Good morning. My desk is piled with CDs that Steve is using for my audio books. I keep telling him for the money we pay for the blank CDs we could have easily bought an Ipod, but at least this way I can give the CDs to friends to listen to after I am through with them. I love the Amelia Peabody mysteries set in Egypt so I bought a couple extra of those beyond my regular subscription.
Yesterday was the Children's Parade but I am not one much for crowds so we didn't go down. I was glad as about 1/2 way through the parade time it poured down rain. I was thinking about the Montessori kids streaked with pain and glitter. We did go down to Blockbuster later in the day and pick up National Treasure with Nicholas Cage - it was really cute. I wonder if it will increase the interest in the Masons as well as cause more people to visit DC and Philadelphia with their children. My great uncle was a Mason and was all mysterious about it. We watched Nicole Kidman's Birth the other night - what a creepy movie. I didn't like it at all and it ended with basically nothing resolved - how did a 10 year old boy know all that stuff that only her dead husband would?
I read Henkes' Olive's Ocean in one sitting yesterday. What a beautifully written book. No wonder it has received all the acclaim it has. I just loved Godbee, her grandmother and the relationship she has with Martha. The family dynamics with a stay at home day needing to go back to work and a tyrant of a toddler add depth to the story. Martha's responses to the entry in Olive's diary are so touching and appropriate for a 12-year-old who has not dealt with a death close to her. Too bad the cover is so horrible. What is the deal with the goldfish? As a young teen I would not pick up this book because of the cover - yuck!
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Having a hard time getting started today. Lots of noise last night, even with the air conditioner on, so falling asleep wasn't easy. Steve only works 1/2 day today and then govt. employees have the rest of the week off for Carnival. The Montessori kids are involved in the Children's Parade on Friday. They are doing a May Pole, carrying the ribbons and doing the actual weaving of the ribbons at two different viewing areas. They have been practicing at school. Carnival is a big deal on this island. The music was so loud when I went to pick Steve up my ears were ringing. The Carnival rides and booths are right next to the court buildings. The Food Fest is today - Steve said he was going pig out for luch. :-)
Scott Westerfield has a cool series out called the Midnighters. I just read the ARC for the second book, Touching Darkness, set in small town Bixby, Oklahoma. The first book in the series is called The Secret Hour. Of course, I found my copy after I read the second one, but I didn't feel like I was missing too much by having skipped the first, but I will go back and read it now as I really enjoy the characters. Jessica is the new Midnighter, having recently moved from Chicago, and she is adapting to her power to throw fire, from a flashlight! They name their weapons with thirteen letter words. This eclectic group of teens have an extra hour at midnight when their Midnighter powers are at their peak. They are fighting the Darklings who want one of the teens as a replacement for the human/Midnighter to mutate with a Darkling.
Scott Westerfield has a cool series out called the Midnighters. I just read the ARC for the second book, Touching Darkness, set in small town Bixby, Oklahoma. The first book in the series is called The Secret Hour. Of course, I found my copy after I read the second one, but I didn't feel like I was missing too much by having skipped the first, but I will go back and read it now as I really enjoy the characters. Jessica is the new Midnighter, having recently moved from Chicago, and she is adapting to her power to throw fire, from a flashlight! They name their weapons with thirteen letter words. This eclectic group of teens have an extra hour at midnight when their Midnighter powers are at their peak. They are fighting the Darklings who want one of the teens as a replacement for the human/Midnighter to mutate with a Darkling.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Steve was just in my office complaining that he won't be able to watch the sunrise from the new apt. as we won't be on the East End of the island anymore. Then he perked up when he realized he could watch the cruise ships come in instead. They come in early in the a.m. and leave at dusk. Gives the tourists a day on the island. Many hit jewelry row and shop as we are known for the hundreds of jewelry stores with supposedly good prices. Others get on a safari cab and tour the island, swimming at Magen's Bay, etc.
The cover art for The Sphere of Secrets, the second book in the Oracle Prophecies by Catherine Fisher, is gorgeous, even though quite simple in detail. It is a hand holding a silver sphere with some type of markings on it. I was anxious to read it as I loved the first book, The Oracle Betrayed, in which the reader meets Mirany, the new bearer. As the old Archon dies he presses a slip of paper into her hand that warns her of the treachery around her. She has been chosen as the bearer of the god because the inept and corrupt Speaker thinks she won't notice that the Speaker cannot hear the god and makes up what General Argelin thinks is good for him. Mirany wasn't too sure she even believed in the god until she started to hear him in her head and he was asking her to find the new Archon, a child in a remote village. With the help of a scribe and a drunken musician they do find the young boy, but trouble doesn't end there. In the second book the new Archon must find the Well of the Gods and give back the three stars that a previous Archon had stolen. The silver sphere is a map across the desert to the well. Fisher has a way with language - you can tell she also writes poetry - and draws you into the story immediately. I am already waiting for the third book. Delicious fantasy reading. The Sphere of Secrets is a HarperCollins book and should be in the stores now - came out in March.
Off to work.
The cover art for The Sphere of Secrets, the second book in the Oracle Prophecies by Catherine Fisher, is gorgeous, even though quite simple in detail. It is a hand holding a silver sphere with some type of markings on it. I was anxious to read it as I loved the first book, The Oracle Betrayed, in which the reader meets Mirany, the new bearer. As the old Archon dies he presses a slip of paper into her hand that warns her of the treachery around her. She has been chosen as the bearer of the god because the inept and corrupt Speaker thinks she won't notice that the Speaker cannot hear the god and makes up what General Argelin thinks is good for him. Mirany wasn't too sure she even believed in the god until she started to hear him in her head and he was asking her to find the new Archon, a child in a remote village. With the help of a scribe and a drunken musician they do find the young boy, but trouble doesn't end there. In the second book the new Archon must find the Well of the Gods and give back the three stars that a previous Archon had stolen. The silver sphere is a map across the desert to the well. Fisher has a way with language - you can tell she also writes poetry - and draws you into the story immediately. I am already waiting for the third book. Delicious fantasy reading. The Sphere of Secrets is a HarperCollins book and should be in the stores now - came out in March.
Off to work.
Monday, April 25, 2005
It is 6:30 in the morning and it is already 87 degrees in the livingroom. It feels like a sauna after walking out of the air conditioned bedroom. Can't wait to get to the new apt! It is 81 outside so it is hotter inside than out. I am sure it is going to be hot at school too - it always is. Have to make up my Friday hours since I was home in bed.
My Thursday posting that disappeared into Blogspot cyberspace was about Barry Yourgrau's Nasty Book. It is most certainly nasty and will be loved by upper elementary and MS age kids, boys especially, as it is a compilation of down right dumb, nasty, gross, and sometimes disgusting very short short stories - 3 to 6 pages long. One is about a boy sent to the Dr. because he won't quit picking his nose. The doctor has a Kleenex up his nose and the boy tells the doc he knows he wants to pick it - that's why the Kleenex is stuffed up it. Sure enough when the doctor thinks about picking it a worms comes out of his nose and wraps around his neck. The nurse has one peeking out of her nostril as the boy leaves. Makes you think about picking your nose now doesn't it? YUCK!!! No bloody grossness, but heads do roll and ghosts abound. One boy's head get stuck in a tree and when his brother ties a rope around his legs and tries to pull him out his body comes out first and then the head rolls out, talking of course. This isn't my type of book, but I know the high appeal of gross out books. Check out HarperTeacher.com for a feature on it. It will be out in a couple of days. FYI - the book is upside down with 2 questions on the first page - "Hey, is book is upside-down? Or are you? Turn the page - "Strange...maybe it is you!" and then "Nonsense, it's the book! So turn it over and start!" You won't be able to keep this one on your shelves.
Off to the library.
My Thursday posting that disappeared into Blogspot cyberspace was about Barry Yourgrau's Nasty Book. It is most certainly nasty and will be loved by upper elementary and MS age kids, boys especially, as it is a compilation of down right dumb, nasty, gross, and sometimes disgusting very short short stories - 3 to 6 pages long. One is about a boy sent to the Dr. because he won't quit picking his nose. The doctor has a Kleenex up his nose and the boy tells the doc he knows he wants to pick it - that's why the Kleenex is stuffed up it. Sure enough when the doctor thinks about picking it a worms comes out of his nose and wraps around his neck. The nurse has one peeking out of her nostril as the boy leaves. Makes you think about picking your nose now doesn't it? YUCK!!! No bloody grossness, but heads do roll and ghosts abound. One boy's head get stuck in a tree and when his brother ties a rope around his legs and tries to pull him out his body comes out first and then the head rolls out, talking of course. This isn't my type of book, but I know the high appeal of gross out books. Check out HarperTeacher.com for a feature on it. It will be out in a couple of days. FYI - the book is upside down with 2 questions on the first page - "Hey, is book is upside-down? Or are you? Turn the page - "Strange...maybe it is you!" and then "Nonsense, it's the book! So turn it over and start!" You won't be able to keep this one on your shelves.
Off to the library.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
I was hoping my post from Thursday would have shown up in the blog after it disappeared into cyberspace when I tried to post it, but I guess not.
Haven't posted in the last two days as I lost a battle with sinusitis. You know the one - if you lean forward it feels like you eyes are going to pop out from the pressure. Isn't that a gross visual! I spent the last two days sleeping or wishing I were asleep! But, it is Sunday morning and I can actually open my eyes all the way and breathe a bit through my nose so I am happy.
Carnival is coming up next week and it will be nutso in Carlotte Amalie until next Monday. Some of the classes from Montessori go to the Food Fest on Weds. and the whole school goes to the Children's Parade on Friday since they have a float in the parade. I am not one for crowds so I try to stay away from town during Carnival activities. Steve said he has to get to work early as they use "THE parking lot" (the only one in Charlotte Amalie) for the Carnival booths so the govt. workers lose their parking lot and other parking is at a premium.
In between naps I did read a bit and revisited Hattie from Hill Hawk Hattie by Clara Gillow Clark. In the first book about Hattie her mother has just died and her father is not taking it well - taking it out on Hattie who can't cook if her life depended upon it. So her father brings home a set of boy's clothes for her and tells Hattie she is to pretend to be his son and join him in the woods logging. She becomes a pretty good second hand on the log raft down the river. In the second book, Hattie on Her Way, she is left with her maternal grandmother and one very suspicious and grumpy cook. Something bad has happened to Hattie's grandfather - the neighbors think her grandmother, with her mother's help, "offed him" and when Hattie pulls up what appears to be a finger bone stuck to a radish in the garden she isn't so sure they are wrong. What actually did happen tears at your heart strings and makes you want to take Hattie home with you, but she is one independent young woman and will do fine on her own. Throw in the neighbor who is into gossip and seances and the tutor with an unquenchable appetite and you have a few chuckles in what is a quite good historical novel.
All for now.
Haven't posted in the last two days as I lost a battle with sinusitis. You know the one - if you lean forward it feels like you eyes are going to pop out from the pressure. Isn't that a gross visual! I spent the last two days sleeping or wishing I were asleep! But, it is Sunday morning and I can actually open my eyes all the way and breathe a bit through my nose so I am happy.
Carnival is coming up next week and it will be nutso in Carlotte Amalie until next Monday. Some of the classes from Montessori go to the Food Fest on Weds. and the whole school goes to the Children's Parade on Friday since they have a float in the parade. I am not one for crowds so I try to stay away from town during Carnival activities. Steve said he has to get to work early as they use "THE parking lot" (the only one in Charlotte Amalie) for the Carnival booths so the govt. workers lose their parking lot and other parking is at a premium.
In between naps I did read a bit and revisited Hattie from Hill Hawk Hattie by Clara Gillow Clark. In the first book about Hattie her mother has just died and her father is not taking it well - taking it out on Hattie who can't cook if her life depended upon it. So her father brings home a set of boy's clothes for her and tells Hattie she is to pretend to be his son and join him in the woods logging. She becomes a pretty good second hand on the log raft down the river. In the second book, Hattie on Her Way, she is left with her maternal grandmother and one very suspicious and grumpy cook. Something bad has happened to Hattie's grandfather - the neighbors think her grandmother, with her mother's help, "offed him" and when Hattie pulls up what appears to be a finger bone stuck to a radish in the garden she isn't so sure they are wrong. What actually did happen tears at your heart strings and makes you want to take Hattie home with you, but she is one independent young woman and will do fine on her own. Throw in the neighbor who is into gossip and seances and the tutor with an unquenchable appetite and you have a few chuckles in what is a quite good historical novel.
All for now.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
The intent was to sleep in - took Tylenol P.M. last night to knock me out. Fighting the cold that is going around school and I think I may be losing the battle. But, I woke up with a start when I remembered I hadn't given Steve my driver's license. He works for the Superior Court and we need to have a search done for any kind of tickets before we can renew our car insurance. The VI has a law that you cannot register a car without VI insurance - so no Allstate like we used to have, which was much cheaper. They had no problem with insuring us down here, but the registration office would not issue plates without proof of VI auto insurance. So Steve will pay another $10.00 fee for another piece of paper from the govt. I am going to take the driver's license test tomorrow a.m. Only given two mornings a week. Lots of trick questions to get the newcomers to fail so they have to retake it and pay the $35 fee again. I have already stood in line 3 times down there to get various pieces of paper that I had to pay for and then go get various other items they want, such as a physical and eye test, along with passport photos that do not end up on your license. I am not sure what they do with those!
I finished Maximum Ride and it surely is the first in a set of books. I enjoyed the story but a group of six bird kids loose in New York City who need to change their appearance fast just happen to come upon a free makeover session going on seems too good to be true. Six scrungy kids welcomed in for new haircuts, color, and clothes - a bit too much. And the writing is too "cutesy" at times, especially the second person excerpts directed at the reader. But, the characters are all very likeable and younger teens will love the adventure. Lots of chase and fight scenes with the Erasers, the mutant wolf/humans.
Max reminds me of Dicey in The Homecoming by Voigt. The older sister trying to protect her family - in Max's case, her flock. I enjoyed all of the Tillerman books - especially The Runner. I was delighted when Voigt received the Edwards award several years ago - it was time she was honored for her wonderful YA literature. I jumped up out of my chair with a whoop of delight when the award was announced. Wish I had an extra 24 hours a day just to reread the whole Tillerman series along with the other great YA I have read through the years.
Now to get some grading done. We are chatting with Gail Giles in my class tonight.
I finished Maximum Ride and it surely is the first in a set of books. I enjoyed the story but a group of six bird kids loose in New York City who need to change their appearance fast just happen to come upon a free makeover session going on seems too good to be true. Six scrungy kids welcomed in for new haircuts, color, and clothes - a bit too much. And the writing is too "cutesy" at times, especially the second person excerpts directed at the reader. But, the characters are all very likeable and younger teens will love the adventure. Lots of chase and fight scenes with the Erasers, the mutant wolf/humans.
Max reminds me of Dicey in The Homecoming by Voigt. The older sister trying to protect her family - in Max's case, her flock. I enjoyed all of the Tillerman books - especially The Runner. I was delighted when Voigt received the Edwards award several years ago - it was time she was honored for her wonderful YA literature. I jumped up out of my chair with a whoop of delight when the award was announced. Wish I had an extra 24 hours a day just to reread the whole Tillerman series along with the other great YA I have read through the years.
Now to get some grading done. We are chatting with Gail Giles in my class tonight.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
There are some benefits to being up at 6 a.m. - the sunrise. Looks like another hot one on the way but it is sunny and cool still at 6:30.
