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From: Joan Atkinson <*jatkinso*> Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2007 17:01:37 -0500 · jatkinso

-- 
Monica Edinger
Newbery 2008
Chair Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts 2007
The Dalton School
New York NY
monicaedinger at gmail.com
my blog educating alice is at http://medinger.wordpress.com
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2007 11:41:32 EDT
From: BudNotBuddy at aol.com
Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] On the Road: Books about Traveling
To: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
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I avoided talking about the second half of this book, but it  is an 
exceptional on-the-road story:

Richie's Picks: IN THE SPACE LEFT BEHIND by Joan Ackermann,
HarperTeen/Laura 
Geringer, ISBN: 978-0-06-072255-5  
"Do nothin' 'till you hear from me
Pay no attention to what's said
Why people tear the seam of anyone's dream
Is over my head"
-- Duke Ellington

"The night that Colm Drucker's mother got married for the  third time,
an old 
paint-encrusted screw gave way outside the house and snapped  in half, 
letting fly a second-story window box jam-packed with sand and
artificial flowers.  
It was a wonder the screw had lasted as long as it  had, for it was the
only 
screw in one of the pair of wrought-iron brackets that  had supported
the 
heavy window box for more than a decade, offering faint floral  cheer to
motorists 
heading north on Palmer Street.
"Colm discovered the window box, completely intact, the faded  flowers 
sticking up in the same haphazard arrangement they had held through
several 
winters, in the yard the next morning.  Unfortunately,  although the
window box had 
survived its steep headlong dive, the family  dog had not.  The weighty
box had 
landed squarely on Chester's head.   Chester, part Rottweiler, part
spaniel, 
liked to sleep alongside the cool  concrete foundation below the dining
room 
on hot summer nights, and  the night of Fiona Drucker's wedding was a
scorcher.
"Holding the dish that contained Chester's breakfast, a  few bits of
kibble 
mixed in carefully with a third of a can of wet food,  Colm stared down
at the 
dog.  Nearly fourteen -- a year younger  than Colm -- Chester had lost
the 
majority of his teeth and couldn't really  chew.
"Now the dog was still, his head buried under the window  box.  It must
have 
been an instantaneous death; his rounded brown body  and comfortably 
outstretched legs suggested deep sleep.
"Dog dish in hand, Colm looked up at the side of the house and  quickly 
caught a glimpse of the lone remaining bracket protruding beneath his
mother's 
bedroom window.  He blinked a few times.  
"Who would he tell?"

There you have it: a house in Massachusetts; a dead dog;  an adolescent
boy.  
Colm, alone at the house, and the dog  he's known his whole life, dead
as a 
door nail.  

IN THE SPACE LEFT BEHIND is the story of Colm Drucker.   His father, an 
inveterate liar and gambler, disappeared when Colm was a baby  after
literally 
gambling away the family's former  house.  

Colm had understood at an incredibly tender age that he  was henceforth
the 
man of the house.  He has grown up young and, having  learned all
manners of 
construction trades, has lovingly maintained the  house which had been
built 
long ago by one of his maternal  great-grandfathers and then given to
his mother 
by her Florida-bound parents  after Fiona was left homeless with a baby
-- 
Colm --  and Colm's older sister, Cameron.  

Colm's exemplary craftsman skills have made him a  favorite among the 
neighbors with whom he comes in contact, especially  the octogenarian,
Dunkin' Donuts 
coffee-loving Mr. Hafferty.

Now, in the wake of the wedding,  Fiona's departing for a Las Vegas
honeymoon 
(with  her fourteen-month-old daughter, Bunny, from her brief second
marriage 
 and her new husband/former high school classmate, Don), and the death
of  
Chester; the father he has never known except by (bad) reputation
suddenly  
attempts to make contact with Colm.  
" 'Don't hang up.'
"Colm recognized the voice from the call that  morning.
" 'Seventy thousand dollars.  I want you to have it.'  "

When the self-absorbed, honeymooning Fiona contemplates  pursuit of a
new 
career as a lounge singer in Vegas, and begins looking  with Don at
condos for 
sale, fifteen-year-old Colm becomes determined to  somehow purchase the
family 
home from his mother and remain in  Massachusetts.  As is his style, his
determination to keep the  house leads to methodically creative and
well-thought out 
plans.  

And so it is through this series of events -- beginning with  the death
of 
Chester (about which he still hasn't told anyone) -- and  despite his
initial 
resistance to the parent he's never  known, that Colm finds himself
compelled to 
consider reaching out  for the considerable amount of money with which
his 
father is luring  him.

IN THE SPACE LEFT BEHIND is written in a style of third  person
narrative 
that keeps us guessing at what emotions  Colm and the other characters
are 
experiencing.  The result  is a continually wry understatement of a tale
that is, in 
 turn, bizarre, heartbreaking, profound, and  fulfilling.       
Richie  Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks _http://richiespicks.com_ (http://richiespicks.com/) 
Moderator, _http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_school_lit/_ 
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_school_lit/) 
BudNotBuddy at aol.com
_http://www.myspace.com/richiespicks_
(http://www.myspace.com/richiespicks) 
************************************** See what's free at
http://www.aol.com.
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2007 11:56:59 EDT
From: Alixwrites at aol.com
Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] On the Road: Books about Traveling
To: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
Message-ID: <d2f.a616a86.33be6ecb at aol.com>
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ZIGZAG by Ellen Wittlinger is a great story about a girl on a journey of
self-discovery.  17-year-old Robin is bummed when her boyfriend (whom
she  feels 
is above her) goes to Italy for the summer, but she agrees to take a
journey 
cross-country (Iowa to a planned destination of California) with her
aunt and 
two young teen cousins, all of whom are experiencing some problems in
their 
lives.  

