Writing Kidlit

"Whenever I really like a grown up writer's work, I always think, 'This is so great. Why do they write for adults???'"
—John Green*


The Spirit bookplate by Will Eisner via La Neuvieme Art


*Via Twitter

Science Fiction Reading List

Author Andy Weir had an unusual path to publication, but one which I think is empowering to young people, namely, make your dreams happen. Lightspeed Magazine has posted an inspiring interview with him, including some of his favorite childhood books.

Andy is the national spokesperson for School Library Month. While I would hardly call his book, The Martian, kidlit, I would like to recommend some children's books in the same genre.

Please, please, PLEASE leave your sci-fi kidlit recommendations in the comments. Thanks!


Science Fiction is hardly he norm for the picture book crowd, but aliens and robots are always popular. Try these:

• Marveltown, by Bruce McCall
• Boy + Bot, by Ame Dyckman and Dan Yaccarino
• The Man in the Moon, by William Joyce
• The Three Aliens and the Big Bad Robot, by Margaret McNamara and Mark Fearing
• Company's Coming, by Arthur Yorinks and David Small
• Even Aliens Need Snacks, by Matt McEllligott
• Your Alien, by Tammi Sauer and Goro Fujita

No list would be complete without David Wiesner's Sci-Fi classic Mr. Wuffles! I'll post my review for Perfect Picture Book Friday. See you then!

Chapter Books tend more toward fantasy or, again, aliens and robots. These are some of the younger middle grades I found:

• The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznik
• Pi in the Sky, by Wendy Mass
• Frank Einstein, by Jon Sciezka
• The Gadgets and Gears series, by Kersten Hamilton
• The Cabinet of Wonders, by Marie Rutkoski
• Time Traveling With a Hamster, by Ross Wellford
• The Wild Robot, by Peter Brown
• Zita the Space Girl, by Ben Hatke

 There's a fine line between those chapter books and these Middle Grade, but these tend to be for older MGers. I like:

•  Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel
• The Dead Gentleman, by Matthew Cody
• Impyrium, by Henry Neff
• The Tundra Trials, by Monica Tessler
• Ambassador and Nomad, by William Alexander
• The Secret Keepers, by Trenton Lee Stewart

In the Young Adult category:

• Cinder, by Marissa Meyer
• Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld
• Mortal Engines, by Philip Reeve
• The Diabolic, by S. J. Kincaid
• Future Threat, by Elizabeth Briggs

More School Library Month posts and events for National Library Week coming soon.

Happy Valentine's Day and the CYBILS Awards!

Valentine's Day offers a new way to give. Join the celebration with International Book Giving Day!

#bookgivingday poster art by Marianne Dubuc

Download posters, bookmarks and more. But most of all, show your love by giving books.
Local schools, community centers, shelters, daycares, and crisis pregnancy centers can all use good children's books, and they are well-placed to get the books into the hands of kids who need them.

While you're giving, don't forget to treat yourself to a new book. Supporting authors, illustrators, and publishing houses is the only way to keep books on the store shelves. Share your love of books today and everyday.

I was privileged to participate in the first round judging for the CYBILS Awards last fall. The winners have finally been announced. So head over to their site to see the top picks in each category, and do yourself a favor by reading the nominees as well. There were dozens of outstanding books nominated. Browse the CYBILS blog to read blurbs and reviews.

Congratulations to the winners!
You'll find some of my favorites reviewed here, and many of the elementary and juvenile non-fiction nominees reviewed on my Goodreads account.