Although I am not thrilled to death with Patterson's writing style in Maximum Ride I can't help but like Max. She chose her own last name, Ride, after Sally Ride the astronaut. Lots of talk in the book about how bird DNA has altered their bone structure so it is light and hollow. Made me think of The Fast and Brutal Wing by Johnson. The other shape shifting YA novels that come to mind with predatory type bird shifts is Owl in Love by Kindl (one of my favorites from a few years ago - she falls in love with her teacher) and The Other Ones by Thesman. Thesman's main character is a teenage witch who isn't too keen on her powers until she realizes she can save a shapeshifter and a lonely boy with them. It is interesting that the shifts seem to be into predatory birds. Wonder why no one shapeshifts into a parrot or a sparrow? Probably because they could be food for a predator and there goes your main character!
Off to the library for the day.
Although I am not thrilled to death with Patterson's writing style in Maximum Ride I can't help but like Max. She chose her own last name, Ride, after Sally Ride the astronaut. Lots of talk in the book about how bird DNA has altered their bone structure so it is light and hollow. Made me think of The Fast and Brutal Wing by Johnson. The other shape shifting YA novels that come to mind with predatory type bird shifts is Owl in Love by Kindl (one of my favorites from a few years ago - she falls in love with her teacher) and The Other Ones by Thesman. Thesman's main character is a teenage witch who isn't too keen on her powers until she realizes she can save a shapeshifter and a lonely boy with them. It is interesting that the shifts seem to be into predatory birds. Wonder why no one shapeshifts into a parrot or a sparrow? Probably because they could be food for a predator and there goes your main character!
Off to the library for the day.
Monday, April 18, 2005
A beautiful Monday morning. We have a couple of island parrots that flit around in the trees in front of the apartment. They are gorgeous. Intense green with yellow heads and blue on their tails. First ones I have seen up this close.
We went snorkeling yesterday afternoon after I spent hours boxing up books both for work and to move to the new apartment. Talk about sweaty work with no air conditioning. It is so difficult for me to part with books, even though I know I can access them any time I want in the library. Anyway, the snorkeling was great. We went to Secret Harbor and snorkeled with the tourists. It was a delight when they'd scare a school of fish toward us. It is so breathtaking to see large versions of the small tropical fish we had in our Houston aquarium in their natural habitat. But, it is a bit spooky when they nibble on you. I was hoping to see a sea turtle but no luck. I had "ring around the face" for hours afterward - need to loosen my face mask!
Just started reading James Patterson's Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment. It is a Little Brown publication that just came out this month. Went looking through my pile of ARCs for my copy after seeing the cover art when I was choosing my April audio book. Beautiful angel type creatures. Not very far into it but it appears they are genetically created winged human children who are being chased by Erasers - men who can take wolf form, also genetically altered humans. So many adult authors have begun to write YA novels - wonder why that is. But it does appear I am going to enjoy this one.
We went snorkeling yesterday afternoon after I spent hours boxing up books both for work and to move to the new apartment. Talk about sweaty work with no air conditioning. It is so difficult for me to part with books, even though I know I can access them any time I want in the library. Anyway, the snorkeling was great. We went to Secret Harbor and snorkeled with the tourists. It was a delight when they'd scare a school of fish toward us. It is so breathtaking to see large versions of the small tropical fish we had in our Houston aquarium in their natural habitat. But, it is a bit spooky when they nibble on you. I was hoping to see a sea turtle but no luck. I had "ring around the face" for hours afterward - need to loosen my face mask!
Just started reading James Patterson's Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment. It is a Little Brown publication that just came out this month. Went looking through my pile of ARCs for my copy after seeing the cover art when I was choosing my April audio book. Beautiful angel type creatures. Not very far into it but it appears they are genetically created winged human children who are being chased by Erasers - men who can take wolf form, also genetically altered humans. So many adult authors have begun to write YA novels - wonder why that is. But it does appear I am going to enjoy this one.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
This morning I think I really could have slept in, but no, the breeze took the bedroom door and slammed it and I woke up thinking a bomb had been dropped in the bedroom. So much for my idea of a nice leisurely natural Sunday morning wake up - instead I was wide awake, with a frantically beating heart, at 7:15 a.m.
The guys were here yesterday and put the air conditioner up on the wall above our bed. They had to jack hammer through the wall since almost all buildings down here are made of concrete. But, it is sitting there silent as now we wait for the electrician to come in and wire it. I have a feeling we will have moved out before that air conditioner actually works.
Read Dyan Sheldon's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen last night. Mary Elizabeth, AKA Lola (her choice of names), is a died in the wool city girl moved to the suburbs of New Jersey by her potter mother. Not only does Lola take on a new name, she takes on whatever life story works for her at the moment - like two dead husbands for her mom - so that her friend Ella's parents will feel sorry for her and not be so upset about Ella hanging around with an eccentric city girl who does not dress like the rest of the girls. The villain in the story is Carla Santini, the rich bitch, who has everyone in the school wrapped around her finger for fear she will give them the silent treatment. They all know the last girl who stood up to Carla ended up leaving - unable to stand the heat. Lola not only stays in the frying pan, she get the lead role in the school play, which has never gone to anyone but Carla. Oh the angst of a teenage drama queen. The sequel is My Perfect Life, focusing on Ella, I think.
My audio book of the moment is A Northern Light. Am only on the first CD but I am loving it. Haven't found out what is in those batch of letters Addy has but I hope to find out soon.
The guys were here yesterday and put the air conditioner up on the wall above our bed. They had to jack hammer through the wall since almost all buildings down here are made of concrete. But, it is sitting there silent as now we wait for the electrician to come in and wire it. I have a feeling we will have moved out before that air conditioner actually works.
Read Dyan Sheldon's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen last night. Mary Elizabeth, AKA Lola (her choice of names), is a died in the wool city girl moved to the suburbs of New Jersey by her potter mother. Not only does Lola take on a new name, she takes on whatever life story works for her at the moment - like two dead husbands for her mom - so that her friend Ella's parents will feel sorry for her and not be so upset about Ella hanging around with an eccentric city girl who does not dress like the rest of the girls. The villain in the story is Carla Santini, the rich bitch, who has everyone in the school wrapped around her finger for fear she will give them the silent treatment. They all know the last girl who stood up to Carla ended up leaving - unable to stand the heat. Lola not only stays in the frying pan, she get the lead role in the school play, which has never gone to anyone but Carla. Oh the angst of a teenage drama queen. The sequel is My Perfect Life, focusing on Ella, I think.
My audio book of the moment is A Northern Light. Am only on the first CD but I am loving it. Haven't found out what is in those batch of letters Addy has but I hope to find out soon.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Got the blahs today. I should be in a great mood as they are putting in an air conditioner in our bedroom as I type. So we can sleep in comfort at least until we move. We have had two fans blowing on us at night. We had some rain yesterday and it seems to have brought the mosquitoes out. They don't attack you in swarms like they did in Alaska but these ones are biters. Steve has a zapper shaped like a tennis racket and he has great fun with that in the evenings.
Woke up early (why does that happen when you don't have to get up but you are exhausted when the alarm goes off at the same time on days you have to work?) and watched the weather change from cloudy to sunny. Glorious sunbeams streaming through the clouds and I closed my eyes and could envision mischievous angels sliding down them. Sat on the balcony and read an old Jude Deveraux paperback I picked up somewhere. Haven't read that kind of bubblegum romance in years. I loved her Knight in Shining Armor - it was even made in to a movie with Meg Ryan - but it has been years since I read romances with regularity.
Chic lit is certainly popular with females of all ages. More and more of has been published for teens since Angus, Thongs and Full-Fronting Snogging by Rennison got all the attention because of the Printz. Four books in that series now. Haven't read the third one of the Traveling Pants series, but I like those much better. Better character development.
Whytock's My Cup Runneth Over is a favorite of mine. Angel's sense of humor is delightful. I have the sequel My Scrumptious Scottish Dumpling next to me as I type but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Haven't even checked to see if there are any recipes in it like the first one.
Sorry - brain feels like porridge today - thick and goopy!
Woke up early (why does that happen when you don't have to get up but you are exhausted when the alarm goes off at the same time on days you have to work?) and watched the weather change from cloudy to sunny. Glorious sunbeams streaming through the clouds and I closed my eyes and could envision mischievous angels sliding down them. Sat on the balcony and read an old Jude Deveraux paperback I picked up somewhere. Haven't read that kind of bubblegum romance in years. I loved her Knight in Shining Armor - it was even made in to a movie with Meg Ryan - but it has been years since I read romances with regularity.
Chic lit is certainly popular with females of all ages. More and more of has been published for teens since Angus, Thongs and Full-Fronting Snogging by Rennison got all the attention because of the Printz. Four books in that series now. Haven't read the third one of the Traveling Pants series, but I like those much better. Better character development.
Whytock's My Cup Runneth Over is a favorite of mine. Angel's sense of humor is delightful. I have the sequel My Scrumptious Scottish Dumpling next to me as I type but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Haven't even checked to see if there are any recipes in it like the first one.
Sorry - brain feels like porridge today - thick and goopy!
Friday, April 15, 2005
An early Friday morning greetings from misty St. Thomas. I am sure the mist will evaporate as soon as the sun heats things up a bit but it is still early. As much as I try I am just not a morning person and 6 a.m. gets earlier and earlier. Can't wait for summer when I can work on my own internal clock.
I read the cutest book last night - Chig and the Second Spread by Gwyneth Swain. The "second spread" refers to a second item between the two slices of bread for lunch. When Chig realizes Willy only has one spread, ketchup, between his biscuits she knows things are getting tough in Kaplik. It is a first time novel set in the hollers of southern Indiana during the Depression. Chig is a petite girl who wants to grow but no matter how hard she tries she is always going to be "not much bigger than a chigger." Shortness runs in her family, with her paternal grandmother being less than 5 ft tall so Chig being not a whole lot over 4 ft. at 8-years-0ld is not a surprise. That's when she starts school and with the help of Ms. Barklis the teacher she catches up to the rest of the 3rd graders. Chig is a delightful character who lives in a loving family. Would make a great read aloud in an 3rd-5th grade classroom. It's been out for awhile - 2003 copyright date.
I read the cutest book last night - Chig and the Second Spread by Gwyneth Swain. The "second spread" refers to a second item between the two slices of bread for lunch. When Chig realizes Willy only has one spread, ketchup, between his biscuits she knows things are getting tough in Kaplik. It is a first time novel set in the hollers of southern Indiana during the Depression. Chig is a petite girl who wants to grow but no matter how hard she tries she is always going to be "not much bigger than a chigger." Shortness runs in her family, with her paternal grandmother being less than 5 ft tall so Chig being not a whole lot over 4 ft. at 8-years-0ld is not a surprise. That's when she starts school and with the help of Ms. Barklis the teacher she catches up to the rest of the 3rd graders. Chig is a delightful character who lives in a loving family. Would make a great read aloud in an 3rd-5th grade classroom. It's been out for awhile - 2003 copyright date.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Good afternoon. I just finished writing the final exams for the two YA literature courses I teach. I think I dislike writing exams as much as I dislike taking them! I feel brain dead after that.
I started going through boxes of books, deciding what I am willing to part with for the Montessori School Library and which ones I just have to keep for myself. We won't have as much storage space in the new apartment so I need to pare down a bit. But, I really don't mind since what the new apartment may lack in storage space it makes up for with the large open living area and great kitchen. Not that I cook as much as Steve does, but I have to be in there to make brownies! :-) I can't wait to sit out on that porch, watch the hummingbirds, and listen to the quiet. No "fart mobiles" spinning their tires as they try to get around the sharp corner right below our living room windows. We will be living in an area called Frenchman's Bay - much closer to town so we won't have to get up as early. Lots of large homes above the bay, including the one we will be living in. We don't move until the beginning of June, but I am getting anxious.
My latest reading material has been at a bit lower level - upper elementary, lower middle school - Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan. Her Esperanza Rising was very popular in the middle schools in Texas. It won more awards that you can shake a fist at.
Reading Becoming Naomi Leon was a treat. Ryan has a way with language that is as rich as the hot chocolate that sits on the back of the stove in Naomi's Mexican relatives' home. Naomi and her physically handicapped younger brother live with their great grandmother in her airstream trailer. They don't have much, but they are happy and content with the love that surrounds them, until Naomi's mother returns and wants to take Naomi with her to Vegas. A trip to Mexico results in Naomi and Owen being reunited with their father and Naomi developing enough self confidence to stand up for herself. Oh what a satisfying read. :-)
I started going through boxes of books, deciding what I am willing to part with for the Montessori School Library and which ones I just have to keep for myself. We won't have as much storage space in the new apartment so I need to pare down a bit. But, I really don't mind since what the new apartment may lack in storage space it makes up for with the large open living area and great kitchen. Not that I cook as much as Steve does, but I have to be in there to make brownies! :-) I can't wait to sit out on that porch, watch the hummingbirds, and listen to the quiet. No "fart mobiles" spinning their tires as they try to get around the sharp corner right below our living room windows. We will be living in an area called Frenchman's Bay - much closer to town so we won't have to get up as early. Lots of large homes above the bay, including the one we will be living in. We don't move until the beginning of June, but I am getting anxious.
My latest reading material has been at a bit lower level - upper elementary, lower middle school - Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan. Her Esperanza Rising was very popular in the middle schools in Texas. It won more awards that you can shake a fist at.
Reading Becoming Naomi Leon was a treat. Ryan has a way with language that is as rich as the hot chocolate that sits on the back of the stove in Naomi's Mexican relatives' home. Naomi and her physically handicapped younger brother live with their great grandmother in her airstream trailer. They don't have much, but they are happy and content with the love that surrounds them, until Naomi's mother returns and wants to take Naomi with her to Vegas. A trip to Mexico results in Naomi and Owen being reunited with their father and Naomi developing enough self confidence to stand up for herself. Oh what a satisfying read. :-)
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
It is going to be a hot one today. I'm already drinking diet Coke and sitting in front of the fan. Looks like we will be moving into a new apartment the end of next month. It is in a much quieter neighborhood and has air conditioning! And a washer and dryer. I don't trust any of my clothes to the laundry people so I end up doing most of them by hand. What a pain. Can't wait to move, but dread the idea of moving. Thank goodness that apartment does not include a set of steps to go down like this one does. Moving a king size bed out of here is going to be interesting.
Guess I am just in the island mode. I picked up The Education of Patience Goodspeed by Heather Vogel Frederick because of the cover art - cool old ship with sails up in the background. When I read the blurb and realized it was set in Hawaii I knew I had to read it. It was absolutely wonderful. I have been reading so much contemporary YA that this humorous historical fiction novel was just what I needed. Patience is not one of Patience's virtues so I really related to her in that sense. A young teen who has already saved her father's whaling ship from a mutiny and masterminded and executed the plan to rescue a landing party from the cannibals on the Dark Islands, poor Patience does not know how to act the part of the lady at the Lahaina girls seminary boarding school she and her little brother Tad are sent to. Fanny, the woman Patience fears is after her father, spews etiquette tips all day long, and the Reverend Wiggins keeps pace with her in relation to quoting Proverbs. What a delightful read. Now I need to find the first book - The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed to read more about the mutiny.
The MS Tantalizing Tidbits book manuscript went in yesterday so I can breath a sigh of relief and start working on writing a final for the YA literature courses. This semester is flying by.
