12/6/11
The Future of Us, by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler, for Timeslip Tuesday
Back in 1996, Emma gets her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM. She goes on-line...and finds her Facebook account from fifteen years in the future. Suddenly she has a window on what life has in store for her--who her friends will be, where she'll live, and who she'll marry. And her first reaction is to share this strange and mysterious phenomenon with her childhood best friend, Josh.
But a while back, Josh had shown Emma that he wanted to be more than friends, and things grew strange between them. His facebook page is right there online too--showing him an alternative to Emma he'd never considered.
Now Josh and Emma find themselves in a dance with their futures. Every small choice they make in the present changes their facebook lives...and Emma, in particular, is determined to try to improve what she sees on the screen. And their choices not only effect their future selves, but their relationship in the present.
It's a fascinating premise! Facebook, as Emma finds, is a strange thing, with its members' lives shown in short sentences, full of subtext; with old friends appearing to comment, or, sometimes, not being on your list of friends at all. Flipping between the viewpoints of Josh and Emma, the reader watches the ripple effects of decisions the protaganists make in the present...and the ramifications of how all of this effects their real lives in the here and now.
It was gripping reading, full of food for thought for the modern user of social media (perhaps especially the historical fiction of it all, in as much as it takes the reader back to the time when the brave new world of the Internet was still young....).
The premise, and the rather voyeuristic pleasure I took in exploring Emma's future selves along with her, were the best part of the of the book. The present day story line was less engrossing for me because I never found Emma all that likeable. She is certainly a believable character, busily experimenting with relationships, and learning, the hard way, the difference between attraction and friendship, but she has a lot of growing up to do! Which is one of the points of the book, but still, I wanted to shake her on at least one occasion. Josh, on the other hand, is a sweetheart, and I hope Emma keeps growing up enough to be worthy of him....
I found it interesting to see the paradox of time travel played out in this way--generally, people in time travel books worry about traveling backwards, and effecting the present in unintended ways. Because their futures haven't, of course, happened, Emma and Josh can play with tweaking future events to their hearts content, without worrying about creating circumstances in which they were never born!
I myself have no desire to take a look at my facebook page fifteen years hence. I found it rather poignant, in a somewhat disturbing way, to see the future children of Josh and Emma drifting in and out of existence, and I wouldn't want to see that happen to my unborn grandchildren (Gah. A scary thought).
12/4/11
This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and sci fi from around the blogs
The Reviews:
The Aviary, by Kathleen O'Dell, at Charlotte's Library
Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, at pipedreaming
The Evil Elves, by Bruce Coville, at Fantasy Literature
The Freedom Maze, by Delia Sherman, at Watercolor Moods
Guys Read: Thriller, by Jon Scieszka et al., at Project Mayhem (plus giveaway ending tomorrow)
The Hollow Beetle (Poisons of Caux), by Susannah Appelbaum, at Okbo Lover
Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow, by James Rollins, at Fiction Addict
The Last Dragonslayer, by Jasper FForde, at The Written World
The Lost Farm, by Jane Louise Curry, at Oz and Ends
A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, at books4yourkids and Great Kid Books
The Orphan of Awkward Falls, by Keith Graves, at Once Upon a Bookshelf
The Quest of the Warrior Sheep, by Christine and Christopher Russell, at Reads For Keeps
A Tale Dark and Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz, at Good Books and Good Wine
The Time Travellers, by Linda Buckley-Archer, at Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog
The Time-Traveling Cat and the Great Victorian Stink by Julia Jarmon, plus Time Cat, by Lloyd Alexander, at Time Travel Times Two
The Time-Traveling Fashionista, by Bianca Turetsky, at Good Books and Good Wine
A True Princess, by Diane Zahler, at Good Books and Good Wine
Tom's Midnight Garden, by Phillipa Pierce, with bonus looks at The History Keepers, by Damian Dibben, and City of Masks, by Mary Hoffman, at Fantastic Reads
Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George, at A Patchwork of Books
The Unicorn's Tale, by R.L. LaFevers, at Good Books and Good Wine
Authors and Illustrators:
Joseph Bruchac is interviewed on Dragon Castle, his Slovakian fantasy, at Kirkus.
Kai Strand (The Weaver) at TheWriteGame
Other Good Stuff:
Adam Gopnick shares his thoughts on high fantasy for young adults at The New Yorker
Monica Edinger, at Educating Alice, writes about third person omniscient narration and the opinionated narrator (who shows up in a number of this years mg sff books!)
The Storm in the Barn, a graphic novel by Matt Phelan, has begun its journey to the silver screen (the picture at right shows the Storm...).
