Author Booktalks

KidsLit always has great content. Today it features a website called Meet the Author. The site features UK authors giving booktalks about their work. Lots of childrens authors are featured. I loved hearing Eoin Colfer talk about Artemis Fowl. Michelle Paver describes Wolf Brother and Chris d'Lacey made me want to read his book, The Fire Within.

The real treat for me was not a children's author but learning that one of my BBC America GroundForce favorites, Alan Titchmarsh, is a novelist. Titchmarsh's erudite commentary while gardening always made me laugh. Hearing him talk about his books is great fun.

Kids SciFi Zone

Science News for Kids has a special Kids SciFiZone devoted to science fiction. Julie Czerneda oversees the site and has great book recommendations, discussions and story ideas for young writers and readers.



Science News for Kids is a terrific resource for science teachers and students. This site has very high interest and well written articles.

Dear Abby letter

A letter from a librarian was printed in Dear Abby's column today. The letter is a plea for common civility and politeness.

Our Tree Named Steve

Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel, David Catrow, illustrator, 2005

The emotional punch that 32 pages of illustrations and text can deliver never ceases to amaze me.

"Our Tree Named Steve" is so funny and so touching that upon finishing it for the first time I immediately reopened the book and read it again and then again to savor the humor and the beautiful story.

Steve is the name a family gives to a special tree in their yard. Over the years it holds swings and hammocks, turns jump ropes, acts as third base, appears in family photos and shelters their home. The tree watches over the family as the children grow and change. Steve's "last trick" will make you gasp in dismay. There is solace for the family (and us) as Steve's spirit lives on.

David Catrow was exactly the right person to design this book. His illustrations are a perfect balance of humor and pathos. I love the dog. Alan Zweibel is a gifted television comedy writer but this is his first children's book. He must be congratulated. He has crafted something quite wondrous and fine.

Jimmy Coates

Just received my copy of Jimmy Coates: Assassin ( Jimmy Coates: Killer in the UK) by Joe Craig . Thank you to the nice people at HarperCollins.

Great fun so far. Boys are going to love this book.
To learn more about it check out the website for Jimmy Coates: Killer.

Author: Meg Cabot

Meg Cabot, known for her books, The Princess Diaries and many others, has a blog/diary and it is really really PINK.

It is also very very funny.

UPDATE: Her latest entry about her dinner at Outback Steakhouse is hilarious. She also mentions that she will be chatting with fans at the Meg Cabot Book Club, Thursday, April 28, 2005 at 7:00pm about Princess Diaries 6. She is hinting about a spoiler for Princess Diary 7.

Looking aroung the Book Club site I have found very cool desktop wall paper, screensavers and buddy icons in the Freebies section.

Illustrator: Jerry Pinkney

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a tribute to Jerry Pinkney today. He will be speaking at the "Black, White and Read All Over" series sponsored by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures.

Pinkney's inviting illustrations captivate and charm readers of his books. I love his work.

In the past four decades, Pinkney, 65, has published more than 80 children's books.

"Not only has he perfected working in an unyielding medium (watercolors don't allow for mistakes like oils), he continues to create fresh perspectives, making familiar themes new," said Maria Salvadore, who teaches children's literature at the University of Maryland.

"I admire him and think that his work is often underrated because he makes it look easy, does beautiful work consistently, and is so well-loved by audiences."

"Watercolor suits me very well," Pinkney said. "It's magical to me because I don't know exactly how it will come out."

Blood Red Horse

Blood Red Horse by K. M. Grant, 2005
Current events and the movie Kingdom of Heaven have increased interest in the Crusades which makes this book very timely.

Gavin, Will and Ellie, their father's ward, have been raised together on the DeGranville estate. Gavin is the oldest and loutish in his treatment of his younger brother. Ellie is very close to Will and sides with him against Gavin even though she senses a streak of kindness in the older brother.

Will has a gift with horses so when it is time for him to choose a Great Horse he forgoes a large destrier and selects the smaller "blood red" horse named Hosanna. The horse emanates a sense of well being to everyone it encounters.

The landscape shifts to the Holy Land when Gavin, Will and their father answer King Richard's call for a crusade. Will and his horse lift the morale of an army that is suffering from terrible battle loses and hardships.

