Category Archives: Children’s literature

Children's book reviews, Children's literature

Recently read…

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It’s winter, the wood stove is cranking, and book groups are in full swing – which means that I’ve been doing some reading.  Here are a couple of my recent reads:

Halt’s Peril by John Flanagan 

Though I really love the Ranger’s Apprentice series, of which Halt’s Peril is the ninth book, the series is just very well done bestsellers for kids.   They’re very well done because (unlike Harry Potter and some other series) each book has its own antagonist and its own dilemma, and each ends in a different place.  In other words, the reader isn’t forced to rehash the same plot trajectory in each of the books; unlike the good ol’ Harry series, we don’t start at the same time of year in the same place, then face a battle royale with the same villain, then end up relatively happy in the same place at the same time of year (a formula that I find to be extremely boring).  Instead, the main characters travel around the countryside from one book to the next, not always ending up in their home territory at the end of each installment.  We get to see them face different opponents in almost every book, and the characters do experience a certain amount of growth and change over the course of the series.  But the books are still bestsellers, not fine literature.  Sometimes the writing can be a bit clunky, and sometimes the reader has to really suspend disbelief over certain plot elements in order to move forward with reading.  But I still love ’em, and am very glad that Flanagan continues to push on with new books in the series.  They are great books to recommend to middle grade readers, both boys and girls, and every child that I have steered towards these books has gotten hooked and eagerly read every available book (and then they each gently – or not so gently – remind me of the exact date when the new book will be available in this country).

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

This book was repeatedly recommended to me by an older library patron who doesn’t often frequent the children’s room (except when her grandchildren are visiting in the summer, when I see her almost every day).  I have the utmost respect for this lady, as she is one of the most well-read people I have ever met, and I decided to heed her advice and add this book to our collection, and then, finally, to read it myself. 

Though War Horse might be seen by some as a mere revisitation of Black Beauty, as I’ve seen from some of the reviews posted on Goodreads, it’s really far more than that.  Yes, there is focus placed on the humane treatment of animals, and that point is driven home in several heartbreaking moments.  But I see this story as a book about war more than a book about animal welfare.  It takes place in World War I, and the War Horse in question, Joey, starts life as a simple English farmhorse with a very caring young master.  The young master’s father must sell Joey to the cavalry in order to pay off debts, and Joey finds himself with a new master, a caring captain, who talks to Joey about the insanity of sending cavalry units into the new technology of machine gun battle.  Sure enough, we witness the brutal destruction of most of Joey’s cavalry unit, both human and equine, as they are either cut down by machine gun fire or impaled on barbed wire.  Joey and his best horse friend then move on to the care of a gentle French girl and her grandfather, and we get to see the effect of war on the civilians before Joey is once again moved on to a  German division.  Morpurgo skillfully moves Joey from one side of the battle to civilian life to the other side of the battle before putting Joey smack dab in the middle of No Man’s Land, which leads to a very poignant scene that empasizes the brutal ridiculousness of wars that pit soldiers of different cultures but similar outlooks on life against each other.  The soldiers are but pawns of their governments, and the horses in WWI were the slaves of the pawns. 

It’s all very, very sad, and I shed many tears as I read the book.  Yes, I did feel more than a bit emotionally manipulated, but I still think War Horse is a worthwhile read.  Some of the Goodreads reviews that I read question whether this is a children’s book, and that makes me sad.  Shouldn’t children learn of the vast expense of war?  What good are we doing for them or for the world if they don’t grow up with a full understanding of how evil war is?  I really do worry about the current generation of children, and the extent to which many of them are overly protected against reading books that are sad or distressing or otherwise challenging.  Books are a very safe place to feel these tough emotions, and then to talk about those emotions with trusted adults or other child readers.  And if a child is never exposed to a sad book, what happens when sadness hits their own lives?  How prepared are they to deal with it?  And, in the case of a book like War Horse, what happens when children grow up without having to consider the gravity of war and destruction?  How long will the world survive if it is led by people who grew up without knowing of those things?

Two good books, not great books, but both worth reading for different reasons.  Read Halt’s Peril some evening when you want some action adventure before bedtime; read War Horse with a box of tissues by your side.  And then let me know how you liked them.

