Please Don't Read This Book

SLJ's TOP 100!

Top 100 Picture Books and Novels for Kids

Children's literature blogger extraordinaire Betsy Bird asked readers of the School Library Journal to vote for the 10 best picture books and 10 best novels for kids of all time. Points were assigned and tallied, and these 2 lists of the top 100 picture books and novels resulted. The School Library Journal did a beautiful job producing the lists, complete with useful information about each book. Whether you agree with the rankings or not, they're a helpful starting point for finding your next great read. Enjoy! (Just follow the links below to the printable pdfs.)

http://www.slj.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/SLJ_Fuse8_Top100_Picture.pdf

http://www.slj.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/SLJ_Fuse8_Top100_Novels.pdf

The Lions of Little Rock

Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine

Marirosa Mia: The lovely mother daughter team of Julie and Isabel are back! And discussing THE LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK. Check our their review below.

Julie:  I read Kristin Levine's THE LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK for one reason:  My younger daughter, Isabel, told me more than once that it was really good; that I would like it; and that I would probably end up recommending it on this blog. Needless to say, she was right.  It is really good; I'm delighted to have read it; and here I am, recommending it.  Actually, I'm mostly going to ask Isabel about it, after I give a brief description.

THE LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK tells the story of a twelve-year-old white girl named Marlee who lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1958, when many whites are fighting racial integration of the schools. Painfully shy, Marlee becomes fast friends with Liz, a new girl at school who helps Marlee dramatically with her self-confidence.  Then, one day, Liz vanishes from school; Marlee hears that Liz is in fact "colored" and has been passing for white.  Told by adults of both races that their friendship is too dangerous to continue--and for good reason--Marlee and Liz are nonetheless unwilling to give it up.  

Now I'd like to ask Isabel:  What did you particularly like about THE LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK?

Isabel:  I like that the main character tells the story the way a real person would talk, instead of the author sounding like she's trying to write a best-selling novel.  I like that Marlee seems like the type of person I want to be, even though some of her decisions are a little crazy.  She does things I would want to do, but those things are scary.  And I think the topic is really interesting, and that it was something that probably could have happened back in that time.  It felt real, but it was still exciting.  The author really put me back in time, so I felt like I was there.

Julie:  Would you recommend this book to someone your age?  (Isabel is nine.)

Isabel:  Yes.  I already have.

Julie:  If you could change one thing about this book, what would you change?  

Isabel:  Nothing.  I wish the bad things in the book and in history hadn't happened, but those things in the book made me feel for the characters and want to keep reading.  And reading about them in the book made me wish even more that they hadn't happened in history.  

Julie:  I agree with pretty much all you've said.  Marlee's voice is very natural; and she takes risks that keep the book's tension very high, in a realistic way.  The story never feels forced.  And the book does a great job of teaching about a frightening and painful and important part of our past--really putting the reader there--without ever feeling didactic.  It's such a good book.  I hope many others find it and love it.

Las Aventuras del Capitán Alatriste

Las Aventuras del Capitán Alatriste - Arturo Pérez-Reverte

 Marirosa Mia: Once again the lovely Salome has joined us with another awesome recommendation. Check it out!

Salome: Spanish bestselling author Arturo Pérez-Reverte recently released El puente de los asesinos (The Assassin’s Bridge), the seventh installment of his extraordinary swashbuckling series, Las Aventuras del Capitán Alatriste (The Adventures of Captain Alatriste).  So I wanted to celebrate the occasion by taking a look at the first three books in the series, all of which delight older kids and adults, as well as fiction and non-fiction readers.

The series, which the author started publishing in 1996 in reaction to what he felt was a poor Spanish history curriculum at his daughter’s school, gives us a thorough look at Spain’s Golden Age or “Siglo de Oro.”

While the books focus on Captain Alatriste’s heroics as a soldier, occasional sword-for-hire, and all-around international man of mystery starting in the 1620s, they are written from the point of view and in the voice of Iñigo Balboa, the teenage son of an old comrade of Alatriste’s, who has become his assistant and mentee. 

Besides partaking in Alatriste’s dizzying adventures, Iñigo gets to brush shoulders with the intelligentsia of his times – Velázquez and Quevedo among them – in what sometimes feels like an exercise in six degrees of separation (well, more like two degrees) in 17^th-century Madrid.

