What We're Reading at Our House - 6, part 2

In my last post I mentioned my youth lit reads. I also plucked some adult lit to mix things up a bit. Here's what stood out.

First up, Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. I totally forgot that Patti mentioned it during the ALA Youth Media Awards chat and said she put it down because she knew it would be too sad. Patti, I think you should reconsider!

I loved it. It takes place over 12 days surrounding Hurricane Katrina and the lives of a 15 year old teen and her brothers who live in a Mississippi swamp. We know the devastation of Katrina and that just added to the tension. Forget food - get out! Esch and Skeetah are a sister/brother team that will stay with me for a long time. Check this one out. I read it in a day.

An excellent choice for a 2012 Alex Award Winner. *below for a slight spoiler that could be the Patti deal-breaker.

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan earned this Pulitzer Prize this past year.  Two people, a music executive and his assistant, are the common thread in the multiple stories of other people that build this novel. We don't get the story in chronological order and sometimes it takes until the next chapter to figure out how the previous chapter's character fulfills his/her part of the larger story. It's a fun ride with lots of rock and punk references. I liked this one better than Jeffrey Eugenides' The Marriage Plot. The section of the novel with the most striking impact for me was the power point presentation by the tween daughter. (Go figure.)

Now State of Wonder by Ann Patchett involved a bit of a leap for me. Yes, I thought it was excellent. It was my first Patchett novel even though friends have suggested her for years. I checked it out after seeing it on some Best of 2011 list and without much knowledge of its plot. Turns out it's about doctors developing medicines in the Brazilian rainforest. Huh. Not exactly my cup of tea, but I quickly became engrossed. Rather fascinating.

Finally, I'm trying to add more contemporary poetry to my reading. This month I read Kay Ryan's The Best of It. Kay Ryan was our poet laureate from 2008-2010. She was recommended in an interview with Sherman Alexie so I took that as another good sign. The poems are short and I found them very accessible. Here's a NYT review with a copy of the (excellent) title poem included.







*P.S.  re: Gordon Korman's excellent YA novel about the animal on the cover. But it's sooooo good.

Every Thing On It by Shel Silverstein

I've never been a big poetry reader. In fact, I don't think it would be far from the truth to say that I've actively avoided it throughout my life (and been annoyed whenever I couldn't). But I listened to a NPR story and I've heard everyone and their mom go on and on about Shel Silverstein, so when it finally came into the library I thought I would give it a try. Take it home and read it with my son and just see how it goes.

Well, dear readers, it went really great.

The poems are really funny and accessible to kids. They are just the right amount of gross and subversive. They are great to read aloud and have a wonderful rhythm. And his pictures really draw kids into the text.

Some favorites of my son were Bottle Opener (p.40), where the jovial fellow has lost all his teeth opening bottles with them. The Toilet Troll (p.191), about a troll who lives in your toilet and is just waiting for you to sit down. On more than one day I've woken up to see my son looking at me saying, "let's talk about the troll in the toilet." And he isn't freaked out like I was when I saw Gremlins and never wanted to use the toilet again. He is pure boy and wants to talk about why the troll is in the toilet and just exactly what the troll is waiting for. Potty humor at its best. He thoroughly enjoys Rude Rudy Reese (p. 148-149) for the same reason. What boy could resist someone falling into poo up to his knees? It would take a stronger kid than my son, that's for sure.

His all-time favorite is Tic-Tac-Toe (p. 110).

Let's play tic-tack-toe.

I'll take the X's

You take the --OH--

Sticking a tack in someone's toe

Is not the way to play, you know.

Fits of giggles and "again!" is what I hear when we read that one. So I'm sold. I've already requested Where the Sidewalk Ends and we're going to work our way through the entire Silverstein canon. I think I could get into this poetry thing.

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Book = Library Copy

What We're Reading at Our House - 2

Today is the first day of summer vacation for my 2nd grader-now-3rd grader. Here's what we checked out at the library last week. (Part 1) What are you reading? Any suggestions for us?

