tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33904230897779678952024-03-13T14:43:14.554-07:00read to me tonightA blog to share joys of children's and young adult literature and to celebrate the art of the picture book.amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-50023638447313968842013-07-04T09:23:00.000-07:002013-07-04T09:23:00.003-07:00The Dream Thieves, Maggie Stiefvater<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17347389-the-dream-thieves" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2)" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1367060081m/17347389.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17347389-the-dream-thieves">The Dream Thieves</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1330292.Maggie_Stiefvater">Maggie Stiefvater</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/658614377">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Book II of The Raven Cycle, The Dream Thieves, begins where The Raven Boys left off. The group of four boys, all students at exclusive Anglionby Academy, although with varying backgrounds, have become friends with Blue Sargent, a local girl from a family of psychics, in the search for a mysterious and lost Welsh king. So far this reads as your typical YA modern fantasy, but it is so much more.<br /><br />While the story is terrific, and the writing propulsive, what really captivates me about The Raven Cycle is Stiefvater's clear eyed look at the divisions brought about by class and culture among teens. Some have it all, some want it all, and some just want to get away - but it is not always what you would guess from the outside. Another unusual feature of Stiefvater's, and one that reminds me a bit of John Green, is the adults. Unlike many YA novels where the adults are either absent, neglectful/abusive, or caricatures, the adults in The Raven Cycle are fully formed, real people. <br /><br />I don't want to give away too much about this book, but I highly encourage you to read it. The book is solidly YA in theme, but I personally didn't see anything that would be inappropriate for a mature middle schooler. If you haven't read Raven Boys, you still have a two months before The Dream Thieves hits stores to finish it. Start now.
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amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-13540768435602173212013-06-23T09:42:00.001-07:002013-06-23T09:42:57.701-07:00The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15783514-the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Ocean at the End of the Lane" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351914778m/15783514.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15783514-the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane">The Ocean at the End of the Lane</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1221698.Neil_Gaiman">Neil Gaiman</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/649001026">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Neil Gaiman has done it again. Although this book is technically adult, I can't really figure out any reason a teen or even mature tween couldn't read it. There is one particularly upsetting scene of parental betrayal and implied sex and infidelity, but nothing compared to the explicit details in many realistic novels written for the YA market. With that settled....<br /><br />This is a challenging book to describe. Fans of Neil Gaiman will recognize the Hempstead family and certain tonal qualities that mark it as uniquely Gaiman. However, fundamentally, this is a story about standing strong in the face of fear, the unique way children see the world and the power of friendship. More than that, I want you to discover on your own.<br /><br />The Ocean at the End of the Lane is beautifully written and highly engaging. Since it is rather short in length, it is readable in a rainy afternoon.
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amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-9889073839677825192013-06-20T13:37:00.001-07:002013-06-20T13:37:46.570-07:00Homeland, Cory Doctorow<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12917338-homeland" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Homeland" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1340259004m/12917338.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12917338-homeland">Homeland</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12581.Cory_Doctorow">Cory Doctorow</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/646474758">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Oh Cory Doctorow, I do love your storytelling, I just wish you could resist the urge to lecture me for two pages about bit torrent. I get it, <em>privacy good!</em><br /><br />We meet back up with Marcus a year or two after Little Brother left off. The recession has hit and both parents are out of work. With no income and student loan debt piling up (lecture alert) Marcus drops out of University. He once again meets up with Masha, who, predictably puts him and Ange in grave danger in order. She has a flash drive of hundreds of thousands of pages of government documents, some classified, some not (wikileaks lecture alert). Marcus and his band of hacker friends need to figure out what to do with the information while the Department of Homeland Security closes the net around them (lecture alert). In the meantime, Marcus' notoriety bring him to the attention of a reforming independent candidate who offers him a job as webmaster. <br /><br />It's all good fun and a great story with lots of valuable insights into the state of the world today and compelling themes ripped from the pages of boing boing and the Huffington Post, which is fine. It's great. But seriously, just scan the lectures. <br /><br />The story speaks for itself so much better than the editorials.
