"D" video

A friend forwarded me this awesome animated short about a homicidal pen and a very resourceful letter D.

 
"D" - animated short film from Closed Eye Visuals | DP on Vimeo.

Picture book mini-reviews

How do we like this? I'm putting up some "mini-reviews" of picture books I've been reading recently. Not a full review, not really, just my quick thoughts on each.

Extra Yarn
by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
Balzer + Bray
January 2012

Sweet and wonderful. Annabelle has a passion for knitting and an endless box of yarn. Soon, the whole town is bedecked with her creations. This heartwarming, inventive story could be a Caldecott contender, for sure.

I borrowed this book.

I'm Adopted!
by Shelley Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly
Holiday House
August 2011

A basic introduction to the idea of what adoption is, and how adopted families come to be formed. Covers both international and domestic adoption. Plenty of bright, clear photographs of diverse children in happy families - this book should corner the market for introductory adoption books for young families and the early-education classroom for a good decade or so - at least until the photos begin to look dated.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

One Cool Friend
by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by David Small
Dial Books
January 2012

Cute! Very formal little boy Elliot gets a penguin for a pet. Often left to his own devices in elegant surroundings, he reminded me of a male Eloise. Mostly black and white drawings are accentuated with pops of color. Bonus points for the mannish, pink-haired librarian! A good surprise ending with his father and another unexpected pet.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Never Forgotten
by Patricia McKissack, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon
Random House Children's Books
October 2011

Incredible! A boy from an African village, raised by his single father, with the help of his guardian angels, the four elements, is captured and sold into slavery. Gorgeous colorful woodcut-style illustrations are packed with hidden details, including skulls on the slave trader's boats. The elements of earth, fire, water and air search for him, and return news to his father that his son is all right, making his living as a metalworker. A powerful modern folktale.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Waiting on Insurgent

Love this series! I can't wait to find out more about the other factions.

Insurgent
by Veronica Roth
HarperTeen

May 2012

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

Drama Llama

photo by iregretjumping

Unfortunate rumors are swirling about one of YA book blogger's top celebrities, The Story Siren. It appears that she's plagiarized some material from another blog. I am incredibly bummed out about this.


More posts, with more details, here and here.


There is so much that I like about Kristi at The Story Siren:

• Her incredibly successful (and sometimes controversial) meme, In My Mailbox draws the participation of 300+ bloggers a week. While many have said that these posts seem braggy, "Look how much publishers love me, more than you! My swag! Let me tell you of it!," her apologist answer was that she never asked for all this free stuff publishers send her, and she genuinely wanted to give a shout-out to authors so that their effort in sending out freebies wasn't wasted, struck me as quite genuine.
• Ditto to her Debut Authors Challenge - what a great way to shine a spotlight on new authors. Yes, she's recruited lots of volunteers to help organize what's become a fairly large undertaking, but this is still another really neat way to stay au courant with the constantly shifting world of YA publishing, and honestly has gotten to the size where it couldn't be managed by one person anymore anyway.
• She has a wonderful "camera-ready" presence as a vlogger. How many people can say the same? Good lighting, casual but clean clothing, smooth vocal delivery with little to no stumbling and an honest level of enthusiasm about YA literature all shine through on her weekly videos.

I will say, my concerns with The Story Siren have always been: her reviews are few and far between, and when they do come along, they tend to be rather short, contain plenty of filler from the publisher's copy, and nearly always are fairly glowing. Why are such short tidbits rewarded with an "everyday is Christmas" cavalcade of free books and other merch? I chalked it up to the internet principle of "FIRST!!!" The Story Siren's been around a lot longer than some of these other johnny-come-lately blogs, plus I imagined that Kristi must be awesome at following up with folks - e-mailing PR staff, maximizing any and all exposure for her reviews, being a social media maven and so-on. Stuff, that, I admit it, I rarely follow through on.


I've certainly been in that position myself: sweating bullets over some of the reviews I've written, when I've realized that I used the same pull-quote as someone else, or used the same word. I pride myself on writing unique reviews, always from my own perspective, but I've comforted myself thinking, you know it's the same exact book - it's not shocking that two or more people with similar backgrounds and book knowledge would both describe it with the same word, "charming" or whatever. But whole sentences? Whole paragraphs, lifted word, for word? That's just not right. I await further developments on this whole set of dramatic events with interest. In the meantime, there's a hashtag on twitter, #stopthestorysiren.

Book Art

Nifty book-related paper crafts via bonexpose.com

That Old Book Smell

I like this. People often wax poetical about "that old books smell" ...I have to admit, it is pretty nice. The smell of an old bookstore plus fresh-brewed coffee just can't be beat!

And Then It's Spring review

And Then It's Spring
by Julie Fogiano, illustrated by Erin E. Stead
Roaring Brook Press
February 2012

What an absolutely amazing book! Is it possible that Erin E. Stead could win another Caldecott so soon? I could see an Honor for this book, definitely. This story about hoping and waiting for spring begins by saying: "First you have brown. You have brown all around." "...but a hopeful, very possible sort of brown." "...and you worry about those little seeds." "...bears can't read signs that say things like 'please do not stomp here - there are seeds and they are trying.'" Well, isn't that the essence of spring, right there? There are seeds and they are trying. Astute readers will delight in little details revealed by the boy, his sleepy dog, pet bunny and pet turtle, including garden signs for a buried bone, and a chocolate chip cookie patch.

Those mopsical bears just killed me! They carelessly knock down all the garden signs, but that doesn't stop those seeds from continuing to try, try and try.

I like that this book doesn't end with a garden in full bloom but rather with the palest yellow green of early spring. When the first flush of new growth finally arrives, "...now you have green, all around you have green."


I borrowed this book.