MotherReader

Every year my library system puts together a list of book suggestions for summer reading, buys extra copies of those titles for the libraries, and then promotes the program (books included) in elementary schools all through my Fair County. I was thrilled to be among those selecting titles for the list, especially now as I am going into booktalking season with some really great books.

In all my years of booktalking, I've rarely written down any more than the first sentence "hook," and often not even that. I would never read booktalks at the school, but even seeing them written down makes the words feel stale to me. But this year I was very helpfully given specific time at work to spend on booktalking preparation and thought I would give this writing down thing a try. The next logical step was to share them here so you'll know some of the titles I placed on the list and how I plan to introduce them. So starting with the younger grades and working our way up to sixth, let's do this.

The Three Ninja Pigs
by Corey Rosen Schwartz, illustrated by Dan Santat
Putnam Juvenile, 2012
I’m sure you know the story of the three little pigs – Wolf. Sticks. Straw. Bricks. Huff & puff and blow your house down. But here is a version with a kick – a karate kick. Threatened by a dangerous wolf, the three little pigs decide to learn the martial arts to fight back. While two of the pigs don’t put in the work, the third pig studies karate with determination. Are their ninja skills enough against the big bad wolf? Read The Three Ninja Pigs. (Note: I'll read a few pages of the book.)

Pug and Other Animal Poems
by Valerie Worth, illustrated by Steve Jenkins
Farrar Straus Gioux Books for Young Readers, 2013
review from library copy
While these poems capture the nature of cat, rat, and pug, there is often another layer of depth that I don’t always see in children’s poetry. Instead of going for the fun pun or obvious observations, this collection is one about lovely wordplay and imagery. The marvelous artwork of Steve Jenkins, as always, adds to the collection of eighteen poems. The detailed cut-paper animals accentuate the poems, but leave enough solid colored background in each two-page spread to give the poem center stage. I had many favorites from the book, but this particular poem takes place in a city, with illustrated echoes of the city where I’d very much like to be today.

Sparrows and Pigeons

Even in winter, along
Streets of stone
Where a thin sun
Warms nothing,
Sparrows and pigeons
Seem at home,
Where there appears
To be no home,
Fed, where no hand
Feeds them: flying,
Alive, on roofs,
On ledges of windows,
Down in the alleys,
They seem at home
And warm – as if
It were the country
And summer here,
Summer always,
And high gold corn.
-Valerie Worth

For more poetic selections, visit our Poetry Friday host, Teaching Young Writers.

Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems
by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Josee Masse
Dial 2013, review from library copy
This picture book of poetry has a clever twist. The poems can be read backwards or forwards. With different line breaks, punctuation, and intended inflection, the reversed poem becomes something altogether new. Having common fairy tales as the subjects makes it easy for the reader to jump right into the story told in the contrasting verses. For instance On With the Dance captures - so to speak - the twelve dancing princesses:

Sleep, soldier.
Do not
follow this eager pack of princesses.
Cloaked
by moonlight,
steal unseen from the castle,
sisters,
keeping secrets.
No
fathers need to know
why,
night after night,
these dancing slippers are always worn out.

Or from another perspective:

These dancing slippers are always worn out
night after night.
Why?
Fathers need to know.
No
keeping secrets,
sisters.
Steal unseen from the castle
by moonlight.
Cloaked,
follow this eager pack of princesses.
Do no
sleep, soldier.

See how differently it reads with the same words? Love these. The illustrations are wonderful too, often combining contrasting colors like blues and oranges. Great poetry for young readers.

Poetry Friday is hosted today at Jama's Alphabet Soup.

Today is all about waiting. I'm waiting to see if Anna will be used as a photo double for a local film, though it's probably unlikely. I'm waiting to find out if Erin will be cast and/or called back for a local theatre production, which is probably likely. I'm waiting to learn the extensiveness and cost of repairs on my car, which has a continuum of suck factor I don't want to contemplate.

Around me, people are waiting. Friends in their last weeks of pregnancy are fighting with meditation or tearing apart rooms in the struggle with biding their time. Teacher friends are eyeing the last weeks of school. Writers always waiting for a letter, email, or call.

In this mode, I'm realizing that far from its passive nature, waiting has a palpaple energy. With determination and maybe luck, you can lose yourself in distraction. But in stillness, you can feel the force like waves beating a quiet rhythm in your brain.

I talked about my own blogging blahs as a sense of something coming, but maybe it is more an accumulation of waiting that is tiring. Fighting ocean waves is useless. Better to coast on the current or ride in on the tide. It makes sense then that I was reading Adrift: 76 Days Lost at Sea and came on this passage:

An eternity exists between the click of each second. I remind myself that time does not stand still. The seconds will stack up like poker chips. Seconds into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into days. Time will pass. In months I will look back on this hell from a comfortable seat in the future... perhaps, if I'm lucky.

Sometimes all we can do is wait and understand that looking back the period of time will seem insignificant. That knowledge may be an easy comfort for small things like a theatre role or car repair, but maybe a lifeline for those struggling with grief or depression. Especially for young people who are not used to waiting for so much as a weather report, it has to be the hardest simple lesson there is: that time will pass. And at the end of that time is something worth waiting for.

Another in the songs as poetry series, Shop Vac by Jonathan Coulton was requested specifically for inclusion by TeenReader. Well, it is a favorite of our family. Suburban angst, yo.

We took the freeway out of town
We found a place to settle down
We bought a driveway and a swingset and a dog
You got your very own bathroom
I got my very own workshop in the basement
We sit around staring at the wall-to-wall
Take field trips to our favorite mall
Waiting for the day
When all the kids grow up and leave us here

So if you need me
I'll be downstairs
With the shop vac
You can call but I probably won't hear you
Because it's loud with the shop vac on
But you'll be OK
Cause you'll be upstairs
With the TV
You can cry and I probably won't hear you
Because it's loud with the shop vac on

Check out the Poetry Friday offerings with our host Ed at Think Kid, Think!.

