Blog Archives - Reading Style Guide

Adorable You

2/29/2016

Sometimes the cute factor reaches maximum level. For example, let's talk about Next to You: A Book of Adorableness written by Lori Haskins Houran and illustrated by Sydney Hanson.
These charming wide-eyed animals have a message for young readers: You are the most adorable creature of all.
Some of my own little animal friends pose with Houran's and Hanson's pages. I can't stop my "oohs and ahhs" as I look at each page.
To enhance your viewing pleasure, click on the vintage recording of "A You're Adorable" as background music.

It is my personal practice to include a book with each baby gift. A subtle message that it's never to early to begin sharing the love of books.

I'm including this book with my next baby gift. How adorable is that?

From the Depths

2/26/2016

The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen Rivers

How do I describe The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen Rivers? Where do I start?
This is unlike any other book that I have encountered. It's a tale of desperation, a saga of hurt and pain. It's also filled with some of the most hilarious, laugh-out-loud prose I have ever read.
How does Rivers pull this off? How can she break my heart for one moment and then completely turn me around, leaving me spitting out my drink with uncontrolled laughter when I get to the next page. Can I really laugh at someone's inner dialogue and simultaneously empathize with her pain?
How does she do it? I have no idea.
But it works. It totally works.
The voice of Kammie Summer is like no other voice I have ever heard and one that I will never be able to erase from my mind and my heart.

Meet Kammie Summers, the new girl in town, who desperately yearns to leave behind the shame and hurt of her former life and move on. In her new school, she locates a trio of popular girls and bravely attempts to tag along. Then things go terribly wrong. Kammie finds herself at the bottom. Literally rock bottom.
Her ongoing stream-of-consciousness monologue from the bottom of a well is filled with wisdom from the depths of a disparate soul.

Nine Truths from the Bottom of the Well

Lies, lies, and more lies

Lying turns your soul into something small and dry and hard, like an old raisin you find in your book bag squashed under a book you on-purpose-forgot to return to your old school library because you loved it too much to leave it behind.

Mean girls

Mean is where they get their power. The thing with mean girls is that everyone knows that if you aren't one of them, they're going to destroy you, tiny bit by tiny bit. And I'm not going to lie, I've been destroyed enough for this year, for this whole life even.

Diagramming sentences

Metaphors and similes make my head hurt, picking apart those sentences in Language Arts, making all those words fall away from their sentences and separating them into gerunds and modifiers and whatevers. It's like sentence massacres, those poor words bleeding sadly all over the page.

School bus blues

I hate school buses with the heat of a thousand Texas suns.Everything bad that goes on at school goes on with a thousand times more intensity on a school bus. Trust me.

Truth About Tears

Crying because you're sad is unstoppable; it just happens, even if you close your eyes, it leaks out of you. Sadness makes you holey, like a sieve, and nothing can be held in.

Parent Trap

It occurs to me right at this exact moment that it's possible children could be raised by robots BETTER than by actual people...

Holding onto the past

I need Grandma's Peachy Keen Cookie Recipe! How else will I bring Grandma back?
I am bringing peachy keen back, lovingly wrapping the words up and dropping them carefully into modern times like the past lobbing gifts into the future, through me.

Left behind

We left a lot of things behind, but not enough. It turns out that you can't get away from yourself. The museum of you is inside you.

If it's broken ...

We all have broken parts, that's the truth, but mine really hurt.

Just Like You

2/23/2016

Emma and Julia Love Ballet by Barbara McClintock

I have always loved Barbara McClintock's illustration style. It is immediately engaging. The art never overpowers the text, instead complimenting the story by adding fascinating details that bring a nuanced vitality.
Emma and Julie Love Ballet follows the parallel lives in one day for Emma, a young girl learning to dance and Julia, a professional ballerina.
Readers observe how their lives are similar and yet different. Emma travels via the family car. Julia uses public transportation. Emma attends school. Julia spends quiet downtime with her book.
The story leads to an evening ballet performance. Emma is in the audience. Julia is a featured dancer.
Following the performance, they meet.
Emma: "Someday.. I will dance on stage just like you."
Julia: "...once I dreamed of being a dancer- just like you!"

Companion book

Misty Copeland's poetic text and Christopher Myer's vibrant art inspire young dancers and performers.
This book was awarded the 2015 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award and the 2015 Ezra Jack Keats New Book Award Honor.

