Best Books of 2011

Tomorrow is December 1st (yikes!). As such, the numerous "Best Of" lists are coming in fast and furious. I participated in a Twitter chat hosted by School Library Journal and was able to get a sneak peek at several titles on their list, to be released tomorrow. They didn't say if Young Fredle was on that list; I love that little mouse, so I hope so! However, was very happy that Amelia Lost made the list; it would be awesome if a nonfiction book won the Newbery. I'll post my personal favorites list in January; I'm still trying to get through 2011 books! If you're wondering how these publications make their Best Of 2011 lists before we even hit December 1st, it's because review publications receive advance reader copies several months in advance. They've been digging into 2012 reads for several months by now.



As Early Word points out in this post, the various Best Books list generally don't overlap. There's just so many books, and so many lists that the odds greatly diminish. However, there are a few that are repeatedly popping up on many lists:







Blackout


Here's a great trailer for Blackout:








Between Shades of Gray

Ruta Sepetys discusses Between Shades of Gray.












Chime

Find out more about Franny Billingsley here.








Daughter of Smoke and Bone

See the trailer for Daughter of Smoke and Bone here, and find out more about the book (can't embed it in this post).








The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (this was originally published online, so it's ineligible for the Newbery)







Heart and Soul

Kadir Nelson discusses Heart and Soul:











I Want My Hat Back

Trailer for I Want My Hat Back:











Inside Out & Back Again


This NPR article discusses author Thanhha Lai and her book, Inside Out and Back Again.











Me...Jane

Find out more about Patrick McDonell here.








A Monster Calls

Patrick Ness writes a diary on his website.








Okay For Now


Gary Schmidt's website includes an interview with the author.








Press Here

This is a great trailer for Press Here (edit: embedding, unfortunately, doesn't always capture the entire video).









The Scorpio Races


Virginia author Maggie Stiefvater is so talented that it's unreal. She animated and composed the music for The Scorpio Races trailer:










Wonderstruck


And last but certainly not least, a trailer for Wonderstruck (the Brian Selznick book, not Taylor Swift's perfume):







I've been in a reading slump recently, which is why I haven't posted many reviews. I'm currently reading Bunheads, which I am loving (it also appeared on Kirkus's best books for teens list), and Imperfect Justice, which I can't say that I love, of course, but find compelling. Also just checked out several books on Early Word's list that I haven't read yet. I've got a lot to read before 2011 is over!

Over at the ALSC blog

I recently blogged about hibernation themed picture books. Make sure you read the comments for even more great title suggestions!

Steve Jobs: The Biography and Fed Up With Lunch

Steve Jobs


It's interesting to contemplate what sort of biography this would have been if the author and publisher weren't working against time to complete and release this biography. Walter Isaacson had extraordinary access to Jobs, even visiting and interviewing him the months before his death, when he was extremely ill and tired easily.


Like many larger-than-life personalities, Steve Jobs was a complicated man, to put it mildly. He had difficult relationships with his staff, family, friends, and competitors. He was arrogant and rude at times, shockingly so, and had major mood swings. My main interest was in discovering Apple's influence on society as a whole, rather than Jobs's personal demons, so I was caught by the chapters on the early days of Silicon Valley, including Jobs's early career at Atari, the ouster of Jobs from Apple, Jobs's partnerships and tiffs with Bill Gates, and the impact of iTunes on the music industry. I wasn't expecting Isaacson to delve into Jobs's relationship with Pixar in such detail; this was the highlight of the biography for me (will someone write an updated history of the Disney company, please?). It would have been neat to have had Jobs's perspective on Amazon/Jeff Bezos, but Amazon moved into the tablet business weeks before Jobs's death (I can guess his opinion, though--not thrilled and unimpressed, to say the least!).



At nearly 600 pages, it's a doorstopper, but not a challenging read, unless you have a time limit for reading this book, as I did (this is when speed reading techniques come in handy). It's rare that a biographer had such immediate access to his/her subject, as well as the subject's friends, coworkers, rivals, and family, so it's a unique perspective on a challenging man.







