{ a swoop and a dart }

In Our Library Bag

I continue to miss as many books I want to share as I remember to get pictures of, but here goes—some notable check-outs right now!

This continues to be one of our favorite library books—it has appeared numerous times in one form or another over the years on this blog : ) I don't know why we don't just buy it. I read one of Jenny Offill's books for grownups and didn't like it 1/8 as much as this one. I mean, I get it's apples to oranges, but still. I will never not be able to think of Gracie when I read it.

This is another title we've checked out so many times it makes absolutely no sense that we don't own it. It's the wonderful story of a bakery that changes hands after the longtime owner dies; her successor doesn't have any easy time of it at first, but resolves the conflict in a most touching and satisfactory way.

This one was interesting, though not without controversy: it's the retelling of a woman (she was actually older than she is portrayed in the story, which is kind of an odd choice to me) who climbed up a tree in protest of logging old-growth forests in California. In the environmentalist vs. loggers worldview, this fits neatly because there isn't a huge amount of gray area presented.

This is an odd book. I grabbed it for two reasons: the illustration and concept are spare and striking, and the "New York Review Children's Collection" label. It's an old book, published in 1964; the story is simple and right to the point—the elephant likes to smash cars. There is a plot twist that made Gracie and Bridget a little uncomfortable (the "revenge" part of the "gleeful destruction, revenge, and conciliation" description on the back) and definitely would be an interesting conversation starter with kids about what's OK and not OK to do. Maybe. I was almost entirely unfamiliar with the rest of this New York Review Children's Collection listed in the back, though almost all the D'Aulaire books were listed except the Greek mythology one that was so influential in my early years. Huh.

Another old favorite from libraries past. I think it was old library favorites week last week : ) How could we resist those ghost illustrations during Halloween week, though? Exactly. We could not.

I grabbed this one because we are Joe Berger fans (Bridget Fidget!) but only after reading it did I realize that the author is clearly related to Mark Zuckerberg (his sister). This is short, sweet, and apt. Kind of like children's literature poetry—not a lot of words, but very meaningful in the end. It will stay a library book, but it's nice to know it's there.

In this school year of half day Wednesdays I'm going to buy this one to help support our made-up Art-Friday-on-Wednesday "curriculum." Fun, well-organized project ideas.

I haven't started this one yet but it's next on my list! It's about a chapter of Civil Rights history that I am unfamiliar with: the closure of all public schools for five years in Prince Edward County, VA to protest integration—and the ensuing legacy.

We still are solely using our branch library here but I recently visited the Corrales Community Library and intend to get a library card there for my collection soon. It is one of the finest, loveliest libraries I have ever been to—which is saying something since I consider my base library to be the one named the 2008 Library of the Year by the American Library Association!

What's a good recommendation from your library bag lately?

In Our Library Bag

We've settled into a good routine for visiting our branch library, visiting about once a week and checking out about 15 picture books and 5-10 novels at a time. We haven't started exploring any other libraries in the system (I think there are 18!) because our branch is by far the closest, though still much farther away than I'm used to. But I haven't felt like I've really needed to go elsewhere yet—the mark of a good children's room to me is when I can find old favorites, plenty of new-to-us titles, and a healthy new books display that I can sweep into our library book bag in one fell swoop.

No one has busted me for sweeping all the new books into our library book bag in one fell swoop yet. Another mark of a good children's room.

Gracie, Bridget and I still manage to squeeze in a few picture books almost every night; I'm always on the hunt for good picture books that appeal to older kids, or at least have some stunning illustration if they're too easy content-wise. They are developing a real eye for different styles of effective illustration which makes my nerdy illustration heart so happy. Because so many books are passing in and out of our house these days I thought I'd start sharing more regularly some of the ones we've liked the most; of course this occurred to me only after I've returned a bunch that we loved (and didn't write their titles down or take pictures) but better late than never, I guess.

One we especially liked this round:

Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs by Davide Cali and Raphaëlle Barbanègre

The story itself was OK. But the illustrations... WE LOVED THEM. Totally worth the price of admission.

This spread was the best. And yes, we read every single dwarf's name. Argle-Bargle! Beetroot! Akimbo! The entire book uses this rainbow effect and it's really fun.

