Welcome!

Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Calling all readers - It's time to nominate books for the Cybils

For the last two years bloggers all over the world have come together once a year to choose the books from that year that they liked the most. The books they have been chosen have then been given Cybil Awards. The process begins with members of the public nominating their favorite books in several categories. These are: Fantasy and Science Fiction, Fiction Picture Books, Non-Fiction Picture Books, Graphic Novels, Easy Readers, Middle Grade Fiction, Young Adult Novels, Non-Fiction (Middle Grade and YA), Poetry. Once the nomination period is closed, a collection of knowledgeable bloggers get together to read the nominated books and to decide which of the nominated titles are the winners.

The nomination period is now open, so if you are a reader of children's literature, or if you read a lot to your child or children and remember the books that you liked, take the plunge and submit the names of your favorite books that were published in 2008.

To find out more about the Cybil awards and this process please visit the main Cybils Awards webpage. To nominate a book or books in the categories please visit the nomination webpage. Have fun!

Monday, October 6, 2008

David Macaulay Webcast

If you are a fan of David Macaulay's books then you might like to register for his live webcast which is taking place on Tuesday October 7th at 10:00am (EST). The plan is to talk to him about his new book The way we work, to see him talk to students, and to ask him questions, all in real time. To find out more about David Macaulay please visit his website.

Jumpstart's Read for the Record campaign is a huge success

On October 3rd children all over the United States participated in Jumpstart's Read for the Record campaign. Now in its third year, this campaign helps to raise money for the Jumpstart early education programs, and it also puts free books into the hands of children who do not have many books in their lives. So far the campaign has raised $1.5 million through the reading efforts of children, and 200,000 copies of Coduroy - the campaign's official book - will be donated to children in need. For more information about how this event went take a look at this Marketwatch article.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Bookish Happenings in October

October is a great month for book lovers. In the United States October is National Book Month and I hope you will take this opportunity to read, discuss, share and enjoy books with the young people in your lives. Do visit the National Book Foundation website to get ideas about what you can do to make this a really bookish month.


October is also the month when we in the United States celebrate Teen Read Week. The week is from October 12th to October 18th and the theme for 2008, Books with Bite, is sure to provide teen readers with lots of entertaining possibilites. For more information visit the ALA Teen Read Week website.


The UK also has a book celebration during October. From October 6th to October 12th libraries, schools, and book shops will be participating in Book Week festivities. To find out more about this event visit the Book Trusted website. This years theme is Rhythm and Rhyme and I am sure you will be able to find all kinds of creative ways to make this week special.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Jumpstart's Read for the Record Challenge


Don't forget that October 2nd is Jumpstart's Read for the Record Day. Here is some information about this very worthwhile event.


WHAT:
Jumpstart’s Read for the Record is a national campaign to encourage hundreds of thousands of children and adults to read the same book, Corduroy, on the same day, October 2, 2008. The expansive shared reading experience will raise public awareness about the early education gap that exists between income levels, as well as raise money to support Jumpstart’s national early education programs.

WHY:
Each year, one third of America’s children arrive at their first day of school developmentally behind their peers and without the skills necessary to succeed at grade level. When children begin behind their peers, catching up, especially without additional assistance, is difficult and unlikely. Children who miss out on key cognitive, social and emotional experiences are more likely to repeat grades, drop out of school, and engage in criminal activity. To help children from lower-income communities advance academically in pace with their classmates, Jumpstart recruits and trains adult mentors to work one to one with the children and help build their reading, language and social skills. Last year, Jumpstart’s Read for the Record raised more than $1,000,000 to finance the organization’s early education work in low-income communities.

WHEN:
Jumpstart’s Read for the Record day is October 2, 2008.

HOW:
The campaign will generate public awareness by creating the largest shared reading experience ever and by breaking the record set on September 20, 2007, when 258,000 people read the same book across the country as part of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record 2007campaign. Participants can purchase this year’s official campaign book, Corduroy, at Hanna Andersson’s retail locations, through their clothing catalog, or online at www.readfortherecord.org/books. Jumpstart will receive 100 percent of all the money raised through the sale of these special edition books, which will be available for purchase beginning this summer. Reading activities on October 2, 2008 can range from personal sessions between an adult and a child to big group events with hundreds of people gathering together for a large community reading session. For more information about getting involved, visit http://www.readfortherecord.org/.

WHERE:
One of the best things about reading is that it can take place anywhere and everywhere. Group reading events will be held in schools, libraries, hotels, playgrounds, offices, and homes. Jumpstart’s Read for the Record is not limited to large events. Any child and adult can participate just by sitting down to read.

