MotherReader

The Picture Book Manifesto said that picture book authors and illustrators “need more robust criticism” and I’m feeling bitchy anyway, so here goes.

Foxy and Egg
by Alex Smith
Holiday House 2011, review copy from library

An egg visits Foxy, who hopes to fatten it up to eat the next day but gets a big surprise instead. Okay, it’s an egg visiting. An egg. An egg doesn’t visit or fatten up or play parlor games for exercise. It doesn’t grow huge overnight to crack open as a full-grown crocodile. Because it’s an egg. I’m getting that this is supposed to fall into the realm of the silly, but doesn’t pull it off and just seems like a dumb concept from the start. Maybe the story was supposed to be a takeoff on the crocodile and the hen folktale, which actually makes sense and is done quite well in Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile. Honestly, I’m not crazy about the mixed media illustrations either, but it’s the story here that lacks cohesion and loses me at the first premise with that stupid egg.

Scritch-Scratch, a Perfect Match
by Kimberly Marcus, illustrated by Mike Lester
Putnam Juvenile 2011, review copy from library

A flea biting a dog sets up a series of events that brings the dog to an owner and an innocent cat to harbor the flea. The story was slight and yet fairly illogical. Why does one flea drive this dog insane? Why does a random person feel the need to take care of this dog that just knocked him in the mud? What did the cat ever do to deserve this? The rhyming verses weren’t great either, as rhyming verses rarely are. But the illustrations seem ill-conceived for a picture book, being, well... ugly, with huge noses, bulgy eyes, and exaggerated expressions. The pen-and-ink outlines are surrounded by unfocused explosions of color in a distracting way that sometimes makes it hard to tell what is pictured. I’ve liked this illustrator in Ninety-Three in My Family, but this title misses the mark. The text might have squeaked through with more charming illustrations, but neither here can save the other.

King Hugo’s Huge Ego
by Chris Van Dusen
Candlewick 2011, review copy from library

A king with a huge ego pushes a maiden out of the roadway, causing her — as a sorceress in disguise — to put a spell on him to have the size of his head reflect his arrogance. His head grows so big that it catches the wind and blows him away from the kingdom to the feet of the girl, who deflates him with knowledge of his wrongdoing. His instant regret of his actions makes her fall in love with him and marry him. The End. Obvious message? Check. Rote ending? Check. Bad rhyming? Check. And let’s add the image of the king’s head growing grotesquely large as an image that nightmares are based on. I may be alone in my dislike of this title given the Amazon reviews, but again, I like the author/illustrator’s other books — like The Circus Ship — far more. I was really ticked that the maiden married the king, because yeah, that’s how fairy tales end, but this was no fairy tale. Better she become his therapist at an outrageous hourly fee and buy her own manor. Woman power!

There is indeed a movement to make November a time to celebrate children’s literature with Picture Book Month. Led by author Dianne de Las Casas, the website will feature essays of notable authors and illustrators, along with resources, activities, and referrals. As the organizer for the Cybils category for picture books, I could certainly get on board with such fantastic idea. As it turns out, I was already planning to fill this blog with reviews of the many, many, many Cybils-nominated titles in my category. So look for that.

It’s also good timing that I can start today with a proclamation, but even better that it is written by someone else. Especially if that person or people should have particular regard for the topic. People like authors and illustrators of children’s books, like Mac Barnett, Sophie Blackall, Carson Ellis, Adam Rex, Jon Scieszka. Something like this:


While I’m not sure I agree with all aspects of the manifesto — I don’t mind the term “kid-friendly,” for one — I love the concept. The website is getting a lot of attention and hopefully starting some conversations. With my idea to talk more about the many (many, many) books nominated for the Cybils this year, I’m taking another look at one line of the manifesto: “We need more robust criticism to keep us original.” Are you sure? Really? ’Cause I could give it to you, but it won’t be nice...

I’m so confused today. Should I post a Halloween book review or something for Nonfiction Monday? Or continue my coverage of the Cybils-nominated picture books? Talk about October’s Carnival of Children’s Literature? Decide whether to get in on NaNoWriMo?

It’s all too much, so I’m just going to give you a picture of the pumpkin that TeenReader did, with me helping on the tricky parts with an X-Acto knife. Shout-out to the great stencils at Zombie Pumpkins.


Do you know who it is? Answer with a reference from the movie in the comments. Happy Halloween and watch out for zombies!

If you are heading to the library now for your Halloween books, you are likely out of luck. Those Halloween-themed titles are long gone. But all is not lost if you expand your search to books about monsters:

Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters
by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Kelly Murphy
Candlewick 2011, review from library copy

A simply worded lullaby about monsters everywhere will captivate young readers. The rhyming text is sparse, putting the attention on the perfectly detailed illustrations. And perfect they are, being both a bit creepy and cute at the same time. The soft palette and gentle acrylic paintings make even the multi-eyed monsters adorable. The friendly expressions and familiar settings — like playgrounds, kitchens, and bedrooms — keep it sweetly accessible, even as the monsters chow down on worm sandwiches and burp in bed. As a read-aloud book it’s distracting that the last sound doesn’t rhyme, given the carefully constructed couplets throughout. Given the “Grrrr” it seemed logical to have a monster cat give out a calming “Purrr” at the end instead of the standard sleepy sound, “Zzzzz.” A quibble perhaps, for a nice monster/bedtime book.

