettysburg one of the first "novels in verse."

Nancy Carpenter, a two time recipient of the Christoper Award, illustrates the book with pen and ink and digital media. The effect is of colorful engravings which perfectly fit the Amherst, Massachusettes setting circa 1881. I was especially enthalled by Ms. Carpenter's use of negative space which frames the illustrations and focuses the reader's attention to particular details. Her lovely muted palette, the patterning and texture, and her gestural line capture the costume, light and formality of the period.

Ms. Yolen's book delightfully treats modern children to the spirit of poets past.

The kids are back in school. The dog has gone back to her full time occupation - sleeping on the couch. And I have the freedom to obsess about writing once again.

Glee!

I've hunkered down with John Gardner the last couple of days. Writer/professor/Breadloaf speaker, most known for his nonfiction works on writing skills - The Art of Fiction and On Moral Fiction. I am in an MFA program. There will be challenging (read, it makes my brain hurt to try and understand) craft reading. John has tried his best to teach me what it means to be a true writer. To delve deeply for Truth, Beauty and the Good. Between you and me, I think I tend more toward that nebulous line he draws between the mad and the artist. I mean who isn't when -

You might be a writer if you revise everything, including your clothing.

It's true!

Just yesterday, I found myself in a day long outfit revision. It's not entirely my fault. I've been presented with unusual dressing conditions. It is normally in the 90s this time of year in Oklahoma. Not this year. We saw the low 50s this morning. The low 50s! This has forced us sunshine worshippers into the murky realm of "layering." You know, a t-shirt, sweater, maybe a jacket, all to be peeled away as the day warms up. Northerners are pro. True artists. Not so much those of us in down below the frost border.

Shivering but still fully in John-Gardner-delve-deeper-to-find-Truth,-Good-and-Beauty mode, I did not grab the first thing I saw (a wool sweater) but delved deeply to find my Truth about the art of cool weather dressing. I ended up with a dark memory of northern German dressing practices. I lived in northern Germany for 5 years. Number one rule when living right on the Baltic Sea where it is constantly windy and cool - wear a scarf. It's an absolute must.

I pulled out a scarf.

The problem was, because I was still sort of in summer mode, I pulled out a very thin (as in narrow) scarf. I threw it casually around my neck, grabbed my leather jacket (another northern German must provided it's not raining. That calls for fleece-lined oilskin jackets) and went out to walk the dog.

Because the scarf was so narrow, it wasn't exactly keeping my neck warm. So, I tried wrapping it snugly and knotting it on one side. Much better. My neck was warm. And it looked good.

But now the necklace I was wearing suddenly seemed superfluous. An adverb made redundant by a good verb. Off came the necklace.

Which, of course, meant I needed to change the earrings.

That made the background all wrong. I changed shirts.

The jeans stayed, though. I didn't edit out everything...exactly.

But the shoes definitely had to go (No, I was not trying to get away from revisions on actual writing yesterday...much). The tied scarf's, how shall I say...French sophistication called for much snazzier shoes than the sneakers I'd thrown on. So I changed shoes.

Finally, it was perfect. Ready for the world to see.

Which makes it sort of ironic that I was at home alone. I had created an Emily Dickinson outfit. Flawless but never to be seen until posthumously.

Hold on.

Does that mean I need to revise my will now too?

At a team-building session this week, we analyzed our working personalities and split into four groups. At work, I (and many of my colleagues) were Golds: we love order, lists, planning, organizing, and deadlines. In honor of my Gold (yellow) work style, I'm posting this poem by Emily Dickinson.


Nature rarer uses yellow
Than another hue;
Saves she all of that for sunsets,--
Prodigal of blue,

Spending scarlet like a woman,
Yellow she affords
Only scantly and selectly,
Like a lover's words.

-- Emily Dickinson


Poetry Friday is at Book Aunt this week.

Have a great weekend!
Beth

Rosemary Clement-Moore and I appreciate a lot of the same things: Cary Grant. Word play. The high school years of Buffy Summers. A well-told story, no matter what the form: a novel, a play, a musical, a ballet.

