Some of My Recent Favorites

My last few posts are all about what the students are liking.  Here is a list of books that I have recently enjoyed.


PICTURE BOOKS

I Yam a Donkey! by Cece Bell uses humor aplenty to show how confusing good grammar can be and how unimportant it is if you are about to be eaten.  As soon as someone is ready for the humor (maybe the middle of first grade) this book will be a winner.  Adults will get things that the younger set does not, but that is what makes it possible for adults to read the same book over and over.

Steve, Raised by Wolves by Jared Chapman reassures that no matter how hard a student's first day of school may seem it probably won't be worse than the first day of school for a boy raised by wolves.  It has the good moral of remembering to "Just be yourself" and lots of humor.  Grades 1-4 will get a chuckle out of this one.

Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman is a joy to read to groups of children, most of whom go back to read it again and again by themselves.  It addresses the pressing question of what might happen if a family of bunnies were to adopt a baby wolf.  I have read to first grade up to fifth grade and it has gotten the same positive reactions from all of them.

Take Away the A - An Alphabeast of a Book by Michael Escoffier is a great start to word play.  It illustrates that a word can change by removing just one letter.  I predict many writing projects will be inspired by this book for grades 2 and up.

Toys Meet Snow by Emily Jenkins is lovely, sweet story on its own and good introduction to the chapter books about the toys (Toys Go Out and others).  The picture book is aimed at grades preK to 2 and the chapter books are for grades 2-5.

Alphabet School by Stephen Johnson finds the letters of the alphabet in things found in a school.  There is something about this concept that fascinates me.  I see anyone from kindergarten to retirement enjoying this beautifully illustrated book.

Lucy and Lenny by Phillip Stead, Illustrated by Erin Stead charmed me with the perfect fit of the illustrations to the story of a boy getting settled in a new home.  What is not to love about guardians made from pillows and blankets?  Don't forget that the Steads live right here in Ann Arbor which makes them almost like family.  This perfect for grades K-3.


CHAPTER BOOKS

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate is a gentle story about the tough subject of homelessness that includes a caring family and an imaginary friend in the form of a giant cat.  It is great for grades 4-6.

Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley is a perfectly strange story of a magic (or is it imaginary) circus that can change lives if only one believes.  Readers in grades 4-7 should get drawn into this unusual tale.

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry is a little bit  of many familiar old-fashioned stories and whole lot of originality.  It tells of girls in a small boarding school with a very Victorian feel who are suddenly faced with what to do when their head mistress dies suddenly at dinner.  They decide to pretend that all is normal as the humor and the adventures spiral out of their control.  Middle school is the perfect audience for this book.

George by Alex Gino has gotten a lot of talk this year as the first book for grades 4-7 to openly deal with transgender issues.  It is well written and written in a way that will not make students uncomfortable and will add understanding.

Anyone But Ivy Pocket by Caleb Krisp  is a mystery with a great sense of humor.  Grades 4-7 will laugh along with the confusion a well-meaning young girl creates around her.

Kung Pow Chicken--Bok! Bok! Boom by Cyndi Marko is part of a series about a young chicken who is a superhero that has students in grades 1-3 laughing and asking for more.

Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar uses what first appears to be a normal school conflict story to talk about environmental threats.  I would suggest it for grades 4-7.

The Odin Inheritance by Victoria L. Scott.  Yes, Emerson's own Victoria Scott has written a powerful, well-researched Steampunk adventure that does not stay on our library shelves.  It features strong, interesting characters, plot twists, and some good humor.  None of this surprises anyone who knows Victoria.  Her book is aimed at middle school and high school students and will be enjoyed by adults as well.

NON-FICTION

A Nest is Noisy by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long  is the newest by this author/illustrator duo that makes nature into a work of visual and poetic art.  There is plenty of information about nests and all the creatures that build nests here, but what readers grades 2 and up will remember is the beauty that is depicted here.

I Am Lucille Ball (And others in this I Am...Series) by Brad Meltzer is a picture book biography that will appeal to young readers (Grades K-3) who like plenty of illustrations and careful touches of humor while learning about the childhoods of famous people.

GRAPHIC WORKS

Written and Drawn by Henrietta by Lineirs comes to us from a cartoonist who is well-known in Brazil.  The story is simply a girl drawing pictures and forming a story and monsters.  The pictures change from appearing to be the art of the little girl to the most sophisticated art of an artist.  I think it is for everyone, but I suppose it is aimed at grades K-3.

Lumberjanes, Volume 1--Beware the Kitten Holy by Noelle Stevens and Grace Ellis, illustrated by Brooke Allen is a graphic story of girls at camp and facing strange occurrences that has a clear, strong, and often funny feminists bent.  Grades 5 and up will enjoy this one.


A FEW ADULT BOOKS

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elizabeth Tova Bailey is part memoir and part a natural science of snail life.  When Bailey was forced by illness to spend an extended period of time in bed with little or no movement, a friend brings her a snail that she watches for hours on end.  The snail, like this book, is calming and reassuring.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a must read for anyone who cares about racial issues in this country.  It is beautifully written as a letter from a father to his son on surviving as an African American in the world today.  The message to all people is angry yet calming, sad yet hopeful, cautious yet urgent.  Everyone will find something worthy of  pondering and discussing.

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth is a change from what I usually read and I enjoyed the break.  This lengthy novel offers a peak into court life at Versailles with the Sun King along with a re-imagining of the tale of Rapunzel.

Being Mortal : Medicine and What Matters in The End by Atul Gawande made me think about what is truly important in life and how to help myself and others find the time to let it end.  That might sound depressing but this book is actually very uplifting.  I recommend it if you have aging parents or are thinking about your own aging.  It will make you feel better about your ability to deal what may seem like insurmountable issues.  If you want a graphic memoir to complement this, especially when dealing with parents, consider reading Roz Chast's Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? : A Memoir.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson  is by a beloved children's book author but here looks at the relationship of a grandmother and grandchild as they spend a summer together on an island that they have visited for years.  The beautiful writing evokes a sense of place and an appreciation of nature.  It is worth owning so you can reread it to savor every word.

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan takes place in the middle of the Atlantic ocean in a lifeboat in 1914.  The boat is overcrowded and everyone is worried about surviving as the chances of being rescued become more and more remote.  The end finds one of the women who did survived on trial for murdering others so that she might survive.

Happy reading!

Adults reading in the Fall

It is that time of year again when folks at school are gearing up for our annual book fair on November 13. My biggest contribution, aside from the joy of joining everyone for a remarkably fun evening, is making some suggested reading lists. Here are my top five suggestions for adults.

1. Since River of Smoke the second in the Ibis trilogy has just come out, it seems the perfect time to suggest you read the first in that trilogy by Amitav Ghosh. The Sea of Poppies is long and often complicated, but by the end of it I was totally absorbed in the story and the lives of the myriad characters is this story set in and around Calcutta, India shortly before the outbreak of the Opium Wars in China. It has taken Ghosh several years to add the second book and I have not yet had the chance to read it. I forgive him this long writing time because it was clear in the first that he carefully researched his story and worked painstakingly to craft every word.



2. Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres is another long and often complicated novel that is well worth the trip. Set in Anatolia as the Ottoman Empire is crumbling, the story takes the reader into the lives and minds of a wide range of people who populate a small town. There are the famous like Mustafa Kemal and the everyday people like the potter, the priest, and the children who interact within a system that is open to all. Muslim Turks, Christian Greeks, and Armenians support each other when they can while often gossiping about each other. As in Captain Corelli's Mandolin de Bernieres has a beautiful way with words.



3. Love Marriage by V. V. Ganeshanathan takes the reader to Sri Lanka via Toronto as it looks at the long time fighting in Sri Lanka through the eyes of Yalini,a young woman who left the country with her family when she was two years old. Now her uncle has fled Sri Lanka to to die in Toronto. He is not allowed into the U.S. because he is a leader of the Tamil Tigers and branded as a terrorist. Various marriages--for love or arranged--offer the road map for a trip through the history of the family and the country, as well as the narrator herself. Ultimately it is a story of love through many definitions. Emerson School will host Ms. Ganeshanathan in November for an evening of discussion.



4. The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larsen sticks with me because it is so quirky. Any description of it should be accompanied by the same maps, diagrams, photos, and footnotes that fill the ample margins of the over-sized book. T.S. Spivet is a 12 year old boy living in rural Montana when his detail filled maps of nearly everything are submitted to the Smithsonian by an adult friend. Soon T. S. is riding the rails to accept a special post at the Smithsonian and his life is turned upside down. This is a coming of age story unlike any other.


5. As I scanned my bookshelf this morning, my eye fell on a book that is one of my long-time favorites, The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester. Like so many people, I read and enjoyed Winchester's The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. This book takes a broader look at the writing of the dictionary and its impact on the lives of the people involved as well as the world as we know it. There is little more fascinating to me the words and this book made me wonder if I should have been a lexicographer.

There are so many good books to read and so little time. As always, I would enjoy hearing what you suggest as good reading in any genre.

End of Summer Thoughts

Every year as school comes to an end in June I make a list of all the things I am going to accomplish during what at that time seems like a long summer that lies ahead. The list includes things for home (paint a room, clean thoroughly, fix something that is need of repair), for me (read, sew, craft a bit, socialize, lose weight), and for school (organize something so that it is more user friendly, get some new books, plan for the coming year). These lists have been a major project in themselves in years past. This year they were more scratched notes and thoughts.

Neither of these approaches seem to work completely. I did some of the things on my lists, but I am far from completing most of the things on my list. We did get one room painted, but the transition of that room into a guest room is still far from complete nor are the two other rooms that were a part of the transformation looking much different from than they did in June. Socialization was an important part of the summer, but there are still many people that I want to see. I also am into an intensive exercise program that is getting me on that bumpy road to fitness. The library is a little better organized, but much of what I did gave me ideas for other changes that must now wait until school gets under way.

One thing I did succeed in doing was to read some good books (and some not so great ones). As is always the case, however, I found more to add to my list of books that I want to read. Here are a few of the adult titles that I read and enjoyed this summer.