Picture books:

• Where's Walrus? by Stephen Savage (Scholastic, 2011)
  2.5 year old really liked this and it later wooed 7 year old who initially turned his nose up at the wordless book where "it's soooo easy to find the walrus that you don't even have to try." But there is a story and he got it and liked it. Surprise! I love picture books. [see video!]
• Not Me! by Nicola Killen (Egmont, 2010)
  Little one enjoyed it, but didn't get that each child's name rhymed with his naughtiness (Paul painted the wall)
• Race You To Bed! by Bob Shea (Katherine Tegen Books, 2010)
  We love Bob Shea and yet I own none of his books. Hm. This one was enjoyed by both Little and Big Kid. The lamp is a carrot! I mean really. Shea is just too good.
• Simms Taback's City Animals (Blue Apple, 2009)
  Taback's Where is My Baby was both boys' #1 favorite board book. This one is "A Giant Fold-Out Book" that I never saw before our librarian used the jungle version for storytime. It's super cute as you fold out parts of the page to reveal which animal it is. The last one is a mouse, but I totally thought rat. Kind of gross if you think about it. 
• Blue Goose by Nancy Tafuri (S&S, 2008)
  Tafuri was a go-to author for my storytimes. I was not as familiar with this one as her others (my branch didn't own a copy) but she seriously is one of the best.
• Three By the Sea by Mini Gray (Knopf, 2010)
  LOVE Mini Gray at this house. This one was not quite so loved by Big kid, but there's so much to look at in her illustrations. Mouse's kitchen cookbooks are hilarious. 
• 2 Thomas the Tank books because we cannot leave the library with out something Thomas. I do think it's cute that he'll go up to the librarians (we have a children's and a teen librarian) and tell them he wants either Thomas books or Thomas movies. Then he goes back later and shows them what he picked out. They play along very nicely. (And he is stinkin' cute so he's hard to resist.)

Chapter Books & Comics

• Geronimo Stilton
  7 year old loves loves loves these. I like the inclusion of different fonts and colors used to help with word comprehension.
• Pirates of the Caribbean Jack Sparrow : The Pirate Chase by Rob Kidd (Disney)
  Big kid saw the new Pirates movie a couple weeks ago and he picked this book out but I don't think he's read it. All of a sudden it's not what he wants.
• Tin Tin, Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck Adventures, Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures -
  annnd this may be why he's reluctant to read the Pirates book. Too many comics!
• Stone Rabbit: Superhero Stampede by Erik Craddock (Random House, 2010)
  Big kid loves this series.
• Bone, volume 3 by Jeff Smith
  He started reading Bone last year but never got past #1. I think he's a little young, but he really seems to be taking to it now.

ETC

• Museum of Accidents by Rachel Zucker (Wave Books, 2009)
  I forget how I learned about Rachel Zucker who writes, for lack of a better term, 21st century mama poetry. I'm making an effort to read more contemporary poetry and she has a style (both subject and format) that I like very much.
• When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago
  It's hard for me to not like a coming of age memoir. Prep for our trip to Puerto Rico. I also got some Rosario Ferré and Judith Ortiz Cofer is on hold.
• Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
  Haven't started this yet but will this week. 

Lemonade and Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word by Bob Raczka

Between Fuse, 7-Imp, and 100 Scope Notes, I had to read this poetry collection. I can't add anything new to their reviews, so just count me as one of the many fans of this fantastic book o'poems.

The slim volume of 22 poems also doubles as word puzzles. While each poem does indeed get all its words from the single word title, readers sometimes have to piece the letters together to make the words. It takes effort. If you get stumped, turn the page. A more familiar format for the poem is provided. (See my excerpt below.) My 2nd grader had to read them in the easier format. I think he's a little young, but he still liked the idea that the poems came from one word.

 It reminded me of the playful CDB by William Steig. The patient reader is rewarded.


One of my and my 2nd grader's favorites is "Halloween"

all
alone

an
owl

a
howl

oh
no

The poems are illustrated by Nancy Doniger.

book source: checked out from my local public library