To date, Rosemary has written three novels about Maggie Quinn, a modern-day Nancy Drew who defeats demons while tossing off witty retorts - in other words, a young woman who is quite possibly the offspring of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars. We spoke at length about this series as well as Rosemary's forthcoming stand-alone novel The Splendor Falls.

I had a great deal of fun conducting this interview. How often do chupacabras, Annie Sullivan, and Doctor Who all come up within the same conversation? Not often enough, my friends. Not often enough.

What prompted your first YA novel, Prom Dates From Hell? (Oh, I just said "prompted" out loud - PROM-ted - and realized it was an unintentional pun.) Did you have one of your own in high school? I didn't go to prom. I watched Buffy's instead.

You know what Samuel Johnson said: He who would pun would pick a pocket.

This is why the prom features in so many books and movies: It a single event that focuses all the social aspects -- good, bad and hellish -- of the rest of the school year: the social hierarchy, the fashion police, the kids that drink, the boy/girl drama, the money angst, the putting up a front pressure... all those things that are going on all year sort of get distilled to this one night.

PDFH -- all my books in some ways -- are about power. Do you get yours from inside yourself, from the person you are and the things you believe in? Or do you steal your power by putting down or bullying others. The story started with the question: what if this power struggle had supernatural weapons. (In that way, I guess it is very much a Buffy/Joss Whedon sort of story question.)

I love that your books are infused with humor and supernatural elements. Maggie is both an intrepid girl reporter and a demon slayer - in other words, part Nancy Drew, part Buffy Summers. Which parts of Maggie resemble you?

Maggie gets to say the things I thought -- still think! -- but was too polite to say. I was a quiet girl (which surprises people, I'm sure), but in my head I was very droll, with a strong sense of the ridiculous. Not a surprise, she likes the same books and movies I do. Other than that, I'm afraid that Maggie is most like me in her flaws: she's stubborn and awkward and quick tempered. We're both very loyal to our friends and family, though.

How did Maggie get her name?

Maggie was named long before I had a story for her. She sort of developed over time in my head, and when I came up with the premise for PDFH, I knew she'd be the perfect protagonist. Only I had to take the character back in her own timeline a bit. (Which, yes, means that I know Maggie's future, though events of the books may alter it, like Marty McFly going back in time.)

Her FULL name came as a surprise to me. I didn't realize what it was until I typed it in the scene. Or, I didn't realize it consciously until that point. As writers, sometimes our subconscious is smarter than we are.

Whenever I run into people named Maggie it makes me blink. But it's not like it's an unusual name. There's a professor named Maggie Quinn who I'm sure wonders why her google-hits have gone up in recent years. I think it's funny.

The other thing that Google turns up is a lot of "Sliders" fan fiction. Apparently Maggie/Quinn is a popular pairing.

I loved Sliders. I detested Maggie. She ruined the show. Did you ever watch it? The early seasons were much better than later seasons.

Justin, FYI, is named after a rat in "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH." Which seems weird unless you've read the book.

So far, you've written three books about Maggie. How many more books do you have up your sleeve? Was this always planned to be a series?

I always saw Maggie's adventures as a series, a sort of 'monster of the week' but with some deeper mystical elements. The demon in PDFH doesn't have a folklore corollary, but Hell Week and Highway to Hell do.

How did you decide upon the series title Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil?

I can't take credit for Girl vs. Evil, but I LOVE it. My editor and I were tossing ideas back and forth, and it was her suggestion. And it was perfect, because that's the whole concept in a nutshell.

Who is the artist behind the eye-catching book covers?

The covers are by an artist in New Zealand named Craig Phillips. I love his concept of Maggie. She looks so much like the image in my head. (But with better behaved hair.) As someone pointed out, she's attractive, but not supermodel gorgeous. And I love that look in her eye on the Highway to Hell cover. (Though the fuzzy dice are my favorite part.)

