Strange Stuff

My favorite undergraduate class was a J-term course I took for fun called, "Children's Literature."  The professor was a spunky woman who encouraged all of us to make the books as fun as possible.  We had book talk days where we completely redecorated the classroom and came up with a myriad of activities to supplement the book.  One of the books we read was David Almond's Skellig. 

I remember thinking it was strange. When I saw it come up on this years Reading Olympic's list I figured I should probably re-read it since my only remembrance was, 'it was strange.'  Well I re-read it and I still can't shake the feeling that it is a strange book.  It is mostly realistic fiction with just the smallest touch of fantasy.  Almond also leaves the reader constantly guessing, very few things are made clear. I think this is why the book was so unsettling for me.

Skellig is the story of ten-year old Michael who has a new house, a new sister and a new maybe friend (maybe friend because for one thing it's a she and for another she is a little strange).  But Michael soon learns there are many strange things in his new life so he needs a strange friend like Mina.

Even though this book wasn't one of my favorites, I already have a couple of students in mind who might really enjoy it.  Sometimes a does of strange is what you need.

Embracing the strange...that's kids stuff.  

Life Goals

One of my lesser life goals is to become a regular at a diner.  Joan Bauer's Hope Was Here made me want to move to Wisconsin and spend the rest of my days eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the Welcome Stairways diner.

Hope Was Here is a remarkable book.  When I was snowed in over the weekend I read it twice and loved it both times. The main character, Hope, is a no nonsense, see life how it really is, incredibly talented waitress.  She lives with her Aunt who is a phenomenal cook and together they travel all around the United States working in diners.  Unfortunately all the diners seem to go under until they make it to Welcome Stairways in Wisconsin.

Hope has a few prized possessions that she takes with her from  move to move. I think her list of possessions really shows what an amazing girl she is-she has depth.

 "When you move a lot, you have a few things you bring with you that have stood the test fo time: I've got my Webster's dictionary, because words are important.  I've got my Roget's thesaurus, because sometimes finding the right word requires assistance.  I've got my Replogle globe, because you've got to keep a world view, you can't just live like you're the only person on the planet who matters.  I've got my eleven scrapbooks of most of the places I've lived, complete with photographs and all of my significant comments about people, places, and food.  Addie says it's easy to go to a new place and feel like you don't have a history, so you have to lug your history around with you or it's too easy to forget."   

Hope Was Here really does have everything.  It sounds cliche, but I laughed, I cried, I celebrated and I mourned.  It also has a series of tips on how to be an amazing waitress. At only 186 pages this book is easily read but it is well worth the read (or two or three reads!).  

Meeting your life goals...that's kids stuff.  

Is it me?

The first thing I noticed about Nancy Farmer's The House of the Scorpion was that it had three medals on the cover (National Book Award Winner, Newbery Honor Book, Michael I Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature). I thought, "well all these people can't be wrong...must be a pretty good book."

But I have to admit I had a lot of trouble getting into this book.  First of all the country is called Opium and it is clearly a drug operation-which you don't typically find in a young adult novel.  The main character Matt appears to be a normal boy but he isn't-turns out he's a clone.  You would think that if a society was advanced enough to clone humans successfully they would be tolerant of the clones.  Instead the clones are treated as second class citizens, if they're lucky-many clones have a worse fate in store.

The world of the Alacrán Estate is masterfully created and El Patrón is a fascinating hero/villain (yes, I meant hero/villain-read the book you'll see exactly what I mean).  Farmer gives away just enough to allow the reader to figure out what's really happening in the story-she doesn't spell it out.  I love that she set the book on an Opium farm and made the central character heir to a drug empire.  But I can't say I loved the book.

Even the tagline is great "Matteo Alacrán was not born; he was harvested."  That line draws me in, but I left the book thinking, "hmm that was just ok."  But then I look back at the three medals on the cover and think, "it must be me."

Thinking something different....that's kids stuff

PS To be clear I think The House of the Scorpion absolutely deserves every one of those medals and I have students in mind who I think would love this book and I will definitely recommend it to them.  It just didn't suit my tastes.

Did I Stutter?

Vince Vawter's Paperboy is a loosely autobiographical tale of young boy with a stutter.  Looking to broaden his horizon's he volunteers to take over his friends paper route for one month.  He had no idea how much drama could unfold on a paper route.

Paperboy is filled with interesting and unique characters all of whom seem to live on the same paper route.  Vince tells the story and it is fascinating to see how his viewpoint and interactions are shaped by his stutter.  Vince even lets you in on tricks he uses to control his stutter.

Realistic fiction is not always my favorite genre (I much prefer a good fantasy).  But Paperboy was engaging, well-written, and the characters kept you wanting to come back for more.  I couldn't wait for the next Friday money collection so I could hear more from these strange folk that lived on the paper route.

Overcoming challenges...that's kids stuff.  

PS This is also a Reading Olympics Book.