Thanks to Ms. Yingling everyone who needs their 48 Hour Book Challenge fix will - I repeat, WILL - be accommodated. Along with help from Abby the Librarian, they will bring that weekend of guilt-free reading your way starting on June 7th. Check back in with Ms. Yingling for details, and kudos to her for taking on the challenge behind the challenge of running the challenge. While I delayed in figuring out what to do with this community event, I am glad and grateful that it can continue. Read on, dedicated readers. Read on!

Thanks for all of your comments of support and friendship on My Most Morose Post. I feel ya, my blogging bros. At this point, I intend to post as I have books to share and things to say. But I felt that my slowing down was too obvious to not address in some way, especially in not arousing concern among regular readers. I swear that I am fine.

Lately I'm not often feeling either a rush from writing or a real satisfaction with having written. What I do feel, if I could pinpoint it at all, is a sense of anticipation. That there is something for which I need to prepare. Honestly, with my mom's poor health it could be a bad thing OR with my girls' successes academically and semi-professionally, it could be a good thing. Maybe it's a new direction for my own writing. Or it could be menopause, who knows?

Or there is this analogy. The V formation of migrating geese allows for reduction of wind resistance down the lines, and the birds take turns being in the front, falling back when they get tired. So guys, I'm admitting that I'm tired. But the other benefit of the formation is that allows the group to keep track of every bird, and I know that we do that for each other too. In fact, it's what I love best about our crazy connection of community we call the KidLitosphere. Fly on.

Look, I know I've been phoning it in and I know that you know I've been phoning it in, but what I don't know, really, is why. It's bigger than malaise and smaller than depression. It's not something drawing my interest elsewhere so much as not being interested in much of anything. Seriously, I don't want to do anything. Even reading seems... tiresome. The easiest, best part of my day is just hanging out with the girls hearing about their days at school. A close second is petting my cat for a questionably long time. These are not scenes that lead to grand plans.

With that, I've held off on such honesty here because I didn't know where to go with it. Such sentiments seem to require a statement of some sort. An ending. Or a renewed purpose. Yet I'm not ready to commit to either.

The only decision I've made is not to do the 48 Hour Book Challenge this June. I just... I just don't want to. I'd hoped that the possibility of Book Expo America would wake me up a bit, but I think I'll be skipping that as well.

This sounds melancholy, but it's important to say that while I am struggling with my feelings about blogging and reading and what-to-do-next, I'm happy about other things going on this year. Truly. My daughters have had wonderful successes in theatre, music, and academics. I'm so glad to be working again and within a mile of the school. In my job, I was able to shape the summer reading list for my Fair County, getting some great authors some exposure. Those are good things.

So I'm not sure that there was an essential purpose in writing this, except that I don't like to leave my people hanging - or worse, worrying. Nothing's really wrong, I just don't feel quite right. I'm not sure if in saying this that I'm asking for patience or forgiveness, or maybe just what I've always enjoyed in this community - friendship.

Blog on, friends. Blog on.

Today I planned to share some actual poetry from a book and everything, but I've been set upon by a terrible cold that's sapping my concentration. I started feeling unwell on Tuesday, and am pretty annoyed that the worst of it has been yesterday and today. Last night I was so sick I dreamed I was sick. It was like Inception for the hapless.

So you're getting another song as poetry and another Smash song. The poetry of this one isn't solid - lots of repeats in the song - but the few lines are haunting, especially in the music. Even better is the video of the pop diva with some beautiful ribbon dancing.

Tonight when the bright stars
are burning high over Manhattan,
All washed out in neon
And hidden from view.
But when the power goes out
and you look up from Brooklyn,
Will you reach for me
Reaching out for you...

Sorry about the cut to the show's storyline at 2:24, but if you stick it through you'll see some daring moves. TeenReader has given her endorsement to this as one of the hip songs that I share to illuminate those among you not so blessed with teen music knowledge.

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Laura Salas. Stop by there to enjoy the best from around the web.

Road trips always sound like a spectacular adventure, but I know my limits. Specifically, five hours. That is the longest I can spend in a car without going crazy. Yes, I've had to stretch that on occasion, but it wasn't pretty for anyone involved. One traffic-plagued trip back from Virginia Beach, I spent the post-fifth hour pointing out houses that looked like they might provide weary travelers with comfort. (Though I did later discover that I had a high fever which may have been part of it.) In any case, I have to limit my love of road trips to books, and this teen title did the trick.

Reunited
by Hilary Weisman Graham
Simon & Schuster, 2012 review from library copy
At the end of senior year, one girl instigates a road trip with her ex-best friends to see their favorite band reunited for one concert only. Despite their estrangement, they each have a reason to bridge their differences and take to the highway. Alice sees this concert as fate, Tiernan is looking for an escape from her mother, while Summer joins after being dumped by her boyfriend. On the trip, they cautiously reconnect while also avoiding the discussion of why they separated from each other in the first place. The book starts off a little awkwardly – like a pilot of a show introducing the characters in obvious ways. But once the girls hit the road, the book hits its stride. There are plenty of obstacles on the way and lots of character conflict, leading to a fun read. I can't help thinking that it would be a great movie, especially considering that there is a real band, Level3 to use in the flick.

What an awful week it has been. As I write this, police are searching for the second suspect in the Boston bombing. It's hard to get away from the feeling of a world gone wrong.

So today for my song as poetry series, I wanted a piece of escapism where the video is as engaging as the words and music. This song from Smash is part of the "new" musical that they are creating on the show portraying the love of a regular guy and a girl on a path to stardom. The song is amazing, but I'm obsessed with this video because the dancers as obstacles is perfection.

Nothing comes easy when everyone's rushing
The signal's got speed but there's no real connection
I tried reaching out but it was just my reflection
'Til I heard your voice in a dream

So sing to me and I will forgive you
For taking my heart in the suitcase you packed
Sing to me like the lights didn't blind you
Like you blinded me when I heard your voice in a dream


Poetry Friday is hosted today by Irene Latham. Be safe, everyone. Be well.

