Food for Thought

Jane Brocket reveals her Top 10 Food Scenes in Children's Literature in the Guardian."I spent my childhood revelling and luxuriating in lovely descriptions of meals and picnics and treats, and found that it was the taste memories that lingered on long after the details of plots had faded from my mind. Children's literature contains a feast, a banquet, a menu gastronomique of treats and delicious foodstuff; this is my top 10 evocative, mouth-watering and memorable food moments from the past."
Thanks to Shelf Awareness for the link.

What to See?

A while back Cinematical posted about “Children’s Books that Need to Be Filmed Immediately.” I have no issues with the choices and I’d especially like to see Jackaroo on film. But these are some titles we’d REALLY like to see at the movies:
The Giver
Seven Professors of the Far North
Mysterious Benedict Society (but not animated)
Gypsy Crown
Weetzie Bat
Now, which actors do you suggest?
The movie I’m waiting for? Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 – August 6!

Molly's Bookshelf

I promised Molly I would write about some of her favorite books. First up is Katie Loves the Kittens, written and illustrated by John Himmelman, due in September 2008 from Henry Holt (9780805086829). I don't laugh out loud at many books but I did with this one! The words and pictures work together perfectly, telling a fine story with on the mark canine and feline behavior.
Katie's owner, Sara Ann, happily brings home three kittens, and Katie LOVES them right off. She's totally unable to contain her enthusiasm and scares them witless. She tries to behave and be quiet but she just has to be with them, she can't help herself. Katie frightens them again. Sara Ann scolds her, she berates herself, she's so sad she goes to sleep. What happens when she wakes up? You'll have to read for yourself. Cartoony drawings with lots of white space put Katie and the kittens center stage and simple lines explode with expression and animation. I felt so bad for Katie I just wanted to scoop her up and give her a hug. The final illustration is a delight! Molly gives this one 5 wags.

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In The Nine Lives of Dudley Dog by John and Ann Hassett, published by Houghton Mifflin (9780618811533), Sister wants a cat for her birthday but gets Dudley instead. He takes off during the party and proceeds through a series of perilous adventures, just scraping by with his life. The same refrain ends each close call "Do you think you have nine lives like a cat?" That night a cat -- looking very much like Dudley and wearing Dudley's collar -- returns to Sister. Her birthday wish came true. Hmmm. The Hassetts are definitely inventive picture book makers. My four-year-old niece pointed out the forshadowing in the cover illustration -- she got it right away! Three wags from Molly
Molly is a rescue dog, so she insisted I write about A Home for Dixie: the True Story of a Rescued Puppy written by Emma Jackson with photographs by Bob Carey. It's available now from HarperCollins (9780061449628/tr; 9780061449635/lb.) Emma tells us the heartwarming story of how she and Dixie got together and outstanding photos (lots of closeups) extend the story. Realistic and emotional but not cloying, this is a great addition to Molly's Bookshelf. Five wags.

Tupelo Rides the Rails
Written and Illus by Melissa Sweet
Houghton Mifflin (9780618717149) Available now

Another special dog finds a worthy home. Tupelo, abandoned by the side of the road with only her sock toy, Mr. Bones, courageously trots off in search of a place – “Everyone belongs somewhere” she says. She meets up with the BONEHEADS (Benevolent Order of Nature’s Exalted Hounds Earnest And Doggedly Sublime), listens to their stories, and observes their ritual bone-burying and wishes to Sirius, the Dog Star. A hobo named Garbage Pail Tex (wearing a shirt that reads ‘Going Places’) shepherds the dogs to Hoboken by train and he and his friends help find homes for the pooches. All except Tupelo. (Oh, my heart.) A full- bleed illustration shows Tupelo alone holding Mr. Bones in her mouth, the huge night sky above with Sirius shining in the distance. She makes her wish and is reunited with a good friend and finally finds her place. This folkloric story mixes up dogs, stars and trains and the power of the journey in a unique way, full of luscious language and subtle humor. And there’s so much to look at! Sweet uses watercolor and mixed media in full page illustrations, smaller sequential frames and extended foldouts. There are extras too – ancient star maps on the endpapers, a timeline in dog-years of dog heroes including Argos, Stickeen and Lassie, and information about Sirius. Five wags and a loud Arooooo!

