text:
Something on the drawing board. It's fun to take a pic and distort it!
Something on the drawing board. It's fun to take a pic and distort it!
Roald Dahl's classic children's book Charlie & The Chocolate Factory turns 50 this year. To commemorate the occasion, Penguin Young Readers has released a new paperback edition of the novel and is running its own golden ticket sweepstakes.
Five young readers will win a trip to New York City and a VIP experience at Dylan's Candy Bar. In addition, winners will get a year's supply of chocolate, a library of Dahl books and tickets to see Matilda the Musical. Follow this link to enter the contest. Penguin Young Readers will donate money and a book to the nonprofit First Book for every entry they receive.
To help build up enthusiasm, the publisher hosted a party at Dylan's Candy Bar in New York back in April. The springtime fete brought out the likes of Roald Dahl's grandson Luke Kelly, Vogue editor Anna Wintour and Joseph Schindelman, the original illustrator of the book.
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Absolutely Almost
By Lisa Graff
Philomel (an imprint of Penguin)
Ages 9-12
On shelves now.
In the stage musical of Matilda, lyricist Tim Minchin begins the show with the following lines about the state of children today: "Specialness is de rigueur. / Above average is average. Go fig-ueur! / Is it some modern miracle of calculus / That such frequent miracles don't render each one un-miraculous?" This song ran on a bit of a loop through my cranium as I read Lisa Graff latest middle grade novel Absolutely Almost. For parents, how well your child does reflects right back on you. Your child is a genius? Congratulations! You must be a genius for raising a genius. Your child is above average? Kudos to you. Wait, your child is average? Uh-oh. For some parents nothing in the world could be more embarrassing. We all want our kids to do well in school, but where do you distinguish between their happiness and how hard you're allowed to push them to do their best? Do you take kindness into account when you're adding up all their other sterling qualities? Maybe the wonder of Absolutely Almost is that it's willing to give us an almost unheard of hero. Albie is not extraordinary in any possible way and he would like you to be okay with that. The question then is whether or not child readers will let him.
Things aren't easy for Albie. He's not what you'd call much of a natural at anything. Reading and writing is tough. Math's a headache. He's not the world's greatest artist and he's not going to win any awards for his wit. That said, Albie's a great kid. If you want someone kind and compassionate, he's your man. When he finds himself with a new babysitter, a girl named Calista who loves art, he's initially skeptical. She soon wins him over, though, and good thing too since there are a lot of confusing things going on in his life. One day he's popular and another he's not. He's been kicked out of his old school thanks to his grades. Then there's the fact that his best friend is part of a reality show . . . well, things aren't easy for Albie. But sometimes, when you're not the best at anything, you can make it up to people by simply being the best kind of person.
Average people are tough. They don't naturally lend themselves to great works of literature generally unless they're a villain or the butt of a joke. Lots of heroes are billed as "average heroes" but how average are they really? Put another way, would they ever miscalculate a tip? Our fantasy books are full to overflowing of average kids finding out that they're extraordinary (Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Meg Murry, etc.). Now imagine that the book kept them ordinary. Where do you go from there? Credit where credit is due to Lisa Graff then. The literary challenge of retaining a protagonist's everyday humdrum status is intimidating. Graff wrestles with the idea and works it to her advantage. For example, the big momentous moment in this book is when it turns out that Albie doesn't have dyslexia and just isn't good at reading. I've never seen that in a book for kids before, and it was welcome. It made it clear what kind of book we're dealing with.
As a librarian who has read a LOT of children's books starring "average" kids, I kept waiting for that moment when Albie discovered he had a ridiculously strong talent for, say, ukulele or poker or something. It never came. It never came and I was left realizing that it was possible that it never would. Kids are told all the time that someday they'll find that thing that'll make them unique. Well what if they don't? What happens then? Absolutely Almost is willing to tell them the truth. There's a wonderful passage where Calista and Albie are discussing the fact that he may never find something he's good at. Calista advises, "Find something you'd want to keep doing forever… even if you stink at it. And then, if you're lucky, with lots of practice, then one day you won't stink so much." Albie points out, correctly, that he might still stink at it and what then? Says Calista, "Then won't you be glad you found something you love?"
Mind you, average heroes run a big risk. Absolutely Almost places the reader in a difficult position. More than one kid is going to find themselves angry with Albie for being dense. But the whole point of the book is that he's just not the sharpest pencil in the box. Does that make the reader sympathetic then to his plight or a bully by proxy? It's the age-old problem of handing the reader the same information as the hero but allowing them to understand more than that hero. If you're smarter than the person you're reading about, does that make you angry or understanding? I suppose it depends on the reader and the extent to which they can relate to Albie's problem. Still, I would love to sit in on a kid book discussion group as they talked about Albie. Seems to me there will be a couple children who find their frustration with his averageness infuriating. The phrase "Choose Kind" has been used to encourage kids not to bully kids that look different than you. I'd be interested in a campaign that gave as much credence to encouraging kids not to bully those other children that aren't as smart as they are.
I've followed the literary career of Lisa Graff for years and have always enjoyed her books. But with Absolutely Almost I really feel like she's done her best work. The book does an excellent job of showing without telling. For example, Albie discusses at one point how good he is at noticing things then relates a teacher's comment that, "if you had any skill at language, you might've made a very fine writer." Graff then simply has Albie follow up that statement with a simple "That's what she said." You're left wondering if he picked up on the inherent insult (or was it just a truth?) in that. Almost in direct contrast, in a rare moment of insight, his dad says something about Albie that's surprising in its accuracy. "I think the hard thing for you, Albie… is not going to be getting what you want in life, but figuring out what that is." I love a book that has the wherewithal to present these different sides of a single person. Such writing belies the idea that what Graff is doing here is simple.
Reading the book as a parent, I could see how my experience with Absolutely Almost was different from that of a kid reader. Take the character of Calista, for example. She's a very sympathetic babysitter for Albie who does a lot of good for him, offering support when no one else understands. Yet she's also just a college kid with a poorly defined sense of when to make the right and wrong choice. Spoiler Alert on the rest of this paragraph. When Albie's suffering terribly she takes him out of school to go to the zoo and then fails to tell his parents about this executive decision on her part. A couple chapters later Albie's mom finds out about the outing and Calista's gone from their lives. The mom concludes that she can't have a babysitter who lies to her and that is 100% correct. A kid reader is going to be angry with the mom, but parents, teachers, and librarians are going to be aware that this is one of those unpopular but necessary moves a parent has to face all the time. It's part of being an adult. Sorry, kids. Calista was great, but she was also way too close to being a manic pixie dream babysitter. And trust me when I say you don't want to have a manic pixie dream babysitter watching your children.
Remember the picture book Leo the Late Bloomer where a little tiger cub is no good at anything and then one day, somewhat magically, he's good at EVERYTHING? Absolutely Almost is the anti-Leo the Late Bloomer. In a sense, the point of Graff's novel is that oftentimes kindness outweighs intelligence. I remember a friend of mine in college once commenting that he would much rather that people be kind than witty. At the time this struck me as an incredible idea. I'd always gravitated towards people with a quick wit, so the idea of preferring kindness seemed revolutionary. I'm older now, but the idea hasn't gone away. Nor is it unique to adulthood. Albie's journey doesn't reach some neat and tidy little conclusion by this story's end, but it does reach a satisfying finish. Life is not going to be easy for Albie, but thanks to the lessons learned here, you're confident that he's gonna make it through. Let's hope other average kids out there at least take heart from that. A hard book to write. An easy book to read.
On shelves now.
Source: Galley sent from publisher for review.
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I'll have to pick up this book. I also love Lisa Graff and think she's rocking middle grade fiction. Your review reminds me of Calli Be Gold by Michelle Hurwitz.
Calli comes from a family of overachievers and they are convinced that she excels at something too, but what she mostly excels at is being kind. I love a good book about a normal, or average kid!
I've never commented here before, though your blog is a huge reason I started reading children's books. I am curious about your frequent description of Albie, here and elsewhere, as "average." To me, the book was very clearly about a kid who is far *below* average in some ways. Average kids do not get singled out with the horrible names that Albie get called by his average classmates. Average kids do not get kicked out of one school for academic inability and attend a special needs-type class at another. Average kids do not have a parent desperately searching for an answer to what's "wrong" with their kid and another parent who (one infers) feels the kid is likely to be a public embarrassment. I liked this book a lot and would even suggest it for a Schneider, but obviously that can't be if the protagonist is, in fact, average. (Only in Lake Wobegon)
Ordinary Jack by Helen Cresswell is another book about a family of over-achievers and the "normal" or "ordinary" sibling.
[...] Graff, Lisa. Absolutely Almost. A Fuse #8 Production [...]
Oh, I LOVE that book! Good remembering. They should bring it back, though I'm loathe to see who could possibly replace those classic Trina Schart Hyman covers.
Well, lovely to see you here.
