How to use this Page

Love me some Project Runway. I used to be a Jillian fan, but that slowly went down as I got to know her so to say. I am rooting for Christian just because I think he was the most consistent all season. JMO

I'm kind of rooting for Christian too, I'm afraid to say. He's a little twerp, but a talented one and I do think he's got a sense of humor under all that fierce hair.

I really think there should have been a final 2 this year. I like Jillian's clothes a lot, but, yeah, she's not really a dynamic personality, is she?

The thing about Christian is that he is EXTREMELY talented but also very young. I think some of that snottiness is bravado. I'd like to see him win, but, really, they're all three talented and worthy. Jillian, it seems to me, has made the most consistent and conscious effort to improve week to week. Really, the designers were all pretty good this season. Most of them had a bad day when they got booted, as opposed to consistently making bad designs.

(I wrote this as a reply to Kelly, but it did not go through, this is a redo)
Not only that, but Jillian is not good under pressure and she had a
hard time completing a lot of the challenges. Although, I do think is
is super talented. There is a place for her in fashion, but I don't
think she proved herself in the competition.
Isn't it funny that Chris was actually kicked off and then ended up
almost making the finale? I think that is amazing.

Christian annoys the hell out of me. A lot of times the most obvious person doesn't end up winning, and so I am hoping that is the case here. Rami takes it

Doret

Doret: Rami IS cute and is good too. I just think his range might stop him.

Megan: Good point re: Jillian.

Woohoo! Starts in 3 minutes here in CST.

Yeah, Adrienne: This season was full of decent designers, which was a BIG change.

I love PR, too, and I think it's for the same reason you do: the fascination with the creative process, more than the love of fashion. It's so fun to watch talented, creative people work quickly and brilliantly and pump out garment after garment that most of us couldn't create even if we had weeks or months. I feel the same way about Top Chef--it's the creativity under pressure part that's so enthralling.

What you should do is avoid her, because she is toxic. But most 6th graders (and many adults) don't have the sort of internal fortitude to do so.

What I'd like to do is to invite this girl plus other girls she's talked about over to a party. At the party, everyone vows to watch each other's back, be loyal and never talk trash about each other. Then, everyone signs a contract. The contract won't hold up in court because all of the girls are minors, but the grownup chaperone will have a written account that this girl has agreed to certain standards.

That's the fantasy. How well could it play out in reality?

Kelly: You are SOOOO right, but my 6th grade girl is having a hard time with it.

I don't know how it would work, Alkelda. It might be interesting to find out though! Don't you miss 6th grade?

Here's my reponse:

(What I would do if I were an adult) - Ignore this girl. She's trouble and will most likely always be trouble. She doesn't value friendship and will turn around and stab you in the back.

(What I would have done as a sixth grader) - Want to be her friend. Get burned a couple times. Then finally just stop hanging out with her. No need for drama. She would only retaliate.

Oh, I feel the pain...I remember the pain.

Alkelda, I like your fantasy. I feel ashamed that mine is much more devious. As a writer, I would tell my main character to do this: whip out a cute pink notebook every time that girl starts to dish. Quiz her about exactly who said what about whom and write it ALL down. Nod enthusiastically. Hang on her every word. Draw hearts and arrows and mud flying. Then casually flip to the front of the notebook and write on it in big letters: WHAT (NAME OF GIRL) THINKS ABOUT YOU.

She'll have a reaction, I bet. You say: "But, I get SO confused. I just want to keep everything straight!" She may not stop her dishing, but she won't do it around you.

Can you tell I read Harriet the Spy?

But I hate to recommend this in real life. Things backfire. I guess that's why I like writing: you can CONTROL these kinds of people. :)

My only other suggestion is for your 6th grade girl to look nauseous (or get a headache) every time that girl starts in with the bad mouthing. "What's wrong?" "I don't know. Every time you start talking about people, I feel sick. Let's talk about something else!"

As a 6th grader, I'd likely try to ignore the girl, and then get mean if she didn't give up. Or, if she's popular and has more power, I'd hide. 6th grade was not my best time.

As a mom, I'd find out if the girl is friend material otherwise (redeeming characteristics). And then, either way, I'd counsel my daughter to tell her directly "I'm not going to sit at lunch/play/be your friend when you're saying bad things about other people." And prepare her for pouts, retaliation and other manipulative stuff.

Yes, toxic, IS the word.

But--this kind of behavior is not confined to middle schoolers. Middle agers, as in some women, and often in suburbia, do this, too.

And it is just as painful as when it happened in middle school.

Ridding the body and soul of toxins is always the best answer.

Experience talking.

What a hard question. All I have to say is, trying to change someone else's behavior, to educate them to the evils of their ways, hardly ever works. People have to decide internally to change (after, I don't know, not having friends anymore?). But I do agree with Barbara about finding out if the person has any redeeming qualities.

Sounds like food for a middle grade novel, Kelly!

Why not tell the truth?

