Happy Families

Happy Mother's Day! Today is sunny, I've gone for a run, and the House of Glee showed their Mother's Day appreciation with jam, popovers, a milk aerator, and a lighthouse. The lighthouse is a wooden model, hand-painted in class by Lucia.

I have two bookstore storytime gigs next week, and I'm looking forward to the Saturday one in particular because I shall pick up my copy of Happy Families, the newest book by Coretta Scott King Honor winner Tanita S. Davis (and no, I will never get tired of writing that). Happy Families is told from the point of view of older teen twins Ysabel and Justin Nicholas, and their father's revelation to them that he is actually a transgender female. The Amazon link here has an excerpt from the book, and you can read the Kirkus review here. While I always look forward to my friends' new releases, I am particularly interested in Happy Families because of the subject matter. I have a friend and a family member who are both transgender women, and keep a look out for teen/YA books that treat transgender people with respect and consideration.


Other things I'm looking forward to: more sunny days (I can hope), increased strength and muscle-tone with kettlebell training by my Cast Iron Strength friend "Kettlebell Kate," and visits from family and friends who cannot resist the lure of the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges.

Adrienne, Amish Guitar, Handwork, and Odd-Fish

Here are a few items that I have gathered into one blog post. If I were clever all the time, I would have made them four separate blog-posts, but I am only clever on Tuesdays and alternate weekends.

1.
The wonderful Adrienne of What Adrienne Thinks About That came to visit me in Seattle after the Public Library Association conference in Portland, Oregon. She drove up with a friend on my birthday and we got to hang out for a day and a half before she had to fly back to New York. That visit was a wonderful birthday present. This was the first time my husband and daughter got to meet Adrienne, and my daughter was besotted. She would occasionally burst out with, "Adrienne? I loooooove you." I felt the same, but was less demonstrative.

2.
At PLA, Adrienne met up with Amish Guitar who gave her a handy Emergency Guitar Kit to deliver to me. This kit came in a zip-lock bag with a number of smaller zip-lock bags that included:
a. Emergency Guitar Strap with lock-clip (string with a bread-tie)
b. Emergency Capo (toothpick with rubber band)
c. Emergency Chord Charts (need a magnifying glass to read them)
d. An I.O.U. for an Emergency "Bad Gig" candy bar

Not included: Emergency Guitar Tuner


Emergency Guitar Kit

3.
Angela Mobley of The Artist the Mom wrote a guest post on The Magic Onions about handwork in the Waldorf curriculum. Here's the post: Discovering Waldorf- Handwork in a Waldorf School.

4.
A couple of months ago, James Kennedy, the author of The Order of the Odd-Fish, sent me an email to let me know about fan art inspired by his book. I was intrigued, but when I went to my library system's online catalog, the only copy of Odd-Fish was in electronic format. After the rigmarole of downloading the program required to read it, downloading the book, and attempting to open the file, I remembered why I had deleted the program the last time I tried to read an electronic book, and gave up in a short burst of temper. However, James Kennedy had the publishing house send me a copy of Odd-Fish newly released in paperback. Thank you, James Kennedy!

Good News

Last Tuesday, I attended the local SCBWI monthly meeting to hear the witty, warm poet and social-media maven Gregory Pinkus of GottaBook and The Happy Accident. Between the mini-session with Martha Brockenbrough, who wrote Things That Make Us [Sic] and Pinkus' talk, there were a number of announcements including the regularly featured "Good News." I used to attend SCBWI meetings on a regular basis, and heard everything from "My illustrations are being used in a textbook" to the quietly pleased "My book just won the Caldecott Honor."

As I listened, I thought, "Why don't I bring up more good news on my blog?" While I can't match the sheer joy that Happy Stuff brings to her love of everyday/special things, I can at least cheer for other people and celebrate the blessings in my life. So, here goes:

*To start things off, I am thrilled that Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis has been nominated for the American Library Association's Best Books for Young Adults 2010 list. I've read the book and I really enjoyed it. It's part modern-day road trip, part historical fiction about the present-day main character's grandmother who lied about her age in order to join the World War II African American battalion of the Women’s Army Corps.

