Q&A with Maya Escobar, Teen Services Librarian at CPL

Confession: ever since we set foot in the young adult department at the Cambridge Public Library and casually asked librarian Maya Escobar for book recommendations, we’ve been secretly plotting how to get her to do a Q&A with us.

When we finally got around to asking her about the state of YA–including common misconceptions about YA books and readers–and what it’s like to be a YA librarian, she graciously agreed.

Photo courtesy of Maya Escobar, who’s clearly showing off her love of comics!

1. How did you become the CPL YA librarian?

I first worked at Cambridge Public Library part time, mostly in the evenings, when I first got out of college.  I worked at the checkout desk and met and observed all kinds of interesting folks — not just library visitors, also my co-workers!  Then I went off for a bit and worked in graphic design and publications, ending up at a nonprofit called YouthBuild USA.  I really liked being back in a nonprofit setting, which was also geared towards improving the lives of young people.  But I missed having more face-to-face interactions with those people; I was mostly sitting in front of a computer, working on layout and editing.

Around that time I ran into CPL’s director, Susan Flannery, on the T, and she said if I ever wanted to come back to the library she was sure there would be something for me.  So I went in for an informational interview with the current head children’s librarian at the time, and learned more about what was involved in becoming a children’s librarian.  I decided that I wanted to go for it, and applied to the GSLIS program at Simmons and an entry level position at CPL at the same time.  And those both worked out!  So here I am🙂

2. Best job perk?

I work with really wonderful, smart, creative people!  And the children’s staff at Main has always been made up of a fun group of people who are really passionate about this work and have wonderful senses of humor.  I also like not having a formal dress code.  After working in the financial district, I can tell you: khaki pants NEVER AGAIN.

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Daleks in the Library: the sequel

It’s been a while since we’ve put Daleks in the library. The kidlit library, that is. So because it’s the weekend, just for fun, hold on to your sonic screwdriver because it’s about to get geeky:

In an old house in Skaro, all covered with hand mines, lived twelve little Daleks in two straight lines.

Exterminating baobab trees, one asteroid at a time. First B-612, next the universe. Exterminate!

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A Refreshing Reminder

Once in awhile I succumb to the guilt of trying to be more knowledgeable about Literature. And thus, a few weeks ago I slogged through 300 pages of prose from a Very Important Author, re-affirming, in the process, why I read children’s books:

PLOT: if there was a plot to this Famous Book Which Shall Remain Nameless, it was too subtle for me to catch. I like stories where something happens. But there was no sense of progression in this book, just random slices-of-life that never quite strung together.

CHARACTER: everyone, it seemed, was either a quivering mess of low self-esteem or just plain cruel. I don’t need all the characters to be likeable, yet the constant unvarying doom was uninspiring. If there’s no discernible plot, at least give me someone to root for.

WRITING: the prose was fairly straightforward and not at all interested in showing off. I only wish it had been used to tell a better story.

From now on, I think I’ll stick with the adult books that work for me, like Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane, or nonfiction. (Why is it that nonfiction reads so much better? Is it because the authors feel they have to work harder to make the story shine?) And the next time I get a guilty twinge, this post should cure any inclination to act on that impulse.

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The Children’s Book for Grown-ups Who Still Remember Being a Child

Although Neil Gaiman’s latest book is steeped in myth like The Graveyard Book and as creepy as Coraline, unlike its predecessors, childhood in The Ocean at the End of the Lane is anything but safe. In perhaps his most reflective novel yet, Gaiman broods with melancholy and memory as his unnamed narrator returns to Sussex as an adult for a family funeral, and finds himself inexplicably drawn to the Hempstock farm at the end of the lane.

There, in front of the duck pond his childhood friend Lettie liked to call her ocean, he begins to remember how the Hempstock property was a place of solace for him, how he turned to Lettie for protection when he awoke from a nightmare choking on a silver shilling, how this sends them into the woods in pursuit of an ancient creature that takes the shape of rotten rags flapping in the wind–a creature that worms its way into the narrator’s life in the shape of a sadistic nanny who then wreaks havoc by turning all his family members against him.

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Happy Chinese New Year!

The Black Stallion, in GO pieces.

After kicking off the New Year with an evening of 五子棋 (5 in a Row) and 年糕 (sticky rice cakes–Lisa’s family recipe!), we bring you this list of horse books so you can celebrate the Year of the Horse all year long!

Brush of the Gods by Lenore Look–Not strictly about a horse, the great Tang Dynasty painter Wu Daozai does paint one in Meilo So’s gorgeous illustrations.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater–Every November, riders on vicious flesh-eating water horses sweep through Puck Connolly’s little town in the event known as the Scorpio Races. This year, to save her family, Puck enters the competition.

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo–Set against the backdrop of the horrors of WWI, War Horse tells the remarkable story about the bond between a boy and his horse.

The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis–A Horse and his Boy meet a Horse and her Girl, who happen to be much better riders, and together they make their escape north towards freedom.

Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry–The classic horse book for generations, Henry has the market cornered when it comes to horses.

And of course, no New Years book list is complete without a Grace Lin book! Happy Reading!

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Trends From goodreads Choice Awards 2013: MG & Children’s

Maybe because I’ve been in graph-making mode at work and because Thanksgiving was merely a week ago, but when I saw this year’s goodreads popular choice awards, I immediately thought: pie chart!

Granted, a pie chart is probably not the best format to represent the data because I have no way of knowing the total number of votes cast, but looking solely at the votes which went to the top 20 most popular children’s and middle grade titles, here is the breakdown:

By far and away, Rick Riordan’s The House of Hades blew everyone else out of the water, being 3x more popular than the runner-up. Also, if you tally up the fine print, you’ll see that 65% of the winners are sequels. It don’t take no pie chart to tell you that publishers love sequels.

Rather than exclaim, “but where’s this book” and “why isn’t that book on the list?”, I’m curious as to who actually votes in these things. Answer: at least 98,807 people, if your vote counts only once. (People’s Choice Awards, I’m looking at you.)

That said–very pleased that Rose Under Fire and Out of the Easy garnered enough votes to make it onto the YA fiction list.

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Last Minute Kidlit Costumes

Should you (or your child) need a straightforward outfit in time for Oct 31, or get invited to a fancy dress party, fear not! Beyond Harry Potter, Thing 1 and Thing 2, and Max from Where the Wild Things Are, behold Reads for Keeps’ list of easily assembled yet unique kidlit costume suggestions.

The Little Prince

While the long blue coat with the red cuffs and lining is his most iconic look, the Petit Prince spends most of his time wearing a matching celadon button down shirt and flared trousers (blue hospital scrubs should do in a pinch). These he accessorizes with a red bow tie and red belt, or a yellow scarf and yellow belt. While it is helpful to have a shock of blond hair, to really convey who you are, either carry around a fox stuffed animal or a rose, and be sure to ask every grownup in sight to draw you a sheep. Let’s practice: Dessine-moi un mouton!

Bonus: if you’re going as a father/son or father/daughter team, have dad dress like an aviator, and you’ve got yourself an Antoine de Saint-Exupery!

Madeline

This outfit requires a navy blue short-sleeved dress and a straw hat with a ribbon around the brim. Add the finishing touches by making a peter pan collar out of white felt and tying a red bow/cravat around your neck. The rest is all attitude. Or find eleven other girls and a schoolmarm dressed like a nun with whom to practice walking in two straight lines.

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