More Monday Medals Hopefuls

My premonitions are as good as Trelawney’s when it comes to these things, although I was right to hedge some of my bets on Dead End in Norvelt last year! So rather than predict who will win what, I’ll just throw out some of my favorite titles that aren’t getting as much buzz, but still deserve nice shiny stickers on the cover.

Middle Grade

In A Glass Grimmly by Adam Gidwitz: Guts, gore, silliness, humor, and heart. The moral’s also beautifully woven into the story, not shoved down your throat.

One Year in Coal Harbor by Polly Horvath: Quirky as ever, but also happier, I liked this one even more than Everything on a Waffle because Primrose gets to be a kid and have “kid problems.” Even so, she’s quite sage when she’s not trying to help along Miss Bowzer and her Uncle Jack’s stalling romance!

The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence: Who doesn’t love a good Western-Detective-Murder Mystery that’s laugh-out-loud hilarious? Love the way our clever but oblivious narrator, PK Pinkerton, thinks.

YA

The Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coats: Wonderfully researched to the last vivid detail, I adore the ever-shifting relationship between the two main characters with equally strong personalities and very different backgrounds.

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Books That Deserve Something Good on Monday

With less than two days to go until the Newbery/Caldecott announcements, I feel woefully unprepared to guess which book might win what. There are too many 2012 titles still on my TBR list. So I’m going ignore the popular frontrunners (e.g. Bomb, Splendors and Glooms, The One and Only Ivan) and focus on some dark horse entries that might surprise us all:

Bink and Gollie, Two for One by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, illustrated by Tony Fucile: a marvelous story on the edge of easy reader/early chapter book/graphic novel. Seems like a long shot for Newbery glory, but I’d love to see some Geisel recognition.

In a Glass Grimmly by Adam Gidwitz: because we need more funny award-winning books, and it has plenty of heart as well.

The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi: I haven’t heard much buzz about this, but I found it tighter and better written than Ship Breaker, which won the Printz in 2011. In fact, this book was so good, I found it impossible to write a review.

Kindred Souls by Patricia MacLachlan: again, not much buzz, but it’s a book where every word felt right.

Son by Lois Lowry: simply put, let’s not underestimate Lois Lowry. One of those rare MG/YA books told from what’s essentially a grown-up’s perspective, and it works.

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My New Year’s resolution…notice it’s singular!

Since it is that time of year, I thought I’d chime in with my own New Year’s resolution. I decided to pick one goal that’s very achievable. In fact, it is meant to be accomplished before spring.

For 2013, my New Year’s resolution is to read all the School Library Journal’s Battle of the Books contenders before the judging starts. Last year, I only finished 13 out of the 16 books selected, and I was catching up in between rounds. Still, I failed to get through Chime (yet it triumphed over The Cheshire Cheese Cat, sniff sniff), couldn’t bring myself to begin Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and didn’t remember most of Heart and Soul.

When March Madness rolls around, I’ll probably have to do some last-minute requesting at my local library to fulfill my 2013 resolution, but it’ll make the bracket planning, wagering, and judging process all the more fun.

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Library Tours: Vancouver edition

The thing is, Vancouver has really nice libraries. They’re actually a bit like Libraries 2.0. More than places to read and borrow books, more than quasi-community centers, they are multi-functional gathering spaces, a bit like malls, but way way better.

If you’ve got to go Roman, wouldn’t a Forum be the more appropriate architectural choice?

Granted, the main library is a bit over-the-top (its facade is a tribute to a sporting arena where spectators watched lions and other beasts tear slaves and Christians apart for thrills), and while I can’t comment on the size of its collection, I can enthusiastically vouch for its alimentary value. Accessible cafes, food shops, and tables circle the inside perimeter of the wall, making the roomy atrium ideal for refueling and meeting complete strangers. (A Dutch fellow from Indonesia sat down next to me and proceeded to tell me about the Bigfoot files on the library’s second floor. I think he was off to Banff National Park the next day, his heart set on glimpsing Sasquatch. And to think that most people are thrilled if they spot a bear!)

The branch library on Denman Street also brings together two very important aspects of people’s lives: hockey and books. Yes, it has an ice rink attached to it.

