A taste of life in the children's book world

In my daily life, I am an archaeologist. When I tell this to people, invariably they will say, "Oh how cool! I always wanted to be an archaeologist when I was a kid!" or some such. And I smile and nod, pitying the naive enthusiasm of the speaker, and resisting the urge to say "most of it's boring." I have done things archaeological that were not boring, digging around the world, but at the moment I have a desk job. (If you want to learn more about my life as an archaeologist, you can check out the October issue of Dig Magazine).

Well. The tables were turned on me last night, when I found myself at the children's book dinner at the meeting of the New England Independent Booksellers Association. There I was, a mundane archaeologist, surrounded by really cool and famous people who write and publish and sell really cool children's books! Listening to famous authors and illustrators talk! (Natalie Babbitt, Helen Lester & Lynn Munsinger, and Jerry Spinelli). Taking home a bag of books as party favours! It was one of the best evenings I've had for ages, certainly much more interesting than your average archaeology conference.

This is how I ended up there. A while ago, Charlesbridge Publishing sent me some books to review (Wiggle and Waggle, and Ralph Masiello's Dragon Drawing book, both of which continue to be in demand at our house), and Ralph and I have emailed back and forth about his new book (which deserves its own post, so stay tuned). Knowing that I'm based in the Providence, RI area, and that Ralph was also going to be there, Charlesbridge invited me to be their guest for this dinner. Thank you, Charlesbridge!

I do, of course, realize that real life in the children's book world is probably not all fine wine and salmon and funny speeches and bags of beautiful books to take home. And my job isn't that boring. But still, it sure was a nice change, and I blush to admit that I did say to one book store own, "Oh, it must be so cool to have your own bookstore!" The moment I said it, I could sense her pitying my naive enthusiasm, but one just can't be a cynical realist all the time.

For Poetry Friday-- Burma

I have been thinking, and hoping, and praying for the people of Burma. So for Poetry Friday, here are some poems from and about Burma.

First, a poem from from the English colonial period. Kipling's "The Road To Mandalay" was the only poem about Burma that came into my head without help from google. As is so often the case with Kipling, the writing is superb, the images intense, and the blatant colonialism disturbing. Here's the first verse:

By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' lazy at the sea,
There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o' me;
For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say;
"Come you back, you British Soldier; come you back to Mandalay!"
Come you back to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay;
Can't you 'ear their paddles clunkin' from Rangoon to Mandalay?
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!

You can read the rest of the poem here.

Second, a poem from the dictatorship. I found this at the New Republic website, in the UPDATES FROM THE WORLD'S TYRANNICAL OUTPOSTS- Today in Despotism column from November, 2005

"Meanwhile, art and politics merge, as always, in Burma's poetry. The following verse honors the "13th Myanmar Traditional Cultural Performing Arts Competition in progress." The author is concerned but defiant:

If Our Walls Encroached

Our Myanmar nationalistic character
Intended to be strengthened, with a
wall of culture
Is reinforced unfailingly each year
It has been 13 years by now.
It'll be a world village, it'll come
And if with the bravado spirit
We are complacent, and they encroach
Work to multiply the weeds within
That sly bunch of dirty minds
They are there, we know.
Come, come along
Those that are there, the many weeds
Even those between the walls, will
wither
And vanish--just remember.

Experts in Burmese poetry advise that the final two words be read in an urgent whisper."

But what the poet/government might not realize, is just how strong weeds can be, and how hard they are to uproot. Especially weeds like hope.

I then found the Burma Digest, a journal of human rights in Burma. This link will take you to an older website, where you can read many tragic, stirring, and hopeful poems from the side of the oppressed.

Here's one that caught my eye:
Welcome to the Final Phase of Myanmar's National Convention

A nation with rising illiterates
Sponsoring the so called
‘National Convention’
It must be an invention
To go with a newly redoing of Burma’s
Ancient tradition
The transition from Pyinmana
To Nay Pyi Daw
If you own a brown mask or a bright costume
You must be the right candidate to participate in the
Masquerade for the next Myanmar’s National Convention
A bright costume to cover up your iron fist and bloody gun
A brown mask to hide your pale courage and ignorant mind
Make sure to brush your teeth with black market toothpaste
The only kind available in Burma at this time
For they surely do not need beetle nut stains
On their hall of gleaming bright shame

May K Ng, May 2007


The Burma Digest site is now here. The last entry states simply that the entire internet in Burma has been shut off.