This won't be a usual Thursday Three as I couldn't find such picture books as "Don't Shoot Your Friend in the Face!" But I felt compelled to write today in what can only be called outrage. With a touch of depression, I suppose.

Boston's terroism didn't strike me to my core as much as this Senate vote on gun control. As horrible as the bombing was, I could see it as the evil act of a terrible person. I could witness humanity in the caring acts of strangers and the efficiency of our police and federal investigators. I found comfort in the words of Patton Oswalt's statement that made the rounds of the Internet, and honestly, is one of the most insightful, intelligent things I've ever read.

This is a giant planet and we're lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they're pointed towards darkness.

If you haven't read the whole thing, please do and allow yourself to get to the part where you'll find my new mantra. "The good outnumber you, and we always will."

My faith in humanity was challenged by this Senate vote in a way it wasn't by the bombing because I continue to believe that we go through a process of finding good people to represent our interests in making laws for the country. Even through the worst, most useless Congressional session in history, I have held onto some naive hope that these were good people trying to do the right thing, even if the votes were politically motivated. At least they believed they were representing their constituents.

But even politics have nothing on the vote for universal background checks. It was the least they could do after Sandy Hook. Seriously, the least they could do. And they couldn't manage that. So my Thursday Three?

1. Universal background checks are supported by 90% of Americans.

2. Universal background checks are supported by 88% of gun owners.

3. Universal background checks are supported by 76% of NRA members.

Universal background checks have a higher approval rating than Mother Teresa. Universal background checks have a higher approval ratings than kittens, baseball, and apple pie. Personally, I am for much stronger measures of gun control, but am absolutely outraged that the Senate could not pass this piece of legislation for fear of what the NRA would do. The NRA that doesn't even represent its own membership on this issue. Well, expect the dirty little "secret" that the NRA doesn't speak for gun owners or individual members of its organization, but gun manufacturers.

For once, my state of Virginia is on the right side of this issue. But if your senators are not representing you - and it seems that they are not - please call/email/write and let them know. If you need an extra boost of outrage, read Gabby Gifford's op-ed in the New York Times.

Some of the senators who voted against the background-check amendments have met with grieving parents whose children were murdered at Sandy Hook, in Newtown. Some of the senators who voted no have also looked into my eyes as I talked about my experience being shot in the head at point-blank range in suburban Tucson two years ago, and expressed sympathy for the 18 other people shot besides me, 6 of whom died. These senators have heard from their constituents — who polls show overwhelmingly favored expanding background checks. And still these senators decided to do nothing. Shame on them.

Yes, it was a pretty shameful day in Washington..

This is a better share of music as poetry than usual for the KidLitosphere because it is from the "Evening of Awesome" at Carnegie Hall with Vlogbrothers John Green and Hank Green. Yes, they introduced us to this song and I fell in love with the chorus - I'm going to make it through this year if it kills me - as a sentiment I need to express so, so often. But I might have made this a new favorite based on this video itself, because John and Hank Green are having so much fun onstage with the band, the Mountain Goats (jump to the 1:20 mark to see). Enjoy!

I broke free on a Saturday morning
I put the pedal to the floor
Headed north on Mills Avenue
And listened to the engine roar

My broken house behind me and good things ahead
A girl named Cathy wants a little of my time
Six cylinders underneath the hood crashing and kicking
Ahh, listen to the engine whine

I am going to make it through this year
If it kills me

If you didn't get to see this show, the whole Evening of Awesome is available and features some pretty cool people. Uh, Neil Gaiman. Lots of fun. For the Poetry Friday roundup, please visit Random Noodling.

We've been looking at colleges. That statement both explains my haphazard and lackluster posting here, along with my somewhat fragile emotional state.

In the beginning I was the calm one as my teenager worried about narrowing down her selections. I knew - I knew - we were looking at the same couple of schools as every other good student in Virginia, with a reach school of Columbia. Then the mail starting coming.

So much mail. From schools I had never heard of and also schools that I was surprised needed to send mail. Then I started looking at the books of 371 of the best schools, knowing that such a specific number meant something special. I offered to help teen sort through her emails, because she had hundreds and couldn't deal anymore. It was exhausting to see so many choices, and started to open my eyes to new possibilities.

Add along to that information from other parents about schools that offered good scholarships. And stories from parents about deserving kids who didn't get into this school or that, and I was looking at more safety schools.

So we've been to University of Virginia and The College of William and Mary. We have a trip planned for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. I'm now adding some Pennsylvania schools, Lafayette College and University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University for the Philadelphia thing. Maybe it will compare nicely to New York. Oh, and I'm looking for within a five hour radius from home both because it's important to me and because we have to narrow this down somehow!

As for the fragile emotional state... well, I have to head to work now so it's probably for the best I don't get into it. I am finding myself surprised to have a high school junior - to really understand that she's leaving us next year. I am supremely proud of her and know she is ready to leave the nest, but I'm not as ready.

In my library weeding I had to pull several damaged and dated books about a variety of small mammals. Those titles get a lot of use and love. So I was really excited to see this new book arrive in my library because it was from my request to purchase books more books in that area. So, cool.

Choosing a Hamster, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, Rabbit, Ferret, Mouse or Rat: How to Choose and Care for a Small Mammal
by Laura S. Jeffrey
Enslow Elementary, 2013

From the title and cover alone, this seems like a perfect book for kids choosing a pet. The gerbil on the cover - which given the angle of the photo looks pretty much like a hamster or mouse too - looks like he is begging for his forever home and the photographs throughout the book are similarly appealing. Clear language and short sentences are used to describe different small mammals with a focus on their particular needs and benefits as a pet. While not a thorough book on the care of each animal, the care is described in terms of what will be needed when selecting an pet. There are short chapters on health, picking up small mammals (oddly calling 'Preventing Problems') and one page on "living with your animal." It's a worthy title for an early elementary kid pondering the mouse-to-rabbit continuum of small pets.

