Wildly Read

Friday Round-Up

2012-03-02T06:14:00.000-05:00

Each week I round-up all the (mostly book-related) articles/blog posts/book reviews/websites/videos that entertained me during the week. Enjoy!

Articles

The most beautiful home office/library I've ever seen (probably). -->

Oddest Book Titles of the Year (in pictures), including such favorites as The Great Singapore Penis Panic: And the Future of American Mass Hysteria and The Mushroom in Christian Art (actual article).

Author with 5 books published tries to sell 6th novel. 12 publishers pass due to previous sales figures. She changes her name, and her book is sold. Triumph.

In other cool news, Street Art of the Day at The Daily What is this colorful repurposed telephone booth in NYC - now a free "library"/book drop!

Children's Books

"A Brief History of Children's Picture Books and the Art of Visual Storytelling, OR What Modern E-books Can Learn from Mid-Century Design Icons"

Sad news: "Jan Berenstain Dies at 88". My mother even texted me - that's how important the Berenstain Bears were in my life.

Typography

Video

Yup, I'm doin' it: World's Geekiest Handshake. I'm also lovin' it (no copyright infringement intended, McDonald's).

Website

Just discovered! We Love This Book

Working for the Monkey, Not the Man

2012-03-01T07:13:00.000-05:00

That's correct, folks. That says that I am the new Store Manager at the World's Only Curious George Store, reopening in April in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. Can you believe it?!?

My sincere apologies to everyone for being MIA this month. A lot has been happening, mostly good, and including this incredible opportunity just this week. I will be taking a short blogging break while I help set up a brand, spankin'-new, store. I hope to be able to blog about that process soon, so stay tuned!

For updates on the Curious George store, check out the Curious George Store website (still under construction, but you can sign up for email updates). Hope to see you all stopping by the store!

Also, check out Whiteblack the Penguin Sees the World by Margret and H.A. Rey, a lesser known title by the Curious George creators, recently featured on Anita Silvey's Children's Book-a-Day Almanac.

Friday Round-Up

2012-02-24T06:10:00.000-05:00

Each week I round-up all the (mostly book-related) articles/blog posts/book reviews/websites/videos that entertained me during the week. Enjoy!

Articles

HuffPo features "Books on Screen: Our Favorite Bookish Love Scenes From Films"

Oh, Amazon. It's so hard not to hate you and your attitude toward a positive, successful, mutually-beneficial, non-manipulative, not-a-monopoly book industry: "Amazon Pulls Thousands of E-Books in Dispute [AGAIN]"

As a chronic re-reader (there are at least three or four books I reread on a yearly basis), I feel gratified that there really can be a mental health benefit from rereading.

The very early news that JK Rowling will now write an adult book for Little, Brown.

Thoughtful commentary on a longer article: "E-Books Can't Burn"

I can't explain the book/word/art collaboration known as Round Robin, but Grain Edit can.

Book Products

Bookplates from Mac & Ninny Paper Co.

Get a painting of your favorite books on your own bookshelf here at Ideal Bookshelf. Beautiful work!

Children's Books

Remember the children's book Stephen Colbert wrote during the Maurice Sendak interviews I posted a couple of weeks ago? Well, surprise, surprise, it's getting published.

Does this list surprise you? "The 100 'Greatest Books for Kids" ranked by Scholastic Parent & Child magazine.

Letterpress

Quiz

Name the titles of these book covers (I got 17 of 24)

Typography

<-- An experiment in 3D letterforms by Letters are my Friends. Read more about it on the Co.Design blog.

"From the retrotastic typographic signage to the beautiful vintage color schemes, these storefronts are priceless time-capsules of an era as faded as their paint coats, haunting ghosts caught in the machine of progress." Read more in this article.

Alphabet Roadtrip, the blog of Iskra Design.

Letterology, an open classroom discussing book design and experimental typography.

Videos

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Ann Patchett

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

Video Archive

Websites

A Tumblr blog dedicated to book photographs and quotes: PrettyBooks

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T06:51:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! from Whitney Blank on Vimeo.

Friday Round-Up

2012-02-10T06:47:00.000-05:00

Each week I round-up all the (mostly book-related) articles/blog posts/book reviews/websites/videos that entertained me during the week. Enjoy!

Articles

Even if you're not a non-fiction fan or a reader of alternate histories, this is a fascinating and engrossing article about writing in general, non-fiction history writing in particular, and an in-depth look at 5 unusual histories chosen by Geoff Dyer for The Browser.

Of all place, Boston.com has a roundup of "7 book recommendation websites to find your next good read".

Mystery Bus Tour! That's exactly what it sounds like. Read all about it.

Featured in Speakeasy, for all authors out there - "How to Be an Indie Bookseller's Dream" - and being a former bookseller, I concur!

A new international literary magazine presents an intimate look at war: "Warscapes — with sections that include literature, poetry, art and reportage — treats the subject elegantly by publishing stories that underline the personal, the intimate and the introspective."

Love lists like this! From Inhabitat: "7 Amazing Green Bookstores and Libraries from Around the World"

Today's Inspiration is blogging a series of "Female Illustrators You Should Know". You can find the links here, here, and here so far.

Children's Books

"If Dr. Seuss Books for Titled on According to Their Subtexts"

Flavorwire article of the week: "Literary Mixtape: Jo March"

Mitali Perkins, children's lit author extraordinaire, discusses how "Children's Books Explore Real-World Issues"

Lemony Snicket book deal news.

Korean children's book and magazine covers for the 40s/50s and 60s.

Product

"In My Book" - book-themed greeting cards and bookmarks, featured on Books on the Nightstand

Typography

An infographic showing "The History of Western Typefaces" (thanks to Shane for this!)

Video

William Blake is one of my favorite poets. This Brazilian short film was inspired by his poem The Tyger.
(Shout out of thanks to Chelsea for turning me on to this!)

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare sieze the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art.
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

February HuffPost Book Club: Blood, Bones, & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

2012-02-04T08:04:00.001-05:00

The Huffington Post Book Club has released their second title:

Blood, Bones, & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef
by Gabrielle Hamilton

Having recently received a copy in the mail (remember?) (thanks, Random House!), I am excited to announce that I will be participating in this month's book club festivities. Or at least the read-along portion.

You can participate, too. February 8 is the official read-along start date, and you can post your thoughts on Facebook (facebook.com/huffpostbooks) and on Twitter (@huffpostbooks) with the hashtag #HPBookClub. Happy reading!

Friday Round-Up

2012-02-03T06:44:00.000-05:00

Each week I round-up all the (mostly book-related) articles/blog posts/book reviews/websites/videos that entertained me during the week. Enjoy!

Articles

The New York Times offers a slideshow of "Books as a Way to Grace a Room" - if you can stomach how much money people spend on the personalized service hired here, it's worth the look.

Book Trailer of the Week

Thank you to Publishing Perspectives for turning me on to this book trailer for "La agenda del fin del mundo (Diary for the End of the World), an irreverent 2012 almanac and agenda featuring anecdotes, sound bites and trivia that topped Amazon Spain’s bestseller list." I wish I could get my hands on one!

Children's Books

The appropriate follow-up to the Colbert/Sendak interviews regarding Colbert's proposed children's book, I am a Flag Pole, and So Can You. From Melville House.

NPR highlighted The Snowy Day this week: "The Snowy Day: Breaking Color Barriers, Quietly"

FANTASTIC query about why there are so few female Caldecott Medal winners.

Milk + Bookies is a "non-profit organization that exposes young children to how great it feels to give back while celebrating the love of a good book."

Quiz

Wolves in children's fiction - how well do you know them? I only got a 7 out of 10.

Introvert or Extrovert? Take the informal quiz at NPR's interview with the author of Quiet, Please. I'm apparently split right down the middle - what does that mean?

Video

An absolutely mesmerizing and magical 15-minute film, nominated for an Oscar, all about the power of books.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

Websites

This IS a UK-based site, so I don't know how applicable it will be to most of the readers of this blog, but this is an idea I've been in support of for a long time - smaller, quicker reads for commuters, non-readers, and anyone else looking for a small, quick read. QuickReads

For all other English language enthusiasts, I stumbled across this site: English Language & Usage (and no, I'm not promoting it solely because they use my ampersand tattoo as their and symbol). "This is a collaboratively edited question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required."

A Month of Letters

2012-02-02T06:37:00.000-05:00

As an established letter-writer from way back, I am so excited to announce my participation in Mary Robinette Kowal's A Month of Letters project.

In the author's own words: “I have a simple challenge for you. In the month of February, mail at least one item through the post every day it runs. Write a postcard, a letter, send a picture, or a cutting from a newspaper, or a fabric swatch. Write back to everyone who writes to you. This can count as one of your mailed items. All you are committing to is to mail 24 items. Why 24? There are four Sundays and one US holiday. In fact, you might send more than 24 items. You might develop a correspondence that extends beyond the month. You might enjoy going to the mail box again.”

Now, as someone who belongs to PostCrossing.com, regularly participates in letter and package exchanges around the holidays and birthdays, and loves to design her own cards and stationary, a project like this is a dream come true.

If you would like to participate, here are some links to get you started:

Sign up at the official website
Read the post on the author's website announcing the project
Like the official Facebook page
Follow @LetterMonth on Twitter and tweet using the #lettermo hashtag

If you would like to receive a letter from me, send me an email at broche (dot) fabian (at) gmail (dot) com to exchange snail mail addresses. I guarantee you'll receive a pretty something in the mail soon enough.

Waiting on Wednesday: By a Thread by Jennifer Estep

2012-02-01T09:37:00.001-05:00

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) is a weekly meme hosted by

Breaking the Spine.

My posts about adult literary fiction are here:

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey
Diving Belles: And Other Stories by Lucy Wood

My posts about my guilty pleasure reading (romantic, often paranormal, novels) can be found here:

Prince Charming Doesn't Live Here by Christine Warren

Tempest's Legacy by Nicole Peeler
Saint's Astray by Jacqueline Carey

Timeless by Gail Carriger

My posts about YA/teen titles are here:

Witch & Wizard: The Gift by James Patterson & Ned Rust

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

The Mockingbirds, Book 2: The Rivals by Daisy Whitney

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
The Agency: The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y.S. Lee
Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta

FrostFire by Zoe Marriott

My posts about middle grade titles are here:

The Pirate Captain's Daughter by Eve Bunting

And now for today's:

By a Thread (Book 6 in the Elemental Assassin series)
by Jennifer Estep
9781451651768, Pocket Books, Pub. Date: February 28, 2012

I have such mixed feelings about this book. While the early books in the series drew me in, I'm sorry to say I think the writing has gotten worse rather than better over the course of the series. AND, I haven't enjoyed the two new YA titles in a new series Ms. Estep recently released. BUT, there's something about the basic premise of these books - kick-ass female assassin who is honest, straight-forward, well-read, uses both knives, skills, and her elemental magical powers to take down evil in her city - that has me hooked. So I keep trying. Here's the publisher's description:

When killing people is your job, there’s no such thing as a vacation. Then again, how often does an assassin live long enough to enjoy her retirement? In this line of work, you either get lucky or you get dead. And since I destroyed my nemesis Mab Monroe a few weeks ago, all of Ashland’s lowlifes are gunning to make a name for themselves by taking out the lethal Spider—me, Gin Blanco. So I’m leaving behind my beloved barbecue joint and heading south with my baby sister, Bria, to cool my heels in a swanky beach town. Call it a weekend of fun in the sun. But when a powerful vampire with deadly elemental magic threatens an old friend of Bria’s, it looks like I’ll have to dig my silverstone knives out of my suitcase after all. Complicating matters further is the reappearance of Detective Donovan Caine, my old lover. But Donovan is the least of my problems. Because this time, the danger is hot on my trail, and not even my elemental Ice and Stone magic may be enough to save me from getting buried in the sand—permanently.

Read the first chapter here.

Around the World Challenge: January & Global Domination Challenge: Africa

2012-01-31T12:05:00.001-05:00

Giraffe Days is hosting the Around the World in 12 Books Challenge.

The objective is to read a new book from a different country for each of the 12 months in a year.

Time for my January review:

Spud by John van de Ruit

John Milton has a lot on his plate, as any 13-year-old boy does. He is heading off to a private, all-boys boarding school, thanks to a new scholarship and his beautiful singing voice. While he's excited to be leaving behind his crazy and embarrassing parents and eccentric grandmother he calls The Wombat, he's terrified to discover what awaits him at school - things like being nicknamed Spud because his balls haven't dropped yet, having a crazy bunkmate who only talks to inanimate objects and pulls out his own hair, and getting caned after getting caught with the rest of the Crazy Eight (his first-year dorm mates) sneaking out to go midnight swimming. He also meets both The Mermaid and Amanda (2 girls! While attending a boy's school!), trounces and gets trounced on and off the cricket field, decides to become both an actor and an activist, and explores the complexities of forced friendship and loyalty. With no punches pulled, no description too graphic, from the heights of love to the depths of loss, Spud captures it all in his diary, fully chronicling his first year at boarding school.

All of this takes place during the 1990s, making the backdrop issues of apartheid, the release of Nelson Mandela, race relations, class relations, and other related social issues. It's a bit crazy to think the 1990s are now "historical fiction," but Spud does a great job of capturing a White teen perspective at the time - learning about issues that didn't seem important until they suddenly are, struggling to catch up and make meaning out of political history, living in an accepting mixed-race environment at school but dealing with blatant racism at home, etc.

AND

Spud: The Madness Continues by John van de Ruit

Surprise! I read two books for this challenge this month. I had forgotten that Spud, my original book choice, has 2 sequels! I was only able to get my hands on the second book, Spud: The Madness Continues, but I've requested my library purchase the third, so stay tuned to see if I ever get a chance to read it.

In Spud: The Madness Continues, the madness of the Crazy Seven (Seven due to a loss of one boy in Spud; then Eight, when a new boy comes; then Seven, when the new boy leaves; then Eight, when they induct Roger the Cat as an official member; then Six, when two of the boys get expelled; then Seven, when one of the boys gets back) really does continue. Spud is going to turn 15 during this year, is no longer in his first trembling year at the school, and has high hopes for both ball dropping and hair appearing in that same region. Despite his optimism (and the eventual voice-cracking, ball-dropping accomplishment), Spud soon finds that with both enemies and allies still at school, this year will not be any smoother. Still writing in his diary, the Spud of this year will chronicle his mother's plans to emigrate, The Wombat continuing to lose her mind, and his father's moonshine business; his first breakup, first ball hair, and first trip to England; the Crazy Eight's torture attempts at the Normal Seven (the new batch of first years); his actor career hitting a snag when he's cast as the Dove of Peace in a disastrous school play; and all the usual adventures of midnight swimming, cricket matches, brews, books, and broads, with just a hint more seriousness this year than last.

Let's see if I followed the guidelines:

1. Books must be set in the country. - Yes, all over South Africa, with a brief stint in England in book two.

2. Books should be by an author of that country, if you can find/get hold of one. - Yes, John van de Ruit is apparently quite a big deal over there.

3. Books must be fiction or memoir. Children’s books count too. - This is children's historical fiction, perfect for advanced tweens and early teen readers.

4. Books can count towards other challenges. - As I'm also participating in the Global Domination Challenge over at Insatiable Booksluts, I will count this for my Africa read.

Stay tuned for next month: FEBRUARY: Bangladesh - Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins

For my complete book list, click on my original post or the challenges tab.

In My Mailbox

2012-01-29T06:47:00.000-05:00

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by

The Story Siren.

So many books, so little time! Last week, I received:

Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef

by Gabrielle Hamilton

Despite the lack of an Oxford comma in the title, this still caught by eye when advertised. Random House was nice enough to send me a copy.

Description: Before Gabrielle Hamilton opened her acclaimed New York restaurant Prune, she spent twenty hard-living years trying to find purpose and meaning in her life. Blood, Bones & Butter follows an unconventional journey through the many kitchens Hamilton has inhabited through the years: the rural kitchen of her childhood, where her adored mother stood over the six-burner with an oily wooden spoon in hand; the kitchens of France, Greece, and Turkey, where she was often fed by complete strangers and learned the essence of hospitality; Hamilton’s own kitchen at Prune, with its many unexpected challenges; and the kitchen of her Italian mother-in-law, who serves as the link between Hamilton’s idyllic past and her own future family—the result of a prickly marriage that nonetheless yields lasting dividends. By turns epic and intimate, Gabrielle Hamilton’s story is told with uncommon honesty, grit, humor, and passion.

Restoration
by Olaf Olafsson

Okay, in the first place, great name. Then you add love stories, war, Tuscany, and I'm hooked. Ecco books, an imprint of HarperCollins, sent me a copy at my request.

