June First is the first day of the U.S. Hurricane Season

In the United States, June first is the official beginning of the hurricane season. For most people around the world this does not mean anything, but for many men, women, and children, hurricane season is a time of uncertainty. 

I never dreamed that I would ever experience a hurricane, but in 2003 I was in my home in Virginia when hurricane Isabel blew through, and it was a humbling and terrifying experience. At that time my husband was travelling and I was alone on our farm - in the middle of nowhere - with my three year old daughter. The storm hit in the early evening and we lost power soon after. Elise and I camped out in my bedroom with books, candles to read by, and all the animals. I was very worried about our biggest dog, Skye, because she usually became a nervous wreck during storms. However on this occasion she stood by the bed and guarded us - all night long. I remember listening as the eye of the hurricane passed over us and all was quiet for a time. Then the storm resumed and shrieking winds shook the house once more.

In the morning I could not open the front door at first. There were so many branches and other debris piled up against the door that it was hard to get the door to move. Eventually we were able to get out onto the front porch and we saw drifts of leaves and twigs all over the place. Luckily the tree branches that did snap did not fall on the house. We were very lucky to come through it with almost no damage at all. Many other home owners were not so lucky. 

The biggest problem we had was not having power. This not only meant no electricity, but it also meant that we had no water because the well pump ran on electricity. So, several times a day I had to lift the cement lid off the well head and use a bucket on a rope to get water for us to wash in.  We were lucky because it only took three days to get our power back. Some families in nearby Richmond had to wait for weeks. 

I had a terrible time finding food for us to eat because most shops were closed and because so many roads were impassable, like the one in the picture above. Everything that we had in the fridge was spoiled and had to be thrown away. Elise and I ate a lot of bread with peanut butter! When the power came back on I danced around the house with joy and relief. 

I now have a better appreciation for what it is like to live in an area prone to hurricanes. You can see the books I have reviewed about these frightening weather systems on the TTLG Hurricanes Feature Page. 

A Book Announcement from Roxie Munro

I just got an email from Roxie Munro, a wonderful artist, writer, and a lovely lady. This is what she told me. 

Dear Marya:

I'm thrilled to announce that "EcoMazes: 12 Earth Adventures" has received a Starred review in School Library Journal (June  2010), which says  "... This is truly a complete package: it’s engrossing and interactive, featuring finely and accurately detailed art and covering the basics of an organizational concept that is central to our understanding of the natural world."

What wonderful news! Getting a Starred review in SLJ is a big accomplishment in the book world. Here is my review of Ecomazes.

EcoMazes: 12 Earth Adventures

Roxie Munro

Picture Book

Ages 8 to 10

Sterling, 2010, 978-1-4027-6393-9

    All over our wonderful planet, there are ecosystems. They can be large, like a tropical rainforest, or very small, like the mini pond the lies at the bottom of your yard inside a forgotten bucket. All of these ecosystems are full of creatures of all kinds, fascinating creatures that interact in all kinds of ways. This unique book looks at twelve ecosystems that are found on Earth. For each ecosystem, Roxie Munro has created a beautiful maze that readers have to negotiate. As they ‘travel’ through each ecosystem, they are encouraged to find animals that are hidden in the illustrations.

    The book begins with a tropical rainforest. Readers are told that they are “a biologist checking on the monkeys” and that they have to find their way from the pier to the beach. As they trek through the forest, readers are invited to find an interesting selection of animals that are found in rainforests around the world.

   In addition to the rainforest, Roxie Munro has created maze pictures of a desert, a coral reef, a high mountain, the arctic, a wetland, the tundra, a grassland, the Antarctic, the savanna, a conifer forest, and a temperate forest. At the back of the book, there are pages that show readers where all the hidden animals are in the mazes. In addition, the author has also provide young naturalists with more information about each of the ecosystems that are featured in the book.

    With extraordinary pictures and a wonderfully informative and interesting text, this is a book that should be on every library and classroom shelf.

Congratulations Roxie!

