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I read both of these books back to back and did not give up on life entirely, which speaks highly to Anderson's talent as a writer. These are not easy reads. Speak, celebrating its 10th anniversary in print, is about rape. Think that's edgy? Wintergirls is about bulimia and anorexia. This is tough stuff. Anderson does a fabulous job with protraying real, troubled teens. For any girl who has been through rape or is battling an eating disorder, these pieces must feel empowering because they let the individual know, you are not alone.
The reason I review them together is because, despite Anderson's skill at real, gritty portrayal of these issues through a teen character, after finishing the books, I was left feeling much like I had after a spree of John Irving books in my early twenties, i.e. like the main characters were the same person over and over. Lia of Wintergirls, birthed ten years after Melinda of Speak, nonetheless feels like the same teen. Anderson's writing chops are much improved, although the symbolism in Speak is incredible, the writing in Wintergirls will leave you rereading again and again to pick up craft points, turns of phrase, ideas on how to take mental illness and make it real for readers. Still, Melinda and Lia are interchangeable.
Why?
Their voice feels very similar. Their reactions, similar. Lia feels like a more mature Melinda, going further in her personal psychosis, more unstable, more suicidal, more detached. Yet still, Melinda.
Which leads me to ask the following questions: What results in similar characters across novels by the same author? Can we authors only get so far from our own perception? Are we slaves to our own hermeneutics? Or do similar driving motives across different stories nevertheless lead to similar characters?
I am not sure what the answers are, but I would like to know more because I find myself falling into that pattern in a present novel. Certain secondary characters feel similar to ones in an earlier novel I wrote. How do I avoid that? Should I? Or does such similarity define an author much as a defining brushstroke can define a painter?
Food for thought.
For more great reads, hop over to our fearless leader, Barrie Summy's blog. And for those of you in the Kansas area, if you get a chance, stop by the Kansas School Librarians Conference Thursday and Friday of this week. Barrie Summy, P.J. Hoover, Zu Vincent, Suzanne Morgan Williams, and I are the guest speakers for lunch on Thursday. It's a whole panel of characters just waiting to share! Add a Comment
The ivory tower is granting me a one day pass to go out and see the real world. The things good behavior will get you!
GLEE!
I'm being let out to speak at Oklahoma's school librarian conference, EncycloMedia. I'm excited. Thrilled. And a little nervous. Okay... a lot nervous. I'll be out with real people. I have to talk. I have to talk intelligently, in complete sentences, with no editing, about my middle grade novel, Dragon Wishes. I have to sound like I do this regularly. But all I've done for weeks now is sit in the ivory tower with my imaginary friends - and a few dead writers - and write. My social skills have sort of fallen by the wayside. Ask my kids. My husband. My dog, even.
Fortunately, should my skills waver, I'll be in amazing company and so hopefully no one will notice. I'm speaking with Eileen Cook, What Would Emma Do, Cynthea Liu, Paris Pan Takes the Dare, Jenny Meyerhoff, Third Grade Baby, and Suzanne Morgan Williams, Bull Rider.
We're followed the next day by P.J. Hoover, The Navel of the World, Jessica Anderson, Border Crossing, Barrie Summy, I So Don't Do Spooky, Donna St. Cyr, The Cheese Syndicate, and Zu Vincent, The Lucky Place.
Beforehand, we're being interviewed for a televised program that the Metropolitan Library of Oklahoma broadcasts throughout the state. Please, please, please let my hair cooperate so that I look like someone who actually styles her hair every once in a while, rather than pulling it back in a haphazard ponytail because dead writers and fictitious characters don't care what your hair looks like. And after that, there is a luncheon with librarians. Gulp. Can I carry on a coherent conversation for a whole hour? Or will I get that far off, I-have-an-idea look and start scribbling on my napkin? Librarians will understand if I do, right?
Maybe after all of that real world experience, I'll be ready to lock myself away in the ivory tower again, but I have a feeling, it'll be the other way around. I used to be a pretty social person, some time in the distant past...I think. Either way, I think that seeing, talking and interacting in a spontaneous way with real live people who don't need me to edit their dialogue could be, what's the word?
Surprise! We're back! Just when you thought it was safe to turn off your computer, put up your feet and start channel surfing. Uh, no. We have one more post for you this week. We're that generous.
Quite frankly, Zu Vincent, debut young adult author of THE LUCKY PLACE, submitted such an interesting post about her childhood library that we just couldn't resist sharing.
So, heeeeere it is...
There was a mysterious little library in the beach town where my grandmother lived. A lone, tiny building from the 1800s, rickety and spent, it stood on sand like the house made of sticks in The Three Little Pigs.
The library’s presence seemed impossible hovering beyond the general store and gas pumps, its back against the bay. Sad fronted, dire even, the big bad wolf in the form of sea winds had already taken its huffs and puffs. The place was about to splinter down.
It took some courage to mount the steps.
Inside was dim. Floor to ceiling shelves. Beyond the puny walls the waves on the bay lip-lipped. The little library had become a cave, a den, a lair, where smallness disappeared. I’d opened a book.
Here's a pic of the library in Inverness, CA Zu was writing about. However, that's not Zu at the door.
And don't you just love this old English proverb?
A good book is the best of friends.
0 Comments on Surprise! We're posting on a Sunday! as of 1/1/1900
That's one of the theme's of this year's Banned Book Week, a week when we celebrate our freedom to choose what we read.
When books are banned choice is taken away and what may offend someone may move another. Just ask Zu Vincent and Kristen Tubb.
Zu: "When The Catcher in the Rye was assigned to us in high school, I was already a voracious reader so far past the mere size of Salinger’s book that its slimness looked subversive. Not to mention the vaguely controversial English teacher who introduced it.
