I always love it when a Sunday Unshelved focuses on a teen novel.  This week’s Unshelved Book Club features An Abundance of Katherines. 

(If you don’t read this comic and you’re a librarian, it is a must read! If you’re not a librarian, you may find yourself wondering exactly what’s so very funny.) 

Looks like the CW has officially picked up Gossip Girl for the 2007-2008 season.  The article is filled with praise: 

With its teen-angst theme, easy promotability and strong pedigree,
“Gossip Girl” had emerged early on as the most promising pilot at the
CW this year. Based on the popular “Gossip Girl” series of books, it
was penned by “The O.C.” creator Josh Schwartz and the show’s Stephanie
Savage.

From all of the positive comments I got on this blog from teen girls who love the series, it looks like it should be VERY successful.

Times Online has a list of the top books for boys.  It is a rather confusing list of adult titles, children’s titles and even picture books.  I would go through and mark the ones I’ve read, but it’s not that many of them.  As I scan the list, I see lots of fantasy, but also humor and nonfiction.  As I read a list like this my mind always blanks on things that are not on it, but I’d like to see more graphic novels.

Many of you probably already read Anastasia Goodstein’s blog YPulse.  It is a look at marketing and media targeted at teens and can offer great insight into teens and how to market for them as a library.  Give it a read, if you don’t already.  Look especially for her nice round-up of news stories on a regular basis.  Very handy.

Anyway, Anastasia has now written a book on the same subject.  Totally Wired: what teens and tweens are really doing online has been reviewed on Yahoo! Tech where I find that it has been well received, which will not surprise any of Anastasia’s blog readers. 

Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman.

Lehman does it again with another winner of a wordless picture book.  This is the story of a boy who is in a big house during a rain storm.  He finds a key that unlocks a trunk which has a ladder inside.  This leads him through tunnels and a looping stair to a lighthouse.  There he finds a group of children who befriend him and let him join in their play.  He is sad when he has to return home again and leave them behind, but perhaps they will find a way to see each other again!

Lehman’s illustrations are so evocative but clear.  They need no words to carry the story forward at all.  The sharp-eyed child will see the lighthouse out of the boy’s window, tying the story together. 

I find that wordless picture books don’t work for a story time, but are ideal to read with children in Kindergarten and first grade who are just on the cusp of learning to read.  The power to create their own story and the freedom from struggle with the act of reading allows them to really connect with this type of book.  Perfect to pull out when children are getting frustrated.

Every Friday by Dan Yaccarino.

This is a lovely book.  It is the story of every Friday in the life of a boy and his father.  Friday is the day they look forward to most of all because of what they get to do.  In their urban lives no matter what the weather or season, they walk through the city, stopping now and then to look at interesting things like buildings being built, store windows, and counting the dogs they see.  At last they arrive at the diner for breakfast together where they order pancakes and sit together and talk about “all sorts of things.”

The illustrations of the book are modern but retro as is the diner that they end up in.  The story is told simply, but has lines that reverberate with meaning.  I particularly enjoy this:  “Everyone is rushing, but we’re taking our time.” That sums the entire book up. 

Share this for Father’s Day with a kid near you.

A huge THANK YOU to the Horn Book and Fuse #8 for including me in their list of Kid-Lit Bloggers to Watch.  What a great list of bloggers to be a part of!  I also love that I am described as one of the first kidlit bloggers out there.  Yup, that’s why I missed out on the cool trend of creating amazing names for blogs.  LOL

Of course, it does make me feel a bit of an elderly, kind auntie to all of you younger bloggers out there.  And that’s younger not only because of the age of our blogs!

From Auntie Tasha to all of you: thanks so much for allowing me this seat to watch the world of kidslit blogs evolve and grow.

SLJ’s April issue has an interview with Sara Pennypacker, author of one of my favorite new series Clementine.   I enjoyed reading about her background in visual arts and how her family factors into the stories.  She seems as lovely and warm as her writing.

Pictures from Our Vacation by Lynne Rae Perkins.

This picture book by Newbery Award winner, Perkins offers a quiet look at a trip to the family farm.  Before the trip begins, a brother and sister each get cameras that print tiny pictures as well as journals to record their trip.  Upon reaching the farm, the children play badminton, then get rained into the house for several days, and then find the lake.  When their cousins arrive at the farm, they forget all about using their cameras and just have fun.  It isn’t until they are on their way back home that they realize the photographs don’t really tell the full story of their trip.  Only the pictures in their minds can do that.

This is such an accurate portrayal of a family reunion from the point of view of the children.  I love the girl’s daydreams and vivid imaginings brought to life in the illustrations.  Her boredom with the rain, joy at finding the lake, and their dismay at having to wear a dress to a memorial service all ring perfectly true.  My favorite description is about the old badminton rackets which were “shaped like potato chips because they had been left out in the barn for so long.”  Can’t you just see it?  Perkin’s language immediately describes not just that specific thing but also enhances the feeling of dust and age around the farm from a childlike perspective.

This is a quiet book.  There is no tension, no thrilling action, nothing like that.  It is a glimpse into the summers that we had as children and that we hope we are giving our own children as well.  Those boring times to fill with their own thoughts, joy at discovering cousins and playing for hours, and a sense of family that deepens with this sort of visit. 

I highly recommend this book.  It could be used upon return to school after summer vacation to inspire children to create pictures and short descriptions of their own experiences.  Or it is a lovely look forward at this time of year to summer and family travel.