The Balloon Boy of San Francisco

The Balloon Boy of San Francisco by Dorothy Kupcha Leland, 2005

This is a nice piece of historical fiction. Ready Gates sells newspapers and oranges on the streets of San Francisco in 1853. He meets a sixteen year old named Lydia who has survived the shipwreck of the steamship Independence. She has arrived in SF to look for her brother who is seeking his fortune in the California gold fields. Ready helps her find a place to stay and employment. His own hopes of prospecting for gold himself are dashed when his father is injured. He works harder than ever to support his family and to help Lydia track down her brother.

Leland has done lots of research and successfully evokes the time period and place. Ready Gates was a real person and his balloon ride at the end of the book is documented in the papers of the time.

One aspect of the story that I was intrigued by was the hunger of the population for news. In our networked world, breaking news is a click away on television, radio or the Internet.
Ready is successful selling his newspapers because people want to know what is going on in the world and are willing to pay in $5 gold pieces to get it.

Author: Ann Brashares

I just finished the first book in Ann Brashares's series Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I can see why this book is a favorite with girls, junior high and up.

Nicki Britton from the Houston Chronicle has a very interesting interview with the author.

Q: How is this different from other young-adult books on the market?

A: For young adults, there are so-called issue books, about serious things. Drug addition. Teenage pregnancy. These can be very moralistic. They tend to be driven not by characters but by the particular issue. And then there are books that are just frivolous. They are like eating fast food — fun while you're doing it, but you don't get that much from it. What Judy Blume has done successfully, and what I've tried to do, as well, is make a real book that's serious, but also fun. And that comes from the characters.

Sir Paul

If you are a celeb and do NOT have a children's book deal yet, please call your agent and find out what the problem is.

From SoundGenerator:
Sir Paul McCartney says he has been working on his children's book, 'High In the Clouds: An Urban Furry Tale' for several years.

McCartney collaborated with veteran children's author Philip Ardagh for the project, along with animator Geoff Dunbar. The story for 'High in the Clouds' was reportedly inspired by the animated film "Tropic Island Hum", which McCartney worked on alongside Dunbar

New Authors

I have not seen either of these two books but their origins are interesting.



Gilbert Baez writes:

Sgt. Robert Hill was in the middle of the desert two years ago, teaching soldiers in Kuwait about the dangers of chemical attacks. He was an aspiring children's author, who wrote several books while off duty in the desert. Hill's hard work and dedication is paying off. "Where Do Sea Creatures Sleep?" has been published.

Hill wrote several books in his off-duty time while he was there.

He said the idea for the book came to him when his commander challenged soldiers to not to waste their time in the desert.

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Fred Shuster writes:

...it kind of makes sense that Al Jardine, who first came up with the idea of remaking the Kingston Trio's reading of the 1920s West Indies folk standard "Wreck of the John B" for the beloved Beach Boys album "Pet Sounds" in 1966, would set sail to refashion the song for a new generation

Al Jardine, one of the original Beach Boys, has written additional lyrics for their hit, "Sloop John B" and the result is a new chidren's book, "Sloop John B: A Pirate's Tale.

"It's perfect for kids," said singer-guitarist Jardine, who split from the Beach Boys in 1998. "And the theme of the ocean is something I've always felt very strongly about."

For Memorial Day

I hosted author Margot Theis Raven at my library along with Col. Gail Halvorsen in the fall of 2003. At that time she was working on a book called America's White Table. She was in the middle of discussions with her publisher about some of the wording. I always marvel at the polishing and reworking of books with 32 pages and 500+ words.

She had the manuscript of the book with her and read it aloud to a group of us. I listened with huge tears in my eyes.

The AP has a moving article by Bruce Smith about the book and the custom of the remembrance White Table. It gives the background of the story and tradition that started with the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association also known as the River Rats of Vietnam. Read the whole thing.

The book's webpage has this excerpt:

It was just a little white table...
but it felt as big as America when we helped Mama put each item on it and she told us why it was so important.