I thought I’d fall for Holden Caulfield, and I was surprised when I didn’t.
In fact, as a kid used to holding down jobs I found Caulfield annoying the way he slouched around whining about existence while others took care of him.
Who I fell in love with was J.D. Salinger. Here was a writer willing to tell the truth. He didn’t care if he pleased you or not. He just opened up his gut and sang.
The Catcher in the Rye taught me that truth is not so far off you can’t get it on the page. Like Caulfield himself tells us, “What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.”
CLOSING BOOKS LIMITS UNDERSTANDING.
Kristen: "I had a blessed childhood. The only death I knew belonged to far-away grandparents. Even my cat 'ran away.' Yes, I was sheltered. But no less curious about death. When I stumbled across Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, it was my first 'real' experience with death. Those characters – Jess and Leslie – were so real to me, I mourned Leslie’s death like I would the death of a dear friend. This book showed me not only how powerful books could be, but also how powerful my own emotions could be. To that point, I’d never felt anything as sorrowful as the loss of Leslie.
When I read that this book is often challenged by parents who believe that death is not a suitable topic for a children’s book, I am amazed at how parents could deny their children those same feelings. Because while I was profoundly sad at losing Leslie, I learned from Jess that love continues even after death. I learned that honoring those we’ve lost with happy memories helps us heal. I learned there is hope – if Jess could recover, so could I.
To this day, no other book has affected me as profoundly as Bridge to Terabithia."
CLOSING BOOKS CLOSES POSSIBILITIES
The ten most challenged books of 2007 were:
1. “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group
2. “The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence
3. “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin Henkes Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language
4. “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman Reasons: Religious Viewpoint
5. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain Reasons: Racism
6. “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language,
7. “TTYL,” by Lauren Myracle Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
8. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou Reasons: Sexually Explicit
9. “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris Reasons: Sex Education, Sexually Explicit
10. “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
Have you read a banned book today?
0 Comments on Day 3: Banned Books Week as of 1/1/1900
Forget the TV/movie stars like Brooke Shields, Cheech Marin, and Barbara Walters. The real stars were our debut authors! Signing in the autograph area were:
Thousands of terrific books were up for grabs for anyone brave enough to weave through the crowd, stand in line, or fight for floor space. What a great day!
Stay tuned tomorrow we have more from the floor of BEA!
3 Comments on BEA Up Close & Personal, last added: 6/11/2008
Give us a week and SHAZAM good news bursts forth. It's literary lava and we are HOT!
RAVE REVIEWS
Nina Nelson’s Bringing the Boy Home received a glowing review from Kirkus. “"Told in two distinctive voices, this imaginative and beautifully realized novel, set in the Amazon, tells the story of two boys from the fictional Takunami tribe…their stories connect in a surprising yet totally believable way, giving psychological depth to this richly hued novel about the winding turns of destiny and the bonds between father and son, tribe and family.”
The Story Siren said Regina Scott’s “La Petite Four has a little bit of everything; mystery, suspense, romance and of course really beautiful dresses! The plot is interesting and captivating.” They also refer to Regina as an “awesome writer.”
Laura Bowers is known for her amusing author interviews. Check out her latest 1-on-1 in which Daphne Grab confesses to singing to her cat.
Not only has Marissa Doyle been a featured author on the Fantasy Debut blogspot, her Bewitching Season was named in the editor's ten best summer reads for older readers in Scholastic’s Instructor, a magazine for teachers.
Sarah Prineas talks about killing your darlings aka revising as a guest blogger on Darcy Patterson’s Revision Notes. Even better, Czech and Slovak rights to The Magic Thief trilogy were sold to publisher Fortuna. That's a total of 12 languages, plus the UK/Australia!
Who knew Lisa Schroeder was an expert juggler?!? But she says as much in this great interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith. And I Heart You, You Haunt Me is going to be published in Polish. It’s official…2k8 is international! Pittsburgh’s Lux did an awesome interview with Brooke Taylor (her first!). Check it out!
Sarah Beth Durst (Into the Wild) recently interviewed our Zu Vincent about her essay in the Teen Libris anthology, Through the Wardrobe: Your Favorite Authors on C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia.
Annie Wedekind’s new website is a must see in addition to her post about the love affair between girls and horses on the Feiwel and Friends blog.
1 Comments on Shameless Saturday, last added: 6/5/2008
It was a lot of fun interviewing Brooke Taylor for my series. If you have't already checked it out, you can go to my personal blog and see it, bethanyhensel.blogspot.com.
2k8: So, Zu, what do you think happens to Cassie and her mom as Cassie gets older?
Zu Vincent: I know what happens; I’ve already written the companion book. The Lucky Place ends when Cassie is twelve and the next novel picks up there and takes her through age eighteen. In writing about this family, it turned out that The Lucky Place is more a story about a father and daughter, but the new story centers around a mother and daughter. Cassie’s mother, Belle, really goes off the deep in my next novel. So does her brother Jamie. The sixties hit with a vengence and all hell breaks lose. It’s a pretty wild ride.
2k8: What’s the most satisfying part of the writer’s life?
Zu Vincent: Doing what I love and having so many wonderful friends who do the same thing to share it with.
2k8: What are you writing now?
Zu Vincent: I’m completing what might be called a literary mystery about a kidnapped boy and a senile old lady who hopes to save him. Its subtext is the perils of old age—a time in our lives which oddly enough has a real parallel to adolescence, the time of life Cassie is just entering in The Lucky Place.
So, interested in reading a chapter of The Lucky Place? Click here. Hint: You need to register first, then click on "Library."
And check out Teen Libris where Zu has an essay, "Mind the Gap", in the anthology Through the Wardrobe.