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amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-28360976246035877192013-06-20T13:16:00.001-07:002013-06-20T13:16:19.574-07:00Anna Dressed in Blood, Kedare Blake<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9378297-anna-dressed-in-blood" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1)" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1317793801m/9378297.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9378297-anna-dressed-in-blood">Anna Dressed in Blood</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4086715.Kendare_Blake">Kendare Blake</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/424488408">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
What can I say, this was one creepy book. I don't read much horror, so maybe it wasn't as creepy as I thought, but definitely don't read it when you are home alone late at night in bed with no one around. <br /><br />The basics: Cas is a ghost hunter. Cas finds the bad ones and dispatches them, just like his father did before he was the prey instead of predator. Now Cas and his mom, a "kitchen witch" travel the world ridding us of malevolent spirits. All of this goes fairly well until Cas runs up against Anna, the ghost of a young woman murdered in 1958. This former lone wolf acquires a pack of friends and not-so-friends determined to help him whether he wants it or not. He also discovers that Anna is different from any ghost he has met before in ways both good and bad.<br /><br />Anna Dressed in Blood is a good creepy story that has the hallmarks of being setup as a series (the fact that it is titled Anna #1 should be the first clue.) As such, there are far too many loose ends left to be accounted for in future books and Cas is, in my opinion, far too willing to ignore what is right in front of him (hint: always listen to the cat, it says it right there in the first quarter of the book!) for someone who makes a living fighting for his life.<br /><br />Still, I would recommend this wholeheartedly for upper middle and high school and anyone who can handle a little more suspense than me.<br />
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Also, Kendare Blake has a cool animoto book trailer <a href="http://www.kendareblake.com/anna-dressed-in-blood.php">here.</a>
amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-25325468748052956152013-06-20T07:28:00.001-07:002013-06-20T07:28:42.248-07:00Behemoth, Scott Westerfeld, Read by Alan Cumming<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7826116-behemoth" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Behemoth (Leviathan, #2)" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347612042m/7826116.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7826116-behemoth">Behemoth</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13957.Scott_Westerfeld">Scott Westerfeld</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/646469687">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I "read" Behemoth as an audio book and I can't praise it highly enough. The narrator is Alan Cumming and he does a fantastic job across genders, accents and languages. The story moves along quickly and Westerfeld does a masterful job of tying together his alternate history of World War I with a compelling adventure and light romance (as of Behemoth the love is unrequited).<br /><br />Leviathan, I felt, dragged a bit in spots, and perhaps it was the narration, or the new setting of Istanbul, or the introduction of a few new characters, but Behemoth never slowed. As soon as the audio finished, I downloaded Goliath and am looking for an eleven hour stretch to hear it soon.<br /><br />I highly recommend the whole series to anyone interested in history, action-adventure, or certain types of sci-fi/fantasy. Indeed, although the alternate world imagined by Westerfeld is science fiction, it is so lyrically rendered it has more in common with fantasy. This would be a delightful family listen. Add it to your next road trip and you won't be disappointed.<br />
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amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-1747297026378000632013-06-14T05:37:00.002-07:002013-06-14T05:37:41.476-07:00A flight of angels, Rebecca Guay<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10959222-a-flight-of-angels" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="A Flight of Angels" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333579937m/10959222.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10959222-a-flight-of-angels">A Flight of Angels</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1411821.Rebecca_Guay">Rebecca Guay</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/640460090">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Beautifully illustrated and well written, this graphic novel tells the story of an angel fallen to earth from the point of view of various fae creatures who find him. Each story reflect that creature's perspective on life, good and evil, and humanities place in the world. The illustrations shift stylistically to fit the tone of the story, but all are detailed, beautiful and evocative.<br />
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amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-53109631190912072302013-06-11T05:47:00.000-07:002013-06-11T05:47:16.585-07:00Sleep Like a Tiger, Mary Logue and Pamela Zagarenski (illustrator)<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13429619-sleep-like-a-tiger" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Sleep Like a Tiger" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361786410m/13429619.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13429619-sleep-like-a-tiger">Sleep Like a Tiger</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/37283.Mary_Logue">Mary Logue</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/510873931">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Perhaps it is remembering my days with young children, but I do love a good sleepy book (hence the title of my blog: <a href="http://readtometonight.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow"> read to me tonight </a>. Sleep Like a Tiger is a lovely gentle book where parents assure their little girl that <em> she </em> doesn't have to go to sleep, but this is how the whale sleeps, and the snail, and the dog and the tiger. The illustrations are truly lovely and invite close scrutiny: a key quality in a book parents might have to read again and again and again. This one is a keeper: borrow from the library, but buy soon after.<br />