Back Again

The current discussion on the CCBC listserv is all about blogging and has given me the kick in the pants I needed to get back here after too long a break. So I'll take a look at some of the notes I've crammed in my blog folder, pull out books I've read and begin writing.

Running Running

My sister, Bonney, is running the Boston Marathon today for the third time. I've always been right there, watching her progress at different points along the route, but this year we're keeping track vitually, and our images of the day come from webcasts. I've completed all these work tasks -- writing, phone calls, emails -- I've also had lunch and walked the dog, and my sister is still running. Running as part of the American Liver Foundation's Run for Research Team, running to raise funds and awareness of ALF's research efforts and especially running for difference live donor transplants made in her life. It's a great thing she's doing and I'm riveted by every update.
I thought I'd mention some books about marathons for kids, but you know what? There aren't many. There's a nonfiction picture book, The First Marathon: The Legend of Pheidippides by Susan Reynolds, published by Albert Whitman. I remember a photo in Sue Macy's terrific Winning Ways that showed a man going after Katherine Switzer, the first woman to officially enter Boston's race in 1967 (though it wasn't until 1972 that women were "allowed" to enter.)There must be more. Judging from the excited reaction I see from kids watching the marathon I think it would make a good story.

A New Look at Authors and Illustrators for Children

I hadn't been to the Authors and Illustrators for Children site for awhile so this was my first look at their redesign. It's great! I like it. I was led there by a post at Seven Impossible Things about a new campaign named This I Dream, art and essays of dreams for children. Essays by Viginia Ewuer Wolff and George Ella Lyon begin the series and you can see a list of future participants. Powerful stuff.

Nim's World

Last week we went to see the new movie, Nim's Island, based on Wendy Orr's book from a few years back. I loved the book and was anxious to see how it translated to film. Plus, I've been waiting about 30 years to see Jodie Foster in another kid's movie - but that's another story.

It was fabulous! VERY well done, well acted and quite true to the book, if memory serves. It really felt like those old live-action Disney movies I loved growing up - Escape to Witch Mountain, Candleshoe, Bedknobs and Broomsticks. I've missed those, and I love that Walden Media is doing such a great job with taking children's books and making movies of them. I have many suggestions for them if they'd like to contact me!

Yesterday the sequel to Nim's Island arrived - Nim at Sea (Knopf). Hooray! I sat right down and read it through. It had the same "touch" as the first one - action, humor, fun, adventure - and all the characters are back, too. It's great fun to see Nim leave the island and go out in the world, tasting hot chocolate and pizza for the first time and making friends her own age.

I love Kerry Millard's pictures, the interior black-and-white sketches that illustrate the story, too. They really add to the delight of the book.

On the Wing

Monarch and Milkweed
by Helen Frost and illus. by Leonid Gore
Atheneum/S & S, hardcover, $17.99
ages 4-8

A couple of years ago I did a project for an author who had written a children’s book about butterflies and so I have more than a passing knowledge of the many butterfly books out there, worthwhile and not so.
Monarch and Milkweed is special for many reasons – its story; the masterful pairing of text and art; the book’s design. Listen to the beginning – yes, read it out loud – “In a patch of dirt behind an old red barn,/ Milkweed stretches into warm spring air./ Its roots reach deep and wide,/ its stem points to the sky. (Next page) Monarch spreads her wings and rides the wind --/ past white and yellow daisies, across a creek,/ heading north.” And that lyricism continues throughout as the story describes the symbiotic relationship between host plant and butterfly, neither overshadowing the other. The illustrations of acrylic and pastels are mostly full page, with some spot art contributing to the book’s pleasing design, and in a larger-than-life scale that pulled me in. The natural colors are muted and there’s a textured effect (from the type of paper?) that I really liked. (The cover image distorts the color some.)
The author’s note tells us the story begins with the final generation on one northern journey and ends with a monarch in the next generation, as that monarch is leaving Mexico to begin the journey north the following spring. In addition, the endpapers illustrate the monarchs’ migration patterns north and south. Monarchs continue to fascinate us because of their beauty and mystery. While this title illuminates that mystery for young ones, it also retains some of nature’s wonder.

