Ordinary Tales

Some time ago, I promised I would post my final project for my Kid Lit class, which is a picture book written and illustrated by me. I finished the project and turned it in and got an 'A' on the project and an 'A' in the class and have since graduated with an A.S. in Library and Information Technology. Yeay me! However, I'm having a hard time embedding my book project on this blog in a format that is readable and I'm tired of messing with it so here is a link to it on my Wiki. You have to manually click through the slide show, which is fine, you can look at the child-like pictures as long as you please.
Ordinary Tales: Or When Fairytale Characters Behave Themselves and Mind Their Manners.

The story was inspired by a class discussion about fairytales and how some of the discussion participants thought that fairytales were too violent, unsavory, or otherwise inappropriate for children. Fairytales can be strange but that's what I love about them, and I started to think, what would the stories be like if the characters were all kind and polite to each other? My guess is that they wouldn't be very interesting.

And speaking of fairytales, you should check out Neil Gaiman's new picture book for all ages Instructions, illustrated by Charles Vess. It tells you what you should do if you should happen to find yourself inside a fairytale world. Absolutely gorgeous illustrations. You could really get lost in them.

So that's all I have for now. I know the school year is winding down and the library is closed but the public library is still open so keep reading!

New books!

Just a quick post to let you know that the new JLG shipment is in and ready for check out. Take a look at these titles:

The Moon Over Star

I was just under 4 years old when the world watched Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon for the first time. I have vague memories of launches and moonwalks being broadcast on television. I don't really remember the first one. The Moon Over Star by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (2008) tells the story of one family's experience watching that first moon landing. It starts with the family in church praying for the safety of the astronauts, then, back at the family's farmhouse, Mae, the narrator of the story, and her cousins build a rocket in the backyard with found objects and pretend they are astronauts. Gran calls the children in to gather around the television to watch the launch. Mae is inspired to dream of becoming an astronaut herself but Gramps does not share in the excitement. He says the space program is a waste of money when there are so many people in need on Earth. After the launch, the family has a picnic dinner under the stars, gazing at the moon and wondering what the astronauts are thinking. Later, they gather around the television again to watch Commander Armstrong step out onto the moon and speak his immortal words. The graphite, ink, and watercolor illustrations are absolutely gorgeous, especially the two-page spread of the rocket launch which is informed by footage of the actual launch. In the end, Gramps comes to appreciate the amazing feat of human endeavor that he has just witnessed and encourages Mae to hold on to her dreams. I absolutely love this book. It recalls a moment in history when the world stopped and watched as humans flew into space and traveled to another world and a generation was inspired to dream of great things.

The Lambkins

A student brought this back to the library the other day and told me she couldn't finish it because it was "too freaky" for her. Well, that piqued my curiosity and I had to know what was it about this book that freaked her out? Well, I've read the book and I have to admit, it is little creepy. The story begins with the kidnapping of Kyle Wilson, regular kid, aspiring artist. He is taken by a woman whom he later in the story refers to as 'the shepherd' and describes her hair as 'that funny, artificial red that I guess some women think is pretty.' That made me laugh! Anyway, this woman has the ability to shrink people to the size of dolls and she adds Kyle to her collection, replacing John, who made her angry. The shepherd calls her little people 'lambkins' and she just wants to love them - and for them to love her - forever. I don't know how far the student got in this story, if it was the shrinking people that freaked her out or the shepherd wanting to force her captives to love her. The part that creeps me out is the woman's idea of a loving relationship - keeping kids prisoner and trying to make them love her by giving them time to practice their talents, though the youngest one does appear to suffer from Stockholm Syndrome. The kids' situation seems pretty hopeless, but they never give up and eventually escape their dollhouse prison.

3rd grade and up.

ETA: Just finished listening to the 2010 Newbery Medal winning When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. I had several false starts with this book. It was a little slow starting so I'd get distracted by something else, but I finally stuck with it and it turned out to be a very good book. I think I would recommend reading it, though, rather than listening to it. I didn't care much for the reader's voice and I found myself wanting to turn back pages to see if I missed something. This is because the book has a time travel theme. So it's important to pay attention to the little details that don't seem important at first. Kids: you might want to ask you parents (or your grandparents) about the $20,000 Pyramid and who Dick Clark is. Also, there are several references to Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time throughout the book so you might consider reading that first if you haven't read it already. I don't want to say too much more about it because I don't want to spoil the mystery. I'll just say, if you don't get into it right way, stick with it! It's worth it!

5th grade and up.

