The Butterfly Review

Fractured Fairy Tales

2011-11-27T16:25:00.001-05:00

Fractured Fairy Tales seem to become more popular every year. They make great read-alouds for young children, and are fun teaching tools for story structure and character development.

A fairy tale is most commonly fractured in time, character, setting, or point of view. On the web there are several generators for creating a fractured tale with children but I think this is the best:

ReadWriteThink.org

Below is a list of picture book fractured tales, for novels and original story summaries and much more I suggest you go to SurLaLune Fairy Tales. It is by far the most comprehensive fairy tale website around.

Cinderella
Prince Cinders by Babette Cole
The Salmon Princess: An Alaskan Cinderella Story by Mindy Dwyer
Dinorella: a prehistoric fairytale by Pamela Duncan Edwards
Princess Furball by Charlotte Huck
Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson
Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella by Tony Johnson
Bubba the Coyboy Prince by Helen Kettleman
Cinderhazel: the Cinderella of Halloween by Deborah Nourse Lattimore
Cindy Ellen: a Wild Western Cinderella by Susan Lowell
Cinder-Elly by Frances Minters
Cinderella Penguin, or, the Little Glass Flipper by Janet Perlman
Cinderella: an Art Deco Love Story by Lynn Roberts
Smoky Mountain Rose: an Appalachian Cinderella by Alan Schroeder
Seriously, Cinderella is So Annoying! by Trisha Speed Shaskan
Cinderella Skeleton by Robert D. San Souci
Sootface: an Ojibwa Cinderella tale by Robert D. San Souci
Little Gold Star: A Spanish American Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci
International Versions
Anklet for a Princess: a Cinderella Story from India by Meredith Babeaux Brucker
Egyption Cinderella by Shirley Climo
The Persian Cinderella by Shirley Climo
The Irish Cinderlad by Shirley Climo
Korean Cinderella by Shirley Climo
Jouanah: a Hmong Cindererella by Jewell R. Coburn
Angkat: a Cambodian Cinderella by Jewell R. Coburn
Domitila: a Cinderella tale from the Mexican Tradition by Jewell R.Coburn
Abadeha: a Philppine Cinderella by Myrna J. De La Paz
The Golden Sandal: a Middle Eastern Cinderella by Rebecca Hickox
Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie
Rough-Faced Girl by Rafe Martin
The Gift of the Crocodile by Judy Sierra
Cendrillon: a Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe

Emperor's New Clothes
The Emperor's Cool Clothes by Lee Harper

The Gingerbread Man
Stop that Pickle by Peter Armour
Gingerbread Mouse by Katy Bratun
Little Cajun Cornbread Boy by Dianne De Las Casas
Gingerbread Man, Superhero! by Dotti Enderle
The Library Ginderbread Man by Dotti Enderle
The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernst
Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers by Lisa Campbell Ernst
Can't Catch Me by Ann Hassett
The Runaway Tortilla by Eric A. Kimmel
The Runaway Latkes by Leslie Kimmelman
The Gingerbread Pirates by Kristen Kladstrup
Gingerbread Man Loose in the School by Laura Murray
Runaway Dreidel by Leslea Newman
The Matzo Ball Boy by Lisa Schulman
The Gingerbread Cowboy by Janet Squires
Musubi Man: Hawaii's Gingerbread Man by Sandi Takayama
International versions
The Runaway Rice Cake by Ying Chang Compestine

Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Goldilocks Returns by Lisa Campbell Ernst
Goldilocks and the Three Bears: a tale moderne by Steven Guarnaccia
Goldisocks and the Three Libearians by Jackie Mims Hopins
Believe Me, Goldilocks Rocks! by Nancy Jean Loewen
Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell
Goldi and the Three Hares by Margi Palatini

Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Diesel by David Gordon
The Truth about Hansel and Gretel by Karina Law

Jack in the Beanstalk
Jim and the Beanstalk by Raymond Briggs
Jacques and de Beanstalk: a Cajun Tale by Mike Artell
Trust me, Jack's Beanstalk Stinks! by Erick Mark Braun
Waynetta and the Cornstalk: a Texas Fairy Tale by Helen Ketteman
Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne

Little Mermaid
Princess Fishtail by Frances Minters

Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood: a New Fangled Prairie Tale by Lisa Campbell Ernst
Betsy Red Hoodie by Gail Carson Levine
Little Red Cowboy Hat by Susan Lowell
Litle Red: a Fizzlingly Good Yarn by Lynn Roberts
Honestly, Red Riding Hood Was Rotten! by Trisha Speed Shaskan
Carmine: a little more red by Melissa Sweet
International Versions
Pretty Salma: A Red Riding Hood Story From Africa by Niki Daly
Lon Po Po: a Red Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young

The Shoemaker and the Elves
The Bootmaker and the Elves by Susan Lowell

Sleeping Beauty
Snoring Beauty by Bruce Hale
Sleepless Beauty by Frances Minters
Sleeping Bobby by Mary Pope Osborn
Waking Beauty by Leah Wilcox
Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen

The Three Little Pigs
Three Little Cajun Pigs by Mike Artell
The Three Little Rigs by David Gordon
Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark by Will Grace
Three Little Pigs and Architectural Tale by Steven Guarnaccia
Three Little Gators by Helen Kettleman
The Three Cabritos by Eric A. Kimmel
Three Little Tamales by Eric A. Kimmel
Alaska's Three Pigs by Arlene Lave
The Three Little Javelinas by Suan Lowell
The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot by Margaret McNamara
The Three Horrid Little Pigs by Liz Pichon
The Three Swingin Pigs by Vicky Rubin
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by John Scieszka
The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Travers
International Versions
Three Little Dassies by Jan Brett

Three Billy Goats Gruff
The Three Silly Girls Grubb by Ann Hassett
The Three Armadillies Tuff by Jackie Hopkins
The Three Silly Billies by Margie Palatini

The Princess and the Pea
Princess Pigtoria and the Pea by Pamela Duncan Edwards
The Very Smart Pea and the Princess-to-Be by Mini Grey
The Penguin and the Pea by Janet Perlman
The Real Princess: a mathmagical tale by Brenda Williams

Rapunzel
Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox
Rapunzel a Groovy Fairy Tale by Leah Wilcox

One World, Many Stories: Summer Reading Program

2011-07-25T20:27:00.000-04:00

Around the World in 80 Books (give or take a few!)

Travel around the world with childrens books! Click on the above map and it will lead you to a larger version of this world map. Each region and that will lead you to a middle school book list for that region.

Check out your local library and see how you can participate in their summer reading program.

Sweet Treats & Secret Crushes by Lisa Greenwald

2010-05-27T12:54:00.004-04:00

A Valentine's Day blizzard strands three 7th grade best friends in their New York City appartment building. Deciding to make the most of this legendary snow day (they almost never happen in NYC) Kate, Georgia, and Olivia learn how to make fortune cookies in Georgia's family restaurant and they deliver them to their unsuspecting neighbors. What happens is a bit magical, each fortune in each cookie seems to speak to the reciever in a very special way. But can the cookies deliver an important message to the girls who have been growing increasingly apart?

Confident Kate is interested in boys, gossip, and making new friends, which may leave her two best friends behind.
Observant Olivia has had an ongoing infatuation with PBJ (Philip Becker-Jacobs) that is no longer amusing but annoying to her two best friends. And her Observation Notebooks and trademark nature for investigating just might drive a wedge between all three girls.
Quiet Georgia, has a secret crush that she does not feel like sharing with anyone, and is beginning to realize that being a best friend does not mean you have to share everything all the time.

All three girls are trying to bring their building together on a snowy day, get to know their neighbors, and maybe make some new friends. During their adventure, they get to know themselves and each other a bit better.

A great cozy coming-of-age book that is perfect for a winter night (or a snow day). Read it and pass it on. And make up some fortunes while you are at it.
The author even promotes her favorite sweet treats: http://www.emilys-edibles.com/, just to make you that much hungrier while you read this book.

Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve

2010-05-22T13:46:00.002-04:00

When I first took a look at the cover, I wanted to love this book. People sitting in umbrellas in the rain riding around a ...well what the heck was that? Forget the old adage, I judge books by their covers all the time. The more interesting the cover, the more I will be willing to give a book a chance. And I am so glad this one followed through in my expectations of Dahl-like fun.

Once I read Drizzle I figured out that these lucky people on the cover have been to eleven-year-old Polly Peabody's family rhubarb farm. And they don't grow just any rhubarb, but they have rhubarb that tastes like chocolate, and their Weeping Willows really weep, and it rains every Monday at 1pm, where you can take the Giant Umbrella Ride around the Giant Rhubarb.

Van Cleve, you had me at chocolate rhubarb.

And not only is Polly's farm special, but Polly herself is too. She can talk to rhubarb, Harry is her particular friendly plant and the insects spell, albeit cryptic messages. But now Polly's beloved farm and family are in danger. The rain has stopped, the rhubarb are fighting back, and her brother becomes mysteriously ill. It all comes down to Polly to save her family and her farm, but can she figure out in time what she needs to to?

I am always up for a good coming-of-age novel, and this one fits the bill. It even throws in a bit of environmentalism with its whimsical magical realism. A truly delicious book.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

2010-02-11T15:51:00.004-05:00

2010 Newbery Award Winner

6th grader Miranda is searching for more than a new friend when her best friend Sal stops speaking to her. In the streets of 1978 New York City Miranda knows where it is safe to go. She walks to school, finds a new friends, avoids bullies and strangers, and then she starts to receive mysterious letters and the sender seems to know a little too much about her.

When You Reach Me is a novel that works with several themes. There are the wonderful parent/child relationships between Miranda and her mother, and Miranda and her mother's boyfriend. Annemarie and her father, Sal and his mother are all examples of solid parent and child trying to figure it out in an imperfect world. Much like the book that this one mirrors, A Wrinkle in Time, a resonating theme throughout is family love.

