Author: Tasha

Newbery Numbness

| Tasha

School Library Journal has an intriguing article on the recent Newbery winners and their lack of popularity.  I have to agree.  I feel a certain numbness about all of them.  My biggest pleasure this last year was the win of Brian Selznick for Hugo Cabret. 

My greatest disappointment was that it didn’t win the Newbery.  Two of my other favorites of 2007 were Elijah of Buxton and Wednesday Wars. 

They both got Newbery Honors, but not the Medal.  Somehow there is a disconnect where the Honor Books in recent years seem to be more popular, accessible and of the same writing standard as the winners.

Of course, this is exactly the sort of thing that created the Cybils.  The Cybils take audience reaction into account alongside writing quality. 

Our conversations center on how children and teens will react to the books, but they also focus on writing style, theme, characters, scope, genre, and other pieces that make exceptional books. 

The Cybils are open right now for your input.  Nominate your favorite books of the year.  Participate by reading the blog.  Be a part of a new award process that hopefully addresses some of the issues with the Newbery and forges a new path.

Dinosaur vs. Bedtime

| Tasha

Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea

Shea of the charming New Socks returns with another winning picture book for toddlers and preschoolers.  Dinosaur meets each challenge in his day with a huge ROAR!  He wins again and again against dire threats such as leaf piles, the big slide, spaghetti and even talking grownups!  But there is one thing he has trouble defeating: bedtime.  Will Dinosaur be able to overcome it this time?

Shea manages to translate the toddler experience directly to the page.  With few words, a bright red dinosaur with a mouth full of pointy teeth, and rhythm and repetition, he has created a perfect story to share with toddler groups.  Getting the children to join in the ROAR-ing will be no trouble.  Getting them to stop may be! 

Highly recommended for children ages 2-4.  Share this title when they are headed outside and let the ROAR-ing commence!

Keisha Ann Can

| Tasha

Keisha Ann Can! by Daniel Kirk

Bright colored illustrations and a wonderful rhythm raise this picture book to the top of a crowded field of school-related picture books.  Keisha Ann heads through her day at school, introducing children to waiting in line, sharing, helping others, imaginative play and other pieces of a day in a classroom.  The concepts are offered without lecturing in a friendly, bouncy style.  Smiling children of all colors play side-by-side happily on all of the pages.  The focus of the book is on the children rather than the teacher, showing youngsters exactly what a day at school consists of.

Kirk’s text is exactly the right length to be shared with 3-year-olds anticipating heading to preschool or kindergarten classes.  The bounce and movement in the text adds to the pleasure of the book, instilling a feeling of happiness about school.  Kirk’s illustrations are large, vibrant and filled with color.  Perfect for sharing with a preschool group.

Recommended for ages 3-5.  Children will see themselves on the pages and be able to imagine themselves there, which is all one could ask for an introduction to school.

Traction Man Meets Turbodog

| Tasha

Traction Man Meets Turbodog by Mini Grey

The amazing Traction Man returns and along with his trusty friend Scrubbing Brush brave the Northwest Slope of Mt. Compost Heap.  Unfortunately, on the journey, Scrubbing Brush is caught in the Sinking Mud of the Pond and gets caked in dirt.  While they are resting after their adventure, Scrubbing Brush is replaced by the beeping, talking TurboDog.  However, TurboDog really isn’t up for the sorts of adventures Traction Man has.  He gets sand in his gears, isn’t any good at stealth missions, and only likes to watch himself on TV.  But Scrubbing Brush has disappeared and can’t be found anywhere.  Traction Man is despondent until he hears a very faint bark coming from The Dark and Terrible Underworld of the Bin.  No one has ever survived the garbage bin.  Now it is up to Traction Man to see if he is brave and skilled enough to meet this horror and save his friend.

This second Traction Man book is just as charming as the first.  Grey’s small touches in the illustrations make the world she creates all the more alive and interesting.  Her text begs to be read aloud with a great strong Traction Man voice.  Humor is at the heart of the book, directed at gimmicky sales and not the world of imagination, making the book all the more effective.

Highly recommended, this book is great fun and guaranteed to have children listening intently and laughing along.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Nominations Are Now Open!

| Tasha

Join in the fun that is the Cybil Awards, the children’s lit blog awards!  Now entering their third year!

You can nominate only one book in each category, so think carefully and browse through the other nominations to make sure you aren’t duplicating someone else’s.  Some people love to nominate early, others wait until the nominations close on October 15th, so that they can nominate their favorite that got overlooked by others.

There are a few rules:

One nomination per genre per person.

The book must be published between January 1 and October 15 of 2008.

English or bilingual books only.

Easy peasy! 

 

Here are the genres:

Fantasy and Science Fiction

Fiction Picture Books

Graphic Novels

Middle Grade Fiction

Non-fiction: Middle Grade and YA

Non-fiction Picture Books

Poetry

Young Adult Fiction

 

I’m lucky enough to have been asked to head the Fantasy/Science Fiction category and the only thing I regret is that I won’t be able to nominate books this year.  So you go ahead and enjoy!  Nominate some great ones!

