If you missed SCBWI...

Here are some highlights in an info-packed article from Publishers' Weekly.

Review of Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Brosgol, Vera.  Anya's Ghost. First Second, 2011.

(Graphic Novel) When Anya, a disaffected high school student, falls down an old well, she meets Emily Reilly - a ghost who fell into the old well almost a hundred years ago and whose bones anchor her underground.

Luckily Anya doesn't suffer the same fate as Emily, but she is surprised to find that when she is rescued, Emily comes with her, thanks to a finger bone that stows away in her backpack.

Emily seems meek and pathetically eager to help - at first.  But as she becomes more and more controlling and attitudinal - in fact turning into the ultimate problem teen, even if she is transparent - Anya realizes that she's got a real problem on her hands.  She needs to find the bone that Emily has managed to hide - before Emily turns poltergeist, or worse.

The interesting aspects of this story have to do not so much with Evil Emily - whose story is rather pallid - as with Anya herself.  She's a Russian immigrant who came to America when she was 5, and she still remembers fellow Kindergartners making fun of her accent and funny clothes.  Her relationship with her single mom and her Russian heritage is ambivalent, and she desperately wants to fit in at school but somehow can't quite succeed even though she's shed her accent, smokes cigarettes, and dresses to blend in.  It's a more recent immigrant, fobby as all get out, who helps her see that impressing a bunch of idiot high school students is maybe not the world's best ambition - oh, and Emily Reilly's pychopathic tendencies put things in perspective as well.

Brosgol's art is solid and self-confident, with thick outlines and an altogether pleasant feel that complements this ghost story/high school alienation hybrid.  A quick, fun read for grades 7 and up.

SCBWI 2011 - Saturday

Wow, what a day!  To summarize:

Donna Jo Napoli:

She was eloquent on the subject of censorship, arguing that it is simply wrong-headed to try to keep kids from reading about the difficult, awful, dark things in life - violence, sexual abuse, poverty, racism, prejudice of any sort, and so on. 

• The "unprotected child" who is living with this kind of horrible thing can read about a child who is suffering something terrible and see that in fact, bad things do happen to innocent, good people through no fault of their own.  And, though powerless, children may discover that they have some kind of knowledge or resources that will pull them through and help them survive.
• Even more importantly, "protected children" will see that their own lives are good not because they somehow deserve them more but because they are lucky - and hopefully they will grow into adults who don't feel entitled and who are aware of all the misfortune in the world and may even feel compelled to do something about it (like vote to end tax breaks for the rich!)

David Small:

He provided a nice segue from Napoli, as he shared how both teens and adults have had powerful reactions to Stitches. 

He also narrated a hilarious slide show (illustrated by himself, of course), depicting himself signing at an uncaring chain store and then at the indie Nickleby's, where he was bear-hugged by Walter the Giant.  (note to self - remind librarians who have author programs to love those authors up - save them parking places, welcome them with huge respect, and beg, borrow, and steal an audience for them)

Judy Blume:

Judy Blume!!!!  Oh my god!!!!!!  And jeepers, she is a lithesome, gorgeous, girlish 73.  What is it about writers, anyway? 

Can't possibly distill her informal talk with Lin, as my head was in the clouds.  Forgot to take notes, except for a dashed "must re-read all of Judy Blume."

Jon Scieszka:

Holy cow, he was a 2nd-grade teacher for 10 years.  How lucky were those kids?!  He recounted how the boys would pick up a book, look at it sideways (at the spine) and then at the cover, and only pronounce worthy of possible interest if it was skinny and cool-looking.  Which explains how the Time Warp Trio books came about.

Quotable quote - "Preschoolers are like Alzheimer's patients on acid - everything's brand-new and a little freaky."

Oh, and he actually made an innuendo about Judy Blume - possibly inadvertently.  After reading us chapter 5 of Spaceheadz, which consists only of a hamster "eeking," he said that Judy Blume really liked that chapter.  "At least I think it was Judy Blume - it was kind of dark."  He paused as we all sniggered.  "Did I really say that?  Oh god!"  He actually blushed!

Norton Juster:

He counseled that kids should be allowed to be bored, as "boredom leads to improvisation." 

And his parting words of advice, which I keep thinking about as they seem both profound and puzzling?  "Spend a large portion of your life 'out of context'" - which will have a bit more meaning to those who remember the dirty bird from The Phantom Tollbooth.

Jennifer Holm:

She gave some excellent advice on using family stories to create great historical fiction, that actually work just fine for anyone writing historical fiction (the Library of Congress is one-stop shopping for research and you never have to get out of your jammies; interview your older family members before they die; always keep your story first, not the research).  And she showed some fabulous family photos...

