The Bayeux Tapestry

Thank you, thank you to Confessions of a Bibliovore for finding this. I love hearing the LOTR music in one part. I saw the Bayeux Tapestry as a child and it has fascinated me ever since.



Related: The King's Shadow by Elizabeth Alder, 1995

The Navigator

The Navigator by Eoin McNamee, 2007
Dedication: "For Owen and Kathleen" (his children, me thinks)

Wowee, zowee! A book I stayed up to finish!

Trish Parcell Watts -- Book design: easy to read font, easy on the eyes spacing and margins
Jon Goodell -- Interior illustrations: full page, detailed, always a treat to turn the page and find an illustration.

Owen is different. He doesn't fit in at school and his mother is suffering from a mysterious mental disorder. Owen's father commited suicide and he hears people in town say, "Like father, like son," "He'll go the same way." Owen does suffer a crippling phobia of water. The sight of the harbor or a river makes him tremble.

He finds refuge in his "den," a small clearing in the woods where he has built a fort with odds and ends of furniture and items he scavenged from the town junk yard. He is in his den one afternoon when the light in the sky changes and in a flash, Owen's world disappears.

He encounters a person calling himself Sub-Commandant who is part of the Resisters and who has called the Sleepers to wake up because The Harsh have caused Time to start moving backward and are getting ready to attack. Wha-huh? Think how Owen feels!

This was a terrific adventure story. There is a missing artifact, three young people working with the adults to save the world, an epic journey and the hope that "The Navigator" will appear to restore the flow of Time and get the world back on track. Three young ones and a world to save--great stuff.

I enjoy wrapping my head around space/time/Starfleet Department of Temporal Investigations kind of stuff so this book hit the spot with me.


The fantastical apparatus of this world such as the power source "Magno," the brass observation tower "Skyward," the "Q-Car" and goggled bad guys operating dragonfly styled flying machines put me in mind of Flash Gordon serials. Illustrator, Jon Goodell has done a lovely service bringing these images to life. Keep him on staff for future books, please!


There was still an unresolved mystery in my mind about a minor character in the beginning of the book. I think this means more stories are coming.

I love Irish storytellers.

Eoin McNamee writes screenplays and books. This is his first book for children.
Interview at BookMunch about his political thriller The Ultras

Faith in Literature

This year I joined a "grown up" book group. The theme has been Faith in Literature and the list has been interesting and challenging. We read To Kill a Mockingbird, The Kite Runner, Pope Joan, (all of those had YA elements so they have been my favorites) Wise Blood, The Memory Keeper's Daughter and others.

We will be taking the summer off but some of the folks have expressed an interest in some reading over the summer months. It occured to me that it might be interesting to have a list of YA or children's titles that could be discussed in this context, the role of a faith, no faith, looking for a Sign, faith-who-needs it-bah-humbug, faith in God, faith in self, in society, searching for meaning ... We are not limited to any denomination or religion.

The Giver and Harry Potter were YA/Children's titles that I referenced in the course of our discussions this year.

Can you help me think of some other titles that I could share that might make for some thought provoking discussions?

What Books Are You Reading?

I haven't done a meme for a long time. LizB at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy tagged me with an easy one though.

What books are you reading?

Well, I am just finishing The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham for my "grown up" reading group. It is the first Maugham I have ever read and I have enjoyed it. And I am moments away from finishing The Navigator by Eoin Mcnamee. How I do love Irish storytellers. In fact I don't think I am not going to bed until I finish it. It is EXCELLENT!

On my nightstand I have The Misadventures of Maude March because it is a paperback and my Lightwedge fits it and I can turn the pages quietly and not wake up certain people, at least I don't think I wake them up. I have just started it and find I am very much in the mood for this historical fiction, set in the West!

Finally, in my travel bag is Cam's Quest. I predict I will finish it while waiting for the entling tomorrow. I read the first book, Princess Nevermore and I am anxious to finish this one.

Hmmm...three out of four almost done.

I tag ... WWWs and Michele = Wands and Worlds, Wild Rose Reader, Writing and Ruminating
and Scholar's Blog.