Meanwhile, Kamil, the ward of the Muslim leader Saladin is seeking revenge for the death of his father at the hands of a Crusader. Saladin counsels him to abandon his hatred and follow his faith. Will and Kamil's paths inevitably cross and Hosanna is captured by Kamil. Hosanna presence works its magic on Kamil and Saladin's army too.

War changes everyone and everything. Gavin, Will, Ellie and Kamil must learn to live with loss and survive.

Christianity and Islam are represented very respectfully. A faithful Muslim, Saladin's generosity to King Richard's army is heart-felt and based on fact. The Crusaders' pilgrimage to Jerusalem to see the True Cross is very moving and underscores the religious fervor behind the Crusades.

The horse Hosanna is presented more as a mystical talisman instead of a full fledged character (my standard for horse books now is Seabiscuit) but this story is about young people coming of age and the human characters are very well developed.

The army's trip to the Middle East by ship and the reality of battle are accurately depicted. The descriptions are grim but not grisly, PG-13 not R.

This is Book I of a trilogy. I will anxiously await the next book. I want to know how these kids are doing.

Yikes!

BBC reports a new study that warns of "infomania" and damage to IQ.

The study, carried out at the Institute of Psychiatry, found excessive use of technology reduced workers' intelligence.

Those distracted by incoming email and phone calls saw a 10-point fall in their IQ - more than twice that found in studies of the impact of smoking marijuana, said researchers.

More than half of the 1,100 respondents said they always responded to an email "immediately" or as soon as possible, with 21% admitting they would interrupt a meeting to do so.

The Ruby in the Smoke

The Ruby in the Smoke by Phillip Pullman, 1987
Anton Lesser, Narrator
Listening Library (Audio); Unabridged edition (June 8, 2004)

I am a fan Pullman's His Dark Materials books but have never read any of his other books. Trolling through the audio books at the library I came upon the first book in his Sally Lockhart series. I remembered how much my oldest daughter enjoyed the series so I picked it up. Now that I have finished it I will just say that I could listen to Anton Lesser, the narrator, read the phone book. His performance is outstanding.

The story set in Victorian England, is full of atmosphere and mystery. Sally Lockhart has learned that her father has perished on a sea voyage. Arriving at his business to get some answers, she asks the company lawyer about a cryptic message she has received, "Beware the seven blessings." He drops dead on the spot. In the days that follow, Sally realizes her own life is in danger and she must go into hiding.

Mysterious messages, the opium trade, a priceless ruby and the grimy backstreets of London are part of a puzzle that Sally must unravel. Through her efforts she also unlocks a memory and a door to her own past.

Narrators of audio books vary in their ability to connect with the material and readers. Sometimes a reader's forced characterizations and mannered accents get in the way of the story or put me off the book altogether.

Anton Lesser's reading of this story was dead on perfect. He is an accomplished actor and his reading of this story was so engaging. The various characters were voiced perfectly. I want to "read" the two sequels to this book but I plan to seek out the audio versions which Lesser also narrated.

According to the IMDB I've seen Lesser in several shows, Foyle's War, Waking the Dead, The Moonstone and others. He is one of those wonderful British actors who disappears into his roles. I will be watching for him in the future.

I highly recommend this audio book.

More Shakespeare

Some more of my favorite Shakespeare books:

Novels



Gary Blackwood's Shakespeare Stealer series is great fun. I enjoyed the first two, but haven't read the third one yet. The first story is a study in early copyright law as Widge learns a form of shorthand to transcribe the early performances of Will Shakespeare's plays so a lesser talent can perform the plays in other parts of England and pass them off as his own. Not only does Widge have to deal with his conscience but he gets caught up in the wonderful stories he is supposed to be transcribing.




"King of Shadows" is Susan Cooper's tribute to her husband, Hume Cronyn. The dedication of the book is to him, 'For my actor'.

