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From: Ginny Moore Kruse <gmkruse>
Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:00:47 -0600
So far I haven't read the National Book Award winner THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie recommended already this month. I'm on the long list of readers waiting to borrow it from the public library. I might or might not admire it enormously, but I want to mention it in this way based upon all reviews and award notice and hearsay. That's true for many other books I've already read and can recommend, and most aren't on the list (below). I've been keeping this list for a while for my own uses.
Because I'm a member of the 2008 ALSC Batchelder Award Committee, I can't recommend books whose publishers might be eligible or even ineligible for that award. Like others in the CCBC-Net community who have strong opinions based on close readings and re-readings of books eligible for the particular award or distinction committee on which they're serving, I can't tell you about the books with which I'm most familiar! But stay tuned for the January 14th ALSC, YALSA and other ALA award announcements. Please make time then to pay special attention to the publisher(s) honored by the ALSC Batchelder Award process, and buy those books! The honored publisher(s) will have made a financial commitment filled with uncertainty involving a unique commitment of time. A translated book must be spotted, located, reviewed in its original language by someone who knows what's up in the U.S. with young readers. A translator must be secured, and sooner or later after that, the editorial process in this nation moves into action. All that goes into the process of publishing in the U.S. the first-ever English language translation of a book first published for young readers in another nation in a language other than English. Whew!
Off the Batchelder soapbox for the moment, and on now to a few new books I admire enormously. Some are books already mentioned by others.
FIRST THE EGG written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (A Neal Porter Book / Roaring Brook Press) What else can be said about a perfect picture book? If this is a new book for you, you might want to visit the CCBC's Book of the Week review http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/books/detailBook.asp?idBooks=2341
LITTLE NIGHT written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Roaring Brook Press) Lovely artwork in a comforting bed-time picture book!
"THE TROUBLE WITH DOGS," SAID DAD written and illustrated by Bob Graham
(U.S. edition: Candlewick Press) He's done it again! He "gets it" about today's young families.
PICTURES FROM OUR VACATION written and illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins
(Greenwillow) After years of cottage days with children and now with grandchildren I can attest to the reality that some kids even today can and do plug into the people, memories and even the nostalgia of a family vacation place. As in her novel CRISS CROSS, there's much to "read" in the artwork as well as in the text of this picture book.
ONE THOUSAND TRACINGS: HEALING THE WOUNDS OF WORLD WAR II written and illustrated by Lita Judge (Hyperion) A hope-filled picture story account of real-life individual activism discovered generations later in an attic.
THE ARRIVAL with artwork by Shaun Tan (U.S. edition: Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic, Inc.) Something haunting and provocative for all ages in this completely wordless imaginative observation about immigration in a remarkable book first published in Australia.
WHY WAR IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA written by Alice Walker with accompanying artwork by Stafano Vitale (HarperCollins) Sophisticated poetry "...War has bad manners / War eats everything / In its path / & what / It doesn't / Eat / It / Dribbles / On..." and vibrant artwork with global references make the point.
WHEN THE SHADBUSH BLOOMS written by Carla Messinger with Susan Katz and illustrated by David Kanietakeron Fadden (Tricycle Press) A book of historic and contemporary contrasts containing memorable, essential visual and brief written information presented in an intriguing way. Possibly one of the most significant books ever to convey information about the differences and similarities between contemporary American Indian life. This book belongs in every library, large or small, and I can only hope that every child and family will have the opportunity to see it.
THE WALL: GROWING UP BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN written and illustrated by Peter Sis (A Frances Foster Book / Farrar Straus Giroux) In a year full of important memoirs for young readers, this is an extraordinary testimony to creativity even under government sanctioned censorship and oppression. An easy text at the bottom of each page makes it possible for inexperienced readers to follow the narrative while more sophisticated readers, including adults, can puzzle out the written and visual, starkly emotional autobiographical information folded within ingeniously designed pages. This book has staying power. For many reasons, it deserves to become a classic.
ELIJAH OF BUXTON written by Christopher Paul Curtis (Scholastic Press) The community of Buxton, Ontario, is the second memorable main character in this incredibly dramatic, outstandingly written novel featuring a boy whose chapter-by-chapter evolution into youthful insight and personal courage is both entertaining and suspenseful.
