Trick or read!

If you're staying in this Halloween, why not read a picture book? Today's edition of Shopping Blog offers a selection of "delightfully creepy" Halloween books. Of course, all my life I've been convinced that Halloween should be celebrated year round, so I'll personally recommend the wonderful but sadly out-of-print Dorrie and the Halloween Plot by Patricia Coombs.

(Hey, if you're from Clarion and reading this, I don't suppose you'd consider bringing Dorrie back into print? I think witches are on their way back.)

You can also see some Halloween links in my post at Pop Goes the Library.

The first rule of YA is...

...you talk about YA, extensively.

For your media coverage pleasure, here's an article that covers edgy YA novels but never mentions, y'know, those three books.: 5 Recommended Novels for Young Adults, in the Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA). I love, LOVE that they mention Fight Club, because when I worked with a local high school on their suggested summer reading list, Fight Club was one of the first books I added for juniors.

Cobain seen, chronicled, and still elusive

I know that when Don McLean sang about "the day the music died," he was referring to the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper. Say that phrase to me, however, and I think of my mom picking me up from school on April 5, 1994, and telling me that Kurt Cobain had committed suicide. Because this day stands out for me so much, and because I am a Nirvana fan like all good Gen-Xers, I was so excited to read the beautiful, tangible Cobain Unseen by Charles R. Cross. Thank you to the publicity department at Little, Brown for sending the review copy.

I know I'm supposed to read and follow the pictures along with the text, but I confess to flipping around and playing with all the pullout elements because the visual elements are so enticing and I'm a person who learns best by touching. The book includes replicas of all kinds of previously uncollected Cobain and Nirvana memorabilia. There are fold-out pages, pull-out cards and flyers, a Valentine, a copy of a letter to Cobain from Michael Stipe, even a card Cobain made in elementary school. Maybe it's me putting too much of a YA services slant on this, but I think the designers of this book must really be in touch with the next generation of Cobain fans, the generation that has grown up in a visual world and processes information much differently than Cobain's original fans did. As Cross takes us through Cobain's life, the accompanying pictures highlight not just his artistic talents but his sense of the morbid, which he had even as a child. Even after Nirvana gained fame, Cobain continued to bite the hand that fed him. For all his fame, he continued to speak against big businesses (including his record company) and was more dedicated to producing art than pleasing legions of fans. Even though there aren't that many professional pictures of him, in many of the photographs you can look at his eyes and see the sadness and depression that plagued him for much of his life. Cross's writing is unapologetic and just a step above functional, which works well when writing a biography of someone so extraordinary, someone who lived in art and combining words in new and provocative ways. Cobain's life speaks for itself, all Cross needed to do was sort it out. Cross does this well, showing us both the beautiful and the profane sides of Cobain's personality. Because of all the little doodads this might not be a book for every library, but it's definitely a book for any Nirvana fan to read.

Things to note: First, the final copy comes with a CD of Cobain reading from his journals, which was not included in my review copy. I can't wait to hear it, though. Second, this is not necessarily meant to be a reference book. There is no index or bibliography. There doesn't have to be, of course, I'm just noting it because librarians like to note these things.

Reading this book, I not only feel that I know more about Kurt Cobain, but I understand more. I don't necessarily feel that I know him. Very few people really did. But I know I'm going to go back to Nevermind and In Utero and give them a new listen, and I'm sure they'll take on new dimension since I know more about the stories behind their formations.

See more about Cobain Unseen at Rolling Stone and in the Seattle Times.

Come to the BCCLS Mock Awards chats

The letter I just sent to the BCCLS membership:

Greetings, all,

Everyone is invited to participate in the BCCLS Mock Awards online chats, presented by the Youth Services Committee on November 12, 13, and 18. Lists of books that will be discussed at the chats are now available on BCCLSVisor. If you've read all the books prior to the discussion, that's great! If not, that's great, too! You're welcome regardless of what you have or haven't read.

