Author: Charlie Higson

Fun profile of Young James Bond author Charlie Higson. I have Silverfin on my "to be read" stack.

"I'm very pleased adults are enjoying them as well, but I write them for boys, for my three boys - the sort of books I read as a kid."

...

Higson's said his biggest fans - and critics - are his sons. "I read each chapter as I go along to my children," he said.

"Kids love gore in a book. My second son Jim is particularly bloodthirsty.

"When a new character appears, he says 'kill them off, push him off a cliff, under a train.' I think kids like a bit of that."

An author of four novels, Higson was selected by the Fleming family to write the series.

He based the Young Bond series on scant details of 007's early life in the original Fleming books - a boy orphaned at 11 and sent to Eton.

The college assisted in Higson's research into life there in the 1930s. Higson said: "The first rule is to get rid of the parents.

You can't have a young James Bond going off on adventures, if his mother turns up and tells him to tuck his shirt in.

"I'm pleased Fleming killed James Bond's parents and I didn't have to."

"I wanted to show a fairly ordinary boy becoming the James Bond we know later on."

The Adventures of Commander Zack Proton

The Adventures of Commander Zack Proton and the Red Giant by Brian Anderson, Illustrated by Doug Holgate, 2006

I am wondering if Brian Anderson is a fan (as I am) of Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

Zack Proton is a brave and gallant space ranger patrolling the universe and on his way to deliver mail to the outermost star of the outermost galaxy when he accidentally opens, the wrong door on his spaceship and finds himself alone and adrift in space. Luckily, a nameless spaceship captained by a simian astronaut named Omega Chimp rescues him. Omega Chimp has learned to survive on his own after being abandoned by Mission Control, (“They wouldn’t dare pull that on Buzz Aldrin.”) Together they must stop a red giant named Big Large who is swallowing whole planets.

The book's nutty humor will particularly appeal to boys. The font is large and easy to decipher with lots of white space framing the text. Doug Holgate's illustrations cleverly underscore the storyline. As Zack searches for the spaceship restroom, he ignores at least nine very funny signs warning him that he is about to open the wrong door. Flashbacks are explained in comic book style. Robot recall notices, a banana pancake recipe and clever lists such as, "Omega Chimp's Top Ten Ways to get a Space Hero Off your Ship" interject more humor as the story unfolds.

This will be a fun series to share with kids who have worn out the Flip-O-Ramas in their Captain Underpants books. The mix of text and pictures works well to support emerging and reluctant readers. I would put this series on my “buy list” right away!

The Official Zack Proton Genuine Intergalactic Web site

Illustrator: Helen Oxenbury

Nice story on Kate Greenaway medal winner, Helen Oxenbury in The Age.

"I love stories that have different layers - it's a bit more interesting for the adults who have to read them. I remember my own children being obsessed with the same story every night and I'd think 'Please! Not again. It's terribly boring'."

Asked about her relationship with the authors whose work she illustrates, Oxenbury hunches her shoulders.

"I don't have one. Everyone wants to know about that but I never meet them and if I have any questions or if they have questions, they ask my editor."

It suits her best this way.

"I'd find sitting down with an author very inhibiting. He or she has to trust me to visually enhance their words."

Little Sap and Monsier Rodin

In the interests of full disclosure, I must tell you I was a French major in college and spent a year based in Strasbourg soaking up glorious art in museums everywhere I traveled.

This is a book every school library needs to own. Open your Titlewave or BTSB or Mackin account and put this book on your "To be Purchased" list right now.

Little Sap wins a spot in the royal dance troupe of Cambodia. She trains for many years, learning through hard work to dance and pose with grace. In 1906, King Sisowath takes his dance troupe to France to perform. In the audience, the artist Auguste Rodin is inspired by the dancers and asks for the chance to sketch them.

In an interview at Cynsations, Texas author Michelle Lord recounts how her discovery of these drawings served as inspiration for the story.

Illustrator Felicia Hoshino has exquisitely evoked the colors and spare style of Rodin's work. Her pictures move the story along with the grace and pacing of a dance.

This book will hit so many areas of your library collection, Art, Multicultural, Dance, History...

More importantly, kids MUST find themselves in their school library. Newly arrived students (and long-time ones) will look for books about their former home whether it is another city, state of another country. Children look for books about their faith and about their cultural background. These books act as an anchor as they navigate their new (or familiar) environment.

You have Gotta Have this book.

Mirette & Bellini Cross Niagara Falls

Mirette & Bellini Cross Niagara Falls by Emily Arnold McCully, 2000

Before our trip to the Niagara region, I requested any children's books I could find about the area. Sadly, this one did not come in until I returned. I would have enjoyed imagining Bellini (or The Great Blondin) crossing the falls.