"I don't like it when you say mean things about my other friends. It makes me feel bad to listen to stuff like that. The next time that happens, I'm going to leave."

Then, when it happens again, you smile, shake your head, punch her lightly on the shoulder, and leave without a word.

Tricia: Yes. My 6th grader is afraid of retaliation if she speaks the truth.


But, Sara, my 6th grader is a HUGE fan of the notebook. I might just propose this idea!!!

Pilibrarian: That's been our approach so far. My kid HATES confrontation so far.

Barbara: Tell me about it. I've been there too. It always takes you by surprise, doesn't it?

Jen: Material! Rubs her hands...

Mitali: That's what we're working towards. Unfortunately, my kid is awful about confrontation, which she'd see speaking the truth as. (She's grown up in the Midwest, AND this is her personality, I'm afraid.)

My fifth grader says that in this situation she's calmly (and as if giving it deep thought) "you know, what you're saying about [that person] is not very nice" and then walk away. But, confrontation doesn't really bug her that much (she's a Jersey girl)

Here's what a I want: ten books you'd recommend to a girl in this particular situation. Or to the gossipy girl. This is my first year teaching sixth grade and man, oh man, this must be a UNIVERSAL sixth grade thing!

I would speculate that your daughter is more important to her than she is to your daughter.
Does she have of a wide circle of "friends" or is your daugher one of the few people who will be nice to her? Having a place to sit at lunch is of major importance in jr. high. Your daugher may wield more power than she knows.

I like Mitali's suggestion. My first born though, was like your daughter. She never would have managed it.

Our fall back was "this too shall pass" accompanied with admonitions to not get sucked in to the vortex. This kind of behavior needs reactions to fuel it.

One of the funny/weird things about the old TV show Leave it to Beaver (showing my age) was how tolerant the nice kid, Wally, was of the rat, Eddie Haskell. That was TVLand but you see this in school all the time. There is one in every crowd.

6th grade was the worst for this kind of stuff. All three of my girls were the happiest kids on earth when they finally escaped jr. high and landed in high school.

Bless your hearts.

Has she read The Girls by Amy Goldman Koss? It has been a long time but I remember that book rang very very true.

As someone who's never been a female sixth-grader, I suggest simply:

Whenever this girl bad-mouths someone, the best response is to say "I don't mind" or otherwise to give off this message. When the toxic girl realises her cannons have been spiked, she will (hopefully) realise that she can be liked regardless.

For she does want to be liked. That is why she's doing this. It's just that she has a warped perception of how to achieve it. Make her see that her methods have no power, and she may eventually move to more wholesome ones.

I'll give you "my solution" in the comments:

What I actually did--and it was NOT effective--was sigh passive-agressively and shoot tiny mental needles into his foot.

Surely there's a better answer?

Me: my response would be similar to yours. More of a "grin-and-bare it" type of reaction than muster up some sort of appropriate communication based reaction. So it goes. If it's not too late, here's my Poetry Submission, all my own: http://slcamysbooksandmovies.blogspot.com/2007/08/epicurean-delights.html

Got your entry, Amy! And thanks for your two cents on the etiquette question :)

Kelly,

Here's a story about airplane etiquette from my husband. This story took place years ago--when smoking was still allowed in a certain section of a plane.

My husband sat in the no smoking section in an aisle seat diagonally across from a woman in the row behind his. She was smoking. A well-dressed businessman, who sat directly in front of my husband, turned around and reminded the woman that she was sitting in the no smoking section and asked her to please extinguish her cigarette. She ignored his request and continued smoking. The gentleman then unbuckled his seatbelt, stood up, turned to her and said in a loud voice: "Put out the f*#+ing cigarette!"
The woman couldn't put her cigarette out fast enough.

I guess politeness didn't work in the gentleman's case. Some people are just too inconsiderate of others--and need to be called on their boorish behavior.

I would have been shooting those mental darts too. How rude. But I'd have used another passive-aggressive technique too: plenty of trips to the restroom so he'd have to keep readjusting.

Sounds like classic subway behavior, where I wouldn't dare say a word. However, since it's a plane, I would ask him to please move his leg, telling him you're a little cramped. If he does not, I would ask a flight attendant for help selecting a new seat.

I love the etiquette questions idea, Kelly.

Thanks, Susan :) I'll be inviting others to send in their questions soon! Your suggestion is, of course, the most mature. I so dislike conflict!

Kris! What a great passive-agressive technique. I love it.

Fabulous story, Elaine. I wonder, though, would it have had the same effect if a middle-aged woman had screamed at the smoker?

I travel a lot, Kelly, and frequently have problems like this. With some people, there are no passive solutions - they either don't see anyone else, or are impervious to the knowledge that they are bothering you. But, since you expect the truth, I'll tell you that I've found that many people don't like being touched (I certainly don't), and if you gently shove the offending elbow, and/or "accidentally" kick the offending foot, sometimes that helps. And I think it's completely justified. I don't so much mind people taking the armrest itself, but once they extend into my cone of space, I get very irritable. One time, on a long flight, I resorted to putting my pillow up as a little wall between me and the seat next to me.