You bring up an excellent point. When is a child "average" as opposed to "below average"? I suppose it all comes down to each person's individual designation. Certainly schools specialize in designating kids one category or another, and in the case of this book Albie is kicked out of one school because he falls squarely in the "below average" designation. But if the school was for gifted children then wouldn't that make him average? Always assuming it was a gifted school. Was he placed in a special needs class in the public school? I don't remember that.
In the public school Albie comes off as a C kid rather than a F kid. Average kids definitely get called "dummy" by other kids, so that rang true for me. It could be that I'm a New Yorker so my interactions with New York City parents made Albie's mom and dad sound awfully familiar. Your kid isn't reading at the level you require so you worry that there's something wrong with them. That's familiar. But by the same token I could see someone reading this book and finding Albie to be special needs. I think it's open to interpretation.
Since Albie isn't specifically named any kind of designation, I don't think it's Schneider eligible. But I've been wrong about Schneider before, that's for sure.
Just wanted to chime in to say that SLJ starred it, too! We absolutely loved Albie.
written and illustrated by Kit Chase
published 2014, by G.P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of PenguinI've always had a soft spot for elephants, ever since I had a sweet stuffed one as a kid. He played 'You Are My Sunshine,' so of course, Sunshine was his name. And I don't know who I'm kidding with the kid thing, cause Sunshine still lives with me. He's a dear.
And lately, I've had a tender thing towards trees and how much they give us. Some are big enough to hug, and some snap at the landing of a songbird. All are homes. Add a little Beatrix Potter-esque art, and a story that stays endearing without dipping into the saccharine side, and I'm completely charmed. The dust jacket says it best: 'there's a reason we don't see elephants in trees.'
I love this elephant, Oliver. I love that when all he sees is despair, he takes a nap. Spectacular coping skill, Oliver! Thank goodness that his friends aren't defeated, and they get to work searching and gathering. I'm adding the spread below to my inner rolodex of perfect picture book spreads. The words and the illustrations balance each other and don't compete for attention. It slows down the action, builds suspense, and gives the reader a chance to predict what happens on the other side of the page turn. And the twig frames are just plain lovely. So: pretty perfect.I hope this isn't the only story Kit Chase is brewing with Oliver, Charlie, and Lulu. I feel like they have a lot to say and share.
Want to see more of her art? A dash of dear and a pinch of perfect? All of the pieces below are in her Etsy shop, trafalgar's square. Huge thanks to Kit for sharing these with us!
Review copy provided by G.P. Putnam's Sons.
There is a certain element of mystery that accompanies each and every librarian preview here in New York City. When the larger publishers gather the librarians to their proverbial bosom, those same librarians walk in with just one question in your mind: How long is this going to take? If you're lucky you'll be out by lunchtime. But with Penguin beginning their preview by providing lunch, the day was rendered simply more mysterious. Fortunately the answer to the puzzle lay on our seats. Each librarian was given a 48-page collection of PowerPoint slides for the event. 48 pages! The length of a slightly long picture book. That's entirely doable! And indeed, for this particular preview I was pleased to discover that we'd only be covering a sampling of the books from each imprint. Bonus!
During the course of the event a photo was taken of the librarians and posted to Twitter that day. See if you can spot me in this shot:
If you said, "Why Betsy is the woman in white imitating a small ocean liner" you would have earned yourself a cookie. There is very little photographic evidence of my pregnancy this second time around. As such, this is one of the very rare shots in existence. Credit due to @VikingChildrens.
But enough of this silliness. Onward to the previews! As per usual I'll just be reporting on the children's fare, with the exception of the rare YA novel here and there. And, naturally, we begin with . . .
Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
To be slightly more specific, we begin with Lisa Graff. Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff has, as of this blog post, earned itself four starred reviews thus far, unless I am much mistaken. Like all her other books out there, it's a standalone. There's something infinitely comforting about authors that aren't afraid to write standalone novels. Heck, in this era of ubiquitous sequels it's a downright relief, it is. In Absolutely Almost our main character goes by the name of Albie. He's a good kid but he thinks of himself as an "almost". You know. He does a lot of things . . . almost well. So what do you do when you're just almost everything? Aye. There's the rub. Set in NYC the book is apparently for fans of Wonder, Rules, Joey Pigza books, and Liar & Spy. An interesting assortment of connections, to say the least!
Chasing the Milky Way by Erin E. Moulton
Next up? A little Moulton. Editor Jill Santopolo called her a "gorgeous under the radar" author. One must assume she is referring to her books, though I'm sure she's quite cute. In this particular title two sisters try to take care of their mentally ill mom. A common theme this year, what with the near simultaneous release of books like Under the Egg. Lucy the eldest, however, can't keep everyone safe. Ms. Moulton's own mother is a social worker and took her daughter along on the job often enough that it made a significant impression. Authors Moulton was compared to included Jerry Spinelli, Katherine Paterson, and Sharon Creech. But no pressure or anything!
Brotherband: Slaves of Socorro by John Flanagan
If your library system is anything like mine then you have a devil of a time figuring out where to catalog John Flanagan. Is he Juv? YA? Well don't expect the answers to come any easier. Penguin is planning on repackaging the first four books in the Ranger's Apprentice series as well as the Brotherband books. Speaking of which, in this latest little novel, the Slaves of Socorro, editor Michael Green called it a "crossover episode" of sorts. Characters from the Rangers books and the Brotherband books are now banding together. It's a fictional literary character supergroup! Expect already existing fans to be pretty stoked over the idea.
The Secret Sky by Atia Abawi
Ah. The first of the true YA novels to be mentioned here today. I might not have even mentioned it except that Jill, its editor, got so existed. "This is THE most important book I've ever edited", said she. Hard to ignore enthusiasm like that. A love story set in the time of the Taliban, the book is by ABC Bureau Chief, Atia Abawi. Raised in Germany and the American south after her mother escaped Afghanistan during the Russian invasion, Ms. Abawi's book has been getting blurbs from authors (Daphne Benedis-Grab, Trent Reedy, etc.) as well as folks in her own business (Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondant of NBC Andrea Mitchell, for example).
Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers
Now to switch gears as far as those gears will go. Oliver Jeffers is a tricky fellow to judge. I've loved some of his stuff (I maintain that Stuck is a modern classic for our times) and loathed others. I think it's fair to say that Once Upon an Alphabet is going to fall a little more squarely on the love side of the equation. Jeffers tackles the alphabet on his own this time and isn't afraid to break out the fancy words. Calling this, "Oliver's magnum opus" the book contains little stories for each storyline. Here's one example: "C: Cup in the cupboard. Cup lived in the cupboard. It was dark and cold in there when the door was closed. He dreamed of living over by the window so he'd have a clear view. One afternoon he decided to go for it." I won't spoil the ending of that one for you. Regardless, think of this as a lighter companion to books like The Gashlycrumb Tinies and the like.
Nancy Paulsen Books
The Baby Tree by Sophie Blackall
Then we're off to the Nancy Paulsen Books side of the equation. And can I tell you how goofy crazy my librarians are about The Baby Tree right now? I tell you, the cover of this book came up onto the screen and there were universal coos from the librarians in attendance. And why not? The whole where-do-babies-come-from niche is still fairly wide open. In this story a boy asks for some straightforward explanations of where babies come from, only to be met with a flurry of ridiculous answers from a variety of elders. It's a pretty darn good second sibling book for the older set (the 4, 5, and 6-year-olds) out there. Definitely a keeper and one to watch.
Sleepover with Beatrice & Bear by Monica Carnesi
And speaking of keepers covering well-worn topics, let us now discuss hibernation. Or not. Totally up to you. Now you may think every possible hibernation book out there has already been published but that's just because you didn't realize that Sleepover with Beatrice and Bear was on the horizon. Carnesi was best known to me as the woman behind that rather lovely early chapter book Little Dog Lost a year or two ago. Nancy Paulsen calls her "our librarian author" so, y'know, right there. Occupational pride. In this story a bear and rabbit are buddies but soon it's time for the bear to hibernate. Beatrice, the aforementioned bunny, decides she will hibernate too, though she's not entirely certain what that would entail. As it turns out, bunnies are no good at hibernation but rather than turn this into one of those books where the bear wakes up in the winter and has a spiffing good time (those storylines always bug me for some reason) the solution to Beatrice's problem is far more charming. Good stuff.
The Secret Hum of a Daisy by Tracy Holczer
Onward to Putnam and a book that I'm just going to have to read for myself if I'm going to figure it out at all. As you can see, it has one of those non-covers and poetic titles that publishers give books when they're super excited about their literary award possibilities. And when they start bandying about the phrase "lyrical", you know something's up. In very brief terms it's a girl with a dead mom story. Elaborated upon a bit, the girl in question is ripped from what she knows and is placed with a grandma she never knew well. In time she goes on a treasure hunt, believing that her mother, in whatever form, is behind it in some way. Basically, all she wants is for her mom to be the treasure at the end. Rife with clues, it reminded me of Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur or Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass. I'll give it a go!
