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I spent the first three days of this week at Georgia State University. I gave a lecture in their Distinguished Speaker series and several guest lectures to classes in GSU's Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education. All meals were with students and faculty. It was a full schedule, but I enjoyed and learned from all of it and am sharing one part of it here.
Just before I got on my plane for Atlanta on Monday morning (August 31, 2015), I learned (via Facebook) that the author, Deborah Wiles, wished she'd known I was going to be there, because she wanted to meet me. I didn't know her work at that point.
Deborah was able to get an invitation to dinner on Tuesday evening. There were five of us (three professors, Deborah, and myself). I've had meals with writers before, but don't recall one like that one. I was, in short, rather stunned by most of it.
Deborah's experience of it is different from mine. Early Wednesday, she provided a recap on her Facebook page:
Last night's dinner at Niramish in Little Five Points, ATL. I got excited when I saw that Debbie Reese was speaking to students in the School of Education at Georgia State and I... um... invited myself to dinner. No I didn't. But I did squee a liitle (a lot) about the fact that she was coming. I was invited to dinner and was ecstatic about the invite, so much so that I brought everyone a book and foisted it into their hands. They were so gracious. I loved talking about children's literature and who gets to tell the story about careful, close reading, and about thoughtful critical discourse (for starters). I have long admired Debbie's work and have been getting to know my teaching friends at the College of Education & Human Development, Georgia State University this year, whom I admire more with each encounter... Thank you the invitation and generosity! Rhina Williams, Cathy Amanti, Debbie Reese, and Thomas Crisp.
I replied to her on Friday afternoon (September 4):
Deborah, you read my blog and my work, so you know I'm pretty forthcoming. I'll be that way here, too. When you brought up the who-can-write topic at dinner, there was an edge in your words as you spoke, at length, about it and criticisms of REVOLUTION. Since then, I've spent hours thinking about that dinner. I don't think we had a discussion, but I am willing to have that discussion with you. You indicate that white writers feel they can't get their books published if their books are about someone outside the writers identity. With regard to non-Native writers writing books about Native people, I don't see what you're describing. What do you think... do you want to talk more about this? On my blog, perhaps?
And she responded:
Sure, we can talk more about that. I want to make sure I am clear about what I said (or tried to say). I don't think white writers can't get their books published if they write outside their culture, not at all... these books are published all the time. I've published them. We were bouncing around quite a bit at that dinner, topic to topic. Part of what I said was that I got push-back in certain circles for writing in Ray's (black) voice in REVOLUTION, but I know that voice is authentic to 1960s Mississippi because I lived there and heard it all my life and wrote it that way. Sometimes in our (collective) zeal to "get it right" we point at a problem that isn't there. I'm happy to talk more on your blog! Thanks for thinking about it with me.
So, here's my post about that dinner. Obviously I wasn't taking notes. Deborah's comment above ("what I said (or tried to say)") demonstrates that neither of us is sure of what was said. This is my recollection and reflections on the evening.
On arriving, Deborah immediately began by talking to me about my work, saying that writers read what I say. She specifically mentioned my work on Ann Rinaldi's My Heart is on the Ground and how that made an impact on writers.
I was, of course, glad to hear that, but then she turned the conversation to current discussions in children's literature, saying that this is a dangerous time for writers, because they are being told that they can't write outside their cultural group and that if they do write outside their culture, their books won't get published. Note that in her Facebook comment above, she said these books are getting published and uses her book as an example. I recall saying that I think these are exciting times, because we need diverse voices. It was that exchange--with her characterizing these times as dangerous and me describing them as exciting--that set the tone for the rest of the evening.
Deborah started talking about her book, Revolution. She said that she'd shown Jackie Woodson some of the work she was doing on that book, or that she'd talked with her about the African American character, Ray, in Revolution, or maybe it was that she'd talked with Jackie about white writers giving voice to black characters. Whatever it was, the outcome was that Deborah had a green light (my words, not hers) from Jackie. I don't doubt any of it, but I am uneasy with that sort of report. It implies an endorsement from someone who isn't there to confirm it. I'm very attentive to this because, knowingly or not, writers who do that are, in my view, appropriating that person in a way that I find inappropriate. If Deborah could point to a statement Jackie made about Revolution, that would be different.