How about this: "You might want to move your foot. I have a ferret in my carry-on and she gets a bit testy when she feels her space being invaded."

I don't like to be touched either, Jen, so I can see your plan working beautifully!

Kittypye: Ooooh! I have such a fear of ferrets I think my own facial expressions would be judged credible. Good one :)

I would kindly say, "Pardon me," or, "Excuse me."

Do you have a preferred seat/area on the plane? I do.

LW: I am totally an aisle person. I almost panicked when I found myself in the middle.

Something that works well in a crowd might work here too. Apparently if you proclaim, "I think I am going to throw up" people cannot get away from you fast enough.

You could tell the guy that you are not feeling well and want to alert him that you might need to make a fast dash to the bathroom to throw up. I bet he would hug the other side of his seat the whole trip.

I actually like the ferret idea the best so far.

I LOVE the ferret idea, just because it made me laugh out loud...

My own answer would be to speak up, politely, and if that doesn't work, do the poking thing...

Camille: Another great idea. And perfectly believable.

Michele: I'm glad you got a laugh out of this post :)

I'm surprised no one has said the man had every right to the area under my seat.

I do the passive aggressive stretch, which makes me take up my entire assigned area. This will involved "accidentally" bumping an body part that is not mine but in my area. I repeat as needed.

But then again, I'm also the type of person who will headbutt the back of your seat if you recline it more than 2 inches. All of a sudden, I need to access my carry-on baggage stored under you seat every 30 seconds. It's not my fault I'm tall and can't do that without body-checking the seat back that has completely invaded the little space I had.

jennie's story reminded me of my most recent flight home from Washington DC. I was sitting next to a guy who was probably a basketball player. Having to fold his frame into an airplane seat and confine himself to his assigned area must have been hellish.

He was the picture of consideration though, even when the woman behind him leaned over his seat to tell him that if he leaned his seat back he was going to hit her baby which was seated on her lap.

He could have not been more polite to her, even though I thought her tone was so aggressive and accusatory given that he had NOT reclined his seat at all.

He told me that he had recently spent a flight from NYC to LAX behind a fully reclined snoring man who could not be induced to sit up under any circumstances. Flying that distance with something like that practically in his lap was a life changing experience. He told me that he vowed to himself then and there that he would never again recline a seat he was sitting in and inconvenience another person. He had to 6'5" minimum. I wish there were more like him out there.

I thoroughly enjoyed the scenario and responses. I like to think I would be direct and politely point out my need for space. It's possible that I would sit still for 3 hours, but I think it's most likely that I would use the restroom break and stretching/bumping tactics as well. I look forward to more etiquette talk!

When my son was in elementary school, a bully used to try to squeeze into his seat on the bus, even though there were already two kids in it and there were other seats open. He never asked, just plopped down and shoved, and then acted badly all the way to school. So my son proudly told him one day: I've got lice!

Worked like a charm.

Camille: I feel very strongly about "lap babies." I feel that airlines should offer more of an incentive for people traveling with children so that babies have their own seats with car seats. When I was in an emergency landing, my eldest was 11 months old. When we were planning to go down in the brace position (the flight attendants had 10 minutes to get us all in the brace position), I asked what to do with my daughter. The flight attendant told me to place her on the ground. I knew, from analysis of a plane crash ours was going to be like should it happen (the one that landed in a corn field), that all babies placed on the floor had died. I ended up buttoning her into my coat and hoping for the best. We didn't crash (obviously)--the hydraulic fluid had all drained from one side of the plane, so there were two areas of danger--wind, which would cause us to bank to left or right to strongly or that the landing gear wouldn't come down--it was a smooth day, and the flight attendants managed to get the landing gear down manually. Still, from that moment forward, I always bought a seat for my children when they were under 2.

Your tall guy sounds like a gem!

More talk coming, Julie!!

Lice! Great idea, Sara. It would have to be handled gracefully, though, or you'd end up off the plane :)

love the etiquette idea, kelly.

when one of my ad buddies found himself in a middle seat, he'd slowly pull out the barf bag from the seat in front of him, snap it open, and prop it on his stomach in a 'ready' position.

people left him alone.
-annette

a very kind small man once let me use his tray table because someone was pushed all the way back in the seat in front of me. I was writing the talk I had to give upon arrival and my panic must have been obvious when that seat back moved into my laptop. so I was turned and working all over my neighbor's space for the rest of the flight!

THIS is hilarious - and a bit too close to home, as we're going to be on a plane in three weeks. How would I respond to this?

To begin with, I am immediately switching my seat preference to aisle -- the whole six-year-old "I wanna window seat!" is a reflex I should have squelched!! I, too, have maintained a hostile silence whilst traveling, glaring tiny needles into wayward legs... what's worst for me is someone else's thigh touching mine. It. Is. Just. Too. Hot. For. That. Sealed in metal tubes, recycling air other people have breathed, with some legs-spread slouching male, uugh. I never speak to people, but I have been known to shift the items and nudge the person of others as they stray into my dearly bought-and-paid-for space, and to build quite nice pillow walls. I hope they get the point; if they have questions, I would be ever so glad to explain my actions.