The Poetry Friday roundup is here, at amoXcalli.

On shopping at library book sales

In a comment on the Carnival post of yesterday was the following request for help:

"You're the president of your Friends of the library group, so you seem like the ideal person to ask. This week our city's library is going to have a $3 bag sale on over 60,000 used books. I plan to hit the children's literature section and was wondering if you could offer any tips on how to peruse the books, so that I don't end up wasting time and money on twaddle. Also, besides keeping an eye out for Leo Polleti (spelling?) and Tomie De Paola books, do you have any other suggestions for books?"

My question: what city is this, and is it within reach of my house?

Here are my tips:

1. This book sale is going to be a mad house. If you are a regular patron, you could call up the Friends group today, and ask if they need help setting up tomorrow. Then you can cast a quick eye over the children's section, to see if there are any must haves. There will be a long line on the day of the sale. You can get there two hours early, and be part of the mad dash, or just accept that you won't be the first to see the books. Try to find out before the doors open where exactly in the room the children's books are going to be, so that you can go straight there.

2. Bring your own canvas bags. Don't waste time at the door fumbling for plastic bags that might rip.

3. Many books at library book sales look good on the outside, but are cruddy on the inside. You will not have time to look at each one at first! Grab what strikes your fancy, stuff it in your bag, and keep on until you've at least glanced at the whole section. Then find a "peaceful" place and check the books you've snagged, putting any you don't want neatly away in the right section (please please please). You should then do another perusal of the books, more calmly this time.

4. You ask what books to look out for, which is a tough one. I'm assuming you want them for yourself and your family, so it really depends on how old you all are and what you're interested in. Anything that's won a Newbery or Caldecot award is good, and the gold and silver stickers are easy to spot. However, if you want to really score, try to find the Newbery winners without the sticker!

But I'd suggest just going with the flow, and picking up anything that catches your eye. At $3 a bag, you're not going to go far wrong. And there are many many great books out there that didn't win awards, and which are languishing in undeserved obscurity. You may find some wonderful books that are pretty much unknown. At this price, don't turn up your nose at ex-library books. These were chosen for the library for a reason, and kids don't care if books are in mint condition or not (and anyway, they don't stay mint).

5. You might also consider offering to help clean up the books at the end of the sale. There is always good stuff left over, and it's generally free at this point. However, I've noticed that many libraries are now making blanket arrangements with charitable organizations to have all the books taken away in one fell swoop, which is fine for the library, but not so good for people who want free books.

6. If you still have time and energy on your hands after looking at the children's books, you could look around the rest of the sale for books to take in to your local used book store for trade credit (which is about twice as much as they would give you in cash). Look for unusual-ish non fiction, and beware of book club editions.

I hope this advice is useful! Anyone with more advice, please share it!

TAKE A RIDE ON THE READING RAILROAD--The September Carnival of Children's Literature

Today you're invited to Take A Ride on the Reading Railroad, where you'll find links to great books and blogs. Enjoy!




An important part of planning any long train trip is deciding what books to take. For this journey, you pick Book Of A Thousand Days by Shannon Hale ( Becky's Book Reviews), Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer (Jen Robinson's Book Page), Chasing Vermeer (A Wrung Sponge) and finally, Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher (Read, Read, Read ).

When you arrive at the train station, what do you see across the street but a used bookstore you've never been to before- Under the Radar Books. You check your watch- plenty of time. And it was worthwhile --lots of great books on the shelves courtesy of Semicolon, and an old favorite by Mollie Hunter (Charlotte's Library).

There's the train pulling in. Time to board the Reading Railroad! The conductor shows you to your seat, and as you get settled, she hands you a book--A Child's Delight (From Here In the Bonny Glen). "With the compliments of the Railroad," she says, and turns to the next passenger, a woman with a tiny infant. She hands them a different book-- "It's never too early," she says. "We give this book, Foggy Cat, to every baby on board (A Typical Life).

As you take your seat, you notice a complimentary Train Newspaper. The bag of books next to you must wait while you read the fabulous articles --there's an interview with Helen Dunmore (Big A little a) , there's an introduction to Whoopeekiddies.com (A Meeting Place for All Home Office Women ), and a fun book cover meme to play--"Who's writing a children's book about YOU?" (Trinity Prep School). You learn that Banned Books Week is September 29 - October 6! (Critic's Corner), and that L'Engle tops the list of Top 10 Authors who got rejected 26 Times (Sam Riddleburger). And you read with great amusement Grapefruit Moon and Other Stories posted at Saints and Spinners in the letters section.

