Famous Books in Every State

Business Insider, of all places, put together a fabulous graphic of the most famous book from/about every U.S. state. How many of these have you read?

THE GIVER trailer

With the huge popularity of The Hunger Games and Divergent, it only makes sense for Lois Lowry's The Giver to come out as a film. I'm really intrigued by this trailer!

Stonewall Hinkleman review

Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run
by Michael Hemphill and Sam Riddleburger
Dial Books
April 2009

First line: "All right, let's get the whole name thing out of the way quickly. My name is Stonewall Hinkleman."

Stonewall Hinkleman is tired of being dragged to his parent's Civil War re-enactments every weekend. He'd much rather be curled up at home, eating junk food, and playing with his Game Boy than sleeping in makeshift tents and roughing it without "farby" modern conveniences. His father has drilled into him the importance of respecting history, especially since Great-Great-Uncle Cyrus died in the Civil War. Stonewall sarcastically reminds his dad that Cyrus was shot in the butt and died of infection. Nothing heroic about that.

Stonewall's whining is a bit grating at first. Readers who stick it out for the first two chapters will be rewarded when Stonewall's bugle magically sends him back in time to the real Civil War. As far as time traveling goes, Stonewall says, "I've always hated it in movies when somebody goes back in time and it takes them half of the movie to stop saying, 'I must be dreaming.' No, you know right away. At least, I do."

Freshly arrived at the Battle of Bull Run, Stonewall runs into his ancestor, Cyrus, and soon realizes that staunch modern-day Confederate Mr. Dupree has traveled back as well, hoping to change the course of history. Dupree has carelessly brought his daughter Ashby along with him, whom Stonewall is nursing a small crush on. Cyrus turns out to be much more literate and recklessly brave than Stonewall could have imagined. I appreciated that the authors took care to point out negative aspects such as the scariness of battle, the racism of the day and the greediness of the sutlers without being too overwhelming. Stonewall Jackson's transformation to a modern-day hippie is a bit of a stretch, but anything's possible. This is a satisfyingly fun time-travel adventure. Readers will sense that Stonewall Hinkleman prevails at the end, but it certainly is fun seeing how he gets there.

Compare to:

Bull Run - Paul Fleischman

Charley Skedaddle - Patricia Beatty

With Every Drop of Blood - James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Jefferson's Sons: A Founding Father's Secret Children - Kimberly B. Bradley

I borrowed this book from the library.

Top Ten Book Covers I'd Frame As Pieces of Art

This week's topic from The Broke and the Bookish is: Top Ten Book Covers I'd Frame As Pieces of Art.

I'm going to do something a little unusual this week, and instead on concentrating on the pretty, pretty YA covers out there of girls in beautiful dresses, let's look at some of my very favorite picture book artists.

Here we go:

Stella, Fairy of the Forest - Marie Louise Gay

I love this spunky redhead!

The Book of Dragons - Michael Hague

It's true. I have a weakness for dragons. And Michael Hague is one of my very favorite illustrators. I love this book cover.

Little White Rabbit - Kevin Henkes

I love all the books that Henkes has done in this style, starting with Kitten's First Moon and including Old Bear and My Garden. If I had to pick just one of his, I'd go with Little White Rabbit, though.

Mother Goose Picture Puzzles - Will Hillenbrand

I am such a fan of Will Hillenbrand's work. I actually don't know if I'd frame the cover for his collection of Mother Goose rhymes, but I could probably find several of the interior pieces that I'd love to decorate my house with.

Little Red Riding Hood - Trina Schart Hyman

Here's another illustrator that I totally have a crush on. I love all of her work, so it's hard to pick just one. I especially love the cover she did for Ronia, Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren. But, if I'm keeping with the picture book theme, I'd stick with Little Red Riding Hood.

Earth Mother - Ellen Jackson, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

I actually did have a poster of this book cover decorating my office for several years. I'm a huge fan of the Dillons.

The Lion and the Little Red Bird - Elisa Kleven

Again, here's an illustrator that I really admire. I really liked her take on Sun Bread and The Whole Green World. But, The Lion and the Little Red Bird holds a special place in my heart as the first Elisa Kleven book that I ever read.

Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard

Those original illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard (not the later Disney animations!) have a really sweet and special childhood feeling.

The Library - Sarah Stewart, illustrated by David Small

What's not to love about this book cover? A redhead librarian overburdened by books... hmmm... sound like anyone we know?

The Real Mother Goose - Blanche Fisher Wright

Well... I don't know if I would go for the cover of this classic Mother Goose collection either, but there are literally dozens of illustrations throughout the book that I would love to frame.

That's my top 10 list of frameable book covers. What are your favorites?

Read in April 2014

Last month I read the following the books:

1. The Winner's Curse - Marie Rutkowski

2. Small Medium at Large - Joanne Levy

3. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Saenz

4. Deep Change: Discovering the Leader Within - Robert E. Quinn

Picture credit: The Garden Window by Daniel F. Gerhartz

Raising Readers

Check out this article just published on CNN about how to raise a reader. I'm quoted in it as a children's literature expert. There's a ton of information in their slide show about all the various children's book awards as well.

From Dahl, to Sendak, to Dr. Seuss and others, young readers are spoiled for choice. There's a reason why Dr. Seuss in particular gets a nationwide celebration -- or Seussibration, for those in the know -- on his birthday, March 2: He created a niche with his wacky characters, and accessible writing style.

"It's a really simple vocabulary; it's easy to begin to read, if you're a beginning reader, but (the books) still have a really great sense of humor," said Madigan McGillicuddy, a children's librarian in Atlanta. "There is so much packed in there that builds a lifetime love of reading."

Hexed review

Hexed

by Michelle Krys

Delacorte Press

June 2014

Sixteen year old Indigo Blackwood wants nothing more than to focus on her role on the cheerleading squad, her new boyfriend Devon and patching things up with her jealous friend Bianca. Hoping to increase her popularity, Indigo is eager to avoid her nerdy former friend Paige. Indigo is also embarrassed by her New Age hippy dippy mother who runs an occult shop in Los Angeles and her party animal aunt Penny. 

After witnessing an apparent suicide, Indigo finds herself embroiled in a top secret bloody feud between dueling factions of wizards and sorcerers. Her family had been tasked with protecting a witchcraft Bible that holds the key to destroying witches everywhere. Villains Frederick and Leo's powers are truly far-reaching, as they wipe memories, use telepathy, and freeze the entire city for their epic showdown. With the aid of a hunky stranger, Bishop, Indigo must quickly master her newly developed magical flying abilities in order to protect her friends and family. There is a hint of a love triangle, and plenty of drama as Indigo discovers who her true friends are. Krys' debut novel offers a fast paced plot with plenty of shocking twists and turns, and a cliffhanger ending that will appeal to fans of teen paranormal romances.

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

This review originally appeared in School Library Journal.