Check out an earlier post for more monster picture books to find when the Halloween pickings are low.

A quick review of a nonfiction backlist book that is perfect for the season.

The Halloween Book of Facts & Fun
by Wendie Old
Albert Whitman and Co. 2007, review copy from library

Every once in a while I find a book that makes me ask, “Where were you all my child-raising, storytime-planning, classroom-reading years?” What I love about this book is right there in the title — it’s facts and fun. There are instructions for carving a pumpkin and having a Halloween party. There are safety tips and riddles. There are chapters about traditions, witches, jack-o-lanterns, Dracula, and more. There’s even a full-page bibliography if you want to expand your Halloween research. It’s the kind of book that you can pull out each season, whether at home or a classroom or a library, which is why I can’t believe that I wasn’t able to benefit from its perfection for all those years. Starting now, you can plan to dole out a chapter or so a day in the build-up to the Big Event.

Nonfiction Monday is hosted today at Apples with Many Seeds.

Sure you can fill your picture book with all sorts of fancy art, but there are others who take a simpler approach. And it’s hard to get more basic than a dot and a square.

Dot
by Patricia Intriago
Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2011, review copy from library

Graphically bold, the simple dot is used to illustrate concepts and opposites. Starting with color changes of the stoplight to show stop and go dots, the design becomes conceptual to describe other ideas. The loud dot has a big pie shape cut out to represent an open mouth while the sad dot is shaped like a teardrop. A few photo images make appearances to show hands poking the hard and soft dot, and then a clearly dotted dalmatian and a not-dotted zebra. The text doesn’t always rhyme or follow a rhythm. That, along with the surprising change to photos in the two spreads, marred the book’s consistency for me, though I can see how others would appreciate those touches that leave the reader a bit askew. In all, a decent early concept book, but not one that I can imagine becoming a much-loved title.

Perfect Square
by Michael Hall
Greenwillow Books 2011, review copy from library

Through a week, a perfect square goes through transformations, becoming cut, torn, shredded, shattered, snipped, and crumpled. Many squares would get annoyed at this treatment, but this square makes the best of it by turning itself into lovely pictures of flowers and mountains and such. At the end, the various pictures come together into one story in one imagined scene of all the colors of the rainbow. Personally, I would have liked to see the whole scene put together at the end — though I can guess that it wasn’t so easy. Also, I was confused by the idea that it was “a” perfect square. How does one square get pulled apart each day and also change color? I may be over-thinking here, but it did annoy me. But I’m peevish that way.

As I negotiate the peace between our old cat and our new cat, I’m probably particularly attuned to the feline nature. Though really, I’m always a sucker for picture books about cats, and these two Cybils-nominated titles set me purring. Figuratively, that is.

Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku
by Lee Wardlaw, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin
Henry Holt and Co. 2011, review copy from library

This isn’t your schoolroom haiku. Or even technically haiku, which focuses on nature and seasons. But here the author notes that we are looking at a series of senryu, a form that focuses on human nature. Or cat nature. In the book we are introduced to a lonely shelter cat, lean and longing, who gets a home and adjusts to his new surroundings with the typical practiced nonchalance and semi-disdain exhibited by the feline. “Hel-looo. I’m waiting/Put down that pesky pencil/and fetch the catnip.” Poems cover fishy breath, scratching furniture, and hairballs along with the cuter aspects of cats. The illustrations keep the focus on the feline, tuning out the backgrounds in soft colors, and capturing the essence of each poem and its subject. The sparse text will make it suitable for reading aloud to preschoolers, but the subtleties of the poetry will take the title well into elementary school with fun for all along the way.

Dear Tabby
by Carolyn Crimi, illustrated by David Roberts
Harper Collins 2011, review copy from library

An alley cat sets up an advice column for animals, responding to the problems of a parrot, the distress of a dog, and the grumblings of a groundhog — among many other animals. Tabby D. Cat gives good suggestions, some of which could apply in broader, human situations — touching on listening, acceptance, and gratitude. Other than some puns, the advice itself isn’t silly, with the humor conveyed in the situations, the illustrations, and the ultimate resolutions. In the end, the advice offered to one overly pampered cat brings the helpful tabby a new home. Animal lovers of all stripes will appreciate the clever scenarios and engaging pictures. With a fair amount of text and lots to enjoy on every page, this book is a great choice for elementary school kids. Adult readers may also appreciate the actual advice, which ends the books with this letter to a mournful dog: “Well, sometimes happiness is right there beside you. You might even be passing it on your daily walk! But a lot of times you have to make happiness happen. Sniff it out, hunt it down, dig dig dig until you find it.” Good words for all of us!

Tomorrow is the last day to nominate books for the Cybils, and no category needs your support more than poetry. I tried, but all of the books that I suggested were already nominated. So someone with some expertise needs to find those missing books and get them on the list, as I am sure that there were more than thirty titles published in children’s and Young Adult poetry last year. Go. Nominate.

