The Silver Donkey, by Sonya Hartnett

There are some books that I find good -- the books I read in one tremendous gallop, that leave me dazed and red eyed, and then come back to haunt me as I pull up crabgrass. The Silver Donkey, by Sonya Hartnett (US 2006) was one such book.

It tells the story of two French girls who find a blind English soldier in the woods above their farm. He is trying to go home again, to see his dying brother, and because, as is gradually revealed, the war (WWI) has become something he can no longer be a part of, and he has deserted. He draws the girls to him with his small silver donkey (a good luck charm given as a parting gift by his brother), and with the stories he tells, and they visit him daily, keeping him alive while his sight returns. The stories are not of his own experience fighting in the war, but are about donkeys--the donkey that carried Mary to Bethlehem, the donkey who asked the sky for rain in an Indian legend, a donkey who carried wounded soldiers down to the beach at Gallipoli, and the finding of the silver donkey itself. The girls, knowing they have no way to see the soldier safely across the English Channel, bring their older brother to meet him. He in turn brings a still older friend, who, although a victim of polio, can still sail a boat and become a hero of this small story.

I use the word small on purpose--it is not an epic tale of the horrors of violent war. The book focuses on a small place, a small event in the larger picture, on small, ordinary people. There is no padding in this story; every word and scene seems cleanly and purposefully chosen, which gives the story great intensity and immediacy. The stories told by the solider deliberately break this feeling. I'm not a great fan of interjected stories in general, because I resent having the narrative flow broken, and also because I feel challenged by them. The author must have put them in for Deep Reasons, I think, and will I be clever enough to figure out what they were?

But I liked these stories very much as separate entities--they would make lovely stand-alone read alouds, except for the fact that they made me cry. I am not sure I've figured out the Point of the stories, if indeed a single Point exists. It's tied in to the nature of donkeys, the silver donkey of the title, and the Soldier (donkey-like in what he bore during his time at the front, but ultimately not so when he deserts). At any event, it's great food for thought, but makes the book perhaps less likely to hold the interest of children who have other things to do with their lives than pull up crabgrass. I think this book also might work better for readers who already know about the horrors of WWI. From the beginning I knew what the soldier was escaping from, whereas the book only tells about it toward the end.

My only regret about this book is not a fault, exactly, but a personal preference. I really liked the younger sister, Coco--she reminded me very much of Hilary McKay's style of character. Here's an example:

"Coco, however, was enjoying being mortally sad. She wandered down the lane sobbing woefully. She didn't dab away the tears that cascaded down her cheeks. "Lieutenant, Lieutenant!" she wailed. "Why - why - why?"

She supposed that anyone who saw her, a lonesome child staggering, weeping along a lane, could not help but be touched by the poignancy."

I would have liked more Coco.

The Silver Donkey sounds like an animal story, and there's nothing on the cover boards (there was no dust jacket) to suggest what it's about. The picture on the back of a sort of fay looking guy holding a small donkey made it look like a fantasy. It's lack of dust jacket drew me toward it--it is a beautiful dark green, with silver embossing, making it look old and precious. It is a lovely book to hold and read- the words are clear and far apart on the page, with pencil illustrations by Don Powers.

The book, published in Australia, won that county's top prizes: the 2005 Courier Mail award for young readers and the 2005 CBC Book of the Year award for young readers. Despite this, I find it a little bizarre that it has been made into an apparently successful musical.

Here's a link to a nice interview with Sonya Harnett over at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

More about children's books in Iran

Poking around further in the Internet, I found a really neat site that gives news about book publishing, selling, and literacy in Iran. Two things that caught my eye:

1. Publishers and book sellers in Iran don't have to pay tax this year.

2. The Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults is planning a Satire Contest: "The first satire festival organised by branches of Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (KANOON) will be held in Tehran province. Iranian children and young adults who have just learned to write satire will take part in the festival on May 25th, 2007. They will compete in the fields of poetry and story writing in the festival which will also be attended by renowned Iranian satirists. A total of 11 selected participants will be awarded prizes in the Closing Ceremony. Selected entries for the competition were chosen from among 45 works submitted by children and young adults. (May 2007, Leili Hayeri Yazdi, APPREB correspondent)."

What an appealing thought (seriously). Such a change from the cloying sweetness that one sees so often in children's books and writing here (with many exceptions, of course, for instance the Children's Books that Never Were Series at Saints and Spinners. I am just feeling cranky because my son has to read Rainbow Fish for second grade and do a Friendship Project based on it).

Iranian picture books at the International Children's Library

I found a new site this morning-- the International Children's Library, where I spent more time than I probably should have browsing through the pages of beautiful, strange, disturbing, and intriguing (in various degrees) of children's picture books published recently around the world. The mission of the ICL is to make books available in digital form in all the languages in which they were written, the idea being that children learn to read best in their mother tongue. The website seems to have last been updated in 2006, but it is still a treasure trove of multicultural reading potential. Or at least picture browsing, for foreign language impaired folks like myself.

A few days ago I posted about the US government's massive export of translated English language books into Arabic speaking countries, and so I looked to see what books Islamic countries are publishing themselves. Here are a few that caught my eye:

Abraham, by Mostafa Rahmandoust, illustrated by Hafez Miraftabi (1383).

I think this one looks especially gorgeous: Autumnals, by Mostafa Rahmandoust illustrated by Bahram Khaef (1380). It's a collection of poems. I wish I could read it.

The Adventure of Ahmad and the Clock by Feresteh Ta'erpoor, illustrated by Mehrnoush Ma'soumian (1365).

None of these show up on Amazon, so I'm assuming they haven't been published in English. A great pity, because what better way to appreciate/get to know/wonder at/be puzzled by other cultures than to read their own stories?

Coincidently, there's a discussion of multi-cultural children's books over at Chicken Spaghetti going on right now...

Poetry Friday-Tortoise Family Connections, Owen and Mzee

I was captivated by the story of the orphaned hippo Owen and his tortoise friend Mzee, as described in Owen & Mzee: The True Story Of A Remarkable Friendship (Isabella Hatkoff et al., 2006). In January, Scholastic published a sequel: Owen & Mzee: Language Of Friendship Isabella Hatkoff with Craig Hatkoff and Dr. Paula Kahumb, illustrated by Peter Greste, which I read for the first time a few hours ago. The pictures are even more charming, the story of the communication and affection between hippo and tortoise even more astounding.

The book avoids cloying sentimentality by putting the future of this unusual friendship into question. Owen is still a baby hippo, but as he grows, the risk that he will hurt Mzee unintentionally grows as well. Mzee's shell already has an old injury from being knocked over by a hippo, and the animals' caretakers know that the day may come when they have to put the safety of Mzee before his relationship with Owen. Then Cleo is introduced--she is a 13 year old female hippo, who may win Owen's friendship, even his heart. Will Owen be able to be a hippo, instead of a tortoise? And what will become of Mzee?

Not being one to hang needlessly on cliffs, I did a google search and found a blog written by Stephen Tuei, Owen and Mzee's keeper (that old link wasn't working any more; here's a new link). So now I know what happened, and it is a little sad.

The picture above, showing Owen, Mzee, and another tortoise friend Toto, is from Tuei's blog, where there are lots more great pictures.

On a related note, I also learned that Scholastic has donated 1000 Owen and Mzee books to Kenyan schools. Good for them! They also donate part of the profit from the books to help support the wildlife park.

And to tie it in to Poetry Friday, here's a quote from Tortoise Family Connections, by D.H. Lawrence; the whole poem can be found here.