(Yes, you can tell this is why half of my travel is going to be done on the train.)

I tried the passive-aggressive stretch on a London bus once. When the offender disembarked, he punched me in the back of the head so hard my glasses flew off. Just as well, really, because if I had found them in time I would have thrown him down the stairs into Islington Upper Street... :-)

Yes, Tanita, the window seat is way overrated. And, ewww, re: having someone's thigh touching you. Yuck! Switch your seats asap. (I hope you're not on United, however. Last time I "reserved" seats, they turned out to only be provisional--as they explained at the airport.)

Nick: See why I was afraid to confront my hairy-legged neighbor?

One of the (only?) benefits of the middle seat is that it has the largest underseat space, meaning you can fit your bag AND your feet under there. The aisle seat has the smallest. If the problem was that he couldn't get his legs under there for his bag, I would have either "volunteered" some space for his bag (better than his feet, right?) or encouraged him to put it in the overhead bin. But then I'm not afraid of confrontation.

I don't recline my seat either, unless the person behind me is reclined or the seat is empty. RyanAir doesn't even give you the option!

To be sure you're not stuck in the middle, Kelly, always check in online as soon as possible and select your seats (never trust the ticket agent). Use http://www.seatguru.com/ to make sure you have the best seat possible.

Hope all is well in the run up to the start of the semester!

Hey there, poet! Nice to see you on the blogs :)

Great idea re: luggage. I did not have much, so that could have worked. Except, I don't think he had a bag under his seat.

I did check in online, but it was United. They are the only U.S. carrier whose online reservations are "preliminary." I wouldn't fly United again if I could help it. Alas, I often can't help it, especially if headed West.

I love the no reclining seats on Ryan air. Hate the eternal advertising that goes on over the loudspeaker, however. Anna and I were laughing the whole time this summer.

I'm looking forward to this semester! I've got classes I like and I'm well rested for once.

While you're in Edinburgh, see if you can spot my initials carved atop Salisbury Crags! NG 1996. (Actually last time I was there even I could find them...)

Nick, no initials spotted as of yet! But...I saw Cat Kin in stores, which was quite exciting :)

I think we're reading all of the same books. :)

That's so fascinating to me, Kelly - because I can't write on a computer! I have to write by hand and then transpose onto the computer. I can't even EDIT on the computer - I have to print it out and edit by hand, then type!

Different strokes for different folks, for sure.

Oh, Kelley, it sounds as if you're in agony. I hope the computer arrives soon to relieve the distress that writing by hand brings you.

Over the past few years, I've had an ongoing discussion with one of my friends about writing by hand vs typing. She swears that writing by hand helps her slow down and think more clearly (or, maybe not clearly, but with more feeling) when she's working on novels.

If you Google "handwriting vs typing" you'll find endless debates about which is the best method for getting words down on paper. But it sounds like you don't have much of a choice... if you're in pain just holding a pen or pencil.

The trick is getting the words down... however you can... and if you can't write by hand or get to a computer (and you don't have an old typewriter stowed in the attic), perhaps you might consider dictation, a method that's not often talked about ... but which is used quite successfully, I think, by numerous authors.

Some writers use a tape-recorder (while jogging, while stopped at traffic lights, while walking to the library) and then transcribe the tape themselves or ask someone else to transcribe the tape... so that, like magic, the words appear--voila!--on the page.

It sounds complicated in terms of revision, etc., but at least you might get the words down... as a rough draft... and save your aching hand more stress.

Of course, this doesn't solve your internet problem...

Anyway, hope you're back soon!

I'm so sorry that you're computer-less. How frustrating. I hope you're back online soon!

I'm with you on the writing: I can't write anything longhand anymore. I just can't get my thoughts together on paper. It's way too slow. I seem to need the keyboard to express myself - and it's like the keyboard has a direct link to my brain.

Poor you -- I have rheumatoid arthritis, which comes and goes in severity -- constant hand pain would be awful.

How I write: longhand for poetry and notes, typing for most other stuff.

I have always been so awed of those writers who do everything freehand. Seriously, my hand cramps, and I'm just like you in not being able to write fast enough for my brain.
I remember reading about how Lian Hearn had written all four books in his Tales of the Otori series by hand in basically one trip to Japan. He even suggested what the best kind of pen to use would be. I'm thinking no pen could make the job easier for me.

I've always done a lot of writing by hand for newspaper work, but I find that I often don't bother to actually read it.

Recently I wrote a first draft of something long hand and then just ignored it when it came time to type it up.

Very, very little of my book & manuscripts were done longhand.