Dreamwood by Heather Mackey
This year carnivorous trees are quite hot. We've seen four different middle grade novels thus far with trees that have dark desires/appetites, and Dreamwood falls into that category. Don't write it off as a mere example of hungry wood, though. No no, this one's supposed to be pretty good. Set during the turn of the century in the Pacific Northwest, a girl's father goes missing in the forest. So what else can she do but set off with a boy to find her missing father and maybe along the way find a cure for tree blight? One of my librarians who loves fantasy read it and gave it two enthusiastic thumbs up. For my part, I was just grateful that the words "eco-fantasy" were never used when describing it. Oo, I dislike that term!
Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz, illustrated by Dan Santat
I got name checked with this next book, which had me just knocking my brain try to remember the context. Perhaps it was another librarian preview in the recent past? Could have been. In any case, apparently when I saw the version of The Three Little Pigs by duo Corey Rosen Schwartz and Dan Santat I wondered out loud for all to hear why no one had ever done the same for Little Red Riding Hood. Enter the answer to my prayers (though I've no doubt they had the idea long before I did). Basically, this is the book for you if you ever wanted to see the wolf get the ever-loving-crap kicked out of him by a girl in a red cape.
Oh, and here's a non-workplace safe fun activity for you: Google Image the term "ninja red riding hood" sometime and see what comes up. I was looking for a copy of the jacket of this book. What I initially found . . . wasn't that.
All Four Stars by Tara Dairman
Finally, something light and frothy and VERY New York. I have witnessed firsthand the existence of the foodie child. They exist, often raised by foodie adults, so that they know the difference between flavors and can go so far as to distinguish between them for you. This, however, is not the life our heroine leads. She's a foodie kid, sure, but her parents are fast food lovers. Still, the kiddo has prodigious talents so she gets hired to review a restaurant professionally. The catch? Her new bosses don't know that she's a kid, so she basically has to sneak to NYC and the restaurant in question on her own. Ms. Dairman is a bit of a foodie herself, though alas the book will not include any recipes. Ah well. The sequel is due out in 2015.
Nelly Gnu and Daddy Too by Anna Dewdney
There was a time when I wouldn't have understood the lure of the Llama Llama Red Pajama world. But have a small child and your view of things changes. Say what you will about Anna Dewdney, the woman scans. Consistently and without fail. You can read a book of hers cold and come out looking like a pro every time. Since Llama Llama is the unofficial poster child of the single mama household, it was only a matter of time before the masses demanded a book along similar lines with but a daddy. Llama Llama's best friend Nelly Gnu now gets her chance to shine in the sun with this latest title. Daddy Gnu, I should note, is a pretty darn good feller. He takes care of his kiddo and makes dinner to boot. This is hardly a novel idea, but it's not like we see it in picture books as often as we might. Well played.
Starbird Murphy and the World Outside by Karen Finneyfrock
It's a toss-up as to what I like more: The title of the book, or the name of the author? On the one hand, "Starbird Murphy" just feels right. On the other hand, who can resist a last name like "Finneyfrock"? The plot of the actual book is nice too. It stars a commune kid who lives entirely off the grid. This world is entirely normal to her, but eventually she must leave normal and travel into the city. Think of it as a girl version of Alabama Moon.
Brave Chicken Little by Robert Byrd
Now here's a real beauty that deserves some of your time and attention. For the most part, big publishers eschew folk and fairytales. You want the latest version of Snow White and Rose Red? Get thee to a smaller company! But once in a great while a biggie will take a chance. Mind you, after reading this book I don't think there's anything the least bit chancey about Robert Byrd's work. The ultimate cautionary fable gets a leg up in this updated look at the chick that went for the most extreme of explanations. It follows the usual storyline to a point, then diverges and allows the hero to come out triumphant. The moral of the old story was probably something along the lines of "don't believe everything you hear". The moral of the new story? "Don't get eaten. Get even." [This phrase, by the way, when you Google it appears to be the tagline of a popular Bear Pepper Spray. Just thought you'd like to know.]
Follow Your Heart: Summer Love by Jill Santopolo
One of these days, my children, my prayers will be answered and someone will republish those old Sunfire Romances where the historical girl had to choose between two hunky men. Them's my youth! Until then, however, we have the next best thing. Something that sounds so obvious when I say it that I'm shocked SHOCKED that no one until now came up with the idea. Meet the Follow Your Heart series by Jill Santopolo (she edits AND writes because she is a Renaissance woman). Basically we're talking Choose Your Own A Romance here. A girl has to choose between two boys and you help make that choice. I wonder if they'll allow you to plug your fingers into the pages where you make the choices so that you can backtrack when things don't start going your way (anyone else do that back in the day?). "The Bachelorette in book form" someone said. There you go.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (50th Anniversary Edition) by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake
Sweepstakes time. And really, was there ever a book better suited to a sweepstakes than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Because it's celebrating its 50th anniversary, you've probably heard the rumors about the current Golden Ticket Sweepstakes. Well, it's all pretty standard stuff. Before August 8th kids ages 6 and up can apply for this pretty cool prize. According to the site:
FIVE lucky winners will receive a Golden Ticket trip of a lifetime to New York City that includes:
- A VIP experience at Dylan's Candy Bar
- Tickets to Matilda the Musical
- A year's supply of chocolate
- A visit to the Empire State building
- A library of Roald Dahl books
- And MORE!
I love that they get to work in Dylan's Candy Bar for a day. But how does one determine what a "year's supply of chocolate" really consists of, I wonder. Hm.
In other Dahlian news, copies of Charlie are about to be published with golden tickets in the back of the paperbacks. Aw. There was also some mention made of the Miss Honey Social Justice Award which, "recognizes collaboration between school librarians and teachers in the instruction of social justice using school library resources." Awesome. In my own life, I recently finished reading Danny, the Champion of the World for the first time in my life. I'm feeling pretty good about filling that gap in my knowledge now.
Grosset & Dunlap
The Whodunit Detective Agency: The Diamond Mystery by Martin Widmark, illustrated by Helena Willis
A good early chapter book is hard to find. And a good early chapter book from Sweden? Much easier to find now that Martin Widmark is being brought over to the States in book form. As a librarian of my acquaintance put it recently, this book apparently contains "A snappy little narrative that will have young readers saying, 'I know who did it!' right out loud." Little wonder since the original books sold two million copies worldwide and the author is sometimes referred to as the "Children's Agatha Christie". Are you curious yet?
Ice Whale by Jean Craighead George
There are some authors that pass away and their posthumous novels go on and on and on until you begin to doubt that they ever died in the first place. Tupac Syndrome would be a good description of this. It tends to hit children's authors quite often (see: Eva Ibbotson, Diana Wynne Jones, etc.) and was even mocked in a rather brilliant College Humor piece called I Think They're Running Out of Material for New Shel Silverstein Books back in 2011. All that aside, we were assured that this final Jean Craighead George novel really will be her last. Two of her children finished it and I like that it has a kind of a Heart of a Samurai book jacket going on. Set in Northern Alaska (the same location as Julie of the Wolves, for the record) the book follows an Inuit boy who learns to bond with a whale. From the description it sounded like it would pair particularly well with Rosanne Parry's Written in Stone from last year. And as Travis Jonker pointed out in his recent post 2014: The Year of the Whale, this book is just a drop in the ocean of a much larger trend.
Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman
Speaking of whales, here's a book that gives them some full credit. I was so blown away by this title when I first read it that I immediately had to rush out and review it without considering how long it would be before it actually reached publication. Really, this is the book of the year for me. If you read no other picture book, read this one. It's a stunner in the purest sense of the word. Really remarkable.
Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes by Juan Felipe Herrera, illustrated by Raul Colon
And finally, a book that I would like right now please. Please. Right now. What's that you say? It's not coming out until August?! Well who made up THAT crazy rule? Look, I don't care when it's coming out, I would like to see this book in my lap pronto. I mean, first of all, it's art by Raul Colon. I don't know if you've been paying attention but the man's been on fire this year. Have you seen his work on Baseball Is . . . by Louise Borden? Or how about the pictures in Abuelo by Arthur Dorros? Now we have 24 of his portraits in, what Penguin described as, "tawny golden tones". Penned by 2012 California Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, it covers the well known folks and the lesser know folks in equal degrees. Admit it. You haven't seen anything like this before that came close to this level of quality. It's going to be for the middle grade crowd too, so bonus!
And that, as they say, is that. There were plenty of other YA titles mentioned and even a guest or too, but I'll quite while I'm ahead. Thanks to Penguin for the preview. Thanks to all of you for reading!
Penguin Books has teamed up with WeTransfer, a free file-transfering service, to showcase a series of Penguin book covers WeTransfer's full-screen backgrounds.