May 27th - Rachel Carson was born on this day in 1907

I have to confess that I didn't know much about Rachel Carson until I moved to the United States in 1992. Since then I have read and been inspired by her books. Here is a review of a book that I read this week.

Rachel Carson: Preserving a sense of wonder

Joseph Bruchac

Illustrated by Thomas Locker

Nonfiction picture book

Ages 6 to 10

Fulcrum Publishing, 2004, 978-1-55591-695-4

When Rachel was a little girl, she lived in Springdale, Pennsylvania, “a town once as lovely as its name.” She had a deep love of books, and through them she developed a interest in the sea. Though writing was what she loved, Rachel studied biology in college. She finally got to see the sea in person and she fell in love with its moods and its stories. Later Rachel wrote about the sea in her first book, Under the Sea-Wind.

   All this time Rachel’s once lovely hometown in Pennsylvania, was being poisoned. The rivers were filthy, “the air was choked with smoke,” and poisonous agricultural sprays were killing animals of all kinds. Hearing about this terrible development, Rachel decided to write a new book. This new book, Silent Spring, angered a lot of people, but it also helped many others to see that it is important to protect the environment, and that we all have to do our part to safeguard our planet.

   In this truly beautiful picture book, a lyrical and powerful text is perfectly married to Thomas Locker’s gorgeous paintings. Readers will get a memorable picture of what Rachel Carson was like and how important her legacy has been for all of us. 

Judy Moody Goes to Hollywood!

Mega-Moody News! A Judy Moody movie - Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer - is coming from Smokewood Entertainment, the Oscar-nominated production company behind the acclaimed film “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.”  John Schultz (“Aliens in the Attic”) will direct the film Screenplay by Kathy Waugh and Megan McDonald Based on characters in the Judy Moody series by Megan McDonald, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, and published by Candlewick Press Production starts August 2010 www.judymoodythemovie.com RARE! And there’s more! No joke! There is a way-cool Judy Moody movie tie-in publishing program coming spring 2011 from Candlewick Press Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer  based on the screenplay by Kathy Waugh and Megan McDonald This paperback original includes behind the scenes photos and exclusive material from the movie set Roar! It’s not bad enough that Mom and Dad are heading to California, leaving Judy and Stink with Aunt Awful (er, Opal), but now Judy’s two best friends are going splitsville on her too. Just when it looks like her summer is going to be Bor-ing with a capital B—eureka!—Judy (with some help from Aunt Opal) comes up with the most thrill-a-delic plan ever. Get ready for a race involving tightrope walking, monster-wave-surfing, Scream Monster riding (no hands), an Evil Creature Double Feature, and way more! Add in a treasure hunt for Judy’s teacher, a midnight stakeout, a runaway ice-cream truck, a chase scene with a dash of Bigfoot, and what have you got? The Judy Moodiest summer ever! Judy Moody Goes Hollywood In this full-color hardback you get to sneak onto the set of the Judy Moody movie with Judy and her friends! Judy, Frank Pearl, Stink, Rocky, Mr. Todd, Amy Namey, Jessica Finch, even Mouse, and a few new characters each take a moment to talk about the stuff they think is especially THRILLING about being on a movie set! Who’s inside scoop is the most thrilling of all? You can decide by awarding each character points. At the end of the book, count ‘em up. Zero points? Snoresville! Mega-points? THRILL-o-rama! With More Titles to Come! Get all the Judy Moody-est news at: www.judymoody.com

Best wishes, Your friends at Candlewick Press

New children's book by John Grisham is released today

Today John Grisham's new book for children Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, is on sale. Here is a synopsis of the book.

In Theodore Boone, we follow the adventures of a 13-year-old, amateur attorney who unwittingly becomes involved in a high-profile murder trial. The book takes place in the small city of Strattenburg. There are many lawyers in town, and though he’s only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he’s one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk—and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life in the courtroom. But Theo finds himself in court much sooner than expected. Because he knows so much—maybe too much—he is suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial. A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth. 