NPR has picked Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, for its December Kids' Book Club! Click through to read their description of the book.
At Kidliterate, you'll find a lovely list of mg sff books that make great presents.
School Library Journal has its best of 2011 list up, with a smattering of mg sff included.
And finally, just a random bit of Life Experience I have recently acquired:
If you buy the Lego Star Wars Advent Calender for your kids (the picture shown below taken from this review), they really will get out of bed in the morning in a more prompt and vigorous fashion than usual. However, they will still be late for school, because in opening the little plastic bags, invariably a piece will fly across the room, resulting in desperate, time-consuming scrambling.
12/2/11
Welcome to my stop on the 2011 Virtual Advent Tour
My house is generally rather full of projects and stacks of things and little clusters of disaster, but this time of year even more so than usual. For five years now, the boys and I have been assembling holiday mugs and baskets, to sell as a library fundraiser. So this is what the upstairs hall looks like:
The mugs sell for $5, the baskets for $10, and the profit margin is pitifully small....we'll maybe raise $100, if we're lucky. But we don't do much holiday decorating, since we spend the Christmas at my mother's, so it's nice to have something festive to do, and it's nice to know we are doing it to help our dear library!
I suggested not doing it this year, but my older son in particular was appalled by the thought of losing such an important tradition. They both help--gathering pine cones out in the wild, to fill the baskets with, and filling the mugs with candy (most of which is carefully chosen varieties they don't like).
(This year someone donated about 30 soy candles that smell of apple pie. Strongly of apple pie. Horribly so, even through their packaging. I had to zip them in a plastic blanket bag and stick it in the clothes hamper, removing each one as needed as quickly as possible. Mess is one thing, but I draw the line at smells....)
So here we are again, surrendering part of the house to chaos for a good cause! I think, as soon as I have used up all the plastic mug bags I have on hand, I'll call it quits though--I hate to add to the world's trash burden. I am wondering how my husband would feel if I went into African violet breeding....they would make holiday fundraising items, if attractively potted. Any other ideas for earth friendly holiday items we could whip up at home would be much appreciated!
Here are today's other stops:
Enjoy!
New releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teens--the first half of December, 2011 edition
Elementary/Middle Grade
ARTEMIS THE LOYAL: GODDESS GIRLS by Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams It's time for the annual Olympic Games, and the four goddessgirls are not happy--especially Artemis. Even though she's better at sports than most of the godboys, she can't compete because rules say the Games are boys-only. No fair!
Led by Artemis, Athena, Persphone and Aphrodite, the ladies of Mount Olympus hatch a plan to get Zeus to open up the games to everyone. Will they succeed--or end up watching from the sidelines again?
These classic myths from the Greek pantheon are given a modern twist that contemporary tweens can relate to, from dealing with bullies like Medusa to a first crush on an unlikely boy. Goddess Girls follows four goddesses-in-training - Athena, Persephone, Aphrodite, and Artemis - as they navigate the ins and outs of divine social life at Mount Olympus Academy, where the most priviledged gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon hone their mythical skills.
BATTLE FOR EARTH: JOHNNY MACKINTOSH by Keith Mansfield People in London are being taken away in unmarked police vans, never to be seen again. While trying to keep up with his school studies and ensuring his football team stays top of the league, it's Johnny's job to safeguard planet Earth. Suspicious of the strange occurrences, Johnny investigates to find that alien enemies are feeding humans to their Queen on a nearby planet. He then discovers a more terrifying secret: the aliens are planning a devastating invasion of Earth. The battle for Earth will take all of Johnny's and his friends' strength and resolve. Can they win, and if they do, what price will they pay to save the world?
THE BATTLE OF RIPTIDE: A SHARK WARS NOVEL by EJ Altbacker Ever since Gray, Barkley, and their friends defeated Goblin, an infamous great white, at Tuna Run, life in the Big Blue has become murkier than ever for this young shiver of sharks. Food is scarce. Enemies lurk in every shadow. And Gray still doesn't know what has become of his family - of his mother, Sandy, and the rest of his Coral Reef shiver. Everywhere they swim, currents seem to whisper of a growing threat . . . of a shark who will stop at nothing until he has seized control of the entire ocean.
Now Gray must train with Takiza Jaelynn Betta vam Delacrest Waveland ka Boom Boom, a wise and mysterious fighting fish who has promised to teach his young apprentice the ways of the ocean and the secret of what it means to be a great warrior. That is, if Gray can learn to believe in himself, find the courage to trust his heart, and grow big enough to fight back!