November 12 (Wednesday) is the Mock Caldecott chat at 11 a.m. To see the committee's current favorites for the Mock Caldecott, go to
http://www.bccls.org/BCCLSVisor/Caldecott.shtml

November 13 (Thursday) is the Mock Newbery chat, also at 11 a.m. To see the committee's current favorites for the Mock Newbery, go to
http://www.bccls.org/BCCLSVisor/Newbery.shtml

November 18 (Tuesday) is the Mock Printz chat at...yes, 11 a.m.! To see the committee's current favorites for the Mock Printz, go to
http://www.bccls.org/BCCLSVisor/Printz.shtml

To enter the chat, just go to http://www.bccls.org/mockChat/ when the chat you want to attend is scheduled.

And don't forget to visit and comment on the BCCLS Mock Awards blog (only Youth Services Committee members can post, but anyone can comment or suggest a book for posting) at bcclsmockawards.blogspot.com

"See" you there!

---

You don't have to be in a BCCLS library to attend. I won't tell anyone if you're not.

What I'm going to be for Halloween

Today's Last Tuesday's (wow, I'm really far behind on my blogs) edition of Pop Candy asks: What the heck will you be for Halloween? Here's my answer:

In these troubled economic times, and in these times where we all have to work together to save our planet, it's important to reuse and economize. Also, I can't sew. That said, last weekend I went to Michael's and for $3 bought a spool of lovely green satin ribbon. On Halloween, I plan to wear my black silk dress with the gray and green flowers on it, black pumps, and a length of green ribbon tied around my neck.

Oh yeah, you children's literature fans know EXACTLY who I'm dressing as.

With the green ribbon around my neck, I'm dressed as Jenny from the short story "The Green Ribbon" from In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz. Only I promise that when my husband unties the ribbon, my head won't fall off. At least, I don't think it will.

What should I listen to? (the 2009 review project)

In just two months, I will cease reviewing YA novels in this blog for a year due to serving on the 2010 Printz. I've hired two absolutely outstanding guest bloggers to fill in, so I guarantee you will have your regular dose of YA literature, but I was thinking about the things that I would like to review here.

Picture books are out. I greatly enjoy them but I know absolutely nothing about art. I can barely tell an oil from a watercolor. Light and perspective befuddle me. I haven't taken an art class since sixth grade, and I barely made it through elementary school art with passing grades.

Middle grade books? I love MG books and have only recently discovered the wonder that is Polly Horvath. I wish her books had been around when I was a kid. I was exactly that kind of quirky girl reader who would have loved them. But the thing with MG is that some of it crosses into the YA realm. The age range for the Printz is 12-18, not 14-18, meaning that all those "ages 9-12" books can be nominated. This being the case, I would rather err on the side of book review caution.

Adult books? Maybe. But they're awfully long.

I know.

MUSIC.

Here's my new goal for 2009: I would like to listen to and do short reviews of at least 50 albums between January 1 and December 31. I think that's doable, just given the time I spend either running or driving or on public transportation. Here are my personal rules:

1. It must be an album I've never heard before in full. If I've heard one or two songs from an album, that's okay.

2. I'd like to review at least 20 albums during the year by bands I've never listened to before. These can be bands from any decade.

These seem like silly rules for most people, but most people aren't Dean Winchester in a librarian's body. As I've mentioned before, I love classic rock and have no qualms about listening to Back in Black once a week or so. Listening to the same five albums over and over doesn't bother me. Unfortunately, it's gotten me in sort of a rut.

I'm Carlie, and I'm your new reader's advisory project.

I really like...: Classic rock, hard rock, and metal make up most of my music library. AC/DC, Rush, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Seether, Shinedown, Velvet Revolver, Nirvana, GnR, Foo Fighters, the Stones, Alter Bridge, the Who, Black Sabbath, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Staind, Blue Oyster Cult, Aerosmith, Disturbed

You may also be surprised to learn that I am a fan of...: Tori Amos, Avril Lavigne, Mannheim Steamroller, Dashboard Confessional, Death Cab for Cutie, Mary J. Blige, Justin Timberlake, Fall Out Boy, Lily Allen

If you recommend the following, I probably won't like it based on past experience: Rap save for a little Eminem here and there, R&B, country, blues, jazz, much emo. I've tried to like Belle and Sebastian, Joanna Newsom, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Regina Spektor and not succeded.

Oh, and I can't stand the Eagles or Pink Floyd.