Children's literature, Spare time - Culture

David Macaulay

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Last night I dragged Jim to an author event, part of the annual Concord Festival of Authors.  Though I lived in Concord for years and years, I think that this is the first time I’ve attended an event connected with the festival.  (Funny how we take things for granted when those things are easily available, and only fully appreciate those things when they’re a little harder to access.)

As you might have guessed from the title of this post, the author that we heard speak last night was one of my favorites, David Macaulay.  When I was in graduate school at Simmons a decade ago, the departmental head of the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature organized a field trip for a group of us to go down to Rhode Island and visit David Macaulay in his studio.  It was truly one of the highlights of my graduate school career (which is saying something – I loved every minute of grad school), and I have vivid memories of standing in his sunny studio as he pulled out one original drawing after another for us to look at.  It was remarkable to me that he was so willing to yank these drawings out for us to see, and I remember one of my classmates saying something to that end.  To which he replied that the real art, in his opinion, was the finished book, not the drawings made for the finished book.  I love that idea, and I also loved being in the presence of someone so enthusiastic and creative and welcoming.

My one very minor regret about that day ten or so years ago is that I didn’t think to bring my copy of Black and White for him to sign.  Sure, it would have been a little gauche to have brought a book to be signed, but it’s also a cool souvenir and reminder of an exceptional day.  Not that I lost any sleep over not having the book signed, but it would have been nice.

When I saw that Macaulay would be coming to the Concord Free Public Library to give a talk, I almost didn’t bother to sign up, given that life sometimes feels too busy to indulge in things like author talks, but finally I did pre-register, reserving the last two available seats.  And so we went last night, and got to hear David Macualay talk about most (if not all) of his published books in a quick, witty, and engaging talk with accompanying slide show.  I love that he exudes intelligence and creativity, and that’s he’s just a bit kooky, with a dry sense of humor – so dry sometimes that you have to pay excellent attention to everything that he says.  He started by showing us before and after slides from the books that he has recently reworked for publication in the new volume, Built to Last.  I really enjoyed seeing the change from black and white illustrations to color illustrations for Castle and Cathedral (though the woman in line behind me for the book signing didn’t like the change, and Jim isn’t a fan, either), and it was neat to hear his thinking about change of perspective and focus in the new drawings.  At the end of the talk, he gave excellent answers to some rather weak questions – as Jim pointed out, that’s a sign of a good speaker, someone who can take a lousy question and find the nubbin of interesting stuff in there and use that nubbin to formulate an answer. 

And, of course, I did have him sign my two books – Black and White and Building the Book Cathedral.  I told him my story of having visited his studio all those years ago, to which he gave me a tired smile and drew a picture of the robber on the endpaper of Black and White.  As is usually the case when I meet an author, the best part of the evening was hearing him speak; the book signing felt, as book signings often do to me, a little intrusive.  Intrusive meaning, of course, that those of us who wait in line with our books are almost a bit whoreish in our desire to meet the author and have the author sign the book that is going to live in our house.  I do love my signed books, but I’m starting to feel that maybe my signed book collection has reached its maximum level.

It was a fun night though, and I’m really grateful that Jim was willing to be my date for it.  It’s good to get out of our regular life pattern and hear someone speak who lives his life in a creative and intelligent way – very inspiring!

Book groups, Children's literature

Time to give up?

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When I choose books for us to read in the 5th, 6th, and teen book groups at the library, I usually pick new (or newish) books, but I do like to mix in an occasional classic book.  And often parents will ask me if I’ll have the kids reading any classics, and I do like to say, “Yes, we will read X this year.”

One of my favorite classic books for the 5th graders is Five Children and It by E. Nesbit, which was originally published in 1902 and has a long reach of influence:  Edward Eager was inspired by Nesbit’s book to write his own classic fantasy in 1957, Half Magic, and J.K. Rowling has been quoted as saying that Nesbit is the author who has most influenced her work.  And there is the 2004 movie version of the book, starring Kenneth Branagh, which is quite different from the book in many important respects (making it all the more interesting when comparing and contrasting in the book group discussion). 