I sometimes will write a few notes in longhand about a book, if I finish late at night, and my computer is turned off. But otherwise, I'm all computer. In fact, I take things a step further. I have trouble working on my computer, especially for book reviews, if I'm not connected to the internet. I need to be able to stop and look things up and add links and all of that. I can draft something offline (but on the computer), but I have to force myself.

I'm left-handed, and I never had good handwriting, but it amazes me now looking at all of my old notebooks and things, that I was ever able to write so much in longhand.

One other thought about writing on the computer vs. in longhand is that I am a big reviser, even when writing simple things like email, and it's much more painful for me to be scratching stuff out on paper (though I know that some people like to be able to see the previous version).

Good luck with the computer situation. And thanks for posing an interesting question.

I always write on paper. Most of my writing is done during commutes to and from work and I don't carry a laptop so.....not much choice. To be honest, though, if I had a laptop to bring on the commutes I'd still opt for pen and paper. My brain must not operate at hyperspeed...

Jim D

I can write emails and book reviews directly onto the computer, and like Jen, I prefer to be online to do my book reviews so I can add links and check things.

But when it comes to write prose, be it fiction or non-fiction, I cannot *think* properly unless I have a pen in my hand. I've tried writing both kinds of prose direct to the computer and it has absolutely no flow to it; it becomes staccato and telegraph-like, with ridiculous numbers of parentheses and ellipses (check out my emails and Blog comments if you don't believe me!)...

And yes, I'm very particular about the pen I use and the colour of ink (blue) and even the notebooks in which I write (I am an obsessive by nature anyway!)...

I totally feel for your suffering Kelly - I know I suffer from some RSI which I suspect may well translate into arthritis when I'm older, but I shall still go on stubbornly writing longhand...

Oh, Kelly, I feel your pain...your psychic pain, anyway. I'm also a computer writer; I can't do much more than write notes longhand. Part of the problem is that after I write something, I want to re-read it and see how it looks on the page. If I'm writing long-hand, I have to ignore the crossed-out passages, make the carroted insertions, and imagine what that passage I've circled and connected with an arrow somewhere else on the page. Too messy! And by the time I've written down what I really want to say, I've forgotten what I want to say.

This is not an ideal solution, but if you have a palm pilot (or just about any other PDA, I think), you can get a keyboard that you can use with the device. And software called Documents to Go allows you to create and edit Word documents on your PDA. I use mine when I know I'll want to write something but don't want to carry my laptop.

I think my keyboard cost about $100.

Kelly,

I find I have to write letters and other prose on the computer. I don't usually think in an organized fashion. I love the way I can cut and paste and change and rearrange phrases, wording, sentences, and paragraphs so easily on a computer.

For my poetry, I keep little journals or notebooks and usually write my first drafts of my poems in them. Then I type them on the computer and work on them there--unless I can't get them the way I want them. Then I print them off and work on them with pencil in hand.

I should note, too, that there is much of my writing that begins in my head. I'll often work through ideas there before I commit them to paper or computer.

Happy Fourth of July! Don't go crashing any more computers. My husband just got a virus in my of his laptops.

Elaine, I'm the same - I write lots of my stuff in my head first - fiction or non-fiction. I think I scared my BA dissertation tutor when I told him I had half of my 10,000 word dissertation composed in my head before I put pen to paper. I more or less said "Doesn't everyone do that?" and he was quite definite that they didn't !

When I'm writing a paper or an essay, it has to be done in my head first. My classmates in college used to stare at me when it would appear that I was just starting to write a paper quite close to the deadline. What they didn't realize that the paper was pretty much done, I just needed to type it up. Currently it leads to a lot of conversations like this "What are you doing?" "Homework" "Erm, you're staring at the ceiling" "I'm writing a paper. Go away" "YOU'RE STARING AT THE CEILING!"

When I write an essay or fiction, usually, because it's been written in my head, the words come very quickly, and I type much more quickly than I write long-hand.

But when I take notes or outline? That has to be done longhand. I have a very organized structure to my notes that is easy to do longhand, but would take way too much time to be efficent if I tried to format it on a computer. Also, I draw a lot of arrows to bring concepts together. That's hard to do on a computer.

Barbara-- I hear you about editing though. I need to print something out and grab a pen to edit or proof-read something-- I just don't see a lot of stuff on the screen that I see as soon as it's on paper in terms of typos and weird syntax.

Whatever your mode of operation, it seems to me that it's difficult to be forced into another one. It seems to me that part of the whole thing is getting to that place where you aren't thinking much about the mechanics of typing or writing and are lost in the flow of the work. Working in a way you aren't comfortable with makes you think more about the mechanics of the task.

Personally, I find that I move very fluidly between using the computer and writing longhand. I used to write everything longhand in first draft, but now I probably do 80% of my first drafts right on the computer. I like the computer for getting a lot of words down quickly and also for editing, but I tend to move to longhand when I'm struggling. Every once in a while when I can't get something right that I've been working on in my word processor, I'll start over on paper in longhand. There is something for me in occasionally being forced to slow down and think about every word. It's no good if it causes one physical pain, though.