Thoughts on Diversity and YA Lit

2/22/2016

On Saturday February 20 I attended the Teen Bookfest By the Bay, a teen book festival created by a group of dedicated school and public librarians, as well as educators in South Texas. It was quite an experience.
The venue, a Corpus Christi high school, was filled with kids who opted to spend the day talking about books.
That in itself is impressive.
Add to that the number of teachers who brought bus loads of students from all parts of the region.

But here's where it got really interesting. This is South, way South, Texas. This meant that the overwhelming majority of teens who attended this event were Latino. Breakout sessions, book selling tables, author signings were swarmed with masses of young readers who wanted to learn more about, discuss, and share YA books.

And it gets even better. By my count five Latino authors were featured. They naturally infuse their writing with their culture. Books include plots that feature a middle grade adventure featuring a nagual i.e. a shape shifter; a young teen coping with the devastating effects of a terminal illness in her close-knit family; a girl who hopes to communicate with her deceased mother with an Incan artifact; the coming-of-age of a young man in a small Texas town,; and an eleven year-old boy who travels to the Underworld. These books feature imaginative storylines, characters with depth, and have high teen appeal. There is some great reading here. David Bowles' The Smoking Mirror was awarded a 2016 Pura Belpre Honor. Guadalupe Garcia McCall's Under the Mesquite was a 2012 Pura Belpre Award winner, 2012 Morris Award finalist and earned a starred review from Kirkus. Seeing Off the Johns by Rene S. Perez garnered a starred review from School Library Journal.

Here are Latino teens who love to read, Here Latino authors who love to write. Here are small publishers such as Lee & Low, Cinco Puntos Press, Cedar Fort, and IFWG Publishing who bring these stories to publication.

Due to the efforts of educators and librarians, Latino teens and authors were able to come together for one magic Saturday in South Texas.
This event represents an excellent model for celebrating and promoting diverse readers, authors, books, and communities.
Thank you Teen Bookfest By the Bay!

Teen Bookfest By the Bay

2/20/2016

Saturday February 20 was the scene of the second annual Teen Bookfest By the Bay.
Teens from South Texas gathered at Tuloso-Midway High School for a full day of book & author related events.
Local librarians and educators worked hard to create an exceptional event for those who love bringing books and teens together.
Below are a few images from the day,
Thanks Thanks Thanks to the authors who traveled all the way to Corpus Christi. Thanks to the sponsors and vendors. Thanks to the planning committee and all of the volunteers.
Thanks to all of the terrific teens who came to Teen Bookfest By the Bay 2016.
Looking forward to more author awesomeness in 2017.

Author panels and signings allowed teens the opportunity to interact with authors, ask questions, pose for photographs and pick up autographs.

Clusters of teens gathered around the book sale table, checking out cover images, reading back cover copy, and finally making the selection of the book that was "just right" for their personal reading taste.

The program catered to many different interests and included a special manga session, as well as writer and illustrator workshops. New York City author and illustrator Evan Turk's illustrator workshops completely filled. Teens had the opportunity to learn some basic illustration techniques and then to try illustrating a well-known fairy tale with a collage of their personally created design papers.

Here are a few images of this amazing day: hanging out in The Commons, raffle prize winners, waiting for Victoria Scott's keynote address.

Without question, this photo is my favorite. I found a teen sitting down the hall, back against the wall, totally and completely absorbed in her book. She couldn't wait to tell me about it. "This book is SO GOOD," she gushed. "I'm already up to chapter eleven."
And that is the reason why Teen Book Festivals are so important and why the librarians and educators who organize them are my superheroes.

What's behind that door?

2/18/2016

Katherine Marsh has created a terrific middle grade book with just the right amount of mystery, fairy tale, and plenty of heart. Kelly Murphy's full page illustrations add the perfect finishing touch.
But wait until you savor descriptions of the traditional Russian food:

Creamy cured pork belly followed by thin pancakes with sweet cottage cheese and raisins fried in butter.
Suckling pig and buckwheat porridge topped with nuts and fruits
Stew of salted beef and sour cabbage
Fish, rice, and an onion pie called kulibyaka
Thick slices of warm freshly baked bread and blackberry jam.

One vibrant story thread is the magic of Slavic fairy tales woven throughout the book. Readers meet Baba Yaga, the witch who lives in a house with chicken legs and who travels through the air in her magical mortar and pestle; Domovoi, the rarely seen house spirit who lives inside an old boot; and of course the Firebird with its magical brightly glowing feathers.