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amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-44634712808234960782013-06-11T05:37:00.001-07:002013-06-11T05:37:21.388-07:00This Moose Belongs to Me, Oliver Jeffers<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13595647-this-moose-belongs-to-me" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="This Moose Belongs to Me" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356643086m/13595647.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13595647-this-moose-belongs-to-me">This Moose Belongs to Me</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/173545.Oliver_Jeffers">Oliver Jeffers</a><br />
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/510878377">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
This Moose Belongs to me is sweet story about a young boy who's "pet" moose only obeys his many rules when it suits him. I am not sure about it's broad appeal. Younger children may be put off by the moose's lack of loyalty and the story's dry humor.<br />
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amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-28678846283418226852012-01-23T17:03:00.001-08:002012-01-23T17:03:50.773-08:00Where Things Come Back<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8563789-where-things-come-back" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Where Things Come Back" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61j5jB9FgTL._SX106_.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8563789-where-things-come-back">Where Things Come Back</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4113638.John_Corey_Whaley">John Corey Whaley</a><br/><br />My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/266780282">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br /><br />It's nice to finish a book right before it wins a major award! I like this book a lot, Where Things Come Back tells the story of a Cullen Witter who's world is up-ended by the appearance of a long extinct bird and the disappearance of his younger brother. Very well written and not to difficult, this book will appeal to many teens. It is dark and there are many adult themes so I recommend this one for mature upper middle school and high school only.<br /><br/><br/><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2594646-amanda">View all my reviews</a>amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-60703796671856375962012-01-09T09:15:00.000-08:002012-01-09T09:16:11.489-08:00Amazing Agent Luna, V. 1-3<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/480864.Amazing_Agent_Luna_Volume_1" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Amazing Agent Luna Volume 1" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312027187m/480864.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/480864.Amazing_Agent_Luna_Volume_1">Amazing Agent Luna Volume 1</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/59438.Nunzio_DeFilippis">Nunzio DeFilippis</a><br/><br />My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/258984956">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br /><br />A fun read for middle to high school girls about a genetically engineered, lab raised teenager who is on the hardest mission of her life: high school. Sent to Nobel High to investigate why her nemesis is researching the school, Luna must learn to navigate a "normal" life for the first time.<br/><br/>The series doesn't break any new ground, but is good fun. Within the first three novels, the only concern is the exaggerated depiction of the female body - which is an unfortunate norm of manga. The art is nicely done, crisp and serves the story. <br /><br/><br/><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2594646-amanda">View all my reviews</a>amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-17857891774108855642012-01-09T09:06:00.000-08:002012-01-09T09:07:20.989-08:00Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/114954.The_Opal_Deception" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl, #4)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266475201m/114954.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/114954.The_Opal_Deception">The Opal Deception</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10896.Eoin_Colfer">Eoin Colfer</a><br/><br />My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/258980409">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br /><br />Once again Eoin Colfer has created an adventure that engages from start to finish! The story resumes with Opal Koboi safely imprisoned in a coma and Artemis and Butler's memories of The People wiped. As always, though, things are not what they seem. Opal escapes, Holly is in the worst trouble of her career and she needs the help that only Artemis and Butler can provide.<br/><br/>Colfer has created a wonderful villan in Opal. Both brilliant and irrational she is hilarious when she commands her henchmen not to look directly at her since it is "bad for the skin." With no Juliet in this book, it is good to have the humor that Opal's increasing insanity provides. <br/><br/>This is a great book for upper elementary boys and especially good in audio.