The Worst Hard Times by Tim Egan offers a fascinating and clearly well researched look at life in the heart of the Dust Bowl. It is not as well written as I would have liked, at times repeating itself or making confusing leaps in time or place, but it made up for those lapses by offering a very complete story of people who lived in this time and place. The relationships between the environment and politics should give us pause in today's world.

Freedom Summer: The Savage Season that Made Mississippi Burn and Made America a Democracy by Bruce Watson looks at yet another devastating time in America, the summer that the Freedom Riders headed south to register African Americans to vote. The story is difficult as it gives straight forward accounts of the people who were killed in tortured in this agonizing and powerful time.

The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared Together by Alice Ozma is a memoir that centers around a pact between a young girl (the author) and her father, a school librarian. They agree to read together every night for 1,000 nights. There are tales of having to read in a parking lot or even over the phone so that they can meet their deadline as they move beyond those 1,000 nights. It is high praise for the joys of reading together and a good reminder that no one is too old to enjoy sharing a book. Keep reading to your children.

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell is not the only fiction I read this summer, but is what I enjoyed most because it is a wonderful melange of odd characters in unbelievable yet realistic settings. The Bigtree family has owned Swamplandia since Grandpa moved to Florida to find his fortune. Instead he finds lots of large gators to wrestle and from their a show grows. The story begins, however, as the glory days are ending. Grandfather is now in a nursing home. Grandfather Sawtooth's son, Chief, is struggling to keep things going after his wife, the star of the show, dies. The three children all try in their own ways to save the park. The symbolism of The World of Darkness amusement park is worthy of a literature class discussion. I know not everyone likes quirky stories, so I will forgive you if you are put off by this book. However, if you like a wild romp, this could be just the book for you.

Now, I am composing lists of things to accomplish during the school year. Let's hope that get some of those things done.

Suggestions from Parents

At a recent meeting of the parent organization, the parents offered a list of some of their favorite titles. I happy to share it with everyone.

For Young Readers to Young Adults

• Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper grades 4-8
• The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen grades 5-8
• The Candymakers byWendy Mass grades 4-6
• Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan grades 4-7
• World Without Fish by Mark Kurlansky grades 3 to adult
• The Cardturner by Louis Sachar grades 6 to adult
• The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley grades 7 to adult

For Adult Readers

• Unique Ability: Creating the Life You Want by Catherine Nomura, Julia Waller and Shanon Waller non-fiction
  
• The Presence Process by Michael Brown non-fiction
  
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett fiction
  
• Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jun Chang non-fiction
  
• Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks non-fiction
• Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky fiction
• Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga PosesI by Claire Dederer non-fiction
• Still Alice by Lisa Genova fiction

I hope this list helps people find some good reading. I know that I have now added some more titles to my "to be read" list.

8 Months of Interesting Reading

If it is spring, it must be time to thing back on what I have read this past school year.

Much like the Michigan spring weather this year, great adult reading was not readily evident for much of what should have been spring. Nonetheless, here are some of my recent reads that I enjoyed and think others might as well.


FICTION

Beautiful Creatures by Tracy Chevalier introduces readers to an under-appreciated woman of the 19th century, Mary Anning, who was the first woman to find and assemble skeletons of previously unknown prehistoric animals. Chevalier chooses not to dwell so much on the scientific importance of the work of Mary Anning as on the friendship between Mary, who was the Sunday school educated daughter of a carpenter in Lyme Regis, England, and the London born and raised, upper class Elizabeth Philpot. The result is a story of crossing usual social boundaries in ways that benefit and burden both women, while introducing and a woman and a field of study often overlooked in the literary world.

Room by Emma Donoghue got a great deal of hype this year. It is not a perfect book but it is an interesting imagining of what life would be like for a five year old raised without any contact with the outside world. It is a testament to the strength of a young woman, the boy's mother, who was kidnapped and, in one of those horror stories we hope to never hear about again, kept against her will by a man who keeps her for his personal use. She has her kidnapper's child and it is that child who, five years later, narrates this story. Ma has made the 11' x 11' room that is their home a world of its own. What is most upsetting for Jack is when he and his mother escape from the only home he has ever known. I am particularly impressed with the conclusion of this story. Too many books, like news coverage of these events, would end with the escape and let us assume that they all lived happily ever after.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonsen appealed to me with its very British feel and its look at racial and class conflicts. When a retired British major, a widower, begins to find the widowed proprietress of a local shop interesting, this breach of class standards is further complicated by the fact that she is Pakistani. There are some pithy insights when Major Pettigrew takes Mrs. Ali to his local golf club. The humor throughout the book is firmly grounded in a recognition of the absurdities of life.

NON-FICTION
How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown presents some of the most fascinating and readable non-fiction I have encountered in years. I know little and generally care even less about astronomy, but Mike Brown has a knack for making it interesting, exciting, and even fun. While he did not actually kill Pluto, it is Brown's work that lead to the decision by those who make such decrees that Pluto did not merit being called a planet unless we wanted to suddenly have myriad new planets. I was most intrigued by the process of locating new celestial bodies and then the politics and protocols of naming them.

Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat by Gwen Cooper is a good read for a lazy afternoon. It is not profound but it is enjoyable to read about a young woman (the author) who adopts a blind cat and finds that he has changed her life. She could have bogged this down with life lessons, but she manages to primarily keep to the story of love and persistence for both Homer and herself.

Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness by Tracy Kidder follows the pattern of many of Kidder's books of introducing a person who has faced a difficult past and/or is now giving back to the world in amazing ways. Deogratias, the subject of this book, was nearing completion of medical school in his homeland of Burundi when the genocide began. With much bravery and a generous dose of luck, he escapes with his life and eventually makes his way to New York City. The reader follows his paranoia driven attempts to find direction in his life. It is through chance meetings with some remarkable Americans that doors open for Deogratias, but it is personal drive that leads him back to Burundi to build clinics and spread medical care to those people who were not so lucky.

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore is an interesting look at how just a few small events can change a life. Wes Moore, the author, discovered another Wes Moore whose life almost mirrored his own. Both men are African Americans who were born in Baltimore at approximately the same time, both were raised by single mothers, and both had ample opportunity to join gangs and deal drugs. What are the differences that made one a Rhodes Scholar, White House Fellow, and author with many more indicators of success while the other is currently in prison for shooting a police officer?

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor African American woman who in 1951 was in her twenties and dying of cervical cancer. It also tells the story of cells that were scraped from her body and encouraged to replicate themselves to be used in medical and scientific research for the past sixty years. Neither Henrietta nor her family understood what was happening; her surviving children did not even know of the existence of HeLa cells and their connection to their mother until decades later. Skloot interviewed Henrietta's family, primarily her daughter, to give voice to their story. While some people made millions of dollars from research with HeLa cells, the Lacks family can not afford medical care for themselves. On the other hand, the cells have helped to save millions of lives. Henrietta's family struggles to come to terms with this dichotomy. So do I.


There are so many good books waiting to be read. I hope we all find them and the time to read scads of them this summer.

Stimulating My Thinking

My school is searching for the perfect books to suggest for faculty and staff to read over the summer so I have been frantically trying to read things to suggest for everyone. Let me list some of them here and hope that other ideas will come our way.

Crossing Over to Canaan: The Journey of New Teachers in Diverse Classrooms by Gloria Ladson-Billings was suggested by my daughter who is a mathematics teacher in a California high school. She was wise to suggest it for me. While talking more about inner city "at risk" classes than those of a private school in the mid-West, Ladson makes many valid points for every teacher. My favorite quote, "Apathy is not an option," sums up much of what she is suggesting we should all do to get to know each student as an individual, including the role of various cultures in our teaching and learning processes.

The Hardest Questions Aren't on the Test: Lessons from an Innovative Urban School by Linda F. Nathan may at first seem to have little to do with an elementary school in a mid-sized college town, but that misconception is quickly dispelled. Nathan speaks eloquently of what all schools can do and need to do to serve all students. She talks of three areas of focus:

• Structuring a school to give guidelines for establishing a unifying framework and shared values.


• Supporting teachers to help foster good teachers and the good administrators who support them.


• Addressing inequality through how we and why we need to discuss racial issues.

Fires in the Mind: What Kids Can Tell Us About Motivation and Mastery by Kathleen Cushman found its way to me shortly after I read The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Sir Ken Robinson. This proved to be great timing for Cushman shares many of the same ideas as Robinson but applies them to how we reach students in ways that help to put those young learners into their element. I like the idea of finding ways to apply the concepts in real life situations.

Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other by Sherry Turkle keeps appearing in my thoughts these days, perhaps because the new technologies are so ubiquitous in our lives today. This book deals first with the social and psychological impact of using interactive "caring" robots to replace human caregivers or to offer solace to people who are otherwise disengaged. Then it goes into the uses of our social networking capabilities from text messages to Facebook and more. Turkle is quite convincing in her arguments that we need to look carefully at where we are allowing these new technologies to take us.

Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life by Annette Lareau is old enough that there will be an update from ten years later coming out later this year. Lareau presents a sociological study of home life and school success of upper elementary students of varied socio-economic and racial groups. It is important to teachers to think about how one's culture, especially, it appears, one's socio-economic status, affects their approach to working with teachers and the educational system. All parents want the best for their children, they simply have different backgrounds that define both what is wanted and how to seek it. Lareau does a good job of pointing out both the positive and negative effects of each differing approach to child rearing. This is a book that helps one remember that a child is more than the person who a teacher sees for six hours a day.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass Sunstein looks at both the economic and behavioral side of how it is possible to shape decisions without taking away any of the choices. They dub this "libertarian paternalism", a term which took me awhile to understand enough to embrace or reject. While their topics of discussion range from Medicare benefit selection to same sex marriage, they also have much to offer that could be applied to life and helping students to make improved decisions. At the very least, it makes one more aware of the nudges that we encounter daily as well as how many things could be changed to offer more positive or productive nudging.

Whistling Vivaldi: And Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us by Claude M. Steele is what I am reading right now. At the mid-point of the book, I am totally fascinated by the social psychological findings of how stereotypes affect student performance. Steele is quick to note that all of us are affected by stereotypes and that often those stereotypes can have negative effects on our performance. Does the stereotype that women are not as good at math as men make women more likely to do poorly at math? The studies suggest that it does. Similarly, race, age, class, and much more affect our self-perceptions and thus how we perform. I am optimistic that Steel will provide not only more insight into these differences in the second half of the book as well as some ways that teachers and society can help to counteract this stereotype threat.