So, recommend away! I'm also taking suggestions for favorite music recommendation sites. I like Pandora a lot but I'm up for more options.

iTunes, here I come.

Stylista: Not Project Runway, but watchable

I like fashion, and I like some reality TV, so I've been excited for a few weeks about Stylista, in which 12 young hopefuls compete for a junior editor position at Elle Magazine. With Project Runway out of episodes until maybe mid-2009, I have to get my fashion TV fix, and while Stylista is missing the fascinating look at the creation of fashion trends and so far the over-the-top appeal of America's Next Top Model, I think once we get past some of the egos it might be a pretty interesting show.

What I'd like to see more of: Fashion creation challenges. I really liked the H&M give-yourself-a-makeover challenge not just because I shop at H&M, but because I like to see those competing for a somewhat prestigious position think on their feet. The teams had to work together to create office-appropriate looks that were also stylish in a short amount of time. I also liked that one editor called out the girl in the Chanel dress, saying that even though it was a top designer label, it wasn't the best look for her. One of my heroes, Tim Gunn, talks about this in his book, that how clothes look on you is always way more important than the label. The aspiring editors also had to show that their design skills went beyond clothes, putting together not just a breakfast tray for their would-be boss and head judge, but a page about themselves for Elle.

What I'd like to see less of: Whiny ego-tripping. Ego is something you earn, people. It gets built up and shot down and rebuilt as you work. But I suppose without the overinflated egos the show would be a lot less interesting.

I don't have anyone specific I'm rooting for yet. It's too early in the show to remember who's who.

Show reviews: BuzzSugar, New York Times, Washington Post

What should I listen to? (the 2009 review project

In just two months, I will cease reviewing YA novels in this blog for a year due to serving on the 2010 Printz. I've hired two absolutely outstanding guest bloggers to fill in, so I guarantee you will have your regular dose of YA literature, but I was thinking about the things that I would like to review here.

Picture books are out. I greatly enjoy them but I know absolutely nothing about art. I can barely tell an oil from a watercolor. Light and perspective befuddle me. I haven't taken an art class since sixth grade, and I barely made it through elementary school art with passing grades.

Middle grade books? I love MG books and have only recently discovered the wonder that is Polly Horvath. I wish her books had been around when I was a kid. I was exactly that kind of quirky girl reader who would have loved them. But the thing with MG is that some of it crosses into the YA realm. The age range for the Printz is 12-18, not 14-18, meaning that all those "ages 9-12" books can be nominated. This being the case, I would rather err on the side of book review caution.

Adult books? Maybe. But they're awfully long.

I know.

MUSIC.

Here's my new goal for 2009: I would like to listen to and do short reviews of at least 50 albums between January 1 and December 31. I think that's doable, just given the time I spend either running or driving or on public transportation. Here are my personal rules:

1. It must be an album I've never heard before in full. If I've heard one or two songs from an album, that's okay.

2. I'd like to review at least 20 albums during the year by bands I've never listened to before. These can be bands from any decade.

These seem like silly rules for most people, but most people aren't Dean Winchester in a librarian's body. As I've mentioned before, I love classic rock and have no qualms about listening to Back in Black once a week or so. Listening to the same five albums over and over doesn't bother me. Unfortunately, it's gotten me in sort of a rut.

I'm Carlie, and I'm your new reader's advisory project.

I really like...: Classic rock, hard rock, and metal make up most of my music library. AC/DC, Rush, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Seether, Shinedown, Velvet Revolver, Nirvana, GnR, Foo Fighters, the Stones, Alter Bridge, the Who, Black Sabbath, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Staind, Blue Oyster Cult, Aerosmith, Disturbed

You may also be surprised to learn that I am a fan of...: Tori Amos, Avril Lavigne, Mannheim Steamroller, Dashboard Confessional, Death Cab for Cutie, Mary J. Blige, Justin Timberlake, Fall Out Boy, Lily Allen

If you recommend the following, I probably won't like it based on past experience: Rap save for a little Eminem here and there, R&B, country, blues, jazz, much emo. I've tried to like Belle and Sebastian, Joanna Newsom, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Regina Spektor and not succeded.