Nat Field has arrived in England with his acting troupe to perform at the "new" Globe Theatre in London. Upon his arrival he falls very ill with bubonic plague and when he awakes from a fevered sleep he is no longer in the present but back in time in Elizabethan England. He is an actor in this lifetime too and he meets and works with the real William Shakespeare. Through their relationship, Nat finds help in the 16th century with his life in the present. This is a title that boys who read fantasy enjoy although this new cover art puts guys off this title. Susan Cooper has written for the theater and collaborated closely with actors. She honors the traditions of the theater with this book.

Nonfiction



Shakespeare : His Work and His World by Michael Rosen, 2001



William Shakespeare & the Globe by Aliki, 1999



Tales from Shakespeare and More Tales from Shakespeare by Marcia Williams, 1998
Stories in comic strip format.



Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare by Diane Stanley, 1992

William Shakespeare's birthday

On April 23, 1564, William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-on-Avon. I despair when I hear high school students groaning about having to study his plays and it frustrates me when they start their learning experience by reading the plays instead of seeing them performed. They usually only see the play at the end of the unit as a culminating experience. That may work in a novel study but these are plays and they were written to be experienced as a performance!

Enjoyment and study of Shakespeare's works are a lifelong project.

Author Bruce Coville is doing his part by publishing beautiful picture book editions of the plays. Junior high and high school libraries would do well to include these gorgeous books in their collections. Romeo and Juliet has a gorgeous and romantic illustration that folds out vertically and shows the balcony scene. Juliet is at the top of the page and Romeo is looking up at her.

Blood Red Horse

Blood Red Horse by K. M. Grant.
I picked up the ARC for this book at TLA.
Oh my goodness, so far this book is WONDERFUL!
-- Horse story/history/Crusades/love and friendship --
I don't know how many YAs are going to be able to see the movie Kingdom of Heaven since it is now rated "R" but I suspect the movie will generate a great deal of interest in the Crusades.

I have to go read now.

Author: Lynne Cherry

News release:
The Newton Marasco Foundation (NMF), a national voice advocating stewardship of our environment, is proud to announce that The Sea, the Storm, and the Mangrove Tangle, written and illustrated by Lynne Cherry, is the winner of the 2005 Green Earth Book
Award.

Lynne Cherry's books are a lovely way to enjoy Earth Day. She has a great website.

Point Blank

Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz, 2002

Alex Rider is back in the second novel in the series. He is battling drug pushers and being manipulated by MI6. Alex is sent to a boarding school on top of a mountain in Switzerland to uncover the truth behind a series of mysterious deaths. As soon as Alex sees the abandoned ski jump, the reader knows a high speed downhill race is not far off. Alex has cool tools to help him on his mission but no one will let him have a gun. There are plenty of bad guys with guns in the story but Alex has to rely on his intelligence and wits to get himself out of trouble.

The fast pace and story action will keep readers turning the pages as quickly as they can. This series should greatly appeal to guys who like action movies and things that go boom.

Room with a view: Tolkein's study

JRR Tolkein's biographer, Humphrey Carpenter, recorded a session of Room with a View with Allan Beswick for BBC4, from the small study in the Oxford house where Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The recording was made in January 2005 before Carpenter's death.

Readings from Tolkein's letters and descriptions of the home make this a very interesting interview.
The character of Frodo started out as "Bingo."
Thanks to TheOneRing.net.

Joy! Rapture!

The Houston Museum of Natural Science

The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy – The Exhibition
Opening June 4 at 12:01 a.m.

This exhibition provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes exploration of the Oscar-winning film’s groundbreaking technology, special effects, costumes, jewelry and armor. Appearing at only three U.S. venues, the exhibit immerses visitors in Middle-earth through film props, cast, crew and director interviews, and special effects.

They are opening the exhibit at 12:01 a.m.-- How funny.
Knowing my family, we will be there.

Vaguely related:
Since I have students who still ask me for ALA Read Orlando Bloom bookmarks, I will share that Orlando has launched his "Official Orlando Bloom Website."

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

The Library Link of the Day features this article about the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois.

The facility is garnering a lot of attention over its interactive exhibits, which use a new technology called "Holavision" to display ghostly images that interact with live actors.

A library representative said Holavision is a patented, secret process that allows for the formation of images in the air where there is no image-forming screen or surface.