These are a good start. I would love to hear what others are reading in these areas.

Five for the Adults

Book fair books are not just for kids. I like to add a few of my favorite adult books. As I moaned about in an earlier post, I have not read a lot that excited me over the past few months. So I decided to suggest some older books for your enjoyment. In years past I have sent out lists of suggested reading for adults and inadvertently included books that are no longer in print. Oops! Today I decided to make sure that everything I suggest is still available so I went to the bookstore and looked at the paperback shelves. Here, in no particular order, are some of the books I saw and remember fondly.

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger is a lovely, heart-wrenching story by the 11 year old boy who wants to keep his family intact after his older brother guns down bullies who break into the family home. What can or should a family do to help and protect a brother who has done something horrible, yet, perhaps, justifiable?

Still Alice by Lisa Genova tells the story of the onset of Alzheimer's through the voice of a woman who is diagnosed at a very young age. She makes a list of things that she must remember and slowly watches them fade away. The picture is grim yet beautiful. The author works with Alzheimer's patients which makes the reader feel that this is a fairly accurate portrayal.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving may be the best of this well-respected American author. Owen Meany is a dwarfish boy who accidentally kills his friend's mother and believes that perhaps he is a messenger of God. It is a tightly written story with much to offer.

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay is the story of an English boy growing up in apartheid South Africa. Race can not be ignored but the essence of this powerful work is the boy's growth to adulthood in a story filled with pain and joy and humor.

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell is another coming of age story, this one set in England at the time of the Falklands War. Jason Taylor narrates the story in a way that he never could orally due to a stutter that haunts his every interaction as he covers his life over a span of 13 months in 1982 and 1983.

The Story of Reading

It has been nearly a year since I attended a conference on the brain in Boston. When I returned from the conference my own brain was filled with myriad new concepts and exciting ideas while being blurred from the exhaustion of travel and long days full of lectures, some stimulating and some not so much. I pushed the ideas to the back burner with promises to get back to them.

Now I have been asked to join others who went to the conference and others like it to present to the staff about what we learned. Yikes! What did I learn? What is worth sharing? Why didn't I take better notes?

One statement has stayed with me all these months. Let me paraphrase. "Human beings took about 2,000 years to develop a practical alphabet which allowed humans to read. We expect children to learn how to read in about 2,000 days." This idea was presented by Tufts University professor of child development Maryanne Wolf. To remind myself of what she said at the conference and to understand and expand on those thoughts, I just finished reading her book, Proust and the Squid: The Story and the Science of the Reading Brain. This book proved to be a readable treatise that provides just what the title promises.

Since I can not do justice here to all that it has to say nor give you the time and space you deserve to really ponder the many ideas and concepts, I will just encourage you to read it. You will soon be thinking of what reading means to you, what really determines fluency, who is an expert reader, and what is the cause of dyslexia. Here are a couple of my favorite ideas and some thoughts about them.

Dyslexia, she states, is often accompanied by enhanced creativity. The book explains in some detail why this seems to be the case. The conclusion should be obvious but that is often not the case at all. Dyslexic people are often taunted for this complicated way that their brain functions. It is not unusual for peers and even teachers to call them stupid or lazy. The important thing for all of us is to remind dyslexic people of all ages of their special talents--help them find those talents and then put them to use while helping them learn strategies to acquire learning. As a society we run the risk of missing the next great thinkers, inventors, artists, and other potential world changers if we do not take the time to foster the growth of these people and utilize their amazing gifts.

Reading changes the way we utilize language and thus the way we understand our world. It is nearly impossible to read something without images, memories, and connections springing unbidden into your thinking. Wolf wonders what the impact of new formats for reading and writing will have on reading. Will digital reading with the ease of jumping from one thing to another, clicking to learn definitions, that "back" button waiting to lead us back to where we were, and the way information is organized radically change our idea of knowledge? Socrates worried that the alphabet would negatively impact our memories (perhaps it has) and that it would make us believe we had knowledge when all we had was information (again, perhaps it has). What will our newest technologies do to these same things? Will we assume that we have knowledge because we have done a Google search and copied and pasted ideas from someone else?

Can you tell that I have delved into many new thoughts after reading this book? That is what reading is all about.

Books on a Plane

While flying may not be the great adventure it once was, it certainly offers great opportunities to pull out a good book. There are the long waits for your flight after you rushed to get to the airports early enough to be sure you were on time. Then, at least if you fly in the winter, there is the extra time spent on the plane as they de-ice the wings. Finally, there is the long flight with no flight attendant bothering you with meals and such.

My husband and I flew to San Francisco to spend the holidays with our math teacher daughter. (The musician spent the holidays sharing her voice with lucky listeners in churches and other venues.) It is a good long flight so we had plenty of time to read. The result is that I have four good titles to recommend that you consider for adult reading enjoyment.

Death With Interruptions by Jose Saramago offers an interesting premise. What if death decided to take a vacation and suddenly no one was dying? Saramago ponders this possibility with humor and philosophy. Imagine, if you will, the impact on religion if clerics no longer could tell people about the importance of what comes after death? Would the funeral industry be forced to offer services for pets? This novel is one that you will think about long after you finish the last page. Thank you to the parent who suggested that I would enjoy it.

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh takes the reader to Calcutta in the 19th century. The colonists have strongly encouraged the people of the rural areas to turn their wheat fields into poppy fields for the opium trade with China. The many characters who people the story represent all of the parties involved in this end of the opium trade. A woman whose husband has died from the addiction that came with his job processing the poppies into opium must run away to find a safe refuge. A ship's second mate tries to understand this new world that he reaches after a harrowing journey which has taken him far from the life he knew as a freed states in the young United States. The British, other natives of the area, and people from all walks of life bring strong accents and stronger feelings to this beautifully written story. I was totally engrossed in this book. The hardest part is that it is the first of a trilogy with the other parts yet to come.

The Seamstress by Frances de Pontes Peebles is set in Brazil in the 1920s and 1930s. Two sisters, raised by an aging aunt in the back country of Brazil, have very different dreams of how they will use their talents as seamstresses to fulfill their dreams. Luzia broke her arm as child and will never again be able to bend her elbow. This is the deformity that marks her when she becomes part of a notorious group of roaming bandits who rob and brutally murder the rich to give to the poor. Her sister Emilia has always dreamed of living in the big city of Recife so jumps at the chance when she meets the son of a wealthy man. Though their lives go in very different directions, each sister keeps an eye open to learn what the other is doing. It is the quality of the writing and the juxtaposition of the the two divergent ways of life that keep one rushing to the end.

I confess that I did not read Stitches by David Small until I got back from my trip, but I don't want anyone to miss this amazing memoir. David Small is an children's book author and illustrator who lives on the west side of Michigan. He won a Caldecott for So You Want to be a President? by Judith St. George. He also illustrates books by his wife Sarah Small and his own stories with easily recognizable drawings full of personality and life. Stitches, however, is not for children. This is the graphic story of Small's very difficult childhood. He survived abuse, cancer, and shocks and disappointments that no one should ever face. It makes one appreciate his happy tales even more. Sarah Stewart and David Small visited Emerson School about a dozen years ago. Everyone who heard them talk was moved by what kind and gentle people they are. This story adds new levels appreciation that I felt for them at that time.

You don't have to fly to find time to read. May your reading be one of the many pleasures you find in 2010.

Books for Adults

Emerson is getting ready for its annual book fair. Here are some suggestions for the adult readers in our community and beyond.



Lost on Planet China, J. Maarten Troost’s new book joins The Sex Lives of Cannibals and Getting Stoned with Savages as a unique, humorous, and informative travel book. Troost leaves behind the tropical islands that he visited in his previous books and his wife and two sons to spend several months trying to understand China and its role in the modern world. There are parts that will make you laugh and other parts that will startle and amaze you. It is a very different look at China than one gets from the news or other travel and history books. Add China to your list of places to visit and view with a new eye.

The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood by Helene Cooper, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and other national papers, is a memoir that follows her journey from growing up in the ruling class in Liberia to her teen years as a refugee in the United States and then to her return to the country of her youth. In addition to a well-written story, this book presents a history of Liberia from the viewpoints of the people who were living there for generations as well as the freed slaves that the U.S. sponsored to go there to set up a new country.

Pretty Birds by NPR reporter Scott Simon is a novel that was inspired by Simon’s time spent reporting from Sarajevo. The protagonist is a young girl whose family is forced from their home when the fighting started. As the family struggles to survive, she finds that she can earn money and food by becoming a sniper. The mixing of a fairly innocent teen-age girl with the cold, hard brutality of war makes a moving story, despite some flaws in the writing.

The Painter of Battles by Arturo Perez-Reverte packs a lot of power into a slender volume. It ponders the question of what the impact is of the photographers who get the close-ups of war that we see on the evening news and in print materials. There were descriptions of brutality that were almost impossible to read, but the story was so compelling and the questions so important that I barely stopped to breathe as I read,

The Help by Katherine Stockett gives a somewhat different view to relations between the races in Jackson, Mississippi, in the 1960s. It has been quite popular recently so you probably have heard about this novel of an upper middle class white woman who interviews the African American maids who serve her family and the families of her friends. Maids know about a family than any family probably cares to admit. These maids also know pain, sorrow, and racism at its worst.

Step back in time a little more than a decade from the time of The Help and you will be in the South that is portrayed in Mudbound by Hillary Jordan which tells the differing lives found by two men, one black and one white, who return from World War II. While serving in Europe they were treated almost equally. Now they need to pick up their very separate lives. These were hard times for hardened people.

The Angel Maker by Stefan Brijs is one of the strangest books I have read in a long time. I suspect that it is a book that people either love or hate with little middle ground. I enjoyed the questions that it stirs about religion, Autism, genetic engineering, and child rearing. This story got my book club looking at the history of the Netherlands and the surrounding areas as well discussions of the role of the Catholic Church in the area. Be warned—the writing is designed to get under your skin, and it does.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid covers only a few hours as it relates an interaction between an unnamed American tourist and a Pakistani in a café in Lahore. The Pakistani fellow tries to explain his country and his feelings about by recalling his college experiences at Princeton and how his life fell apart because of a failed love and then was further complicated by 9/11. Despite a weak ending, this story will give you much to think about as Pakistan remains in the forefront of so much of our news.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova takes the reader inside the mind of a sufferer of early onset Alzheimer’s. The author is a psychologist who works with the aging and specifically with Alzheimer patients. The story shows the fateful progression of the disease as well as the fear that Alice feels as she loses her memory in bits and in large pieces.

