One of my Young Adult literature students, Katie Allen, went to listen to Laurie Halse Anderson talk about her new book, Wintergirls http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Wintergirls/Laurie-Halse-Anderson/e/9780670011100/?itm=1 and had her picture taken with Anderson. I've not read this searing YA novel that came out in March, about the impact of anorexia on both the sufferer and the ones who love her, but it is on my "gotta read" list. I haven't read one of Laurie's books that I haven't loved. If it is as heart wrenching as Speak http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Speak/Laurie-Halse-Anderson/e/9780142407325/?itm=1 (and the reviews indicate it is) it will be one you will not forget. The latest issue of VOYA has a poem that Anderson wrote, the text of which is primarily taken from letters she has received from teen readers of Speak. This edgy YA novel is about an incoming freshman, raped at an end of the summer party, who is so traumatized by the rape and by being ostracizing by the other students, that she does not talk until circumstances force her to speak out.

The other picture is of the autograph on Katie's copy of Twisted http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Twisted/Laurie-Halse-Anderson/e/9780142411841/?itm=5 I totally agree - librarians are angels. :-) This YA novel about Kyle, a teen who is just a body in the mass of teens in his high school - a social nobody. That is, until he is caught spray painting graffiti on the walls of the school. After a summer in the sun doing community service, getting tanned and buff, he becomes the bad boy the girls find irresistible, including the daughter of his father's boss. Getting involved with her is a bad idea and when half clothed photographs of her end up on the Internet everyone assumes Kyle is the one who posted them. Kyle would like to go back to being the invisible one in the high school social scene but it is too late now.

I wish Spring would decide to stay instead of making short visits and then leaving us with winter weather. Poor Sophie - she is now a short haired cat, but the vet left her with a long ruff around her neck and her tail long. I think she looks cute, but she is quite mortified. Downside of getting rid of her mass of shedding fur - she is more susceptible to this cold weather. I left her out once and she started sneezing and had a runny nose. She is still quite irritated with me about both the new "do" and not being able to go outside. If it would warm up I'd let her out but BRRRR!! If we get the house sold and move to the Miami area she will be a happy kitty again, chasing geckos like she did in the islands.

I hope it warms up this weekend as Steve's older brother and wife arrive for a short visit and, of course, we are headed to the horse races at Keeneland. I did great on opening day - well, for the first 5 races, then Steve told the guy behind the betting window that I was going to lose the next race. He jinxed me - not only did I lose that race, I lost every single one from there on out. Good thing I only do $2 bets. Hopefully we'll have better luck this weekend. I have picked my favorite jockey Kent Desormeaux. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_Desormeaux I learned the hard way not to bet against a horse he is racing. He's good! I just hope I don't have to be bundled up in my winter coat, two sweaters, a hat, scarf, gloves, etc. as I was on opening day of the races.

Speaking of bundled up, I laughed out loud at the picture of bundled up children building an ice sculpture dog in Alta Norway in 2001 in Ayana Lowe's Come and Play: Children of Our World Having Fun http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Come-and-Play/Ayana-Lowe/e/9781599902463/?itm=1 . The child who picked this picture to write about in Lowe's multicultural class named the "word riff," (what Lowe calls the short poems that accompany pictures of children at play around the world) Blue Night. I felt like a knew these kids, all bundled up and wearing fur hats - hats I had seen kids my own age wearing while growing up in Upper Michigan as well as on kids playing with my own children in Alaska. What photograph will you connect with?

April is poetry month (you can find cool things do with your students at: http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41) and this collection of short poems written by children in response to photographs of children at play around the world is a great place to start celebrating poetry month. Share this cool book of photographs and poetry with children and adults alike. The photographs are from the Magnum Photos collection. Check it out at http://www.magnumphotos.com/. Oh could I spend a lot of time just exploring this site. The main page currently has a photograph slide show of various photographs depicting springtime. Come and Play is a visual feast that both children and adults will devour over and over again as they "spy" on children at play. What "word riff" would I write about the little Norwegian kids - hmmmm - something to think about. Perhaps I'll write a "word riff" or two of my own to celebrate poetry month.

Well, the for sale sign is up in the front yard. The new realty company, a couple who work together, were here to take pics and for us to sign papers. One step closer to our move to Florida. With today being one of my worse fibro days in a long time the warm moist weather of southern Florida sounds better and better. Even though I could barely move this morning I got up and helped Steve pick up and clean. By the time they left I was shivering with the chills. My darling Steve went and got us our regular Steak & Shake burgers and brought them home and ate lunch with me while I sat in my fuzzy winter bathrobe. He went off to the gym and I took a nap. It's going to be a do a bit of work from bed and nap when needed kind of day. I've been really pushing myself since the surgery in February - I should know better but no one but me knows what to do with my books and I brought home a car full when I moved out of my ECU office. So, as I sit here trying to join the world of the totally awake, I'm watching one of my favorite movies - The Last of the Dogmen with Barbara Hershey and Tom Berenger. Good description of it at: http://www.classicdvds4less.com/ProductInfo.aspx?ID=136 Puts Dances with Wolves to shame for wonderful Indian adventure movies and one of Berenger's best.

My YA book for today is Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Jumped/Rita-Williams-garcia/e/9780060760915/?itm=1 It is not my favorite of hers - that would be Every Time a Rainbow Dies http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Every-Time-a-Rainbow-Dies/Rita-Williams-Garcia/e/9780064473033/?itm=1 in which quiet sixteen-year-old Thulani, whose mother has died and is not living up to his older brother's expectations, comes to the rescue of a young woman who is raped and left battered in an alley but she berates him rather than being thankful. Thulani is fascinated by her reaction and works his way into her life. This is a beautiful, edgy and sometimes harsh urban novel for older teens. It is not one you will forget. Jumped is also set in an urban environment, but addresses the brutality of girl on girl violence. The central figures are three high school girls - a basketball player with an attitude, an artistic pretty girl who thinks the world's, at least all the boys', eyes are on her, and Leticia who spends more time telling her friend on the phone about what is happening around her than living her own life, including doing the right thing. When ditsy Trina gets in the way of angry Dominque, who has been kicked off the team for bad grades, Leticia hears Dominque brag to her friends that Trina is going to get tromped after school. Even with her friend on the phone begging her to tell the school security guard what she heard, Leticia doesn't. She just watches and Trina pays the price. It's much easier not to get involved, but can you live with the results of not standing up for an innocent who has no idea she is about to get jumped? Williams-Garcia raises many questions in this edgy YA novel of the harshness of the urban high school environment from the perspective of three distinctly African American teenage girls.

Remember the optical illusion that when you first look at it what appears are facial profiles but upon another look - it is a vase? In a similar vein, Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld offer up a visual delight with a touch of humor in Duck! Rabbit http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Duck-Rabbit/Amy-Krouse-Rosenthal/e/9780811868655/?itm=1 While doing a school visit together Lichtenheld drew the duckrabbit figure and the kids loved it. So did Rosenthal and she insisted it could be the basis for a book. Sure enough, the simple but irresistible picture of what looks like a rabbit with ears laid back or a duck with an open bill that the illustrator had seen in a college course called Zen and Freud and stayed with him since is now an absolutely addictive children's (well, all ages as I am certainly not a child, though my inner child is very alive and well) picture books. How fun read and discuss whether the illustrations are of a is a duck opening his bill to eat a piece of bread, quacking, wading through the swamp, flying, getting a drink etc. or a rabbit eating a carrot, sniffing at something, hiding in the grass, or hopping away. And of course, they leave you with yet another illustration open for discussion as to what it is - a dinosaur or an anteater - or perhaps you see something else altogether. Such a simple, but absolutely incredible visual feast to behold and visit over and over again, no matte what your age. But, I can't wait to read this one with the grandkids.

Okay - I think I am clear headed enough to do some grading! I don't wish fibro fog on anyone - gets totally in the way of concentration and I've even typed words that have no connection whatsoever to what I was thinking, so clearly the fingers and the brain do not always work in conjunction of a bad fibro day!

The trees in our yard don't realize just how cold and nasty it is. Spring hasn't quite sprung for us yet but our little plum tree, really more like a scrub at this point, is glorious in its pink blooms and the lilacs bushes are sprouting leaves. Can't wait until they bloom - lilacs mean home. Picking lilacs with my dad was an annual event when I was a little girl - I can close my eyes and smell them. My father and I didn't have a very good relationship, well pretty much no relationship, after my mom died. But, as a little girl I thought the world revolved around him - at least mine did. For years purple was my favorite color, and it still is to a degree - but now it is deep purplish blue as the color blue has become an integral part of my life. I am becoming my mother without even trying and I am proud to see myself resembling the incredible woman my mom was - even down to her forgetfulness. Just about every place mat I have bought for both the dining room and kitchen table are shades of blue and I wake up every morning to Georgia O'Keefe's 1925 Petunia that looks like it has blueberries in the center. http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Petunia-1925-Posters_i290791_.htm I didn't notice the resemblance to blueberries until very recently but it makes me smile as I think of mom busy picking wild blueberries.