Guess I am just in the island mode. I picked up The Education of Patience Goodspeed by Heather Vogel Frederick because of the cover art - cool old ship with sails up in the background. When I read the blurb and realized it was set in Hawaii I knew I had to read it. It was absolutely wonderful. I have been reading so much contemporary YA that this humorous historical fiction novel was just what I needed. Patience is not one of Patience's virtues so I really related to her in that sense. A young teen who has already saved her father's whaling ship from a mutiny and masterminded and executed the plan to rescue a landing party from the cannibals on the Dark Islands, poor Patience does not know how to act the part of the lady at the Lahaina girls seminary boarding school she and her little brother Tad are sent to. Fanny, the woman Patience fears is after her father, spews etiquette tips all day long, and the Reverend Wiggins keeps pace with her in relation to quoting Proverbs. What a delightful read. Now I need to find the first book - The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed to read more about the mutiny.
The MS Tantalizing Tidbits book manuscript went in yesterday so I can breath a sigh of relief and start working on writing a final for the YA literature courses. This semester is flying by.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
It is actually cool enough today for me to have my fan off and to drink hot tea. Why is it the cool days are the ones I work at home and not at Montessori? For sure it will be sunny and hotter than Hades again tomorrow while I am in the library.
We went and looked at an apartment yesterday and are keeping our fingers crossed we get it as it is in a very quiet neighborhood and the road to it is quite good - not a goat trail like the one we are on now. No abandoned cars along side the road either. Great ocean view with hummingbirds everywhere. Sophie will go nuts watching them. We should find out in a couple of days.
Decided to take a break from YA and read a children's book by Carolyn Marsden - Moon Runner. I loved the cover art - an Asian girl in full stride. Very cute story about 5th grade best friends who are having problems because Min, the supposed "girlie girl" can run faster than the athletically inclined Ruth. Competition initially has a bad influence on their friendship until Ruth realizes that Min has reminded her how good it feels to run, even if you don't win. Not only did the cover attract me, so did the author. Marsden also wrote The Gold-Threaded Dress, which I absolutely loved and apparently so did many others as it was named a Booklist Top Ten Youth First Novel. The main character's family has recently moved from Thailand and she is trying to fit in with the predominantly Hispanic group of 4th grade students. Her ceremonial dress becomes her ticket into the in crowd but they do not appreciate how important it is to Oy and her family.
All for today - still working on the final manuscript editing.
We went and looked at an apartment yesterday and are keeping our fingers crossed we get it as it is in a very quiet neighborhood and the road to it is quite good - not a goat trail like the one we are on now. No abandoned cars along side the road either. Great ocean view with hummingbirds everywhere. Sophie will go nuts watching them. We should find out in a couple of days.
Decided to take a break from YA and read a children's book by Carolyn Marsden - Moon Runner. I loved the cover art - an Asian girl in full stride. Very cute story about 5th grade best friends who are having problems because Min, the supposed "girlie girl" can run faster than the athletically inclined Ruth. Competition initially has a bad influence on their friendship until Ruth realizes that Min has reminded her how good it feels to run, even if you don't win. Not only did the cover attract me, so did the author. Marsden also wrote The Gold-Threaded Dress, which I absolutely loved and apparently so did many others as it was named a Booklist Top Ten Youth First Novel. The main character's family has recently moved from Thailand and she is trying to fit in with the predominantly Hispanic group of 4th grade students. Her ceremonial dress becomes her ticket into the in crowd but they do not appreciate how important it is to Oy and her family.
All for today - still working on the final manuscript editing.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Good morning all. I have a box of books all set to go to Montessori this morning, thanks to Flamingnet.com - a YA book review website that donates books to libraries. Check them out at www.flamingnet.com. I have Flamingnet bookmarked on my computer and check it out quite frequently. Since the HS just opened at Montessori last year we have a very small collection of books for them so the Cirque du Freak titles and the other books will be a real hit with the teens.
Read another ARC - The Queen of Second Place by Laura Peyton Roberts. As a teen I was not part of the in-crowd in school so I certainly related to Cassie's dislike and frustration with the Queen Bee, Sterling, who she called Fourteen Karat, or F.K. for short. The girl who had it all, flaunted it, and had a tongue as sharp as a finely honed sword. Cassie was the target for much of F.K.'s nasty comments due to her red hair and her love of vintage clothes. The competition between Cassie and F.K. heats up when new boy Kevin is partnered with Cassie for an English assignment. Cassie is sure Kevin will fall in love with her - after all she has immediately fallen head over heels in love with him! What she does to get and keep his attention puts her in detention, gets her grounded, and makes her realize who her true friends are. It was fun to read a YA novel where no one dies or does drugs. Just a group of teens with the typical teen issues, learning to deal with them. The Queen of Second Place is a Delacorte title and will be out in August. It is worth the wait. I am still smiling as I think of Cassie's antics.
Gotta go - time to take Steve in to the office.
Read another ARC - The Queen of Second Place by Laura Peyton Roberts. As a teen I was not part of the in-crowd in school so I certainly related to Cassie's dislike and frustration with the Queen Bee, Sterling, who she called Fourteen Karat, or F.K. for short. The girl who had it all, flaunted it, and had a tongue as sharp as a finely honed sword. Cassie was the target for much of F.K.'s nasty comments due to her red hair and her love of vintage clothes. The competition between Cassie and F.K. heats up when new boy Kevin is partnered with Cassie for an English assignment. Cassie is sure Kevin will fall in love with her - after all she has immediately fallen head over heels in love with him! What she does to get and keep his attention puts her in detention, gets her grounded, and makes her realize who her true friends are. It was fun to read a YA novel where no one dies or does drugs. Just a group of teens with the typical teen issues, learning to deal with them. The Queen of Second Place is a Delacorte title and will be out in August. It is worth the wait. I am still smiling as I think of Cassie's antics.
Gotta go - time to take Steve in to the office.
Monday, April 04, 2005
Oh wow! It did get published - sorry about that! Just goes to show I should check the blog before I post.
Read an adult mystery during the weekend by Iris Johansen called Fatal Tide. I picked it up when I was in B&N in Green Bay during the Holidays and put it in my ever growing pile of adult books to read. I don't get to that pile often - too much fun YA to read. Anyway, I picked it up because the cover reminded me of Deep by Vance - a YA novel set in the Caribbean. A picture of a female's face as she lays face up in the water. Fatal Tide is also set in the Caribbean - mostly on a private island dolphin preserve near Tobago. The dolphins had been rescued from a net in the Canary Islands, where the site of the legendary Miranth (an Egyptian version of Atlantis) had been located. We have the feisty female character who had been abused a child so she isn't too keen on men and the rich and good looking adventurer who wants Miranth at any cost. Was a fun read. Now I want to visit Tobago! :-)
Read an adult mystery during the weekend by Iris Johansen called Fatal Tide. I picked it up when I was in B&N in Green Bay during the Holidays and put it in my ever growing pile of adult books to read. I don't get to that pile often - too much fun YA to read. Anyway, I picked it up because the cover reminded me of Deep by Vance - a YA novel set in the Caribbean. A picture of a female's face as she lays face up in the water. Fatal Tide is also set in the Caribbean - mostly on a private island dolphin preserve near Tobago. The dolphins had been rescued from a net in the Canary Islands, where the site of the legendary Miranth (an Egyptian version of Atlantis) had been located. We have the feisty female character who had been abused a child so she isn't too keen on men and the rich and good looking adventurer who wants Miranth at any cost. Was a fun read. Now I want to visit Tobago! :-)
Good morning. BlogSpot was having "technical difficulties" there for a bit or I was busy working on the indexes for the MS booktalking manuscript. Here is the posting I tried to put in on Thursday but with no luck Hopefully it will go through today:
It is a territory holiday today - Transfer Day, when the Dutch transferred ownership of the islands to the U.S. Everyone jokes about all the holidays that the VI celebrates. A friend who works in the public schools says that there are often months where they never work a full week. Montessori doesn't have as many days off as the public schools.
Just finished grading my graduate level class discussion postings about adult books for teens. The subject came up about how we seem to have no problem with using classics, even those with "objectionable" subject matter, for class reading. Can you just imagine the uproar over a YA novel similar to The Scarlet Letter. I think a young woman getting pregnant by the local fundamentalist minister would have much of the community upset if it were used as a class reading title. Hmm, wait a minute, there is a teen novel somewhat similar to that by James Bennett called Faith Wish. It is about a teenage girl who is seduced by a traveling minister and becomes pregnant, but when she finds him, thinking they will have a life together, he puts her in seclusion at a cult like camp. The main character, Anne-Marie, is a bit on the naive side and has learning difficulties so her self esteem is quite low. She is an easy target for this long haired charismatic preacher. A very interesting read, but not one I would use for a class reading set. :-)
My favorite James Bennett YA novel is The Circle Squared. It is definitely for older teens as the main character is a freshman in college and the language and issues addressed are more appropriate for the older teens. Wish every young guy who goes off to college thinking he wants to join a fraternity reads this book. Recommend it to the guys who love college basketball.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
It is a territory holiday today - Transfer Day, when the Dutch transferred ownership of the islands to the U.S. Everyone jokes about all the holidays that the VI celebrates. A friend who works in the public schools says that there are often months where they never work a full week. Montessori doesn't have as many days off as the public schools.
Just finished grading my graduate level class discussion postings about adult books for teens. The subject came up about how we seem to have no problem with using classics, even those with "objectionable" subject matter, for class reading. Can you just imagine the uproar over a YA novel similar to The Scarlet Letter. I think a young woman getting pregnant by the local fundamentalist minister would have much of the community upset if it were used as a class reading title. Hmm, wait a minute, there is a teen novel somewhat similar to that by James Bennett called Faith Wish. It is about a teenage girl who is seduced by a traveling minister and becomes pregnant, but when she finds him, thinking they will have a life together, he puts her in seclusion at a cult like camp. The main character, Anne-Marie, is a bit on the naive side and has learning difficulties so her self esteem is quite low. She is an easy target for this long haired charismatic preacher. A very interesting read, but not one I would use for a class reading set. :-)
My favorite James Bennett YA novel is The Circle Squared. It is definitely for older teens as the main character is a freshman in college and the language and issues addressed are more appropriate for the older teens. Wish every young guy who goes off to college thinking he wants to join a fraternity reads this book. Recommend it to the guys who love college basketball.
Just finished grading my graduate level class discussion postings about adult books for teens. The subject came up about how we seem to have no problem with using classics, even those with "objectionable" subject matter, for class reading. Can you just imagine the uproar over a YA novel similar to The Scarlet Letter. I think a young woman getting pregnant by the local fundamentalist minister would have much of the community upset if it were used as a class reading title. Hmm, wait a minute, there is a teen novel somewhat similar to that by James Bennett called Faith Wish. It is about a teenage girl who is seduced by a traveling minister and becomes pregnant, but when she finds him, thinking they will have a life together, he puts her in seclusion at a cult like camp. The main character, Anne-Marie, is a bit on the naive side and has learning difficulties so her self esteem is quite low. She is an easy target for this long haired charismatic preacher. A very interesting read, but not one I would use for a class reading set. :-)
My favorite James Bennett YA novel is The Circle Squared. It is definitely for older teens as the main character is a freshman in college and the language and issues addressed are more appropriate for the older teens. Wish every young guy who goes off to college thinking he wants to join a fraternity reads this book. Recommend it to the guys who love college basketball.
It is a territory holiday today - Transfer Day, when the Dutch transferred ownership of the islands to the U.S. Everyone jokes about all the holidays that the VI celebrates. A friend who works in the public schools says that there are often months where they never work a full week. Montessori doesn't have as many days off as the public schools.
Just finished grading my graduate level class discussion postings about adult books for teens. The subject came up about how we seem to have no problem with using classics, even those with "objectionable" subject matter, for class reading. Can you just imagine the uproar over a YA novel similar to The Scarlet Letter. I think a young woman getting pregnant by the local fundamentalist minister would have much of the community upset if it were used as a class reading title. Hmm, wait a minute, there is a teen novel somewhat similar to that by James Bennett called Faith Wish. It is about a teenage girl who is seduced by a traveling minister and becomes pregnant, but when she finds him, thinking they will have a life together, he puts her in seclusion at a cult like camp. The main character, Anne-Marie, is a bit on the naive side and has learning difficulties so her self esteem is quite low. She is an easy target for this long haired charismatic preacher. A very interesting read, but not one I would use for a class reading set. :-)
My favorite James Bennett YA novel is The Circle Squared. It is definitely for older teens as the main character is a freshman in college and the language and issues addressed are more appropriate for the older teens. Wish every young guy who goes off to college thinking he wants to join a fraternity reads this book. Recommend it to the guys who love college basketball.
Just finished grading my graduate level class discussion postings about adult books for teens. The subject came up about how we seem to have no problem with using classics, even those with "objectionable" subject matter, for class reading. Can you just imagine the uproar over a YA novel similar to The Scarlet Letter. I think a young woman getting pregnant by the local fundamentalist minister would have much of the community upset if it were used as a class reading title. Hmm, wait a minute, there is a teen novel somewhat similar to that by James Bennett called Faith Wish. It is about a teenage girl who is seduced by a traveling minister and becomes pregnant, but when she finds him, thinking they will have a life together, he puts her in seclusion at a cult like camp. The main character, Anne-Marie, is a bit on the naive side and has learning difficulties so her self esteem is quite low. She is an easy target for this long haired charismatic preacher. A very interesting read, but not one I would use for a class reading set. :-)
My favorite James Bennett YA novel is The Circle Squared. It is definitely for older teens as the main character is a freshman in college and the language and issues addressed are more appropriate for the older teens. Wish every young guy who goes off to college thinking he wants to join a fraternity reads this book. Recommend it to the guys who love college basketball.
It is a territory holiday today - Transfer Day, when the Dutch transferred ownership of the islands to the U.S. Everyone jokes about all the holidays that the VI celebrates. A friend who works in the public schools says that there are often months where they never work a full week. Montessori doesn't have as many days off as the public schools.
Just finished grading my graduate level class discussion postings about adult books for teens. The subject came up about how we seem to have no problem with using classics, even those with "objectionable" subject matter, for class reading. Can you just imagine the uproar over a YA novel similar to The Scarlet Letter. I think a young woman getting pregnant by the local fundamentalist minister would have much of the community upset if it were used as a class reading title. Hmm, wait a minute, there is a teen novel somewhat similar to that by James Bennett called Faith Wish. It is about a teenage girl who is seduced by a traveling minister and becomes pregnant, but when she finds him, thinking they will have a life together, he puts her in seclusion at a cult like camp. The main character, Anne-Marie, is a bit on the naive side and has learning difficulties so her self esteem is quite low. She is an easy target for this long haired charismatic preacher. A very interesting read, but not one I would use for a class reading set. :-)
My favorite James Bennett YA novel is The Circle Squared. It is definitely for older teens as the main character is a freshman in college and the language and issues addressed are more appropriate for the older teens. Wish every young guy who goes off to college thinking he wants to join a fraternity reads this book. Recommend it to the guys who love college basketball.