Another favorite:

Lillian's Right To Vote  by Jonah Winter and Shane W. Evans

We decided this one might need to be added to our permanent collection. It's inspired by a real-life Lillian who campaigned for President Obama door-to-door at 100 years old in 2008. The book follows her walk to the voting booth, remembering all the steps along the way that brought her to that moment. The illustrations are beautiful. It's also a great introduction to the importance of voting and voting rights.

I still haven't told the story here of how the girls and I participated in the final leg of the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Selma to Montgomery march this year, because I think I've just been holding it close. This was our favorite page.

Here are some of the others we've really enjoyed lately. Of these I especially loved The Really Awful Musicians; I love when a book starts out as kind of silly but ends up being a total history lesson (in this case, about the origin of music orchestration). I was surprised by how much I liked The Opposite, which is odd and charming and wise with extremely good advice. One of my goals this year is to figure out how to get some little girls to love non-fiction, so I usually take a look in the non-fiction shelves for good new stuff—Curious Critters has impressive photography that appeals to all ages. Saturn Could Sail does in fact have plenty of fun facts, and they're presented so well. Call me a book snob, but it's just hard to get excited about old/bad children's non-fiction. There aren't too many things worse in a library than old/bad children's non-fiction. Hold on, let me show you: 

Spotted while volunteering at Maddie's library last year in Montgomery

Overall her library last year was fine and the librarian was truly exceptional, but whoo boy, I know a school district that desperately needs to pony up some cash for non-fiction acquisitions. I rest my case. 

: ) 

Review: Go Ahead & Like It by Jacqueline Suskin

It is fairly evident that I am a lover of lists, so I was extremely excited to get my hands on a copy of Go Ahead & Like It, a new book from poet Jacqueline Suskin. It was billed as a scrapbook-style art book all about writing lists in a world saturated by social media likes. SIGN ME UP.

At first scan-through, though, I will be honest: I was terribly disappointed. While the book is beautifully designed, it seemed not to fit into either "gift book" or "coffee table book" category, awkwardly floating around in some sort of "other" category. As I flipped through a few pages I was put off by the idea that this was simply a collection of the author's own personal lists. The photos throughout were a little distracting to me as well—were they shaky shots from the 1970s? Dark, heavily processed photos from today? Busy, I set it aside for a few days, and finally picked it up last night before bed to read more thoroughly. I am happy to report that it definitely grew on me when reading from beginning to end.

If you only scan, it's easy to miss the actually quite straightforward organization of the sections. Suskin clearly outlines the instances where focusing on list-making can tweak perspective, serve as a bridge between acquaintances or strangers, and offer opportunities to dig deeper into personal memories. These are worthy goals for anyone, and especially those memory-keepers who blog, journal, or scrapbook. I was far more inspired by these approaches than I was by her actual lists, but by the time I finished (a quick read, 30 minutes at most) I was excited to revisit my own list-making practice. I didn't come to love the photos throughout, but I did have some ideas about incorporating my own photography into some list projects, so a point for effectiveness all the same.

One disclaimer: this seems overall like a very family-friendly book, but there is one abrupt instance of profanity in an included list, for what it's worth. I always wish Goodreads would allow half stars, because this was solidly a 3.5/5 star read for me. I'm definitely missing my (mostly) regular lists for Lists With Friends 2014, so I might work on a few new ones in the coming weeks with this new "like it" twist!

FTC Disclaimer | I received a review copy of this book through the Random House Blogging For Books program at no cost to me, but the opinions contained in this post are solely my own.

Review: A Fifty-Year Silence by Miranda Richmond Mouillot

It is not an easy task to reconstruct details of a family secret or mystery; whether the players would rather bury the history or the plot twists are lost due to neglect or age or even courthouse fire, sometimes we have to come to terms with the fact that some stories are unknowable. It's a frustrating state of affairs, to say the least. I was drawn to Miranda Richmond Mouillot's new memoir in part because of my own family mystery—the events surrounding my grandparents' divorce in the 1940s. My grandma didn't talk about what she didn't want to talk about, and that was that. To ask, even politely, was to put oneself at peril. I loved my (step)grandfather with all my heart and only occasionally wondered about the Willis part of my name growing up, so the unwritten rules against family sleuthing were largely unchallenged. But at some point we all just want to know more about ourselves, yes? Over 70 years later my family has made invaluable connections with long-lost relatives but the details of what happened and why will never be explained, even as the ripple effects are still keenly felt.

