All posts by Abby

Book groups, Children's literature

Uncovering Avi

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Though the 5th grade book group members love Avi’s Crispin series, there is one thing that really irks them:  Avi’s name.  “What’s his real name?” they ask me.  “Why does he only use the name ‘Avi’?  That’s just dumb,” they say.

So before last Tuesday’s book group, I decided to do a little research and see what I could find out about Avi’s true identity.  On his official website, Avi makes it quite clear that the only name he wants public is Avi.  But I kept poking around, and within fifteen minutes I had discovered his true name (not too hard, it turned out), AND I had also confirmed the validity of his true name through a cryptic quote issued by Avi himself on an online chat with students.  At our book group meeting, I told the kids present what Avi’s real name is, and (sorry, Avi), they giggled. 

Why does this all matter?  Why did I feel driven to uncover Avi’s identity?  Partly because I’m a nosy so-and-so, partly because I despise pretension, partly because the kids asked me over and over and over to do this, and partly because it was a challenge.  It’s almost as if Avi’s real name wouldn’t matter to me or to the kids if he didn’t so firmly reject it.  The rejection of his name is what drives our curiosity: surely the name must be amazing in some way, and surely there must be a really good reason compelling him to cast it aside with such finality.  It’s really none of our business, but we’re humans and we want to know.

In the end, the name was disappointingly ordinary, and once I shared the information with the kids, we all quickly moved on and had a fantastic conversation about the book at hand, never again mentioning Avi’s real name.  We knew, so it didn’t matter anymore.

And though I know now, I won’t be sharing the information here.  If you care to find out, discovering Avi’s real name is an excellent exercise in research (that’s my inner librarian speaking – research is good for your soul).

Book groups, Children's literature

Crispin: At the Edge of the World

Avi’s sequel to his Newbery medal winning Crispin: Cross of Lead is the subject of today’s fifth grade book group.  Historical fiction doesn’t tend to be the hottest genre for this age group, but the kids in the book group passionately love both of these books.  We discussed Cross of Lead a few months back, and though I know that most of the kids went on to read the sequel, At the Edge of the World, on their own, I thought it would be an excellent choice for this month’s book discussion. 

So, if historical fiction isn’t usually as popular as fantasy or realistic fiction, why do these books appeal to the fifth graders?  First of all, as I’ve mentioned before, these fifth graders are an exceptional group of strong, interested, active readers.  But clearly the books take a fair amount of credit here.  In Crispin, who would have lived roughly 650 years ago, Avi has created a character of depth and feeling who can draw today’s readers into England of 1377.  We care about Crispin, and our caring draws us in to the rest of the story.  And Crispin’s adopted father and sister, Bear and Troth, form a loving nuclear family that balances the horror and bloodshed of the violent free company and the destruction wreaked by the French upon the town of Rye.  Had Avi not juxtaposed love and war, I doubt that the readership would be as great for these books.  But he did, and the results are masterful. 

I’m looking forward to today’s discussion, and will post the fifth graders’ comments here in the coming week.

Children's literature, Etc.

Oh, the grammar…

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Like fingernails on a chalkboard, these two lines leaped out at me yesterday:

From the newest Sundance catalog, page 23, “SUNDANCE DENIM MAKES IT’S DEBUT”

From Crispin: At the Edge of the World by Avi, page 126, “With the ship afloat, Bear waded into the water and hoisted Troth and I onto the deck.”

Shudder.  Though the Sundance publication is a catalog, I somehow expect its copy to be of higher quality than most catalogs – it must be that photo of Robert Redford on the inside front cover.  But there, in large capital letters, sits my pet peeve.  “It’s” means “it is.”  Why, oh why, do so few people understand that???  I’ve done my part over the years to educate my students of the truth of “it’s,” but one woman alone cannot alter the mistakes of many.

And then Avi, an author of great talent, makes the mistake of using “I” where he should have used “me.”  Double shudder.  And it’s not the only error of its kind in the book: somewhere in the last quarter of the novel Avi makes the same error again, though of course I can’t find that error now when I need to quote it.  [Please note the correct usage of “it’s” and “its” in the previous sentence.]  Wanting to excuse Avi’s mistake, I thought perhaps this mis-use of “I” was of historical import, that an English orphan in 1377 would have made this error – but I doubt that is true, given that the grammar in the rest of the book is correct by today’s standards.

I know I’m far from perfect, and that I habitually split my infinitives, but it just makes me crazy when I see these two mistakes in print.  Those fingernails are taking some serious slate off that chalkboard.  

What irks you?  What are your pet literary peeves?

Etc., Spare time - Culture

Weekend fun

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Love Jane Austen’s books?  Have a little time to spare this weekend?  Try this quiz that determines which Jane Austen character you are most like:  link

Lisa sent me the link to this quiz as she was preparing for her Teen Book Group’s discussion of Sense and Sensibility.  Both Lisa and I were quite surprised at how accurate our results were.  I’ll share who I’m most like if any of you, dear readers, do the same!  For the moment, suffice it to say that I’m most like my favorite Austen character, which felt like some kind of small victory to me…

Etc., Spare time - Culture

Mall rats

Last Saturday, on a whim after visiting Guitar Center, Jim and I went to the Natick Mall.  It was the first time there for both of us, and we were stunned by how beautiful the mall is.

Before I say any more, I need to explain that Jim and I aren’t mall rats, not by any stretch.  Not our thing, really. 

