a friend at midnight

a friend at midnight by Caroline Cooney, 2006

Lily is taking care of her baby brother Nathaniel while her mother and stepfather drive her older sister to college. Then the phone rings and she hears her eight year old brother Michael's voice.

Despite their misgivings, her family had honored Michael's decision to go live with his father but now he is at Washington/Baltimore airport, alone and scared. No problem, Lily thinks, I can get the bus to LaGuardia to meet his plane. Only, Michael doesn't have a ticket to fly home. When Lily learns the truth about her brother's predicament she has to act quickly to rescue him. The fallout from that day turns Lily's world inside out and upsets her relationship with her family, her friends and with God.

Cooney can build tension in a story like no one else. Lily's anger is justified and the reader shares it. She is trying to protect her brother and she is furious with her dad. How God can allow bad things to happen?

...She was skeptical of prayer, never paid attention at church and referred to the minister -- Dr. Bordon -- as Dr. Boring. But into the quiet air of her bedroom, she said, "God?"

He wasn't listening. Lily could tell. She spoke more sharply. "God, Michael needs this. Make it happen. Don't give me that stuff about free will, how people make their own choices, how your choices don't alway intersect with the choices of others in a pleasing fashion and how responsibility lies with the individual. Get down here and make this happen."

I heard Cooney talk about this book at a library conference. She commented (I paraphrase here) that there is an unspoken rule in mainstream YA publishing that you do not write about religion or faith. She is very active in her own church, has been all her life, and knowing that there are teens who are similarly involved, decided it was worth exploring as a YA novel. She was pleased when she learned the book was going to be released through two Random House divisions, WaterBrook(religious) AND Delacourt.

The storytelling is compelling and stands on its own as a teen-in-crisis novel. Lily is searching for answers. Her questions about God and faith are ones many share. Cooney deftly explores the idea that faith does not guarantee "happily ever after" but helps believers and searchers deal with "what comes after."

Author: Beatrix Potter

This article in The Times, describes a letter from Beatrix Potter to an author of a book on the Loch Ness Monster. In the letter she theorizes about the appearance of the monster which she bases on her own keen observations of frogs, toads and newts. The letter and some photographs have been acquired by the V&A.

How fun!

Edge of the Forest

This month's edition of Edge of the Forest is phenomenal. Three interviews, book reviews and a new feature, "Sounds from the Forest," a podcast about the children's and YA book world.

This month's In the Backpack asks writers and editors attending Illinois SCBWI Prairie Writer’s Day what they are reading.

007 -- James Bond

Treebeard and the entlings and I saw Casino Royale over the holiday.
Terrific.
Loved it.
I felt like I had seen at least 3 movies by the time it was over.

I was not ready to embrace the "new" Bond but Daniel Craig totally won me over! He is closer in character to Ian Fleming's Bond than many of the previous portrayals.

Another fan of the movie is Charlie Higson, the author of the Young Bond series. He writes in The Telegraph:

At key moments, we see Craig acquire all the familiar accoutrements – the gun, the Aston Martin, the dinner jacket – and, in a way, his unconventional looks (in a Bond sense) work perfectly, because we are watching someone turn into Bond before our eyes, rather than leap fully formed onto the screen with bow tie and raised eyebrow. It's not until the last frame of the film that he has fully earned his signature tune, and you could almost view the film as the longest pre-titles trailer in Bond history. You come out of the cinema looking forward eagerly to the next installment.

Yum!

Thanks to Librarian in the Middle for pointing me to the recipes at King Arthur Flour.

These Sweet Potato Sandwich Rolls sound fantastic and they have 6g of fiber!

"Soft without being squishy"

Santa Knows

Santa Knows by Cynthia & Greg Leitich Smith, illustrated by Steve Björkman, 2006

I love Christmas books.

Alfie F. Snorklepuss does not believe in Santa. He has researched, calculated and weighed all the facts and is positive that Santa cannot exist. He denounces the Santa myth at school, in letters to the editor, on talk radio and on the World Wide Web. His sister Noelle tells him that "Santa Claus believes in people who believe in him" and she writes to Santa with a special request for her Christmas gift.