But, lilacs will not bloom in Florida - they need a cold freeze to bloom. But, there are lilacs that bloom in Texas, Denton to be exact. White Lilacs, written by Carolyn Meyer in the mid 90's http://search.barnesandnoble.com/White-Lilacs/Carolyn-Meyer/e/9780152058517/?itm=1i s a poignant YA novels for tweens about the prejudice of a small Texas town - comparing the life of young Rose Lee who lives in the all African American Freedomtown until the white folks run them out and create a park for the young women of Texas Woman's University - not called that yet in the 1920's. Yes, I remember this book in part because of the symbolism of the lilac blooming even in the worst of times, but also because I went to school at TWU. It is still in print, which says a lot about the quality and appeal of the novel.

Why did I mention lilacs won't bloom in Florida? We will be moving to FL if/when our home here in Lexington sells. We are in no hurry so I will surely get to see our lilacs bloom this summer. That's why we drove to the Miami area during Spring Break - to get some idea where we'd like to live. I can say it certainly will not be Miami proper. I thought the drivers in Dallas were nuts - they are old ladies in Buicks compared to the drivers on I95 in Miami. I laughed out loud at the below term from Urban Dictionary. Let's just say I wore the "passenger brake" out in the car! We will be looking a bit farther north or south where doing 75 mph isn't considered standing still.

March 26: Passenger Brake
The passenger brake is the nonexistent brake pedal located on the floor of the passenger (shotgun) side of the front seat of your car. It is used instinctively by the passenger when the driver is driving insanely too fast, and the car needs to come quickly to a stop, which may not seem very possible at that particular moment. It is sometimes used in conjunction with the OH SHIT handle by the passenger door.
Doris was using her passenger brake all the freaking way here. She's the one who made us late getting started from home by taking so long to get herself ready! I was just trying to make up some time getting through traffic...

My YA book for today is Lara M. Zeises' The Sweet Life of Stella Madison, http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=sweet+life+of+stella+madison a Delacorte title that will come out in July. Lara calls herself a foodie and her love of food is very evident in this delightful YA novel about the daughter of foodie parents have been separated for years, but are still very close. Stella's mother is the grounded one with the business sense whereas her father is the chef who closes his own restaurant down for a period each year to travel throughout Europe to savor new foods, but mostly new wines. Stella has worked at her mother's restaurant, the Open Kitchen, where guest chefs are "on stage" to cook for a loyal following as well as new converts. Stella is content in her relationship with boyfriend - sweet Max. That is until her mother hires a new intern who looks as good as he cooks! Stella's crush on Jeremy and his flirtatious behavior toward her is not helping matters any. Exactly how far do you have to go to consider it cheating on your boyfriend? Does taking Jeremy to dinner at your father's restaurant count? Does thinking about him way too much count? Does wanting him to kiss you count? Stella's BFF's tell her to get a grip, but Stella's hormones are not making it easy. To further complicate her life, Stella is offered a summer newspaper internship and her own column, The Sweet Life of Stella Madison, in which she writes about food, mostly as a restaurant critic. Stella is not a foodie like her parents - she'd just as soon stop at Burger King. But, with some help from the gorgeous Jeremy, Stella realizes she is not so unlike her parents. Many of the chapters begin with the evening menu at the Open Kitchen, which I am sure will make many readers' mouths water. I hate to admit it, but I skipped them after the first one - like reading a foreign language to me. Foodie I am not - hard to be when you don't' eat any diary and have recently also added soy to the "no-no" list. However, this non-foodie loves Stella and her antics at the Open Kitchen as well as dealing with two guys and two best friends and parents who may be falling in love, but not with each other. A delicious read to say the least!

I'll be teaching an Early Childhood Materials course this summer so I have been reading lots of board books and other fun books for little ones. The Bedtime Train by Joy Cowley, illustrated by Jamison Odone. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Bedtime-Train/Joy-Cowley/e/9781590784938/?itm=1 stands out, not only for it's large size, but for its beauty. However, be careful using it with little ones prone to nightmares as there are growling bears, dinosaurs and alligators galore as a little boy and Brad, the train engineer who looks a lot like Dad, go on a rhyming night time ride. The illustrations compliment the text beautifully and are in muted colors so that even the growling bears are not so scary - especially when the little boy sits on the edge of his bed and sticks his tongue out at them. :-) With the wolves and cold, it reminds me a bit of The Polar Express by Van Allsburg http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Polar-Express/Chris-Van-Allsburg/e/9780395389492/?itm=1 but this has no holiday theme. The illustrations, especially the little boy, remind me more of Sendak's In the Night Kitchen http://search.barnesandnoble.com/In-the-Night-Kitchen/Maurice-Sendak/e/9780064434362/?itm=1 with their dream like feel. And anyone who has read my blog knows this is an all time favorite of mine. Although some of the creatures are a bit creepy, this is the perfect storybook for the little boys who love trains. They'll be joining in on the "Chugga-chugga, toot-toot. Chugga-chugga, toot-toot." refrain. The illustrations are rich in detail and little ones will find new details each time their parents (especially dads) are asked to read it again and again. It doesn't have to bedtime to share this delightful book about a little boy and his ingenious ways to save the day, or I should say night, with gumballs. :-) Cowley has been awarded the New Zealand Commemorative Medal for her service to children's literature. This Front Street publication of what started out as a story in Highlights magazine comes alive through Odone's incredible art. There are pages I'd love proofs of to frame and put on my wall.

Okay, on the not so fun stuff - grading.

It is a week past Spring Break and I still don't feel like I had a break! We drove down to Florida and stopped in Savannah for the night. We stayed at The Mansion on Forsythe Park - which is supposed to have several ghosts in residence. We did not see any as much as Steve tried to pretend he was one. Let's just say his ghost moans elicit chuckles, not shrieks of fear!!

Check out the pictures: http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll?qscr=dspv&flag=l&itid=&itdx=&itty=&from=f&foop=0&hwrq=&htid=1160188&spsh=&spsi=&crti=4&nfla=1&mdpcid=21187-1.ExpediaHotelImagesUS+Hotel_Review+GTEST Anyway, we stopped at the gorgeous lounge in the Drayton restaurant adjoining the hotel and chatted with lovely Breigh - yes, sounds like the cheese. She suggested we eat at the Noble Fare http://www.noblefare.com/main.html - superb food! We didn't have reservations, had to sit outside in the beautiful evening air to wait to sit at the bar to dine, but it was worth the wait. The young couple who recently opened this restaurant clearly have a following already as there wasn't an empty table and they don't advertise in the tourist mags. Supposedly there's a ghost or two in this building too but we didn't see any. We stopped back at the lounge to thank Breigh and encountered one of the "ugly people". Too bad she was all too real instead of just a nasty ghost. We were dressed very casually and she let us know from the look on her face that she didn't think we belonged there as she sat texting on her phone. There were two open seats next to her but she made it quite clear one was for her husband and she was not about to move down one, which she certainly could have so we could sit together. We were both so offended by her rude behavior that we later said we should have sat on either side of her and leaned forward and talked across her. She personified Rich Bitch to the nth degree. I'd like to think she was just a nasty tourist in town and not a local as everyone else we have encountered in Savannah have been very friendly and helpful. But isn't is amazing how we remember the "snots" we meet more readily than the nice folks?



I'll write more about the vacation and my impression of Miami drivers, but that's for another time.