Oh, and I can't stand the Eagles or Pink Floyd.

So, recommend away! I'm also taking suggestions for favorite music recommendation sites. I like Pandora a lot but I'm up for more options.

iTunes, here I come.

The Sorting Hat declared me a Reading Ravenclaw

In today's Telegraph: Harry Potter readers "can be split into four types". From the article:

Each type conforms closely with one of the four houses found in Harry's school Hogwarts, Professor Stephen Brown of Ulster University said.

His research found 'Hufflepuff' readers take the tales at a slow, steady and systematic pace and enjoy re-reading the books over and over.

'Gryffindor' readers are eager and energetic and will devour the latest Potter book in one sitting, but quickly move on to new things.

'Ravenclaws' are subversive and take the stories with a pinch of salt, while 'Slytherin' readers are not fussed about the books.

They prefer the films but pretend to have read the books when it suits them.

That's the start of it, anyway. What interested me in particular was this later quote, which followed some "O noes the Potterdammerung is dying!":

"Only the Hufflepuffs are totally loyal to Harry, the Gryffindors are already moving on to other things, the Slytherins never really liked him anyway and the Ravenclaws are too busy writing their own fan fiction or posting spoof videos on YouTube."

If you ask me, I think this demonstrates that both the Hufflepuff AND the Ravenclaw readers are "totally loyal to Harry." If you weren't loyal to the intent and world of a series, you wouldn't make the efforto to write fanfic about it or take the time to make spoof videos or post them to YouTube. The Hufflepuff readers, if one goes strictly by this article, are content to read the books, enjoy them, and maybe discuss them with their book clubs. The Ravenclaw readers, on the other hand, are taking the time to speculate as to what happened before, or is happening offstage during, or will happen after the events of the Potter series. They're not satisfied by what appears on the page because Rowling made it clear that the wizarding world was so deep and so rich in history both light and dark. The Ravenclaw loyalty is not just to Harry, but to his entire world and all the people in it.

I caught the notion of fear from this article, too, a fear that Harry Potter will go away forever since there are no new books and nothing to learn about what happens next. I say this is ridiculous. There's interest in plenty of books that no longer have sequels coming out, and as much as we can speculate there will simply be things about the Potterverse that no one but J.K. Rowling will ever know. Whether we write more fanfiction or go on to other books, Harry will always have a place in children's literature history. And while I'm on the topic of Hogwarts houses, I also get the impression that Stephen Brown is more a Hufflepuff reader: loyal to the text but not delving too much into it. If that were the case, he'd know that Hogwarts houses are not about what you are, but what you value. But that's a discussion for another post.

(In terms of Hogwarts houses I think I'm more a Slytherin anyway.)

The Sorting Hat declared me a Reading Ravenclaw

In today's Telegraph: Harry Potter readers "can be split into four types". From the article:

Each type conforms closely with one of the four houses found in Harry's school Hogwarts, Professor Stephen Brown of Ulster University said.

His research found 'Hufflepuff' readers take the tales at a slow, steady and systematic pace and enjoy re-reading the books over and over.

'Gryffindor' readers are eager and energetic and will devour the latest Potter book in one sitting, but quickly move on to new things.

'Ravenclaws' are subversive and take the stories with a pinch of salt, while 'Slytherin' readers are not fussed about the books.

They prefer the films but pretend to have read the books when it suits them.

That's the start of it, anyway. What interested me in particular was this later quote, which followed some "O noes the Potterdammerung is dying!":

"Only the Hufflepuffs are totally loyal to Harry, the Gryffindors are already moving on to other things, the Slytherins never really liked him anyway and the Ravenclaws are too busy writing their own fan fiction or posting spoof videos on YouTube."

If you ask me, I think this demonstrates that both the Hufflepuff AND the Ravenclaw readers are "totally loyal to Harry." If you weren't loyal to the intent and world of a series, you wouldn't make the efforto to write fanfic about it or take the time to make spoof videos or post them to YouTube. The Hufflepuff readers, if one goes strictly by this article, are content to read the books, enjoy them, and maybe discuss them with their book clubs. The Ravenclaw readers, on the other hand, are taking the time to speculate as to what happened before, or is happening offstage during, or will happen after the events of the Potter series. They're not satisfied by what appears on the page because Rowling made it clear that the wizarding world was so deep and so rich in history both light and dark. The Ravenclaw loyalty is not just to Harry, but to his entire world and all the people in it.

