Blog Archive: January 2009

I came to work today feeling distinctly unmotivated, until I remembered the new junior high fiction display I wanted to make! Here's what I've stocked the bins with:

• Winning, by Adler
• Rundown, by Cadnum
• Cheating Lessons, by Cappo
• Notes from a Liar and Her Dog, by Choldenko
• While No One Was Watching, by Conly
• Say Yes, by Coulumbis
• Crackback, by Coy
• What Mr. Mattero Did, by Cummings
• Holdup, by Fields
• Imaginary Enemy, by Gonzalez
• The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower, by Graff
• Football Hero, by Green
• Swindle, by Korman
• The Cheat, by Koss
• Smoke Screen, by Koss
• The Cheater, by Laser
• The Book of One Hundred Truths, by Schumacher
• The Taker, by Steele
• Black and White, by Volponi
• Learning the Game, by Waltman

ETA, 1/31/09:
I'm greatly amused by how many people have responded to this post (offline and on Facebook) under the impression that I made this display in direct response to Rod Blagojevich finally getting the boot from his gubernatorial seat this week. No, my friends, that's just a very happy coincidence!

_dent_ty Theft

Love seemed a dream, a warm well of contentment.
She gave herself up to the arms of another
and packed her own dreams far away, sans resentment,
unaware that the sweetest embrace can yet smother.

For she was no doormat! No, merely enchanted.
Bound up by love’s feathery arms, she could fly.
Slowly her own lofty goals were supplanted.
She never asked how; she forgot to ask why.

She never gazed up at the stars to remember;
her eyes shut, she rode a warm current to sea.
She slept, and her soul wasted to a dull ember,
a kernel of self that no more blossomed free.

But one day she woke up, no longer enraptured.
She rubbed her eyes, saw how she’d stumbled awry.
She scrambled for her scattered dreams and recaptured
them, strode to the door, and declared, “I am I.”
 

This week, Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect challenged readers to write a lipogram—a poem that avoids one or more letters of the alphabet.

Obviously, I chose the letter I, avoiding it until the final phrase. The poem doesn't include J, Q, or X, either, but high-scoring Scrabble tiles don't really count in Lipogram Land.

This week's Poetry Friday round-up is at Adventures in Daily Living!

Welcome, and thanks for dropping by the January 2009 Carnival of Children's Literature! Curl up with your computer and a hot drink (if it's as cold where you are as it is here in Chicago!), and enjoy kidlit bloggers' favorite posts of the month.

No Books Like Snow Books: Wintry Reads

• Rebecca Reid presents Caldecott Corner: Wintery Miscellany, a round-up of winter-themed Caldecott Award-winning books, at Rebecca Reads.
• At In Need of Chocolate, Sarah presents A Study of Snow, a discussion of her family's favorite winter picture books and the activities they do with them.
• At Mommy's Favorite Children's Books, Karen Mikolainis shows that it's never too late to discover Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day.

Inauguration Celebration: Our New President

• At Cynthia's Attic Blog, Mary Cunningham shares President Obama's inspiring letter to his children, Malia and Sasha.
• At Bees Knees Reads, Kim Baise presents Celebrating Cuba, sharing her favorite Cuba-themed picture books and her wish for diplomacy.
• At Bur Bur & Friends, Kakie Fitzsimmons shares her experience of watching the inauguration with her son.

Winter Weather Advisory: Book Reviews

• At Into the Wardrobe, Tarie reviews The Underneath and interviews Kathi Appelt.
• Jen Robinson reviews Ten Cents a Dance, by Christine Fletcher, at Jen Robinson's Book Page.
• Yat-Yee Chong reviews Masterpiece, by Elise Broach.
• Jill reviews Parties & Potions, by Sarah Mlynowski, at The Well-Read Child.
• Steven Bush reviews Savvy, by Ingrid Law, at Book Dads: Fathers That Read.
• Rani reviews Lost Beneath Manhattan, by Sigmund Brouwer, at Christ's Bridge.
• Yours truly reviews Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film About The Grapes of Wrath, by Steven Goldman, at Under the Covers.