My personal favorite is A Full Moon is Rising, with poems by Marilyn Singer and illustrations by Julia Cairns. Honestly, I could almost stop at just framing the cover, but then I’d miss the world travel offered by the verse, which takes the reader from the moon over New York City through the sands of Morocco to the seas of the Caribbean out to the reaches of space and back again. The poems nicely capture the different cultures under the moonlight and specific activities honoring its glow, while engaging illustrations perfectly display the diverse world. With supplementary material including a highlighted world map, lunar phases, and descriptions of the areas, the book ventures into the territory of indispensable for personal and classroom use. In tribute to my own New York City love, here’s the first poem:

Broadway Moon

It waits behind skyscrapers,
a brilliant actor in the wings,
ready for its monthly debut.
One the sidewalk, and audience of one
watches and silently applauds
when it grandly appears.

Today’s Poetry Friday is hosted at fomagrams. And don’t forget your Cybils nominating!

Well, this is embarrassing. I thought I’d finished and posted this and have not been paying enough attention to notice that was not the case. Kinda shows how things have been going lately. While I could be critical of myself, I will instead focus on the session I attended on critical reviews. (See what I did there?)

Presented by Kelly Jensen and Julia Riley in the room and Abby Johnson and Janssen Brandshaw through the wonders of technology (Skype, I mean. They weren’t like robots or anything.), the session took on what we’ve only spoken about in whispers: What if the book isn’t good? The team immediately reframed the conversation from “negative” to “critical” reviews, putting the emphasis on analysis of the book. They covered ways to pull out discussion of pacing, characters, dialogue, plotting, language, phrasing, voice, and content. They reminded us of the need to notice and address whether to share specific content or spoilers, and to think of the audience of both the book and the review in making these decisions. The talked about avoiding snark, which is a little sad for me as my best line is from reviewing a glittery picture book and stating that my hands looked like I had bitch-slapped Tinkerbell.

Jen Robinson and Carol Rasco did a great job covering the many ways to get your blog out into the eyeballs of readers. Jen went through subscriber emails, newsletters, Facebook, Twitter, and Feedblitz. She also talked about following lists and keywords on Twitter — like #kidlit and #cybils — to keep in and be part of the conversation. Carol talked about her own rule-breaking experience in her organization blog for Reading Is Fundamental.

The last session of the day was highly energized, both by the topic of diversity and by the moderator, Lee Wind. With incredible authors Brent Hartinger, Sara Ryan, Justina Chen, and Sarah Stevenson. The panel discussion started with the provocative question, “Who has the ‘right’ to write a minority story?” And it stayed with that honest tone throughout, pointing me to resources like Writing the Other and Microagressions.com. It gave me the idea that what is dangerous about a stereotype is that it is a single story that limits, while putting out a multitude of stories expands the experience for the reader. There was much talk about speaking your own truth, and yet also turning to research. Honestly, this is an incredibly hard session to capture as the discussion, the fact that we can have the discussion, was a huge component in itself.

The day ended with a pre-dinner happy hour, where I spent some time with Amber Keyser, writer of AngelPunk. Very interesting lady, and just as game as I was to move the discussion over toward Scott Westerfeld. I mean, literally move over to where he was, as opposed to discussing him (though Els discusses his speech very well at Tor). You don’t have a writer that cool, that interesting in your midst and not try to engage him. (I had made a good attempt at lunch as well, but it’s never enough.) We chatted books, New York City, and celebrity encounters before heading to dinner. I sat with my old crowd, but did chat with Martha Brockenbrough, though not nearly enough. After dinner, it was back to the lounge for more wine and hanging out (though sadly, no more Scott Westerfeld) and yes, one more drink at the KidLitCon Command Center before officially closing out the day and the conference.

Thanks to Colleen and Jackie for all the work that went into putting KidLitCon Seattle together! See you all next year at KidLitCon NYC!

When I heard that Scott Westerfeld was going to give the keynote for KidLitCon Seattle, I was excited because he’s a big name in YA and an interactive blogger. But I wasn’t personally a fan, thinking that his books were not my style. Then I heard his presentation and was absolutely mesmerized.

He talked about the death of illustrations in books at the hand of the camera. Illustrated panels had been common in books before a new pricing structure for illustrators fell into place, leaving publishers taking the cheaper road to text only, even for children’s books. He talked about the mindset of adults changing to promote these books to kids as chances to use their own imagination to create the pictures. (And I’ve used that line myself, and now it does seem like a line.)

With the Leviathan series, Scott Westerfeld wanted to bring back the idea of illustrations in a book intended for an older audience. He described the process of working with the illustrator to create the world portrayed in the series, even to the times the artist drove aspects of the story by getting ahead of him. He was influenced by fan art of his other books to realize the importance of the illustrations and also to some of what the readers wanted to imagine in the books. In his words, “That which the camera took away was given back to us through the Internet.”

Honestly, after this talk I was a little bit fangirl and made sure that I table-hopped his way during lunch. He was just so interesting. I also bought a copy of Leviathan to have signed to my teen. So just an aside to authors that there are ways to sell your book without SELLING YOUR BOOK.

The next session I attended was The Fantastic New World of Book Apps for Children presented by Mary Ann Scheuer, Betsy Bird, and Paula Wiley. They showed various book apps and explained specifically what made them good — and just as helpful, what made them not good. In evaluating book apps, it’s important to look at what moves the story forward or enhances the experience or the learning. Some apps have received good marks, and yet take the reader out of the story by engaging them to draw pictures on an unrelated screen. For more on evaluating book apps, head to Great Kid Books, the blog of one of the presenters and the organizer for the Cybils new category for book apps.