The Holavision exhibit "Ghosts of the Library" puts Lincoln right in the room.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum website

Theater: His Dark Materials

I wish I could travel to London to see the second production of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. This site has wonderful behind-the-scenes information about the play. If you are a fan of the books The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, you will want to go through this site about the production.

Author: Charlie Higson

There is a lot of publicity about Silverfin by Charlie Higson. The book has already been published in the UK and Canada, it will published in June here in the USA. Higson has written about the dearth of action thrillers for boys and "...he partly blamed "the fact that children's publishing is run almost exclusively by women..."

Children's book publishers are understandably wary about violence in books, even books that will likely be read by parents as well, and Higson says he tried to find the balance between "Tom and Jerry and Sam Peckinpah." In the next novel, due to be published early in 2006, he made a decision to back away from the cartoonish mayhem of the movies. "In the Bond films you had those scenes where hundreds of guys in colour-matching bodysuits get blown up, and it's a bit of fun. But I thought I'd like the kids to think about this a bit more."

The Power of Puppetry

This is Dragon. He never fights and he never bites and he would NEVER blow fire, right?

I was just been discussing the magic of puppets with my daughter when I came across this nifty article. Puppets have a power all their own to pull children (and grown up children) into a story.

"You tell a story with a puppet, it holds the audience's attention. It is an extraordinary teaching tool and endless entertainment for children's fertile minds,"...

Author: Chris Van Allsburg

If you are a fan of Chris Van Allsburg's books you will not want to miss this article by Hilary Waldman. The piece describes his studio, home and inspiration for his unique storytelling.

Scattered on the drafting table these days are the typed, pencil-scratched pages of a new screenplay. Van Allsburg is adapting his 1995 story “The Widow’s Broom” as a movie scheduled for release by Paramount next year (a movie based on another of his books, “Zathura,” is due out late this year).

He works when his children, Sophia, 13, and Anna, 9, are in school. The studio is quiet. Music would interrupt his creative juices. Inspiration for Van Allsburg comes from the vacuum of a clear mind.

Movie: Hoot

While I was at the TLA conference I stopped at the Walden Media booth to thank them for their movies Because of Winn Dixie and Holes. Walden Media is a very interesting company. The fact that they are the company behind the movie of The Lion, the Witch and and the Wardrobe gives me hope for that project.

One of their new ventures is the movie version of the Newbery honor book, Hoot. Jimmy Buffet is one of the producers and he will doing the music for the film.

The Boca Beacon reports that filming will begin this summer in Boca Grande.

The Art of Maurice Sendak

Thanks to Achockablog for the tip about the exhibition "Wild Things: The Art of Maurice Sendak," at the Jewish Museum of New York, April 15, 2005 - August 14, 2005.

Julie Salamon of the New York Times writes:

Exuberance and angst, whimsicality and grace reverberate in the original drawings on display, along with preliminary sketches, artwork for posters, and theatrical sets and costumes created from Sendak designs. It can be exhausting just to consider the range of influences: Blake and Mozart, Laurel and Hardy, Herman Melville and Emily Dickinson, Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse and Art Spiegelman's "Maus."

Leonardo da Vinci

Google is celebrating the birthday of Leonardo. He was born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Italy, near Florence.



Diane Stanley's book Leonardo is a well researched and elegantly illustrated work.




My favorite "Leonardo" book is Leonardo's Horse by Jean Fritz and illustrated by the incomparable Hudson Talbott. From the moment you see that curved top you know you are in for a treat. Fritz and Talbott weave the story of the magnificent horse sculpture Leonardo designed for the Duke of Milan. Sadly, the giant bronze horse was never completed during his lifetime. The centuries zoom forward to 1977 when Charles Dent decided he would make Leonardo's horse a reality. This moving story is enjoyed by folks of all ages.

I love Hudson Talbott's work.

Picture books about the Holocaust

Writing for children about the Holocaust takes a special gift. It can be difficult to communicate the horror of those years to young readers without graphic descriptions of atrocities and concentration camps.

There are many amazing and touching novels for young people that deal with this time period but when you do not have the time to teach a multiweek novel unit, picture books can say it all.

These are four picture books I share with elementary students.