BEFORE CARD-JITSU - THE NINJA QUEST: CLUB PENGUIN by Tracey West In a time when ninjas were still a myth on Club Penguin, Sensei chose the top penguins to go on a journey with him through the mountains. You have the power to discover the Dojo. This 80-page book features Sensei, one of the most popular characters on Club Penguin, and how he developed the ninja experience.
BESWITCHED by Kate Saunders A magic spell has spun Flora into the past. She's mysteriously swapped lives with a schoolgirl in 1935! No iPod? No cell phone? No hair products? How will she survive?
Now Flora's a new girl at St. Winifred's, where she has to speak French at breakfast, wear hideous baggy bloomers, and sleep in a freezing dormitory.
But lots of adventures in the past are amazing even if they are not forever. How will she find her way back to the 21st century?
THE FUTURE DOOR: NO PLACE LIKE HOLMES by Jason Lethcoe A mystery is afoot at 221 Baker Street, but will Griffin Sharpe be able to figure out the clues before the future catches up with the past?
When Sherlock Holmes moves out of Baker Street, a new tenant moves in-a mysterious woman named Elizabeth who has long been a fan of Holmes. When she discovers that Griffin and his uncle are also detectives, she becomes very friendly. So when Elizabeth goes missing along with a special invention, Griffin sets out to rescue her. But finding Elizabeth will take them on a race against the clock that bends time itself!
When seven members of their family were kidnapped by a sinister organization known as the Vespers, thirteen-year-old Dan Cahill and his older sister, Amy, vowed they'd stop at nothing to bring the hostages home. But then the ransom comes in and the Vespers demand the impossible. Amy and Dan have just days to track down and steal an ancient map. The only catch? No one has seen the map for half a century.
Now Amy and Dan are on a desperate search that will lead them to the Nazis, spies, a mad king and some of history's dirtiest secrets. It's the race of their lives . . . and one misstep will mean certain death for the hostages.
PRIZE PROBLEMS: THE PONY WHISPERER by Janet Rising Being able to talk to ponies isn't all that it's cracked up to be!
Pia never thought anyone actually one magazine contests. So when her friend Beans wins a riding vacation for two, she's totally excited to go with her. A whole wonderful week riding new ponies and making fabulous new friends. But when things start to go missing around the ranch, Pia turns to the ponies to see what they have to say-and is shocked at what she hears!
Can Pia and her new pony pals solve the mystery before their vacation gallops to an end?
STORM WARNING: DOG WHISPERER by Nicholas Edwards Emily and her dog, Zack, have a special bond. But it’s more than that—they can read each other’s minds. Even more surprising, Zack knows when people are in trouble. Now, Emily and Zack are able to use their powers to save lives, though Emily is endangering hers in the process and making her parents worry. When a hurricane warning is issued, everyone in town starts preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best. What are the odds of a hurricane actually hitting a small town in Maine? Emily and Zack can’t see into the future, so they don’t know what’s going to happen, but if the hurricane does come and the worst does happen, are a girl and her dog enough to save a town from the destructive power of Mother Nature?
Young Adult
CLOCKWORK PRINCE: THE INFERNAL DEVICES by Cassandra Clare
CRY OF THE GHOST WOLF: A FORGOTTEN REALMS NOVEL by Mark Sehestedt
DEADLY LITTLE VOICES: A TOUCH NOVEL by Laurie Faria Stolarz
THE FIRE: WITCH & WIZARD by James Patterson & Jill Dembowski
ILLUMINATED by Erica Orloff
MELODY BURNING by Whitley Strieber
PLANESRUNNER: EVERNESS by Ian McDonald
SHATTERED DREAMS: A MIDNIGHT DRAGONFLY NOVEL by Ellie James
SHATTERED SOULS by Mary Lindsey
SISTERS OF ISIS VOL. 1 by Lynne Ewing
SURRENDER: HAUNTING EMMA by Lee Nichols
TRIPLE RIPPLE: A FABULOUS FAIRYTALE by Brigid Lowry
THE WATCH KEEPER by Reese Haller
WINDFALL: PHANTOM ISLAND by Krissi Dallas
WINGING IT: THE DRAGON DIARIES by Deborah Cooke
"I'm busy reading"
And it's true--I am busy reading. I have almost finished reading all the books I can get a hold of that have been nominated for the Cybils in my category of middle grade science fiction/fantasy (131 of them), but the problem with having read lots of them starting way back last October means I have to go back and read a number of them again--we are about to enter the difficult Winnowing of the Shortlists period, when the (many) books beloved to various of the seven of us panelists have to be shaken down to seven....