Mouillot has her own grandparent mystery to solve in A Fifty-Year Silence: after surviving World War II and Nazi-occupied France by escaping to brutal yet life-saving refugee camps in Switzerland, her grandparents Anna and Armand separate, leaving the house they purchased in a French village to ruin. Anna (a physician) walks out on Armand (an interpreter at the horrific Nuremberg Trials) taking their two children with her, never to speak to him again. The rift is so deep that Miranda grows up knowing both her grandparents, but not realizing that they ever knew each other until later.

While she works to reconstruct as much of her grandparents' story as possible, often with her grandmother's curious encouragement, she struggles to shuffle the pieces into a story that makes sense. At one point, her frustration brims over with her grandmother: "I'm writing a story, but is it even your story? I don't know. I've learned so many disconnected things about you—it's hard to put them into a narrative." The stories she learns from her grandmother don't always match up with the (far more rare) ones her ailing grandfather tells her a world away in Switzerland, where she visits often. Heartrending anecdotes are included: the risks of escape, the true horror of serving as witness to the first official accounts of the Holocaust, the lasting effects of the trauma of survival; they are valuable insights into a fuller picture of World War II. In the end, however, it is Mouillot who must decide what they all mean for her, for her parents, and of course, for Anna and Armand.

As I read, I was struck by how lofty a goal the author set for herself in writing this book. She honors her grandparents' histories both together and separately with respect, curiosity, and occasional obsession, though never claims a "case closed" moment. She weaves the ripple effects into her own life throughout each chapter, wondering how much of her own life's outcome was influenced by her grandparents (spoiler: a lot). I was most impressed by how devoted she was to the mystery, because she was able to discover so much that deserves to be known about sourrvival (spoken with her grandmother's accent), even if the heart of the matter will never be fully known. That might be all our lost stories need: someone to try their best to honor them, in spite of (because of?) the futility of knowing them completely.

FTC Disclaimer | I received a review copy of this book through the Random House Blogging For Books program at no cost to me, but the opinions contained in this post are solely my own. 

The Great Caldecott Medal Project of 2013-2014

Want to know one of my big pet peeves?

When well-meaning adults imply that picture books are too babyish for elementary school kids; that they outgrow picture books at the same time they gain reading skills, and are then pointed toward the leveled beginning readers full of words and shooed away from the low shelves full of stories.

I think leveled readers are important. We had a ton of them in this house as the girls were learning to read, and they served their purpose well. At the end of the day, though, only a few of them hold staying power enough to keep them in our library (Elephant & Piggie FOREVER). But I think the value of the picture book—the rich story arc, the humor, the vocabulary, the illustrations—it's something that builds better readers and learners, I am convinced. Plus, they're just FUN. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of books read in the last (nearly) thirteen years makes it impossible for me to believe otherwise.

I still read to Gracie and Bridget almost every night before they go off to read their own books way past their bedtimes. I've never been much of a read-chapter-books-aloud kind of mama (though we've done a handful) because mostly I just want to read picture books. Luckily, they still want to read with me. When I suggested that we tackle the entire Caldecott Medal list last year, they were all in; looking back, we couldn't have done it at a more perfect time. Their ages (now 10, 7.5) are just right to enjoy (most) of the stories, but they're also the perfect ages to play Beginner Literary Critic with the list.

They were able to identify how much children's literature has changed (we didn't read in chronological order, but the trends are still stunningly obvious), how certain types of books were highly prized in certain eras (i.e. my own childhood is filled with memories of traditional folklore from other countries, which can be verified by the Caldecott Medal winners in that era), and they paid attention to the differences in illustration styles from one year to the next, and from one generation to the next, too. When my girls can identify an illustrator's work (not just a Caldecott winner!) it ranks high on the list of my proudest mama moments. Ha!

We definitely had a lot of opinions about the Caldecott list, though I wish we had kept a little journal to record our thoughts in the moment a little more. But I think we all would agree on the following:

+ Animals of the Bible, man. Oh my gosh. This nearly did us in. I'm sorry, but it's true.