The site , which counts 20 million monthly active users, will exhibit the covers of five of Penguin's limited edition Street Art series. Titles in this series include: Joshua Ferris' Then We Came to the End (Cover: 45RPM); Nick Cave's And the Ass Saw the Angel (Cover: ROA); Zoë Heller's The Believers (Cover: Sickboy); Iain Sinclair's American Smoke (Cover: Nathan Burton); and Zadie Smith's Embassy of Cambodia (Cover: gray318).
Here is more about the designs from the press release:
The book covers, designed by leading artists including Sickboy, ROA, Nathan Burton and 45RPM, will take over WeTransfer's full-screen backgrounds in the form of multiple still life photographs displaying a range of Penguin authors. When people click on each of the photographs, they will be taken through to Penguin's online store for further information.
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Penguin Random House has formed a division dedicated to marketing directly to consumers called the Consumer Marketing Development and Operations Group. The department will help market specific titles, individual authors and even specific genres within each of its U.S. publishing groups. The entity will also be tasked with developing company-wide digital programs, platforms and partnerships. Amanda Close will lead the new group as Senior V.P. and Director. "By approaching marketing development this way," stated Madeline McIntosh, U.S. President and Chief Operating Officer, "both from within publishing and from a broader corporate standpoint, we will be able to most effectively expand our consumer-focused capabilities, and deliver value for our publishers, authors, booksellers, and readers."
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Penguin Random House's sci-fi community Suvudu Universe is planning to host its first live interview and the interviewee will be Anne Lesley Groell, George R.R. Martin's book Editor, as well as an Executive Editor at Penguin Random House. The event will take place online on May 29th from 3pm to 4pm EST. Fans can submit questions here, as well as vote on suggested questions. Groell will answer the questions that receive the most votes during the live event. You can follow this link to sign up for Suvudu Universe. The members that submit the top three highest-voted questions will get a prize pack of books.
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published 2014 by Nancy Paulsen Books, at Penguin KidsAbout a year ago, I heard Sophie Blackall give a keynote at SCBWI Western Washington. She wears great tights and shoes and is a total riot. She had this effervescent spirit that had the whole room in stitches. It felt like watching one of her illustrations bounce right off the page and into the room.
See, I'm a big fan. Ivy and Bean are soul sisters. I gushed about The Crows of Pearblossom and The Mighty Lalouche over at Design Mom, and still stand by this tweet from the end of 2013.
Her work has sprinkles of fairy dust or something in it – something enchanting and mysterious and compelling and darn beautiful.
And this, her latest offering, is both calming and humorous, sweet and sassy. It's a bound and beautiful answer to the dreaded where do babies come from?
She's so in tune with the vast (and sometimes creepy!) imagination of a youngster, and look at how that plays out in this art. Real life is a spot illustration, surrounded by white space and unknowns. But the what if bleeds to the edge of the page, filling every millimeter with color and wonder and possibility. Not only is it stunning to see, it's intentional storytelling.Hat tip, always, to Jules at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast for the interview that revealed that delicious tidbit. Check out her interview (and more art!) with Sophie here.
Sophie works in Brooklyn with other illustrators Brian Floca, Ed Hemingway, John Bemelmans Marciano, and Sergio Ruzzier. Can you even imagine spending an hour in that studio, soaking it all up and trying not to faint and fall in it? Dream field trip, for sure. Their kinship and support of one another has always been so apparent. Look here, and here, and here to see what I mean.
But also, look inside The Baby Tree for a glimpse at their love and support of one another. What's our pajama-clad wonderer reading with Mom and Dad, all cozied up in bed? I won't spoil it for you, cause it was a gasp-moment for me. If you'll bust without knowing, check out Danielle's post over at This Picture Book Life about allusions in picture books. (And stay there a while even once you see what I'm talking about, cause how brilliant is that?!)
You'd like a copy, right? Penguin has two to give away to you! (And you!) Just leave a comment on this post by Monday at noon PST, June 2nd. I'll pick two, and have the stork deliver The Baby Tree right to your doorstep. Good luck!
Review copy provided by the publisher, all thoughts and love my own.
Today Penguin USA released its year-end report, counting a $156 million operating profit for the year.
The publisher also gave readers a peek at Thomas Pynchon's upcoming novel, Bleeding Edge. Publication is set for September 17th. Here's more from Penguin Press: "it is 2001 in Silicon Alley, New York City, in the lull between the collapse of the dot-com boom and the terrible events of September 11."
In addition, Elizabeth Gilbert will also publish a novel in October, "infusing her inimitable voice into a story of love, adventure, and discovery." In May, Charlaine Harris will end her Sookie Stackhouse series with Dead Ever After. (Via Sarah Weinman)
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Penguin Books will publish a new book from the British television presenter/model Alexa Chung in the U.S. in November.
In the book, Chung will will share her tips on style and things like how to decide what to wear. Titled, It, the book will include writing, drawings, and photos from the Fuse News anchor. The author will also share personal photos in the book. To get a feel for the types of photos Chung likes to take, you can check out her Instagram and Tumblr pages.
Here is more about Chung from the press release: "She is the recipient of numerous style awards, including the British Style Award, voted for by the public, which she has won three years in a row. She was recently appointed Young Style Ambassador for the British Fashion Council."
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"Art is a language," Children's book illustrator E.B. Lewis told a roomful of illustrators, aspiring and professional. What is a language, Lewis asked. "Letters of the alphabet that join together to form words, then paragraphs. And finally stories and jokes," he answered his own question. And the mark of fluency? Maybe not what you think. "Telling [...]
Thank you so much. How could anyone read this post and not be inspired?
Like the blog! And very interesting post, thank you
Thanks, Ivan. I'm glad you enjoyed the post and wrote in!
[...] Spend a moment watching award winning children's book illustrator E.B. Lewis demonstrate painting some watercolor scenes for the Austin Chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (Austin SCBWI) back in February and read more about the work and ideas of this New Jersey based fine artist in the latest post on How To Be A Children's Book Illustrator. [...]
Great post, Mark. And congratulations on your award! You do so much for the art community!
Thank you, Laurie! I'm so glad you liked the post. Hey, anytime you'd like to write about something related to children's books, illustration, art or your own projects as a writer or illustrator — in other words, do a guest post here (including an image or two) and link to anything meaningful or related that you want, please let me know. I love it when students post — especially when they're already writers, like you are. And I do offer a bit of payment when I accept an original piece.
Thank you, Elizabeth and/or Lynette! Your blog is charming.
The European Commission has approved the merger of Penguin and Random.
The Commission ruled that they were not concerned with unfair competition, "because the merged entity will continue to face several strong competitors." This was one of the major hurdles facing the merger of the publishing companies owned by Bertelsmann and Pearson. Here's more from the release:
The Commission assessed the impact of the transaction on the upstream markets for the acquisition of authors' rights for English language books in the European Economic Area (EEA) and worldwide, and on the downstream markets for the sale of English language books to dealers in the EEA, in particular in the UK and Ireland. The Commission found that on both types of markets the new entity Penguin Random House will continue to face competition from several large and numerous small and medium sized publishers. As regards the sale of English language books, the merged entity will furthermore face a concentrated retail base, such as supermarkets for print books and large online retailers for e-books, like Amazon. In addition, the Commission's investigation revealed no evidence that the transaction would lead to risks of coordination among publishers in relation to the acquisition of authors' rights and the sale of English language books to dealers.
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No Fits, Nilson!
By Zachariah Ohora
Dial (an imprint of Penguin)
Ages 3-7
On shelves June 13th
The small child is a frightening beast. A truly terrifying creature that can level the most powerful adult with the mere pitch of their fury laden screams. As a children's librarian I used to tell my husband that mine was one of the few jobs I knew where an average day was punctuated by human sobs and screams of terror, misery, and fury. What then is the reasoning behind the idea that you should read a child a book about a fellow kiddo having a meltdown? Well, kids can get a lot out of that kind of identification. They can put themselves into the role of the parent, to a certain extent. Or maybe it's just good old schadenfreude. Better her than me, eh? Whatever the reasoning, meltdowns make for good picture book fodder. Add in a giant blue gorilla with a penchant for wristwear and you've got yourself a picture book as fine as fish hair. A treat to eye and ear alike, Ohora is truly coming into his own with a book that truly has universal appeal. And a gorilla. But I repeat myself.
Amelia and Nilson are inseparable. They play together, eat together, and with some exceptions (Nilson is afraid of water so no baths) they're never out of one another's sight. The fact that Amelia is a little girl and Nilson a gigantic blue gorilla? Not an issue. What is an issue is the fact that Nilson has a terribly short fuse. Good thing Amelia knows exactly what to do to calm him down. Don't want to go with mom to do chores? Amelia calls them adventures instead. Nilson's getting testy waiting in line at the post office? Amelia hands him her froggy purse. It's the moment that Nilson gets the the last banana ice cream that Amelia's composure finally breaks down. Now she's the one who's upset. Fortunately, Nilson knows the perfect way to make everything right again.