Fed Up With Lunch



It was an otherwise normal day when Sara Wu, a speech pathologist for a Chicago public school, realized that she had forgotten her lunch. Confronted with a pathetic concoction called a "bagel dog," Wu decided that she would buy, eat, and blog her school's lunch for an entire year. Posting anonymously as "Mrs. Q," Wu gained the attention of Jamie Oliver and others involved in food/nutrition advocacy as well as everyday teachers and parents frustrated with lunch options at their schools.


Fed Up With Lunch is not, unlike other "blog-to-book" ventures, a rehashing of blog posts. As Wu became more concerned about food choices available to her students, several of whom rely on school lunch for their only set meal, her research and discussion with other worried parents and teachers through her blog and through carefully veiled interviews convinced her that change was desperately needed in school lunch programs. Interspersed throughout her chronicle are information sidebars containing information about nutrition, the importance of recess and gym for young students, and concrete ways individuals can bring change to their local school lunch program. The appendix of information on school lunch advocates and food issues is tremendous; Wu's snapshots of her school lunches are eyeopeners. This is a sobering, enlightening, and empowering read.

Everything On It

Every Thing On It



Shel Silverstein was a huge favorite of mine when I was in elementary school. I can still remember the poem I chose to memorize in second grade:

If you're a bird/be an early bird/and catch the worm for your breakfast plate/If you're a bird/be an early bird/But if you're a worm/sleep late


Silverstein was a genius at capturing children's humor, interests, thoughts, and worries. Although his poems are often silly, laugh out loud, funny, and occasionally gross, his poems are also occasionally wistful and quite tender.

Every Thing On It, Silverstein's latest posthumous collection (he died in 1999), is no different. These poems were not rejected from previous editions because they were half-finished or because Silverstein wasn't satisfied with them; they simply didn't, in Silverstein's view, fit the flow of the other works. These are not second-best or also-ran poems; they can stand with the best of Where the Sidewalk Ends and his other works.


Silverstein's death makes reading the poems all the more poignant; this sentiment hits you with the first poem, "Years From Now":

Although I cannot see your face/As you flip these poems awhile/Somewhere from some far-off place/I hear you laughing-and I smile

While reading through Every Thing On It, I marked several poems that illustrated Silverstein's trademarks:

*The poignancy of childhood and children growing up ("Growing Down" and "The Dollhouse")

*The one that might make you cry ("The Clock Man")

*The slightly gross humor ("Investigating" and "Rude Rudy Reese")

*The story poem ("A Mouse in This House")

Silverstein fans young and not-so-young will eat this up. If you need a pick-me-up, grab it. You'll be grinning in about five seconds.

NPR ran a good story about Every Thing On It in September.

New In November

We are winding down the Fall 2011 publishing year. The usual suspects are producing their best books list; I'm happy that we have the majority of the books on the lists, but there are always a handful of books that require further investigation for possible ordering! That's for the December/January orders, though. Let's take a look at some enticing November releases:










All These Things I've Done (YA)

AwwwManNotAnotherDystopianYABook. Hold your horses. As someone who can only take dystopian fiction in small doses, I can tell you that I'm eager to read this one. This one involves illegal chocolate, caffeine, and teen use of cellphones. And a Mafia family. School Library Journal calls it "incredibly compelling"; Publishers Weekly opines that it offers "the excitement of a crime drama and the allure of forbidden romance." Woo hoo.









Anna Dressed in Blood (YA)


Horror fans, take note. You'll want to grab this one. Theseus's family business isn't like your normal mom-and-pop operation: his family kills ghosts. But only the ghosts that kill people. (Got it?) His next assignment involves a ghost named Anna, who's apparently been causing all sorts of havoc. When Kirkus loves a book, they really, really, really, really like a book. Like they want to cover it in chocolate and eat it all up: "Abundantly original, marvelously inventive and enormous fun, this can stand alongside the best horror fiction out there." Nice.









Bad Island


Dad decides to take the family on a fishing trip, and look what happens: they end up on an island that's not so much an island as it is the submerged body of a monster. Don't you hate it when that happens? This graphic novels already has its fans: School Library Journal calls it a "rip-roaring adventure," and Publishers Weekly approvingly notes that it "features sympathetic adult characters as heroic as the children." I like the sound of that!









Bun Bun Button




A beloved stuffed animal gets separated from its owner and has wild adventures on its own before reuniting with its young owner. Yes, there are similar stories out there (such as one of my favorites, La La Rose), but THIS one is written by Patricia Polacco. (Ooooh. Aaaah.) It's receiving lovely reviews, as can be expected.









