Random Musings of a Bibliophile

As I posted on Friday, I attended the ALA Midwinter meeting in Philadelphia over the weekend. It was my first time, not only at Midwinter, but at any ALA event. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and learned so much. The adrenaline high I was on when I came out of the YMAs on Monday morning was unbeatable. I'm going to need to return just for that. Here are some highlights of my weekend, chronicling the things I enjoyed the most. The Youth Media Awards: I watch these on my computer all by myself every year, BUT NOTHING can compare to actually being there for it. The energy and excitement in that room are palpable. Listening to the audience reactions on the webcast is nothing beside actually feeling it as it sweeps through the room. The one drawback is that I was unable to write my usual reaction post right away. And I won't be writing a full one up at all. My short thoughts: I love and adore the Schneider, Corretta Scott King, Belpre, and Caldecott committees to the moo...

Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association.           It is that time of year again when we all try to remember and shed light on the importance of freedom of information and choice. For more information on Banned Books Week go here . Here are the most CHALLENGED (not necessarily banned) books of 2012: Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey. Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher. Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James. Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson. Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive lan...

I am very excited to announce that I am a first round Cybils panelist this year. I will be serving on the First Round MG Speculative Fiction panel. Looking forward to working with my fellow panelists: Melissa from Book Nut Kristen from The Book Monsters Allie from In Bed with Books Cecelia from Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia Stephanie from Views from the Tesseract And last, but most important, our fearless leader Charlotte from Charlotte's Library Nominations are open on October 1. So nominate some great MG Speculative Fiction and see how many books you can make me read in the next three months. I dare you.

Monday is the day that all kid lit lovers look forward to with bated breath. After months of reading, analyzing, discussing, and rooting for our favorites we will know the winners of the 2013 Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz medals. Exciting stuff. As always I have some thoughts. And they are MY thoughts. I don't do predictions. The Newbery is the award I'm the most familiar with both in terms of past winners and current contenders so we will start there. I will be over the moon with happiness to see any of these win: I will be almost as pleased to see a host of other books get that shiny gold sticker: The One and Only Ivan , Splendors and Glooms , Starry River of the Sky, Crow, (though I would like to see another genre than historical fiction win the day this year). I may cry if Wonder (which I liked but think is far from the most distinguished book of the year) or Summer of the Gypsy Moths (which I neither liked nor found distinguished) wins. I think it would be tre...

Tomorrow, September 30, marks the beginning of the 30th Banned Book Week . This week was started to bring attention to the thousands of books that are challenged every year in libraries across the country. I have never understood why people feel the need to do this. If you don't like a book, don't read it. If you don't want your children to read something, don't allow them. Why anyone feels they have the right to make those choices for other people and families boggles my mind. So here we are, another year and there is another list. This is the most recent year they have numbers for. The Top 10 for 2011. (Note that these are challenged books, not necessarily actually banned books.You can find more lists here .) Look at the reasons for the challenges. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa Reasons: nudity; sex...

We are getting oh so close to the end now. As usual I have linked to Fuse 8's original posts. 20. Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo Of all the dog books out there this is my favorite. I did find the quirky factor to be a little over the top in spots, but it does not detract from the excellence of the book at all. I couldn't keep this on the shelf in my classroom. It was always being read. 19. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder Hmmm. I am surprised this one is higher than Little House on the Prairie . I always found this one to be slow and kind of boring. It is the first in the series so that may explain it. 18. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander The Chronicles of Prydain is one of my favorite series. Again I'm surprised this is the volume in the top 20, but again it is the beginning so it makes sense. (I just love The Black Cauldron and The Castle of Llyr SO MUCH. And The High King. AND...I just really love this series. But this is ...

I'm getting behind!!! It is because VBS started at our church yesterday and for some reason 4 hours doing that exhausts me more than teaching all day. Anyway, here are the next 10. We are getting down to the end now and I'm interested to see what is in the top 20. In the meantime we have these. As always they are linked to the original Fuse 8 posts. 30. Matilda by Roald Dahl I don't love this book. I don't have major issues with it like I do some of Dahl's books. I can take it or leave it. 29. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall Oh yes. This is a wonderful book about family and friendship and childhood wrapped up in purely awesome storytelling. I have read it at least 5 times. One of those times was aloud to my daughter who also loved it . One of those times was while teaching it to a group of 4th-6th graders, most of whom also loved it. Yes, even the boys. 28. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman  I haven't read this one yet. I keep meaning to really...

