I'm sitting in Austin Airport trying to digest what has been a really interesting SXSW Interactive festival. Last year the big buzzy items were twitter and Second Life, but this year, while every single attendee seemed to be twittering furiously, I heard nary a mention of Second Life. How fickle the tech world is! There seemed to be a few more publishing types in attendance this year, but still a very tiny number relative to the amount of chatter in the book world on the impact that technology is starting to have on our business. The big talking point in Austin this year wasn't actually a technology announcement, but the controversial interview of Facebook CEO (and the world's youngest billionaire) Mark Zuckerberg.
By far the most thought provoking session I attended was Jane McGonigal's session on Reality, Games and Happiness; 'Reality is broken. Why aren't game designers trying to fix it?' is her basic question. She began by talking about research into 'happiness' which showed that there are four basic needs that promote a happy life; fulfilling work, the experience of being good at something, time spent with people we like and the chance to be part of something bigger. Multiplayer games, she proposed, deliver all these things whereas, unfortunately, real life often cannot. Game designers, she argued, were in a good position to deliver increased happiness in real life, because they already have the experience of creating 'happiness engines' in the games they develop. (There was lots more meaty stuff in this talk - check here for a full transcript).
This chimed with the session of Henry Jenkins, who when asked about the growing issue of internet addiction, argued that a) addiction was not a helpful word to use and b) that people spend so much time online and in alternate realities because they don't have sufficient opportunity to express themselves creatively in their day to day lives and work. An increased amount of attention is being given to the roles of games and play in encouraging creativity and developing skills and as our tools for online exploration and collaboration continue to develop, it is certain that we will see some exciting, challenging and, well, game-changing blendings of the real world and alternate realities in the months and years to come.
Jeremy Ettinghausen, Digital Publisher
PS Penguin's own foray into games that are stories and stories that are games (produced with game designers extraordinaire Six to Start) starts next week. Sign up here to be alerted when the game begins...
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Whether you're a teacher presenting a lesson on the Cold War, the Berlin Wall, or totalitarian regimes or a parent wanting to give your child an engaging historical autobiography to read, The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain 
would make an excellent choice. For more information about the book, read my review and find links to other blog reviews here.
As I mentioned in my review, I think older kids (9 and up) would get the most benefit and understanding out of the book, but don't let that sway you from telling the story to younger kids. I even recommend using it as a supplementary resource for teenagers who are learning about the Cold War. Don't let the fact that it's a "picture book" sway you from using this with older kids because the colors and presentation are mature, and there is a great deal of basic information about the era.
Here are a few learning resources you can use to expand upon the book.
First, check out this
teacher's guide from Peter Sis's website.
Next, here some websites where you can get more information about the Cold War and the Berlin Wall:
Finally, here are a few books for children age 9 and up:
Nonfiction Monday!
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain (Caldecott Honor Book) by Peter Sis
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 56 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (August 21, 2007)
Imagine a life where you could only draw what the government said you could draw. A life where you couldn’t listen to music or read books of your own choice, you couldn’t grow your hair long, and you were asked to report your parents if they said anything negative about the government.
This was what life was like for Peter Sis and countless others who grew up in Cold War Era Czechoslovakia under Soviet rule.
Through journal entries, captions, and the story of a boy who loves to draw (Sis), we get an account of the Cold War era from 1948 to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The boy in the book is allowed to draw anything he wants at home, but when he starts school, he can only draw what he’s told to draw. We learn how easy it is to brainwash children who are encouraged to report their parents if they hear them say anything against the government. To Sis, this is the way life is until he gets wind of things he isn’t allowed to know about: rock ‘n roll music, the Beatles, Elvis Presley. We then learn what it’s like to be oppressed, to be denied freedom and get glimpses of Sis’ dreams to be free.
Sis’ graphic-novel like book effectively conveys tone through color. With black and white sketches, the only splashes of color are communist red and the colors in the boy’s drawings. During the Prague Spring of 1968, the colors in the book brighten, demonstrating hope and cheerfulness—colors of freedom. But they quickly go back to the black and white drawings when the totalitarian regime comes back in full force.
A stirring book, I recommend this for older kids who are able to grasp the seriousness of the content and even high school students who are studying the Cold War.
Other blog reviews:
The Mind Wobbles
Rants and Raves
A Fuse #8 Production
One Minute Book Reviews
Lisa’s Blog
Sheryl McFarlane’s Book Blog
Library and Literary Miscellany
LIFT 2008
Menasha Kids
Contending with the Culture
See the rest of the Nonfiction Monday roundup at Picture Book of the Day.
8 x 8 inches
This is what I'm working on right now. I thought it might be fun to post a work in progress, so you can see how these things develop.
I know its light and a little difficult to see, I apologize. But this is exactly how it looks on my board (well, except for the bad scan splice down the middle).
This is going to be a red and white Scandinavian snowflake design (yes, I'm thinking Christmas already). I essentially knit the design with my pencil, drawing it out, stitch by stitch.
Then I used a colored pencil (in this case a Polychromo red) to lightly indicate the red pattern stitches. I came back in with a light grey to go over the rest of the stitches (which will be off-white).
I then lightly erase the graphite pencil lines underneath. The colored pencil holds up better to erasing, and holds the pattern just enough, while the graphite goes away.
Notice I keep saying "lightly". That's the key. Too much color too early will ruin it, and too heavy erasing will take it all off. I need to be able to see the pattern, but not have it be outlined like a coloring book.
Here's a detail. This is about the size the stitches are in real life.
So now I get to start painting! I decided to do this in watercolor. I'll probably do some colored pencil on it as well, but I will at least establish the color pattern and maybe shadows with paint first. Stay tuned.
I guess I need to find some Christmas music to listen to. The other night I watched "The Wall" (Pink Floyd) which I hadn't seen since it first came out (although I've listened to the album many many times). Its still stuck in my head, and doesn't really go with happy Christmas knitting designs.
My first thought when I admired this latest piece was of "The Mitten" by Jan Brett. If you haven't read it or seen her wonderful accompanying illustrations you would certainly enjoy the book.
My second thought, was what a wonderful Robert's Snowflake you could create!
I know this will be worth waiting for and I will be around every so often to seek it out.
Holy Freakin Cow, Paula. This is insane! But you will make it magic - as always.