Father and mother,

And three little brothers,

And all rambling aimless, like little perambulating pebbles scattered in the garden,

Not knowing each other from bits of earth or old tins.

Except that papa and mama are old acquaintances, of course,

Though family feeling there is none, not even the beginnings.

Fatherless, motherless, brotherless, sisterless

Little tortoise.

Row on then, small pebble,

Over the clods of the autumn, wind-chilled sunshine,

Young gaiety.

Does he look for a companion?
No, no, don't think it.

He doesn't know he is alone;

Isolation is his birthright,

This atom.

Indeed, it's easy to comprehend a hippo loving a tortoise, but the idea of a tortoise "loving" a hippo is hard to fathom.

A large piece of yesterday's Hilary McKay post got lost...

Annoyingly, a piece of the post I wrote yesterday about Hilary Mckay got lost, which is why things were muddled toward the end. So here it is:

Warning: Don't buy the slim paperback Rose's Flying Feeling, published in 2005 for World Book Day. I did, in bulk so as to get it cheaply, thinking that I could easily dispose of the extra copies to friends and on ebay. I was crushed when I opened it and found it was simply the beginning of Caddy Ever After. And once I knew that, I couldn't in conscience sell it on Ebay without saying that, so the whole thing was a fiasco and if anyone wants a copy at cost ($1.00) or 17 of them for a book discussion group or something, let me know...

Hilary McKay- Forever Rose! plus book shopping

Forever Rose, the fifth and apparently last book in Hilary McKay's series about the Casson family, will be released in the UK on September 20, and in Canada November 1. But sadly, not until next spring here in the US. There's a great interview with McKay up at Bookshelves of Doom.

I especially liked the list of the books she'd enjoyed as a child, because it was almost exactly what I would pick myself. It reminds me of the bit in Henrietta's House, aka The Blue Hills, by Elizabeth Goudge (1942) where Henrietta is taken to a book store and told to pick the books that every girl should own their own copy of, money being no object. She finds herself the owner of the books in the end, but it is the picking out, not the having, that always appealed to me most. That's why I'm president of the FOL--it gives purpose and pleasure to second hand book shopping. I almost never find anything I want for myself anymore (there are few early to mid 20th-century English school stories available here in New England), so it is nice to have a reason to buy books.

Back to Hilary McKay--I have very much enjoyed buying McKay's books for my library. In fact, we were possibly the first library in the US to have Permanet Rose, because I went to England to buy it.

Crying over Picture Books

My son encountered Our Tree Named Steve (Alan Zweibel, illustrated by David Catrow, illustrator) at school, and was very pleased to find it our library yesterday. I'd never heard of it myself, and was a tad doubtful--shades, as it were, of The Giving Tree, I thought. But Steve is no codependent looser, and by the time he performs his great act of heroism (falling so as to avoid causing great damage) I was sniveling.

The book that really gets me, though, is Roxaboxen (Alice McLerran, illustrated by Barbara Cooney. In case you don't know this book, it tells of a group of children playing in a vacant piece of land on the edge of a desert town, making a town for themselves of rocks and scrap wood, boxes and broken glass. The book ends with the children, now grown old, still treasuring their memories of Roxaboxen. My children like this book immensely--they enjoy the story of the games the book's children played, but when we approach the end, and I start weeping, they become a bit impatient with me. In both these books, the sadness comes from loosing one's own childhood, and also the approaching loss to adulthood of one's own children, things beyond the comprehension of the average 5 year old.*

I can't remember a picture book that made me cry when I was a child. I remember lots that were emotionally powerful and heart wrenching and required hard leaning into the arms of the reading parent (Are You My Mother?) but I don't remember crying. I will have to ask my mother if she remembers an instances.

I asked my oldest boy today if he had ever cried over a book, and he said he never had. I hope that some day he will (because I think this is one of the things that should happen when you read great books) But there's lots of time.**

*There are also a few picture books in which people or animals die (The Clown of God, by Tomie dePaola, Goodbye, Mog, by Judith Kerr) which are good for a few sniffs from me, but which don't elicit the same response from my boys. My mind has now taken a rather twisted path -- what if, for instance, the Owl Mother in Owl Babies never did come home?

**The idea of purposefully picking books that will cause your child to cry is hideous. But the idea of picking a book or video that will cause oneself or adult loved ones to cry is not. And I suppose that there are parents of independent readers that hand their children Old Yeller or Of Mice and Men or some such, knowing what is going to happen. I will always remember the night my 12 year old sister read Of Mice and Men.

For Poetry Friday: Memorizing Poetry

It is a dream of mine that by the time my boys are grown (14 or so years, on average), they will have memorized considerable amounts of poetry. My inspiration for this comes from Jean Kerr, a humorous essayist/commentator on family life (five boys and one girl) from the late 50s-early 70s. If you haven't read her, do!

In one essay, "The Poet and the Peasants" (anthologized in Penny Candy), she writes of her own efforts regarding the memorization of poetry by the young. "We have made mistakes with our children," she writes, "which will undoubtedly become clearer as they get old enough to write their own books. But here I would like to be serious for a few minutes about the one thing we did that was right. We taught them not to be afraid of poetry." (p 120).

It took great effort on the part of Kerr and her husband. On paper it seemed simple enough--every week the boys (girl not having yet been born) would memorize a poem, and on Sunday evenings they would recite them. The first week was a disaster: three bad limericks and one "lengthy and truly dreadful verse about a cookie-jar elf" (p 123). The second Sunday, featuring poems chosen by the parents, was also unsuccessful-- "the fact that the poems were of better quality and somewhat longer made the recitations even more agonizing, if that were possible" (p 126).

And here is where my admiration for Kerr and her husband really kicks in. They decided they would take an active role in the process: "One week he'd work on two of them while I worked on the other two (the following week we alternated so that the hostility engendered would be evenly divided." The parent would first read the poem, and ensure that the child actually understood it, not just the "meaning" but the words themselves. Then work on reading out loud was undertaken: "Two of the boys were very quick to grasp inflections; the other two were so slow that rehearsing them was like the Chinese Water Torture and I found myself wondering if there was some way to withdraw from the whole plan- with honor. What kept me resolute was the conviction I read in all those clear blue eyes that I would soon come to my senses, that this madness too would pass" (p 127).

But it worked. The boys memorized yards and yards of poetry, developing their own individual tastes--John, for instance, was "awfully good with people who died or were about to die, like dogs" (p 131). And in the end, it payed off, and the boys were ready with apt quotations for any occasion. A broken window one evening elicited this quote from Dover Beach, by Matthew Arnold: "Come to the window, sweet is the night air."

So far, with no effort on the part of my husband or myself, my boys have memorized the last verse of Cargoes, by John Masefield, and also Douglas Florian's eminently memorable poem about the Monarch Butterfly (Omnibeasts, 2004), memorable chiefly for its last verse: "He is a Monarch, he is a Duke. Swallows that swallow him frequently puke.")

I wish that I had memorized more poetry myself; the number of poems that I have in their entirety can be numbered on one hand, and includes the Monarch Butterfly (although I also know scads of Mother Goose). Only twice in my life was I asked to memorize a poem for school--the first was a rather unexceptional poem about a hippo in second grade, the second Frost's Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening (perhaps the most memorized poem in the USA?) in seventh grade. I tried in high school to memorize poems on my own, but they didn't stick. I think it helps to start young. With Kerr as my guide, I hope to give my children the gift of a brain full of amusing, beautiful, thought-provoking, and quotable words. And I'm sure I'll get started just as soon as I find the time.