Mira Forecasts the Future, by Kell Andrews and Lissy Marlin
Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion, by Alex T. Smith
A Morning With Grandpa, by Sylvia Liu and Christina Forshay
Around America to Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 Miles, by Mara Rockliff  and Hadley Hooper
Six Dots: A Story of Louis Braille, by Jen Bryant and Boris Kulikov
The William Hoy Story: How A Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game, by Nancy Churnin and Jez Tuya
The Kid from Diamond Street: The Extraordinary Story of Baseball Legend Edith Houghton, by Audrey Vernick and Steven Salerno
Kid Artists: True Tales of Childhood from Creative Legends, by David Stabler and by Doogie Horner
Cloth Lullaby: The Woven Life of Louise Bourgeois, by Amy Novesky and Isabelle Arsenault
Dorothea's Eyes: Dorothea Lange Photographs the Truth, by Barbara Rosenstock and Gerard DuBois
Antsy Ansel: Ansel Adams, A Life in Nature, by Cindy Jenson-Elliot and Christy Hale
Seeing Things: A Kids' Guide to Looking at Photographs, by Joel Meyerowitz
Their Great Gift: Courage, Sacrifice, and Hope in a New Land, by John Coy and Wing Young Huie
Glow: Animals With Their Own Night-Lights, by W. H. Beck
The Great Leopard Rescue, by Sandra Markle and Tom and Pat Leeson
Poop Detectives: Working Dogs in the Field, by Ginger Wadsworth
Welcome to New Zealand: A Nature Journal, by Sandra Morris
The Slowest Book Ever, by April Pulley Sayre and Kelly Murphy
Animal Planet Animal Atlas, ed. by James Buckley Jr
In Focus: Close-Ups, Cross Sections, Cutaways, by Libby Walden and various illustrators
The Human Body: The Story of How We Protect, Repair, and Make Ourselves Stronger, by H. P. Newquist
Mighty Jack, by Ben Hatke
Ghosts, by Reina Telgemeier
Save Me A Seat, by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan
The Scourge, by Jennifer A Nielson and Tim O'Brien

Top Ten Hidden Gems of 2016

To join in or view other lists,
visit The Broke and Bookish

This week's Top Ten features Underrated/Hidden Gem Books I've Read In The Past Year Or So

 



See which books other bloggers are listing

for January 17, 2017 

Bingo Summer

1. Bingo Summer, by Dawn Malone

Dawn Malone's books are self-published, but she is every inch a writer. The writing in Bingo Summer was mature and well-developed. Malone is obviously dedicated to her craft. Her main character is likable and her family relationships interesting. This is a rare gem amid the culm.

You can read my Goodreads review here
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1590689713

Squashed

2. Squashed, by Joan Bauer

Joan Bauer is a popular author, but her first book about a girl who raises prize pumpkins is a hard sell. The main character is as good as any of Bauer's other heroines. She struggles with her weight, her relationship to her widower dad, and the ever-present stress of blue ribbon competition.

You'll find my Marvelous Middle Grade Monday review here
http://bookish-ambition.blogspot.com/2016/11/mmgm-squashed.html



Evangeline Brown
and the Cadillac Motel

3. Evangeline Brown and the Cadillac Motel, by Michele Ivy Davis

This book may have been published before its time, because there are dozens of book of this ilk on shelves today which are far inferior, yet this one remains largely undiscovered. Evangeline (Eddie to her friends) and Farrell are genuine characters with realistic problems. The Cadillac Motel in Paradise, Florida is the perfect setting, with its anomalous inhabitants. The plot is by turns sweet and bittersweet. The best thing about underrated books is you can usually find a secondhand copy for pocket change. If you're planning to read the new Welcome to Wonderland series by Chris Grabenstein, maybe you should give this a try.

Read the glowing review on KidsPages
http://www.kidsreads.com/reviews/evangeline-brown-and-the-cadillac-motel

A Coalition of Lions

4. A Coalition of Lions, by Elizabeth Wein

Almost twenty years before Wein wrote Code Name, Verity, she penned a version of Arthurian legend which would take readers across two continents. A coalition of Lions is the second in the series, but works as a standalone novel. This book takes place in Askum, also known as Ethiopia. It introduces a host of exciting characters , brimming with political intrigue, reading like a well-played chess game.

You can read my Goodreads review here
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1627377754

Eon

5. Eon, by Alison Goodman

My son loved this book, but it took me a while to get around to it. It was truly worth the wait. If you like high fantasy and spunky heroines, martial arts movies and feudal China, you are going to love Eon. Whether tackling gender identity, disability, love, or duty, the author hurtles forward and leaves the reader breathless with anticipation of the next installment. You might know this book as Rise of the Dragoneye or The Two Pearls of Wisdom, depending which continent you hail from.

I thought Jessica Harrison's review summed it up nicely
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705273247/Eon-not-your-average-dragon-fantasy.html?pg=all

When You Reach Me

6. When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead

No one should be surprised at the quality when reading a book by Rebecca Stead, but I was blown away. I didn't think it could possibly live up to the hype, but if anything, the praise fell short. I didn't think I'd ever read another of Rebecca's books which I liked as much as Liar & Spy. Now it's a toss up. So while this gem may not be hidden, it was certainly an unexpected delight.

