A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

It may be part of the canon in terms of advisory texts on children’s literature, but it’s one of the most important tools I have as a librarian.  The School Library Journal website is not to be missed.  It’s the first website I go to when I’m working behind the reference desk.  Just reading the headline article makes me feel better connected with the worlds of children’s librarians and children’s literature.  Many of the articles give statistics from studies that help promote the importance of youth literacy and school/children’s libraries.  The author interviews are great, too.  I mean really, is there any other group of people who come across as quirky, fun, and enthusiastic as children and young adult book authors?  The comment section at the end of every article gives readers a chance to engage in a dialogue about the article’s content.  I really enjoy seeing what’s on the minds of librarians from around the country.

There are also blogs that are affiliated with SLJ.  These blogs can be accessed from the website’s main page.  My current favorite is A Chair, A Fireplace, & a Tea Cozy written by librarian Elizabeth Burns.  She has been at this blogging thing for so long (and happens to do it very well) that publishers send her advance copies of their upcoming YA books.  Burns writes reviews of said books on her blog.  It’s a great place to get an alternate opinion on new books that are coming out.  Burns has a knack for pulling out relevant tween themes in an array of plot lines.  Also, her writing is clean, and just plain good.

Review: A Year Down Yonder

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck.  Dial.  Checked out copy from the San Diego County Library, La Mesa Branch.

2001 Newbery Book Winner

The sequel to A Long Way From Chicago.  Mary Alice is sent back to her Grandma Dowdel, but this time, it’s for the entire year.  It’s 1937 and Mary Alice really has to adjust to country life this time around.  She’s not just staying for the summer, and her older brother Joey has been sent off the Civilian Conservation Corps, so she’s on her own this time.  Mary Alice soon learns that though her grandmother’s town may appear sleepy at first glance, it’s anything but, and Grandma Dowdel keeps things interesting in her own Midwestern manner.  There’s the poignant moment of the reality of war shown to Mary Alice after the festivities of Veterans Day are over, a wailing surprise in the manger during the school nativity play, long lost sisters reunited, a set-up with a school teacher and a scandalous WPA artist who is new to town and of course, a hurricane. 

The context of the book gives the reader and impromptu history lesson that is enjoyable rather than heavy handed.  There is an ever present wisdom in the practical life Grandma Dowdel leads.  We get the pleasure of watching Mary Alice prepare for adulthood one lesson at a time as her admiration grows for the same place she loathed at the beginning of the book.

This would be a wonderful read aloud for grades 3rd to 6^th.  The book has many humorous moments that would have the entire class laughing.  It’s also a great individual read for anyone of that age.            

Chinaberry

Chinaberry is a brick and mortar (gasp!) and online store that sells books, toys, and gifts with families in mind as its target audience.  The store is located in Spring Valley, California and is a great place to go if you’re looking to buy books from an independent business rather than a large bookstore chain.

What makes Chinaberry unique is the catalogs it sends out.  Each newsprint catalog contains color illustrations of Chinaberry’s products, but the best part are the reviews that accompany every book that Chinaberry offers.  The books are divided into age groups (there is even a section for adults) and each review gives a short summary of the book’s plot and key themes that run throughout the story.  Every tween book that I have read based on a Chinaberry review (including The Penderwicks, The Wild Girls, As Hot as it was You Ought to Thank Me, and Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters) has been a keeper.

Give yourself a treat and request a catalog.  It’s free and perfect for those times when you’re in between books, but still need something to cuddle up.  Sip some tea and figure out what you want to read next.   

Review: The Penderwicks

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall.  Copy checked out from the San Diego County Library, Rancho San Diego Branch, based on a review in the Chinaberry Books Catalog.

2005 National Book Award Winner

            (click here to see other awards given to this book) (an interview with Jeanne Birdsall)

The Penderwick sisters, Rosalind, Skye, Jane and Batty have many adventures in store for them when they return to their summer vacation spot with their widower father.  At first glance, this book reminded me of one of those stereotypical idyllic children’s stories, the types that Francie Nolan detests in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  However, the Penderwick sisters would be the first to agree with Francie that a good story should mirror the trials of real life, and while the girls are not plagued by the themes used in dramatic hooks to advertise some tween fiction, they have problems to deal with, and problems to solve.  Rosalind’s trying to bake her way into an older boy’s heart, Skye is plotting strategies with her new best friend to keep him out of military school, Jane wants to write the next great American novel and is slowly realizing that all the information she needs for a good plot is happening all around her, Batty is coping with growing up without a mom and not being lost in the crowd as the youngest sibling.  Each sister is unique, sympathetic and likable.

This book is the first in the Penderwicks series.  The second book, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street is available, and the third installment, The Penderwicks at Point Mouette will be available later next year.

This book would be perfect for a precocious fourth grader, a fifth grader who enjoys to read, or a sixth, seventh, or eighth grader who is in need of a good story to help them see how fun reading can be.

Because Deep Down Inside, There’s Some Pest in all of Us . . .

Ramona and Beezus is like a Michel Gondry movie for kids. The visual whimsy of Ramona’s imagination is represented through special effects that transport the viewer to a parallel universe, far far away from reality. When I saw how the world looked to Ramona, it helped me realize why more often times than not, the ordinary of the everyday life is actually quite extraordinary.


Ramona And Beezus Trailer

Throughout the film, Ramona navigates how she fits in at school and at home while still remaining true to herself, no matter how quirky she may appear to others. She needs to survive the 3rd grade, help her family save their house, be a good little sister and a loving big sister, and help her aunt rekindle an old love. A lot to ask of one girl, but Ramona, as always, has a plan. It’s the way she goes about helping everyone that makes the story interesting.

I haven’t read the Ramona books since I was Ramona’s age, but her stories have always remained dear to my heart. It was extremely fun to vaguely know what was going to happen in certain instances of the movie based on my knowledge of the books (the hard boiled egg, anyone?). There are differences from the book for the movies sake (Beezus and Henry, what?!), but I think overall this film is a nice addition to the canon of Ramona and will encourage people who have not read the series to pick it up, or is a great movie for anyone who has read and enjoyed the books.

Age wise, my five year old cousin enjoyed the film, but I think that my 12 year old cousin and I, both of us fans of the series, got the most out of the experience.



Here are Beverly Cleary’s thoughts on turning 94 and the opening of the movie.