Author: beth

CYBILS!

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October 13, 2011

7:00 am

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Cybils Round 1 Judge A while back, the call went out for judges for this year’s Cybils. Since this blog has clearly shifted from being a craft blog to more of a kidlit blog, I went ahead and threw my hat in the ring.

I’m a first round judge for Middle Grade Fiction, along with these fantastic bloggers:

Colby Sharp at Sharp Read 
Jennifer Donovan at 5 Minutes for Books 
Karen Yingling at Ms. Yingling Reads 
Cheryl Vanati at Reading Rumpus
Grier Jewell at Fizzwhizzing Flushbunker
and
Michael Gettel-Gilmartin at Middle Grade Mafioso .

Now, I love kids’ fiction, as you can tell by looking through my reviews. (Good thing, too, what with the being a Children’s Librarian. It’s a lot easier to make book recommendations when you read a lot of books!) I’ve read a few of this year’s nominees already, but I have stacks of books coming my way via the library’s holds system.

I’ve been spacing out my reviews on this blog, posting kids’ books on Tuesdays and YA books on Thursdays. With so many books coming in, if I keep that up, I’ll end up with once-weekly reviews scheduled through the end of next year. That seems… excessive. So, those of you on the other side of the screen, what do you think? Should I start posting them more often? (And, no, I don’t see myself posting a review for every single nominee. There just aren’t that many hours in the day.)

This does also mean that the Challenges I signed up for back at the beginning of the year are on hold. I’ve read seven of my original 12 titles for the Debut Author Challenge, with one more of those currently in the TBR-for-Cybils queue. I hit my 12 titles (and then some) for the E-Book Challenge back in April. The Off the Shelf Challenge, sadly, has suffered this year. I’ve read one book from my Challenge List. Whoops. I don’t see myself making up any ground there before December.

Book Review: Bigger than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder

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October 11, 2011

8:00 am

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Bigger than a Bread BoxBigger than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Only people who don’t know seagulls think they’re prefect and pretty – all white and soaring and dipping and everything.

Rebecca’s parents haven’t been getting along too well for a while now. Still, it’s a shock when her mother suddenly packs her and her two-year-old brother Lew into the car and takes them to Gran’s house in Atlanta. There, in the attic, Rebecca finds a bread box that has the power to grant any wish… as long as the wish is something that can fit in the box. Money, an iPod, and a Baltimore seagull are all things the box can give her. But what she really wants is to go home and be a family again.

At twelve years old, Rebecca is old enough to know that things aren’t good between her parents, but still young enough to try to wish them into happiness. Besides her ruptured home life, she also has to deal with being the new girl in school. She wants to be a good kid and do the right thing, but she is just a kid, and sometimes she messes up. Sometimes, she even makes things worse by trying to make them better.

Snyder deftly blends the all-too-familiar reality of separating parents and middle school mean girls with the fantastic bread box. Although clever readers might pick up on the problem with the box well before Rebecca does, this is a satisfying tale of magical realism for the middle grades.

Book Source: I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher for review.

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Book Review: Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O’Roark Dowell

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October 6, 2011

8:00 am

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Remember the hare-brained schemes you came up with as a kid? Especially any that involved getting a pony? Remember how you wished people grown-ups your parents would take you seriously? Janie Gorman does. In fact, she can’t forget, no matter how much she wishes she could.

Ten Miles Past NormalTen Miles Past Normal by Frances O’Roark Dowell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Like all fourteen-year-olds, I used to be a nine-year-old. In retrospect, I was an annoyingly perky and enthusiastic nine-year-old. In fact, I’ve been enthusiastic my entire life, up until this fall, when high school sucked every last ounce of enthusiasm right out of me.

After a fourth-grade field trip to a farm, Janie Gorman came home and suggested to her parents that they move out of their suburban house an onto a farm of their own. Five years later, she’s still surprised they really did it. Now, her days start with a crowing rooster, goats that need to be milked, and the knowledge that everything her family does is fodder for her mother’s thrice-weekly blog. She only gets to see her best friend (and former neighbor) in one class a day; none of her middle-school friends even share her lunch period. All she wants is to be normal, have friends, maybe date a boy. But how can she blend in when everyone knows her as Farm Girl?