While I didn’t expect to do more than sit back and get an author’s perspective on marketing, I found myself taking copious notes during Holly and Shiraz Cupala’s presentation. They shared the concepts and strategies behind marketing Tell Me a Secret, including blog tours, trailers, videos, and a two chapter booklet. They shared the application of the four Ps of marketing: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion — which was noted from the other side as Consumer, Cost, Convenience, and Communication. It was an amazing presentation, and I’ll direct you to the Holly Cupala’s website for more information or to book this duo for a presentation near you. Seriously. I will leave you with this tidbit though: Over 75 pecent of children’s books are bought in a store. Just 12 percent of teens shop for books online. Interesting, huh?

Sure, lots of people like to talk about the conferences that they attended while everyone still remembers that there was a conference. But while everyone is moving on to Cybils nominations, I’m still here throwing out updates. Let’s say it’s because I want to keep talking about it. You know, as opposed to me being lazy about writing this week.

Anyway, I left my updates after only the first session. I sat for the second session — The Future of Transmedia Storytelling — with no preconceptions about the subject. And boy, did that panel blow my mind! In case you are wondering about the topic, as I kinda was, I’ll give a definition. And since I can’t remember if this was their words or my notes, I’ll put it in quotes to be safe. “Transmedia refers to the delivery of story through a variety of media. Story lines are interwoven and connected, but not repetitive. Each story element is individual, but true transmedia brings things together as one concept.” The Angel Punk group described several types and versions of transmedia. I noted the following: Pottermore, 39 Clues, Inanimate Alice, iDrakula, Cathy’s Book, and Skeleton Creek. Being the creators of Angel Punk, they talked the most about that as a combination of film, comic book, novel, and interactive experience with blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitter feeds for the characters. I had no interest in this stuff before, but I am really curious now and can’t wait to investigate.

After that session, it was lucky that I went to one on blogging the backlist. Here I could settle in with the comfort of a cozy couch on a winter day, because I’m all about the backlist. Especially now that I realize that six months from publication is backlist! Seems surprising that that shiny new book isn’t all that new anymore in the publishing industry. Here I didn’t take notes so much as raise hands and shout Amen as Jen Robinson, Melissa Madsen Fox, and Maureen Kearney led the discussion on how both old and new books are important for librarians, for awards, for readers, for each other and for publishers. I say it again: AMEN!

With lots of activity and little sleep, I hit the wall before the next session and had to retire to my room. I was so tired that I missed the free wine in the lobby. Missed. The free. Wine. So I can say that I was completely sober as I attended the Meet-and-Greet that evening, and yet I remember almost nothing about it. I know I saw some friends and conversed with Melissa, Sondy, and Farida. I remember that the appetizers were far more like a buffet than I would have expected, meaning that I did not have to scout out a late dinner. I recall a conversation with Kevin Emerson, because he seemed pretty cool at the author introductions that were done prior to the eating part. Oh, and I got to say hello to Most Popular, Lee Wind. And that’s about all I can swear to.

Now I’m off to take my Girl Scouts camping, hoping for better weather than I am expecting. With any luck I’ll finish off with the actual first full day of the conference on my third write-up two weeks later.

It makes the most sense to start with the session I did, even it is the one that I’m having the hardest time writing up. In order to combat my own writer’s anxiety, I’ve decided to break it down into points, and you’ll simply have to assume and/or understand that we went into far more depth at the session itself.

Bloggers and Writers and Pubs! Oh My! was a panel discussion of the relationships among the players in the kidlitosphere. Liz Burns and I, with author Kirby Larson and Little, Brown representative Zoe Luderitz, opened up the questions with what we loved, didn’t like, and wanted to convey to each other. Some thoughts then:

Writers: Bloggers love when you are engaged with the community and contribute to conversations other than publicity for your book.

Bloggers: Publishers and writers love what you do to promote their books, and while they would love a review, even a title mention is nice.

Publishers: Bloggers love when you send out catalogs with checklists — either electronically or by snail mail — as it allows them to select the items to review according to their interests and expertise and...

Bloggers: Publishers don’t like when you check off everything on that list.

Publishers: Bloggers don’t like when you send things that are way off-base.

Writers: Bloggers don’t like when you argue with their review in the comments or by email.

Publishers: Bloggers want you to understand that they are generally not paid and are doing this for their love of reading, writing, and/or community — not to get free books.

Bloggers: Publishers want you to understand that they are trying to navigate this newer world of blogging with the techniques developed from a century of print reviewing, techniques that are still evolving.

Writers: Bloggers and publishers want you to understand that your website — kept up to date, with a blog that has your name and books clearly listed — is a valuable publicity resource.

Bloggers: Writers want you to understand that there are people behind the books, people with feelings, and they’d rather not receive the tweet about your one-star review of their books.

While I would say that these are majority viewpoints, a key factor of our presentation was that it was less about coming to a consensus of answers — in fifty minutes or less — than about starting the conversations with the questions. So, I give them to back to you to discuss:

Bloggers/Writers/Publishers: What do you love/dislike/want to convey to each other?

At the Hotel Monaco in Seattle, you can request a goldfish for your room. Um, ours died the first night.