Just finished grading my graduate level class discussion postings about adult books for teens. The subject came up about how we seem to have no problem with using classics, even those with "objectionable" subject matter, for class reading. Can you just imagine the uproar over a YA novel similar to The Scarlet Letter. I think a young woman getting pregnant by the local fundamentalist minister would have much of the community upset if it were used as a class reading title. Hmm, wait a minute, there is a teen novel somewhat similar to that by James Bennett called Faith Wish. It is about a teenage girl who is seduced by a traveling minister and becomes pregnant, but when she finds him, thinking they will have a life together, he puts her in seclusion at a cult like camp. The main character, Anne-Marie, is a bit on the naive side and has learning difficulties so her self esteem is quite low. She is an easy target for this long haired charismatic preacher. A very interesting read, but not one I would use for a class reading set. :-)
My favorite James Bennett YA novel is The Circle Squared. It is definitely for older teens as the main character is a freshman in college and the language and issues addressed are more appropriate for the older teens. Wish every young guy who goes off to college thinking he wants to join a fraternity reads this book. Recommend it to the guys who love college basketball.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Tried to post this morning but BlogSpot was having technical difficulties. Got busy grading and working on other projects and forgot about it. But, I have an online chat with my undergraduate class in an hour so I thought now would be the time to write. We are discussing The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, Being Dead, and What My Mother Doesn't Know. Quite a mix of genres - fantasy, horror short stories, and a contemporary verse novel.
As much as I have tried to be a Pratchett fan I am not. I have read Hat Full of Sky and The Wee Free Men, which are about Tiffany Aching, a young witch learning how to deal with her powers. Yes, I did enjoy the antics of the little blue feisty "fairies" who help her out, but I wasn't as enchanted by them as many are. I also read The Bromaliad Trilogy and liked it better, but that did not make me want to wade through the myriad of Discworld titles. But many teens do. Pratchett's fan base is enormous both with teens and adults. Amazing Maurice is my favorite of those I have read, though I like Napoli's Breath better as a rewrite of the Pied Piper of Hamlin story - it certainly is more gruesome and for older teens.
Now, Vivian Vande Velde is more my style. I love Never Trust a Dead Man. How can you not love a book where a young man is accused of killing a guy who is then brought back by a witch, but accidentally in bat form. The boy and the bat then try to figure out who the murderer is. But, my favorite Vande Velde book is Companions of the Night. It is the first one of her books I read and since I enjoy vampire tales, this one held my attention. Who would figure the guy being beat up in the laundromat is a vampire? Makes you think twice about going back in the middle of the night to get your little brother's left behind teddy bear now doesn't it?
Sonya Sones has a strong following for her verse novels. They are quick and easy reads and are about subjects teenage girls can relate to. My favorite is Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. Verse novels have become very popular. I have been looking at how many of them have appeared on both BBYA and Notable Children's and it is surprising.
Don't you ever wish that you had an extra 24 hour time period for just reading? There are so many great books out there that I have missed and would like to read, like all of the Tamora Pierce fantasy novels that I have missed. I read all of the Alanna ones, but haven't kept up with the rest.
As much as I have tried to be a Pratchett fan I am not. I have read Hat Full of Sky and The Wee Free Men, which are about Tiffany Aching, a young witch learning how to deal with her powers. Yes, I did enjoy the antics of the little blue feisty "fairies" who help her out, but I wasn't as enchanted by them as many are. I also read The Bromaliad Trilogy and liked it better, but that did not make me want to wade through the myriad of Discworld titles. But many teens do. Pratchett's fan base is enormous both with teens and adults. Amazing Maurice is my favorite of those I have read, though I like Napoli's Breath better as a rewrite of the Pied Piper of Hamlin story - it certainly is more gruesome and for older teens.
Now, Vivian Vande Velde is more my style. I love Never Trust a Dead Man. How can you not love a book where a young man is accused of killing a guy who is then brought back by a witch, but accidentally in bat form. The boy and the bat then try to figure out who the murderer is. But, my favorite Vande Velde book is Companions of the Night. It is the first one of her books I read and since I enjoy vampire tales, this one held my attention. Who would figure the guy being beat up in the laundromat is a vampire? Makes you think twice about going back in the middle of the night to get your little brother's left behind teddy bear now doesn't it?
Sonya Sones has a strong following for her verse novels. They are quick and easy reads and are about subjects teenage girls can relate to. My favorite is Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. Verse novels have become very popular. I have been looking at how many of them have appeared on both BBYA and Notable Children's and it is surprising.
Don't you ever wish that you had an extra 24 hour time period for just reading? There are so many great books out there that I have missed and would like to read, like all of the Tamora Pierce fantasy novels that I have missed. I read all of the Alanna ones, but haven't kept up with the rest.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
The Easter Break has come to an end and we are all back at work even though the traffic sure did seem light going into Charlotte Amalie to bring Steve to work. But, there are 5 cruise ships in so I am sure it will be a nightmare to go in and get him here shortly as I have to drive by the cruise ship area.
It was a great 5 days break. We took the ferry over to St. John on Good Friday and had lunch at Island Jazz on Coral Bay. It was so relaxing to just sit and watch the herons walk along fishing and the sailboats rocking at anchor. That side of St. John is very pretty - hadn't visited there before. We would love to live on St. John but since most of it is National Park rentals are few and very expensive. A lot of the teachers live on St Thomas and take the ferry over each day.
I didn't do as much reading as I wanted to during the weekend as we watched a lot of movies. I wallowed in oldies - one with Doris Day and James Garner and then Gidget - I had never seen it before. We also watched Drew Barrymore's 50 First Dates - what a wonderful feel good movie. The Hawaiian scenery was nice too. I liked Shall We Dance because Richard Gere is in it but Steve wasn't too impressed. I don't even want to talk abut Bubba Ho Tep, the funky movie he rented. Imagine Elvis overweight and old in a rest home fighting an Egyptian mummy wearing cowboy boots and hat. Oh yes, and Elvis' side kick is JFK, who is now black and played by Ossie Davis!
Okay - gotta mention books. I finished Crutcher's The Sledding Hill. It was an interesting read, but not my favorite of his books by any means. It is very message driven about censorship. A fundamental church group is trying to censor a fictitious Crutcher book called "Warren Peece". The story is told from a dead boy's point of view about his best friend standing up to the church group, which his mom belongs to.
But, I did love Forest of the Pygmies, the third Alex Cold and Nadia Santos adventure by Isabel Allende. I also loved the first one - City of the Beasts that is set in the Amazon with wonderful disappearing Amazonian Indians, etc. The second one Kingdom of the Dragon is set in a China like kingdom with Alex and Nadia getting involved in saving the Golden Dragon. Wasn't as exciting. Forest of the Pygmies is set in very remote part of Africa. I loved the first part when the elephant let Alex know how she felt about him riding her by knocking him into a puddle then "blowing wind" in his face - and it wasn't from her trunk. :-) Again, Alex and Nadia use their totemic powers to save the pygmies and the villagers from a band of mercenary soldiers who are using them as slaves. I'm sorry to see their adventures come to an end.
That's all the YA reading I did - I am in the middle of an adult mystery set in the Caribbean at the moment. Have to give myself a break from the YA once in awhile. Okay - gotta get in the car and go get Steve. I am listening to a YA novel - Card's Ender's Game and I am not impressed. I waited all this time to read/listen to this book and I am not enjoying it. All the practice battle scenes are boring me and I am not crazy about the narrator's voice. I guess I shouldn't have chosen this one to listen to after the beautiful language of Cold Mountain.
It was a great 5 days break. We took the ferry over to St. John on Good Friday and had lunch at Island Jazz on Coral Bay. It was so relaxing to just sit and watch the herons walk along fishing and the sailboats rocking at anchor. That side of St. John is very pretty - hadn't visited there before. We would love to live on St. John but since most of it is National Park rentals are few and very expensive. A lot of the teachers live on St Thomas and take the ferry over each day.
I didn't do as much reading as I wanted to during the weekend as we watched a lot of movies. I wallowed in oldies - one with Doris Day and James Garner and then Gidget - I had never seen it before. We also watched Drew Barrymore's 50 First Dates - what a wonderful feel good movie. The Hawaiian scenery was nice too. I liked Shall We Dance because Richard Gere is in it but Steve wasn't too impressed. I don't even want to talk abut Bubba Ho Tep, the funky movie he rented. Imagine Elvis overweight and old in a rest home fighting an Egyptian mummy wearing cowboy boots and hat. Oh yes, and Elvis' side kick is JFK, who is now black and played by Ossie Davis!
Okay - gotta mention books. I finished Crutcher's The Sledding Hill. It was an interesting read, but not my favorite of his books by any means. It is very message driven about censorship. A fundamental church group is trying to censor a fictitious Crutcher book called "Warren Peece". The story is told from a dead boy's point of view about his best friend standing up to the church group, which his mom belongs to.
But, I did love Forest of the Pygmies, the third Alex Cold and Nadia Santos adventure by Isabel Allende. I also loved the first one - City of the Beasts that is set in the Amazon with wonderful disappearing Amazonian Indians, etc. The second one Kingdom of the Dragon is set in a China like kingdom with Alex and Nadia getting involved in saving the Golden Dragon. Wasn't as exciting. Forest of the Pygmies is set in very remote part of Africa. I loved the first part when the elephant let Alex know how she felt about him riding her by knocking him into a puddle then "blowing wind" in his face - and it wasn't from her trunk. :-) Again, Alex and Nadia use their totemic powers to save the pygmies and the villagers from a band of mercenary soldiers who are using them as slaves. I'm sorry to see their adventures come to an end.
That's all the YA reading I did - I am in the middle of an adult mystery set in the Caribbean at the moment. Have to give myself a break from the YA once in awhile. Okay - gotta get in the car and go get Steve. I am listening to a YA novel - Card's Ender's Game and I am not impressed. I waited all this time to read/listen to this book and I am not enjoying it. All the practice battle scenes are boring me and I am not crazy about the narrator's voice. I guess I shouldn't have chosen this one to listen to after the beautiful language of Cold Mountain.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Good morning! I am off to the eye doctor's shortly. GRRR!! Old age is creeping up on me and I need glasses for my close up vision. Never had problems with that before - just distance and that was fixed with lasik a few years ago. Steve convinced me to have it done in time for our first sailing trip together. He knew I was pretty much blind without my glasses or contacts and a sailboat is not a good place to be with no depth perception. I still remember sitting in the restaurant on Mustique Island and looking out at the lush vegetation and realizing I could actually see the delineation between leaves. I find myself pushing up those imaginary glasses again, but now it is because I can't read the fine print.
Well, I finished Walter Mosley's 47. It is an intriguing mix of historical and science fiction. 47 is a young slave who is to be the savior of the universe, at least that is what Tall John, a runaway slave who is actually an alien from another planet/solar system, tells him. 47 learns that calling himself or other blacks a niggah is not appropriate nor is considering himself property of the plantation owner. This is a very thought provoking book, but I have to admit I was disappointed by the ending.
I started Crutcher's Sledding Hill last night and so far am enjoying it. He wasn't kidding when he said there is no profanity in it. You have to chuckle when he says the student used a term in class that rhymes with what they call a classmate's dad who drives big diesel trucks. The narrator, Billy, has recently died and is watching his super hyperactive best friend not dealing well with the recent death of his father and his best friend.
The question came up on YALSA-BK about what is the one YA book you would give someone. That is a tough one as there is a book in every genre that would be appropriate, but for contemporary realistic fiction I would have to recommend Crutcher and anything he has written. For years Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes was the one I had my students read, now it is Whale Talk. But my favorite of Crutcher's is Ironman - because of the inner battle the protagonist has with his anger and feelings toward his domineering father, but mostly because of his letters to Larry King. :-)
In historical fiction one of my all time favorites is Sherryl Jordon's The Raging Quiet. A romance, but so much more with her teaching a mute young man how to communicate and her response to the villagers testing her as a witch. My own palm was tingling as I read about her holding the red hot metal rod in her hand.
All for now.
Well, I finished Walter Mosley's 47. It is an intriguing mix of historical and science fiction. 47 is a young slave who is to be the savior of the universe, at least that is what Tall John, a runaway slave who is actually an alien from another planet/solar system, tells him. 47 learns that calling himself or other blacks a niggah is not appropriate nor is considering himself property of the plantation owner. This is a very thought provoking book, but I have to admit I was disappointed by the ending.
I started Crutcher's Sledding Hill last night and so far am enjoying it. He wasn't kidding when he said there is no profanity in it. You have to chuckle when he says the student used a term in class that rhymes with what they call a classmate's dad who drives big diesel trucks. The narrator, Billy, has recently died and is watching his super hyperactive best friend not dealing well with the recent death of his father and his best friend.
The question came up on YALSA-BK about what is the one YA book you would give someone. That is a tough one as there is a book in every genre that would be appropriate, but for contemporary realistic fiction I would have to recommend Crutcher and anything he has written. For years Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes was the one I had my students read, now it is Whale Talk. But my favorite of Crutcher's is Ironman - because of the inner battle the protagonist has with his anger and feelings toward his domineering father, but mostly because of his letters to Larry King. :-)
In historical fiction one of my all time favorites is Sherryl Jordon's The Raging Quiet. A romance, but so much more with her teaching a mute young man how to communicate and her response to the villagers testing her as a witch. My own palm was tingling as I read about her holding the red hot metal rod in her hand.
All for now.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Yahoo! The Internet connection is working at the same time I want to use it. :-) Had to go in to the Montessori library on Sunday to work on a book order that was due on Monday because our DSL connection at home was down. It was so darn hot in there I thought I was going to melt. The library doesn't have air conditioning - just lots of louvered windows and fans, but because the library is between other buildings it doesn't get much air flow. I am trying not to get excited about the new books for the students as I have been told it will take about a year to get them. These are books bought with Federal funds and nothing works quickly through governmental channels down here.
Speaking of books - I have a new favorite - A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson. I really enjoy the edgy books for older YAs and this is one of them. Zoe (with a f....ing "e" at the end!) has her anger just barely under control. Well not always under control - she is suspended from class for her outburst about how to pronounce her name! Luckily she can let some of that anger and frustration out on the tennis courts. Zoe has finally had enough of being the caretaker for her alcoholic mother and moves into a room on Lorelei Street in the home of an eccentric older woman, Opal. Opal gives Zoe a delicious touch of caring - something no one in Zoe's family has done in years. Opal actually goes to Zoe's tennis matches - Zoe is so stunned and touched she doesn't know how to respond. But, the wonderful feeling of having a safe and calm place of her own may be coming to an abrupt end as Zoe has to give her grandmother most of her rent money to pay for the car registration. Now Zoe has to figure out how to come up with the rest of the rent money so she can keep her promise that she will not go crawling back to her mother and grandmother. Will be out in June 05.
Pearson's other books for teens are David v. God and Scribbler of Dreams.
I haven't had much time to read in the last day or so but I am about through with Mosley's 47. Such a beautifully written, but strange book - a combination of historical and science fiction. I will write more about it when I finish it. I'm still at the savoring point. :-)
All for today.
Speaking of books - I have a new favorite - A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson. I really enjoy the edgy books for older YAs and this is one of them. Zoe (with a f....ing "e" at the end!) has her anger just barely under control. Well not always under control - she is suspended from class for her outburst about how to pronounce her name! Luckily she can let some of that anger and frustration out on the tennis courts. Zoe has finally had enough of being the caretaker for her alcoholic mother and moves into a room on Lorelei Street in the home of an eccentric older woman, Opal. Opal gives Zoe a delicious touch of caring - something no one in Zoe's family has done in years. Opal actually goes to Zoe's tennis matches - Zoe is so stunned and touched she doesn't know how to respond. But, the wonderful feeling of having a safe and calm place of her own may be coming to an abrupt end as Zoe has to give her grandmother most of her rent money to pay for the car registration. Now Zoe has to figure out how to come up with the rest of the rent money so she can keep her promise that she will not go crawling back to her mother and grandmother. Will be out in June 05.