+ Many Moons was one of our favorite finds. My handy chart from 1980 proves that I read this one a long time ago, but I didn't remember it at all. It was delightful.

+ We have long loved The Hello, Goodbye Window and its wonderful illustrator Chris Raschka; we reread it specifically for this project but it's one that has been read scores of times in the last few years. But we'd all like to hear from someone on the committee about A Ball For Daisy. Why, committee, why?

+ The Little Island might have been in the running for the weirdest book on the list... except it was saved by Arthur Yorinks' Hey Al which definitely takes the cake. As Arthur Yorinks always does for me. He also (not coincidentally) wrote my least favorite picture book OF ALL TIME.

+ The saddest book by far: The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. I had to stop reading it to Maddie the first time I checked it out of the library in 2006, and I had a hard time finishing it this time, too. But oh, it's a glorious story, until it becomes the hardest story. The transition doesn't give the reader any time to prepare for that.

+ One of the greatest masterpieces on the list: The Invention of Hugo Cabret. It was the last one we read, and at over 500 pages, the very longest, too. Bridget was scared to death to read this one because she saw the movie at the wrong age and it has haunted her ever since, but in the end—she could hardly bear to split this one over a couple of nights. It is so good. I felt the same way about it in 2008 as I did reading it aloud in 2015: it is just so good.

What a job it must be to serve on this committee each year.

Speaking of which, I have updated the list with the 2015 winner (announced yesterday!) in case you want to try it yourself. Just click the image below to download!

 

 

 

 

2014: The Book Report

It's time for the 2014 recaps! January blogging! It never gets old.

pictured: my five star reads for the year

I did it, I did it—I read 31 books this year! This is truly scoff-worthy by most of the reading company I keep, but it's been my goal to break 30 books for the last few years and I've come up short every time. Now granted, I counted a very short play in that total, but I don't care as I get to make my own rules and I'm counting it : ) I'm going to set a very lofty goal of 35 books for 2015—this might be foolhardy since we're moving yet again to a location yet to be determined, but there you have it. 

I'm especially proud of how interesting and diverse my books read ended up being in 2014. I attribute this mostly to the fact that I was invited to play in an online book bingo group by a friend who knew how despondent I was to have moved away from my beloved book club in 2013; while I had complete freedom to choose whatever titles I wanted to read, the genres or types of books were varied on each bingo space. I completed my bingo card in late November (with my least favorite book of the year). Bingo categories ranged from a book of non-fiction to a book outside my comfort zone to a graphic novel, etc. and I read 25 books to fill up my card.

So, notes on the best of the best!

+ I have a tie for my favorite book of the year: A Man Called Ove by Frederic Bachman and Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell. A Man Called Ove was recommended highly by Jill (who read nearly 100 books and ended up picking it as her favorite book of the year, too). It was just so wildy satisfying. Originally published in Swedish, it's the story of an elderly man whose plans are foiled by life. There was a lot of Willis Smiling Disorder while reading it and some bawl-babying at the end, too. Rooftoppers is a jFiction book, and it was weird and suspenseful and dark and light and completely other-worldly and believable all at the same time. I couldn't convince my fantasty-loving children to read it (yet), but it was definitely the book after my own reading heart.

+ I think it is well-established that I love John Boyne's books. This one was about a boy during WWI.

+ The Good Lord Bird was a wild, fast-paced, painstakingly complex book about John Brown's escapades throughout the U.S. told through the eyes of a fictional character named Henry (but who poses as a girl nicknamed "Onion"). It made my head spin, all that research James McBride had to do to pull this one off.

+ Can you guess which book was out of my comfort zone? I chose well, because while it was WAY out of my comfort zone, I feel smarter and more well-rounded for having read In Cold Blood. I read Old Grandpa's first edition. Fascinating and totally compelling in every way.

+ I read Whistling in the Graveyard right after we moved, and it was the perfect summer book to distract me from boxes and the dearth of friends in a new place.

+ Malcolm Gladwell: write whatever, I'm sure I'll love it.

+ I don't know why I waited so long to read A Thousand Splendid Suns. Khaled Hosseini is a truly excellent writer, and I loved this book from beginning to end.