And then there's the small issue of Christmas presents. Not this year's, but the books I got for Christmas last year that I still haven't read. The sadness of this is a Heavy Weight on my spirit; however, since these are books that I'm still looking forward to very much, it's not as bad as it could be....
And then there's the small issue of wanting to use the down stairs bathtub (not salubrious enough to be used for bathing, at this point in our home restoration) for the storage of kindling. At the moment, it's storage for unread books.
And then there's the problem with the round table in the window of the living room, whereon many unread books are (naturally--it's a flat surface) piled. Our Christmas tree goes on that table, and soon the books, like mice in a hay field being mown, must scatter, and find new homes....preferably after being read.
So yes, indeed, I'm busy reading!
12/1/11
The Aviary, by Kathleen O'Dell
Old Mrs. Glendoveer has been Clara's friend and teacher, but now she is dying. Her thoughts are fixed on the five birds who have lived in the aviary outside ever since her husband, a famous stage magician, passed away thirty years before--and Clara, though she finds the birds frightening, honors her friend's wishes that the birds be cared for after her death.
These are not just any birds. As Clara is forced to become more familiar with them, she begins to uncover the dark mystery of the Glendoveer family. What happened to the six Glendoveer children, lost many, many years ago? Why does Clara's mother keep her so closely confined to the house? And is it possible that old Mr. Glendoveer's magic was actually....real?
With the help of a new friend, a new girl in town, whom Clara must sneak past her mother to met, the mystery is gradually unravelled...but in solving the mystery, Clara brings new danger both to the Glendoveer house, and to the strange, mysterious birds.
The mystery is fairly straightforward--I guessed all the key points, which is rare for me! But that doesn't mean it wasn't engrossing. Tons of atmosphere, a touch of horror, and the slow realization on Clara's part that magic is at work combine for a great read. The birds are fantastic characters in their own right, and their story is a gripping one, with a twist of magic of a sort I've never encountered before.
Clara's gradually awakening to the fact that she is being kept a virtual prisoner is very nicely done--although she feels compelled to deceive her mother, their loving relationship is not destroyed. Her actions force her mother to become more truthful with her, and in return Clara becomes more honest with her mother (although still keeping secrets!). It would have been easy to make the mother an unsympathetic character, but O'Dell thankfully avoids this.
The Aviary has a classic, old-fashioned feel to it, and I think it will appeal lots to the young reader who has no interest yet in paranormal romance (and to adult readers of children's fantasy like myself!). The reader who finds the cover intriguing will almost certainly enjoy it. My only reservation with the book is nothing to do with the plot, but rather one of mechanics--there are several letters in cursive sprinkled through the story. These might prove stumbling blocks to today's cursively-challenged child (I'm pretty sure my own 11 year old would have a hard time reading a few of them). So this is definitely one to give to the young reader confident enough to tackle a bit of difficult reading, or at least confident enough to pick up the key bits of information and more on!
(read for the Cybils Awards)
11/30/11
Waiting on Wednesday--Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein
It is called Code Name Verity, and comes out in February in the UK, May in the US. Here's the blurb:
"When “Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo, she’s sure she doesn’t stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she’s living a spy’s worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. They'll get the truth out of her. But it won’t be what they expect.
As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage, failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from a merciless and ruthless enemy?"
It sounds fascinating and harrowing!
Waiting on Wednesdy is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
11/29/11
Dark Passage, by M.J. Putney, for Timeslip Tuesday
In Dark Passage (St. Martin's Griffin, 2011, YA, 320 pages) Troy, Cynthia, Justin and Jack head off again from the 19th century into war-torn France. Their mission--to rescue a scientist whose work Jack's premonitions have indicated will somehow avert a disater. But when Troy et al. arrive in the future, they are faced with an impregnable fortress, heavily guarded. Will their magical powers be enough to free not only one scientist, but all the prisoners held there?
And what will become of the forbidden love between Justin and Troy? Will he have to choose between the dukedom he loves, and stands to inherit, or his beloved? And what of Cynthia, proud and acid-tongued? Will she be able to set aside her bitterness and snobbish mindset, and acknowledge her feelings for Jack?
Romance, time travel, magical abilities, and World War II adventure combine to make this a fun read. I was especially pleased by the parts of the book that involved Cynthia--it's more fun (for me at any rate) to watch a difficult personality changing then it is to watch two people obsessed with their forbidden, passionate love. The adventure was just fine; it moved a nice pace and was plausible enough (allowing for the magic brought to bare on the situation) for it to convince, more or less. It was never all that tense, because it was pretty clear they would all rescue each other, but it gave the characters something to do.