That said, I did have a few problems with the book. While pros and cons of each pet are described, the hamster falls entirely on the negative side. "They are also known to get upset easily, and they bite or nip at their owners. Because of this, hamsters may not be the best small mammal for you." While the first is true, the direct suggestion is the only one given of any of the animals mentioned, and it bugged me as a hamster-owner. Also the bibliography only lists titles for rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs. Perhaps this accounts for the hate on hamsters - the author didn't read a book about how certain types of hamsters are better than others for kids. So my recommendation for the book is somewhat qualified. I am intrigued by the rest of the series from American Humane Society, which includes choosing a cat, dog, fish, and horse. Separate books. (I mean, no one is out there debating between a fish and a horse.)

For more great books, visit the Nonfiction Monday round-up hosted today at A Wrung Sponge.

Some standout bedtime books that passed through my hands at the library:

Sleep Like a Tiger
by Mary Logue, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
Houghton Miffin 2012
As a little girl insists she is not tired, her patient parents tell her about how different animals that are going to sleep until the child takes their cues and joins them. The lyrical language portrays a bedtime “in a cocoon of sheets, a nest of blankets” while the magical illustrations are a dreamlike world in themselves. Well-deserving of its Caldecott honor win, this is a simply gorgeous book. (By the way, check out the sketches featured at the Amazon page.)

No Go Sleep!
by Kate Feiffer, illustrated by Jules Feiffer
Simon & Schuster 2012
“One night when the stars were out and the moon was bright, a baby said, “No go sleep!” The mom and dad try to convince the infant to get to sleep, but so do the sun, the bunnies, and even the front door who make sure baby knows that they are there to help with sleep or be ready in the morning. Even with all this support, there is still one last defiant NO! as baby drifts off. This father/daughter team is a perfect pair in showing family life with warmth and humor. Fun bedtime story that parents will really relate to.


Moonlight
by Helen Griffith, illustrations Laura Dronzek
Greenwillow Books 2012
Simple text with a poetic feel is doled out phrase by phrase and is accompanied by sweet pictures of sleeping creatures – deer, birds, and of course, the bunny. “Moonlight slides like butter/ skims through outer space/ skids past star and comets/ leaves a butter trace." Acrylic paints give depth to the color in a twilights palette while the gentle illustrations make for an adorable bunny. I'd love to see this as a boardbook for the youngest readers. (Right now you can get it at a bargain price at Amazon.)

Another in the songs as poetry series, but this one is also a TV show theme song. Do know which one? Check out the real poems with Poetry Friday, hosted today at A Year of Reading

Give me your hands
Show me the door
I cannot stand
To wait anymore
Somebody said
Be what you be
We can be old and cold and dead on the scene
But I love you more than words can say
I can't count the reasons I should stay

Give me some more
Time in a dream
Give me the hope
To run out of steam
Somebody said
It could be here
We could be roped up, tied up
Dead in a year
I can't count the reasons I should stay
One by one they all just fade away

I write a lot of notes on books in an old-school, spiral notebook. These are usually for the books that I want to seal in the lessons by writing out notes, passages, and thoughts. I never really knew what to say as in way of review of My Name is Mina and I Love the Night by David Almond, but I wrote this entire passage by hand in my notebook because I thought it was so perfect. Both in how it captured the feel of the book and in the deeper message. So I won't say much more about this title other than it is about a girl who is homeschooled because she is just too connected to the world to fit in with her peers, but she finds her place in wide branches of her favorite tree and the white pages of her own journal.

I think about how it was the dinosaur that survived the disaster that wiped out all the other dinosaurs. And it didn't just survive. It evolved and became more elegant and skillful and powerful. It started the line of evolution that led to birds! And I look how the birds fly and soar over everything. I think of how they mange to inhabit the whole world, from the frozen poles to the steamy equator. And I've been thinking: if the human race mages to destroy itself, as it often seems to want to do, or if some great disaster comes, as it did for the dinosaurs, then the birds will manage to survive... It could be that the birds will exist forever and forever until the earth itself comes to an end, no matter waht might happen to the other creatures. They'll sing until the end of time. So here's my thought: If there is a God, could it be that he's chosen the birds to speak for him? Could it be true? The Voice of God speaks through the beaks of birds.

She also writes suggestions for Extraordinary Activities. Here's one for today: "Listen for the frail and powerful thing at your heart."

Having my teen play queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream rekindled an interest I had in the fairer folk. Growing up, I was obsessed with Michael Hague’s illustrations of all sorts of fantastical creatures and recently came across a library book that I missed in my more practical parenting years. The Book of Fairy Poetry features a variety of poems from Shakespeare to Prelutsky paired with Hague’s lush illustrations. While there is plenty of spritely dancing, the darker side is well-represented with poems of goblin tricks and fairy revenge. It's a gorgeous collection for adults and children. With his long career of creating enchanted worlds his artist note states, “In a very real sense I have been working on this volume of fairy poetry all my life.”

For Poetry Friday - hosted today at Check It Out - here is Shakespeare's song for Titania's slumber:

You spotted snakes with double tongue,
Thorny hedge-hogs, be not seen;
Newts and blind-worms, do no wrong;
Come not near our fairy queen.
Philomel, with melody
Sing in our sweet lullaby;
Lulla, lulla, lullaby;
Never harm
Nor spell nor charm.
Come our lovely lady nigh;
So, good night, with lullaby.

Here's three new nonfiction picture books that caught my eye at the library:

My First Day: What Animals do on Day One
by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Houghton Mifflin Books, 2013
Another great title from this terrific team shows what happens when different animals are first born. The reader learns how some like the turtle are ready to take care of themselves as soon as they hatch, while others need moms to feed them and keep them safe. Some things are particularly sweet – like the zebra mom who memorizes the pattern of her babies stripes so she can find him among thousands of zebras in the herd. While the focus is on what happens on the first day, the end of the book provides more information on each animal. The illustrations are once again top-notch with the cut and torn paper bringing the animals to life against simple backgrounds with natural colors. Lovely addition to any collection – home, school, or library.