HARLEM SUMMER written by Walter Dean Myers (Scholastic Press) Harlem in the 1920s is also almost a character in this novel. Myers picks up where he left off many years ago in providing another wildly humorous glimpse of life in Harlem for an African American boy whose personal horizons and values undergo seismic shifts throughout the story. The adventures are a treat, and the brief info at the end of the book reveals which characters are actual historical persons!
THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET written and illustrated by Brian Selznick
(Scholastic Press) Another wonderful invention by a book creator willing to take a chance with film history, story-telling imagination and the melding of visual narratives with those written.
THE MYSTERIOUS EDGE OF THE HEROIC WORLD written by E.L. Konigsburg
(Ginee Seo Books / Atheneum Books for Young Readers / Simon & Schuster) Once again Konigsburg has woven a tapestry of unforgettable characters, unusual circumstances and wry societal observations. It's unnecessary to have read THE OUTCASTS OF SCHUYLER PLACE beforehand. But if you already know THE OUTCASTS... in particular, the earlier book to which this is a stand-alone companion, there will be additional pleasure for you as a reader. Don't overlook the sinister, ominous sections flashbacks showing Nazi oppression of "Degenerate Art" and persecution of homosexual German citizens.
TOUCHING SNOW written by M. Sindy Fein (Atheneum / Simon & Schuster) The title refers to a Haitian phrase for living in America, which is what the young protagonist and her family are attempting to do midst overwhelming economic and personal odds. A remarkable, disturbing and extremely well-written novel caused me to cheer for this girl who has so much going for her and yet so much to overwhelm her individuality, as well as her safety.
PURE SPRING written by Brian Doyle (U.S. ed: Groundwood, 2007) A fabulous Y.A. sequel to BOY O'BOY by a Canadian author of note. Anyone interested in young, middle school-age, reading kids who has not discovered Brian Doyle's novels by now has a big list of books to enjoy.
I'LL ASK YOU THREE TIMES, ARE YOU OK? written by Naomi Shihab Nye
(Greenwillow) Is it possible to introduce the essay form to young readers? If anyone can do this, it's Naomi Nye. Her observations about taxi drivers, motel owners and the hospital emergency room are embroideries upon real-life, often mad-cap conversations and encounters. Only she can also convey a humanity of vision while pointing out foibles and follies. Full disclosure: someone named Ginny appears in one of the essays.
TASTING THE SKY: A PALESTINIAN CHILDHOOD written by Ibtisam Barakat
(Melanie Kroupa Books / Farrar Straus Giroux) A distinctive memoir so restrained, so lyrical, and so genuinely painful retains the voice of a child growing up in world gone mad.
THE SILENCED written by James DeVita (Laura Geringer Books / Eos / HarperCollins) Strongly influenced by his knowledge of the White Rose Movement and after reading Hermann Vinke's incomparable SHORT LIFE OF SOPHIE SCHOLL, DeVita's fast-paced novel is set in a dystopia in a not far distant future. Not to be missed by anyone interested in censorship or a unique spin on WW2 history. Perhaps this novel's success will cause
...SOPHIE SCHOLL (BTW a translated book!) to be published in paperback where it has been greatly needed for way too long.
MUCKRAKERS: HOW IDA TARBELL, UPTON SINCLAIR AND LINCOLN STEFFENS HELPED EXPOSE SCANDAL, INSPIRE REFORM AND INVENT INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
<http://www.amazon.com/Muckrakers-Sinclair-Steffens-Investigative-Journalism/dp/1426301375/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198084695&sr=1-1> written by Ann Bausum (National Geographic) Just looking at the subtitle of this well-researched and documented account of journalism in an earlier time might stimulate observations about which journalists today might be represented in a similar book decades from now. Can't think of anyone? Hmm...
AYA created by by Marguerite Abouet & Clement Oubrerie. (U.S. Dist: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2007) A stunning graphic novel translated from the French and published for adults brings a teenage urban story set in the Ivory Coast in the 1970s to life in compelling ways. (I know, I know, I said I wouldn't comment on translated books, but this is not a children's book, so I'm enthusiastically bringing it to the attention of any and all who might be interested.)