When we think of the great tantrum picture books out there, the mind immediately leaps to the be all and end all of fits, When Sophie Gets Angry Really Really Angry by Molly Bang. That book sort of set the standards for meltdown lit. It's simple, it gets to the point, it teaches colors (though that's more a nice bonus rather than anything else). After Sophie authors tried to come up with different unique takes on a common occurrence. Rosemary Wells came up with Miracle Melts Down, Robie Harris dared to discuss the unmentionable in The Day Leo Said "I Hate You ". And who could forget David Elliott's truly terrifying Finn Throws a Fit? In the end, this book is almost an older version of Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems (it involves preschooler fits rather than toddler fits, which as any parent will tell you are a different beast entirely). But part of what I like most about No Fits, Nilson! is that it sort of harkens back to the early days of Sophie. Ohora makes a metaphor out of the familiar and in doing so makes it even more understandable than it would be if his gorilla was nowhere in sight.
Ohora's previous picture book, Stop Snoring, Bernard! was a lovely book to look upon. As an artist, the man has cultivated a kind of acrylic mastery that really does a wonderful job of bringing out the personalities of his characters within a limited color palette. However, while the art in Bernard was at times beyond stunning, his storytelling wasn't quite there yet. It was all show without the benefit of substance. So it was a great deal of relief that I discovered that No Fits, Nilson! had remedied this little problem. Story wise, Ohora is within his element. He knows that there is no better way of describing a kid's tantrums than a 400-pound (or so) gorilla. Most important of all, the metaphor works. Nilson is a marvelous stand-in for Amelia, until that moment of spot-on role reversal.
As I mentioned before, the acrylics threaten to become the stars of the show more than once in this book. Limiting himself to blue, red, pink, yellow/beige and green, Ohora's is a very specific color scheme. Neo-21st century hipster. Indeed the book appears to be set in Brooklyn (though a map on one of the subways manages to crop out most of the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island and half of Brooklyn, so maybe I'm reading too much into the setting). As I also mentioned before, painting beautifully is one thing, but coming up with delightful, memorable characters is what separates the RISD grads from the true picture book masters. Nilson is the one that's going to get the kids the most excited to read this book so it was important for Ohora to make him a unique blue gorilla. Not the kind of guy you'd run into on the street. To do this, Ohora chooses to accessorize. Note the three watches Nilson wears on his left arm and the three on his right. Note his snappy black beret with the yellow trim, and yellow and black sneakers. Next, the artist has to make Nilson a gorilla prone to the grumps but that is essentially lovable in spite of them. For this, Amelia is a very good counterpoint. Her sweetness counteracts Nilson's barely contained rage. Finally, Ohora throws in some tiny details to make the reading experience enjoyable for adults as well. The typography at work when the tiny words "banana ice cream" move from Amelia's mouth and eyes to Nilson's mouth and eyes is a sight to behold. Ditto the funny in-jokes on the subway (New Yorkers may be the only folks who get Ohora's "Dr. Fuzzmore" ads, and the one for the zoo is a clear cut reference to Stop Snoring, Bernard!).
Yeah, I'm a fan. Kids may be the intended audience for books like this one, but it's parents that are shelling out the cash to buy. That means you have to appeal to grown-up sensibilities as well as children's. What Ohora does so well is that he knows how to tap into an appreciation for his material on both a child and adult level. This is no mean feat. Clearly the man knows where to find the picture book sweet spot. A visual feast as well as a treat to the ear, this is a book that's going to find an audience no matter where it goes. At least it better. Otherwise I might have to sick my own 400-pound gorilla on someone, and believe me . . . you do NOT want to get him angry.
On shelves June 13th
Source: Review from f&g sent from publisher.
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I read this one not that long ago. I think it was a good premise and I think I'm okay with this being the first in a series (considering that series books have a tendency to get on my nerves, in general) because I liked the characters and I look forward to seeing them get developed.
I read this book a couple years ago. I thought the idea was fun and could make a fascinating series. I was disappointed as I thought the author missed out on a great opportunity. The story and the characters felt flat.
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Filmmaker Jonathan W. Stokes has landed a six-figure deal with Penguin Young Readers Group's Philomel imprint.
This middle-grade trilogy project marks Stokes' debut as a novelist. Philomel president Michael Green will edit the manuscripts.
According to Deadline, the story "has a globe-trotting Goonies vibe and follows a sixth-grader and his pals as he tries to save his archaeologist parents after they've been kidnapped by fortune hunters."
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I've included some general responses to my recent reading of the 7th edition of Jim Trelease's The Read-Aloud Handbook in a separate post. Here, I'm sharing the bits that motivated me to want to take a specific action, and/or change something that I'm doing, in terms of my daughter's reading experience.
Mind you, I'm already reading to my daughter (now 3 1/2) regularly. She visits the library, and chooses her own books. We have books in the car, and we take books with us when we go on trips. We read mostly picture books, but are dabbling in early readers, and even dipping our toes into chapter books. I've read at least two earlier editions of The Read-Aloud Handbook, as well as various other titles on this subject, and I'm confident that we're doing a reasonable job already.
Still, I found some useful take home messages, places where I think we can do a little bit better. Like these:
Perform Repeat Reads of the Same Book
"Research shows that even when children reach primary grades, repeated picture book reading of the same book (at least three times) increases vocabulary acquisition by 15 to 40 percent, and the learning is relatively permanent." (Page 10, Chapter 1)
The immediate take-home message for me on this is to make sure that we do read new picture books at least three times (unless we dislike them, of course). This isn't much of a problem with books that we own, but sometimes the big stack of library books goes back with books that were only read once or twice. I guess mostly this is a reminder of being patient about re-reads.
Fill More Book Baskets
Another thing that Trelease advocates is the placement of book baskets in strategic locations throughout the house. I did this when my daughter was younger, but I haven't updated the baskets and locations recently. I need to stock a basket for the bathroom, and figure out a way to keep books closer to the kitchen table. This is going to tie in with another project that we're just starting - putting aside some of the board books (sob!), which currently fill the baskets.
Get A Bedside Lamp
A related idea, Trelease also suggests buying your child a bed lamp, and letting them stay up 15 minutes later if they are reading in bed. We're not quite ready for this idea in my house yet (we tend to read to her until she falls asleep), but a bed lamp is clearly something that we're going to need soon.
Read More Poetry
Trelease also talks about the need to read aloud stories that rhyme (Chapter Two). I haven't been as good about reading my daughter poetry as I would like. She's now starting to play with rhyming herself (and has just discovered tongue-twisters), and I think it's time for us to add more poetry to our repertoire.
Always Say the Title and Name of the Author
In Chapter 4: The Dos and Don'ts of Read-Aloud, Trelease says:
"Before you begin to read, always say the name of the book, the author, and the illustrator--no matter how many times you have read the book." (Page 74)
I used to be very good about this, and had been letting it go a bit lately. This reminder has already gotten me back on track with attribution. I also like to say where the book came from, if it was a gift.
Read More Slowly
Another reminder from Chapter 4, always good to hear again:
"The most common mistake in reading aloud--whether the reader is a seven-year-old or a forty-year-old--is reading too fast. Read slowly enough for the child to build mental pictures of what he just heard you read. Slow down enough for the children to see the pictures in the book without feeling hurried. Reading quickly allows no time for the reader to use vocal expression." (Page 75)
I think it's always tempting for adults to read quickly, and get through more books. There's a feeling of accomplishment if we read five books tonight before bed. But reading them better, more slowly, with more expression and discussion, is clearly better in the long run. I'm going to work on this.
Chart Reading Progress
My daughter loves to look at her growth chart, and see how much she's grown. Trelease advocates creating a home or school wall chart so that kids can see how much they've read. He says that:
"images of caterpillars, snakes, worms, and trains work well for this purpose, with each section representing a book. Similarly, post a world or U.S. wall map, on which small stickers can be attached to locations where your books have been set." (Page 76)
I especially like the map idea, because we LOVE maps in my house. I'll have to think about the best way to do this. US map? World map? Both?
Initiate Home Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) Time
Trelease suggests setting aside time each day for the child to read by herself (even if she is just flipping through books that she can't yet read). He adds: "All your read-aloud motivation goes for naught if time is not available to put that motivation into practice." (Page 77)
We've done this informally, especially in the car. But I like the idea of having a designated quiet self-reading time. I'm happy to also use the time to model reading, by reading my own book. I'll have to think about how this could be integrated into our schedule.
Spend Less Time Pecking Away on My Phone
I don't have one quote for this, but a number of references in The Read-Aloud Handbook have affirmed something that I've been concerned about for a while. I spend too much time looking at things on my phone, in my daughter's presence. I'd rather either be present with her, or have her see me reading books (or newspapers or magazines). If I am going to read electronically, I prefer to do it on the Kindle Paperwhite, which is only for reading books. I always call this my "Kindle Book", to reinforce the idea that when she sees me with it, I am reading.