Description: Having grown up in an exclusive circle of wealthy British ex-pats in Florence in the 1920s, Alice shocks everyone when she marries Claudio, the son of a minor land-owner, and moves to San Martino, a crumbling villa in Tuscany. Settling into their new paradise, husband and wife begin to build their future, restoring San Martino and giving birth to a son. But as time passes, Alice grows lonely, a restlessness that leads her into the heady social swirl of wartime Rome and a reckless affair that will have devastating consequences. While she spends time with her lover in Rome, Alice's young son falls ill and dies, widening the emotional chasm between her and her husband-and leaving her vulnerable to the machinations of a nefarious art dealer who ensnares her in a dangerous and deadly scheme. Returning to San Martino, Alice yearns for forgiveness. But before she can begin to make amends, Claudio disappears, and the encroaching fighting threatens to destroy everything they built. Caught between loyalists and resisters, cruel German forces and Allied troops, Alice valiantly struggles to survive, hoping the life and love she lost can one day be restored.

Embrace
by Jessica Shirvington

There's a very cool story to this book - I belong to the Young to Publishing Group, Boston chapter, and Sourcebooks reached out to us as a group in the industry and sent us ARCs. I got a package in the mail at work - how cool is that?

Description: On her 17th birthday, everything will change for Violet Eden. The boy she loves will betray her. Her enemy will save her. And she will have to make a choice that could cost not only her life, but her eternity.

(And a big thank you to Book Stacks On Deck for the mailbox pinup!)

Book Review: The Angel Makers by Jessica Gregson

2012-01-28T14:12:00.000-05:00

The Angel Makers
by Jessica Gregson
9781569479797, Soho Press, $24.00

Both shocking and encouraging of sympathy, The Angel Makers is a haunting novel that will slyly seduce you.

Taking place in an isolated village in Hungary, the story revolves around Sari Arany, first as a young girl, then as a woman, and her place in village life. Her father is the village medicine man and seer; her only friend is the feared village midwife and herbal woman. Before her father dies, he arranges (with her permission) for Sari's engagement to Ferenc, the son of the wealthiest family in the village. It is a surprise to most, for because her mother died soon after her birth, Sari is thought to be unlucky and treated with scorn and suspicion by the villagers. It doesn't help that Sari is peculiar - beautiful, piercing eyes, more learned than most women, and surprisingly forthright with her speech and actions. Despite this, it is seen to be a good match, and when her father dies sooner than expected, Ferenc assumes they will marry immediately instead of waiting for Sari's 18th birthday. Yet Sari stands firm, and instead chooses to live with Judith, the herbal woman, to learn about being a midwife prior to marriage.

But soon the war comes to Hungary, and the men must go off to fight. Suddenly, the women of the village find themselves living in a strange new world where they don't worry about when food is on the table, where they have time to make new friends, where they begin to feel more free in thought and action - no longer worried about a harsh rebuke from a husband or father. When a POW camp sets up nearby, they also feel free enough to get jobs (and lovers) at the camp. Sari slowly becomes more accepted in the village, making a few particular friends, learning more about herbal medicine and midwifery, occasionally receiving letters from Ferenc about his dreams of home.

Then the war ends. The village men begin to return. The POWs leave. And the women are no longer so free as they once were. Sari's friend, Anna, again begins to creep around the village trying to hide the fresh bruises that are a marker of her husband's homecoming. But change did happen in the women. And they are not as willing to lie down and take the men's actions and decisions as they once were. It is at this point that they begin to rely on Sari and Judith's herbal knowledge for getting rid of those pesky problems - the men who maybe should not have returned home from the war.

The best part? This is based on a true story. As the author writes, "The novel details a peculiar kind of madness that gripped the women in a small, isolated village over a period of around ten years, and writing the novel was my attempt to try and understand what circumstances might have brought it about, as well as what may have been going on in the heads of the women in question." This is a fascinating look at how far some women will go to assert their freedom.

Friday Round-Up

2012-01-27T06:38:00.000-05:00

Each week I round-up all the (mostly book-related) articles/blog posts/book reviews/websites/videos that entertained me during the week. Enjoy!

In the words of Book Riot (where I found this photo), it's 5 o'clock somewhere.

Articles

"In the Land of the Non-Reader" - a man spends several weeks as a non-reader and this article talks about why and what he learned.

Flavorwire article of the week: "15 Great Works of Literature-Inspired Nail Art" - just to prove there really IS something out there for everyone.

Second Flavorwire article of the week: "10 Cult Literary Traditions for Truly Die-Hard Fans"

Okay, okay, THIRD Flavorwire article of the week: "10 Legendary Bad Girls of Literature" (I had to include it, especially as I think they did a much better job on this list than the previous 10 Legendary Bad Boys of Literature).

"Some of my worst friends are books" from The Guardian. Some of my best friends are, too, though I also enjoy people IRL.

"Nine Coolest Literary Siblings"

"The Business Case for Reading" in the Harvard Business Review

Blogs

The Penguin Press (where I found the typewriter poster on the right, entitled "Typewriters and the Men Who Love Them")

Bookstores

The Last Bookstore, LA, CA.

I have never been to this bookstore, but if I ever find myself spending time in LA (doubtful), you can bet this will be my first stop. This is the article that got me interested. The sentences that sold it for me?

"The Last Bookstore lets you hold a new or used book in your hands in a chic-vintage, one-of-a-kind interior. The store is decorated with things like elephant tusks and mannequins. Even when you go to the checkout, you will see that the counter is made up of books. It’s like an Amoeba Records meets Best Buy meets Borders meets Goodwill, decorated by someone’s hipster sister."

How could you not want to go see a store like that?

"25 Things I Learned From Opening a Bookstore"

Book-to-Screen

The filming of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is back on! Thanks to EarlyWord for this info:

Kate Winslet is set to star as WWII magazine columnist, Juliet Ashton in the film version of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (Random House, 2008). Kenneth Branagh will direct (and, some speculate, star as Dawsey Adams). Filming is to begin in March.
Back in November, Variety reported that Branagh had abandoned Guernsey for an adaptation of Italian Shoes by Henning Mankell (New Press, 2009), starring Judi Dench and Anthony Hopkins. That project appears to now be on the back burner.

Children's Books

Dr. Seuss was almost never published! But a chance street encounter led to the fateful publication of And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. NPR relates "How Dr. Seuss Got His Start 'On Mulberry Street'".

Want to know what district you'd live in, if you were in Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games? Check out this map of Panem. I'd be living in the Wilderness which I'm pretty happy about.

Watch this RIGHT NOW (Colbert interviews Maurice Sendak. Hilarity ensues.).

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Libraries

The Huffington Post's Arts section presents a photo montage of Eric Fonteneau's "Haunting Library Installation"

"20 Heroic Librarians Who Save the World" - and yes, I've seen all THREE The Librarian films (though whether I'm proud or ashamed of that, I haven't figured out yet). Also, you must read that Garth Nix series if you haven't already. Lastly, HUGE crush on Giles, even though I'm not a Buffy fan.

Quizzes

Can you name these popular children's book characters?

Tattoos

"The 5 Books That Inspire the Most Tattoos" (though I would hasten a guess that the movie "Fight Club" has more to do with the tattoos than the book does).

Waiting on Wednesday: FrostFire by Zoe Marriott

2012-01-25T07:10:00.000-05:00

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) is a weekly meme hosted by

Breaking the Spine.

My posts about adult literary fiction are here:

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey
Diving Belles: And Other Stories by Lucy Wood

My posts about my guilty pleasure reading (romantic, often paranormal, novels) can be found here:

Prince Charming Doesn't Live Here by Christine Warren

Tempest's Legacy by Nicole Peeler
Saint's Astray by Jacqueline Carey

Timeless by Gail Carriger

My posts about YA/teen titles are here:

Witch & Wizard: The Gift by James Patterson & Ned Rust

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

The Mockingbirds, Book 2: The Rivals by Daisy Whitney

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

My posts about middle grade titles are here:

The Pirate Captain's Daughter by Eve Bunting

And now for today's:

FrostFire (Burn #2)
by Zoe Marriott
9781406318142, Walker, Pub. Date: June 2012

The first book in this series, Daughter of the Flames, was a much under-rated, under-appreciated, strong female protagonist fantasy novel that came out in 2008. Many years later, there is a whole new audience that will be appreciative of both the first and what promises to be an equally kick-ass second book in this series.
The publisher's description:

Frost is cursed - possessed by a wolf demon that brings death everywhere she goes. Desperate to find a cure, she flees her home, only to be captured by the Ruan Hill Guard. Trapped until she can prove she is not an enemy, Frost grows increasingly close to the Guard’s charismatic leader Luca and his second in command, the tortured Arian. Torn between two very different men, Frost fears that she may not be able to protect either of them ... from herself.

Top Ten Historical Fiction Titles

2012-01-24T14:45:00.003-05:00

The Broke and the Bookish, a brilliant book blog,

hosts a weekly top ten list meme.

I like this meme because I like lists. I like this meme because it reminds me of the Top 5 lists from High Fidelity (by Nick Hornby as a book, starring John Cusak as a movie). And I like this meme because it causes me to think long and hard about book-related topics. So here goes:

Top Ten Historical Fiction Titles

(Quick note: Thank all that is holy I've started categorizing the books I've read on Goodreads. It was SO helpful to be able to look through my "historical fiction" list.)

Forgive me as I've needed to create two lists, one for adult fiction and one for children's/YA fiction.

Adult

1. Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley

Hands down my favorite book of all time. Some of you may know that already. For those who don't, this is the New York Times bestselling authorized sequel to Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. Don't be put off by the romance novel-esque cover (unless you like romance novels in which case, go ahead and like that aspect of it); there is no bodice-ripping to be found. Instead, all of the potential that Scarlett shows in Gone With the Wind is fully realized in this 400+ page novel that picks up right where GWtW leaves off and ends when Scarlett has finally grown up, thankfully without losing her impish charm and backbone of steel in the process.

2. Letters from an Age of Reason by Nora Hague

Definitely #2 on the list of favorite historical fiction titles (apparently this list really IS going in order of appreciation). The sweeping epic is a dual-narrator epistolary novel switching between the perspectives of a White American young woman who has been taken away to live in the UK following a scandal in US society and a high-yellow former slave from New Orleans who has also made his way to Great Britain. Encompassing racial politics on the verge of the Civil War in the US, as well as the spiritual medium craze of that time in the UK, coupled with a political and social commentary on society's rules and expectations of young women, this brilliant book is sadly the only one published by Ms. Hague and is currently out-of-print but is SO worth the find.

3. The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon

Spanning the 40 years between the 1960s and the 21st century, this is a story about 4 people and the lengths they will go to protect the innocent, uphold promises, and believe in love, set to the backdrop of the history of mental institutions, racial tension, and the raising of a child. Read my review here.

4. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

This is, in my opinion, the best thing Geraldine Brooks has ever written. I have tried, again and again, to read her other books (and have finished most of them), but none of them are as well-written, thought-provoking, and engaging as this one. The historical fiction chapters in People of the Book come close, but I think that one is ruined by the contemporary storyline that weaves throughout. Regardless, this tale based on a true story of a village that chooses to close themselves off to the rest of the world to contain the plague outbreak, all told from the point-of-view of a village housemaid, is heartbreaking and beautifully told. Read my review here.

5. Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh

Let's discuss epic, shall we? The first two of this incredible trilogy are out, and I can't decide whether to advise you to wait until #3 has come out to begin reading or to run out and grab the first one right away. Both, I guess. These novels are almost unbelievable in the scope of what Mr. Ghosh is trying (and succeeding!) to accomplish. So many characters, so many styles of writing and speaking, so many dialects, so many countries, so many plot points! I admit it's hard to keep them all straight but this is definitely a series that makes that small headache worthwhile. Centered around the opium trade between India and Great Britain, with China as a major port of transfer, everyone from the poppy growers to the opium traders, British gardeners to escaped convicts, there is no one too large to too small to not be fully explored in these books. It would take me days to read a chapter and yet every time I put the book down, my head almost spinning with the assault of plot and unfamiliar language, all I wanted to do was pick it back up again to be literally swept away, immersed in so many sensory experiences that were nearly unbelievable to me. Mr. Ghosh is a true genius in how he is able to bring so many people and threads of plot together. I am greatly anticipating the final book but fear I will have a few years to wait.

6. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

The entire Flavia de Luce mystery series, really, as they are all so charmingly written and perfectly present the village life of post-World War II British countryside, including the land-rich, cash-poor local gentry around whose family manor the stories center. Read my review of Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie here and my review of I am Half-Sick of Shadows here.

7. Serena by Ron Rash

Ooh, Southern writer creates a truly reprehensible character that you can't stop reading about in Serena. Set in North Carolina just before the Great Depression, the story centers around a lumber town and has great political and social commentary about logging and environmental protection efforts, all with a backdrop of murder. Read my review here.

8. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Confession: It has been too long since I've read this to give it an in-depth blurb here. Second confession: I have been unimpressed with any Anita Diamant book I have picked up since. But, I do remember reading this, really enjoying it, sharing it with my BFF and my mother, and so I recommend it to you.

9. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Though its historical context is not a main plot point in this novel, and there are fantasy elements - certainly magic exists - that may make some people question it being on this list, it is so wholly enjoyable, and so delicately described, and so fully imagined, that I dare anyone to read it and not enjoy it.

10. Miss Timmins' School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy

I, myself, was surprised how much I enjoyed this book, knowing nothing about it when I picked it up, but it quietly sneaks in and grabs hold of you with its descriptions of places I've never seen, feelings I've never felt, rules and expectations I'll never have to live by, and a point-of-view change that enhances that unusual foreign sensibility rather than detracting from the story. Read my review here.

Children

1. Thunder Rolling in the Mountains & Streams to the River, River to the Sea by Scott O'Dell

I believe Scott O'Dell to be the preeminent children's historical fiction writer. Also, Native American history (and present) is a personal interest of mine, so I was always on the hunt for books that at least tried to present Indian history in a truthful and culturally sensitive way. Thunder Rolling in the Mountains is about the sad plight/flight of the Nez Perce and Chief Joseph's niece, while Streams is Sacagawea at her fictional best (with a hopeful ending imagined for her and her child).

2. Anne of Green Gables (series) by L.M. Montgomery

Do books like this count? Because they technically weren't really historical fiction when they were written? Well, there will be a few more on this list like that, just to warn you. The first 4 books and #8 (Rilla of Ingleside) are my personal favorites.

3. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Not just my favorite, this Printz Medal winner is a wonderfully imagined experience of an American teenager caught up with her British cousins in wartime in England. Brutal and brilliant, self-sacrificing and exploring first-love, the writing style will spare no emotional punches as you run from scene to scene, experience to experience, leave and are brought back to the hope and love that binds the cousins together.

4. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Another medal winner, this time the Newbery, this middle grade novel tells the fictionalized true story of the courageous attempt of Denmark's citizens to help save their Jewish population. As a Jew, this made a HUGE impression on me as a child, and continues to be meaningful in my life as an adult.

5. The Agency (series) by Y.S.Lee

This is a new series, only books 1 and 2 are currently available, but they've captured my attention with the plucky heroine and society of secret female spies. Also, though I love romantic tension, I equally love it when the storyline ISN'T focused on the girl getting the guy. Plus, who doesn't enjoy a little cross-dressing? Racial tension between whites and Chinese, class warfare, and political intrigue abound in this thrilling YA historical spy series. Read my thoughts about it here.

6. The Little House on the Prairie (series) by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Do I really have to explain this? I hope not. Also, please do begin with Little House in the Big Woods, which is the real first book in the series, despite the series title taken after book 3.

7. Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice and Matilda Bone and Alchemy and Meggy Swann and pretty much any other book with a female protagonist set in the Middle Ages written by Karen Cushman

What is so engaging about all of these titles is how easy it is to relate to each character, even as they experience life so very differently than how we experience it today. That, and the amount of factual information, the truly impressive amount of accurate historical detail that is put into each novel, is in itself worth noting and praising. Read my review of Alchemy and Meggy Swann here.

8. Sorcery and Cecelia, or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

Delicious and delightful. A teenage regency romance that operates under the supposition that magic exists. Some people have it, some people don't. Two cousins - Kate and Cecelia - write letters back-and-forth as one spends the season in London and the other spends it in the country, both working to solve the mystery of the enchanted chocolate pot (and possibly find husbands in the bargain).

9. Eight Cousins and A Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott

Both were childhood favorites and continue to be, I believe, some of LMA's best writing. Eight Cousins is about one girl, on the cusp of young adult-hood, sent to live with her Uncle, some aunts, and 7 boy cousins after having been raised an only child attending a prestigious school for girls. She's got a lot to learn (and luckily, to teach) as she and her cousins figure out just what to do with each other. A Rose in Bloom is what happens once the cousins are grown up.

10. A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter

This is my all-time favorite young adult novel. Another one of those, not sure it can be considered historical fiction because she was writing about her own time period, sort of books, GSP published this first in 1904. GSP was a pioneer in her own time, being one of the first female nature photographers, one of the first females to work in the film industry in CA, loved and was married to a man she did not share a residence with, published both fiction and non-fiction with themes way ahead of her time but that spoke to millions, etc. An all-around amazing woman who wrote some incredible books. This one, in particular, tells the story of Elnora Comstock, a poor farm girl who lives out of town near the Limberlost, who overcomes all sorts of adversity on her quest for education.

ALA Children's Book Awards 2012

2012-01-23T13:34:00.000-05:00

In case you somehow missed it, the American Library Association's Association for Library Service to Children announced the 2012 book & media awards today. Congrats to all the authors, illustrators, editors, publishers, voice actors, translators, and everyone else involved!