The Return of Anne-girl

I don't mean to say that I can compete with the Japanese, but I am a tremendous Anne of Green Gables fan. Have been, ever since a friend told me at age 16" "Read this book. You'll like her - she's a lot like you." I did. And she was. I went on to read every thing Lucy Maud Montgomery had written, whether it was about Anne or not, and was pretty much thrilled by it all.

Lots of my friends know this, so when it was announced that a "prequel" was being written, in honor of the 100th year anniversary of AOGG's publication, they began asking what I thought.

What I thought was, "I'm not sure I WANT to read a prequel." Two unrelated episodes kept me from it, at first: when the third PBS Anne movie came it, it was so god-awful and different from those first two lovely movies, I felt wounded. Also, I had eagerly dived into the Peter Pan sequel last year only to find I could NOT finish it. So, hoping to keep my Anne memories intact, I didn't intend to read it.

Then fate intervened, and my good friend Lisa handed me the galley of the book and said "I want to know what you think." Not intending to read it was one thing, but when it's sitting right here in front of me...OK, so I opened it up. And pretty much didn't put it down until I finished it.

It's wonderful! Budge Wilson did a magnificent job pulling various clues and threads from the Montgomery books, and weaving them together to imagine what Anne's life was like before she came to live with Matthew and Marilla: her lovely parents, their tragic death, her various "foster homes"...but she also imagines new characters, and Anne's connections to them, that absolutely ring true. She really captures Anne's voice, and her descriptions read uncannily like Montgomery's. What a tribute the book is.

I can't imagine that anyone who loves Anne wouldn't like this book - it's as if we discovered an unpublished Anne manuscript in Montgomery's attic. By the end of the book, all I wanted to do was dive right into the originals and read them all through again.

Get Along, Little Doggies

Buster goes to Cowboy Camp
By Denise Fleming
Henry Holt

I read this book out loud to our road dog Molly to see what she thought. She loved the colorful pictures, and she always likes to look at other dogs, but I have to say she wasn't fond of the subject matter in this one. It's about a cute dog named Buster, whose owner is going away and so decides that Buster will go to "cowboy camp" at Sagebrush Kennels. (Molly doesn't even like to IMAGINE being away from us two - her pack).

Well, Buster doesn't like the idea either, and he is lonely and homesick at first...but guess what? He smiles at another dog one morning, eats some breakfst, does some canine arts and crafts and plays some games - before the reader can say "Yee Haw!, Buster is having a fantastic time.

Obviously kids can relate to this toddler-type separation anxiety, so it's a great book for that, but it's also just a good solid story to read aloud. And I can tell that Denise Fleming had great fun doing the pictures, showing the dogs playing Buckaroo Ball, gathering sticks for a fire and "paw painting" their very own "Wanted" posters.

SO Not the Cheerleading Type...

but somehow,the pull of this book was irresistible - actually, there are two of them out already. The series is called The Squad, and the book I just finished is called Perfect Cover. I almost put them aside because of the cheerleader logo, but I'm glad I took a second look - they're fast, fun and really cool.

Toby Klein, the main character, is also NOT the cheerleading type, so she's very surprised when she gets an invitation to try out for the varsity squad. Turns out the squad is also the Squad, a special group of underage operatives working for the government. After all, it IS the perfect cover - who would expect a group of cheerleaders to be smart, articulate, strong and devious? And they want Toby to be their new hacker.

So Toby accepts the invitation, and suddenly her life as a combat-boot-wearing loner is over...the other girls give her a makeover, new glittery clothes and some awesome new tech equipment, and she's ready for her first assignment.

The author, who has her master's from Cambridge University, was a former competitive cheerleader, so I guess she knows her stuff. Anyway, I really thought her writing was fun and funny - she brought all of the girls to life without turning any of them into cliches - Toby's voice is especially droll as she is both aggravated and intrigued by her new life and friends.

Oh, and apparently you can "meet the squad" at www.meetthesquad.com.

Third One's the Charm

The day's half over here in MST and I'm just getting around to posting a review for Nonfiction Monday. However, I discovered that my first choice, Women Daredevils was already included in the roundup (well done Fuse#8!)and my second choice, Pale Male as well (likewise A Patchwork of Books). So I cheated a bit and grabbed a previously-written-but-not-posted-on-the-blog-review.