I caught the notion of fear from this article, too, a fear that Harry Potter will go away forever since there are no new books and nothing to learn about what happens next. I say this is ridiculous. There's interest in plenty of books that no longer have sequels coming out, and as much as we can speculate there will simply be things about the Potterverse that no one but J.K. Rowling will ever know. Whether we write more fanfiction or go on to other books, Harry will always have a place in children's literature history. And while I'm on the topic of Hogwarts houses, I also get the impression that Stephen Brown is more a Hufflepuff reader: loyal to the text but not delving too much into it. If that were the case, he'd know that Hogwarts houses are not about what you are, but what you value. But that's a discussion for another post.

(In terms of Hogwarts houses I think I'm more a Slytherin anyway.)

Diary of a...no, stay with me on this one

Everyone has a weakness. Mine is books with pink sparkly covers, and definitely books with pink sparkly covers written in diary format. Today's pink sparkly book in diary format is the fun, silly-yet-serious Diary of a Chav by Grace Dent. Copy acquired at the Fall '08 librarian/reviewer preview at Little, Brown (thank you muchly!). Erm...to clarify, my galley has a pink sparkly cover. The final version has a blue sparkly cover.

Shiraz Bailey Wood...even the name makes me smile...is a self-described chav, derogatory slang for white working-class Brits who like hip-hop and the fashions associated with it. She makes no apologies for being one and spends her days hanging around Claire's with the bad girls from school, or maybe with her best friend Carrie, whose wealthy mother had the Sistine Chapel reproduced on the ceiling of the family home with the family's faces painted on it. Her older sister, Cava-Sue, is on her way to becoming the family outcast due to her interest in studying acting at the higher education level. Shiraz wasn't planning on keeping a diary, but it was a gift from her grandmother so she might as well use it. She documents her hoop-earring, hip-hop listening days with flair and a lot of cursing. Oh, and there's some romance, too.

At first, this book can be hard to get into because it's so peppered with British slang. Anyone with experience in figuring out word meanings from context, though, should have Shiraz's rhythm down by page 5. I'd love to hear this in audio; I think an audio version would bring a lot of spirit and meaning to the text. What's great about Shiraz is that she doesn't make excuses for being a chav, nor does she aspire to some great refined lifestyle, but she is street smart and as the book goes on she starts to see value in being book smart as well. This is not some great revelation, either. Rather, a teacher recognizes that Shiraz is bright and encourages her to put her sass to good use. That, and Shiraz knows she doesn't want any job where she'll have to wear wellies and a hat ever again. I found this book hilarious and very real in that Shiraz lacks a lot of the self-awareness I see from teens in so much YA literature. She gets in trouble and fights with her friends and isn't sure what she wants to do with her life and is generally finding herself.

Subsequent books in the series are available in the UK and I'm anxiously awaiting their arrival in the US. Also, I have to say that this is one of the books this year where I like the US cover better than the UK cover. The UK covers aren't bad at all, I just like the picture on the US cover (which is the one at the top of this entry).


teen feedback in SLJ || at LB-Teens || at Poppy

YA is extraordinary if you ever get to know it

Earlier today, Liz B and I did a presentation for the New Jersey Youth Services Forum on YA for older readers, officially titled "YA for Older Readers: More than just sex and four-letter words." We spent a little over half the presentation talking about themes and trends in YA for older readers, and one of the things we really worked hard on was talking about YA for older readers that was literary, or fun, or both. We wanted to show our audience the huge range of possibilities for YA fiction, especially realistic fiction that didn't necessarily have sex, drugs, or rock and roll but required life and reading experience to understand. I also had a 5-minute section prepared on how Gossip Girl has changed YA publishing for the better, but alas, I didn't have the time to give it.