Check out the website of Craig Phillips. My favorite pieces other than the the covers of the Maggie Quinn books include a modern-day Emily Dickinson, the authorative cat and the clothed mice, and the reading girl - as well as the mermaid that made me think of Kiba. Back to the interview . . .

In the second Maggie book, Hell Week, sorority row was rocked and wrecked by magic. Did you ever rush or pledge? (I rush a lot, but just around, not to be Greek. I could tell you a story about an audition I had, but that's for another time.)

I was in a sorority in college. I loved my sisters, most of them, anyway, and by no means did I mean to paint an "all sororities are evil" picture. If you find a group where you fit, while being yourself, it can be great fun. That said, it was also my experience that the Greek system tends to reinforce a lot of negative gender issues. In a way, Hell Week tweaks the way sexuality is tied up with status in that system. Though usually it's the girls who get the short end of the stick, so to speak, in that deal. (End of my soapbox!)

Maggie and Lisa go on an unforgettable road trip in the third book, Highway to Hell. It was far more amusing than the time I got stranded overnight and only one person knew my location - the person who made me stranded. Have you had any memorable road trips?

My family did road trip vacations all the time. We had one of those pop-up travel trailers that we pulled behind the car. Those were great trips, and i have fantastic memories of camping with my father. He was big on storytelling, and I get that from him.

College days were full of interesting road trips, but I'm afraid I can't describe much without incriminating myself. But yes, one was a trip to South Padre Island that involved a broken down car, a stolen radio, a horrific sunburn, a broken heart, a trip to Juarez, a worm in the bottom of a bottle, and a Mexican hat dance.

In one of the shows in which I'm currently performing, I have a line that Maggie would appreciate: "You always used to draw pictures of hearses and bleeding babies and mausoleums and rotting corpses and autopsies and voodoo chickens..." at which point another character is supposed to cut me off. If she doesn't, I tack on, "...and chupacabras and..."

Hee! Awesome. The chupacabras don't get enough love.

No, no, they don't. I can thank The X-Files for exposing me to the wacky world of the chupacabra.

I hope Highway to Hell starts a new trend. Instead of vampires, books will be filled with sparkly chupacabras.

I'm involved in three productions right now. The bio at your website reveals that you "worked in theatre for years." Therefore, you must now tell me all about your theatrical experiences and career - or, at least, some favorite roles, and if you are still pursuing such endeavors.

This is funny. My favorite roles all seem to be very physical, and in some cases rather violent! Annie Sullivan from The Miracle Worker, Lili/Katherine from Kiss Me Kate, Vera Claythorne from Ten Little Indians. I think I like to get my aggression out on stage.

These starring roles sound very impressive, but this was South Texas, so... you know. A small pond. My biggest role was as the youth director in a community theatre. I taught classes for kids from kindergarden to high school. Great fodder for books. (Some day I may have to write "Stage Mothers From Hell.") We never had much money for royalties, so I wrote most of the plays we did for class and festivals. That was how I developed my ear for youthful dialogue, I think, and stories that the kids could perform, but would still be entertaining for their parents. (Which is my philosophy with my books now: appeal across ages.)

I'm not pursuing acting now. I find that being onstage fills that storytelling need; I lose some of the drive to tell a story on paper. And I like writing books, and not haven't to stay on such a rigorous diet.

Your next book, The Splendor Falls, comes out in September. The first line of the book summary reads: "Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can't dance." I am immediately intrigued. And on pins and needles. More accurately, on releve. (No, really. I'm a dancer, so I walk on my toes often, and I'm playing a ballerina in two of my current shows.) Tell me more about it.

The Splendor Falls is, at its heart, a Gothic novel in the vein of Mary Stewart, Phyllis A. Whitney, and Barbara Michaels. It's updated for modern sensibilities, but I think still timeless. Sylvie, the heroine, goes to stay with relatives in an old Southern plantation, which is full of mysteries and ghosts, figurative and... Well, the literal part is something she has to figure out. She's grieving for both her career as a dancer and for her father. So when she starts seeing things that aren't there, and feeling this weird connection to a guy she can't possibly have met before, she's worried that depression has sent her over the deep end. There's still humor, and lots of mystery and magic and romance. (And an adorable little dog, too. I think Gigi already has a fan following.)