Penguin books has two websites dedicated to Theo. www.theodoreboone.com is a full website where kids can explore Theo’s office and the clues he’s gathered for his latest case, and a courtroom where they can learn about what goes on during a trial, funny laws, and send a Mad Libs-type “summons” to their friends! www.whoistheoboone.com is a little bit more mysterious, but no less fun to explore.

A letter from Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown

Lisa Brown (in the hat) and Adele Griffin (sporting a mustache) 

at their book launch

A few weeks ago I reviewed a splendid book called Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown. I also interviewed the book's creators just as they were about the launch the book. As I read about what Lisa and Adele were doing, I became interested in finding out what it was like to get a book off the ground once it was accepted by a publisher. I asked Adele if she would like to tell us a little bit about this journey, which she did. Here is her letter.

Dear Looking Glass,

We are launched!  A whirlwind month to cap a fascinating year, when Picture the Dead first landed at our editor’s door—not with a thunk, mind you, but a polite and hesitant tap. As longtime collaborators on the project, we were both braced for rejection but hopeful that someone might find our Civil War ghost story worthy of an audience bigger than just us two. It’s a quirky read, for sure—a story about photography that is not illustrated with photographs. A serious young adult novel with pictures of a scrapbook that holds clues to its mystery. Historical fiction where much of the “historical” is tucked into our website.

Kelly Barrales-Saylor, the marvelous editor who answered our tap, jumped into our off-kilter world with both feet. She had no qualms—though plenty of queries. And so we spent much of last year tugging logic, plot and sentences into shape; placing and replacing the art; vetting for historical accuracy, and spinning out at least fifty titles (The Recognized, Find Me When I’m Gone, The Ghost of William Pritchett) before we arrived at the one that is stamped on the jacket.

But that was so last year. This year, we’re devoted to getting the book into your hands.

The Booksmith in San Francisco, where we just launched Picture the Dead, is not only the kind of bookstore you cross your fingers you’d get to grow up near, but has the added benefit of being Lisa’s local Indy. With our May 6, 2010, date set, and enterprising folk at the literary media site Red Room live-streaming the event, we were ready for our close-up. In full Victoriana, that is. Corsets, funny hats, and mustaches had been hunted down. Lisa’s husband, Daniel Handler, lent the wit and charm of his alter-ego Lemony Snicket, who acted (in absentia) as Master of Ceremonies. Booksellers were duly outfitted in Union uniform. We read from the book, presented slides, raffled T-shirts, tintypes, and lockets, signed books—and pinched each other in disbelief. After all, it had been almost seven years since that first afternoon when we conceived our gothic ghostly tale.

We gave readings in Brookline, Massachusetts, our book’s historical home, last weekend, and with Philadelphia upcoming, plus BEA and ALA around the corners, we’re putting out the word out bit by bit. The wonderful world of online marketing has been remarkable, too—and with a book like Picture the Dead, we are never short a “tag.” Which, depending on the interview or guest blog, has included: spirit photography, fraud photography, Civil War, twins, ghosts, hair art, festering head wounds, malarial swamps, Boston, Brookline, William Mumler, Mary Todd Linclon, séances, neck clamps, Godey’s Ladies Book—well, you get the Picture.

And, yes, through the whirlwind, we do have an open folder called: New Book. With plenty of possibilities, as we muse on another odyssey, and another “will this or won’t this work?” format. We have no idea what course we might take, but an element of risk seems certain. And then, look out … we’ll be tapping.

Sincerely,

Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown

Thank you Adele and Lisa, and I look forward to hearing about what you do next.

Poetry Friday - A review of Where is spring?

A few weeks ago I was getting ready to get the warm weather clothes out. It is a good thing I didn't because today, in Ashland, it is wet, cold, and I am tempted to light a fire in the fireplace. Somehow it seems to be appropriate that my review for Poetry Friday should be this book.

Where is Spring?

Yang-Huan
Illustrated by H.Y Huang and A. Yang
Poetry Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Heryin Books, 2007, 978-0976205685
A little boy is standing in a big green field and he is looking for Spring. He decides to send his kite up into the air so that it can "ask around.”A seagull thinks that "Spring is traveling by sea in a boat." A swallow sees thing differently. He thinks that "Spring is resting in the sky.”A sparrow, a bird of the field and countryside, is sure that "Spring is strolling in the fields by the riverbank."