WHO:
Parents, teachers, community members, college students, and children of all ages.

Banned Books Week - September 27 to October 4


Support the First Amendment, Read a Banned Book

I know this is little late, but I wanted to remind you that this is banned books week. I don't know about you, but the idea of banning any book appalls me. If we all work together we can make sure that this blatant attack on our right to read is thwarted.

You might be thinking that banning books can't be that bad a thing to do. Think again. These are just a few of the books that people have wanted to remove from libraries over the years:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Harry Potter series
Bridge to Terabithia
The Goosebumps series
A Wrinkle in Time
To Kill a Mockingbird
James and the Giant Peach
Where's Waldo?

You can see a more comprehensive list on the American Library Association website , and I think you will be surprised to see what is on this list.

Random house has created a fantastic website, their First Amendment First Aid Kit. On this site you will find out how truly frightening book banning is, and you will also find out what you can do to make sure that out First Amendment right is honored and that our books, and our right to read what we wish, are protected.

For more information about Banned Books Week take a look at these other websites and web pages:

The Banned Books Week website
The Info Please "Books Under Fire" article
What you need to klnow about Banned Books Week on about.com
2008 Banned Books Week Report on about.com

“[I]t’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.”
—Judy Blume

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Book Book Tour with Jeanne DuPrau - Day Three

For this third day on the Jeanne DuPrau blog book tour I have two things to share with you. One is a bio of Jeanne, and the other is book giveaway. If you are interested in a SIGNED advanced reader's copy (ARC) of The diamond of Darkhold please drop me a line with your name and your address. Two winning entries will be chosen at random. Please remember that ARCs should not be sold or quoted from. If you win one of these giveways keep it and treasure it.


Jeanne DuPrau's bio:
Jeanne DuPrau was born in San Francisco, California. She credits her mother with inspiring her to read and write well. Jeanne’s mother would read her school papers and help her clarify and organize her work. Her mother encouraged her to look hard at her work and express herself clearly. At the age of six Jeanne wrote her first story, “Frosty the Snowman.” Jeanne still has the illustrated five-page story bound with yarn and written in crayon. Another influence in her early life was a seventh grade teacher who encouraged her love of the English language, grammar, vocabulary, and word usage. But she says that her imaginative side of writing comes from her love of reading. All through school she wrote and wrote. Some of the writing was for school but she also assigned herself other types of writing to do on her own: poems, stories, journals, and letters.

After graduating college Jeanne DuPrau worked as a high school English teacher, a technical writer for Apple Computer, an editor in educational publishing companies, and a freelance writer. Jeanne used her experiences, the people she knew, the books that she had read, and ideas that occurred to her as her subject matter.

Jeanne DePrau has lived in Menlo Park, California for over 23 years. She likes playing the piano and growing a big vegetable and flower garden. Jeanne and her small cairn terrier named Ethan enjoy long walks, naps, car trips, and working in the garden together.


To find out more about Jeanne please visit her website.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Book Blog Tour with Jeanne Du Prau - Day Two

For this second day of the Jeanne Du Prau blog book tour I have got an interview for you to look at.

1. What, if any, was the inspiration for the idea of a city underground?
I grew up in the 1950s, when many people were worried that there might be a nuclear war. Some people were even building bomb shelters in their back yards. I used to read magazine articles with instructions about how to do this. All of it made a huge impression on me, and there's no doubt that it influenced my idea for Ember, which is a place built to save the human race from a terrible threat.

2. The Prophet of Yonwood takes a big step back in time from The City of Ember. Did you find it hard to make this step in the writing process or was the transition an easy one to make?
When the idea for The Prophet of Yonwood first came to me, I thought it was going to be a separate book, not connected to the Ember series. But as I started writing it, I soon realized that it was connected after all. It was a story about fear and unreasoning belief and what can happen when people see their own side as absolutely right and all others as absolutely wrong. It was a story about the origins of conflict, in other words--the kind of conflict that can lead to a disastrous war, and it was that sort of war that led to the building of Ember.

3. In the Diamond of Darkhold the diamonds that Lina and Doon find end up being crucial for the people of Sparks. Where did you get the idea for the diamonds, and do you feel that there is an environmental message here regarding solar power?
I have been interested in solar power for a long time. I'm hoping we will find a way--soon!--to use it efficiently for all our energy needs. Twenty years ago, I built a small house powered entirely by photovoltaic panels. It was a wonderful feeling to know that my lights, my refrigerator, and my computer were all being run by the sun! So of course I'd like others to share my enthusiasm.