We're honored, Zu, to have been a part of your exciting launch week! We'll be following your bright, bright literary future!
1 Comments on Day 5: Zu Vincent: The Future, last added: 4/11/2008
Today, Zu Vincent, author of The Lucky Place, talks with us about her passion for writing.
"Traveling in Ireland inspired me to write a story about a man duped by a leprechaun."
(Zu Vincent on her short story, "The Good People")
2k8: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
Zu Vincent: I composed my first poem when I was three, and the sheer joy of mixing words with emotions made me decide then and there I was going to write. Even though I didn’t yet know how to put words on paper.
Fueling that, I think, was a passion for language. I fell hard for books when I was really little. I remember my first book—a collection of poems and fairy tales bought from a door to door salesman—I can still smell the ink on those glossy pages and see the fascinating art and mysterious stories.
I grew up writing and when I wasn’t writing I was listening to words in my head. A story ran through me all the time. I “wrote” about everything, rearranging words, events and images until I was pleased with them, as if the whole world needed setting down in a book.
2k8: How did this desire to write become reality?
Zu Vincent: I don’t know if writing is as much a career as a vocation, which means you do it for love even in the leanest times. I started out by teaching myself. Before I could afford my first computer I practiced writing stories on my dad’s old Underwood typewriter, propped on the kitchen table. But I did take a night class early on. It was taught by a caustic, old-school journalist who demanded we publish or perish before the class was over. So I wrote a short story that actually sold. I don’t know who was more surprised, me or the teacher. But I was hooked.
2k8: How has freelancing helped you as a novelist?
Zu Vincent: By interviewing so many people I’ve met a great cast of characters. And in doing research I’ve learned a little bit about a lot of incredible places. I’ve studied art, science, history, building, you name it. I’ve done a lot of traveling. But most of all I’ve studied people, which is a writer’s dream. And in interviews people are so willing to give of their emotional selves if you’re willing to listen. It’s that connection that makes a story come alive. So the fiction writer in me delights in interviewing because it always leaves me knowing a bit more about life.
Coming tomorrow ... details on The Lucky Place and what it's like to write in vignettes!
1 Comments on Day 3: Zu, the Writer, last added: 4/9/2008
Yes, folks, it's another exciting launch week at the Class of 2k8! We proudly raise our glasses of cyber bubbly to debut author Zu Vincent and her young adult novel, The Lucky Place.
Without further ado, here's the beautiful cover:
And we want to tell you about The Lucky Place:
“Here’s what I think. I think having two daddies is like riding the elephant. You don’t know until you get up there what an elephant smells like, or how high you will be on the elephant’s back. But then you realize. And the basket tips one way and then the other, like you might fall, every time the elephant steps.”
Her drunken father lost her at the races when she was three. Her down and out mother believes in luck. Her wild brother wants to be a dancing star. And her new father’s secret could destroy them all. But when the chips are down in an ordinary life, the view from a young girl’s heart can still look extraordinary.
Now, let's meet Zu!
Zu Vincent holds an MFA from Vermont College where she began writing a story about fathers and daughters that became The Lucky Place. She was awarded Harcourt’s post-grad semester at Vermont College in 2006. Her photos and features have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines including Harper’s, Yoga Journal and Flyfishing, and she’s written non-fiction books for Scholastic, Harcourt, Signet and Plume. In addition her essays and short stories have appeared in several literary journals and anthologies including Through The Wardrobe, edited by Herbie Brennan.
So, Zu, tell us how The Lucky Place began…
Isabelle Allende calls writing “an exercise in nostalgia,” a long, slow dance in an ever-widening circle of memory. I like that. I think we forge the details of this dance from love and longing, remembered place and the rub of character against character. In this way all novels are true, even if they aren’t factual. For example, the title for The Lucky Place came from a childhood memory about a white horse. When my mom would see this white horse in the field near our home, she’d lick her thumb and stamp it on her palm for luck. I remember being sure this would work, that our family would stay charmed forever.
But nobody’s family stays charmed forever. And in The Lucky Place, I created Cassie and Jamie, threw them into a messy family relationship and watched what happens when this early magical belief meets reality.
Advance praise for The Lucky Place:
“A quietly powerful and important story. Zu’s vignettes weave a novel that, from moment to moment, takes your breath—then gently hands it back to you again. Lovely.”
—Jacqueline Woodson, author of Hush
“The Lucky Place is a pitch-perfect little symphony.”
—Tim Wynne-Jones, author of The Maestro
“A magical book—joyful and heartbreaking—singing with life. Zu leads us gently into the heart and soul of a girl we come to love. I didn’t want it to end.”
— Susan Wooldridge, author of Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words
Come back and visit as we spend the week getting to know more about our classmate, Zu Vincent, and The Lucky Place!
I’d never before read anything by Nancy Farmer (although as a former children’s bookseller, of course I knew about her) until I picked up A Girl Named Disaster to read as the first Tiger’s Choice. I was lucky to have found it–this book is an outstanding piece of fiction that can be read and enjoyed by a doddering fifty-nine-year-old like me or by people who are substantially younger.
In an earlier posting by Corinne on PaperTigers, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators in the Philippines pointed out that children’s literature from different cultures is shaped by differing values. This is made intriguingly clear by the story of Nhamo, the girl who leaves her tribe in search of her one living parent and a family that will be truly hers. Her quest is an adventure, and a solitary one, that takes her into a world populated only by animals. Unlike similar stories written with a differing cultural perspective (Julie of the Wolves, My Side of the Mountain, Island of the Blue Dolphins), this book does not show an anthropomorphic relationship between Nhamo and the baboons who are her neighbors. A lonely and frightened child, Nhamo forges a relationship with a world of the spirits rather than with the animal kingdom. She sustains herself through stories that she knows and loves about beings of an unseen realm, and in her dreams and in her waking imagination, these are the figures that guide her, and who allow her to bring out menacing, and hitherto unexplored, parts of herself by cloaking them under different names and the persona of spirits.