If anyone is curious, here is the poem about the hippo (author and punctuation unknown):

He has opened all his parcels,
But the largest and the last.
His hopes are at their highest,
And his heart is beating fast.
Oh happy Hippopotamus!
What lovely gift is here?
He cuts the string, the world stands still,
A pair of boots appear.

Oh little Hippopotamus,
The sorrows of the small.
He dropped two tears to mingle
With the flowing Senegal.
And the "thank you" that he uttered
Was the saddest ever heard,
In the Senegambian jungle,
From the mouths of beast or bird.

Not exactly a poem that will give me comfort or diversion in my decrepit old age...

If anyone is interested in reading Jean Kerr, here's a quick bibliography of her collected essays:

Please Don't Eat the Daisies 1957
The Snake has all the Lines 1960
How I got to be Perfect 1969
Penny Candy 1970

The Poetry Friday roundup is at The Simple and the Ordinary today.

Book Imperialism or a genuinely Good Thing?

I just came across an article in Voice of American online (5/24/07) entitled "New Project Brings America's Favorite Children's Books to Young Arab Readers"

This article reports that Scholastic has developed a project called "My Arabic Library," wherein 7 million copies of translated and cultural modified books were sent to North Africa and the Middle East. This project got going in 2005, and has apparently been very well recieved.

Quoting from the VOA article: "Scholastic's Carol Sakoian says My Arabic library encourages the love of learning. Arab educators were involved in choosing the titles and making changes to some of the books to adapt to cultural differences. "They had to be approved book by book, page by page, illustration by illustration by four Middle Eastern Ministries of Education," Sakoian says. "Arab educators were a little careful, they were worried that this was somehow propaganda from America. It was not."

It was, however, funded by the State Department, who perhaps were thinking outside the book, as it were. I am all in favour of getting books out to everyone in the world who wants them, and I wish I could just have happy thoughts about my government doing a Nice Thing. But why aren't we sending books to Sub-Saharan Africa? or to inner city schools here whose library budgets are being slashed due to the government's budget priorities?

I also find it troubling that the books were modified so as to become "more acceptable." The idea of a panel of individuals having the power to pass judgement on "acceptability" is very disquieting. The modifications mainly seem to have been tampering with the illustrations; ie, adding long sleeves to girls' dresses (although it is not clear to what extent the text of the various books may have been altered). But the fact of the matter is, American girls wear short sleeves, and to pretend otherwise distorts reality.

Here's the Arabic Heidi (who actually may well have worn long sleeved dresses while frisking about in the Alps):



Here's a link to the books chosen for translation, an interesting list, and not exactly what I would call "America's favorite children's books."

Mungo and the Picture Book Pirates

While over in England last week, we were given many English picture books and young readers, the majority of which I've never seen over here. One of our favorites was Mungo and the Picture Book Pirates, by Timothy Knapman and Adam Stower (an American edition was published in September 2006).

Every night Mungo's mum is forced to read him the same pirate book over and over again. Every night he thrills as Admiral Mainbrace and "plucky cabin girl Nora" are rescued from the clutches of Barnacle Bill and his gang of pirates by the swashbuckling Captain Fleet. But one night, after Mungo's mum has read him the book six times (instead of the more usual four), she refuses to read again, leaving Mungo and the book alone.

Captain Fleet has had enough too. Looking for peace, he climbs out of his own book (much to Mungo's astonishment), and climbs into a slim volume entitled "At the Seaside." But now there is no-one to save the admiral and the plucky cabin girl! No-one but Mungo. And so Mungo enters the book and rousts the pirates, but unlike Captain Fleet, he does not end up marrying Nora.

The engaging illustrations have lots of humorous details, and the text is enough of a spoof of the pirate genre to amuse the adult reader (selfishly, I appreciate this in a book), while captivating the child. My boys were captivated.

Despite the "message," that you don't have to be a strong white male to be a hero (although Mungo is a sturdy white boy), and the inclusion of plucky cabin girl Nora (whose pluck is more on paper than in her actions), this book doesn't challenge any stereotypes. It is entertainment at a fun, flippant level, and for those looking for such, it is great.

In view of the most recent salvo across the bows of the kid lit bloggers (discussed at A Chair, a Fireplace and a Teacozy here) I write the following postscript:

ps. As a blogger of no qualifications, I of course do not expect anyone to take one word of this (hmm, can't be a review, because that would suggest I called myself a reviewer, which actually I don't much, so that's ok) emotion ladden summary (?) with any more seriousness than it deserves.

The new Harry Potter

Yahoo's featured news article proclaims the discovery of the New Harry Potter, a boy archaeologist who explores a hidden world deep beneath London. Roderick Gordon and Brian William originally self-published their book, Tunnels. Now they have over 500,000 pounds in advances. And I've heard that self-publishing is futile...

As an archaeologist myself, I generally don't want to read archaeology/treasure hunting fiction. So I am less than excited. The only book that I really like in which archaeology plays a big part is Nancy Bond's Country of Broken Stone. Not quite up there with her absolutly brilliant A String in the Harp, but very good. However, it is more a family dynamics story (English girl adapting to life with an American archaeologist step-mother and her three children while on a dig in Northumbria), than an archaeology adventure story.

48 Hour Reading Challenge Final Thoughts

Well, congratulations to the winners -- Midwestern Loadstar, who read 20 books, and Finding Wonderland/Readers' Rants, who spent a mind-numbing 32 hours reading and blogging. I had thought I could read 20 or more books myself, but what with one thing and another it didn't happen. And I was getting a bit tired of reading...Next year I am going to make sure I have a wider variety of tasty snacks on hand, although there's nothing really I can do about having the children on hand.

Thanks again to Mother Reader for organizing it all!

48 Hour Book Challenge Wrap-up

Well, I finished my 48 hours. Parts were great, and parts less so. I feel somewhat dazed, more so than usual.

Time spent reading: hard to know, exactly, because of all the interruptions. I'd say around 22 hours. Time spent blogging--only 15 minutes.

When I checked in Saturday, I had read 4 and a half books. In total I read 10 and 1/4, for 2603 pages (although, as Barbie once famously said, "Math is hard").

My other 6 and 1/4 books were as follows.

Saturday

Nancy Calles the Tune, by Dorita Fairly Bruce (1944). In this conclusion to an English boarding school series, Nancy, now having finished school, is seeking useful War Work (WW II). She finds it as an organist and choir-master at a struggling Scottish church. There issome adventure, and some not too satisfying romance. It was a good but not great read.

Then I started Fly-by-night, by Francis Harding, a book I've been meaning to read for a while. I found it very very hard going. After 158 pages I decided to bale out--I didn't give a damn what happened toMosca, the heroine, and there was no scrap of numinous-ness to the plot.

I also began reading out loud The Island of Adventure, by Enid Blyton (1944, 192 pages) to the boys.

I was very disappointed with my Saturday progress. I would have read more had not circumstances conspired against me--for instance, while I was in the library updating a patron came in with c 200 books to donate to the book-sale, and wanted his boxes back. That meant I actually had to sort and put away the darn things, taking an hour of time that had been earmarked for reading. Strangely, the boys also wanted things like food and drink, not that I begrudge them but still. I also was getting tired of reading.

Sunday

Sunday morning I was much luckier. I read:

Mister Monday, by Garth Nix (361 pages). Isn't it remarkable how much faster one reads when it is a good book? This one only took about 2 hours, compared to the 2 hours just for the first bit of Fly by Night. I will definitely be looking for the rest of this series. It reminded me somewhat of Diana Wynne Jones, a favorite author.