"Your first mushroom hunt, my dear? Flowers grow by sunlight, mushrooms by moonlight."
"I keep my soul outside my body, in an egg. It's hidden away where no one - not even Baba Yaga- can find it."
"She could even see a few stars. They seemed to be falling toward her, and then, with a dizzying rush, she realized it was she who was rising toward them.
'The bowl - it's flying!' she exclaimed.
'It's a mortar.'"
"There's one more thing I want...Some magic of my own."

But more than anything this is a story of home and the innate longing everyone possesses for a place to call home.

"The book was her most cherished possession now that Caleb and her mother were gone. But it was a poor substitute for a family."
"Mary could hardly believe her ears. Home. For four years she had longed to hear this word."
"You have no home, devochka." "Yes, I do. Yours."
"All I know is that I was once a girl with a home and family, and then, one night I woke up alone..."
"You have nothing to give. A home without love isn't a home."

Loss, friendship, magic, belonging, and the relationship between the real and the fantastical are woven together in The Door by the Staircase.

"...but weaving! What is life but warp and weft?"
"Motion conquers emotion," Madam Z continued, inspecting the cloth as if Mary's feelings had been woven into it. "That is why when I have a problem I always weave."
"Real life is more complicated than fairy tales."

Pickle Power

2/17/2016

Strolling down the condiments aisle of my grocery store...
Wait! What's that sitting between the Zesty Dill Spears and the Bread & Butter Stackers?
Why it's Phil Pickle, the inventive picture book written by Kenny Herzog and illustrated by Kelly Canby.
This charming story is chock full of clever puns and word play that underscore the message of believing in yourself and following your passion.
Because everyone, even a pickle, can dream.

"What was I thinking?" he thought to himself...
"I'm nothing but a glorified condiment."

"He became an inspiration to pickles everywhere."

First Second: Ten Books. Ten Years. Ten Selfies.

2/12/2016

Congratulations to First Second Books on their ten-year anniversary. I remember hearing Mark Siegel speak of his vision for this imprint, calling it a collection of gems. Over the years, this vision of what graphic novels can be has shaped the world of quality comics for young readers.
My personal bookshelves are replete with many of these literary and artistic gems.
In honor of ten years, below are ten of those gems. There are so many many more. This represents just a sample.
Here's to the next ten years of great graphic novels from First Second Books.

1 I first encountered the immensely talented Jessica Abel with Life Sucks, her graphic novel for teens. Long before the vampire craze reached its zenith, Abel captured the angst-laden humor of love with a vampire.
She and Matt Madden followed up with this definitive treatise on the art and science of comics with Drawing Words and Writing Pictures, a must-have for anyone interested in learning more about the creation of comics.

2 Oh Laika, the book that broke my heart in a way that can never be mended. Nick Abadzis uses visual images to their fullest advantage to capture this moment in history. It is more than science, more than the space race, more than a political move. It's a heartbreaking story of love and trust.
The poignancy of the moment is exquisitely brought to readers who will never be the same after reading this skillful fictional recreation of a historical event.

3 Adventures in Cartooning by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold and Alexis Frederick-Frost
continues to be my go-to recommendation for all would-be young comic creators. The story-within-story format: learning how to draw comics by following along a rollicking adventure with a knight and a fire-breathing dragon is classic.
Learning the basics of creating a story with panels and art has never been more informative and engaging.
The perfect launching point for creating your own adventure.

4 Can anyone create more charming characters with unique adventures that Sara Varon? I think not. While the characters and storylines may seem simple, each conveys deeper thoughtful explorations of ideas.
That's the beauty of her work. It can be enjoyed by the very youngest to the most sophisticated readers.
Thanks Sara for Robot Dreams, Odd Duck, Bake Sale, and Sweater Weather.
I love, love, love them all.

5 Just one look at the cover of Tony Cliff's Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant and I was hooked.
Just look at that action, that sword, and those amazing boots!
The wit and charm of two unlikely companions: a mild-mannered and somewhat timid staff member and a feisty daring young world traveler brings the tale to life.
The dialog sparkles with the tension between the two. Visual pacing heightens the drama.
Fans of this book have reason to rejoice as the story continues in the soon-to-be-released Delilah Dirk and the King's Schilling.
Be prepared: Delilah returns to her homeland for more thrilling adventures.

6 It's obvious why scores of young readers love to dress up in white tunics and green capes. She is the kind of intrepid adventurer that every child dreams of becoming.
Ben Hatke's Zita the Spacegirl three volume series is loved by kids everywhere.
What's not to love?
Hatke fills Zita's world with characters both charming and slightly bizarre: an oversized mouse, a pile of bones and rags, a robot, and even a blob figure into the story.
The dialogue is rich with word play which holds up well under multiple rereadings.
Pure reading enchantment.