Forging Freedom: A True Story of Heroism During the Holocaust by Hudson Talbott
The true account of Jaap Penraat's efforts to help Dutch Jews escape persecution by forging papers and documents for them.
Talbott's wonderful illustratons include a map of Europe with Hitler's head, like an octopus with barbed wire tentacles, reaching into every corner of the continent. This picture is truly worth a thousand words.



The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse
The opening lines of the story set the scene, “The cats come from the cracks in the Wall, the dark corners, the openings in the rubble." The abandoned cats of the city help the Resistance smuggle food to the starving people trapped behind the wall around the Warsaw Ghetto.



The Butterfly by Patricia Pollaco
Monique is a young French girl who discovers her mother is hiding a Jewish family in the basement. Kids listen thoughtfully to the story but they REALLY get mad when the German soldier cruelly crushes a butterfly in his gloved fist.



Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story by Ken Mochizuki
Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania in 1940. As the Germans invaded Poland, thousands of refugees flooded into Lithuania begging for visas that would allow them to travel to safety. Despite orders from his government, Sugihara signed travel visas around the clock and saved thousands of lives. The drama of the events and the courage of Sugihara and his family make this true story unforgettable.

The Flopsy Bunnies' Garden

From BBC News:

The garden at Gwaenynog Hall in Denbigh (Wales) served as the setting for The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies and those other "rabbit" books Beatrix Potter wrote. The current owners of the hall are restoring the garden to how it appeared when the author visited.

"Beatrix Potter's mother and my great-grandmother were sisters and she came here to stay with her Uncle Fred. This is going back to the 1890s and she came some 13 times," said the mother-of-three.

Owner Janie Smith describes the garden:

"It's full of herbaceous plants, we have apple trees, pear trees, we have apricots, peaches and damsons and lovely green gardens to walk on.

"In June it is in tremendous flower," she added.

The potting shed is still there.

Author: Neil Schusterman

One of the joys of attending a library conference like the Texas Library Association annual meeting last week is the opportunity to hear thoughtful and creative authors talk about their work. There are plenty of sessions on "how-to-run-my-library-well-and-get-along- with-the-powers-that-be-and motivate-my-students-to-read" but I find my renewal and inspiration by listening to the authors.

In the question and answer time at the end of the presentations they are often asked about their personal reading habits. YA author Neil Schusterman made my day when he confessed that the majority of reading is YA literature. He said he judged a Golden Kite award a few years ago and had to read hundreds of titles under consideration. He was hooked. He also shared that he asks school librarians for their favorite picks when looking for new books to read.
(I have never understood HOW you can be a children's/YA librarian and NOT read the books, but that's just me.)

He said had just finished The City of Ember and The People of Spark and loved them and was beginning The Sea of Trolls.

He appeared on a panel of other YA authors. His comments were so interesting, I would have loved a whole session devoted to him.

Becoming Naomi León

Becoming Naomi León by Pam Munoz Ryan, 2004

This story is so fine. Naomi and her brother Owen are happy children being raised by their grandmother. Naomi loves carving animals out of soap. Her brother Owen is a brain.

Like all children she is curious about her parents who are not part of her life. One day the children's mother, "Call me Skyla," appears and lavishes attention on Naomi. Skyla barely hides her revulsion over Owen's physical problems resulting from birth defects and does not appreciate his keen sharp mind.

Gram's misgivings are confirmed when Skyla announces she wants to take Naomi to live with her and her boyfriend in Las Vegas. Naomi realizes that she is only wanted for support money and to be a babysitter for the boyfriend's daughter. Her hopes for a happy ending with a loving mother are dashed. To find help for the upcoming custody battle, Gram takes the children to Mexico in hopes of finding the children's father.

This story line seems tragic but the the characters are so tenderly and finely drawn that we cheer their strength and courage. Naomi comes to know herself and finds her gift as a carver at the Christmas festival in Oaxaca. The reader cares deeply about this family and is thankful to Pam Munoz Ryan who created them. If you enjoyed "Esperanza Rising," you will love "Becoming Naomi León."

Pam Munoz Ryan's website

Science comic books

Another interesting NPR piece on two scientists who are bringing science to students using comic books.