Cordially recommended from a warm study in gorgeous, wintry, white Wisconsin, Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at wisc.edu
Received on Wed 19 Dec 2007 12:00:47 PM CST
Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:00:47 -0600
So far I haven't read the National Book Award winner THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie recommended already this month. I'm on the long list of readers waiting to borrow it from the public library. I might or might not admire it enormously, but I want to mention it in this way based upon all reviews and award notice and hearsay. That's true for many other books I've already read and can recommend, and most aren't on the list (below). I've been keeping this list for a while for my own uses.
Because I'm a member of the 2008 ALSC Batchelder Award Committee, I can't recommend books whose publishers might be eligible or even ineligible for that award. Like others in the CCBC-Net community who have strong opinions based on close readings and re-readings of books eligible for the particular award or distinction committee on which they're serving, I can't tell you about the books with which I'm most familiar! But stay tuned for the January 14th ALSC, YALSA and other ALA award announcements. Please make time then to pay special attention to the publisher(s) honored by the ALSC Batchelder Award process, and buy those books! The honored publisher(s) will have made a financial commitment filled with uncertainty involving a unique commitment of time. A translated book must be spotted, located, reviewed in its original language by someone who knows what's up in the U.S. with young readers. A translator must be secured, and sooner or later after that, the editorial process in this nation moves into action. All that goes into the process of publishing in the U.S. the first-ever English language translation of a book first published for young readers in another nation in a language other than English. Whew!
Off the Batchelder soapbox for the moment, and on now to a few new books I admire enormously. Some are books already mentioned by others.
FIRST THE EGG written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (A Neal Porter Book / Roaring Brook Press) What else can be said about a perfect picture book? If this is a new book for you, you might want to visit the CCBC's Book of the Week review http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/books/detailBook.asp?idBooks=2341
LITTLE NIGHT written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Roaring Brook Press) Lovely artwork in a comforting bed-time picture book!
"THE TROUBLE WITH DOGS," SAID DAD written and illustrated by Bob Graham
(U.S. edition: Candlewick Press) He's done it again! He "gets it" about today's young families.
PICTURES FROM OUR VACATION written and illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins
(Greenwillow) After years of cottage days with children and now with grandchildren I can attest to the reality that some kids even today can and do plug into the people, memories and even the nostalgia of a family vacation place. As in her novel CRISS CROSS, there's much to "read" in the artwork as well as in the text of this picture book.
ONE THOUSAND TRACINGS: HEALING THE WOUNDS OF WORLD WAR II written and illustrated by Lita Judge (Hyperion) A hope-filled picture story account of real-life individual activism discovered generations later in an attic.
THE ARRIVAL with artwork by Shaun Tan (U.S. edition: Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic, Inc.) Something haunting and provocative for all ages in this completely wordless imaginative observation about immigration in a remarkable book first published in Australia.
WHY WAR IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA written by Alice Walker with accompanying artwork by Stafano Vitale (HarperCollins) Sophisticated poetry "...War has bad manners / War eats everything / In its path / & what / It doesn't / Eat / It / Dribbles / On..." and vibrant artwork with global references make the point.
WHEN THE SHADBUSH BLOOMS written by Carla Messinger with Susan Katz and illustrated by David Kanietakeron Fadden (Tricycle Press) A book of historic and contemporary contrasts containing memorable, essential visual and brief written information presented in an intriguing way. Possibly one of the most significant books ever to convey information about the differences and similarities between contemporary American Indian life. This book belongs in every library, large or small, and I can only hope that every child and family will have the opportunity to see it.
THE WALL: GROWING UP BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN written and illustrated by Peter Sis (A Frances Foster Book / Farrar Straus Giroux) In a year full of important memoirs for young readers, this is an extraordinary testimony to creativity even under government sanctioned censorship and oppression. An easy text at the bottom of each page makes it possible for inexperienced readers to follow the narrative while more sophisticated readers, including adults, can puzzle out the written and visual, starkly emotional autobiographical information folded within ingeniously designed pages. This book has staying power. For many reasons, it deserves to become a classic.
ELIJAH OF BUXTON written by Christopher Paul Curtis (Scholastic Press) The community of Buxton, Ontario, is the second memorable main character in this incredibly dramatic, outstandingly written novel featuring a boy whose chapter-by-chapter evolution into youthful insight and personal courage is both entertaining and suspenseful.
