Are cats completely self-centered? I couldn’t possibly say.
But if you know a cat, and that cat seems to interpret everything as organized to suit them, you might just understand this cat.
And “rectangle time?” Just another way to say “book party!” So hooray!
Rectangle Time by Pamela Paul and Becky Cameron
This is not as happy as you’d expect, although the ending is happy, and there’s a nice reminder that even an old book can be a great friend for the right reader. It’s sweet in a way, and it makes me feel happier about the much-loved, withdrawn-from-the-library books I pass on to others.
Book’s Big Adventure by Adam Lehrhaupt and Rahele Jomepour Bell
Have a fondness for books, movies, classic tv, trivia? This.
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
The book hog is really just a hoarder with a nice habit of picking up books he likes without ever reading them. Until he goes to the library and meets Miss Olive, storytime leader and librarian.
Miss Olive, it turns out, is here to save the day. Aren’t libraries (and librarians like Miss Olive) awesome?
The Book Hog by Greg Pizzoli
Oddly enough, I think I first came across this book by way of some awesome note cards I found while looking for something else on line. So when I saw the book, I was all “Um, ok, of course I’m reading this.” While my tone here might seem very bored-cynical-sarcastic-difficult-to-impress-and-young, do not be fooled. It’s a whimsical day here in Iowa, people. We’re all a little goofy from the weather and using inappropriate tones and all that.
I mostly read this book while also watching TV. And that’s not a criticism in this very specific instance. It’s the perfect book for dipping in and out or chatting with someone about what you think the author missed or got 100% right. The illustrations are, of course, superb, and the many book-related spreads about bookmobiles, bookstores, Little Free Libraries and the like are exceptionally groovy.
Fun! We need some fun, right? Also, you can find the note cards on Amazon or Target.com. AND if you want to see more of her work, check out https://www.idealbookshelf.com/
Bibliophile by Jane Mount
I’m not the biggest fan of all the special months. Theoretically, they help highlight authors and issues affecting different groups (African-Americans, women, Latinx, LGBT folks, Asians, etc.), and I have no problem with that. But shouldn’t we really be looking for more diverse books ALL year? Of course.
Anyway, it’s February, so this year, I’ve decided that I’m looking at this as an EXTRA reason to highlight great African-American and African authors and characters. Below are some of my favorites of the past few years:
Turtle loves a book and must read it now. Just that one book. Why are our favorites never where we left them? What happens? Do we lend them? Do they move off on their own? Seriously, what’s the deal here?
The search begins, and along the way friends will mention their own favorites. And somehow we’ll all end up reading together. Always a good thing.
Hooray for Books by Brian Won
This one’s not a happy book. There is war, there is death, and there is disruption in this boy’s life. The one thing he holds onto, after the library is destroyed, he has to flee, and he loses his father is a book.
There’s no backstory tying this to any real world event, but it’s easy to imagine this happening – with a book or another cherished item – in any number of recent or past situations where refugees arrive in a new land and rebuild their lives.
There are so many levels to this book for someone reading it to young children – the fact that wars take place, that libraries and other community organizations are destroyed, that people sometimes have to flee, that people die because of this, that people arrive in a new place with nothing and manage to survive and thrive…and more. Of course we want our children to feel safe and not dwell on the darkness in the world, but talking about it helps them begin to understand the world and their place in it.
The art in this book is detailed and atmospheric and perfect. Faded, torn book pages act as a background. Since I didn’t recognize the language (and I love languages), I put a phrase into google translate, “hogy ne olvassak,” and learned two interesting things. First, the words were Hungarian. Second, the random phrase I picked means “do not read it.” But do read it. Definitely read it.
The Treasure Box by Margaret Wild and Freya Blackwood
It’s already started. A few weeks ago, I surveyed the fifth graders and came up with a list of more than 64 books. Some of them had heard about the B3 (Mrs. B’s Book Bracket) from kids last year; rumor has it that one even asked specifically to be put in Mrs. B’s class because of it.
This time of year, everyone starts talking about brackets and the Sweet 16 and basketball, of course. Last year, I came across ideas for getting kids excited about reading by using bracketology, and I thought it could be fun in my volunteer book talks.