*Last Thursday morning, while browsing the Border's bookstore at the airport, I began to exit when I did an about-face. In the front of the store on display were copies of How Not To Make a Wish by Mindy Klasky. I exclaimed, "I know her! I was in library school with her!" At the time we were in library school together, she was working on a novel while getting her law-library degree and working full-time (she was already a lawyer). I knew she had published some novels since then, but to my chagrin, I hadn't read any of her books. I am going to amend that oversight soon.

*I have started reading the blog of Rainmom, a college friend with two children, one of whom has autism. We haven't talked directly since college, but I've been able to read some of her writings over the years. I was heartened to read this post about the misperceptions of autism and affection. Like I said in my previous post, we don't know yet what Lucia's diagnosis will be, but if it's on the autism spectrum, I feel as if I can deal with it better knowing that a person can be both autistic and affectionate. How odd is that of me to think thus? Lucia told me today, "I do not have autism". I told her that whatever we found out would not change who she was, what she liked to do, but could enable us to get certain services that would be helpful to her.

By the way, Lucia has announced several times, "I am not afraid of dogs anymore." She actually IS still afraid enough to lurch away from us to run from dogs, but she wants so badly not to be afraid. She has it in her mind that if she can overcome her fear of dogs, we can go to Disneyland (upgraded in her mind from that mouse-owned pizza parlor that fills both Bede and me with trepidation).

*October 24-25 will be a weekend of storytelling workshops with Nancy Mellon through the Sound Circle Center. I'm going to both the all-day workshop on Saturday with Nancy Mellon and Ashley Ramsden and the 4 hour workshop on Sunday that's just with Mellon. I am so grateful to be able to participate in a weekend of professional and personal development with a master storyteller. I've read a number of her books, but have never before heard her speak. Some of my friends have taken workshops with her before, and have assured me that she is wonderful.

The Patron Saint of In-a-Hurry

I had this post in draft form from last October. I still get a kick out of all the patron saints for different challenges and afflictions. For similar reasons, I enjoyed Justine Larbalestier's How to Ditch Your Fairy.

***

Bede sent me a link to a BoingBoing article about St. St. Expedite, an apocryphal figure who is the patron of people who need help in a hurry. I had only known him as the patron saint of postal workers from a medallion I received as a prize during a production of Late Nite Catechism.

Guitars, Sequels and Nuns

Music:

This was my last week of French camp gigs. My last gig was a regular musical storytime akin to the ones I usually present. I didn't tell many stories as the children were in no mood to sit and listen-- in fact, two of the guys in the front started shooting each other with finger-pistols. At first I ignored it, but then thought I needed to say something. What came out of my mouth was, "Guns are resting during storytime." It didn't work, but I remembered that years ago when I worked in a daycare, we often told the kids that there were "No guns in daycare." Whether there's a piece of breakfast toast or a toy block, something can be made into a gun.

Afterward, one of the parents who stayed told me that her son always came home from camp talking about the "lady with the guitar". In my book, that is high praise indeed. I have dreamed of being the Lady with the Guitar.

I'm currently working on bass runs and barred chords with the plan of actually implementing them in songs for performance by the end of the year. I want to be able to do them with confidence.

Reading:

I waited for a year for Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. When I finally got my copy, I plowed through it. Even though I knew I would have to wait another year for the resolution, I just couldn't put it down. Ever since the final page, I've been listless and grouchy. I haven't been this grouchy about waiting for a sequel since I first read Philip Pullman's The Subtle Knife. I recognize this current need for escapist fiction from reading patterns in earlier years. It's because the real world just breaks me up. There is injustice, heartache, wrongful death and needless suffering in the world. I can write letters to congressfolk, vote, and pray, but I can't stop the things that are wrong. Within the parameters of fiction, there is hope for a new world order within the lifetimes of the characters.

Regarding Catching Fire, I know there's discussion in forums about whom Katniss, the main character, will end up with with romantically, if she ends up with anyone at all. I really don't care. That's not why I'm reading the books. I'm reading the books because I am hoping that Collins will deliver on a new world order in the country of Panem that eradicates the poverty, starvation and cruelty inflicted by the Capitol upon the rest of the Districts. I take the books personally. I want justice in Panem. In the real world, justice is having a hard time coming up for air.

