Dining Room Dinner Doodles a la Mo Willems

Inspired by Mo Willems’ dinner doodles, my friends and I attempted our own. Behold!

Happy spring!

A snail with attitude.

Read Full Post »

Gah! More Acronyms! #TBR #ABR

I noticed people often reveal their TBR pile to show what reading experiences are looming on the horizon. My TBR pile is daunting at the moment, so I’m going to take some deep breaths and present my ABR (already been read) pile.

TBR pile

• Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce (read Millions and wanted more)
•  M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman
• Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (saw Neil at CPL and thought I should give his adult stuff a try)
•  From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
• Father’s Arcane Daughter by E.L. Konigsburg
• A Proud Taste For Scarlet and Miniver by E.L. Konigsburg 

For those who’ve read these books, which title do you recommend I plunge into first?

Read Full Post »

Guess WHO

(cue Doctor Who intro)

A residual thought from World Book Night at the Cambridge Public Library: Neil Gaiman has not a few hardcore, dedicated, borderline stalk-y fans, depending on which angle you look at it. Does finding his features perfect for the 15 Minute Sketch* challenge make me one of them?

*For an explanation of what 15 Minute Sketches are all about, see here, here, and here.

Read Full Post »

World Book Night Kick-Off at CPL!

AKA where awesome people give out books to encourage reading (fun fact: the concept for World Book Day (and Night…for adults, because they stay up later) comes from Spain, where Cervantes’ birthday is traditionally celebrated by women giving men books and men returning the favor by giving women…flowers. Which might not be as appreciated, unless you’re Vanessa Diffenbaugh, author of The Language of Flowers.)

Vanessa Diffenbaugh (left) and Lisa Genova (right)

Neil Gaiman

Diffenbaugh was one of the speakers, along with neuroscientist and author Lisa Genova and writer Neil Gaiman. They spoke about how they began writing, their writing process, books they wish they had written (Neil Gaiman, as a young boy, carried with him at all times a copy of The Lord of the Rings, in the event he ever found himself transported to a parallel universe where Tolkien did not exist, and where he could claim credit for the series) and how they are sometimes surprised by plots that run away from them. All in all, it was a funny, interesting, and inspiring night–especially hearing their advice to budding writers: be persistent, make time to actually write (Genova recommends three pages of stream-of-consciousness as a daily warm-up), and you will get better.

Read Full Post »

Downton Withdrawal? Meet the FitzOsbornes!

Our motion picture related post got us thinking about the silver screen. Now that Downton Abbey is on hiatus, might we suggest the Montmaray Journals, which we think would be perfect as the next big period drama. Exiled royalty, a vengeful (and borderline insane) servant, debutante parties, the onset of WWII, and an opinionated great-aunt that could give Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess a run for her money, the FitzOsbornes have it all as they zip in and out of world events with dignity, humor, and style.

We’ve decided to do some wishful casting for The Montmaray Journals, but despite all the Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Downton Abbey we watch, our knowledge of actors is fairly limited. So please chime in with your own fan casts!

Sophie FitzOsborne: Saoirse Ronan (aka the girl from Atonement)

Veronica: Jessica Brown Findlay (aka Lady Sybil from Downton Abbey)

Toby: Eddie Redmayne (aka Marius from Les Mis)

Henry: Ramona Marquez (aka Karen from Outnumbered)

Simon: Skandar Keynes (aka Edmund from Narnia)

Daniel: Arthur Darvill (aka Rory from Doctor Who)

Rebecca: Siobhan Finneran (aka O’Brien from Downton Abbey)

Aunt Charlotte: toss up between Catherine Tate (aka Donna from Doctor Who) and Penelope Wilton (aka Harriet Jones! from Doctor Who)

The Colonel: toss up between Hugh Laurie (aka House) and Benedict Cumberbatch (aka Sherlock)

Rupert: Tommy Knight (aka Sarah Jane Smith’s son from Doctor Who)

Julia: Jenna Louise Coleman (aka Oswin Oswald/Clara/??? from Doctor Who)

Anthony: Thomas Howes (aka William from Downton Abbey)

(Yeah, it’s basically one big Doctor Who party, with some Downton thrown in as well. Conclusion: we watch way too much television.)

Update: Author Michelle Cooper has actually thought this through before. See her picks and many more here.

Read Full Post »

Books We Actually Want To See As Movies…

Usually we prefer books to stay books, because the movie versions rarely turn out as good as what we’ve envisioned in our heads (set design aside…) But there are always exceptions to the rule, and we think these books would be brilliant as films:

1) Team Human by Justine Larbalestrier and Sarah Rees Brennan

Twi-hard fans and Twi-hard avoiders will adore this clever and comic take on high school with vampires. Subverting a genre has never been so fun. (Even the cover looks like a movie poster!)

2) Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Kids in a dangerous rocket ship. What could go wrong?

3) Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber

This is a teen action-spy movie waiting to happen. Plus, everything goes down on prom night.

4) Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch

This graphic novel would make a quirky animated film. A quirky animated cartoon film. With the panels drawn in for good measure!