As for my favorite library in the Vancouver area, Richmond’s public library takes the cake. On top of its bookshop decor and swanky youth Media Lab, it houses a museum dedicated to local history, a rooftop garden, and what I can only describe as a smartphone and tablet testing bar for its patrons. And if you still need a reason to go, the pool’s next door! Talk about meeting all your needs at once.

Yup, there is a French children’s book section.

The Kid’s Corner looks like something from a Chapters or Barnes & Nobles. In fact, the whole library does…

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Too Good to Review

I tend to review only the books I really like, though some mediocre books also make the list. Once in a while, a great book becomes impossible to review–either because I’m gaping like a fish and can only sputter “read this now,” or because a true review would take months to write, and nothing I say could do the book justice.

In no particular order, here’s a list of some recent head-scratchers. Who knows, maybe seeing them written down will inspire me into action:

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt (thankfully, Jen wrote a review)

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

The Cheshire Cheese Cat by Agra Deedy and Randall Wright (again, Jen stepped up to the plate)

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi

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Jean Craighead George, 1919-2012

Jean Craighead George, author of My Side of the Mountain and Julie of the Wolves, died earlier this month. You can read the NYT obituary here, and another from the Washington Post.

I grew up doing a lot of hiking, and naturally liked to read outdoors-y books, everything from Heidi (the Alps!) and Farmer Boy (I still dream of making my own maple syrup) to Island of the Blue Dolphins (brave, but too lonely). My Side of the Mountain and Julie of the Wolves were perfect–the stories were more adventurous than anything I’d do, but not as bleak as, say, Hatchet or The Cay. And for all their celebration of nature, the books never felt sappy or forced. George wrote from experience: My Side of the Mountain apparently took just two weeks to write.

I know I’ll be reading and re-reading her books for years to come, and I look forward to discovering the ones (like Julie’s Wolf Pack) I haven’t read before.

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Avengers, Assemble! Kidlit Edition

The Avengers opened yesterday with great fanfare. Because it is a Joss Whedon project, I’ll admit to being just a bit more interested than usual. From what I gathered, superheroes (and their egos) must cooperate to save the world as we know it because the plot hinges on an advanced weapon (a blue box, but not the blue box) of unthinkable doom called the tesseract…

Calling Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which, anyone? Maybe Thor, the Avenger of the Legolas blond hair, was in cahoots with the Mrses, and it’s thanks to the Norse god of inclement weather that A Wrinkle in Time begins as famously as it does: it was a dark and stormy night.

Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which are already cast in the Agent Nick Fury (aka the man in charge) role, but which kidlit characters across two dimensions would you unite to don the cape and take down the forces of evil?

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Grouping Books

Some books are meant to be read together.

It’s seriously important for historical fiction, when you want different perspectives: I recently read Johnny Tremain and My Brother Sam is Dead back to back–one celebrating the fight for freedom, the other showing the brutality of both sides and vehemently anti-war. I got a lot more out of them by reading both together. Come to think of it, I should re-read Chains and Forge to round out the story (Tremain’s attitude towards anyone who’s not white and male is problematic, to say the least).

Some authors do a great job of complementing their own works. Karen Cushman is my go-to guide for medieval Europe: Catherine, Called Birdy for manor life, The Midwife’s Apprentice for villagers and Alchemy and Meggy Swann for life in the city.

And then there are the books that should be paired up just for fun:

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Wishful Meetings

Children’s book writers we’d like to meet:

1. Richard Peck – who else can teach the art of pranking and storytelling so masterfully at the same time?

2. Louis Sachar — let’s play bridge! We’d have to re-read The Cardturner to learn the rules, though…

3. Allen Say — would it be creepy if we just watched him draw?

4. Shaun Tan — ditto that.

5. Elizabeth Honey — in Australia, preferably. On a camping trip, with campfire tales about Henni and the rest of the gang!

6. JK Rowling — you know what would be awesome? Harry Potter, the tv series! Starring Hogwarts!

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New Books on a Senseless Graph

There’s a slew of sequels and companion novels coming out in the next few months, and instead of just listing them, I present, in the spirit of Pseudoscience, a plot of anticipation level vs. expected surprise:

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