MotherReader

For our summer vacation we went to New York City. Generally it would be an odd choice for late July, when the heat of the concrete brings the temperature most closely approximate to that of Hell. And that’s not even counting the smell...

But we had a purpose in the tween’s Broadway Artists Alliance two-week program and a drive to enjoy the city to the fullest extent. With the experience of our previous visits, we no longer felt the need to hit the tourist places, but instead to experience the city life and to try new things.

Tween had a wonderful time at BAA, honing her performance skills with some illustrious Broadway faculty. Her favorite moment was practicing her song “Lamest Place in the World” by singing directly to Adam Kantor — of RENT fame. Our favorite was seeing her monologue in the final showcase, which she delivered perfectly. Truly, I found the showcase for parents and industry astonishing, in that every one of those kids was fantastic. There was one boy who sang well but looked nervous, which just reinforced for me how amazing it was that seventy kids under fifteen years old performed well and with confidence.

Teen and I had a blast exploring the city. We often feel like best friends, but even more so on this trip where we were really travel buddies. Together we’d figure out what we wanted to do, we each made compromises for each other, helped soothe over each other’s cranky spells, and looked to find the humor in things. We walked until our feet hurt. We shopped, but bought very little. We laughed a lot, and treated ourselves to cupcakes, cookies, and chocolates as needed.

I don’t even know how I would go into everything we did, or who would care to read it, so I’ll go for a summary of our adventures. We window shopped at Saks, Tiffany’s, FAO Schwarz, Apple, Prada, and American Girl. At Bond No. 9 we decided on our signature scents and wished we could be “job creators.” We went to the American Museum of Natural History, Museum of Modern Art, Tenement Museum, and the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. Teen toured Columbia University (and loved it — oh, no...), New York University (great film studies program) and NBC Studios (possible future page postion). Teen and I took a dance class at BAA with Tyrick Jones, watched Broadway in Bryant Park, and toured the New York Public Library.

We saw RENT off-Broadway, and would have liked it better if our seats hadn’t been so bad. Teen and I saw Avenue Q, which was funny, brilliant, and quite raunchy for a show with puppets. We all went to see two Broadway plays, Catch Me if You Can — which was fun — and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying — which was ridiculously entertaining, especially Daniel Radcliffe, who was working as hard as I’ve ever seen an actor work. No phoning it in for this kid. Look at him dance:


Over the two weeks the family sampled street fairs and sample sales, gelato and gyros, the Strand and the High Line, Rockerfeller Center and Fort Tryon Park. Our home base for the first week was a friend’s apartment in the peaceful, lovely, birdsong-filled Washington Heights. We spent the second week in my cousin’s place in the accessible, lively, city-at-your doorstep East Village. There was no drive to purchase “souvenirs,” but we bought books, sundresses, fun jewelry, and feathers for our hair. (It’s a thing!) Breakfast meant bagels, and we had our favorite dollar-a-slice pizza place to nosh after class. We knew which direction to turn on the grid of city streets. The subway lines began to make sense.

Which meant it was time to come home and recover from becoming New Yorkers. The detox took about a week, and while I don’t miss the stench of the subway platforms or the steady drip of condensation from a thousand air conditioners, I can’t wait to go back. In fact, I kinda want to live there. Who knew?

I never take a trip without consulting some sort of written word about the destination. Sometimes an Internet search will suffice, but when exploring New York City for two weeks, a person needs a travel guide. And having investigated the choices over several trips, I can recommend two titles that you can carry with you. And that carrying is important, as many guidebooks spend precious pages describing the hotels of the area, but once you’ve arrived at your travel destination those pages are dead weight. Personally, I’m also not much of a foodie and tend to skim over the next hundred pages of restaurants I won’t go to. So these all-purpose travel guides are worthless to me as they don’t provide the one thing I really need: easily accessible information in a concise volume.

Two years ago I found a used copy of Moon Metro: New York City, and after enjoying it for several trips am loving it enough to purchase a newer edition. This book is perfect for the traveler on the go in New York. Each section of the city is broken down with a short description on a two-page spread. Open those pages for an easy-to-read map of that area and a key to important points of interest. For just a quick look at the streets, you’re only discreetly opening one fold, instead of struggling with a huge, tourist-indicating map. The second half of the book includes quick summaries of top sites, restaurants, shops, amusements, and hotels. You won’t get the detail, descriptions, and pricing listed in bigger books, but that’s what the Internet is for.

