Self-Plagiarism of the Best Kind

I was flipping through Extra Yarn (written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen, pub. Jan. 2012) when I came upon a most familiar character:

It’s a nice homage, or sly wink for Klassen fans of I Want My Hat Back (Sept 2011).

I prefer to think of him as the same bear, one who’s mellowed out and traded his beloved hat for a rainbow yarn sweater. 

Reading Roundup: Lightning Reviews Edition

I tend to save my reviews for the books that are truly great, but I’ve read too many wonderful books lately to review them all. So consider this the cliffnotes version: 3 mini-reviews for books that deserve a place on your shelf.

1. What Happened on Fox Street by Tricia Springstubb

Mo Wren loves Fox Street. It’s the only home she’s ever known: Mo loves the neighbors (well, most of them anyway), she loves her creaky, cozy house with the plum tree in the backyard, and there’s always the call of the ravine—a scraggly wood that passes for wilderness, where Mo is sure she’ll find a real fox, if she looks hard enough. It seems like Mo’s life will never change. Until her best friend becomes snobby. And scary old Mrs. Starchbutt* takes a sudden interest in Mo. Worst of all, someone wants to buy the Wrens’ house, and now Mo has to contemplate a life away from Fox Street.

Read this book if: you remember being ten years old and finding the world changing around you. Mo is the perfect age to start moving out of childhood, and she hangs on as long as possible, resisting the new thoughts crowding in her head. This is the summer she starts thinking about money, her father’s imperfections and the happiness of others. Fox Street has the perfect blend of reality and charm. The neighbors are quirky without being Dead End in Norvelt ridiculous, and there’s a real sense of community that reminds me of Lucky’s Hard Pan. What’s not to like about that?

Toys Alive!

Review: Toys Come Home: Being the Early Experiences of an Intelligent Stingray, a Brave Buffalo, and a Brand-New Someone Called Plastic by Emily Jenkins

Reasons to read this book:

The characters feel more real than any fictional character I’ve encountered in months. And that’s saying something, because they’re toys: four stuffed animals and a rubber ball, to be precise. There’s a human too–the little girl who owns them–but she doesn’t have many lines.

 

Because you like Toy Story. I know, it’s not legit to compare books and movies. But if you’re looking for an adventure-filled story with humor and warmth, not to mention unforgettable reasoning that could only come from toys (toys who know little about the world outside the confines of a child’s room), then this is your lucky day:

StingRay thinks about going down the hall to meet the towels, but she is nervous that they won’t be friendly, after what Bobby Dot said.
She also isn’t sure what a towel is.
What if it has sharp teeth?
What if it has angry claws?
What if the vicious towels become enraged when a plush stingray tries to join their private conversation?

Tweets for Keeps

Twitter people: some of you might have noticed that my twitter bio now reflects multiple personalities. Fear not, I haven’t sprouted an extra head or anything. Jen and I have joined forces to tweet from a single account. Hopefully it will allow us to tweet more frequently, and will no doubt lead to unintentionally funny situations when we unknowingly tweet at the same time. Let the experiment begin…

Our Great Redwall Feast!

Cold winds blow from north and east,
Perfect weather for a Redwall feast!

Gather up the turnip roots,
Hack ‘em good and clean.
Careful not to leave the knife
Sandwiched in between.

If only we had used Martin's sword...

Next up is a recipe
That’s known to every otter.
And cuz we’re such daring beasts
We made it one shade hotter!

Shrimp 'n' Hotroot Soup

Soon the hearth is snug and cosy,
Aromas warm the air.
Before we can tuck headlong in,
There’s tea bread to prepare.

Spiced Gatehouse Tea Bread

Foremole’s famous tuber pie
could hardly be much deeper,
And after just one cheesy bite,
We knew it was a keeper!

Mole's Favourite Deeper'n'Ever Turnip'n'Tater'n'Beetroot Pie

Our bellies now are near to bursting,
Yet is there room for cake?
Friends and food and warmth a plenty
Thank you, Mister Jacques.

Squirrelmum's Blackberry and Apple Cake

Recipes culled from The Redwall Cookbook by Brian Jacques.

Review: Breaking Stalin’s Nose

Review: Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin (Sept 2011)

I read this book purely out of Newbery-guilt—I’d never even heard of the title before it won a 2012 Newbery Honor. And now that I’ve finished, I’m going to push this book on everyone I know, because it’s brilliant, stunning and fully deserves the shiny sticker on its jacket.

Yelchin captures the terror of Stalin’s Russia in a mere 160 pages (the paranoia and brainwashing make The Crucible look benign). We witness two days in the life of Sasha Zaichik, the 10-year-old boy at the center of the tale. On day one he’s a proud Communist eager to join the Soviet Young Pioneers.  Then his father disappears, and forty-eight hours later, Sasha has become someone quite different. The transformation happens slowly, and it’s utterly believable. There aren’t many children’s books about Stalin’s reign—Between Shades of Gray is last year’s standout from the YA genre. Breaking Stalin’s Nose is squarely middle grade, but Yelchin doesn’t shy away from the violence. He hides the darkness under a seemingly calm tone that makes it even creepier. Consider Sasha’s reaction when he finds himself homeless and alone on a snowy night:

The Stukachovs are sleeping warm and cozy in our room. Tomorrow they’ll throw away our broken things. That doesn’t matter, of course. My dad and I oppose personal property on principle. Personal property will disappear when Communism comes. But still.

This book will hit you hard. And once you’re done, if you can’t get Sasha out of your head, check out Yelchin’s website for historical photos and artifacts—chilling reminders of the real history behind Sasha’s tale.

Snail Mail Blog Alert!

