The Mysterious Benedict Society

Mmm, Thanksgiving.  I have been enjoying family and slacking time.  I actually finished this earlier in the week but had no motivation to roll off the couch to blog about it until now.

I read another whole (grownup) book I may not even blog about.  Now that I'm a school librarian I want to keep to the importance of reading and critical thinking but I don't see the point in going on about every single thing I read.  No, I need to stick to the point and those are the books that make better readers, thinkers, and by extension better people and a better community.

This one definitely fits the bill.  It falls somewhere in the Dahl/Snicket spectrum.  It's the first in a trilogy and involves orphans but is not much like Harry Potter other than the whole friends-working-together thing.

I would have eaten this up as a kid.  After coming across an ad that reads: "Are you a gifted child looking for Special Opportunities?" the main character and I were, of course, hooked.

And how can he not be?  Reynie Muldoon is an orphan who is lonely and longing for something better.  He is ripe for any crackpot willing to shell out for an ad like this.  Luckily for him (and us) the ad is not from a wacky cult or madman but from an eccentric and engaging fellow named Mr. Benedict who is gathering children of particular talents--particularly those who love the truth--to help him stop an actual crackpot/madman from using other children in a bizarre scheme to take over the world (through mass media, of course).

This probably tips over into middle school territory but will be enjoyed by gifted 4th/5th readers.  If they have no trouble with fat books like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson then they probably won't be put off by this.  Although this one doesn't have the narrative drive of those others, it has the benefit of not being yet another fantasy adventure.  This book takes place in the (mostly) real world.  It's a real world with funny names, implausible schemes, and a heck of a lot of coincidences but it's recognizable enough.  It's one of those books in which a number of characters with specific talents are introduced at the beginning and, by golly, the things they must overcome need just exactly those talents.  Very much like how Q would show James Bond some new device and that exact device would surely be needed before the final reel.

It's full of puzzles and it's a delight to try to solve many of them or see how the characters solve them as they go.  There are also plenty of word games and references to illusions and other things that distort the truth.  The main good guy is all about the truth, but doesn't hand it to our friends.  He often only gives them clues and makes them work for the rest.  The main bad guy says, more than once, that he's not interested in the truth--only control.

Other themes are friendship, what makes a family, what is real loyalty, and of course believing in yourself/conquering self-doubt.

I'll bet it's great for read-aloud and will try to narrow down a compelling passage for book-talking.  After the break I'll be sure to pick up the next in the series.

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Thanks!

The Tale of Despereaux

There's no point in my telling you how wonderful this is.  I'm sure you've at least heard of it if not read it for yourself.

But I feel I've been missing a rich vein for blogging when it comes to the read-alouds I share with my daughter.  She was delighted with this one, of course, and it's a perfect read-aloud.  I didn't go crazy with the voices but tried to give the humans slightly more booming voices than the mice/rats.

Jeffrey the Jailer got a kind of dumb-guy Looney Tunes voice.  Roscuro had a kind of Steve Buschemi/Joe Pesci oiliness.  Botticelli Remorso had a soothing Godfather-esque tone.  Cook was a bit Cockney.  Of course Antoinette was the dramatic French lady you'd expect.

The chapters were short, which Harper loves because I can finally say yes to her begging for "just one more chapter!?"  With this one it's more like five or so chapters a night.

It was weird because I finished it with her last night, but I'm only in the middle of it at school with a class.  They were a bit bored today until Roscuro fell into the Queen's soup.  I died dramatically which perked them right up.

P.S. Last book movie combo Harper and I did was How to Train Your Dragon.  Both excellent but very different.  I don't have as high of hopes for the movie version of this one...

The Tale of Despereaux: Special Signed Edition: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread

How to Train Your Dragon Book 1

Maybe I should explain this photo...

So this was taken during our morning broadcast on October 29th.  It was the Friday right before the Halloween weekend and my crew and I decided to have some fun.  The show starts with two anchors, then cuts to an administrator for some announcements, then back to the anchors for a couple of things and a sign-off.  

While the administrator was talking, one of the anchors covered himself in some extra green screen sheeting I had laying around.  To us in the broadcast room, the picture above what it looked like.  To those watching in their classrooms it looked as if only one anchor were present in a newsrom.  He said his line, then the other guy's came from nowhere.  He had to act as if he didn't realize this weirdo in a green sheet was standing right next to him.  When he asked where the voice was coming from, his friend pulled down the sheet and announced that he had "a magical invisible cloak.  Mwa-ha-ha-ha!"

Green screen technology.  Not always necessary, but it sure can be fun.

Freshening Up

out with the old

in with the new

Yeah, I know it's my first year as the school librarian and all and I'm not supposed to make too radical of changes, but I think you can see why I went ahead and got rid of that thousand year old dust-collecting furniture at the top and used book fair money to get the more kid-friendly stuff.