It sounds as though Splendor is more serious in tone than GvsE. Do you find yourself writing in a certain manner for different characters or stories, or do you feel your writing is stylistically similar from one project to another?

Yes, the tone is different, but the voice is still the same. Sylvie is in a darker place, and her sense of humor reflects that. But she still HAS a sense of humor, and she's still able to pull herself up by her bootstraps and solve her own problems. So you know it's a Rosemary Clement-Moore book. Also the dialogue is there, the quirky characters, the mysteries of the past affecting the present, all those things that are emerging as RCM elements. It's darker, but also more romantic. If it were a movie, it would have a different soundtrack. But you'd still see my hand on it.

Lightning round!

Doctor Who: Favorite Doctor?

Nine. That tortured regret, that rage still bottled up, that beatific smile in "The Doctor Dances," those ears... All of it.

Doctor Who: Favorite Companion?

Rose... not just because of her name. She was fantastic and loyal and brave and foolish. The best and worst of what the Doctor has always loved about humans.

I love the concept of time travel, but I've only seen the recent seasons of Doctor Who, as opposed to the original series and such. I've enjoyed the Ninth and Tenth, favoring the latter. Should be interesting to see what happens with the Eleventh. And yes, go Rose, for all of her fear and bravery and foolishness and daring.

BtVS: Favorite season? Characters?

I don't remember the number, but Buffy's senior year.

Season Three - that's my favorite as well.

The Mayor, Faith, Angel coming back... Though I love pieces of all the seasons. I may be alone in my love of the Glory/Dawn/Key season. Favorite characters. Buffy. Giles. Angel. Faith. Spike, up to the point he and Buffy got together, which neutered him much worse than the chip in his head. Just saying.

Go Faith! I agree that Spike was much better as the bad guy than as the love interest-slash-neutured puppy.

Cary Grant: Amazing or AMAZING? (Clearly, this is rhetorical. I grinned widely when I saw Bringing Up Baby and Arsenic and Old Lace listed as two of your favorite movies. Cary Grant is one of my top three actors of all-time, with Gene Kelly and Barbara Stanwyck.)

LOL! AMAZING! OMG, I'll watch anything with Cary Grant in it.

This made me laugh out loud, happily so, and proclaim: Ditto.

He could do comedy and drama and thrillers... all while looking so dashing.

Yes, yes, and yes. That's why I respect and enjoy his acting so much: because he could perform different styles and types of characters equally well. Some of the earliest examples of breaking the fourth wall I can recall: the book The Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood, and that moment in the movie Arsenic and Old Lace when he just looks directly at the camera. Yes.

Name ten of your all-time favorite books.

Oh, wow. I have many favorites depending on my mood, but these are ones I read over and over. My "feel good" reads when I need a pick me up.

The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle
Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper
Beat to Quarters (My favorite Horatio Hornblower novel, though I think I could put the whole series here), by C.S. Forester
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
Touch Not The Cat, by Mary Stewart
Jack, the Giant Killer, by Charles deLint

Again pulling from your website bio: Your favorite classical authors include Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott. What advice do you think Elizabeth Bennet and Jo March would offer to Maggie Quinn?

Oh, wow. Until I started thinking about this question, I never realized how much of Jo there is in Maggie. I don't think Mags is nearly as hot headed, but they're both stubborn past the point where reasonable people would change their minds. They both have ambitions that may not be where their best destiny lies. Maybe that's what Jo would tell Maggie -- Don't be so focused on your vision of your future that you don't stay open to what you're actually best at.

And Elizabeth? Obviously she'd tell her not to let her preconceived ideas keep her from seeing the truth about a person or a situation. Hmmm... That's very much akin to Jo's advice. I see a theme emerging.

Visit Rosemary's website and blog.