There are also reviews of books new and old. Some of the books you've never heard of -Home of the Brave, by Katherine Applegate (Literary Safari), and a very intriguingly titled picture book called The Fabulous Bouncing Chowder, which turns out not to be about soup in the hands of a 2 year old (Wild Rose Reader). And you meet old friends again-- In Praise of the Rabbit (Zucchinis in Bikinis), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Eclectic Commons).

And on the last page, there's an original story about Sputnick, seeing the light of day for the first time (here and here) (Bartography).

On the train is a child who's learning to read; without being too obvious, you peer over to see the book-- Hey Tabby Cat! , from the Brand New Readers Series(Adventures in Daily Living). Looks good. A grandmother pulls out book after book for her dear grandchildren--"These are 10 Children's Car Books I Love," she says. (Ask Patty-Automotive Advice for Women). But all the children soon turn their attention to a woman retelling Johnny Appleseed with a silly read-aloud twist (Little Blue School)

Feeling a bit restless, you decide to walk along the train, only to find there's a book store car! You scoop up 10 Minutes 'Till Bedtime, and admire The Beautiful World of Jan Brett (Mommy Auctions ). And then you grab 25+ Great Science and Nature Books for Five to Eight Year olds (Chicken Spaghetti) --they look too good to pass up. You add The Down To Earth Guide to Global Warming (Natural Family Living Blog) to your stack, and stagger out of the store. As you leave, you chuckle to hear a small girl bewailing the sad consequences of too much maternal book buying (Karen Edmisten).

A little further on is the lounge car. As you enter, a video begins to play on the large screen at the end of the car--your eyes are drawn to "An Abundance of Kidlit Goodies" (A Fuse #8 Production).

After curling up in peace with your books for a while, the train slows down. Your books seem to have made themselves at home, and as you are burrowing under your chair, the conductor appears with a final amenity-- a large empty box. Clutching the now full box to your chest, you climb down onto the platform.

An elderly gentleman approaches, and hands you $200. "You passed GO!" he says. "Time to buy more books!"

"But I have books..."

"Never enough," he answers, and heads over to the next passenger.

You notice that the walls of the station are plastered with signs advertising bookshelves, carpenters, and promises such as "House Collapsing? We can help!" and "We'll build you a bookery out back." Now you know the secret behind The Reading Railroad. It is all a plot.

I hope you've enjoyed your ride on the Reading Railroad! Thanks to everyone for their contributions, and thanks in particular to Melissa of Here in the Bonny Glen, the mastermind behind the Carnival of Children's Literature!

Misc. announcements

The current issue of The Edge of the Forest is up and running for your reading pleasure. This is a monthly online journal of children's literature, well worth visiting if you haven't already.

The Cybils are coming! Nominations for your favorite books of 2007 open on October 1! I am tickled as all get out to be involved this year, as one of the ya fiction nominating panel.

The New England Independent Booksellers Association is meeting in Providence, RI at the end of this week. There's a Children's Books Author/Illustrator Dinner (sponsored by Bookazine) on Thursday night (the 27th, from 6-10, Westin Hotel, advance ticket required). The guest speakers include

Natalie Babbitt Jack Plank Tells Tales, Scholastic,
Helen Lester & Lynn Munsinger The Sheep in Wolf's Clothing, Houghton Mifflin and
Jerry Spinelli Love, Stargirl, Knopf.

I'm going to be there, feeling rather shy. Anyone else?

And finally, watch this space for the September Carnival of Children's literature, which should be up this evening or tomorrow morning...d.v.

Well, if it gets people reading, maybe it's ok

From today's Guardian, via Fidra Books:

News that Jordan's contribution to the world of fiction, Crystal (159,407 sold and counting), is outselling the whole of the Booker shortlist (120,770 in total) might cause a shiver of alarm in some quarters. But to devotees of the fast-growing genre of celebrity novels, it comes as no surprise.

.

On a more positive note, I also read in Fidra's blog that Fidra is opening a children's bookstore in Edinburgh- there's a call out to "any children’s authors reading this who are willing to come and do a reading/signing in Edinburgh." It's a lovely city--if I were a children's author, I'd sign up.