Caleb's Wars (YA)






Historical fiction about the civil rights movement and slavery is important, but I'm always keen to read African-American oriented historical fiction that's set during different eras. Life's not easy for 15 year old Caleb, nor for any other African-American in Georgia during World War II. Hoping to escape a bad home life, Caleb takes a job washing dishes in a local restaurant, where he's shocked to find a German POW on staff. Andreas seems eager to be his friend; as he is a)not only white but b) a German POW, this is a bit unsettling for Caleb. This is getting excellent reviews; very intrigued about this one.









The Christmas Coat: Memories of My Sioux Childhood




I thought I had ordered all the new winter holiday books that I was going to order for this year, but I couldn't resist this one. When boxes of donated clothing arrive in time for Christmas at the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, Virginia and her brothers must always be the last children to chose from the selection. As children of an Episcopal priest, they have been told that others take precedence. Naturally, the beautiful fur coat that Virginia has had her heart set on is taken by Virginia's rival. But what can be in a special box marked specifically for Virginia and her brothers?









Daughter of Smoke and Bone (YA)




Is this the next breakout YA novel? Publishers Weekly named it one of the best books of 2011, and it's received FIVE starred reviews and bang-up reviews from The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly (can I just say how awesome EW is in taking YA literature seriously?). Teen Vogue, American Cheerleader magazine, and Amazon love it too. Author Laini Taylor (and her pink hair) is on a mega-tour right now. Are you getting the picture? It's set in Prague and features an art student who considers her artist notebook of monsters her true family. There's lots of angels and battles between supernatural beings, so fantasy lovers will definitely eat it up. First in a trilogy.









The Day Roy Riegels Ran the Wrong Way


Imagine it: The 1929 Rose Bowl tournament between the University of California and Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech drops the ball! UC center Roy Riegels grabs the ball and sprints--the wrong way! He realizes his error at the 1 yard line, but it's too late. Thankfully, as Riegels demonstrates (and as the narrator, a grandfather telling his grandson the story, tells us), "...mistakes are not the end of the world." Dan Gutman is a master of sports stories and crazy middle grade fiction in general, so I have high expectations for this picture book.









Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite






Duke Ellington's band and recording executives were plenty skeptical about jazzing up the Nutcracker score, but Ellington was not to be dissuaded. Publishers Weekly cheers author Anna Harwell Celenza's "vibrant writing" in this "upbeat Christmas book about breaking boundaries and experimenting with new ideas." This comes with a CD recording of Ellington's score (a "must listen" according to Kirkus Reviews). I dig that.









Icefall




Three children of a king and a band of warriors find themselves stranded on a deserted island in the winter. Based on Norse mythology and history, this has been picked as a Newbery favorite on some blogs and blog comments. School Library Journal recommends this for Ranger's Apprentice fans (must remember that!).









Lost! A Dog Called Bear




Yaaay! A new easy chapter book series! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Wendy Orr. This first entry (Missing! A Cat Called Buster is the second book) in a series about children helping animals and an animal shelter will undoubtedly appeal to both boys and girls. It's received high praise from the major review publications.









Outlaw (YA)




I'm all for YA thrillers; they're awesome for reluctant readers and are welcomed by those who aren't into the supernatural craze (particularly supernatural romance). Outlaw seems a step above your everyday thriller, because it's set in Burkina Faso and deals with contemporary issues involving much of Africa. Technology also plays a big part of the story, which isn't common in a story set in an African country. The teenage children of the United Kingdom's ambassador to Burkina Faso are kidnapped by a man whom some consider a terrorist and others consider Africa's modern day Robin Hood. "Nonstop action" sayeth Kirkus Reviews.









Snow in Summer: The Fairest of Them All




Finally! I've been waiting for Jane Yolen's latest novel for some time. How can you blame me, knowing that it's an adaptation of the Snow White story set in 1940s West Virginia? Publishers Weekly informs us that it's "beautifully written and deliciously scary." Awesome.









