You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon April 30, 2011

I still have one more of these eight interconnected stories to read, but I had to write about Siobhan Fallon’s book now.  You Know When the Men Are Gone has forever changed the way I think about military families – not that I had an established lens through which to view them before reading this amazing book.  My experience with the military has been limited – to put it mildly. I didn’t know about FRG’s (Family Readiness Groups) and day to day life at Fort Hood, where most of these stories take place. Fallon’s compelling stories are about loneliness and fear and constant transitions.  In the story, “You Survived the War, Now Survive the Homecoming,” Fallon conveys the disconnect between women who have suffered though their husband’s long absences and men who are readjusting to civilian life after they have witnessed the horrors of war. I’ve heard about the support groups that help soldiers transition back to life on the homefront, but Fallon’s story gives the news a human face.  I couldn’t put this book down.

For more information about the book, visit Fallon’s website: www.siobhanfallon.com

In My Mind, I’m Going to Alabama… April 30, 2011

The piles of wooden slats I see in the newspapers and on television take me back to April 3, 1974, when I was twelve-years-old — thirty-seven years before the violent storms that ripped through the south this past week leaving hundreds dead and thousands homeless.  My family’s home in Xenia, Ohio was destroyed, and although we didn’t know it at the time, Xenia was getting the worst of the 148 tornadoes that struck that day. At winds over 300 miles per hour, the Xenia storm was an F5 killing 33 people and leaving over 10,000 homeless as it cut a path right through the center of town.

As many commentators have noted, tornadoes are uniquely dangerous. Unlike hurricanes where there is often time to prepare, tornadoes sneak up on you more quickly. That’s what happened to us. My sister and I were watching Gilligan’s Island after school and, although we were aware of the warnings, we didn’t really “get it” and we were annoyed by the meteoroligist’s interrupting one of our favorite shows. For all we knew, maybe this would be the episode where the castaways would finally be rescued!  Luckily for us, my dad, who had been driving in front of the giant black cloud spinning toward us, got home, put a mattress over us in the hallway, and saved our lives.  When I heard the survivors in Alabama talk about the quiet right before it hit, I went right back to the calm under the mattress in Xenia, Ohio. After those few seconds of eerie silence, we heard the brick walls crunching around us, the roof flew up and away forever, and there was nothing left.

I also remember the Red Cross. They were there for us right away. They had clothes. They had food. They had tetanus shots. When I sent my contribution to them this week, it gave me an opportunity to reflect on that day thirty-four years ago. I thought about the families who lost a loved one and the parents who have to figure out how to start over. Most of all, I thought about twelve-year-old girls who lost their favorite books. Those girls might – like I did – see the pages of their favorite stories flying away. I hope they remember that books can be replaced and that their childhood reading experiences didn’t exist in those books anyway – they exist in the reader’s heart.

The Tao of Biscuit April 28, 2011

I think I may have underestimated Biscuit. Biscuit, for the uninitiated, is the adorable star of HarperCollins’ I Can Read books for children.  There are many Biscuit books, and with their repetitive text and simple sentences, the books can be counted on to give beginning readers a successful experience. I’ve watched teachers use them for years, but I had no idea how popular the little pup is, until this week.

Here’s what happened. A first grade student noticed the plush book characters that live in the school library – Curious George, Olivia, Paddington, Lilly (with her purple plastic purse), and a few others. This girl asked why we didn’t have Biscuit. I told her I would be on the look out on future shopping excursions, and the next day she came to school with a small adorable plush Biscuit that, as I later learned, she asked her grandfather to purchase. She gave it to me as we were on our way to an all-school gathering so Biscuit “tagged along.” It was an enlightening experience. Kids from kindergarten through 7th grade greeted me with cries of “Biscuit!” The older children told me they remembered reading the books when they were learning to read and asked to hold him. I had no idea! 

Biscuit now has a place of honor in the library, and my colleague took one look at Biscuit and said: “I like that one.” Clearly, Alyssa Satin Capucilli and Pat Schories, have created a beloved character. I’m thinking of re-reading the Biscuit ouevre. Maybe there’s more there than I originally thought!