It is bad to send books to the landfill

I have a burial site in the woods behind my house, a place where I take dead books--random encyclopedia volumes, water-damaged novels of yesteryear, corpses of books no one wants, even for free. They come my way because I run my local library's book sale, and there I am, with all these books on my hands. Our local landfill is filling up fast, my town is dumping too much trash-weight, and the books are heavy. So I bury them out in the woods. Wood pulp to wood pulp.

I could be making art out of them.



For more of artist Brian Dettmer's "book autopsies" you can go here.

Robin Mckinley has a blog!

For those of you, like me, who have visited Robin Mckinley's website and stared sadly at the new news that isn't there very often at all, there is good news--she has just started a blog.

Trains for Poetry Friday

In honor of the upcoming Carnival of Children's Literature--Take A Ride on the Reading Railroad! (please see the post just before this one to hop on board) I have train poems today for Poetry Friday.

Here's an old favorite:

Travel, by Edna St. Vincent Millay (from Second April, 1921)

The railroad track is miles away,
And the day is loud with voices speaking,
Yet there isn't a train goes by all day
But I hear its whistle shrieking.

All night there isn't a train goes by,
Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming
But I see its cinders red on the sky,
And hear its engine steaming.

My heart is warm with the friends I make,
And better friends I'll not be knowing,
Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take,
No matter where it's going.

Here's another I like, by Edward Thomas

Adlestrop

Yes, I remember Adlestrop--
The name, because one afternoon
Of heat the express-train drew up there
Unwontedly. It was late June.

The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat.
No one left and no one came
On the bare platform. What I saw
Was Adlestrop - only the name

And willows, willow-herb, and grass,
And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry,
No whit less still and lonely fair
Than the high cloudlets in the sky.

And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier,
Farther and farther, all the birds
Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

Aldestrop actually looks like a place I'd like to go.

Here's a new one that tickles me, from a webpage of collected Train Haiku etc

on the train
my usual thoughts
about derailment

- John Stevenson (who I think is this John Stevenson.

And finally, here's a link to one of the more famous train poems, the Night Mail, by WH Auden--
"This is the Night Mail crossing the border,
Bringing the cheque and the postal order"

And now I have that wretched Thomas the Tank Engine song in my head-- "hear the sound of the night train, the clickety clack of the night train..." Speaking of Thomas, there's a list at Amazon called "Beyond Thomas: Train Fiction and Poetry for Young Children." There's some good stuff on it.

There is also lots of good stuff at the Poetry Friday Roundup today, hosted by Sara at Read Write Believe.

ps: One more family favorite train poem, by Scotland's inimitable poet, William McGonagall.

Here's the opening of The Tay Bridge Disaster

Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay!
Alas! I am very sorry to say
That ninety lives have been taken away
On the last Sabbath day of 1879,
Which will be remember'd for a very long time.

The bridge collapsed in 1879, not long after McGonagall had written a poem in its praise. Here's a link to the full text of this truly memorable poem.

The Train to the CARNIVAL OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE leaves at midnight

TAKE A RIDE ON THE READING RAILROAD: Call for submissions for the September 2007 Carnival of Children's Literature


Take a Ride on the Reading Railroad here at Charlotte's Library when the September Carnival of Children's Literature comes to town!



If you'd like to hop on board, head on over to BlogCarnival and link up your posts.

The train is leaving TODAY, Friday, Sept. 21 at midnight eastern time, arriving at the beginning of the following week (unless there's a cow on the line). So get your links linked early and often!

If you haven't been part of a Blog Carnival before, do not be put off by feelings of shyness and uncertainty. It is very easy-- you just create a link to your favorite post from the past month or so, and slip it into a slot at the Blog Carnival website.

Here are some links to past carnivals: the very first one, at Here in the Bonny Glen (Melissa is still the carnival organizer--thanks, Melissa!) The most recent one, here at Po Moyemu--In my opinion, and the one before that at Saints and Spinners.

Thanks!

Science Detectives: How scientists solved six real life mysteries

I have the sort of child who says, "Mama, can you tell me the story about Rachel Carson and DDT again?" I've got the DDT story down pat, but I'm a bit chagrined about how few other science stories like that I know. Hence my great pleasure in finding at the library a very fun book called Science Detectives: how scientists solved six real-life mysteries. It's written by the editors of YES magazine, illustrated by Rose Cowles, 2006, 48 pages, recommended for ages 9-12, but good for reading out loud.