Deborah went on to to tell us that she had lived in Mississippi and that the voice she gave to Rayis based on what she heard when she lived there. But, she said, "fervent" people didn't like what she did. Someone (me or one of the professors at the table) asked her who the "fervent" people are, and she said that she wasn't going to say if I was going to tell them.
I was taken aback by that and responded immediately with "well don't say then, because I will tell them." She went on to say that it is SLJ's Heavy Medal blog, and that Heavy Medal discussions are dangerous, that they have too much power in terms of influencing what people think.
Deborah seemed angry. She was talking at me, not with me. I don't recall saying anything at all in response to what she said about Heavy Medal and fervent people.
I share my recollection of the dinner--not to solicit sympathy from anyone or to embarrass Deborah--but to convey my frustration with the incredible resistance Deborah's words and emotion represent within the larger context of children's literature.
The who-can-write conversation is not new. In 1996, Kathryn Lasky wrote an article titled "To Stingo with Love: An Author's Perspective on Writing outside One's Culture." In it, she wrote that "self-styled militias of cultural diversity are beginning to deliver dictates and guidelines about the creation and publishing of literature for a multicultural population of readers" (p. 85 in Fox and Short's Stories Matter: The Complexity of Cultural Authenticity in Children's Literature, published in 2003 by the National Council of Teachers of English).
I count myself in that "self styled militia." One need only look at the numbers the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin puts out each year to see that we've made little progress:
CCBCs data shows some small gains here and there, but overall, things haven't changed much. One reason, I think, is the lack of diversity within the major publishing houses. I think there's a savior mentality in the big publishing houses and a tendency to view other as less-than. For some it is conscious; for others it is unconscious. All of it can--and should be--characterized as well-intentioned, but it is also unexamined and as such, reflects institutional racism. The history of this country is one that bestows privilege on some and not on others. That history privileges dominant voices over minority ones, from the people at the table in those publishing houses to the voices in the books they publish. That--I believe--is why there's been no progress. Part of what contributes to that lack of progress is that too many people feel sympathy for white writers rather than stepping away from the facts on who gets published.
At the end of the meal, Deborah brought out copies of her books to give to us. I got the picture book, Freedom Summer but it felt odd accepting the gift, given the tensions of the evening. I think she was not aware of that tension. She ended the evening by praising my blog but the delivery of that praise had a distinct edge. She banged the table with her fist as she voiced that praise.
I hope that my being at that dinner with Deborah that evening and in the photograph she posted on Facebook aren't construed by anyone as an endorsement of her work. Yesterday, I went to the library to get a copy of Revolution, because, Deborah said she is working on a book that will be set in Sacramento, and, she said, it will include the Native occupation of Alcatraz. I want to see what her writing is like so that I can be an informed reader when her third book comes out.
Before going to the library, I looked online to see if there was a trailer for it. In doing that, I found a video of Deborah reading aloud at the National Book Award Finalists Reading event. Watching it, I was, again, stunned. She read aloud from chapter two. Before her reading, she told the audience what happened in chapter one. The white character, Sunny, is swimming in a public pool, at night. She touches something soft and warm, which turns out to be a black boy. She screams, he runs away. Then she and Gillette (another white character) take off too, but by then, the deputy is there. She tells him what happened. The last lines of that chapter are these (page 52):
There was a colored boy in our pool. A colored boy. And I touched him, my skin on his skin. I touched a colored boy. And then he ran away, like he was on fire.
As readers of AICL know, I keep children foremost in my mind when I analyze a book. In this case, how will a black child read and respond to those lines? And, what will Deborah think of my focus--right now--on that part of her book? I haven't read the whole book. No doubt, people who read AICL will be influenced by my pointing out that part of the book. Will Deborah think I am, like the people at Heavy Medal, "dangerous"?