Get Me to the Big Screen On Time! April 25, 2011

I’m going to set the alarm clock earlier than normal this Friday so I don’t miss the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.  To be honest, I’m not that invested in William and Kate’s story, but I’ll watch for nostalgic reasons. Thirty years ago I was glued to “the telly” to see Prince Charles marry Diana Spencer, and reading about the preparations for William and Kate’s big day is like stepping back in time. I remember sitting in my basement with my best friend watching Diana walk down that impossibly long aisle in that puffy dress. Like many young women at the time, we were carried away by the romance and pageantry of it. Of course, this was before the internet and the age of way too much information so we still believed in the fairy tale. Now, of course, we sadly know better. But just the same, I want to recapture some of the optimism and belief in happy endings that I felt that day.

If you plan to be on the couch with a young royal watcher, you may want to make the public library your first stop. The picture books listed below feature some of the landmarks that will be shown on Friday and, after looking at them, all you’ll need is a pot of tea, a basket of scones, and according to one of my friends – a tiarra!

Katie in London by James Mayhew

This is London by Miroslav Sasek

Charlotte in London by Joan London

Dodsworth in London by Tim Egan

Madeline in London by Ludwig Bemelmans

A final note: The first book I thought of for this list was one my son used to enjoy – Paddington at the Palace by Michael Bond, but just as I suspected – it’s out of print.  Too bad. It’s a really cute story about Paddington visiting Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guard. Maybe your library has a copy…

I Went to MoMA and… April 23, 2011

This doesn’t have much (okay, nothing) to do with books and reading, but I love the Museum of Modern Art’s new advertising campaign so much that I have to share it with you.  I’ve seen the ads in The New Yorker a few times, and the one I read today is somewhat book-related so I figured this was my chance.

The campaign is based on a board in the museum where visitors can post messages that begin with: I went to MoMA and…the responses are beautiful and funny and inspiring and, in some cases, poetic. The one re-printed in this week’s New Yorker reads:

I went to MoMA and..

“wrote a letter i

hid it in

the shelves

of the bookstore

on the second floor

to find Love

maybe”

Read more messages and see some amazing drawings at:  http://www.moma.org/iwent/#/989

A Report from the Book Fair Sales Desk… April 22, 2011

I am writing this during the final hours of Inly’s spring book fair. There are two boys at a nearby table looking at Star Wars books. Two 5th grade girls are looking at the always popular pencils and bookmarks. And there is a mother looking at all of the picture books featuring bunnies deciding which one to put in her child’s Easter basket on Sunday.

Listening to shoppers – both students and parents – is always entertaining. One of the most interesting conversations I overheard this week was between two sixth grade girls.

Girl #1: It seems like every book for our age is sad.

Girl #2: Do the authors think we’re all sad?

Of course, that is not true, but looking around the book fair, I can see how they might draw that conclusion.

Here’s another conversation, this one between a mother and her seven-year-old child.

Parent: What book do you want?

Child: Predator Showdown – because I love cute animals!

Look at the cover of this book. “Cute” is not the word that comes to mind – even allowing for a very liberal definition of the word. How great, though, that this child thinks they are.

The five top-selling titles from this year’s book fair are…

Silverlicious

Pinkalicous

Goldilicious

Purplicious

and last but not least..Pinkalicious: Tickled Pink

Do you detect a theme here? At least they all really have cute covers!

The Emerald Atlas – and a few other notes… April 20, 2011

Every new author must wish for the kind of attention John Stephens is receiving for his book, The Emerald Atlas.  The first time I read about it was on the Books for Keeps website – an online version of England’s children’s book magazine. And now I read about Stephens’ book everywhere, and each article has the same bottom line: this book is the next “big thing”, even, should we say it…the next Harry Potter.

