Around the World by Matt Phelan November 7, 2011

This morning my car battery died – not a good way to start the week. But while I was waiting for AAA to come to my rescue, I had a chance to finish reading Matt Phelan’s new graphic nonfiction book, Around the World.  A late 19th century version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Phelan’s book is the story of three adventurers who circumnavigated the globe by: Bike, Trains and Boat.

Inspired by Jules Verne’s popular adventure novel Around the World in Eighty Days, Thomas Stevens, Nellie Bly and Joshua Slocum left their homes to see the world. Phelan’s story explores their personal motivations, the pleasures and challenges of their travels, and the impact their global adventures had on each of their lives.

An excellent choice for students who are looking for inspiring stories – and one of the first books I’m putting on Inly’s 2012 Summer Reading List.

New Room and New Books! August 25, 2011

The Inly Library has moved up – literally. After ten years on the ground floor of the main building, we have a bright sunny room with new bookshelves and new windows.  I’m really excited about it, but first….there are lots of books to shelve. Ten thousand to be exact. No, we did not have to carry the books upstairs, but once they were up there, they needed a little help finding their new spots. It’s not like the scene in Mary Poppins where I can watch everything find its own place!

The best part of this process is that moving requires every book to be handled. I’m unearthing a few titles that should not be on our shelves (don’t ask) and a few others that have been sadly overlooked – but not for long!  Quite frankly, it’s a lot of work, but my vision of how the library will look motivates me to continue alphabetizing.

One section that is going to get more space this year is graphic novels for young readers. In the beginning of the graphic novel craze, it was a challenge to find books for kids under 10. The Babymouse series was out of the gate early and the kids love them, but there was a demand for more. After my summer research, though, I’m ready.

Here are some of the series that are going to be available on shiny new shelves:

Chi by Konami Kanata – the adventures of a mischevous little kitten

Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon – funny stories about a very cute dragon

The Toon series, including Patrick in A Teddy Bear’s Bear Picnic by Geoffrey Hayes

Lunch Lady by Jarrett J. Krosozcka – the Lunch Lady turns out to be a superhero!

Squish: Super Amoeba by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm – a new series by the Babymouse team, this one about an amoeba who loves Twinkies!

For now, I better stop reading about amoebas and dragons. There are too many boxes waiting to be unpacked.

There’s a Princess in the Palace: Five Classic Tales December 12, 2010

 

One thing I’m doing during this rainy Sunday is looking at a few new books purchased for the Inly Library.  A box of books arrived at the end of the day on Friday so I tucked them into my bag on my way out the door.  One of them – purely because it is oversized – literally stood out from the others. There’s a Princess in the Palace: Five Classic Tales by husband and wife team Zoe B. Alley and R.W. Alley is such a delight that its bright pink cover is brightening this gloomy day.  What a fun book.  It’s a re-telling of fairy tales in graphic format. Actually this book reminds me of the Marcia Williams series of books which includes The Adventures of Robin Hood, King Arthur and the Dickens stories. 

There’s a Princess in the Palace includes five stories: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Frog Prince, and The Princess and the Pea. They are really funny. Here’s a representative line, this one from Cinderella: “Cinderella sobbed all over her suds. Why are they always so mean to me? I wish chocolate cupcakes were invented – they would make me feel better!”  Later, Cinderella comments: “My rights are being violated!”  I could go on, but you get the idea.  Each story follows the familiar story line, but there’s lots of clever dialogue and fun visual details. In the spirit of my holiday gift suggestions, I think this would be a terrific gift for a child or adult.  I plan on reading all of it today.

Graphic Memoirs October 3, 2009

I can’t get Stitches out of my mind. I read it yesterday and ached for the boy at its center at every page and find myself thinking about him today.

Stitches is David Small’s moving memoir of growing up as the child of two sad and unloving parents and Small’s ultimate escape to a creative life.

Before reading Stitches, I only knew David Small for his work (much of it with his wife Sarah Stewart) of wonderful picture books like The Library, The Gardener and The Journey.  I was drawn to this memoir because of Small’s picture books, but this not a book for children.  It is raw and disturbing.

It brought to mind another graphic memoir I couldn’t get out of my head for weeks—Fun Home by Alison Bechdel.  Bechdel’s is a very different story—one of a young woman dealing with her own sexual orientation while her father is living a secret life that overshadows hers.   I remember feeling uncomfortable as I read the scenes between father and daughter as if I was hiding in the closet and desperately wanted to sneak out before I heard too much.

As odd as it sounds, I love books that make me feel achey.  There are a few pages in Stitches that made me freeze.  I just didn’t know if I could go on.  But that’s when I love reading the most – when it reminds me of our shared humanity and our shared vulnerabilities.   I would definitely recommend both of these rewarding books, but not as beach or airplane reading.