Deborah said, above, that "Sometimes in our (collective) zeal to "get it right" we point at a problem that isn't there." She means the people who criticized her for Ray's voice in Revolution. The dinner and Deborah's remarks are the latest in a string of events in which people in positions of power object to "fervent" people. Jane Resh Thomas did it in a lecture at Hamline and Kate Gale did it in an article at Huffington Post.
I'll wind down by saying (again), that I've spent hours thinking about that dinner. It seemed--seems--important that I write about it for AICL. This essay is the outcome of those hours of thinking. I was uncomfortable then, and I'm uncomfortable now. I wanted to say more, then, but chose to be gracious, instead. I'm disappointed in my reluctance then, and now. I don't know where it emanates from. Why did I choose not to make a white writer uncomfortable? Is Deborah uncomfortable now, as she reads this? Are you (reader) uncomfortable? If so, why? Was Deborah worried about my comfort, then, or now? Does it matter?!
I can get lost in those questions, but must remember this: I do the work I do, not for a writer, but for the youth who will read the work of any given writer. For the ways it will help--or harm--a reader's self esteem or knowledge base.
The imagined audience for Revolution isn't an African American boy or girl. It is primarily a white reader, and, while the othering of "the colored boy" in chapter two may get dealt with later in the book, all readers have to wait. Recall the words of Anonymous, submitted to AICL as a comment about Martina Boone's Compulsion. They have broad application:
I find the idea of a reader -- particularly a child -- having to wait to see herself humanized an inherently problematic one. Yes, it might accurately reflect the inner journey many white people take, but isn't the point that our dehumanizing views were always wrong? And therefore, why go back and re-live them? Such ruminations could definitely be appropriate in an all-white anti-racist group, in which the point is for white people to educate each other, but any child can pick up a book, and be hurt--or validated--by what's inside. Asking marginalized readers to "wait" to be validated is an example of white dominance as perpetuated by well-intentioned white folks.
It is long past time for the industry to move past concerns over what--if anything--dominant voices lose when publishers actually choose to publish and promote minority voices over dominant ones. It is long past time to move past that old debate of who-can-write. Moving past that debate means I want to see publishers actually doing what Lasky feared so that more books by minority writers are actually published.
In 1986, Walter Dean Myers wrote that he thought we (people of color) would "revolutionize" the publishing industry. We need a revolution, today, more than ever. Some, obviously, won't join this revolution. Some will see it as discriminatory against dominant voices but I choose to see it as responsive to children and the millions of mirrors that they need so that we reach a reality where the publishing houses and the books they publish look more like society. In this revolution, where will you be?
To close, I'll do two things. First is a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Thomas Crisp at Georgia State University, for years of conversation about the state of children's literature, and, for assistance in writing and thinking through this essay. He was at that dinner in Atlanta. Second is a question for Deborah. Why did you want to meet me? Usually, when people want to meet me, there's a quality to the meeting that was missing from our dinner in Atlanta. There's usually a meaningful discussion of something I've said, or, about the issues in children's literature. That didn't happen in Atlanta. In the end, I am left wondering why you wanted to meet me.
0 Comments on Deborah Wiles, Debbie Reese, and Choosing a Revolution as of 9/5/2015 3:00:00 PM
I loved how this format gave the young heroine a big voice. This novel introduces us to Elizabeth I, daughter of the infamous Henry VIII and his scandalous 2nd wife Anne Boleyn. And through Elizabeth’s diary, we learn that she’s just like any girl in any century, longing for the love and approval of her father. This peeling back of layers to reveal a real person (where used to be only a printed name in a textbook followed by a few carefully chosen facts and dates) reminds me of Philippa Gregory’s work. I say all the time that if her books were in print when I was in high school, I’d have been a much better history student!
So for either – or both – series of books, what is it that so handily captures readers? Is it the writing? The girls’ voices? The female perspective?
Or could it be the food?