Newbery Medal

The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annuallyto the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

Dead End in Norvelt, written by Jack Gantos, published by Farrar Straus Giroux

Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, Dead End in Norvelt is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets. But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jack's way once his mom loans him out to help a fiesty old neighbor with a most unusual chore—typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launched on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels . . . and possibly murder. Endlessly surprising, this sly, sharp-edged narrative is the author at his very best, making readers laugh out loud at the most unexpected things in a dead-funny depiction of growing up in a slightly off-kilter place where the past is present, the present is confusing, and the future is completely up in the air.

Newbery Honor Books

Inside Out & Back Again written by Thanhha Lai, published by HarperCollins Children's Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers

This book was also a National Book Award Winner!

Breaking Stalin's Nose written by Eugene Yelchin, published by Henry Holt and Company, LLC

Caldecott Medal

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

A Ball for Daisy illustrated and written by Chris Raschka, published by Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Here's a story about love and loss as only Chris Rashcka can tell it. Any child who has ever had a beloved toy break will relate to Daisy's anguish when her favorite ball is destroyed by a bigger dog. In the tradition of his nearly wordless picture book Yo! Yes?, Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka explores in pictures the joy and sadness that having a special toy can bring. Raschka's signature swirling, impressionistic illustrations and his affectionate story will particularly appeal to young dog lovers and teachers and parents who have children dealing with the loss of something special.

Caldecott Honor Books

Blackout illustrated and written by John Rocco, published by Disney/Hyperion Books, an imprint of Disney Book Group

Grandpa Green illustrated and written by Lane Smith, published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing

Me...Jane illustrated and written by Patrick McDonnell, published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Batchelder Award

The Mildred L. Batchelder Award is given to an American publisher for a children's book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.

Soldier Bear written by Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrated by Philip Hopman, translated by Laura Watkinson, published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Batchelder Honor Books

The Lily Pond written by Annika Thor, translated by Linda Schenck, published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Belpre (Illustrator) Award

The Pura Belpré Medal honors a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose works best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

Diego Rivera: His World and Ours written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh, published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS

Belpre (Illustrator) Honor Books

The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred illustrated by Rafael López, written by Samantha R. Vamos, published by Charlesbridge

Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match/Marisol McDonald no combina illustrated by Sara Palacios, written by Monica Brown, published by Children's Books Press, an imprint of Lee and Low Books Inc.

Belpre (Author) Award

Under the Mesquite written by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, published by Lee and Low Books Inc.

Belpre (Author) Honor Books

Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller written and illustrated by Xavier Garza, published by Cinco Puntos Press

Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck written by Margarita Engle, published by Henry Holt and Company, LLC

Carnegie Award

The Andrew Carnegie Medal honors the producer of the most outstanding video production for children released during the preceding year.

Children Make Terrible Pets produced by Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly Ellard, Weston Woods Studios, Inc.

Geisel Award

The Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal honors the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished contribution to the body of American children’s literature known as beginning reader books published in the United States during the preceding year.

Tales for Very Picky Eaters written and illustrated by Josh Schneider, published by Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Geisel Honor Books

I Broke My Trunk written and illustrated by Mo Willems, published by Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group

I Want My Hat Back written and illustrated by Jon Klassen, published by Candlewick Press

See Me Run written and illustrated by Paul Meisel, published by Holiday House

Odyssey Award

The Odyssey Award will be awarded annually to the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States.

Rotters produced by Listening Library, an imprint of Random House Audio Publishing Group, Random House, Inc. (Written by Daniel Kraus; Narrated by Kirby Heyborne)

Odyssey Honor Audiobooks

Ghetto Cowboy produced by Brilliance Audio (Written by G. Neri; Narrated by JD Jackson)

Okay for Now produced by Listening Library, an imprint of Random House Audio Publishing Group, Random House, Inc. (Written by Gary D. Schmidt; Narrated by Lincoln Hoppe)

The Scorpio Races produced by Scholastic Inc./Scholastic Audiobooks (Written by Maggie Stiefvater; Narrated by Steve West and Fiona Hardingham)

Young Fredle produced by Listening Library, an imprint of Random House Audio Publishing Group, Random House, Inc. (Written by Cynthia Voigt; Narrated by Wendy Carter)

Sibert Medal

The Robert F. Sibert Medal honors the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published during the preceding year.

Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet, published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Sibert Honor Books

Black & White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene "Bull" Connor written by Larry Dane Brimner, published by Calkins Creek, an imprint of Boyds Mills Press, Inc.

Drawing from Memory written and illustrated by Allen Say, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.

The Elephant Scientist written by Caitlin O'Connell and Donna M. Jackson, illustrated by Caitlin O'Connell and Timothy Rodwell, published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Witches!: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem written and illustrated by Rosalyn Schanzer, published by National Geographic Society

Friday Round-Up

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Each week I round-up all the (mostly book-related) articles/blog posts/book reviews/websites/videos that entertained me during the week. Enjoy!

Articles

Gorgeous carved book landscapes by Guy Laramee.

Salvador Dali illustrates Alice in Wonderland.

Feeling both betrayed and excited: former librarian and independent bookstore advocate, Nancy Pearl, presents Book Lust Rediscoveries, a series published by Amazon.com (ew.).

Amazing idea of the week! Weller Books is doing a huge "book drop" around the city to advertise their grand re-opening. Read about it here.

Absolutely beautiful covers for the e-book versions of Michael Chabon's works by designer Connie Gabbert showcased on The Casual Optimist.

Obviously this travel bookcase is what I'll be taking on my next vacation. Ms. Crowe - is this how you do it?

"We all read in the Yellow Trolley Bus" in Bulgaria. This cool public library housed in an old trolley bus on a deserted city street is right up there with the Book Barge in the UK for its unique idea and brilliant execution.

Read this article about book landscaping.

Digital Rights Showdown! Harper Collins vs. Open Media

Blogs

Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves (with pictures!)

The PageTurn, the website/blog by HarperCollins's School and Library Marketing team.

Book Lists

Book Dirt offers "8 Famous People You Never Knew Wrote Mysteries". I know I'm putting Hugh Laurie's on my TBR.

Book-to-Screen

I'm in love with Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, the main character in the Raylan Givens series by Elmore Leonard, in the TV show Justified:

Children's Books

Cinder (a debut YA novel about Cinderella as a cyborg) author, Marissa Meyer, writes about reimagined fairy tales in "Twice Upon a Time in Hollywood"

Brain Pickings' article of the week: "Seven Nonfiction Children's Books Blending Whimsy and Education". My favorite is a tie between The First Book of Jazz by Langston Hughes and The Serif Fairy by Rene Siegfried.

Publisher's Weekly reports on Chicken House - the children's publishing company begun by the man who discovered JK Rowling's Harry Potter in the UK - expanding to the Netherlands in "Chicken House Goes Dutch".

Contests

It's that time again! (I say that like I've done this before. I haven't.) "It is time to announce the contestants, judges, and brackets for the original, one-and-only, full-combat, oddly-predictive-of-the-Pulitzer-Prize, eighth annual TMN Tournament of Books, coming March 2012, presented by Field Notes." Don't know what I'm talking about? Check it out here.

Libraries

Moment of silent appreciation for the Kansas City Public Library.

Teaching

"The Learning Network" at The New York Times has some fantastic suggestions for encouraging book discussions, particularly between multiple classrooms in "Reading With Strangers: Ways to Study Literature Collaboratively"

Videos

Despite the bizarre choice in music, this video is a cute montage of library scenes from movies and T.V. shows:

Virginia Hamilton/Jean Craighead George on winning the Newbery

2012-01-19T17:04:00.001-05:00

Thank you to Open Road Integrated Media for encouraging me to share this video of Virginia Hamilton and Jean Craighead George talking about winning the Newbery Medal.

2012 Sydney Taylor Book Awards

2012-01-19T06:28:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Shelf Awareness for making me aware of this! I always like to give a little shout-out to my peeps when they're in the news.

The Sydney Taylor Book Award honors new books for children and teens that exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience. The award memorializes Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series. This award is sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries. The 2012 winners are:

Younger Readers: Chanukah Lights by Michael J. Rosen and Robert Sabuda (Candlewick)
9780763655334, $34.99

I'm pleased to say, I had already posted about this title during my Chanukah picture book round up back in December.

From a pop-up master and an acclaimed poet and author comes a glorious celebration of the true spirit of Chanukah. Open this beautiful gift book and follow the Festival of Lights through place and time -- from Herod's temple to a shtetl in Russia; from a refugee ship bound for the New World to an Israeli kibbutz. Inspired by Michael J. Rosen's reverent poem, Robert Sabuda's striking pop-ups depict each night's menorah in a different scene, using imagery such as desert tents, pushcart lanterns, olive trees, and a final panorama of skyscrapers. Sure to be a treasured family heirloom, this stunning collaboration showcases the spirit and resilience of a people in search of home.

Older Readers: Music Was It: Young Leonard Bernstein by Susan Goldman Rubin (Charlesbridge)
9781580893442, $19.95

Beginning with Lenny's childhood in Boston and ending with his triumphant conducting debut at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic when he was just twenty-five, Music Was It draws readers into the energetic, passionate, challenging music-filled life of young Leonard Bernstein.

Teen Readers: The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow (HarperTeen)
9780061579684, $17.99

Fourteen-year-old Karl Stern has never thought of himself as a Jew. But to the bullies at his school in Naziera Berlin, it doesn't matter that Karl has never set foot in a synagogue or that his family doesn't practice religion. Demoralized by relentless attacks on a heritage he doesn't accept as his own, Karl longs to prove his worth to everyone around him. So when Max Schmeling, champion boxer and German national hero, makes a deal with Karl's father to give Karl boxing lessons, Karl sees it as the perfect chance to reinvent himself. A skilled cartoonist, Karl has never had an interest in boxing, but as Max becomes the mentor Karl never had, Karl soon finds both his boxing skills and his art flourishing. But when Nazi violence against Jews escalates, Karl must take on a new role: protector of his family. Karl longs to ask his new mentor for help, but with Max's fame growing, he is forced to associate with Hitler and other Nazi elites, leaving Karl to wonder where his hero's sympathies truly lie. Can Karl balance his dream of boxing greatness with his obligation to keep his family out of harm's way?

Eight Sydney Taylor Honor Books were named for 2012:

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Younger Readers

Naamah and the Ark at Night by Susan Campbell Bartoletti with illustrations by Holly Meade (Candlewick Press) (Also one I mentioned previously in my Candlewick Press Fall 2011 picture book round up.)
Around the World in One Shabbat written and illustrated by Durga Yael Bernhard (Jewish Lights Publishing)

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Older Readers

Lily Renee, Escape Artist: from Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer by Trina Robbins with illustrations by Anne Timmons and Mo Oh (Graphic Universe, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.)
Hammerin’ Hank Greenberg: Baseball Pioneer by Shelley Sommer (Calkins Creek, an imprint Boyds Mills Press)
Irena’s Jars of Secrets by Marcia Vaughan with illustrations by Ron Mazellan (Lee & Low Books)

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Teen Readers

Then by Morris Gleitzman (Henry Holt and Company)
The Blood Lie by Shirley Reva Vernick (Cinco Puntos Press)

The judges also named 18 notable books. The winners will receive their awards at the AJL convention in Montreal June 17-20.

Waiting on Wednesday: Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta

2012-01-18T06:03:00.000-05:00

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) is a weekly meme hosted by

Breaking the Spine.

My posts about adult literary fiction are here:

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

My posts about my guilty pleasure reading (romantic, often paranormal, novels) can be found here:

Prince Charming Doesn't Live Here by Christine Warren

Tempest's Legacy by Nicole Peeler
Saint's Astray by Jacqueline Carey

Timeless by Gail Carriger

My posts about YA/teen titles are here:

Witch & Wizard: The Gift by James Patterson & Ned Rust

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

The Mockingbirds, Book 2: The Rivals by Daisy Whitney

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
The Agency: The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y.S. Lee

My posts about middle grade titles are here:

The Pirate Captain's Daughter by Eve Bunting

And now for today's:

Froi of the Exiles: The Lumatere Chronicles
by Melina Marchetta
9780763647599, Candlewick, $18.99, Pub. Date: March 2012

It should be no secret by this point that I adore everything Melina Marchetta writes. This, the second novel in her first fantasy series, The Lumatere Chronicles, should be no exception. Though I was originally nervous about her foray into the fantasy genre, she has not let me down, and I rave about the first book, Finnikin of the Rock, here.

Here is the publisher's description:

Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home . . . or so he believes. Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been taken roughly and lovingly in hand by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper with a warrior's discipline. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds in its surreal royal court. Soon he must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad princess in this barren and mysterious place. It is in Charyn that he will discover there is a song sleeping in his blood . . . and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen.

Spring 2012 Picture Book Highlights: Charlesbridge Publishing

2012-01-17T13:14:00.003-05:00

Ace Lacewing, Bug Detective: The Big Swat
by David Biedrzycki
9781570917486, $8.95, Pub. Date: February 2012

Publisher's description: Scratch Murphy is missing a fleabag full of dough, and Ace lacewing is on the case. Did Scratch's brother Scitch take the money? Could Lady DeBug be guilty? Or might "family man" Bo Weevil be the culprit? Ace and his assistant Xerces take a rollercoaster ride through Six Legs Park as they search for the latest bad bug.

What We Wear: Dressing Up Around the World
by Maya Ajmera, Elise Hofer Derstine, & Cynthia Pon
9781580894166, $16.95, Pub. Date: February 2012

Publisher's description: From school uniforms to costumes, traditional ethnic clothing to sports team jerseys--this book highlights children from around the world and shows that no matter what kids wear, clothes are an important part of who they are. Vibrant photographs from around the world showcase the many different types of clothing that kids wear to play, study, pretend, and celebrate. From school uniforms to costumes, traditional ethnic clothing to sports team jerseys--no matter what kids wear, clothes are an important part of who they are.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book helps support The Global Fund for Children's grantmaking toward community-based projects benefiting children around the world.

Emily and Carlo
by Mary Rhodes Figley, illustrated by Catherine Stock
9781580892742, $15.95, Pub. Date: February 2012

Publisher's description: I started early, took my dog...

Marty Rhodes Figley's lyrical text and Catherine Stock's luminous art create a fresh look at the life of poet Emily Dickinson, focusing on her relationship with her dog, Carlo, a large, floppy, drooly, Newfoundland. Carlo was her constant companion, her "shaggy ally" in the world. Together they explored the woods and town around them, visiting friends and enjoying eachother's company. Includes quotations about Carlo from Emily's poems and letters.

A Path of Stars
by Anne Sibley O'Brien
978157091735, $15.95, Pub. Date: February 2012

Publisher's description: Dara loves the stories her grandmother, Lok Yeay, tells of the Cambodian countryside where she grew up--stories of family, food, and the stars above, glowing in the warm, sweet air. There are darker stories, too--stories of war and loss that Lok Yeay cannot put into words. Lok Yeay yearns to return to Cambodia to be with her brother. But when that dream becomes impossible, it's up to Dara to bring Lok Yeay back to a place of happiness.

A Path of Stars was originally developed for New Mainers Book Project, part of the Maine Humanities Council's Born to Read program. The Project sponsors high-quality children's picture books created from the experiences of Maine's refugee communities, to preserve and present their cultural heritage and to promote their English language literacy.

In My Mailbox

2012-01-16T09:44:00.000-05:00

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by

The Story Siren.

(And a big thank you to Book Stacks On Deck for the amazing mailbox pinup!)

I've got a couple of weeks' worth of IMM to catch up on here.

Last week, I received:

A HUGE THANK YOU to my The Broke and the Bookish Secret Santa, Patti from Peppermint Ph.D.! She sent me two books I have been dying to read: Saints Astray and A Dirty Job. She also sent me some baking spatulas (much needed) and some other fun things like scrapbooking paper and a cheese dip mix. Thanks again, Patti!

Saints Astray by Jacqueline Carey

Publisher's Description: Fellow orphans, amateur vigilantes, and members of the Santitos, Loup Garron - the fugitive daughter of a genetically engineered "wolf man" - and Pilar Ecchevarria grew up in the military zone of Outpost 12, formerly known as Santa Olivia. But now they're free, and they want to help the rest of the Santitos escape. During a series of escapades, they discover that Miguel, Loup's former sparring partner and reprobate surrogate brother, has escaped from Outpost 12 and is testifying on behalf of its forgotten citizens - at least until he disappears from protective custody. Honor drives Loup to rescue Miguel, even though entering the U.S could mean losing her liberty. Pilar vows to help her. It will take a daring and absurd caper to extricate Miguel from the mess he's created but Loup is prepared to risk everything...and this time she has help.

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

Publisher's Description: Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy with a normal life, married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normalcy. They're even about to have their first child. Yes, Charlie's doing okay—until people start dropping dead around him, and everywhere he goes a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Charlie Asher, it seems, has been recruited for a new position: as Death. It's a dirty job. But, hey! Somebody's gotta do it.

This week, I received:

You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon

I won this from a giveaway run by Penguin Publishers.