There's more in this book than the title would have you believe-although there are six main stories, that get told in several pages, there are also quite a few smaller one page stories, extra explanatory paragraphs, and science activities to do at home. The science stories include the story of Typhoid Mary, the vanishing vultures of India (almost as good as the DDT story, but without, as yet, the happy ending), the Ice Man, and others. They are illustrated with mainly with cartoonish paintings, which keeps the tone light, although some real photos are included. Both male and female scientists are represented, although there are more men.

I've sometimes felt that non-fiction books for kids have a tendancy to go overboard on the "fact-bite" sidebars etc., making the books tricky to read out loud. Although there are sidebars in this book, there is a great deal of narrative cohesion to the stories themselves, so that they are, in fact, stories--they can be read aloud very nicely.

I like this book lots-- the story telling is crisp, the material very, very interesting, and the pictures are harmless enough to me, amusing to the children. We started reading it last night, and I was begged to finish it in the car on the way to school.

Two negative notes:
1. The book would have been improved by a bibliography, or at least suggestions for further reading.

2. A while ago there was a bit of chat in various blogs about the image kid's have of "the scientist"--the majority draw a white man in a white lab coat in a lab with test tubes. The cover of this book shows that guy, but also a dark skinned woman in a lab coat etc. which I suppose is something. What pictures there are of scientists inside the book show them outside of a lab (although one guy is wearing surgical scrubs--he's working with the ice man), but the one photo of a woman scientist is a posed formal portrait, so this book isn't going to dispel many visual stereotypes.

Owly

A few days ago, I posted about the floods of tears I found myself in while reading about the death of a honey bee to my children. Yesterday, I'm pleased (I guess) to report that my older son had a similar experience, crying over a book for the first time (it's not that I want them to be sad, per se, but I think it's important to learn that crying over books is ok). And the book that provoked this reaction--another graphic book, one of the sweetest, most poignant books I've read (if one can "read" a book that has no words) --- Owly-- The Way Home and The Bittersweet Summer, by Andy Runton (2004).

These are two separate stories, about an owl's desperate need for friends. I was just looking at the first few pages up on line here at Andy Runton's website (click on the picture of the book), and Owly's lonely sadness made me weepy all over again. Even after the birds fly from him, he still puts seeds out for them...Poor lonely Owl. After the birds and fireflies reject him, he saves a drowning worm. But when he takes the worm home to its parents, they slam the door in his face, and we see him walking away, alone again, so sad (this is where my son lost it). I am so glad that (spoiler) he and Wormy were together at the end. Phew. "The Bittersweet Summer" is much less fraught, because Owly and Wormy are still friends, although the discerning reader can guess from the title that there are still tricky bits emotionally speaking.

I "read" this out loud to my children, which was challenging, because it has almost no words, and I didn't want to add any. So mostly I just made lots of sad noises, and some happy noises. It seemed to work. But it is hard to know when to turn the page--I see faster than they do.

I've just ordered Owly books two, three and four (A Time To be Brave, coming out in October) for my local library.



And if you go to the San Diego Comic-con, you can get an Owly hat. How cute is that! But why, following links promoting Owly mechandize to this end point can you by a men's owly tee shirt, but not a boys? The only kids tee shirt for sale is described as a "girly-T." If I buy one for my son, will he be mocked?

Happy Constitution Day

Happy Constitution Day, everybody! Here it is, in all its glory. I have been trying, at various points in my life, to memorize the amendments, and slowly I'm making progress.

I was curious to see what a google search for "children's books Constitution Day" would produce. Mostly it seems to be the "celebrating America" type of book (see here, for example). It seems to me more to the point to compile lists of books that describe the need for the amendments, the struggle to enact them, and the consequences of their enactment. The amendments may perhaps be hard to memorize but they are oh so important to our lives, and what better way to learn about them than through fiction? (I say, as one who learns most easily that way).

Take, for instance, the story behind Amendment 26, the voting right set at 18 years, passed in 1971. Before 1971, you could drink and get drafted at 18, but not vote, now you can vote and get drafted, but not drink. Hmmm....But has this amendment made it into a ya book yet as an interesting (?) sub-plot?