Engineer Jim Ottaviani writes graphic novels about scientists. His first comic was about Hedy Lamar who was an inventor and scientist in addition to Hollywood star. He has also written about Niels Bohr, J. Robert Oppenheimer and Charles Robert Knight.


Dr. Jay Hosler is a biologist who also creates comics for his university classes. His books include Clan Apis, a biography a honey bee named Nyuki and The Sandwalk Adventures.

Hosler explains that comics are a perfect medium to explain scientific issues because they use shorthand to communicate ideas and science does too. He says comics tell stories in sequence, we have to understand time to understand comics. He points out that cave paintings were the original comic books. They are stories told in sequence through pictures.

Comic Books and Learning

More articles discussing how teachers are using comic books in order to reach students.

NPR has a story on a pilot program at Lisby-Hillsdale Elementary in Maryland to improve student performance by using comic books in the classroom. It is short and worth a listen.

The program illustrates an ongoing debate: do teachers give students a challenge, or offer less difficult material that is more likely to spark their interest?

The bottom line will be whether reading scores improve. Getting kids to put down the video games and open a book is the real challenge.

The Daily Collegian investigates the reasons that comic books are so popular with college students.

"It is not just about capes, it is about individuals who have these outstanding powers," said Jorge. Some comic books take on very serious subject matter, such as the Holocaust and Middle Eastern relations. No matter what you are looking for, a story exists about what you want in comic book form.

Comic books do not just depend on the written word. The written word is complemented beautifully with the artwork contained in its pages. These two work together to produce a story, both portrayed by word and visual art.

New Charlie Bone book

It is going to be a great summer! Jenny Nimmo has a new Charile Bone coming out in July 2005! According to Amazon it will be called, Charlie Bone And The Castle Of Mirrors. I really enjoy this series. I think it is an easier read for some kids than "Harry."

This summer will be a fantasy reader's dream with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Eldest (Inheritance, Book 2) and now Charlie Bone to look forward to.


The new The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl, Book 4) is just out too. The ending of book 3 was so amazing, I can hardly wait to see how Artemis gets himself "back."

Children's/YA author interviews

KidsLit pointed me to Bill Thompson's EyeOnBooks website.

He features interviews with authors including children's and YA authors like Chris VanAllsburg, Meg Cabot, Gary Paulsen, Dave Barry, Christopher Paul Curtis, and more.

National Library Week

Thanks to Google for noting that this week is National Library Week!

Stormbreaker

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz, 2000

Stormbreaker is the first novel in the popular Alex Rider series. The opening line sets the tone for the rest of the book: "When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it's never good news." The bad news for 14 year old Alex is that his guardian, Uncle Ian, has been killed. The events surrounding the death do not make sense to him so he begins an investigation of his own. As Alex uncovers the truth about his uncle's work, he is drawn into the world of MI6. As he works to unravel the mystery of his uncle's final days he must use all his smarts and skills to stay alive.

The action includes explosions, car chases, parachute drops and karate kicks and keeps the pages turning. This is a terrific choice for guys who want lots of zap, pow, and boom in their reading.

I have already started the second book, so far, so excellent!

Alex has his own website if you want to learn more.

Children's Illustrator Blog Ring

Nice webring of children's illustrators who blog. As children visit their sites, they do not allow profanity or topics unsuitable for kids.

Back from TLA

I just spent the last three days in Austin, Texas attending the Texas Library Association annual conference. I collected a very tall stack of ARCs. There are new books coming from Meg Cabot and Joan Bauer! Youngest daughter slipped Ready or Not (a sequel to All-American Girl) out of the stack and has been reading steadily ever since. Meg Cabot's heroine, Samantha has already saved the life of the President of the United States and began dating the "first son." This title looks like it is more in that vein. I enjoyed All-American Girl immensely. Hope this one is as much fun.

Boys longing for "action" fiction

I have been brainstorming with a librarian friend for a student who wants books with lots of action. In the Sunday Times, author, Charles Higson offers his take on this reading interest. Higson is author of Silverfin, the first book in a new series about a young James Bond.