Cocoa and Cookies: Food for Thought

• At Kid Lit Kit, Sonja Cole shares her predictions about Chasing Fire, sequel to The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. What do you think will happen?
• When Americanization goes awry: Amy Planchak Graves compares the US and UK editions of Well Witched (a/k/a Verdigris Deep), by Frances Hardinge.
• At Mommy's Favorite Children's Books, Karen Mikolainis is horrified to discover a corporate advertisement in a library book; is this the wave of the future?
• At Book Aunt, Kate Coombs considers the importance of the "F factor" in Newbery Award decisions. (What's the F factor? Follow the link and find out!)
• At Saints and Spinners, Farida Dowler presents The Snow Maiden and the Five Laws of Storytelling, about how different stories affect people in different ways. Be sure to read the comments for more insights and book recommendations!
• Elizabeth Dulemba shares Daily Routines, a new blog about "how writers, artists, and other interesting people organize their days."
• Susan at Wizards Wireless takes us behind the scenes in bookstores and libraries, answering that age-old question, how do Caldecott and Newbery books get their shiny stickers?

Gold Stars: 2009 Sydney Taylor Book Awards for Jewish Children's Literature

• Lori Calabrese interviews Valerie Zenatti, recipient of the Teen Readers gold medal for A Bottle in the Gaza Sea.
• Barbara Bietz interviews Karen Hesse, author of the award-winning Brooklyn Bridge.
• Abby (the) Librarian interviews Anna Levine, whose books Freefall and Jodie's Hanukkah Dig were honored this year.
• Heidi Estrin presents an audio interview with Kathe Pinchuck, the 2009 committee chair.

Warm Fuzzies: Books We Love

• At Jenny's Wonderland of Books, Jenny shares an extensive bibliography and discussion of middle grade historical fiction set in Asia.
• At Children's Books Reviews and Then Some, TZT presents her favorite picture books of 2008.
• Megan Germano waxes enthusiastic on Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, by Jeff Kinney, at Read, Read, Read.
• At The Expanding Life, Susan Gaissert shares her love for The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, by Karen Cushman.
• The Happy Campers at Reese's View Of The World are loving LookyBook for previewing picture books.
• Combine love of reading with love for Earth using Woman Tribune's list of recommended environmental children's books.

Last but not least, thanks as always to Melissa Wiley at Here in the Bonny Glen for coordinating our Children's Literature carnivals!

Mark at Just One More Book snagged an audio interview with Neil Gaiman, newly minted Newbery Award-winning author. They discuss web 2.0 technology, particularly blogging and Twitter, and its roles as promotional tool and distraction in a writer's life. Really terrific.

Alison at ShelfTalker made a stunning decorative birdhouse using an unfinished birdhouse base and an F&G of Book Fiesta!, written by Pat Mora and illustrated by Rafael Lopez. It's something special.

At my behest (I'm so honored!) the Floating Lush shared a story about the slug-munching hedgehog that lived in her garden in Germany. Bonus: adorable hedgehog photos!

The big news in the library world this morning is very sad news. Two Greenwich, Connecticut, children's librarians were killed in a car accident en route to the Denver airport following the ALA Midwinter Meeting. I never had the pleasure of knowing Kathy Krasniewicz or Kate McClelland, but I grieve for their loved ones and their library.

Just yesterday I was talking about how wonderful it is to be part of the fraternity of librarians. Today an LIS student is observing my storytime as part of a project; Monday I'll be interviewed by a fellow children's writer and prospective librarian as part of her application to grad school. I love to help a fellow librarian however I can. No ego at work, just camaraderie.

I'm skeptical of the artificial camaraderie that stems from superficial commonalities, but that's the thing about librarians: their commonalities aren't superificial. There's a love of books and knowledge and people that runs very deep inside us. That's why a tragedy like the one that claimed Kathy Krasniewicz and Kate McClelland feels like a blow to all of library kind.