I continued to be bothered by the anachronistic choice of names (Troy and Justin sound so 1980s to me), but it can't be helped, and since I knew I'd be bothered by it, I was able to ignore it. We don't get much sense of WW II France, or England, here, so the time travel falls into the "impetus for adventure" category, rather than the "chance to describe character's reactions to a different time" one.
I preferred the first book, simply because I enjoy learning about things for the first time more than revisiting them, and because I liked the school setting that was more prominently featured there. This is another reason why I liked Cynthia's story line best in Dark Passage- it had a nice thread of unpleasant school-girl becoming reformed character to it, that I, a fan of the British school girl genre, appreciated lots.
The third book, Dark Destiny, comes out next August--I'll most definitely be reading it!
11/27/11
This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and sci fi from around the blogs
You may have noticed that I don't have a logo for these round-ups. I have tried to come up with one, but all my troubled brain offers me is a picture of a rainbow unicorn kitten clinging to the back of a rocket, and I don't think we want that. If anyone feels like taking a stab at creating a single image that embodies all the goodness of mg sff, please do!
Anyway. Please let me know if I missed your link (I've been known to miss my own posts). And (she says shyly) if you like these round-ups, any mention on your own blog would be appreciated!
The Reviews:
The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True, at the excelsior file
Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor, at Slatebreakers and Good Books and Good Wine
The Annotated Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie with notes by Maria Tatar, at The Children's Book-A-Day Almanac
The Apothecary, by Maile Meloy (audiobook review) at The Nocturnal Library
Between Two Ends, by David Ward, at Books Beside My Bed
Bless This Mouse, by Lois Lowry, at Books Beside My Bed
The Cheshire Cheese Cat, by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright, at Literate Lives
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, by Chris Van Allsburg et al., at books4yourkids
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, by L. Frank Baum, at Strange and Random Happenstance
Fly Trap, by Frances Hardinge, at Good Books and Good Wine
The Last Musketeer, by Stuart Gibbs, at The Fourth Musketeer
The Freedom Maze, by Delia Sherman, at Book View Cafe
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente, at Book Nut and Random Musings of a Bibliophile
Hades: Lord of the Dead, by George O'Connor, at Madigan Reads
The Hidden Gallery, by Maryrose Wood, at Good Books and Good Wine
The History Keepers: the Storm Begins, by Damian Dibben, at Charlotte's Library
Icefall, by Matthew Kirby, at The Book Smugglers
The Inquisitor's Apprentice, by Chris Moriarty, at Kirkus
Janitors, by Tyler Whitesides, at Geo Librarian
Liesl and Po, by Lauren Oliver, at Waking Brain Cells
Midnight Blue, by Pauline Fisk, at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles
A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, at Stacked
The Only Ones, by Aaron Starmer, at Parenthetical
Princess of the Wild Swans, by Diane Zahler, at Small Review, continuing at Ruby's Reads
Reckless, by Cornelia Funke, at Library Chicken
A School for Villians, by Ardyth De Bruyn, at Nayu's Reading Corner
The Secret of the Magic Ring, by Karen McQuestion, at Karissa's Reading Review
Secrets at Sea, by Richard Peck, at Jennifer Rumberger
The Shadows (The Books of Elsewhere 1), by Jacqueline West, at Library Mama
Son of Neptune, by Rick Riordan, at Good Books and Good Wine
Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George, at Scattered Pages and LDS Women's Book Review
Wildwood, by Colin Meloy, at Guys Lit Wire
Three Norse fantasies (Troll Blood, Bracelet of Bones (YA), and Runemarks) at Fantastic Reads
Authors and Interviews
Delia Sherman (The Freedom Maze) is this week's Big Idea-er at Whatever
Merrie Haskell (The Princess Curse) at Small Review
Other Good Stuff:
Sherwood Smith on the "zing" of the Harry Potter books at The Book View Cafe
The New York Times Notable Children's Books of 2011 list is not one to delight the fan of fantasy for kids; there are only two "middle grade" books that might count--Secrets at Sea, by Richard Peck, and The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman, by Meg Wolitzer, and in one of these (Duncan Dorfman) the fantastical element is so small a part of the plot that it's being considered for the Cybils Awards as a straight middle grade. However, A Monster Calls (which is as much middle grade as it is anything else) is there in the YA section.
Kirkus was more fantasy friendly; here's what they picked:
Deb Marshall will be hosting a Middle Grade Readathon January 2-8. More info. here!
And Erica at the Book Cellar is hosting a YA/MG Fantasy Book Challenge--here's the list of 2012 books she's gathered so far, and here's the sign up page.