Some folks who read my blog may remember when I raved about Suzanne Crowley's The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Very-Ordered-Existence-of-Merilee-Marvelous/Suzanne-Crowley/e/9780061231971/?itm=1 Such a beautifully written book - you can read my review on her site: http://www.suzannecrowley.com/a_r.html



So when I received the ARC of Suzanne's new book The Stolen One http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Stolen-One/Suzanne-Carlisle-Crowley/e/9780061232015/?itm=2 I was surprised to see it is historical fiction, but even the most resistant reader of historical fiction will pick this book up because of the gorgeous cover. Kat Bab is arrestingly beautiful with her wild red hair - cover art is on Crowley's web site: http://www.suzannecrowley.com/stolenone.html Kat is a skilled seamstress, embroidering copies of her own detailed drawing of the flora and fauna around their rural cottage - very far away from the intrigue of Queen Elizabeth's court, where sixteen-year-old Kat will soon find herself as one of the Queen's "pets". Kat must choose between the luxuries of the court and the love of the young pear farmer she has left behind. Crowley has weaved a lush tale of love and intrigue as elaborate as the stitches on the dress, a personal gift for the Queen, that Kat is embellishing with creatures, both light and dark. The historical figures of Elizabethan England come to life on the pages of The Stolen One as real as the author-created characters - no history lesson here as often happens with an author less skilled - who come so vividly to life that the reader's mouth waters as Kat bites into a luscious pear from her beloved's orchard and noses wrinkle in disgust along with Kat's as she is bombarded by her first breath of the putrid air of London. This HarperCollins title will arrive in bookstores in early July - just in time to take on your summer vacation. Make sure you have a tall glass of iced tea next to you as you will lose track of time while wandering country lanes or castle hallways with Kat.



That's it for tonight.

What a busy day! Wasn't even quite awake yet when I started working on pulling things together for the dreaded annual review. I know, I know - if I had done this a little bit at a time all year it wouldn't be such a pain. Well, I did some of it during the year but it still needs to be structured, etc. This time of the year academics are busy killing lots of trees as they make copies of publications and every other shred of evidence to prove what a gloriously busy researcher, writer, teacher, advisor, service oriented professional you've been in the last 12 months.

Since we had so much fun at the opening night of Mama Mia! at the Lexington Opera House last night I haven't grumped as much as I normally do when I begin the ritual killing of trees as I use reams of paper and way too many ink cartridges. I was humming show tunes as I sorted. I have the play bill in front of me and can't help but smile. Since we are season ticket holders for Broadway Live at the Opera House this year, we were invited to the Cast Party afterward. I have a bunch of autographs, from Liana Hunt (Sophie) to Adam Jacobs (Sky). Who I really enjoyed was Adam Michael Kaokept who played Pepper - he was hilarious both on and off stage. He has the most infectious smile - you can't help but smile back. Steve and I had the delightful opportunity to chat with Martin Kildare, who played the Aussie, Bill Austin. Although he said he'd rather be back home in Southern California with regular TV roles, he certainly came across as a man who loves his job, no matter where the stage happens to be. What a nice group of people and clearly they had enjoyed their opening night as much as the audience. All and all what a fun night in a gorgeous facility that has been remodeled and there isn't a bad seat in the house. http://www.lexingtonoperahouse.com/ Now to see if I can find my CD of the movie soundtrack. I bought it even before I saw the movie as I am a big Abba fan. And yes, I did have a pair of platform boots back in the 70s! I will put the playbill and our tickets in the memory box I am keeping for McKinley, who turned one on Tuesday and I wasn't there to give her a kiss. Hopefully long after I am gone she'll enjoy going through the box and seeing all the cool (at least I think so) things her Gramma did.

Since I'm in a bit of a chick flick mood, I'll talk about Girls by Tucker Shaw http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Girls/Tucker-Shaw/e/9780810983489/?itm=1, an Abrams YA novel that will hit bookstores in April. Love the cover of - two girls gossiping over a take out coffee - title and author on band around the cup. Very bottom of cup - CAUTION - HOT GOSSIP! Oh yes - both the coffee and the gossip are hot. And, even though Tucker Shaw is a guy - there isn't one guy in the book - well, not as a character with dialogue. The back cover states: "A modern retelling of the classic play The Women by Clare Booth Luce (which featured not one male in the cast)." You may recognize the author's name as I am a big fan of Flavor of the Week http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Flavor-of-the-Week/Tucker-Shaw/e/9780641825804/?itm=1 - my mouth was watering as chubby good-guy Cyril bakes and cooks, with his heart right out on the baking sheet for all to see, but the girl he loves is seeing his best friend. Girls also has a foodie - Peggy - a college student who lives, eats and breaths food. When she is stressed she makes up wacky food combinations - some of which might actually be quite good! The recipes at the end of the book are so delicious, even on paper, that they may have even non-foodies rolling up their sleeves and pulling out the pots and pans gathering dust in the cupboards. Tucker is the food editor for the Denver Post so he know what he writes about. Oh dear - got carried away - back to the book. Peggy's best friend Mary is dating a rich guy who is sleeping with the manipulative poor girl Crystal, who works in the store where the rich snow bunnies buy their jeans. But when Amber, who dishes more gossip than biscotti at the coffee shop, and vicious Sylvia, find out about what Mary's beau has been up to, well - the gossip is honed to a nasty edge and Peggy is too sweet to tell Mary about what she's heard. Of course she is going to find out and of course, Peggy SHOULD have told her! Tucker has again created a fun, quick read, with great recipes, that will get passed from girl to girl once it hits your library. They'll be talking about Mary's revenge, everyone's clothes, and maybe even digging out that old George Foreman sandwich press that their mom got for Christmas once upon a time. How can you not want to try Peggy's special grilled cheese sandwich recipe?

I have been a Don and Audry Wood fan for many years. King Bidgood's in the Bathtub is my all time favorite of theirs. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/King-Bidgoods-in-the-Bathtub/Audrey-Wood/e/9780152427306/?itm=1 What Don Wood can do with the use of shading and color is amazing in this book. So, when Into the Volcano http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Into-the-Volcano/Don-Wood/e/9780439726719/?itm=1 came across my desk I had to dive into it. Add great graphic novel author/artist to Woods' many accolades. This over-sized color graphic novel will have even the most resistant male reader involved in a matter of a page flip. Duffy and Sumo are brothers who don't seem to agree on much of anything, with Sumo voicing his opinion loud and clear while Duffy quietly sorts things out. But, neither are thrilled about the idea of spending 10 days on the volcanic island of Kocalaha, but if they knew they'd be risking their lives in lava tubes underground, they surely would have even less inclined to spend time with an auntie they didn't know they had. They think their archaeologist mother is completing a research project in Borneo but she has been in the tunnels beneath the island for two months, trying to protect beautiful green "jewels" that can, when combined with other elements such as copper or calcium, do everything from sweeten a drink to become a super conductor. As an adult I found this part of the tale fascinating, but most younger readers will hold their breath along with Duffy and Sumo as they navigate their way through the lava tube tunnels. For anyone who has been to the Big Island of Hawaii, the culture will feel familiar, but even for those who have never visited Volcano National Park, this is a visually fast paced survival story that elementary and middle school age boys will revisit and share with friends. Soon the book will open by itself to Chapter 15 "Death Drops By" - even I am fascinated by the creepy skeleton with a red rubber nose. Can you imagine climbing up a wall of skulls, using eye sockets as finger holds and run into this boney dude? Very gross, but oh so enticing - you just have to keep going back to look at this skeleton - "PEEK.... AHHHHHH BOO! SQUEEZE MY NOSE"... Creepy. This is an absolutely, positively gotta have book in every library that serves boys, and girls, from ages 8-12. Oh heck - all ages! You will be happily buying mutiple copies of this Scholastic hardback - even at full retail price of $18.99 - this book is a steal.

Enough rambling for tonight.

Okay - I need a break from my email! There are days I yearn for years gone by (seems like eons ago, and yes, I feel that old some days!) when snail mail was the norm for communication with a phone call for emergencies. When I lived in Alaska and my kids were little I can remember writing long letters to both my mom and my sister-in-law who has kids only a couple months apart in age from Mary and Mic. Life was so much slower back then! No longer do I wait to hear the mailman go by, but I am sorely tempted to check every time I hear the "bing" that a new message has popped into my work email inbox. And, I don't even want to think of the thousands of emails in my yahoo account inbox. I haven't had time to check it in weeks. What wonderful discussions am I missing on adbooks and YALSA-bk? Too many electronic means of communication and not enough hours in the day!!

With that little tirade out of my system I now need a "book fix". More than a few of my YA literature students have read Anna Godbersen's Luxe http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Luxe/Anna-Godbersen/e/9780061345661 so I had to find out what they were so intrigued with and I gobbled it up in two sitting. Would have been one, but sleep won the battle during sitting one. A group of New York society girls fighting over the same guys - sounds like Gossip Girls, but so much better!! Well, better for those of us who love historical fiction and the glorious dresses and fancy surroundings described in detail. Oh, for the days of the floor length "bad girl" dresses Penelope Hayes wears and to be scandalized by a man's hand on a woman's ankle! Well, she, and other females in the book, did a whole lot more than let the "bad boy" Henry fondle their ankles, but the details are left for the reader's imagination to fill in whatever steamy detail desired. As the story ends with the "good girl's" funeral (no body to bury) and a smile on the younger sister's face as she enters the church, readers will go searching for Rumors http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Rumors/Anna-Godbersen/e/9780061345692/?itm=3 to find out what antics spicy little sister Dianna has up the sleeve of her ruffled gown. And, then reach for Evny http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Envy/Anna-Godbersen/e/9780061345722/?itm=1 to read to find out who really gets the "bad boy". I now have to go searching through my shelves to find the next two in the series as although I have read the reviews and I know who gets him, I want to know all the details of how she did and what she did to the other socialites to get him. Oh what a juicy read this series is!