This sequel to Mirette on the High Wire begins with Mirette and Bellini befriending a young orphan on the ship bringing them to New York. When Jakob's uncle does not appear to claim him at Ellis Island, Bellini assumes responsibility for him.

As the trio arrives at Niagara Falls to prepare for a wire walk across the falls they hear that another walker, Patch, will also be making the crossing. Jakob uncovers sabotage but cannot get the information to his friends in time.

McCully's research into the real Blondin's crossing of the falls is evoked in her illustrations and plot elements. One illustration of Mirette on Bellini's shoulders is an accurate echo of this photo of Blondin's real crossing.

Her depiction of Table Rock, at the top of the falls beautifully captures the water as it approaches the drop at Horseshoe Falls. I felt like I was standing there again.

As I learned from the latest Alex Rider, ArkAngel, wire walking is equal parts of nerve and physics. With the noise and wind and updraft from the water though, I can only marvel at their bravery (or foolishness.)

Author: Philip Pullman

Philip Pullman has updated his website for May. He says his book The Scarecrow and his Servant will be a movie.

Another film that will be made in due course is ''The Scarecrow and His Servant''. Aardman Animations, who made the great Wallace and Gromit films, will be doing it, though not in plasticine, I think. I'm very fond of the Scarecrow, and I shall look after him; but Aardman have safe hands and I'm not worried.

London Calling

London Calling by Edward Bloor, 2006

I was standing in a booth at TLA clutching the ARC of this book when The Goddess of YA Literature arrived. I felt like I was in the presence of a rock star. I just wanted to follow her around the booth saying, "I'll have one of everything she is taking." We started talking and I was pleased when she asked me what I had and I was able to point her towards Bloor's new book which, she reviews today.

I love time travel books; I love WWII stories; I love stories set in England. I was also predisposed to like Bloor's book because one of my students told me that Tangerine was one of the best books he had ever read.

In the static between stations, on an old Philco radio, Martin hears a voice asking for help. The radio is a bequest from his grandmother. Suspended, unfairly, from All Souls School, Martin is living in the family basement where, he realizes, the other failed men of his family have taken refuge. Martin uses the glow from the radio as a night light and is listening, again, to the static when a boy named Jimmy appears and transports Martin back to London 1941. Jimmy needs Martin's help and in a series of visits, Martin tries to understand what is being asked of him.

In the present, Martin must confront truths about his family. Vowing not to return to All Souls where the wealthy legacy students are cosseted and given a pass, Martin throws himself into independant study projects about London during the Blitz and the workings of Philco radios.
His research and his trips back in time clarify his belief that he has a mission from God to fullfill.

Bloor evokes London during the Blitz with such clarity; you can hear the bombers and smell the smoke. This is a story of redemption. Bloor thoughtfully explores elements of religion, faith and spirituality, which are uncommon topics in YA books.

When I read the last word and closed the book, I felt tears in my eyes and I could only say, "Wow."

Convergence

This news item made me laugh because it is a convergence of my fandom of Star Trek and Harry Potter.

Actor Patrick Stewart lamented at a press conference for X-Men III:

"Every single actor over 60 in England is in the Harry Potter movies," he replied when asked if he wanted to continue doing fantasy films. "I am still smarting from the fact that Ian McKellen starred in Lord of the Rings and apparently there was no part in it for me."

Thank you, Arthur

In most schools, children with diabetes struggle alone to manage their blood sugar. School nurses are often the only source of knowledge and many schools do not have a full time nurse.
What a great opportunity to educate kids and grownups about this chronic disease.

From the Joslin Diabetes Center:

“And now a word from us kids!” is a familiar line for anyone who has ever seen the popular animated series Arthur produced by WGBH Boston and Cookie Jar Entertainment that airs daily on PBS KIDS GO! And on May 17, those words will introduce a segment about healthy eating and diabetes management featuring 11-year-old Corinne, a patient with type 1 diabetes at Joslin Diabetes Center.

In the live-action segment following a brand new animated Arthur story “Desert Island Dish,” which is about healthy eating habits for children, Corinne tells viewers about glucose monitoring and shows how she uses her insulin pump to manage her type 1 diabetes. She and her friends also whip up some healthy after-school snacks before heading outdoors to shoot some hoops.

“Desert Island Dish” premieres nationwide on May 17, 2006, on PBS KIDS GO! and will repeat regularly as part of the Arthur schedule, including an encore on June 7.

Another blog

Oz and Ends is the blog of Child_Lit contributor, J. L. Bell. Interesting writing here.
My list of child lit blogs continues to grow.