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For Banned Books Week this year, we combed through hundreds of records of challenged materials reported by Oregon schools and libraries over the past 35 years. In the process, we came across some surprising, amusing, and, at times, weirdly specific arguments for banning books. Here are 10 particularly strange reasons that demonstrate how absurd it [...]

Cory Putman Oakes is a children’s book author from Austin, Texas. Her middle grade debut, DINOSAUR BOY, hits shelves in February, 2015 with its sequel, DINOSAUR BOY SAVES MARS, to follow in February, 2016.

I read a lot of Young Adult books. I love the strong storylines, and the passion and honesty of the protagonists. Here are a few of the many YA books I love.

Oh my GOSH! Tamora Pierce, one of my favorite authors, named SCARS as one of her favorite YA books of 2011! (beaming and beaming) It’s such a thrill when an author whose work you love, loves your work as well! I am floored. Thrilled!

And I’m also in a list with a bunch of other authors I love and admire, including Laurie Halse Anderson, Gail Giles, Nancy Garden, Pam Bachorz, Eva Ibbotson, Jackie Morse Kessler, Melinda Metz, and, and, and!

WOWza.

By the way, if you like strong girl characters and fantasy, and you’ve never read Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness series with Alanna, or The Immortals series with Daine, you need to pick them up. They rock.

That’s what Neil Gaiman writes on Twitter whenever he links to one of his blog posts.  “Warning: Contains Me.”  Well, today’s a nice me-centric post, but let’s start off by looking at a “them” instead.  Specifically, a “them” of awesome.

• Two years ago authors Jim Averbeck and Maria Van Lieshout had an idea.  Since the words Newbery/Caldecott Banquet are already synonymous with glitter and glam, why not do a Red Carpet Interview series?  The series was a hit, and this year Jim and new partner-in-crime Kristin Clark Venuti have a whole new crop of On the Red Carpet interviews.  Now you have 18 days to vote for your favorite interview.  They may not all be up quite yet, so be patient, but when they are you’ll have twenty-two fine and fancy names to choose from.  This year, my primary job was to grab folks as they walked past so as to MAKE THEM talk to Jim and Kristin.  I did okay.  But I was hindered by an injured extremity.  In this video, Jim sets my tale of woe against a rather convincing game of Frogger.

Beats Pac-Man.  Or Centipede, for that matter.  Go to this site to see more videos.

• Speaking of ALA, Laura Rogers, the cute as a button girl who read all the Newbery winners, recently participated in a Mock Newbery Committee meeting at the Hussey Mayfield Memorial Public Library that sported a record turnout.  Check out the kids.  Woah.  Good readers!  Thanks to Kelli Brooks for the link!

• Who says there are no second chances on Broadway?  Or, in the case of Mr. Frank Wildhorn, third, fourth, and fifth chances.  From the man who brought you Jekyll & Hyde (which I admit to liking in college) and Dracula: The Musical (not so much) comes Wonderland: A New Alice. A New Musical Adventure.  I’m not hep enough to my Broadway history to know how many Alice musicals have trod the Great White Way before, but I suspect that this is not the first.  Interesting.  Thanks to @PWKidsBookshelf for the link.

• I’m about all things bird, and now Peter Sieruta has put up a post that includes an interlude on how Laura Amy Schlitz’s The Night Fairy inspired him to hang a hummingbird feeder outside his home.  Check out the video feed he got of a little surreal bee-like bird taking a sip or two.

• This is a little off-topic, but my buddy Davin just made thi
  6 Comments on Fusenews: Warning – Contains Me, last added: 8/10/2010
  Display Comments
  tanita said, on 8/10/2010 2:35:00 AM
  

  …I still cannot believe that I didn’t even see you at the New/Cal dinner. And I was SITTING WITH JIM AVERBECK. ::SIGH::

  KHazelrigg said, on 8/10/2010 5:14:00 AM
  

  That Frogger song at the end of your ALA video is rockin’!

  working illustrator said, on 8/10/2010 5:57:00 AM
  

  I’m voting for Westerfield #1 (mostly on account of its not looking like a movie poster (very backwards of me, I know, but I hate – have always hated, always will hate – photography on fiction covers, even when heavily Photoshopped). And I wouldn’t get your hopes up about “Wonderland” on Broadway… my inside-scoop theater people are mostly thumbs-down.

  Chris in NY said, on 8/10/2010 6:12:00 AM
  

  Loved the Tammy Pierce link. She is one of the daughters favorite authors. And I can testify that Pierce is a total hoot as a speaker- get her in a room with Bruce Coville and it is non-stop laughs.