4. At the end of The diamond of Darkhold you mention that a space ship has come from an alien world to visit Earth. This sounds intriguing and I for one would love to know what happens next. Do you plan on writing about this story in a future book?
I don't think so. I too would love to know what might happen in an encounter between human beings and people from another planet. But it isn't easy to create a convincing alien in a story. I've rarely seen it done. What I'd really like is to live long enough to be here in this world when we make contact with intelligent beings elsewhere in the universe. That would be an unimaginable thrill.

5. In writing these books were you trying to get young people to think about the future of our planet?
I did not start out, when I wrote The City of Ember, to deliver that message. But I myself am thinking about the future of our planet, and so that concern naturally shows up in what I write.

6. Do you plan out your books in advance or do you just let the story unfold as you go?
A little of both. I make a rough plan and write according to the plan until I see that it doesn't work any more, that the story has taken a new direction. Then I make another rough plan and follow that one for a while until it doesn't work anymore, either. And so on. It's a difficult and rather messy process, but I'm afraid if I outlined every step of the way and wrote exactly to the outline, my books would be less likely to come alive. And the truth is, I'm no good at outlining anyway.

7. What was your favorite book when you were twelve or so years old?
This is always a question that gives me trouble. I've never had one favorite book, not at any age. I read so much and love so many books that I can never pick just one. At twelve I was probably reading books by Agatha Christie, Charlotte Bronte, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allen Poe, Jack London...I could go on and on.

8. Do you have a consistent writing plan that you stick to every day or are your days more fluid?
I schedule my time loosely rather than rigidly. My best working time is in the morning. I don't usually write for more than two or three hours a day, especially when I'm working on a first draft. That's the hardest kind of writing for me. When I'm revising, sometimes I work more hours. The rest of the day gets filled up with answering mail, reading, and doing all the things it takes to keep my life running more or less smoothly.

9. You must be excited about the City of Ember film that is coming out. Did you participate in the film making process at all?
Yes, the movie is exciting--I never dreamed it would happen! I haven't had a lot to do with the process, though. I don't think most authors do, unless they happen to be very, very famous. I read the filmscript and commented on it, and I have met the director and seen a few scenes from the movie. I've also had e-mail from a few people who worked as extras on the film, so I've gotten little glimpses of what that was like. But the finished movie will be almost as much of a surprise to me as to everyone else. I'm hoping it will be fabulous!

10. Did you ever think that your books would be as successful as they are? How has their success changed your life?
I did not expect this success. I'd always been a writer and had had several books of non-fiction published before The City of Ember. But Ember was my first novel, it was very hard to write, and I didn't know how it would be received at all. I had no idea that I'd be writing sequels to it, and certainly no inkling that it would be made into a movie. Because of all this, my life has indeed changed. For one thing, I've done more public speaking in the last five years than in all the rest of my life put together! I've connected with readers of all ages, all over the world. And I now get to spend my time in the place I like best--my office at home--doing the work that's more rewarding to me than anything else.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Book Book Tour with Jeanne DuPrau

For the next three days I will be featuring a Blog Book Tour for Jeanne du Prau's new book The Diamond of Darkhold. Today you can read my review of the book.



The Diamond of Darkhold
Jeanne DuPrau
Fiction (Series)
Ages 12 and up
Random House, 2008, 978-0-375-85571-9
Nine months have passed since the people who once lived in the underground city of Ember made their way to the surface. The refugees from Ember are now will settled in the town of Sparks but life is far from easy. Winter is approaching and food is scarce. The Emberites are not used to cold temperatures, to thunder and rain, and to the dangers of ‘normal’ life. Sometimes a few of them even think of their life in Ember with nostalgia. One of these people is Lina. Surely her life was easier when she was living in Ember than it is now?
One day a roamer comes to Sparks and Lina buys an old book from the woman for her friend Doon. Though most of the pages in the book are now missing, Doon quickly realizes that the book was left for the people of Ember to find. He is sure that the book contained instructions or directions of some kind so that the people of Ember would be equipped to deal with the world above ground when it was time for them to emerge. Doon cannot tell what the “Instructions for Use” are for, because so little information remains in the book, but he is determined to find out. Doon thinks that the instructions describe how some kind of “machine” or tool should be used, and he believes the machine - whatever it is - could very well make life in the town of Sparks a lot easier.
There is only one thing that Doon can do – he has to go back to Ember to try to find more information about the book or the special tool that was left for the Emberites to use. He askes Lina to go with him, and though she is afraid of what they will find and of the journey that they have to make, Lina agrees to go with her friend.
In this fourth and final title in the Books of Ember series Jeanne DuPrau takes her readers on a fascinating and exciting journey back underground to the city of Ember. All kinds of surprising events take place, and connections with the past that have been lost over the course of time are reestablished. Lina and Doon, who worked together to lead their people out of the city of Ember, have new challenges to face, and readers will be intrigued to see how these two young people face their fears and overcome the trials that they encounter.
Through this book, and indeed the entire series, Jeanne DuPrau encourages her readers to think about their world and their place in it. What would it be like if there was a global nuclear war? What would we need to do to survive? If we change our outlook and behavior could be prevent such a terrible thing from happening?