Publisher's Description: Through fiction of dazzling skill and astonishing emotional force, Siobhan Fallon welcomes readers into the American army base at Fort Hood, Texas, where U.S. soldiers prepare to fight, and where their families are left to cope after the men are gone. They'll meet a wife who discovers unsettling secrets when she hacks into her husband's email, and a teenager who disappears as her mother fights cancer. There is the foreign born wife who has tongues wagging over her late hours, and the military intelligence officer who plans a covert mission against his own home. Powerful, singular, and unforgettable, these stories will resonate deeply with readers and mark the debut of a new talent of tremendous note.

This week, I borrowed from the library:

Spud: The Madness Continues... by John van de Ruit

This is part of my Around the World Challenge. For January, I am reading a book (two books, actually, as the book I picked had a sequel) from South Africa. Review soon to follow!

The Informationist by Taylor Stevens

I first heard about this book - kick-ass action heroine - by hearing about its sequel, The Innocent, at last year's New England Independent Bookseller's Association trade show. As I am counting down the days before the movie Haywire is out, I figured this would be the perfect week to begin reading this series.

Eona by Alison Goodman

This is the sequel to the book Eon: The Last Dragoneye that I read last week. Unfortunately, I wasn't that thrilled with this second one, so I doubt I'll end up reviewing them. Only about a 3 on my personal rating scale.

Typography Book Art by the readables

2012-01-13T11:18:00.000-05:00

Hi all! Please excuse my inconsistent posting lately - been battling a dead personal computer and other issues that has made blogging difficult. Hopefully this upcoming three day weekend will help me get back on track.

In the meantime, please enjoy these typographic book art posters of favorite quotes done by Priscilla from the readables. Her whole Tumblr blog is fantastic, with great pictures, videos, music, reviews, and these pieces of book art. Enjoy!

Harry Potter... by J.K. Rowling

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Frank Zappa

C.S. Lewis

Waiting on Wednesday: The Agency: The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y.S. Lee

2012-01-11T06:51:00.000-05:00

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) is a weekly meme hosted by

Breaking the Spine.

My posts about adult literary fiction are here:

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

Diving Bells: And Other Stories by Lucy Wood

My posts about my guilty pleasure reading (romantic, often paranormal, novels) can be found here:

Prince Charming Doesn't Live Here by Christine Warren

Tempest's Legacy by Nicole Peeler
Saint's Astray by Jacqueline Carey

Timeless by Gail Carriger

My posts about YA/teen titles are here:

Witch & Wizard: The Gift by James Patterson & Ned Rust

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

The Mockingbirds, Book 2: The Rivals by Daisy Whitney

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

My posts about middle grade titles are here:

The Pirate Captain's Daughter by Eve Bunting

And now for today's:

The Agency: The Traitor in the Tunnel

by Y.S. Lee

9780763653163, Candlewick, $16.99, Pub. Date: February 2012

I really enjoyed the mix of spy thriller, romance, and character growth that were present in the first two historical YA novels in this series (A Spy in the House and The Body at the Tower), so am very much looking forward to book # 3. Maybe I'll even write up a review this time!

Publisher's description:

Get steeped in suspense, romance, and high Victorian intrigue as Mary goes undercover at Buckingham Palace - and learns a startling secret at the Tower of London.

Queen Victoria has a little problem: there's a petty thief at work in Buckingham Palace. Charged with discretion, the Agency puts quickwitted Mary Quinn on the case, where she must pose as a domestic while fending off the attentions of a feckless Prince of Wales. But when the prince witnesses the murder of one of his friends in an opium den, the potential for scandal looms large. And Mary faces an even more unsettling possibility: the accused killer, a Chinese sailor imprisoned in the Tower of London, shares a name with her long-lost father. Meanwhile, engineer James Easton, Mary's onetime paramour, is at work shoring up the sewers beneath the palace, where an unexpected tunnel seems to be very much in use. Can Mary and James trust each other (and put their simmering feelings aside) long enough to solve the mystery and protect the Royal Family? Hoist on your waders for Mary's most personal case yet, where the stakes couldn't be higher - and she has everything to lose.

Friday Round-Up

2012-01-06T07:04:00.000-05:00

Each week I round-up all the (mostly book-related) articles/blog posts/book reviews/websites/videos that entertained me during the week. Enjoy!

Articles

If Famous Writers Had Written Twilight:
(originally posted on Lizzie Stark's blog, but found via io9)

Dr. Seuss (by unicycle):
Jake likes a girl. Her name is Bella.
Bella likes a different fella.

See this vamp? This is Ed.
Ed is pale. Ed is dead.

Ed saved Bella from a van.
Ed must be a special man.

Ed won't kill boys. He won't kill girls.
Ed gets fed on deer and squirrels.

This is James. He's a tracker.
He's a sort of vamp attacker.

James hunts Bella for a thrill.
Will Ed kill him? Yes, he will.

But James gave her a little bite.
Will she be a vamp? She might!

Edward fixes Bella's cut.
She won't be a vampire.
But...

She becomes one. Read some more.
She's a vampire in book 4.

My former bookstore, The Odyssey Bookshop, in the Boston Globe!

While I admit to finding some ways more beautiful than others, Apartment Therapy features "15 Beautiful Ways to Store Your Books".

And while we're at it, Fabulous Web has a round-up of "Trendy and Stylish Bookshelves Designs" (a lot of which you can see at the side of this blog in my "Porn for Booklovers" section).

PW's round up of the best book memes. For me, it's a toss-up between Judgmental Bookseller Ostrich and Ryan Gosling Librarian Hey Girl.

Fascinating! "Three Classic Fairy Tales Examined Through the Lens of Architecture"

Children's Books

Walter Dean Myers is the next National Ambassador for Young People's Literature!

Katherine Patterson, the current National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, reflects on her term.

Quiz

Which Downton Abbey Character are You?

I happen to be Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham. Could be worse.

You’re the imperious, aristocratic head of your family who (almost) always gets her way, and you don’t suffer fools gladly. Though you’re often bossy and arrogant, you’re surprisingly adaptable and exceptionally loyal to the people you love. By the way, you also get all the best lines, so we hope you’re ready for immortality. But you should really look up the definition of “weekend.”

2011 Book Survey

2012-01-05T11:15:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Literary Musings for providing me with this book survey. This is actually a meme being held over at The Perpetual Page-Turner.

(Disclaimer: I read so much, it's often difficult for me to remember my exact feelings around any particular title if it's not by a favorite author, much-anticipated, or knocked my socks off. Thanks to my new obsessive Goodreads habit, this is becoming a little better, but please excuse me as I question the true validity of these answers, as they may have been different had I a better memory.)

1. Best Book You Read In 2011?

Adult novel:

Tie between The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon and River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh.

The Story of Beautiful Girl I reviewed here. River of Smoke is going to be terribly difficult to review and I can't decide if I'm going to or not. The Story of Beautiful Girl had really engaging characters. River of Smoke took me forever to finish (about 4 weeks) because it was so dense, but absolutely worth it as everything is so richly detailed and examined (and convoluted, but that's part of its charm).

Teen novel:

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

I love everything she writes. I can't help it. She writes with such sensitivity, but fixes your heart even as she breaks it. I end up crying every time I read her and I love it. I talk about it here.

Children's novel:

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall

Hands down, just love everything she writes. Reviewed here.

2. Most Disappointing Book?

Adult novel:

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (sorry Emily!)

I know many people who greatly enjoyed this book. I am not one of them. Perhaps if I had read past the first 60 pages it would have grown on me, but the events of those first 60 pages — the characterization, the intense medical descriptions, the emphasis on religion and God, and the point of view of the main female character — worked together to create a singularly unpleasant reading experience that I was loathe to continue.

Teen novel:

Touch of Frost and Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy, books 1 & 2) by Jennifer Estep

Being such a fan of her adult Elemental Assassin series, I was particularly excited to see her writing for a teen audience. Unfortunately, the writing has gotten so much worse than in her adult novels. Truly disappointing, as by this time in your career, shouldn't your writing (or your editor's editing) get better? Maybe she's working with a different editor at a different publisher? Whatever the case, there were moments of great action and intrigue, but they were not enough to make up for the tired characterizations (the main character is basically a teen version of the star of the Elemental Assassin series), boring dialogue, and filler scenes that didn't really forward the plot.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011?

Another tie:

A Monster Calls: Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd by Patrick Ness

One of my favorite teen authors, this children's book blew my mind. I was sobbing on a plane as I read it and I didn't even care. Heartbreaking and wonderful and tragic and dramatic and fantastical, and that's all without considering that it's a story sparked by an idea from the talented Siobhan Dowd who sadly passed away from breast cancer in 2007. This story honors both her life and her memory.

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell

This non-fiction book of essays about the colonization of Hawaii was ridiculously engaging. Finished the whole thing and surprised myself with how much I enjoyed it. A terrible history, as most colonizations are, but also full of humor and culture and a contemporary perspective on the smorgasbord of cultures that exist on the island today.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2011?

This is a tough one because everyone reads something different, so obviously I recommend different things. I did tell many people about the Flavia de Luce mysteries by Alan Bradley, beginning with Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (which I actually gave to my mother for the holidays), so I think that probably wins.

5. Best series you discovered in 2011?

Steampunk Chronicles by Kady Cross
Inn BoonsBoro trilogy by Nora Roberts

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011?

Kady Cross
Ransom Riggs
Tamora Pierce

7. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011?

Does it count if I haven't actually read it yet? I can hardly wait to read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. A friend very kindly lent it to me, but I've been waiting for a day I know I have free to just sit down and read it. That day, my friends, will be this weekend. But I've been anticipating it since 2011. So, it kind of counts, right?

If you're really going to push me on it, I'd have to say Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Again.

8. Book you most anticipated in 2011?

The books I most anticipated were mostly along the lines of my guilty pleasure reading. The Next Always by Nora Roberts, New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb, Spider's Revenge by Jennifer Estep, and of course, The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta because I count down the days for every one of her book releases.

9. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?

I'm sensing a theme here:

10. Most memorable character in 2011?

This is going to sound like an odd choice, but the characters in Laid Bare (Brown Siblings #1) by Lauren Dane really left me thinking. Yes, it's a book mostly about hot sex and tattoos but it delves pretty deeply into a M/M/F triad relationship. It prompted me to pick up Love Times Three: Our True Story of a Polygamous Marriage by Joe, Alina, Vicki, and Valerie Darger, and Brooke Adams, so that I could read more about a true relationship of love between multiple partners.

11. Most beautifully written book read in 2011?

This is impossible to decide. The book that impressed me the most with its writing due to the various styles and voices necessitated by the various plot threads that then somehow converge at one point in the book was Amitav Gosh's River of Smoke.

12. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011?

Gender Born, Gender Made: Raising Healthy Gender-Nonconforming Children by Diane Ehrensaft

This non-fiction book about raising gender-nonconforming children helped change the way I look at the world. Even being open-minded and familiar with LGBT lifestyles, the all-encompassing mainstreams ideals on gender representation portrayed in this book was mind-boggling. At the same time, it was heartwarming to read the stories of families who recognized their children as gender-nonconforming, giving them the freedom to choose their own gender expression, and continuing to love them as that expression might change through the years. Of course, reading a book like this and trying to prepare myself mentally and emotionally for the children I hope to have some day also made me question what I would do if my children were completely and unequivocally gender-normative in their identity and expression. Would I be as okay with a daughter who wanted to wear pink princess dresses as I would with one who wore truck t-shirts and wanted a dirt bike? It is definitely an on-going internal thought process to make sure I will be just as accepting of gender-normative expression as not. Luckily, I've got many more years to work on this as I don't plan on having children any time soon.

13. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to finally read?

Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness, #1) by Tamora Pierce

This was actually my very first Tamora Pierce novel, period! I quickly read the rest of the series, and though I found them to be a bit juvenile for my own reading tastes, I thought they were perfect for their actual intended audience and am looking forward to reading her more sophisticated works.

14. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2011?

I didn't actually read this book, but I saw this quote from someone, somewhere, and it's really stuck with me:

"It is not where we breathe, but where we love, that we live."
- Søren Kierkegaard, from the anthology Provocations

15. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would Be Most Likely To Reread In 2012?

Miss Peregrine. A surprise, I know.

And that's all folks! Here's looking forward to 2012!

Waiting on Wednesday: Diving Bells: And Other Stories by Lucy Wood

2012-01-04T07:15:00.000-05:00

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) is a weekly meme hosted by

Breaking the Spine.

My posts about adult literary fiction are here:

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

My posts about my guilty pleasure reading (romantic, often paranormal, novels) can be found here:

Prince Charming Doesn't Live Here by Christine Warren

Tempest's Legacy by Nicole Peeler
Saint's Astray by Jacqueline Carey

Timeless by Gail Carriger

My posts about YA/teen titles are here:

Witch & Wizard: The Gift by James Patterson & Ned Rust

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

The Mockingbirds, Book 2: The Rivals by Daisy Whitney

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

My posts about middle grade titles are here:

The Pirate Captain's Daughter by Eve Bunting

And now for today's:

Diving Bells: And Other Stories

by Lucy Wood

9780547595535, Mariner Books,

Pub. Date: August 2012

I'm always thrilled to discover a new short story collection, especially one where I might actually enjoy most of the short stories. Here's the publisher's description:

Straying husbands lured into the sea by mermaids can be fetched back, for a fee. Trees can make wishes come true. Houses creak and keep a fretful watch on their inhabitants, straightening shower curtains and worrying about frayed carpets. A mother, who seems alone and lonely, may be rubbing sore muscles or holding the hands of her invisible lover as he touches her neck. Wisht hounds roam the moors, and, on a windy beach, a boy and his grandmother beat back despair with an old white door.

Diving Belles is a luminous, spellbinding debut that introduces Lucy Wood as a spectacular new voice in fiction. In these stories, the line between the real and the imagined is blurred, as she takes us to Cornwall’s ancient coast, building on its rich storytelling history and recasting its myths in thoroughly contemporary ways. Calling forth the fantastic and fantastical, she mines these legends for that little bit of magic that remains in all our lives— if only we can let ourselves see it.

Spring 2012 Picture Book Highlights: Chronicle Books

2012-01-03T10:13:00.000-05:00

Previously in my capacity as Children's Department Manager for the Odyssey Book Shop, I had the opportunity to look over publisher's catalogues at the new books for each season. Thanks to Edelweiss, I can now look at publisher's catalogues as a blogger! Here are my picks for Spring 2012:

Trains Go
by Steve Light
9780811879422, $8.99, Pub. Date: January 2012

For the very youngest reader, a new board book of sights and sounds guaranteed to capture their attention.

Publisher's description: All aboard! Take a trip on eight noisy trains as they huff, puff, and toot-toot their way through this lively book filled with onomatopoetic text and interactive illustrations.

Animal Spots and Stripes
by Britta Teckentrup
9781452109947, $12.99, Pub. Date: February 2012

Animal 123
by Britta Teckentrup
9781452109930, $12.99, Pub. Date: February 2012

For the toddler in your house, 2 new colorful lift-the-flap books.

Publisher's descriptions: With a bold palette, striking graphics, and a bouncing menagerie of animals, this pair of uniquely formatted lift-the-flap books introduces young readers to the basic concepts of counting and patterns. Each is a boisterous, vivid trek of discovery, providing irresistible clues which encourage lifting the flap - a hands-on, educator-approved strategy of uncovering and learning concepts. Whether it's finding out just who's next in Animal 123, or exploring differently patterned creatures hiding in the habitats of Animal Spots and Stripes, these ultra-sturdy books provide not just an intriguing way to communicate essential building blocks of learning, but also offer an energetic playground of sheer delight.

Water Sings Blue (poetry)
by Kate Coombs, illustrated by Meilo So
9780811872843, $16.99, Pub. Date: March 2012

While the poems in this book are well-written, it's really the illustrations that make this picture book worth the price. At turns a dreamy wash and a bold statement, Meilo So's watercolor illustrations are the perfect compliment to the lyrical text.

Publisher's description: Come down to the shore with this rich and vivid celebration of the ocean! With watercolors gorgeous enough to wade in by award-winning artist Meilo So and playful, moving poems by Kate Coombs, Water Sings Blue evokes the beauty and power, the depth and mystery, and the endless resonance of the sea.

Chloe, Instead
by Micah Player
9780811878654, $15.99, Pub. Date: April 2012

Bright illustrations with bold color and simple text, this is a to-the-point picture book about the trials and triumphs of a new sibling.

Publisher description: Molly always dreamed of having a sister who is just like her. But she got Chloe, instead. These two sisters are nothing alike: Molly loves to color with crayons. Chloe prefers the taste of wax. Molly loves to read. Chloe prefers to nibble a book's spine. Molly is frustrated! But then she realizes that maybe sisters aren't the ones next to you on the piano bench, they're the ones dancing to the music you play! This humorous, perceptive snapshot of sibling love is perfect for those who may need a bit of convincing what fun little siblings can be!

Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors
by Hena Khan
9780811879057, $17.99, Pub. Date: June 2012

More than a book to learn colors, this can also serve as an introduction for a child (or even an adult) to a world that might be unfamiliar to them. Even if I recognized the object, there were several words I did not know that named specific objects important in the Muslim religion and culture. This is a great cross-cultural way to learn both colors and cultural acceptance.