Little Lions, Bull Baiters and Hunting Hounds: a History of Dog Breeds
written and illustrated by Jeff Crosby and Shelley Ann Jackson
Tundra Books
Ages 7-12

This richly illustrated overview documents how world history and culture, geography and human needs have shaped the many domesticated breeds we know and love today. Over fifty breeds are discussed and pictured, grouped by four main categories, according to their original purpose. Within the categories – hunting, herding, working, and companion – many well-known breeds appear as well as more unusual ones. Did you know that Puli, whose thick coats form cords like dreads, will jump on top of sheep and run across their backs in order to get to the other side of the herd? Or that Neapolitan Mastiffs were used as gladiator dogs in ancient Rome, but now make a gentle, loving family pet? Along with the interesting descriptive histories are beautiful paintings of the breeds in their natural surroundings. This book is great for browsing whether it’s because you love dogs or you’re thinking of adding a dog to your family.

You've Got to Take the Good with the Bad

Here's the good part: I close the book with a satisfied sigh, the book being Guinevere's Gift, by Nancy McKenzie (Knopf). I loved it from first page to last; it was exciting, the characters were very real, and it TOTALLY rekindled my adolescent obsession with all things Arthurian.

The bad part? It's the FIRST BOOK in a QUARTET. AARRGGH! Months and even YEARS until I find out how it ends. Well, of course I know how it ENDS, but not this particular author's version.

I did find out that she's written some adult books about Guinevere, so off I go to Changing Hands Bookstore when we get to Phoenix, our next stop. They might help ease the pain until the second book comes along.

Stars in My Eyes

My Friend, the Starfinder
written by George Ella Lyon and illustrated by Stephen Gammell
Atheneum/Simon and Schuster
ages 4-7

I've been reading George Ella Lyon's stories for a long time and so many of them are "keepers" for me, both picture books and longer novels. I love her use of language -- the way her poet's voice comes through -- and her unique characters always come alive for me through her words. Anyway, you can tell I'm a big fan and her newest picture book leaves me tingling.

In it a young girl has a good friend – they dance together and she listens as the old man tells incredible stories from an old green porch. “The stranger they were/ the truer he looked/ and I believed every one.” Her narration is straightforward, though never letting go of wonder, as she tell readers about the time he found a falling star “. . . warm and smooth/ as an egg straight from the hen” and another time a rainbow “. . .color pouring/ over him/ cool/ warm/ striped/ air”. Gammell’s illustrations are some of his finest, using splatters, drops and washes of bright colors on the pages showing the elder and the girl contrasted with black and white pages infused with light on the pages illustrating the finds he made as a younger man. Read and hold tight to stories, friendship and wonder. Read it out loud.

Oh, one more thing. There's a real Starfinder in George Ella's life whom she talks about at the end of the book.

My Girlfriend's Newbery Book

We're sitting in the children's section of the public library in Springdale, Utah while we're camped at Zion National Park...it's a fantastic library, and would be even if it didn't have this amazing canyon view from the window.

I noticed just now that the book in my direct line of vision is E.L. Konigsburg's The View From Saturday (Simon & Schuster)...I think of that book as "Laurina's Newbery book" since that was the winner the year she was on the Newbery committee. I first met Laurina only a few weeks before the announcement, and I remember nagging her relentlessly for a hint.

At the time (and still today!) I think I wanted to be on the Newbery committee almost as much as I wanted to write a Newbery winner and was endlessly curious about the process of choosing one...I'm still curious, because apparently there's a vow of silence involved since Laurina is still clammed up about it 11 years later.

Speaking of the Newbery Medal, I have this idea that I'd like to read or re-read every Newbery book while we're on this journey. To that end, I've just finished (for about the 12th time) Miracles on Maple Hill (Harcourt). What a gem! So delightfully old-fashioned, and yet I'd forgotten that the reason the family moves to the farm is that the father has come home from war, and he is mentally exhausted - sadly, there are probably children today who can relate to that all too easily.

Anyway, I loved it so much! The illustrations are by my beloved Beth and Joe Krush, who have illustrated too many of my favorites to mention, like Gone Away Lake, the Borrowers...I got to meet the Krushes once because they lived in Philadelphia at the time (and they may still) and I'm afraid I gushed quite a bit and probably overwhelmed them. I really do enjoy illustrations in my middle grade books!