Replacement review

The Replacement
by Brenna Yovanoff
Razorbill
September 2010

Mackie Doyle's family loyally covers for the fact that he isn't human. He's a changeling - the "replacement" for the real Mackie Doyle, who died years ago. He's allergic to most metal (especially iron), cannot enter hallowed ground and has always had a fragile constitution. Not being able to enter churchyards poses a special problem, as his father is the local minister, but he covers for his son by building an outbuilding for children's programs just off the edge of the consecrated property. I loved the sense of the open secret which is at the heart of this book. Everyone in town knows. Nobody talks about it. Mackie's mother knows for certain the fae are real - she herself had been stolen by them once, but managed to escape, something which she does not ever care to discuss. She feels Mackie's being sent to her is a "punishment" for removing herself from the faery world. Mackie's best ally is his sister, Emma, who frequently goes to extreme lengths to protect her brother.

It turns out that the town of Gentry has long ago struck a bargain with the underworld - increased wealth and prosperity, and an unusual amount of good luck for the occassional human sacrifice. The Fae -- duplicitous, grotesque, weird and scary, seem to do very, very little to hold up their end of the bargain. They most certainly collect on their blood debt - kidnapping a human child every few years, and replacing it with an ailing castoff child of their own. But the town of Gentry has been financially hurting for years, and is now dominated by a crumbling ironworks factory. The Fae occassionally put on rock concerts, which leave the human audience members enthralled and enraptured, and for the moment they consider this payment enough.

Mackie is drawn in to some intrigue when a girl that he has a crush on tells him she believes that her dead baby sister is in fact, a changeling, and her true sister may still be living as one of the pets of the underground Fae.

I was reminded just a little, of the grim hopelessness of M.T. Anderson's Thirsty, about a inhuman boy whose loyalty is firmly with the human family that has raised him. Fans of horror with gory scenes such as The Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong will probably enjoy this book. I loved the cover of the hardcover, with it's terrifying mix of sharp implements and baby carriage and shiny silver background, but teens will probably find the paperback cover, featuring a hunky but moody Mackie, even more appealing.

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

Resolutions for 2011

Last year, I wrote up a set of goals for 2010.  Now that the year has ended, it's time to look back and ask, "How'd I do?"

Last year, I promised myself that I would review more picture books.  It doesn't feel like I did.  There are so very many wonderful picture books that I meant to feature on my blog, but just didn't get around to.  The numbers don't lie, however.  In 2009, I reviewed 13 lucky picture books.  In 2010, I nearly doubled that number to 24.

I committed to posting on my blog 1-3 times a week.  No problem there.  I've been very consistent in that regard.

I also promised myself not to over-twitter!  No more than a tweet or two a day.  I think I may have fallen down on that one... I've grown much more relaxed with Twitter as I've grown more accustomed to using it.  Sometimes I'll post several updates to Twitter within a few minutes, other times I won't have anything to say for a day or two, and I think that's fine.

Finally, last year I vowed to ignore the backlist titles clogging up my TBR list and stay more current.  I have to say, I found myself completely ignoring this self-imposed dicate, whimsically reading whatever struck my fancy whilst ignoring my ever-growing pile of ARCs.  I've said it before, and I'll say it a hundred times, "They write books faster than I can read them."  I really should do better in this regard.

So, what's on the agenda for 2011?
Well, more of the same, I suppose.  I'd like to continue to review more picture books.  Also, more poetry!  I'd like very much to stay current and read more things published in the current year.  I'd like to blog more -- every day or nearly every day would be nice. I'll start including the month published in addition to the year, on my book reviews.

One thing I'm excited about is the 2011 Debut Author Challenge hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.  What a great way to broaden one's horizons!  I'm definitely up for signing on to read 12 books by new authors this year.

KidLit Drink Night: Atlanta

I am so excited about this venture, combining some of my favorite things. Children's literature! Smart and interesting people! Refreshing beverages! Bonus: I don't even have to go all the way to New York City.  It's a KidLit Drink Night, happening in Atlanta, (okay, Decatur) on Saturday, January 8th, at 6 pm at the Square Pub. Be sure to check out the Atlanta Kidlit Drink Night Facebook page if you need more info.

Books Read in 2010

It's time to look back at what I read in the preceding year.  Here's what I read in 2009 and 2008.  Normally, I like to divvy these lists up by month, but due to a computer crash, I lost that data.  This should be a mostly complete list though.  I generally strive to read about a hundred books a year, and I fell a little short of that mark - but 2010 was a very turbulent year.  Several job changes, several moves, including a huge cross-country move.  I'll just have to forgive myself for slacking a bit on the reading side.  There's a good variety of books, some middle-grade fiction, quite a bit of YA (mostly paranormal) and a few adult books, fiction and non-fiction for when I need some occasional "grown-up" reading. In 2011, hopefully I'll read 150!  I also plan on keeping better track of what I'm reading from month to month. With no further ado, here is the list:


1 Babymouse #6 Camp Babymouse - Jennifer and Matt Holm
2 Babymouse #8 Puppy Love - Jennifer and Matt Holm
3 Babymouse #9 Monster Mash - Jennifer and Matt Holm
4 Babymouse #10 The Musical - Jennifer and Matt Holm
5 Babymouse #11 Dragonslayer - Jennifer and Matt Holm
6 Chasing George Washington - Ronald Kidd
7 Scarlett & Crimson: Darqstarz Rising - Allyson Black
8 Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading - Lizzie Skurnick
9 Children's Literature Gems: Choosing and Using Them in Your Library Career - Elizabeth Bird
10 Thirteenth Child - Patricia Wrede
11 Wicked Lovely - Melissa Marr
12 Ink Exchange - Melissa Marr
13 Fragile Eternity - Melissa Marr
14 One Big Happy Family - Rebecca Walker
15 The Commuter Marriage - Tina Tessina
16 Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld
17 Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run - Michael Hemphill and Sam Riddleburger
18 Ash - Malinda Lo
19 Moon & Sun: The Ruby Key - Holly Lisle
20 Wondrous Strange - Lesley Livingston
21 Shadowland - Alyson Noel
22 Tempted - P.C. + Kristin Cast
23 Calamity Jack - Shannon, Dean & Nathan Hale
24 You Are So Undead to Me - Stacey Jay
25 Andy Shane: Hero at Last - Jennifer Richard Jacobson
26 The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary - Jeff Kinney
27 The Gathering Storm - Brandon Sanderson & Robert Jordan
28 Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
29 Burned - P.C. + Kristin Cast
30 Spaceheadz - Jon Sciezska
31 The Dead Tossed Waves - Carrie Ryan
32 Into the Wild Nerd Yonder - Julie Halpern
33 Year of the Bomb - Ronald Kidd
34 Rapunzel's Revenge - Shannon, Dean & Nathan Hale
35 Fire - Kristin Cashore
36 Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side - Beth Fantaskey
37 The Summoning - Kelley Armstrong
38 City of Bones - Cassandra Clare
39 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie
40 Darklight - Lesley Livingston
41 The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner - Stephenie Meyer
42 Monster High - Lisi Harrison
43 Feed - M.T. Anderson
44 Boy Proof - Cecil Castelucci
45 Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling
46 The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness
47 Ratfink - Marcia Thornton Jones
48 The Night Fairy - Laura Amy Schlitz
49 Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
50 Beautiful Creatures - Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
51 Hereville - Barry Deutsch
52 Matched - Ally Condie
53 Thieves of Manhattan - Adam Langer
54 Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout
55 Actor and the Housewife - Shannon Hale
56 Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
57 Unfinished Angel - Sharon Creech
58 Zombie Felties - Nicola Tedman and Sarah Skeate
59 Finally - Wendy Mass
60 Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt - Megan McDonald
61 Council of Evil - Andy Briggs
62 Touch Blue - Cynthia Lord
63 Spirit Bound - Richelle Mead
64 Short and Sweet Skits for Student Actors - Maggie Scriven
65 The Van Alen Legacy - Melissa de la Cruz
66 Breathe My Name - R.A. Nelson
67 Linger - Maggie Stiefvater
68 Being Nikki - Meg Cabot
69 The Thirteenth Princess - Diane Zahler
70 The Search for WondLA - Tony DiTerlizzi
71 The Replacement - Brenda Yovanoff
72 Nightshade - Andrea Cremer
73 Hex Hall - Rachel Hawkins
74 Dark Flame - Alyson Noel
75 Stork - Wendy delSol
76 The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend - Kody Keplinger
77 Runaway - Meg Cabot
78 The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - E. Lockhart
79 The Truth About Forever - Sarah Dessen
80 The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentleman Farmers - Josh Kilmer-Purcell
81 Shock of Gray - Ted C. Fishman
82 Twilight: The Graphic Novel - Stephenie Meyer, Young Kim
83 The Comfort Trap: or What if You're Riding a Dead Horse - Judith Sills
84 How to Be Popular - Meg Cabot
85 Gunn's Golden Rules: Little Life Lessons for Making it Work - Tim Gunn
86 Government Girl: Young and Female in the White House - Stacy Parker Aab
87 City of Ash - Cassandra Clare
88 Fallen - Lauren Kate
89 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth - Jeff Kinney
90 Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie: The Big Stink - David Lubar
91 Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris
92 Everything I Was - Corrine Demas

Short and Sweet Skits review

Short and Sweet Skits for Student Actors

by Maggie Scriven
Meriwether Publishing
March 2010

Clean, straitlaced and with a sometimes corny sense of humor, these skits will be a welcome resource for teachers who want to incorporate a bit of drama into their classrooms. The majority of the selections feature present-day scenes of school, friends, and home, usually addressing conduct of life, but a few of them veer into the fantastical with actors playing cows, cats, and dogs. Actors are encouraged to play these scenes standing up and with light costuming to suggest the animal being portrayed.

Most of the selections are for two to three players, but educators will be hard-pressed to find another collection that features short scenes for groups of 10-16 specifically tailored for classroom use, as this one does. Flexible casting is possible for quite a few of the pieces.