Her three-part story begins with elements of Cinderella, sweeps into a Robinson Crusoe-like world, and ends with a modern-day transformation and the fulfillment of a quest. At almost 300 pages, it is longer than many pieces of fiction for children, and it contains an impressive body of information within its compelling story. Anyone who reads it will be given a sense of place that only someone who has lived in that part of Africa could provide.
It could be a problematic choice to read aloud to a classroom of boys and girls. Although Nhamo’s adventures, and her adventuresome spirit, will appeal to both genders, the author’s frankness when writing about menstruation and other physical functions could be difficult in a mixed-gender classroom if read aloud. It is, however, a dazzling choice for a parent-child book group, or to give to a reluctant reader, or to enjoy as a solitary pleasure when in need of something absorbing and magical to read.
0 Comments on The Tiger’s Bookshelf: Talk about a Good Book! as of 1/1/1900
Corinne said, on 3/4/2008 3:18:00 PM
Janet -
I just started reading this book on the weekend. Fabulous so far! Give me a few more days to finish it and then (hopefully) I can respond to some of the questions you raised on your Feb 12th post. FYI - the book was a 1997 Newbery Honor Book.
Janet Brown said, on 3/4/2008 3:45:00 PM
Yes, I know and wavered about whether to include that–I wanted people to approach it as a reading adventure without any weight from literary prizes.
Corinne said, on 3/4/2008 4:01:00 PM
Yes - sometimes expectations are high when you know a book has received an award!! There have been several times I have read an award winning book and thought to myself that I either missed something completely or the judges have completely different ideas than I do.
Corinne said, on 3/5/2008 3:10:00 PM
I received an electronic newsletter today from the editors of The Horn Book Magazine (www.hbook.com) in which the latest Newbery and Caldecott Award Winners are discussed. An interesting and timely quote: “just because a book has won an award does not mean it is the right book for any one particular child. Maurice Sendak tells a funny story about encountering a mother who proudly told him that she read his Where the Wild Things Are every night to her child despite the fact that the girl screamed in fear every time. When Sendak asked her why she didn’t choose a different book, she replied, “But this one won the Caldecott Medal.” Members of award committees read widely and well but, in the case of the Newbery and Caldecott awards, are charged with rewarding aesthetic achievement rather than predicting popular appeal. They also lack ESP and thus don’t know about your child’s interests, abilities, or idiosyncrasies…Prizes are designed to call attention to good books, but as the wise Nora Ephron once wrote, “Even if it is good you do not have to like it.” That’s a maxim to remember both for your own and your child’s reading.”
Now enough of getting myself off on a tangent, it’s time to sit down and relax in the sun and read your book selection until the kids arrive home from school.
Janet Brown said, on 3/5/2008 3:28:00 PM
Funny isn’t it, that parents can blithely ignore the current Booker winner, if it doesn’t appeal personally, but feed their children the Caldecott/Newbery winners as though those books are essential vitamin supplements.
It's been more than a few weeks since I reviewed The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The Silver Chair is the fourth novel in the seven-book series by C.S. Lewis. (In January, I also reviewed The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. You can read my reviews here and here.) Although I started The Silver Chair soon after, I lost interest quickly. I'd read a chapter here, a chapter there. And soon I realized that I'd been unsteadily plodding along on the same book for about six weeks. Which, if you know me at all, you'll know that that is very unusual.
The truth? Though many people like or love The Silver Chair...I'm not one of them. Don't get me wrong. I don't hate the book. I even enjoy parts of the novel a great deal. But I don't love it the same way that I love the other three, the first three. Which is my least favorite of the seven? It would be a toss up between The Silver Chair and The Horse and His Boy.
The story. The story. What is the story. Two kids--Eustace, whom we first met in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and Jill, whom we are meeting for the first time, have unexpected, unplanned adventures in Narnia, a magical land first introduced in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. The two step into the adventure. Their quest? To find the missing prince--a person assumed or presumed dead--the son of King Caspian. (Caspian we met in Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.) Aslan, the lion-king, gives instructions to Jill that will help them on their way. But these instructions require familiarity--memorization--and obedience. Neither come naturally to the children. Along the way, the children meet many characters. Some are friends; some are enemies. Puddleglum is the most interesting person that they meet. He is what I remember most about the novel.
Overall, I liked this novel, but I didn't love it. I think others may enjoy it more than I did.
A few months ago Zu stepped through the wardrobe with sixteen other YA authors whose imaginations traveled through Narnia from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to The Last Battle. They came back with an anthology that will be in Borders in a few weeks. Look at that stunning cover! WOW! ~~~ Through the Wardrobe Your Favorite Authors on C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia
Edited by Herbie Brennan
And now...TO MARKET, TO MARKET--our thoughts on group marketing.
Here's what Terri Clark, author of the upper YA novel Sleepless, would like everyone to know:
In recent years I’ve seen a lot of authors band together for promotion—the Buzz Girls, Reader Girlz, The Brown Bookshelf, and Fangs, Fur & Fey (a great group I belong to) are just a few successful examples. The big thing I noticed about these groups was that they received more attention as a whole then the authors did individually. If you think about it, it makes sense. One author might be interesting, but 2, or 5 or 10—especially with a common thread among them—are even more compelling. Therefore, I wanted to find a band of merry authors I could join. Enter: the Class of 2k7. I discovered this group last year when Publisher’s Weekly did a write up. “A Novel Approach to Debut Authors” the group touted. Thirty-eight first-time children’s and YA authors with books coming out in 2007 who were working collectively to promote their books. Eureka! Just the thing I was looking for. Lucky for me, three of 2K7’s members had their release dates bumped and the class of 2K8 was born. I immediately asked to join and now I’m a proud member of this fantastic group. So far, we've collaborated on a killer website, blog, MySpace page, book trailer, reader’s guides, brochures, press materials, contests, information for BLTs (booksellers, librarians and teachers), combined speaking engagements and MORE! And let me tell you I wouldn’t have had the fiscal means to accomplish this all on my own, let alone the talent and creativity that we as whole have demonstrated.