The second book I tried out on this trip was Frommer’s New York City Day by Day, which I had received for free at Book Expo America. Again, a small book with the focus being on the city, not on hotels and the logistics of getting there. The front cover folds out to cover the two biggest sections of New York — Downtown and Midtown/Uptown — with streets, subway lines, and major places of interest. A larger, sturdy fold-out map is included to cover the rest and give more detail. Personally, I didn’t carry the book around every day, but I sure kept this map with me at all times. The focus of this title was to break down the city not only into neighborhoods to visit, but into other ways to tour — like by greatest buildings, best walks, or famous film sites. The descriptions of sites are brief, but fleshed out with addresses, prices, and hours of operation.

I found that the subway information in both books was tightly squeezed, making it hard to read — especially for a subway newbie like myself. I recommend supplementing with the huge map you can get from any of the stations. The map is geared toward displaying the subway stops accurately, and as such often distorts the streets in a way that they are not to scale, but it certainly lays out a lot of useful information. I got two and cut one down to only show the Manhattan info, making it easy to carry in my purse.

I don’t always remember to participate in Poetry Friday, but with a topic like New York City it seemed that I couldn’t go wrong in finding a poem. That view wasn’t quite accurate, as many a verse that describes the Big Apple does so with disdain. This selection does end on a down note, but I loved the extolling of the city and the old references. As I look at my budget for the two weeks, the five cents’ fare is a particularly dreamy notion.

Jottings of New York: A Descriptive Poem

Oh mighty City of New York! you are wonderful to behold,
Your buildings are magnificent, the truth be it told,
They were the only thing that seemed to arrest my eye,
Because many of them are thirteen storeys high.

And as for Central Park, it is lovely to be seen,
Especially in the summer season when its shrubberies and trees are green;
And the Burns’ statue is there to be seen,
Surrounded by trees, on the beautiful sward so green;
Also Shakespeare and Sir Walter Scott,
Which by Englishmen and Scotchmen will ne’er be forgot.

There the people on the Sabbath-day in thousands resort,
All loud, in conversation and searching for sport,
Some of them viewing the menagerie of wild beasts there,
And also beautiful black swans, I do declare.

And there’s beautiful boats to be seen there,
And the joyous shouts of the children do rend the air,
While the boats sail along with them o’er Lohengrin Lake,
And the fare is five cents for children and adults ten is all they take.

And there’s also summer-house shades and merry-go-rounds,
And with the merry laughter of the children the Park resounds
During the livelong Sabbath day,
Enjoying the merry-go-round play.

Then there’s the elevated railroads, about five storeys high,
Which the inhabitants can see and hear night and day passing by,
Oh! such a mass of people daily do throng,
No less than five hundred thousand daily pass along,
And all along the City you can get for five cents,
And, believe me, among the passengers there are few discontent.

Read the rest of the poem by Knight of the White Elephant of Burmah William McGonagall at Poetry Foundation. Poetry Friday is hosted today at The Opposite of Indifference. Pictures are from vintage postcards available at Timefreeze.

I am freaking out. I’ve known for six months that we’d be going to New York City for two weeks, but it didn’t seem real. I’ve arranged housing, with grateful thanks given to a kind friend and a bicoastal cousin. I’ve met program deadlines and booked theater tickets.

But with the ending of the school year, taking care of the ailing cat, hosting my niece for a week, and having my dad for a short visit, I haven’t had time to really think about the trip. Which I’m doing now. And freaking out.

It’s for business and pleasure, but the business end has nothing to do with me or my husband, who won’t join us until later. The trip is undertaken for the benefit of my twelve-year-old daughter, who was invited to return to the competitive theater program Broadway Artists Alliance. For two weeks she will work on voice, acting, and dance with an audition/performance for agents and casting directors at the end of each week. She will put in long days, with endurance sort of part of the training. After all, kids who can’t hack this kind of intensity aren’t ready for Broadway.