The next book was even better: The Player's Boy, by Antonia Forest (1970). The best Shakespeare story I have ever read. Great characterization, fun plot, good history. Very highly recommended, much good that will do American readers unless they are willing to spend a fair chunk of money getting the reprint (from Girls Gone by Press) from England, possibly via Ebay.

Then I moved on to Lady of Quality, by Georgette Heyer (1972, 255 pages). I tried very hard to get a variety of books going, so as to stay fresh. This was a good choice. Light and entertaining Regency Romance. I may well read more GH, especially as airplane books.

I next read Alison Uttley, The Country Child (1931, 237 pages). A pleasant lightly fictionalized memoir--sort of a nature diary and anthropology of pre WWII rural England combined.

Finally, I raced to the end of Sea of Adventure. Enid Blyton has her points--she is of the "kids like to read her books" ilk. I was one of those kids, although I had never read this one. But great fiction it was not. When reading it out loud, I had to edit out a racist thread, so this one is not going on my boys' bookshelf.

Just to clarify from yesterday:
Abbey book: 315 pp
Emma-Jean 199 pp
Mayne: 208 pp
Cedar: 220pp

I can't revise my previous post from home, nor can I comment on posts, let alone create a post on my home computer--there is nothing to press that says save, or publish. Control S doesn't work either. So I am sending this as an email to my sister...

Finally, thank you Mother Reader! It was fun, I read some great books, and now having pigged out on reading I will be able to spend more time in the coming week ensuring that the Needs of my Dear Family , dear house, and dear garden are met. I'm not tempted to read fiction at work, unless blogs count, so the amount of time I devote to dear work will be unchanged.

27 ish hours left to go

Update for the 48 Hour Reading Challenge hosted by Mother Reader:

I have read 4 and 1/2 books so far:

The Abbey Girls on Trial, by Elsie Oxenham. Not my favorite of her Abbey series. To much introspective trauma, done heavy handedly. 314p

Emma-Jean Lazarus fell out of a tree. This was a peach of a book. (gah. I don't have it with me here at the library. I'm pretty sure it's 199p.)

Follow the Footsteps, by William Mayne. A slightly pedestrian treasure hunt story, a genre I don't like, but the book is not without charm. Again, pagination doubts. 207? or perhaps I am confusing this one and Emma-Jean.

The slightly true story of Cedar B. Hartley by Martine Murray. (Australian book, 2004). I really liked this one! I look books about people learning to do things (in this case, acrobatics). But the title is pathetic. 240 pages.

I will try to get more posted, but am not sure I will be able to until Monday. It depends on whether I can persuade someone to copy an email and put it on here...why does our Mac hate blogger so?

It is very nice that a. it is raining b. I cleaned the house yesterday.

This means I feel less guilt about reading.

48 Hour Reading Challenge, here I go...

I am about to turn my computer off and catch a bus home. My time will start the moment I sit down on the bus, so approximately 4:51...

The action can be followed at Mother Reader, where all of the participants are side-bared (I hate verbed nouns, so I shall correct myself: listed in a side bar. Sorry).

Poetry Friday: A June Fish Poem

I had a carefully prepared little entry for today's poetry Friday, but it got eaten by the computer. So I fall back on a poem that amuses me, and which is Month-Appropriate.

A fish poem for June, by Rupert Brooke (The South Seas, 1913)

Heaven

Fish (fly-replete, in depth of June,
Dawdling away their wat'ry noon)
Ponder deep wisdom, dark or clear,
Each secret fishy hope or fear.
Fish say, they have their Stream or Pond,
But is there anything Beyond?
This life cannot be All, they swear
For how unpleasant, if it were!
One may not doubt that, somehow, Good
Shall come of Water and of Mud;
And sure, the reverent eye must see
A Purpose in Liquidity.
We darkly know, by Faith we cry,
The future is not Wholly Dry.
Mud unto mud!-Death eddies near-
Not here the appointed End, not here!
But somewhere, beyond Space and Time,
Is wetter water, slimier slime!
And there (they trust) there swimmeth One
Who swam ere rivers were begun,
Immense, of fishy form and mind,
Squamous, omnipotent and kind,
And under that Almighty Fin,
The littlest fish may enter in.
Oh! never fly conceals a hook,
Fish say, in the Eternal Brook,
but more than mundane weeds are there,
And mud, celestially fair;
Fat caterpillars drift around,
And Paradisal grubs are found;
Unfading moths, immortal flies,
And the worm that never dies.
And in that Heaven of all their wish,
There shall be no more land, say fish.

The poetry Friday roundup is at Hip Writer Mama today.

Fidra Books seeks book

Yet another contest: Fidra Books, a small publisher in Scotland, invites entries for a New Book for them to publish! The details are here. I've mentioned Fidra before, as the re-publisher of Mabel Esther Allan books; I've read several other books they've reissued with great enjoyment. I've also added the Fidra blog to my blog roll -- it's well worth reading!

48 hour reading challenge coming up

In less than 48 hours, I will have plunged into the 2nd Annual 48 Hour Reading Challenge brought to us by Mother Reader. I have a stack of 11 books ready, I am planning on going to the library tonight to get 10 more, and I am considering using this opportunity to start a Harry Potter re-read (but in the same vein as considering whether it's time for a trip to the dentist--the one's I like I've read so often I know them, the others I don't like).

The only thing that's worrying me is access to a computer on Sunday--if I drive to library that's open on Sunday or to work, that will be 30 minutes less reading time. I am going to try to get the house clean and the entire garden weeded watered planted and the winter's wood supply chopped tonight so that I will not feel pressured to do these things instead of reading. Annoyingly, I have to give a talk tomorrow morning on underwater archaeology, but I will bring a book in case it starts late.

Win Comets, Stars, the Moon and Mars!

Here's another challenge. Anne at Book Buds has a contest going on: win a copy of Douglas Florian's Comets, Stars, the Moon and Mars by coming up with a punning definition of a space term. One of her examples -- Plutonic Relationship: A dwarf romance.

So here's my entry.

Red Giant: A huge statue of Lenin, or the man himself.I never thought I would be posting a picture of a Lenin statue on line. It just goes to show.

The contest runs till June 15, but feel free not to enter, because this is a book I would really really love to win!

8 Things meme = 8 books brought home from England

I was tagged with the "8 things about yourself" meme by Susan over at Chicken Spaghetti. Thinking that books are more interesting than many other things, here are 8 of the many books that came home with me from my recent trip book shopping across the pond:


1. Alison Uttley's memoir-ish account of growing up in the English countryside, A Country Child (1931)


2. The Player's Boy, by Antonia Forest. Shakespeare fiction, by one of the best 20th-century English writers for children. Her books were incredibly hard to find, even in England, but have recently been reprinted by Girls Gone By Publishers. However, most of the republished titles are now sold out, so she is still hard to find. The only one of her books that made it over to the US is The Thursday Kidnapping. It's not representative, not her best, and has mostly been ditched by US libraries so even that is not very findable.


3. Chiltern Adventure, by Mabel Esther Allan. This is the second of MEA's books to be reprinted by Fidra Books.


4. The Incline, by William Mayne. I like some of Mayne's books very much (Earthfasts, and especially his Cathedral book series--Swarm in May etc.), and some of his books not much at all. But this was a cheap hardback, not a library discard like all the hc Mayne one sees over here, so what the heck.


5. Tell Me No Lies, by Malorie Blackman. I am saving most of these books for Mother Reader's 48 Hour Reading Challenge, but a girl has to read something in the meantime. It passed the time, but I found it unconvincing.


6. Upper Fourth at Mallory Towers, by Enid Blyton. A boarding school book, rather fluffy, but it made me happy to buy it. I discovered Mallory Towers when I was seven, and now have a complete collection again.