I haven’t read it, but it has moved to the top of my “to read” pile so the plan is to begin it tonight. In response to a question about his literary influences, Stephens said: “I guess I was always influenced by British children’s books, from E. Nesbit up to Roald Dahl and J.K. Rowling. And I think their voices were very much in my head when I was writing.” That’s a relief. Because the other “voices in his head” are from the Gossip Girl TV series for which Stephens is a former executive producer.

Here’s an excerpt from the Wall Street Journal’s review: “A great story is all in the telling, and in The Emerald Atlas the telling is superb. First time novelist John Stephens has created a vicarious adventure for children ages 9-15 – the first in a trilogy – filled with unexpected twists and marvelously distinct and vivid characters.” That’s enough to send you to the bookstore – in one of the 34 countries where the book has been published!

In other news…

Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer will be published on June 10 – just in time for what I hope will not be a “bummer summer” for anyone.

Maurice Sendak, who is now 82-years-old, has a new picture book! Bumble-Ardy is about a pig who has his first birthday party when he turns 9. It will be released in September.

Finally, for all of you Rick Riordan fans, The Throne of Fire, the second book of The Kane Chronicles will be released on  May 3.

Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World April 18, 2011

The book pictured on the left is four years old. Its subject, Knut, the polar bear born in captivity, died at the zoo in Berlin last month when he was just 4-and-a-half.  You could make a case that with all of the suffering in the world, the grief over this polar bear’s untimely death is hard to understand.  Or not. Do you know Knut’s story? Knut was born at the Berlin Zoo on December 5, 2006. He and his brother were, for some reason only polar bears understand, rejected by their mother. Zookeepers stepped in to rescue the two cubs, but only one survived – Knut.  Knut’s trainer, Thomas Dorflein, cared for Knut – including giving him bottles of baby formula – twenty-four hours a day. According to Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World,  Dorflein even “moved a bed and sleeping bag into the cub’s room so that he could always be nearby.”

Knut’s story captivated Germans and people from around the world. “Knutmania” resulted in skyrocketing attendance at the Berlin Zoo and stuffed polar bears sold in every German souvenir shop. But then, in September 2008, Dorflein died of a heart attack at the age of 44. And then, on March 19 of this year, Knut died. Apparently, he had a seizure which caused him to fall into a pool and drown.  The day after I heard about Knut’s death, I pulled this book off the shelf and began to flip through it.  It was hard to take a bad picture of the fluffy white polar bear, and of course, the pictures are even more poignant now.

The Return of Flicka, Ricka and Dicka April 17, 2011

 

I’m so happy that the picture books about Flicka, Ricka and Dicka have been reissued by Albert Whitman & Company. There are no words for how much I enjoyed these stories of three little Swedish girls when I was growing up in the 1970s. As one of three girls myself, they had special appeal, but I’ve always loved them for their sweetness. Nothing too dramatic in these stories - the girls bake cakes, find kittens and make new friends. Even in the tech-free quiet of the 1970s, these books (written in the 1940s and 1950s) seemed to reflect a gentler time. Maj Lindman, the author, wrote many books for children, but she is best known for her stories about two sets of triplets: Flicka, Ricka and Dicka and Snipp, Snapp and Snurr. I read the books about the blonde boys too, but they didn’t come close to the affection I felt for the girls.

I’m sure I didn’t appreciate the art as a child, but look at this beautiful cover. It didn’t surprise me to read in the Albert Whitman catalog that Lindman studied art at the Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm and in Paris.  I’m definitely going to order a few from each series to share with our students.

Cover Trouble April 17, 2011

 

I took my dog for a walk this morning and this is what I was thinking about on a beautiful Sunday morning: I want to read Tina Fey’s new book Bossypants, but the cover is a stumbling block.  I know this is incredibly shallow, but there it is. The photo disturbs my sense of equilibrium even though I know that runs counter to the advice I give to students everyday about ”judging books by their covers.” Yesterday, when I saw the book in Barnes & Noble, I had to look quickly past it even though I’m sure it’s a funny and interesting book. This could be a case for the audio version – but I need to hide the box.