As always links take you to Betsy Bird's posts at Fuse8. 40.  Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli I don't get it. I just don't get it. Some books I find I don't like that lots of people do I can at least see why they like them. Not this one. Even reading Betsy's post and the others she quoted (all of whom I have heaps of respect for) I'm still left looking at this book with ??????????? 39. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick I love how this book plays with format and is next to  impossible to pin a label on. It is a true homage to art in all forms. 38. Frindle by Andrew Clements I think it is criminal this book wasn't given an award. The characters. The concept. The themes. The heart. And all brilliantly told in 105 pages (with illustrations from Brian Selznick) that a 2nd grader can read but that will have any age reader engrossed. I have reread it so many times and it never gets old. 37.  The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt Such a g...

The next 10 books in the list are out today and this puts us in the Top 50. I have a feeling my thoughts on the books to come will be extreme one or way another. Though there are a couple today I could take or leave. As always I have linked to Betsy's posts at Fuse 8. 50. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry This is an excellent book in so  many ways. It is a book that introduces children to the concept of the Holocaust without throwing the full horror of it at them. The main themes of the story are friendship and family, both of which children identify with. Also, and this is key from a teacher's view, it is short enough to include as part of a history unit. 49. My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett Cute and fun. This is an excellent book for kids who are crossing over from early readers to chapter books. It has to be given to a child at exactly the right time. 48. The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket I have a fondness for The Series of Unfortunate Events because...

I am a day behind! Here are the next ten. Not as many of my favorites today, but still some excellent titles. As always all links lead to Fuse 8. 60.  Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtuis This is a wonderful book, historical fiction that is about the characters and not the time period. 59. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo I am not a huge fan of this one despite loving DiCamillo's books in general. It is beautiful writing, marvelous illustrations. The story? Not real sure what DiCamillo was trying for there. 58. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome Just not my thing at all. All that nature. 57. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken THIS is my thing. Orphans! Evil Guardians! Old house! England! I love it, delightfully creepy and just scary enough it is a delight for the imagination. 56. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett Not my favorite Burnett. Or even my favorite classic. Still the perfect book for little girls ...

Here are the next 10 books in the SLJ Top 100 Children's Novels Poll. There are a couple of surprises in today's list. (At least it was surprising to me.) Again titles are linked to Betsy's posts at Fuse 8. 70. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech This is one that almost made my top 10 but ended up not. It was so close though. I love this book for its beautiful narrative, Sal's voice, and the themes. And all the other characters too. They become real people as you read. This book will make you cry, or at the very least tear up, but the end is full of such joy it makes it worth it. 69. The Ruins of Gorlan by John Gorlan SURPRISE #1! And really the bigger one. I have had the Ranger's Apprentice series on the TBR for quite some time but felt no big rush to read them. That is changing now. The premise is perfect for me so I have a feeling I will enjoy it. 68. The High King by Lloyd Alexander Another favorite. I love the Chronicles of Prydain. I love Taran and...

I can not tell you how thankful I am to live in a place where the library has such a prevalent role in the community. I sometimes complain about the slowness in the availability of some titles (particularly in the Teen section) but most of the time I know that for a city this size the library is phenomenal. The Children's Festival of Reading reminds me of this every year. It is our annual kick off to the summer reading program. There are several tents with events going on all day. Storytellers, musicians, authors. The zoo does a presentation. There is a quartet from our orchestra who comes and plays. And it is all free. My kids LOVE it. Here is a recap of some of the fun we had this year:  That is Bit and the Little Man looking at a tarantula. It eats birds. Shudder. One of the animals brought by the zoo. Like always the presentation was fresh and informative. A horrifying story about what a spider wasp would do to the tarantula was reshared by Bit at dinner. Because hear...

Day Three of SLJ's Children's Novels Poll has a few newer titles, but most are again older titles. Again I have linked to Betsy's posts at Fuse 8. 80. The Four Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright The only Enright book I have ever read is Gone Away Lake . I haven't read the  quartet of books that this is the second one of. They are sibling stories though so I probably should. 79. The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder I remember liking this book as a child, but haven't read it since. I tried to entice Bit to read it this past year as she was studying Ancient Egypt but she found it uninteresting and didn't finish it. (Unlike Eloise Jarvis McGraw's Egypt novels, The Golden Goblet , which she read herself, and Mara Daughter of the Nile, which I read to her. Those she couldn't get enough of and wanted more.) 78. Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild There is a lot I like about this book. It is a sibling story. It is British. There are three very dif...