My son and I came up with more than 100 books and randomly paired them to create the first bracket. In the end, last year’s initial 64 was winnowed down to a final two of Peg Kehret’s Escaping the Giant Wave vs. Raina Telgemeier’s Smile. Peg Kehret won, buoyed by fan loyalty; her books are much loved by the third grade teachers in the school. Fifth graders have fond memories of listening to and reading her books, and she managed to hold off Timmy Failure, Amulet, Belly Up, Hoot, and The PS Brothers before beating Smile. When I messaged Ms. Kehret about her big win, she very kindly wrote a short note back thanking her Iowa readers. It made the win even more fun for the kids to actually hear back from such a gracious and kind victor.
This year, we started with a slightly different 64. We’ve already had the first vote, and it’s been winnowed to a TERRIFIC 32, which you can see below. Once we hit the SWELL/SWEET 16, I’ll give the kids an opportunity to advocate for their favorites, which brings a whole different level of fun. Books, fun. That’s what it’s all about, people.
Where to begin? My shelves hold 43 books from the public library right now. Another five are on my iPad — checked out through Overdrive. I recently picked up two free advanced reader copies I’d really like to read, too. My library request list is at the maximum of 99. I’ve even got a back-up list going to use once my request list has dropped back to 80 or so. It would almost be funny if it didn’t happen every month or two. Sometimes the pressure of so many possibly great books is a little much, and I have a hard time choosing what I should read next.
But do I dare complain? It’s a problem which comes from privilege, really, having so many options and so many good options in front of me. I can’t possibly read everything I’d like to. Patrons I talk with at the library often suggest books they think I should or would like to read, but do I get to most of them? No. I stick with my middle grade, teen and picture books, although a good mystery can pull me away on occasion.
What to do? I guess I’ll have to hold off on catching up on my TV shows and read during family movie night and use my early waking hours and lunches to catch up. Work, work, work. Joy, joy, joy.
In 1977, I was twelve years old. Old enough to ride my bike almost everywhere. Old enough to have some babysitting money to spend. Not old enough to be cynical or to have to pay for car insurance. As I remember it now – who knows if this is accurate? — I saw the first Star Wars movie more than 10 times that summer, riding my bike to the closest theater for the matinees whenever I could. My friend Amy and I had Star Wars shirts, and I started a collection of character cards. My Burger King Star Wars glasses are somewhere in the attic still.
Time passed, the characters in the second trilogy didn’t speak to me, Disney bought the franchise, and here we are now, waiting for the release of a new Star Wars movie. Someone with some smarts and a marketing plan decided that putting out some middle grade Star Wars books would be a good idea. Someone decided to rely on popular authors like Alexandra Bracken, Adam Gidwitz (A Tale Dark and Grimm), and Tom Angleberger (Origami Yoda series) to do the work. It could have been a complete disaster – predictable retellings falling flat, a whole generation of bored tweens who wouldn’t understand why this whole thing was such a big deal.
But no— fortunately, these authors are too good for that. Alexandra Bracken uses The Princess, the Scoundrel and the Farm Boy to set up the later novels. She relies heavily on the movie script, which worked fine for me, and creates the world of the Empire and the Rebellion in all its most wonderful and most horrible realities. As an adult reading the stories of my youth, it was quick and action-filled and fun, even in the scary moments. Knowing how things would turn out didn’t diminish the story one bit.
Adam Gidwitz follows up with the story from The Empire Strikes Back, but he sets a different tone. So You Want to Be a Jedi? lets the reader really imagine Luke’s internal battle to become a Jedi, and the reader IS Luke, charging ahead, realizing at the last minute that he might not be ready, wanting to help his friends. It’s intense and yet still funny, and maybe some kids will learn to meditate before they face their personal Darth Vaders. Who knows? Loved it!
Tom Angleberger takes on The Return of the Jedi in Beware the Power of the Dark Side! His narrator is all-knowing and sometimes judgmental, which somehow was the perfect follow-up for So You Want to be a Jedi? .
“An endless desert. Two robots. Two robots plodding through and endless desert. Fear not, reader! It will get better!”
There are moments when you, like the characters, are left hanging, and others when you’re in on the joke. This playful, quirky spin worked so well for me that I forgot at one point that I knew exactly what was going to happen. That’s part of the real joy of these books for grown-up fans. Instead of pretending we don’t all have an idea of what’s going to happen, these retellings take what we already know and spin and bounce and have fun with that knowledge. What fun for me! What fun for my 12 year old self remembered!
I’m open-minded. I’ll read just about anything as long as it’s well-written. But maybe I’m more biased than I’d like to believe?