  Jim said, on 8/10/2010 8:37:00 AM
  

  Thanks Betsy. You did a fine job of author herding this year. We have interviews with Holly Black, Ellen Hopkins, Grace Lin, Jon Scieszka, Linda Sue Park and many other luminaries of the children’s book world. And we got most of them to play a game of $20,000 Pyramid in honor of the Newbery winner, WHEN YOU REACH ME.
  All the interviews are now up, grouped by subject, and we have a bunch of things for folks to do over at the site.
  Hope your ankle is all healed.—J
  PS- Hi Tanita!

  WendieO said, on 8/10/2010 7:41:00 PM
  

  Love your FuseNews posts — and this is a nice long, juicy one.

  Add a Comment

This month, readergirlz is honored to feature renowned fantasy author Tamora Pierce! We're discussing her duology Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen.

Read the December issue of readergirlz. There's a playlist for the book, plus book guide questions and party ideas.

Drop by the readergirlz blog to discuss the book with other readers, ALL MONTH LONG!

And don't forget to join us for the LIVE! chat with Tamora on Wednesday, December 16th at 6 pm PST/9 pm EST.



One more exciting tidbit: rgz received the National Book Foundation’s first Innovations in Reading Prize. From over 150 entries, rgz was chosen as a program that innovatively sustains a love of reading for life. Yay readergirlz!!

I'm trying something a little different for my last post in AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT week.  I received an email from a blogging buddy who is also a librarian:

I think I checked out seven Pierce books today to patrons, plus put one back in the mail from Interlibrary Loan. Can you give me a rundown on why she's awesome and recommend first books? Not that I need any more to read, but I know you're a fan.

• Action Scenes Blood is blood, muscles hurt, breathing strains, waste smells, and we can feel the blisters of the sword on our fingers.  Pierce's visceral descriptions are particularly important for her female characters, since women in fairy tales (all right, princesses) usually don't sweat.
• Evil Pierce doesn't gloss over the costs of battle; refugees whose homes have been destroyed play prominently into her works.  Lack of crops or drinking water are realities in war-stricken Tortall.  But there's evil, too, that mirrors the worst of  human history. (For example, a wizard whose fighting machines are fueled by the souls of children - so, of course, he has to kill the children to capture their souls.)
• Romance & Sex Sometimes it's love (like my feelings for Numair) and sometimes it's hormones (Alanna explores sex & love), but Pierce never makes romance gushy or sappy, even when someone's in love with a crow.  ("I want to always have the taste of you on my lips," Nawat whispered...Trickster's Queen, page 345.)  Pierce also makes a point to have characters talk about birth control, if necessary.
  

1) What country would I like to live in?
a) the United States

If you like YA fantasy and strong girl books (I love them) check out the video Q & A with Tamora Pierce on Amazon. She talks about the sequel to Bloodhound, the magic from her books she’d most like to have, and a gift she bought herself that relates to her books.

Bloodhound (The Legend of Beka Cooper, Book 2)


by Tamora Pierce
Random House Books for Young Readers (April 2009)
ISBN-10: 0375814698, ISBN-13: 978-0375814693

My rating: 4/5 stars

–Bloodhound (The Legend of Beka Cooper, Book 2)
by Tamora Pierce, p. 15.

If you like fantasy and you haven’t read Tamora Pierce, you’re missing out.

Pierce’s books have strong female characters, great world building and settings, and characters facing conflict and coming out on top. Bloodhound
is no exception.

Beka Cooper used to live in a slum area, and knows how to talk street talk and notice what’s happening around her, see pickpockets and more. She trained to be part of the Provost’s Guard (like a police officer), and now she’s a full member, a Dog–and trying to make her co-workers proud. But some don’t want to work with her, because she always wants to do what is right, and is fierce about it. There are a lot of crooked guards. But Beka persists. With her tenacity, talent, and some magic (she can hear the newly dead whose souls fly on the backs of pigeons, and can hear bits of conversations that happened close to wind) she hunts down criminals and strives to put things right–including a huge undertaking, fighting couterfieters which threaten to undermine the whole country through putting too much fake silver into the regions. Beka also discovers a new lover, and gains a new animal companion, in addition to her cat and the pigeons.

The story is written in diary form, in a strong, vivid voice. Most of the writing is compelling and fast moving, but there were places where the diary format grated on me and made me notice the convention, such as the too-frequent repetition that Beka was too tired to write any more that night, or the fact that she was writing. It sometimes got in the way of the story for me, and I wished it wasn’t there. But the rest of the time, Beka’s voice is strong and vibrant.