0 Comments on Wednesday is Wa hoo-Zu Day! as of 1/1/1900
TJBrown said, on 2/27/2008 8:49:00 AM
Yeah, I thought the concept was brilliant when I heard about it and was so excited when my name was called. "Teri Brown, come on down!"
Teri
Ellen Booraem said, on 2/28/2008 11:53:00 AM
Boy, if it isn't one thing it's another around this place. Congratulations, Zu--can't wait to read the anthology!
Previously begins as Goldilocks arrives home all bothered and hot. PREVIOUSLY she had been running through the dark woods because PREVIOUSLY she had been at the three bears' house, and PREVIOUSLY she had run into a boy who was also running through the woods but he had a hen under his arm. A boy named Jack. Who (glad to have this cleared up once and for all) has a sister named Jill.
Ahlberg PREVIOUSLYs the reader all the way back to Once Upon a Time in a very satisfying story that looks back over its shoulder to lots of well-know characters and tales.
Anamaria (bookstogether) said, on 2/17/2008 4:10:00 PM
Thanks for the recommendation! Your students might also enjoy The End by david La Rochelle--it has a similar structure.
Dogtrax said, on 2/20/2008 5:18:00 PM
Thanks for the recommendation. I had not come across this one yet. I found your blog via my Google RSS "recommendations," which is pretty cool if you think about it. I know this is old news, but I loved the 100 teachers list that you created, oh, in 2006 (see what happens when you stumble into a blog -- you get to move back through old posts) I look forward to following your reading. Sincerely, Kevin Hodgson Sixth grade teacher Massachusetts, USA
http://dogtrax.edublogs.org/
Susan said, on 2/20/2008 9:57:00 PM
Oh my goodness...I need to go find this book. It sounds like a winner!!
:-) Susan
Mary Lee said, on 2/21/2008 4:29:00 AM
Kevin, It is WAY cool that you came over via Goggle RSS recommendations! I see that our virtual paths have crossed at Bud the Teacher -- I met him at NCTE in 2006 when we were just getting started here. Small world!
Dogtrax said, on 2/21/2008 4:42:00 AM
Bud is a friend and colleague via the National Writing Project. Kevin
Gannett, Ruth Stiles. 1951. The Dragons of Blueland.
The Dragons of Blueland was originally published in 1951. This book concludes the trilogy started with My Father's Dragon. The second book, Elmer and the Dragon, ends with Elmer's safe arrival back home. The Dragons of Blueland opens with Boris wondering what to do, where to go next. He's still got to make his getaway from the humans. (After all, people still think dragons are extinct; and it's best that they keep on thinking that way as far as Boris is concerned. The idea of being captured or put in a zoo not being pleasant.) He decides to go on a quest to find his family. And it is on this quest that he discovers that his family needs him to rescue them. And he also discovers that he needs Elmer in order to rescue them. So there you have it. Despite their separation, these two always find a way to have more adventures. This novel is better, I feel, than the second novel. But still not quite as wonderful as the first in the series. It is an enjoyable read nonetheless.
96 pages. First sentence: Over the harbor, past the lighthouse, away from Nevergreen City flew the happy baby dragon.
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The second in the trilogy, Elmer and the Dragon was originally published in 1950. The narrative opens with Elmer and his new dragon friend, Boris, on their way. The dragon has agreed to fly the boy home as a way of showing his gratitude for the boy freeing him. "Into the evening sky flew Elmer Elevator aboard the gentle baby dragon, leaving Wild Island behind forever." But finding their way home isn't as easy as it might first seem. The dragon, a baby dragon, and a dragon that has spent most of his time in captivity doesn't know where the boy's home is. And the boy doesn't know either. Not really. He came to these islands on a ship, but he spent his time below hiding. So it's not like he was paying attention to the directions they were sailing, etc. So the two must search for the way home. Along the way, more adventures are had.
If I'm being honest, this book lacks some of the magic that made My Father's Dragon so enjoyable. But maybe this is because I'm an adult. Maybe kids who loved the first one will be just as eager to have the adventures continue? It would be interesting to see. I know my sister has used My Father's Dragon as a read aloud to her first graders in the past. But she felt--as I feel--that the second book was lacking a little something.
Originally published in 1948, My Father's Dragon is a classic children's book that is perfectly suited for read aloud. Starring Elmer, a young boy, and Boris, a blue and yellow striped dragon, the book is full of one adventure after another. It begins off simply enough, "One cold rainy day when my father was a little boy, he met an old alley cat on his street." The boy, Elmer, is the narrator's "father" and these adventures are "tales" of what happened long ago and far away. (Sometimes the boy is called "my father" and sometimes he is called "Elmer.") He is the sort of boy that dreams of adventures, that dreams of dragons, that dreams of faraway lands. And it is this opportune meeting with an alley cat that is the start of it all. What I liked best about this one is that it is funny, creative, and resourceful. I like the way the boy is able to "think" his way out of each new danger. I also enjoy the illustrations by Ruth Chrisman Gannett. They're delightful for the most part.