Make sure that you read the Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil books in order:
- Prom Dates From Hell
- Hell Week
- Highway to Hell

For similar stories, check out my Funny Fantasy Novels for Kids and Teens Booklist.

Today's SBBT Schedule
Barbara O'Connor at MotherReader
James Kennedy at Fuse #8
Maggie Stiefvater at Writing & Ruminating
Rosemary Clement-Moore at Bildungsroman
Jo Knowles at lectitans
Melissa Wyatt at Chasing Ray

Want to help get books into the hands of teen boys who really need them? Learn more about the GuysLitWire Book Fair for Boys.

When I was thinking about our "hope" theme this month, for some reason, those lines from that famous Emily Dickinson poem kept coming to mind: Hope is the thing with feathers / That perches in the soul.* I love that whole poem because it captures so much of what hope is for me. Hope can be fragile and impermanent, but it is often stronger than it looks. Sometimes it appears when you need it most, and when you’ve almost forgotten what it is, like a bird in the springtime. What makes me hopeful? Poetry. Lucky pennies. Random acts of kindness.

- Shelf Elf

* Read Emily Dickinson's poem in its entirety.

Follow my series of hope posts.

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

- by Emily Dickinson

Follow my series of hope posts.

Read other Emily Dickinson pieces I've posted.

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

Consult the Poetry Friday roundup schedule at A Year of Reading.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.

No matter — now — Sweet —
But when I'm Earl —
Won't you wish you'd spoken
To that dull Girl?

Trivial a Word — just —
Trivial — a Smile —
But won't you wish you'd spared one
When I'm Earl?

I shan't need it — then —
Crests — will do —
Eagles on my Buckles —
On my Belt — too —

Ermine — my familiar Gown —
Say — Sweet — then
Won't you wish you'd smiled — just —
Me upon?


~Emily Dickinson


Poetry Friday roundup at The Drift Record

Her Grace is all she has,
And that, so vast displays,
One Art, to recognize, must be,
Another Art to praise.
- Emily Dickinson

View all posts tagged as Emily Dickinson at Bildungsroman.

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

Consult the Poetry Friday roundup schedule at A Year of Reading.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.

I dwell in Possibility -
A fairer House than Prose -
More numerous of Windows -
Superior - for Doors -

Of Chambers as the Cedars -
Impregnable of Eye -
And for an Everlasting Roof -
The Gambrels of the Sky -

Of Visitors - the - fairest -
For Occupation - This -
The spreading wide my narrow Hands -
To gather Paradise -



For more verses for Poetry Friday, visit Wild Rose Reader. Enjoy.

It's all I have to bring to-day,
This, and my heart beside,
This, and my heart, and all the fields,
And all the meadows wide.

Be sure you count, should I forget, --
Some one the sun could tell, --
This, and my heart, and all the bees
Which in the clover dwell.

- by Emily Dickinson

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

Consult the Poetry Friday roundup schedule at Big A little a.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.

A bird came down the walk:
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.

And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,
And then hopped sidewise to the wall
To let a beetle pass.

He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all abroad,--
They looked like frightened beads, I thought;
He stirred his velvet head

Like one in danger; cautious,
I offered him a crumb,
And he unrolled his feathers
And rowed him softer home

Than oars divide the ocean,
Too silver for a seam,
Or butterflies, off banks of noon,
Leap, splashless, as they swim.


~emily dickinson


Poetry Friday roundup at Sarah Reinhard

For such a solemn day in the Christian world, it seems appropriate to focus on poems of death and resurrection. Our culture is much more removed from the "business" of death than in most of the history of mankind. In previous centuries, the rituals of death were integrated into the daily lives of people. Certainly in the United States, we have sanitized the process and relegated it to hospitals, funeral homes and churches.

Today, we commemorate the most famous death of all - the one that can be said to have changed the course of human history. Whether you are religious or not, Christian or not; the belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has profoundly impacted civilization.

Children no longer understand death to be a natural part of our life process, but are surprised and even traumatized by death. Most have not been raised on farms; many have never had a pet; some still have all those they love still present in their lives. They have not experienced the death and rebirth cycles of nature and do not understand that death and life are two sides of the same coin. For adults, it is always good to be reminded that the daily deaths we experience are the prelude to rebirth.