In her debut YA novel, accomplished middle-grade fiction author Dowell creates an utterly realistic teenage girl caught in an out-of-the-ordinary situation. Janie is frustrated with her life, and she relates her story with sarcastic humor. Short chapters, each with an amusing title, keep the pace brisk and breezy. There are quite a few threads weaving their way around each other: Janie’s feelings about farm life, her desire to both fit in and be noticed, and her shifting relationships with friends and family are all explored. Recommend this one to fans of light realistic fiction like Naylor’s Alice series.

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Book Review: The Secret of the Sealed Room by Bailey MacDonald

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October 4, 2011

8:00 am

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The Secret of the Sealed Room: A Mystery of Young Ben FranklinThe Secret of the Sealed Room: A Mystery of Young Ben Franklin by Bailey Macdonald

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In church of a Sunday when the parson preaches about the sins and failings of women, I would swear he gazes straight at me with a stern, disapproving look.

Patience Martin knows she is hardly the model of good behavior. But what incentive does she have? After her mother’s death three years ago, her father bound her as a servant to the wealthy Mrs. Worth. Then her father died in the same shipwreck that left Mrs. Worth a widow in the middle of a difficult pregnancy. She has four long years to serve a woman who never has a kind word to say to her. Of course, things are about to get much, much worse. Mrs. Worth is found dead, and her brother-in-law plans to sell Patience off with no concern for her well-being. Patience takes her chance to run away, but soon learns that she is suspected of stealing Mrs. Worth’s money, and there is a reward on her head. With the help of a smart young printer’s apprentice, she just might save herself and bring the murderer to justice.

As in Wicked Will, MacDonald sets the scene with period details.

Patience is a winning heroine – quick-witted and determined, clearly a girl ahead of her time. The young Ben Franklin is charming, depicted with just enough human faults to remind the reader that even such an American legend was once a teenage boy. Filled with humor and nods to historical events, this is a classic locked-room mystery for the younger set.

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The Kind of Mom I Hope to Be

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September 29, 2011

6:07 pm

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When I was a newer Librarian than I am now, an upset parent demanded to know if I had children, insisting that if I did, I would see things differently (i.e., as she did). Since I became a Mom four and a half years ago, I do find myself thinking a lot about how my feelings as a parent and my feelings as a Library Professional serving children mesh. And I’ve found that I remain just as dedicated to children’s intellectual freedom as ever. I also remain convinced that parents can and should be aware of what their children are reading and be prepared to discuss it with them.

So, naturally, I loved Knitmore Girl Jasmin’s blog entry today about her mom’s attitude toward the reading choices Jasmin and her little brother made as kids. Gigi is so my role model as a mom. In 10 years or so, I hope I’m the kind of mom who can have a calm talk with Lil Miss about whatever she’s reading. More to the point, I hope I’m the kind of mom Lil Miss will want to talk to about what she’s reading.

A mom can dream.

Book Review: At Home by Bill Bryson

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September 26, 2011

6:00 pm

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At Home: A Short History of Private LifeAt Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is always quietly thrilling to find yourself looking at a world you know well but have never seen from such an angle before.

Bill Bryson turns his insatiable curiosity and boundless enthusiasm for research to a subject quite literally close to home. His home, to be precise, a former rectory in Norfolk, built in 1851. He takes the reader on a guided tour of the house, room by room, from the entry hall all the way up to the attic. Along the way, he discusses the history of just about every domestic subject: food, health, birth, death, gardening, etc. His knack for pointing out just the right absurd detail provides unexpected laughs in the midst of very serious subjects.

I was introduced to Bryson’s work during the year I spent in Manchester. It was a year after the publication of Notes from a Small Island, and Notes from a Big Country was running as a weekly column in The Mail on Sunday. Reading those columns about his reentry to the nation I’d just left, I fell a little bit in love with his writing. Fifteen years later, I still love it. I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with next.

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Book Review: Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming

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August 22, 2011

7:00 am

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When kids come to the library looking for a biography, there are a few usual suspects, and Amelia Earhart is one of them. There is a lot of information about Earhart floating around out there, some of it more legend than truth, as Fleming notes at the opening of this attractive biography. I enjoyed Fleming’s biography of P.T. Barnum, and she brings much the same approach to the famous “aviatrix”.

Amelia LostAmelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“We believed we were about to see history in the making — the first woman to fly around the world, but she didn’t come, and she didn’t come.”

