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*waves*

Very glad this group is here. Right now, I'm hoping for your help with 2 things:

1) Any suggestions for fantasy with strong female characters like Robin McKinley (Hero and The Crown/The Blue Sword) and Diana Wynne Jones (Howl's Moving Castle) or Terry Pratchett (Hat Full of Sky/Wee Free men)? This is for my eldest daughter (age 9) she reads furiously, tends to daydream and is a tad young for her age.

2) This one may be a bit broad, but our homeschool program's library has money that must be spent on books before the end of the fiscal year. What really great *new* books (say published since 2006) would you recommend for 4th-10th graders?

Hope I can return the favor soon!

All righty. Let's see how we did.

Lemme see here.... out of a potential 10 Top Graphic Novels for Youth I've read and reviewed... five. Hm. 50% of the listed titles. Still, I loved all five. No objections there. Still, I wouldn't have minded seeing a Babymouse or Gray Horses inclusion.

Thanks to Flight 4 for the link.

Wolves by Emily Gravett. Library copy.

The Plot: Rabbit gets a book on wolves out of the library. He's so captivated by the book and involved in the reading that he doesn't notice it when the wolves leave the book.

The Good: Because I like picture books a little bit twisted, this quickly earned a place on my Best Books list. Even tho this book falls under the "holy Hannah it's brilliant, but who will I read it to?" dilemma.

The book rabbit is reading is the book you are holding in your hands. Examine the endpages, look at the cover under the dustjacket: yep, you're reading rabbit's book. And if you're reading rabbit's book, and you know how that story ends . . .

I also have a wee bit of a spoiler dilemma because part of my initial joy was a "did they just do that?" reaction.

So spoilers!!!!

Yeppers, spoilers, skip it if you don't want to know.

As rabbit reads the book, the reader notices the wolf leaving the book. And eyeing the rabbit. Just when we learn that one thing that wolves like to eat is . . . rabbits. Next we see a scratched up book jacket that does not bode well for the rabbit. And one of the last pages shows rabbit's mail, clearly neglected, letting you know -- yes, the wolf ate the rabbit.

But for those of you who want happy endings, well, we have an alternate ending! And it's impossible to read without hearing it said in a silly, we all know this is impossible but let's pretend, shall we? voice, that says that this wolf was a vegetarian and he and the rabbit sat down and ate jam sandwiches. Part of the fun of this ending? It's clearly created from ripped up pages of the book; clearly made up.

It's like Stephen King or the X Files for kiddies. Cheetah will LOVE this. When you're looking for a story to read to older kids -- those too old for picture books, but you need something that will be short, hold their attention, and create a bit of respect, humor them, let them know that you know that they aren't little kids -- pick this one. And at least the teacher will giggle at the end note: "The author would like to point out that no rabbits were eaten during the making of this book. It is a work of fiction."

My favorite picture books are the ones that are quirky, or different, or twisted; or that require the reader bring something to the book. This hits all those spots; so a Best Books of 2006.

Links:
Planet Esme review.
An interview at Pan Macmillan.
A Fuse #8 Production review.
WATAT review (scroll down).

Deogratias: A Tale Of Rwanda by J.P. Stassen. Copy donated by publisher, First Second; Cybils long list. Graphic Novel.

One of my Best Books of 2006.

The Plot: A historical note at the front explains that Deogratias is set in late 1994, early 1995, in Rwanda, and gives background about the Hutu majority and Tutsi minority of Rwanda. This is a work of fiction; it is the story of Deogratias, a teenage boy who is a Hutu; and two teenage sisters who are Tutsi, Apollinaria and Benina. It begins after the Rwandan Genocide (800,00 to 1,000,000 dead); and has characters from all sides, the Hutus, the Tutsis, the observers, those who acted and those who did not.

The Good: A must read. Stassen accomplishes much with few pages (less than 80!) and few words. He tells of life before and after the Genocide; he includes the various factions and entities present, from the UN peacekeeping force to the Rwandan Patriotic Front to the Interahamwe. The brevity helps; too many words would drown this story. The simplicity emphasizes the horror.