Then the boy hears the words of the sun and he comes to understand that spring is all about him in the fields of flowers, in the schools, in the factories, on every street and down every alley. Why, spring is even inside the little boy's own home.

In this very special book, children will discover the beauty of Yang-Huan's poetry. Yang-Huan wrote only twenty poems in his short life, and this one is a true gem with its simplicity and image filled words. Gorgeous artwork captures the essence of the text; it reflects the rise and fall of the kite's passage and the journey that the little boy makes as he discovers where spring is.

May 21st is Endangered Species Day - A gift of e-books from Sylvan Dell

Animals and Plants are Endangered!U.S. Senate Encourages Schools to Educate Children About Our Endangered Species

 In 2006, the United States Senate established the third Friday of May Endangered Species Day, in an effort to spread awareness of our endangered plants and animals. May 21, 2010 will mark the 5^th Annual Endangered Species Day.

The recent U.S. Senate resolution proclaiming May 21 as Endangered Species Day 2010, states that over 1,000 species in the U.S. and around the world are at risk of extinction.  The goal of this day is to educate and create public awareness of this staggering number.  The resolution calls for educators to spend at least 30 minutes on this day discussing endangered plants and animals. After all, how does a person help fix a problem when the problem is unknown?

Lee and Donna German, co-founders of Sylvan Dell Publishing have built a company that strives to educate children through literature in many areas including environmental responsibility. “How can we expect future generations to protect the environment if they are never taught? Protecting the environment is about respect—respecting each other, our communities, and the Earth. That is what parents have to teach their children,” says Lee German. “Part of Endangered Species Day is creating awareness. Children must be aware of endangered species and the threat of extinction. Once they become aware, they become proactive. Working together, we can save dwindling habitats and species.”

To help educators incorporate endangered species into their lesson plans, Sylvan Dell Publishing, will offer their endangered species eBooks for free in participation of this important day. Introduce children to Felina the Florida panther, Carolina the loggerhead turtle, LiLing and Tengfei the two giant pandas and a host of other threatened and endangered species with the Sylvan Dell endangered species titles. To access the eBooks, visit the Sylvan Dell Web site or see directions below. Use these books to help educate children about the importance of our endangered species!

For more information about Endangered Species day, visit http://stopextinction.org/esd.html

For more information about Sylvan Dell Publishing, visit: http://SylvanDellPublishing.com

eBook access instructions are located on the Sylvan Dell website at: http://SylvanDellPublishing.com/EndangeredSpeciesDay.htm

    

About Sylvan Dell Publishing

Sylvan Dell Publishing’s mission is to excite children’s imaginations with artistically spectacular science, math and nature themed stories. Founded in November of 2004, Sylvan Dell has grown to include more than 75 authors and illustrators, in the U.S. and Canada, and 50 titles – honored as finalists or winners of more than 70 book awards. Our Science and Math Through Literature Program integrates reading, science, math, geography, character skills, and language learning through fun, cross-curricular activities. Sylvan Dell provides more online educator resources than any other publisher in the U.S. We offer schools, homeschooling families and public libraries a free one-year access to our ebook site license featuring the most technologically advanced eBooks each with Auto-Flip, Auto-Read, 3D page curling, and selectable English and Spanish text and audio through our School Resource Grant program. For more information, visit http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com

Letters About Literature

Yesterday I read about a competition called Letters About Literature. For the competition young readers had "to write a personal letter of reflection to an author whose work somehow inspired them or changed their view of the world or themselves." I only wish I had had the opportunity to write such a letter when I was in school! This year 69,000 young readers from all over the U.S participated in the writing contest, which is a reading promotion program of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, presented in partnership with Target. The winners of the 2009-2010 competition wrote to (among others) Francisco Jimenez, who wrote "The Circuit," Laura Ingalls Wilder who wrote the Little House books, J.D.Salinger who wrote "The Catcher in the Rye," and Dr. Seuss, who wrote numerous books for readers of all ages.