Okay, it’s not the food if we’re talking appeal, because, well, historic food is historically disgusting. In Anne’s case, her father’s favorites are goose, swan, rabbit, lamb, quail and lamprey eel. Blech. I have no idea if they sent royal fisherman to catch the eels in the wild or if they just hauled the suckers up out of the moat – not that it matters – but that eel actually lost to the swan in my grossest delicacy ranking when I read that they turned the swan’s neck into pudding. It’s just too much for my 21st century American stomach to handle.
Of course it gives me greater respect for Anne and her half-sister Mary and all the other women for whom such bad food was just the cherry on top of the sundae of crap dumped on them by the ruling men. Women were treated and traded like cattle – exquisitely, prize-winning cattle – with no choices socially, academically, and even gastronomically. Sadly, the meals are just one of many details of court life that leave a bad taste in our mouths, yet the stories of Anne and her peers make us hungrily read on.
0 Comments on FOODFIC: The Royal Diaries, Elizabeth I - Kathryn Lasky as of 9/4/2015 2:21:00 PM
Loved catching up at the Hughenden Hotel, with the brilliant author Kathryn Lasky and her husband Chris Knight who is an amazing photographer. What a team for their award winning non fiction books.
They’re in Sydney on holidays and to see ANIMAL LOGIC –the wonderful Australian animation studio who adapted her books Guardians of Ga’hoole into a beautiful animated film and guess what?
The actors all speak AUSTRALIAN!!!!! Including Deborah-Lee Furness, Abbie Cornish. Joel Edgerton, Sasha Horler, Bill Hunter … and more.
Not a bad thing to remember as Australia Day comes up soon.
What’s the Guardians of Ga’hoole about?
“Legend tells of a band of noble warriors… known as the Guardians of Ga’hoole. Whenever trouble is at hand, seek them out. For they are sworn to protect the innocent, and vanquish evil…”
See it on video if you didn’t see it at the movies.
Kathryn and I connected as our families came from Europe escaping persecution and her family landed in Minnesota and my family landed in Sydney!
In this Scientists in the Field-esque book, we meet Greta Binford, an arachnologist who studies the brown recluse spider. We get an overview of spiders in general, Binford’s biography, and then follow her and her students on a trip to the Dominican Republic to look for brown recluse spiders. (Binford specifically studies how the brown recluse ended up in North America and how it’s related to the South American species.)
The book does a good job of balancing science with the process of doing science, which is something I always appreciate. I also like that we discover several different types of spiders, not just the brown recluse. Close up photography shows how different they are visually, but we also get a good information on how they act differently. Superhelpful and cool is the “glossary of spiders” at the back, which is basically a photochart of all the spiders we’ve met with the scientific and common names and on which pages they appear.
But... while it's Scientist in the Field-esque, it's not a Scientist in the Field book and lacks that certain something that make that series so awesome.
Book Provided by... my local library
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The second best moment of being a writer (first is making the sale) is opening the box to reveal for the first time the book that you have labored over for years. That moment happened last week when I came home to find an unexpected box sitting on the kitchen table. Before I even took off my coat or put the groceries away, I grabbed a scissors and sliced the box open. My book, For the Birds: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson, was finally here!
I am proud to say that it is absolutely beautiful! Award-winning illustrator Laura Jacques captured young Roger's enthusiasm, sharp blue eyes, and thatch of blonde hair as beautifully as she paints the feathers of a flying flicker. And after immersing myself in Roger's story, it still inspires me. Roger grew up in Jamestown, New York where he spent every spare minute out in the fields with binoculars or camera and taught himself how to identify birds on the wing at a time when even trained ornithologists had to shoot the birds before identification. Roger was also a natural artist, sketching birds in the margins of his text books, and later going to art school in New York City. At the naive age of 23 years old, Roger created a little bird identification field guide that, in the middle of the Depression, sold out in weeks and turned a nation on to bird-watching. He became a world reknowned naturalist and leader in the conservation movement.