My job is to get her to and from the program, go over her audition pieces with notes from her coaches, and most importantly, to be a calming, gentle refuge at the end of each day. Sounds simple enough, but the anxiety of a new, stressful place in the city heat can tax the most patient of people — of which I am not. But I will do my best.

In any case, I just don’t feel like I’ve thought about this trip enough. Other than our theater tickets, I’ve made no plans for me and my older daughter during the days. I don’t know if/when I will be switching apartments, which will affect other aspects of the trip. I’m worried about the new pieces that tween is learning and also if I remember the right keys to get into the apartment. I’d like to see some New York friends, but in the era of Facebook friends, I honestly don’t know who’d like to see me. So I’m putting it out there that I’m free business hours all day with the most charming TeenReader — who could also use a friend or an agent.

I’m not sure what I will be doing on the blog, though I’m accepting guest bloggers. Again, if you’re interested get in touch. I’m finding it hard to write anything of bookish value. In fact, I’m finding it hard to even read anything. The best literary thing I’ve done is start watching all of the Harry Potter movies over again with the family in preparation for our viewing of the final movie on Sunday. The next day I’ll go to New York with my girls, three suitcases, and perhaps a bottle of Jack. Wish us luck.

I thought that I might continue to update the blog in my free time in New York City, but now I’m seeing that as pretty unlikely. Both the updating and the free time. Yes, though I’ve managed to carve out a few minutes this evening to say that I could TOTALLY LIVE HERE! And by that, I mean in my cousin’s apartment with its wide-open rooms and eight- ten-foot ceilings and intricate wainscoting (I think that’s the right word; I’ll have to look it up).

The tween was happy with her first day at Broadway Artists Alliance, even though it seemed a bit overwhelming as we went in — for both of us. It’s going to be a little tough getting her there because it definitely involves a bus or subway transfer, and I’m not crazy about either. But I’m learning. I took in the American Museum of Natural History with the teen, though I could have benefited more from going in one of the many spas we saw along the way. Seriously, how many spas does one city need?

I may be back during the week, and I may not. But if not, I didn’t want you to worry.

Today at Booklights, I’ve got three great books for nighttime. One is sweet and lovely. One is silly and adorable. One is clever and funny (and a little bit creepy.) Go see, and suggest a nighttime favorite of your own.

NaNoWriMo has been bit of a bust for me so far, but I’m gearing up to tackle the second part of the month with more energy now that I’ve found it again. (It was behind the couch.) I’ve noticed the KidLitosphere seems a little quiet, and I wonder if more people are taking advantage of this month of writing than I thought. Or it could be all that Cybils reading is taking up a lot of time formerly spent blogging.

I’m going to start with some New York City stuff, and come back with my full-on State of the KidLitosphere speech in a separate post. Because I can. First, I must suggest the different charter buses from DC to NYC. They are an absolute steal. I’ve liked Washington Deluxe, but tried Tripper Bus this time because it left from Arlington. I didn’t think that the bus itself was quite as nice and you have to pay up front. But for forty or fifty dollars, you’ve got a round trip to the Big Apple.

On this trip, I was headed right to the library for our panel on the KidLitosphere and the Cybils. I felt disoriented at first, stepping off the bus in the city, and having to mentally adjust to speaking in front of people within about an hour. I thought that our discussion went well, and we all spent an additional hour after the session talking to authors and bloggers in attendance. While Betsy was finishing up work, I went shopping in the craft stores set up in Bryant Park behind the library. Got some gifts, too. Then we all met back up for dinner at a Spanish restaurant in the Village. (Tip: sit on the end next to the sangria pitcher and the waiter will fill up your glass far more than anyone else at the table.) The conversations of five, enthusiastic kidlit folk felt like that of twenty people. The concepts, ideas, suggestions, thoughts on all things kidlit- and blogging-related were flying. I couldn’t keep up. Well, except for the sangria.

At the end of the evening, Betsy and I send the commuters on their train rides home while we headed uptown. Betsy was kind enough to loan her futon for my Saturday night stay, but before bedtime there was still a lot more talking to do about blogs, books, and writing. And a little bit of agents, publishers, and screenplays too.