Now, with a shake of my head - to clear the brain from scenes of 1899 New York City - I have to share Good Night Baby Ruby by Rohan Henry. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Good-Night-Baby-Ruby/Rohan-Henry/e/9780810983236/?itm=1 The very simplicity of Henry's drawings of Ruby with her spiral twists of hair standing on end and kitty, who may have caused some of the mess it appears Ruby created, will have parents and their little ones revisiting this book many times before baby eyes will close at night. The line drawings, with various pieces of clothing and other elements in the room in solid shades of pink, blue, red, and yellow, beg to be explored over and over - with little fingers pointing out details such as the yellow bee in the cloth book on the nursery floor, the floppy stuffed bunny's red nose, or kitty's pink tongue when she yawns. I absolutely adore this book! This is the first picture book by this author of Jamaican roots - but I say - More! More!

Okay - now back to my email!

I really feel awful that I haven't blogged more often. I made a New Year's resolution that I would blog at least once a week - well, I certainly failed miserably. I got behind almost as soon as the semester started. Then I fell down the steps while in Denver for ALA Midwinter and the fact that I landed as much on my left hand as my knee and head hasn't helped with my ability to type or write. My sprained left thumb has really made me realize how much we use our thumbs! And, that I can't do squat with my right hand - including buttoning my jeans! I still have the remnants of a very colorful swollen black eye - thank goodness my glasses covered some of it, but I sure did get a few looks.

Then I flew home just as the ice storm hit - the airport in Lexington was closed so I flew into Cincinnati. Poor Steve had to drive up and get me. I couldn't even tell what color my Santa Fe is when he pulled up -it had a good 2 inches of ice on it. The drive home was a white knuckle one with semis flying past us and covering us with slush and snow. Then we couldn't get up the drive way, either with the car or on foot! Steve helped me into the grass and I clomped my way through the ice covering the grass around to the back door and then realized these steps were glare ice too. After falling in Denver I was scared spitless of falling again. That wasn't bad enough - I had a doctor's appointment the next day and we actually went! There were tree limbs on top of cars and blocking streets and then it started to snow like crazy when we went to leave the clinic. I am so sick of winter!!!

I just finished reading Gentlemen by Michael Northrup. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Gentlemen/Michael-Northrup/e/9780545097499/?itm=5 - a Scholastic title that will come out in April. We have some great YA novels that partner with classics and this is a doozy. When an English teacher decides to pique resistent 10th grade students' interest with a barrel that the students whack with a fish club to guess what is in it, I was hooked. What a way to introduce a unit on Crime and Punishment! Three of 4 buddies are in this remedial English class together and take a whack at the barrel. It isn't until Mr. Haberman uses the example of a student being killed between classes in their school that their imaginations goes wild and they think Haberman killed their missing buddy Tommy and stuffed his body into the barrel. This isn't a pretty book by any means of the word, but you certainly can't help but keep reading to find out what exactly was in that barrel and what happened to Tommy. Definitely a HS level YA novel.

Now I feel a whole lot better that I have done a posting! I am in a good mood as I am actually caught up on my grading - that will last less than 24 hours, but I can celebrate for a little bit! :-)

I can't believe the last post was December 27th! Time flies when you're busy. Steve left for Kansas City the next day and I buried myself in getting Spring courses ready and finding the top of my desk. And then it was time to hit the road for North Carolina and a week of meetings. One more tomorrow morning and then I can head home. It is so darn cold that I don't think I will have to deal with snowy roads like I did on the way over on Tuesday.

For those of you who read my blog you may remember me talking about Coe Booth's Tyrell - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Tyrell/Coe-Booth/e/9780439838795/?itm=4 a book that made me very uncomfortable and that is a good thing. If you can't remember a book, it didn't have that something that made it memorable. With Tyrell it was the blunt and very realistic depiction of a teenage guy's view of girls and sex. And, his need to be the man of the family and support his mother and younger brother at any cost. Coe Booth was at the YA Lit Symposium in Nashville and I was delighted to get a signed copy of Kendra,http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Kendra/Coe-Booth/e/9780439925365/?itm=1 her new edgy YA novel for HS age teens. Kendra is as memorable a character as Tyrell. They even live in the same neighborhood. At fourteen she cannot understand why her mother doesn't want her and is chafing at her grandmother's heavy hand to keep her from following in her mother's footsteps. But Kendra wants something to make her feel alive and needed and the bad boy at school introduces her to the pleasure of sex - every kind imaginable as long as she stays a "virgin". Kendra knows she should stay away from him but she just can't , even though her best friend (who is also her aunt) has a thing for the same guy. Things fall apart and her grandmother sends Kendra to live with her mother who has just completed her PhD - forcing them both to grow up and accept responsibility for their actions. Kendra will be popular, especially with teens who live in urban areas. Booth doesn't pull any punches in depicting the lifestyle of urban teens - disturbing and all too real.

That's it for tonight. Too dang tired to write more!

What could be better than a late breakfast of pecan pie and Earl Grey tea? Well, sitting on the floor going through books to send to the grandkids, of course! Thought I'd share a few of my favorites before they get sent on. These the ones I set aside because I wasn't sure I could part with them, even to the grandkids. But, better Mary read them to kids than they sit on my shelf with me wishing I could read to them.

Potato Joe by Keith Baker. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Potato-Joe/Keith-Baker/e/9780152062309/?itm=1 You all know the nursery song - one potato, two potato, three potato, four! Well these potatoes are having great fun at the rodeo with Watermelon Moe! Baker created the illustrations with Adobe Photoshop and they are so so cute - such expressive potato faces using simple facial features. Now I have the rhyme going through my head!

Five Little Firefighters by Tom Graham. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Five-Little-Firefighters/Tom-Graham/e/9780805086973/?itm=1 Nope - not a counting book at all. Not sure why Little has to be in the title, other than to entice someone to open the book up thinking it might be the counting rhyme. Instead, 5 mult-ethnic firefighters, one a woman, set out to put out a house fire and have to go in to find Cleo - the family cat. A great book for community helpers units in school, but my grandsons will love the firetruck illustrations in this small sized book.

Tadpole REX by Kurt Cyrus. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Tadpole-Rex/Kurt-Cyrus/e/9780152059903/?itm=1 I can just hear my grandsons reading along and shouting out the "Bloop. Bloop. Bloop." of the prehistoric muddle bubbles as a tadpole is coming to life. He might be the smallest thing around and when he gets big enough he lets out a roar - Ribbet!! All the dinosaurs craned their necks to see who "roared" but frog has slunk down under the mud so all that is showing is his eyes - watching the dinosaurs come and go. Remember, frog is still around long after the dinosaurs are gone. If you look really close into a frog's eye you might just see his inner tyrannosaur. :-) I love the over sized illustrations in this book and the author's note that frog were around for millions of year before even the dinosaurs he added to the illustrations.

1 2 Buckle My Shoe by Anna Grossnickle Hines. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/1-2-Buckle-My-Shoe/Anna-Gossnickle-Hines/e/9780152063054/?itm=1 This is the perfect book for my daughter to share with McKinley as Mary is into quilting again. Maybe this classic nursery rhyme illustrated with pictures of quick appliques will entice her to make a counting quilt.

Close to You: How Animals Bond by Kimiko Kajikawa. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Close-to-You/Kimiko-Kajikawa/e/9780805081237/?itm=1 If the cover photo of a mother polar bear and two cubs doesn't have you saying, "AHHHH!!" the mama giraffe giving her youngster a puckered up kiss will. Add to this mother/child animal pairs of manatees, snow monkeys, elephants, prairie dogs, and even alligators. Don't forget the human animals - they make up the last page. Great end matter in this book too. Animal web sites and a table of animal weights at birth vs. maturity. Polar bears - 1 1/2 lbs at birth, but up to 1,500 pounds at maturity!!

Okay - now to get these boxed up along with the clothes we bought at the after Christmas sale. Steve got a bit carried away, but it was fun to watch Grampa pick out clothes for the boys and girls both. I think he had the most fun picking out clothes for our oldest granddaughter Allyson and 5 year old Michael. They are going to be "stylin" when they back to school in January!