Pierce is an expert at making the world in her books seem real. She brings such great setting detail without giving too much, and brings in the senses–sound, smell, touch, taste, and of course sight–which helps the reader really believe in the setting. The language, too, flows beautifully, and I found myself so immersed in the book that for the few days while i was reading it, I’d find myself thinking “mayhap” and other language from the time period.

Pierce has an ability to make strong-girl characters that the reader cares about and roots for. Pierce’s characters come alive, and she uses specific details that help make them stand out–even walk on characters, such as a carter with blackened teeth. These details help make the characters believable and to feel real. You’ll come to care about the characters, especially Beka, for her bravery, her courage, her tenacity and her fiestiness, as well as her compassion and good-heartedness. For her wanting to do what is right, and help protect others. Beka is a wonderful, full character, with some self doubt, impulsiveness, and shyness to round her off, and she excels at her job as a guard.

Pierce brings a lot of good feeling with there being many good characters who revolve around or interact positively with Beka, showing her kindness, affection, or respect, or offering help, which works to balance out the negative things that happen. Pierce also uses some language specific to her worlds, as well as to the time period, likely from England. I had no trouble with the language and could easily follow along, but there is a glossary in the back for readers who need it.

There’s a nice thread of romance and some sexual tension, as Beka finds herself choosing between two possible boyfriends. I love that the strong-girl character is still desired by the male characters, and valued for her strength and her character as well as her beauty.

There were a few things that didn’t work as well for me in the book. I felt like this story was missing a bit of tension, perhaps because Beka didn’t have to prove herself to anyone any more, or when she was faced with danger, we didn’t always get to see it. It also felt like there were too many characters, at least for me; they distracted from the main or important characters, and I often couldn’t follow all of them. There IS a character reference/map at the back of the book, which I didn’t realize when i was reading–but i wouldn’t have wanted to stop reading every time i didn’t know who a character was to check (it interferes with the flow), and i don’t think a reader should have to…. But that’s me.

There were a few scenes where it felt like Pierce avoided some conflict and pain that would have made a great scene, telling us things afterwards, such as when Bekka was attacked at her house. I felt a bit cheated as a reader to have Bekka not remember things. There was also the occasional scene which felt like it should have a point or something connected to it that matters later, but didn’t, and didn’t seem to advance the story forward, such as when Bekka talks to her cousin and he realizes she really talks to pigeons. And we’re told that Bekka is upset about temporarily losing her cat, but I don’t think we saw enough affection between them or a deep enough relationship to believe it.

Beka is an engaging and likable character, as are Goodwin and Tunstall, and others. This is the second book in a series, (Terrier being the first), but you don’t need to have read the first book to enjoy this one. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read–one that captured my interest, immersed me completely in the world, and made me eager to read on right to the very end.

Highly recommended.

If you like this book, check out Pierce’s Song of the Lioness; Immortals Quartet; and Protector of the Small series for more fantastic, strong-girl reads.

Song of the Lioness:
• Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness, Book 1),
• In the Hand of the Goddess (The Song of the Lioness),
• The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (The Song of the Lioness), and
• Lioness Rampant (The Song of the Lioness);

Immortals Quartet:
• Wild Magic (The Immortals, Book 1),
• Wolf-speaker (the immortals, Book 2),
• Emperor Mage (The Immortals, Book III), and
• The Realms of the Gods (The Immortals);

Protector of the Small:
• First Test (Protector of the Small),
• Page: Book 2 of the Protector of the Small Quartet,
• Squire: Book 3 of the Protector of the Small Quartet, and
• Lady Knight: Book 4 of the Protector of the Small Quartet.

Pierce returns to the Circle Universe (The Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens quartets) to follow Evvy, the young stone mage from Street Magic. Evvy is traveling with two Winding Circle mages Rosethorn and Myrrhtide to the Battle Islands to see if they can discover why plants and animals on the Islands are dying for no apparent reason. Evvy hates traveling by sea and once she arrives on land

All she ever wanted was to be a knight. And it was that dream, that spurred the changing and the strengthening of a realm, the discovery of talent and of magic, the birth and the heart of many, the legend and the inspiration for all.

On the outside, Page Alan of Trebond is simply a boy with wicked purple eyes and wild twist of flame red hair, the same as any other knight-in-training at the royal palace. But deeper, Page Alan is not all he seems.

Alan is Alanna, the girl with a love for archery and fencing, a passion for riding and a drive that pushes her to open closed doors and to chase her desires, to dance with rogues and laugh with princes, to see and do and truly be. Disguised as her twin brother, she sneaks off to become a palace page, a knight in training. Alanna stays true to her task to become a knight, binding and concealing her budding womanhood, struggling with the force of her magical Gift, the touch that the Gods have placed upon her, and all of the trials and tribulations that come from being a simultaneous girl and boy.