Today is an opportunity to begin to teach children how to understand death in a larger context outside themselves and their own experience. I've chosen one of Emily Dickinson's poems for today. As good poetry always does, its emotional impact can be felt on many levels.

XXIV.
Afraid? Of whom am I afraid?
Not death; for who is he?
The porter of my father's lodge
As much abasheth me.

Of life? 'T were odd I fear a thing
That comprehendeth me
In one or more existences
At Deity's decree.

Of resurrection? Is the east
Afraid to trust the morn
With her fastidious forehead?
As soon impeach my crown!

Are any of your books loooking for a new home? Here's a novel idea. Pun intended. It's awkward it never occurred to me before: bring your books to homeless shelters. Head on over
to the ABC news site for an eye-opening piece on book clubs forming in these shelters. In my book, food, clothing, and shelter provide the traditional necessities, but let's not forget that other basic need: to read, to connect, to share, to see ourselves in stories and to feel less alone.

From the article:
"At a time when book-reading is declining and is especially low among poorer people according to a recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll, the book club at 2100 Lakeside seems ill-fated. But, while 1 in 4 people polled admitted to having read no books in 2006, homeless men here are reading two a month."


I know I am preaching to the choir when I say there "is no frigate like a book." (Why argue with Emily Dickinson?)

There is no frigate like a book (1263)
by Emily Dickinson

There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away,
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry –
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll –
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears a Human soul.

Many moons ago, I found refuge in the pages of a book. That was X thousand books ago as well. (Numbers schmumbers.) One of the first books I ever read to myself-- and then to my parents-- was AND TO THINK THAT I SAW IT ON MULBERRY STREET. The man who launched 10,000 children's book editors pleas for "No Dr. Seuss imitators" celebrates his birthday today, March 2nd. Happy Birthday, Theodor Seuss Geisel. I'll always love you. Not green eggs. Not ham. (The food. LOVED the book.) When I realized I Could Read it Myself, hello, I found nirvana and I never, ever looked back. Not sure what would have become of me but I suspect none of it would have been good.

I guess you could say what I found on Mulberry Street was... me.


Dr. Seuss, still looking good at 104

P.S. Seuss's Mulberry Street was in Springfield, Massachusetts, Geisel's birthplace. Not the infamous Mulberry Street in Little Italy more familiar to residents of the New York area. In a 6 Degrees from Kevin Bacon way, it pleases me to know I touched Seuss DNA somewhere, sometime in the course of the six years I lived in Springfield, Mass. His love was in the air. Everywhere. And now that I look back on those years, I sort of miss Springfield, too. Oh the things I could think about, all those things that happened in my life in Springfield. But that's another story.



"Nothing," I said, growing red as a beet,
"But a plain horse and wagon on Mulberry Street..."



As the Good Book says, according to Dr. Seuss:
“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”

(In truth: today was okay. Too busy for a Saturday. A little too much pressure and angst. But tomorrow is another one and another chance to make it better. You know, as in Hey Jude... "Then you can start to make it better..." I'm here, I'm not. I know. I'm lost in the bowels of parenting and real life and calendars and checkbooks. Wake me up when the bat mitzvah's over.)

Don't ask. It's all right, Ma. Just accept. Yes. That's Bob Dylan. Must See Hava Negila. ;>

Lectitans posed the question What does it mean to have a "thorough knowledge of children's literature"? and I've been thinking about it for several days. Other people have left their answers in the comments to the question or in their blogs.

My answer:

It means to not think that your childhood reading was universal. No matter what type of reading you did, at best you read a fraction of the books out there. My friend Carlie says, "the plural of anecdotes is not evidence," and that has become my mantra, including drawing any conclusions from my own reading history and habits.