Couldn't sleep so Sophie and I have been up since a bit after 6:00. No matter how quietly I come out to get my first Diet Coke of the day, she hears me. Thank goodness she normally wants out so her morning conversation, more with herself than me, doesn't wake Steve.

This is one of the Mayan buildings in Chichen Itza. It was once an observatory but I think it looks like the ruins from a lighthouse. I forgot to get Steve his annual lighthouse calendar for Christmas so when we were in the mall yesterday he picked out one. There are very cool lighthouses from all over the world but my favorite is from back home - it is way out at the end of a pier in McClain State Park outside of Hancock, MI in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. http://www.michigan.org/Property/Detail.aspx?p=G15846 The pier both fascinated and frightened me as a child. A fun summer road trip would to visit all the places I remember as a kid in the UP. I have always been fascinated with the idea of living in a lighthouse. Don't remember what the book was I read as a child, but I think it was The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde H. Swift and illustrated by Lynn Ward. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Little-Red-Lighthouse-and-the-Great-Gray-Bridge/Hildegarde-H-Swift/e/9780152045715/?itm=3 This was published in 1942, but a new edition was reissued by Harcourt in 2002. This little lighthouse in near the Washington Bridge on the Hudson River. You might recognize Lynn Ward's name as he won the Caldecott in the mid 50s for The Biggest Bear http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Biggest-Bear/Lynd-Ward/e/9780395150245/?itm=5 which might not be very PC today, but a boy raising a bear rather than shooting one is not such a bad story to share, even today.

Books in which animals talk and interact much like humans are very popular with children and Kathi Appelt's first novel for children (she normally does NF and others types of picture books) The Underneath will be loved by children and adults alike. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Underneath/Kathi-Appelt/e/9781416950585/?itm=1 It was one of the books nominated for the Young People's Literature category of 2008 National Book Award. It did not win the award, but what an honor to be a nominee. Take a look at the the list of winner in the past: http://www.nationalbook.org/nba_winners_finalist_50_07.pdf

Appelt describes what it feels like to be loved and than abandoned by your human family as she begins her story with a pregnant cat being left beside the road near a bayou in NE Texas. She brought me to tears - and that was only the first couple of pages! Appelt's writing is sparse but lyrical as she tells the story of an abused Houston boy who makes his way into the swamps and become Gar-Face (due to his deformed jaw after being hit in the face by his father) - a mean and hateful man who enjoys killing as much as he does drinking the rotgut liquor he barters for with animal pelts. He's after the enormous alligator who has eluded him in the bayou for decades. Underneath the porch of his rundown house lives the hound he wounded in the leg during a hunting trip and considers worthless. And beside him, loving him are the abandoned mother cat and her two kittens. No family could be more bonded than this one hidden away in the Underneath. Tragedy strikes when one of the kittens ventures from the Underneath and is seen by Gar-Face. Cats make good bait for alligators. There are multiple stories flowing together in this book, merging as smoothly and languidly as the murky waters of the bayou, one being of Mother Moccasin who has been imprisoned in a earthen jar for centuries. Her story will weave itself into the tale of a lost kitten and his need to find his way back home to the Underneath. David Small's drawings supplement what is one of the most beautifully written children's novels I have read in quite some time. I believe it will become a classic, sitting beside my beloved Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Where-the-Red-Fern-Grows/Wilson-Rawls/e/9780553274295/?itm=1 as a favorite and often reread "big box of Kleenex" books. Check out Kathi's web site at http://kathiappelt.com/ She also writes for teens, along with great picture books. My favorite is Bats Around the Clock http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Bats-around-the-Clock/Kathi-Appelt/e/9780688164690/?itm=1 How can you not love a picture book that teaches time at the American Batstand with Click Dark as the host and the young bats bogeying around the clock?

Another award winning author, the well known John Green, also has a cool web site http://www.sparksflyup.com/ which one can spend way too much time on if you click through the links and wander far and wide. Who knew that Britney Spears is an anagram for Presbyterians? Talk about a guy who just radiates energy. I have heard him speak a couple of times (he's good), but when he sat next to me at the table during the YALSA Coffee Klatch I could see that he was jittering with nervous energy. He made me feel twitchy! But, a very likable dude! I was reading all the hype about Paper Towns http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Paper-Towns/John-Green/e/9780525478188/?itm=1 so I on the YA lit listservs finally read it and felt like I was reading another version of his debut YA novel that won the Printz Award - Looking for Alaska http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Looking-for-Alaska/John-Green/e/9780142402511/?itm=4 We have another immature HS age boy obsessed with a girl who is both selfish and smart and has the boy wrapped around her little finger. Quentin doesn't have to go off to private school to find his obsession, as Miles does in Looking for Alaska. Margo Roth Spiegelman lives right next door. He's secretly been in love with her since they were kids but it has been years since they played together. They certainly don't run in the same crowd at school and that isn't likely to ever change as graduation is fast approaching. However, when Margo is out to seek revenge for a broken heart (more like wounded pride), she shows up at Q's window dressed like a ninja and demands he be her companion for a night of breaking and entering the homes of the teens who wronged her. The antics are as mean as Margo - she isn't a nice girl, but Quentin doesn't care - he's obsessed. When she disappears, leaving behind angry and distraught parents (she's run away before), it is Quentin who finds her clues and sets off on his own adventure, visiting paper towns (plotted subdivisions where houses never "grew") in search of Margo. His best friends tag along for the final road trip in which he finds what he seeks, but was is it worth it? Felt too much like Green telling the same story with different characters and settings, but basically the same coming of age tale of the geeky boy obsessed with the wild girl. Will it be popular with teens? I think so, especially those who like his other books.

My picture book choice for today is Oscar and the Mooncats by Lynda Gene Rymond, illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Oscar-and-the-Mooncats/Lynda-Gene-Rymond/e/9780618563166/?itm=1 This is a 2007 Houghton Mifflin book but it is one that I go back to again and again because of the beautiful illustrations. Using shades of gray, Ceccoli makes the craters of the moon and the Mooncats so inviting that even I want to visit, but just for a bit. No wonder Oscar jumps all the way to the moon to play with them. They beg him to stay and play and drink the milk the cow who jumps over the moon leaves behind in a crater. But it will eventually make Oscar forget about the boy who waits for him back home. Needing to get back to his boy, Oscar jumps onto the cow, but she warns him she does not go to Earth so he lets go and luckly lands right back home where his last jump is onto his boy's bed. But Oscar is already dreaming of his next adventure. I love this book!! A wonderful bedtime story for young and old cat lovers like myself. However, my Sophie is not so adventurous. She is even afraid of bunnies, real and stuffed. She comes flying into the house if a real one is in her yard. Steve gave her a little stuffed bunny with a squeaker in it for Christmas and she is not a happy camper if you squeak it or put it near her. Actually, the squeaker sounds more like NCIS Abbey's Bert the farting hippo! You can see and hear Bert at: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FS-0eN4vneI&feature=related

That's it for me today. The sun has come out!

I am not the best photographer as you all have discovered! But, no matter how poor it comes out, I always take a picture of each year's Christmas tree. This was taken this morning after I cleared up most of the stuff in the middle of the living room. A chair with our big Scrabble board was there too but I moved it. Steve has been beating me time after time at Scrabble. I love to play it but I am bad at it! I've only beat him a few times since we have met. I was playing Alphabugs online to increase my "weird word" vocabulary, but that didn't even help much.

The big box is the small aquarium I gave Steve for Christmas. He used to have a huge one that took up most of one wall in the house in Texas but we don't have as large of a house here so there isn't as much space. Thought a little one might help - we'll see. It supposedly is self contained once set up - only change out the filters every so often. I'll believe that when I see it.

As always, I received books from Steve. :-) Christmas morning I curled up in bed with a Diet Coke, the mattress pad heater on and Greg Kincaid's A Dog Named Christmas. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Dog-Named-Christmas/Greg-Kincaid/e/9780385525985/?itm=1 Todd McCray's father is a Vietnam vet who hasn't allowed a dog on the family's Kansas farm since his beloved childhood dog died while he was in the service and his life was saved when a dog he befriended in Vietnam stepped on a landmine before he could. But, it is Christmas and the pound is asking folks to take a dog home for the Holidays so they aren't left in the kennels alone while the staff spends Christmas at home. Todd is 20, but has the mind of a child and he wants more than anything else to take a dog home for the Holidays. Todd gets his way and a big black mutt he names Christmas rides between a reluctant father and jubilant son as the old truck rattles its way back to the farm. Christmas quickly becomes part of the family but Todd's father is adamant about taking him back to the pound on December 26th. This poignant story of a man dealing with his past is told from the viewpoint of Mr. McCray as he watches Christmas become part of his family. It is the advice of the elderly farmer nearby who helps McCray see what is right in front of him all along. It is a short book - started out as a short story that the author fleshed out. For me it was the perfect quick Christmas morning read. Make sure the Kleenex are around if you read this one.

