Children's Magazines Month: Full Steam Ahead

Children's Magazines Month will have to be unofficially extended to the first week of November. I was at the Virginia Library Association conference in Williamsburg Thursday-Friday. I loved listening to Tonya Bolden, winner of the Jefferson Cup, speak at the Jefferson Cup luncheon. BUT....the best part about the luncheon was that I was seated at the same table as Leonard Marcus! Leonard Marcus was our featured guest speaker at the Friday VLA business meeting, during which he gave a fascinating speech about the history of Golden Books (the subject of one of his latest books). He also wrote a fabulous biography of Margaret Wise Brown and edited an amazing collection of Ursula Nordstrom's letters, among other great books. I got to talk to him about Margaret Wise Brown, the Where the Wild Things Are movie, and his latest projects (working on an annotated edition of The Phantom Tollbooth and interviews with people who knew/worked with Madeleine L'Engle!). Very, very fun for a children's literature fanatic!


Enough of that, now! Let's get back to the magazines.



Dig

An archaeology magazine for children? Only Cobblestone could publish such a fun and inventive publication! This month's issue is all about mysterious Stonehenge, with a variety of great articles. Regular features include "Ask Dr. Dig," an art page, "DIG Facts," and games. Past themes have included China's hidden caves, Alexander the Great, money, King Tut, high fashion, and America's first cities.

Discovery Girls

For girls who have grown out of the American Girl magazine, but aren't old enough for the more teen-oriented magazines, Discovery Girls is a good stepping-stone. The current issue showcases articles about asserting yourself, friendship problems and how to solve them, hairstyles, and technology. Articles about boys do make appearances, but as this month's article shows ("Boys Can Make Great Friends!"), they're rather innocent in nature, of course. Regular features include quizzes, contests (girls can apply to be a "Discovery Girl"), crafts, and book reviews. Ads are scattered throughout the issue, but the majority of the ads are actually for books, with two ads featuring craft kits. Very nice.



Faces

Faces, another Cobblestone publication, focuses on world cultures. This month's issue is all about "kids making a difference." Readers learn about a girl who has donated more than 30 inches of hair to Locks of Love, a Mongolian girl who is a volunteer correspondent for the local public radio station, and an American teenager who volunteers in Malawi. Regular features include "Ask Faces," an art page, and activities. Past issues focused on Portugal, Islam in America, Ireland, Elvis, the US South, and teens around the world. Faces is one of my top favorite magazines.

We're not quite finished yet! I'll post about the remaining magazines soon.

Children's Magazine Month: C is For....

Calliope, Click, Cobblestone, and Cricket!

If you're looking for creative, fun, and educational magazines, consider the titles in this collection. All titles are published by Cobblestone & Cricket.



Calliope (a Cobblestone publication), focuses on world history. This month's issue is all about Aesop. The issue features a biographical article, a short play about Aesop, retellings of six animal tales, an article on Egyptian animal gods, and a modernized retelling of "Country Mouse and City Mouse." Regular features include "Fun With Words," "Ask Calliope," "From Our Readers," and "Off the Shelf." Past issues have covered Marco Polo, Joan of Arc, Hatshepshut, Medieval Japan, and Shakespeare. Each issue is an amazing resource.



Click is a science-oriented magazine for young elementary school students. Cave dwellers is the focus for October; readers learn about cave formations, cave drawings, stalactite and stalagmites (I can still remember that stalactites hang from the "c"eiling and stalagmites are on the "g"round), and a must-have article on bats. This is a terrific magazine for 7-8 year olds; articles are heavily illustrated and everything is clearly labeled and defined.



After 35 years, Cobblestone is still going strong. Known for its mini-units on American history, Cobblestone is a favorite with teachers and homeschoolers, and inquisitive children appreciate it as well. Naturally, the latest issue focuses on the Pilgrims. We learn why the Pilgrims came to America, what life was like in Leiden (where the Pilgrims stayed before they sailed for America), what life was like aboard the Mayflower, what the Mayflower Compact was all about, the Native Americans who lived in Plymouth, the First Thanksgiving, and a short article on why some Native Americans don't see Thanksgiving as a day of celebration. Also included is a recipe for stewed pumpkin, "Digging Deeper" (further reading), and a Pilgrim puzzle. Previous issues featured the American West during the Civil War, the suffragist movement, "Becoming President," Manassas, Mexican Americans, and the Wright Brothers. Cobblestone is a mini-treasure trove of fun and facts.