You can read my Goodreads review here
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1544074363

So B. It

7. So B. It, by Sarah Weeks

Another book I was sure was overrated. While Sarah Weeks's books are always entertaining and skillfully written, this one layers in so much more. It is poetic in its honesty. The voice, the humor, the irony leave me nearly speechless.

You can read my Goodreads review here
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/455489650

The Human Body

8. The Human Body: The Story of How We Protect, Repair, and Make Ourselves Stronger, by H. P. Newquist

Though I love non-fiction, I wasn't holding out hope for this book. The title lacks any draw and the cover promised a read as interesting as Grey's anatomy. What I found instead was a fascinating compendium from an unusual viewpoint, the history of man's efforts to repair and improve the human body. Sometimes gruesome, sometimes incredible, The Human Body is well-researched and well-organized, the kind of book in which kids can graze and ruminate, and even learn something.

You'll find my MMGM review and additional resources here
http://bookish-ambition.blogspot.com/2016/11/mmgm-human-body.html

Poop Detectives

9. Poop Detectives, Working Dogs in the Field, by Ginger Wadsworth

I had to include this book. I don't know if Poop Detectives will get the attention it deserves, but the book was a fascinating account of dog-training in environmental studies which will engage readers of all ages. I would never have believed I would recommend a book with that title. I still think it is both a shameless solicitation and an unfortunate misnomer. However, Wadsworth so skillfully covers her subject, making it entertaining and informative, that I am willing to forgive her anything. A hefty 80 pages, packed with photos and personal accounts of these lovable rescued dogs, this book is perfect for every classroom. And that's not a load of poop.

Jennifer at the Jean Little Library highlights more to love in her review
http://jeanlittlelibrary.blogspot.com/2017/01/poop-detectives-working-dogs-in-field.html

The Great Leopard Rescue

10. The Great Leopard Rescue, by Sandra Markle

Lastly, I've included a stunningly beautiful picture book. Again, it's not the type of book I would have expected to be riveting, but the subject and treatment are outstanding. The book follows the complex efforts of conserving an entire species, using the specifics of the Amur Leopard rescue to illustrate the various methods and obstacles. Educational and fascinating, this book is an eye-opening read for both adults and kids.

You can see my review for Perfect Picture Book Friday here
http://bookish-ambition.blogspot.com/2016/11/ppbf-great-leopard-rescue.html

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010. Everyone is welcome to join. Simply link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post and add your name to the Linky widget on that day's posts. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Listening To YA

If your family is like ours, we spend half our time in the car driving to our next obligation. Audiobooks are a fantastic way to "read" even on those days when your family is in perpetual transit. Normally we opt for unabridged narration, but here are a few of our teens' favorites by Full Cast Audio. They do full justice to the text and are a pleasure, be it on the first, or fifteenth time around.

Cyrano, Geraldine McCaughrean's brilliant adaptation
of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac

Disappearing Act, by Sid Fleischman

The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale

And just to prove why I generally prefer narration to performance, try The Graveyard Book, narrated by the author.

The Graveyard Book,
performed by Neil Gaiman

What's in your ipod?

YA Recommendations

My son and daughter are both in their teens. Here are a few reads they passed along for ALA's Teen Read Week. These are books they've turned to often, and I've enjoyed them too. Why not share them with the young adults in your life?

Eon, by Alison Goodman

The Ruins of Gorlan, by John Flanagan

Dealing With Dragons, by Patricia Wrede

Peeled, by Joan Bauer

Which books are in your teen's library bag?

Teen Read Week 2015

The theme this year is

Get Away @ Your Library

Click through to the website for more details. What will you be reading this week?

#ChaBooCha

It's challenge time!

Feeling sluggish as the winter weather drags on? Power through those writing projects with a few March challenges.

Chapter Book Challenge 2014

Created by Rebecca Fyfe

Join the Chapter Book Challenge:

• Spend the month of March writing your easy reader, chapter, middle grade, or YA from start to finish.
• Earn the chance for weekly prizes 
• Enter for the grand prize, a Kindle.
• Study the blog posts, be encouraged, improve your craft.
• Network with other writers just like you!

Sign up here

Or 

Participate in March Madness

Created by Susanna Leonard Hill

• Write a fractured fairy tale in 400 words or less
• Blog your creation March 20- 24
• Vote for your favorite March 25-30
• Prizes awarded March 31, 2014

Get the details

See you there!