7. Heather, Oak, and Olive -- three stories by Rosemary Sutcliff that I have never read before. Happy! We wanted to go to Hadrian's Wall this trip, but never made it that far north. We did, however, go and visit the Roman fort at Hard Knott, which was as evocative as all get out:


8. Finally, a real treat for myself-- The Abbey Girls Win Through by Elsie Oxenham. This is one of a long series involving girls, school, folk dancing, improbable romance, and a ruined abbey.


There's no way I can think of 8 people who haven't done this meme yet, so I shall let it die a peaceful death...

Back from the Lake District: Swallows & Amazons Forever!

At the end of my last post before going over to England's Lake District, I posted a Poetry Friday challenge--why does the poem Casabianca make me think of the Lake District? The Answer: because it is featured in Swallowdale, by Arthur Ransom.

Swallowdale is the second of books Ransom wrote about the wonderful holidays of a group of English children in the Lake District; the first is Swallows and Amazons. They had the freedom of a lake and its surrounding mountains where they were able to live imagined adventures (as it were), sailing and climbing and prospecting for gold and, in my favorite book, Winter Holiday, exploring the frozen north. This is the best series of books about children doing things outdoors that was ever written; it is imaginative and fun without being fantastic. One can imagine, that given a similar lake and mountains, one could do the same things. Here's the link to the original 1930 review of Swallows and Amazons (which is also interesting in a How They Wrote Reviews Back Then way) and here is the original cover:
If you haven't read these books, do! But please put Peter Duck and Missee Lee last on the list--these are the worst in the series.

Poetry Friday -- Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes

I am off to the Lake District in England later today (see exciting poetry related contest at end of post!) Seeing as this is Beatrix Potter country, I decided to look at Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes (1922, Number 23 in our set of the complete works of BP, which I have never reached in my attempts to read her complete ouvre. I always get stuck at Little Pig Robinson).*

CP's Nursery Rhymes is a collection of 8 "mother goose-esque" poems. As is the case with the earlier Apply Dapply's Nursery Rhymes, the poems and pictures were collected/painted over many years, and seemingly arbitrarily selected for this book. Some of the poems are common (This little pig), some very obscure (the eponymous Cecily Parley, who "lived in a pen, and brewed good ale for gentlemen"). BP spread the poems out over several pages, so there are many more pictures than poems--we get four pictures of the pigs, for instance, and since BP's pictures are charming and pleasantly detailed, this is just fine. However, they are very small pictures, which need to be looked at closely, so I wouldn't choose this book for a soothing read aloud. Instead, I might choose it for an exploration of how magnifying glasses work.

All this being said, here was a poem that was new to me and very sweetly illustrated with, I think, guinea pigs:

We have a little garden,
A garden of our own,
And every day we water there
The seeds that we have sown.

We love our little garden,
And tend it with such care,
You will not find a faded leaf
Or blighted blossom there.

Typing this in, I realized how uninspired this poem is without the guinea pigs...sadly it was not possible to get a picture of them before I went to England.

EXCITING CONTEST!

Be the first to answer this question correctly and win a random ya paperback to be imported from England in the coming week!*

Why does the famous poem Casabianca (The boy stood on the burning deck...) make me, and many others, think of the Lake District?

I will be back week after next, and will announce the winner, if any, then...

*sorry, because of funding constraints this contest is open only to US residents...

Non Fiction Video Thursday--Eyewitness

Today I'm falling back on a tried and true series of non fiction videos -- DK's Eyewitness series.

These are very, very good. They are short and snappy, they present facts coupled with brilliant images, and there are lots of them so it is pretty easy to find one about a subject that interests your child. They combine real images with computer graphic to excellent effect. We started with Ocean, and it remains one of our favorites; Planets is another good one that both boys like. It's my impression that the less obvious the subject (titles like Sight, Survival, Human Machine as opposed to Cat, Bear, Amphibian) the less engaging the episode--they are more like pastiche than purposeful progress. I don't include Flight in this category, however--it's a good one. The introduction (soaring through the Eyewitness Museum) is worth watching for its own sake. Often there is a Making--an informative behind the scenes look at how they did it which I think is a wonderful thing for children to see--because then they have a basis of understanding videos as things that are created and manipulated rather than straight reality (at least that's what I hope they are getting out of it).

These are available as videos and dvds. Here's a link to the DK site where they are listed; if you click on the "more" part of each problem, it will indeed tell you more about that episode.

Potential problem--Inappropriate regurgitation of knowledge:

Like many other parents of non-fiction video watching children, I can quote "The distinct style of the Eyewitness books forms the basis..." "clarity and super-realism" "bringing the world into sharper focus." The quotes my older son remembers are mostly facts. For instance, a few years ago he said, "Mama, let me tell you about the mating habits of the vampire salamander." It is an ugly, ugly story, but one he wanted to tell. To everyone he met. I guess his day care teacher already knew him well enough to take it in stride, but still.

DK is currently having a couple of contests; here's one where you can win some sticker books and an encyclopedia; here's another, via Fuse #8, for a set of 100 books...



If you have a favorite Eyewitness video, let me know!

National Independent Booksellers Month

This month, I just learned, is National Independent Booksellers Month. Shrinking Violets, a lovely blog which in general celebrates introverts* but which at the moment is celebrating NIBM, asks readers for Reasons to Shop at Independent Bookstores (and there is a prize for the best!). Here are my reasons, which I also left in a comment at Shrinking Violets:

1. They have used books for sale as well, intershelved with the new (I like bargains).

2. When my children and I go to the independent book store, we are going for Books, not for a have a snack in the cafe-play with Thomas the wretched tank engine toys-run around on toy stage extravaganza. It is good to find occasion to make Books the whole point of an expedition.

3. The children's section, perhaps because of (2), is much much tidier and more appealing (although I blame the parents for this, not the chain book stores...)

4. When you ask for A Seed is Sleepy they don't look at you like you are crazy.

5. Because independent book stores are smaller, one is less likely to loose one's children. One can also keep an eye on the children while looking at other sections.

Here are some more I have just thought of:

6. I like to shop at my local IBs for the same reason I like driving a Prius--a soothing sense that I am doing the Right Thing.

7. Someday when I grow up and stop being an archaeologist (and boy it was a vexing afternoon here in Archaeologyland what with bones eroding out of river banks and all) I am going to open a new and used children's bookstore of my own (my son wants me to call it The Friendly Dragon). So careful and critical shopping at IBs -es is an important educational experience, and there should be some way I can take it off my taxes given that it's job related.

* Kelly at Big A little a had a personality quiz up a few days ago. Isn't it interesting how many kidlit bloggers are introverts? I have a bone to pick with the quiz, however--my Meyer-Briggs book told me that my type, INFP, is much much rarer than the 6% this quiz tried to sell me. Another thing my book told me was that, for INFPs, "metaphors come easily, but may be forced." I have been thinking about this at odd moments for the past 25 years.

Still learning to read...

My 6 year old continues to doggedly read his book a day/15 minutes...Last week actually went fairly well, and in a spirit of solidarity with the other parents in the same circs., here's what he read:

Newt by Matt Novak I don't particularly care for amphibians in clothes myself, but whatever. He read it, all three chapters (good for 2 days worth). There were "lessons" for those who like books to teach on multiple levels; the one I liked best was "don't dig up flowers growing wild and take them home." There were good vocabulary words (and how frustrating it is when your child rattles off polysyllabic words and then stumbles over "it").