Publisher's description: Magnificently capturing the colorful world of Islam for the youngest readers, this breathtaking and informative picture book celebrates Islam's beauty and traditions. From a red prayer rug to a blue hijab, everyday colors are given special meaning as young readers learn about clothing, food, and other important elements of Islamic culture, with a young Muslim girl as a guide. Sure to inspire questions and observations about world religions and cultures, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns is equally at home in a classroom reading circle as it is being read to a child on a parent's lap.

Tua and the Elephant
by Randal Harris, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo
9780811877817, $16.99, Pub. Date: April 2012

Cheating a bit as this one is not a picture book, but instead is an illustrated chapter book for the 8-12 Middle Grade Reader set.

Publisher's description: Ten-year-old Tua - Thai for peanut - has everything she needs at home in Chiang Mai, Thailand, except for one thing she's always wanted: a sister. In the market one day, Tua makes an accidental acquaintance - one with wise, loving eyes, remarkable strength, and a very curious trunk. And when Tua meets Pohn-Pohn, it's clear this elephant needs her help. Together, the unusual team sets off on a remarkable journey to escape from Pohn-Pohn's vile captors. From the bustling night market to the hallowed halls of a Buddhist temple and finally, to the sanctuary of an elephant refuge, this clever girl and her beloved companion find that right under their noses is exactly what each has been searching for: a friend.

Happy Christmas

2011-12-25T07:55:00.000-05:00

The book tree at the University of San Francisco's Gleeson Library.

Robert Gray: The Ghost of Book Christmas Yet to Come (From Shelf Awareness)

Marley was virtually dead: to begin with...

On the third night, as Scrooge lay in bed, double-checking accounts on his iPad, once again the Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached from deep within the dimly backlit touch screen. When it came, Scrooge tapped furiously, hoping to delete the specter, but to no avail, for in the very pixels through which this Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery.

"I am in the presence of the Ghost of Book Christmas Yet to Come?" Scrooge asked. The Spirit answered not, but crooked its finger in a ghastly invitation that thrilled Scrooge with a vague uncertain horror, to know that in that dusky screen, there were ghostly eyes intently fixed upon him.

The Phantom moved away as it had come toward him. Scrooge followed in the shadow of its dress, which somehow bore him into this virtual world and carried him along.

The Spirit stopped beside one little knot of businessmen. Observing that the hand was pointed to them, Scrooge advanced to listen to their talk.

"No," said a great fat man with a monstrous chin, "I don't know much about it, either way. I only know the printed version of A Christmas Carol is dead.''
"Why, what was the matter with it?" asked one of the gentlemen. "I thought it'd never die."
"God knows,'' said the first, with a yawn. "Though it's likely to be a very cheap funeral, for upon my life I don't know of anybody to go to it."

The Phantom glided onto a crowded street and stopped before a shop's holiday window display. Scrooge looked about in that very place for his own image, but there was no likeness of himself there, nor any sign of Mr. Dickens's books. Quiet and dark, beside him stood the Phantom, with its outstretched hand, which made him shudder, and feel very cold. Was he as dead as Marley now, a mere digital specter himself?

They left the busy scene, and ventured into an obscure part of the town, where Scrooge had never penetrated before, though he recognized its situation. Far in this den of infamous resort, there was an obscure used bookshop. Scrooge and the Phantom came into the presence of the bookseller, just as a woman with a heavy bundle slunk into the shop.

"Who's the worse for the loss of a few books like these?" cried the woman as she threw her bundle on the floor. "Not a dead man, I suppose."

Scrooge listened in horror. "Spirit!'' he said, shuddering from head to foot. "I see, I see. My life tends that way, now. Merciful Heaven, what is this?'' He recoiled in terror, for the scene had suddenly changed, and now he almost touched a bare bookcase, dusty and shrouded in cobwebs. Scrooge glanced toward the Phantom. Its steady hand was pointed to the empty space.

"Spirit!" he said. "This is a fearful place. In leaving it, I shall not leave its lesson, trust me. Let us go!'' The Spirit was immovable as ever. In his agony, Scrooge caught the spectral hand. The Spirit repulsed him. But then, holding up his own hands in a reader's pose, Scrooge saw an alteration in the Phantom's hood and dress. It shrunk, collapsed and dwindled down into the iPad's screen, from which Scrooge had somehow emerged.

Opening his Twitter account, he called outward to @bobcratchit.

"WHAT'S TODAY?" Scrooge cried.
"Eh?" returned @bobcratchit, with all his might of wonder.
"What's to-day, my fine fellow?" typed Scrooge.
"To-day? Why, Christmas Day."
"OMG! It's Christmas Day! I haven't missed it. The Spirits have done it all in one night."
"LOL!!!!!" replied @bobcratchit
"Do you know the Bookseller, in the next street but one, at the corner?" Scrooge inquired.
"I should hope I do," wrote @bobcratchit.
"Tomorrow go and buy every copy of A Christmas Carol they have and give them away in the streets!"
"Great idea IMHO! Merry Xmas!"

Then Scrooge went to his shelves and found his own leather-bound volume of Mr. Dickens's fine story, which had been too long neglected after the introduction of an enhanced digital edition.

"I shall love it, as long as I live!" he cried, patting the book with his hand. "I scarcely ever looked at it before. What an honest expression it has in its cover! It's a wonderful book!" --Robert Gray (column archives available at Fresh Eyes Now)

Friday Round-Up

2011-12-23T07:01:00.000-05:00

Each week I round-up all the (mostly book-related) articles/blog posts/book reviews/websites/videos that entertained me during the week. Enjoy!

Articles

IndieBound Reader App!

My heart cries with Egypt: "Thousands of Rare Books, Journals, Writings Burned at Institute d'Egypt In Cairo"

My favorite type of list: "The Most Overrated Books of 2011"
My second favorite type of list: "The Most Overlooked Books of 2011"

David Foster Wallace showcases his early writing talents in a response to a fellow Amherst College student's Letter to the Editor back in the 80s: "Stick Them In Your Ear"

Suggested Chanukah romance novel titles, to compete with the onslaught of Christmas romance novel titles (sadly none of these actually exist): "Love Among the Latkes"

"Favourite covers of 2011" post from The Casual Optimist.

Book Fetish gift guide on BookRiot - what to get the booklover in your life. I'm going to ask the Chanukah armadillo for this literary pin-up calendar.

Cartography

Okay, okay, I know - two weeks in a row of something not entirely book related, but I think I should just add "cartography" to the list of "other" things that might be mentioned on this blog and be done with it.

Matador has a great article featuring this blog that features amazing maps. That is all.

Quizzes

Thanks to Molly over at Adventures of a Blonde Librarian for recommending this quiz: Famous Female Heroines (in children's books). I got 9 out of 10, having never read the final book on the quiz. Obviously now I'll have to pick up some Robin McKinley.

Which Austen Heroine Are You?

Take the Quiz here!

Videos

Book TV - Top Nonfiction Authors and Books - premiers on C-Span this Saturday.

My personal favorite book trailer of the week.

Also, both of these things are not like the other - book reviews.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Websites

ReadIt1st is a website where you can sign up to receive newsletters about what movies coming out are adaptations of books. You can pledge to read the book first or read the book whenever you want, but either way, read the book and get the news about the movies.

BookSneeze is a way for bloggers to receive free books in exchange for a book review. While not for everyone, it IS another way to get some free books. The catch is you have to blog your review, whether good or bad, stating that you received it from the publisher, and you have to post it on a commercial site, and send these links back to BookSneeze. Lots of Christian/Religion/Spirituality-focused books, just FYI.

Ryan Gosling Works in Publishing

Ryan Gosling Likes Libraries

Ryan Gosling Reads YA

For New Yorkers: NewYorkBoundBooks.com is a new website dedicated to bringing you "all things New York for readers and writers". I'm not entirely sure what that means, but it's the online offshoot of the former brisk & mortar in Rockefeller Center, as well as the online stomping grounds of Barbara Cohen, former owner & operator of said bricks & mortar.

The English Spelling Society. I want to be supportive, but reading over the site, I'm more than a little confused what exactly it, ya know, does. Maybe it's just me, but I was actually a little put off by its aggressive, almost anti-English, tone. Or perhaps I was oddly sensitive the day I discovered it.

Award-Winning Reading Challenge

2011-12-22T06:20:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to announce that I will be participating in the

Award-Winning Reading Challenge hosted by Insatiable Booksluts.

I figured it's about time that I actually read some of the books off the award lists (okay, other than the Newbery and Caldecott, because I read books off those lists all the time). This challenge allows me to pick and choose from when off which list I read, just the way I like it.

For this challenge, I will be doing a Full Frontal, with a little Genre Buster and Extra Credit thrown in (because I'm a hopeless overachiever).

Full Frontal:
You are not fucking around here—you want to read the best and the brightest, and a lot of them, even if it kills you. Your challenge is to read:

three (3) full-length books written by Nobel laureates
three (3) full-length novels that won the Pulitzer Prize
three (3) books that won the Man Booker Prize
one (1) book (or one book from one author) each from the following:

Genre Buster:
Hey, there are other awards besides literary awards. Read one book from each of the following lists:

Hugo Award (sci-fi/fantasy)
Nebula Award for Novels (sci-fi/fantasy)
World Fantasy Award
Bram Stoker Best Novel Award (horror)
Aurealis award for best horror novel
Crime Writers’ Association’s Gold Dagger (crime fiction)
Mystery Writers of America
RITA awards (romance–fuck yeah, we’re going there)

Extra Credit:
Read one book from these random-ass awards that we found around the internet. This particular challenge may be subject to change as we find more oddball awards, but when/if I update, I’ll include the date so that you know if they were part of your original challenge or not:

Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year
Literary Review’s Bad Sex in Fiction Award
Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award (chosen because Theakston’s is a brewery with its own book award–badass)
Gaylactic Spectrum Awards (because I love the word “Gaylactic” so much I want to marry it–but I’d have to move to New York for that, fucking anti-gay activist bastards)

I have not chosen a first book yet, because I need to spend a little time with these lists. Needless to say, I will be continuing to blog about my choices, and encourage you to sign up for this reading challenge, too.

Global Domination Challenge

2011-12-22T06:16:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to announce that I will be participating in the

Global Domination Challenge hosted by Insatiable Booksluts.

No, this is not cheating, but I may be able to satisfy my Around the World Challenge with my Global Domination Challenge, and vice versa. So basically, it makes total sense to participate in both. Right?

I will be a Day Tripper:
New to foreign literature? Short on reading time and need to be economical? Start with this challenge. Read the following for a total of six books:

1 book from Latin or South America - Gabriela, Cloves and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado (Brazil)
1 non-English book from Europe
1 book from Africa
1 book from Asia
1 non-United States English book
1 book from the Middle East

I will be blogging about the books I read for this challenge throughout the year, and encourage you to sign up at Insatiable Booksluts so you can be a part of this, too.

The first book I have chosen to read is Gabriela, Cloves and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado. This was a book my father wanted to read during his trip to Brazil. I had never heard of it before, but the story actually sounds really engaging:

Ilhéus in 1925 is a booming town with a record cacao crop and aspirations for progress, but the traditional ways prevail. When Colonel Mendonça discovers his wife in bed with a lover, he shoots and kills them both. Political contests, too, can be settled by gunshot...

No one imagines that a bedraggled migrant worker who turns up in town–least of all Gabriela herself–will be the agent of change. Nacib Saad has just lost the cook at his popular café and in desperation hires Gabriela. To his surprise she turns out to be a great beauty as well as a wonderful cook and an enchanting boon to his business. But what would people say if Nacib were to marry her?

Lusty, satirical and full of intrigue, Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon is a vastly entertaining panorama of small town Brazilian life.

Waiting on Wednesday: Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

2011-12-21T06:30:00.000-05:00

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) is a weekly meme hosted by

Breaking the Spine.

My posts about adult literary fiction are here:

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

My posts about my guilty pleasure reading (romantic, often paranormal, novels) can be found here:

Prince Charming Doesn't Live Here by Christine Warren

Tempest's Legacy by Nicole Peeler
Saint's Astray by Jacqueline Carey

Timeless by Gail Carriger

My posts about YA/teen titles are here:

Witch & Wizard: The Gift by James Patterson & Ned Rust

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

The Mockingbirds, Book 2: The Rivals by Daisy Whitney

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

My posts about middle grade titles are here:

The Pirate Captain's Daughter by Eve Bunting

And now for today's:

Scarlet
by A.C. Gaughen
9780802723468, Walker & Co (Bloomsbury, $17.99
Pub. Date: February 2012

A retelling of Robin Hood with "Will Scarlet" as a girl - so excited! This is my favorite type of retold story, with a new female character as the starring role; then throw in cross-dressing, thieves, and Robin Hood, and I'm hooked. Here's the publisher description:

Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance.

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in. It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.

Chanukah Picture Book Round-Up

2011-12-20T16:00:00.000-05:00

A round-up of new Chanukah-themed books out this Fall 2011.

'Tis the season, after all - Happy first night of Chanukah!

Chanukah Lights
by Michael J. Rosen, illustrated by Robert Sabuda
9780763655334, $34.99

From a pop-up master and an acclaimed poet and author comes a glorious celebration of the true spirit of Chanukah.

Open this beautiful gift book and follow the Festival of Lights through place and time -- from Herod's temple to a shtetl in Russia; from a refugee ship bound for the New World to an Israeli kibbutz. Inspired by Michael J. Rosen's reverent poem, Robert Sabuda's striking pop-ups depict each night's menorah in a different scene, using imagery such as desert tents, pushcart lanterns, olive trees, and a final panorama of skyscrapers. Sure to be a treasured family heirloom, this stunning collaboration showcases the spirit and resilience of a people in search of home.

That book is honestly the only new Chanukah book published in 2011 that's worth mentioning. And by worth mentioning, I mean is up to my personal standard for both beauty of illustration and enticement of story.

Luckily, there are some classic children's Chanukah books that I can include in this round-up (most of them by Eric A. Kimmel:

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins
by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
9780823411313, Holiday House

A traveler rids a village synagogue of ghosts in this Caldecott Honor Book. The best part is doing the different voices for the different goblins that appear to Hershel each night. That Hershel - such a trickster. (A childhood favorite.)

The Chanukkah Guest
by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Giora Carmi
9780823409785, Holiday House

Almost blind and deaf, a woman mistakes a visiting bear for a rabbi. Hilarity ensues. (A childhood favorite.)

Latkes and Applesauce: a Hanukkah story
by Fran Manushkin, illustrated by Robin Spowart
9780590422659, Scholastic

A Hanukkah miracle occurs as a poor family opens their doors to those less fortunate than even them. (A childhood favorite.)

The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story
by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Lisa Brown
9781932416879, McSweeney's Books

Latkes are potato pancakes served at Hanukkah, and Lemony Snicket is an alleged children's author. For the first time in literary history, these two elements are combined in one book. A particularly irate latke is the star of "The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming, " but many other holiday icons appear and even speak: flashing colored lights, cane-shaped candy, a pine tree. Santa Claus is briefly discussed as well. The ending is happy, at least for some. People who are interested in any or all of these things will find this book so enjoyable it will feel as though Hanukkah were being celebrated for several years, rather than eight nights. (An adulthood favorite.)

Top Ten Books I Want for the Holidays

2011-12-20T06:55:00.000-05:00

The Broke and the Bookish, a brilliant book blog,

hosts a weekly top ten list meme.

Top Ten Books I Want to Receive for the Holidays

1. The Next Always (Inn Boonsboro Trilogy, Book 1)

by Nora Roberts

9780425243213, Berkeley (Penguin), $16

My favorite romantic fiction author's new book. I can't wait to curl up with this and read it in one sitting.

The historic hotel in BoonsBoro, Maryland, has endured war and peace, changing hands, even rumored hauntings. Now it's getting a major facelift from the Montgomery brothers and their eccentric mother. As the architect of the family, Beckett's social life consists mostly of talking shop over pizza and beer. But there's another project he's got his eye on: the girl he's been waiting to kiss since he was fifteen...

2. Saints Astray (Santa Olivia, Book 2)

by Jacqueline Carey

9780446571425, Grand Central Publishing (Hachette), $14.99

I fell in love with Jacqueline Carey's writing in high school. She seems to be fearless in terms of the tremendous scope of her work, covering time, space, topics, and creating worlds like few others before her.

Fellow orphans, amateur vigilantes, and members of the Santitos, Loup Garron-the fugitive daughter of a genetically engineered "wolf man"-and Pilar Ecchevarria grew up in the military zone of Outpost 12, formerly known as Santa Olivia. But now they're free, and they want to help the rest of the Santitos escape. During a series of escapades, they discover that Miguel, Loup's former sparring partner and reprobate surrogate brother, has escaped from Outpost 12 and is testifying on behalf of its forgotten citizens-at least until he disappears from protective custody. Honor drives Loup to rescue Miguel, even though entering the U.S could mean losing her liberty. Pilar vows to help her. It will take a daring and absurd caper to extricate Miguel from the mess he's created but Loup is prepared to risk everything... and this time she has help.