Here is one of the winning letters, which was written by Reagan Nelson, a 6th grade student in Spokane Washington.

Dear Laura Ingalls Wilder,

Change is something many people are afraid of, but I know it can be wonderful.  It is something I have never looked at in the same way since reading your book Little House on the Prairie and meeting Laura.  My house burned down when I was seven, and I almost died in the fire.  Since that night my dad rescued me from my burning bedroom, things were never the same.  People have always described the fire as a great tragedy that hit our family, but I have never viewed it that way.  Like Laura on the prairie, this was a time when I was faced with big changes.  My family had no home to live in and not even our clothes to wear.  But Laura taught me that life’s challenges can be viewed as a great adventure, something to be thankful for even, and this is a view I have chosen to adopt in my own life. 

Laura’s life is full of challenges.  Laura’s family is faced with the move to land that they work hard to settle on, but later learn they have to vacate after all of their hardship and effort.  They are overcome by sickness.  They even lose their dog, Jack.  Laura never lets these events get the better of her.  She feels the sadness and the disappointment but she becomes stronger because of them.  Just last year, my Dad and I were hit by a truck while driving in our car to the garden store.  Our car was wrecked, but we were not hurt badly.  When we had to walk and take the bus everywhere in the snow for four months because we did not have a car, I thought of all the things that happened to the Ingalls family, all of the times they had to move because something was not working.  This gave me a tremendous amount of strength and hope.  Things always got better for the Ingalls, and through it all they had each other just like I have my Mom and Dad.

What Laura taught me most is that I can either be frightened or mad at life, or I can choose to view change as an opportunity to learn some valuable lessons.  One of the most important lessons I learned from Laura and the Ingalls is that the challenges I face have to be greeted with gratitude.  After the car accident when we had to walk everywhere, I started to think how thankful I was that I could walk.  I realized that the car accident could have taken that away from me.  I also realized that everyday, when I walked with my Dad, we spent time together and shared stories that I will always remember.  The fire took our house and all of my clothes and toys away, but I still had my family and my pets, which is everything in the world that mattered to me.  Just like in Little House, when Mr. Edwards brought Laura and Mary Christmas presents through the snow from far away, people were so kind and gave us all sorts of things.  And folks at my school were so generous and caring.  I never knew complete strangers could care like that.  This was a gift.

It doesn’t really matter whether you like change or not, whether you embrace it or run the other way.  It is sometimes wonderful, sometimes disappointing and often frightening, but it is always happening.  Little House showed me that life is nothing but transition, and change is inevitable.  The Ingalls knew this, and your book showed me I can rely as they did, on family, faith and community to get me through.  I have learned that wherever the greatest challenge exists in my life is where the greatest growth is too.  Little House on the Prairie taught me that it isn’t the tough times that define us, but rather our response to the challenges we face which makes us who we are.  And that is the real gift for which I thank you. 

Sincerely,

Reagan Nelson

Here is another winning letter that was written by Kaitlyn Krassalt, an 11th grader from Moscow in Idaho. I must confess that this letter made me smile and sniffle:

Dear Dr. Seuss,

First off, I would like to say that I have not been traumatized by any specific event, nor am I struggling with self-identification, suffering from a rare disease, dealing with the loss of a close family member, managing dysfunctional family issues, or stressed about fitting in with the stereotypical teenage crowd that roams the halls of every high school in America. I have not yet needed the help of your books to get through an especially rough patch in my life, mostly because I haven’t had any especially rough patches yet. I do, however, pay close attention to current issues and I am very aware of the problems that have created conflict among and within social groups throughout the world. In turn, I also spend a lot of time babysitting young children who have just boarded the Reading Railroad, allowing me to revisit the same books I enjoyed at their age.