I live in a big town – a city where I’m always meeting people who know each other, a place known for its “Iowa nice”, a metro area of 500,000+. I grew up in a smaller town – a university community with people from all over the world, a town with only one high school and less than 50,000 people. My parents were both born into Midwestern farm families, but grew up to travel to China, Australia, India and Austria in their work.
I’ve lived and traveled all over the U.S., Europe, and Africa. I will read stories about almost anywhere in the world – Asia, Peru, Canada, Oklahoma, wherever. I spent a semester in college reading travel literature, which fed my desire to see the world while also meeting the English credit I needed. I’ll happily travel to England to solve mysteries with Flavia de Luce or go to East Turkestan with Mehrigul in The Vine Basket. So I’m not unaware of what life outside my neighborhood is like.
But my latest read reminded me that I do have my biases, and I can’t relate to every character put in front of me. I don’t have a lot of patience for entitled kids and parents who live on the Upper West Side of New York City, for example. They may have some of the same issues that other kids have, but having spent a large part of my working life with families living in poverty, I’m just not all that sympathetic to not being able to annoy my parents into buying me $400 shoes.
Maybe this kind of story appeals to people who dream of living that life. Maybe it’s a look into a world that I don’t understand. I’m sure it’s hard to have to worry about getting my kid into an expensive private school or make sure my nanny doesn’t spend more time texting than paying attention to my kid. But I find myself thinking that the obsession with money and status isn’t all that interesting, and the characters – even when they’re funny – seem kind of shallow. I wish I could find something redeeming in them, but I can’t. Most likely, these characters are not written to speak to me, anyway. And that’s ok. I lived in New York City for almost a year, and I’m happier in Iowa. I can travel anywhere from here if I want to, after all, and I can pick the characters who come with me.
The We Need Diverse Books movement (http://weneeddiversebooks.org/) has gotten a lot of press lately, and for good reason. We really DO need more diversity in children’s literature. There are wonderful books out there, but there could be more, and a lot more, right?
Children need to see themselves in literature, and they need to see others who are not like them. You can learn a lot about life and the world from books, even if you are living in a pretty isolated, all-one-kind-of-people kind of place. Reading diverse books might make you realize that your way of thinking and looking and being is not the only one, and that’s ok. Knowing that there are people somewhere who think like you do – if you feel different — can help make those moments when you feel like you will never be free of a place or a person less horrible. In fact, it can be really wonderful.
I’m not a first- or second-generation immigrant. I’ve never been a refugee or suffered because of a war. I’ve traveled to other countries and lived overseas, but I’ve never been to Vietnam/Việt Nam. Looking in on Mai’s world in Listen, Slowly is one way I can learn about those things, though. I can relate to what she feels, even without the same past experiences. Parents can be annoying. Relatives can be annoying. Grandparents have lived lives you don’t really understand. Mean girls are mean girls all over the world. Good friends don’t always come in predictable packages. Being away from your home can be jarring, upsetting, challenging and thrilling all at the same time. Some themes are universal.
I loved this book, because it was such a beautiful combination of so many things. Thanhhà Lại captures how hard it is to be the kid who’s bridging cultures while trying to figure out who she or he is, and she does it while recognizing that both sides can be good, bad, frustrating or all of the above. The sights and smells and sounds of Vietnam are filtered through Mai’s perspective, but it’s an experience we can all relate to in one way or another. Yes, we need more diverse books, especially if they’re as good as this one!
Other books about culture and conflict to keep in mind:
Inside Out and Back Again, Thanhhà Lại
Shooting Kabul, N.H. Senzai
I Lived on Butterfly Hill, Marjorie Agosín
The Language Inside, Holly Thompson
The Trouble with May Amelia, Jennifer Holm
Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson
My March Madness of books started out in late February, and each Thursday as I’ve stopped in to volunteer with Mrs. B’s class, they’ve voted on a new bracket. This Thursday was the last, with a big winner to be chosen and announced.
The final two were Escaping the Giant Wave by Peg Kehret and Smile by Raina Telgemeier. A lot of the kids have been reading or listening to Peg Kehret’s books since third grade, so her book blew through a series of tough competitors, including Timmy Failure, Amulet, Belly Up, Hoot, and The PS Brothers. Smile, a graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier, had an equally tough journey to the end, taking down Athlete vs. Mathlete, Divergent, Tom Sawyer, and Calvin and Hobbes. Along the way, Harry Potter, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, I, Funny, Big Nate, N.E.R.D.S., The Lightning Thief and many others also lost.