The Winter Pony




Kudos on that beautiful cover, Delacorte Press. Well done. Horses, adventure, and the race to the South Pole with Robert Falcon Scott. Are you hooked yet? It's told from the perspective of James Pigg, one of the twenty ponies that accompanied Scott's team to the South Pole. If you don't know anything about Scott's expedition to the South Pole, here's a helpful hint for you to decide if you want to emotionally invest in a story about that gorgeous little pony with the soft, trusting gaze on the cover...it doesn't end well. I haven't read reviews of this yet; I'm going solely on the author's past works and on the subject matter. November 1st marked the 100th anniversary of the first day of Scott's expedition, so this is quite timely.









Zombie Mommy




Lily's mom has been possessed by a zombie trying to take over the world! Killer tarantulas and teenage vampires are out for M.T. Anderson's Pals in Peril group. Kirkus Reviews ended its positive review with this: "Ridiculous in all the best ways." Having read the previous Pals in Peril, I can definitely believe that.



Does that sound good to you? We have so many great stories coming to our new shelves in the upcoming weeks. Cannot wait.

Media Matters: Monster

Monster


Late yesterday afternoon, I realized that I hadn't picked a DVD/CD for this week's Media Matters post. Yikes! I'm working my way through Ken Burns's Civil War documentary and a long-ish book on CD, so anything I chose needs to be short. I scanned the DVD selection; my eye caught a DK Eyewitness DVD. 27 minutes! Perfect!


DK (Dorling Kindersley) is a powerhouse publisher known for their high-impact graphic design. Pick up a DK book, and you'll probably find it hard to put it down. Occasionally, I find the doorstoppers a bit overwhelming, but kids (especially boys who devour fun facts and nonfiction) love them.

DK's Eyewitness series, covering an array of science, history, and cultural topics, is probably its best known product. I was pleased, but not surprised, that its Monster DVD follows the same principles of its Eyewitness books; lots of fascinating information with appealing graphics. Monster features a variety of animals that many find scary, such as spiders and the great white shark. Viewers also learn about the Loch Ness Monster and Dracula (the brief discussion about Vlad the Impaler might gross out sensitive viewers). I really appreciated that the narration doesn't condescend to children; adults will enjoy this as much as the DVD's intended audience. For children (the book and DVD series is aimed for children 8 and older) interested in close ups of creepy crawlies and huge animals, this should be a hit.

Wowbrary Wednesday/Waiting For Wednesday

Another installment of Wowbrary Wednesday (which I'm expanding to Waiting For Wednesday). I am overwhelmed with all the new fall books coming in!








I Want My MTV


A 600 page book about the first decade of MTV? Oh, hello! Yes, I am part of the MTV generation that remembers when MTV played music videos. Oh, what glorious times, my friends. We didn't care what happens when roommates stop being polite and start being real. We stayed up super late at slumber parties to watch Headbangers Ball, tuned into 120 Minutes despite our hatred of Kennedy, and hoped that our favorite video was #1 on the top 20 video countdown. VJ rivalries and crazy stories about the making of music videos? I am so there.









Prohibition


I missed the original airing on PBS, so I am very excited that we will soon receive DVD copies of Ken Burns's latest documentary. I'm working my way through his Civil War documentary in the meantime; I'm a latecomer to Burns's documentaries, so I have a lot left to explore of his works (I think the baseball and national parks documentaries will go to the top of my list).











Elizabeth and Hazel




It's a picture that has defined the school desegregation struggle: a young African-American student walks to Little Rock's Central High School, while an angry young Caucasian woman screams in anger, her face twisted in hatred. Those two young ladies, Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan Massery, eventually formed a difficult and eventually, heartbreaking friendship. Author David Margolick tells the tale of their relationship, as well as their difficulties emerging from the shadow of that famous photograph. Sounds like a worthwhile, but rather sad, read.












The White House: The President's Home in Photographs and History



Presidential history fascinates me (I just finished Destiny of the Republic, which is an amazing and brilliant read...cannot recommend it highly enough). This look at the changes and renovations of the White House looks like a winner, just from the chapter titles: Weddings and Funerals, The White House in Advertisements, The White House and Technology, and Animals, among others.



If you want to be among the first to know about the latest books at the Fauquier County Public Library (even before they hit the shelves!), subscribe to Wowbrary (it's a free service). Be warned that your holds list will never recover.