The original furniture was u, g, l, y it didn't have no alibi, it was ugly!  My clerk, super-volunteer and most of the media committee agreed that it looked like it should be in the lobby of an old folks home, not in a 21st century school library.  

I realize the bean bag chairs are not a permanent solution.  I think the cool rug will last much longer.  But if those chairs last just a couple of years they'll give me time to save up for something a little more sturdy.

I have been asked why I don't solicit parents for some furniture donations.  Um, because while I might get something cool, I tend to doubt it.  It'd probably look like the top picture or, worse, wicker.  I have a colleague who had a fire marshall tell her that she'd have to get rid of the kindling she had in the middle of her library (a/k/a old wicker furniture) and was delighted to be rid of it.*   Problem was, before she could replace it some well-meaning folks had gone out and replaced it all with new, just as ugly, fire retardant wicker furniture.  Sigh.

So I'd rather shop around on my own if you don't mind and present the choices to the media committee for final input.

I just got it all Friday afternoon, so only a small handful of students have had a chance to try them out but the first ones to see it mouthed "Wow," before their jaws went slack.   They couldn't believe it and were happy to be my first testers.  A pregnant parapro plopped herself in one and I was afraid she'd never get up out of that thing!  (She was fine.)

*We librarians always crack up at fire marshall regulations because we have, you know, 20,000 or so books in our library.  Made of paper!  So we're not that worried about the wicker or whatever it is they're giving us the eye about.  But any excuse to get rid of ugly stuff!

Sunday "All About Me" Roundup

page from Peter Spier's People

I have a new post up at the Georgia Library Media Association blog about whether not embracing a new technology makes one a "Luddite."

I'm interviewed (via a sketchy phone connection) on the Parenting Within Reason podcast.  It's kind of a sandwich thing if you listen to the whole thing.  The brilliant Dale McGowan first, just me, then the brilliant and drily funny Ben Radford at the end (he nails that Santa question).  Of course that's how they teach us educators to give parents bad news at conferences: "sandwich style."  Positive comment, followed by candy-coated negative comment, followed by positive comment.  Of course, some are better at this approach than others...

Over at the companion blog, Science-Based Parenting, they list the recommended titles mentioned in the podcast if you're interested in any of them further.

I was also interviewed this week by a Ph.D. candidate doing research on how us school librarians consider the diversity of our population when managing our collection.  I had to pick a pseudonym and went with "Griffin," the invisible man from Wells' novel.  I thought it was clever, but now recall that he was a pretty bad guy.  Oh, well.  How many people would get that reference anyway?  I mean, people that don't read my blog of course...

(image via synch-ro-ni-zing)

The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place

Wonderful dialog, quirky characters and much to like in this character-driven novel of a young girl standing up to tyranny and bullying in various forms.

First, Margaret Rose Kane has to deal with a pack of girls at summer camp that passive/aggressively taunt her and generally make life miserable.  On top of this, the  camp director is a controlling and rigid personality that is just unable to deal with Margaret once she begins channeling Bartleby the Scrivner with her, "I prefer not to" game she starts playing.

Then, once rescued from this camp and allowed to live at 19 Schuyler Place with her Hungarian great-uncles.  Just when you begin to think Margret, despite being a quote-unquote victim, is becoming a bit grating these delightful uncles and their truffle-seeking dog Tartufo rescue the book.

These guys have spent the past 40-50 years building these strange and apparently beautiful towers on their property that the new homeowner's association wants, of course, to have demolished.  The rest of the book is how the characters unite around Margaret's desire to fight off this fresh new tyranny.

So, I mostly liked the book and many of the characters and the ending is particularly satisfying.  But Margaret herself?  Meh.

The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place

What Limits Do You Set?

In today's Blue Skunk posting (actually a re-posting of an earlier work), Mr. Johnson deals with the joys and frustrations of balancing his online reading (jumping from post to post and link to link) with more long form reading.

Roger Ebert has mentioned this a few times in his journal about how, due to medical problems, he spends nearly all his time online since he can no longer have much in the way of face-to-face conversations.  But he's always been a big reader and so when he wants to read he will go into a completely different room, away from the temptation of his MacBook, and read happily without distraction.

What limits do you put on "screen time" to read or just enjoy your family and not end up constantly tweeting/texting/feed reading, etc. at every possible moment?

I'm not talking about people like Ms. Yingling or Jen Robinson.  They clearly don't care for television or much in the way of online reading other than to tear their eyes away from a book long enough to blog about it.

I'm talking about people, like myself, who enjoy reading books but also like online resources, the occasional television show or movie, playing with my daughter and chatting with friends (including my best friend a/k/a My Lovely Bride).