Reading Recap: Overdue

Most Deserving of  the Hype
Aaron Becker's Journey

Every successful writer is also a reader. But I am a reader by addiction, not because of duty.

In addition to my annual 50-book goal, I attempted to read 300 picture books as part of the 300 Picture Book Challenge. I missed my goals last year, but not by much. I totaled 225 picture books and 48 Chapter and above. You can see the entire list of picture books on my Pinterest board.

Every year there are books which live up to my expectations, some which disappoint, a few fabulous random finds from the library shelves, and each year there are books which astonish me in their perfection.

I'd like to share some of my favorites:

Favorite Book , 2013
Uma Krishnaswami's
The Grand Plan
to Fix Everything

Best Series
Marie Rutkoski's
The Cabinet of Wonders
Kronos Chronicles: Book 1

Best Random Pick
Rebecca Stead's
Liar & Spy

Best Bargain Table Find
Michelle Ivy Davis's
Evangeline Brown
and the Cadillac Motel

Best Illustrations
Lenore Look's
Alvin Ho
is Allergic to Camping
and other Natural Disasters,
Illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Longest Overdue
Dodie Smith's
I Capture the Castle

This year's goals are 250 picture books, 50 chapter and above, reread the Prydain Chronicles, and 2 books on the crafts of writing or illustration from beginning to end.

Thus far in 2014, I've read 6 novels, 2 books on writing, and 22 picture books.

So what were some of the fabulous books you read in 2013? What goals have you set for this year? How are you keeping on track?

Novel Advice

With NaNoWriMo just weeks away, it's time for some writing tips from the experts.

Brett Wright, editor at Bloomsbury, on plotting: 

“Ask yourself, ‘What warrants a novel in your character’s life?’ If it’s a common what — like moving to a new house or dealing with a loss — it needs a fresh twist or it won’t stand out.”

Star Wars Reads Day

October 5 is the second official Star Wars Reads Day. Join the celebration at a public gathering in one of 13 states, or create your own event with these great activities. Bake some alien treats with the cook book below, or do some intergalactic shopping at my favorite site ThinkGeek. But be sure to browse your local library for a Star Wars title or two or three. May the Force be with you, always.

The Rising Force, book 1,
by Dave Wolverton

Many licensed books have copy which makes the editor in me cringe, but you can find plenty of Star Wars fare to encourage even the most reluctant readers. Here are of few of my recommendations.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda,
by Tom Angleberger

Star Wars Legacy Vol. 1,
Dark Horse Comics, graphic novel,
by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema

The Phantom Menace,
Lego Star Wars

Star Wars Science Fair Experiments,
by Bryan Dean, Scholastic

Star Wars Concept Art, 10-15-13
by Doug Chiang, Joe Johnston,
Ryan Church, Erik Tiemens

Wookie Cookies,
a cook book, by Robin Davis

James Patterson's 2 Newest Treasures

Released 9-16-13
Treasure Hunters,
by James Patterson,
 Chris Grabenstein,
and Juliana Neufeld

The Guardian reports that author James Patterson is set to donate $1 million Indie bookstores in the next year. I don't know if that will spur the public to support local independents, but I applaud this literary superstar for trying.

Libraries are the lifeblood of a thinking people, but publishers cannot live on library sales alone. Bookstores are an indispensable part of our communities. I'll get off my soapbox now if you'll go out and buy a book.

Happy reading!

Booklist Status Update

Eeek!  I just looked at my calendar.  The end of November is here and I'm a little behind on my reading schedule.  Back in March, I challenged you all to read along with me as we devour 50 books in 2012.  I've been so focused on writing, reading, and drawing picture books this month that I let my book list slide.  I counted 43 to date, so my plan is to get back on track by finishing the books below before month's end.

Tales for the Third Ear,
by Verna Aardema,
art by Ib Ohlsson

Chancey and
The Grand Rascal,
by Sid Fleischman,
Art by 
Eric von Schmidt

The Dagger Quick,
by Brian Eames,
cover by
Amy June Bates

Rain Is Not
 My Indian Name,
 by Cynthia 
Leitich Smith
Cover art by Lori Earley

If you have a reading goal for this year, why not take the time to evaluate and get back on the wagon, or the bookmobile, as the case may be?