Last night I reread one of my favorite books of all time. A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh. I can't begin to count how many times I've read--either on my own or read aloud--this brilliant book. The characters? Christopher Robin. Winnie ther Pooh. Piglet. Rabbit. Owl. Kanga and Roo. And of course the ever-sullen Eeyore. They're so wonderful. So lovable. So perfect. The language? So beloved. So familiar. So right. I really couldn't imagine a world without Pooh. Pooh captures everything that is so right with the world. The innocence. The charm. The love. The kindness. There's just something so good, so pure about Christopher Robin and his chums.
Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And then he feels that perhaps there isn't. Anyhow, here he is at the bottom, and ready to be introduced to you. Winnie-the-Pooh. When I first heard his name, I said, just as you are going to say, "But I thought he was a boy?" "So did I," said Christopher Robin. "Then you can't call him Winnie?" "I don't." "But you said--" "He's Winnie-ther-Pooh. Don't you know what 'ther' means?" "Ah, yes, now I do," I said quickly; and I hope you do too, because it is all the explanation you are going to get. (1-2)
Christopher Robin and his stuffed bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, love to be told stories. (I think everyone likes to be told stories.) Pooh especially likes to be told stories about himself because as Christopher Robin says, "he's that sort of Bear."
The first story about Winnie-the-Pooh starts off like this, "Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himself under the name of Sanders."
I just love that beginning. Don't you? It's silly; it's fun; it's just right. Once upon a time . . . about last Friday. Genius.
The stories themselves are very interactive. The narrator speaks to the child directly. I really think Pooh is the kind of story that is meant to be read aloud. And read aloud often. It bears much repeating. It only grows better each time it is experienced.
According to the 80th Anniversary edition of the book Winnie the Pooh has been translated into thirty-one different languages!
The moral of this story is, "Let them talk during read aloud."
In reading workshop, we've been working on finding the themes/morals/lessons that an author may or may not intend for us to extract or infer from his/her story.
In read aloud the other day, we had a bunch of fun finding silly themes/morals/lessons in 3 picture books. How could we not read parts of Squids Will Be Squids by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith? Besides remembering or learning what a fable is, we also had a great discussion about why Scieszka can get away with writing a run-on sentence a whole paragraph long (in the Serious Historical Foreword), and fourth graders can't. Or should I say...and fourth graders are required to chop it into sentences, because some of my students CAN (and do) write whole paragraphs and pages without punctuation!
I read "Grasshopper Logic," and the conversation turned to the other things that are not good to say to a "hopping mad Grasshopper Mom."
Next, I read "He who..." because I knew they would be able to fill in the moral on their own. They could. ("He who smelt it...")
The last one I read, my own personal favorite of the entire collection, was "Straw and Matches." They started getting the double entendres and puns from the very beginning: "It was the end of summer vacation. Straw had done everything he could think of. He was bored. So he went over to play with someone he had been warned to stay away from." They groaned with laughter when they heard the moral and knew it was both about choosing one's friends and about playing with fire.
I didn't read any more from "Squids Will Be Squids," because my goal was for them to want to read more on their own. (It worked.) Next came Jane Wattenberg's version of Henny-Penny. (How did it happen that this book got so old so fast! It's from seems-like-yesterday, but in-reality 2000!)
I read the whole book, because how often you get to shout, "CHICKABUNGA!" during a regular school day?
I swear, this class found more in Wattenberg's illustrations than any class ever! Not only that, but they could identify nearly every world landmark the flock of fowl visits in the course of the story. (Only the Coliseum and Stone Henge stumped them.) And one student knew what a cave would be like it it was "dank." WOW!
A few morals of this story? "Don't leave home until you lay your egg." "Stranger Danger -- Don't follow someone you don't know into a dark, dank cave." "Check to see what hit you in the head before you run off to tell the king the sky is falling." And here's mine: "Sometimes it's best to be the last one in the cave, because you might be the only one who makes it out!" We ended with The Wolf Who Cried Boy by Bob Hartman. They knew the moral before I ever started reading, so this one, too, was more about the puns and word play. (Lamburgers, Sloppy Does, Chocolate Moose, Boy Chops, Three-Pig Salad, Baked Boy-tato, Boys-n-Berry Pie...it goes on and on.)
After read aloud was over, one of my students asked if I had The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Sadly, I only have the variant. I will have to correct that soon. A day later, the same student came back from the book fair with The Dog Who Cried Wolf.
I love it when I get them started and they keep going on their own!
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Great read aloud today! I love it when the sense of humor part of 4th graders' brains starts to develop in earnest. Or in hilarity, as it were.
That's all I'm going to write for today because I left the books I read aloud today at school, and without them in front of me, all the specifics are gone. Poof.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis is the third novel in the seven-book series The Chronicles of Narnia. Earlier this month I reviewed The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. You can read my reviews here and here. I loved both of these books. Loved. Yet I'm at a loss of words when it comes to the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe is the start of the magic. It is the first. It could arguably be the best. Prince Caspian has a charm all its own. It's consise; it's action-packed. It's thoroughly enjoyable. Yet The Voyage of the Dawn Treader--for me--has a certain magic all its own that I can't really explain. There are times when I feel it is my favorite. But at the same exact time I'm feeling that it's my favorite, I feel guilty for thinking that anything could be better than The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe. I guess I feel I need permission to love another just as much--however differently--as I do my first love.
This is a book that had me at hello. Say what you will about the first two books, neither have a first sentence that pops or sparks with magic. "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." This sentence has to be one of my favorite, favorites of all time.
It goes on to say, "His parents called him Eustace Clarence and masters called him Scrubb. I can't tell you how friends spoke to him for he had none. He didn't call his Father and Mother "Father" and "Mother", but Harold and Alberta. They were very up-to-date and advanced people. They were vegetarians, non-smokers and tee-totallers, and wore a special kind of underclothes. In their house there was very little furniture and very few clothes on beds and the windows were always open."