A genuine Dr. Seuss letter

Every year, it seems, I send fewer and fewer handwritten letters. My output this past holiday season was abysmal, few enough to be counted on the fingers of one hand. So I was delighted to find the blog Letters of Note, which might be just the inspiration I need to take pen to paper.

The blog is self-described as posting “correspondence deserving of a wider audience” and includes scans of original letters, many of which were written by children’s authors. Here’s a quick sampling:

Harper Lee‘s heartfelt advice to a young fan of To Kill a Mockingbird

Douglas Adams‘ hilarious (and rather desperate) attempt to get Hitchhiker’s Guide made into a movie

J.R.R. Tolkien‘s letters to his sons, complete with illustrations

…and more from Roald Dahl, J.K. Rowling, Dr. Seuss and Peanuts creator Charles Schulz

Bonus: for anyone who’s read Amelia Lost, here’s a copy of Amelia‘s “reluctance to marry” letter.

Extra bonus: read all about Dalek blueprints on official BBC Doctor Who letterhead!

Downton Abbey, Cranston Mice!

The murine market is more than crowded these days, but that didn’t keep Richard Peck from bringing something new to the table. In a weird Downton Abbey meets Edith Wharton’s The Buccaneers meets gentrified mice sort of way, Peck’s newest book, Secrets at Sea, fits nicely into the mousasphere while riffing on our current fascination with English aristocrats.

Sisters Helena, Louise, and Beatrice, and their younger brother Lamont, travel across the Atlantic by ocean liner (even though mice hate water!) because, as downstairs Cranstons, their fates are intertwined with that of their family’s. Their human family, that is. As the human Cranstons have decided to try England in order to Give Olive Her Chance (alas, only three eligible titled men on board!), this voyage also turns out to be the sisters’ chance to find their futures as well. (Indeed, dynasties have been decided on such voyages.)

While Helena is not as cold or haughty as Lady Mary, she, too, is the eldest of three sisters and therefore, quite bossy and a worrier. However, instead of entails and prospects, Helena’s concerns are cats, water, and how she will keep her family together.

Louise prefers the company of her human-Olive’s pretty younger sister Camilla Cranston-over her actual family, simple-minded Beatrice is smitten by Nigel the steward, and young Lamont idolizes Nigel right down to ‘is Lundunner accent to the point of joining with the crew. Even though mice hate water, as you know.

Throw in a collection of significant looks (usually of disapproval, but Beatrice’s judicious appearance takes the cake at the Royal Reception), an imperative old Duchess who might as well be Maggie Smith in mouse form, and the choice between working class Nigel of the handsome whiskers and Lord Peter, Mouse Equerry of the aristocratic ears, and you start to see the similarities. Plus, Peck employs the best-laid puns of mice and cats in Helena’s pitch-perfect narrative…so put that in your pipe and smoke it, Downton! As for the actual story, like Downton, Secrets at Sea is not about plot so much as it’s about wit and charm and deliciously superfluous details that make for transporting drama.

Fun with Arthritis Cures, and other ALAYMA Reactions

The British cover for Dead End in Norvelt (thanks to Fuse #8 for the tip): so much better than ours.

Um, wow. So Dead End in Norvelt got the Newbery! It was, as Jen predicted, a dark horse triumph. And while I’m still sad at the lack of recognition for Sir Gawain, Okay for Now and Amelia Lost, Gantos’ win makes me positively gleeful. We don’t often get laugh-out-loud funny Newbery winners: The Higher Power of Lucky often made me smile, as did The Tale of Despereaux. But I have to go back to Holes (1999) to find one that made me laugh. Norvelt packs enough humor to transform the most reluctant readers into bookworms (the title of this post references one of the more memorable scenes), and that may be the greatest prize of all.

As for the other award winners (full results from today’s ALA Youth Media Awards here), here are some scattered thoughts:

• This seems to be the year where books won in unexpected categories. After all the Newbery/Caldecott agonizing over Wonderstruck, it was great (and so fitting!) to see it win a Schneider Family Book Award. Same with Drawing from Memory‘s Sibert Honor and I Want My Hat Back! in the Geisel category. It all seems so obvious in retrospect.
• Breaking Stalin’s Nose (Newbery Honor book) reminds me of Moon Over Manifest from last year–something totally unexpected, which I’m now quite looking forward to.
• I’m ecstatic to see the Printz Committee honor The Returning. This is one of those books that reels you in slowly and doesn’t let go, but the slow pacing means it could use an awards-push to generate publicity.
• Okay for Now got recognition for the audio book. I’ve always wondered about Doug’s voice–I imagine it’s either quite deadpan or darkly sarcastic. Now’s a good time to find out.
• Kadir Nelson’s Heart and Soul won a well-deserved Coretta Scott King Award, though I’d hoped for Bird in a Box to get an award as well.
• I haven’t read A Ball for Daisy or Blackout, but Me…Jane and Grandpa Green both deserve as much recognition as they can get.
• Susan Cooper’s Margaret A. Edwards Award! I feel so lucky to have discovered her books this year (or rather re-discovered after a failed attempt to start the series years ago), and even had the chance to meet her during The Exquisite Conversation.

Dumpling Party!

Book launch of Dumpling Days by Grace Lin, held at Porter Square Books on Jan. 21st.

(Note: this is a joint post from Jen and Lisa)

Grace Lin’s book launch felt like one big happy gathering, just in time for Chinese New Year. Lin gave us a taste of her new book by reading to us from Dumpling Days. This time around, we travel with Pacy to Taiwan, her parents’ homeland, for a month long food adventure. In the sushi restaurant chapter, Pacy encounters for the first time raw fish and wasabi and a high-tech Japanese toilet with a control panel. “You never press the red button!” we learn as Lin sent us into fits of laughter, perfectly capturing Pacy’s youthful voice in a spot-on reading.

Yes, that's a fancy toilet on the projector screen.