Month: August 2008

All A-Twitter

| Tasha

I’m not quite sure what to make of the news that Wal-mart supermarket in the UK has pulled the book My Sister Jodie by Jacqueline Wilson because of a swear word.  OK, so that’s not surprising.  It’s the sort of thing that I’ve come to expect from Wal-Mart.  But the surprise comes from Random House who has agreed to edit the book and remove the offending word by changing one letter so that it reads "twit" instead.

The book has already sold over 28,000 copies with no complaint.  Here’s the response from Random House:

A spokesman for Random House Children’s Books said: "In the context of the character, we felt it was used in a way that accurately portrayed how children like Jodie would speak to each other.

"The book is aimed at children aged 10 and over, and we felt it was acceptable for that age range.

"However, in light of this response we have decided to amend the word when we reprint the book."

In the US, we don’t know Dame Jacqueline Wilson as well as they do in the UK, but she is amazingly popular there.  She has sold over 20 million books in the UK alone!  Which is another piece of this puzzle that makes Random House’s response all the more odd.

So what do you think?  What should Random House have done?  Is that word appropriate for books aimed at children over age 10?  Do powerful retailers have the right to ask for edits in books? 

The Pencil

| Tasha

The Pencil by Allan Ahlberg, illustrated by Bruce Ingman.

Ahlberg and Ingman have created a picture book that is both charming and inventive.  It is the story of a lonely pencil who decides to start drawing and creates its own world, filled with a boy, a dog, a cat, a paintbrush and much more.  Trouble comes when the pencil creates an eraser who starts to take control.  But clever thinking and quick drawing bring the story back full circle.

The humorous bits are what make this book work so well.  There are small running gags, silly moments and other funny bits that add up to a book that will get giggles but has a lot of depth as well.  Ingman’s illustrations are integral to the book.  They create this world of creativity on both the subtle black-and-white spreads and those wild with color.  The partnership of author and illustrator here is so successful that it is hard to imagine the book was done by two different people. 

Highly recommended for art classes or classes doing drawing, this is also a great book for craft days at libraries or to share with your own little artist.

Best-Loved Books

| Tasha

Home on vacation watching a documentary on Netflix Watch It Now.  It is Stone Reader, a film about a quest to find an author who only wrote one book that is strikingly forgotten.

I adore documentaries in much the same way I do books.  For me, just like books they reveal deeper truths below what we see on the surface every day. 

I was so happy to see that the documentary talks about other books as well, including the books that Mark Moskowitz and his friends read during their childhood.  It is these books that immediately bring smiles to their faces and get them talking about reading.  All pretension falls away and there is just the joy of reading a really good book.

They talk about Dr. Seuss, Harold and the Purple Crayon, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and the Hardy Boy series.   It got me thinking about what books define my childhood.  Here are the ones that immediately come to mind:

Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder (controversial now that I am an adult, but I loved these.  I still have my battered first copies that I read and reread again and again, held together by shockingly red tape and yellowing Scotch tape.)

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (I knew this book so well that I stopped reading it front to back and would just dive in wherever I wanted to be at that particular time.  Did I want wealth and pampering or did I want dark, cold attic?)

Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken (I tried and tried to read other Aiken novels, but never made it through another one.  This one I read over and over again, loving the adventure, the danger and gutsy heroines.)

Tell Me a Mitzi by Lore Segal is a book that brings back such memories for me that I actually can smell my childhood and taste it.   I finally got my own copy of the new paperback edition because I couldn’t find an old copy in my local libraries. 

All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown by Sydney Taylor, is one that I still have my tattered childhood copy of.  I won it in second grade for reading the highest number of books (tied with my best friend so that we could both win a book!)  My favorite scene is when one of the children looks into the fire and pulls out the glimmering jewel-like coals.  I still think of that whenever I gaze into a fire and the coals are bewitching.

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink is still a favorite.  Caddie was so spunky and vivacious and her childhood reminded me strongly of the stories I heard about my mother growing up on a farm.  I adored both Caddie Woodlawn and Magical Melons.

There are many others that I loved as a child.  But these are the ones that I read time and again as a child and sought out as an adult to have surround me.  As I look back at the list I just made, I am struck by the strong heroines in all of the books.  Not something I was consciously trying to do at all. 

That’s my list.  What would be on yours?

The Graveyard Book

| Tasha

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

When Bod was a toddler, his entire family was murdered as they slept.  Bod escaped into a nearby graveyard where the ghosts and creatures of the graveyard decided to care for him and protect him.  As Bod grows up, he is taught about the world as the ghosts understand it.  He is taught to Fade, Dreamwalk and cast Fear on people.  But he is not allowed to leave the protection of the graveyard.  When he does venture out, he finds himself confused about the living and where he himself fits in their society.  Will he be able to survive the horrors of the living?