Kafka’s Soup: A Complete History of World Literature in 14 Recipes by Mark Crick is a quick diversion that will bring a smile to your face and perhaps some good food to your table. Each of the 14 recipes is written in the style of a different well-known author.

It seems as though everyone I know has already read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows by now, but just in case you haven’t, let me suggest you give it a try. In letters and journal entries, this long-on-the-best-seller-list novel makes readers want to visit the island of Guernsey while recounting the life the islanders led during the Nazi occupation of their home. Along with the history and a look into the culture of the island is a sweet and believable love story. In short, it has something for almost everyone.

Stealing Buddha’s Dinner by Bich M. Nguyen has been chosen as a statewide read this year. I can’t tell you what activities there will be around this book, but I can tell you that it is sure to stir some food memories for you no matter who you are. Nguyen, her father, sister, and grandmother found their way to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1975 as Vietnamese refugees. This is a story of trying to fit into a new society without losing one’s roots.

A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink was read by many of the Emerson teachers this summer. While not everyone enjoyed it as much as I did, I am going to suggest that it is worth your time to read it and think about some of Pink’s interesting ideas. Will right brainers rule the future? It is hard to tell, but developing some right brain traits can’t hurt.

Biographies are Beautiful

There was a period in my youth when I read every biography I could get my hands on. There is something fascinating about the lives of famous people. It is somehow gratifying to learn that the lives of famous people are not without the same kinds of problems we all face and often are much more stressful than "regular folks" would ever want to handle.

Like all biographies written for young readers, the biographies I read left out lots of gossip and hardship and made their subjects sound like paragons of virtue and intelligence. Biographies for adults tend follow the opposite route, revealing every wart and flaw. It is interesting to compare the two options, which I have recently done with biographies of Alice Roosevelt Longworth.

What to Do about Alice? : How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove her Father Teddy Crazy by Barbara Kerley is a picture book style biography for readers in grades two to five. It is full of the wild and crazy antics of young Alice when she and her brothers and one sister lived in the White House. It gives one the feeling that life was carefree and fun and that Alice enjoyed stirring things up when her step-mother would have preferred a little more decorum. I am convinced that this was indeed the case most of the time. The story does leave out the other problems that plagued a little girl whose mother died two days after she was born and whose father was busy running the country, making a name for himself, and, yes, missing his first wife.

Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, from White House to Princess to Washington Power Broker by Stacy A. Cordery is nearly five hundred pages of well-researched insight into Alice Roosevelt's long life. The tone of this book is much heavier than would ever be appropriate for a book for young readers. This Alice did have fun adventures in the White House but she also felt a little out of the group with her half-siblings, her strict step-mother, and her somewhat aloof father. She found her way by making waves, covering her shyness with bravado. It is clear from this book--and from the young reader biography--that Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth was an intelligent woman who had strong ideas about right and wrong and what would keep people paying attention to her.

Reading biographies is not always as easy as reading a novel but it is generally well worth the extra effort. I have learned a lot from these two biographies and from the many others that I have read over the years.

The next biography on my list is not about someone who is such a familiar name as Alice Roosevelt but it is very special to me. Challenges: Above and Beyond by Tim and Betty Babcock and Linda Grosskopf is the biography of Tim and Betty Babcock who was the governor of Montana when I was growing up there. More importantly to me, Linda Grosskopf was a classmate of mine who continues to be a dear friend. It is interesting to read about someone who was a very real figure in my life. (Governor Babcock's niece tried to teach me to twirl a baton so I could be in the school majorette group.) It is more interesting still to read words written by someone who I have known for over 40 years, sharing the ups and downs of her life as she has shared mine. As I read about Alice Roosevelt, I often thought of Linda. Linda is in many ways like Mrs. Roosevelt Longworth, which I hope she takes as the compliment that it is.

Sticky Books

No, this does not mean that you can read while eating, though the connection between the satisfaction of reading a good book and eating something delicious is strong. Just as the delicious remnants of a sticky bun, cotton candy, or good barbecue sauce linger long after the last bite, a good book can stick with you for a long time to come. That is the idea behind sticky books--they are the ones that stick with you. Perhaps they are the books that you have to keep in your personal collection or that you feel compelled to re-read every so often. Perhaps they are the books that come to mind at odd times and shape your decisions as you wander through life.

The idea for this post came from the blog of my friend Jen. She is a mother, aspiring writer, great cook, a teacher of both my daughters and many other lucky students past and present, and generally an all-around amazing person. Check out her list, take a look at mine below, and then let me know what your sticky book list includes.

My list has three components: Books I read as a child that still have a place in my heart and mind, books written for children that I did not meet until I was an adult (yes, some of these are old enough that I should have read them years earlier), and books written for adults that I read as an adult. All of the lists are in no particular order.

BOOKS I READ AS A CHILD

The Singing Tree and The Good Master by Kate Seredy bring back such fond memories from my first forays into quality literature from other cultures. The illustrations are still fresh in my mind. They are always near the top of my list of favorite books even though I have not re-read them in many, many years.

Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne has been mentioned on this blog before. I recite the poems often--perhaps too often. The stories gain new insights every time I read them. I have fond memories of my children and my spouse laughing at antics of Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and their friends.

Half Magic by Edward Eager is the book that got me started on a fantasy craze that lasted for most of my upper elementary years. It is creative, interesting, exciting, a little different, and the perfect introduction to fantasy that is not too fantastical but definitely fantastic. From here I moved on to the rest of the books by Eager as well as books by E. Nisbett, C. S. Lewis, and the myriad others that fill this genre.

Ben and Me by Robert Lawson may be one of my first chapter book excursions. It is the story of Ben Franklin as told by the mouse who lived in his hat. There are many others by Lawson that I devoured eagerly but this one is the best.

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater has so much to recommend it-- a goofy story with a little historical charm, great warm illustrations, and characters that stick to the ribs and the funny bone. I hope that kids keep reading this for generations to come.

Blueberries for Sal and Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey are two favorite picture books that still pull me in at the first page. The illustrations are amazing and the stories have the perfect charm. Now that I have been to Boston several times to visit my daughter, the depiction of Boston Commons is even more meaningful.

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf may have influenced some of my beliefs in non-violence. Who knows? It certainly is a perfect story of peace, the truly important things in life, and adolescent rebellion of sorts. At least that is how I have always seen it. The illustrations are perfect and there are lines that are truly perfection. My favorite line comes early in the story when Ferdinand's mother worries about him because "she was an understanding mother, event though she was a cow." Somehow that always strikes me as funny and charming. Fun trivia fact: Munro Leaf's son James G. Leaf is a former head of Emerson School.

The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My by Tove Jansson is not an easy book to find. My copy, which was published in Helsinki in 1953, was given to me by Uncle Frank after he travelled to Scandinavia one summer. That connection is part of what makes it special. Also intriguing are the holes carefully cut in every page to offer tantalizing hints of what is to come. I only know one other person who knew this book as a child--Emerson kindergarten teacher Sigrid. No wonder I like Sig.

The Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling are perfectly written. I heard a story once that Kipling stood in front of a mirror as he read these stories aloud, checking to make sure that not only did the words sound right but that his mouth looked right as he read. I don't know if this is true, but the language of these stories does come close to perfection. Don't summarize them. Read them aloud and relish every syllable, oh best beloveds.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg led me to many imagined adventures when I was young. I am sure that it did despite the fact that those imagined adventures came long before this book was published in 1968, when I was in my junior year of high school. At eight or ten, I imagined living in the most impressive store (in my mind at least) in Billings, Montana. This was a large furniture store, probably not nearly as large as I imagined it to be. It seemed to me--still does--that much of what happens to the kids in this book were just glorified examples of what I could have experienced had I ever gotten the chance to hide out in a giant furniture store.

BOOKS FOR CHILDREN THAT I READ AS AN ADULT (I am sure there are many missing here--and many more to be added as time goes by.)

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery is one I did not discover until I was already a mother of a two year old. There are good reasons why this continues to be a very popular series around the world.

The Twenty-One Balloons by William Penne du Bois was written four years before I was born but I did not read it until I shared it with my own children more than 30 years later. It has humor, geography, history, and adventure. I never really appreciated Krakatoa until I read this book.

Ordinary Jack by Helen Cresswell is the first in the Bagthorpe Saga that had me laughing from the beginning of Jack to the end of the last in the series. I discovered this series in a listing of books for gifted children. The Bagthorpe children are all gifted--except for poor Jack who is always a little left out. The family is full of crazy characters and wild happenings. They are very British in their humor and style. I am sorry to report that they are currently out of print though Amazon has used copies from one cent.

The Warm Place by Nancy Farmer is the most gentle of the books by Nancy Farmer. It features a giraffe who is kidnapped from Africa to be taken to a zoo across the ocean and yearns to return to the warm place that is home. He has many amazing adventures along the way. Read everything you can get your hands on by Nancy Farmer. She will startle, astound, and stimulate your mind.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman and the rest of this trilogy are the most thoughtful and intriguing fantasy stories that I have ever read, generally even surpassing the works of Tolkein. My daughter got a pre-publication copy of this book when she accompanied a friend to Border's for Take Your Daughter to Work Day. (Coming to her own school with me was not that exciting for Geetha, so it made sense to go with a friend whose father did "something interesting".) The book, despite its cover with a huge polar bear on it, got stuck away on the shelf for a year or two. Then Geetha read it and was ready for the second book, which we both devoured with enthusiasm. Alas, the third book was not out yet and I was now as eager to find the end of the saga as she was. You, lucky you, do not have to wait to read all three in order.

The Return of the Twelves by Pauline Clarke was suggested reading from a former science teacher at Emerson School. The premise is that the little soldiers that once belonged to the Bronte children in England (they wrote about these soldiers in the journals and some stories) are found by a new family after years of being stored away in the attic. The soldiers come alive just as they did for the Brontes. Now they want to return to the Bronte home but they want to do it on their own three-inch man power. This book got me more interested in the Brontes and in the wilds of the north of England.