0 Comments on This Blog is For The Birds as of 1/1/1900
"She was balanced en pointe on one foot and whipped the other around. Then the second. She had not even completed the second when she thought, almost unconsciously, Oh, I can go around again. It was as if another force had possessed her, a force that allowed her, inspired her to do this third rotation. She had no fear, no second thoughts. It was beyond her control. She was just doing it!" page 37
Published October 2005 by Scholastic 176 pages Reading Level 4.3 For ages 9-12
The dance class by Edgar Degas 1874-1876
Sylvie Bertrand is a "little rat" a young pupil at the Paris Opera Ballet, the year is 1870. Her widowed mother is a laundress and tries desperately to provide for her and Sylvie. An older sister Chantal drops by occasionally for money or food. Sylvie is a dedicated and talented student of ballet. Sylvie's problem is not technique, nor form, nor talent. She must grow another quarter of an inch for her to be promoted to next level. Her thoughts are on growing; but more sinister events are unfolding in France---war. For a young girl that has thought only of ballet; war and political events seem remote and far away for Sylvie. Sylvie will dance in the foyer de la danse (where classes and rehearsals were conducted) while a war threatens her homeland.
Congrats to lisacarr7, winner of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole grand prize, including a copy of the first book THE CAPTURE and a $50 Fandango gift card to enjoy the film on the 24th!
Also congrats to these four runners up winners, who will each receive a copy of the first book, THE CAPTURE:
lg4154 traymona
skberlin5
kayswederski
If you see the film, Legends of Ga'Hoole, on the 24th, be sure to let us know what you think!
1 Comments on Guardians of Ga'Hoole Winners!, last added: 9/18/2010
Enter to Win one of 5 copies of THE GUARDIANS OF GA'HOOLE: THE CAPTURE! One lucky winner will also recieve a $50 Fandango gift card to see the movie!
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole soars into theaters September 24th. This is a film you won't want to miss!
To celebrate the movie release, YABC has teamed up with Scholastic to bring you this awesome giveaway:
One grand prize winner will receive: - A $50 Fandango gift card and a copy Guardians of Ga'hoole: The Capture by Kathryn Lasky to read the book AND see the movie!
Four runner-up winners from your site will receive: - A copy of Guardians of Ga'hoole: The Capture by Kathryn Lasky
** This contest ends on September 17th at Noon so the Grand Prize Winner has time to receive his/her Fandango gift card before the movie release. Make sure to get your entry in before the deadline! **
About the Book -- Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Capture When Soren, a young owlet, mysteriously falls from his nest one evening, he's plucked up and taken to the sinister St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. Once there, he must use his wits and bravery to escape his captors. If Soren can learn to fly, he might just be able to take refuge with a group of brave owls he'd thought only to be a legend -- the Guardians of Ga'Hoole!
About Kathryn Lasky's New Book -- Wolves of the Beyond: Lone Wolf In the harsh wilderness beyond Ga'Hoole, a wolf mother hide
0 Comments on Last Chance To Enter Our Guardians of Ga'Hoole Giveaway! as of 1/1/1900
The first set of three books have been made in to a movie that will be in the theaters September 24.
The Forest of Tyto is where Barn Owls dwell, and Soren is three weeks old when he is snatched by patrols of evil owls and taken to a canyon named St. Aegoluis. A variety of owls have been snatched from the various owl kingdoms: Great Horned Owl, Great Gray Owl, Western Screech Owl, Snowy Owl, Long-eared Owl, Elf Owl, Burrowing Owl, and Barn Owl. These young owls are made to labor--they are enslaved. Soren and his friends think only of escaping, but they first must learn to fly.
I have a great love for owls! I have noticed themes of owls: from notebooks, to lunch kits, to fictional book themes, to jewelry; owls seem to be everywhere!
I felt this book was exceptional in teaching a lesson in encouragement and steadfastness in helping others. Soren is a knightly character, he has chivalry--courtesy, honor, generosity, and bravery. I loved this book, I noticed that on the Scholastic website there is an activity link for teachers.