See, that’s the kind of lead-off you can use when you let everyone else write their KidLitCon Seattle wrap-ups before you. While they talk about the takeaway theme of “relationship,” the incredible, informative sessions, and the amazing keynote address of Scott Westerfeld, I can cover the subtle, personal experience. Which was better, the scones or the brownies? (Too close to call.) Were the pens provided by the hotel adequately “clicky”? (They were.) How many slices of carved turkey can one stack on a small slider bun? (Four.)

Then there’s the goldfish thing. I was so excited when my roommate, Liz, told me that we could get a goldfish for our room. How cool, right? She turned in before me on that first Thursday night because I was helping conference organizers extraordinaire Colleen Mondor and Jackie Parker-Robinson get presenter giftees ready. (See, Colleen? I told you envelope stuffing would be involved!) When I got back to the room, I realized that our fish was swimming in an odd sidestroke unusual to a fish. I knew that guy was a goner, but not knowing any fish rescue techniques I went to bed. Liz and I woke up to find him floating on top of his tank, and both of us had to pull back on a bit of... glee. Not because we hate pets, but because it was funnier that the fish died.

And this is why I go to KidLitCon. I mean, not to kill goldfish, but to be with my people. The friends I rarely see, but who look at life and humor and books with the same feeling. Not always the same opinions, but with a rare meeting of the minds that I find few other places in real life. In fact, as I was making my way to the hotel after a long, annoying, exhausting day of travel I was swearing to myself that I would NEVER cross-country again. I went straight to the KidLitCon Operation Center (otherwise known as Colleen and Jackie’s room), and that oath disappeared from my brain as I hugged Colleen, Jackie, Liz, Jen, and Anne. Kelly handed me a glass of wine. And I was home.

Well, except that at home, I don’t pay seventeen dollars for three scallops. (WTF?) But was very grateful to my dinner companions for sharing their extras in their more normally priced and generous meals. With team spirit, we headed downstairs to the conference room to set up for the next day. Which seemed like the same day in my mind, given my jet-lagged lack of sleep and the sameness of the morning where the same collective headed off to a hardy breakfast at a diner around the corner that I scoped out for the group. I’ve never appreciated a seven-dollar omelet more. After the meal, Jen, Anne, Liz and I walked around Pike’s Market while Liz and I fine-tuned our presentation. Meaning that Liz worried that we didn’t have enough to fill the time, while I laughed at the idea that Liz and I — either of whom talk for an hour about The Giving Tree — would have any chance of dead air in our presentation.

Small break back at the hotel, and then we were on with our panel Bloggers and Writers and Pubs! Oh My! with our very special guests, Kirby Larson (Newbery Honor winner) and Zoe Luderitz (Little, Brown marketer). I feel like I’ve blanked on much of what we talked about, but have decided to piece that together in a separate post anyway. I was pleased with my introduction to the topic, which went back to the early days of the kidlitosphere, when a group of us talked about this new dynamic of reviewers, librarians, authors, editors, parents, et al. talking about books and if this coziness made us less objective reviewers. We didn’t come to any consensus then, but in a way I did come to my own conviction: If the possibility of less objectivity comes with this vibrant, unique and special community we call the KidLitosphere... I’ll take it.

And you know what? Four years later, I was saying that to a roomful of people who were there because we embraced that risk. There we were — reviewers, librarians, authors, editors, parents, et al. — continuing that discussion of how we could all work together with understanding, respect, and integrity. Some of us had traveled thousands of miles to be part of that conversation, and online we keep talking, adapting, and refining those relationships.

Among our community, we find real friends. Later we may laugh with those friends about the goldfish that died in our care. And we get another goldfish. Her name is Natalie, and I believe that she is doing just fine.

In the next days, we’ll be releasing the names for this years Cybils panelists and judges. It is important to know that the selection process is not done lightly, and yet at the same time doesn’t make a definitive statement about you or your blog. Ann has written a bit about it at the Cybils blog, and she is right on target. The organizers work to create panels that are balanced, looking at literary experience and fresh voices and job titles and community participation and voracious reading and thoughtful writing and certainly a dozen more factors.

This is true for all categories, but I wanted to say something particularly to folks who made Fiction Picture Books their first choice. In terms of Cybils, you should know — well, I’m a giver. I do get a fair number of candidates and do share liberally with other related categories like Nonfiction Picture Books, Early Readers, and this year, Book Apps. The other organizers and I discuss best placement looking at your preferences and the skills you could bring to each category along with the needs of the panels. In the end, I can’t take all the potential volunteers in my category, but I thank you for your interest in this genre of books that holds my own heart.

I’m sitting in an airport in Kansas City waiting for the next leg of my journey to Seattle. I’ve managed to get a two-hour layover to change planes, where the next plane is coming back to the same gate I just left. Leaving this room means that I have to go through security again, so I’ve spent the two hours in a room the size of a high school gym reflecting on all the times I’ve hustled through a huge airport to make a forty-minute leeway of a connection. It doesn’t seem fair, somehow.

I am on my way to KidLitCon Seattle. I’d be more excited if I weren’t so tired. And a little overwhelmed by the Cybils judge selection process. And a bit anxious for flying cross-country. Let’s say that I am ready to be excited to hang out with my best blogging friends. The sessions lined up by Colleen and Jackie are so good that I can’t find a time to skip out and see the town! Darn you, ladies!