Here are two amendments particularly rich in Story Potential:

Amendment 13 - Slavery Abolished. Ratified 12/6/1865 -- Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Amendment 19 - Women's Suffrage. Ratified 8/18/1920--the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

I thought it would be easy-peasy to go on line and find rich bibliographies of children's fiction (not picture books) on these two topics, but I was wrong. If they are out there, where are they? Sure, some places list two or three books, but is that it?

One of the more immediately relevant amendments for bloggers would be the First Amendment. A good book on this topic is Nothing but the Truth, by Avi, and here's a guide to discussion about it. There must be more books out there on freedom of speech, but they aren't coming into my head. Perhaps I should go look at the lists of banned and challenged books.

Anyway, I'm here celebrating Constitution Day by exercising my freedom of speech, blogging cheerfully away, with little real fear of government interference. Here are some voices from elsewhere in the world on that topic.

Library love

I love my library, with all its red brick ex-school building charm (at least, I work very hard to believe it is charm).

But here are some libraries that don't require any effort at all to love (unless you are a stark modernist, which is fine. We can all agree that less is sometimes more). Thanks for the link, Patrick!

TAKE A RIDE ON THE READING RAILROAD: Call for submissions for the September 2007 Carnival of Children's Literature

Take a Ride on the Reading Railroad here at Charlotte's Library when the September Carnival of Children's Literature comes to town!

If you'd like to hop on board, head on over to BlogCarnival and link up your posts.

The train is leaving on Friday, Sept. 21 at midnight eastern time, arriving at the beginning of the following week (unless there's a cow on the line). So get your links linked early and often!

If you haven't been part of a Blog Carnival before, do not be put off by feelings of shyness and uncertainty. It is very easy-- you just create a link to your favorite post from the past month or so, and slip it into a slot at the Blog Carnival website.

Here are some links to past carnivals: the very first one, at Here in the Bonny Glen (Melissa is still the carnival organizer--thanks, Melissa!) The most recent one, here at Po Moyemu--In my opinion, and the one before that at Saints and Spinners.

Thanks!

Clan Apis

Yesterday, I wept more over a book than I have for years. I was reading it out loud, and could barely choke out the words between sobs. It was a disservice to the book-- my children were so busy staring at me with half-alarmed amusement that they had little attention left for the poignant words and pictures.

What was this tear jerker? A graphic novelized version of the life of a honey bee, by Jay Hosler (2000, 158pp, which might seems like a lot for a reading out loud book, but it goes very quickly). "They" say it's for kids 9-12, but my four year old and I both liked it lots, so there you are.

We first meet Nyuki, the bee heroine of the story, when she is a little larva (cute and sassy), and follow her through the kind of intimidating things that happen when you're a bee--metamorphosis, leaving the hive for the first time, learning that the more you fly, the faster your wings wear out, and finally, dying (whah).

A truly excellent book--good science, good story, good pictures, good messages (things like: compost is good. Even though someone (a dung beetle) seems really strange and does things you think are yucky you can still be friends. Females are smart and brave). It was good reading practice too-- although I can read just fine when I'm not sniffing, my seven year old still doesn't read to himself--and a book like this gives him a chance to be one character while I do everyone else.

If you want to learn more about the book and the bees, visit its great website. Among other things, the website has a summary of the science topics covered in each section of the book. And it is science that one can trust--Jay Hosler is, after all, a neurobiologist who studies olfactory processing in honey bees.

A minor touch that we greatly enjoyed was an introductory page of pictures of bees drawn by children of all ages and skills -- from sausages with wings to real "nature drawings." I found it inspiring, and imagine that kids would too (mine, as usual, refused to comment in a useful or meaningful fashion when I asked them).

In short, if you have a kid who likes both Calivn and Hobbs and non-fiction, fact filled books, Clan Apis would be prefect. Or if you have a kid who has never tried a graphic novel, and who isn't wild about science, this book would be perfect.

For Poetry Friday: The Shell, by Ted Hughes

My older boy has an enlightened second grade teacher--instead of set assignments, they have homework choices each week, and one of these is always the memorization of a poem. Here's the poem all of us ended up memorizing this past week:

The Shell, by Ted Hughes

The sea fills my ear
with sand and with fear.

You may wash out the sand,
but never the sound
of the ghost of the sea
that is haunting me.