0 Comments on Guardians of Ga'hoole: #1 The Capture by Kathryn Lasky as of 1/1/1900
BookMoot first heard murmurings of the movie-fication of Kathryn Lasky's Guardians of Ga'hoole series in 2005. This series has SUCH a strong following. I hope the fans are pleased This looks stunning! Thanks to 100 Scope Notes for finding it!
1 Comments on Movie: Guardians of Ga'hoole, last added: 3/7/2010
In my imaginary spectrum of picture books that appeal to children, I place Chicken Butt and Skippyjon on one end, and Georgia Rises, A Day in the Life of Georgia O'Keeffe, on the other. Georgia Rises is beautifully written by Kathryn Lasky and beautifully illustrated by Ora Eitan. How appealing it is to kids, I don't know. It could be quiet and poetic enough to tip it off the kid-appeal spectrum. But as I write this I realize that the real focus of the book is color, and color is an interesting subject to a lot of kids. My kids had favorite colors from about the age of 3, and their favorites kept changing.
You'll have to click over to actually read it but basic thoughts: End is rushed but readers will like the main character.
Further thoughts (with slight spoilers): Hannah's true nature is blindingly obvious and I needed to her to discover it already so we could get on with the story. BUT! I really did like the Upstairs/Downstairs feel to most of the book as Hannah figures out how to be a good scullery maid and servant and the life of the servants and their view on the family. REALLY liked that aspect.
I'm having a mad craving for Peking Duck right now. This presents a problem, as all food eaten between now (noonish) and 9pm will be eaten in the car. That means I'm scheduled to eat a lot of Cheerios and Teddy Grahams. That's because today is schoolday, so I have to drive all over the metro area in pursuit of book learning. We're work-shopping my seminar paper today. I am dreading this.
In the proud vein of Clementine and Ramona comes Ruby Lu. She has a best friend and a baby brother and things are going pretty well--she even has her own magic show in her backyard.
Then her brother decides to start talking and announces to everyone how Ruby's doing her magic tricks.
Then her mother makes her go to Chinese school. Ruby's heard about Chinese school. It was held on Saturdays, which was a bad idea. The building was cold and dark. A fire-breathing dragon lived in the dungeon. The teachers were former prison guards from China. They served snacks of roasted snakes. Children who forgot their homework were turned into crickets. Children who learned Chinese spoke English with an unshakable Chinese accent.
But Chinese school is not so bad--there's even another Ruby! And when Ruby Lu decides to be helpful and drive herself to Chinese school? Watch out!
It's pretty funny, and a good bet for something harder than the "I Can Read" beginning chapter books. You can even learn some Cantonese! Anne Wilsdorf's black-and-white line drawings, with Ruby's pigtails performing feats of gravity that Pippi Longstocking would be envious of, add greatly to the humor.
At the end of Ruby Lu, Brave and True we learned that Ruby's aunt and uncle and her cousin, Flying Duck, were moving to the US. Ruby's heard about immigrant relatives. She's not so sure about this...
BUT! Flying Duck is awesome. And she's deaf, so everyone gets to learn Chinese sign language. But... also, everyone at home is speaking Cantonese. And using chopsticks (which Ruby isn't so good at) Ruby's not entirely sure about this.
And then when summer rolls around, Ruby and Flying Duck have to go to summer school. And swimming lessons. Ruby isn't so sure about swimming lessons. She's not a fan of drowning, so she stays in the shallow end, attached to the wall, with all of her personal flotation devices. Sadly, Emma is also in swimming and attached to the wall. Emma is Ruby's best friend. Sometimes. This is not one of those times.
How much worse can Ruby's summer get?
A fantastic follow up to the first one, this one even has an illustrated dictionary of some Chinese sign language! The glossary at the back is also great, covering some of the Chinese words, as well as some English ones such as e-mail Do-it-yourself, easy mail. No stamps. No mail delivery person. Just type and click! Grandparents love it.
All in all, Ruby is a great character that kids will enjoy.
Sadly, typing about Flying Duck has not helped my urge for Peking Duck...