17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore

17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore by Jenny Offill & Nancy Carpenter, 2006

This child's exploits are in the vein of The Wild Things' Max or Calvin of Calvin & Hobbes. She is a "dickens" and a "scamp" who unrepentantly goes her own way. She staples her brother's hair to his pillow, glues his slippers to the floor, substitutes her favorite animal, the beaver, for George Washington in her school report, treats her mother like a waitress, and gets in trouble with the crossing guard for walking backwards to school--to just name some of the 17 things she is not allowed to do anymore. After each incident, she is forbidden to use that tool or that perform that action again (stapler, glue, beavers, walking backward.) She just continues to go her own way though.

Even her "I'm sorry" to her mother on the final page is qualified by her inspiration "to say the opposite of what I mean to trick everyone."

Nancy Carpenter's pictures are a wonder. She incorporates photos of items like the stapler and glue bottle and embeds them with her drawings. The cover illustration is perfect for a story picture book, literally foreshadowing the action as we see the girl's mother's shadow, hands on hips, looming over a slyly grinning child.

The fun of this book lies in the fact that WE ALL know this child. In fact, the young lady I know could have modeled for Nancy Carpenter's illustrations. This is NOT a cautionary tale, except for folks in her path. To them we say, "Look Out!"

Could be my theme song, some days

You young ones will appreciate this someday.

Perfect Timing

Perfect Timing: How Isaac Murphy became one of the world's greatest jockeys, by Patsi B. Trollinger; paintings by Jerome Lagarrigue; Viking, 2006

Today is Derby Day which seems like the perfect day to share this book. Isaac Murphy was a three time Kentucky Derby winner and is the only jockey buried on the grounds of the famous Kentucky Horse Park.

Author, Patsi Trollinger makes the point that Isaac Burns Murphy's timing was perfect in life as well as on the track. The son of a slave, he lived at a time when black jockeys could enjoy a successful career in racing, before they were forced out of the sport early in the 20th century.

Trollinger describes his career beginning with his early training in Lexington where he learned the importance of pace and concentration. Murphy went on to become one of the most sought after jockeys of his time. The exciting match race between Salvatore and Tenny is told in such detail that the reader feels like they are standing at the rail watching the race.

Jerome Lagarrigue's soft focus paintings convey the speed and power of the horses. The colors are dark and muddied which imparts the yesteryear feel of the story. The reader eyes do need to linger on the pictures to fully appreciate and discern the images.

Isaac Burns Murphy had a reputation for honesty and fair play.

"He had rules for himself that were firm: no cheating, no fighting, no swearing. And he rode every race, large of small, as if it was the most important one of his life."

This is a lovely tribute to a man of character and who might otherwise be unknown to this generation.

International Museum of the Horse
The Kentucky Derby 2007

Book Signing: Rick Riordan

My entling and I attended Rick Riordan's book signing at Blue Willow Bookstore on Thursday. I don't know how signings are booked, but I greatly appreciate authors who hold their signings at independent bookstores.

On the way over, we heard there was a tornado warning for a county north of us but our ride in was uneventful. We were number 94 for the book signing line. I remembered when Riordan was at the same store two years ago. I think there were 20 people there. Folks were coming in after me so I don't know how many ultimately showed up. I do know they ran out of copies of Titan's Curse.

Blue Willow is a lovely store, small and quaint, that has an area behind the store where large crowds can proceed in orderly fashion to get their books signed. That is, unless it RAINS! That storm that was looming north of us blew through in a fury. It was an authentic Texas gully-washer complete with horizontal rain, booming thunder and stabs of lightning.

In the middle of Riordan's presentation a huge crack of lightning lit up the sky. "I'm sorry Zeus!" he cried. It was all eerily appropriate for a story that begins with the theft of Zeus's lightning bolt.

Everyone seemed to be in good humor about the rain and the crowd. As the bookstore employees moved people into line and tried to keep everyone inside and dry, I ended up next to a very wet mother and her very dry son. (Go Moms!) She told me she was just so happy that her son had FINALLY found some books he WANTED to read, it was worth anything to be there. She just wished she knew of some other books he might enjoy.