Small Pig by Arnold Lobel. It only recently occurred to me that, although there were no other Frog and Toad books to find, Lobel presumable wrote other things that might be good. Small Pig is no Frog and Toad, but it is a brisk little story. When a small pig's mud puddle is cleaned up by the zealous Farmer's Wife, off he goes in a huff in search of mud. The illustrations are somewhat muted, which I think is a perfectly reasonable thing for an early reader. When the illustrations are too engaging, the Reading Advisor has to repeatedly draw the child's attention back to the words. I just learned from Sherry at semicolon that today is Lobel's birthday...

The Sun Shone on the Elephant by Gywneth Mamlok (1967) This is a book I loved as a child (how lucky I am that my parents didn't throw out our children's books, although they were no so kind to the paperback books of our middle childhood). This one was a bit of a challenge, but we made it through. It is the story of an elephant who thinks he is ugly. He sees the parrot, and imagines himself with feathers, sees the monkey and dreams of doing tricks, sees the tiger, and wishes for stripes. At last he meets a cat, who happens to know the unhappiest princess in the world--unhappy because she is so tiny. The elephant becomes the princess's Royal Elephant, and bedecked with gems he now thinks he is beautiful. This is, admittedly, an awful message that would probably never sell today. But the pictures are lovely. The elephant does look magnificent...and after the book is finished, one can start yammering on about Asian vs African elephants, what country the book might be set in, etc etc.

Our fifth evening was a Scooby Doo early reader of no literary or artist merit.

New book coming from Diana Wynne Jones

I was just visiting the website of Diana Wynne Jones, and was very pleased to see that she is working on a new book in which the magician Howl will be making an appearance...It is always nice to know that favorite authors are busily working away, preparing future gratification.

Rules of The Road

I had the pleasure this weekend of reading Rules of the Road, by Joan Bauer (but if I'd known what a fun fast read it was going to be I would have saved it for the upcoming 48 hour reading challenge at MotherReader).

The basic plot is this--Jenna, a 16 girl working in a shoe store, is whisked away by the elderly woman, Mrs. Gladstone, who owns the shoe company and put behind the wheel of a Cadillac, heading south from Chicago the share holders' meeting in Dallas. On the way, they will be checking the various branches of the companies shoe stores, with Jenna playing the role of industry spy. Jenna is glad to be escaping from her alcoholic father, but nervous about her skills as a driver (as is the reader) -- "It is customary," says her employer, "to open the garage door before backing out" (or words to that effect--the book's at home, sorry). Mrs. Gladstone is worried because her son wants to oust her and start selling cheap shoes. Once on the road, Jenna and Mrs. Gladstone become friends, Jenna gains maturity and a new hair style, meets inspirational people, and saves the day at the shareholder's meeting. Mrs. Gladstone gets to stay on as Director of Quality. And finally, Jenna confronts her alcoholic father.

Plot-wise, it felt a bit as though "big issues" were stuck in to add depth; I wasn't much moved. It reminded me of a Meg Cabot novel--teenage girl in unrealistic situation rising to the occasion.

But what I really really liked was Jenna in her role of shoe salesman--knowledgeable, helpful, and brave. I loved all the shoe detail (and I am not a "shoe person"). I was sad that toward the end we didn't get to spend more time with Jenna inside shoe stores. And I am now a smidge worried about what my own low-end shoes are doing to my feet.

For Poetry Friday--Waiting at the Window

The rainy weather today made me think of a favorite poem from Now We are Six, by AA Milne.

Waiting at the Window

there are my two drops of rain
Waiting on the wndow-pane.

I am waiting here to see
Which the winning one wll be.

Both of them have different names.
One is John and one is James.

All the best and all the worst
Comes from which of them is first.

James has just begun to ooze.
He's the one I want to loose.

John is waiting to begin.
He's the one I want to win.

James is going slowly on.
Something sort of sticks to John.

John is moving off at last.
James is going pretty fast.

John is rushing down the pane.
James is going slow again.

James has met a sort of smear.
John is getting very near.

Is he going fast enough?
(James has found a piece of fluff.)

John has hurried quickly by.
(James is talking to a fly.)

John is there, and John has won!
Look! I told you! Here's the sun!

Milne's poetry got short shrift in my mind when I was a child; I prefered to read Pooh. But even then there were poems that I enjoyed tremendously . The charming cat poem Pinkle Purr, for instance, and the powerful (I mean it) King John's Christmas. My favorite poem, however, is from When we Were Very Young. It's called Disobedience---it's the one about James James Morrision Morrison Weatherby George Dupree. If you haven't read it, do! It's too long to type here. And don't skip the introductions. Milne is a great essayist, who would doubtless have a wonderful blog if he were alive today.

The poetry round up is at Big A little A today.

Audio Picture Books-- help wanted

The children's librarian at my library has asked us Friends to buy some audio picture books--apparently, patrons have been asking for them, comparing us unfavourably with our neighbouring libraries. I myself wonder what the point of a picture book is without the pictures (think how much cheaper they would be to publish, though...). But anyway. The catalogue she showed us has them for about $29 a cd. This seems like a lot. Does anyone out there have any suggestions for a. particular titles that give a lot of bang for the buck and that fly off the shelves b. a place to get them cheaply.

Thanks!

Goodbye, Lloyd Alexander

I just learned that Lloyd Alexander has died. I remember the first of his books that I ever read--I was ten years old, and my father took me, sans sisters, to Toys-R-Us and bought me a book--The Black Cauldron. It was the only time I can remember that this happened, as my mother (liking book shopping herself) was the one that bought us books. I still have the very, very ratty paperback...

The Black Cauldron is the second in the Chronicle of Prydain, and is not my favorite of the five books in the series. But there are some books that you read as if hypnotized, emerging only with glazed eyes for more tasty snacks. I'd read and loved the Lord of the Rings, so this wasn't my first foray into the world of fantasy quests, but The Black Cauldron, perhaps because it was less "epic," engaged me on a much more personal level. Here's the review of it from the 1965 Horn Book.

Taran Wanderer is my favorite book of the series. It is one of the best books about growing up that I know of.

One of the most memorable scenes in the final book, The High King, comes on a snowy mountain pass, when all hope is fading. To keep the fire going, the bard, Fflewddur Fflam, smashes his harp. All night it burns, and as it burns, it sings. (shoot. I can't do it justice but it brings tears to my eyes every time) .

Thank you for these books, Mr. Alexander. It was good to grow up with Taran and Eilonwy, and I will read you to my own children.

Here is a full bibliography of his work, including mention of a new book coming out in August.

Non-Fiction Video Thursday: Mars, Dead or Alive

Mars, Dead or Alive (NOVA)

This program first aired just hours after the rover Spirit landed on Mars (January 3, 2004). As a result, its title is somewhat misleading. It is not actually about Mars, but rather is about the development of the Mars rovers that are currently exploring it. It documents the months that preceded the landing on Mars, as the technicians and scientists struggle here on Earth to create workable rovers. A lot was riding on this mission--50 percent of previous missions to Mars had been disasters. NASA had to get it right this time, to show that it was capable of doing something right. And it worked--in a glorious finale, Spirit arrives safely on Mars.

This documentary is, essentially, a "boys and their toys" thing. It is very male dominated, and very machine focused (with a smidge of exo-geology). This is not to say that it is not good--for those who love robots, and anyone interested in the process of creating machines that will survive the hostile conditions of an alien world, this is a great video. It carries the useful message that if at first you don't succeed, try try again (like a Dragon Tales video, or such like, only more educational). And it is also interesting to see all the hard, hard work and hope and disappointment that is behind every space mission.