Past book groups have loved, or at least enjoyed and respected, Nesbit’s book, and we have had many great discussions that were inspired by this book.  But today’s group of fifth graders at book group were less than thrilled by the book.  And this is a group of really good readers, kids who love to read and don’t have to be prodded to do it.  Out of the six kids who attended today, not a single one had read the entire book, and only two had read as much as fifty pages.  The moms of those two who read the most each told me that their child just did-not-like-the-book-at-all, and the moms didn’t want to force the issue, considering that their kids do love to read, and are in the book group because they enjoy discussing books.

So now my question is: is it time to give up on Five Children and It?  Has it seen its glory days?  Is it no longer relevant to today’s kids?  Perhaps 108 years is an eternity in the world of children’s books – perhaps a fifth grader simply doesn’t have the life experience and exposure to history to be able to fully grasp the societal differences in a book written that long ago, when there were no cars, no televisions, no iPods, and when children had a very different role in society.  Not to mention that the language probably feels stilted and wooden to kids who are used to contemporary books that are cranked out with more of an eye to plot than literary style.

I hate to give up on a book that’s really quite good, and that does have such a significant sphere of influence.  But I think I may have to tuck it away on the back of my shelf of book group books, and maybe I’ll have to find some newer children’s classics to use in future.  It’s sad, in a way, but it’s also how children’s literature works: children’s books do have shorter lifespans than adult books (when talking about their appeal to children, that is, not adults), and that’s just the way it goes.  End of story.  So to speak.

Book groups, Children's book reviews, Children's literature

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

On Monday the 6th Grade Book Group and I discussed The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, and we all agreed that we like and appreciate the book.  It’s not a typical piece of juvenile fiction, since the action is internal rather than external, and there isn’t any huge drama.  And, of course, it’s historical fiction, which is a nice change of pace for me (and, I think, for the kids) from the usual fantasy fare.

My favorite part of the book is that Kelly addresses the relationship between Calpurnia and her somewhat crotchety grandfather with perception and gentleness.  Their relationship truly evolves, as the title suggests, and feels genuine.  No one establishes a strong bond overnight in real life, and I love that Calpurnia and her grandfather take their time getting to know each other.

The kids in the book group liked the scientific aspect of the story, and enjoyed Calpurnia’s intellectual curiosity and drive to know more.  And we also talked about the role of women in Texas in 1899 and 1900 (the time of the story), and how hard it would be to be a girl like Calpurnia: a girl who wants to be a scientist and not a “lady.” 

Towards the end of the group meeting, we talked about the Newbery Honor that this book won.  This particular group has now read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (the 2010 Newbery Medal winner), Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (a 2010 Newbery Honor winner), and The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, which was a 2010 Newbery Honor winner.  I asked the group, given that they had read three of the top-awarded books of the last year, which they would have chosen as the Newbery Medal winner if they had been on the committee.  Their answer?  Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, in a unanimous vote.  Their second choice was Calpurnia Tate, and, while they gave props to When You Reach Me for creativity, they all agreed that they didn’t think it was the best book of the three.  I completely agree with the kids here (and I swear that I didn’t influence their decision AT ALL!!). 

At any rate, if you have not yet read The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, you should.  I’m purposefully not describing much of the story in this post because I don’t want to wreak the reading experience for you.  Which means your assignment is to go read this book, now!

Book groups, Children's literature, Young adult literature

Currently reading…

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I’m not going to write a long post right now, simply because I’m really enjoying the books I’m reading at the moment and want to get back to them (and, Jim is at band practice right now, so this is an excellent time for me to read!).

Here are the books I’m either reading or about to read:

The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan ~ I really do enjoy these books; in fact, I think this is the first time I’ve ever wanted to read the eighth book in a series.

The Cardturner by Louis Sachar ~ I’m anxious to see if this book lives up to the terrific reviews it has received.  If it’s anything like Holes, I’ll be very very happy.

Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne-Jones ~ Another book that has gotten excellent reviews; I’m looking forward to reading this one, too.

The Death-Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean ~ Without a doubt, Ms. McCaughrean is one of my favorite living authors, and I can’t wait to read her latest.  (My teen book group members STILL talk about The White Darkness, three years after we read it for our group.  Granted, they claim to think it’s “weird” and they “don’t like it,” but in my opinion the fact that this book has remained foremost in their consciousness all these years speaks volumes about the book’s impact.)