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis is the newest book on this list. Curtis never fails to capture the voice of a young boy in all of his novels, but this is the book that carries the most punch. If it does not make you think about slavery and racism, nothing will. It will also make you laugh at the typical boy antics of Elijah and cry at the hard lives folks have had to face.

A FEW ADULT BOOKS THAT STICK WITH ME

The Tortilla Curtain by T. C. Boyle is one of the best looks at two sides of a story that I have ever read. Told from the points of view of both the well-to-do homeowner in Southern California who must worry about the wildlife threatening his family and the man who has snuck up from Mexico and is living in the woods with that same wildlife, this story has both sides making good and just points. Neither can be labeled the bad guy nor the good guy. You will think long and hard about the issues that are presented here.

The Night Listener by Armistead Maupin is another book that looks at what is truth. When the narrator of this story, based on an actual occurrence in the author's life, gets contacted by the mother of a boy who is very ill, what can he do but reach out to help. Through many twists and turns the author and the reader are soon wondering whether the boy is really in need of help. It is a bizarre and intriguing story.

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn has become the basis for a thesaurus lesson I use almost every year. The premise of the book is that as letters fall from the town's tower, the residents must stop using that letter. When we play our game, letters drop from my list and the kids must re-write a sentence they have written using the thesaurus and their creative minds to find good substitutes for the words that now must go. It is always good for a laugh.

The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester got me thinking about words and dictionaries in new ways and with new respect. I enjoyed reading Winchester's The Professor and the Madman which was also about the OED, but this book has such detail that I have gone back to it often just to remember little tidbits about the work that was put into the creation of the most magnificent of dictionaries. I confess that there is a part of me that would love to be a lexicographer.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck got even better when I re-read it with my daughters as they studied it in English class. It has to be my favorite Steinbeck novel.

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond was given to me by my daughter who suggests that it should be required reading for everyone. It has changed how I look at history.

That is the short list. I know that there are others. Now, tell me what would be on your list of sticky books.

Recent Reading

After reading over 30 books for the under 14 set in the past few weeks, I was ready about 10 days ago to get my reading teeth into some books written for adults. That does not mean that I do not enjoy reading books for kids, but I they can not fill all of my reading cravings.

So here are brief reviews of four adult books plus a couple of juvenile tomes that somehow slipped into the mix.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout won the Pulitzer Prize this year. While I don't really enjoy the format of intertwining short stories to make a novel, I found much to appreciate in this novel. Olive grows in each story, whether she is the subject of the story or has only a brief cameo role. Much of the book is depressing because Olive is not a happy person nor are most of the characters who people the stories. On the other hand, Olive is a very real person. Reviewers keep asking readers if they "like" Olive. I am not sure that we get enough of Olive's relationships with people outside of her family to give a definitive answer to that question. I know I would not like to be her spouse, her son, or her daughter-in-law. Olive has a very tough shell. What the reader does finally see is Olive's softer core. The writing is Pulitzer worthy, with phrases and descriptions that are absolutely perfect. There is much like to like about this book and much to dislike as well. What is not lacking at all is much to admire, both in the characters and in the writing.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova was somehow not as depressing for me as Olive Kitteridge was though by all rights it should have bothered me much more. Lisa Genova works for the Alzheimer's Association and is trained in neurological disorders so she clearly knows the subject of this novel, early onset Alzheimer's. That knowledge and the sometimes clinical sharing of it interfered with the story for awhile, making it take almost too long to care about the main character, a well-respected Harvard professor who is diagnosed at 50 with this life-shattering disease. What saves the story is the writing from the protagonist's point of view. The reader lives her decline and the fight she puts up against it, losing words and then family recognitions in a very short time. Don't read this if Alzheimer's is too real for you. This will surely stir memories that you would rather forget. On the other hand, it is a moving novel that will get you thinking, remembering, and caring.

Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles could have been a mindless rant but it is far from that. Benny Ford is stuck in Chicago's O'Hare Airport half way between his home in New York and his estranged daughter's wedding in Los Angeles. As a writer, his response is to pull out a notebook and begin a letter of complaint. This letter, however, goes on for 180 pages and recounts the ups and downs of Benny's life as well as snippets of the novel he is translating from Polish. There is humor, pathos, and some pretty good writing in this quick read. I was surprised that I enjoyed this as much as I did.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid is another very short novel told in an unusual way. An American visiting Lahore is confronted in a street cafe by a young Pakistani man who tells his story over the course of the evening. The reader never hears the voice of the American, only the often flippant voice of Changez who tells of his stint as a student at Princeton and the powerful and impressive job he got upon graduation, a job much better than he could have ever imagined. There is also a love story of sorts between Changez and a girl he meets on a post-graduation trip to Greece. The love is troubled. Changez's life if troubled, especially when September 11, 2001, changes the way people on the street treat him and the way he views the world around him. The story is strange in many ways but gives an interesting look at the concerns of an immigrant and the power of events outside of your control to change the way you look at life. Keep reading to the surprising (or maybe not surprising at all) ending.

And now the two books for younger readers:

Goop Tales: A Study of the Behavior of Virtuous Individuals, Each of Which has Some One Human and Redeeming Fault by Gilette Burgess is a book I had not thought about in years. I remember loving Goops and How to Be Them at some point in my youth so I snatched this up when I found it in a collection being sorted in a classroom. Now I wonder what why I liked it so. The stories are preachy, the poems are neither memorable not well written, and the illustrations are odd, yet charming. It certainly seems dated. I don't even know what age would enjoy this book. Nonetheless, if you happen run across a book about Goops, take a look. Maybe you can help me rediscover the reasons why I remember these funny children so fondly.

The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by E. L. Konigsburg is not one of her best. (My favorites of hers include From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler; A Proud Taste of Scarlet and Miniver; Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth; The View From Saturday; and Silent to the Bone.) This is a novel that grades five and eight will enjoy for many reasons, though. When Amadeo Kaplan and his mother move from New York to Florida, he worries that he will never find a friend. Then he meets William Wilcox who is helping set up an estate sale for Amedeo's eccentric neighbor, Mrs. Zender. Amadeo finds a friend as well as discovering something interesting and noteworthy. The story includes art history, secrets from Nazi Germany, and characters that are likable, intriguing, and, at the same time, humanly complex. The blurb says this is a "tale of art, discovery, friendship, history, and truth." That sums it up very well.

Listening to an Author

Last week I had the opportunity to hear Carlos Ruiz Zafon speak at Nicola's Bookstore. He is the author of The Shadow of the Wind and now The Angel's Game, a second novel in what he hopes to make a quartet. I read The Shadow of the Wind shortly after it came out in English and was intrigued not only by the deeply complex and fascinating plot but also by the beautiful language used to tell the story. It was an easy decision to jump at the chance to hear him speak. I am so glad I did as he offered many things that made be think. You can read more about him at his official site and then read on for some of my thoughts on what he said about reading and writing.



Zafon began his career as a novelist with a novel that won a prestigious prize for young adult novels in Spain. He said that the lure of money and fame is important to any author so he wrote some more young adult novels. Being pegged as a young adult author did not appeal to him because he never liked to read books labeled as being for such a finite group. Zafon sees himself as writer and reader without divisions for age or other limitations. He said he never read books called "young adult" when he was a young adult. He sees readers as a community and that all books that are good are for all members of that community. (This was the first time I wanted to stand up and cheer during his talk. I was moved by how succinctly he put this idea and struck by how it resonated with me.)



Maybe that was not the first time I wanted to cheer. The discussion began with Zafon discussing the idea that "Books do not need passports." This is again a reference to the world community of readers. A good book is a good book. It is that simple. They may need translation to make them accessible (Zafon's books have been translated into more than 35 languages) but the heart of the truly good novel will touch the heart of readers everywhere. Books are what can and does tie people together despite surface differences.



Readers put themselves into a book. This is why Zafon, despite his many screenplays, does not want to see his novels become movies. (Another time I considered a hearty round of applause.) A well written book has to tread a fine line as it leaves just the right amount of the story to the imagination, inviting the reader to claim the story, mixing it with personal experiences and opinions. The screenwriter, Zafon suggests, writes so that the actor and director create the nuances of the story. The author must guide the reader to find those nuances. Naturally, these nuances are colored by the personality and personal experiences of the reader. This is why the movie of a beloved book rarely meets the viewers' expectations. Frequently, I hear people say "The movie is not nearly as good as the book" but rarely does anyone express the opposite opinion. (I did not love Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake but did enjoy the movie. The not loving the novel is probably what allowed me to enjoy the movie. The movie version of The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman was a travesty, totally failing to capture what I loved about that wonderful trilogy.) When you read a book, appreciate what is put into and put yourself into the book. Then, if you must, go to the movie. Don't do it the other way around. The movie will color the way you picture the novel.

In that vein, Zafon was adamant about his commitment to writing a story that merits the reader's giving time and money to that book. He says he does write for others and is conscious of writing a story that he loves with the idea of others becoming as attached to it as he has by the time the novel is completed.

Because English is Zafon's third language (growing up in Barcelona he learned Spanish and Catalan), it is not the language in which he writes. He talked at length about the process of translation. His translator Lucia Graves discovered his book in a Spanish bookstore and approached him about translating it. She is not a recognized translator but soon proved that she had a better idea of what he wanted than any of the others. Apparently several translators are offered the opportunity to submit a translation of a chapter of the book. Zafon and others looked at these translations before selecting the translator. Because he is fluent in English (he currently lives in Los Angeles), Zafon was able to read every page of the translation and make suggestions. He felt that soon Graves was inhabiting his mind. The translation of the second novel went even more smoothly because the author and the translator were thinking along the same lines. This is a luxury he does not have with translations into languages with which he is not familiar. All he can do is hope that when in goes on book tour in Korea or Estonia or wherever that he will still receive a positive reception. In the past week I have thought a great deal about the burden that falls on the translator. It is an amazing talent to be able to not only convey another person's text but also the emotions behind the words.