It seems like an act of the cosmos, then, that I would run across this blog entry today: Is my novel too weird? at Revising Leah. This blogger, who appears to be at work on (or has just finished) a novel he believes is probably YA, says (with many parts snipped out because I know y'all can follow links):

But the other day, when it occurred to me that my novel might be a little too weird, I wasn’t thinking about one specific element of the story that I could correct; rather, I was thinking about the story as a whole. What I thought was weird about my story isn’t that it is odd or idiosyncratic in places (the best works of literature are often those that are a little strange);instead, it’s the fact that the story really isn’t weird at all which makes it too weird...

...the “second act” of my novel revolves around a history report on the ancient Egyptians. Of course, that report is a plot device... Leah goes to the library, she takes notes, she writes her essay, she’s nervous about reading it in front of her class. These are some of the most mundane events imaginable, and what worries me is that the story itself is too focused on these mundane events.

But what I like about the mundane is that it is real. Sadly, it’s true that a lot of the horrible things that happen to main characters in other young adult novels do happen to some real teenagers in real life, but most teenagers live relatively mundane lives... If I write a story about these things, then I may be writing a “real” story, but the price I have to pay for that realism is, I guess, a weird and boring novel.

No.

That's not how it works.

Revising Leah believes, or at least I glean this from reading his entries, that in order to appeal to a wide YA audience you need to have some kind of Big Traumatic Event. He doesn't want to write the BTEs because that's not what interested him as a teen and he's not into "melodrama." And you know? That's perfectly fine. What's not fine is believing that these books represent all contemporary YA and all YA sales, or that a writer has to write BTEs and melodrama in order to sell books. Plenty of books sell that contain none of these things. Plenty of books sell that aren't science fiction or fantasy. YA is a cool genre because anything can happen, including realism that appears to be boring on the surface but is saved by great writing (see the list at the end of this entry). It's also not fine to believe that popular books are bad and less popular, more literary books are good. Gossip Girl is not inherently worse than Looking for Alaska. There's room in YA for everything. YA is a place where The Clique can happen as easily as Madapple and everything Ellen Hopkins ever wrote.

I don't think there's a "price to pay for realism" at all. The only price around is the one the reader pays when the writer doesn't see that YA can be literary, that it can have many layers, and that a story about everyday life doesn't have to be, well, everyday. As Stephen King said in On Writing, our lives have no plots, so a plot where some kind of big trauma happens is not necessarily the key to a successful YA novel. "Relatable" characters are not necessarily ordinary. We all related to Harry Potter not because he was magical, but because he got into fights with his friends and completely screwed things up with Cho Chang and always strived to do the right thing. Harry Potter is as ordinary as you and I, and that heart, that brand of realism, is what makes for a successful YA novel.

I've added some of my favorite YA about ordinary teens here:


Dramarama: Broadway shows bring their own drama.

An Abundance of Katherines: Boy goes on a road trip at the end of his senior year and falls in love.

Crooked: A normal boy and girl form an unlikely friendship and try to navigate bullies and parental troubles.

Prom: Her boyfriend is kind of an ass but she still wants to go to prom.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist: Two souls meet and bond over exes and music.

Criss Cross: She wished something would happen.

A Little Friendly Advice: Dad wants to make reparations. Also, there's a camera.

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie: Freshman year is an extreme sport.

(and feel free to add your own favorite great "nothing happens here" titles!)

Yes, I know these are all realistic fiction, because strange and brilliant things happening to teens is sort of the point of YA science fiction and fantasy.

Icky, angsty, and...not so bad

In the Calgary Herald: A new generation of icky, angsty, inspirational books for teens

Yeah, that headline had me worried, too. But it's not bad at all! Look:

Sure, they text and they Twitter and they play way too much Wii. But all those twitchy, tormented adolescent souls are still able to lose--and then find--themselves in the current wave of good reads.

- - -

"Sophisticated, witty, and urbane." These are adjectives usually applied to novels about high-powered women on the prowl or tell-all tomes about Washington's elite. Surprisingly, these words were lifted instead from gushy reviews about the new breed of books aimed at youth readers. Life can be treacherous and turbulent during adolescence. Raging hormones, mingled with intense social and educational pressures, are enough to make any teenager crawl under the covers and wait for the storm to pass. It takes stones and sensitivity to tackle stories about these often awkward and baffling years, and the new breed of writers has risen to the challenge in a way that is pleasing not only their audiences, but parents, librarians and school administrators alike.