Fleming begins her biography of Earhart near the end of the story, joining the crew waiting for her arrival at Howland Island as they realize that the famous pilot is lost. She then jumps back to the beginning, and the chapters of the book move chronologically from Amelia’s birth to her final flight. In between the chapters, though, are brief two- or three-page sections about the progress of the search. This dual narrative maintains a feeling of suspense throughout the book, even though the reader knows the search is ultimately unsuccessful.

Beautifully designed, full of photographs and sidebar notes, with a striking red, black, and gray cover, this biography has plenty of visual appeal for children and adults. Fleming dug through mounds of research (many sources are noted in the back matter) to tease out the truth of Earhart’s life from the legends. She portrays an Amelia Earhart who is daring and inspiring, yes, but also a very real human being. A truly outstanding biography.

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Shoulda Taken the Left at Albuquerque

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July 25, 2011

12:00 pm

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Back in April, I threw my name (and credit card) in the virtual hat for the 2011 Nike Women’s Marathon. I had no expectation of winning. I thought they had a “3 Strikes and You’re In” rule, a la the NYC Marathon, and I wanted to start the clock running. (They don’t, actually. You can lose the lottery indefinitely, I suppose.)

So, of course, this showed up in my inbox:

… and, at roughly the same time, a charge for the race fee showed up on my Visa bill.

Right, then.

I was in the last month of training for the Pasadena Half Marathon. I use the word “training” loosely, since after the event was rescheduled from February to May, I kind of lost my running mojo.

Still, in late May, after the Half – which took place in a downpour and gave me a time that was neither a PR nor a PW – I started Training for the Marathon. I’m using Hal Higdon’s Novice 1 plan, and doing a cobbled-together walk/run combination. Short runs (3-4 miles) are on the treadmill, and 5-6 mile runs are fairly easy to route in my neighborhood (more or less). But I knew I would need somewhere with fewer traffic lights for the long runs. And also some hills, since the very flat streets around here will do me no favors in San Francisco’s hills. And I didn’t want anyplace too deserted.

And then I thought, “Griffith Park!”

It’s got miles of both roads and trails, it’s got hills, and it’s got lots of people around. Ideal.

Except that I forgot about my talent for getting lost.

Last week, on a scheduled 10-miler, I decided to try out the equestrian trails, since there were lots of runners and walkers on them (as well as horses). The trails are pretty much sand, and a few miles in, starting heading upward. Up, and up, and up. Around mile 4, I had a great view of the city, but I had no idea how I was going to manage another 6 miles. After a mile or so downhill, I found my way back to the main road around the park, and stuck to that for the rest of the way.

Yesterday was a cut-back run of 7 miles. I double-checked a map and decided to run the road around the park for a loop of 5.5 miles, and then do an out-and back for the remaining 1.5. No problem, right? Just follow the road. That worked fantastically. Right up until I realized that I was closing in on 6 miles, and I was pretty sure that I was nowhere near the place I started. And then I was at a big intersection – one of the entrances to the park. Not the one I came in.

Oops.

I backtracked and found the spot where I had taken the wrong turn, then ran/walked my way around the rest of the original loop to my car. A two-mile detour that put my run at 9. As I wrote on DailyMile, “It’s all fun and games until someone takes the wrong turn.”

This Sunday is a 12-miler. Wish me luck.

Book Review: Forgotten by Cat Patrick

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June 30, 2011

7:00 am

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ForgottenForgotten by Cat Patrick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book source: ARC from publisher, by request

He’s not in my memory, which means he’s not in my future.

Every morning, London Lane wakes up with no memory of the day before. Or of any day before. Every night, she writes herself a note to prepare for the next day, because while her past is forgotten, she has memories of the future. It’s confusing, but she has learned to live with it. when she starts having some very dark memories, though, she begins to wonder both about her past and whether she can change her future.

Romance, mystery, and psychological thriller come together in this original tale, which has a paranormal feeling to it despite the lack of any actual otherworldly creatures. The details of London’s condition are revealed very slowly over the course of the first few chapters, with more background coming much later. London is a likeable character, striving to do the right thing (especially in light of her unusual knowledge) without becoming too goody-goody. Underdeveloped secondary characters and an abrupt conclusion are weak points, but the plot is engrossing, and Patrick’s smooth writing style aids the momentum through some sharp turns. Best not to question the details too much; just enjoy the ride.

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