The amazing Richie Partington (who not only writes incredible book reviews, has impeccable taste, but also seems to read faster than any other human) has created a wiki for Censorship Resources.  The wiki is a work in progress but already has fascinating links to organized censorship efforts, ALA resources, recent challenges and articles. 

Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke. 

Released October 2007.

I am always amazed that Funke can create the dark fantasy of her Inkspell series and then produce such a friendly, silly book like this!  Her picture books are also great examples of silly books for even younger children. 

Igraine is the daughter of two famous magicians and her brother is studying to be a magician too.  But Igraine is not interested in all of the memorization that goes into being a magician.  She is much more interested in becoming a knight.  One might think that being the daughter of magicians would be exciting, but Igraine is so bored by it all.  Even the water snakes in the moat, the stone lions that roar warnings, and the gargoyles that can eat fire arrows don’t hold any interest.  That is until Osmund the Greedy takes over the castle next door and starts to attack, trying to get the magic books from her parents.  Now Igraine’s own courage is tested as she sets out to find the ingredients her parents require after a magical mishap. 

I don’t want to go into too much detail about the story, because it is so very delightful to discover on your own.  This is a light-hearted fantasy with a strong female heroine who stands easily on her own two feet.  Igraine is a welcome heroine, but I also enjoyed the way her older brother is portrayed and her parents as well.  And we must talk about the wonderful line drawings that Funke has created to go with the story.  They add a vividness and whimsical nature to the book. 

The writing is humorous, accessible, and will suit children in third grade and up.  There is enough danger to keep the story interesting, but not enough for it to be of any concern for parents of younger children.  So if you have a child who is reading early, this may be just the book that they would enjoy.  Even first and second graders reading at a higher level would find the story accessible and fun.  It could also be used as a read-aloud in a younger classroom and will be filled with enough action to keep everyone interested.

I am gone to a meeting tomorrow (which also involves visiting our favorite kids’ restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin: Ella’s and going to the zoo, so don’t feel badly for me.) And then I am heading out camping with the family for the week of the 4th.  Hope you all have a wonderful holiday week!  See on Monday, July 9th.

Hurrah for Adele Geras, who writes the article, “The literary universe is bigger in the blogosphere.”  This part is a real gem:

“But why should we believe the blogger?” comes the cry. “Who are they
and how are they qualified to tell us what to read?” The answer is: you
should believe them and trust them in exactly the same way you would a
critic in a newspaper or literary journal. There will be some you
admire and some you think are stupid. Some bloggers write well and some
badly and so do some literary critics.

That’s right!  We blog reviewers can be trusted just as much as print reviewers, in fact many of us are print reviewers too.  And bloggers just like print reviewers have varying tastes to take into account.  There are reviewers (both print and online) who I listen to no matter what.  There are others that I read, but with a large salt shaker at hand.

This Is a Poem that Heals Fish by Jean-Pierre Simeon, illustrated by Olivier Tallec.

Arthur’s fish is not looking well, in fact Arthur is quite worried that the fish could die of boredom.  His mother suggests giving the fish a poem.  First, Arthur searches the house for a poem and doesn’t find anything.  Then he heads out into the community to ask people what a poem is.  He gets answers like this one from the lady who works in the bakery: “it is hot like fresh bread.  When you eat it, a little is always left over.”  But even with this advice, he really doesn’t understand what a poem is until he is forced to try to revive his fish all on his own.  And the fish has a poem for him too.

This rather strange picture book doesn’t hit its stride until page 14.  The beginning sets the stage, but also has a rather odd part where noodles and a rag talk.  Anyway, once the story gets moving, it is lovely.  I truly enjoyed the different definitions of what a poem is and how they all weave together into Arthur’s.  The illustrations are filled with deep colors and interesting perspectives.  They suit the story perfectly.

This is a great book to use when working with children and poems.  It will give children the confidence to create their own poetry and to find it in their own worlds.  What more could you ask for?

The Christian Science Monitor has posted several articles about children’s lit.  The books covered include Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson and  Where’s the Cake by T.T. Khing.  There are also picture book recommendations, pirate books, an audio book, and mysteries.  Enjoy!

The Telegraph offers a list of a twelve books to read before you are twelve year old.  The list was reviewed by Ingrid Hopson, librarian of the year for the School Library Association, and it is WONDERFUL!

Freak the Mighty, by Rodman Philbrick

Cloud Busting, by Malorie Blackman

Dream On, by Bali Rai

Evil Inventions (Horrible Science), by Nick Arnold

Framed, by Frank Cottrell Boyce

A Dog Called Grk, by Joshua Doder

I, Coriander, by Sally Gardner (Hurrah!  This was a favorite of mine!)

Journey to the River Sea, by Eva Ibbotson 

Mortal Engines, by Philip Reeve 

The Ring of Words – An Anthology of Poetry, selected by Roger McGough 

Saffy’s Angel, by Hilary McKay (YES! Loved this one and the others in the series!)

Unbelievable!, by Paul Jennings 

Ginger Bear by Mini Grey.

One can’t go wrong with a picture book by Mini Grey, author of The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon and Traction Man Is Here!

Ginger Bear was published in Great Britain in 2004, but has just made its debut here in the United States.  The story is about Horace who gets a lump of dough from his mother and a bear-shaped cookie cutter.  Horace gives the bear eyes and a nose out of currants and plans to eat it right away.  But things keep delaying him eating the cookie until finally he has to put it next to his pillow and plan on eating it the next morning.  But in the night, Ginger Bear wakes up.  He heads to the kitchen and makes an assortment of friends out of dough and decorations.  They create a circus right in the kitchen but disaster strikes and Ginger Bear is forced to find a place that is safe for a cookie to be.

I loved this book.  Like the other picture books Grey has done, this one has humor that is spot on.  I laughed out loud at what Horace usually does with dough his mother gives him.  When he brings it back “it was deep gray and fluffy (and quite a lot smaller.)”  Grey’s illustrations are also wonderful.  I especially enjoyed the horror of Ginger Bear looking down at the disaster in the kitchen.  Tragic but also very funny. 

I would recommend this picture book for slightly older readers.  Kindergarteners and first graders will enjoy it, but second and third graders will get all of the sly wit.  If you are doing a cooking unit in your classroom, I would have this ready to read as they munch afterwards.  It also makes for a very un-Christmasy holiday read.  Definitely one you want to seek out and read.  It’s a real treat.

You may want to take this quiz to see which Peanuts character you are.  I found it scarily accurate!  My husband has always said that I have Lucy’s personality.  And I must admit that it’s true…

I tend to be bossy (hence the director job).
I tend to enjoy rather cruel jokes (and would have pulled the football away from my younger brothers given any chance at all).
I am very opinionated (hence the book reviews).

Embrace your inner Lucy! 

Thanks to Liz for the link!