It is raining here again today. It rained so hard Christmas Eve we had a river running through the grass between ours and the neighbor's house. Realizing we'd have a blizzard on our hands if it had been snow I had to pick up A Very Special Snowflake by Don Hoffman and illustrated by Todd Dakins. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Very-Special-Snowflake/Don-Hoffman/e/9780439901116/?itm=1 Christmas may be over but it is still the season for winter/snow books. Brother and sister go out in the snow with their white puppy Snowflake who promptly disappears into a snowbank. They walk the streets of their small town asking the florist, mailman, policewoman, etc. if they have seen Snowflake, but they all respond with weather comments, including the baker who says the snowflakes have inspired him to decorate his cakes with fluffy white icing. This repetitive tale will delight little ones, as of course, Snowflake bounds out of the snowbank and the community helpers see exactly what kind of snowflake the siblings are looking for. An inexpensive Scholastic paperback at $3.99 that makes for a fun after Christmas surprise.

Since McKinley won't be a year old until February I am always on the look out for fun board books for her. A new Little Scholastic title, Welcome Winter by Jill Ackerman and illustrated by Nancy Davis http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Welcome-Winter/Jill-Ackerman/e/9780545077934/?itm=1 fits the bill nicely since Mary's family is inundated with snow in Green Bay. The flocked snowflakes, crinkly paper to sound like footsteps in the snow, a fluffy hat, etc. are the perfect things for little fingers to touch. What is cool about the series for infants is the web site with tips and downloads: www.littlescholastic.com for parents. Back when Mary and Mic were babies Dr. Spock's classic book on child rearing was dog-eared. Believe it or not it is still available in the 15th edition Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Dr-Spocks-Baby-and-Child-Care/Benjamin-M-Spock/e/9780743476683/?itm=1 Benjamin Spock, a doc at Mayo Clinic, died in 1998, but Dr. Robert Needlman has revised it. I still think it is one of the best print resources out there for parents of little ones even though there are a myriad of parenting resources available today.

Time for me to get my act together and head out to find after Christmas sales on kids' clothes. Now to find the lists of what sizes they all are - from bitty to big!

Well, I finally have a few minutes to look through my pictures from our Cancun trip. I didn't take very many but I did like the cenote, pronounced: seh-NO-tay, http://www.docancun.com/cenotes.htm that we visited outside of Cancun on our way to the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza http://www.cancuntoday.net/ruins/chichen.php

These pics were taken from the top, looking down in. A very long set of steps went down to the swimming area. There was a high dive spot that folks were crazy enough to drive/jump from. I'd like to tell you that the pic is of me jumping off, but I didn't go swimming. But, when I was teenager I would have been one of the first, as we jumped off of cliffs and other dumb things at the lake - even after I broke my big toe one summer when I hit a rock on the bottom. My inner child could see myself swinging out over the water on one of the vines but there were warning signs everywhere not to touch them.

The weather is hardly Mexican hot and dry here today. It had been raining all morning but finally stopped - no sun, just dark gray clouds suggesting more rain later. Monday we get a snowstorm and arctic temps and today it is in the 50s. So it won't be Christmasy weather tonight when we go to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra. http://www.trans-siberian.com/index-main.php I have been a fan for many years and have been known to bake Christmas cookies while conducting with a wooden spoon! This will be our second year to see them at the Rupp Arena. Downtown Lexington is quite gorgeous right now with all the lights - many of them in UK blue. We were in Mexico for the annual Christmas Parade downtown but we froze our bippies last year and I was too cold to even wait for the big tree lighting.

For those of you looking for the perfect book to make any middle age girl smile add a copy of Maria Padian's Brett McCarthy: Work in Progress. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Bret-McCarthy/Maria-Padian/e/9780375846755/?itm=1 under the tree. Actually, I'd have given a copy of this to my mom if she were still alive. Mom loved words and so does Brett - many of her favorites are chapter titles, such as irrational, insolence, bazooka, unprecedented, etc. This is one of those books for all generations as Brett's grandmother, Nonna, is a most quirky, delightful character - a grandmother we would all love to have in our family. As I read I pictured Nonna and my mom in Nonna's garage working on putting "junk" to good use. My mom hated to see anything go to waste just like Nonna, but Mom made killer apple bars, not Super-Sized Raspberry Chunk Brownies like Nonna. Oh what I wouldn't do for a piece of Mom's apple bar right now. I've tried to make them but they just don't taste the same not baked in Mom's wood stove. I think this book will entice those wonderful early adolescent memories from any adult reader's mind, so don't shy away from giving it as a gift to your favorite aunt or older sister. Oh, and that favorite poetry lover in your family - Brett's dad is an English Professor and is quoting line of poetry at the oddest moments, but what a cool dad!

Would be a great read aloud in a MS classroom as it addresses so many of the issues younger teens deal with - bullying, peer-relationships, family situations, geeky vs. cool friends, etc. And, teachers can think of it as a sneaky way to teach some really cool new vocabulary words and poetry!

Anyway, back to Brett - she is a 14-year-old soccer player in a small Maine town who has never gotten into trouble, but that all ends when she is kicked out of school, loses her female best friend over The Phone Thing, and finds out her beloved Nonna has cancer. Like all 14-year-olds, Brett fumbles her way into adolescence, but also gets an occasional glimpse into the exceptional young woman she will become. At her side is her geeky male best friend Michael who loves Nonna as much as Brett, so much so that he risks them both in a late night drive to the marina to steal a boat. Brett knows Nonna is on Spruce Island for one last visit.

Brett tells it all in her blunt Maine manner, making the reader cringe at times, but you can't help but love this girl. If I had this book when Mary was in MS and we were snowed in, as often happened in Alaska during the Holiday Break, we'd be reading this one aloud together. We'd also be having fun creating sentences with Brett's favorite words with the very cool PR set of "Kickin' Word Magnets". This a book for both giving and receiving no matter what time of the year it is. Sounds weird, but it is a really great "feel good" book that you also need a box of Kleenex nearby when you read.

And let's not forget a fun picture book for the Holidays - Bunny Wishes: A Winter's Tale by Michaela Morgan and delightfully illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Bunny-Wishes/Michaela-Morgan/e/9780439918121/?itm=2 Valenteeny (Teeny) and Valentino (Tino) are two of the happiest bunnies around, friends with all the other creatures, including the new baby mice who are scampering everywhere. Winter has arrived and the two bunnies are snug in the burrow but venture out long enough to pin their wish lists onto the hollow log as it is "a Very Special Time of the Year" when your wishes can come true. But, as it is winter after all, a gust of wind "whooshed those lists right off the hollow log and into the air..." Well, the baby mice are still out there playing and when these two big new playthings fall out of the sky they use them to make sleds, telescopes and little hats. Eventually Mr. and Mrs. Mouse discover what their little ones have done to the bunnies' wish lists. But, it is a Very Special Time of the Year when wishes do come true and the mice have their own way of making Bunny Wishes come true. What a fun book for the Holidays. You might recognize these two note writing bunnies from their Valentine Day romance - Dear Bunny: A Bunny Love Story - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Dear-Bunny/Michaela-Morgan/e/9780439748339/?itm=4. Perfect for toddler and preschool storytime or to read to your own honey bunny.

Can you believe less than a week until Christmas? I need to get Steve's presents wrapped and under the tree so Sophie can hide behind them.

All I can say is BRRRRR!!! Only 17 degrees this morning - that is chilly for Kentucky. But, I shouldn't fuss too much as I talked to Mary yesterday and they have a foot and a half of snow in Green Bay. They have a long driveway so poor Scott is shoveling snow each morning so they can get their vehicles out. I called her on Wednesday and she was behind a snow plow on the highway and couldn't pass him as the other lane had not been plowed. There is no way I want to live in snow country again!

I felt kind of bad as she told me about the snow and cold as we got back from Cancun late Tuesday and the weather down there was incredible. Even down right hot the day we toured the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. http://www.cancunsouth.com/cit_chichen.html First time I have ever been on a guided tour and it was well worth it. We had soda and beer on the bus and a restroom - good thing as it was an all day trip. However, using a bathroom on a moving bus is much more difficult than on a plane! The tour guide was superb and used a little mirror (from my purse!) to show us unique features of the carvings on the ruins. One carving looks like Jesus and another looks like a cross-legged Buddha. Makes one wonder about the ability of our famous philosophers/religious leaders to travel through time via meditation, etc. I felt sorry for the many Mayan children selling trinkets and "junk" at the ruins. We were there on a Saturday so I am sure there were more than usual. What beautiful children, with the most expressive eyes.