Continue Limiting TV Time, and Turn On the Closed Captioning
Trelease has a whole chapter on the impact of television and audio on kids and reading. I've been determined since before she was born that my daughter will not have a television set in her bedroom (and I won't have one in mine, either). We currently only allow her to watch television on weekends (though she does sneak in a bit of extra time on the iPad during the week sometimes). But she's like an addict, constantly asking if it's the weekend, and then binging on movies when it is.
I'm particularly struck by the results of a study that found looked at children's schooling level by age twenty-six vs. the amount of television watched in childhood. "Children who viewed less than one hour a day were the most likely to achieve a college degree." (Page 147) Another study suggested "no detrimental effects on learning (and some positive effects) from TV viewing up to ten hours per week; however, after that, the scores begin to decline. The average student today watches three times the recommended dosage." (Page 148)
I'm not going to make any changes right now, besides turning on the closed captioning (something that Trelease has recommended for years, so that kids SEE the words). But I'm going to keep an eye on how many hours of TV watching creep in over the weekends. Just as soon as the baseball playoffs are over, anyway.
Limit iPad Time When Traveling
We don't have a portable DVD player, or a DVD player in the car, and I don't see much need for one. But we have downloaded a few select movies onto the iPad. We've found this useful for long car trips, or other times when we need a break. (Most recently, when we brought our daughter along on a wine tasting trip to Napa.) I'm not prepared to give this up - it's been awfully handy on long flights. But I do take this point by Trelease into account:
"The recent addition of the DVD player to family transportation does nothing but deprive the child of yet another classroom: conversation with parents or the shared intellectual experience of listening to an audiobook communally." (Page 154)
I don't think that my daughter is quite ready to follow along with an audiobook, but I do plan to use them for car trips when I think that she's ready. In the meantime, I'm going to work on talking more, and resorting to the iPad less, especially in the car (though I won't give it up entirely).
A pretty fine list of actions to take, considering that this is at least the third edition I've read of The Read-Aloud Handbook (out of 7 published editions). Trelease has said that this will be the last edition that he writes, which makes me sad. But I'm very happy to have this one.
How about you all? Have you read The Read-Aloud Handbook? Has it affected your efforts to grow bookworms in your own household? I'd love it if you would share.
© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. This site is an Amazon affiliate.
I recently read the 7th edition of Jim Trelease's The Read-Aloud Handbook (more details here). The section (in Chapter 1) on Background Knowledge stood out for me. Trelease says:
"Background knowledge is one reason children who read the most bring the largest amount of information to the learning table and thus understand more of what the teacher of the textbook is teaching... For the impoverished child lacking the travel portfolio of affluence, the best way to accumulate background knowledge is by either reading or being read to." (Page 13-14)
There is no question that my daughter has acquired background knowledge from books. Recently we were in the parking lot at the grocery store, and a taxi cab passed by. My daughter said: "Look! A taxi cab! I've never seen one in real life before." (Forgetting various airport trips, I guess.) She had, however, seen a taxi cab in Night Light by Nicholas Blechman. And despite the one in the book having been somewhat stylized, the rendition was accurate enough for my Baby Bookworm to know one when she saw it.
Do you have examples of ways that your child has used books to build background knowledge? Or is this so pervasive that you don't even notice?
See also my related post about making connections between books and day-to-day life, from this year's Share a Story - Shape a Future literacy blog tour.
© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook. This site is an Amazon affiliate.
I want you all to know that I really appreciate your visits and comments on my little blog. Thank you!!!
If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen my #HoHoDooDa sketches. Here are a few of them for your viewing pleasure.
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Nightingale's Nest
By Nikki Loftin
Razorbill (an imprint of Penguin)
Ages 10-14
On shelves now.
Magical realism in children's novels is a rarity. It's not unheard of, but when children's authors want fantasy, they write fantasy. When they want reality, they write reality. A potentially uncomfortable mix of the two is harder to pull off. Ambiguity is not unheard of in books for youth, but it's darned hard to write. Why go through all that trouble? For that reason alone we don't tend to see it in children's books. Kids like concrete concepts. Good guys vs. bad guys. This is real vs. this is a dream. But a clever author, one who respects the intelligence of their young audience, can upset expectations without sacrificing their story. When author Nikki Loftin decided to adapt Hans Christian Andersen's tale The Nightingale into a middle grade contemporary novel, she made a conscious decision to make the book a work of magical realism. A calculated risk, Loftin's gambit pays off. Nightingale's Nest is a painful but ultimately emotionally resonant tale of sacrifice and song. A remarkably competent book, stronger for its one-of-a-kind choices.
It doesn't seem right that a twelve-year-old boy would carry around a guilt as deep and profound as Little John's. But when you feel personally responsible for the death of your little sister, it's hard to let go of those feelings. It doesn't help matters any that John has to spend the summer helping his dad clear brush for the richest man in town, a guy so extravagant, the local residents just call him The Emperor. It's on one of these jobs that John comes to meet and get to know The Emperor's next door neighbor, Gayle. About the age of his own sister when she died, Gayle's a foster kid who prefers sitting in trees in her own self-made nest to any other activity. But as the two become close friends, John notices odd things about the girl. When she sings it's like nothing you've ever heard before, and she even appears to possibly have the ability to heal people with her voice. It doesn't take long before The Emperor becomes aware of the treasure in his midst. He wants Gayle's one of a kind voice, and he'll do anything to have it. The question is, what does John think is more important: His family's livelihood or the full-throated song of one little girl?
How long did it take me to realize I was reading a middle grade adaptation of a Hans Christian Andersen short story? Let me first tell you that when I read a book I try not to read even so much as a plot description beforehand so that the novel will stay fresh and clear in my mind. With that understanding, it's probably not the worst thing in the world that it took a 35-year-old woman thirty-nine pages before she caught on to what she was reading. Still, I have the nasty suspicion that many a savvy kid would have picked up on the theme before I did. As it stands, we've seen Andersen adapted into middle grade novels for kids before. Breadcrumbs, for example, is a take on his story The Snow Queen as well as some of his other, stranger tales. They say that he wrote The Nightingale for the singer Jenny Lind, with whom he was in love. All I know is that in the original tale the story concentrates on the wonders of the natural world vs. the mechanical one. In this book, Loftin goes in a slightly different direction. It isn't an over-reliance on technology that's the problem here. It's an inability to view our fellow human beings as just that. Human beings. Come to think of it, maybe that's what Andersen was going for in the first place.
It was the writing, of course, that struck my attention first. Loftin gives the book beautiful sequences filled with equally beautiful sentences. There's a section near the end that tells a tale of a tree that fails to keep hold of a downy chick, but is redeemed by saving another bird in a storm. This section says succinctly everything you need to know about this book. I can already see the children's book and discussion groups around the country that will get a kick out of picking apart this parable. It's not a hard one to interpret, but you wouldn't want it to be.
As for the characters, there wasn't a person here that I couldn't recognize as real. I was quite taken with the fact that Loftin continually sidesteps a lot of the usual middle grade tropes. Gayle's nasty foster brother Jeb, for example, could easily have been labeled the typical bully type character for this book. Bullies in children's books, after all, have a tendency to be one-note characters. Jeb, in contrast, is capable of talking like a normal human being from time to time. He's a horrible human being at other times, but at least you get the sense that he's not just a walking two-dimensional caricature. It makes a difference.
The ending is going to be problematic for some folks. It is not, I should say, unsatisfying. I think even people who don't have a problem with what it says will only have a problem with HOW it goes about saying it. But the end of the book goes so far as to make it clear that this story really doesn't take place in the real world in which we live. The characters face real world problems, but that doesn't preclude the presence of something magical. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio . . ." and all that jazz. For some readers, this may feel like a kind of betrayal. As if the author didn't have the guts to stay in the real world from start to finish, but instead had to rely on something otherworldly for her climax. I don't see it that way. Loftin's choices seem very deliberate here, from page one onward. Just because something is magical, that doesn't mean you can't interpret the book in other ways. Don't like the supernatural element at the end? Then why are you assuming it's real? After all, we're getting this whole story through Little John's perspective. Who's to say he's the world's most reliable narrator? Just because a book is written for children, that doesn't mean you have to take it at face value.
In any case, I don't believe the magic detracts in the least from what Loftin is saying here about the banality of poverty. This isn't a book that romanticizes what it's like to be poor. It's just Little John's everyday existence, to a certain extent. And with the introduction of The Emperor, readers get to see firsthand how money, or the lack thereof, has a lot to do with self-worth and what you have to do with your pride and sense of self-worth when you're indebted to another person. Little John witnesses firsthand his own father's humiliation at the hands of the Emperor, and then finds himself in possession (in a sense) of something The Emperor wants. But rather than give him power, this just focuses the rich man's attention on the boy, making him easy prey. Better that you never have something the wealthy think that they need. And as Little John says at one point, "What was right didn't have a thing to do with what was."