Parenting:

Does anyone have any recommendations for children's books about nuns besides Demi's Mother Teresa? I can visualize a DK book a la "Eyewitness: Nun" but it doesn't actually exist. Ever since Lucia watched "The Sound of Music" she's been obsessed with nuns. She loves the habits and thinks they are fancy. Lucia wanted to be a nun when she grew up until I pointed out that nuns are obedient and take a vow of poverty, i.e. no tiaras. Lucia said, "I won't be a nun, then. I'll be an actress and play a nun in a movie." She's gone to bed now, and is listening to Taize music to soothe her to sleep.

Liar cover to be changed for publication

From Publishers Weekly, A New Look For Liar, by Karen Springen:

Proof of the power of the web: Bloomsbury Children’s Books has told Publishers Weekly exclusively that it will change the controversial cover of Justine Larbalestier’s Liar. Bloggers, commentors and the author herself had criticized the publisher’s choice of a white girl with long, straight tresses for a novel about an African-American girl with “nappy” hair.

Good. Thanks to Melangell of Pipers at the Gates of Dawn for the link.

Show-and-Tell of Gratitude

I try to keep the focus of this blog consistent, though the scope has expanded since I first started Saints and Spinners 4 1/2 years ago. It started as a storytelling blog, then expanded to include songs, children's books and sewing. I started out as the relatively anonymous "Alkelda" and then started using my real name after I linked my blog to my professional storytelling website. Every now and again, I share a bit of news that is either joyful or sorrowful, but I've tried to keep the truly personal things private.

It is hard to tell you now that the past weeks have been difficult. Like many of our friends and family members, the downturn in the economy has left its imprint upon the House of Glee. We are grappling with financial challenges that we hadn't anticipated. However, I am thankful for all of the warmth and support of my friends in the blogosphere.

Coincidentally, the past weeks have brought presents! I have thanked everyone individually, but I thought it might be nice to have a little Show-and-Tell.

Tanita S. Davis of Finding Wonderland sent me a lovely package from Scotland delivered by a hedgehog (who, after recovering from jetlag, now acts in Lucia's puppet-shows) that included a signed copy of Mare's War and a beautiful handmade brass ring. I also just found out today that I won the signed copy of Beth Kephart's brand new book Nothing But Ghosts in the contest she posted weeks ago. The contest results were posted just after I returned from vacation, and I'm guessing that I opted for "Mark All as Read" on my RSS Reader and continued to read on from there. The contest question was "How would you paint regret?" My answer wasn't the most in-depth one, but it was the answer Beth's son pulled out of a hat, so how lucky am I? Pretty lucky! I've taken a photo of the two books (Tanita's is the signed copy and Beth's is my library copy, as I just found out today I'd won the contest):



Schelle of Brand New Ending stitched for me a number of lovely things. The star of the show is the stunning blue-footed booby created in exchange for a Seven Ravens doll:





Wow! I knew Schelle was a gifted needle-worker, but pictures don't do justice to the actual work. I've kept all of these photos in large resolution sizes so that you can admire the handiwork. Schelle also made a set of animals for storytelling: koala, platypus, wombat, mouse (with accompanying bag) and a cloth book with lanolin-infused pages to keep my needles from rusting:



I realized after I took the photo that I had the lanolin-book upside down.

Last but not least, I recently received a surprise email from Acorngirl of Silver Acorn whose shop I had blogged about a few months ago. I featured her "purple girl" doll as a favorite. The purple girl doll didn't sell in its initial four month listing time, and Acorngirl decided to send me the little doll as a gift! So, here she is. I cannot help but name her Violet:



Many, many thanks! I realized I have used far more exclamation points than usual, but I'm keeping them in. They are appropriate for this particular post.