If you get a chance to hear a favorite author, I urge you to do just that. Not only will you probably end up with an autographed copy of the book and a brief moment of interacting with the author, you will also learn a great deal about reading, writing, and human nature.

Vampires and More Vampires

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer has made its two-fanged mark. You know that is the case because now there is an interesting reply to that oh-so-successful series in the form of The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks.

I read and enjoyed the history in The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. The vampire books of Anne Rice intrigued me until I decided that I really needed to get on with my life. It only took one of Twilight books for me to decide to move on. They are compelling reads, but I am not that big a fan of rippling muscles and golden tans.

So I was interested but not overly optimistic when I ran across the bleak gray cover of The Reformed Vampire Support Group. It is not great literature. (I doubt that there is much great vampire literature beyond Dracula.) It is, however, a real hoot. It is clearly tongue in cheek but is also full of real excitement for the middle school to adult reader. Nina, the narrator, writes Twilight style vampire books to support herself and buy her breakfast guinea pigs. Here, however, she describes the real life of vampires. It does not sound pleasant--the nausea, listlessness, the daylight hours spent quite literally dead to the world, and the urges to "fang" someone that must be suppressed whenever there is the whiff of even one drop of human blood. Nina and a motley crew of vampires in Sydney, Australia, meet weekly with a mortal priest to keep from "infecting" others to with their "disease". Then one of their fold, the man who infected Nina, is found dead in his coffin. Fearing for themselves, they set off on an adventure to find who has been ordering and using silver bullets. There is even a little bit of a love story here.

As a school librarian, there were a few times when I wish the language had not been so realistic so I could recommend this grand adventure to upper elementary readers and my more innocent middle school kids, but as a reader, I lapped it up like fresh blood. Read it to learn the ugly truth about life as a vampire. At the end you may find yourself seeing vampirism as another disability which makes life harder but does not make the sufferer any less human. See--it even has a good moral.

Warning: This book contains lots of blood and nausea and the death of innocent guinea pigs.

Nicola's Book Bash

To help get the library sprinkled with lovely new books to match the new fall digs, the school parent organization is sponsoring a Book Bash at Nicola's Bookstore in the Westgate Shopping Center right here in lovely Ann Arbor. The event runs from May 25 to May 31. If you mention Emerson when you shop, the school will get a generous percentage of the sale. Thank you, shoppers, and than you ESPO.

To aid with shopping I have put together a suggested reading list. It has gone out to all of our families, but here it is for others looking for a good read.

ADULT FICTION
To create this list I started at the beginning of my books-read list (1993) to pick some oldies that I still remember. Then I jumped to the end of my list for books that I have read in 2009. In each case I picked only the best. I’ll note with an asterisk those that may be so old that you will be best served by having Nicola order them for you. I will keep my notations brief. If they interest you, ask me about them. Be sure to browse through all the other books at the store. The staff at Nicola's always has great suggestions. They all are avid readers with a wide range of tastes.

Alias Grace*and many more by Margaret Atwood are high on my list. While some of her books appeal to me more than others, I consider her to be a safe bet for an enjoyable novel. Alias Grace is historical fiction at its best, the saga of a young Canadian woman who is arrested for murder in 1843. Her other books encompass many genres.

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum * is a rare book in that it considers and gives voice to German gentiles who had to make tough decisions to survive during the Third Reich. It shows compassion for the many on all sides of the issue who made tough decisions in order to survive.

Midwives by Chris Bohjalian is sure to stir debate with those who can convince to discuss this intriguing novel with you. Did the midwife of the title kill the mother or save the baby? For another discussion of midwifery, read The Birth House by Ami McKay which takes places in the early 20^th century in Nova Scotia and focuses on the meeting of old ways of delivering babies with the new practices of obstetrics.

The Tortilla Curtain* by T. Coraghessan Boyle is just one of many fascinating novels by T. C. Boyle. Told from alternating points of view this will make you think again about the issues of illegal aliens settling in Southern California. Boyle's newest novel is about the many loves of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Paddy Clark, Ha, Ha, Ha by Roddy Doyle will take you to Ireland at its worst with this heart-wrenching but also sometimes hilarious story of a young boy growing up under less than perfect conditions. This is a good one to compare with Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes.

Ella Minnow Pea* by Mark Dunn has fun playing with language. The town in which Ella lives takes pride in the sentence about the “quick brown fox” that is famous for using all the letters of the alphabet. It was, they say, written by a resident of the town. It is emblazoned on a tower in the center of the city. When letters begin to fall, it is deemed a sign that those letters should no longer be used. It is an interesting premise with interesting results. Emerson students and I enjoy playing a game inspired by this book.

The Monster of Templeton by Lauren Graff is full of the kinds of strange, quirky characters that I enjoy. The town of Templeton is clearly based on Cooperstown, New York, but the story could take place nearly anywhere. A young woman returns to her familial home where she is forced to clean the skeletons out of the closet to fully understand who she is.

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson was his first well-known novel and, in my opinion, remains his best. The story is of Japanese people living in Oregon after the Second World War. The characters are well developed and give insight into the feelings on all sides of the issues that arose at this time. A good young adult novel on the same themes of acceptance and understanding of Japanese Americans after WWII is Bat 6 by Virginia Euwer Wolff which looks at an all girl's 8th grade baseball team that includes both a Japanese girl and a girl whose father lost his life at Pearl Harbor.

Plainsong* by Kent Haruf will take you right to the heartland of America with this story of needy young girl and the old farmers who take her in. The sequel Eventide is equally well-written and engrossing. I see that Haruf has many other books which I am eager to peruse.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is my favorite Kingsolver novel, but don’t overlook her many other fine novels. The story takes the reader to Congo with a missionary family at the time of much unrest in that country.

The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason follows the adventures of a piano tuner who is sent to Burma at the time of World War II. This novel kept me reading and made me want to learn much more about Burma.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett takes the reader into a fictional South American country to which a famous singer has gone to perform for dignitaries who have gathered for a world wide meeting. Suddenly the home where they are gathered for dinner is taken over by critics of the government and everyone is taken hostage. This is the story of the musician, the dignitaries, and the kidnappers and aptly shows the thinking of all involved. By the end of the story it is increasingly difficult to take sides.

Pobby and Dingan* by Ben Rice is set in the dry center of Australia where town residents earn their living mining. Pobby and Dingan are imaginary friends who, according to the little girl who imagines them, have gotten lost in a mine. The resulting story is touching and a good reminder of the feelings of young children and the strength of imagination.*

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie is a difficult read because of his many jumps from one thing to another. The language is beautiful and chock full of meanings. It is also one of the best books around about the partition of India. I needed some help from my husband to understand all of the story, but it would have been worth reading without his help.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows came as a complete surprise to me. I was soon caught up in the letters that look at live on this little island when it was under Nazi control. Although it is fiction, the people in this novel quickly become real personalities. I predict that tourism to Guernsey will experience a boost thanks to this story.

NON-FICTION FOR ADULTS

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali follows Ali’s life from her childhood in a strict Muslim family in Sudan through her political activism and criticism of Islam after she took refugee status in the Netherlands. She has strong opinions for which she makes no apologies.

Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America by Firoozeh Dumas is exactly what the subtitle suggests, with the added bonus that the author is also a comedian who is able to see the humor in almost any situation.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and What is the What? by Dave Eggers show the range of Egger’s talents. The heartbreaking work is the necessity of having to take care of his much younger brother when their parents die. He deals with the changes in his life as a young college students with humor and love. What is the What? is based on the true story of one of the lost boys of Sudan, making it an extremely moving novel. Eggers is a national sponsor of the many 826 tutoring/writing centers around the country, including 826 Michigan in Ann Arbor. He is also becoming a screenwriter with two new movies soon to be released. I am eager to see what he will do with Where the Wild Things Are?

Ambivalence: Adventures in Israel and Palestine by Jonathan Garfinkel stresses that there is no easy way to discuss the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, especially if you were raised as an Orthodox Jew but are making your first trip to Israel in search of a sympathetic look at the Palestinians. Garfinkel reflects on his schooling at an Orthodox school in Canada, his questioning of these teachings as an adult, and his chance encounter with a Palestinian woman with an amazing story about a house shared by a Jew and a Muslim in Israel. For a another look at a house that was home to both Jews and Muslims—thought not at the same time—read The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan.

American Vertigo: Traveling America in the Footsteps of Tocqueville by Bernard Henri Levy was given to me by an Emerson parent. Levy, a French journalist, was asked in 2004-2005 to travel around the United States and write his impressions for “The Atlantic Monthly”. In addition to the collection of these essays, this book contains a final summary of his impressions. It is valuable for us all to have a look at our home country through the eyes of an outsider.

A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will rule the Future by Daniel Pink is the most readable book on the workings of the mind that I have read. It is a do-it-yourself manual for increasing your creativity as well as a look at the importance of developing creativity in ourselves and our children.

I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad by Karolyn Smardz Frost is not a light beach read. This carefully—sometimes with too much detail for my taste—researched story is of a run-away slave who, with his young bride, made it to Detroit and finally to Toronto. It is a fascinating story that gives a real feel of the life and struggles of those who traveled on the Underground Railroad, even after they thought they were safely in the “glory land”.

The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness* by Simon Wiesenthal was introduced to me by my daughter who read this for a college class. The book is thin with one half of it devoted to a simple story of a Jewish prisoner being asked to forgive a Nazi soldier. The second half of the book is a collection of responses to this question of forgiveness. Philosophers, theologians, scientists, and others give their reasons to forgive or not to forgive. This book is made to be discussed.

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester is more fascinating than you would ever believe a story about a dictionary could be. The Meaning of Everything will give you more about the Oxford Dictionary. The kids at school were pretty tired of me talking about it for months after I first read it. When you finish reading those two or if dictionaries don't appeal to you, you might want to read others by Winchester whose areas of interest range from Calcutta and China to Krakatoa and maps.

FOR GRADES 8 TO ADULT

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay is the story of a young man growing up in South Africa and the clash of race and culture. The story is beautifully told and will stay with you for a long time. My daughter firmly believes that everyone should have the chance to read this one.

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man* by Fanny Flagg is a good choice for light reading. I enjoy Flagg’s humor and this one, which I read with my daughters when they were in Middle and High school, is lesser known than Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe but a favorite in our house.