I used to do all my writing in longhand. Daily use of the computer though has driven out my ability to think and write with a pen. Now it seems like the words have to flow through my individual fingers and onto a keyboard in order for my brain to play with them.

I tried writing some book reviews in longhand just the other night and found that my brain could not handle it. Weird. Maybe it would be interesting to try a good pen.

Camille, I swear by my Sheaffer ballpoint pen. I hate writing with disposable biros as they physically weigh nothing. My Sheaffer pen is exactly the right weight and thickness (slender) to hold for hours without giving me cramps. When I went to buy it the chap in the pen shop was utterly bemused by my insistence on trying about a dozen different pens for weight and thickness. He kept trying to persuade me to buy one or other of these really chunky flashy-looking pens and I wouldn't even try them out. So glad I didn't listen to him ! I swear by my pen and carry it everywhere with me...

Amen, Kelly! I'm with you. Some of my fondest memories are of catching frogs in the pond and playing army with my brother and his friends. Now, I certainly understand that some girls prefer baking cupcakes and dressing up to mucking around in the pond, but it should be because they like to do those things, not because it's expected of them because they are girls. And the same goes for boys! We shouldn't be publishing books that reinforce the gender dichotomy on either side. Cheers to The Daring Book for Girls for daring to break the stereotypes! And cheers to both boys and girls who like to bake cupcakes and catch frogs!

GO GIRLS!

Re: Colbert: Get on there and talk about CYBILS!

Absolutely, Sheila!

Great idea, LW. Though I'd be freaked out of my mind. I LOVE Colbert. Hopefully Anne could handle it :)

I always thought you needed at least one extra hand for the whole french braid thing.

Well, see, Tricia. You NEED "How to Be the Best at Everything." Clearly your french braiding technique needs work ;)

SWEET! I am so going to read that.

Oh this post just made my day. Can't wait to see this one.

Oh and I just realized that one of the authors is Andrea Buchanan. I love her writings on motherhood. Excellent.

Oh and I just read (had to go look it up, 'cause her name was so familiar) that Miriam Peskowitz wrote The Truth Behind the Mommy Wars. Oh, this Daring Books for Girls is going to be SO GOOD.

Oh and I meant to say that even that How to be the Best at Everything sub-title (or whatever it was) gives me the willies. I'm with you on that one.

(Sorry for the trilogy of a comment)...

I'll take a trilogy from you any day, Jules :) It does look like an awesome book, especially when compared to the others in the bunch.

I also didn't realize when I first looked at it that one of the authors is Andrea Buchanan. Andi and I have been online friends for years, and she did the interior design for my husband's books, The Dark Dreamweaver and The Breezes of Inspire., as well as the covers of the original hardcover editions. (She's multi-talented!)

We haven't been in touch much lately, so I didn't know she was working on this. When I noticed the name, I emailed her to ask, "Is this you?" and she confirmed that it is. I just wanted to say that I would have cheered the book as I did above even if I didn't know one of the authors (and I didn't know I did when I made my comment above!)

Making pom poms? Who the hell wants to learn how to make pom poms when you can find out how to be a spy?

For the love of all that is holy hasn't anyone even considered for a minute why Nancy Drew has endured for a million years?? It's because girls want to be detectives just as much as boys do!!!

Pom poms?? I think I need to go do some primeval screaming now.....

Colleen

Okay, Sheila...Now I'm even more excited :)

Colleen: Scream it loud and strong and maybe they'll hear.

"It promises chapters on 'Five karate moves every girl should know' and 'Famous women spies.'"

Sign me UP. Pair that with some Kiki Strike, and you've got an awesome Girl Nation.

After I joked about the 'Dangerous Book for Girls' by Nini Mo, Ysabeau Wilce said she was ALL for it. Honestly: I can make cupcakes. But a periscope and a water balloon launcher? VITAL information.

ROFL! You guys all have me rolling on the floor. Kindred spirits!

I just wish these books didn't have to be gendered at all!

Isn't it stupid that it's 2007 and we're STILL having to explain that girls don't have to be all pom-poms and cupcakes? Yeesh.

Karate, arrow heads...? Yikes. I knew all that thing about the pom-poms was just a devious spy disguise...

Kelly: Remember, Colbert is slated to portray my father or uncle on something someday. He just doesn't know it yet.

Had a hellish return from CO last Sunday and I, too, have sworn off flying. Except, maybe to get to Europe next summer. Although, a cruise to Europe...hmmm....

I can vouch for Kelly - she's fabulous. I just joined another online group or I'd be right with you. BTW - I know P from BB is looking too - have you two hooked up?

Thanks, Cyn :) I wish we could work together again! I'll send you an e-mail this evening.

I have got to have some motivation or my thesis shall never get done. I've got 30k of a YA novel, but my local group has fallen through.

M

I found some great fiction book reviews. You can also see those reviews in Non fiction book

Madeleine: I'll shoot an e-mail your way this evening (Tues)

Dang, I wish I could join you but I'm so overwhelmed right now. Sigh.