Deogratias is told in flashbacks; at first it is a bit confusing (what is happening when?) but it quickly becomes apparent that Deogratias's appearance lets the reader know whether the setting is the present (1995), with Deogratias dressed in rags, or the past (1994), with his clothes fresh and clean and whole. And, of course, the change in his dress is not just because time has passed; the battered outward appearance reflects Deogratias's emotional and psychological damage.*

There is a mounting sense of dread in this book; Deogratias is alive, obviously affected by the events that unfolded, but just how badly he has been injured is not known until the last pages. How did he get to where he is? And why is he so shattered, when he was not part of the ethnic group that was targeted for extermination? And what happened to those two sisters? With each page, there are glimpses of just how bad it will get, and little bits of hope to hang onto.

What happens to a person who lives thru such horror? What is moral? And of course -- what would you do?

This is an incredible chilling and powerful story; not only because it is about such a horrific time, but also because Deogratias's personal story is so tragic. What would someone do, at that time, in that place?

You will remember these people and this story for a long time.

*For some reason, lately, when I've been reading graphic novels one of the questions I've asked myself is, "did this have to be told in a GN format?" Why use pictures instead of words? Deogratias is one of those books that would not have worked half so well without the illustrations; something would have been lost if only words had been used.

Links:
The film Hotel Rwanda, based on true events.
Reading YA: Readers Rant review.
Bookslut In Training review, from column Kids At War.
Words, words, words review.
Chasing Ray loved this book, also, and like me wonders, where are the awards for this book?

The Rwandan Genocide happened over a decade ago. What about events going on today?
Here are links about what you can do about Darfur:
Save Darfur;
Darfur: A Genocide We Can Stop;
Human Rights Watch: Darfur;
UNICEF.
Darfur Eyewitness (from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum).

Originally appeared at The Edge of the Forest, Issue 10, December 2006.

Named one of my Best Books of 2006.

Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8233 by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman. Copy supplied by Running Press Publishers.

First things first: you may have heard about Cathy's Book pre-publication because of product placement. The makeup that gets mentioned, though, is barely noticeable—other books mention many more brand names than get mentioned here. If I didn't know about the controversy, I wouldn’t have even noticed.

Second things second: Cathy's Book advertises itself as an "original interactive teen book." Does it deliver? Absolutely: it's a believable teenage girl's diary; it's a fast paced adventure; and it's a lot of fun. The packaging (more on that below) easily could have been a gimmick—instead, it works to create a full, realistic story.

Hold Cathy's Book in your hands, and it looks like a sketchbook. Open it up and there is a clear envelope of "proof" on the left-hand side and the sketchbook on the right. Do I read the book, which is full of doodles and sketches? Do I open the envelope and see what's inside? There are phone numbers and websites—what about those?

Let's start with the book. It begins on January 30, and ends February 9th. Victor has broken up with Cathy, and she wants to know why. She's the type of girl who wants an answer, so she goes to Victor's house. And it's not really breaking in if the door is unlocked, right? What she finds leads her to a much bigger mystery than why Victor dumped her. If the book existed just as the book—a smart, funny Veronica Mars/ Buffyesque teenage girl stubbornly solves a mystery—it would be a simple fun read.

But the book doesn't stop with the text. And this ups the enjoyment. Remember that envelope? Remember all those phone numbers and websites? Your pick what to explore first; and just how much, and how deep, you want to go.

The envelope is full of the items Cathy picks up as she investigates first Victor and then a murder: photos, newspaper clippings, a birth certificate, a menu. The book isn't annotated. In no place does it say "stop now and look at the matching item." That's left to the reader. Interactive, remember? The book isn't dictating the story. I felt like Cathy as I poured over the "proof," noting things she didn't.

The phone numbers and websites give more opportunities to become Cathy, and one of the websites, www.doubletalkwireless.com, contains full color copies of everything in the evidence bag, plus other things Cathy has discovered. (So all you librarians who are worried about the items surviving check out, have the website and password* handy; the proof will always exist virtually.)

I've long wondered when authors would take real advantage of the Internet for storytelling. Not just the internet, but modern computers for publishing allow the cool envelope of stuff to be included with the book. There's been more and more use of the Internet recently, with playlists and character blogs. But Cathy's Book takes it to a new level, and I'm a bit annoyed that the whole product placement thing has stopped a conversation on the fascinating way this story is told. The reader becomes part of the story, because of the items and because of the Internet sites and phone numbers. These are not just "extra" items—they give additional information and depth and also allow the reader to discover things Cathy hasn't. At the same time, the story works regardless of how little, or how much, the reader wishes to explore. It's no surprise, then, that one of the authors, Jordan Weisman, is a video game developer. Many modern computer games are not just "games," they also tell stories that must work regardless of the player's choices.

*Cemetary Gates