The Curious Incident of the Dog at the Night-Time by Mark Haddon was written as a young adult novel but quickly caught on with adults. The protagonist and narrator is an autistic young man with a talent for math. He uses this talent to unravel the mysteries surrounding his parent’s failing marriage and the death of a neighbor’s dog. (Confidentially, I find the orange cover quite appealing, too.)

We Have Always Lived in the Castle* by Shirley Jackson took me back at least 40 years to when I first read and enjoyed this frightening story. Perhaps this novel is when I first really honed my fascination with quirky characters.

Allegra Maud Goldman* by Edith Konecky is the story of a strong willed upper-middle class Jewish girl living in pre-World War II Brooklyn. The reader gets to know her as she goes from age three to 13, criticizing her life at every step. Allegra is clearly an early feminist with strong ideas about the role of women as it is and as it should be. There is plenty of humor to balance the tale.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers is a truly chilling novel told in a most unusual and compelling format. Part of it is a movie script being written by the young protagonist while another part is the court reporting on the case that has put that young man in jail. Many times even he is not clear about his guilt or innocence. It shows how powerful guilt by association can be. Myers also has books for younger readers including poetry and a memoir as well as several novels.

Meely LaBauve* by Ken Wells got rave reviews when it first arrived and then seemed to slip away. I thoroughly enjoyed this a coming of age novel set in the Louisiana bayous. Although this sounds like it comes directly from a poor review, it is true that I laughed and I cried while reading this short novel.

NOVELS FOR GRADES 2-8

Be sure to look at all of the selections that Nicola’s has to offer. They probably have the best children and young adult section for miles in any direction. Linda, their buyer, is knowledgeable and always ready to help. If she is busy, ask around. Their multi-cultural stories collection is a real gem.

The Masterpiece by Elise Broach (gr. 4-7) is a little bit art history and a little bit mystery plus a lot realistic fiction and a solid dose of fantasy. A young beetle helps a young boy save a series of stolen Durer prints. I have never considered the possibility of a beetle creating miniatures by dipping its front legs in ink, but by the end of this novel I was ready to believe it could happen.

Frindle by Andrew Clements (gr. 3-6) is the story of a boy who invents a new word. His teacher refuses to let him use it—despite his convincing arguments and his power to get all of his classmates to use the new word—until the word appears in the dictionary. This becomes a good look at how language and proper usage develop. Clements has many other popular books that keep kids coming back for more.

Getting Near to Baby by Audrey Couloumbis (gr. 4-8) touched my heart with a story of two little girls coming to grips with major changes in their lives, including the death of their baby sister and their mother’s inability to deal with this latest tragedy. Aurprisingly, it is also very funny at times.

Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye (gr. 5-7) should be read by every family that travels between two cultures. Based in part on Nye’s childhood as the daughter of a mid-Western woman and a man from Palestine who came to the U.S. to study, this novel tells of a family’s move to Palestine and how a young girl and her brother deal with the culture shock along with the universal issues of growing up.

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck (gr. 4-7) features one of the most outrageous and appealing grandmothers to be found anywhere in children’s literature. It is the late 1920’s and early 1930’s when a boy and his sister travel from the big city of Chicago to the small town where grandmother rules the roost. A Year Down Yonder, Here Lies the Librarian, and The Teacher's Funteral feature similarly interesting characters with a feel for another time in small town America. Peck has many other books, mostly historical fiction, including Fairweather about the Chicago World’s Fair at the end of the 19^th century.

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rats by Terry Pratchett (gr. 4-7) offers a clever take on the Pied Piper story. Pratchett is very popular for science fiction for older readers and adults as well as several fantasies for this younger age group.

I Was a Rat! by Philip Pullman (gr. 2-5) is my favorite Pullman after the His Dark Materials trilogy which begins with The Golden Compass. This book for younger readers is told partially in narrative and partially through newspaper articles that help determine just who this boy was before he appeared at the elderly couple’s doorstep. There are many more books by Pullman, all of which are worthy of a look.

The Desperado Who Stole Baseball by John H. Ritter (gr. 4-6) is the second in a series about baseball but the only one that I have had a chance to read. I am not a big baseball fan, but I enjoyed this Wild West adventure that features Billy the Kid, baseball, race relations, and a darn good story. If you like baseball fantasies you will also want to read The Baseball Card Adventures series by Dan Gutman which has as much history as it has baseball.

The Bomb by Theodore Taylor (gr. 4-8) was inspired by Taylor’s experiences in the Navy when he had to check Bikini Atoll to make sure it was free of human inhabitants before the bomb was tested there. This novel, however, is seen through the eyes of those people who were told to leave the only home they had ever known.

Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep and Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (gr. 3-6) are just two of her many retellings of familiar fairy tales; in this case they are Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.

NON-BORING NON-FICTION, GRADES K-8

How to Scratch a Wombat: Where to Find It…What to Feed it…Why It Sleeps All Day by Jackie French (gr. 3 and up) is packed with facts and stories about wombats by a woman who has lived with wombats in her backyard for many years. French also wrote the charming picture book Diary of a Wombat that is a perfect step into this enjoyable non-fiction.

What to Do About Alice? Who Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove her Father Teddy Crazy by Barbara Kerley (gr. 3-5) is one of the picture book format biographies that are increasingly popular these days. Upon reading this story of Alice Roosevelt one can only wonder why there are not more children’s biographies about this wild and crazy girl I love the idea of her carrying a snake in her purse to release at formal lady's teas in the White House.

The Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, bumps and Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum by Kathleen Krull (gr. 3-5)will make you want to re-read all of the Oz books with a careful eye to see the connections to Baum’s life.

Motel of the Mysteries (gr. 5 and up) and Cathedral and Mosque and City and Pyramid and How Things Work by David Macaulay (all ages) are now classics in young non-fiction. Motel of the Mysteries is written with tongue firmly in cheek as it offers up an archaeological dig of the future at a motel on a site that was once the East Coast of the U.S. It is a marvelous send up of archaeology and our culture. The other books are all finely illustrated looks at the construction of various buildings and, in the last title, everyday items, including the political aspects as well as the engineering involved.

The Great Fire and Blizzard by Jim Murphy (gr.4 and up) are both great examples of non-fiction at its very best. The first title is a look at the Chicago Fire and the second is about the East Coast blizzard of 1888. Both books are well illustrated with plenty of maps and very readable and exciting stories of the people who lived through these catastrophes.

Mr. Lincoln’s Boys: Being the Mostly True Adventures of Abraham Lincoln’s Trouble Making Sons Tad and Willie by Staton Rabin (gr. 3-6) is one of many books about Lincoln that came in honor of his 200^th birthday this year. This picture book biography is especially moving because it shows how important his children were to helping Lincoln mentally survive his very trying term as president.

Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Mostly True Stories about Growing Up Scieszka by Jon Scieszka (gr. 4-8) is the memoir of an author loved by all ages for his wacky view of the world. The short chapters in this book with a comic-book style cover look at the life of a typical boy growing up in Flint, Michigan, with three brothers and a wealth of ways to get into trouble. If you grew up in the 1950s or 1960s, the stories will ring especially true to you. Readers born in the late 20^th century will enjoy the universal humor.

United Tweets of America by Hudson Talbot (all ages) is a humorous, fact filled introduction to the states through their state birds.

Eat, Shoots, and Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference and Twenty-Odd Ducks: Why, Every Punctuation Mark Counts and The Girl’s Like Spaghetti: Why, You Can’t Manage Without Apostrophes by Lynne Truss are three picture books that use goofy illustrations to show how the addition of a single punctuation mark can change the meaning of a sentence. Some usages are a little obscure, but all are designed to get a laugh as well as make a point. Even if you did not like the adult version of Truss's treatise on punctuation, you will probably enjoy the humor offered here.

AUTHORS WITH A LOT TO OFFER GRADES 1-8

Philip Ardaagh: The Eddie Dickens Trilogy is one of the funniest series I have ever read. Imaghine The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket set in Dickensian times with much more outrageous humor. (gr. 3-7)

Avi: Who Was that Masked Man Anyway?(gr. 5-8) and Poppy series (gr3-6) and The Man Who Was Poe (gr 4-7) and Perloo, the Bold (gr. 4-6) and many more mark the talents of Avi. The subject matter is about as diverse as anything you could possibly imagine from fantasy to animal stories to historical fiction to serious realistic fiction and short stories. Amazingly, I have yet to read an Avi book that I did not enjoy.

Sharon Creech: Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird and Love That Dog and Hate That Cat (all gr. 4-7) come from an author who was once considered to be writing for girls because so many of her titles were focused on young women, but with Love That Dog she not only wrote in verse, she turned to a male protagonist. Now boys are discovering the “girl” books and finding that a good story is a good story no matter who is the main character.

Christopher Paul Curtis: The Watson’s Go to Birmingham—1963 (gr. 4-7) and Bud, Not Buddy (gr 4-7) and Elijah of Buxton (gr. 6-8) are the work of a master storyteller. Curtis, who has visited Emerson twice over the years, is a genuinely pleasant man who knows how to write in the voice of a young person. Every one of his books easily becomes my favorite.

Edward Eager: Half Magic (gr. 2-5) and the others in this series began my passion for fantasy as a youngster. To this day, you can’t beat these friendly stories of four children and their summer adventures, though the books of E. Nisbitt come close.

Nancy Farmer: The Warm Place (gr. 3-6) and A Girl Named Disaster (gr. 5-8) and The House of the Scorpion (gr. 5-8) and The Ear, the Eye, and The Arm (gr. 5-8) are works of pure genius. They include history, social awareness, and fantasy at their very best and all mixed together to create stories that will stay with you for years to come.

Cornelia Funke: Inkheart (gr. 4-7) is the first in one of the most popular trilogies today. The concept of someone reading so well that characters come out of the books leads to very exciting fantasy. Funke has many popular fantasy novels that put her in a league of popularity with J. K. Rowling.

Neil Gaiman: Coraline (gr. 4-7; also in graphic) is an amazing dark fantasy of family that was recently made into a movie. The Graveyard Book (gr. 5-8) is an odd, dark book that won the Newbery Award this year. The Wolves in the Walls and The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish (gr. 2-5) are very unique and appealing picture books that some younger children may find a bit frightening but older readers will enjoy. Gaiman also writes fantasy for adults.