HARLEM SUMMER written by Walter Dean Myers (Scholastic Press) Harlem in the 1920s is also almost a character in this novel. Myers picks up where he left off many years ago in providing another wildly humorous glimpse of life in Harlem for an African American boy whose personal horizons and values undergo seismic shifts throughout the story. The adventures are a treat, and the brief info at the end of the book reveals which characters are actual historical persons!
THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET written and illustrated by Brian Selznick
(Scholastic Press) Another wonderful invention by a book creator willing to take a chance with film history, story-telling imagination and the melding of visual narratives with those written.
THE MYSTERIOUS EDGE OF THE HEROIC WORLD written by E.L. Konigsburg
(Ginee Seo Books / Atheneum Books for Young Readers / Simon & Schuster) Once again Konigsburg has woven a tapestry of unforgettable characters, unusual circumstances and wry societal observations. It's unnecessary to have read THE OUTCASTS OF SCHUYLER PLACE beforehand. But if you already know THE OUTCASTS... in particular, the earlier book to which this is a stand-alone companion, there will be additional pleasure for you as a reader. Don't overlook the sinister, ominous sections flashbacks showing Nazi oppression of "Degenerate Art" and persecution of homosexual German citizens.
TOUCHING SNOW written by M. Sindy Fein (Atheneum / Simon & Schuster) The title refers to a Haitian phrase for living in America, which is what the young protagonist and her family are attempting to do midst overwhelming economic and personal odds. A remarkable, disturbing and extremely well-written novel caused me to cheer for this girl who has so much going for her and yet so much to overwhelm her individuality, as well as her safety.
PURE SPRING written by Brian Doyle (U.S. ed: Groundwood, 2007) A fabulous Y.A. sequel to BOY O'BOY by a Canadian author of note. Anyone interested in young, middle school-age, reading kids who has not discovered Brian Doyle's novels by now has a big list of books to enjoy.
I'LL ASK YOU THREE TIMES, ARE YOU OK? written by Naomi Shihab Nye
(Greenwillow) Is it possible to introduce the essay form to young readers? If anyone can do this, it's Naomi Nye. Her observations about taxi drivers, motel owners and the hospital emergency room are embroideries upon real-life, often mad-cap conversations and encounters. Only she can also convey a humanity of vision while pointing out foibles and follies. Full disclosure: someone named Ginny appears in one of the essays.
TASTING THE SKY: A PALESTINIAN CHILDHOOD written by Ibtisam Barakat
(Melanie Kroupa Books / Farrar Straus Giroux) A distinctive memoir so restrained, so lyrical, and so genuinely painful retains the voice of a child growing up in world gone mad.
THE SILENCED written by James DeVita (Laura Geringer Books / Eos / HarperCollins) Strongly influenced by his knowledge of the White Rose Movement and after reading Hermann Vinke's incomparable SHORT LIFE OF SOPHIE SCHOLL, DeVita's fast-paced novel is set in a dystopia in a not far distant future. Not to be missed by anyone interested in censorship or a unique spin on WW2 history. Perhaps this novel's success will cause
...SOPHIE SCHOLL (BTW a translated book!) to be published in paperback where it has been greatly needed for way too long.
MUCKRAKERS: HOW IDA TARBELL, UPTON SINCLAIR AND LINCOLN STEFFENS HELPED EXPOSE SCANDAL, INSPIRE REFORM AND INVENT INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
<http://www.amazon.com/Muckrakers-Sinclair-Steffens-Investigative-Journalism/dp/1426301375/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198084695&sr=1-1> written by Ann Bausum (National Geographic) Just looking at the subtitle of this well-researched and documented account of journalism in an earlier time might stimulate observations about which journalists today might be represented in a similar book decades from now. Can't think of anyone? Hmm...
AYA created by by Marguerite Abouet & Clement Oubrerie. (U.S. Dist: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2007) A stunning graphic novel translated from the French and published for adults brings a teenage urban story set in the Ivory Coast in the 1970s to life in compelling ways. (I know, I know, I said I wouldn't comment on translated books, but this is not a children's book, so I'm enthusiastically bringing it to the attention of any and all who might be interested.)
Cordially recommended from a warm study in gorgeous, wintry, white Wisconsin, Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at wisc.edu
Received on Wed 19 Dec 2007 12:00:47 PM CST