Cricket, on the other hand, is strictly literary fiction (and occasionally nonfiction) and poetry for 7-9 year olds. Folktales, creative nonfiction, poetry, historical fiction, and fantasy are all represented in the October issue. A science activity, crossword puzzle, and reader contributions are also included.

Wow! What a collection of amazing magazines for children!

Children's Magazine Month-It's Not Over 'Till It's Over

Continuing my salute to Children's Magazine Month: the Bs!



Boys are in charge of the "B" section of our children's magazines: Boys' Life and Boys' Quest. Boy Scouts are familiar with Boys' Life, as it is published by the Boy Scouts of America. It is one of our most popular children's magazines, and also one of the few that accepts advertising (this month's issue has ads for video games, Scouting merchandise, guns, and baseball cards). The October issue has articles on "The Best Cards You've Never Heard Of," an article on a Massachusetts troop that biked 66 miles in two days, and a New Jersey troop that constructed a pumpkin tossing machine. Regular features include an advice column, a cartoon, and a short story.



Boys' Quest is a bimonthly magazine that accepts no advertising and nothing that involves violence. The Oct/Nov issue is all about football: articles on Ernie Davis, Cotton Davidson, Knute Rockne, Brett Favre, a football-themed word search puzzle, and an article on six-man football. Regular features include puzzles, a "Chef's Corner," "Ticklers & Teasers," and features on computing, science, and collecting.

Scary Stories (YA)

I forgot to do a scary stories post for teen readers. Horror/supernatural books are huge right now. Vampires, of course, are all the rage, but werewolves and zombies are predicted to be the new trends. If you're looking for something to keep you up at night, try these books:



Another Faust

Horror with a literary twist! As you may have guessed, this is a (sort of?) retelling of Goethe's Faust. No vampires here, but it does involve another trend at its peak: snooty New York private schools! This is in my to-be-read pile, and I can't wait.



Blood and Chocolate

Ah, the timeless tale of love between a human boy and a gorgeous teenage werewolf girl. (!)



Vivian Van Velde is well-known for her YA horror stories. Naturally, her All Hallows' Eve collection of short stories is really popular right now.



R.L. Stine is famous for his Goosebumps series (written for younger kids). Teens who grew up reading the Goosebumps books will be interested in Beware! R.L. Stine Picks His Favorite Scary Stories (which include stories by Ray Bradbury, Jane Yolen, and Roald Dahl).

Darren Shan's Cirque du Freak/Saga of Darren Shan series is popular all year round. Shan's vampire is more of the horrific vampire rather than the sensitive and tortured vampire that's become popular of late (and despaired of by those who prefer their vampires to not be romantic).



Tired of vampires? Try The Forest of Hands and Teeth. An orphan and zombies-quite a mix!

If you have any other suggestions, send a comment!

Children's Magazine Month

October is Children's Magazines Month. I don't blog about the children's magazines that we have, and that's a shame. I'm a big magazine fan; I'll read anything from Entertainment Weekly (my standard purchase) to Mother Earth News (seriously, check out that magazine some time-it is amazing).

I'm sure that my love of magazines started when I received subscriptions to Highlights for Children, Cricket, and Cobblestone at various points in my childhood. I also distinctly remember looking at back issues of Highlights magazine when we visited the library, because I loved the "Hidden Pictures" and jokes so much (I guess we weren't allowed to check them out?). I was in elementary school (6th grade was considered elementary school where I lived) during the height of the New Kids on the Block mania (true story.....I received an entire bedroom set of NKOTB sheets, pillowcases, bedspread, etc for Christmas, and pretty much the next month I decided I hated NKOTB), so I received subscriptions to Bop magazine. Bop magazine (amazingly, still around) was great, because every issue featured tons of posters that you could hang on your wall with thumbtacks. Then, there was Big Bopper and Super Bop (or Super Bopper), which had even more stupid little fangirly articles and posters. There was also the established 16 magazine, Seventeen, Tiger Beat, Teen, and later on, the long-lamented Sassy, which our mother didn't like us reading, but we read it anyway (I can remember only one time having a book actually taken away from me and told that I could read it later. I was probably in fifth grade and often read my sister's library books.).



American Girl wasn't around when I was young, but man, would I have been into that whole scene (I visited the motherland when I was in Chicago and walked around in awe). The American Girl magazine is one of our most popular magazines we have here, and I wholeheartedly agree with its fans. Very trendy-looking, but still very innocent. Nothing about boys or fashion: crafts, story submissions, games, and activities. This month's issue includes Halloween crafts and a feature on five girls overcoming obstacles like a rare blood disease, alopecia, and hearing impairments. Regular features include games/quizzes and an advice column.