I have about 50 YA novels in me. Gah.

yes yes yes

I have a complete draft finished and then I realized I need to restructure the order of presentation (we don't meet some of the really interesting people until way past half-way through), so I need to re-write it. Plus my main characters are still a bit scrawny. A few are very knowable, some others even I get mixed up about (not a good sign).

Mostly I need the accountability that a group brings.

My credentials: reader of YA MG books and I was a college English teacher B.C. (before children).

[email protected]

Anne: I wish you could join us! Maybe later?

Suzanne! I'll send you an e-mail this evening.

This is a great, great list!

It's probably much too late for your list, but the "Zelda and Ivy" books by Laura Kvasnosky are wonderful. "Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways" won the Theodor Seuss Geisel Beginner Reader Award this year.

What a great list! Thanks for putting this together Kelly!

Great job! Thanks, Kelly, this is an excellent resource list.

Bonny: No it's not too late. I'm going to do an updated list at the end of the weekend, because a very kind reader sent in some great titles I forgot to include!! I'll put in yours as well.

Thanks, LW, Elaine, and Vivian: This list was EXACTLY what I needed. I'm going to purchase about 30 of these at one go, so we'll have our material for the summer.

Awesome, Kelly! I'm going to link to this from WPL's blog for parents. And the Fly Guy cover made the entry! How cool is it that they sell those at Target?

This is great, Kelly! The information will be really helpful for folks.

I meant to chime in earlier with a recommendation for the Fluffy the Classroom Guinea Pig series, by Kate McMullan (illustrated by Mavis Smith). Part of the "Hello Reader" imprint published by Scholastic. Fluffy is feisty and lots of fun. About the same level as "Mr. Putter and Tabby," which we love, too.

Oh thank you!! I'll be needing this before I know it. What a great resource!

You are welcome. :)

Had you read the Amanda or the Arthur books?

I hope that you can find Tom the TV Cat and Sleepy Dog. Tom is probably still out-of-print, but Sleepy Dog has been reprinted. Crossed fingers (and paws)!

Oh, I forgot about the Fluffy books. Those books are great.

This is a great list! Thanks for making it so easy to print and save. You have inspired me to work on my own list at LibraryThing. Most of my titles are old so it's nice to see all the newer books coming out.

A favorite series of mine are the
BRAND NEW READERS from Candlewick. Great for learning to read--funny and well-designed.

Mr. Putter and Tabby is still huge with my older son, even as he devours Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Oh, yes, Chris, Mr. Putter! A great choice.

There's the whole section in B&N with the early readers. My son is loving the non-fiction ones. We must have five books on sharks, 2 Titanic books, The Trojan Horse, Mummies, Pompeii. They have really a ton of cool subjects.
And I'll add this, though I almost shudder, but we just started on Captain Underpants a week ago. He LOVES these!

Um, PJ...your kid sounds exactly like mine. The Underpants man goes on the list!

Kelly,

Seymour Simon now has a series of easy-reader nonfiction books called SeeMore Readers published by SeaStar.

There's also an All Aboard Reading series of nonfiction books written by different authors.

Scholastic has a leveled nonfiction series called Hello Science Reader.

Random House has a Step into Reading series--also with nonfiction books.

DK Readers are nonfiction books with photographs.

HarperCollins/Harper Trophy publishes the An I Can Read series of poetry books that were popular with some of my boys who found learning to read a challenge. Many of these books are anthologies with poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins.

Harking back to the old days--The Billy and Blaze series is back in print. Does your son like horses?

My students enjoyed the Morris the Moose/Morris & Boris books.

Other series include: Pinky and Rex, Little Bear, Iris and Walter, Poppleton, and the always humorous Minnie and Moo.

Riddle books were always popular with my students, too. Books like the Puffin Easy-to-Read "Mummy Riddles."

Also by Puffin Easy-to-Read books is "Get Well, Good Knight." I believe there are a number of other titles about the knight.

Those are some suggestions for you.

My two kids had the same pattern as yours. Some funny series/books we've liked are Minnie and Moo series, a newer Rylant series, The High-Rise Dectectives, an easy reader called Pirate Mom, and if he can stand a girl main character, The Monster in the Backpack.

There are also lots of nonfiction books about animals that are written for beginning readers, (as noted above in the four minutes it took me to write this comment). We read a lot of those.

Wow, Elaine! You know your stuff!!

The Seymour Simon goes straight to the top of the pile. I love him because he made the endless read aloud of non fiction titles bearable for me.

Oh! I LOVE Poppleton. I had forgotten all about it.

I will print these all out before heading to the store...

How funny, MR. You don't think it's because all that intensive work goes into child #1 and then, well, you know what happens... (Cue parental guilt!)

Great sugggestions! I'm check them out for sure.

My kid has been working hard at learning to read all year; she loves anything funny, especially Edward Marshall's "Fox" series (Fox and his Friends; Fox on the Job; Fox All Week)and Dav Pilkey's "Dragon" books.