7 I will never forget my first encounter with Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang.
It went like this: I was on a train and so absorbed in the book that when I got to the end of the line the conductor had to come and tap me on the shoulder.
The blend of history, religion, mysticism, war, and personal conflict completely absorbed my attention.
Little wonder that he has been selected as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.
These personally signed copies with drawings by Mr. Yang are one of my shelf's prized acquisitions.

8 As previously stated on this blog, Maris Wicks Human Body Theater is the book that convinced a young reader that nonfiction could be pretty cool reading.
Who knew that basic anatomy and physiology for kids could have all the comedy and entertainment of a vaudeville production?
It's all carefully presented and accurate human biology information in a most appealing format.
Kudos to Ms Wicks for making science so much fun.

9 A peek inside the cover reveals that my copy of Foiled is signed by both author Jane Yolen and artist Mike Cavallaro.
I have wonderful memories of hearing presentations from both Jane and Mike at a literature conference. They shared secrets of creating both the story and the images for a tale which involves a determined young girl who knows how to wield a foil. In true Jane Yolen fashion, there is also an important element of magic.
Together Yolen and Cavallaro create a great introduction to the art of fencing and belief in oneself that is magical.
Be sure to check out the follow-up book Curses! Foiled Again.

10 First Second Books recently made its foray into the world of picture books. I was delighted with Ben Hatke's Julia's House for Lost Creatures and can't wait for the publication of Nobody Likes a Goblin.
It's a charming tale of friendship, and loyalty among the most unlikely of heroes.
Hatke's trademark creation of the unusual creatures is in rich supply. His gentle storytelling skills make what would seem to be most-unlovable absolutely endearing . This a story that youngsters will immediately implore "read it again". and again and again

The Artist's Process

2/8/2016

Daniel Finds a Poem by Micha Archer

This ode to the power of poetry is a sensory delight.
Readers follow Daniel throughout the week as he seeks to find the answer to his query, "What is poetry?"
His daily excursions to the park provide him with a variety of answers.
Archer's evocative text and richly colored collages combine to create an awe-inspiring exploration of the wonders of his world.
I love this line:

"Oh, poetry! Poetry is bright stars
in the branches, moonlight on the grass,
and silent wings to take me wherever I go."

Micha Archer offers this tutorial into her collage technique.
Thank you Nancy Paulsen Books for sharing insights into her creation process.

Walk on the Wild Side

2/4/2016

Pax by Sara Pennypacker

Not gonna lie. I've never liked "talking animal" books.
If it's a nonsensical The Cat in the Hat or or a charming imaginary friend such as Winnie-the-Pooh I'm there. But realistic animals who talk? Nah!
I resisted reading Sara Pennypacker's Pax for this reason. But Jon Klassen's cover art kept calling to me and wouldn't let go. Seriously. Look at that cover.
I succumbed.
So glad that I did. Once I got over my initial reservations about a story told from alternating points of view: the boy Peter and the fox Pax, I was completely sucked into their respective worlds. The story tension kept me entranced as it built to the inevitable conclusion.
The book started me thinking a lot about what it means to be "wild" as opposed to "tame". Several classic works address this conundrum and sent me off on a brief literary journey, searching for the wild.
I love books that take me to other books, searching for new connections. Those are the best kind of books: doorways to the world of ideas.

"I am looking for friends. What does that mean -- tame?"
"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties."
"To establish ties?"
"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world....

“Deep in the forest a call was sounding, and as often as he heard this call, mysteriously thrilling and luring, he felt compelled to turn his back upon the fire and the beaten earth around it, and to plunge into the forest, and on and on, he knew not where or why; nor did he wonder where or why, the call sounding imperiously, deep in the forest.”

“He was sounding the deeps of his nature, and of the parts of his nature that were deeper than he, going back into the womb of Time.”

" 'Just wondering,' she said. 'You staying out here on the porch. What do you suppose that makes you? Wild or tame.' "

"Do you think...Do you think if someone had a wild part, it could ever be tamed out? If it's in his nature? Inherited?"

"We all own a beast called anger. It can serve you: many good things come of anger at bad things; many unjust things are made just. But first we have to figure out how to civilize it."

Companion Book

Listen to a sample of Jeff Daniels narrating this Jack London classic.
Then get the audiobook. His gravelly voice adds the right touch of wild.