The article mentions books like Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (though it spells Norah wrong) in addition to The Triumvirate That Must Not Be Named. It also has writeups of some old YA favorites, which I guess is the old generation of icky, angsty, inspirational books. A little long, but worth the read.

I'll tell you what's in a name

from Bookshelves of Doom: Mother names her child Reneesme Bella.

I say it could have been much, much worse. After all, the mother could have named her kid Carlisle. What kind of a name is THAT? And then, she could have added insult to injury by calling the kid Carlie, cause it's totally Carlisle + Charlie and not just a possible short form of Carlisle. Wait, wait, I've got it. The worst possible thing would have definitely been to name the kid Carlisle and then give her some middle name like Elizabeth.

(Mom, I'm totally kidding. I like being a Carlisle now that I'm a grownup. But I still think Reneesme Bella is a dumb name, and a terrible thing to visit on a baby.)

Review: The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

I'm on a sprint to read books with multiple starred reviews because the time for putting the BCCLS Mock Printz list together is drawing near. Today's book: The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

We begin with a Tuesday in the life of Helmuth Guddat Huebner, a German political prisoner in 1942. Tuesday is the day the executioner comes, and Helmuth wonders if today might be his last day on Earth. As we move from scenes in Helmuth's prison cell to the story of his childhood, we see a boy with a strong sense of justice, who is not willing to defy his own views and beliefs just because they are the beliefs of the majority. Helmuth is eight years old when Hitler comes to power, but even at eight Helmuth can see that not everything Hitler does is really in the best interests of Germany. Hitler may talk about protecting Germans, but Helmuth knows he is losing freedoms and being told what to think about non-Germans. He fights with his mother's boyfriend, a Nazi who believes that Hitler is in the right. He also defies his teachers, who want him to write pro-Nazi school papers. Because of his views on humanity and equality, Helmuth is encouraged to stay silent. But as we know, quiet people don't have books written about their lives.

Using information he hears from the BBC on a black-market radio, Helmuth begins distributing flyers that speak against the Nazi party and its propaganda. He is eventually caught by the Nazis and put on trial. Even with the knowledge that he is facing imprisonment, maybe execution, Helmuth refuses to stay silent or allow others to take his punishment.

The book is definitely worthy of all its starred reviews. It's a fast yet thought-provoking read, and I am always supportive of books that show young readers why defiance in an oppressive time (WWII or not) is never as easy as it looks. Bartoletti keeps the focus on Helmuth tight and shows the reader German history really well without going off into history data-dumping tangents. We see the struggle Helmuth must fight between speaking for what he believes is right and the knowledge that doing so could get him sent to prison, or worse. Bartoletti makes us understand why even those who did not believe in the Nazi ideals joined the party and fought in the war. There's also a powerful look at how the distribution and receipt of information influence people's beliefs.

With all this, do I think it's a Printz book? As much as I liked it, I'm leaning toward no. I would definitely buy it for my library, booktalk it, and perhaps even use it in a book discussion group. It's nominated to BBYA and is quite deserving of a spot on that list. I just don't think that it terms of "literary" it's in the same field as some of my other favorites. Not all books have to be literary, though, and I do encourage you all to take a look at this book.

Books: The anti-chocolate

Today's headline: New Study Proves Beacon Street Girls Fight Childhood Obesity.

A new study from Duke Children's Hospital indicates the Beacon Street Girls' popular book series helps tween girls improve their eating and exercise habits, and significantly improve their Body Mass Index (BMI) percentiles. The study was presented over the weekend at the Obesity Society annual scientific meeting.

More on this topic: Can Reading Help Kids Lose Weight? (Time Magazine) Can Reading Help Children Lose Weight? (ITWire). Editing to add: Youth lit used as weight loss tool (USA Today)

I'm intrigued, to say in the least. More specifically, I'm intrigued as to what it is about this particular Beacon Street Girls book that encouraged weight loss. I have to wonder: If this specific BSG book encourages weight loss, would other books encourage other behaviors, that is, behaviors that go beyond something like kids dressing as Harry Potter for Halloween and having impromptu Quidditch games in their back yards? The ITWire article says:

The special point about the book was that it contains special passages that pointed out the correct ways to live a healthy lifestyle. It also mentions ways to control weight, along with the use of role models and positive statements geared toward weight loss and healthy lifestyle.