Frog Song
by Brenda Z. Guiberson, illustrated by Gennady Spirin
Henry Holt, 2013
Beautifully detailed and realistic paintings make this book about frogs a stand-out in picture book nonfiction. The illustrations take the reader into the setting, as a short paragraph on each type of frog tells about their origin, their song, and a bit about them. “In Ecuador, the song of the Surinam toad rattles across the swamp. CLICK-CLACK.” I'm not sure that the description of the tunes as CHIRP-CHWEET and SWEE-SWEE are really enough for me to "hear" the songs, but it's a nice angle for a new book about frogs. The book’s end gives range, length, and a quick fact about each featured frog, along with a note to the reader about the plight of our frogs. A bibliography and online resources are included at the end and the website has additional learning activities (Which maybe should include the sounds. Think about it?) Overall an informative and genuinely gorgeous book.

Eye on the Wild: Gorilla
by Suzi Eszterhas
Francis Lincoln, 2012
I’ve been keeping an eye out for books about animals that feature great photography. Well, add "Eye on the Wild" to your Smithsonian and National Geographic titles. The series has several titles available already, including ones on a cheetah, lion, and brown bear. The photos take center stage with a couple of short sentences on each page. There is a personal touch to the writing, which seems intended for younger readers, “The gorilla mom loves her baby very much. She holds her all the time and gives her lots of hugs and kisses.” As the book really follows one baby gorilla growing up, there is some additional information about gorillas in general at the last page of the book. The only issue for the book is a lack of bibliography, but otherwise a great addition to animal nonfiction with appealing photography.

A Poem of Her Own:
Voices of American Women Yesterday and Today
edited by Catherine Clinton, illustrated by Stephen Alcorn
Harry Abrams Publishing, 2003
Following chronological order, this collection features poems of twenty-five women over the last three hundred years. There is a definite focus on modern poets with half of the poems from the last fifty years, but a good sampling overall. The poetry and illustration is pretty sophisticated, and would find the best audience in the middle to high school reader. Biographies of the poets are listed at the back of the book which "reveal not only individuals, but, together, comprise a particularly intriguing story of America, a story of courage in the face of hardship, a story which traces varieties of creative expression unfolding over three centuries.” (I liked that phrasing from the introduction too much to paraphrase it.)

Here's a poem for today:

I, being born a woman and distressed
By all the needs and notions of my kind,
Am urged by your propinquity to find
Your person fair, and feel a certain zest
To bear your body’s weight upon my breast:
So subtly is the fume of life designed,
To clarify the pulse and cloud the mind,
And leave my one again undone, possessed.
Think not for this, however, the poor treason
Of my stout blood against my staggering brain,
I shall remember you with love, or season
My scorn with pity, - let me make it plain:
I find this frenzy insufficient reason
For conversation when we meet again.

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1923)

Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted today at my juicy little universe.

My library chose a nonfiction location for Can You Survive the Titanic?: An Interactive Survival Adventure by Allison Lassieur. The book shares lots facts about the ship, the process of the sinking, the types of passengers, and chances of survival. It includes a bibliography, index, glossary, and photographs. It's also one of a You Choose Books featuring multiple story paths and possible endings, which stretches the nonfiction label for me.

After a short introduction, the reader has the choice to navigate the book as part of the crew as a surgeon's assistant, as a governess of a wealthy family, or a 12 year old boy traveling with his father as a third class passenger. At different points, the book offers choices, for instance whether to help third class or go to the upper deck, until the end of your story. As fiction, it was engaging, interesting, and detailed, with a well-researched historical and emotional accuracy of the experience. The truth certainly wasn't sugar-coated, as many of the storyline endings did not leave the characters alive.

These dire conclusions are where the book gets tricky for me. I know death happens in the genre of "choose your own adventure," but this was more real... because the Titanic itself was real. I'm not sure how I feel about that. The other survival books in the You Choose Books are more vague - Antarctica, storm chasing, the jungle. The basis on an actual event made me uncomfortable in sort of a voyeuristic way, much less wondering if it was appropriate for younger readers for whom the series is intended. Or in our twenty-four hour news cycle of the latest tragedy, is this the new normal? Thoughts?

For more titles, visit our Nonfiction Monday host, Supratentorial.

Here's another entry in the series of songs as poetry, "Daylight" by Matt & Kim. I took some liberties here cutting out the repeating lines, but I think it works. For the real stuff, visit our Poetry Friday host, Sheri Doyle.

We cut the legs off of our pants
Threw our shoes into the ocean
Sit back and wave through the daylight
Slip and slide on subway grates
These shoes are poor mans ice skates
Fall through like change in the daylight
I miss yellow lines in my roads
Some color on monochrome
Maybe I'll paint them in myself
These sidewalks liquid then stone
Building walls and an old pay phone
It rings like all through the daylight

Up Cat
by Hazel Hutchins, art by Fanny
Annick Press 2012
Here's a cute book for cat fans framing "up" in cat terms like, "Leap up." and "Up to no good." Featuring charming illustrations of one busy kitty, all your favorite feline traits are here: climbing in too-small boxes, licking front paws, and puffing up all fluffy. With colorful pages and a storyline of a day in the life of a kitty, it's one sweet board book.

Hamsters Holding Hands
by Kass Reich
Ocra Books 2012
The title alone has an awwww factor. In this counting book, hamsters frolic through a somewhat random collection of number concepts that seem to have little relation to each other than the rhymes. "Three hamsters with a pear. Four hamsters in the air." But it works, as the randomness gives it an appealing silliness. The cartoon hamsters are darling in all their activities.

My Bunny
illustrated by Jessie Ford
Abrams Appleseed 2012
With a clever concept, this is not just a board book, but also an introduction to puzzles. Each page features a statement about a bunny and the illustration has a puzzle piece that can be removed and placed back on the page. Taking out the four pieces and putting them together reveals the cover image. A fun idea for little readers, as long as those puzzle pieces get safely back in the book.

The 2012 Cybils Awards are announced today and I'll happily share the winner from my category of picture books right here, right now. Head to the Cybils page for the rest of the worthy winners!