Also, Donald Gallo did an anthology, DESTINATION: UNEXPECTED, which was
all  
stories about journeys, long and short.  Some of the stories include
Margaret 
Haddix's story about a girl from rural Appalachia who travels to a
college 
summer program and Joyce Sweeney's story about a boy from a poor part of
town 
who takes the bus to a different part of the city.

Best,
Alexandra Flinn
www.alexflinn.com
Beastly (HarperCollins, October, 2007)
"a  delicious romance" --Annette Curtis Klause, author of Blood and
Chocolate
************************************** See what's free at
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------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2007 11:22:29 -0500
From: Laura Purdie Salas <lpsalas at bitstream.net>
Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] On the Road: Books about Traveling
To: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
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John Green's AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES is the story of Colin, who
gets dumped by his girlfriend right after high school graduation. His
best friend, Hassan, figures a road trip will be a sure cure. A large
portion of the book takes place in a town they visit and end up
staying in for a while, but the road trip is an essential part of the
book.
And as a Madeleine L'Engle fan, I have to mention MOON BY NIGHT, which
follows the Austin
family on a summer cross-country camping trip. Many of her books
involve traveling. A couple of others are TROUBLING A STAR, in
which Vicky Austin travels to Antarctica, and DRAGONS IN THE WATER, in
which thirteen-year-old Simon Renier is traveling to Venezuela and
hooks up with two members of the O'Keefe family for mystery and
adventure.
Best,
Laura Salas
Laura Purdie Salas
www.laurasalas.com
http://community.livejournal.com/wordygirls/
----------------------
Stampede! And Other Animal Poems About School [Clarion, forthcoming]
Then There Were Eight: Poems About Space [Capstone, 2008]
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:41:23 +0000
From: carolgrannick at comcast.net
Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] On the Road: Books about Traveling
To: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
Message-ID:

<070520071641.25984.468D1F3300012BEB000065802205886442050C0702020E9D0904
019D0E0C at comcast.net>

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Re: Laura's comment about a road trip being an essential part of a
journey that then takes place primarily in one place, I am currently
reading Daniel Pinkwater's newest, I believe: THE NEDDIAD, a charming
and funny middle grade (or for any-aged Daniel Pinkwater-lover) story
that begins with a cross-country train trip that lays the groundwork for
Neddie's spiritual journey that continues in Los Angeles. Neddie is a
delightful optimist, and an observer of (and commenter-on) everything in
minute detail- so in addition to being a delightful, easy read, I think
the book is a terrific demonstration of writing with great attention to
sensory detail. A separate note: for readers/lovers of THE MAGIC
PUDDING, Pinkwater uses "Bunyip Bluegum", PUDDING'S main character, as
names for two of his own characters. I'm not sure how many kids know
those references...I always feel like the original author should get a
"nod" for that.
Carol Coven Grannick
Wilmette IL
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Message: 9
Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2007 09:45:00 -0700
From: Caroline Gill <ce.gill at verizon.net>
Subject: [CCBC-Net] The Wanderer
To: CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
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My favorite for traveling is The Wanderer by Sharon Creech.
Their ocean journey brings the various members of the family closer  
as they struggle with the stormy and calm waves and with their  
understanding of each other, which makes it all so worth the effort  
involved.
Caroline Gill
Palms Middle School Library Media Teacher
Los Angeles Unified School District
------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2007 11:56:15 -0500
From: "Dean Schneider" <schneiderd at ensworth.com>
Subject: [CCBC-Net] Books on traveling
To: <ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu>
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	<32602C0E1A987648AE5312B31DDBC848020826FE at commserv.ensworth.lan>
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 I like it when participants in our discussion offer why they like
certain titles, rather than just offering up titles.

Since Paul Fleischman's Breakout has been mentioned already, I'll speak
to that (and risk being too personal). For most of the novel, it's the
story of a young woman looking back at the time when she was a teenager
stuck in an LA traffic jam. But as she herself says, "Roads and
revelation go together," [14] and the LA freeway becomes more
metaphorically "the whole freeway of life." [14]

For me, personally, Breakout is a book that became important and
meaningful when my wife was diagnosed with cancer last year and ended up
having two major surgeries and 28 days of radiation treatments. Things
turned out well, but it was a scary time. One of the revelations that
Del has in the novel is: "It's not just other people we have to
accept.It's Otherness. Things we have no control over. Didn't ask for,
don't deserve. History. Earthquakes. Cancer. Family. Traffic jams. 'It
is what it is.'" [122] Later, she says, "...open-hearted acceptance. The
jam was just a beginner's exercise in giving up control, in receiving
with good grace everything given us at birth and everything that comes
after. In eating everything on our plates." [123]

Of all the books that I could think of -- and, as a reader, books are
where I went looking for a philosophy to make sense of things -- this
was the book. I had read it a couple times before and had marked these
lines, before knowing the value they would have in my own life. A
simple, eloquent, matter-of-fact revelation a character learned from the
road.

So, for me, Breakout is a fine road book about roads of all sorts, roads
we all travel at one time or another.

Dean Schneider
Ensworth School
Nashville, TN 37205
schneiderd at ensworth.com
------------------------------
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[CCBC-Net] CCBC-Net Digest, Vol 24, Issue 5