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly ~ This is the summer book group book for the 6th graders.  I purposefully chose a book that I didn’t think this group of excellent readers would find on their own.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl ~ The book choice for the summer meeting of the 5th grade book group.  I can’t wait to read it again!

And that’s it.  How many weeks do you think it will take me to get through all of these books?

Children's literature, Library events, Young adult literature

Author Visit

You read it here first – it’s official:  T.A. Barron will be visiting the library in which I work in April!!

T.A. Barron is the author of children’s and young adult books, including The Lost Years of Merlin epic and The Great Tree of Avalon trilogy.  He also lived in the town in which I work up through the fifth grade, before moving to Colorado, which will make his visit to the library that much more exciting!  Mr. Barron will be talking about the influence that the town had upon him as a writer, so the program should be particularly fascinating for all town residents.  If you live in town, keep an eye out for the date and time of the program, which will be posted very soon in the children’s room.

Children's literature, Librarianship

Jealousy, thy name is Abby

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Yesterday the newest issue of School Library Journal arrived in my mailbox, and I felt a strong surge of an emotion I thought I’d kind of outgrown: jealousy.

Everywhere you look in the children’s literature world, you see the name of Elizabeth Bird and her blog, “A Fuse #8 Production.”  I’d decided that I hated her a long time ago simply based upon how often I see her name, but yesterday the (admittedly baseless) hatred turned to jealousy when I saw the cover photo of children’s literature bloggers, with Elizabeth Bird front and center.  Not only is the woman a big deal in my work world, she’s also cute, young, pretty, and well-dressed.  And she looks like someone I’d probably want to have as a friend.  Bah humbug. 

Like many of us, I had lots of visions of grandeur growing up and going through college and graduate school; I was sure that I was wicked special and that I’d make a splash somewhere, sometime.  But, let’s face it, fame and fortune are far away from the little town in which I work.  No disrespect intended towards the town, but it’s small potatoes compared to New York City and the New York Public Library, which is where Ms. Bird works.  Logically I know I’m making an impact where I am, but I’m not too likely to meet Important Children’s Authors and Illustrators in my rural library.  Nor will I be invited to serve on the Newbery Award Committee, or write articles for the Horn Book magazine.  (I barely survived six months of writing entry-level reviews for the Horn Book Guide – what a slog that was.)  I imagine that Elizabeth Bird probably bumps into famous authors and illustrators just buying her morning coffee before work.  There’s no place to buy coffee in the town in which I work – no downtown, really, other than the library and the schools and the churches – and no money to buy that coffee, anyway.

I’d also love to know how the object of my friendly jealousy manages to find the time to write intelligent blog posts every day, and read lots and lots of current children’s books, while working as a children’s librarian.  Surely she must have a staff at her disposal?  Surely she’s mostly responsible for the big picture stuff, not all the nitty gritty details of storytimes and patron service?  Because I’m a pretty energetic person, and I come home at the end of a work day drained and with little creativity left to write a blog post.  Not to mention that I rarely feel like looking at a computer screen in the evenings after having spent an entire day working in front of a computer.

Or maybe she’s able to write her blog posts at work?  Could it be that she even gets to read children’s books at work?  That would be a dream come true for me.  Though I truly love what I do at my job, I do feel like I’m becoming further and further removed from the analytical and theoretical side of children’s books that I so loved in graduate school.  In recent days I’ve spent more time applying copious amounts of hand sanitizer than I have thinking about Reader Response theory.  Actually, I don’t think that Reader Response theory has entered my mind more than once or twice in the last year.  But I’ve thought a lot about how to project my voice at storytime or keep the kids in my book groups focused or how to locate the books that kids have been burying in odd places in the stacks.

So I guess it’s official: I’m jealous because I know that my chance to Be All That has passed me by.  And it surely doesn’t help things at all that I didn’t make good use of my internship at the Horn Book to make connections with people there like Roger Sutton.  Like most professions, to “be someone” in the children’s literature world you have to work someplace important, like New York City, and you have to have powerful friends in the business.  In my hidden little corner of the world, I’m never going to make headlines.

But at least I’m a rock star to the kids who come to my library.  And if I were smart and mature, I’d be happy with that.