This is our first description of Eustace, "Eustace Clarence liked animals, especially beetles, if they were dead and pinned on a card. He liked books if they were books of information and had pictures of grain elevators or of fat foreign children doing exercises in modern schools."
Can you tell already that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is unique but uniquely wonderful? Eustace, as the reader soon learns, is the cousin of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. And The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the story of what happens when Lucy and Edmund go to visit their most unpleasant cousin. You'll find that magic follows the Pevensies wherever they go. This time the magic doesn't come from a wardrobe or the blowing of a magical horn. This time it's a painting--a portrait of a ship sailing the ocean that "calls" or "invites" the children to an unforgettable but dangerous thoroughly adventurous journey.
Edmund and Lucy--as you can imagine--are elated, thrilled, ever-so-happy to be back in Narnia. To be reunited with their good friend, Prince Caspian. But Eustace is miserable, cranky, mean, and downright unpleasant.
The dangers they face on their journey are unique. They're not like the dangers faced in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe or even the dangers faced in Prince Caspian. There are more dangers to be faced overall. But they're subtler. Quieter. The book has them sailing along on the seas, then occasionally stopping at various islands--some known, most unknown. Each chapter (though sometimes several chapters are related) has an adventure all its own. The novel is a handful of episodes, mini-adventures if you will. All of them unique. All of them memorable. Some episodes, I think I'll carry with me always. There's just something about this novel that just works for me.
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Llama Llama out with Mama shopping at the Shop-o-Rama
Yucky music, great big feet. Ladies smelling way too sweet. Look at knees and stand in line.
Llama Llama starts to whine.
What parent hasn't experienced a toddler's meltdown while shopping past their ability to endure? Little Llama is not at all interested in bargains even if it means new shoes, socks and Cream of Wheat for him. It's Saturday and he wants to play!
In her second Little Llama adventure, author/Illustrator Anna Dewdney, recounts a common family situation. Her wonderfully expressive illustrations leave us in no doubt that Little Llama's temperature is rising and we're about to experience a major Llama Drama event. Just like its predecessor Llama, Llama, Red Pajama, the rhyming verses are fun to read aloud. She colors occasional words in the text to emphasize to both children and adults that these are the words to be emphasized in the stanza.
Not every parent will handle the public meltdown as well as Mama Llama, but this story is a gentle reminder to adults to set reasonable limits on what they can accomplish with a little one in tow. Little Llama and his Mama are two of the most charming characters of the last few years. Here's hoping that the next Llama adventure is just around the corner.
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Becky's Review of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
My review of C.S. Lewis' classic children's book The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is going to be chatty--quite chatty--and there's nothing I can do about it. I first encountered the magic of Narnia in fourth grade when my teacher read it aloud to us. My teacher, Mrs. Watts, was known for many things. She inspired much fear and trembling. Like Aslan, she was not safe, but good. While, other students may remember the discipline or the hard work...I'll always remember my magical introduction to Narnia. Soon after, I added book by book the series to my collection. Most of my copies were used. Most were ugly. But I devoured each one. I seem to remember my sister reading a few of the series at least. But unlike Little House and Ramona and Anne, this series was more me and less her. Narnia belonged to me--the magic, the wonder, the glory of it all. I remember the pure pleasure I experienced each and every time I opened up a book. I remember the book covers, yes. And I definitely have strong opinions on which book covers through the years are 'the best' of the bunch. But more precisely, I fell in love with the proper order of the series. Few things irritate me more than someone who insists on that new-fangled order. Which is why, if you could see me, you'd know how frustrating it is to read my 7-in-1 novel. But some things must be preserved at all costs.
Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids. (p. 111 in the 7-in-1 edition)
The adventures in and out of the wardrobe that these four experience during the course of the novel is oh-so-magical. The characters--both major and minor--so memorable. The story, familiar yet resilient, even after having read it a dozen times. So many wonderful scenes. Scenes that resonate. In case you haven't read it, let me give you a teaser. Lucy, the youngest of the children, accidentally discovers a magical land of ice and snow while hiding in a wardrobe in the Professor's house. Her three siblings--Peter, Susan, and Edmund--at first don't believe her. They take her tale as a wild, silly, foolish story of a girl whose homesick and wanting attention. Edmund, the brother closest to her in age and thus her biggest tormentor, also wanders into Narnia unexpectedly. But who he meets there, will perhaps undo them all. Narnia is not a land at peace. Not at all. For the land is under a spell--an enchantment--the White Witch--the supposed Queen of the land--has made it always winter and never Christmas. And the lives of the children--all four children--are in grave danger when they're in Narnia. For there is a prophecy that four humans--two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve--will come to rule the land as Kings and Queens and restore peace and order to the kingdom.
The heart and soul of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is the revelation of Aslan, the King of the land, a lion.
And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it has some enormous meaning--either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer. (141 of 7-in-1 edition)
The children's journey to Narnia, their quest to meet Aslan at the Stone Table, and their battle to save Narnia and their brother from the grasp of the evil and wicked witch....are unforgettable adventures that deserve to be experienced again and again by readers of all ages. You're never too old to experience the magic of Narnia.
Lewis, C.S. Prince Caspian.
Prince Caspian, the second of the novels in the Chronicles of Narnia series, takes place one year after the close of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. The four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, are preparing to return to school when they're instantly, magically transported (or translated) to Narnia. What they find there shocks them. Shocks them for many reasons. You see, it hasn't been a year in Narnia time. It hasn't even been just a hundred years. Their castle, their lands, unrecognizable ruins. The adventures are about to begin. Again. Many surprises, many adventures await them, along with one old friend. A friend that takes a little more faith to recognize these days.