You know, I wasn't a big fan of the last Camp Princess book I read, so I'm still not entirely sure why I read this one. But I did.
In the princess book genre, these aren't great. Which is sad, because there is promise there. I'm not a fan of the different "ethnicities" representing the different kingdoms-- they seem a little stereotypical.
In this one, the girls of North Tower are back for the second session. Only, Princess Gundersnap has discovered that her mother (Empress Mummy) has taken her beloved pony into battle, where he's sure to die. Empress Mummy has a good track record of winning battles, but not keeping ponies alive during them.
Meanwhile, there's a unicorn round-up going on and Empress Mummy says unicorns don't exist, so obviously they don't! Plus, they're competing against Prince camp and there's going to be a ball. How can Gundersnap save her pony amidst the chaos? And what is the magical tapestry and the witch in the woods trying to tell her?
This is one of those weird series where I don't really enjoy it, but I have a feeling I'll read every single volume in it. WHAT IS WITH THAT? WHY DO I DO THAT? Do you ever do that? I do it all the time! There's so much good stuff out there? Why do I read stuff I don't like? Why do I read books I know I won't like? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?
1 Comments on It's even good on pizza. Trust me., last added: 4/10/2008
Love those Ruby Lu books and glad to see them reviewed here. They don't get nearly the attention they deserve.
I could not get into the Camp Princess books myself, and have managed to keep away. But I keep reading the Gossip Girl spin-off The It Girl novels. I don't hate them, but I don't know why I keep reading them either.
Jennie said, on 4/10/2008 6:58:00 PM
I'm glad I'm not the only one who loves Ruby Lu. She's hilarious.
I'm also glad I'm not the only one who couldn't get into Camp Princess. I wasn't going to read the Unicorn book, but I had it in my hand for some reason and instead of putting it on the reshelve cart, I opened it. Ah well. I haven't read The It Girl yet. I do love Gossip Girl, so I'll add it to the list...
Julie said, on 4/13/2008 8:50:00 PM
I have to keep handselling those Ruby Lu books--I love them too! But sadly they tend to sit on my shelves.
So did you ever get your Peking Duck? I'm not a duck fan, but sweet and sour chicken is sounding tasty...
Jennie said, on 4/15/2008 3:26:00 PM
I did get my duck! And it was so tasty! I love duck!
I also love Ruby Lu. Keep handselling, maybe one day word-of-mouth will make that girl bust off the shelf. One can dream.
Surprisingly descriptive, thought-provoking text and a cast of goofy, grinning hooligans provide a peek into a career in nautical crime as a reflective rogue ponders pillaging — its logistical details, dangers and doldrums — and grapples with issues of greed, freedom, friendship and distrust.
0 Comments on Plundering Unplugged: Pirate Bob as of 1/1/1900
Tarie said, on 2/27/2008 6:26:00 AM
It’s always so nice hearing your voices discussing children’s literature. :o) This book seems really interesting. I never would have imagined a book on pirates being thought-provoking!
Saturday Review of Books: March 1, 2008 at Semico said, on 3/8/2008 9:36:00 AM
[…] 36. Lynne (7th Heaven)37. Mo ( The Giver; Foggy Mountian Breakdown; Air Dance Iguana)38. MFS (Y: The Last Man)39. The Book Smugglers (Lord of the Fading Lands)40. The Book Smugglers (If Angels Burn)41. The Book Smugglers (Honor’s Splendour)42. The Book Smugglers (My Lady Notorious)43. Joy (Half Broken Things)44. Noel (The Mennyms)45. Noel (Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons)46. scb (Eight Cousins)47. Trish (The Left Hand of Darkness)48. Nicola (The Random House Book of Mother Goose)49. Nicola (A Great Deliverance)50. Nicola (Peter Pan)51. Nicola (Darkwing)52. Nicola (Lucinda’s Secret)53. Nicola (Charles Perrault’s Tales of Times Past)54. Nicola (Shoot the Moon)55. Ted (We Have Always Lived in the Castle)56. Chris@bookarama (Tess of the D’Ubervilles)57. SuziQoregon (Peter the Great)58. SuziQoregon (Pride and Prejudice)59. SuziQoregon (From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler)60. SuziQoregon (Amnesia)61. Girl Detective (Y the Last Man: Cycles)62. Girl Detective (Whiteout: Melt)63. Shelf Elf (Cuba 15)64. Lisa, The Correspondent (Q’s Legacy by Helene Hanff)65. Amy @ Hope Is the Word (A Garden to Keep by Jamie Langston Turner)66. Just One More Book! KidLit Podcast (Pirate Bob)67. Hope(Messenger)68. Melanie (The Gipsy’s baby)69. Bookgal (Still Life)70. Laura (Ishmael) […]
Scowls, gasps and frowns abound in this surprisingly informative yet thoroughly entertaining account of the Audubon Society, its origins and its triumph over the silliness of the dead-bird fashion industry.