Pearson's other books for teens are David v. God and Scribbler of Dreams.
I haven't had much time to read in the last day or so but I am about through with Mosley's 47. Such a beautifully written, but strange book - a combination of historical and science fiction. I will write more about it when I finish it. I'm still at the savoring point. :-)
All for today.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Just watched a small sailboat come into the marina for fuel. It was under power, sails down, which made me think of the huge sailing ships of years ago and how they didn't have an engine to depend upon when the wind died down or when they had to navigate into small places. Amazing!
Started the ARC for A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson. It is fantastic! I love the edgy YA for older teens and this is one of them. The scene where she loses it in class and tells the battle ax of a teacher that her name, Zoe, has an f...ing e at the end is so true to the teen with such anger building up inside that erupts at the most inopportune times. Pearson also wrote David v. God and Scribbler of Dreams.
A short posting today.
Started the ARC for A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson. It is fantastic! I love the edgy YA for older teens and this is one of them. The scene where she loses it in class and tells the battle ax of a teacher that her name, Zoe, has an f...ing e at the end is so true to the teen with such anger building up inside that erupts at the most inopportune times. Pearson also wrote David v. God and Scribbler of Dreams.
A short posting today.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
With summer upon us the sun in the morning is quite intense. We still open the patio doors but have begun to drop the shade to keep some of the heat out. The cat sure doesn't like having to go under it to go outside. Not that she can't go out the window we keep the screen off of for her. She is spoiled rotten and shedding like crazy due to the weather change. Who would have thought that a cat would even get a "winter coat" in the islands?
The sunburn is healing but now I look like a half peeled tomato. My nose is the worst. The kids didn't say a word yesterday - I was surprised.
I just started reading Walter Mosley's 47, which will be out in May 05. I am just at the very beginning where the boy has been sent to the slave quarters and has his number branded into his shoulder. He hasn't yet met Tall John, the runaway slave who will change his life. So far I am enjoying it. Wondering if Tall John will be anything like Paulsen's Nightjohn. I do love that book and the sequel, Sarny.
Reading this book also made my think of my favorite Walter Dean Myers' book - The Glory Field. It doesn't get much attention but it is a wonderful novel that traces the lives of a black family for over 140 years - from when the first member of the family is brought over on the slave ships until present day when one of them is struggling with drug addiction. I am very glad to see that new paperback and hardback editions are coming out within the next year.
That's it for today.
The sunburn is healing but now I look like a half peeled tomato. My nose is the worst. The kids didn't say a word yesterday - I was surprised.
I just started reading Walter Mosley's 47, which will be out in May 05. I am just at the very beginning where the boy has been sent to the slave quarters and has his number branded into his shoulder. He hasn't yet met Tall John, the runaway slave who will change his life. So far I am enjoying it. Wondering if Tall John will be anything like Paulsen's Nightjohn. I do love that book and the sequel, Sarny.
Reading this book also made my think of my favorite Walter Dean Myers' book - The Glory Field. It doesn't get much attention but it is a wonderful novel that traces the lives of a black family for over 140 years - from when the first member of the family is brought over on the slave ships until present day when one of them is struggling with drug addiction. I am very glad to see that new paperback and hardback editions are coming out within the next year.
That's it for today.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Good morning! I look a little less like a tomato today but I am sure the kids at Montessori are going to comment on my red face. I have a group of 9th graders coming in to work on ancient civilization research. This is the same group that chose to read Alder's The King's Shadow - one of my favorite YA historical novels from the 90s.
I am looking at the inclusion of various fiction genre types on the BBYA and Children's Notables lists and was disappointed to see Mary Logue's Dancing with an Alien is out of print. A student borrowed my copy and didn't bring it back, but this one of my favorite YA SF novels to booktalk. Love the part where the alien is trying to convince her he really is an alien and pulls off his nipples. That would convince me. :-) YALSA-BKers have been talking about Melina Marchetta's Looking for Alibrandi and it is also out of print. Wonderful book about an Italian girl in Australia that addresses the reality that cultural prejudice is also present in other English speaking countries.
All for now - the sun has finally risen and it is time to fight the traffic going into Charlotte Amalie to drop Steve off.
I am looking at the inclusion of various fiction genre types on the BBYA and Children's Notables lists and was disappointed to see Mary Logue's Dancing with an Alien is out of print. A student borrowed my copy and didn't bring it back, but this one of my favorite YA SF novels to booktalk. Love the part where the alien is trying to convince her he really is an alien and pulls off his nipples. That would convince me. :-) YALSA-BKers have been talking about Melina Marchetta's Looking for Alibrandi and it is also out of print. Wonderful book about an Italian girl in Australia that addresses the reality that cultural prejudice is also present in other English speaking countries.
All for now - the sun has finally risen and it is time to fight the traffic going into Charlotte Amalie to drop Steve off.
Monday, March 14, 2005
I am sitting here slathered from forehead to chin with aloe vera, along with a few other places the sunscreen didn't get. OUCH!! I look like an over ripe tomato. Went sailing with friends on Saturday and didn't put any sunscreen on my face. Just wasn't thinking about the fact that the new moisturizer I am using doesn't have a sunscreen in it. At least now I can smile without it hurting but it still hurts like heck to wrinkle my forehead. This is going to be really ugly if it peels!
But, on the positive side we had a really great time. Breezes were good and we sailed over to St. John and went snorkeling. Saw the biggest sea cucumber I have ever seen along with star fish and lots of the very same fish we used to have in our salt water aquarium in Houston. Lots of boats out because of the gorgeous weather. The guys put out the spinnaker - what a gorgeous billowing sail.
While laying around bemoaning my sunburned fate I finished Broken China by Lori Aurelia Williams. China stays in the denial stage of grief through most of the book - refusing to go to her little girl's funeral and doesn't visit the grave site even though she insisted on a coffin and a service she could not afford. She is working in a strip joint as a counter girl to make money to pay the funeral home loan. One minute she is acting like an immature 14 year old and then next she is old beyond her years. Made me think of Glovach's Beauty Queen which is also set in a strip club with a teenage protagonist who gets involved for the money. But she ends up getting hooked on drugs. China gets out before it is too late - she is fortunate to have a loving uncle and friend to help her. Glovach's Samantha is pretty much alone in the world.
Started reading the ARC for Barry Yourgrau's Nasty Book. It will be out in April. Have no idea what I think of it yet. Very short snippet type stories that are quite nasty. In one of them three girls plan on torturing the ghost who comes back to apologize for scaring them. In another an imaginary friend, a bear, decides his creator is boring and heads off on his own, only to be run over by a truck. My favorite so far is the ventriloquist puppet who suddenly realize he is a puppet.
That's it for today.
But, on the positive side we had a really great time. Breezes were good and we sailed over to St. John and went snorkeling. Saw the biggest sea cucumber I have ever seen along with star fish and lots of the very same fish we used to have in our salt water aquarium in Houston. Lots of boats out because of the gorgeous weather. The guys put out the spinnaker - what a gorgeous billowing sail.
While laying around bemoaning my sunburned fate I finished Broken China by Lori Aurelia Williams. China stays in the denial stage of grief through most of the book - refusing to go to her little girl's funeral and doesn't visit the grave site even though she insisted on a coffin and a service she could not afford. She is working in a strip joint as a counter girl to make money to pay the funeral home loan. One minute she is acting like an immature 14 year old and then next she is old beyond her years. Made me think of Glovach's Beauty Queen which is also set in a strip club with a teenage protagonist who gets involved for the money. But she ends up getting hooked on drugs. China gets out before it is too late - she is fortunate to have a loving uncle and friend to help her. Glovach's Samantha is pretty much alone in the world.
Started reading the ARC for Barry Yourgrau's Nasty Book. It will be out in April. Have no idea what I think of it yet. Very short snippet type stories that are quite nasty. In one of them three girls plan on torturing the ghost who comes back to apologize for scaring them. In another an imaginary friend, a bear, decides his creator is boring and heads off on his own, only to be run over by a truck. My favorite so far is the ventriloquist puppet who suddenly realize he is a puppet.
That's it for today.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Yesterday was like Christmas on the island for me - not only did we get 7 boxes of new books in at Montessori, the health food store had a shipment in of soy products so I savored soy yogurt for breakfast this a.m. Yogurt is the only dairy product I really miss because of being lactose intolerant. I like the rice and soy based "ice creams" better, but miss the creamy texture of Yoplait yogurt. It tends to be feast or famine on the island as far as stocked shelves - buy it when it is there as likely it won't be the next time you are in the store. So yesterday was a good "shopping" day. :-)
I just finished reading The Game of Silence, the sequel to The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe. Having grown up in Upper Michigan I enjoyed reading about the Ojibwe way of life in the 1800s. Omakayas, a young girl with the ability to dream the future, is the only survivor of a small pox epidemic and is a much loved adopted daughter to Yellow Kettle and Deydey. A great addition to a middle grades (3-6) collection.
My YA reading at the moment is Lori Aurelia Williams' Broken China, about a teenage mother whose two-year-old daughter dies and her life spirals out of control. I met Williams when her first book When Kambia Elaine Flew in from Neptune was first published. She is a delightful woman and I enjoyed talking to her about Houston as that is where her books are set. I loved her debut novel and have recommended it to many people. The way the neighbor girl deals with sexual abuse by referring to the wolves in the walls and making up stories about being from another planet breaks your heart. William's second book is Shayla's Double Brown Baby Blues. William's has captured the life of the inner city blacks of Houston in her novels.
That's it for today.
I just finished reading The Game of Silence, the sequel to The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe. Having grown up in Upper Michigan I enjoyed reading about the Ojibwe way of life in the 1800s. Omakayas, a young girl with the ability to dream the future, is the only survivor of a small pox epidemic and is a much loved adopted daughter to Yellow Kettle and Deydey. A great addition to a middle grades (3-6) collection.
My YA reading at the moment is Lori Aurelia Williams' Broken China, about a teenage mother whose two-year-old daughter dies and her life spirals out of control. I met Williams when her first book When Kambia Elaine Flew in from Neptune was first published. She is a delightful woman and I enjoyed talking to her about Houston as that is where her books are set. I loved her debut novel and have recommended it to many people. The way the neighbor girl deals with sexual abuse by referring to the wolves in the walls and making up stories about being from another planet breaks your heart. William's second book is Shayla's Double Brown Baby Blues. William's has captured the life of the inner city blacks of Houston in her novels.
That's it for today.
Monday, March 07, 2005
Good Monday morning to all. A very large catamaran docked in the marina this a.m. That and seeing all the sails out on the diamond sparkling ocean makes me want to be sailing. A perfect day for it - sunny and breezy. Cats are more stable and easier sailing for those of us who suffer from motion sickness. I wear the wristbands when we sail. Been awhile - can't wait to get out on the water again.
Summer is upon us with heat and humidity. We went down to Sapphire Beach yesterday to walk and swim. Lots of tourists at the resort this time of year. They are so much fun to watch - the little ones with their "water wings" on but not quite sure they want to go in. All the shades of sun starved skin out on display - from whale belly white to fire engine red as they work on tans before they go back home.
I finished Brent Hartinger's The Order of the Poison Oak during the weekend. Russel and his friend Min both get taken in by Web, who is out for nothing but sex, with anyone of either sex who he can convince he "loves". There is no substance underneath those rock hard abs and sexy eyes. But, it is a love story nevertheless for both Russ, who finds his guy, and clumsy Gunnar, who is "found" by a girl. Russ also learns a bit about himself as he figures out how to work with groups of young campers to gain their respect. The title has to do with a special ceremony he does with his first group of campers - a group of male burn survivors who have been running him ragged.
Time for some breakfast and to find the top of my desk before I start working on an article for Library Media Connection.
Summer is upon us with heat and humidity. We went down to Sapphire Beach yesterday to walk and swim. Lots of tourists at the resort this time of year. They are so much fun to watch - the little ones with their "water wings" on but not quite sure they want to go in. All the shades of sun starved skin out on display - from whale belly white to fire engine red as they work on tans before they go back home.
I finished Brent Hartinger's The Order of the Poison Oak during the weekend. Russel and his friend Min both get taken in by Web, who is out for nothing but sex, with anyone of either sex who he can convince he "loves". There is no substance underneath those rock hard abs and sexy eyes. But, it is a love story nevertheless for both Russ, who finds his guy, and clumsy Gunnar, who is "found" by a girl. Russ also learns a bit about himself as he figures out how to work with groups of young campers to gain their respect. The title has to do with a special ceremony he does with his first group of campers - a group of male burn survivors who have been running him ragged.
Time for some breakfast and to find the top of my desk before I start working on an article for Library Media Connection.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Watched a sailor park his sailboat this morning while I ate breakfast on the balcony. It seemed so effortless for him to back into his small berth at the marina - and that was no tiny boat he was parking. Wish I could do as well with parking my car on this island. I thought parking spots were small and hard to find when I lived on Oahu, but St. Thomas is incredible. If only I could figure out a way to side-step my car into spots since I can't parallel park! Or even better, be able to just rotate the car from a central pivot point instead of trying to navigate around cars parked helter skelter in what are clearly not parking spots. Thank goodness I have an assigned parking spot at Montessori that I can just drive right into. :-)
Started reading Brent Hartinger's The Order of the Poison Oak this morning. Should be on bookstore shelves this month. Hartinger uses a first person narrative with the character, Russel, often speaking directly to the reader. Russel has recently come out of the closet and joined the Gay-Straight-Bisexual Alliance at school. As the school year ends Russel is more than sick of the fag jokes and makes a point of how words can hurt you. But now he, his geeky straight friend Gunnar, who has decided to give up on girls after all the embarrassing encounters he has had trying to get one, and their bisexual friend Min, who checks out body parts on guys and girls both, are working as summer camp counselors. Russel learns the hard way how all kids will manipulate you if given the chance - especially his charges who know he is afraid to discipline them because they are burn survivors. Russel also has eyes for the good looking bad boy, Web - more reading will tell where this goes. :-)
I loved Hartinger's Geography Club and really liked Last Chance Texaco so I suspect this will continue to be an enjoyable reading experience.
Now to write a midterm.
Started reading Brent Hartinger's The Order of the Poison Oak this morning. Should be on bookstore shelves this month. Hartinger uses a first person narrative with the character, Russel, often speaking directly to the reader. Russel has recently come out of the closet and joined the Gay-Straight-Bisexual Alliance at school. As the school year ends Russel is more than sick of the fag jokes and makes a point of how words can hurt you. But now he, his geeky straight friend Gunnar, who has decided to give up on girls after all the embarrassing encounters he has had trying to get one, and their bisexual friend Min, who checks out body parts on guys and girls both, are working as summer camp counselors. Russel learns the hard way how all kids will manipulate you if given the chance - especially his charges who know he is afraid to discipline them because they are burn survivors. Russel also has eyes for the good looking bad boy, Web - more reading will tell where this goes. :-)
I loved Hartinger's Geography Club and really liked Last Chance Texaco so I suspect this will continue to be an enjoyable reading experience.