Easy reader joke and riddle books--like "Fishy Riddles" and "Turkey Riddles" are also a big hit.

My littley is of the girl variety but is way into the animal kingdom and she loves the Amazing Whales (Snakes, Gorillas, etc.) series put out by HarperTrophy with the help of the Wildlife Conservation Society. Lots of good quirky facts and kid-relatable comparisons.

Beyond those? The Mudge, Putter and Poppleton series are beyond compare. Just beyond compare...

Kelly,

It's easy for me to make lists of books because I have my own library filled with children's literature. I keep reminding my daughter that these children's books are her inheritance. She rolls her eyes. I think she'd rather have money!

You've gotten terrific suggestions so far -- in fact, Elaine pretty much cleaned up the joint, I think.

Yes, she did. Go, Elaine!

Take a look at two books by Ruth Horowitz about boys, bugs, and a scientist mom, _Breakout at the Bug Lab_ and _Big Surprise in the Bug Tank_.

Also the winners of the Gryphon Award from the University of Illinois are a really interesting group of books--
http://ccb.lis.uiuc.edu/gryphon.html

I like to share Lois Ehlert picture books with new readers. The active perspective in the artwork and texts is really refreshing. It's fun to get a big stack of them from the library.

Susan Marie

Does Jamberry (by Bruce Degen, IIRC) count as an early reader?

My son is five and slowly reading - he has a lot of the same interests as your little one and is just taking his time, so I try not to push.

The big thing for him lately is comics - have you considered any of those? We read Justice League (the cartoon network version) and there are also Little Archie, Scooby Doo and others - most of them put out by the cartoon network.

If you have a comic shop in your town you should check it out or if you're interested, I order mine from my old shop down in FL and they ship them to me.

Colleen

PS. Also thanks for asking about this list - I'll be copying down tons of these suggestions for my little one!

Here are a few suggestions and it covers a bit of reading range, but I figure it's always good to have a variety of books to pique the reading appetite. Good luck!

Danny and the Dinosaur books by Syd Hoff

Sammy the Seal by Syd Hoff

Oliver by Syd Hoff

Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik

Arthur's Back to School Day by Lillian Hoban

The Magic Tree House series - for more confident readers, but always good for incentive.

The Magic School Bus series -for more confident readers, but always good to act as a carrot.

The Rotten Ralph series by Jack Gantos

The Flat Stanley series by Jeff Brown

Stuart's Cape and Stuart Goes To School by Sara Pennypacker (who wrote Clementine) This might not fit in to your needs, but they're cute.

Nate the Great.

And Amelia Bedelia.

Amanda Pig, Schoolgirl by Jean Van Leeuwen, illustrated by Ann Schweninger (and more in the series)
Arthur's Honey Bear by Lillian Hoban (and more in the series)
Tom the TV Cat by Joan Heilbroner
Sleepy Dog by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Norman Gorbaty
Tiger Is a Scaredy Cat by Joan Phillips, illustrated by Norman Gorbaty
Mouse Soup by Arnold Lobel

I'm going to put in a plug for the "Alien and Possum" books by Tony Johnston. With illustrations by Tony DiTerlizzi and an essentially rediculous premise (possums and aliens CAN be friends!) I'm a fan. Ditto the incredibly sweet and smart "Houndsley and Catina" by James Howe. A kid actually told me about this one and it's incredibly charming. Oh! And the "Little Rat" books by Monika Bang-Campbell like "Little Rate Rides". Sublime.

Zoom Broom and Space Race are good easy reader titles.

You've a great list already, but just wanted to add the Frances books (by Russell & Lillian Hoban), which were big hits with my two.

The kids here devour Little Bill books, but they deal heavily with complex interpersonal relations.

The Berenstain Bears have an easy reader series.

I like Young Cam Jansen (which, if he likes, he can move into the Cam Jansen series which is a step or two above in reading level).

Amelia Bedelia continues to be popular, plus the classic Dr. Seuss and PD Eastman.

We like the Usbourne Apple Tree Farm books (Heather Amery) quite a lot! There are two levels of reading on each page, which is a nice touch. The Castle Tales are also good.

Magic School bus has a series of easier books that we liked as well--Magic School bus gets lost in the Snow is the only title I remember.

People have listed most of my faves, but I'd add the newer Fly Guy beginning readers by Tedd Arnold (local in these parts). They're funny books, and I love those sparkly covers.

Such great suggestions, everyone. I'm going to post the list tomorrow as a pdf, so it can be printed easily.

Adrienne: I just picked up 2 Fly Guys yesterday on a Target run!

I will be reading all these books with my Buddy this summer too, so I am really happy to hear you will give us the pdf list for printing. Thanks for doing this! Great suggestions all.

Hello, The children's classic,
Are you my mother? by P.D. Eastman, was always our favorite! It's so much fun to read-

Ann Clemmons

http://aniceplaceinthesun.blogspot.com/