Liz and I will be starting the party off with our session on the relationships among book bloggers, authors, and publishers. (Oh, my!) We’ll be joined by an actual author — Kirby Larsen — and publisher from Little, Brown. (Hey, Zoe!) Next week, we’re sure to be back here with a complete plan of action to smooth the path, align the stars and all that jazz for all of us here in the kidlitopshere. And like, world peace, too. Want to play along at home? Finish these thoughts from your perspective as a book blogger, author, or publisher about one of the others in our cozy family.

• I love it when bloggers/authors/publishers...

• I wish that bloggers/authors/publishers wouldn’t...

• If the others should know one thing about us, it’s...

If you’re fast, maybe we’ll use it tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll come back with all sorts of great ideas, thoughts, and advice from KidLitCon Seattle. Maybe even with a new burst of energy. It could happen.

My daughters are twelve and fifteen years old. On September 11, 2001, they were too young to understand what was going on. The teen remembers me watching TV and wondering why I was so sad. She was unaware of the scary phone calls of that day, as her father and I worried about him getting out of Washington, DC. They could see the smoke of the Pentagon from their building, and reports were circulating of bombs in embassies near his office.

In the years after, we or they might refer to the day as “when the two towers fell” or some such approximation. They had a basic idea of what had happened then, and certainly over time had picked up the implications of that day. People attacked us, we went to war to bring them down, and that war was not as easy as we thought. They know kids whose parents are or were deployed, as we live in a community with many military families. They watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report with us, and can’t miss the continued discussion of the events that followed.

But the matter-of-fact tone they used about the towers falling has over time made me more uncomfortable that I was shielding them from the worst of that day. It is a part of their history, and more so because it wasn’t about one day but the weeks, the months, the decade that followed.

I know that I’ve brought home a few books before now, and maybe it is the wrong use of Nonfiction Monday that I didn’t find what I needed in their pages. Instead, last night we watched a documentary of that day in New York — which started with blue skies and ended in gray ash. We talked a bit throughout to clarify events. We sat together in constant contact — leaning on each other, holding a hand, wiping a tear.

It wasn’t easy to watch, and at times I doubted myself in my mission to educate. But in the end I felt that I had to bring them to that place, because they could speak of that day with respect, but not with understanding of the emotional content of that day that shaped their decade. However painful, they deserved that much.

Two years ago I was inspired to write a list poem in response to the weekly challenge of Miss Rumphius. Today I was planning to post something else, but then it hit me that I am leaving for KidLitCon Seattle in less than a week. Wow! As I thought about my packing, I realized that perhaps my fellow travelers could use some advice. So here goes:

Packing

Start with
A carry-on bag
With a noticeable tag.
Black pants to dress up
The essential black T-shirt.
A jacket adds color or slims in black.
A cotton dress cut just above the knee
Easily goes from daytime to evening with
Comfortable heels and versatile accessories.
(Colorful bangles for day, silver chains for evening.)
Shorts and shirt to sleep in provide emergency clothes.
One interesting shirt that can start a barstool conversation.
Undergarments, socks, belts, extra shirt, and toiletries.
(Liquids in a plastic bag on top, for airport security.)
Two books of different styles, and the guidebook.
Don’t pack pinchy shoes, no matter how cute
No organizers, calendars or work numbers.
Leave behind preconceived notions about
Sushi, planes, or talking to strangers.
Wear the really flattering jeans.
Slip on walking shoes.
(Black is best.)
And go.

Looking forward to seeing many of you at KidLitCon next weekend! Please don’t be shy, come and say hi! (See, another poem! I’m on a roll!) Poetry Friday round-up is hosted at Secrets and Soda.

All right, so a post on summer’s end is a bit overdue, but I was desperate to hold onto those last days almost to the point of denial. With the girls in the second day of school and the temperature hovering around sixty-five degrees, I think I might have to accept the close of my favorite season.

We had a good run, summer and I. There’s no arguing that. Spent several days going to the beach and had my niece with us for a total of three weeks. Having a five year old around gave me and my big girls a chance to check out the new American Girl store, go to the zoo, splash in the pool, and basically visit all the things we used to do when they were little. We even dug out the Barbies. It was kinda magical. If a bit exhausting at times, because My God the boundless energy of a kindergartener was a shock to my lackadaisical system.

Of course, the New York City trip was amazing. Spending two weeks there very gave us a feel for the city and really, the city life as we negotiated the subway and carried our groceries up two flights of stairs. The tween had the most fantastic opportunity to learn Broadway skills from actual Broadway actors/singers/dancers, choreographers, and agents. It was thrilling in every way. The teen and I spent our time exploring the city and enjoying each other’s company. And there were shows, museums, and stores — oh my!

Here at home, we simply hung out. Sometimes there would be people in town to visit or a sleepover to attend, but we spent a lot of time just being around each other. Watching movies, reading books, playing video games, hitting the mall, and taking a swim. I really, really like being with my girls and feel extremely fortunate to be able to say that.

Which is why the end of summer and the beginning of school is so hard for me. I really miss them during the day. But I have to admit that I do better getting on a schedule in terms of housework and well, blogging. So I hope to be back here with more consistency and let’s say, effort as the KidLitosphere lights up with Cybils, KidLitCon, and fall season books. It’s go time!