The other books in this series are The city of Ember, The People of Sparks, and The Prophet of Yonwood. You can find my reviews of these books on the Books of Ember page on the Through the Looking Glass Book Review website.

Please visit the other blogs that are participating in this tour. They are:

01 Charger, the 160acrewoods, A Childhood of Dreams, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, All About Children’s Books, And Another Book Read, Becky’s Book Reviews, Book Review Maniac, Cafe of Dreams, Comox Valley Kids, Dolce Bellezza, Fireside Musings, Homeschool Buzz, Hyperbole, Never Jam Today

Friday, September 26, 2008

Blog Book Tour - Deborah Hopkinson

Welcome to another Blog Book Tour. This time I am going to be talking to Deborah Hopkinson about her new book Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek: A tall thin tale. You can read my review of this title on the Through The Looking Glass Book Review website.

1. How did you find out about this story from Abraham Lincoln’s childhood?
I was very excited about the idea of writing a book about Lincoln as a boy. I scoured many of the early biographies for ideas, but some of the best ones had already been incorporated into books. Then I came across Austin Gollaher, Abe’s childhood friend who saved him from drowning. The incident is mentioned frequently but so far as I know has never been the subject of a picture book before. And so ABE LINCOLN CROSSES A CREEK was born!

2.Did you have to do a lot of research to get the few details that are known about this event?
While I did a fair amount of research, finding old, rare books and looking at Lincoln research sites online, it soon became clear that there really are few details available.

3.Where did you get the idea to write the story in this wonderfully engaging style?
Well, it became clear that I was actually going to have to do something different and fun to make the story interesting. I think the lack of details of the boyhood incident combined with the story of how Abe and Austin never met again but apparently remembered one another made me think about how frustrating historical research can be.

As I explored that, it seemed to me a perfect way to introduce historical literacy techniques to young readers. I hope ABE prompts children to look at other historical incidents -- and rather than take them for granted, ask questions.

4. The artwork and text in the book are very closely entwined in this book. Did you and the illustrator talk about what you were going to do in advance and/or during the writing process?
As a matter of fact, I had no contact with the illustrator whatsoever – but I love John Hendrix’s art. The text was developed as we envisioned the role John might play, and then editor Anne Schwartz and art director Lee Wade worked with him. Hard to believe this is his first picture book!

5. You specialize in, and are very good at, writing books about historical events and people from history. Have you always been interested in history, and how did this writing focus begin?
Actually, looking back on it, I probably was always interested in history as a child, perhaps without even realizing it. I loved to read historical fiction, for example. As a young woman I became interested in women’s history. When I began writing for children I started with lots of talking animal stories, but somehow I began to gravitate toward historical fiction, even in my first published stories in magazines.

6. Do you think children should learn about the past?
Absolutely! I think it’s important not simply to learn facts about the past, but also to learn the tools of research – to learn how to study and think about history.
We live in a rapidly changing technological society, where historical literacy, scientific literacy, and media literacy are all linked, and will all be important to children. Learning to make sense of the past helps us to learn to think critically about the present and the messages we get from advertisers, the media, politics, and films.

7. Is there a particular time in history that you find especially interesting?
Yes, indeed! I continue to be fascinated by the 19th century and have written about several aspects of it: immigration in the north (Shutting out the Sky), the cotton industry (Up Before Daybreak), the underground railroad and the Civil War (Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, From Slave to Soldier), the emerging role of women in education (Maria’s Comet, A Band of Angels) and the Klondike Gold Rush (The Klondike Kid series). My middle grade novel, Into the Firestorm, takes place during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. Keep On!, a new picture book coming out in January, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the North Pole in 1909.


8. Do you write every day or is your schedule more flexible?
I have always had a full time job, so I tend to write on weekends more than daily. I would love to have more time to write!

9.What was your favorite book when you were young?
When I was very young, I loved Make Way for Ducklings, and I still have the copy my grandmother gave. Later on, I’d have to say my favorite book was The Secret Garden. And it’s still a favorite!

You can find out more about Deborah Hopkinson and her books on her website.
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