3. Ottoline at Sea

by Chris Riddell

9781405050593, Macmillan

I'm not sure what happened to this book. The first two books in the Ottoline series (Ottoline and the Yellow Cat and Ottoline Goes to School were both brilliantly illustrated, well-written, and overall darling books to hand to anyone, but girls especially, age 4-8. Though my sources say this was published by Macmillan in 2010, that may have only been in the UK as I've never seen this one a bookstore shelf and it's not available from Indiebound. But somehow, some way, I will get a copy.

Ottoline and Mr. Munroe do everything and go everywhere together. That is, until the day Mr. Munroe mysteriously disappears leaving a strange clue written in string...Armed with her Amateur Roving Collectors' travel pass Ottoline sets off on a journey over, under and on top of the sea to find her hairy best friend - and bring him back home.

4. The Outcasts (Brotherband Chronicles, Book 1)

by John Flanagan

9780399256196, Philomel Books (Penguin), $18.99

Oh John Flanagan - I loved your Ranger's Apprentice series, perfect for boy and girl readers age 10-14, and now, now you've begun another.

They are outcasts. Hal, Stig, and the others - they are the boys the others want no part of. Skandians, as any reader of Ranger's Apprentice could tell you, are known for their size and strength. Not these boys. Yet that doesn't mean they don't have skills. And courage - which they will need every ounce of to do battle at sea against the other bands, the Wolves and the Sharks, in the ultimate race. The icy waters make for a treacherous playing field . . . especially when not everyone thinks of it as playing.

5. The Informationist

by Taylor Stevens

9780307717108, Broadway Books (Random House), $14

A female Jason Bourne? (-ish.) Yes, please!

Vanessa “Michael” Munroe deals in information—expensive information—working for corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. Born to missionary parents in lawless central Africa, Munroe took up with an infamous gunrunner and his mercenary crew when she was just fourteen. As his protégé, she earned the respect of the jungle's most dangerous men, cultivating her own reputation for years until something sent her running. After almost a decade building a new life and lucrative career from her home base in Dallas, she's never looked back.

Until now.

A Texas oil billionaire has hired her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago. It’s not her usual line of work, but she can’t resist the challenge. Pulled deep into the mystery of the missing girl, Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood, betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead. If she has any hope of escaping the jungle and the demons that drive her, she must come face-to-face with the past that she’s tried for so long to forget. Gripping, ingenious, and impeccably paced, The Informationist marks the arrival or a thrilling new talent.

6. The Scorpio Races

by Maggie Stiefvater

9780545224901, Scholastic, $17.99

This would be my first Maggie Stiefvater, and considering her reputation, I think it's about time.

Some race to win. Others race to survive.

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.
Some riders live.
Others die.
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.
Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a choice. So she enters the competition - the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

7. Every You, Every Me

by David Levithan

9780375860980, Knopf (Random House), $16.99

Dear David Levithan, you make my heart sing and hurt with every one of your books. Thank you. Love, me.

In this high school-set psychological tale, a tormented teen named Evan starts to discover a series of unnerving photographs—some of which feature him. Someone is stalking him . . . messing with him . . . threatening him. Worse, ever since his best friend Ariel has been gone, he's been unable to sleep, spending night after night torturing himself for his role in her absence. And as crazy as it sounds, Evan's starting to believe it's Ariel that's behind all of this, punishing him. But the more Evan starts to unravel the mystery, the more his paranoia and insomnia amplify, and the more he starts to unravel himself. Creatively told with black-and-white photos interspersed between the text so the reader can see the photos that are so unnerving to Evan, Every You, Every Me is a one-of-a-kind departure from a one-of-a-kind author.

8. Girl Meets Boy: Because There Are Two Sides to Every Story

by Kelly Milner Halls

9781452102641, Chronicle Books, $16.99

What do guys and girls really think? Twelve of the most dynamic and engaging YA authors writing today team up for this one-of-a-kind collection of "he said/she said" stories-he tells it from the guy's point of view, she tells it from the girl's. These are stories of love and heartbreak. There's the good-looking jock who falls for a dangerous girl, and the flipside, the toxic girl who never learned to be loved; the basketball star and the artistic (and shorter) boy she never knew she wanted; the gay boy looking for love online and the girl who could help make it happen. Each story in this unforgettable collection teaches us that relationships are complicated-because there are two sides to every story.

9. The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories

by Joseph Gordon-Levitt

9780062121660, It Books (HarperCollins), $14.99

Because this sounds wonderful and looks adorable.

HitRECord’s collaborative coalition of artists and writers are making history with The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 1, a collection of innovative crowd-sourced creative projects that pushes the limits of originality, cooperation, imagination, and inspiration. HitRECord, a grassroots creative collective founded by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, known worldwide for his performances in (500) Days of Summer and Inception, is a forum where thousands of artists worldwide share work and contribute to their peers’ projects in writing, music, videos, illustration, and beyond. Alongside Dean Haspiel’s ACT-I-VATE, a groundbreaking comics collective, and the photographer JR’s Inside Out Project, hitRECord is a haven for budding creatives. Now, the collective has edited together its most promising stories and illustrations to serve as its face in introducing the world to a new generation of talent, in The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories.

10. I'm leaving this one open-ended and hoping that someone actually does give me a book for the holidays this year, as that rarely happens, for some very odd and unknown reason. Keeping my fingers crossed!

In My Mailbox

2011-12-19T06:48:00.000-05:00

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by
The Story Siren.

This week, I received:

I Dreamt I Was in Heaven: The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang
by Leonce Gaiter
9780615490106, Legba Books, $10.99

Judge Isaac C. Parker's judicial tyranny over the entire 74,000-square-mile Indian Territory was coming to an end. Against this background, the multi-racial, teenaged Rufus Buck Gang--the last and most notorious of the Indian Territory badmen--embarked on their vicious, childish, and deadly 13-day rampage that shocked even this lawless land.

Thank you, Mr. Gaiter, for sending me a copy!

This week, I bought:

A Game of Thrones: Book 1: A Song of Ice and Fire
by George R. R. Martin
9780553386790, Bantam (Random House), $17.00

Figured it was about time to see what all the fuss is about:

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

This week, I borrowed from the library:

Down These Strange Streets
edited by George R. R. Martin & Gardner Dozois
9780441020744, Ace Hardcover (Penguin), $26.95

In this all-new collection of urban fantasy stories, editors George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois explore the places where mystery waits at the end of every alley and where the things that go bump in the night have something to fear...
Includes stories by New York Times bestselling authors Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Diana Gabaldon, Simon R. Green, S. M. Stirling, and Carrie Vaughn, as well as tales by Glen Cook, Bradley Denton, M.L.N. Hanover, Conn Iggulden, Laurie R. King, Joe R. Lansdale, John Maddox Roberts, Steven Saylor, Melinda Snodgrass, and Lisa Tuttle.

I think this book wins the "busiest cover design" award. Just sayin'.

Stormwalker
by Allyson James
9780425234693, Berkley (Penguin), $7.99

Janet Begay is a Stormwalker, capable of wielding the raw elemental power of nature, a power that threatens to overwhelm her. Only her lover, Mick, is able to calm the storm within her-even as their passion reaches unimaginable heights of ecstasy. But when an Arizona police chief's daughter is taken by a paranormal evil, they find themselves venturing where no human can survive-for only together can they overcome the greatest danger they've ever faced.

In my attempt to read more books featuring Native American characters, I stumbled across this series. I'm sure it's going to be well-researched and historically accurate (*cough*sarcasm*cough*), but I'm looking forward to it anyway.

Book Review: The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon

2011-12-19T06:30:00.000-05:00

The Story of Beautiful Girl
by Rachel Simon
9780446574464, Grand Central Publishing, $24.99

Quietly enthralling. That's the first thing that comes to mind when trying to describe this book. The basic facts - the lives of 4 people interwoven over a period of 40 years - don't do justice to the elegant and simple way this novel unfolds and lays out the complexities of the plot. Rachel Simon exhibits true mastery in how her writing jumps from time, place, and point-of-view to paint a complete picture using pivotal moments, and her writing is lovely to boot: "What is the history of the word for 'child'? What is the future of the word for 'mine'?" (pg. 154).

The story begins on the doorstep of Martha's farmhouse in the late 1960s. A retired schoolteacher and longtime widow, Martha leads a simple life, her social life consisting of writing and receiving letters from her former students and hosting a yearly holiday party. When a deaf black man and a mentally-ill white woman show up on her doorstep with a newborn, Martha barely has time to feed them and clothe them before officials from the State School for the Incurable and Feeble-Minded knock on her door. Without really understanding what is happening, Martha lets the men in and they search her home to find Lynnie, the woman, hiding in a back bedroom. There is no sign of Homan, the man, and the officials apparently don't know to look for the baby. As Lynnie passes Martha, while being dragged from the house, Lynnie manages to whisper, "Hide her," and so Martha does. For the next 14 years, Martha will dedicate herself to the care, feeding, protecting, and loving of the baby, Beautiful Girl, Julia.

Meanwhile, Lynnie is brought back to the School, where she must endure the derision of the guards, and inattention of the doctors, and the loss of both Beautiful Girl and Homan. Not everything is horrible, however, and with the help of her friends - Doreen, a fellow "inmate" at the school, and Kate, a school employee - Lynnie is able to use her artistic ability to draw pictures depicting her escape, her return, and continue with drawing her life after. Over time, conditions at the School improve, Lynnie's own mind and abilities improve, and she is able to work on learning to speak, learning to communicate, and learning to take care of herself within assisted environments, ultimately speaking up in favor of legislation that would close all schools like the one she grew up in. Yet, despite her personal growth, she is constant in her memory of Homan and her baby.

Homan, deaf, scared, unable to communicate as no one understands his signs, he can't understand American Sign Language, nor can he read lips, runs from one situation to another - some of them bad, some of them good - but most of them taking him farther and farther away from Lynnie and Beautiful Girl. For a long time, he keeps the thought of returning to the School at the forefront of his mind, but it's the 60s, and then the 70s, and the introduction of smoking pot into his life makes it easy for him to live more complacently with people and in situations that don't push him to continue toward his goal. After many years of living an almost apathetic existence, crossing paths with someone from his past will bring about a change in him that has him looking toward a brighter future.

Ignorant of the circumstances of her birth, Julia has only known her grandmother Matilda (Martha) and the various aunts and uncles (Martha's former students) that have given them food and shelter over the years. It isn't until Julia hits her teen years that she begins to question, she begins to rebel, and Martha faces the tough decision of what and how much and when to tell Julia the truth of her birth.

Forty years brings about a lot of change in the world, and in the people involved, but certain constants - like love, and sacrifice, and caring for others as part of human nature - weave a positive thread throughout the opposition all four main characters face. The final scenes provide a clever glimpse into the future beyond the book without wrapping things up too carefully, so that Lynnie, Homan, Julia, and even Martha live on inside the reader long past the final page.

Friday Round-Up

2011-12-16T07:10:00.000-05:00

Each week I round-up all the (mostly book-related) articles/blog posts/book reviews/websites/videos that entertained me during the week. Enjoy!

Articles

Publishing Perspectives talks about transmedia (no, not media about trans folks, publishing across platforms), as in what is it, who should use it, and when.

The Guardian hosts a series in conjunction with Hive Network that allows the average customer to ask hard-hitting book industry questions of independent booksellers. Fantastic, and so much to read through/listen to.

Flavorwire article of the week: "10 Awesome Books to Give Your Nonreading Friends"

The Casual Optimist publishes his "Favourite Covers of 2010" in preparation for a later post about his favorites for 2011.

Too beautiful to pass up, the 2nd Flavorwire article of the week: "15 Gorgeous Book Cover Redesigns"

Cartography

Cheating a bit with this, as it's not even remotely book-related, but it was too funny to not share. Besides, it's my blog and I'll post about maps if I want to. :)

Children's Books

Publisher's Weekly covers the conversation between four picture book authors who discuss writing funny.

Libraries

I will never, Ever, EVER get tired of looking at lists like this: "The 25 Most Beautiful College Libraries in the World"

Websites

Books Set In... is a fantastic website where you can find books, wait for it, set in specific countries! Super helpful for the "Around the World in 12 Books Challenge" I'm participating in in 2012.

Fall 2011 Picture Book Highlights: Candlewick Press

2011-12-15T07:19:00.000-05:00

Previously in my capacity as Children's Department Manager for the Odyssey Book Shop, I had the opportunity to look over publisher's catalogues at the new books for each season. I was lucky enough to get my hands on some Fall 2011 catalogues, so decided to revive my seasonal picture book highlights series.

Disclaimer: I have not seen these books with my own eyes. So, these books have been chosen based on my knowledge of the author and/or illustrator's previous work, the catalogue description, and my own personal taste.

King Hugo's Huge Ego
by Chris Van Dusen
9780763650049, $16.99

From a master of visual comedy comes the royally satisfying tale of a head swollen out of proportion and a blowhard brought down to earth.

Hugo is a tiny king with a very large ego. But when he mistreats a villager who also happens to be a sorceress, the spell she casts causes his head to literally swell. The more he boasts, the bigger it gets, until it finally topples the mini monarch right off his castle! Who will cut this royal pain down to size? And, more important, will anyone live happily ever after? Chris Van Dusen’s hilarious story is matched only by his outrageous illustrations. Together, they make for a picture book that is sometimes fairy tale, sometimes cautionary tale, and always laugh-out loud funny.

Naamah and the Ark at Night
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, illustrated by Holly Meade
9780763642426, $16.99

As Noah’s wife sings the animals to sleep, an age-old tale is told afresh in a soothing poetic form brought to life with beautiful collage illustrations.

Naamah is the wife of Noah, and her name means "great singer." For forty days and forty nights, as the ark tosses on storm-wracked seas, Naamah sings. She sings to the animals, two by two. She sings to her husband, her sons, and their wives. She sings, and they all sleep, finally at peace. Acclaimed author Susan Campbell Bartoletti’s rhythmic, lyrical text pairs with Caldecott Honor winner Holly Meade’s luminous collage for a cozy, tender lullaby, and an ode to the power of song.

Chilly Milly Moo
by Fiona Ross
9780763656935, $15.99

As a quirky cow discovers, when life gives you a penchant for cold, make . . . something delicious! A comical ode to individuality from a new talent.

Milly Moo wants only one thing: to churn out the finest, tastiest, creamiest milk around. But there's just one problem. She's always too hot! While all the other cows snicker and bask in the sun, Milly Moo's milk bucket keeps coming up empty. Nada! Zilch! Just when she's sure that the farmer will banish her, Milly Moo wakes to a freezing cold morning. It's her last chance! Will the icy temperature help her make the special milk product she dreams of? With slyly humorous illustrations and a fun final twist, this treat from Fiona Ross will have children begging for second helpings.

The Sniffles for Bear
by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
9780763647568, $16.99

The relentlessly cheery Mouse pushes a cold-suffering Bear to new heights of melodrama in a hilarious new adventure starring the unlikely pair.

Bear has a terrible cold. In fact, Bear is quite sure that no one has ever been as sick as he is. So when Mouse comes tap, tap, tapping on his front door eager to make Bear "as good as new" by reading a sunny story, singing a rousing chorus and plinking a twangy tune on her banjo, the pitifully coughing Bear - growing weaker by the minute - is convinced that his tiny friend does not appreciate the gravity of the situation. Can there be any saving Bear from his certain demise? Welcome the world's most lovable curmudgeon and his endearing, unstoppable sidekick in a wry new comedy sure to have even red-eyed, sniffly-nosed readers rolling with laughter.

Tales from India: Stories of Creation and the Cosmos
by Jamila Gavin, illustrated by Amanda Hall
9780763655648, $19.99

Discover a world of classic tales from India. Come on a journey with renowned storyteller Jamila Gavin as she writes of great floods, legendary romances, and epic battles between good and evil. This new collection of Hindu tales, including the birth of the gods, tales of creation, and the arrival of humans, is illuminated by Amanda Hall's exquisite artwork, which reflects the influence of both classical and contemporary Indian art.

Paul Thurlby's Alphabet
by Paul Thurlby
9780763655655, $16.99

You know I can't resist an alphabet book, so obviously I had to include this one on the list.

In his first picture book, graphic artist Paul Thurlby presents a stunning alphabet that helps to make the shape of each letter memorable. From an awesome A to a zippy Z, this is the perfect ABC book for the young and hip.

Around the World
by Matt Phelan
9780763636197, $24.99

Cheating just a bit here, with a historical graphic novel illustrated in the muted color palate with bursts of light that is so characteristic of Matt Phelan's work. A Scott O'Dell Award-winning graphic novelist follows three dauntless adventurers on a Jules Verne-inspired challenge: circling the world, solo!