I recieved a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This review originally appeared in School Library Journal.

Cybils Short Lists announced

The 2010 Cybils short lists have been announced.  I'm rather excited to see several of my favorites listed, including one that I nominated!


Who do I think (or hope) will win?

For Easy Readers, I'm obviously pulling for the book I nominated, Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa: Spring Babies by Erica Silverman.  The only other nominee that I think could give it a serious run for it's money is We Are in a Book by Mo Willems, because the Piggy & Elephant series is so popular.

For Early Chapter books, I see Frankie Pickle and the Pine Run 3000 by Eric Wight as the clear winner. Nothing else on this short list really captivates me as much as Frankie Pickle does.

For Middle-Grade Fantasy and Science Fiction my vote is for Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs by Ursula Vernon.  I'm not sure if the fact that it's a hybrid graphic novel (partly illustrated, mostly chapter book, a lá Diary of a Wimpy Kid) will help it or hurt it, but I hope it does win, because it's such a funny book.

For Young Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction, I have to say, I'm not too familiar with the books that made the list!  I guess I'll root for Plain Kate by Erin Bow, because it doesn't sound like dystopian fiction, which I am growing a bit weary of, plus it has a talking cat, and you can nearly never go wrong with a talking feline.

For Fiction Picture Books, I just finished reading (more like, poring over with delight) Flora's Very Windy Day by Jeanne Birdsall.  What a gorgeous book. There are a lot of great books in this category though.  I could easily see the prize going to A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Christian Stead, or even (although, it wasn't my favorite) The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson.

For Middle-Grade Graphic Novels, I thought it might be hard to say which book I'm rooting for. But then I saw Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess by George O'Connor had made the short list, and I knew that's the one. Athena has always been my favorite goddess, and I love the art, so I hope this one wins.

The Young Adult Graphic Novels category is a true toss-up for me. I was so excited about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel, which I had nominated, but it did not make it to the short list. I think Ghostopolis by Doug Tennapel will win, I've heard lots of good buzz about it.

For Middle-Grade Novels, I wasn't too excited by anything on the list... until I saw The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. It's at the top of my nightstand and I can't wait to read it.

For Middle-Grade and Young Adult Nonfiction, I'm hoping The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe will win. What an important and worthy topic, and I love the Scientists in the Field series. Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot is another strong contender though.

The Nonfiction Picture Books short list has a couple of books that I have seen appeal to adults, especially The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) by Barbara Kerley.  I wanted to love Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum by Meghan McCarthy but it just didn't grab me.  Kids love it though. Ultimately, I hope that Bones by Steve Jenkins will win. His cut-paper collage style art is mesmerizing! I don't think I could ever get tired of Steve Jenkins books.

For the Poetry shortlist, I see a number of books that I hadn't heard of, and I must check out! Borrowed Names: Poems About Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madame C.J. Walker, Marie Curie and Their Daughters sounds fascinating.  I think Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer should win for it's sheer inventiveness.  I would say that Joyce Sidman's Ubiquitous would be another possibility, but I wonder if Sidman's other book on the short list, Dark Emperor and Other Poems of Night, will end up drawing attention away from Ubiquitous, allowing Mirror Mirror to coast unimpeded to victory?

And finally, in the Young Adult Novel category, phew! Everything on the short list looks like a gritty, challenging read.  If I had to guess, I might say that Stolen by Lucy Christopher will take the award.

Green display

A short while ago, I put together a display of "green" books.  One unexpected benefit of this was most of the books covers were either green, paper-bag brown, or white.  It made a really nice unified look.

 

One of the hottest items on the display, by far, was this Cool Crafts series by Carol Sirrine put out in 2010 by Snap Books. Titles like Cool Crafts with Old Jeans, and Cool Crafts with Old T-Shirts were impossible to keep on the shelf, but the others in the series: Cool Crafts with Wrappers Cans and Bottles and Cool Crafts with Old CDs were pretty popular too.

Interested in putting together your own green themed display?  It's not hard.  Check the non-fiction under Dewey numbers 333.72 and 640 first, but don't overlook other areas too.  There are titles cataloged under nearly every subject that may tie-in to the theme.  Throw in some classic picture books like The Lorax and Bill Peet's Wump World, and mix it up with newer titles like 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World by Melanie Walsh (2008), OK, Go by Carin Berger (2009) or We Planted a Tree by Diane Muldrow, illustrated by Bob Staake (2010).  There's lots of middle-grade fiction featuring a green theme too.  Just Grace Goes Green by Cherise Mericle Harper (2009), Judy Moody Saves the World by Megan McDonald, illustrated by Peter Reynolds (2002), Mallory Goes Green by Laurie Friedman, illustrated by Jennifer Kalis (2010) or Watch out World, Rosy Cole is Going Green by Sheila Greenwald (2010).

This display was in a high-traffic area of the library, where mixing the age-ranges for materials made a lot of sense.  Check your OPAC for terms like "sustainable living," "recycling'" and "enviromental protection," and see what comes up.