Now to write a midterm.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Insomnia has me in its grips again - last two mornings wide awake at 3:30 a.m. Finally gave up today and got up at 5:00. Not much of a sunrise - very overcast and dreary. That may change though. Summer is upon us heat and humidity wise - it arrived on Friday! The reason I say that is I work at Montessori on Tuesdays and Fridays and the library isn't air conditioned. I was miserable in jeans! So now I have to find my "summer clothes" - sun dresses, light fabrics, etc.
Have been working with the 9th grade History teacher to find a novel to read as a group. We narrowed it down to The King's Shadow by Elizabeth Alder. It was a BBYA title back in the mid 90s. Wonderful story of a Welsh boy named Evyn who is sold as a slave after his tongue is cut out. He ends up as the "foster son" to King Harold, the last Saxon King. A much more interesting way to learn history. :-) Our second choice was a newer titles - The Edge on the Sword by Rebecca Tingle but the students voted it down. Not surprising since most of the students are boys and some of the girls in the class had already read it. It is about the daughter of King Alfred. The class had just finished fighting their way through the Iliad. Wish I had known - I would have suggested Dateline: Troy by Fleischman to supplement or replace it! Wonderful juxtaposition of historical narrative text with newspaper clippings from modern events.
No new YA to report on this a.m. - I am reading a book written by a local VI author that was locally published. Not one Mainlanders will have ready access to!
That's it for today. Need to work on a Board presentation for Montessori - we are going to automate the library with Follett's Destiny. Will be the 2nd existing collection I have automated from good old check out/catalog cards to barcodes and scanning. But, that was an elementary school in Alaska in 1989! How times flies when you are having fun.
Have been working with the 9th grade History teacher to find a novel to read as a group. We narrowed it down to The King's Shadow by Elizabeth Alder. It was a BBYA title back in the mid 90s. Wonderful story of a Welsh boy named Evyn who is sold as a slave after his tongue is cut out. He ends up as the "foster son" to King Harold, the last Saxon King. A much more interesting way to learn history. :-) Our second choice was a newer titles - The Edge on the Sword by Rebecca Tingle but the students voted it down. Not surprising since most of the students are boys and some of the girls in the class had already read it. It is about the daughter of King Alfred. The class had just finished fighting their way through the Iliad. Wish I had known - I would have suggested Dateline: Troy by Fleischman to supplement or replace it! Wonderful juxtaposition of historical narrative text with newspaper clippings from modern events.
No new YA to report on this a.m. - I am reading a book written by a local VI author that was locally published. Not one Mainlanders will have ready access to!
That's it for today. Need to work on a Board presentation for Montessori - we are going to automate the library with Follett's Destiny. Will be the 2nd existing collection I have automated from good old check out/catalog cards to barcodes and scanning. But, that was an elementary school in Alaska in 1989! How times flies when you are having fun.
Monday, February 28, 2005
Good morning! What a wonderful weekend we had. We were invited to go to Dominica (pronounced like the Singing Nun song) with new friends, Brian and Janna. Brian has a 4-seater Comanche prop plane so we had a fantastic flight down, checking out all the islands along the way. What a fun experience - first time I have been in a plane that small. Thought I would get motion sick but a 1/2 a Dramamine took care of that.
Dominica is an incredible island. It is quite large compared to many of the other Caribbean island and is extremely mountainous due to the volcanic action. We hiked along a sulphur spring fed creek that was beautiful, but the sulphur beds were more than a bit odoriferous. We also hiked up to Trafalgar Falls and Janna even went in swimming. She is the adventurous one - climbing a sour orange tree to get us fruit which was too sour to eat. Talk about pucker power! We were later told they are used mainly in marmalade. The roads are narrow and winding - Steve was very glad Brian was driving so he could sightsee for a change. Usually he is busy watching the road and dealing with my gasps when we are too close to the side on my side! Fantastic vistas. Janna and I began to make up stories about Rasta-fairies and Rasta-leprechauns since we saw a rainbow and wonderful moss covered rocks and trees that conjured up imaginary creatures left and right! Put two literature people in a beautiful environment and the creative juices have to flow. :-)
We stayed at an eco resort called Exotica Cottages. Quite a "rustic" road to get to it but well worth the trek - we watched the sun drop into the ocean - incredible from that altitude. The owners Fae and Athie were a delight and Fae's cooking was delicious. They have a large organic garden and orchard. The fruit was so good Janna and I were still talking about it later in the day and craving more.
As we flew out we were busy pointing out the roads we wanted to go on the next time the four of us visit so I think I will have further islands adventures to report. :-)
Too tired to read at night after trekking through the rain forest as I haven't hiked in years. Brian and Janna put us to shame but I was thinking about YA lit set in the Caribbean, or at least partially set here, such as Call Me Maria by Judith Ortiz Cofer. Maria and her mother happily live in Puerto Rico where her mother teaches English, but Maria's father is unhappy living there. He had grown up in a Spanish speaking neighborhood in New York and the islanders tease him about the way he speaks Spanish. His loneliness gets the best of him and he moves back to his childhood home, taking Maria with him where she has to learn how to live in the city. I love how Cofer writes about Maria and everyone else in the neighborhood, Hispanic or not, learning Spanglish, even her Indian friend. :-) The other one that came to mind is Danticat's Behind the Mountain which is about Haiti. Gives the reader a glimpse into the country's politics and violence, but more a sense of how she loves her mountainous homeland. Danticat is a very well known author in the Caribbean. She writes more adult than YA, but she has another Scholastic title coming out - Anacoana, Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 - about one of the queens of Haiti. It is part of the Royal Diaries series and will be out in April. Danticat's newest adult novel is The Dew Breaker.
That's it for today. Have tons of email to catch up on since I was computer-less for a few days. Felt good!
Dominica is an incredible island. It is quite large compared to many of the other Caribbean island and is extremely mountainous due to the volcanic action. We hiked along a sulphur spring fed creek that was beautiful, but the sulphur beds were more than a bit odoriferous. We also hiked up to Trafalgar Falls and Janna even went in swimming. She is the adventurous one - climbing a sour orange tree to get us fruit which was too sour to eat. Talk about pucker power! We were later told they are used mainly in marmalade. The roads are narrow and winding - Steve was very glad Brian was driving so he could sightsee for a change. Usually he is busy watching the road and dealing with my gasps when we are too close to the side on my side! Fantastic vistas. Janna and I began to make up stories about Rasta-fairies and Rasta-leprechauns since we saw a rainbow and wonderful moss covered rocks and trees that conjured up imaginary creatures left and right! Put two literature people in a beautiful environment and the creative juices have to flow. :-)
We stayed at an eco resort called Exotica Cottages. Quite a "rustic" road to get to it but well worth the trek - we watched the sun drop into the ocean - incredible from that altitude. The owners Fae and Athie were a delight and Fae's cooking was delicious. They have a large organic garden and orchard. The fruit was so good Janna and I were still talking about it later in the day and craving more.
As we flew out we were busy pointing out the roads we wanted to go on the next time the four of us visit so I think I will have further islands adventures to report. :-)
Too tired to read at night after trekking through the rain forest as I haven't hiked in years. Brian and Janna put us to shame but I was thinking about YA lit set in the Caribbean, or at least partially set here, such as Call Me Maria by Judith Ortiz Cofer. Maria and her mother happily live in Puerto Rico where her mother teaches English, but Maria's father is unhappy living there. He had grown up in a Spanish speaking neighborhood in New York and the islanders tease him about the way he speaks Spanish. His loneliness gets the best of him and he moves back to his childhood home, taking Maria with him where she has to learn how to live in the city. I love how Cofer writes about Maria and everyone else in the neighborhood, Hispanic or not, learning Spanglish, even her Indian friend. :-) The other one that came to mind is Danticat's Behind the Mountain which is about Haiti. Gives the reader a glimpse into the country's politics and violence, but more a sense of how she loves her mountainous homeland. Danticat is a very well known author in the Caribbean. She writes more adult than YA, but she has another Scholastic title coming out - Anacoana, Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 - about one of the queens of Haiti. It is part of the Royal Diaries series and will be out in April. Danticat's newest adult novel is The Dew Breaker.
That's it for today. Have tons of email to catch up on since I was computer-less for a few days. Felt good!
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Good morning all. Slept in today since my online chat last night with my undergrad. YA class ran until 11 p.m. Boy were they an interactive group - it was a delight to see how strongly they interacted with the YA novels they are reading.
My grad class also had an online chat last night with Lara M. Zeises. It was very interesting to hear about her writing process. I think all entering 9th grade girls should read her Contents Under Pressure to help prepare them for the assertive older guys. They are such "fresh meat" and not all girls will be as lucky as Lucy is to be dating Tobin, a more experiences Junior who is willing to wait until Lucy is ready, which may be a long time since she is dealing with the family repercussions of her older brother's pregnant girlfriend living with them. Lucy and Tobin discuss sexual boundaries in relation to what Lucy is ready for. Really cool book with wonderful secondary characters as well. As one of my students said - her writing is very tight! :-)
I did love Bringing Up the Bones - Zeises' first book for older teens. Bridget is taking a year off before she goes to college to deal with her grief over Benji's death. Benji is/was the love of Bridget's life, but although he loved her, he wasn't in love with her. That in itself is something to grieve over - the loss of a love you really never had, your best friend Elle did. Jasper enters the picture and Bridget isn't quite ready to let go of Benji yet, but Jasper helps her take those first steps, the final one she needs to take on her own, alone.
We talked about how the covers on both of Zeises' books have face shots of girls and how most of us found the covers appealing. Covers are such an important element of a book - drives me nuts when some libraries take the book jackets off the books, or the jobbers do, only giving you the cover art, or worst yet, a blank front and back with only the author and title on the spine. How appealing is that? I want all the good stuff - the art, the book blurb and the stuff about the author. I picked up Crank by Ellen Hopkins because of the cover and because it is a 2005 Quick Pick. A thick but quick read due to the free verse format. The cover shows the title "written" out in lines of crank on a black cover. It might be a quick read but it sure isn't an easy read as you spiral into crank addiction with Kristina - alter ego Bree - as she enters into a drug induced high that causes her to do and say things she would never have done before. If only she hadn't gone to visit her drug using father none of this would have happened. If only she hadn't let Adam talk her into cigarettes, then pot, then crank. If only, if only - but how does she get herself out of this alive? Does she?
Okay - that's it for today. Need to get some grading done.
My grad class also had an online chat last night with Lara M. Zeises. It was very interesting to hear about her writing process. I think all entering 9th grade girls should read her Contents Under Pressure to help prepare them for the assertive older guys. They are such "fresh meat" and not all girls will be as lucky as Lucy is to be dating Tobin, a more experiences Junior who is willing to wait until Lucy is ready, which may be a long time since she is dealing with the family repercussions of her older brother's pregnant girlfriend living with them. Lucy and Tobin discuss sexual boundaries in relation to what Lucy is ready for. Really cool book with wonderful secondary characters as well. As one of my students said - her writing is very tight! :-)
I did love Bringing Up the Bones - Zeises' first book for older teens. Bridget is taking a year off before she goes to college to deal with her grief over Benji's death. Benji is/was the love of Bridget's life, but although he loved her, he wasn't in love with her. That in itself is something to grieve over - the loss of a love you really never had, your best friend Elle did. Jasper enters the picture and Bridget isn't quite ready to let go of Benji yet, but Jasper helps her take those first steps, the final one she needs to take on her own, alone.
We talked about how the covers on both of Zeises' books have face shots of girls and how most of us found the covers appealing. Covers are such an important element of a book - drives me nuts when some libraries take the book jackets off the books, or the jobbers do, only giving you the cover art, or worst yet, a blank front and back with only the author and title on the spine. How appealing is that? I want all the good stuff - the art, the book blurb and the stuff about the author. I picked up Crank by Ellen Hopkins because of the cover and because it is a 2005 Quick Pick. A thick but quick read due to the free verse format. The cover shows the title "written" out in lines of crank on a black cover. It might be a quick read but it sure isn't an easy read as you spiral into crank addiction with Kristina - alter ego Bree - as she enters into a drug induced high that causes her to do and say things she would never have done before. If only she hadn't gone to visit her drug using father none of this would have happened. If only she hadn't let Adam talk her into cigarettes, then pot, then crank. If only, if only - but how does she get herself out of this alive? Does she?
Okay - that's it for today. Need to get some grading done.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
GRRRR!!! I just lost my whole blog entry when I tried to spell check it. I am working on Steve's laptop instead of my desktop and he has so many security levels on here it wouldn't let me go directly to the spell checker within Blogspot and when I tried to override it I lost my posting. And I had put such thought into it!
Off to have breakfast and then do some grading.
I had written about J. Minter's series, The Insiders. I just read the third book in the series, Take It Off. It will be out in June. Considering I hadn't read the first two - The Insiders and Pass It On - Minter did a good job of introducing the new reader to the four guy friends. Mickey and Arno are still fighting over girls and showing each other up in the physical prowess area. David, the good boy, is sent home from their "educational" cruise along the Spanish coast for being drunk the first day out. Jonathan has asked David to watch out for his girl Flan, even though Jonathan had broken up with her and has now decided that wasn't a good idea and is obsessing because she hasn't e-mailed him. And we can't forget Patch, the golden boy who is the teacher's pet. Add large amounts of alcohol of every kind you can think of, clove cigarettes, sex, sand, and designer clothes to a group of rich kids trying to out do each other and you have an interesting, though shallow, read as they keep drowning in the deep end of the pool of life as they try to be nothing like, or everything like, their money and status obsessed parents. Oh what a nasty play of words that is - can't do any better since I am still irritated I lost my last posting.
Off to have breakfast and then do some grading.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Good morning. Not quite 6:30. Can't say what the day will be like yet as it is still dark outside. Roosters are busy trying to get the sun to wake up but Sol hasn't listened yet. Tuesdays and Fridays are my early mornings when I get up with Steve so I can take him in to work before I spend the day at Montessori. And to think I could sleep another hour and 1/2 if I didn't have to make the trip in and back to Charlotte Amalie. Not a good thing to think about when you are not a morning person. And Steve is typically one of those chipper ones you just want to whack with a frying pan as he tries to joke and tease my morning grumpies away.
Well, I should have known better about the cute raccoon in Napoli's Bound. It bit off two of Wei Ping's toes so Stepmother killed it - let's just say there wasn't much left for the stew pot when she got done. She was a bit mad (both in the angry and insane definition) and chopped off Wei Ping's toes on her other foot so they would match. She figured Wei Ping would be married before her duped husband realized there was less under those binding strips than there should be. Shing Shing took the beautiful carp back to the pool and set it free but if you know the Chinese Cinderella story you know that the magical fish is far from safe when it comes to Stepmother. Shing Shing does prevail in the end and marries the prince - not quite the handsome devil from the Walt Disney version as corpulence is a good thing in a man. A delightful read and what a beautiful cover.
The sun is up but you would hardly know it - misty and dreary day beginning.
Well, I should have known better about the cute raccoon in Napoli's Bound. It bit off two of Wei Ping's toes so Stepmother killed it - let's just say there wasn't much left for the stew pot when she got done. She was a bit mad (both in the angry and insane definition) and chopped off Wei Ping's toes on her other foot so they would match. She figured Wei Ping would be married before her duped husband realized there was less under those binding strips than there should be. Shing Shing took the beautiful carp back to the pool and set it free but if you know the Chinese Cinderella story you know that the magical fish is far from safe when it comes to Stepmother. Shing Shing does prevail in the end and marries the prince - not quite the handsome devil from the Walt Disney version as corpulence is a good thing in a man. A delightful read and what a beautiful cover.