But the Natick Mall – wow.  How to describe it?  Thriving, well-thought out, lovely artistic touches here and there, warm and welcoming.  My favorite part is the sculptural birch trees that line the newer section, with the mobiles of green leaves cascading down from the ceiling towards the trunks.  And the blobs of dark wooden flooring that break up the white tile floors, lending an almost yellow-brick-road sensibility to something that could otherwise be cold and antiseptic. 

And the people watching was supreme.  Loads of families, not too many angst-ridden teenagers.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t find it much fun to people-watch the gangs of teens who tend to prowl malls.  Much more amusing to observe marital discord and harmony, good and bad parenting, and cute kids.

As for the shopping – well, among other things, we came away with two great Crate and Barrel serving bowls that were priced at $5.95 each.  What could be better?

Etc., Library events

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I hope that all of you who came to the controlled chaos that was last week’s Create a Valentine workshop are sharing your beautiful creations with someone special. 

Meanwhile, I’m still finding bits of glitter glue on the floor…and contemplating mixing up my own glitter glue for next year’s workshop…hmmmmm…

Library events

Hugh Hanley

Hugh came to the library a couple of weeks ago, to a packed hall full of Hugh fans (young and not as young), in a fabulous antidote to the mid-winter blues.  For those of you who don’t know Hugh Hanley, he’s a former preschool teacher turned musician and performer who tailors his interactive programs to the under-7 crowd.  As a former teacher, he pays close attention to the dynamics of the crowd, and alternates as necessary between the quiet songs and fingerplays and the active, stand-up, gross motor songs.  He also has a wonderfully subtle way of requesting that parents stop talking with each other, as he instructs the children to tap on the shoulders of adults who are talking during the show. 

Hugh is masterful, and clearly a large Hugh-fan club is forming in town, so after the show I asked him whether we could just make this a yearly event.  I also had to apologize profusely for the too-large audience (the limit was 75, but a LOT of people came who were not on my list – how do you turn away an eager three-year-old?), and I promised that next January we’ll go for Hugh’s large audience deal with the sound system. 

If you ever get a chance to see Hugh perform, or to bring Hugh to your own library, go for it.  He’s terrific.  Thanks, Hugh!

Book groups, Young adult literature

The Golden Compass

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As I mentioned yesterday, the teen book group discussion of Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass took place last Tuesday.  Though only three teens attended, we had a great conversation about the book, and all of us walked away with a far better understanding of this contemporary classic.

It’s a tough book, so deep and intricate that the reader really needs to work hard to understand it.  Add to that the current controversy about Pullman’s religious beliefs, and there is a lot to digest when reading The Golden Compass.  I had questions about Dust, the alethiometer, and daemons coming into Tuesday’s discussion, and the fact that I had these questions really irked me.  I like to know and really understand a book before sitting down at a book group meeting – I like to have a definitive lock on my own opinions before sharing with others. 

It turned out that the teens at the meeting had similar questions, though, and so we together teased out a deeper understanding of the book.  At various points in the discussion, one or all of us had “a-ha!” moments:  for me, my biggest “a-ha!” was about the daemons; for B., it was to do with the ending of the trilogy (she’s the only one of us who had read all three books, and had initially said that the trilogy’s finale didn’t make sense to her); for K. and I., the “a-ha!” was to do with Dust and the church/book controversy.

I wish I’d had a tape recorder running to capture our conclusions, and thus to share them here, but I’ll have to rely on my memory to sum up our thoughts:  Dust is the residue of original sin, and a human cannot live without some amount of sin in them.  The daemons are an outward manifestation of the human soul, and the two have a sort of yin and yang relationship; separate the human from his daemon, and there is no Dust – no sin – but the human will die.  As for the controversy, we decided a couple of things: younger readers won’t “get” the layers of meaning within the text, and most likely will read the book for the fantasy and not the theology; and, though Pullman obviously possesses some amount of bitterness towards the Catholic church, he’s also presenting a theoretical church, one in an alternate universe, one that has no Pope, one that has become corrupt.  Does he hate God?  Based upon the first book alone, we couldn’t determine that.  Nor did it seem relevant to our discussion.  It’s an intelligent book, not a hateful one, and masterfully written.  It raises questions, certainly, but it doesn’t brainwash its readers. 

Without a doubt, this was the best book group yet, since we all left the meeting with new thoughts and a better understanding of a complex text.  In fact, I personally like the book much more after our discussion than I did before, and feel inspired to delve a bit deeper into the controversy that surrounds it, and to read its two sequels. 

Book groups, Young adult literature

A laugh

At the teen book group meeting last Tuesday, about mid-way through our conversation on Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass, I said to the girls attending, “So, did you guys hear which book won the award for best young adult book of the year?”  Then I indulged in a big, mischievous grin, and they collectively gasped and said, “Ack!  Not that Antarctica book!!!!”  When I nodded, all three girls (the three who posted their thoughts on The White Darkness here a few months ago) burst into unrestrained laughter.

I still love the book, though.  🙂

Etc.

Politics

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Though I’m a political animal, I’ve never talked (written?) politics before on this blog.  But this post by Julius Lester on his excellent blog, “A Commmonplace Book,” caught my attention and I thought I’d share it.  I still didn’t vote on Super Tuesday, and there isn’t a bumper sticker on my car yet, but Lester makes a good point in this intelligent piece.

For those of you who have not yet discovered Lester’s blog, to my mind it’s the most thoughtful, wise, and well-written blog out there.Â