Mary at Kidlit.com writes about books with animal characters, from the point of view of an agent. Very timely, given that this is the Year of the Middle Grade Mouse.
Boys Read is recommending two fantastic books by the late, much lamented Ben Boos--Swords, and Fantasy: An Artist's Realm
This coming Saturday will find me in Boston, at The Exquisite Conversation The Exquisite Conversation: An Adventure in Creating Books! with Katherine Paterson, MT Anderson, Natalie Babbitt, Susan Cooper, Timothy Basil Ering, Steven Kellogg, Patricia MacLachlan and James Ransome at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, Dec 3, at 1 p.m. I'll also be attending the wine and cheese event after the presentations, a fundraiser for The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. It sure would be comforting to know if any of you all are going, and might want to talk to me....
11/25/11
The Beachcomber spoofs the poems of A.A. Milne, for Poetry Friday
But all innocently happy times (in my family at any rate) end up tarred with the brush of cynical wit, and this was no exception. My husband pulled out his copy of The Best of Beachcomber, by J.B. Morton, and read us the following (found on page 57 of our 1963 copy):
John Percy
Said to his nursy,
Nursy," he said, said he.
"Tell father
I'd much rather
He didn't write books about me."
"Lawkamercy!"
Shouted nursy,
"John Percy," said she,
"If dad stopped it,
If dad dropped it,
We shouldn't have honey for tea!"
And then the even more mood-destroying "Now We Are Sick" (page 60)
"Hush, hush,
Nobody cares!
Christopher Robin
Has
Fallen
Down-
Stairs."
(which of course dear, dear Blogger won't let me format correctly. Grrr.)
These are poems from a volume J.B. Morton was working on, about which he says (on pages 51-52):
"There is a great vogue for what is called the Woogie-Poogie-Boo kind of children's book, and I am doing my best to get one ready. I don't know what it will be called, but I rather fancy Songs Through My Hat, or perhaps When We Were Very Silly. Here is a poem called "Theobald James".
I've got a silk-worm
A teeny-tiny silk-worm;
I call my silk-worm
Theobald James.
But nursie says it's cruel
Nursie says it's wicked
To call a teeny-tiny little
Silk-
Worm
NAMES
I said to my silk-worm
"Oh, Mr Silk-worm,
I'd rather be a silk-worm
Than anything far!"
And nursie says he answered,
Nursie says he shouted,
"You wish you were a silk-worm?
You little
Prig,
You
ARE!"
(once again, no thanks to Blogger viz formatting.)
At any event, I shall continue to enjoy those poems of Milne which I already enjoy. And if you are looking for a book to give to someone who appreciates English humor, you could do worst than The Best of Beachcomber. J.B. Morton wrote a witty column every day for nearly forty years for the Daily Express, and this book is a compilation of the best of his work. Here is how Chapter 1 begins:
"Mr Justice Cocklecarrot began the hearing of a very curious case yesterday. A Mrs Tasker is accused of continually ringing the doorbell of a Mrs Renton, and then, when the door is opened, pushing a dozen red-bearded dwarfs into the hall and leaving them there."
And now I go to work, to rest from the weary toils and vexations of life at home. Have a lovely Friday!
(The Poetry Friday round-up is at my juicy little universe today!)
11/24/11
More to be thankful (????) for
I am, instead, trying hard to be grateful to the woodpecker who pecked so many holes in part of the house that my husband had to take an entire board off, and, in so doing, found that we have termites (which might explain the woodpecker's interest).
Nothing like destructive pests to make any holiday a merry one.
A (somewhat) bookisly thankful post
I am trying very hard to be thankful that I am in no danger of running out of books to read. I hope to be even more thankful about this after the weekend is over, and there are fewer books piled up around the house waiting to be read, and that those books are the ones that make me feel all happly anticipatory (like the toothsome little arc of Sarah Prineas' new book, Winterling that made my day when it arrived at work some time ago. What a great cover!)
Viz the books read last year that made me thankful, the one that stands out most is The Demon's Surrender, by Sarah Rees Brennan, because I didn't have to feel sad for my beloved Alan any more.
And I feel very thankful for Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George, not only for filling my mind with castle-ish wonderful-ness, but for reassuring me that my 11 year old, when given the right book, can be just an avid a reader as anyone else.
I'm thankful for the pleasure of having read many other great books this past year, but those are the two that stand out in my mind! (What books are you most thankful for?)
In short, I am somewhat less thankful than I was this time last year. But I am sincerly grateful that I don't have to go to work (and that I have a job), and I can go downstairs and have a second cup of coffee and then, oh joy, glaze the final six panes of glass that need glazing!