The sun is up but you would hardly know it - misty and dreary day beginning.
Sunday, February 20, 2005
It is gorgeous out there with the sun sparkling on the water - like liquid diamonds. My favorite type of ocean. Steve loves the harbor in Charlotte Amalie because of the shades of turquoise to deep blue depending upon depth. I sighed in contentment this a.m. as I looked out at the ocean and Steve smiled and quipped - "Just another day in paradise!"
Lots of talk on YALSA-BK about Naughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman. I see why. Imagine a world where the whites (naughts) were the slaves and the blacks (Crosses) were the owners. It is years later but desegregation of the schools has just begun and Callum is one of the first naughts to attend Sephy's all Cross high school. This book is so raw it hurts to read it, but oh what a wonderful book to use with teens in relation to prejudice and race relations. What if Henson was the one everyone talked about in relation to the North Pole expedition instead of Peary? What if history was written so that any white accomplishments were left out of the history books? It is all told through alternating chapters from Callum and Sephy's perspectives - two teens in love caught up in the fight between races and the haves and the have nots. I think we may be looking at a 2006 Printz award or honor book. I am almost afraid to say that as I predicted right for Rosoff's how i live now for 2005.
All for now - I'm going work on the L for my NOEL Christmas hanging - yes, I am a Christmas nut all year round. :-)
Lots of talk on YALSA-BK about Naughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman. I see why. Imagine a world where the whites (naughts) were the slaves and the blacks (Crosses) were the owners. It is years later but desegregation of the schools has just begun and Callum is one of the first naughts to attend Sephy's all Cross high school. This book is so raw it hurts to read it, but oh what a wonderful book to use with teens in relation to prejudice and race relations. What if Henson was the one everyone talked about in relation to the North Pole expedition instead of Peary? What if history was written so that any white accomplishments were left out of the history books? It is all told through alternating chapters from Callum and Sephy's perspectives - two teens in love caught up in the fight between races and the haves and the have nots. I think we may be looking at a 2006 Printz award or honor book. I am almost afraid to say that as I predicted right for Rosoff's how i live now for 2005.
All for now - I'm going work on the L for my NOEL Christmas hanging - yes, I am a Christmas nut all year round. :-)
Saturday, February 19, 2005
What an absolutely gorgeous and relaxing Saturday it has been. We went to lunch at Fungi's, which is a little restaurant bar on the bay at Point Pleasant Resort. We stayed at Point Pleasant last year when we first came over to St. Thomas to check it out. Fungi's is right on the beach so the waves lap up on the rocks next to the tables. The chicken roti was as good as I remember them - yummy West Indian curry specialty. Our dining entertainment was a hungry pelican that was diving into the water, very shallow water at that, and gobbling up fish. I am surprised he didn't knock himself out with some of those vertical dives.
While driving around the island we are listening to Duane's A Wizard Abroad. It has been awhile since I have "read" a Duane book and we are having a great time with the narrator's Irish accent and just listened to Nita's encounter with the local Irish teens - quite entertaining. Nita is a feisty female wizard - recommend her to girls who love Harry Potter. Speaking of Harry, we finally picked up The Prisoner of Azkaban at Blockbuster today. That and The Village. Guess who picked Harry and who picked the horror movie - YA lit. specialist vs. IT geek? :-) Steve joined Blockbuster online and we should be getting movies in the mail, but who knows when that will start and how "regular" they will be with our spotty mail service down here. He has quite a list built up for them to choose from!
In good old book format, I am reading Napoli's Bound at home and Fleischman's Whirligig in the car (the paperback from the used bookstore here on the island fits in my purse - perfect for those long stands in line). And, for some weird reason it is one of those older YA titles I just hadn't gotten around to reading. Haven't read Seed Folk either and I know I should. So far I am really enjoying Bound, a Chinese Cinderella story. How can you not love a blind and quite spoiled raccoon as a pet? I can close my eyes and see it sprawled out asleep on its back with all four legs in the air. Kind of like my cat Sophie! I hope they don't eat the raccoon like the Stepmother wants them to. Made me think of Hansel and Gretel when she suggested putting it in a cage and feeding it to fatten it up. Guess I just have to keep reading to find out what happens to Ying Ying and the raccoon. And oh those bound feet on the favored daughter - yuck! Made me think of the passage in Namioka's The Ties That Bind, the Ties That Break when the older sister unbinds her feet and the stench sweeps through the room. That would have made me darn sure I had made the right decision not to let them bind my feet!
That's it for today - need to go pick up the laundry - found a place that does it by the pound. This should prove to be interesting. I miss having a washer and a dryer!
While driving around the island we are listening to Duane's A Wizard Abroad. It has been awhile since I have "read" a Duane book and we are having a great time with the narrator's Irish accent and just listened to Nita's encounter with the local Irish teens - quite entertaining. Nita is a feisty female wizard - recommend her to girls who love Harry Potter. Speaking of Harry, we finally picked up The Prisoner of Azkaban at Blockbuster today. That and The Village. Guess who picked Harry and who picked the horror movie - YA lit. specialist vs. IT geek? :-) Steve joined Blockbuster online and we should be getting movies in the mail, but who knows when that will start and how "regular" they will be with our spotty mail service down here. He has quite a list built up for them to choose from!
In good old book format, I am reading Napoli's Bound at home and Fleischman's Whirligig in the car (the paperback from the used bookstore here on the island fits in my purse - perfect for those long stands in line). And, for some weird reason it is one of those older YA titles I just hadn't gotten around to reading. Haven't read Seed Folk either and I know I should. So far I am really enjoying Bound, a Chinese Cinderella story. How can you not love a blind and quite spoiled raccoon as a pet? I can close my eyes and see it sprawled out asleep on its back with all four legs in the air. Kind of like my cat Sophie! I hope they don't eat the raccoon like the Stepmother wants them to. Made me think of Hansel and Gretel when she suggested putting it in a cage and feeding it to fatten it up. Guess I just have to keep reading to find out what happens to Ying Ying and the raccoon. And oh those bound feet on the favored daughter - yuck! Made me think of the passage in Namioka's The Ties That Bind, the Ties That Break when the older sister unbinds her feet and the stench sweeps through the room. That would have made me darn sure I had made the right decision not to let them bind my feet!
That's it for today - need to go pick up the laundry - found a place that does it by the pound. This should prove to be interesting. I miss having a washer and a dryer!
Thursday, February 17, 2005
I was just reading the news online and thinking how war has become a part of every generation. Guess I am in somewhat of a pensive mood as I just finished reading L. J. Adlington's The Diary of Pelly D. It is a science fiction novel set on another planet that humans have colonized, but the humans have evolved to the degree that they have gills. Wallowing in clean water is an essential part of their daily routine - it is called Bliss. They even have a water theme park called Waterworld. Hmmm - gills, water - makes me think if a futuristic Kevin Costner movie that bombed in the box office, but I loved it. :-)
Pelly D is the self proclaimed most popular girl in school - at least that is what her diary says. Toni V found her diary buried in a paint can when he was jack hammering apart the old city plaza. The war is over and they are rebuilding the city and discarding all the debris left behind by the war- books, mangled laptops, etc. He becomes obsessed with the life of this self-centered pre-war girl. Pelly D's life takes a drastic change for the worst when the government insists on genetic testing and everyone is stamped with their genetic code. The power brokers all flash their red Atsumisi hand stamps and no one wants to be Galrezi - sure they are supposed to be the artistic types, but they are the bottom of the gene pool. Although Pelly D's dad is Atsumisi her sculptor mom is Galrezi and it is a dominant gene so Pelly D and her brother and sister wear the shameful Galrezi green hand stamp as well. Before long the Galrezi are told that, with the water shortages and the refugees coming into the city, everyone has to share - but it seems only the Galrezi are being moved out of their large apartments and into the Artist Quarters. And then forcing the Galrezi to live in a group isn't enough - Pelly D's family, minus dad who is Atsumisi and in another city, is being moved. No one knows where.
This book gave me the shivers and then some. Reminded me of Nazi Germany. Racist is a dirty word in this book, but racism is certainly alive and well. Sorry folks - this one won't hit book stores until April.
Sorry - didn't mean to end on a down note, but this is one of those books that has your mind chewing away at it as you settle it into your mind. I think I will be "chewing" on this one for days.
Pelly D is the self proclaimed most popular girl in school - at least that is what her diary says. Toni V found her diary buried in a paint can when he was jack hammering apart the old city plaza. The war is over and they are rebuilding the city and discarding all the debris left behind by the war- books, mangled laptops, etc. He becomes obsessed with the life of this self-centered pre-war girl. Pelly D's life takes a drastic change for the worst when the government insists on genetic testing and everyone is stamped with their genetic code. The power brokers all flash their red Atsumisi hand stamps and no one wants to be Galrezi - sure they are supposed to be the artistic types, but they are the bottom of the gene pool. Although Pelly D's dad is Atsumisi her sculptor mom is Galrezi and it is a dominant gene so Pelly D and her brother and sister wear the shameful Galrezi green hand stamp as well. Before long the Galrezi are told that, with the water shortages and the refugees coming into the city, everyone has to share - but it seems only the Galrezi are being moved out of their large apartments and into the Artist Quarters. And then forcing the Galrezi to live in a group isn't enough - Pelly D's family, minus dad who is Atsumisi and in another city, is being moved. No one knows where.
This book gave me the shivers and then some. Reminded me of Nazi Germany. Racist is a dirty word in this book, but racism is certainly alive and well. Sorry folks - this one won't hit book stores until April.
Sorry - didn't mean to end on a down note, but this is one of those books that has your mind chewing away at it as you settle it into your mind. I think I will be "chewing" on this one for days.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Okay - now we have geese, or at least a goose, in the neighborhood. Like the chickens and goats weren't enough? I feel like I live on a farm, but a weird farm that also includes the sounds of diesel truck horns blaring down on the main road, to tell the other drivers to get the heck out of their way as they come barreling through along with neighborhood cars' rap music thumping so loud your chest hurts. When friends say it must be so peaceful living on a tropical island I have to smile and tell them they have never visited St. Thomas! This is the party island of the Virgin Islands and is not quiet at all, unless you get way off of the beaten path on the West end of the island. Not an option for me - I need my DSL and cable. :-)
If you want a fun read get Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You by Dorian Cirrone. Kayla has a wicked sense of humor - something that is required when you are a ballerina with double Ds. She says "even NASA couldn't design a tank suit to camouflage my proportions." Kayla doesn't even think about the possibility of being anything other than who she is until she is passed up for the lead role of Cinderella because of her breasts - they would be a distraction says the visiting director Timm with two m's. Her ballet teacher suggests she see a plastic surgeon in relation to breast reduction if she wants to continue in ballet. Her older sister Paterson, the artist in the family, decides to focus on prejudices about body types/parts her art project and is censored by the principal because of the male nude in the picture. Kayla's new boyfriend Gray suggests that she look into different types of dance other than ballet as well choreography. Although the other guys in school seem to be obsessed with her boobs ( some are wearing save the hooters pins when they hear about her possible reduction surgery) Gray is not. He is the son of a poet who has taught him well - she researches the role of women and how they are oppressed in fairy tales. Hence the Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You title of the books. Rumor has it Kayla is out to get the girl playing Cinderella. After all, Kayla is dancing the role of the wicked stepsister, who wears red shoes. Yes, this an entertaining mystery/romance, but it also bears a message teenage girls need to hear - your body does not define who you are. Like Kayla, find humor in the stereotypical female body "stuff" when you can - she names her boobs Lucy and Ethel. Hey - guys name body parts - why not women? :-)
Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You should be hitting the bookstores about now - release date, Feb 1 2005.
If you want a fun read get Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You by Dorian Cirrone. Kayla has a wicked sense of humor - something that is required when you are a ballerina with double Ds. She says "even NASA couldn't design a tank suit to camouflage my proportions." Kayla doesn't even think about the possibility of being anything other than who she is until she is passed up for the lead role of Cinderella because of her breasts - they would be a distraction says the visiting director Timm with two m's. Her ballet teacher suggests she see a plastic surgeon in relation to breast reduction if she wants to continue in ballet. Her older sister Paterson, the artist in the family, decides to focus on prejudices about body types/parts her art project and is censored by the principal because of the male nude in the picture. Kayla's new boyfriend Gray suggests that she look into different types of dance other than ballet as well choreography. Although the other guys in school seem to be obsessed with her boobs ( some are wearing save the hooters pins when they hear about her possible reduction surgery) Gray is not. He is the son of a poet who has taught him well - she researches the role of women and how they are oppressed in fairy tales. Hence the Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You title of the books. Rumor has it Kayla is out to get the girl playing Cinderella. After all, Kayla is dancing the role of the wicked stepsister, who wears red shoes. Yes, this an entertaining mystery/romance, but it also bears a message teenage girls need to hear - your body does not define who you are. Like Kayla, find humor in the stereotypical female body "stuff" when you can - she names her boobs Lucy and Ethel. Hey - guys name body parts - why not women? :-)
Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You should be hitting the bookstores about now - release date, Feb 1 2005.
Monday, February 14, 2005
A breezy cool Valentine's Day here, but bright and sunny. We celebrated early and went out and had the Sunday night prime rib special at Bottom's Up - one of the local marina bar/restaurants near us. It was packed. At least we got our prime rib before they ran out, even though we waited an hour for it. It was worth the wait. The people watching was fun so we really didn't mind.
I just finished reading, or I should say experiencing, Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton. I see why it is a Printz Honor book. The fear of HIV/AIDS is so intense it radiates off of the page and makes the reader queasy. Chanda's courage and strength to keep her family together when all social taboos demand she leave her mother to die hidden away in a fallen down hut, to spare the family the shame, is incredible. This is one smart and resilient young African female who isn't willing to let rumors dictate who she loves and cares about, including her friend Esther who fools herself into thinking she can hook for just a little while to get her siblings back. Death visits Chanda's family far too often, but the symbolic white stork leaves the reader with a sense of hope for the future.
Happy Heart's Day all.
I just finished reading, or I should say experiencing, Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton. I see why it is a Printz Honor book. The fear of HIV/AIDS is so intense it radiates off of the page and makes the reader queasy. Chanda's courage and strength to keep her family together when all social taboos demand she leave her mother to die hidden away in a fallen down hut, to spare the family the shame, is incredible. This is one smart and resilient young African female who isn't willing to let rumors dictate who she loves and cares about, including her friend Esther who fools herself into thinking she can hook for just a little while to get her siblings back. Death visits Chanda's family far too often, but the symbolic white stork leaves the reader with a sense of hope for the future.
Happy Heart's Day all.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Happy Day Before Valentines' Day. Apparently Heart's Day is more highly celebrated here than Christmas. Lots of stands cropped up around the island selling big stuffed bears holding hearts and lots of other Valentine type gift "stuff". We went wandering yesterday, looking at areas on the island we might like to move to - love the Hull Bay area. There is a very popular little beach there and beyond that a cool enclave of homes. We stopped to use the "facilities" at the little beach bar there and had to chuckle over the barber shop in the parking lot - it was in an old ice cream type truck. There was the barber, cutting some guy's hair, with the back door door and other guys hanging around watching. I was very glad Steve didn't insist on getting his hair cut there.