Children's literature, Young adult literature

T. A. Barron

As mentioned in an earlier post, I had the pleasure of meeting T. A. Barron two weeks ago.  At the time, he was concerned that I had the first and third books in his Great Tree of Avalon trilogy, but not the second, and he asked for my mailing address so that he could send me the second book.  And lo and behold, last Wednesday I received a package from T. A. with a signed hardcover copy of that book, Shadows on the Stars, along with a nice note. 

The thoughtfulness alone is enough to impress, but what really impresses me is that the note is written on a piece of stationery that says “With Compliments of T. A. Barron”; if he has had that stationery printed up, then he must regularly send gifts of books to his fans.  That’s a good, generous person.

And I’ll say, too, that this is a wise marketing decision – I’ve been so impressed by T. A.’s generosity that I’ve made a display of the books that he signed for the library, and have been hand-selling those books to library patrons, telling each of those patrons that T. A. is a great guy as well as a great author…and that he grew up in town, to boot.  Legions of new fans are being born, fans who might not otherwise have found his books.  Which is a good thing.

Book groups, Children's book reviews, Children's literature

White Sands, Red Menace

Once again, my opinion of a book was completely different from the kids’ opinion.  The sixth grade book group unanimously agreed that they LOVED Ellen Klages’s White Sands, Red Menace.  They loved absolutely everything about the book: the characters, the pacing, that it’s historical fiction, the way the book ends…everything.  In fact, they couldn’t have been more enthusiastic about the book.

Which shows why we adults who are in charge of writing, publishing, reviewing, and buying children’s literature need to always remember that while we can have our grownup opinions of a children’s book, we’re not kids and we don’t think or read like kids.  It’s important for us to check our own thoughts from time to time (or more frequently) against the thoughts of the actual and intended reader, the child.  Such a slippery topic, that always incites heated discussion, as evidenced in this recent post on the topic by Roger Sutton.  I’m never able to completely pin down my own thoughts about this, sometimes wavering in the direction of “A good book is a good book is a good book,” sometimes wavering the other way, “But kids do know what they like to read – they’re as capable of having opinions as adults.”

So I’m not going to try to solve the mystery today.  I’ll just suffice it to say that Klages’s book was a huge hit with this book group, and their enthusiasm makes me want to read the book again to see if my own opinion changes on a second reading.

Children's literature, Librarianship, Spare time - Culture

Vacation! And reading!

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I’m nearing the end of five whole days off in a row, and I feel fabulous.  Rested, refreshed, intellectually reinvigorated.  And we’ve even had TWO social engagements in the last five days – huge for us homebodies.  (I don’t count Jim’s band rehearsals as social engagements, since I’m not part of that, but he did have about three band meetings/rehearsals.)

The best part of the last five days is that I had time and space and energy to read.  A lot.  I read Blue Balliett’s Chasing Vermeer and The Calder Game (I’ll get to The Wright Three when I find it at the used book store like the others), Joan Bauer’s Peeled, various magazine articles, and am starting The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau.  [I’m a slow reader, folks, as I’ve stated before, so this is a lot of books for me to have gotten through while housecleaning and doing laundry and shoveling 10 inches of snow and partying with friends…]  Only one of these books is for a book group (Peeled), and I’ve actually been wanting to read it, anyway, so it didn’t feel like an assignment.

One of the oddities of my job as a children’s librarian is that I need to have read a lot of books, yet that reading can’t really happen in my work hours.  And let’s face it, often our off-work hours are filled with mundanities like laundry and scooping litter boxes, and don’t leave much time for wonderful things like reading.  So, in an odd way, though I read these books for pleasure, I also feel like all of this reading was for work, too.  Now when a child or parent asks me about Chasing Vermeer, I can actually speak with some authority on the topic, not the usual “It’s gotten great reviews.”  I’ll never be able to read all of the books that I order for the library, but I’d like to aim for a higher percentage than I’ve had time for recently.

So it’s been a truly lovely five days.  And tomorrow I’m back to my usual crazy schedule, working full time and tutoring two nights a week, though the Italian class is over now, which gains me a bit more reading time.  But I’ll be going back to that schedule with renewed energy and vitality, and I’m psyched.