+ I am embarrassed to admit I had never read A River Runs Through It and Other Stories until this year. Norman Maclean might be the most underrated American author (or maybe he's not underrated at all, I'm out of the literary critic loop) but wow, A River Runs Through It is a true American masterpiece of a story. I am of course quite familiar with the story because of the movie that came out IN 1992 (!) and having carried a big piece of Montana around in my heart SINCE 1995 (!). Reading the book with Brad Pitt, Craig Sheffer, and Tom Skerrit in my head only enhanced it. That movie was really, really well-cast, I thought to myself no less than 20 times while reading it.

+ A Thousand Mornings was quiet and lovely.

+ West of the Moon was odd and magical and lovely.

+ The Lions of Little Rock told a story that I was completely unfamiliar with—most everyone knows the story of Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957-1958 but this book examines the 1958-1959 school year, which is far less known about but no less interesting. jFiction is the best.

+ The Express Line is the very short play I (re)read. It is perfect in every way, and I giggled to myself how much of it I could recite from memory as I read it. It is beloved to me, as one of my wildly talented speechies from Montana won the 1998 state championship in Humorous Interp performing it.

+ Fictitious Dishes is the most clever book ever. If you like reading/food/photography you'll love it.

Other great reads that I rated with four stars: This Time Together by Carol Burnett, Fairy Tale Comics, The Great Gatsby (can you believe I never read it? I liked it a lot, but I still haven't come to the conclusion that it is THE BOOK of the 20th century and probably never will), A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd, Egg & Spoon by Gregory Maguire, Big Fish by Daniel Wallace, Far Far Away by Tom McNeal, and Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen.

I awarded more three star books than normal, and awarded The Best American Essays of 2014 as my least favorite book of the year, ironically. Ugh. I love, love essays (usually) but now I'm gunshy about picking up another one of these anthologies. I know, I know, it's the editor that counts... maybe the 2015 editor will be someone a little more of a kindred spirit. Or maybe I should stop being an essay sissy.

And how about you? I don't care if my "to-read" list at Goodreads is 5000 books long, so tell me your favorites, too!

Lists of Note Giveaway Winner

Thanks to everyone who took the time to share some of their favorite reads of 2014 (or books they're looking forward to!). What a great list—definitely take a look in the comments for some great book ideas!

My trusty assistant Random.org has chosen a winner!

#9, which happens to be:

Hooray, Melissa! The book will be available in the U.S. Amazon store in mid-2015 if anyone else would like to purchase a copy (and of course, available now directly through Unbound as an eBook or gorgeous hardbound copy).

Special thanks to Unbound for sponsoring this giveaway!

Giveaway: Lists of Note by Shaun Usher

People who love lists! People who love books! People who love interesting things! Have I got the giveaway for you. Truly, this might be the most exciting giveaway I've ever orchestrated here. You could give it as a Christmas gift, but you might not be able to part with it. Behold:

One copy of Shaun Usher's absolutely beautiful Lists of Note, which isn't really available in the U.S. until June 2015. This first edition copy comes direct from the very unique (and generous) U.K.-based publisher (more on that in a minute).

I don't remember when I discovered Shaun Usher's blog Lists of Note or its companion blog Letters of Note, but I've been a subscriber for a couple of years, at least. He shares lists and letters (of course!) written by famous authors, artists, photographers, politicians, activists, musicians, and many more. I bought my dad a copy of Letters of Note for Father's Day this year and he has enjoyed it tremendously.

Here's a peek inside this 318 page book (click to enlarge images):

It opens with one of my favorite lists, written by Johnny Cash.

Integrated Bus Suggestions, by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is included, which takes on all kinds of meaning this year for me of living in Montgomery.

This is a fun one, by President Harry S Truman written to his wife on the occasion of their anniversary.

YES. I don't know this author or the novel it comes from (If On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvlino, 1979), but I'm going to have to read it now because just look at this, booklovers!

There are 125 lists in total; they come with a little explanation next to the original image, and all are translated (which makes sense for many that are not in English or are nearly illegible). It's a book to be devoured, savored, and revisited. It elevates the practice of list-making into an art form. It's truly a gorgeous book. And I have a copy to share! To enter, just leave me a comment about either a favorite book you read this year or a book you're excited to read. I will selfishly compile them into my own reading lists for 2015 : ) Winner will be announced in a few days. Enter now, because comments will remain open until...I close them!