A Home for Bird
By Philip C. Stead
Roaring Brook Press

A Home for Bird is a character-driven story about a frog named Vernon who sets off on a perilous journey to help his silent friend find home and happiness. Vernon is a loyal protagonist with whom preschoolers will easily relate. The book offers an engaging read-aloud experience, with ample opportunity for audience participation, and a narrative with both subtle humor and charm. Stead's vibrant and fluid illustrations are a perfect match to the story, and will have young listeners clamoring for parents, teachers, and/or librarians to "read it again!"

Better late than never with the prizes for the Comment Challenge. I used the random number generator to pick winners from the select group who had made one hundred comment or over and a participant prize from everyone who signed out to complete the challenge. From the first group, our winner is Beth from Library Chicken. Winning our participant prize is Madigan from Madigan Reads. Our surprise batch of books will be heading their way, as soon as Lee Wind and I coordinate such minor details like addresses. (Ladies, feel free to contact me at MotherReader AT gmail DOT com with your address.)

Thanks to all who participated. I hope that it helped you feel more comfortable with commenting and that you found some new blogging friends along the way. I know I did!

Today features another installment of music lyrics as poetry from TeenReader's hipster song collection. Enjoy this little break from Mumford and Sons and then head over to our Poetry Friday host, A Teaching Life for the round-up.

Weep for yourself, my man,
You'll never be what is in your heart
Weep Little Lion Man,
You're not as brave as you were at the start
Rate yourself and rake yourself,
Take all the courage you have left
Wasted on fixing all the problems
That you made in your own head

With twenty-one days of commenting awareness under our belts, we have reached the end of the Comment Challenge. With the morning off work, I have only five comments to go to reach the one hundred mark, so I'm feeling good. In other years the daily routine was most helpful, but this time I found myself reading and commenting in blocks of time. It may have a lot to do with when I was keeping Teen company as she worked through her endless amounts of homework. Either way it got me more connected to blogging and responding, and that's what I love most about doing this Comment Challenge.

My takeaway is the idea that there are two types of comments. In one we offer a connection to the topic, adding opinions and contributing to the dialogue. In the other we offer a connection to the writer, adding support and contributing to a community feeling. I think our hesitation comes often from our fear of not doing the first adequately, when in truth any comment is adequate in the second because it lets the writer feel heard. Okay maybe not any comment, if it say advertises products of dubious nature. But still, I'd like to worry less about what I'm saying when much of the value in commenting is saying anything.

Thanks to all of you who have commented here this week. I didn't respond individually, but I was especially grateful for your comments on my daughter's video of Crazy Dreams. The song itself has been so meaningful to me as a crossover from my theatre kid world to the community of writers: "Hello, you wild magnolias just waiting to bloom, there's a little bit of all that inside of me and you." Of course, I love her performance and I know how well she sells those words, so I appreciate knowing it was heard in the world.

Okay, so back to the bigger picture of Comment Challenge 2013. By the end of the day, please comment with your totals, experience, etc so that Lee Wind and I can give out some prizes. Don't worry if you didn't meet the one hundred goal, or even your own goal. We would like to know who was along for the ride and how you found the journey. Thanks for playing!

I know that no one is breathlessly awaiting my post on the winners when the news is all over the Kidlitosphere, but for my own sake of fulfillment I'll cover the Newbery and Caldecott Awards - the "biggies" of the ALA Youth Media Awards.

The John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature went to The One and Only Ivan, written by Katherine Applegate. I loved the book and thought it had a good chance at a medal. Unfortunately, I haven't read any of the three honor books Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz, Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage, or Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin. Of them, the last is first on my list to read as it was also named in other nonfiction awards. I was surprised that Wonder was not on the list, but am thinking that it may have peaked too early in the Newbery season.

The winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished picture book was This Is Not My Hat, illustrated and written by Jon Klassen. I thought it was too similar to the first book to win, but what do I know. Two of the Caldecott Honor books were also Cybils finalists, Creepy Carrots! illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds and Extra Yarn, illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett. Among my personal favorites of last year was One Cool Friend, illustrated by David Small and written by Toni Buzzeo. I have never understood the buzz about Green, illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, but figured it would be honored. I actually don't know Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue, but since I love the illustrator Pamela Zagarenski, I'm looking forward to the book. I was disappointed that Chloe and the Lion didn't appear on the list, especially with so many selections named this year. When it was announced that there would be five honor books, there was an obvious murmur from the ALA audience, and I'm glad to see a bigger list than last year.

What are your thoughts on the Newbery and Caldecott awards this year? Did they get it right?

Another installment of song as poetry, this time with a side of story.

Last weekend my daughter and I went to New York so that she could attend workshop through the Broadway Artists Alliance program she does there. She was very excited to participate because it was set up around the theme of Smash and one of the ensemble members of the cast, Wesley Taylor, would teach a class. What we didn't realize until later was that the other part of the day would be run by Ceasar Rocha, the casting director of Smash and many Broadway shows. So my girl sang this song for him and he told her she had a great voice. Just, wow. And look how perfect the song is. And watch how perfectly she sings it:

Crazy Dreams
Hello, you longshots, you dark horse runners
Hairbrush singers, dashboard drummers
Hello, you wild magnolias just waitin’ to bloom
There's a little bit of all that inside of me and you
Thank God, even crazy dreams come true
I stood at the bottom of some walls I thought I couldn't climb
I felt like Cinderella at the ball just runnin’ out of time
So I know how it feels to be afraid
And think that it's all gonna slip away
Hold on, hold on

Here's to you free souls, you firefly chasers
Tree climbers, porch swingers, air guitar players
Here's to you fearless dancers, shakin’ walls in your bedrooms
There's a lot of wonder left inside of me and you
Thank God, even crazy dreams come true
Never let a bad day be enough
To go and talk you into givin’ up
Sometimes everybody feels like you
Oh, feels like you, just like you
Thank God, even crazy dreams come true

This video is from a showcase, so ignore the terrible piano, but let the message come to your life, "There's a lot of wonder left inside of me and you."

Poetry Friday is hosted at The Opposite of Indifference. Tune in to the blogs on Monday for the results of the ALA Youth Media Awards.