Swords

| Tasha

Swords by Ben Boos.

This nonfiction book is packed full of information on many types of swords ranging from Iron Age swords to those carried by ninjas.  Readers will enjoy the detailed information on each type of sword and its wielder, filled with details about the blade, the hilt and the way it is used in battle.  In each chapter, there is a vivid double-spread that highlights swords from that period rendered in 3-D style. 

This is a book that will capture children’s imaginations, have them poring over the book, and talking about it with friends.  The ink line drawings are detailed and accompanied by the detailed information while the two-page spreads are images only, allowing the swords to speak for themselves.  All sorts of readers will enjoy this book, whether looking for information or just fuel for their imagination.

No needs to sell this book, just face it out on your nonfiction shelves and it will never ever sit for long.  Recommended for ages 8-12.

Knucklehead

| Tasha

Knucklehead: tall tales & mostly true stories of growing up Scieszka by Jon Scieszka

I firmly believe that Jon Scieszka set out to write the most boy-friendly book in the world, and succeeded.  This autobiographical book has all the elements that boys want.  It is guaranteed to fly off the shelves thanks to the amazing vintage comic-book cover.  When boys read it, they are bound to share it with their friends thanks to the firecrackers, peeing, barfing, and continuous wild antics of the Scieszka brothers.  But what the cover and the louder moments of the book won’t reveal is the lovely tone of the book that captures boyhood and brotherhood with such ease.  The author is right there laughing with us at each event, loving looking back into his childhood together. 

He is also doing other important things, vital things for his young male readers.  He is showing boys that it is just fine to be pure boys.  To be silly, wild, crude, and violent.  That humor is contagious and that laughing together is powerful.  That being unique or even a little odd is just fine.  And that adults need not approve for it to be a great great story.

I read this book aloud to my sons at bedtime.  During the two weeks we shared the book together, they asked to go to bed EARLY multiple times to hear the story continue!  There was a visceral connection there, a community of men and boys being built, there was wonder, humor, and definitely wild abandon.

Anyone looking for an incredible read aloud for boys has found it here.  Age appropriateness is up to you as a parent.   There are crude things here in all of their bodily-function glory.  I happily read it to my own seven-year-old, but probably would not use it with a class of 2nd graders.  This is a treasure of a nonfiction book.  Share it with the knuckleheads in your life.

Shift

| Tasha

Shift by Charlotte Agell

In a frighteningly possible future, Homestate rules the land.  Evolution is not allowed to be discussed let alone taught in schools, watching religious programming is required, and the End of the World is approaching according to many.  This all happened after terrorists bombed Boston with nuclear weapons, creating a swath of dead land across the Eastern United States.  To the north of the Deadlands which still swirl with radioactive dust lies a land of horrible devastation and crazy people.  At 15-years-old, Adrian has seen his friends disappear for not believing, his mother change from a scientists into a shell, and his little sister grow into her strange psychic abilities.  Now he finds himself on an adventure across the Deadlands with a girl he barely knows, his little sister and a penguin.  And all they have to look forward to on the other side is a frightening unknown.

Agell has created a world that is all too possible.  I applaud her for not shirking away from what religious zealots could create in this world, though at times her tone can be too strident about the dangers.  The book is gripping and impossible to put down.  It vibrantly mixes humor and horror together.  One worry I have is that it does belittle the dangers of nuclear weapons, rather than showing the devastation to the extent it should be.  There were also some mixed messages about what food was safe to eat.  But the heart of the story and the journey were a treat.

This book is a mixture of action, adventure and disaster and is well worth the time to read thanks to its writing.  While I have quibbled about some of the points in the book, it is a strong novel with a strong voice.  Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Doctor Meow's Big Emergency

| Tasha

Doctor Meow’s Big Emergency by Sam Lloyd

The author of Mr. Pusskins has a new series.  This first in the Whoops-a-Daisy World series, follows a day with Dr. Meow and her trusty ambulance driver, Woof.  When the phone rings saying "Emergency, emergency,"  Dr. Meow finds that Tom Cat has fallen out of a tree.  Off she rushes with Woof driving to find him.  They take him back to the hospital, x-ray his broken leg, and put on a cast.  In the end, even Mr. Bird, who was being chased by Tom Cat when he fell, is in a happy mood.

This book has a very small-town, old-fashioned feel that will appeal to adults and children alike.  Dr. Meow is a calm, rational character whose thrilling job is handled with just the right tone.  Allowing children to be excited about racing to the rescue, but also offering a calm reaction to an everyday crisis.  Lloyd’s illustrations and text work well together, filled with sunny yellow and bright reds. The text is equally friendly and warm. 

A lovely first visit to Whoops-a-Daisy World, I look forward to the others in the series.  Great read aloud potential for even toddlers because of the friendly nature of the book but also the amount of action.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.