No books in today's 10 that I haven't heard of. I am happy to say I have heard of every single one of them. Even if I haven't read them all. Again I have linked to Betsy Bird's descriptions of each book posted at Fuse 8. You should really click through and read them if you haven't yet. She does a fantastic job discussing each book. 90.  The Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston This is one I haven't read because I don't typically go in for these type of books. Since it has made the list twice now I suppose I need to go ahead and read it. Sigh. 89. The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary Not my favorite Cleary book but who can resist that cute little mouse on his motorcycle. I actually think this book works best as a read aloud for the 4-6 year old range because it hits right at their level of development. 88. The BFG by Roald Dahl This is actually tied with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as my favorite Dahl book. In fact I can do wi...

Over at A Fuse 8 Production the new polls have started posting. I shared the picture books I voted for a couple weeks ago. I'm not going to share the chapter books I voted for until next month even though the results have started posting. Today revealed the first 10 of the Chapter Books. I have listed them and linked each to the post Betsy Bird did on it today. The links are followed by brief thoughts of my own. 100. Love That Dog by Sharon Creech I used this book in my poetry unit every year and the kids loved it. Without fail.  99. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner  Always a crowd favorite. I was never really into these books and Bit outgrew them fast but it is definitely a must read for students who are venturing into chapter books.  98. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling I am in the camp that believes this is where the editing of the series started to go awry. Yet I still love it. I love the tournament, and the Yule Ball, ...

From now on referred to as SLJ's BoB, or just BoB. For any unfamiliar with this particular celebration of children's literature you are in for a treat. They start with 16 books and in the end they have one winner, and authors do the choosing. Watching this unfold is one of the highlights of my year. It is that much fun. They released the 16 titles today and you can view the brackets to see who will be competing against who in round one. Here is the list of titles: Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming ( my Goodreads review ) Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Septys Bootleg by Karen Blumenthal The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright ( my review ) Chime by Franny Billingsley ( my review ) Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos Drawing from Memory by Alan Say The Grand Plan to Fix Everything by Uma Krishnaswami ( my review ) Heart and Soul by Kadir ...

The winners of the ALA Youth Media Awards were announced this morning at the Midwinter Conference. Here they are in all their newly medaled glory. I'm a little sad because none of the books I wanted to win did. I am looking forward to reading the winners I haven't gotten to yet though. The Geisel Awarded to the author and illustrator of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers. The Winner: Tales for Very Picky Eaters by Josh Schneider The Honors: I Broke My Trunk by Mo Willems, I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, See Me Run by Paul Meisel The Printz Award Awarded to the author of a work that exemplifies excellence in young adult literature. The Winner: Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley The Honors: Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler, The Returning by Christine Hinwood ( my review ), Jasper Jones by Craig Silveym, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater ( my review ) The Caldecott Awarded to the artist of the most distinguished pict...

I wasn't planning on doing a My Favorite Things post this week, but when given inspiration for a perfect topic I will take it. Plus I'm sick this week. Really sick. Going to bed at 8 every night sick. Not much reading has been happening and I'm running out of stockpiled reviews to post. So this was excellent timing. (I now have antibiotics and will hopefully be pulling out of this funk soon.) In that article I linked to up there Jonathan at Heavy Medal makes some very interesting points. I like the points he is making and agree with them. I like the little exercise he provided for everyone more and that is what I'm running with, and for the purposes of this post will play by his rules (mostly). Meaning I will stick to the last 50 years of Newbery Winners. For the purposes of full disclosure I have only read 30 of the 50 titles. Here are my Top 4 Picks (because I couldn't decide on which book to give the #5 slot) :  Rounding out the Top 10 I would choose: Fro...

 It is that time of year again. The one where we celebrate our freedom to read what we choose and for other people to do the same even if we don't like or agree with their choices. It begins tomorrow on September 24 and runs until October 1. Over the year the American Library Association compiles data on books that have been challenged and the reasons given for wanting their removal from libraries. You can find information and some rather troubling lists here .Check your local library to see if they are doing anything special. Here is the Top 10 list of banned/challenged book of 2010 with their reasons : And Tango Makes Three , by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson Reasons: homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian , by Sherman Alexie Reasons: offensive language, racism, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence Brave New World , by Aldous Huxley Reasons: insensit...