I didn't attend Sunday, as I had relatives in town and figured I should spend a bit of time with them - but it sounds like it was amazing.

And now back to work and my scary to-do list - feeling more than ever that getting kids and books together is a damn good reason to get up in the morning.

SCBWI 2011 - Friday

The annual Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference in Los Angeles is one of the highlights of my summer, even when I feel seriously guilt-ridden at luxuriating in rooms full of my favorite kind of people - writers - when I have SO much to do at work.

Unlike ALA, which is so directly related to my job, SCBWI is more peripheral, and yet it's this conference more than any other that reminds me, over and over, about the power of children's books.  Though I no longer personally hand books to kids (well, except for the ones in my family), I'm deeply thankful to be in a line of work in which I still have a role in getting the right book to the right child.

I'm also grateful, down to my bones, for authors and illustrators - who make my life worth living and my job worth savoring.

Now - on to the conference!  As it's impossible to give you the full Fabulosity that is SCBWI Annual, here are some tidbits from Friday:

Over 1400 attendees, including a record # of men – over 150. “You brave soldiers - welcome,” says Lin Oliver to them. Someone from every state but South Dakota; 70 people from over 20 countries.

Bruce Coville:

Questions our society's claim that children are our best resource, when we are cutting schools and libraries, while corporations get wealthier.

Progress toward justice comes in fits and starts, but we are indeed moving forward.

Craft - “Craft without inspiration leads to basketweaving, but inspiration without craft leads to modern art.”

Ripples in the pond – everything we do has an effect that moves outward, even if we can't predict how.

Lots of advice for writers, including these 2 points:

1. Marry rich
2. Embrace the unfinished “chord” or thought or plot line. The reader doesn't need to know everything; keep them thinking

Jerry Pinkney:

Grew up in tradition of oral storytelling, which has informed his visual storytelling (he was enthralled by how the stories created images in his mind).

First book, Adventures of Spider, is still in print (since 1964)

Marla Frazee and Allyn Johnston

The two have published some of my faves, including Everywhere Babies and Harriet, You'll drive me Wild.

New one coming out – Stars

Picture books are meant to be read aloud - every single one of 'em. 

Libba Bray:

Yes, Libba is as hilarious as her books are. One-liners, snark – fabulous!

Her message? “Embrace the Suck.” She offers us a tale from the trenches, using the 3^rd of her Gemma Doyle series. First 2 books were a blast, but the 3^rd – she had nothing, and finally turned in a 565 page novel – a clunker that she had 2 months to pull into shape. Way past deadline, her novel was up to 900 pages, only 100 of which was from the original manuscript.

Advice for writers:

1. Gather your tools for survival - “your book is in there, buried under the one you hate” - figure out how you like to work – setting, rewards, support group
2. Avoid the quicksand – irrational fears – don't listen to those friends, family, blogs, articles, etc. stay safe inside the writing cave
3. Perfect wants to vote you off the island, but better wants to make an alliance – don't get paralyzed by the need for perfection. Lower your standards! Give yourself manageable goals
4. Explore the whole island – explore different formats, tenses, perspectives, narrators, etc

Yeah, and that was just the tiniest glimpse into an amazing day.  Next up - Saturday!

Review of The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi

DiTerlizzi, Tony.  The Search for WondLa.  Simon & Schuster, 2010.

I don't know why it took me so long to read this; it wasn't until the audiobook snagged my eye as I trotted through the Children's Literature department last week that I finally gave it a chance.

And I'm glad I did, though the audiobook version is a mixed success.  On the one hand, narrator Teri Hatcher does a fantastic and utterly convincing job with the various voices, from Eva Nine's girlish warble to all different kinds of aliens.  But - someone must have told her to read VERY slowly.  Yes, audiobooks need to be read at a slow enough pace that listeners can savor the words - but to space words out like a funeral march is just too much.  This was the slowest-read audiobook I have ever listened to, and I have listened to hundreds!  And the other disadvantage of this audiobook is that I missed the illustrations - but I must say that the author did a fine job describing all the creatures, and my mind's eye populated Eva Nine's world with no problem.