In the morning, I took the subway — all by myself — back to the Village to meet a long-time friend and her family. We had a great day together, with astonishing beautiful weather and — yeah! — another craft show. Then it was the bus ride back, which was less pleasant given that I just wanted to be home. That whole transporter technology can’t come soon enough for me.

I alway enjoy my trips to New York City, and am already thinking of when I can fit in another. I’ll definitely go for Book Expo America, but maybe before then too. Somebody plan something I can’t resist in January or February, okay?

Today at Booklights I’ve got three Cybils-nominated picture books that are worth a look for the toddler set. That said, I’m pretty sure that the French one will be staying on my personal shelf for a long time to come. And I’m no toddler, though I occasionally cry like one. Generally on election day. (Stupid Maine.)

My progress in NaNoWriMo has been stalled by my supremely annoying life. I believe I have made some necessary adjustments in some areas and made my peace with other aspects, and hope to get back on the writing bandwagon today. I’m still having trouble finding my Buddies, and I know that my KidLitosphere peeps are out there. So please find me with my other user name, Mreader, and urge me on. I can say that I’m very proud of two of my buddies, Abby and Sarah, with more than seven thousand words so far. Great job!

In two days, I’m going to New York City to participate in The Children’s Literary Café on Saturday, November 7th, at 2:00 p.m.: Cybils Kick-Off: Blogging in Style. I’ll be joining with the heads of the other five families — Betsy Bird, Liz Burns, Anne Boles Levy, and Susan Thomsen — for the panel and then afterward. It is possible with all of us in the room at the same time that we may change the face of kidlit blogging as we know it to be. Fair warning. If you want to reel in the face of our power, I’d suggest that you join us at 2:00 at the main New York Public Library. You know, the one with the lions and all the officialness.

I believe I’ll be hanging with Betsy on that Saturday night in the city, so um, whatcha doing then? I also may have a lot of free time on Sunday as one of my go-to friends in the city may be tied up with a sick kid. So, um, whatcha doing on Sunday? Yeah, okay, I could have planned this trip much better, and I am feeling like the world’s lamest person for not making plans of any kind. But seriously, after KidLitCon, the Cybils, Family Issues, Halloween, and NaNoWriMo, I’m even taking my underwear needs on a day-to-day basis.

I am slowly making my way back to the land of the living. Or at least the land of the living online. After the KidLitosphere Conference and the week of wrapping up — both posts and other tasks — I was off to the Internet-free world of my mother’s house to help in her recovery from surgery. She’s doing fine, and I’m now back at home with piles of laundry, stacks of books, loads of activities, and my beloved Internet... family! I meant, beloved family!

Anyway, these are the days when frantic parents hit the library looking for a Halloween book to read at their child’s school and find that the Halloween books are gone. This may be you. But have no fear — there are some great monster books around that will fill the Halloween gap and that are often overlooked by parents heading only to the shelf with the big pumpkin sign. I’m talking about three — actually four — over at Booklights. Head over and make your own suggestion of monster or spooky books that aren’t actually Halloween books. You know, like Goodnight Goon or Bedtime at the Swamp — two books I didn’t profile.

It’s a good time to announce that I’m making my way back to New York City to participate in The Children’s Literary Café on Saturday, November 7th, at 2:00 p.m.: Cybils Kick-Off: Blogging in Style. Please, please come see me and the gang. Here’s the press release. (I mean, I guess it’s a press release.)

Pam Coughlan of the sublime MotherReader children’s literary blog headlines a panel of representatives from the greater KidLitosphere. Each year the online children’s literary community bestows child and teen novels their own awards: The Cybils. Pam and other bloggers will discuss the state of children’s literature online today including ethics, publisher/blogger relations, transparency, influence (or lack thereof) over published titles, and what it means to represent an online community of children’s literary enthusiasts.

Elizabeth Burns is the Youth Services Consultant for the New Jersey State Library Talking Book & Braille Center. She blogs at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy. She is the co-author of Pop Goes the Library: Using Pop Culture to Connect with your Whole Community. She blogs about children’s and young adult books, television, and movies.

Susan Thomsen writes about children’s books at her blog, Chicken Spaghetti. A freelance writer and onetime editor, she is the mother of a fifth-grader and owner of chickens.