The Spirit and Opportunity rovers turned out to be a phenomenal success, so much so that people like myself have become a bit blase about them. I used to follow their progress assiduously; not so today. This documentary was released before we knew how stupendous the information sent back by the rovers would be, so it is more a background to what today's kids might already know. Because this is a very techie video, kids interested in Mars qua Mars might not be engaged, but kids interested in really cool machines should be engrossed.


A second documentary, Welcome to Mars picks up where Dead or Alive leaves off (shown above is Spirit's parachute), but we haven't watched it yet.

Here's the show's webpage, for those who want more information.

What I'm Reading

I've been tagged by Els over at Book Book Book with the "What are you reading meme." And like Els, I find it a nice relaxing one...

Here's what I'm reading out loud: A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond. First of a long long series about a small bear from Peru that is adopted by a London family. While looking unsuccessfully for a picture of the 1970s English paperback I'm reading (there's a new American cover and I don't like it), I came across this rather interesting piece by Bond about the books and their publishing history- 75 pounds, he got for it. I also "learned," via wikipedia, that vendors sell Paddington finger puppets by the shores of Lake Titicaca. The children are enjoying the book, but the same doubts that assailed me as a child when I first read it are still with me. Why is this bear so human? Why is there always so much stickiness (marmalade, cream buns, egg on whiskers). Why can't the Brown family see that treating him as human is a recipe for disaster (imagine taking a 2 year old, who's not safely strapped into a stroller, shopping in London. Then imagine it even worse). I really don't like books that feature disaster after disaster; what I enjoy is peaceful escapism.

Which is why I am reading Miss Buncle, by D.E. Stevenson. She is a mid 20th century English writer, often classified as Romance. I think this is a bit unfair (since I have a snobbish knee jerk reaction against Romance). Anyway, she writes entertainingly about the lives of well-off (but not super rich and titled) inhabitants of English and Scottish villages (plus some in isolated farms and in London). Similar to Angela Thirkell's pre-war books, but lighter.

I am saving all the books I really want to read for the 48 hour reading challenge....

This meme's been around for a while, and I'm not sure who to tag...so if you haven't done it yet, please feel tagged!

Dragon Books

My boys are both dragon obsessed, and over the years we've amassed quite a few books featuring the creatures (not counting Guidebook to Mythical Creatues genre). I toyed with the idea of making a list of dragon picture books, but checking on google showed it had already been done here. But here are some dragon books that didn't it make it into that list (I think--there were so many books listed I floundered) :

The Sons of the Dragon King: A Chinese Legend (2004) by Ed Young

The 9 sons of the Dragon King have left home and gone their seperate ways, but word comes to their father that none of them are behaving as his sons should! Disguised, the Dragon King visits each one in turn, and sees in what each son is doing a chance for a meaningful contribution to the kingdom. Each son still caries out his job to this day. For instance, one son spends his time staring off into space--his father realizes he can become a watchman, and his character can be seen decorating the tops of buildings. Another son spent his time challenging peasants to feats of strength; today he can be seen on columns hold up trememdous weights. 9 sons, 9 paternal visits, 9 worthwhile jobs to do; 9 basically seperate stories on the same theme. The ink and cut paper illustrations show each new dragon before his new role, and after.

I was surprised to see that the reviews of this book on Amazon are somewhat less than enthusiastic about the chances that this book will appeal much to kids--not enough neat dragon pictures to carry the book for young kids, not enough "story" for older kids. I dunno. My small boys like it a lot as a read aloud book--I think small children are more prepared than some of us readers-out-loud might realize to accept books that come in bits, like separate beads on a string, where overarching narrative and character development are not important. And the theme of this book should resonate pretty powerfully--it is all about parental approval, and children finding their proper place where their talents are appreciated. I imagine them thinking, as each son finds his role, "good, there's another one all set." Comforting for them. An older child, reading it alone, might not get that same level of emotional reassurance from it.


The Book of Beasts by E. Nesbit and Inga Moore

Young Lionel is very surprised to find himself being made king--his ancestor had spent so much money on books that the crown had been sold, and only now had enough money been raised to by a new one and crown a new king. In the magnificent royal library, Lionel finds, and opens, The Book of Beasts. Out comes a dragon, who begins eating Lionel's unfortunate subjects...With the help of a beautiful hippogryph a few pages further, Lionel tricks the dragon back into the book and slams the cover shut, and all the people who had been eaten are squeezed back out again. Beautiful pictures, fun story. It's an abridgement of a longer story by E. Nesbit. There's another version of this illustrated by Michael Hauge Lionel and the Book of Beasts (2006), but I haven't read that one yet.

And finally, here's an out-of-print English chapter book (I figure new and in print books get plenty of room elsewhere)--Green Smoke, by Rosemary Manning. 8 year old Susan, vacationing at a beach in Cornwall, meets a dragon who lives in a cave. Lots of story telling (mainly King Arthur stories) and bun eating (many different flavours), with a visit to a mermaid thrown in. I liked it lots when I was young, and it worked well as a read aloud to my oldest boy. Don't bother with the sequels, though--not only are they even less available and more expensive, they are not as good. They have more Plot, which is not nearly as fun as the artless episodic charm of Green Smoke.

Teen Wizards and High School

This interesting call for papers was posted at a list I'm on:

"A Dragon Wrecked My Prom: Teen Wizards and High School"

'The Dead rose--we should at least have an assembly.'- Xander, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

High School is difficult enough to negotiate without having to save the world, but, as a whole genre of teen fiction has explored, teens seem able to do both. Shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the novels of Diane Duane, Tanya Huff, and Mercedes Lackey, as well as numerous comics, graphic novels, and cartoons, all present audiences with teens who wield extraordinary powers while battling the everyday demons of adolescence. This collection will explore the unique figure of the teen wizard--a category broad enough to encapsulate Nita Callahan and Kit Rodrigues, the spellcasting teens of Duane's 'Young Wizards' series, as well as Diana, the teen heroine of Tanya Huff's 'Keepers' series, Willow Rosenberg (of Buffy), Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Vanyel Ashkevron (the last herald mage of Mercedes Lackey's 'Valdemar' novels) and numerous other mystical teens span a whole array of different media. How do magic and adolescence go together, and how are mystical energies bound up with the pain, turmoil, and abjection of being a teenager? And why is the figure of the teen wizard so manifestly popular?

Please submit a 500-1000 word abstract, along with a CV, to: jbattis_at_gmail_dot_com. Deadline: August 30, 2007. Grad student submissions are welcome, as are creative/critical and multimedia mixtures. Publisher information will be forthcoming, but I anticipate strong interest from a press.
Any questions/queries can be directed to: Jes Battis: mailto:jbattis@gmail.com
Postdoctoral Fellow, City University New York

It seems to me (based on my own experience) fairly obvious that teenagers, especially younger ones, might like to read about kids their own age with magical powers and such because of feeling rather powerless and directionless themselves...quests and such certainly add structure and purpose to one's life.

For Poetry Friday: if Flower Fairies, why not Weed Fairies?

When I was young, a book I savoured was The Flower Fairy Alphabet, by Cicely Mary Barker. How happy I was that I was C for Columbine (shown at left, and about to bloom in my garden). The Alphabet was the only Flower Fairy book we had, but there are many others. The Cicely Mary Barker site isn't working, but there is an introduction to her here. CM Barker sure could draw flower fairies--and I find it rather wonderful how close the costumes are to the actual flowers. In fact, the illustrations are a good guide to common flowers of the (English, although many grow in America as well) garden. The books are widely available these days, doubtless delighting a fresh lot of little girls (I haven't yet introduced my boys to the flower fairies. Gender stereotypes are pretty powerful things).