So - this is science fiction, which is evident right off when we meet Eva Nine, who lives all alone in a very modern underground "sanctuary," cared for by an advanced robot that Eva calls "Muthr."  Soon enough, the sanctuary is destroyed and Eva Nine must flee to the surface, something she has never done - and she finds it entirely different than she has been taught.  Right away she encounters danger, but she also meets friends - alien creatures like the backward-bending-legged Rovender Kitt, who becomes Eva's slightly reluctant but amiable traveling companion, and the incredibly sweet giant pillbug Otto, who communicates via a form of telepathy with Eva Nine.

Eva Nine thought this was Earth - but according to everyone she meets, the planet has a different name. Where is Eva?  What happened to all the other humans?  Why is a hunter trying to track her down?  Nicely balanced between adrenalin-pumping danger and fascinating encounters with the various creatures of this planet, the plot is sprightly enough to keep readers glued (even if they are listening to someone read aloud at a glacial pace...), even as it stays focused on the heart of the story - Eva Nine, her important relationships, and her search for her people.  By the end, a few questions are answered but many more remain for following books to resolve.

Good science fiction for middle-graders is hard to find; this one is heartily recommended for ages 9 to 12.

Falling into rabbit holes

Giving birth seriously fried my brains, especially the first time, but it obviously gets Betsy Bird's creative juices flowing, because her posts over at Fuse #8 are better than ever.  Okay, maybe she wrote these before giving birth - but if so, that's even MORE amazing!  Jeez...

Her post rating the magical lands of 2011 fantasies in terms of whether a kid might want to visit them made me think about the lands I wished to escape to as a child.  As an adult, I rarely read fantasies, children or adult, that take place in lands so enticing that I wish I could live there - Harry Potter being the notable exception.  And really, there were very few that compelled me even as a child; there were plenty I liked to visit as a reader but would be terrified to live in or even step foot into. 

Most of those magical lands just aren't SAFE!  From Oz to Wonderland, they're brimming with nasty characters, treacherous landscapes, and tricky tests of character.  Sure, natural-born Gryffindors live to push the boundaries, conquer bad guys, and hurl themselves in the path of danger, but we Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw hybrids crave a quiet life.

The realms I wished most fiercely to visit all had one thing in common - safety.  They were - the Thousand Acre Forest Hundred Acre Wood (see? brain still fried 20 years later), the world of the Peanuts comic strip, Narnia, and (this is somewhat embarrassing) Whangdoodleland.

The first two I still find enticing enough to soothe me when I'm awake at 3 pm stressing about work - they are like those small towns you visit and think "I could live here."  Sure, you'd be bored within a couple months, but who cares?  Boredom feels like sheer luxury sometimes.

Narnia - well, who hasn't walked through a glade filled with dappled light and had the thought that maybe this is IT?  Finally, you've made it to Narnia at long last!  Okay, it wasn't so safe - but I would have found some little cozy corner with some talking mice or whatnot and just stayed out of the Queen's way.  Forget all that hero stuff.

Whangdoodleland.  Well, what can I say?  I adored The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles as a 10-year-old, especially the Whangdoodle himself with his sweet tooth and sweet smile.  The place was a little risky, but its charms outweighed the dangers.  My mother, a librarian herself, couldn't believe I loved what she considered to be a mediocre celebrity-written book, and I don't dare to read it as an adult just in case I agree with her.

What worlds did you want to visit as a child?  Do they hold the same appeal today?

Review of Secrets of the Crown by Epstein and Jacobson

I wrote the following review for the August edition of School Library Journal; find the issue online here.

EPSTEIN, Adam Jay & Andrew Jacobson. Secrets of the Crown. Bk. 2. illus. by Peter Chan & Kei Acedera. 384p. (The Familiars Series). HarperCollins. Sept. 2011. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-196111-3. LC number unavailable.
Gr 4-6–In this sequel to The Familiars (HarperCollins, 2010), the traitorous rabbit familiar Paksahara has gained control of the Shifting Fortress, enabling her to cast powerful spells; in her bid to overthrow humans, she has eliminated their ability to do magic. Animals retain their magical ability, so familiars Skylar the blue jay, Gilbert the tree frog, and Aldwyn the cat set off on a journey through strange and exotic lands to find the Crown of the Snow Leopard, which will allow them to locate the Shifting Fortress. The cliff-hanger ending ensures at least one more installment. The writing isn’t the strength of this book–characters are painted broadly and tend to make pronouncements in pompous fantasy-speak. However, the familiars’ adventures are exciting, and the revelations about Aldwyn’s long-lost parents are touching. Fans of the first book will be pleased, and the story will also appeal to readers of animal fantasy series like Erin Hunter’s “Warriors” (HarperCollins) and Kathryn Lasky’s “The Guardians of Ga’hoole” (Scholastic).–Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library