Finally, and very importantly, many thanks to all of you who read my blog, and those of you whose blogs give me so much happy reading! I hope you have lovely thank filled days of your own!
11/23/11
Waiting on Wednesday--Runelight, by Joanne Harris
I'll be going back to it for a re-read soon, because I just learned over at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles that its sequel, Runelight, is out in the world! Here's the blurb, from Amazon UK:
"The squabbling Norse gods and goddesses of Runemarks are back! And there's a feisty new heroine on the scene: Maggie, a girl the same age as Maddy but brought up a world apart - literally, in World's End, the focus of the Order in which Maddy was raised. Now the Order is destroyed, Chaos is filling the vacuum left behind... and is breaching the everyday world.
A chilling prophecy from the Oracle. A conflict between two girls. And with just twelve days to stave off the Apocalypse, carnage is about to be unleashed . . ."
I just might have to add it to my Christmas present list.
Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
11/22/11
Goodbye, Anne McCaffrey
Menolly and the Harper Crafthall played a huge role in shaping my young mind, and to this day, whenever I sing I remember this bit from Dragonsinger:
"She had a brief notion of showing him that he wasn't the only one who cold fill the hall with resounding tones, but some fragment of advice from Petiron came to mind, and she concentrated on singing intensely, rather than loudly."
And whenever my sister and I play our four hand piano duets, almost inevitably one of us will invoke Menolly, who doubtless never forgot to check the key signature...unlike some of us.
When Anne McCaffery was at her best, as she was with Dragonsinger, she wrote books to treasure for a lifetime, or at least to treasure until they fell apart from constant re-reading....
Sniff.
The History Keepers: The Storm Begins, by Damian Dibben, for Timeslip Tuesday
These days, time travel most often comes in two different forms—those in which protagonists visit/revisit parts of their own lives (recent examples include Alice in Time, A Year Without Autumn, Before I Fall),and those in which time travel is controlled by a mysterious organization, which often is struggling to keep history running as it should (The Missing series, Tomorrow's Guardian, TimeRiders). In these later books, an “ordinary” kid is generally plucked from obscurity and plunged into the thick of things, often finding his life in danger; like the reader, this kid will not quite understand everything that is happening, and must trust the organization/author that it will all work out in the end.
The History Keepers: The Storm Beings, by Damian Dibben (Doubleday, UK, 2011, 456 pages), is the most recent example of this subgenre I’ve read, and perhaps my personal favorite of lot (probably because the time travel involves going back to one period and staying there, allowing the story to be more of an immersive experience than books in which there’s lots of jumping back and forth--a personal preference). But more generally, this is one I highly recommend to fans of action-filled, adventurous, fighting-against-evil stories. It is light (almost bordering on farce in places), and seems a logical next step a reader might take after enjoying the middle grade over-the-top-adventures like We Are Not Eaten by Yaks, or Whales on Stilts. 7th and 8th grade boys in particular should enjoy this one.
It stars an ordinary (despite possessing “brave, intelligent eyes”(page 1), which almost made me put the book down*) English kid, named Jake, who is forcibly dragged into a secret organization of time travelers fleeing England in a great hurry (their reasons for both the kidnapping and the fleeing weren’t stated clearly enough for me to be able to tell you exactly what the point was, but I could easily have missed something). This organization is dedicated to foiling the plots of those who (because of innate, monomaniacal evilness) want to disrupt history.
Happily Jake turns out to be special—he is a natural-born time traveler. Happily the organization that has kidnapped him with inadequate explanation turns out to be the good guys, able to offer tasty snacks and nice wardrobe opportunities, as well as new friends—a brave girl, blessed with brains and beauty, a super-intelligent boy,and a foppishly comical, yet good-hearted and brave, other boy.
Unhappily, Jake’s parents turn out to be missing back in 15th-century Venice. Even more unhappily, the nascent Renaissance is in jeopardy! Unless, of course, the History Keepers can set things right.
So Jake and his new friends head off to save civilization, risking death by both standard weapons and less standard snake-bite (15 foot black mambas)…and all the while Jake is (quite understandably) distracted by thoughts of the beautiful girl (it’s hard to impress someone who knows more than you and is better at most things than you) and his lost parents…
Some things could have been more fully, or at least more clearly, explained, some aspects of the story could have been less cliched, the writing could perhaps have been pruned in places. But despite those complaints, it's a fine entertainment of a swashbuckling sort. In short: if I had a 12 year old boy who liked adventure stories, this is a book I'd seriously consider giving him for Christmas, but I'll be passing my review copy on to the library, instead of giving it a loving place in my home.