Gaiman has done it again, taking what could have been a simple horror book and infusing it with humanity, grace and substance.  It is a delight to explore the graveyard through Bod’s eyes and meet its many denizens.  Bod’s adventures range from the everyday boyhood mishaps of a normal childhood to the more amazing and surprising encounters with ghouls, witches and murderers.  Gaiman does a masterful job of combining the two, creating a novel filled with adventure and horror that is entirely appropriate for young readers.

Gaiman’s characters are intriguing and believable, right down to the ghosts themselves.  Bod is a wonderful hero with plenty of nerve, gumption, and smarts.  It is his character who makes the entire novel work, his reactions that allow us our own and his voice that carries the book. 

One of the best ghost stories to come out in recent years, this novel is appropriate for ages 10 and up.

Goosebumps the Movie

| Tasha

Yes, I know libraries probably still have their made-for-TV Goosebumps movies on VHS.  And in most library, they probably still check out!  Now Columbia Pictures is planning the very first Goosebumps feature film. 

I love the comments on that link where people scoff at the very idea of a feature film and then start trying to guess exactly which book it will be based on.  Sounds like Columbia Pictures may just be onto something.

Goodnight Goon

| Tasha

Goodnight Goon by Michael Rex.

I’ve always been fond of parodies and nothing needs a silly send-up as much as the classic and very sweet Goodnight Moon.  The illustrations perfectly mirror those of the original, except this time there are spiders, bats, gravestones and skulls in the "cold gray tomb."  The tone is kept exactly the same as is the rhythm and rhyme.  The same flat style of sentence adds to the fun.

This book will appeal primarily to those who were read the original book as a bedtime story and are now much to old for that.  It is appropriate for younger ages, but early elementary children will enjoy the parody the most.  Recommended for a Halloween read aloud for ages 6-8.

Baron von Baddie and the Ice Ray Incident

| Tasha

Baron von Baddie and the Ice Ray Incident by George McClements.

Baron von Baddie was an evil genius who built huge robots to take over the world, or perhaps just to steal ice cream.  Thank goodness for Captain Kapow, who could always take care of Baron and keep him in check.  That is until one fateful day when Captain Kapow was frozen by Baron von Baddie’s ice ray.  No one could stop Baron von Baddie from doing what he wished.  He built robots, changed the days of the week around and ate lots and lots of doughnuts.  But eventually, even these pleasures lost their appeal.  So what is an evil genius to do if he misses his super counterpart?

Pure silly fun, this picture book will appeal to all sorts of children, but especially those who enjoy super heroes.  McClements’ paper art is eye-catching and comical.  The text of the book begs to be read aloud and the art will project well to even a large crowd. 

Anyone looking to practice their evil villain voices and super hero strut (and really, who isn’t?), will find plenty to enjoy here.  Highly recommended for rowdy classrooms of children or as a final read in a story time.  This is a book that will be asked for again and again.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Winter Trees

| Tasha

Winter Trees by Carole Gerber, illustrated by Leslie Evans.

The pair who created Leaf Jumpers return with an exploration of seven common types of tree in the winter.  A boy walks with his dog through the forest, discovering the different barks and forms of trees and identifying each one.  Gerber writes with a poetic hand, creating a book that sees beyond the trees themselves and speaks to the experience of a woods in winter.  Evans’ illustrations are strong and bold, capturing each tree and its characteristics with real style. 

Share this one on a wintry evening in front of the fire or in a class looking at trees.  The language of the book is a joy to read aloud and the illustrations will work well with an audience.  It is also a great book for kids who prefer nonfiction and for classrooms looking for winter books rather than holiday ones.  Appropriate for ages 5-7.

Graceling

| Tasha

Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

When Katsa was just a girl, she killed a man with her bare hands without even trying.  As a young adult, she is now the property of King Randa who uses her to threaten and bully people in his kingdom who don’t obey him.  But Katsa has a second job, that of the Council, where she rights wrongs and helps others with her Grace, a Grace that makes her one of the most feared people in the kingdom.  On one of the Council jobs, Katsa meets Po, a Graced prince of another realm who is her match in fighting.  Soon Katsa must decide if she is going to use her Grace to continue to serve an unjust king or go her own way, leaving her friends and comrades behind.

This is a gripping story of a wildcat fighter who slowly learns to be human, friendly and warm.  Her growth is steady, slow and completely believable as she fights her internal battle to allow others near.  Katsa is an amazing heroine, who suffers no fools, enjoys physical contests and is entirely herself down to her very bones.  In turn, Po offers a supportive and understanding counterpart to Katsa’s wildness, offering her a steady figure to rely on and learn from.

The setting is well-written and fully realized as is the world building.  Cashore has created a world where things make sense, work well and offer unique difficulties for our heroine.  There is a ring of truth about the entire novel that makes it a pleasure to read.

Highly recommended for fans of Tamora Pierce’s Beka Cooper, this book offers magic, adventure and a fabulous heroine.  Appropriate for ages 14-18, due to sexual situations in the novel.