test blog #10

Until very recently, I didn't know anything about Louise Fitzhugh and had not thought about her at all.  Of course, as a child I read and loved Harriet the Spy , Fitzhugh's iconic and groundbreaking children's book. For a good portion of my life, I dreamed of writing a similar book. Many years ago, when I started writing serial fiction for a children's magazine, I bought a handful of tween books to re-read, and  Harriet  was among them. But I knew nothing about its author. On my birthday last year, my book-loving partner surprised me with a copy of  Sometimes You Have to Lie: the Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, Renegade Author of 'Harriet the Spy' . This was a thoughtful addition to my biography reading list . It was an inspired gift: the book turned out to be fascinating! Louise Fitzhugh's life was  very  interesting, and author Leslie Brody digs deep into the historical context, revealing several hidden histories along the way.  Louise Fitzhugh wa...

Beverly Cleary, who died last week at the astounding age of 104, was a pivotal figure in the world of children's literature. Her books are treasures; her influence can scarcely be measured. Cleary was one of the first authors to feature young characters who were realistically imperfect. If she was not  the  first, then certainly she was the first popular, widely-read writer who, as The Atlantic  put it, " saw children as they are ".  Before Henry Huggins and Ramona, before Otis and Ellen and Ralph S. Mouse, children's literature was preachy and moralistic. The sanitized characters bore little resemblance to actual children. Books typically stood above children, and spoke at  them. Cleary's books stood beside children and reflected them.  Cleary's books were among the first that  respected  children -- their intelligence, their experiences. This would become the norm, of course, but it started somewhere, and that somewhere is Beverly Cleary.  ...

Kids BOGO At the Library September is Literacy Month in BC, and your library will be celebrating in a big way. During the month of September, we are offering "Kids BOGO". BOGO usually means "Buy One, Get [Another] One", but this BOGO is "Borrow One, Get One". When you borrow a children's book, your child will receive another book – to keep. Both books are free! The Vancouver Island Regional Library, the Mt. Waddington Family Literacy Society, and The Book Nook, Port Hardy's bookstore, have teamed up to offer this special, month-long event. Kids BOGO will take place at your libraries in Port Alice, Port Hardy, Port McNeill, Sointula, and Woss. We have a nice stack of shiny new books to give away, including some hot titles that kids always ask for. We want as many children as possible to receive books, so there is a limit of one free book per child. Supplies are limited, so come to your library branch as soon as you can to claim your child's free...

I read Little House on the Prairie when I was very young, and eventually went on to read the whole Little House series. I didn't know any other girls named Laura -- there were at least five in my Master's program, but it wasn't a popular name back then -- and I was infatuated with the idea that the Laura in the story grew up to write the book I was holding in my hands. Even then, I wrote stories, and fantasized that I would write a similar series that children would love. The series was always said to be autobiographical, but it is also fiction. When I picked up Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser, I was curious how much the books reflected Wilder's life -- and how that pioneer girl came to write such an enduring (if now dated) children's series. Prairie Fires is revelatory. It's meticulously researched, and the writing is both precise and accessible. It's a fascinating read. The elephant in the room We can't ...

It's TIHATL, Summer Reading Club edition! Summer Reading Club is in full swing in Canadian libraries. In more than 2,100 libraries around Canada, kids are earning prizes and recognition for reading. Thanks to Toronto Public Library and a certain sponsoring bank, we all have lots of free stuff to give away. The most popular kids' series ever, still going strong after almost 15 years. Our motives are simple: kids who read during the summer do better in school in September. SRC also helps remind parents of pre-readers to read with their little ones daily. Our children's library is very  busy. The first day of SRC, we signed up 180 kids! After two weeks, we're well over 600 participants. When kids register, or when they come in to "report" and collect prizes, it's a great time for some one-on-one conversations with our young customers. Some won't say one word without their parents' prompting, but others are so forthright and articulate! It's reall...

The Golden Compass , by Philip Pullman, has been on my to-read list since it was first published in the mid-1990s. Although I generally don't read fantasy fiction, after reading an outstanding review in The New York Times Book Review , I was very intrigued. Thanks to the Teen Book Club I facilitate at the library, I recently had an excuse to read it: The Golden Compass  (published as Northern Lights  in the UK) is our March title. This is an absolutely wonderful book. Lyra Belacqua, a smart, spunky 11-year-old girl, is wholly believeable as our powerful, but very human, hero. She lives in a world recognizable to us, but different - a parallel universe which unfolds naturally, without the ponderous world-building that I find so tedious in more typical adult fantasy fiction. The book is chock-full of adventure, mystery, and action, with just the right touch of thoughtful reflection thrown in. It's an excellent youth or tween read, which is to say it's fast-paced, writt...

In June of this year, Slate ran a now-infamous piece called " Against YA ," in which Ruth Graham argued that adults shouldn't read young-adult fiction, and should be embarrassed if they do. A flood of posts and essays were written in response;  my own response is here . In the short term, as far as I can tell, not a single writer agreed with Graham. Despite this lopsided showing, some headline writer ( possibly here ) dubbed this "The Great Y.A. Debate," and the name stuck. There must be people out there who agree with Graham - surely hers was not an original idea - but one cranky article does not a debate make. I did find a few interesting essays that used Graham's piece as a springboard to unpack some interesting ideas and cultural trends. A. O. Scott, in The New York Times Magazine , is one reader who found himself agreeing with Graham, and asking himself why. Scott's The Death of Adulthood in American Culture  joins the crowded field of "things...