"We use a Small Table, girls," she explained first, "to show one soldier's lonely battle against many. We cover it with a White Cloth to honor a soldier's pure heart when he answers his country's call to duty."

"We place a Lemon Slice and Grains of Salt on a plate to show a captive soldier's bitter fate and the tears of families waiting for loved ones to return," she continued.

"We push an Empty Chair to the table for the missing soldiers who are not here..."

Raven hopes this will become a tradition with American families like flying the American flag.

I am going to go iron a white table cloth. I think we will prepare a table tomorrow.




Raven also authored Circle Unbroken (The Story of a Basket and Its People) which is on the Texas Bluebonnet reading list this year. It is about the traditions surrounding the beautiful Gullah sea grass baskets.

She is also an artist whose paintings are exhibited in Charleston, SC art galleries. I used to find photos of her work on the web but I could not today.

Movie: Star Wars III

We saw Star Wars:Revenge of the Sith last night. Overall very enjoyable. Lucas did a fine job. The movie is beautiful to look at. There are times you just want to still the action and look at everything going on in the shot. That is what DVDs are for. Daughter no. 2 pointed out all the musical themes that were echoing at different points in the show.

I finally figured out something that has bothered me about the movie though. All the women just sit around, empty handed, on sofas and sit and sit and sit. I know Padmé is pregnant and cannot be an action figure but you would think that she would have some paper work to do or diplomatic business to transact or some booties to knit or a parenting book to read. If I were Padmé and all worried, I would be biting my nails or drinking some tea or chomping on some chocolate or making a list of the "top ten signs your guy is turning to the dark side" but not sitting placidly on a cushion with my hands in my lap all the time. To be fair, she does stand looking out the window a lot too.

At the end of the movie Leia's new mommy is also just sitting there, empty handed when Jimmy Smits comes in with the baby. Apparently in a galaxy far far away women have nothing to do but brush their hair and wear a new outfit in every scene.

Makes me appreciate Leia/Carrie Fisher picking up a blaster and shooting every stormtrooper in sight in The New Hope.

Boys and books--again

Here is another good article about boys and reading: the grosser the better!

...some teachers are loading up on "boy books." They feature sports, adventure, blood analysis - even the science of scabs and snot.

"My boys are obsessed with a non-fiction series called 'Grossology,' " says Tracy Moran, a fourth-grade teacher at Summit Elementary School in Anderson Township.

"It's stuff like, 'Why do burps happen?' "

Moran recently attended a conference on connecting boys to books. Female teachers, she says, have traditionally gravitated toward girl-oriented literature - plots built around characters and social interaction. Such plots bore boys and might permanently affect their interest in reading, experts say.

License Plate Maker

This is fun! Design your own license plate with the Acme License Maker.

Author: Jacqueline Wilson

BBC reports:
Author Jacqueline Wilson has been named Children's Laureate in the UK.
In her words:

My job for the next two years is to promote the cause of children's literature, make it more high profile, encourage every child in the country to read more," said Wilson.

"I am going to try very hard to encourage families, schools, hospitals and children's homes to start reading aloud to very young children.

"I think if you get a child interested in books before they can read themselves that will get them hooked on books."

She is probably the most widely read children's author today. The article reports that 30 million copies of her books have sold but she continues to personally answer every child who writes to her.
Wow!
I must read some of her books.

YA Authors Cafe

Cynsations (Cynthia Leitich Smith) dropped in on a chat with author Gordon Korman last night. I will enjoy reading the transcript at YA Authors Cafe when it is available. Korman's books are favorites with guys.

YA Authors Cafe has an interesting mission:

Want to know what's happening with some of your favorite young adult authors? YA Authors Cafe will host a regularly scheduled chat session where participants can discuss latest releases and talk directly to the authors.

If you are interested in children's/YA lit you should visit Cynthia Leitich Smith's site daily!
I enjoy hearing her talk about Austin.
Those were the days...

Gordon Korman Website