I am sitting here with a copy of Jennifer Richard Jacobson's Stained in front of me. I am not Catholic, but where I grew up you were either Lutheran or Catholic, with a few Baptists and others around as well. I remember the teasing from the Catholic kids when they would ask what's your father's name and I would answer Paul and they would say, "No stupid, that's your dad's name, what's your priest's name?" You either fit in or you didn't, and Jocelyn no longer fit in after her mother quit going to church with their neighbors and Joss didn't go through her First Communion. She never forgot the nun's comment that until you went through First Communion your soul was stained. Joss hung around at the fringes of the crowd. She and Gabe had played together as kids and here she was in high school and still let him treat her like dirt even though she was involved with Benny, another Catholic boy worried about the fate of his soul because he lusted after Joss. When Gabe disappears Joss wonders why Father Warren is always hanging around the search groups and why the teens hang on his every word. She doesn't like him at all because she knows he is telling Benny to stay away from her - he says she lures him into their sinful trysts. Father Warren feeds on the boys' insecurities and is the reason Gabe has disappeared.
Stained is not graphic in relation to the sexual abuse, but it is clear what is going on with Father Warren and Gabe and why Gabe waits to talk to Joss before he disappears from their lives. Very poignant tale of how small town lives intertwine and how one powerful authority figure can ruin the lives of so many. Stained is a Richard Jackson Book from Atheneum and will be out some time this month.
All for now.
I am sitting here with a copy of Jennifer Richard Jacobson's Stained in front of me. I am not Catholic, but where I grew up you were either Lutheran or Catholic, with a few Baptists and others around as well. I remember the teasing from the Catholic kids when they would ask what's your father's name and I would answer Paul and they would say, "No stupid, that's your dad's name, what's your priest's name?" You either fit in or you didn't, and Jocelyn no longer fit in after her mother quit going to church with their neighbors and Joss didn't go through her First Communion. She never forgot the nun's comment that until you went through First Communion your soul was stained. Joss hung around at the fringes of the crowd. She and Gabe had played together as kids and here she was in high school and still let him treat her like dirt even though she was involved with Benny, another Catholic boy worried about the fate of his soul because he lusted after Joss. When Gabe disappears Joss wonders why Father Warren is always hanging around the search groups and why the teens hang on his every word. She doesn't like him at all because she knows he is telling Benny to stay away from her - he says she lures him into their sinful trysts. Father Warren feeds on the boys' insecurities and is the reason Gabe has disappeared.
Stained is not graphic in relation to the sexual abuse, but it is clear what is going on with Father Warren and Gabe and why Gabe waits to talk to Joss before he disappears from their lives. Very poignant tale of how small town lives intertwine and how one powerful authority figure can ruin the lives of so many. Stained is a Richard Jackson Book from Atheneum and will be out some time this month.
All for now.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Good morning! What a beautifully sunny day it is here in the islands - the birds are singing outside my window. And I don't mean the "time-challenged" rooster who lives below us. :-)
So the Patriots won the Super Bowl. We both gave up on it in the 3rd quarter and crashed for the night. Down side of being on Atlantic Time - everything is an hour later than Eastern.
Interesting discussion occurring on Child-Lit about the qualifications of authors. It all started with someone suggesting authors should all have advanced degrees in writing - well, that knocks out the greats like Jane Yolen, who certainly had something to say about it. It has now progressed to discussing the types of books published - such as series, movie tie-ins, etc. that many consider junk. Perhaps they are in a sense, but they are essential junk for readers, just as the mass market stuff for adults like Danielle Steele. Much of what we read isn't ever going to be in contention for a Newbery or Printz literary merit type award. So what? To be a life longer reader one has to read and that can be anything from the latest Princess Diaries book to Sports Illustrated magazine. We have to wallow in unconscious delight type reading or we may become unconscious while reading. If we are forced to read at our determined reading level each time we read something we would quickly become non-readers. Look what we are doing to kids in schools - leveling them and then requiring the books they check out from the library be on that level. What about just plain fun reading that requires no work on your part - it is just a fun reading experience? These delightful reading experiences are what cause us to pick up the next book early on and pretty soon we are looking for more in a book and recognizing the quality of writing and developing connections with characters, etc. I say YAHOO for junk books - they are an essential piece in the array of materials that help create life long readers.
Speaking of series reading - I just finished Mixed Messages by Jahnna N. Malcolm. It is part of the Love Letters series. Quite a delightful quick read about three friends who are very different - Jade is a red-head who plays guitar and writes her own songs, Lucy is a blonde granny skirt wearing vegetarian hippy, and Keesha is an African American fashion diva - but they have each other's backs in all occasions, perhaps a bit more than they should. It is Jade's turn to write the love letter and Lucy puts it in the wrong guy's locker. But, Cupid had it right to begin with and Jade discovers that her heart does belong to quirky derby wearing Adam rather than spike-haired electric guitar squealing Zephyr. This is the kind of unconscious delight book you take to the beach, enjoy and pass on to someone else to read. It isn't one that you put on your "special books" shelf. But, I need books like these - I read so much YA that a light romance is a joy after reading several heavy themed books in a row.
Okay, that's it for this beautiful sunny a.m.
So the Patriots won the Super Bowl. We both gave up on it in the 3rd quarter and crashed for the night. Down side of being on Atlantic Time - everything is an hour later than Eastern.
Interesting discussion occurring on Child-Lit about the qualifications of authors. It all started with someone suggesting authors should all have advanced degrees in writing - well, that knocks out the greats like Jane Yolen, who certainly had something to say about it. It has now progressed to discussing the types of books published - such as series, movie tie-ins, etc. that many consider junk. Perhaps they are in a sense, but they are essential junk for readers, just as the mass market stuff for adults like Danielle Steele. Much of what we read isn't ever going to be in contention for a Newbery or Printz literary merit type award. So what? To be a life longer reader one has to read and that can be anything from the latest Princess Diaries book to Sports Illustrated magazine. We have to wallow in unconscious delight type reading or we may become unconscious while reading. If we are forced to read at our determined reading level each time we read something we would quickly become non-readers. Look what we are doing to kids in schools - leveling them and then requiring the books they check out from the library be on that level. What about just plain fun reading that requires no work on your part - it is just a fun reading experience? These delightful reading experiences are what cause us to pick up the next book early on and pretty soon we are looking for more in a book and recognizing the quality of writing and developing connections with characters, etc. I say YAHOO for junk books - they are an essential piece in the array of materials that help create life long readers.
Speaking of series reading - I just finished Mixed Messages by Jahnna N. Malcolm. It is part of the Love Letters series. Quite a delightful quick read about three friends who are very different - Jade is a red-head who plays guitar and writes her own songs, Lucy is a blonde granny skirt wearing vegetarian hippy, and Keesha is an African American fashion diva - but they have each other's backs in all occasions, perhaps a bit more than they should. It is Jade's turn to write the love letter and Lucy puts it in the wrong guy's locker. But, Cupid had it right to begin with and Jade discovers that her heart does belong to quirky derby wearing Adam rather than spike-haired electric guitar squealing Zephyr. This is the kind of unconscious delight book you take to the beach, enjoy and pass on to someone else to read. It isn't one that you put on your "special books" shelf. But, I need books like these - I read so much YA that a light romance is a joy after reading several heavy themed books in a row.
Okay, that's it for this beautiful sunny a.m.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Happy Super Bowl Sunday to one and all. It is a cool misty day in the islands. I feel sorry for the tourists who hoped to watch the game in their swimsuits at the beach bars. It is a bit chilly for that. But, I guess if you are coming from snow country this is still paradise weather wise. We had dinner with friends on Friday night and walked out on the dock to check out the sailboat he just bought - 43 footer. We can see it from our balcony. It is a big sailboat, but I wouldn't have enough room for my books. :-/ While out on the dock we were looking up at the stars - the sky is so clear down here it is as if you could reach up and touch them. No light pollution like in Houston. Made me think of growing up in Upper Michigan - I thought everyone had the Big Dipper hanging over their house at night. :-)
Just finished grading YA Literature Discussion Posting on how we define YA literature. One of the students found a great quote that states teens crave books with characters who are real, inspiring, and flawed. She just described Darren in Joyce Carol Oates' upcoming novel, Sexy. It will be out in a few days - February 15th. Darren is one of those "beautiful" boys who wishes he were more macho like his dad and older brother. And unaware of the effect he has on people, he is showing off that hairless beautiful body in his tiny Speedo every time he gets up on the high board. Darren is being watched, by both the girls and the guys. One of the guys watching is his English teacher Mr. Tracy. Tracy doesn't do anything more serious that offer Darren a ride home, but Darren knows there is a reason he is uncomfortable being in a car with the English teacher who gives him better grades than he deserves. But when the other jocks, who aren't getting good grades from him, decide to play a "joke" on Tracy and slide an envelope with kiddy porn under the principal's door indicating that Tracy is into it, Darren buries his head in the sand rather than stand up for Tracy. You just don't narc on your buddies, no matter how much you know you should, but the "joke" is getting out of hand. The police get involved and they know Darren was in Tracy's car.
Sexy is one of those books I picked up and read right through. Granted, it is a quick read, with some of the chapters being a mere page long, but I found Darren such a disquieting and almost unlikeable character that I kept reading. The ending is a bit too abrupt and gets him out of the situation too easily (a distant uncle to spend the summer with), but I am not sure how much more of Darren I could handle. Or maybe it was the dad and older brother I found so disconcerting. I think it was all the characters! All of them were so flawed, so "real" that I felt as if I were prying into this mixed-up teen's most private fears. In other words - it isn't a book I will forget. Nor have I been able to forget any of the other YA books Oates has written - Freaky Greens Eyes is still my favorite but Sexy gave me goosebumps.
Just finished grading YA Literature Discussion Posting on how we define YA literature. One of the students found a great quote that states teens crave books with characters who are real, inspiring, and flawed. She just described Darren in Joyce Carol Oates' upcoming novel, Sexy. It will be out in a few days - February 15th. Darren is one of those "beautiful" boys who wishes he were more macho like his dad and older brother. And unaware of the effect he has on people, he is showing off that hairless beautiful body in his tiny Speedo every time he gets up on the high board. Darren is being watched, by both the girls and the guys. One of the guys watching is his English teacher Mr. Tracy. Tracy doesn't do anything more serious that offer Darren a ride home, but Darren knows there is a reason he is uncomfortable being in a car with the English teacher who gives him better grades than he deserves. But when the other jocks, who aren't getting good grades from him, decide to play a "joke" on Tracy and slide an envelope with kiddy porn under the principal's door indicating that Tracy is into it, Darren buries his head in the sand rather than stand up for Tracy. You just don't narc on your buddies, no matter how much you know you should, but the "joke" is getting out of hand. The police get involved and they know Darren was in Tracy's car.
Sexy is one of those books I picked up and read right through. Granted, it is a quick read, with some of the chapters being a mere page long, but I found Darren such a disquieting and almost unlikeable character that I kept reading. The ending is a bit too abrupt and gets him out of the situation too easily (a distant uncle to spend the summer with), but I am not sure how much more of Darren I could handle. Or maybe it was the dad and older brother I found so disconcerting. I think it was all the characters! All of them were so flawed, so "real" that I felt as if I were prying into this mixed-up teen's most private fears. In other words - it isn't a book I will forget. Nor have I been able to forget any of the other YA books Oates has written - Freaky Greens Eyes is still my favorite but Sexy gave me goosebumps.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Wonder if the groundhog saw his shadow today. It is my day off so I slept in - burrowing into my blankets, wishing I were a groundhog. I am so not a morning person. This 5:30 a.m. on the days I work at Montessori is killing me. Whine! Whine! Whine!
As tired as I was last night I had to stay up and finish A Fast and Brutal Wing by Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson. It is one of those books that you think about between reading sessions if you don't finish it in one sitting. The plot weaves in and out of reality and fantasy as the siblings shape shift into animals - Emmet into a hawk and Niki into a cat. They are eager for the hunt and the taste of blood - they even hunt each other. The credibility of the sibling's stories is further compromised by the psychiatrist, their missing father, and their mother's new boyfriend/ reclusive author having shape shifting abilities as well. Interesting that their father is missing and now so is Slanger, the author. And whose bone is it the police find in the woods where Emmet, Niki and their geeky neighbor Doug end up naked and bloody? The story is told via chapters in a book Niki is writing, Doug's emails to the psychiatrist, newspaper articles, along with Niki's and Emmett's letters to the more than spooky psychiatrist who specializes in working with teen murderers.
All for now - need to grade YA lit homework.
As tired as I was last night I had to stay up and finish A Fast and Brutal Wing by Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson. It is one of those books that you think about between reading sessions if you don't finish it in one sitting. The plot weaves in and out of reality and fantasy as the siblings shape shift into animals - Emmet into a hawk and Niki into a cat. They are eager for the hunt and the taste of blood - they even hunt each other. The credibility of the sibling's stories is further compromised by the psychiatrist, their missing father, and their mother's new boyfriend/ reclusive author having shape shifting abilities as well. Interesting that their father is missing and now so is Slanger, the author. And whose bone is it the police find in the woods where Emmet, Niki and their geeky neighbor Doug end up naked and bloody? The story is told via chapters in a book Niki is writing, Doug's emails to the psychiatrist, newspaper articles, along with Niki's and Emmett's letters to the more than spooky psychiatrist who specializes in working with teen murderers.
All for now - need to grade YA lit homework.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Up at 5:30 a.m. - not typical for me but this is my first day at Montessori and I am driving Steve in to work so I can have the car. Can't wait to dive into that collection and see what is actually there. My goal today is to work my way through the supply closet and see what I need to order and just settle in.
We must have a new cat in the neighborhood - poor Sophie! She just screams for help when they corner her on our balcony. It isn't like she can jump off - we are on the second story and the house is built on a steep hillside as well.
Interesting discussion on YALSA-BK about how we decide what to read next. It really depends upon my mood for leisure reading, but when I am reading professionally, which means YA literature in most cases, I try to read first time authors, favorite authors, books from small presses, and those that are recommended by colleagues. Right now I am setting aside MS/JH titles and concentrating on upper level YA since I am reading for the HS booktalking book. I am reading A Fast and Brutal Wing by Johnson right now - a recommendation by Julie Scordato, whose recommendations I trust. Thanks Jules! :-) It is an incredible book about siblings who shape shift (I think - I haven't finished it yet) into a hawk and a cat. The story is told through emails, letters to the psychiatrist, and the girl's "novel".
Time to finish getting ready for work.
We must have a new cat in the neighborhood - poor Sophie! She just screams for help when they corner her on our balcony. It isn't like she can jump off - we are on the second story and the house is built on a steep hillside as well.
Interesting discussion on YALSA-BK about how we decide what to read next. It really depends upon my mood for leisure reading, but when I am reading professionally, which means YA literature in most cases, I try to read first time authors, favorite authors, books from small presses, and those that are recommended by colleagues. Right now I am setting aside MS/JH titles and concentrating on upper level YA since I am reading for the HS booktalking book. I am reading A Fast and Brutal Wing by Johnson right now - a recommendation by Julie Scordato, whose recommendations I trust. Thanks Jules! :-) It is an incredible book about siblings who shape shift (I think - I haven't finished it yet) into a hawk and a cat. The story is told through emails, letters to the psychiatrist, and the girl's "novel".
Time to finish getting ready for work.
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