(Note-I took the image from the AG website, so you won't see a free sample if you click on it. However, if you come to the library, you can see the entire magazine for free.)



Appleseeds is brought to you by the fine folks at Cobblestone. Appleseeds is a cultural studies/history magazine for children ages 8-11. This month is all about Ancient Rome, including articles on common Roman occupations, chariot racing, public baths, 10 Ways to Act Like a Roman, and how to throw a toga party.



Ask! comes from the great people who publish Cricket. Ask is all about "arts & sciences for kids." This month's issue is all about fear, appropriately enough! You can learn why we fear things (and why it's not always a bad thing), how to cope with fear, read an article about the brown tree snake, and read a spooky story (because "sometimes it's fun to be scared"). Regular features include letters to the editor and contests.

I'll tell you about B-C magazines in my next post. While you can't check out this month's magazine (you can certainly read it in the library), you can check out our back copies of our magazines.

Scary Stories for the Season

Halloween is next Saturday. Aren't Friday Halloweens and Saturday Halloweens the best? No worries about school. Unless you are like me and you grew up in the New Orleans area, where it wasn't unusual to have November 1, All Saints Day, off (even for public school students). Many southeastern Louisiana families visit the burial places of their loved ones on November 1, so many schools have the day off.

But back to Halloween. Halloween was my favorite holiday as a child. Halloween was such a huge deal. My elementary school had a smashing Halloween carnival right before Halloween. We had it every year, and it was truly one of the biggest highlights of our school year. We had a haunted house, a cake walk on our stage (I never won a cake), a bake sale in the cafeteria, and all kinds of Halloween-related games. It was just awesome. Now that I have an idea of how much work it takes to put together a shindig, I am just astounded at how much work and time it took to put it together. I am sitting here thinking about it, and I am in awe. For us kids, it was unbelievably fun, and I can remember holding onto my sister's hand as we walked through the haunted house.

When I was in elementary school, our neighborhood had a huge block party. I'm talking live music, food, and hayrides for the trick-or-treaters. And gobs and gobs of candy. Not just the regular fun-sized candy, but we would get popcorn bags, cookies (back then, everyone in the neighborhood knew each other), and sometimes, a caramel apple. And of course, many decorated houses (you should see it during Christmas).

So, yes, Halloween was definitely my favorite. Even before Christmas, although our Christmases were always fun. If you're in the Halloween spirit, check out these books the next time you visit the library:

Although not technically Halloween books, Beverly Cleary's Ramona the Pest and Ramona and Her Father contain great chapters centered around Halloween that would be great read alouds (Ramona and Her Father also has a beautiful section involving Ramona's Nativity pageant that, along with The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, never fails to move me when I read it every Christmas).



Fans of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever will want to check out The Best Halloween Ever, featuring more mayhem from the Herdman kids.



Another thing I remember about Halloween was watching Morgus the Magnificent. New Orleans has always had a strong local programming community, both network and PBS, and Morgus was just one of the great local shows. In between broadcasts of classic horror movies, Morgus and his assistant, Chopsley, would conduct disastrous scientific experiments. Truly bizarre and hilarious. Reading Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich brought back great memories of those deliciously creepy movies. Being familiar with the traditional movie monsters (Frankenstein, Dracula, The Phantom of the Opera) definitely helps with the jokes, but it's not entirely necessary. The poems are great read alouds for elementary school students too young for tamer Halloween picture books, but not old enough for the scarier stuff. You'll want to read the "sequel," Frankenstein Takes the Cake.



Looking for a creepy read? William Sleator's Among the Dolls is a short chapter book, but long on creepiness. Vicky is sorely disappointed when she receives a dumb old dollhouse instead of a jazzy ten-speed bike, but she quickly discovers the secrets of the dollhouse. Talking dolls creep me out even when the story isn't supposed to be scary, but this is 10 times the weirdness of a regular talking doll story!

Young adult literature, of course, is awash with scary stories (vampires may be waning a bit, so keep a look out for zombies and werewolves...they will be hot next spring). I'll cover several titles in my next post.

10 Children's Books That Would Make Great Movies

Iann Robinson posted a great list at the Crave Online site. With the enormous successes of the Harry Potter series and most recently, Where the Wild Things Are and Twilight, children's/YA books are as popular in Hollywood as Jane Austen books were in the 90s.