As the nineteenth century wound down, a public inspired by the novel Around the World in Eighty Days clamored for intrepid adventure. The challenge of circumnavigating the globe as no one ever had before--a feat assuring fame if not fortune--attracted the fearless in droves. Three hardy spirits stayed the course: In 1884, former miner Thomas Stevens made the journey on a bicycle, the kind with a big front wheel. In 1889, pioneer reporter Nellie Bly embarked on a global race against time that assumed the heights of spectacle, ushering in the age of the American celebrity. And in 1895, retired sea captain Joshua Slocum quietly set sail on a thirty-six-foot sloop, braving pirates and treacherous seas to become the first person to sail around the world alone. With cinematic pacing and deft, expressive art, acclaimed graphic novelist Matt Phelan weaves a trio of epic journeys into a single bold tale of three visionaries who set their sights on nothing short of the world.

Waiting on Wednesday: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

2011-12-14T06:20:00.000-05:00

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) is a weekly meme hosted by

Breaking the Spine.

My posts about adult literary fiction are here:

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

My posts about my guilty pleasure reading (romantic, often paranormal, novels) can be found here:

Prince Charming Doesn't Live Here by Christine Warren

Happily Ever After (Bride Quartet #4) by Nora Roberts
Tempest's Legacy by Nicole Peeler
Saint's Astray by Jacqueline Carey

Timeless by Gail Carriger

Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones

My posts about YA/teen titles are here:

Witch & Wizard: The Gift by James Patterson & Ned Rust

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

The Mockingbirds, Book 2: The Rivals by Daisy Whitney

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

My posts about middle grade titles are here:

The Pirate Captain's Daughter by Eve Bunting

And now for today's:

Born Wicked, The Cahill Witch Chronicles, Book 1

by Jessica Spotswood

9780399257452, Penguin, $17.99

Pub. Date: February 2012

"A Great and Terrible Beauty meets Cassandra Clare in this spellbinding fantasy."

Uh, yes please! Here's the rest of the publisher description:

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship - or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood - not even from each other.

Top Ten Books I Want to Give as Gifts

2011-12-13T07:15:00.000-05:00

The Broke and the Bookish, a brilliant book blog,

hosts a weekly top ten list meme.

Top Ten Books I Want to Give as Gifts

My parents are heading back to Brazil for the holidays, and I've chosen some vacation reading for them.

For my mother: a literary mystery:

1. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Flavia deLuce Mystery #1
by Alan Bradley

Particularly because my mother loves science, history, and nothing too gruesome, this is the perfect blend of chemistry, post-WWII-history, and quizzical who-dunnit to keep her enthralled on the long flight. And, if she likes it, there are several more in the series to give her. My review:

Flavia De Luce could easily be the criminal mastermind of post-World War II Britain, despite being only 11 year's old. She's fascinated by all things chemistry, but especially the chemical properties of poisons. When a red-headed midnight visitor to her father is discovered dead in the cucumber patch below her bedroom window, Falvia sets out to solve the mystery of the stranger's death - partially to prove her father's innocence (he's been charged with the murder), and partially because she's fixated on the mysterious death and wants to unearth the chemical properties that might have caused it. Despite of (or with the help of?) the Inspector in charge of the investigation, Flavia manages to make her way around the English countryside with the help of her trusty bicycle Gladys. Searching people's rooms, breaking into the library archives, investigating her father's old boarding school, no place is off-limits to the insatiable curiousity of Flavia. And wouldn't you know it - by the end, murder solved.

For my father: a book in two languages:

2. Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon

by Jorge Amado

My father actually requested this, so I can't take credit, but I am giving him a copy of this book in both Brazilian Portuguese and its English translation. I hope to pick up a copy of this myself, as it sounds like an intriguing story:

Ilhéus in 1925 is a booming town with a record cacao crop and aspirations for progress, but the traditional ways prevail. When Colonel Mendonça discovers his wife in bed with a lover, he shoots and kills them both. Political contests, too, can be settled by gunshot...
No one imagines that a bedraggled migrant worker who turns up in town–least of all Gabriela herself–will be the agent of change. Nacib Saad has just lost the cook at his popular café and in desperation hires Gabriela. To his surprise she turns out to be a great beauty as well as a wonderful cook and an enchanting boon to his business. But what would people say if Nacib were to marry her?
Lusty, satirical and full of intrigue, Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon is a vastly entertaining panorama of small town Brazilian life.

Sometimes you see the perfect book for someone you will probably never give a gift to:

For an ex, with whom I shared a fondness for baseball:

3. Flip Flop Fly Ball: An Infographic Baseball Adventure
by Craig Robinson, introduction by Rob Neyer

How many miles does a baseball team travel in one season?
How tall would A-Rod's annual salary be in pennies?
What does Nolan Ryan have to do with the Supremes and Mariah Carey?
You might never have asked yourself any of these questions, but Craig Robinson's Flip Flop Fly Ball will make you glad to know the answers.
Baseball, almost from the first moment Robinson saw it, was more than a sport. It was history, a nearly infinite ocean of information that begged to be organized. He realized that understanding the game, which he fell in love with as an adult, would never be possible just through watching games and reading articles. He turned his obsession into a dizzyingly entertaining collection of graphics that turned into an Internet sensation.
Out of Robinson's Web site, www.flipflopflyball.com, grew this book, full of all-new, never-before-seen graphics. Flip Flop Fly Ball dives into the game's history, its rivalries and absurdities, its cities and ballparks, and brings them to life through 120 full-color graphics. Statistics-the sport's lingua franca-have never been more fun.
(By the way, the answers: about 26,000 miles, at least if the team in question is the 2008 Kansas City Royals; 3,178 miles; they were the artists atop the Billboard Hot 100 when Ryan first and last appeared in MLB games.)

For the boyfriend of a friend of mine who builds his own bikes:

4. Italian Racing Bicycles: The People, the Products, the Passion
by Guido P. Rubino

There are bicycles. And then there are Italian bicycles. As with high fashion or sports cars, when the world speaks of racing bicycles the conversation soon turns to Italy. Seasoned cyclists know that an Italian bicycle is more intimately yours, a more personal possession, than a bicycle of other origin. Italian bicycles are built to race with passion, and to win.
Italian Racing Bicycles traces the rich history of 40 landmark brands intimately connected with racing. Not surprisingly, the brands have deep roots, some tracing their lineage back more than 100 years to the early days of the velocipede. They also share a hunger for advanced technology, pushing engineering to new heights with exotic metal alloys, elaborate weaves of expensive carbon fiber, and aerodynamic studies that help their bikes and riders cheat the wind for greater speed.
Beyond these commonalities, though, the stories diverge. The restless inquisitiveness of Ernesto Colnago could not be more different from the methodical calm of Ugo De Rosa, for example, and yet these two iconic frame builders contributed immeasurably to the racing victories of the great Eddy Merckx. The passion for experimentation of Pinarello, the brazen creativity of Cinelli, the barrier-bursting hour machine of Moser—in search of racing victories, the volcanic inspiration of Italian artisans has repeatedly reshaped the dynamics of cycling.
Melding painstaking historical research with personal visits to each artist’s workshop, author Guido P. Rubino has unearthed the stories, the methods, the dreams, and the personalities of these cycling firms, large and small, that have contributed so fundamentally to the glory of the sport.

Moving on to books I would love to give but don't have specific recipients yet:

5. The Story of Beautiful Girl
by Rachel Simon

Just finished reading this one, hope to have my review up soon, but it's a beautiful love story that spans 40 years and four lives and despite the ups-and-downs, manages to have a happy ending:

It is 1968. Lynnie, a young white woman with a developmental disability, and Homan, an African American deaf man, are locked away in an institution, the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded, and have been left to languish, forgotten. Deeply in love, they escape, and find refuge in the farmhouse of Martha, a retired schoolteacher and widow. But the couple is not alone-Lynnie has just given birth to a baby girl. When the authorities catch up to them that same night, Homan escapes into the darkness, and Lynnie is caught. But before she is forced back into the institution, she whispers two words to Martha: "Hide her." And so begins the 40-year epic journey of Lynnie, Homan, Martha, and baby Julia - lives divided by seemingly insurmountable obstacles, yet drawn together by a secret pact and extraordinary love.

6. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
by Anne Fadiman

This is my favorite book to give a kindred spirit reader in my life. Unfortunately, I've given it to everyone like that in my life already. Maybe in 2012 I'll meet someone new to share it with?

Anne Fadiman is--by her own admission--the sort of person who learned about sex from her father's copy of Fanny Hill, whose husband buys her 19 pounds of dusty books for her birthday, and who once found herself poring over her roommate's 1974 Toyota Corolla manual because it was the only written material in the apartment that she had not read at least twice.

This witty collection of essays recounts a lifelong love affair with books and language. For Fadiman, as for many passionate readers, the books she loves have become chapters in her own life story. Writing with remarkable grace, she revives the tradition of the well-crafted personal essay, moving easily from anecdotes about Coleridge and Orwell to tales of her own pathologically literary family. As someone who played at blocks with her father's 22-volume set of Trollope ("My Ancestral Castles") and who only really considered herself married when she and her husband had merged collections ("Marrying Libraries"), she is exquisitely well equipped to expand upon the art of inscriptions, the perverse pleasures of compulsive proof-reading, the allure of long words, and the satisfactions of reading out loud. There is even a foray into pure literary gluttony--Charles Lamb liked buttered muffin crumbs between the leaves, and Fadiman knows of more than one reader who literally consumes page corners. Perfectly balanced between humor and erudition, Ex Libris establishes Fadiman as one of our finest contemporary essayists.

Switching it up, the last books on my list are the favorite books I've received as gifts:

7. A Girl of the Limberlost
by Gene Stratton Porter

It was 1997. I had just won the Junior Bookworm Award at Girl's Inc. in Southern Indiana, and the woman who ran the program, Elaine, was a bit like a second mother to me. She hand-chose A Girl of the Limberlost for me, starting me on a life-long love affair with Gene Stratton Porter's books.

Set amid Indiana's vast Limberlost Swamp, this treasured children's classic mixes astute observations on nature with the struggles of growing up in the early 20th century. Harassed by her mother and scorned by her peers, Elnora Comstock finds solace in natural beauty -- along with friendship, independence, and romance.

8. Letters from an Age of Reason
by Nora Hague

Thank you, thank you to my BFF for handing me this book. Several hundred pages, two continents, and a sweeping love story immersed in Civil War-era history later, 3/4ths of this book was impossible to put down. I immediately bought my sister a copy to pass on the favor.

Complex and sophisticated, sensuous and sexy, Nora Hague's eloquent debut novel, Letters from an Age of Reason, is set amid two historical hotbeds of racial tension, moral hypocrisy, and shifting sexual convention. The years in question are the tumultuous '60s - the 186os. And the landscapes are those of the Civil War-era United States and Victorian England.
Miss Arabella Leeds, the teenage daughter of a prominent New York family, and Aubrey Paxton, the pampered "high-yellow" house servant of wealthy New Orleans slaveholders, are destined to meet and fall in love. But before their paths can cross, and their romance commences in London, each must forsake complacency and comfort, the familial and familiar, for a journey toward self-discovery and the allure of the forbidden. Arabella must abandon the gentlewoman's prescribed path and redefine her convictions - particularly those regarding her own sexuality - while Aubrey must acknowledge within himself a growing awareness of race and gender politics, and his place in a culture determined to ostracize him.
The pair make their unknowing way toward each other, encountering en route high adventure, erotic awakening, long-buried family secrets, and the racy underpinnings of corseted nineteenth-century society. Coincidence and correspondence steer them into the company of morphine addicts and occult practitioners, proto-feminists and sexual outcasts, glib aristocracy and dire poverty. But for Aubrey and Arabella, the greatest challenge will lie in their passion for each other, which places them forever outside the mores and conventions of their time.
A romantic adventure rich with vivacity, humor, and historical detail, Letters from an Age of Reason is a beautifully tapestried tour-de-force whose exceptional depth, passion, and power are sure to resonate long after the final page is turned.

9. The History of Love
by Nicole Krauss

A long-lost book reappears, mysteriously connecting an old man searching for his son and a girl seeking a cure for her widowed mother's loneliness.Leo Gursky is just about surviving, tapping his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbor know he's still alive. But life wasn't always like this: sixty years ago, in the Polish village where he was born, Leo fell in love and wrote a book. And though Leo doesn't know it, that book survived, inspiring fabulous circumstances, even love. Fourteen-year-old Alma was named after a character in that very book. And although she has her hands full keeping track of her brother, Bird (who thinks he might be the Messiah), and taking copious notes on How to Survive in the Wild she undertakes an adventure to find her namesake and save her family. With consummate, spellbinding skill, Nicole Krauss gradually draws together their stories.This extraordinary book was inspired by the author's four grandparents and by a pantheon of authors whose work is haunted by loss Bruno Schulz, Franz Kafka, Isaac Babel, and more. It is truly a history of love: a tale brimming with laughter, irony, passion, and soaring imaginative power.

10. The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger

A dazzling novel in the most untraditional fashion, this is the remarkable story of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily through time, and Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare's passionate love affair endures across a sea of time and captures the two lovers in an impossibly romantic trap, and it is Audrey Niffenegger's cinematic storytelling that makes the novel's unconventional chronology so vibrantly triumphant. An enchanting debut and a spellbinding tale of fate and belief in the bonds of love, The Time Traveler's Wife is destined to captivate readers for years to come.

In My Mailbox

2011-12-12T07:14:00.000-05:00

This is my first week participating in the In My Mailbox meme - partly because I can't resist yet another way to list the books in my life and partly because I actually received some books in my mailbox this week, thanks to the amazing Holly Ruck, my former Houghton Mifflin Harcourt rep and current friend. THANK YOU so much, Holly! So, without further ado, may I present:

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by
The Story Siren.

This week, I received:

Circus Galacticus
by Deva Fagan
9780547581361, Harcourt (Houghton Mifflin), $16.99
Teen/YA

Publisher's description:
Rebel. Champion gymnast. Intergalactic traveler?
Trix can deal with being an orphan charity case at a snotty boarding school. She can hold her own when everyone else tells her not to dream big dreams. She can even fight back against the mysterious stranger in a silver mask who tries to steal the meteorite her parents trusted her to protect.
But her life is about to change forever. The Circus Galacticus has come to town, bringing acts to amaze, delight, and terrify. And now the dazzling but enigmatic young Ringmaster has offered Trix the chance to be a part of it. Soon Trix discovers an entire universe full of deadly enemies and potential friends, not to mention space leeches, ancient alien artifacts, and exploding chocolate desserts. And she just might unravel the secrets of her own past—if she can survive long enough.

The Star Shard

by Frederic S. Durbin

9780547370255, Houghton Mifflin, $16.99

Middle Grade

*I read this as a manuscript when I was working for HMH - can't wait to read the final version!

This beautifully written fantasy tackles the issues of slavery and freedom. Twelve-year-old Cymbril is a slave on Thunder Rake, a gigantic wagon city that rolls from town to town carrying goods to be sold by its resident merchants. The Rake’s master purchases a new slave, a mysterious boy named Loric who is one of the magical Fey. Because he can see in the dark, Loric’s duty is to guide the Rake through the treacherous wilderness at night.Cymbril and Loric secretly join forces to plan their escape—soon the two friends thread their way through a series of increasing dangers, encountering an enchanted market and deadly monsters as their one chance for freedom draws nearer.

Outlaw

by Stephen Davies

9780547390178, Clarion (Houghton Mifflin), $16.99

Teen/YA

I really enjoyed Hacking Timbuktu, which came out in 2010, and which I apparently forgot to review. Excited to read more high-octane adventure.

A high-tension, high-tech thriller with an African setting.
Jake and his sister, Kas, whose father is the British ambassador to Burkina Faso, are abducted, bundled into a van, and driven into the unknown. In smartphone contact with his father, Jake learns that the kidnapper with the spider web tattoo is the remorseless outlaw Yakuuba Sor, who is connected to an international terrorist organization. But is he the real Yakuuba Sor? And is Sor really a dangerous criminal? In this fast-paced tale laced with trickery and murder, Jake and Kas discover that with the corrupt local government and British Intelligence arrayed against them, survival in the African desert may be the least of their problems.

420 Characters

by Lou Beach

9780547617930, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $22.00

Adult

Alternately surreal, funny, ominous, and lyrical, Lou Beach’s 420 Characters offers an experience as dazzling as any in contemporary fiction. Revealing worlds of meaning in single paragraphs, these crystalline miniature stories began as Facebook status updates, and mark a new turn in an acclaimed artist and illustrator’s career. 420 Characters features original collages by the author.

Christmas Picture Book Round-Up

2011-12-10T07:43:00.000-05:00

A round-up of new Christmas-themed books out this Fall 2011.

'Tis the season, after all.

The Third Gift
by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
9780547201955, Clarion Books (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), $16.99

From two extraordinary talents, a beautifully crafted picture book for the Christmas season.

The three wise men, or the three kings, are familiar figures in the Christmas tradition. Newbery medalist Linda Sue Park has taken the brief biblical references to the three as the starting point for a new story. In it we meet a boy who is learning his father’s trade; a man who gathers resin from certain trees; a merchant in the marketplace; and three strangers in brightly colored robes who are shopping for a gift for a baby. Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline with exquisite paintings, this simple, moving tale of ordinary people involved in an extraordinary event brings new resonance to the well-known gift list of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Auntie Claus and the Key to Christmas
by Elise Primavera
9780547576794, Sandpiper (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), $7.99

It’s getting toward Christmas at the Bing Cherry Hotel, and Auntie Claus is preparing for her annual "business trip." Just before she is ready to leave, her favorite nephew, Christopher Kringle, begins to have doubts about the family business. Chris decides to take matters into his own hands: He plans to get on the Bad-Boys-and-Girls List on purpose! Even after his older sister, Sophie, reveals that their great-aunt, Auntie Claus, is really Santa’s sister, Chris needs to see for himself, in order to believe.