It means not relying on library school classes. Yes, the classes are valuable, no two ways about it. The value is in the titles read; the professional journals you are introduced to; the passionate discussions about books. Here's one thing about books; every reader has a different experience with a book. If you think your reading is the only one of value... or the only proper way to interpret a book... see above about the plural of anecdotes. If you hated a certain book or genre -- and others loved it -- as a library professional, you cannot let your hatred or dislike stand between that book / genre and the young readers you will be working with. A library school class will force you to read books you wouldn't have otherwise and to listen to the opinions of others. It is also extremely valuable to read the literary criticism and articles about children's literature; so you really "get" to the heart of what makes a book good. The problem with a library school class -- assuming that's all you need to "know" children's literature. It's just the start.

Read a lot of books. Read books that you wouldn't normally read. If you "never" read fantasy, try a few.

As a librarian, listen to what your patrons read -- and read the books they say they love. Readers Advisory works both ways.

Respect all readers... so be aware of that as you look at titles. Some first graders may be reading Harry Potter; others are not. If you only value the HP readers / reading experience, you are doing a disservice to the other readers; and guess what? They know it. And by not having the knowledge of great, fun books for the non HP'ers, the readers who aren't reading above grade level, you may risk turning them off reading forever. So as you read, and read about, books, try to think of the many types of readers out there.

Read professional reviews of current children's literature. Read blogs, too. Lurk at listservs. Read the award winning lists. (Note: I mean be aware of the winners and titles on lists; not to read each and every book.) In other words, build a general awareness of the books that are out there -- it is impossible for even the fastest reader to read everything. And frankly, a dislike of fantasy (which is OK!) shouldn't stop a librarian from being able to recommend titles to a fantasy lover. The "work around" not reading fantasy is staying up to date on what fantasy books are out there.

Add depth to your knowledge. Which means, look towards older books and try to gain the same knowledge and awareness of them as you do the current books. Blogs are helpful for this, because older titles are reviewed. But there are helpful books, also. I have every The Best in Children's Books (edited by Zena Sutherland) going back to 1966-1972. While some of the books are now out of print, others aren't; and you'd be surprised how many of these older books are either stumper titles or books that parents want to share with kids. (And it's kind of fun to skim these Best of ... books to see what "made it" as a classic that is still around, what sounds just like that "new" book that everyone says is so "original.)

OK, so maybe going too far back is a bit unrealistic with books being out of print; but you MUST have depth to your reading. I cringe when I hear of some of the books and authors that librarians "draw blanks" on books like Tom's Midnight Garden. A person should at least recognize the titles of these older classics. Children's books have been published for a long, long time; do not fall into the belief that the only good books are the newer books. Because it's easier to keep up on new books, or to read just older books, and to think being a reader at age 10 means you "know" the older titles, this depth of information is often overlooked. And yes, it's harder to acquire this depth because many of the print journals only review new books and some libraries discard the older reference works such as The Best in Children's Books (links above).

Links to people answering this question: Bri Meets Book; will add more as I find them.

A Fuse #8 Production has posted about some potential changes to the Newbery/ Caldecott Criteria, as reported in the School Library Journal.

Go and read the whole thing. What I find interesting: opening up the Newbery & Caldecott beyond American citizens or residents. Which the Printz already does. So, while Fuse mentions a potential "too many books, too little time" problem if the N / Cs are open beyond US authors, it's something that the Printz authors have not had a problem with. So I say, make the change!

I almost agree with a second point that Fuse champions: in light of the Printz, why keep the Newbery at 0 to 14? Why not change to 0 to 12? It seems those books published for kids between the ages of 12 and 14 get two bites at the apple (as long as they are US citizens or residents.) These middle school books are tricky.... are they really Newbery? Or Printz? Without the higher age in the Newbery, would a gem like Hattie Big Sky be overlooked? I look at the age range of the past Printz winners and Honor Books and wonder.

My last point is graphic novels. If Newbery is just about text, and Caldecott just about pictures, then the graphic novel as a format will continue to be shut out from both of these awards. So if they are considering changes, I hope that is one change they ponder!

What do you think? Head over to Fuse's post and share your thoughts.