Yesterday was the secondary school’s open house, and this morning the tween is going through middle school orientation. I’m not really ready for this, like, at all. But here is a quick nod to school as I get off the computer to enjoy the last days of summer. See you on the other side.

Armando and the Blue Tarp School
by Edith Hope Fine and Judith Pinkerton Josephson, illustrated by Hernan Sosa

This book is based on the true story of a teacher who set up a school in Tijuana, Mexico with only a blue tarp. The poverty of the children is harsh, and their garbage-dump surroundings vile. But with hard work and hope, the children begin to go to school. This is a picture book, but due the theme and length is intended for school-age children. Interesting and inspirational, it manages to teach without being preachy. The real story is included at the end of the book, as well as a glossary of Spanish words.

Why hello, KidLitosphere. Have a nice summer? (Yawwwn.) I feel like I’m waking up from a long sleep and still need my coffee. Sure I was up a few times during the “night,” for a quick posting or two, but now it is time to wake up and get going.

If the smell of bacon might get me stirring from my bed on a lazy Sunday morning, than it is the call for Cybils judges that stirs me now. You, potential panelists, are my bacon. I’m excited to meet you. Now, don’t email me for your Cybils scoop, even if I am the organizer for Fiction Picture Books. Read over the Cybils judging info and then submit your name for consideration on the Cybils form.

Of course, I’m also being pulled from my blissful repose by a steady sizzle. Not of pancakes on the griddle, but the upcoming KidLitCon Seattle. I’ve registered, snagged a panel presentation, and booked my flight/hotel. I’ve been processing your checks for the KidLitCon 2011 team and looking forward to seeing — and meeting — my blogging buddies. There is still time to register for this fabulous conference. In fact, I’d say there is no time better. The line-up of sessions looks fantastic, and the keynote speaker is Scott Westerfeld! And even so, I’ll still bet that the best moments for you as an attendee will come from meeting the bloggers and authors in real life. There really is nothing like it.

So, with all the excitement, it is time to get going, KidLitosphere! Just let me get my coffee...

Like last week’s post of summer chapter books, I’m giving quick summaries of thirteen picture books. And these are special picture books, selected by me over my years of experience with the titles to put together a list that represents many different and diverse summers. Even as a proclaimed beach bum, I’ve limited my shore stories to only two, leaving room for the many ways people see summer in the city, in parades, in the pool, and even abroad. I’ve also organized this list in order of the author, making it easier to print out and find the books at your local library. Let us begin with my personal favorite that just happens to be first...

Beach
by Elisha Cooper
A day at the beach is captured beautifully in a series of seashore scenes from suntanning to swimming to shoveling sand. A beach-lover’s delight.

And Then It Rained : And Then the Sun Came Out...
by Crescent Dragonwagon, illustrated by Diane Greenseid
In one side of this story, the rain just won’t stop, but turn the book over and it’s the story of a blaring sun-baked town that needs the refreshing (turn it over) rain. Very clever.

Bebé Goes to the Beach
by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Steven Salerno
A sprinkle of Spanish words throughout the text sets apart this beach tale of one bebé who keeps his mama quite busy.

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever
by Marla Frazee
Two boys spent the week at Grandpa’s “camp,” with different interpretations of the activities than those of the adults around them. Terrific fun.

Mermaids on Parade
by Melanie Hope Greenberg
Everyone loves a parade — and mermaids for that matter — and this book celebrates both in its depiction of the annual Coney Island event.

Come on, Rain
by Karen Hesse, illustrated by Jon J. Muth
In the heat of the city, a girl waits for the rain to cool things off, and then celebrates by dancing outside with friends and family when it finally comes. Joyful and lovely.

When the Fireflies Come
by Jonathan London, illustrated by Terry Widener
A slow summer day of barbecue and baseball turns into a slow summer night with friends and fireflies. What could be better?

The Boy Who Wouldn’t Swim
by Deb Lucke
Regardless of the heat, a young boy won’t swim in the pool, but finally gives in to find that he never wants to get out!

Summer Sun Risin’
by W. Nikola-Lisa, illustrated by Don Tate
A day on a farm in the summertime includes plenty of chores, but also time for fishing and stories for an African American family.

Think Cool Thoughts
by Elizabeth Perry, illustrated by Linda Bronson
A young girl tries to keep cool in her city apartment, but is excited by the prospect of sleeping on the roof with her mom and aunt.

Summer: An Alphabet Acrostic
by Steven Schnur, illustrated by Leslie Evans
Summer stables become poems as linoleum-block illustrations set the scenes.

Monsoon Afternoon
by Kashmira Sheth, illustrated by Yoshiko Jaeqqi
On a visit to India, a boy learns of the pleasures to be found in the summer monsoon season through the eyes of his beloved grandfather.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation
by Mark Teague
An imaginative boy spins a tale of Wild West adventures when asked about his summer vacation. How’s yours going?

(This post was previously published at PBS Booklights)

Ten years ago, nonfiction books about animals would feature a block of text on one page with a second-rate photo on the opposite page. Then came the trend — still popular — of having several text boxes, a few photos, several captions, and maybe a “fun facts” box — the busy look catering to the short-attention-span crowd. But in the last few years a new generation of books is putting more focus on the photos, with amazing results. I’ve blogged about the Nic Bishop books and the Face to Face series, but here’s another find from my local library.