What My Teenage Self Wants

Colleen of Chasing Ray has an interesting post called What a Girl Wants: Representing All the Girls #3 . In both the main post itself and the comments, the discussion about which writers can represent what cultural group in literature is going strong. As I scrolled through the comments, I was reminded of the era in which I searched for books about children like me, i.e. the product of a marriage of mixed religions. My mother was Mennonite, my father was Jewish, and I wanted books in which the main character had to deal with the different religous traditions. I came across a couple of books: Mixed-Marriage Daughter, by Hila Colman and Davita's Harp, by Chiam Potok. With both books I felt a little cheated. Conveniently, the mother in both books was Jewish, so that if the characters decided to embrace their Jewish heritages, they didn't have to go through the fuss and bother of conversion. LoneStarMa reminded me in the comments that Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret has the main character as the child of an interfaith marriage AND the setup has the mother as Christian and father as Jewish.

I've requested some memoirs and essays from the library including essays edited by Laurel Snyder called Half/Life: Jew-ish Tales from Interfaith Homes, and Bloomfield Avenue: A Jewish-Catholic Jersey Girl's Spiritual Journey by Linda Mercadante). I would like to have some recommended fiction titles in which children of interfaith marriages are main characters. Do you have recommendations? Please share in the comments.

Thanks to Tanita of Finding Wonderland for highlighting Colleen's post.

P.S. Like Davita, I too have a doorharp.

Song of the Week: MyHope by sweetafton23

The gathering at the Downtown Seattle Public Library branch for John Green's Paper Towns book tour was huge! They had to open up the doors in the back to bring in extra seats. John Green read, Hank Green played some songs on the guitar (and forgot the words), and Molly a.k.a. sweetafton23 played "MyHope" and "Road Trip" on the ukulele. I'll have more to post about the Vlog Brothers Seattle event soon, but for now, here's "MyHope" as the Song of the Week:



You can sing along with the chorus:

How I hope that you forget your MySpace
I hope it slips completely from your mind
And I hope it stays up long enough for the next generation to find
And I hope that it embarrasses your children
I hope their bratty friends all forward it around
And I hope that you forget your password
So you cannot take it down

CYBILS nominations close tomorrow

You've got one more day to nominate your favorite children's and young adult books of 2008! The CYBILS await you. After October 15, the judges will read, read, read. They will announce the finalists on January 1, 2009 and the winners on February 14.

CYBILS 2008

CYBILS time is here! CYBILS stands for "Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards" and anyone from bloggers, librarians, parents, and whomever else loves to read can nominate books for these awards. The link takes you to Jen Robinson's page, but you can also go directly to the CYBILS page.

The Possibilities of Sainthood

I posted a little review blurb for The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas on GoodReads. Not to toot my own horn here, but if you've enjoyed my approach to saints and their stories here on this blog, you may appreciate this YA novel about Antonia's two obsessions: saints (plus becoming the first living saint herself) and kissing. Antonia's never been kissed, which is why, at one point in the novel, she writes the Vatican repeatedly to beg for a patron saint of first kisses because it can go so wrong.

There was a point in time when I was campaigning to be the saint of ambiguous produce. The tomato, for example, tastes like a vegetable, but is classified as fruit except when dealing with the Tariff Act of 1883, which required a tax to be paid upon imported vegetables. The United States Supreme Court in essence said, "The tomato functions as a vegetable, now pay the tax."

Avocados and olives are also technically fruit, but are used more in the context of vegetables. Pumpkin, on the other hand, is definitely a vegetable has the appearance of a vegetable but is best enjoyed on this side of the pond in a sweet pie, like a fruit. Unconvinced? The next time your parents exhort you to eat your vegetables (no matter how old you are), tell them, "I am. I'm eating pumpkin pie." Let me know if it works. Update: Bluemamma has provided the correction that pumpkin is not a vegetable, but a "squash-like fruit" (see her comment with its accompanying link). According to research, "vegetable" is a culinary, not a biological term, whereas "fruit" can be either. With all that in mind, I cannot believe I forgot to include rhubarb in the group of ambiguous produce. It's a vegetable rhizome, but it totally tastes like a fruit, especially because one has to add lots of sugar to make it tasty. And so...