Falling In and The Doghouse

Okay, I finished Falling In by Frances O'Roark Dowell and it was very good. Isabelle Bean has always been a little different than other children. In fact, she believes she is a changeling and when she falls into a different world through a closet in the school nurse's office, she discovers that she's not entirely wrong. The world she falls into is like a fairy tale, where children live in fear of being eaten by the witch in the woods. But the witch has gotten a bad rap and employs Isabelle to help her overcome her reputation. In the mean time, Isabelle discovers a family secret and that she has a special skill. This was an enjoyable read, face-paced and light hearted. Isabelle is fearless and very likeable. I'd recommend this for grades 4 and up.

I'm becoming a big Jan Thomas fan. I'm already in love with The Rhyming Dustbunnies and in The Doghouse, Ms. Thomas uses the same combination of bold, saturated illustrations and simple text to create terrific read-a-louds for beginning readers. In The Doghouse, Cow, Pig, Duck, and Mouse loose their ball in the scary doghouse. Each takes a turn going in after it ... and not coming out! The suspense builds until the end when we find out they weren't ever in any danger. This book is fun to read out loud. I read it to two classes today and they loved it! The AR reading level of this book is 0.7. It's amazing what can be achieved with such an economy of words!

I don't have any knitting updates, really. I'm working on a cardigan. I'll post pictures when I have them.

Here are the best things kids have said to me about my new haircut:

"Whoa! What happened to your hair?"

"Are you wearing a wig?"

"Your hair looks weird."

Kid: "Did you color your hair with a crayon?"

Me: "No, I colored it with hair dye."

Kid: "Is that what happens when hair gets old?"

One last thing, the Patrick Marleau signed puck, courtesy of the Sharks Foundation, is on display in the library. If you ask me nicely, I might let you touch it!

How I Spent My Spring Break

I know I'm a little late with this post but better late than never. Spring Break was really only a partial spring break as the classes I'm currently taking (at two different community colleges) were not on break last week so there was still homework to be done. In addition, I had to do traffic school which took longer than I anticipated. As a result, I didn't do as much reading as I wanted to. The JLG shipment (pictured in a previous post) was delivered the Friday before spring break and I've been able to read a few of the titles.

The bold illustration style that Kevin Henkes used in A Good Day are use again in My Garden, the story of girl who imagines a much better garden than her mothers, with flowers that change color and patterns, giant tomatoes, and invisible carrots because she doesn't like carrots. Simple text makes it appropriate for pre-school to first grade.

Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan is a story from the author's own childhood. Khan is of Pakistani descent and tells a story that any girl with a younger sister will be able to relate to. Rubina is invited to a birthday party and is only allowed to go if her younger sister Sana can go with her. Sana ruins the party for Rubina and to add insult injury, eats Rubina's lollipop that she got for a party favor. Later, when Sana is invited to a party, she is expected to bring her still younger sister Maryam with her. But Rubina, remembering the repercussions of her own experiences bringing a younger sister to a party, convinces their mother to let Sana go alone. When Sana offers Rubina a gift of gratitude the sisters become friends. This is a wonderful story for grades 1 through 3.

Cloud Tea Monkeysby Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham, illustrated by Juan Wijngaard is a beautifully illustrated book that reads like a classic fairy tale and is, in fact, based on an old legend that Graham came across while doing some research. Tashi's mother works on a plantation picking tea, but one day she falls ill and is not able to work. Tashi tries to fill in for her mother but she is too small. When her monkey friends come to her aid, her and her mothers fortunes are changed forever. This is a wonderful story for all ages.

I'm currently half finished with Falling In by Frances O'Roark Dowell, which also has a fairy tale feel to it with a little Alice in Wonderland mixed in. I'll tell you more about it when I finish it.

And here is some knitting that I was doing last week:

Sammy and Katie are sporting their new moustaches!

Katie models a hat for me.

Also, Mrs. Medalen and I went to see the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie and we both thought it was hilarious! I'm really looking forward to reading the book now! Beware the cheese touch!

Neil Gaiman at your library

Mrs. Emerson and I went to the San Mateo Library to see Neil Gaiman's live webcast kicking off National Library week. He talked about libraries and librarians, censorship and the first amendment, reading and writing, and told us that the version of American Gods that is in his head is so much better than what he had written down. Wha wha what? Mr. Gaiman, can I please get inside your head? Anyway, I could have just watched it from home but I'm glad we went to the library to see it. It felt more 'live' that way. Plus, it was on a big screen and it was great to just stare at his big face for two hours. The webcast will be archived here. I don't see it there as of this posting, but check back soon. Also, go here to hear an interview with Mr. Gaiman on Minnesota Public Radio. That is all.