Having become accustomed to books that lack pictures and require an analytical search for a deeper meaning hidden by the author, it is refreshing to step back into the shoes of my six-year-old self. I thoroughly enjoy returning to the worlds of the Sneetches, the Whos, and Cats in the Hats that made their way into my imagination with their tongue twisting dialogue and fascinating adventures. I have often wondered, since reading such stories, if our world is, in fact, a tiny speck on a clover just waiting to be protected by a fun-loving elephant named Horton.

I have waited on a rainy day for a cat in a striped red-and-white hat to waltz into my living room and sweep me off my feet, searched for a Wocket in my pocket, and tried with all my might to read with my eyes shut. It was not until I reentered the colorful universes created between the covers of your books that taught me how to sound out my vowels and string together consonants that I realized these stories were more than just fun. To be completely honest, I was shocked to discover that the stories I loved dealt with such real world issues as racism and social status. I had always thought of the thin books on the shelf as silly stories meant to teach kids the basics of the English language and instill such morals as sharing, saying please and thank you, and always being nice to others.

Upon further inspection, it became evident to me that such stories were not only meant as a lesson for the children learning to mind their p’s and q’s, but also a wake up call for the observant adults in charge of insuring their children’s education. The star-bellied sneetches were no different than the plain-bellied sneetches, despite the advice of Sylvester McMonkey McBean. The sneetches got so mixed up in their star-swapping that they could no longer remember who was supposed to better than the other. The Whos, who were so small they would barely be heard, were forced to join together just to fight for their cause—and the smallest Who, of course, made the biggest difference of all. It was the smallest who had the loudest voice, allowing their speck to be heard by Horton’s doubters and saved from a terrible fate. 

I was thrilled to uncover such morals, even though they had always been there, unhidden and as obvious as the manners-based morals I had once assumed to be the only message on the page. The blatant reminders that our society is not the center of the universe, which are only subtle to the unassuming beginning reader, were inspiring to be found in such a format. Because of your stories, I was motivated to voice my opinions in essay contests, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars: Voice of Democracy contest in which I received the second place prize. As the daughter of a police officer, it was evident to me that they were not getting the recognition they deserved as veterans of very similar situations to those faced by other military branches. I felt the contest was a prime outlet for my opinion. I have also been able to use my newfound voice in articles I have written for local newspapers. It has become apparent to me that sometimes our method for letting our voice be heard is not always practical, but is always possible.

You have proven again and again that no matter what our message is, and no matter what our means of displaying our cause, it is always possible to let the world know how we feel, despite how small we think our voice may be. Upon rediscovering your stories, which have always remained close to my heart simply because of their sentimental value, I was reminded of my voice and its possible impact in the world today. Thank you.

Kaitlyn Krasselt

You can see more of the winning letters here on the Letters about Literature website. 

The PBS Reading Activity Calendar

When my daughter was younger I often heard the words "what can I do now?" or "I'm boooooored!" Thankfully, at the grand age of almost ten, she always has more than enough things to do to keep her busy and engaged. If you have a child at home who needs something to do, then I suggest you take a look at the PBS (Public Broadcasting Company) website. Many children love the television programs that PBS creates, and now they can enjoy the same entertaining and educational material online as well. 


The PBS KIDS website goes beyond just providing great entertainment for children. It also has some excellent educational components that focus on "raising readers."You can find these on PBS KIDS Island. In this area you will find:

• A place where children can play educational games and win prizes for free. 
• Information about a writing contest for children who are between 6 and 8/9 years of age. 
• The PBS KIDS Stories and Reading Activities - This is a great area that parents and children can visit every day. There is a Reading Activity Calendar, stories and videos, and printables. I particularly like the Reading Activity Calendar. Here is some information about the calendar from the website 

Wondering what to do with your child today? Whether you’re at home, at school, or out running errands, use the Reading Activity Calendar to find fun, simple ways to make reading a part of your every day life. Flip through the calendar above for ideas, activities, and silly holidays to celebrate together. The calendar is available in Spanish and in a printable version.

• The PBS KIDS Island area is also full of resources for parents, caregivers, and teachers to help them to incorporate books and reading into their children's lives .  
• There is also a section about literacy and literacy research.