The first book, which lends its name to the series, introduces the reader to a dark world of cross-border intrigue and murder, as well as the peculiarities of the Spanish Royal Court.  (This book was made into a Spanish movie by the same name, starring Hugo Mortensen, who is probably much better looking than Alatriste was ever meant to be.)  The second book, Limpieza de sangre (Purity of Blood), delves into the harsh and tragic history of the Spanish Inquisition, focusing on the plight of a Jewish family.  The third book, El sol de Breda (The Sun over Breda) finds Alatriste and Iñigo in The Netherlands, where they are fighting Dutch rebels during the long and brutal Spanish occupation.

Yes, they are not rosy topics, but Pérez-Reverte makes them entertaining and engaging, interspersing them with humor and even adolescent love.  I found the first two books easier to read and more exciting than the third one, which I felt was a bit slow. But I suspect that had to do less with the book and more with my disinclination to read about wars. It is worth a read, though, given Pérez-Reverte’s background as a war correspondent, which makes him a master chronicler of military conflicts. 

A note of warning: The books are better suited for native speakers or fluent readers since they are written in a rather formal Spanish from Spain, in what is probably an effort to convey a more complete flavor of the place and times.  I should also warn that, while elegantly presented, there are a few off color situations here and there in the books. Well, you can’t really expect a swashbuckling swordsman to act like a saint!

 

Howl's Moving Castle

Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones

Julie: Four pages into Diana Wynne Jones's HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE, I decided it was genius.  As is so often the case with books that I love, it's the voice that got me.  Jones uses the perfect matter-of-fact, wry voice to introduce her magical world.  It's as if she's saying, "Come on in.  Yes, it's different here, but don't worry.  You'll get the hang of it quickly. And you'll like it!" I did like it in that world, and I didn't want to leave.  I have to admit, though, that the story raised the kinds of questions that usually drive me crazy.  I'm sure we'll get to those a little later.  More importantly, the book casts enough of a spell that I'm willing to overlook those issues.  That's unprecedented for me!  Mia, what do you love about the book?

Marirosa Mia: This is my third time reading HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE, and I'm still charmed by it! Even though I know what's coming, I can't help but smile and chuckle at Calcifer's quips and Sophie's pragmatic attitude, which I love love love. I just can't get enough of Sophie, really. I'm not fond of characters who panic and run around like chickens with their heads cut off, and Sophie is simply refreshing in her "there's far too much work to be done to panic" attitude. Love. And as you mentioned, Julie, Wynne Jones' prose/voice really swoops you right in, to the point that you see each character so clearly.  Right down to Fanny's overly expressive gestures (which in my head are many). What questions did it raise for you, Julie? 

J:  Let me say a little about the book's plot first.  Sophie happily looks after her two sisters until her father dies and her sisters become apprentices in nearby businesses.  Sophie then helps out in her family's hat shop until the day the Witch of the Waste arrives in a nasty temper and turns Sophie into an old woman.  After a few more surprises, Sophie seeks shelter in the moving castle of the supposedly wicked Wizard Howl.  And now for some questions:  Sophie and her sisters are obviously close, and the sisters express concern about Sophie both when she's at the hat shop and later, after she's disappeared.  Yet they never, ever try to come see her and help her (even though one sister fears Sophie is trapped in the castle).  Why?  Also, it's clear from the start that Sophie is far more capable than average.  But SO much time passes without her figuring out the full range of her abilities.  Why?  (I wish I could say more, but I have spoiler concerns.)  I have the feeling I missed something.  It's certainly possible!  I flew through the pages because I so wanted to know what was going to happen.  Do any of these questions nag at you?

M: I can see why Sophie wouldn't come to terms with her abilities. From the beginning we know that she believes her future will...well, amount to nothing. That she won't marry well or have a great fortune like her sisters, because that is the lot of being the eldest daughter. I can see why that colors everything she does. It's been so ingrained in her that she just won't amount to much and her lot is simply her lot. I suppose what I'm saying is that the power of self-doubt is very powerful indeed for Sophie. 

As for her sisters, I'm not bothered by that issue.  They are close, but I don't feel they are terribly close. They are also both so self-absorbed that their being consumed with the--how do I say this--action of being worried and fretting overcame any actual action.  Make sense?  

J:  You make good points.  As a reader, though, I long for a little more from the sisters (I'm a believer in sisters!) and from Sophie.  Anything you wish were different?

M: I'm totally for sisters--I have two of my own--and sadly know that not all sisters are created equal. As for wishing for anything different...there is one thing. At the end (and I find myself wanting this each time I read it) I've always wanted just a bit more time with just Howl and Sophie.  And that’s all I’ll say about that with out giving too much away!