She faces bullies, falls in love, experiences duels, battles, and murderous mages, befriends all from the King of Thieves to the Crown Prince of Tortall, all in hope of earning her shield as a knight.

My gosh. I love this book.

Ever since I was a tiny little mite of evilness and awesome, I have completely, toadally, muhahahably adorified the Alanna series. She's a girl who defies all social boundaries and constraints to follow her aspirations, and she's inspiring to characters in her book and to readers alike. She reminds me of Frankie from the Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks (by E. Lockhart—check out Avery Trelaine's brilliant review right here), who does sort of the same thing. Both books explore the issues of a woman and a girl in a society that subtly, even unintentionally restrains or underestimates them.

Another thing to be loved about these books, is the fact that at the end of the series, the characters don't simply disappear. They appear later on as guest stars of principle characters in later series that focus on others. You find out how each person's life progresses, who they marry, what children they have, what battles they've won, and you follow their maturing and their aging, in a way that seems as though you really know them.

Alanna is especially cool, because there is a series about her daughter, a series about her husband, a series about a girl who loves and idolizes her, and in every single Tortall story, she is present as a celebrated legend. By the way, Tortall is the country in which Alanna lives.

So. The series as a whole, receives a wickedly ineffable, empyreal, prodigious review, along with a whopping five out of five evil daggers.




Weeping with admiration for strong women around the world,

Your newbie cousin,
Briar

Since somebody (and more than one somebody) has asked how to make stationery from discard books, here are some ideas:

1. Take all the old paperbacks you’ve got that nobody would buy from the book sale.  Add to that stack the ruined encyclopedias and ancient almanacs, the dead dictionaries and all the rest.  Separate them by size.
2. Remove the most interesting covers of the paperbacks.  Take a few of the inside pages with good text—say the chapter headings, and save these together.
3. Find or make envelopes.  Remember that you’ll need an envelope that is a bit larger than whatever card you create.  Stock envelopes are fine, but I also make my own from construction paper and what-not.  If you want to make envelopes, simply find one in the size you want, take it apart and use it for a template.  If you want a more permanent pattern, cut one out of tracing plastic or vellum.  You can always buy plastic envelope templates, but they won’t help when you’ve got a card that doesn’t match in size.
4. Take the cover of a paperback and trim it carefully, removing the bent corners and other major tears.  When you’ve got a final rectangle, make a simple card from white or pale construction paper (old manila folders work fine) and glue the book cover to it.  Your clever crafter will use the back cover for the rear of the card—your really smart person will glue them so that the card may be opened up and posted for viewing later.  That means you put the front cover on the back—think about it.
5. When you’ve finished folding the envelope to size, leave it unglued.  You can glue it together when you are about to mail the card—gluing comes unglued over time, and you don’t know when you are going to mail the thing. 

The first picture here is of plates taken from a ruined edition of Chapman's Birds of Eastern North America.  The second shows a plate with an illustration which would be put inside the card--it is a picture of sparrows and the graphic is of their geographic distribution.  The last card is not made from a book, but from a Starbucks coffee box--as you can see, you'll never run out of material.

Do a few small projects and you’re ready to graduate to larger books.  Think of the possibilities before you get going.  Mostly you’re going to use illustrations from hard bound books to attach to the card.  You can use text inside, particularly if the font is nice. 

I also make my own envelopes from old calendars, maps and the like.  These can’t be mailed unless they are inside another cover, but they are great fun and people seem to like them.  Go see examples at:  http://librarydust.typepad.com/library_dust/2007/01/now_that_im_bac.html

You can sell these cards and envelopes to support your library, use the whole project as a rainy-day diversion for children, or anything that comes to mind. 

Michael McGrorty

Do you like cactus?  Fond of those wonderful, practically indescribable blooms?  Next time you get a few moments, perhaps when some fool has left you on hold for an afternoon, go to the link at bottom and find a bit of peace and beauty. 

According to the Huntington Gardens’ Jumping Cholla Newsletter,

“The Schick Echinopsis hybrids were created during the last 30 years through Bob Schick’s meticulous breeding and selection.  These are hybrids whose lineage can be traced to crosses between Echinopsis species with white, nocturnal flowers and their relatives in the Lovibia group with colored diurnal flowers.  The results are a series of repeat-blooming plants with magnificently-colored flowers.  It is hard to do them justice in words, which is why the new online catalog is profusely illustrated with pictures of the flowers of each named cultivar.”

And if you get the chance, come on out and see the Huntington’s wonderful cactus collection, along with the other wonders of the gardens and of course, the library.

Link:  http://huntington.org/BotanicalDiv/Schick/catalogindex.html

Michael McGrorty