These are all books that my reaction to was "meh" BUT that I know I would have looooooooooved back when I was a member of the intended age range for the book...
We all know I enjoy books that aren't great literature-- I'm not the most discriminating reader, but there is something about these books that just didn't grab me. Many are books in series and where I didn't flat-out dislike these books, they also didn't compel me to read the books that follow...
So.... Wiglaf is the youngest brother in a large, brutish family. In Cinderella-like fashion, he has to do all the work and is constantly picked on. He decides to go to the Dragon Slayer Academy so he can kill dragons and get the loot to help out his family. But the Academy is run down and out of cash, and leads to madcap adventures and friends...
Although this book didn't grab me, it would have when I was in third grade. As an adult, the plot was predictable and the characters flat. And, despite what Mary Pope Osburne says on the back cover, Wiglaf could not be Harry Potter's little brother-- the series (of now 19 titles) isn't serious enough, it's just slapstick. I did really enjoy the yearbook at the end of the book with information Wiglaf has learned, as well as ads and things for the school.
Camp Princess 1: Born to Rule by Kathryn Lasky suffered many of the same problems-- the plot was horribly predictable but mainly it didn't work-- it's about princess at summer camp. A lot of the things that were supposed to make summer camp special--such as the weather that can go from summer to winter in five minutes-- just don't work. Lasky has written such great work and won so many awards, that the mediocritydisappointed me.
Meet Calliope Day by Steve Haddard is about Calliope who thinks the old lady next door is a witch but has the delightful twist that she thinks this is kinda cool. If she can make friends with the witch, maybe the witch will cast some spells on Calliope's behalf. Of course, the lady next store does not want to be friends with a small girl who runs wild around the neighborhood. Not as good as Ramona, Junie B. , Clementine, or a host of others.
Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson I enjoyed-- it was cute and fun-- but I would have really loved this back in the day. Arriman the Awful needs an heir, so he has to marry. There's a competition and the local witches are all worked up on what evil spell to perform to win his heart. The witches are more hilarious as they trip all each other to prove they're the most evil. Of course, there's the one who really is evil and the one that's actually good, but is trying very, very hard to be a bad witch. Funny and heartwarming, but better when you're 12.
Ok, and here's one I don't think I would have liked even when I was a kid-- I finally broke down and read a Goosebumps book (hey-- it was banned books week). So, I read The Blob That Ate Everyone which was not scary and predictable with an amazingly weak ending. And wow, it really is bad writing.
1 Comments on Oh, were I a kid again..., last added: 2/28/2007
I just stumbled across your blog and enjoy your commentary. This post was especially fun as my first grader son is trying to find some books that he'll enjoy. We've read through the first two Harry Potter books together and we're trying to find additional books that we can read together as well as things he can do on his own.
It's fun looking back at kids books we read in the past, or books we neglected, and seeing what we think of them now.
0 Comments on Book Review: Portaits, Dancing Through Fire by Kathryn Lasky as of 1/1/1900
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I have to agree with your final point. Perhaps a heavier hand editing?