Reading the book, I found it enormously painful. But I at least had the wherewithal to realize that it was uniquely painful to me as a mother. Any parent reading this is going to instantly fret and worry and think about Gayle's position in her foster home. But for kids reading this book they're going to identify with Little John and Gayle as children, not as parents. This is a book about terrible decisions made, for the most part, by good people. This can, at times, make the story emotionally hard to follow, but I like to think Ms. Loftin had things well in hand when she came up with her tale. There's a great comfort in knowing that even when you screw up royally, you can still find forgiveness. If kids take nothing else away from this book, I hope that they understand that much. Smart and beautiful by turns, The Nightingale's Nest does one thing that few will contest. Once you've read it, you'll have a hard time getting it out of your head.
On shelves now.
Notes on the Cover: It was indeed the cover that I noticed first about this book. Unfortunately the name of the artist has been difficult to find, but it's lovely isn't it? The girl, clearly Gayle, could be floating or flying or just lying on the ground, depending on how you look at it. Of course, most notable is the fact that she appears to be African-American. There's been a lot of talk over the last few years about showing black faces on our book jackets, so I applaud Razorbill for having the guts to do a cover that isn't a silhouette. That said, I did notice that at no point in the novel does the book specifically say that Gayle is dark-skinned. In fact, it doesn't really describe her skin at all. We get a sense of how soft her hair is and how beautiful her voice, but nothing much more beyond that. Could this be one of the very few cases in which a kid's race isn't mentioned in a book and yet that kid isn't just assumed to be white? If so it's a big step forward in the world of book jackets. Someone should conduct an interview with Razorbill's art director about the decision to go with this cover. I'd love to know if this is indicative of books in the future. If so, it's a trend I'll be watching with great interest.
Source: Galley sent from the publisher for review.
Like This? Then Try:
Other Blog Reviews:
Professional Reviews:
Misc: Finally, you can read an excerpt over at I Read Banned Books.
I will buy and read this book because of the cover art and because you describe this book as a story in which a black person is just a person. All I can say is 'Finally!'
I find many of Andersen's fairy tales incredibly painful so it seem in keeping to make a reworking/ homage painful too. I started this and like it so far.
By Gary Blackwood
Dial (an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group)
Ages 9-12
On shelves April 10th
Blackwood's back, baby! And not a minute too soon. Back in 1998, the author released The Shakespeare Stealer which would soon thereafter become his best-known work. A clever blending of historical fiction and adventure, the book allowed teachers the chance to hone Shakespeare down to a kid-friendly level. Since its publication Mr. Blackwood has kept busy, writing speculative fiction and, most recently, works of nonfiction for kids. Then there was a bit of a lull in his writing and the foolish amongst us (myself included) forgot about him. There will be no forgetting Mr. Blackwood anytime now though. Not after you read his latest work Curiosity. Throwing in everything from P.T. Barnum and phrenology to hunchbacks, Edgar Allan Poe, automatons, chess prodigies, murder, terrible fires, and legless men, Blackwood produces a tour de force to be reckoned with. In the press materials for this book, Penguin calls it "Gary Blackwood's triumphant return to middle grade fiction." They're not wrong. The man's about to acquire a whole new generation of fans and enthusiasts.
Fear for the children of novels that describe their childhoods as pampered or coddled. No good can come of that. Born weak with a slight deformity of the spine, Rufus lives a lovely life with his father, a well-respected Methodist minister in early 19th century Philadelphia. That's all before his father writes a kind of predecessor to The Origin of the Species and through a series of misadventures is thrown into debtor's prison. Fortunately (perhaps) Rufus is a bit of a chess prodigy and his talents get him a job with a man by the name of Johann Nepomuk Maelzel. Maelzel owns an automaton called The Turk that is supposed to be able to play chess against anyone and win. With Rufus safely ensconced inside, The Turk is poised to become a massive moneymaker. But forces are at work to reveal The Turk's secrets and if that information gets out, Rufus's life might not be worth that of the pawns he plays.
Making the past seem relevant and accessible is hard enough when you're writing a book for adults. Imagine the additional difficulty children's authors find themselves in. Your word count is limited else you lose your audience. That means you need to engage in some serious (not to mention judicious and meticulous) wordplay. Blackwood's a pro, though. His 1835 world is capable of capturing you with its life and vitality without boring you in the process. At one point Rufus describes seeing Richmond, VA for the first time and you are THERE, man. From the Flying Gigs to the mockingbirds to the James River itself. I was also relieved to find that Blackwood does make mention of the African-Americans living in Richmond and Philly at the time this novel takes place. Many are the works of historical fiction by white people about white people that conveniently forget this little fact.
Add onto that the difficulty that comes with making the past interesting and accurate and relevant all at once. I read more historical fiction for kids than a human being should, and while it's all often very well meaning, interesting? Not usually an option. I'm certain folks will look at how Blackwood piles on the crazy elements here (see: previous statement about the book containing everything from phrenology to P.T. Barnum) and will assume that this is just a cheap play for thrills. Not so. It's the man's writing that actually holds your focus. I mean, look at that first line: "Out of all the books in the world, I wonder what made you choose this one." Heck, that's just a drop in the bucket. Check out these little gems:
"If my cosseted childhood hadn't taught me how to relate to other people, neither had it taught em to fear them."
"I was like some perverse species of prisoner who felt free only when he was locked inside a tiny cell."
"Maelzel was not the sort of creator imagined by the Deists, who fashions a sort of clockwork universe and winds it up, then sits back and watches it go and never interferes. He was more like my father's idea of the creator: constantly tinkering with his creations, looking for ways to make them run more smoothly and perform more cleverly – the kind who makes it possible for new species to develop."
As for the writing of the story itself, Blackwood keeps the reader guessing and then fills the tale with loads of historical details. The historical accuracy is such that Blackwood even allows himself little throwaway references, confident that confused kids will look them up themselves. For example, at one point Rufus compares himself to "Varney the Vampire climbing into his coffin." This would be a penny dreadful that circulated roundabout this time (is there any more terrifying name than "Varney" after all?). In another instance a blazing fire is met with two "rival hose" companies battling one another "for the right to hook up to the nearest fireplug." There is a feeling that for a book to be literary it has to be dull. Blackwood dispels the notion, and one has to stand amazed when they realize that somehow he managed to make a story about a kid trapped in a small dark space for hours at a time riveting.
Another one of the more remarkable accomplishments of the book is that it honestly makes you want to learn more about the game of chess. A good author can get a kid interested in any subject, of course. I think back on The Cardturner by Louis Sachar, which dared to talk up the game of Bridge. And honestly, chess isn't a hard sell. The #1 nonfiction request I get from my fellow children's librarians (and the request I simply cannot fulfill fast enough) is for more chess books for kids. At least in the big cities, chess is a way of life for some children. One hopes that we'll be able to extend their interest beyond the immediate game itself and onto a book where a kid like themselves has all the markings of true genius.
It isn't perfect, of course. In terms of characterization, of all the people in this book Rufus is perhaps the least interesting. You willingly follow him, of course. Just because he doesn't sparkle on the page like some of the other characters doesn't mean you don't respond to the little guy. One such example might be when his first crush doesn't go as planned. But he's a touchstone for the other characters around him. Then there's the other problem of Rufus being continually rescued by the same person in the same manner (I won't go into the details) more than once. It makes for a weird repeated beat. The shock of the first incident is actually watered down by the non-surprise of the second. Rufus becomes oddly passive in his own life, rarely doing anything to change the course of his fate (he falls unconscious and wakes up rescued more than once,) a fact that may contribute to the fact that he's so unmemorable on the page.
But that aside, it's hard not to be entranced by what Blackwood has come up with here. Automatons sort of came to the public's attention when Brian Selznick wrote The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Blackwood takes it all a step further merging man and machine, questioning what we owe to one another and, to a certain extent, where the power really lies. Rufus finds his sense of self and bravery by becoming invisible. At the same time, he's so innocent to the ways of the world that becoming visible comes with the danger of having your heart broken in a multitude of different ways. In an era where kids spend untold gobs of time in front of the screens of computers, finding themselves through a newer technology, Blackwood's story has never been timelier. Smart and interesting, fun and strange, this is one piece of little known history worthy of your attention. Check and mate.
On shelves April 10th.
Source: Galley sent from publisher for review.
Like This? Then Try:
First Line: "Out of all the books in the world, I wonder what made you choose this one."
Notes on the Cover: And now let us praise fabulous cover artists. Particularly those creating covers that make more sense after you've finished the book. The glimpse of Rufus's eye in the "O" of the title didn't do much more than vaguely remind me of the spine of the The Invention of Hugo Cabret at first (an apt comparison in more than one way). After closer examination, however, I realized that it was Rufus in the cabinet below. The unnerving view of The Turk and the shadowy Mr. Hyde-ish man in the far back all combine to give this book a look of both historical fervor and intrigue. And look how that single red (red?) pawn is lit. It's probably not actually a red pawn but a white one, but something about the image looks reddish. Blood red, if you will. Boy, that's a good jacket.