A boy, maybe age 8, was confused about what he needed. He said he needed "chapter books about the human body," which sounded to me like two things - books about the human body for a school project, and chapter books, meaning junior fiction that is not a picture book, not a series, and not a graphic novel. But he was convinced he needed "chapter books about the human body." He would not be helped, casting aside everything I found for him, and getting increasingly frustrated. Following him around the library (it's a Sunday, so I'm working overtime, not at my own location), I ran into his parents and his older sister. Boy's Father said, "Is he giving you a hard time?" He said this nicely, not in a mean or menacing way. I said, "Oh no, he's fine. I'm just trying to understand what he's looking for." I had books from two popular funny series in my hands. Boy's Father took them from me and said, "No, this is garbage. We...

I thought readers' advisory was the best part of my job, but that was before I began running our library's teen book club. Once a month, I spend an evening with a group of teens who choose to spend their evening at the library, talking about books. We hang out, eat snacks, talk about books, talk about life. Although I've never had an interest in book clubs for myself, facilitating these young people's enjoyment of reading is a joy and a privilege. The teens themselves come from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Most are the first generation of their family born in Canada. Some lead pressured, overly scheduled lives. Others are relatively independent and mature. Some are bursting with ideas and enthusiasm. Some are quiet and speak very little. All of them listen respectfully to each other and encourage each other. This is what I love best. Always, they are kind to each other. I've read that reading helps people develop empathy and compassion, that readers exhib...

Over the summer, I wrote about The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, a children's book with a suspenseful, convoluted story, lavishly illustrated with Selznick's beautiful pencil drawings. (I scanned several of those images into my earlier post .) I've just finished Selznick's most recent book, Wonderstruck . Wonderstruck is filled with drawings in the same distinctive pencil style, but it is even better than Hugo Cabret . The central story of Wonderstruck is more linear, so it's easier to follow. But Selznick employs a brilliant device that adds mystery and suspense to a straightforward story. The reader follows the story of Ben, a boy from Gunflint Lake, Minnesota, who dreams of wolves, and misses his mother, and travels by himself to New York City. Interrupting Ben's story at intervals is another story, told in wordless pictures, of a girl from a different time and place - a girl who also travels to New York City on her own. The two stories, one...

The children's library where I work services a huge age-range of young people and their caregivers, from birth up to around age 12. I enjoy the full range - helping parents understand the importance of reading to their children, helping kids find fun books to read, finding material for school projects and reports - all of it. But what I love best is connecting avid young readers - of the age group known as "tweens" - with books they enjoy. Wikipedia defines the tween demographic as ages 10-12, but tweens may be 9-13, or may even be as young as 7 or 8, depending on the person. Tweens are definitely not little kids, but neither are they teens, not only in age, but also in sensibility. I love being around tweens. They are often actively exploring new likes and dislikes, trying on different selves to see what might fit. They are usually independent-minded, and although they may be socially self-conscious, they are seldom jaded. Tweens are usually more open to adults - and to...

In the aftermath of the flood and with our impending move, when I'm not dealing with those events, all I want to do is read and blog. If you enjoy my "what i'm reading" posts, you'll be happy. If not... * * * * I've long wanted to read The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Now that Martin Scorsese has adapted it into the movie "Hugo," I wanted to make sure I read it before seeing the film. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a wonderfully inventive and engaging book. It combines elements of picture books, graphic novels, and even flip books within the "chapter book" format for older children. It's a big, fat book - which itself has appeal for many readers - but roughly half the pages are filled with black-and-white pencil illustrations. These are pencil drawings, also by Selznick. Typically, a group of illustrations form a sequence of images, first seen from a distance, then zooming in closer, and still closer. Because of this t...

I'm always amazed how when personal upheaval strikes, whether tragedy or happy Big Life Change, your world shrinks down to a tiny little circle. We moved to Canada the day Hurricane Katrina struck, and days later, we were struggling to take in all we had missed. Since the flood four nights ago, the outside world has barely registered on my radar. So, what has happened to the Laura and Allan Family since I posted those lovely sewage-filled photos ? The aftermath The flood was Monday night. The Greater Toronto Area received a month's worth of rainfall in the span of a few hours. Water and sewage rushed in through the toilet in our basement, then rushed out again, leaving behind a disgusting mess. We lost many items stashed in the basement, like suitcases, a vacuum, painting supplies, and whatever else. But much more importantly, Allan's office is in the basement. He salvaged many things... and lost many things. We will get an insurance settlement, but many things are irreplac...

Summer is the busiest time of year in the Central Children's Library. Actually, we are wildly busy any time school is out; the summer is just the most sustained period of busy-ness. Many of my colleagues have been preparing for summer programming since the end of March Break. All through July and August, in libraries throughout Canada, kids will be participating in Summer Reading Club . The program uses incentives, activities, and fun programs to keep kids reading over the summer, which has been shown to improve their performance in school. It's fun, and it's free. All Canadian libraries receive the same materials, which is really nice - kids can participate while they're visiting relatives or at a cottage with their family. But libraries plan their own programming, so we can be as creative as we want and can afford. (The official name is "TD Summer Reading Club". It's designed through a partnership among Library and Archives Canada, Toronto Public Library...

In this post , I described doing reference as "a bit scary," and Impudent Strumpet asked why . I started to write an answer, ran out of time, then found myself on my first real shift at the reference desk! During my training and orientation weeks, I did two half-shifts at the desk during non-busy hours - a second chair, so to speak, when there is normally only one person working. But this week I had my first proper evening shift, during peak hours. It is also exam week for high schools, so every available space in the entire library is filled with groups of teenagers studying (or not studying, as the case may be). The library actually opens up meeting rooms to accommodate them all. So I did it: I got through my first real reference shift, and I really enjoyed it. * * * * But first, why reference is scary. In the general sense, it's scary because I take the job seriously and want to do well. As a page and a circulation clerk, I observed library staff doing reference every...