<br /><br/><br/><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2594646-amanda">View all my reviews</a>amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-24853045893943143002012-01-03T08:39:00.000-08:002012-01-03T08:41:41.928-08:00higher power of lucky<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62151.The_Higher_Power_of_Lucky" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Higher Power of Lucky" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170599646m/62151.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62151.The_Higher_Power_of_Lucky">The Higher Power of Lucky</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/34940.Susan_Patron">Susan Patron</a><br/><br />My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/248475997">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br /><br />Lucky is an orphan in the hard luck town of Hard Pan, CA. She is seeking her own higher power to help her get through the loss of her mother and her fear of losing her Guardian. Though she is from a tiny town (pop. 43) and everyone is poor, her entire community is there to help her when she needs it most. <br /><br/><br/><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2594646-amanda">View all my reviews</a>amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-50289639324908156622010-10-09T13:51:00.001-07:002010-10-09T13:58:40.849-07:00Decline in Picture Book SalesThis is an really interesting, if over-reaching, article on the decline in sales of picture books.<br /><br />The author attributes this decline to parents pushing their kids too quickly into chapter books, but does little to examine other reasons that picture book sales have slumped. <br /><br />One commenter, a librarian, ran stats on picture book circulation and found them up about 10%. Suggesting that picture books remain an important resource for families, jsut not one they will pay $18 for. <br /><br />Now, I LOVE picture books, but I also have a hard time with the high price tag. I have noticed my local Borders carrying fewer and fewer paperback editions, except for the character driven books (Barbie's Whatever Adventure with Yo Gaba Gaba).<br /><br />I really hope that kids are not pushed too quickly into chapter books, both because I think the visual literacy skills learned by decoding a picture book are critical and because the stunning art work is something to savor, not push through.<br /><br />Read the article, and let me know what you think.<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/us/08picture.html<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/us/08picture.html"></a>amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-1281374110916615622010-09-09T13:58:00.000-07:002010-10-09T14:06:20.205-07:00Maximum Ride, Or Beach Reading for the YA SetIf you have a reader in 4th through 8th grade, you have probably seen the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. The story follows Max (AKA Maximum Ride) and her "flock" of genetically altered friends as they attempt to save the world from a pharmaceutical-military company out to destroy it.<br /><br />The stories are a mishmash of Third Reich meets X Men meets enviromental propaganda meets kid power action. The writing is weak, at best and the character development nonexistent. There is no nuance, no shading. Adults are almost uniformly bad, and have destroyed the world. <br /><br />Still, the books move along at a clip and are certainly engaging, in the way candy corn is: it's great until your teeth hurt and then it's too late.<br /><br />For an almost equally far fetched scenario but with better writing and character development, go for the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz.amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-46973461002697914032010-08-31T18:47:00.000-07:002010-08-31T18:55:05.133-07:00First TomatoFirst Tomato:<br />Far beyond the moon and stars<br />Twenty light years south of mars<br />Spins the gentle bunny planet<br />And the bunny queen is Janet<br /><br />This sweet story from the bunny planet series by the genius writer and illustrator,Rosemary Wells, tells the story of Claire, whose cold wet, very bad day is inturrpted by a voayage to the bunny planet.<br /><br />Claire, whose rounded, bunny body is bundled against the snow as she waits for her bus in the dark and snow, drifts in to a reverie and dreams of Janet. Janet, the gentle bunny queen, shows Claire the day that should have been. The illustration shows the gate to “first tomato”<br /><br />It is a warm summer day when the “summer wind blows” and claires mother sends her out to the garden to bring back the bounty, including a ripe tomato. The illustrations capture the sunny happiness of a warm summer day and the pleasure of working in the yard.<br /><br />All the senses are invoked in the simple poetry, the smell of the tomato, the feel of the sun. In the end, Claire's mother uses the first tomato to make a special treat for Claire.<br /><br />Ultimately, Claire must return to her cold bus stop, but the memory of the Bunny Planet is enough to sustain her the rest of the way home. <br /><br />This book is a pleasure to read and share with a young child. First Tomato is part of a trilogy that includes Island Light and Moss Pillows. Personally, I find Island Light as charming as First Tomato, and Moss Pillows, somewhat less so. All are full of Ms. Well's charming illustrations.amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-8567479616027403652010-07-31T18:59:00.000-07:002010-08-31T19:02:58.559-07:00OpheliaA young adult novel by Lisa M. Klein retelling Hamlet through the eyes of Ophelia, this novel is intriguing but mixed. Ophelia is a bright strong willed young woman who chafes at the restrictions of her time. But aren’t ALL female main characters in YA like that these days? <br /><br />Sent to the court by her father, who is a wheeler and dealer, Ophelia attracts the notices and approval first of Queen Gertrude, then of Hamlet. When retelling the traditional Hamlet story, the novel falters. Really, who can do it better than the bard, and the tropes of the story show through in the hands of a novice novelist.