Wart Gets It

Once and Future King by T. H. White.  Collins, 1958.

            I read Once and Future King when I was 14, an age I qualify as older tween.  There were two things about the book that came from opposite ends of the age spectrum that made me want to read it.  Two reasons that I believe serve as an example of the mental turmoil older tweens are going through about trying to figure out their place in the world.  I wanted to read Once and Future King because one of my favorite Disney movies as a kid had been The Sword and the Stone, and because it looked like a book grown-ups would read, so I was totally all over it. 

This was one of the first books that changed my life.  It shifted the way I looked at the world.  I think a big part of that is the presence of mythology running through the narrative.  White updated the story of Arthur to have it be contemporary to his time, to make it relatable, which is good since there was no way I was going to read Sir Malory’s version at 14 (I barely got through it in college).

The importance of myth and recurring themes in narrative to tweens is that they can then set their own lives to a narrative.  You don’t feel like such a loser when you’ve read about how even King Arthur was young once, and he had to deal with Merlin being cranky and turning him into a bunch of animals so he could learn about life. 

So yeah, I think basically every well read 13 and 14 year old needs a copy of Once and Future King.  

The Band Known as Perry

“I’m so embarrassed I could just die!” is a common exclamation from teenage movie stars, from Haley Mills in The Parent Trap to Selena Gomez in Ramona and Beezus, and it’s a common feeling amongst tweens.  I know from my personal experience and from the experience of my friends.  The problem is that this feeling of overwhelming dread is often tsked or simply overlooked by adults, or worse, they mumble something about the whole experience making you stronger because it didn’t kill you.  Great, you think.  Here’s the thing though, and this is why I love the song If I Die Young by the band Perry, tweens and teens have so much insight and interesting opinions that it really wouldn’t hurt to listen more to what they actually have to say. 

There are certain lines that I think speak to what it might be like being a tween today.  I’ve had just enough time . . .A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I’ll sell them for a dollar, They’re worth so much more after I’m a gonner, And maybe then you’ll hear the words I been singin’, Funny when you’re dead how people start listenin’

The lyrics convey that the singer is aware of her consciousness about the world, but that those around her dismiss her until she dies, or is gone.

I also enjoy the reference to Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shallot” which conjures up the memory of another tween who was considered overdramatic, Anne from Anne of Green Gables.

Kimberly Perry, the singer of The Band Perry and the writer of If I Die Young is actually 26, but I think the words she has chosen conjures up the experience of someone younger.  I think it’s nice for there to be a song out there getting plenty of radio time on country music stations that tweens might be able to relate and does not involved being boy obsessed (not that there’s anything wrong with being boy obsessed, but some variety is always a good thing). 

It's a Blog

It’s a Book by Lane Smith. (Gotta love what Lane says about his school library).  Roaring Brook Press, 2010.

The reading level of this book is much younger than the average tween reading level; however it’s the content of this book that is relevant to tweens.  The two main characters, a donkey (who goes by another name at the end of the story) and a monkey have a face to face conversation about the differences between the donkey’s computer, and the monkey’s book.

In the light of people who proclaim the death of printed media is near, this book was a refreshing read.  Obviously, I am all for new technology that communicates information (or else I wouldn’t have a blog!), but sometimes I feel a little lame when all I have as an excuse for the defense of books is, “There’s nothing like turning a crisp page, having vibrant illustrations and that clean paper smell”.  So it’s nice to have an actual book that puts the argument into story form to give the defense of the book a fresh (ah hem) narrative.  The moment towards the end of the story when donkey takes the time to fall into the story on the pages of the book that monkey lets him borrow makes me fall in love with reading all over again.  The freedom, the quiet and the curiosity it brings, and how it has as much to do with the physical object as it does the quality of story on the pages.

Also, the last line in the story, which is not shared in this YouTube promotional video (see I don’t dislike new media!) is amazing.  A line that older tweens will appreciate for it’s biting ability to get the final point across, much in the fashion of how good books always do.

Recommended for older tweens who feel like reading something light, but relevant to the times in which they live and want a break from their AR books.

Gilmore Girls (I'll leave it to the show for quirky Titles)

A good show is hard to find.  There are so many out there, but so few that are actually funny, have characters you’d want to hang out with, and hold truths about real life.  For me, Gilmore Girls is one of those shows.  Seasons 1 through 3 are my favorite; seasons 4 and 5 are good, too.  After that, the storyline falls into disrepair.  One of the reasons I was never crazy about the last seasons was the change in the character of Rory.  In the first seasons Rory is nerdy and quirky, but sweet and a good friend.  She was relatable to me even though many critics claimed that teenagers didn’t talk like Rory, nor did they have such extensive knowledge on pop culture.  I always felt like these critics didn’t understand that Rory’s breadth of knowledge was a way to represent her intelligence and add another level to the relationship between her and her mom. 

To premise the storyline: Lorelai Gilmore left home when she had her daughter Rory at 16.  Now Rory is 15 and wants to go to a fancy private school to help better her chances to get into Harvard.  The problem is, even though Lorelai has made it on her own as an inn manager, she doesn’t have the money to send Rory to this private school.  She goes back to her parents to ask for a loan.  They promise her the money, if she and Rory come to dinner every Friday night.  Then there’s the town where Lorelai and Rory live, Stars Hollow, where many characters live.  It all leads to a plethora of shenanigans. 

Rory is a breath of fresh air.  She is not overly sophisticated, nor is she naïve.  She’s not popular, but she’s not painfully awkward either.  Also, she likes school.  She also has a mom who is obviously not perfect and close enough in age to Rory that Lorelai still has the memories to help “get” her daughter.  Finally, I know it’s a cliché of this show, but it’s a fun show to watch with your own mom.  I recommend the first 5 seasons of Gilmore Girls to older tweens looking for some good, cozy, couch entertainment.   

Museumology



Nancy Rubins, Pleasure Point, 2006



Many tweens are going through lots of new changes.  They’re questioning the way things are, and they’re seeing things that they may have considered normal with new critical eyes.  In many ways, they’re similar to professional visual artists.  I think this is why it was so fun to give tours to classes of tweens when I worked as a tour guide at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego.

Bruce Nauman, The true artist helps the world by revealing mystic truths, 1967

When I first began working as a tour guide, giving tours to groups of tweens worried me.  I was afraid that they would think the art was stupid.  Many of my own friends who did not have a background in art tended to roll their eyes at contemporary artworks, “What’s the point?” they’d ask.  “It’s a waste of time,” they’d say.  The funny thing is, in the year I gave tours; no student ever said that the art was stupid.  They were always open to whatever was presented to them.  They also always came up with the best ideas for what the art on display represented.  They were on the same wavelength as the artists.  They were all just trying to figure out what this crazy world means and also trying to find the best way to express themselves, to define their existence.

Ernesto Neto, Installation, 2007

The nice thing about art museums is that many are free to people who are tweenage.  Also, the museum gallery space is a place where tweens can wander by themselves and feel independent, while learning to abide the museum rules and rituals of observing art through the example of other patrons and the direction of the museum guards.    

Robert Irwin, Light and Space, 2007