Holiday Books

We have so many Christmas books (and a good number of Hanukkah books) that I'm quite picky about the new ones that I order every year. The ones by popular authors are ordered, of course, but I'm really on the lookout for books that are unique and out-of-the-ordinary. The new winter holiday books that are either on our shelves or will soon be there are a mix of multicultural, historical, or just unique takes on the holiday season.







The Third Gift


Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park's Nativity-themed picture books starts off with a startling and intriguing whallop: "My father collects tears." The narrator, a young boy, is learning his father's trade of collecting dried pearls of sap from myrrh trees. We learn how the bark is cut and how the sap is harvested. The boy and his father take the largest "tear," harvested by the boy, to the spice market, where it is bought by three men who are purchasing beautiful gifts for a baby. (You see where this is going?) Reviews have been stellar, with School Library Journal approvingly noting the close relationship between son and father; Publishers Weekly praises Park for bridging "the ordinary and sacred to powerful effect."









A Bad Kitty Christmas


The Bad Kitty chapter books are huge hilarious hits; author Nick Bruel gets into the holiday spirit with this presentation of Bad Kitty in a picture book parody of "The Night Before Christmas." While there's plenty of humor and zany antics, Bad Kitty does learn the true meaning of Christmas.









Christmas in Williamsburg


I *knew* this book would be popular. I sneaked a peek at it before it went on the shelf, because I knew that it wouldn't stay there long (I was right). This overview of colonial Christmas celebrations (it does touch on Christmas celebrations beyond the colonial period) is an intriguing read for both kids and parents. Pictures of reenactors make this a visually attractive browse worthy book. Recipes and craft instructions are included.








The Golem's Latkes


This Hanukkah fairy tale by master folklorist Eric Kimmel has been admired by Kirkus Reviews ("a fine read-aloud holiday treat") and Publishers Weekly ("Kimmel has the pacing of a comic"). We're always in need of Hanukkah books that aren't simple explanations of Hanukkah, so I'm super pleased about this one.








Grace at Christmas


Grace is back! This irresistible star of four picture books is featured in her first Christmas story. Grace, friends, and family members act out the Nativity story, but not without conflict and lessons being learned.


Let the holiday reading begin!

Media Matters: Sleeping Beauty

Let me tell you about Sleeping Beauty. First of all, let's acknowledge the fact that yes, people have issues with the story. A beautiful princess (raised as a peasant) pricks her finger on a spinning wheel and falls into a deep sleep until a handsome prince kisses her and wakes her up. We all know the story. However, unlike Snow White and Cinderella, the triumph of good over evil is much more evident in this story than those other Disney classics. The emphasis on Prince Philip's weapons of truth and virtue are contrasted against Maleficent's evil powers. The three good fairies are invaluable to Prince Philip (although they get no thanks from him!).

(Was Prince Philip named after the Duke of Edinburgh? He's not named in the various Sleeping Beauty folktales or in the ballet. I did a little research and found that Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Philip married in 1947. Disney released Sleeping Beauty in 1959; the studio spent an entire decade creating the film, so it's entirely possible that the hoopla over the attractive young royal couple inspired the naming. The princes in Snow White and Cinderella are not named.)

Maleficent. The evil fairy who, in revenge for not being invited to the Princess Aurora's christening, is truly one of the most straight-up evil and chilling villains ever created by Disney. I distinctly remember how scary I found her when I was a child; combined with the sinister music and the deliciously creepy voice of Eleanor Audley, this villain-est of Disney villains still manages to creep me out. (She's also quite snarky, which I never realized until watching it this week.)

Unlike Cinderella and Snow White, Aurora/Briar Rose has, in my opinion, personality, warmth, charm, and humor unlike the other early Disney heroines. This is largely in thanks to the delightful Mary Costa, who voiced the character (she's adorable in the documentary; would you guess that she's as Southern as Paula Deen?). Disney's princes tend to be as dull as dishwater, yet Prince Philip manages to come alive through the talents of Bill Shirley. Actually, the entire movie has depth and humor that I think is lacking in those other early Disney classics, as brilliant and groundbreaking as they were. I'm biased, though; can you tell that this is my favorite of the early Disney classics?



Although the story line might not appeal to all, Sleeping Beauty is one of the most beautifully animated movies ever created by Disney. Lots of fun to revisit this one.