Now, I do try not to be a "push-myelf-into-other-people's-business" but wouldn't you have said, "Would you really like some ideas?" He was in 5th grade, 6th grade next year, my prime time reading zone!

Two teachers had brought their middle school class all the way from Spring, Texas. All the kids had on orange t-shirts they had stenciled themselves with "Son (or) Daughter of:" and then the name of a God or Goddess. I hope they got a group picture. What awesome teachers!

I also saw a lady waving at me who I recognized from a day I substituted at a local school library last fall. She was volunteering in the library that day and we got to talking about books her grandson might like. She had not been aware of Percy Jackson then...

I've said it before I know, but I will say it again. Riordan really is a rockstar because he has written a series that is fast paced, action packed, and so entertaining it begs even the most reluctant readers to dive in. Percy Jackson is convincing lots of kids to give the reading thing another shot and they (and we) will reap the rewards.

I -heart- Douglas Florian

I think my first year as a school librarian coincided with the year Douglas Florian's insectlopedia was on the Bluebonnet list. The book was a wonder to me and the memory of reading the book with my students is one of the highlights of that first year. The artwork was so accessible and discussible.

I know that I ordered every poetry book he ever produced after that and I have loved sharing his poetry and his art with kids ever since.

Look at the 811 shelf in any school library and you will see very worn and battered copies of Shel Silverstein books but next to them you will see the worn edges of Florian's Laugh-eteria: Poems and Drawings.



I think Florian's new book, comets, stars, the moon and mars is his most expressive yet.
Beginning with the poem "skywatch," two children look at the sky. The next poem is "the universe."
Die cut "planet" holes then move the reader deeper and further through space. From "mercury" to "venus" to "the earth" to "the moon" the poems continue in order according to their average distance from the Sun. Comets, black holes and the mystery of what lies beyond are also addressed. Florian's ability to weave facts and fun are on full display here.

The bright color palette echoes the amazing views from the Hubble space telescope. This generation of kids has grown up looking at Seymour Simon's books about the solar system and The Universe. They have seen the colors that are out there.

Check out the Harcourt page about the book and download Florian's Poetry Kit. The rep. at the Harcourt booth gave this to me at TLA and the "Practical Poetry Pointers" are some of the most best tips for writing poetry with kids that I have ever seen.

You have Gotta-Have-It.

Interviews with Douglas Florian
Harcourt
Wild Rose Reader

Mama's Saris

We used to watch one of those home do-over shows on BBC America where the designer and her lads would rework and redecorate several rooms in a home by just using old paint, wood and material that the homeowner happened to have lying around the homestead.

Remarkably, there always seemed to be several new sheets of MDF in the shed but the show was entertaining with results that varied between, "That's not so bad" to "Eeeeewww..."

One aspect of the program that was interesting to me, as a fabric person, was the large number of people that seemed to have sari fabric stashed away just waiting to be draped around a window or over a bed.

Intrigued, one of the entlings and I visited a store in our wonderful metropolis that sells clothing and fabric from India. What an experience!

Long rolls of fabric lined the walls. It was like a glittering, glowing shimmering color wheel. Initially, the best we could manage was, "um, how about...orange." We were faced with more patterns and shades of orange to red to yellow than we could take in. The sales woman cheerfully pulled down bolt after bolt and sent the rolls of fabric shooting across the large tables so we could see the amazing designs and hues.

We left with three lengths of color feeling dazzled and elated.



This memory was in my mind as I looked at Pooja Makhijani's new book, Mama's Saris. The little girl in the story is celebrating her seventh birthday and asks to wear one of her mother's saris. Thinking the girl is too young, the mother tries to negotiate (haven't we all done this?) with her daughter, "Why don't you wear your chaniya choli?" Ultimately, she is moved by the strength of her daughter's memories and acknowledges this special occasion by letting her daughter select a sari to wear.

Elena Gomez has caught the glow and shimmer of this elegant clothing in the backgrounds of the illustrations. The fabric fairly swirls off the page as the little girl looks at herself in the mirror for the first time.

Lovely, lovely book.

Pooja Makhijani's website
Mama's Saris teacher guide



I saw this book at TLA at the Little, Brown booth and Pooja kindly sent me a copy.