On Christmas Eve, Alflie stakes out the Christmas tree to discover the truth about Santa. He discovers more than he ever imagined.
Steve Björkman's illustrations tell the story with humor. Alfie's pajamas are hilarious.

When I read a Santa book to a group of kids, there is always one kid who will coolly announce what they "think" is the truth about Santa Claus. He/She is then always the recipient of vigorous denials and a verbal pummeling from the other kids.

I know children who yearn for the anticipation, mystery and excitement of Santa's visit. They want do not want to miss the thrill of Christmas morning. This is a sweet tale for families with young (and older) children who want to believe.

Author: Julius Lester

As I scan through my Child_Lit mail I always stop in my tracks when I see a post from Julius Lester on the listserv. His eloquence and insight always move me. Now I have yet another reason to be thankful this week as he has started a blog, A Commonplace Book. I will be regular visitor here.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for wonderful authors and brilliant illustrators who add so much excitement and color to my reading life.

I am thankful for my reading family and grateful for parents who always let me read whatever took my fancy.

I am thankful for my freedom to read which comes from living in this great USA.


Some of my favorite Thanksgiving picture books:



The Very First Thanksgiving Day by Rhonda Gowler Greene, illustrated by Susan Gaber, 2002

With a "House that Jack Built" structure, the language and rhyme flow easily making this a terrific read-aloud. Gaber's illustrations are beautiful and carefully researched. I really love this book.



Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey, 1990
What can I say, eight turkeys named Larry, Moe, and Shemp,Wally, Beaver, Groucho, Ollie, and Stanley try to survive Thanksgiving with the help of eight children. Kid readers absolutely get Pilkey's humor even if some grownups do not. Excellent.




Over the River: A Turkey's Tale by Derek Anderson, 2005
"Over the river and through the woods,
To grandmother's house we go;
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh,
Through the white and drifted snow, O!"

A family of Pilgrim turkeys are on their way to Grandma's house. Hijinks ensue as the lines from the song are hilariously interpreted . A music teacher at the school I was at last week was thrilled to find this book sitting on a "new books" cart. "We are losing our traditional songs," she told me.

Composer: Howard Shore

Howard Shore talks about his music and the ongoing work of preparing the complete recordings of the Lord of the Rings score:

CC: Now Doug Adams notes on the score reveals a level of depth that even those who have listened to film music for a long time might not pick up on...not at least until they read the notes and listen to complete recordings. Now you must have had this intricacy in mind as you were writing the music for the films all along.

HS: Yes. This is because the composition is based on Tolkien and the intricacy, the complexity of it is due to the complexity of the book. Even I didn't really see it all because it was like I was looking at in very small pieces. It wasn't until I assembled it all that I began to understand how it all related, which is what Doug's book is about. It's like we are discovering it now more than when I was actually writing it! It wasn't that it was perfectly planned. It's because the composition is describing Tolkien's world. It's inherent, then, that the music has the same complexity that Tolkien put into the book. It wouldn't be written correctly to his book if it were otherwise.

A very interesting interview

This music has been the soundtrack for my family's life since 2001. Shore is ready to start working on The Hobbit if they ever untangle the money issues.

Tip from Petrified Truth

A World Record

As promotion for their movie, Charlotte's Web, opening Dec. 15, Walden Media is sponsoring a run at a world record. From their website:

The record attempt is for MOST PEOPLE READING ALOUD SIMULTANEOUSLY IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS.

On Wednesday, December 13, 2006, at 12 noon (EST), you are invited to join students, educators, librarians and fans of Charlotte’s Web who will gather in schools, hospitals, libraries and community centers to read a passage from E. B. White’s classic tale of friendship, kindness, selfless giving and miracles. It is our hope that “Break a World Reading Record with Charlotte’s Web” will introduce this wonderful story to a new generation and reintroduce the story to fans who haven’t read it since childhood. Please read further to see how you can participate in this exciting event.

I was wondering how many copies of the book it was going to take but they are making the reading excerpt available.

Q: How do I obtain the reading material/literature?

A: You can download the online version of the excerpt that has been authorized for the record attempt, or purchase the book.

The excerpt that is being used is from Chapter Five. The excerpt begins on page thirty-five (35) with “Salutations!‘ said the voice,” and ends with “I think you’re beautiful,’ said Wilbur” on page thirty-seven (37).