Why aren't people commenting on my blog? It's a common complaint, a question for the blogging ages. There are big picture answers that highlight content, engagement and connection. But today I want to focus on some concrete things I noticed as I am making my way through the Comment Challenge participants.

1. The commenting process is difficult. At this point, most bloggers are using some sort of filter that keeps spambots out. But I've noticed that some commenting systems are harder than others. For instance, I have no problem with the ones that want a Google ID, but I shy away if a Facebook login is requested. And I'm not even sure what Disqus is. A lot of this isn't in your control, but might be worth knowing.

2. The content isn't updated. I'm one to talk with my pathetic January posting schedule, but fresh content does matter. As I've been visiting blogs during the Comment Challenge, I comment on the post that drew my attention most - and if I didn't have much to choose from then sometimes I didn't comment.

3. The content isn't varied. Maybe you are focused on branding your reviewer/illustrator/writer blog, but give yourself a little room to play in the bigger world of KidLit/YA literature. Throw in something personal, book recommendations, movie tie-ins, Kidlitosphere news - just something different from your norm to engage more people.

4. The post doesn't invite comments. Personally, I've struggled with asking questions at the end of a post, and generally avoided it myself for fear of leaving it dangling out there, unanswered. But what I'm thinking of is posts that give little to latch onto. Okay, an example is posting illustrations alone. Other than "Lovely," what have you given me to say?" But add to that posting where the idea came from, what you struggled to capture... whatever went into it that gives me a way to relate.

5. The blog is continuous self-promotion. Obviously, your blog will have some self-promotion for your achievements, but if that's all your posts are about then you are not inviting engagement. You're not even inviting return visits.

What have you noticed on your commenting travels? How are doing on your commenting goals?

Another in the ongoing installment of songs as poetry is this one from Florence & The Machine. As usual, I've included just part of the lyrics and cut the song-like conventions, which in this case includes the title bit. So watch the video and enjoy!

Shake It Out
Regrets collect like old friends
Here to relive your darkest moments
I can see no way, I can see no way
And all of the ghouls come out to play
And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself
I like to keep my issues drawn
It's always darkest before the dawn

And I've been a fool and I've been blind
I can never leave the past behind
I can see no way, I can see no way
I'm always dragging that horse around
And our love is pastured such a mournful sound
Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground
So I like to keep my issues drawn
But it's always darkest before the dawn

I have to admit that I first heard this done on Smash by Katherine McPhee, and given my love of that show and singer, I prefer that version, though this is certainly a better video. I'm also back on a Smash kick since The Kid and I are headed to New York tomorrow so that she can attend a Broadway class with the theme of the show and led by one of the ensemble cast members. Very cool! Anyway, for real poems look to Poetry Friday, hosted today by Violet Nesdoly.

So how's the Comment Challenge going? Struggling for something to say? Well, maybe recognizing some common commenting barriers will help:

You’re setting the bar too high.
If you need a reality check, read the comments on any YouTube video or Yahoo article. These people don’t spend time concerned with whether their comment is “witty” or “insightful” or “makes sense.” Seriously, you are in the top ten percent of commenters merely by paying minimal attention to basic spelling and verb/noun agreement.

You’re over-thinking it.
We hear about social media and networking in terms of helping our writing/blogs/careers and start worrying about how comments figure in the process. Look, no one is getting a book deal from a comment. It's about connecting, engaging and getting out there. Relax.

You’re reading blog posts like articles.
This is understandable, because they are articles, but they are also conversations. A comment isn’t crafting a letter to the editor. It’s closer to your response after listening to someone excitedly tell you about this great novel they just read. You wouldn't walk away from that, right? What would you say? Okay, now say that but in a comment.

Now the comment section is yours for progress reports, lessons learned, and commenting insights so far. Don't forget that you can lend support to your fellow participants who you'll find listed at the Comment Challenge sign-up. Go to it!

Quickie review today of a middle grade and/or middle school book that should be required reading for every young teenage girl who wonders what boys could possibly be thinking with courtship techniques that sometimes involve spitballs.

Crush
by Gary Paulsen
Wendy Lamb Books 2012, review from library copy
“I’m the most romantic guy you’ll ever meet. Potentially, that is.” Kevin Spencer, 14 yrs old, would love to be Tina’s boyfriend, but first he has to be able to talk to her without making a fool of himself. He decides to make a study of love and dating to improve his chances, as his ego needs no work. Though he makes some wrong turns – hilarious ones, mostly – he also brings some people together and resolves his own crush. Paulsen has created a character with a lot of charm and humor. The book is full of funny lines, for instance Kevin's view of his parents' relationship: “In summation: Don’t annoy her, listen – and hear – her, and feed her. Except for the listening/hearing part, it’s kind of like having another cat. And I’m an excellent pet owner.” Does he stop experimenting and get the girl? Sure, but the fun is along the way. The shorter length of the books in the series – which includes Liar, Liar and Flat Broke – are great for reluctant readers in middle school. Boys will enjoy this relatable character and girls may find usable insight into the mind of a teenage boy in love.

In my continuing series of songs as poetry, I checked with TeenReader for some of her favorite hipster songs because she finds the best music. "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men is one we've been enjoying a lot recently. The video is super trippy too.

Little Talks

I don't like walking around this old and empty house.
So hold my hand, I'll walk with you, my dear.
The stairs creak as you sleep, it's keeping me awake.
It's the house telling you to close your eyes.
Some days I can't even trust myself.
It's killing me to see you this way.
'Cause though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

There's an old voice in my head that's holding me back.
Well, tell her that I miss our little talks.
Soon it will be over and buried with our past.
We used to play outside when we were young
And full of life and full of love.
Some days I don't know if I am wrong or right.
Your mind is playing tricks on you, my dear.
'Cause though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore.

Pretty cool, right? Poetry Friday is hosted today at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme.