For more about the History Keepers series, visit its website.
(Disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher).
If any of you have reviewed a time travel book today, let me know and I'll add a link!
*and which led me to ask my husband if he thought I had "brave, intelligent eyes." He didn't even try to answer the question. I have decided that I would like to have "shy, yet sardonic eyes."
11/20/11
This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and sci fi from around the blogs
The Reviews:
The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True, by Gerald Morris, at The Brain Lair
Bella at Midnight, by Diane Stanley, at Finding the Write Way
The Bloomswell Diaries, by Louis L. Buitendag, at Jean Little Library and Madigen Reads
The Cheshire Cheese Cat at Geo Librarian
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, by Chris Van Allsburg et al., at Great Kid Books and at Book Nut
Circus Galacticus, by Deva Fagan, at The HappyNappyBookseller and Charlotte's Library
The Crowfield Curse, by Pat Walsh, at Sci Fi Chick
Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom, by Tim Byrd, at Library Chicken
Floors, by Patrick Carman, at Literate Lives
Found, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, at The Accidental Novelist
The Freedom Maze, by Della Sherman, at Stella Matutina and at Tor
Galaxy Trotters, by Marie C. Lukic, at Fantasy Book Review
The Game of Sunken Places, by M.T. Anderson, at Mister K. Reads
Janitors, by Tyler Whitesides, at Ms. Yingling Reads
Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis, at The Fiction Enthusiast
Liesl and Po, by Lauren Oliver, at The Book Smugglers
The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan, (audio book review) at Good Books and Good Wine
Magical Mischief, by Anna Dale, at Mom Read It
A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness (audio book review) at Good Books and Good Wine
The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell, at The Allure of Books
Secrets at Sea, by Richard Peck, at Charlotte's Library
The Shadows (Books of Elsewhere 1) by Jacqueline West, at Muggle-Born.net
The Son of Neptune, by Rick Riordan, at Book Nut
Return To Exile, by E.J. Patten, at Reading Tween
The Roar, by Emma Clayton, at Great Books for Kids and Teens
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, by R.L. LaFevers, at Small Review
Torn, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, at Charlotte's Library
The Unwanteds, by Lisa McMann, at GreenBeanTeenQueen and Geek Girl's Book Blog
We Are Not Eaten by Yaks, by C. Alexander London, at The O.W.L.
Young Fredl, by Cynthia Voight (audio book review) at Good Books and Good Wine
At Strange and Random Happenstance, Miss Eliza looks at the first three Oz books here, here, and here.
There's new blog in town, Time Travel Times Two, focused on time travel stories for kids! Here's this week's post, which looks at Charlotte Sometimes, by Penelope Farmer, and The Switching Well, by Peni R. Griffin
Ms. Yingling also has a two for one post--Double Spell, by Janet Lunn, and Wonkenstein: The Creature From My Closet, by Obert Skye.
Conn Iggulden is best known for The Dangerous Book for Boys, but he also has a great series (perfect for the eight year old set) about the Tollins, tiny beings who are Not fairies. Here's his list of his top ten books about tiny people.
Authors and Interviews:
C. Alexander London (We Dine With Cannibals) is interviewed at From the Mixed Up Files and at The O.W.L., and created a special video which you can see at Watch.Connect.Read
Deva Fagan (Circus Galacticus) at TheHappyNappyBookseller--part one, and part 2
Robin LaFevers (the Theodosia Throckmorton and Nathaniel Fludd series) at Small Review
Karen Cioffi (Walking Through Walls) at Seattlepi
Kat Heckenback (Finding Angel) on magic in Christian fiction, at Decompose
Other Good Stuff:
The Enchanted Inkpot asks--is that science fiction or fantasy?, and Rachel Neumeier (The Floating Islands, which I think is just find for mg readers) ponders the divide between mg and YA (and I now wonder why I put YA in caps, but not mg...)
Deva Fagan talks about the power of diverse science fiction at Diversity in YA Fiction
At Once Upon a Blog I found a dvd that's going on my Christmas present list-Re-enchantment. Here's the blurb: Re-enchantment is an immersive journey into the hidden meanings of fairy tales. Presented as an interactive multi-platform documentary project exploring why fairy stories continue to enchant, entertain, fascinate and horrify contemporary adult audiences.
The Re-enchantment DVD features a series of 10 x 3-minute animated documentaries (interstitials), which explore the themes at work in fairy tales. Each episode offers a rich visual design and presents a new way of thinking about these familiar and much loved stories.
And finally, muppets auditioning for the part of Yoda (found at Tor)