<br /><br />However, when giving voice to Ophelia’s interior voice, the novel rises, and when ultimately Ophelia strikes out on her own and flees Denmark, the story is fascinating, well researched and compelling. <br /><br />Ophelia’s life in a convent (aparantly, she does “get thee to a nunnery”) is well told. The author draws out parallels between the novices who are trying to please the prioress and in turn the prioresses need to appease the Bishop and her patron and finally, the nobility in Denmark trying to please King Claudius and Queen Gertrude, without over doing it.<br /><br />This is a YA novel, Ophelia has sex with Hamlet and ultimately becomes pregnant with his child. The scenes are handled delicately, and without unnecessary detail. Due to the author’s sensitive handling, preteens and teens will not “learn” anything from these scenes. However, if a parent is uncomfortable with sexuality and pregnancy, they should read the novel first. Alternatively, read together or as part of a parent child book discussion, it provides an opportunity to discuss these issues and share values in the abstract.amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-52644980297545475312010-07-15T19:03:00.000-07:002010-08-31T19:07:37.078-07:0014 Cows for AmericaBeautifully illustrated and sensitively written by Carmen Agra Deedy, Thomas Gonzalez, and Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah, 14 Cows for America tells the story of an African village who donates 14 cows to America to help heal the nation brought to pain by the attack of September 11.<br /><br />The story opens with the narrators return to his home village after a long absence in which he lived in New York City. In a tradition of his community, they gather to hear his story and he tells of the horrific attacks. The villagers are stunned to learn that even a country as mighty as America, can be wounded.<br /> <br />The American embassy is contacted, and the ambassador is dispatched for what he thinks is a routine visit. Upon arriving, he is stunned to learn that the villagers, in an area of the world considered poor and deprived, have resolved to sacrifice 14 of their cows to America. These cows will live in the community, but never be slaughtered for meat, for the duration of their natural life. The ritual is meant to bring peace to a community.<br /><br />The story is sensitively handled, especially regarding the terrifying nature of the attacks which many young children, the audience for this book, may have little knowledge of. The illustrations are lovely and convey the message of the story without overwhelming the story. <br /><br />Despite the fact that this book has been nominated for several awards, I wish it were written more lyricly. There is so much potential in the telling of this story, that is lost in somewhat wooden prose. The larger message of generosity and compassion between the poorest and the wealthiest is compelling, but I can’t help think that if the topic were not 9/11 and Africa, this story would not be getting the play it has.amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-30797084757978516282009-08-24T11:52:00.001-07:002009-08-24T12:02:09.591-07:00Sleepytime Rhyme by Remy Charlip<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This is one of the earliest books I read to my kids. It is a simple rhyming story of a parent's love of their child.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><blockquote><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I love you. I think you're grand. There's none<br />like you in all the land.</span><br /></blockquote><p>Each page lists parts that the parent loves: hair, head, chin and so on. In my house, and despite the peaceful vibe, we always ended with tickling. Some of the rhymes get a little labored, but that's OK with us, we just tickle through the occasional awkward spot.</p><p>The illustrations are simple, most likely pastel and watercolor, and convey a sense of peace and joy between parent and child. On each page there is the human parent child pair and out the window behind, another pair: clouds, the sun, mountains.</p><p>Next time you are at the library, pick this one up and you are guaranteed a good snuggle when you read to me tonight.</span></p>amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390423089777967895.post-45345486057701767382009-08-24T11:33:00.000-07:002009-08-24T11:46:31.605-07:00First Post<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I started this blog to share my love of children's literature. I am fascinated with the beauty of picture books and the cadence of a good story. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">When I was in college, I studied art history. I loved the detail of an illustrated manuscript and the deceptive simplicity of Ellsworth Kelly. I loved the saturated color of Georgia O'Keefe and the play of space and void in Jean Arps. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">On my own I have been a voracious and omnivorous reader. Everything from Nora Roberts and Daniel Silva to Ernest Hemmingway and Don DeLillo -- the only catch being there needs to be a compelling story. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">After college I pursued other areas for my career, only to be blindsided by the beauty of picture books when my kids were born. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So now that things are settling down on the home front and I am starting to explore children's literature from a professional view, it seemed like it was time to write about what I love.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Here's what a reader can expect: reviews of books I love from picture books to manga to novels for pre-teens, thoughts on why children's literature matters and an emphasis on the art of the picture book.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I hope you read and enjoy my posts and that you leave with a greater appreciation of what your kids are reading. </span>amanda waughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887304542402723144noreply@blogger.com0