Professional Reviews: A star from Kirkus
Videos: Want to see the real Turk in action? This video makes for fascinating watching.
Penguin is shutting down the website My Artist's Way Toolkit on May 15th 2014. The site was based on Julia Cameron's book and supplied interactive tools designed to encourage creativity.
The site, which has been available to readers through subscription, included writing exercises, creative affirmations and a toolset for organizing a user's own work.
Here is more from the website: "Before the site shuts down, you should export all of the great content you've built within the site. You will find explicit instructions on how to do just that here. And don't worry, all charges from February 1st on will be refunded, which you will see reflected on your next credit card statement. If you have any questions, please reach out to us firstname.lastname@example.com
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.Add a Comment


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happy to recommend this holel. Great value three nights for the price of two through skoosh
highly recommend this hotel, this was my third stay and i was as impressed every bit as much as i was the first time.skoosh three for two made this a very well priced stay for a hotel of this standard..
doesn't look special from the outside but hotel is first class on the inside, lets face it how much time do you spend in the car park lookin in. lovely hotel, very beautiful. great service and very friendly staff. food was good but fell a little behind on the standard of such a great lookin very comfortable hotel. great value for money.
You'll find the friendliest people in:

subset: commoncrawl


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Ratings based on 1,169 Verified Reviews
They paid and stayed. We double-checked.
4.9 Room cleanliness
4.8 Service & staff
4.6 Room comfort
4.9 Hotel condition
They paid and stayed.
We double-checked.
We double-checked.
for Everyoneby A verified traveler from Connecticut
Nice Hotel near Old Time SquarePosted Aug 18, 2014
Pros: Location and cleanliness of room and hotel.
Comfortable, clean hotel near Old Time Square amongst other attractions, restaurants, bars, and shops. Rooms are somewhat small, but we were out in the town during the day and for most of the evening anyways. The staff was very helpful and provided airport and train station transport, which was very convenient. Breakfast, which came with the hotel stay was excellent. The hotel itself was also very pretty.
for Everyoneby A verified traveler from London
Very good choicePosted Aug 18, 2014
Very pleased with this hotel; lovely and clean interiors, pleasent staff, great location. Fast wifi. Our room could have been a bit bigger but it was not a problem for a short stay. I would stay there again.
for Familiesby A verified traveler from Norwich UK
The K and K Central hotel is utterly charmingPosted Aug 17, 2014
Pros: The staff, the food, the decor and, especially, the architecture.
Cons: Not much, it would be nitpicking to single out a fault just to fill a review box.
Location: Very central, close to the Old Town which seems to be a central hub for Prague, close to Charles Bridge and the castle is just a short walk. Everythin
The staff were excellent, the facilities (although we did not try them all) were excellent too. There were so many lights that a man was employed to check them every two days and replace blown bulbs! In the dining room I counted 148 - and proper bulbs, not the sort we have to use! We ate in the hotel a couple of times, food was well cooked and presented and not significantly more expensive than any other restaurant. Breakfast was served buffet style in a magnificent room - check the website - and the food was good and there was lots of it. I would gladly stay there again.
for Everyoneby A verified traveler from london
This hotel is perfectly located.Posted Aug 17, 2014
Pros: Friendly staff, great location, nearby shop and transport links. Beautiful building, free wifi throughout and a great breakfast buffet.
Cons: You can hear doors banging in the morning as guests move about. Some way of sound proofing the doors would be beneficial.
Location: There are historical sites nearby, wide range of restaurants both modern and traditional, tram and train stations as well as shopping.
A wonderful stay at this well run hotel. The staff gave excellent service and the location could not be better to access anything you might need. The building and features are gorgeous and other hotels nearby pale in comparison. This hotel comes highly recommended, you won't be disappointed.
for Everyoneby A verified traveler from Florida
Location Perfect and Hotel Beautiful!Posted Aug 14, 2014
Pros: The location, the selection at breakfast, and some of the front desk staff.
Cons: Professionalism is fine but a little warmth goes a long way, a smile even further.
Location: Almost anything in Prague is within easy walking distance of the hotel, a multitude of restaurants, the Astronomical Clock, the main square, etc. etc.
Truly enjoyed staying at the hotel but sometimes the "professionalism" of the staff got in the way of appearing welcoming to we visitors. Since we have previously stayed at other K & K hotels where the front desk was superb in caring for our needs, we at first found the staff itself, especially in the dining room, not as warm. Many of the front desk people did warm to us over our stay, but the breakfast staff treated us like strangers every day. Yes, we were strangers, but also guests at their hotel. A little bit of warmth and welcome goes a long way. Again, we were so well treated in Budapest that we anticipated the same treatment in Prague and regretted not getting it. However, the hotel is beautiful, in a great location quite near everything except Prague Castle and the selection at breakfast just fine.
for Everyoneby A verified traveler
Great Location, close to old town.....just stepsPosted Aug 12, 2014
Pros: Location, location, location!!
Cons: Definitely the cleanliness and the staff upfront....
This hotel is only a steps away from the square and old town....the location is really ideal! I will say my room, although the view was nice and it was surprisingly large....the cleanliness was very much an issue. And even though I mentioned it to them the first day....it was as is if a swipe through was done the second day and I wasn't heard....I stayed there 4 nights...so I thought maybe they would care....but honestly if it wasn't for the location and the convenience of it....I may not have stayed there....
for Everyoneby A verified traveler from Montreal
Great hotel in an excellent location.Posted Aug 11, 2014
Pros: The location, the staff, the breakfast
Cons: The only criticism , and it is a small one, is that there is no outdoor space, e.g. a terrace or roof deck.
Location: The hotel is near the Powder Tower, Wenceslaus Square, the old town and good shopping.
This hotel is very well situated. All the major sights were within an easy walk. The staff was very welcoming and hospitable. The rooms were small but they were bright and clean. The breakfast was excellent and was served in a beautiful room. This is an excellent hotel for the cost .
for Everyoneby A verified traveler
Perfect for PraguePosted Aug 10, 2014
Pros: The location was walking distance to everything a tourist wanted to visit. The hotel and staff were beyond helpful.
Cons: Nothing.
Location: Great local tavern and restaurant on the corner with local dishes. The Old Town Square is just a few blocks away.
The hotel is in a great location surrounded by the sights of the city. The hotel is a classic style with subtle remodeling for updates. The elevator decor is such that guests were posing for pictures next to it. The staff is great and makes great recommendations for tours and restaurants. Prague is a gorgeous and friendly city and an architectural feast. Breakfast was lovelz with a wide varietz. All staff members are friendly and helpful Our stay at the K & K Central was perfect.
for Everyoneby A verified traveler
Very centralPosted Aug 9, 2014
Pros: Location, great helpful staff
Cons: Nothing
Location: All local tourist attractions are close by
Was very convenient to the old city plus the new areas. Easy to get back to from long days.
for Everyoneby A verified traveler from scotland
Lovely city break in lovely hotelPosted Aug 5, 2014
Pros: Clean, comfortable and central location.
Cons: Possibly a bit more variety at breakfast, although we were satisfied with what was on offer.
Location: All the main sites that we were interested in are walkable.
This was a return visit and it did not disappoint. Good central location, an executive room which was lovely and quiet, breakfast was sufficient and staff were pleasant and helpful.


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Enbridge's Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at CSFB (ENB)
Enbridge (TSE:ENB)'s stock had its "neutral" rating restated by equities research analysts at CSFB in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. They currently have a C$52.00 price objective on the stock. CSFB's price objective indicates a potential upside of 3.13% from the company's current price.
Enbridge (TSE:ENB) traded up 0.67% on Wednesday, hitting $50.76. The stock had a trading volume of 502,708 shares. Enbridge has a 1-year low of $41.74 and a 1-year high of $53.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $51.25 and a 200-day moving average of $49.51. The company has a market cap of $42.375 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.01.
Enbridge (TSE:ENB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. On average, analysts predict that Enbridge will post $1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on ENB. Analysts at Credit Suisse initiated coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a C$52.00 price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at TD Securities initiated coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a C$58.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at RBC Capital raised their price target on shares of Enbridge from C$57.00 to C$59.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. They now have an "outperform" rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of C$55.29.
Enbridge Inc (TSE:ENB) transports and distributes energy across North America.
Get Analysts' Upgrades and Downgrades via Email - Stay on top of analysts' coverage with Analyst Ratings Network's FREE daily email newsletter that provides a concise list of analysts' upgrades and downgrades. Click here to register now.


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A Giant Pheasant Is Just One Reason To Be Proud To Live In South Dakota. I Guess Size Does Matter?
Habitat For Pheasants Subject of Governor's Summit
South Dakota State Fairgrounds Cleans Up Severe Storm Damage
According to KOKK radio, the State Fairgrounds in Huron suffered damage following Friday's severe storms that rolled through South Dakota.