 

This giveaway is sponsored by Unbound! You should check them out. 

Unbound is revolutionary new way to get books published, founded by three authors, John Mitchinson, Justin Pollard and Dan Kieran. Using the www.unbound.co.uk publishing platform, authors pitch their book ideas directly to their readers. Readers choose the ideas that they like on the website and pledge their support. When an idea has enough supporters, the book is written and produced. All supporters get their name printed in every edition of the book and all pledge levels include the e-book and immediate access to the author's shed.

To date Unbound has published books from several well-known authors including Kate Mosse, Julie Burchill, Jonathan Meades, Chris Yates, Robert Llewellyn and ex-Python Terry Jones, as well as a first novel from comedian Katy Brand and the bestselling Letters of Note by Shaun Usher. The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth, published by Unbound, became the first crowdfunded novel to be long listed for the Man Booker prize this year.

Press

About Unbound's beginnings from TechCrunch

Lists of Note review from The Guardian

Lists of Note review from The Independent

Lists of Note review from The Telegraph

a great interview on NPR about Letters of Note

This post is part of a list-making project called Lists With Friends 2014, an effort to document the year in lists of all types. I love lists, and I love a good project.

 

InstaLibrary

Two nights ago my friend Megan texted me this photo...

...I actually gasped with delight when I read her text. She found one of my secretly stashed InstaLibrary bookmarks while at work!

The backstory: while I was developing content for the first Phone Photography Project workshop at Big Picture Classes, I created a category of projects for the "Do Something More" section that had a very "random act of kindness and/or creativity" feel to them. I've long had a little personal tradition of secretly stashing small gifts in public places where people might find them around Christmastime, so for my own take on this one I designed a bookmark that could be stashed all over my favorite library, randomly and secretly. I had my bookmarks printed at the lab I use for client photos, so they were really high-quality press printed ones; I planted about 40 of them in non-fiction, children's books, reference materials, large print—pretty much on every floor and in every section at the library. It made for a fun day of sneaking around the library (I wasn't exactly an unknown character there). Ironically, Megan was the only person I told that I had done this; I didn't ask permission because a.) it was a pretty harmless little project and b.) the whole point of guerilla creativity is to remain anonymous. I immediately texted her back to ask which book she found it in (a biography of Dizzy Gillespie) and walked around with a giant smile on my face the rest of the night. It was a much needed dose of happy news.

It's been a tough week (month) for Big Picture Classes. If you're not aware, Studio Calico purchased the company this past summer, and lots of changes are in the works. A new website will be introduced in 2015, and only some of the classes in the Big Picture Classes catalog will be transferred. The announcement can be read here. Only a couple of the classes I've taught or contributed to since I first started working for Big Picture back in 2006 will be archived on the new platform, so if you want to save the materials from those classes you've taken over the years you have until July 2015 to do so (it's proving to be a lot of work, so don't put it off). I'm happy to answer any questions or provide whatever assistance I'm able to provide, so just let me know if there is something I can do to help!

It's been a wonderful, wonderful run with Big Picture Classes. I've been given so many opportunities to develop meaningful creative content and have connected with so many wonderful students over the past eight years; however, in light of all the changes, the time seems right for me to explore some new options for teaching and sharing creative classes and projects. I'd love to hear what you'd be interested in the most content-wise if you have a minute to connect. The link to send me a message is up there on the top right.

I don't know how many other bookmarks have been discovered at the library, but I do know that creativity matters, no matter how small a gesture.

: )

Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas

Given our fascination with elephant seals that can be found here, here, and here, you can imagine my delight when one of our random library book picks this week was Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas by Lynne Cox and illustrated by Brian Floca, who won the 2014 Caldecott for his book Locomotive. I'm not going to lie, I grabbed it because of the title, not because I knew about the story. Heh.

I especially liked this page, as you might imagine. Not a single person maimed, as far as I can tell.

Best of all, this tells a true story: Elizabeth really did live in the Avon River near Christchurch, New Zealand, and she refused to be displaced, returning multiple times to her home from the 1970s until her death in 1985. We recommend it for your next library list : )