Tomfoolery

June 24, 2009

One of the most common requests any literature professional gets is "What is a good book for a middle school boy?"

 

To start to answer that question, try Guys Read.  And stay tuned to Adlit.org for a more comprehensive list this summer.

 

But what is really the perfect book for a middle school boy? I might suggest Sir John Hargrave's Mischief Maker's Manual.  A compilation of pranks from the classics (short sheeting a bed, or as it's called here "apple-pie bed," and Saran wrap over toilet seats.)

 

But technology has allowed brand new pranks to appear that grandfathers didn't do in their own youth, such as changing someone's ringtone to something completely uncool, or changing the autocorrect on their computer to something, well, cheeky.

 

Obviously, you need parents and friends with a sense of humor, who won't mind being a butt of these jokes. But even if they're just read as "wouldn't that be funny?" it should still have lots of boy appeal.  For the parents, there are lots and lots and lots of warnings about knowing that doing these things could get the prankster in a spot of trouble.

 

Keep this one in mind for the next gift giving occasion, as the book has places for notes and to come up with your own pranks.

 

And hurry! A contest to win a copy of the book ends tomorrow! And that's no joke!

 

1 comment | Comment on this post | Permalink

What does it mean?

June 12, 2009

I've enjoyed getting to know our new Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor. The fact that she credits a childhood love of Nancy Drew as the origin for her law career is especially intriguing to us children's literature fans (and young Nancy Drew readers.)

 

It's also especially intriguing to journalists. Her love of Nancy Drew is analyzed, and deemed to be common, yet feminist.

In fact, it doesn't make her unique, but rather just like two other female justices, Sandra Day O' Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Unsurprisingly to me, it's Jezebel who weighs in with the most insightful piece, interviewing Nancy parodist Chelsea Cain on what this might mean.

What if your reading habits were put up to that kind of scrutiny? Or those of the kids and teens in your life? Could you spin it? Does reading Captain Underpants or Batman or Harry Potter lead to a need to save the world? And how about the kid who reads horror novels (of which I was one?) Would I be able to defend my teen love of Stephen King as anything more than escapism? Or would I even confess to it?

 

Time and again, kids reading is put up to this kind of test. What does it MEAN? I think it just means that you like a good story, in the genre or style of your choosing.

 

 

1 comment | Comment on this post | Permalink

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

May 30, 2009
Recently I had the great honor of seeing Phyllis Reynolds Naylor receive the Maryland Author Award . Naylor, the winner of the Edgar Award and Newbery medal was a highly deserving winner.

Her acceptance speech was food for thought. She talked about some of the letters she'd received from young readers, particularly young readers of the Alice series of books. Much of the correspondence is available on Alice's blog .

As I, and others, have mentioned, the easy availablity of authors in the virtual world, via websites, Facebook pages and Twitter have changed the nature of the author/reader relationship immensely. I was a voracious reader as a teen, but I never would have imagined writing Judy Blume about my real life problems. She was just as fictional to me as the characters she created.

But Naylor talked about real continuous correspondence she had with a few regular readers, and I can only imagine she is not at all alone in this.

What a wonderful connection! Are there others out there, readers and authors, who have had such a close correspondence with someone who touched them in their writing, whether it's the writing of the novel, or the writing of the letter?

1 comment | Comment on this post | Permalink

Get Graphic

May 11, 2009
Ten years ago, graphic novels were known by a small but devoted group of people. Now, the graphic novel business has exploded, mainstream bookstores devote large amounts of real estate to them, and most libraries not only collect them, but have manga clubs where teens can discuss them. Schools have caught the fever too, notably in Maryland.

However, there are still those who are trying to figure out a way to get graphic novels into their classrooms, to read them with their kids, to promote them with library customers. A fabulous site no matter where you are in your knowledge of the format is Get Graphic.

Organized by the Buffalo & Erie County library, Get Graphic is beautifully designed with talking points, facts, booklists and news, to help the novice and entice the expert equally. There are pdfs and PowerPoints that can be used.

Go there now!

2 comments | Comment on this post | Permalink