That's why we need a patron saint of ambiguous produce. While once I would have thought I was perfect for the title, now I think someone a little more patient, kind and prone to growing gardens that don't keel over and die would be a better choice. I was totally onboard with Antonia's petition to have a patron saint of figs and fig trees in The Possibilities of Sainthood. More patrons of produce, please!

Update: Fuse #8 went to a book release party where the guests made up their own saint specialities and dressed accordingly. Fuse took photos.

In which I go to Bumbershoot and name-drop...

Four years ago, I was at a New Year's Day dinner with a lot of people I didn't know all that well. At one point, I mentioned to one of the guests that I was a children's librarian who loved Young Adult literature too, and she said, "Hey, my cousin has a YA book you should really check out. It's called Teen Angst? Naaah... by Ned Vizzini." I got the book from the library, read it, and enjoyed it. Then, I checked out Ned's website and sent him an email. We maintained an email correspondence through the publication of Be More Chill, and then after a hiatus, I finally got to meet Ned and his fiance at the Bumbershoot festival yesterday, where he was one of three YA authors on panel called "The Kids Are Alright: Ellen Hopkins, Francesca Lia Block, Ned Vizzini with Deb Caletti." Ned read from It's Kind of a Funny Story and talked about Angstpiration, i.e. "how you can use art to get out of the increasingly insane psycho-social academic climate that's sending more and more kids to doctors and hospitals."

Ned had kindly put me on his guest list, so I was able to get in for free (Thanks so much, Ned! I felt like a big-shot for 30 seconds), but I was a little bit shy about meeting him, as I usually am before meeting people who are, in essence, pen-pals.* When I introduced myself, he gave me a big hug, and after signing everyone's books, we got to hang out for a little while backstage. I was glad also to meet the lovely Sabra, Ned's fiance. Sabra took this photo:



In addition to enjoying Ned's painfully humorous talk, I also decided that I needed to read all of Ellen Hopkins' books and give Francesca Lia Block another chance. I'd read Weetzie Bat years ago without it making a strong impression on me one way or the other, but after Block read "Skin Art" from Blood Roses, I realized I'd been missing out all these years. I'd also been avoiding stories of drug use and novels in verse for awhile (yes, I'm a curmudgeon, what's it to you?), but after listening to Ellen Hopkins and a teen guest she'd invited to help read parts of Crank, I thought, "Okay, you've reeled me in."

By the way, Ned signed a copy of It's Kind of a Funny Story for the Second Annual Kidlitosphere Conference dinner raffle, and expressed interest in the conference in general. I hope he can show up for a future conference.

*I'm meeting Adrienne Furness next week for the first time, too. Yea rah!

Breaking Down: the young adult book that never was

After reading Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn, I wrote this little story to dedicate to TadMack. Fear not, Twilight fans, for there are no spoilers here. In a way, it qualifies as an entry of Children's Books That Never Were, except I'm pretty sure it never crossed Garrulous MacKenzie's desk....


BREAKING DOWN

Bella: Edward, I have something to tell you.

Edward: I’m glad to hear that, because I can’t read your mind.*

Bella: I’m so in love with you—

Edward: Me too! I love you more—

Bella: No, I love you more—

Edward: No, I love you more--

Bella: Stop! That’s not the point.

Edward: What is the point?

Bella: It hurts to say this, but I really need to go on to study some sort of higher education. I don’t think college is my calling, but I’ve got to find some sort of viable life skill. Based upon how long I cooked meals for my dad, I’m going to culinary school. I'm already working on a killer tiramisu for my entry exam, and I know with all my being that my cannoli is to die for. It's perfect!

Edward: (gloomily) You have no idea how much I miss cannoli. I used to be addicted to cannoli.

Bella: Speaking of addiction…I don’t think our relationship is healthy.

Edward: Of course our relationship is not healthy. You’re a human, and I’m a vampire, albeit a vegetarian one.

Bella: Um, blood comes from animal flesh. Technically, you’re not a vegetarian. I do appreciate you abstaining from humans, though.

Edward: Ohhhhh, human cannoli.