When it came down to counting the final votes, it was Escaping the Giant Wave by just a few. The kids also answered a short survey. (They often have really good ideas, and I might want to use a few for next year’s bracket.) Some thought the books should be grouped more by genre or by putting classics in one bracket and new books in another. Others liked the randomness of our original 64. Several me
ntioned that they liked the excitement of finding out the new winners and voting each week. One noted that I could up the excitement factor if I worked on my presentation skills. Ha! Another though we should vote on a losing bracket, too, which might be fun to add. Only one kid admitted to despising the whole thing, and I actually loved his resistance to admitting that any of this was fun, since he included a drawing of a toilet and still answered the question about his favorite book of the year at the bottom.
The list for next year is already started.
What started with 64 wonderful books has now been narrowed down to just two. Smile survived a battering from Calvin and Hobbes, and Escaping the Giant Wave won on the second vote — the first was a tie! — against The PS Brothers. There have been a lot of surprises (for me) in this whole thing, but it’s a good reminder that not everyone loves the same books for the same reasons. The PS Brothers held on for so long because the kids had heard it this year as a read-aloud, and I think read-aloud books take on a special place in the hearts of the listeners. Peg Kehret’s body of work, including Escaping the Giant Wave, is also loved by most third through fifth graders at the school, so I think she had an added boost. Raina Telgemeier’s books, Smile and Sisters, along with Calvin and Hobbes, dominated their brackets, mirroring the great growt
h in graphic novels for younger readers in the past few years.
We’ll vote on the final two to determine a winner later today, and I’ll also have the kids fill out a survey to see if they have ideas for what I could do next time with it. The big winners in this whole thing? Reading! Books! Fun!
The final two:
Escaping the Giant Wave (Peg Kehret) vs. Smile (Raina Telgemeier)
A few shockers this week… Escaping the Giant Wave and The PS Brothers continued to dominate, knocking out Timmy Failure and Sisters. Smile and Calvin & Hobbes also held on, taking out Athlete vs. Mathlete and Harry Potter. Wow.
We ended up having a few weeks off because of spring break and some other things, so I’m not sure if my 5th grade friends’ earlier passion for their favorites has stuck with them. The votes have been really close in the last few rounds. I’m sure not willing to make any predictions about the next round.
Escaping the Giant Wave (Peg Kehret) vs. The PS Brothers (Maribeth Boelts)
Calvin & Hobbes (Bill Watterson) vs. Smile (Raina Telgemeier)
I spend a lot of time thinking about superheroes. I live with a Spider-Man fan, and of course, there’s not just one Spider-Man. I can never keep all the versions straight, but it turns out that doesn’t matter that much, since I have an expert on hand to re-explain them at any time, in any place. We regularly talk about whether Wonder Woman could take out certain villains. We discuss what the lamest superpower would be – right now, we mostly agree that “moistness” as a superpower would be pretty useless if you couldn’t freeze, heat up, or explode at the same time, and then it might just be more annoying than scary or awe-inspiring.
Soon, the library will also be full of talk of supers for summer reading, so I’m getting ready for that, too. I’ve made superhero avatars and minions. (See www.cpbherofactory.com and www.vordak.com/minion-maker.html to make your own.) I’ve got my cape rea
dy. Really. I own a cape. But that’s a story for another day.
So, I have been thinking about superhero fiction. Thanks to my resident expert and an eclectic bookshelf, here are a few to consider for your summer reading. I’ve put those that seem to work better for younger readers at the top and those for older kids and teens later on.
Flora and Ulysses – Kate DiCamillo… An ordinary squirrel gains special powers after an encounter with a vacuum. Amazing!
Almost Super and Searching for Super – Marion Jensen… Two brothers from a superhero family realize their powers are duds. Sound familiar?
Sidekicked and Minion – John David Anderson… What if your family expected you to become a sidekick or a minion?
The Girl Who Could Fly – Victoria Forester… People close to home thinks she’s weird, but then Piper is sent to a special school for kids with exceptional abilities, which turns out to be even more exceptional than expected.
Savvy and Scumble – Ingrid Law… On turning 13, you receive your special power, your “savvy,” and then things go a little nuts.
Vordak the Incomprehensible series – Scott Seegert… “Greetings, inferior one!” is just the beginning of the fun. You will laugh and laugh some more. (The author also has a fun website – mentioned above – at www.vordak.com )
Sidekicks – Dan Santat … Captain Amazing needs some help. His pets try to step up in this graphic novel.