Follow the Star: A Pop-Up Christmas Journey
by Andy Mansfield
9781452103587, Chronicle Books, $19.99

Open this elegant pop-up book and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas! Lyrical words describe how the Star of Bethlehem lit the sky over the first Christmas, and how it shines still today: as families gather, as gifts are given, as we celebrate our love for one another, and as we wish for peace and joy for the world. The beautiful diorama-style format invites the reader to follow the star that shines every year during this special season, all over the world, in our homes and hearts.

The Story of Christmas
Text based on the King James version, illustrated by Pamela Dalton
9781452104706, Chronicle, $17.99

Pamela Dalton s exquisite, intricate scissor-cut illustrations wonderfully illuminate The Story of Christmas. Deeply reverent, richly detailed, and teeming with life, Dalton s images follow the story of the Nativity from the appearance of the Angel, to the shepherds who came from the fields, and to the three wise men who followed the star to pay respect for their new king. Working in a Pennsylvania-German folk-art tradition, rich with lovingly rendered animals and figures, Pamela Dalton has created a book that takes a deserved place among the finest celebrations of Christmas.

Over the River and Through the Wood
by L. Maria Child, illustrated by Matt Tavares
9780763627904, Candlewick, $16.99

Matt Tavares's lavish illustrations illuminate this definitive edition of a beloved seasonal classic.

The horse is ready, the air is bracing, and everyone is bundled into the sleigh. So let the wind blow and the snow start to fall! This family is off to Grandfather's house for a delicious feast. Matt Tavares, with his keen eye for detail, fresh and surprising perspectives, and all the warmth and coziness of a big holiday dinner, illuminates the original text of Lydia Maria Child's verse about Thanksgiving Day, which has marked the start of the holiday season for generations of children.

Santa's On His Way: A Changing-Picture Book
by Ruth Martin, illustrated by Sophy Williams
9780763655556, Templar (Candlewick), $12.99

In the week before Christmas, Santa has so much to do!

Watch Santa and his elves as they make all the presents, groom the reindeer, and prepare for their most important night of the year -- Christmas Eve. With tabs to pull to change the pictures, readers can watch them get everything ready day-by-day, until finally Santa's sleigh takes off into the sky on Christmas Eve.

A Christmas Tree for Pyn
by Olivier Dunrea
9780399245060, Penguin, $16.99

Christmas is coming. In the craggy rocks on the snowy mountainside, tiny Pyn has her heart set on decorating her very first Christmas tree. But, "No Christmas tree," Papa says. Still, Pyn won't take no for an answer. She knows that a Christmas tree is just the thing their cottage needs to make the season festive and cheery. Pyn is determined to find the perfect Christmas tree - no matter what. With this story of the love between a father and daughter, Olivier Dunrea captures the true spirit of Christmas.

The Twelve Days of Christmas
by Laurel Long
9780803733572, Penguin, $16.99

The astounding talent of Laurel Long brings this beloved song to life with breathtaking style. Set against a lush countryside, each day brings a new gift elegantly rendered. And like in the verses of the song, the previous gifts are repeated in every illustration, giving this striking artwork a hidden aspect, culminating in a staggering spread featuring them all. Readers will pore over every page, searching for golden rings, turtledoves, and all the rest, secretly tucked into each stunning painting. Laurel Long's unparalleled style makes this exquisite volume a treasure that will be cherished for years to come.

The Scrawny Little Tree
by Ed Mehler, illustrated by Susie Pollard
9780843198607, Penguin, $6.99

Originally published in 1973, The Scrawny Little Tree tells of a destitute little boy who has always wanted a Christmas tree. He finally has saved enough to buy a little tree all his own, one with scrawny limbs and very few needles. But the boy's love for his first Christmas tree is not affected by its diminuitive stature. His love and the magic of Christmas combine to make a strange and wonderful thing happen to the town . . . Told in rhyme and with retro illustrations, The Scrawny Little Tree is sure to become a favorite holiday tale!

Friday Round-Up

2011-12-09T08:01:00.000-05:00

Each week I round-up all the (mostly book-related) articles/blog posts/book reviews/websites/videos that entertained me during the week. Enjoy!

Articles

A round-up of "The World's Great Bookshops" - or in other words, how I will plan my next vacation.

The Banksy of Book Sculpting: The full story of The Library Phantom who left 10 book sculptures all over Edinburgh, Scotland. If only we could convince her to come to the States.

Flavorwire article of the week: "Ten Lost Novels the World Found Again"

Brilliant idea: "New books for new homeowners"

Don't miss "The Art of the Hobbit".

Taschen publishes absolutely lovely coffee-table art books. The Selby features photographs of the house of and a brief interview with Angelika Taschen.

Mark Twain's birthday dinner.

A really fascinating run-down of one book publication journey, from a self-published author with an agent. He rates himself on how well he did at each step. Gives you a lot to think about.

GalleyCat features directions on how to make a secret door out of a bookcase. Someday when I have my own...something (apt? house? building), that has to happen.

Children's Books

100 Scope Notes features a really lovely interview between Caldecott-winning illustrators Jerry Pinkney and Erin E. Stead.

The past, present, and possible future of the Newbery/Caldecott Awards explained in PW - featuring a former professor of mine and children's book expert, Anita Silvey!

BrainPickings showcases their list of "The 11 Best Illustrated Children's and Picture Books of 2011" and I don't disagree with them. These books are gorgeous. Though I would add a couple more to the list like Goliath from the Leviathan trilogy and anything Lane Smith has put out in the past year.

"The Most Disturbing Nursery Rhymes You've Never Heard" over at Book Dirt. Make sure to check out the rest of the blog while you're there - great content!

Over at The Browser, a Tintinologist discusses Herge and the inspiration for the classic Tintin tales.

Publishing Perspectives discusses the changing face of children's book reviews at The New York Times thanks to new New York Times Book Review children’s book editor Pamela Paul.

Libraries

"New Organization Helps Libraries Get Artsy to Support Local Communities". Do I need to say more?

Publishing

A fascinating article about an Indian publishing company that specializes in illustrated books for the adult market (not adult-content, just adult non-fiction). I'm a huge fan of the actual illustrated book (you'll see a lot of what they publish have photographs), both fiction and non-fiction for adults, and would love to see publishing companies doing more of that.

New French publisher in the American children's book market. Lovely!

Website

For writers and others: Figment: Write Yourself In.

Little bit obsessed with NPR's Three Books series. Check it out; great recommendations.

Lists of Note. Companion site to Letters of Note, which I mentioned previously.

Designers & Books.
Explore. Learn. Enjoy. Watch this video.

In the Cube: James Biber Interviewed by Michael Bierut (abridged 5:22) from Designers & Books on Vimeo.

Fall 2011 Picture Book Highlights: Penguin

2011-12-08T08:03:00.000-05:00

Love, Mouserella
by David Ezra Stein
9780399254109, $16.99

Mouserella misses her grandmouse, so she writes her a letter. At first she can't think of anything to say, but once she starts, the news begins to flow - she found a cat whisker at the zoo, she taught her ladybug to fetch, she made shadow puppets with Dadmouse during a blackout - and just like that, the events of the past few days come to vivid life in her letter, as does her love for Grandmouse. Children will enjoy reading the story from top to bottom, like a real letter, and Mouserella's funny drawings and lively adventures will spark their imaginations and just might inspire them to start a correspondence of their own.

Bun Bun Button
by Patricia Polacco
9780399254727, $17.99

Paige loves cuddling with Gramma and all of Gramma's pets in the Old Blue Chair. And when Gramma makes her Bun Bun Button, an adorable homemade stuffed bunny with a button nose, this special time becomes even more cozy. Then a balloon carries the little bunny away. Bun Bun braves honking geese and a wide night sky, until luck - or love - magically brings her back home to the little girl who loves her. This heartwarming story celebrates the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren, and is perfect for children who imagine their toys have secret adventures when no one's watching.

Otis and the Tornado
by Loren Long
9780399254772, $17.99

Otis and his farm friends are enjoying a summer's day playing their favorite game, follow-the-leader. The bull, however, has no interest in playing and stays in his pen, where he delights in intimidating the other animals. Suddenly the day turns frightening: the birds stop chirping, the wind picks up, and the sky turns dark and stormy. It's a tornado! Otis rouses a game of follow-the-leader to get all of the farm animals safe and sound in the dried-up riverbanks of Mud Creek. But Otis hears a cry in the distance - it's the bull, still locked in his pen! Quick as his tires will take him, Otis putt puff puttedy chuffs back to the farm to save the day. This brand-new adventure is a perfect accompaniment to any Otis lover's bookshelf and story time.

Shhh!
by Valerie Gorbachev
9780399254291, $16.99

When baby brother is sleeping, it's time to be ever so quiet. There's no singing or jumping or laughing at all. Even the toys need to be quiet! The pirates stop firing their cannons, the knights stop fighting, even the tiger stops growling. But when baby wakes up . . . it's time to jump and laugh and sing again! And the knights begin to fight, the pirates fire up the cannons, and the tiger growls so loudly! Until it's time to be quiet once again. In this beautifully and expressively illustrated picture book, we celebrate the love between siblings as a big brother uses his imagination to calm his urge to cause a ruckus so that his little brother can sleep.

Stuck
by Oliver Jeffers
9780399257377, $16.99

When Floyd's kite gets stuck in a tree, he's determined to get it out. But how? Well, by knocking it down with his shoe, of course. But strangely enough, it too gets stuck. And the only logical course of action . . . is to throw his other shoe. Only now it's stuck! Surely there must be something he can use to get his kite unstuck. An orangutan? A boat? His front door? Yes, yes, and yes. And that's only the beginning. Stuck is Oliver Jeffers' most absurdly funny story since The Incredible Book-Eating Boy. Childlike in concept and vibrantly illustrated as only Oliver Jeffers could, here is a picture book worth rescuing from any tree.

King Jack and the Dragon
by Peter Bently, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
9780803736986, $17.99

An irresistible knights-and-dragons fantasy for the very young, in the tradition of Oxenbury's enduring classic We're Going on a Bear Hunt.

Jack, Zack, and baby Caspar spend all day fighting dragons in their homemade fort. But when Sir Zack and Caspar are taken inside for bed, King Jack - alone on his throne - finds himself feeling a bit less brave . . . especially when he hears a thing approaching, a thing with four legs. A rollicking read-aloud with a charming surprise ending and Helen Oxenbury's spare, expressive illustrations, this kid-pleaser is a classic in the making.

The Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy
by David Soman and Jacky Davis
9780803734180, $16.99

When Sam turns into Bumblebee Boy to defeat pirates, fight dragons, and tame saber-tooth lions, he doesn't need his little brother, Owen, butting in and ruining his adventures. Bumblebee Boy flies alone! But what happens when Bumblebee Boy comes face-to-face with more scary aliens than even he can imagine? Owen is there, garbed in goggles and a towel cape, and he just might be the perfect alien-fighting sidekick. For all young superhero fans with big imaginations and curious siblings, here's a hilarious and sweet new adventure from the creative team who knows exactly how kids think.

Blue Chicken
by Deborah Freedman
9780670012930, $15.99

In this deceptively simple picture book, author-illustrator Deborah Freedman has created an irresistible character that springs to life and wreaks havoc in a farmyard with a pot of blue paint. The innocent chicken just wants to help, but things get worse and worse-and bluer and bluer--the more she tries. Playing with colors and perspective, and using minimal text, this richly layered story reveals new things to see and laugh about with each reading.

Little Owl's Night
by Divya Srinivasan
9780670012954, $16.99

It's evening in the forest and Little Owl wakes up from his day-long sleep to watch his friends enjoying the night. Hedgehog sniffs for mushrooms, Skunk nibbles at berries, Frog croaks, and Cricket sings. A full moon rises and Little Owl can't understand why anyone would want to miss it. Could the daytime be nearly as wonderful? Mama Owl begins to describe it to him, but as the sun comes up, Little Owl falls fast asleep. Putting a twist on the bedtime book, Little Owl's Night is sure to comfort any child with a curiosity about the night.

Waiting on Wednesday: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

2011-12-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) is a weekly meme hosted by

Breaking the Spine.

My posts about adult literary fiction are here:

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

My posts about my guilty pleasure reading (romantic, often paranormal, novels) can be found here:

Prince Charming Doesn't Live Here by Christine Warren

Tempest's Legacy by Nicole Peeler
Saint's Astray by Jacqueline Carey

Timeless by Gail Carriger

Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones

My posts about YA/teen titles are here:

Witch & Wizard: The Gift by James Patterson & Ned Rust

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

The Mockingbirds, Book 2: The Rivals by Daisy Whitney

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep

My posts about middle grade titles are here:

The Pirate Captain's Daughter by Eve Bunting

And now for today's:

Under the Never Sky

by Veronica Rossi

9780062072030, Harper Collins, $17.99
Pub. Date: January 2012

A young adult book by a first-time author, this is a retelling of Romeo & Juliet in a post-apocalyptic setting. Here is the publisher's description:

Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

In her enthralling debut, Veronica Rossi sends readers on an unforgettable adventure set in a world brimming with harshness and beauty.

Fall 2011 Picture Book Highlights: Chronicle Books

2011-12-06T07:56:00.000-05:00

Animal Fun from A to Z: Decorative Flash Cards
by Junzo Terada
9780811877794, $19.95

I've mentioned before my slight obsession with the alphabet, alphabet books, and alphabet cards. Here's just one more set to add to the ever-expanding list of alphabet-related paraphernalia I'd like to have some day.

A is for alligator and Z is for zebra! Showcasing the adorable vintage-inspired animal illustrations of Japanese artist Junzo Terada, these distinctive flash cards feature an animal for every letter of the alphabet. Printed on sturdy board, these cards are educational and absolutely delightful—perfect for both play and display.

One Love
Adapted by Cedelia Marley, based on the song by Bob Marley, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton
9781452102245, $16.99

Adapted from one of Bob Marley's most beloved songs, One Love brings the joyful spirit and unforgettable lyrics of his music to life for a new generation. Readers will delight in dancing to the beat and feeling the positive groove of change when one girl enlists her community to help transform her neighborhood for the better. Adapted by Cedelia Marley, Bob Marley's first child, and gorgeously illustrated by Vanessa Newton, this heartwarming picture book offers an upbeat testament to the amazing things that can happen when we all get together with one love in our hearts.

A Zeal of Zebras: An Alphabet of Collective Nouns
by Woop
9781452104928, $17.99

An embarrassment of pandas, a galaxy of starfish, a shiver of sharks...these are all collective nouns used to describe their groups. Woop Studios, acclaimed for their work on the Harry Potter movies, has illustrated these quirky phrases, creating a series of extraordinarily beautiful art that has been collected here for the first time. The colorful introduction to animals and the alphabet is accessible for young children, while the gorgeous, whimsical art and clever wordplay make it perfect for design-savvy parents and inspired gift givers. Longer than the standard picture book, with high design and production values, this is a volume readers will want on their coffee tables in addition to their child s bookshelf.

The Conductor
by Laetitia Devernay
9781452104911, $18.95

Pairing two seemingly disparate elements an orchestra conductor and a grove of trees award-winning artist Laetitia Devernay herself orchestrates a visual magnum opus. Her spare, yet intricate, illustrations truly appear to take flight before our eyes and her wordless narrative nearly roars with sound as the conductor prompts the leaves to rustle, then whirl, then swirl to unexpected life with each turn of the page. It is a celebration of creativity, imagination, storytelling, and the renewing power of nature that will entrance readers of every age.

Over and Under the Snow
by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neil
9780811867849, $16.99

Over the snow, the world is hushed and white. But under the snow exists a secret kingdom of squirrels and snow hares, bears and bullfrogs, and many other animals that live through the winter safe and warm, awake and busy, under the snow. Discover the wonder and activity that lies beneath winter s snowy landscape in this magical book.

Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love
by Patricia C. McKissack and Frederick L. McKissack Jr., illustrated by Randy DuBurke
9780811857499, $19.99

Cheating a bit with this one as it's actually a graphic novel for ages 12 an up, but the illustrations are just gorgeous, so had to include it.

From acclaimed authors Patricia C. McKissack and Fredrick L. McKissack Jr. comes a thrilling biography of an unforgettable man told in compelling graphic novel form. Born into slavery in 1854, Nat Love, also known as Deadwood Dick, grew up to become the most famous African-American cowboy in the Old West. A contemporary and acquaintance of Bat Masterson and Billy the Kid, Nat was widely known as an expert roper and driver, a crack shot, and a real Wild West character. Featuring lively full-color artwork by Randy DuBurke, Best Shot in the West is an exhilarating mix of high-interest historical fiction and nonstop adventure.