 

Wonder

Wonder – R.J. Palacio

Marirosa Mia: Auggie (August) Pullman was born with a facial deformity and has been in and out of hospitals since he was just a little babe. Even though the operations have helped, Auggie still attracts a lot of attention:

"I know I'm not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things. I eat ice cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an XBox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary. I guess. And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don't get stared at wherever they go. ... Here's what I think: the only reason I'm not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way."

Now that he's old enough, August is ready - or at least his mom thinks he's ready - to go to school. Life at Beecher Prep starts out more or less like Auggie thought it would. The pointing. The staring. It's nothing new. But then a lovely girl named Summer sits down with him, and he becomes friends with a boy named Jack, and middle school becomes a little more bearable for Auggie. Using spare language to touching effect, WONDER by R.J. Palacio jumps from multiple points of view as it tells the story of Auggie's first year at school and all the good and bad that comes along with it.

Let's hop right in to what we loved about it. Julie?

Julie:  I love the complicated, real relationships.  Auggie's relationship with his mom, for example.  It's her idea that he go to school, and he knows that she hasn't been fully honest with him about it along the way.  He's legitimately mad at her.  But he also sees that she's as nervous as he is--maybe more.  So he sympathizes, too.  And his relationship with his sister, Via.  I love that we get to see the story from her point of view about a quarter of the way into the book.  I love that her reaction to having a severely deformed brother is more complicated than I initially realized, when I had only seen it from Auggie's perspective.  The same is true of Jack Will, a boy in Auggie's school.  Complicated relationship, made clearer and more interesting when we get Jack's point of view.  Did you also love that different characters tell their versions of events we've already seen, all the while moving the story forward?   

M: Very much so. I wasn't really expecting it, either. It was very interesting to jump from character to character, see Auggie through their eyes, and find that Auggie's character and charm could be seen from everyone's POV. Anything you didn't enjoy? I'm sorry to say I wasn't a fan of the little music lyrics at the beginning of each chapter. They simply left me flat.

 J:  I like the idea of quoting from David Bowie and Natalie Merchant.  I'm even a Christina Aguilera fan. (That woman can SING.)  But I agree with you.  The quotes didn't quite work, and ended up a distraction.  What do you think of the book's cover? 

M:  I like the cover, but fancy the UK version a bit more.  It reminds me a bit of the paragraph we quoted below, about standing out in a crowd.

J:  Is it the red one, with Auggie wearing his space helmet?  I love that cover, and like the blue one fine.  Speaking of Auggie's space helmet, the one character in the book who felt a little contrived to me was the friend of Via's who gave Auggie that helmet.  I'd look up her name, but I can't.  My younger daughter (aged 9) has the book with her at school.  She's LOVING it, as did my older daughter (who's now 11).     

M: The red one is actually the "adult" cover of the book. Which is an interesting marketing tactic that's been done before. But I realized that I was talking about the UK cover of the advanced reader copy (see below), which I really loved!

"Adult" cover of WONDER
    United Kingdom ARC of WONDER (image courtesy of Musings from a Bookshop Girl)

J:  Wait a minute--they also marketed this book to adults?  Really?  Huh.  I wonder how that went.  I wouldn't recommend WONDER to someone looking for a book for adults.  But I sure do recommend it to anyone, of any age, who's interested in a great middle-grade novel.  

M: I think 'adult' would be considered anything over 14 probably. Teen and older. Maybe they thought a variant cover would open it to a new audience? I'm not sure. Either way it's a great book. Go out and read it!

 

Sorry!

Sorry, neither of us can be reached right now.

Too engrossed in R J Palacio's terrific middle grade novel, WONDER.

Full review soon...

We have a winner!

Congrats to Miss Elizabeth Dunn-Ruiz, winner of our A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO giveway! YAY!

Elizabeth, we'll be contacting you shortly for your mailing address.

Thanks again for entering the contest everyone!

Pickle Juice News

I've just learned that LIKE PICKLE JUICE ON A COOKIE has won the 2012 Gryphon Award!  I love this award!  And--really and truly--not solely because I just won it!  Here's the official description:  

The Gryphon Award is given annually in recognition of an English language work of fiction or non-fiction for which the primary audience is children in Kindergarten through Grade 4. The title chosen best exemplifies those qualities that successfully bridge the gap in difficulty between books for reading aloud to children and books for practiced readers.

...

The award is sponsored by the Center for Children's Books at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In other news, I think I neglected to report that Pickle Juice is a 2011 Cybils (Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Award) Finalist, in the Early Chapter Books category.  Here's a link to the announcement:  http://www.cybils.com/2011-finalists-easy-readersearly-chapter-books.html.  So exciting!

WHY?