A poem accompanies each picture. Sadly, CM Barker's poetry is not as good:

The Song of The Columbine Fairy

Who shall the chosen fairy be
For letter C?
There's Candytuft, and Cornflower blue,
Chrysanthemum so bold and fine,
And pretty dancing Columbine.

Yes, Columbine! The choice is she;
And with her, see,
An elfin piper, piping sweet
A little tune for those light feet
That dances, among the leaves and flowers
In someone's garden.(Is it ours?)

The coyness at the end especially makes me wince.

In homage to CM Barker, as I contemplate the state of my lawn, I have written the first poem of my own volume, Weed Fairies of the Spring.

Song of the Crabgrass Fairy

Nah nah, nah nah nah.

The Poetry Friday roundup is at HipWriterMama today.

Non Fiction Video Thurs.-- Henry's Amazing Animals

Today I offer Henry's Amazing Animals, a series available as videos and also shown on tv. This is more maintream than previous reviews, but heck, my children (6 and just turned 4) like them.

Premise: A animated lizard named Henry, who is very silly, is taught by an unseen male voice about the wonders of the natural world. Henry gets things wrong, gets into trouble, makes bad jokes; the narrator presents clips of animals and discusses their behavior.

Here's what's good about this series:

There are lots and lots and lots of titles in this series. So if your child enjoys them, the novelty can last for a long time as you track down the various videos in your state's library system (they also come up on ebay, but tend to be more expensive than the 3 dollars or so I like to spend).

The parts where we are shown real animals are interesting and informative. The language is clear enough so that very young children can follow what's happening.

They are not long--only half an hour or so, so they work well for keeping the children happy while you are trying to cook supper/keeping the children happy while eating your own supper (although of course every meal in our house is Family Togetherness Time ha ha), and the trauma of turning of the tv halfway through a video is avoided.

Here's what's indifferent about the series:

The creators tried really really hard to make Henry the lizard funny. My husband and I find this aspect painful; the children are sometimes amused, sometimes unmoved.

The use of an animated lizard and supplemental "humorous" animated bits possibly serves as a entre into non-fiction for kids used to cartoons; I'd rather have mine watching the real thing.

The show is very segmented--we jump from clips of real animals, to cartoon episodes, to Henry's Golden Gecko Awards for Best xxxx Animal. This possibly holds the young viewers attention, but also dumbs the whole thing down.

Here's what's possibly negative:

The jokes are bad.

The omnipotent narrator, being male, reinforces the non-fiction video stereotype that men are the arbiters of scientific knowledge.

They're being shown on the Discovery Channel at 8:30 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon (ET)...It almost makes me wish that our tv could get channels, instead of simply serving as a portal to videos. But on the other hand, we are not home at 8:30 in the morning anyway. Someone else must agree with me that this series works well for kids 5 and under, since they're the only ones home.

There's a list of Henry titles here.

Searching for early readers--The Happy Hockey Family

My son has to read for 15 minutes every night for school, which means finding 5 or so books a week that he can read. Strangely (sarcasm alert), over the past few years of bringing home armload after armload of children's books, we ended up with very few Early Readers, because mostly they are unappealing paperbacks (with exceptions). But anyway, every fortnight or so I run through the shelves looking for candidates for the coming week, working on the assumption that he is making progress, so books too hard in April might be possible now, and perhaps we'll be trying Tolstoy by August. Not that we actually own any Tolstoy. I feel I can always get it from the library if I need to.

This week I found The Happy Hockey Family, by Lane Smith. I love this book. It is brilliant. I have read it aloud to my children often, coaching them in the appreciation of ironic humor (so important). I checked the copy at our library (bought by me using Friends' money; I think it was one of my first acts as an official Friends of the Library Member), and it does not have an "easy reader" sticker on it. But it is. Short, clear sentences, some repetition, illustrations that support the text. It was perfect. Of course, since I had read it aloud to him before, he was probably reading from memory, but that's not my fault.
Lane Smith has a website here that is well worth visiting, but he's taking a break from it until his next book comes out...

For more suggestions of books for a six year old to read, visit Kelly at Big A little a for a nice list.

For Poetry Friday- The Germ

We had one in our house this week--

The Germ, by Ogden Nash

A mighty creature is the germ,
Though smaller than the pachyderm.
His customary dwelling place
Is deep within the human race.
His childish pride he often pleases
By giving people strange diseases.
Do you, my poppet, feel infirm?
You probably contain a germ.

I found this poem in a rather nice anthology, Whisper and Shout--Poems to Memorize, edited by Patrice Vecchione. Some of the poems I knew already, others, like this one, were new to me. The poems here are divided into clusters--poems of family and friends, the natural world, wisdom and wonder, etc., which adds structure and provides food for thought. An anthology of poems is a lot like some else making for you a bag of mixed candy--they might put in coconut creams, instead of chocolate caramels. So having been provided with categories, it is fun to play the "what would I include game."

One thing I liked a lot about this book is that it is not illustrated. This book places great importance on the memorization of poems, something I think is wonderful. This week I am of the opinion that children should be free to imagine their own pictures, as an aid to memorization....

Non-Fiction Video Thursday: Building Big

Building Big is a five episode series about building big things--bridges, domes, dams, tunnels, and skyscrapers--narrated by David Macaulay. It first appeared as a PBS show in 2000, and is now available on dvd and vhs. The series focuses on the engineering challenges of each type of structure, but it includes so much history, geography, and general cultural literacy that even those who find engineering problems unappealing will find much to enjoy. In Dams, for instance, we travel to Egypt to learn about the Aswan dam, placed nicely in cultural and geographic context, with a look at the ancient Saad El Kafara as well, we explore the Hoover dam, the Itaipu Dam of Brazil and Paraguay, and are alarmed by the description of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania 19th-century dam disaster. Domes might appeal to a kid who likes baseball, because it looks closely at the Houston Astrodome, among others.

At the end of each program is a do-it-yourself presentation for kids. On screen, I think this is great; in practice less so. We did, however, get a kick out of making popsicle stick dams and pouring buckets of water around.

In short, this series is very well presented, eclectic, and informative without being didactic! However, there are lots of disasters (not as bad as a Thomas the Tank Engine episode, but close), so these might not be appropriate for younger kids who are bothered by these things. My six year old loves them, my three year old could care less.

The six year old has been a huge fan of David Macaulay for most of his young life. When he was four, he wanted me to find D.M.'s address, so we could go sit outside his house, preferably for days at a time. So when I stumbled across the videos of his Building Big series in a library far from our home, I knew I had to get them for our own library. Thanks to generous donations from our patrons, we acquired the boxed set of 5 dvds, and check them out every 6 months or so (I hope other patrons are checking them out too...).

If you want to read more particulars about the show, look here; there are more related activities on the website for reading kids. There is an excellent companion book by David Macaulay, also called Building Big.

The 48 Hour Book Challenge = Nothing to read today

Mother Reader is bringing us a 48 hour book challenge in June-- how many books/pages can one reader read in 48 hours? Along with 50 or so other brave readers, I have signed up.

Now I have nothing to read. I'm sitting in the library, surrounded by books, and there's nothing to take home with me...I'm saving all the books I really want to read till the contest so that I will read faster. I want to have a stack of 25 books I can't wait to read right on hand. So far I am saving Emma Jane Lazarus Fell out of a Tree, The Lightning Thief, the two Clementine books, Fannie Flagg's latest book for that grown up touch, and a couple of others...nothing to read today.