Bella: That’s it. I don’t care that I spent months practically comatose when you left Forks to “protect” me after I got that paper-cut and your family nearly lost it.** This relationship is over like Grover.

Edward: Grover? I don’t get it.

Bella: (sighing) It’s a Sesame Street reference. That furry pretender Elmo sabotaged the rightful star Grover’s spotlight and just ran with the merchandising. Anyway, we’re done.

Edward: So, you’re going to choose that werewolf Jacob over me?

Bella: No, I’m going to pursue a career as a chef. A vegetarian chef. And then, after I get my own cooking show, I’m going to write a novel about a human girl who falls in love with a vampire and somehow gets over it. The vampire will be a metaphor for how obsessive love can just suck everything out of you.

Edward: It will never sell.

*Edward can read everyone's mind except for Bella's.
**This is kind of what happened to Marianne in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, only without papercuts or vampires.

In Which TadMack and I Meet For Coffee at the Airport

TadMack and Alkelda, photographed by DaviMack

This afternoon, I was working on my first attempt to make spanakopita, a heavenly concoction of spinach, feta cheese and phyllo dough (and plenty of butter for the phyllo, oy gevalt) when I got this email from TadMack of Finding Wonderland:

Hey Kids, My plane lands for three hours tonight – 6:20 – 9:15 at SeaTac. I’ll have my American cell, if anyone is around and wants coffee. If you know anyone else in our ‘sphere who might care, I’m going to be in Miami Monday night through Thursday morning. xoxox T

I quelled my inner cowardice about having to (1) drive to the airport (2) drive on I-5 during rush hour and called TadMack to say, "Yes, count me in!" I brought some spanakopita with me for TadMack and her husband, DaviMack. (I mention this only because it's referenced in the following video.)

After figuring out where we could actually meet, we found a corporate coffee shop outside of the security lines. Big hugs! We had never met before, so we had to start talking fast, because there was only a little time before TadMack and DaviMack had to catch their connecting flight. TadMack brought me a couple of copies of her new book, A La Carte (one for me, one to give away at the 2nd Annual Kidlitosphere Conference). She signed a book plate, too, for the book I had ordered through my favorite bookstore. Amid much giddiness, we filmed a little booktalk for your benefit:

A La Carte by our very own TadMack

Tanita S. Davis, a.k.a. TadMack of Finding Wonderland, has her first book coming out in June 2008. The young adult novel is called A La Carte, and it's published by Random House. Here's the publisher's blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Lainey dream of becoming a world famous chef one day and maybe even having her own cooking show. (Do you know how many African American female chefs there aren’t? And how many vegetarian chefs have their own shows? The field is wide open for stardom!) But when her best friend—and secret crush—suddenly leaves town, Lainey finds herself alone in the kitchen. With a little help from Saint Julia (Child, of course), Lainey finds solace in her cooking as she comes to terms with the past and begins a new recipe for the future. Peppered with recipes from Lainey’s notebooks, this delicious debut novel finishes the same way one feels finishing a good meal—satiated, content, and hopeful.

I've just submitted purchase suggestions to my two local library systems: Seattle Public Library and King County Library System. The more purchase suggestions a library system gets for an item, the more likely they are to order that item. You can do the same with your own library systems. Most of the time, all that's required is a current library card. Sometimes the "purchase suggestion" section is hard to find, but it's often near the section for interlibrary loans.

P.S. Can you spot all the subliminal messages in this post?

Garrison Keillor and the youngest adults in the audience

Last night, Bede and I went to see Garrison Keillor at the Paramount Theatre. I had bought the tickets as the third part of a mini-subscription series so I could get early-bird tickets for Sarah Vowell and Dan Zanes. I’d listened to Garrison Keillor on the radio, first when I was a little girl, and then when I was in college. In more recent years, the voices and humor styles of Ira Glass, David Sedaris and the aforementioned Vowell appealed to me far more than Keillor’s, but still, this was the guy who brought me the CaféBoeuf skits. For one night, I was willing to be a member of the audience.