WHY? The Best… By Catherine Ripley

Julie:  Why do our fingers get so wrinkled in the tub?  Why does popcorn pop?  Why do onions make us cry?  Why do dandelions turn white and fluffy?  For clear, interesting, and simply worded answers, inquiring minds need look no farther than Catherine Ripley's WHY?  THE BEST EVER QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK ABOUT NATURE, SCIENCE AND THE WORLD AROUND YOU. It's certainly designed for kids, with full-page, color illustrations and child-friendly language and content.  But I confess:  I feel smarter having read this book.  I always knew the bathroom floor was colder than the bathmat, for example.  But I never thought about why.  Now I know.  I feel quite proud.  Maybe I need to read more non-fiction!  Mia, what do you think?   

Marirosa Mia: I enjoyed it as well. It was quite fun testing my knowledge on questions like: Why do we yawn? and Why do my fingers stick to frozen juice cans? I'm not saying I would win a million on Jeopardy!, but I knew quite a few things; and that made me happy. The book's categories are divided by the location where the question will likely be asked:  Bathtime Questions, Outdoor Questions, Supermarket Questions, and the like. It's an appealing and easy-to-reference structure. This will be an excellent book to have once my niece starts asking "Why?" questions!

A Long Way From Chicago

A Long Way from Chicago – Richard Peck

Marirosa Mia: I wish I had a gun-totting grandma, Julie. Think of all the fun to be had and the people to scare.  Spanning the years 1929 to 1942, Richard Peck's A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO follows Joey and his sister Mary Alice, who come down from Chicago to spend their summers with their "tough as an old boot" Grandma Dowdel. They don't expect to be part of their grandmother's always crazy and often dangerous adventures like illegal catfishing, standing up to the drunk sheriff, and holding a wake for town bum Shotgun Cheatham, but they do! This novel made me want to chase down my mom and dad and grill them about my grandparents' illegal ways (they were also awesome people, so I'm pretty sure they had some). I was surprised by how much I liked this charming and funny novel and how much I kept wanting to go back for more. Julie?

Julie:  In order to convey how beloved A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO is in my family, I need to tell the following story:  Several years ago, I read the book with my older daughter, who is normally perfectly sane.  She loved it, all of it, from the very first sentence:  "You wouldn’t think we’d have to leave Chicago to see a dead body."  She loved it so much that she threw a staggering fit when I agreed to read the book to her younger sister after I'd finished reading it to her.  Grabbing it from me, she shouted, "It's mine!"  Then she ran to the kitchen; wrapped that book tightly in aluminum foil; added about a foot of scotch tape for good measure; and proceeded to hide the book under an avalanche of papers on her desk.  I didn't dare try to take it out from under that heap.  I believe she would have punched me.  And she's never thrown a punch in all her eleven years.  

M: I must say, Julie, that story just made my day. I'm interested in hearing what she would say about that book if she read it recently. A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO has a way of charming (there's that word again!) you right off the bat and not many books can do that, but Grandma Dowdel is hard to resist. Always up to something that broad was, and I was always glad to be along for the ride. 

J:  I bet my daughter would love it all over again, if she re-read it now.  I sure did.  It's the perfect combination of funny and touching.  Grandma Dowdel is so deliciously bad--she packs heat; she lies without compunction; she plays tricks on her neighbors; and she pulls no verbal punches.  What she says is hilarious in its own right; her grandson's asides add to the humor.  Take this tiny example, in which Grandma Dowdel disparages her alleged enemy Effie Wilcox:  "'Was that Effie again?  Never trust an ugly woman.  She's got a grudge against the world,' said Grandma, who was no oil painting herself."  Don't you love the lines throughout the book like that?  There must be a hundred of them. And--even better--don't you love how it always turns out that Grandma's bad behavior is in the service of some good?  She's taking on a pompous banker; or his insufferable, bossy wife; or the family of hooligan brothers; or their successful, inexcusably tolerant (of their children's bad behavior) parents.  Or she's doing something sneakily and unexpectedly nice for one of her grandkids. I so envy the effectiveness of Peck's writing.  All Grandma Dowdel does is wave from her doorway in the final chapter, and I choke up.  Every single time.  A funny book with well-drawn characters and tremendous heart.  Can you beat that? 

M: I must agree that was a wonderful moment at the end. Heart strings were tugged. Also, even more wonderful news, I happen to have an extra copy of this book! And I’m giving it away to one of our wonderful readers who comments on this entry. So make sure to leave a comment (a simple “hey” will do) for a chance to win a copy of Richard Peck’s A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO. Contest ends 1/31!