While I don't agree with all his choices (please, not The Giving Tree!), I think several suggestions, particularly Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and The Boxcar Children are terrific ideas. I think they are inspired choices; parents would definitely recognize them from their childhood, and they remain popular titles today.

If I were a Hollywood producer, I would green-light these titles:



A Drowned Maiden's Hair. Costume designers could go to town on the Victorian-era costumes. You have the supernatural element. The orphaned child and the sneaky maiden aunts.



Fly By Night. Humor, fantasy, and a crazy goose. Adventure. If you haven't read this, read it NOW. You'll understand.




Princess Academy

Hello! Princesses! And a boarding school! More supernatural elements! A great title! Golden opportunity! You'll draw in little girls and their moms just on the title alone, people! Release it during the big Thanksgiving-Christmas movie season, and you're good to go.

Of course, the history of Hollywood is littered with lackluster, disappointing, and just plain awful adaptations of beloved children's books (exhibit A: The Cat in the Hat movie with Mike Myers). But paired with a great script and cast, these books could be wonderful movies.

New and Not-As-New Reads

My TBR list (To Be Read pile) is growing into a novella, between the books I'm reading for Capitol Choices, Jefferson Cup, our new children's/YA books, and whatever I happen to be reading for School Library Journal (I don't blog about books I'm reading for SLJ) at the time. Here's a sample of what I've been reading recently:



Umbrella Summer

Another book about a sibling death? Yes, but Umbrella Summer is pretty special. Annie is so consumed with her brother's death that she has become super cautious about everything, including wearing a helmet while walking down the street. And hot dogs for the Fourth of July? No way. You just cannot be too careful. It takes a new neighbor and a very special book about a pig and a spider to help Annie close her umbrella of sadness.

In the hands of another author, Umbrella Summer could easily have been a maudlin and depressive book with an unappealing character. Luckily, Lisa Graff has created such a realistic and darling character in Annie; you just want to hug Annie and help her over her fears. The appearance of a new friend who teaches wisdom and new life is definitely nothing new in literature, particularly in children's literature, but it seems right and true in this story. While there is certainly sadness in the story, it's not excessive and overbearing. It's the kind of sadness that is to be expected in a story about a family dealing with a sudden loss. It's also a beautiful and touching story.



The Year the Swallows Came Early

Groovy is convinced that her father's imprisonment is just a gigantic mistake. Unfortunately, she soon discovers that her mother's accusations of him gambling away her college fund are all too true. Thrown into a world of hurt, Groovy, an aspiring chef, strikes up a deal with a local Mexican restaurant. Throughout this short novel, Groovy learns about challenges, forgiveness, and new beginnings. Again, learning valuable life lessons is not anything new in children's literature, but this debut novel is so charming and true that it transcends that old chestnut. I'm here to tell you (as Groovy would say) that The Year the Swallows Came Early is something that you don't want to miss.



The Kind of Friends We Used to Be

Middle school brings such enormous changes. New school, new pool of classmates, new physical and emotional changes. It's not unusual for BFFs in elementary school to find themselves growing apart in middle school. That's exactly the kind of situation in which 12 year old Kate and Marilyn find themselves. Kate makes tryouts for the cheerleading squad and student council, which throw her into the elite clique at school. Meanwhile, Marilyn finds her passion in playing the guitar and composing songs, which lead her to the more "alternative" clique at school. The tension between the two friends (and their friends) will definitely ring true to YA readers, as well as the final outcome of the story. Frances O'Rourke Dowell has middle school culture down pat, without having to resort to arbitrary shoutouts of current fads and trends. She also shows, without preaching, that people's appearances aren't always what they seem to be (Kate is not an airhead; Marilyn's unusual new friend is the daughter of an evangelical minister), making this a fun and worthy YA read.

Cybils!

Nominations for the Cybils are open! I was on the nonfiction picture books committee one year; lots of fun! I just looked at the middle grade and YA fiction lists, and there are already books that I've added to upcoming orders (one in particular that I cannot wait to read!).

Around the Blogosphere

Two great posts I noticed while perusing my Bloglines subscriptions:

The Brown Bookshelf is accepting submissions for its annual 28 Days event. During the month of February, they will feature new and unsung children's/YA books by African-American authors:

We’re looking for the best new and unnoticed works by African-American authors. From picture books to novels, books fresh off the presses to those that have lurked in the background unsung for months or years–whatever books you like, we want to know. We’re specifically looking for new books and books that have “flown under the radar,” that are children’s or Young Adult written by an African-American author published by a traditional publisher for the trade market.