Margaret Haddix Peterson becomes more popular with each new publication. I have liked her Just Ella (gr. 4-6) retelling of Cinderella for a long time, preferring it to Levinie’s Ella Enchanted. Then I read Turn About (gr. 5-8), attracted by its odd cover. This is a story of people who are aging backwards and now must find someone to care for them in their increasingly younger ages. (Imagine a 15 year old come to you and saying "I am your great-great grandmother, please take care of me as a baby." Yes, it does have shades of Benjamin Button.) The Among the Hidden (gr. 4-7) series is amazingly popular, with good reason. Running out of Time (gr. 5-7) offers a unique twist to the idea of time travel. Uprising (gr. 6-8) views the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire through the eyes of three different young women and is the only one in this series without a bit of fantasy, just solid historical research in novel format. Found (gr. 4-7) is the first of a new series that features adopted children who are mysteriously forced together and then to embark on travels back in time.

Karen Hesse experiments freely with different forms of writing. My two favorites are written in free verse that easily becomes a gripping story. Out of the Dust is set during the Dust Bowl. Witness features the voices of residents of a small New England town when the Ku Klux Klan is trying to gain a stronghold there. (gr. 5-8)

Eva Ibbotson reminds me of Roald Dahl in many of her fantasy books because of their empowerment of children, sometimes at the expense of the adults. This is especially true in Island of the Aunts (gr. 3-5) which features unlikable parents plus a menagerie of mythical creatures. Which Witch? (gr. 3-6) is a classic battle for superiority, this time amongst some rather inept witches. The Secret of Platform 13 (gr. 3-6) may remind some of Harry Potter because it features a special gate in the train station that leads to a magical world. Journey to the River Sea (gr.5-8) moves away from magic and into historical fiction as a young girl joins her aunt on an Amazon River cruise in the early 20^th century, though there is some magical realism included in this mesmerizing story.

Richard Jennings has a very twisted sense of humor that he expresses through some wild ideas. Orwell’s Luck (gr.4-7) features a lucky rabbit and a wise girl who knows how to use that magic. Ferret Island (gr. 5-8) is a hilarious story of a boy who lands on an island inhabited by giant ferrets and a crazy author with ideas of saving the world from a perceived horror. Hint: the horror involvestrans fats.

Alan Katz now has several books of Silly Songs that are parodies of familiar folk tunes. These would be perfect to take on a long drive to be enjoyed by the entire family.

Dick King-Smith is the former pig farmer who introduced the world to Babe, the Gallant Pig. Three of his many titles for readers who are just beginning at read chapter books (gr. 2-4) are Lady Lollipop about a princess who gets a good education in manners from a pig, Titus Rules about the queen of England’s pet dogs, and George Speaks about a boy who is born with the ability to speak.

Gordon Korman began writing books when he was a teen-ager and he just keeps turning them out. His first stories, based on his experiences in a bordering school, are both realistic and hilarious. Look for any of his MacDonald Hall books (gr. 4-7) for a good laugh. No More Dead Dogs (gr. 5-8) and Schooled (gr. 5-8) both offer new ideas about the old favorite topic of school.

Amy Goldman Koss really knows pre-teen and teen-age girls. My favorite is The Girls (gr. 5-8) which uses the voices of several girls to show the impact that a clique can have on all of its members, including those they push to power and those they push out. If you know a girl who is having some issues with friendships, this may be the perfect read. Then read other books by Koss that deal with similar issues with equal skill.

Jenny Nimmo’s Charlie Bone series (gr. 4-7) is very similar to Harry Potter and some people believe it is even more exciting.

Mary Pope Osborne keeps turning out Magic Tree House books (gr. 1-4). The readers of these fantasies are so fond of them that they often simply call them “Jack and Annie” books. Along with the fiction stories Osborne has written many non-fiction books that accompany the stories.

John Scieszka offers a crazier version of magical time travel in The Time Warp Trio series which features three goofy boys and a book that allows them to travel to new times to learn a little history and make a lot of truly awful jokes. You will also want to take a look at his many crazy picture books like The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and my personal favorite Baloney (Henry P.) If you are thinking about science or math this summer, take time to laugh at those often serious subjects with Science Verse and The Math Curse.

Wendelin Van Draanen has a series for girls in grades 4 to 7 about Sammy Keyes who solves mysteries without losing her young energy. Shredderman (gr. 2-5) will appeal to younger brothers as he is a younger, goofy brother who solves problems in his own way, often using modern technology. Runaway (gr. 5-8) was inspired by a character that Sammy Keyes meets, a girl who has run away from home. This book is that runaway’s journal writings as she tries to find her way. I found it moving and realistic.

PICTURE BOOKS

Picture books are always good for all ages. The nice thing about them is that you can get a good idea of whether or not you like the book by flipping through it to enjoy the pictures and get a sense of the story. Look at the amazing selection that Nicola has and pick for yourself. Their children's book shopper has a wealth of good suggestions for all levels of reading from the simplest board books to sophisticated young adult novels.

Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel is an alphabet book with a twist. Kitty gets upset when offered new food and turns into a crazy beast out to destroy everything in sight. All turns out well when new food arrives, but not before Bad Kitty takes a bite out of the book itself. The sequel is an easy chapter book (gr. 2-4) called Bad Kitty Gets a Bath.

Stuck in the Mud by Jane Clark seems like a familiar tale of critters rushing to help a young chick who is stuck in the mud, but this one has a clever twist at the end.

Olivia by Ian Falconer is destined to be a classic that will be read for generations to come. It is hard to resist this spunky little pig with a taste for exaggeration and flights of imagination. If you haven't met Olivia yet, you are in for a treat.

A Book by Mordecai Gerstein introduces you to the character in a book who can't decide what kind of book she wants to be. This crazy little story does an excellent job of explaining genres without being preachy. I have great plans for using it with classes of all ages next year.

Turtle’s Penguin Day by Valeri Gorbachev won my admiration when the teacher in the story runs with the topic that has inspired Turtle. He comes to class in a homemade penguin outfit and teacher lets him get the entire class imagining life as a penguin. The illustrations add to the humor.

Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek : A Tall, Thin Tale (Introducing the Forgotten Frontier Friend) by Deborah Hopikinson is a tall tale based on scant historical hints of an adventure that Abe Lincoln had with a childhood friend. Lincoln becomes more than a stodgy president when one knows about his wild, adventurous childhood. The message of the story is something that is often forgotten or overlooked--even if you are never famous, what you do can change the course of history.

Tacky Goes to Camp by Helen Lester is the latest about Tacky, the penguin, and perfect for summer when you might be planning a camping trip yourself. Tacky has a different approach to camping than his very neat, good, perfect friends. Thank goodness he does because his oddity is once again what saves the day.

Monkey with a Tool Belt by Chris Monroe can fix anything with the huge array of tools in his belt. The humor is in no small part the naming of all of these tools. The adventure comes when he has to save himself from a tricky situation. The sequel Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Noisy Problem offers new tools and new problems to solve.

Fancy Nancy’s Favorite Fancy Words From Accessories to Zany by Jane O’Connor is a pink an glttery alphabet books of words appropriate to explain Fancy Nancy's lifestyle and the many things she loves. I am a big fan of alphabet books and this one is unique and often inspired.

Little Oink and Little Pea and Little Hoot and Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal are clever little books that mark the differences between human cultures and those of other things while showing how we are all alike. Yes, we are even like a spoon because we may be envious of the human equivalent of knives, forks, and chopsticks. Even the older students search these books out in the library and laugh at the absurdity and the familiarity of the stories.

Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton features one of the most appealing cats in children's literature. Splat is naive, sweet, shy, and a great ball of fluff. The story has some surprising twists that mirror things that might happen at human school. Scotton also creates greeting cards, posters, and other art which is quite popular in England. The illustrations are irresistable. I also enjoy Scotton's Russell the Sheep.

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems has a moral, good illustrations, and the appeal that comes with everything Willems does. In this story, there is one mole rat who does not want to be naked. He likes dressing for every occasion. The others are shocked at his behavior and take him before the wisest old mole rat who makes a very wise decree that surprises and pleases everyone. It is hard to beat anything that Willems has done with his picture books or his new early readers.

GRAPHIC WORKS FOR GRADES K-8

Graphic is the way to go these days as the graphic works move beyond comic books and manga. There are now non-fiction as well as fiction works that feature both high quality art and a good story. Here are a few that I enjoy.

Phonics Comics series by various authors is perfect for the beginning reader (gr. k-2). The pictures and the stories are both quirky and interesting. The illustrations help with comprehension and make the story more appealing to most young readers.

Baby Mouse by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (grs. 1-4) has a series of stories that include many worries of elementary school girls plus a solid dose of imagination and humor. My biggest complaint is that they have too much pink. When I can get a boy to read them, he is usually caught by the stories, but the pink is a real turn-off for a lot of boys. The girls love them.

To Dance by Siena Cherson Siegel (gr. 4-7) is perfect for the young dancer. This autobiography shows the struggles and heartbreaks of a girl trying to get into the best ballet school in the country and then how hard it is to keep up the pace. It is a fascinating story. The illustrations are done by her husband who is sympathetic to her story without being sappy about it.

Bone by Jeff Smith (gr. 4 -7) is growing to a large series about an odd little creature and his many adventures. I have seen more than a few boys discover the joy of reading through these books and move on to be voracious readers of all genres.

Jellaby by Kean Soo (gr. 3-7) had people waiting on the edge of their seats until book two came out just a few weeks ago. It is a tender story of a young girl who befriends a lonely creature. Together they set off to find their family histories with plenty of adventure along the way.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan (gr. 5 to adult) is one of the most beautiful books I have ever encountered. With no pictures, it tells the story of a person emmigrating to a new, unfamiliar land. The seventh grade used this book for their immigration unit this year and created some amazing things based on what they found in the book. It is the kind of book that will bring some new understanding with every reading. Tan's latest work is a collection of short stories called Tales from Outer Suburbia.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (gr 6 and up) mixes realistic fiction with fantasy to look inside the mind and life of a Chinese boy trying to come to an understanding and acceptance of having to juggle two cultures. This book has won many well-deserved awards.