This poem is anthologized in The Mermaid's Purse, by Ted Hughes, illustrated by Flora McDonnell (2000). I looked at it with some suspicion when my husband brought it home (associating Ted Hughes, in my ignorance, with suicide and darkness), but now I think it is a lovely book. Ostensibly it's for children 4-8, but to heck with that. I think that with poems such as this, the older you get the more meanings you can see.

In this case, we talked about what "the ghost of the sea" might mean. The children do not yet (I think) have much experience with regret, loss, and the cruel relentless inexorable erosion of the coast of life by the passage of years (ha ha), although they are aware of global warming and we are all glad we live on high ground. Nor do they truly realize that even though we live within 45 minutes of beaches we didn't go once this summer (although there's still tomorrow) and therefore they have Bad Parents (but I really hate sand in my shoes). So the ghost of the sea might not have as many layers of meaning for them as it does for me, but they will come. And in the meantime, the children still like the poem.

For more about Ted Hughes, here's a review of his collected poems from Kelly at Big A littl a.

The Poetry Friday Roundup is at here at Hipwritermama today!

A Year's Worth of Book Buying for my Library

The Annual Meeting of the Friends of my library was last night (I'm the president). In the last year, we raised over $4000, and spent over $4000. More than half of that we spent on books, and I would just like to say thanks to all the blog reviewers out there whose advice I took in buying 219 j and ya books for the library! Now all we need is more kids to come in and check them out. I'm also a little proud that we raised $1000 to send to Biloxi, to help rebuild the Katrina ravaged libraries there. A drop in the bucket, but still.

Once harmless pictures for children, now Bird of the Devil

In the 1970s, many of us British-educated types enjoyed the Ladybird series of non-fiction books, and in fact found them strangely compelling (I, for instance, still have my Ladybird Life of Nelson, which I read repeatedly as a child despite having little interest in a. Nelson b. Naval Warfare c. the early 19th century). I find even more strangely compelling the Ladybird inspired work of a modern artist, Edward Summerton, who has taken birds of prey pictures from the original books, and Paganized them, turning them into Demon Birds!

From this type of bird illustration:



to this:


The demonic bird on the right is called "Tree Creepy." Not something I would put up on the wall of my kid's room, perhaps, but charming in its own demonic way. The series of pictures has been published (in Denmark) as: "Bird [sic] of the Devil."
Here's the full article.

The New Policeman by Kate Thompson, 2005, 279 pages.

In the village of Kinara in Ireland, a young fiddle player, J.J. Liddy, asks his mother what she wants for her birthday. "Time," she answers, with good reason. All the time in Ireland is pouring into the land of Tir na N'og, and J.J. finds himself racing to find the leak before time runs out, discovering the truth about his family's past in the process, and learning some great new tunes.

The New Policeman is fun, fast-paced, and engaging. Thompson fleshes her plot out with music--J.J. comes from a family that has Irish traditional music at its heart, and each chapter ends with a tune transcribed by Thompson. As the wife of an Irish piper and sometime fiddle player myself (although I stopped when my oldest was born, because my playing made him scream), it was fun to see the tunes she chose, and fun to read her descriptions of the music with a critical eye ("anarchic" is not a word I would use to describe it. It has lots and lots of rules, both musical and social).

I enjoyed reading the book. I managed to find time to read it basically in one go on an evening alone with the kids while my husband was off playing at a local session (I sent them outside repeatedly, so it was a win-win). But it didn't move me emotionally. I didn't find a scrap of numinousness in it--that feeling in the best fantasy books when your eyes get all big and you perhaps feel a bit shivery. Tir na n'Og was mostly just a neat sunny place. When it was supposed to be a bit scary, Thompson basically says "this bit felt a bit scary." Nor was there any depth to the characters. J.J. is never more than your basic Nice Boy; everybody else is primarily a place holder.

Still, I will be reading the sequel, The Last of the High Kings, as soon as it makes it over here. Here's a glowing review of it from a UK reader.

Others apparently see things in The New Policeman that I don't--it won the Children’s Books Ireland Bisto Book of the Year, the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize 2005, the Whitbread Book Award Children’s category 2005, the Children's Book of the Year in the Irish Book Awards in March 2006 and has been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal.

Note: No musical metaphors were used in the writing of this review. If musical metaphors are what you really want, read the reviews at Amazon. You will find lots.