Readergirlz, another cool website/blog, is looking for fall recommended reads. Lots of great suggestions here.

We'll start seeing "Best of 2009" lists next month. I'll post them here when I find them.


Now that our fall book orders are rolling in (I submitted my October orders this week-another impressive list!), the Newbery and Caldecott predictions are starting to swing into full gear. I'm never good at predicting these things, so I usually "eavesdrop" on other blogs and sites. Mock Newbery and Caldecott groups are good places to do this. Here are my favorites:

Allen County Public Library Mock Newbery blog (Mock Caldecott and Mock Printz)

Eva Perry Mock Newbery blog

Good Reads Mock Newbery (Mock Caldecott)

Anderson's Bookshop (their Mock Sibert list)

Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services Mock Newbery list

The Final Countdown

Last and not least!



I'm so very happy that we're starting to (slowly) see more multicultural fantasy and science fiction for children. The Dream Stealer is supposed to only take nightmares, but they scare him. He's been taking dreams instead. The good kind. One night, he steals a dream from Susana, a young Mexican girl. Susana is fearless, however, and wants her dream back. I've read that it's based on Mexican folklore (I'm guessing there are Mexican folktales about a dream stealer.). Sounds like a winner; Sid Fleischman is truly an author you don't want to miss.



Oh, look. Another horse book! Kate Thompson turns to 18th century England for her latest novel. Historical fiction can be a hard sell for quite a few children and teens, but a story involving a horse, robbers, outlaws, and a boy on the run by a gifted author sounds pretty cool to me. Highway Robbery will be available very shortly.



I'm anxious to see how Leaving the Bellweathers goes over in our libraries. Written in the guise of a memoir by a long-suffering (apparently) butler to a crazy family, Leaving the Bellweathers sounds like the type of book that would appeal to readers with a quirky sense of humor. I don't have a *huge* tolerance for "quirky" books, since they can get overly precious very fast, but I'm optimistic about this one.



The hugely prolific author Avi returns this season with Murder at Midnight. Oooooh. Good title. A magician is falsely accused of plotting a coup. He and his servant boy are determined to find the true traitor. While I don't love every single thing that Avi writes, there are many titles of his that I do love, so I am eagerly awaiting his latest.



Sisters Grimm fans, listen up! Michael Buckley is starting a new series. *applause* Now, I haven't seen the book yet, so I don't know if it's on the same reading level as Sisters Grimm. But NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society has all the markings of another wacky Buckley read. NERDS members are a group of unusual elementary school kids that fights crime around the world. I'm sure this will a surefit hit at our branches.

(Didn't know this was a series until I looked at the catalog entry.)



Love the title. Not too crazy about the cover. But The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis, set in small-town South Carolina seems like a funny, adventurous, and nostalgic (perhaps not-I can't tell if this is historical fiction or not) look at the effect an unusual family has on a sleepy Southern town.

And, Finally.....

I thought I'd never get here! Presenting....new stand-alone titles. No sequels or series in this bunch (for now.....)





OK, whoops. I lied. These next two titles should have gone in the series post. But they're so much fun, and already quite popular, that I didn't want to just ignore them! Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute is the first entry in what promises to be a crazy graphic novel series for kids. How can you resist a book about a crime-fighting lunch lady and and a plot to replace all the substitute teachers with robots? You just can't! You'll want to read the second title, Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians. Awesome! They are such fun reads. Truly laugh out loud.



I was denied an ARC copy of The Magician's Elephant, but I'm completely over it. The Magician's Elephant is the latest chapter book by Kate DiCamillo and, quelle surprise, it's been receiving superlatives for months. I'm currently reading it, and I've gotta say, it is a bit dark, but very engrossing. We already have a number of holds (I'll return my copy soon, I promise).



I thought School of Fear sounded cool in the blurbs I read, so I ordered it. I've not had the chance to read it yet. The story centers on a group of children sent to remote boarding school in order to face their fears. It's a neat storyline, cool cover, and circulating well, so I'm hoping it is generating a lot of fans.



Patricia Reilly Giff wrote a horse book! Yay! Here at Fauquier County Public Library, we can never have enough horse stories. And Giff is such a fantastic writer. Just look at that cover! I'm admiring the bold pink lettering against the black and white background. Definitely catches my eye! Lidie joins her brother and father on their ranch in New York state and meets a horse that's having just as much difficulty adjusting to his/her new environment as she does. Wild Girl sounds like a great read.

I have many more titles to get through...see you in the next post!