Killing time on New Year's Eve, an email reminder about Donors Choose sent me looking around the site. As I always do there, I searched for book projects in either Virginia or D.C., not committed to giving a specific amount as much as seeing what might connect. I was caught by this request looking for specific beginning reader titles:

These books, by Jan Thomas and Mo Willems, are ones that young readers will read again and again and again. The stories are hilarious, the illustrations are simple, but brilliant. The vocabulary and wording are accessible. These are the first books my students search for when we visit the library each week.

My students are willing to struggle and work hard to become readers. They love books, both independently and when shared. These books will ensure that every student can find a copy of a book they want to read.

Oh yeah, I can connect to a book list of Mo Willems titles. Without a second thought, I donated enough to buy all the Elephant & Piggie series (plus a contribution to Donors Choose). Others donated enough for the rest of the books, meaning that the class will be able to enjoy them very soon. The teacher's thank you note made me so happy, so I'll share it too:

I am so excited to return to school tomorrow and tell my students that we will soon be receiving a huge box full of Jan Thomas and Mo Willems' books. I know these titles will all be in their book boxes as soon as they arrive in our classroom. These two authors are favorites of everyone in our class (including me) so these books will be highly anticipated and much loved. Thank you so much for your generosity towards my students and myself. These emerging readers will grow quickly and with great excitement in their reading thanks to you.

What a great way to begin a new year! Giving books to kids who want, need, and love them!

The new year brings the new crop of Cybils Finalists! There are some great books on those shortlists, but I have a special interest in promoting that of my picture book committee:


Black Dog
by Levi Pinfold
Templar

One day a black dog of inderminate (but undoubtedly large) size scares the Hope family terribly, leaving the youngest member, called Small, to face the animal. In her bright yellow jacket, she leads the dog on a merry chase with the refrain, "You can''t follow where I go, unless you shrink, or don't you know?" The dog does follow, and as he shrinks the reader's heart swells, for Small Hope is a picture of brazen confidence and the face of the dog shows the reader that the only thing he's hungry for is a friend. Both the text and illustrations offer much to ponder, with younger readers able to enjoy the delicious wordplay and adventure while older readers can explore the allegory of the black dog on a deeper level. -- Julie Jurgens, Hi Miss Julie!

Chloe and the Lion
by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Adam Rex
Hyperion

Author and illustrator appear in their own book as sculpted doll versions of themselves working together to tell the story of Chloe, a young girl who saves her money to ride the merry-go-round in the park. When author Mac decides to fire illustrator Adam over artistic differences, the variety of styles used to tell Chloe’s story creates the perfect illusion that multiple illustrators are taking his place. The differentiation between the “on-stage” happenings of Chloe’s story and witty behind-the-scenes banter of Mac and Adam is expertly defined through the use of different media and fonts for each. Readers are sure to remember the difference between an author and an illustrator after enjoying this clever story-within-a-story. -- Laura Given, LibLaura

Creepy Carrots!
by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown
Simon & Schuster

Jasper Rabbit has a big problem: he can't stop chomping down all the carrots in Crackenhopper Field, and they've had enough! As Jasper's love of carrots turns to fear, he attempts to conquer the Creepy Carrots once and for all. Through vivid noir-style illustrations, readers young and old will be captivated by the pop of bright orange against a Twilight Zone feel of background colors and characters. A perfectly creepy and hilarious story of a gluttonous bunny that may even help little readers conquer their fears of what goes bump in the night. -- Danielle Smith, There's a Book

Extra Yarn
by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
Balzer + Bray

In a dreary town, young Annabelle finds a box filled with yarn of every color. Incredibly, the supply never seems to run out. Annabelle decides to share, slowly changing her world for the better. "Timeless" can sometimes be code for "old-fashioned"--that's not the case here. In Extra Yarn, Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen craft a story with staying power that feels fresh and modern. Barnett touches on themes of giving while Klassen works wonders with the visuals, covering the once-drab town in technicolor yarn. It's funny, it's quirky, yet at the core Extra Yarn is an engaging story that kids won't soon forget. -- Travis Jonker, 100 Scope Notes

A Home for Bird
by Philip C. Stead
Roaring Brook

A carved bird is launched off the back of a truck and discovered by a cheerful frog who adopts the silent creature as his new friend. As Bird says nothing, Frog decides he can only make Bird happy by finding his home, and he bravely takes on that important quest. The reader always understands what Frog does not--that this bird belongs in a clock--and that knowledge makes the completed journey rewarding as the right home is found and Bird finally speaks with a loud CUCKOO! Sweeps of bright colors and playfully sketched illustrations convey the light tone, while underneath lies a heart-warming tale of friendship, dedication, and the beauty of caring for another. Powerful, engaging, and beautifully crafted, this is the perfect book for parent-child reading time. -- Jodell Sadler, Picture Book Lunchables

Infinity and Me
by Kate Hosford, illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska
Carolrhoda Books

As she stares at the night sky, young Uma wonders about the confusing concept of infinity and she decides to ask her friends what it means to them. Infinity and Me introduces a challenging mathematical concept though the creative explanations of her friends and Uma’s own wonderings, as well as through the mostly muted illustrations that have just enough personality (the bright red of Uma’s precious new shoes, for example) to give them life. The almost abstract illustrations perfectly suit the mathematical theme of the book, and the child-like, yet accurate, understandings of infinity work together to provide a discussion of a mind-boggling topic, well disguised as a compelling story about one girl and her friends. Inspired by the author’s discussions with children about infinity, Infinity and Me includes a two-page author’s note in which she mentions a bit of the history of the concept of infinity and also shares what some other children think about it. -- Rebecca Reid, Rebecca Reads

One Special Day
by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Jessica Meserve
Hyperion

Spencer is just as strong and fast and loud as any of the wild animals that inhabit his world. Yet when a new sibling comes along, Spencer has no trouble adding "gentle" to his list of personal qualities. Simple text provides a fun introduction to similes, cleverly allowing children to fill in missing blanks. Gorgeous art swirls with motion and emotion until the climax which, by contrast, becomes dear and intimate. One Special Day is an engaging book that thankfully depicts the experience of getting a new sibling in a positive light. -- Aaron Zenz, Bookie Woogie