Gathering information, data if you will, for one of my ALA poster sessions this morning I noticed that Technorati has updated their web site. It is very visually appealing and seems to have ordered the information in a way that is easy to navigate. Though not a big fan of the new sign in pop-up box, I’m wondering how it will function on my dinosaur computer with modem at home, I was able to successfully login.
Stuck in the Middle is a graphic novel collection of seventeen comics for and about middle school. Edited by Ariel Schrag, this compilation includes accurate, funny, and touching reminiscence of such diverse topics as popularity, changing school, bullies, anxiety, and middle school cliques. Individual stories vary in length and style, some conform to a more traditional comic book presentation while others utilize a free style graphical approach. Each is classically rendered in black, white, and gray tones, suitable and appropriate for the topic at hand. As the foreward suggests:"Let's face it: thirteen is an unpleasant age. But that doesn't mean you can't laugh about it, whether you're sill dealing with the issues in the book or are far beyond the. Mistery loves company, so start reading."
A Friendship for Today, by Patricia C. McKissack, is the story of sixth grader Rosemary Patterson. Set in 1954, Supreme Court ruled school desegregation has arrived and soon the "colored schools" will be closed and students will be sent to the "white schools." McKissack sets the tone of this book early on when Rosemary comments to her mother: "If white people want to go to school with us so much, seems to me all they needed to do was ask. We'd make room for a few white kids at Attucks Elementary next year. Why did it take the Supreme Court to figure that out?" (p. 2)
"Because somebody told me that blue-eyed people are thieves and green-eyed people are liars, so I don't want those kinds of students around my other students." (p. 81)
The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg is a graphic novel for girls; it is devoid of super powers, mythical creatures, and fairy tale clichés. This novel is for teenagers who would like to read more chic offerings that if not mirror, at least represent, their lives. In response to Jane’s survival of a terrorist attack in Metro City, a bomb explodes in a trash can near a café, Jane and her parents have moved from Metro City to the suburban town of Kent Waters. A new home and town also mean a new school and new friends, something Jane is reluctant to experience. Shunning the popular girls, Jane finds her new “tribe,” a table of outcasts all named Jane.“Teenage girls, Ms. Berger said, are smart and sophisticated and “about more than going out with the cute guy. This line of books gives them something to read that honors that intelligence and assertiveness and that individuality.”
“As a whole, the line is positioned as an alternative for teenage girls who have, especially in bookstores, become increasing smitten with the Japanese comics known as manga. In 2004, DC started CMX, a manga imprint, to capture part of that audience. The marketing then was similar to that used for DC’s other titles.”
(NYT, Gustines, 11/25/06).
Tags: Cecil Castellucci, Jim Rugg, The Plain Janes, Graphic novels, YA fiction
I have had various students stop in and thank me for helping them with a project. I have had students write thank you notes for the same. I have even had students take time to return and thank me for the support they received from the library, and me specifically, after graduation.
"As Kinney finished his first draft, he was working for Family Education Network as a game developer and designer. The company, which also owns the Web site funbrain.com, an online community for kids, was looking for content to attract traffic, and when Kinney told his boss he had written a book that might be a good fit for the site, the company decided to test it out. "We started running an entry a day in May 2004," says Kinney. They continued to do so, on a daily basis, until Kinney wrapped the story up in October 2005. " (Joy Bean, Publisher's Weekly, Children's Bookshelf, 2/22/07).
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a novel in cartoons, is a compilation of original cartoons presented in book format. The pages, cleverly presented as a notebook with cartoons and bold printing, are identical to the serial published on Funbrain.com. Diary is the journal (not diary) of middle school student Greg Heffley. It is an excruciatingly faithful first person account of everyday life during his seventh grade year, begin kept for the sake of posterity: "The only reason I agreed to do this at all is because I figure later on when I'm rich and famous, I'll have better things to do than answer people's stupid questions all day long. So this book is gonna come in handy" (p. 2).