I have even less time and inclination to surf online at school as a school librarian.  I check my feed reader every morning along with my emails and such, but mostly to just delete the chaff and keep the wheat for later consumption (sometimes to be read at lunch if I'm not too busy with other things).

Also, being a school librarian has made me want to read more kids books and you may have noticed my blogging is mostly about those right now.  So I actively try to give myself more reading time.  I've told my family that I now consider it my homework.  When my daughter is practicing piano and doing her homework and/or  MLB is grading papers I'll often read (if I'm not working on lesson plans).  And I'll purposely read kids books because I both want to increase my knowledge of them for my job and I enjoy them.  I've been reading the list of books for our district's Reader's Rally along with well-reviewed newer fiction or classics I've never gotten around to so I can be a better librarian.  I do still squeeze in an occasional gown up book, but have been spreading those out more as I concentrate on the kids stuff.

Ways I've limited my online time: I don't have a Twitter or Facebooks account.  I spend some time every few months looking at my "trends" tab on my Google feed reader and weed out some of the blogs, trying to keep my online reading manageable.  I also don't really participate in the few Nings I've joined over the years.  I only watch shows on my DVR and those that MLB and I both want to watch together.  Well, those and Mythbusters with my daughter.  That's always a blast.

I have to limit stuff both for the ADD reasons mentioned at the BLue Skunk blog but also because I'm just not as fast of a reader as pretty much every female I know.  What is it with you girls?   MLB can knock out 4 kids books in the time it takes me to read one!  But that's okay.  It's fun and I like it so I guess that's the point.  You'll make time for the things you think are important and you enjoy.  If not you'll end up like my friend Merlin Mann.  We were lit. majors in college together and he has admitted (on his 43folders blog) that if it weren't for DailyLit he probably wouldn't read any books.  He's totally into the online stuff.  Now it's certainly not making him any dumber.  He's probably at minimum a hundred times smarter than I am.  But he was such a good long form reader that I find it a little sad that he doesn't still pursue the occasional fat novel.  Although I've read a few things on DailyLit and there's absolutely nothing with spreading out something like that.  In fact, I probably don't get through four books as fast as my wife because I'm often rotating between six at a time.  If I just did one at I time I might be "better."  But that's the way I roll.  Merlin just rolls it a different way.

David Denby, in his Great Books, mentions the struggles he had going back to Columbia in his 40s to re-read "the canon" and to write the book.  As a film critic he realized it took him a few weeks to stretch his attention and patience to be able to engage properly with that kind of challenging-but-rewarding reading.  Use it or lose it, I guess.


Blue Skunk blog

Roger Ebert's Journal

Ms. Yingling Reads

Jen Robinson's Book Page

DailyLit

The Magician's Elephant

Kate DiCamillo is the real deal.  You know this, of course, but I'm just now catching up with middle grade reading and am pleased to find she's as good as I've heard.  I'm reading Tale of Despereaux aloud to my daughter and one of my classes and decided to read her new one as well.

She clearly has an ear for the well-read phrase.  These are clearly meant to be read aloud and are suited perfectly for the task.

This one is a short fable-like tale that begins in a quite expected way.  A poor orphan boy is sent by his guardian with two coins to buy a small amount of food.  On his way to the street market he runs into a fortune teller's tent.  We are less than surprised to find him giving away his money to hear what this fortune teller has to say.

She says something surprising; something impossible.  But this is the kind of tale that you expect and need impossible things to happen.  This impossibility, or at least extreme improbability and the aching need for it is the exact tone DiCamillo is striking here.  It's all about the longing.

But never fear, Dear Readers, there is always light, however distant, for the longing characters in this story.  This is most obviously represented by the magician of the title.  After mistakenly and surprisingly conjuring an elephant that accidentally injures someone, he is alone and forlorn in a cold prison cell.  The only light in his life is one star he can see most nights.  He longs to share the just the sight of the star with...someone.  Anyone.

So we have many characters who are longing for something, including an out-of-place elephant, and a boy who must take the steps needed to put these pieces and people together in the right combination.

In real life, I detest so-called fortune-tellers and the belief in any kind of real (as opposed to wonderfully tricksterish) magic.  But in stories?  Like this one?  I'm all for them.  There's nothing better to throw our needs and wants into sharp relief and DiCamillo does this masterfully.  It's beautifully dark, but softly lit as well.  The darkness and the light imbue the story but also come from within.

A good companion tale to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, actually.

Now I'll review Despereaux later, but that one has a pace and a lightness that anyone would enjoy.  This is more somber and the payoff may seem meager to some.  I recommend it but realize that everyone might not embrace it as much as they have her other stories.  Only time will tell.  Well told, though, well told indeed.