Why aren’t more thrillers being written for kids? When you look at the types of films and computer games the average 12-year-old boy enjoys — action, explosions, car chases and fights . . . lots of fights — it seems crazy. Go into any bookshop, and the children’s books shelves are groaning under the weight of either fantasy books about dragons, wizards and goblins or Jacqueline Wilson-style mundane reality. I long to see at least one cover showing two big muscly guys pounding the crap out of each other while a building explodes in the background.

The Independent had another article on this topic. It is "in the air" now. I am looking for Silver Fin and Jimmy Coates: Killer at TLA this week.

Next month sees the publication of Jimmy Coates: Killer, the hotly tipped first novel by a young Cambridge philosophy student, Joseph Craig, who admits to being a fan of movies like The Bourne Identity.

The Sea of Trolls

The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer, 2004

Reading this book is like enjoying a fabulous meal where all the flavors, , colors and aromas are perfectly balanced. No one thing stands out as the item that "made" the meal but the overall effect is a satisfying and unforgettable experience.

Jack has been accepted for training by a bard. When the berserkers arrive to pillage and burn his Saxon village, Jack is abducted along with his young sister Lucy by the frightening Norse men. He must develop his fledgling skills as a bard to save them both.

The story is rich and steeped in Norse mythology. A reader who is a fan of Tolkein senses the professor at his elbow as the story unfolds. Under the protection and enslavement of Olaf One-Brow, Jack attracts the enmity of the evil Queen Frith and must embark on a quest to free his little sister from the queen's death sentence. He is accompanied by a wiley crow named Brave Heart and his glory driven shipmate, Thorgill.

So many interests came together for me in this book, Beowulf, Tolkein, Norse mythology: this was a very satisfying read.

Author: Anthony Horowitz

Those interesting little coincidences in life:

I was just trading emails about the Alex Rider series with a librarian friend yesterday and this article about Anthony Horwitz and the series shows up in The Telegraph today.

"Where my earlier heroes had belonged in the world of children's literature, Alex doesn't. He's stumbled into the wrong world. If there's a single reason why the books have done so well I think it's down to his unwillingness to deal with these adventures, the fact that he is so manipulated, lied to, cheated."

Basically what this means is that Alex has teenage angst. Writ very large. He's a spy and he doesn't want to be. MI6 provides him with fabulous gadgets - exploding chewing gum, a missile- launching bike, an iPod that listens through walls - but it is always his courage and ingenuity that save the day. And does anyone thank him? You bet they don't. "He's saved the world five times in a few months and all he's got for it is a bad school report," jokes Horowitz.

Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards

The 18th annual Kids Choice award for Favorite Book went to "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events."
Yahoo reports that Will Smith had some thoughtful words for young viewers when he received his award .

Smith insisted that the audience quiet down and listen after he accepted his award from his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Chris Rock. He encouraged the crowd to make reading a habit, telling them books contain all the answers they will ever need.

"There is no problem you can have that some person hasn't had before and solved," and then written about, he said.

Update: Andersen 2005

Nice NPR piece:
"Danes Mark Hans Christian Andersen Bicentennial" by Scott Simon

Going to TLA?

Greg Leitich Smith has an Austin Restaurant Guide for hungry librarian-conference-goers.

Thanks to Cynsations for the tip.

Andersen 2005

It is going to be the year of Hans Christian Andersen around the world.

BBC has an article on a three day star-studded celebration of Andersen's life this weekend.

Some 40,000 people are expected to pack Copenhagen's Parken Stadium on 2 April, for a "Once upon a time" show which will celebrate the writer and his work, as well as signal the beginning of 'Andersen Year'.

According to the organisers, the star-studded show, featuring musicians, acrobats and dancers, and based on 12 of Andersen's most famous stories will be "the most spectacular fairy tale ever".

The Toledo Blade has an very informative piece on the 200th anniversary of Andersen's birth including good information about his life and his place in the literary canon.

In the article author Jane Yolen makes a useful observation in the article:

"I think that Andersen's stories have come into such common usage - The Ugly Duckling and The Little Mermaid images, in particular - that we hardly remember they were his own inventions," says Jane Yolen, a critically acclaimed children's author of more than 200 books, including poetry, folk tales, and novels.

Update: Semicolon has lots of great HCA links in the April 2 post.