5) The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

If George Lucas/Disney is bringing us Star Wars Episode 7 and more, why not go all out? This is the ultimate homage. We’re thinking live action with Kellen’s doodles. (But please don’t let George write the script!)

What are some books you’d like to see as movies?

Read Full Post »

Battle of the Kids’ Book-More Random Thoughts

1) It is truly the year of YA fiction and the YA judges. Round 1 has left a wake of non-fiction and middle grade spines in its wake. (Bomb is the only non-fiction book to prevail when pitted against fiction, YA or middle grade; Starry River is the only middle grade book to prevail against YA.)

2) In Round 1, 6 out of 16 books were YA, 6 out of 16 books were MG, and 4 out 16 books were non-fiction. Going into Round 2, 5 out of 8 books are YA, 2 out of 8 books are MG, and 1 out of 8 books are non-fiction. The percentage of YA has increased from 37.5% in Round 1 to 62.5% in Round 2; the percentage of MG has decreased from 37.5% in Round 1 to 25% in Round 2; the percentage of non-fiction has decreased from 25% in Round 1 to 12.5% in Round 2.

3) With YA dominating the field, the diversity of genres has decreased from the first round to the next. This makes future brackets less exciting, in my opinion.

4) As I understand college sports (which is barely, so feel free to correct me) Division I schools play other Division I schools, and so forth. If it is unfair to pit a Division I team against a Division III team, then why match middle grade against non-fiction against YA in the first round?

5) Instead, do a Liar & Spy vs Splendors and Glooms, and match YA against YA, non-fiction against non-fiction, and middle grade against middle grade in Round 1. It’s not affirmative action, it’s reducing inherent biases.

6) Then judges won’t have to reiterate ad nauseam how choosing one over the other is like picking “apples and oranges,” or resort to egalitarian politesse (until Round 2 or 3.) That should make Roger Sutton happier.

7) Unrelated, but could the judges stop doing in-depths summaries of the books? We’ve either read the books already, or we want to read the books, so it’s a lose-lose situation when the judges give away more than the basic premise.

Read Full Post »

Battle of the Kids’ Books–Random Thoughts

1. So far I’m 5/5 in the Battle of the Kids’ Books Round 1 predictions…I’m flabbergasted. I should celebrate, before tomorrow’s match (the hardest one, I think) throws everyone’s predictions out the window.

2. The SLJ artwork keeps getting better. I’m enjoying the creative backgrounds for each match–especially the Endangered bonobo peering out from behind a tree. If the artwork gets any more elaborate, next year we’ll have videos of fighting books instead of still images.

3. Roger Sutton’s judging of the judges adds a nice touch–I wouldn’t mind less hand-wringing either (unless it’s justified, for something like Liar & Spy v. Splendors and Glooms)

4. Probably everyone has noticed the “star” theme of this year’s book titles…

5. …but there’s also a serious trend of water playing a huge role in the plot. The Titanic sinking, the drowning in Splendors and Glooms, the Resistance canoeing down a river in CNV, the river in Three Times Lucky, the Moonbird coastlines…I could go on. Am I missing something? Are books usually so water-heavy, or is there something special about this year’s lot?

Read Full Post »

SLJ Battle of the Kids’ Books-Jen’s Predictions

Armed with my mug o’ tea (naught but the finest Alishan high mountain tea leaves, of course), I attempt to divine the course of the 2013 SLJ Battle of the Kids’ Books. Behold my bracket:

Click for closeup =)

Read Full Post »

No Crystal Ball: Lisa Attempts Battle of the Kids’ Books Predictions

School Library Journal’s BoB is one of my favorite events of the year. The mad scramble to read all 16 contenders, the howls of misery and delight (remember last year when a certain book lost via a coin toss?), and, of course, a spectacular opportunity to demonstrate my lack of divination powers. So here goes:

Round One

Bomb v. Wonder, judged by Kenneth Oppel: he seems to write adventure-ish books, so I’m going with Bomb.

Code Name Verity v. Titanic, judged by Margarita Engle: I can’t see Maddie and Queenie losing out in round 1, so I choose Code Name Verity.

Endangered v. Three Times Lucky, judged by Kathi Appelt: this one’s tricky. Three Times Lucky reminds me of Keeper, but in the spirit of unpredictability, I’m giving this one to Endangered.

The Fault in Our Stars v. Temple Grandin, judged by Deb Caletti: The Fault in Our Stars. Again, I can’t see this one losing out in round 1.

Jepp, Who Defied the Stars v. Starry River of the Sky, judged by Adam Gidwitz: to make up for the randomness of my Kathi Appelt call, I’ll go with Starry River, since it’s fairy tale-ish and more like Gidwitz’s books.

Liar & Spy v. Splendors and Glooms, judged by Franny Billingsley: Chime was creepy, and Splendors and Glooms is creepier than Liar & Spy, so that’s my pick…

Moonbird v. Seraphina, judged by Marie Lu: Seraphina, just because.

No Crystal Stair v. The One and Only Ivan, judged by Catherine Gilbert Murdock: The One and Only Ivan, in defiance of the Newbery Curse.

Read Full Post »