What Bede and I did not know beforehand was that we would be the youngest members of the audience. I’m 34. Bede is 36. For the first time in a good while, we felt “too young” for the crowd around us. We eavesdropped on conversations about today’s youth and its obsession with iPods and video-games. “With today’s generation, it’s all about hanging out with your friends, listening to music, " someone said. Someone else said, "Everything has to be in-your-face. They miss the subtleties that we grew up with.” The people talking were children of the fifties and sixties. What exactly did they remember? I wondered. What exactly did they forget?

When Garrison Keillor came on stage, he shared memories of listening to his aunts’ stories and running around on the farm, but couldn’t recall when he started to use the internet. Keillor sang about winters in Minnesota, crooned pseudo-cheeky limericks about the current political administration and waxed nostalgic about the simpler times of long ago when people weren’t afraid to help out hobos and hitchhikers. At the end, he got a standing ovation. (In Seattle, everyone gets a standing ovation.) I clapped, but I definitely felt out of my element.

I am not a fan of nostalgia. Nostalgia says, “My era was better than your era.” Some parts were definitely better, of which I have no doubt. Some parts definitely were worse. Say what you like about the proliferation of cell-phones and how they’ve invaded all aspects of our lives, but I am grateful for cell phones. I remember family trips where we were stuck by the side of the road because our car had broken down. I remember trying to communicate to my parents via mental telepathy that I was okay, I just had to stay after school for a bit, back when it was considered impolite to have answering machines. As far as email goes, I remember exactly when I started using it. Because of email, I have reconnected with people I thought were lost to me long ago. I know I’m now of the older generation because I don’t feel the need to send text-messages, and I’m satisfied with my clunker of a cell-phone. I don’t want to be part of the younger generation, though. I want to be an ally. As terrifying as it might be to encounter a group of boisterous high schoolers falling over themselves with laughter might be, or even worse, a group of snickering, sniggering junior high students, I don’t have to dig very deeply to find that this wide demographic of young adults is made up of individuals with their own thoughts, anxieties, and ambitions. If you don’t believe me, just read the literature out there.

Some of my favorite young adult novels include:

The Chocolate War—Robert Cormier
Catherine, Called Birdy—Karen Cushman
Annie on My Mind—Nancy Garden
The Outsiders—S.E. Hinton
The Adventures of Blue Avenger—Norma Howe
The Adrian Mole Diaries—Sue Townsend
Like Sisters on the Homefront—Rita Williams-Garcia
Probably Still Nick Swansen—Virginia Euwer Wolf

Remember to vote!

You may vote for your favorite children's and young adult books of 2006 in the Cybils, a new literary award bestowed by bloggers.

Book-a-Minute

Huzzah for Book-A-Minute! Now I don't have to read Asimov's Foundation series (or anything by Robert Jordan) to find out what happened.

Thanks to Fuse Number 8 for the link. Here are my own 15-second contributions:

The Old Kingdom/Abhorsen trilogy, by Garth Nix

1) Sabriel

Sabriel:
Stay dead. I mean it, stay dead. Now, you've done it. I'm going to make you stay dead. (Rings bells.)

2) Lirael

Lirael:
I am the only one in my community who is not a clairvoyant. I have no purpose. Wait, I'll become a librarian! And get a dog. Now, I'm going on a boat ride. Oh, who's this?

Sam: I am the son of Sabriel. The Dead refuse to stay dead. Help! By the way, you're cute, wanna date?

Lirael: No thanks. Let's go find your mother and make the Dead stay dead.

3) Abhorsen

Lirael and Sabriel: Stay dead, Dead!

Dead: Okay... at least for now.

Add your own.

I wouldn't steer you wrong

Booktalk Friday never really took off for me. What's the big deal, you might ask, if it's only one book a week? After all, some people write at least one book review a day. These days, if I read and review one book a month, that's an achievement. I don't get paid for it, but I get a free copy of the book in hardcover, which I usually pass along to one of my school librarian friends.

With that in mind, here is a list of recommended books I've read recently of which the only book-talk is "READ IT. Trust me. READ IT."

Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

Mr. Putter and Tabby Take the Train, by Cynthia Rylant

Madlenka, by Peter Sis

Snip, Snap: What's That? by Mara Bergman