Prince Caspian centers on a new hero. Caspian. The son of Caspian the Ninth, king of Narnia. But it is Caspian's uncle, King Miraz, that rules the land, and rules it harshly. Gone are the days of talking animals and other fantastical creatures. No the "old Narnians" must hide if they are to survive at all. Caspian may have been raised by his aunt and uncle, but his upbringing was left to an old nurse who believed in the old ways. Now, Caspian is a young man who longs to restore the golden days of the past. Who longs to restore Narnia to its former glory. Who longs to create a peaceful age where old Narnians can live and live well. But he can't do it alone. What he needs is help. Divine help.
Can a horn of old bring much-needed help from afar?
I love Prince Caspian. I do. It is exciting. It is thrilling. Again, Lewis has created memorable characters and memorable scenes.
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Jenkins, Emily. 2006. Toys Go Out: The Adventures of A Knowledgeable Stingray, A Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic. Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky.
Toys Go Out is a book that I loved. It is a book I love now as an adult. And it is a book I would have loved as a kid. It stars three lovable, unique characters: Lumphy, a stuffed buffalo, StingRay, a stuffed stingray, and Plastic, a red ball. The three share adventures in and out of the Little Girl's room--and on and off the High Bed. The book is told through six short stories.
"In the Backpack, Where It is Very Dark" explores the strangeness of going to school for show and tell through the eyes of toys that DON'T know where they are going or why. Did they do something wrong? Are they on their way to the dump? Why is it so dark? And why does it smell so bad?
"The Serious Problem of Plastic-ness" focuses on Plastic's identity crisis. Told that "the truth" can be found in books...and that the books hold the answer to everything. She tries finding out what kind of animal 'Plastics' are--their natural environment, what they eat, what they do, etc. What she finds shocks her. It seems that there are no animals named plastic. In fact, it says she's artificial. What does artificial mean anyway? As Plastic explores her environment and asks probing questions, she finally realizes who and what she is.
"The Terrifying Bigness of the Washing Machine" focuses on the adventures of Lumphy, who by chance gets dirty and has to brave the washing machine, Frank. What he finds through it all surprises him.
"The Possible Shark" focuses on StingRay as she is left home from the family beach-trip because she is "dry clean only." And follows the dangerous adventures of Plastic as she experiences some of what the ocean and beach have to offer.
"How Lumphy Got On the Big High Bed And Lost Something Rather Good-Looking" focuses on Lumphy and StingRay. Lumphy has always been jealous that StingRay got to sleep on the High Bed with the Little Girl. He wants his chance to become a favorite. A bedtime essential. He begs and begs to get his chance. Can StingRay deliver? Will Lumphy get his wish? Or will he find that sometimes you don't want what you wish for after all...
"It is Difficult to Find The Right Birthday Present" focuses on all three toys as the Little Girl's birthday approaches. It's hard to find a birthday present when a) you're a toy who can't leave the house b) you have no money or no clue as to what money even is or what it can buy and c) everything in the house already belongs to the Little Girl or her family. Are gifts of the heart just as exciting to receive?
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"Oh, goody! A new one by Jon Scieszka!" I thought, as I picked up a copy from the display. I thumbed through it. I wasn't amused. The illustrations looked weird, and not at all Lane Smith-ish. But then I remembered my experience with Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. I didn't fall in love with that book until I read it to children. So I bought Cowboy and Octopus, and last week I read it to my fourth graders.
It's hysterical. The illustrations are perfect. The kids were rolling on the floor laughing, and I would have been, too, but I was wearing a skirt. The chapter? story? where Cowboy hits Octopus on the head with a hammer is my favorite. I had to go back and reread it before the kids got it. Octopus says something like, "I'm going to hold all these pieces together and when I nod my head, you hit it." Bad sentence construction results in hilarious confusion over "it."
I think the kids liked the scary tooth fairy Halloween costume the best. Or maybe the page with the photographs of the beans. "Those are real beans!" someone said, and not a half a breath later came, "Beans, beans, the musical fruit..."
Scieszka should win a Pulitzer Prize for his ability to channel his pre-teen self and the accompanying sense of humor.
I also read aloud Those Shoes. (I reviewed it here.) It, too, was a hit. I held up the book, and just based on the cover, my students knew pretty much what the story was about. They'd all been there, wanting something they couldn't have, or not having what everyone else seemed to have and feeling left out. They were surprised by, but completely satisfied with the ending, and they were sure that the main character had done the right thing by giving Those Shoes that didn't fit him to his friend whose feet were smaller than his.
The next day, a student in another class came to school wearing a pair of way-cool orange sneakers. I was holding the recess door as the students came in from lunch recess, and as the end of my line passed by me, this kid was leading the next line of students. I complimented his shoes, which caused the last few kids in my line to turn around and look. I looked at my kids and they looked at me. I pointed and said, "Those Shoes!" and they nodded and replied, "Those Shoes." So in one day, this book went from story to insider lingo for a coveted article of clothing. Not bad. Not bad at all.
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That's Donna!
& 
. I can't begin to count how many times I've read--either on my own or read aloud--this brilliant book. The characters? Christopher Robin. Winnie ther Pooh. Piglet. Rabbit. Owl. Kanga and Roo. And of course the ever-sullen Eeyore. They're so wonderful. So lovable. So perfect. The language? So beloved. So familiar. So right. I really couldn't imagine a world without Pooh. Pooh captures everything that is so right with the world. The innocence. The charm. The love. The kindness. There's just something so good, so pure about Christopher Robin and his chums.
I'm all about mysterious, so I loved this post, Zu!