El Deafo – Cece Bell… A graphic memoir about the author’s journey through hearing loss to becoming her own superhero.
Powerless, Super, and Villainous – Matthew Cody… In a town of supers, what do you do if you’re a “regular” kid?
Joshua Dread series – Lee Bacon… Superhero summer camp for a kid whose parents are supervillains?
Evil Genius series – Catherine Jinks… A child prodigy and hacker finds out his true identity after going to an advanced crime academy.
V is for Villain – Peter Moore… What will happen when you find out the truth about superheroes?
Archvillain, Mad Mask and Yesterday Again – Barry Lyga… Kyle knows Mighty Mike’s secret. Is it one he can keep?
The Zodiac Legacy series– Stan Lee, Andie Tong, Stuart Moore… 12 teens take on superpowers found in the Chinese zodiac. Convergence is the 1st book in the series.
Quantum Prophecy and Super Human series – Michael Carroll… All of the supers vanished ten years ago. What will happen when teens begin to show superpowers now?
Today the results are in for the Super 64 B3 Excellent 8. (I was reminded last week that it should be the Elite 8, but books are not basketball, and I’m sticking with excellent this time.) Almost all of the match-ups were within a vote or two, and we even briefly had a tie! I was trying to figure out how to handle that when a missed vote showed up, which really saved my bacon –don’t you love it when you can use that phrase in a sentence? — and had the added benefit of helping me plan ahead for that possibility in the next round.
I’m hoping to take a few minutes today to allow for some book advocacy from the kids. Now that we’re down to eight, I feel like a little impromptu campaigning – using persuasive language – might benefit the books and the voters. I know we’ve got some very enthusiastic readers, so it will be fun to see that enthusiasm take a different shape. And spring break starts soon, so it will be nice to focus on a book or two right before vacation.
The final 8:
Escaping the Giant Wave – Timmy Failure
The PS Brothers – Sisters
Calvin & Hobbes – Harry Potter
Athlete vs. Mathlete – Smile
Our original list of 64 has finally been pared down to 16. Powerless, The Lemonade War and The Giver are out. Hoot, The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 and Harry Potter survived to fight another day. This week, Divergent goes up against Smile, Harry Potter battles Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and The Lightning Thief may have a challenge in Sisters. This class loves Raina Telgemeier’s books, but Divergent and The Lightning Thief are tough contenders. Next week, before we vote on the final eight, I’ll give the kids who want to advocate for their favorites a chance to talk.
March Book Madness and other sites also offer book brackets to vote on, and they can be great discussion starters. Voting for your favorites is fun, whether it’s through a website or on a class-specific bracket like ours. I suspect our final winner will be different from the brackets that bring in voters from across the country or the world, but it will be fun to talk about when we’re finished either way.
This week’s pairings:
Escaping the Giant Wave – Hoot
Timmy Failure – The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963
The PS Brothers – Big Nate
The Lightning Thief – Sisters
Calvin & Hobbes – A Girl Named Disaster
Harry Potter– Diary of a Wimpy Kid
The One and Only Ivan – Athlete vs. Mathlete
Divergent – Smile
We’ve narrowed it down to 32 books, and the arguments are already bubbling up. The Lightning Thief crushed Anne of Green Gables, as my son and I had expected, but other pair-ups were very close. Peg Kehret’s books are favorites at this school, so Escaping the Giant Wave managed to squeak out a win over Amulet. Garfield came close to matching Harry Potter, but couldn’t hang on in the end.
As a group, they’re such engaged readers that I expect the arguments to get louder as the weeks go on. It will be fun to see their reactions to this week’s vote, and as the pairings get tougher next month.
I left the book bracket at school, so I’ll update the Terrific 32 pairings here:
Escaping the Giant Wave – Belly Up
Hoot – Powerless
Timmy Failure – Hatchet
The Lemonade War – The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963
The PS Brothers – I Funny
N.E.R.D.S – Big Nate
The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall – The Lightning Thief
Eight Keys – Sisters
Calvin & Hobbes – Counting by 7s
Bud, Not Buddy – A Girl Named Disaster
The Giver – Harry Potter
Mary Poppins – The Diary of a Wimpy Kid
The One and Only Ivan – Flora and Ulysses
Athlete vs. Mathlete – Matilda
Wonder – Divergent
The Million Dollar Throw — Smile
How would you vote?
liowabrary 