Greg and his best friend Rowley suffer through the trials and tribulations of being the youngest, and self described weaklings, in school full of bullies, cliques, and "morons." Greg's family, complete with Mom, Dad, older brother Rodrick, and younger brother Manny (who's hysterical nickname for Greg causes excruciating embarrassment at the most inopportune times). From the age-old debate of how old is too old to trick-or-treat to volunteering to be a school crossing patrol, from trying out for the school musical to the playground’s urban legend of “the cheese,” no significant - or insignificant -middle school happening is overlooked. This is a comical, not-so-typical look at Greg’s typical life. Future installments are planned and readers will want to see if friendship will survive … eighth grade.
More information on Diary of a Wimpy Kid:
I have had The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick, checked out of the library for several months.(Yes, I did mean to say months.) Though I really did not recall anything specific regarding the review prompting it's purchase, one cursory glance through the book was enough for me to tag it with the ephemeral hot pink post it note, signifying "dibs" when shelf ready. 
Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn took me back to my love of mystery and ghost stories. As a young reader, Nancy Drew was a favorite and I devoured them for several years. (I still remember my disappointment upon learning Carolyn Keene was a pen name for various authors in the series!) Hahn has written a novel reminiscent of this genre while at the same time presenting a story that is a bit deeper and richer in character development.
Jack Plank Tells Tales by, Natalie Babbitt (see also IPL Kidspace: Natalie Babbitt) is a collection of tales intricately woven into a single story. Jack Plank is a victim of pirate ship downsizing; the pirate business is slow and Captain Scudder of the appropriately named ship the Avarice, has informed Jack that only pirates who actually participate in pillaging will be kept as part of the team. Jack is put onshore in an island port town of Saltwash with only his wits and a small trunk of keepsakes. He finds his way to a boarding house, promises the proprietor Mrs. DelFresno he will cause no trouble, and is given a week or so to find "steady work" and "prove himself fit" in order to remain. As Jack and Nina, Mrs. DelFresno's nine year old daughter, search the town for work, reasons for not choosing a particular profession are revealed within individual chapters. What makes these accounts unique is the traditional oral storytelling invoked by Jack and enjoyed by his listeners. Jack tells the story to the boarding house residents and they are appropriately captivated by his tales.
"I don't want you getting involved, Orlando. You're only sixteen. This is not your fight."
"Isn't it, Papa? Then whose fight is it? Why aren't you doing something? What's the matter with you? Why are you just letting this happen? Do you know what the British are calling us? Hitler's Canary! I've heard it on the radio, on the BBC. They say he has us in a cage and we just sit and sing any tune he wants." (p. 43)
Logging in to Blogger after spending the evening completing overdue computer maintenance, running scans and defragging the hard drive, on my six-year-old HP Pavilion, I noticed this is post 300. Alas, I have not prepared any blog statistics, nor do I have anything deeply thought provoking, or genuinely humorous to share that would allow me to rise to the occasion. Instead, I have a few tidbits of information that should be filed under "what I learned today."
I noticed today that a lot of blogs and newspapers are commenting on the idea of book reviews on blogs verses book reviews in journals, magazines, and newspapers. I have not considered the topic enough to post on the topic as of yet, but have commented on a blog or two following the discussion. I do not consider this a book review blog, but I do indeed talk about books when the mood strikes. As a librarian I spend a lot of time reading books and reading reviews. As a student in grad school for library science (I hate the term library school ... please ... it sounds like kindergarten) I had to write weekly reviews for a children's literature class. I am not a professional reviewer, and don’t represent myself as one in the blogosphere, but I do have some idea on how to craft a book review. Either way, it’s my blog and I’ll write what I want to!
And with that sentiment, I’ll close with a happy 300th post to me.
Today's lunchtime reading was pilfered from the waiting to be cataloged cart. Fresh out of the YBP box and ready to travel off campus was Evil Genius, by Catherine Jinks (profile Teenreads.com). Currently eight chapters in to the novel, here is a brief overview and character introduction.