Parrots (The Wild World of Animals)
by Jill Kalz
The text is pretty standard, informational stuff — but the photos are spectacular! One huge, stunning, no-borders, full-page picture, with text in a box over the photo itself. Some of the pictures fill up the two-page spread. Now with a subject as colorful as parrots, this style is exceptionally stunning, but you’ll also relish the chance to explore many other topics in the series, The Wild World of Animals, including koalas, lions, dolphins, swans, and giraffes. The series has been around for a while, so you’ll want to look at the redesigned books published in 2006 or later. Here is an Amazon link to that listing.

Nonfiction Monday is hosted today at Ana’s Nonfiction Blog

I’m doing something a little different today. Instead of writing single-paragraph reviews of three books, I’m giving quick summaries of thirteen books for the elementary school crowd. But in missing the review, you’ll get my personal stamp of approval over the many summer books I have known — and I’ve known quite a few. These are in addition to my already profiled summer books. I’ve listed the books roughly in order of the target age of the reader, from youngest to oldest. That said, many of the books would be great to read aloud to younger readers, as I’ve made up this collection of mostly lighter summer books.

Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown
by Jarrett Krosoczka
A new addition to younger graphic novels is this series featuring a Lunch Lady with astonishing abilities to fight crime and serve tater tots. With the Breakfast Bunch kids, she tackles a new enemy at summer camp. Silly fun!

Babymouse: Beach Babe
by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm
An earlier book in the Babymouse graphic novel series brings us a trip to the beach that can’t help but go wrong. Oh, Babymouse, I love you so. (Also look for Camp Babymouse.)

The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis
by Barbara O’Connor
Feeling bored in his small Southern town, Popeye befriends a newcomer named Elvis who finds adventure in everything. A great book for seeing the wonders in the everyday world.

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little
by Peggy Gifford
Someone has been putting off her summer reading — and continues to find ways to do so in amazingly elaborate ways. The photographs and the clever section titles add to this amusing book. (Also, one of my favorite covers of all time.)

Summer Reading is Killing Me
by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith
Summer reading doesn’t work out well for the Time Warp Trio either, as the boys put their booklist in “The Book” and end up caught in a world of good and bad characters from children’s literature. Mayhem ensues.

Lowji Disovers America
by Candice Fleming
When Lowji arrives from India, he comes with wishes for new friends and pets. But summer vacation makes it hard find kids in his neighborhood, and his landlady is not fond of animals. No matter, as Lowji’s positive attitude and clever solutions get him results in amusing ways.

Summer According to Humphrey
by Betty Birney
The little hamster with the big series of adventures gets to go to Camp Happy Hollow where he meets a wild mouse, visits the lake, and helps the kids adjust to the outdoor life and each other. There’s always fun to be had with Humphrey.

Minn and Jake’s Almost Terrible Summer
by Janet Wong, illustrated by Genevieve Cote
Jake returns to his home for a visit, but didn’t expect his camp-free summer to be ruined by his Halmoni’s plans and his little brother’s annoyances. When his best friend Minn makes a visit, even that causes conflict. Can this summer be saved?

The Lemonade War
by Jacqueline Davis
When Evan finds out that his younger sister Jessie is going to skip a grade right into his class, he channels his anger into a challenge as to who can make the most money with competing lemonade stands. An interesting and often amusing story of marketing strategies, sibling rivalry, and making lemonade.

Any Which Wall
by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
“Common magic” takes four kids out of their boring summer doldrums when a magical wall transports them into different worlds of adventures, including a pirate ship and Camelot. Delightful story with a timeless tone.

Lawn Boy (and Lawn Boy Returns)
by Gary Paulsen
A lesson in business and the free-market economy is contained in this story of a boy who starts with a old riding law mower and ends up as a young tycoon. Funny and yet highly educational.

Tortilla Sun
Jennifer Cerventes
When twelve-year old Izzy visits her Nana’s remote New Mexico village for the summer, she discovers secrets about her father, along with a view into a different world. Sweet with a touch of magic.

One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Sent out to stay out of the house by their estranged mother, three sisters spend a summer in 1968 among the Black Panthers learning about revolution, identity, and personal responsibility. A deeper book, for certain, but with its own lightness and humor.

Free Baseball
by Sue Corbett
Mistaken for a batboy by a local Cuban team, Felix takes the opportunity to hang out with the ballplayers — and maybe find out something about his dad. Certainly a book that features the game well, but also the complexity of relationships and secrets.

(This post was previously published at PBS Booklights)

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?

Huzzah! It’s time again for a Threadless sale. Their highly creative, often artistic t-shirts are selling for ten or twelve bucks — an absolute bargain for a book lover to make a statement like this:


The Best Channels since 1465 is just one of the many cool shirts featured. On the reading end, you might add Brainy Rainbow to your collection:


This Book Lover is a natural for me, with both a giraffe and books:


Or on a completely different note, you could share some feelings about couplehood with Love is Love:


This is the time to stock up, because sizes sell out fast. Along with the fourth selection here, I bought the lovely Secret Lake for me and Squinjas!, the humorous portrayal of ninja squirrels trying to steal scout cookies, for the tween. What Threadless shirt do you love?

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.