Spell the Month in Books - and Merry Christmas!

Spell the Month in Books is hosted by Reviews From the Stacks and occurs on or near the second Saturday of each month:

D - Dead Scared by Sharon Bolton.  This is the second in the Detective Constable Lacey Flint series and was truly unnerving. Lacey is sent undercover to Cambridge University to investigate a series of student suicides that police suspect are linked to a predator manipulating vulnerable young women online.  

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Title: Number the Stars
Author: Lois Lowry
Publication: Houghton Mifflin paperback, originally published in 1989
Genre: Juvenile Historical Fiction
Setting: WWII Denmark

Blue Willow by Doris Gates – for the #1940Club

Title: Blue Willow (a Newbery Honor Book)
Author: Doris Gates (1901-1987)
Illustrator: Paul Lantz
Publication: Viking, hardcover, 1940
Genre: Juvenile fiction
Setting: Depression-era California

This week, Karen of Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Simon of Stuck in a Book are hosting the 1940 Club in which we read and write about books published in the same year.

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field for the #1929Club

Title: Hitty: Her First Hundred Years
Author: Rachel Field (1894-1942)
Illustrator: Dorothy P. Lathrop
Publication: Macmillan, paperback, originally published in 1929
Genre: Children’s fiction/fantasy/historical fiction

Description: Hitty is a doll hand-carved from a small piece of mountain-ash wood by a peddler in early 19th century Maine, then given to Phoebe Preble, whose father is away at sea. Seven-year-old Phoebe is tasked with making clothes for her doll, which include a chemise embroidered with HITTY “so she can always be sure of her name.”

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

Title: When You Trap a Tiger
Author: Tae Keller
Publication: Random House, hardcover, 2020
Genre: Middle-grade fiction
Setting: Washington state

Description: Lily and her older sister Sam have moved to Washington with their mother to be near their Korean grandmother who is very ill.

WWW Wednesday – May 25, 2022

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Art of Alice and Martin Provensen

Title: The Art of Alice and Martin Provensen

Authors: Alice and Martin Provensen
Editor and Art Director: Gloria Fowler
Publication: Chronicle Books, hardcover, 2022
Genre: Nonfiction/Children’s Books/Art

Bookshelf Traveling - August 29

Time for another round of Bookshelf Traveling in Insane Times which was created by Judith at Reader in the Wilderness and is currently hosted by Katrina at Pining for the West.   The idea is to share one of your neglected bookshelves or perhaps a new pile of books.  

My guest room has seven bookcases of children’s books, including this shelf which holds the Ellen Confords, three by L.M. Boston, Understood Betsy (which I couldn’t find when I needed it last month for the family read!), the Carol Ryrie Brinks, and my E. Nesbits.

Lois Lenski, Storycatcher (Book Review)

Title: Lois Lenski, Storycatcher
Author: Bobbie Malone
Publication: University of Oklahoma Press, hardcover, 2016
Genre: Biography/Children's Literature

Description: Many 20th century children – including, surprisingly, Oprah – grew up with Lois Lenski (1893-1974) as author and illustrator, and as a writer she expanded the experience of American children by writing regional fiction which depicted the ordinary lives of children from diverse backgrounds throughout the country. In this goal, she was supported by her editors and also by children who read her books and wrote to her, inviting her to come visit their communities so they could share their stories. Lenski won the renowned Newbery Medal in 1946 for Strawberry Girl and probably should have won it for Indian Captive in 1942 (both Indian Captive and Little Town on the Prairie were runners up to The Matchlock Gun (seriously)).

The One and Only Ivan (Book Review)

Title: The One and Only Ivan
Author: Katherine Applegate

Publication Information: Harper, hardcover, 2012 – Newbery Medal 2013

Genre: Juvenile Fiction

Plot: Ivan, a Silverback gorilla, has lived for years in a cage the Exit 8 Big Top mall and video arcade. His only friends are Stella, a tired elephant; Bob, a quirky homeless dog; and Julia, whose father cleans the arcade and Ivan’s cage at night.  Ivan is mostly resigned to his lot and, encouraged by Julia, entertains himself by drawing.  When customers stop coming to the Big Top, owner Mack purchases a baby elephant, Ruby, to pull in the crowds.   When Stella realizes she can’t protect Ruby, she makes it clear to Ivan it’s up to him to make sure Ruby doesn’t die in captivity.

What I liked: I certainly don’t know what a gorilla’s voice sounds like but Applegate did an amazing job making me forget anything but Ivan’s story.  It is understated and sad, but charming at the same time.  Ivan has blotted out his memories (of a happy childhood) so as to endure captivity and has a hard time coming up with a story for the baby elephant, Ruby, but he is the type of resolute character who doesn’t let his friends down.  However, Bob, the dog named by the insightful Julia, had more personality, and I am glad he had a happy ending.  I was very aware of all the dreadful ways this book could have ended, and was grateful to be spared.  I was also struck by the way Ivan revealed his real name was Mud, and it reminded me of how slaves sometimes had their own names but their owners called them whatever they felt like.

What I disliked: I am not a big fan of animal stories, so this was not my kind of book although I did enjoy it.  I probably would have picked Wonder, which I thought was really exceptional, had I been judging the Newbery Awards.  However, I did not read all the contenders and neither one is the type of book I loved as a child or teen.

Newbery Awards: For a complete list, click here.  The Hero and the Crown (1985) and The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1968) are probably my two favorite winners.  Nowadays, Robin McKinley might be considered YA; a Printz candidate instead.  And where is that next Damar book, anyway?

Source: I bought Ivan last month for my nephews but it might be too sad for them!

(photo is of a Silverback gorilla but is not the real Ivan that the book was inspired by)

Shipping up to Boston

I am pleased to hear that ALA Midwinter is going to be in Boston this year, just a few blocks from my office. I have attended ALA conventions twice, once tagging along with my mother, then a librarian at Northeastern, and as an exhibitor in 1999 in DC, but those were in the summer and it is in the winter that the Newbery Medal is awarded. For those who are interested, there is a blog at School Library Journal that actively discusses the potential contenders.

Does this remind you of anything?

Chapter One

Tilly-Tod sounds like the name of just one little girl, but it was actually the name of two little girls who looked so much alike and were so much together that they were almost one, and so everyone called them Tilly-Tod, just like that, in one breath. There was no use in calling one all by herself, because the other one was sure to be close by her and to come running, too.