Anne Boles Levy is the co-founder and director of the Cybils Awards. Her day job is as a news writer on the National Desk for Metro Networks, a radio newswire based in Scottsdale, AZ. She’s married to another starving journalist and they’re raising two bookworms.

The Children’s Literary Café is a monthly gathering of adults who are fans of children’s literature. Professionals, librarians, authors, illustrators, publishers, booksellers, teachers, and anyone else interested in the field are welcome to attend our meetings. The Literary Café provides free Advanced Readers galleys, a rotating series of talks with professionals in the field, and great conversation. This program is for adults only.

New York Public Library
Children’s Center at 42nd Street, Room 84
42nd Street and 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10018

If you’re coming to Bar 9 tonight in lovely NYC, look for me wearing this T-shirt. Say hi.

Yes, folks it’s true. I will wrap up MotherReader week with a trip to New York City for kid lit drink night, as brought to you by Fuse#8. There I will lift a glass and toast all of you for your encouragement and suggestions.

As a mom, it’s hard to do something that’s just for me. It’s always about the kids, the husband, the extended family, the job, the Girl Scouts, the house... on and on. So, thanks to everyone who told me to take the trip. It really helped. Special thanks to Chris who sent a link to a bus company that goes directly from DC to NYC for twenty bucks. I’m going to give it a try. And also a special thanks to an illustrator who’s going to make sure I get back safely to my friend’s house in the Village.

For today’s MotherReader week celebration... um, post... I point you to the article in School Library Journal by Liz from A.C.A.F.A.A.T.C. (I know she doesn’t use that acronym, but it tickles me anyway). I am mentioned as one of the blogs to visit. I was glad to find myself a frequent visitor of the other blogs on the list. Except for one, and that is totally my fault and I will correct it immediately.

If you haven’t read my favorite curse word yet, there’s still time to go to my interview and... y’know, make a comment of some sort. Because comments are like little virtual Mother(Reader)’s day cards.

Just to top off the day, there are new pictures from Mo’s site. I like the Pigeon and Leonardo, but Knuffle Bunny looks like he needs some serious snuggling to soften him up. Or maybe a spin in the washer.

What do they all have in common?

They’d all make great stuffed animals, that’s what!

In exceedingly cool news for a boring Sunday (well, boring if you don’t have a Superbowl party to attend), Mo announces that toys will be produced for all three of these great characters. They should be available to the general public in April. (Do you think I count as the “general public”?)

Mo will be at a toy trade show on Monday, February 12th, in New York City, signing books and bestowing his Mo-ness upon fans. (His Mo-ness is also now available in aerosol form.) The actual, useful information is available on his blog, and presumably will be posted on his website.

It’s funny that there should be this NYC-centered news on a day I’m deciding on a trip to NYC for the same weekend. I would love to go to Fuse#8’s kid lit drink night on Friday, Feb 9th. But there are quite a few obstacles. The cost of round-trip train tickets. A place to stay Friday night. Or how to safely get back to my place to stay on Friday night. Switching my work on Friday. What to do all day Saturday. It’s a lot to think about, so maybe my readers can help me out.

The round-trip train ticket would be about $200. I can afford it, but I generally don’t drop 200 bucks on a trip to go to a party. I have a friend in NYC, but she’s pregnant and really tired, so she could definitely host me Saturday night, but I’d be on my own to go to the party in the Midtown area (that part I’m okay with) and get back to her place in the Village on Friday night (which concerns me). Plus, she’s not crazy about me coming in, on my own, late at night on Friday. But she’ll do it. I think. I also promised I’d be out of her way for most of the day Saturday, because she has a class she needs to study for. I definitely can stay there Saturday night, and take the train back to D.C. on Sunday morning. I might — might — even have a ride to the Princeton Amtrak station on Friday, which would reduce my expense by $70. Which would certainly be helpful.

So help me out, people. Weigh in on my decision. Offer solutions. Tempt me further. Honestly, I could use some input.

(By the way, don’t forget what’s really important here: MotherReader broke the story of the Pigeon, Knuffle Bunny, and Leonardo toys.)