Now, I have not read Lake Rescue, the book that helped with the weight loss, but it seems like it was engineered to send these healthy living messages. If that's the case, at what point does a book make kids change their ways and can other books have similar effects? Where does a book like this become didactic? One of the points librarians always make when faced with people who want to pull books from our shelves because they might "give children the wrong ideas" is that children do have the ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality. I don't doubt this for a second, but now it seems like, if you squint at it, these books exploit a blurred line between fantasy and reality. Yes, that's very tinhat of me, I'm just trying to go to the extreme on the other side. Has anyone read Lake Rescue? What's in there that would inspire tween girls to lose weight, and more importantly, what isn't in other titles for tweens that would inspire them to, say, travel the world or stop bullying or volunteer at an animal rescue?

The best book no kid wants to read

The article everyone in the YA and children's lit world is talking about lately is Has the Newbery lost its way?, by Anita Silvey in the October SLJ. I read the article, and I read Melissa's response to it at Librarian by Day, and I read Monica Edinger's thoughts on the Newbery's relevance, and Roger Sutton's entry, titled Going for the Gold, and Nina Lindsay's response at Heavy Medal.

After reading all of these, I went back and reread the Newbery criteria, and after mixing it all together in my head and baking at 350 degrees I have the following:

1. Why do we care about whether kids like the Newbery books? It's not the committee's charge to pick books kids will like.

2. Isn't Ranganathan's second law "To every book its reader?" Whether a book has millions of readers or fifty, there is a reader for every book out there. Why does it have to be liked, or resonate with a huge number of people, to contribute to the genre? I don't particularly like the Beatles, but I do admit they contributed to the rock genre in important ways.

3. Clearly, we're not doing a good enough job not just educating the public, but educating our fellow librarians, about what the Newbery and the Printz are given for. Personally, I like to say that the Newbery and the Printz are given to works of art, books that stand apart and make us rethink what a children's or YA book can be. The Newbery is given to a book "for which children are a potential audience," which by my interpretation means that the Newbery people have always acknowledged that not all kids will lurve a Newbery winner. Potential, not absolute, not guaranteed. I think the use of the word "potential" shows that the Newbery committee does understand the diversity of children and their reading habits and that no one book will ever speak to all children. Except maybe Holes.

4. One of the things I like best about my job is that I get to talk about YA books with other adults and not be thought of as strange. I think there's extreme value in adults, looking at books published for children and teens, bringing their adult perspectives and experiences to a discussion about said books. It's why I pushed so hard for Octavian Nothing when it came up at the BCCLS Mock Printz in 2007. I thought it was the perfect book to demonstrate why the Printz is given. It was a work of art, chronicling an adolescence that was completely unfamiliar to most teens.

What did I hear at the discussions? "It was too hard to get through." "My kids wouldn't read it." "I didn't understand it." Now, all of these are perfectly legitimate reasons for not adding a book to your collection, where circ stats are key to knowing how you're going to develop your collection in the future. But for an award? I knew the minute I read it that given the Printz criteria and the committee's charge, that it would take an honor for that year if it didn't win the whole thing. Why? Because the Printz criteria, like the Newbery criteria, has nothing to do with how much the intended audience loves a book.

5. In general, I think Silvey's muchly-flawed article wants us to believe that the Newbery committee has a job to do that is not, in fact, in their charge. It is not the job of the Newbery committee to pick the book that will stay a favorite with generations of children. It is not the job of the Newbery committee to make sure that those small-town kids will love the Newbery winner. It is not the job of the "too many experts" on the Newbery Committee to pick the year's most perfect book for children.

Winning the Newbery Medal does not mean a book will automatically be loved or even remembered, or that all children should read it. (Why would anyone make such a ridiculous statement, that "every child" should read ANY given book, Newbery winner or not?) It means that in one particular year, that book made the most outstanding contribution to literature for children. Here's hoping school assignments catch up to that.