Our Thanksgiving dinner at the GRSolaris resort, which Steve booked through Travelocity. http://hotels.travelocity.com/hotel/HotelDetailfeatures.do;jsessionid=383553E4F0F06ED8628846FC0224E63C.p0751?propertyId=60171&tab=features&fromPage=&SEQ=12284824942361152008&hotelQKey=8287598903317697659 It was a bit strange as the food was traditional turkey and mashed potatoes, etc. but the show was a Mayan festival. They showed how the Mayan played a form of ancient soccer but used their hips to hit the ball. The players were incredible as was the dancing. I loved it! We then went and sang along with Karaoke in the bar and danced with everyone in the place - including the kids. It was great fun. I would recommend this resort to anyone with kids as there are so many activities and things to do, but for a "older" couple like us who wanted quiet, this is not it. From noon to 5 p.m. there are activities at the main pool - our room was right above it. We spent our time at the adults only smaller pool which was much quieter or on the beach itself. I did get too much sun one day - of course, our last full day there - but it was because it was cloudy and we sat on the beach and read for too long - not realizing how much sun we actually got. This is an all inclusive resort so I put on 3 pounds! The food is excellent and lots of choices including fresh fruit at every meal. I "pigged out" on my favorites - papaya and melon. No problems with water here as they have their own filtration system. Only issue we had was our room location - we were next to the pipes for the water and at night they rattled so hard it sounded like a jackhammer in the room. A quieter room and this would have been an almost perfect vacation - as it was, it was pretty close. Only time we left the resort was to go to the ruins. Otherwise, we chilled on the premises. Of course, it is a time share so we went through the hard sell to get the $80 certificate to use for the tour, but it wasn't bad. We talked to some folks who had been members for over 10 years as there are 3 Solaris resorts in Cancun, but we like to try different places, so we were a "lost cause" as far as selling us anything.

We celebrated my birthday while in Cancun and Steve spoiled me with a beautiful necklace, music DVDs (Patsy Cline and Alison Krause), and a book, of course. I am a huge John Lennon fan and he gave me the new 851 page biography John Lennon: The Life by Philip Norman. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/John-Lennon/Philip-Norman/e/9780060754013/?itm=1. It has a wonderful picture of Lennon on the front - not a handsome man, but what arresting eyes. One of my favorite pictures is of me sitting on Lennon's lap - actually, a bronze statute of him in a park in Havana, Cuba. Need to get that scanned into the computer one of these days. The book is superb so far and I think teens who wish they could be rock stars might change their minds when reading of the squalid conditions the Beatles endured in the early years. Well, on the other hand, the sexual openness in Hamburg, Germany might appeal to some teens. Makes Bourbon Street in New Orleans seem very tame!

Since we spent time at the beach and I was wishing for the relaxing days of the catamaran sailing trips we went on back in 2001 and 2002 I had to read a sailing book - A Thousand Shades of Blue by Robin Stevenson. http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Shades-Young-Adult-Novels/dp/1551439212/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228483561&sr=1-1 Told from the viewpoint of 16-year-old Rachel, the reader can feel the tension in a family vibrating off the pages as Rachel shares her thoughts. They are a family running away from potential demise. Rachel's parents are fighting and both she and her younger brother, Tim, who is in a perpetual state of anxiety, fear their parents will divorce. The father decides they will to sail from Ontario to the Caribbean via the inter coastal waterways - a way to bring the family together. Rachel is more than a little upset - she does not want to leave her friends or social scene of school behind for a year of being trapped on a small sailboat with her family. It is not an easy trip either in terms of the weather or the storm clouds of surpressed anger and anxiety that hover over the tiny sailboat. A stop in the Bahamas for repairs as well as interaction with other sailing "families", both young and old, help and hinder the eye of the hurricane of feelings to strike - forcing a decision on the mother's part. Rachel falls victim to the charms of a rich 20-something sailing his own boat and almost loses her virginity, but it is what she and Tim see occurring in another boat moored near them in the bay that will force family decisions. This isn't a sailing adventure so much as Rachel's emotional coming-of age journey through the shades of blue of both hope and despair. An honest look into how impending divorce affects tweens and teens.

That's it for today. Need to finish up grading and start putting this semester "to bed" - thank heavens - it is has been a long and hard one.

I guess I am on a vampire/horror kick at the moment as we are going see Sweeney Todd tonight at our little opera house here in Lexington. We have seats close up so I am hoping none of the blood lands in the audience. I won't go see the movie as I "don't do blood and gore" but it can't be that bad as a play - right?!

All the hype about Twilight since it hit the theaters today. You Twilight lovers will also get a kick out of the Urban Dictionary’s word for the day!

November 21: Vegetarian Vampire
A vampire that drinks animal blood, and resists human blood.
The Cullens from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight are vegetarian vampires.

This is the sure sign that this YA series has become a part of our culture just as Harry Potter has. We all know we are Muggles, even if we don’t like to admit we aren’t a darn bit magical. Hmm - maybe I don't want to admit that at all, but I can honestly say I am not a Vegan Vamp! I hope Annette Curtis Klause’s Silver Kiss http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Silver-Kiss/Annette-Curtis-Klause/e/9780440213468/?itm=1 is selling well – it is the “best” vampire YA novel out there and it was published back in the 90s. Simon is much more of a tortured soul than Edward is and the story doesn't go on and on! This is a quick vampire read, but one you will not forget once you have read it. I am suprised this one wasn't made into a movie, or may it was and I missed it. I prefer the book to any movie, any day.

Steve had a "business social" last night and we went to a "screening" of the new Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. I wasn't impressed with the neverending violence. I loved Brosnan as Bond - those movies had some humor and some heart, but this was just down right cold and vicious. Granted, Daniel Craig has to the most stunning blue eyes since Paul Newman, but try smiling once in awhile.

Okay - gotta go - I hear Steve pulling up and I am still in sweats - not appropriate for a play.

Good morning from beautiful sunny Hollywood, FL. We finally had a chance to go for a walk on the beach last night after dinner and when we went out there all the access points to the beach were locked and security guards were patrolling. Guess that was good, but I wanted to walk on the beach. Maybe this afternoon, after your final sessions.

The SLJ Summit has been incredible. So much new information about technology and how children's and teens are digital natives. They grew up with multitasking with technology. Marc Aronson was talking about a young college student who had her e-textbook in one year and music in the other. How different is that from my reading the print text with music playing behind me? I did that all the time when studying.

The cell phone is such a bit part of their lives - they want to stay connected at all times. They IM and text more then actually talk to their friends. I need to get a new phone so I can check my email as well as start my "cell phone" book on QuillPill. Lots of cool phones being pulled out by people at this conference.

Another comment Marc made was a very telling description of how teens interact with each other. A high school principal told him - Adults have relationships, teens are their relationships. That is so true.

National Geographic now has a personalized Atlas for kids. There were some questions from the audience about privacy issues, but schools wouldn't be buying them - family would be. How cool to start with a child's home location, out to the street, town, state, region, country, hemisphere, etc. That interconnectively with the world. I may buy one of them for my granddaughter and son. Ally is in Kindergarten and her teacher has asked the students to have friends and family to send postcards from where they live/visit. I have one in my purse for her from here and sent her one from Nashville a week ago. You enter the child's information online with National Geographic and in a week or so you'll get the personalized Atlas. Cool Christmas present.

Eliza Dresang moderated an great session on how Print has changed. But, all agreed that books are not going anywhere - they will always be a part of life. I agree - some recreational reading content does not work well in non print format. But, all the cool sites that go along with the books - author sites, fanfiction sites, sites specific to the book or series - that extend the reading experience. The session made me think about the book and author sites I love. The one that immediately came to mind is the site for Angie Sage's Septimus Heap series from Scholastic. First books Magyk http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Magyk/Angie-Sage/e/9780060577339/?itm=1 sets the scene for a young boy - the 7th son of a 7th son to learn he is a gifted magician. I love the swamp area they spend time in. Very different from HP as this is a loving family. I love to go back and check it out periodically. http://www.septimusheap.com/ There are four books in the series and will help quell some of the HP withdrawal with the tween fantasy readers. I want to take the rest of the on vacation with me and just wallow in them.

Anastasia Goodstein – Ypulse Founder and Editor was our first session speaker - what a bundle of energy. I shame-facedly admit I have little knowledge of all the social networking sites and options that teens are using. She rattled them off so fast I felt like I was listening to a foreign language. She refers to herself as being in a "constant state of arrested development"! I can relate to that - I keep my inner teen alive and well with YA lit, but I realize I also need to become more informed as to their e-world. We received a copy of her book - Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens are Really Doing Online http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Totally-Wired/Anastasia-Goodstein/e/9780312360122/?itm=2which It is going on my professional gotta read book stack. All of this is a bit overwhelming, but I am brain storming ways of integrating what I have learned into my children's and YA literature/materials courses. They cover more than print resources and I need to expand a bit more.

We received an audiobook version of The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Invention-of-Hugo-Cabret/Brian-Selznick/e/9780545003872/?itm=3. I have heard great things about the audiobook and I am anxious to listen to it as I can't imagine an audiobook version of this highly illustrated book that feels like a movie if you flip through the illustrations. This piece is missed in the audiobook.

Today is National Video Games Day. http://www.thegamergene.com/industry/its-national-video-games-day/ Not sure I can expend my concept yet of families playing games to the video game environment. I had too much fun playing Rummy and Scrabble with my brothers and mom growing up. I guess it could be done online, but I loved sitting with them at a table and all of us being together and teasing/talking to each other. But, my paradigm is slowly shifting and conferences like this help a great deal. We can't very well stick our heads in the sand and avoid what is happening around us, much as we'd, especially me, like to at times. I am a book-arian style librarian so this is a stretch for me, but a much needed one.

All for now. I'm multitasking and need to check email too.

I forgot to post the below as I had to save it to my computer as I lost the Internet connection - guess they got wise to those of us who were opening our Internet in the Internet room or our hotel room and walking into the presentation rooms with it still logged in. But, I did get lots posted before I got knocked out. As you can see the presenters had a lot to say and so did I! I leave the literature based workshops fired up to read. But, bear with my rambling!

There may be more as I leave for the SLJ Summit in Hollywood, FL tomorrow. It was fastistic last time so I am looking forward to it and hope I have time o blg.

Can’t get online this morning (Sunday, November 9) so I am doing this posting as a Word doc and will post it when I get home later today. Rosemary Chance and Teri Lesesne are presenting on challenged books, with Julie Ann Peters, Coe Booth and Barry Lyga.

Teri addressed the problems with reading levels:
Reading level for Barry Lyga’s Boy Toy http://books.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=boy+toy+lyga is 4.5! This is why I detest AR – someone may purchase this book for an elementary school and it is about a MS age boy who is sexually abused by a teacher! Every high school library should have this book and another copy in the counselor’s office, but an elementary school – no way!! Reading level has nothing to do with theme/topic etc.

Lyga’s newest is Hero Type http://books.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?ATH=Barry+Lyga and it has a bluish cover. Lyga signed copies yesterday with a pen to match! Raises the question of what it means to be a hero and patriotic.

Rosemary says these books have “yikes!” moments.
Luna has a RL of 3.5 RL. Julie Anne Peters does not write for children! She writes for teens and a book on transgender is not an issue I want to discuss with a third grader! Another Peters’ book grl2grl: Short fictions– http://search.barnesandnoble.com/grl2grl/Julie-Anne-Peters/e/9780316013437/?itm=1 a set of short stories about lesbian and transgendered teens.

Tyrell by Coe Booth has a 4.4 RL – a 15 year old boy whose family lives in a roach infested motel and he is responsible for his 7 year old brother and his mother.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Hunger-Games/Suzanne-Collins/e/9780439023481/?itm=1 has an RL of 5.3. A horrific futuristic world – not a book I’d hand to a 4th grader reading above grade level!

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=tender+morsels
has RL of 6.1. but it is a “brutal” read. I have not read this one and now I want to!

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Myers http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Breaking-Dawn/Stephenie-Meyer/e/9780316067928/?itm=1 has a RL of 4.8. There is no way I am giving this to even a middle schooler with the rough sex and obscene pregnancy. I agree with Rosemary that this book is for HS, not younger.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Living-Dead-Girl/Elizabeth-Scott/e/9781416960591/?itm=1–
Character sexually abused by a man who threatens to kill her family. I have not read this one yet, but sounds like I need to, though it is going to be disconcerting.

Barry Lyga – initially no “problems” with Boy Toy and he was prepared for the challenges. Instead it received wonderful awards. After all, Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Absolutely-True-Diary-of-a-Part-Time-Indian/Sherman-Alexie/e/9780316013680/?itm=1 has a masturbation scene. So Boy Toy is going to really get hit – abuse of a boy by a female teacher is “worse” than that, isn’t it? What Lyga discovered is a “gate-keeper” problem. Librarians and book store buyers are not carrying Boy Toy. “Love the book but somebody might complain” – this is the kind of pre-censorship comments we hear about books like this. “Such a great book, but I can’t recommend it to anyone” is another comment Lyga heard. This technique causes readers to never know about this book - how sad. Also happened to him with The Amazing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl – http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Absolutely-True-Diary-of-a-Part-Time-Indian/Sherman-Alexie/e/9780316013680/?itm=1 actually condemns school shootings, but the idea is enough for librarians to de-select it.

Julie Ann Peters – wants her books to be banned! That means they got into the library! She gets many reader letters that show why teen readers read – they need to see themselves portrayed in books. “People listen to books the way they listen to nothing else” – a female teen reader comment of Luna. I love how she says “listen”. Another teenage girl who writes beautifully herself - “I don’t pick out books – my fingers do it for me. My fingers dance across the spines. “ – written as beautifully as a poem. She read every one of Peters’ books. “I live in suburban Texas – most homophobic environment is within her own family. Never ashamed of it except for when I told my sister.” She is asking for advice. Another girl wrote of how she was repeatedly beat up and even raped by the boys a restraining order was files against.

Some funny letters too. What do you say when you call someone and don’t know what to talk about? “My question is this – What the heck’s the world’s problem?... I don’t know why I wrote this letter. ” “One thing I like about your books is you’re a writer. Seems like you are a teen like us, not one of those old boring authors.”

She asked teens what they would like her to tell librarians:
“My school librarian refuses to order what she calls controversial books.”
“I have very low expectations…”
“My school librarian is like awesome Dude! Other books like JAP (Julie Ann Peters). “

From adults
Wish they’d had these books when they were teens.
And letters from mothers …. “my 13-year-old daughter now thinks she is a lesbian when she read this crap.”

“What if I feel like I am not any orientation?” – from a teen.

Coe Booth –
Doesn’t know of Tyrell being challenged – she thinks it is being kept away from the teens. In the adult section of PL and not in school libraries, on a restricted shelf, etc. She wrote it for reluctant reader boys. 15 and 16 year old tell her it is the first book they have read all the way through. Some wanted a “happy ending” – even the tough kids, they want everything to work out for the character.

Goal is to write “real stories” – she was a social worker in the Bronx. They are living the experiences tougher than Tyrell. To say they can’t read about it in a book doesn’t make any sense at all to her.

Many teens use the term niggah and may not know the history of this word in their own culture.

Parents in Switzerland had her uninvited to speak at a school after they read the book even though the students were reading Tyrell in class!

Adults must be incompetent so the teens can solve their own problems. Teens don’t think adults know what adults are talking about anyway.

Lyga, as a child, told her grandmother he wanted to be a writer and she said, “Oh, so you want to starve!”

Peters always wanted to be a teacher and she “was the world’s worst teacher”. She has a masters in computer science and didn’t like what she was doing. She told her partner she had quit her job and wants to be a writer! She taught herself how to be a writer.

We had to have a bit o fun. outside of the confence scene and had so much fun - can't go Nashville and go do something fun,

Amber and I had a great time at the Ryman Theater, the previous home of the Opry, last night. It is very much like a church with stained glass windows and pews for seating. The “local flavor” restaurants had long waits so we ate in Joe’s Crab Shack! I did not order seafood, just didn’t seem to be the right thing to eat in Nashville. The line to get in to Ryman was a couple of blocks long but we were seated just in time to hear Randy Travis. He is as good live as on CD – wish he had sung a few more. After Travis’ wonderful voice, Kevin Costner’s “singing” was less than wonderful! He might be okay in a club environment, but not on the same stage as Randy Travis and Vince Gill. Lots of Costner’s fans in the audience though. I had to wait until the very end of the night to hear Josh Turner. His deep voice is…. well, let’s just say it can make me go weak in the knees. Yes, I know – I’m probably old enough to be his mother, but I can “drool” over that voice!

The reception last night was wonderful – the networking is one of my favorite parts of any conference, especially the folks I was on Best Books in Young Adults back in the mid 90s. We also walked out of the room with books again. Hauled all of those out to the car this morning. Can’t wait to dive into reading.