And that is what makes this book so wonderful, is because nice, family stories are such a rarity in the children's book world. A problem novel, where the real problem is just growing up and trying to figure it all out, why does someone not want to be my friend? Why is someone a bully? Why are some kids popular and I'm not? It's ok to love your parent(s) and be frustrated with them at the same time. These are the questions and issues that are universal through the decades, and Stead treats them with geniune care and concern.

Much like I felt like time travel was an unnecessary device in A Wrinkle in Time, I felt much the same of its use in here, love of friends and family was the resonating theme in both books, and I think they should be read in conjunction with one another. I can't wait to see that Stead writes next.

2010 ALA Book and Youth Media Awards

2010-01-18T08:52:00.020-05:00

Can you hear it? The cheers? Hundrends of librarians screaming, huzzahing, and applauding for their picks and winners of favorite titles for this years Youth Media Awards announced right here in Boston.

I sat at home at my computer and watched the snow and ice pound my windows and thanked goodness that I did not have to ride the T to go into town to hear the annoucements. I was drinking hot chocolate and watching the live webcast at 7:45am. For the first time in ages, many of my favorite titles have won something.

The John Newbery Award(for the best children's novel of the year)
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
(H) Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Philip Hoose
(H) The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelley
(H) Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Gace Lin
(H) The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick

The Randolph Caldecott Medal (for the best picture book of the year)
The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
(H) Red Sings from Treetops illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Joyce Sidman
(H) All the World illustrated by Marla Frazee, written by Elizabeth Garton Scanlon

The Michael L. Printz Award (for the best YA novel of the year)
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
(H) Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
(H) The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
(H) Punkzilla by Adam Rapp
(H) Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes

The Alex Awards (for ten adult books with teen appeal)
The Boy Who Harnassed the Wind: creating currents of electricity and hope by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff
Everything Matters! by Ron Currie
The Good Soldiers by David Finkel
The Kids are All Right: a Memoir by Diana, Liz, Amanda, and Dan Welch
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
My Abandonment by Peter Rock
Soulless by Gail Carriger
Stitches by David Small
Tunneling to the Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards (for the best book about the African-American experience)
John Steptoe New Talent
The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon
Author
Bad News for Outlaws: the remarkable life of Bass Reeves, deputy U.S. Marshall by Vaunda Micheaeux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
(H) Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis
Illustrator
My People illustrated by Charles R. Smith, written by Langston Hughes
(H) The Negro Speaks of Rivers, illustrated by E. B. Lewis, written by Langston Hughes

Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement
Walter Dean Myers

The Pura Belpre Award (for the best children's book about the Latino/a experience)
Authors
Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez
(H) Federico García Lorca by Georgina Lázaro, illustrated by Enrique S. Moreiro
(H) Diego: Bigger Than Life by Carmen Bernier-Grand, illustrated by David Diaz

Illustrators
Book Fiesta!: Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day; Celebremos El día de los niños/El día de los libros illustrated by Rafael López, written by Pat Mora
(H) Diego: Bigger Than Life illustrated by David Diaz, written by Carmen Bernier-Grand
(H) My Abuelita illustrated by Yuyi Morales, written by Tony Johnston
(H) Gracias Thanks illustrated by John Parra, written by Pat Mora

The Robert F. Sibert Medal (for the best children's nonfiction book of the year)
Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone
(H) The Day-Glo brothers: the true story of Bob and Joe Switzer's bright ideas and brand-new colors by Chris Barton
(H) Moonshot: the Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca
(H) Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Philip Hoose

The Schneider Family Book Award (for the best book about the disability experience)
Young Adult Novel
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X Stork
Middle Grade Novel
Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Picture Book
Django by Bonnie Christensen

The Theodore Seuss Geisel Award (for the best early reader book)
Benny and Penny and the Big No-No by Jeffrey Hayes
(H) Pearl and Wagner: One Funny Day by Kate McMullan
(H) Mouse and Mole: Fine Feathered Friends by Wong Herbert Yee
(H) Little Mouse Gets Ready by Jeff Smith
(H) I Spy Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold

The William C. Morris Award (for the best YA novel by a first-time author)
Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction
Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
(F) Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone
(F) Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Philip Hoose
(F) The Great and Only Barnum: the tremendous, stupendous life of showman P.T. Barnum by Candace Fleming
(F) Written in Bone: buried lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland

The Margaret A. Edwards Award (for the YA author who's made a lasting contribution to the field)
Jim Murphy

The May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture Award
Lois Lowry

The Mildred L. Batchelder Award (for the best translated children's book)
A Faraway Island by Annika Thor, translated from Swedish by Linda Schenck
(H) Big Wolf and Little Wolf by Nadine Brun-Cosme, illustrated by Olivier Tallec, translated from French by Claudia Bedrick
(H) Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness by Nahako Uehashi, translated from Japanese by Cathy Hirano

The Odyssey Award (for the best children's audiobook of the year)
Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo
(H) In the Belly of the Bloodhound by LA Meyers
(H) Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
(H) We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson

The Andrew Carnegie Medal (for excellence in children's video)
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus produced by Weston Woods

On the eve of the Newbery

2010-01-17T20:22:00.010-05:00

Being the lucky Bostonian librarian that I am, I had the fortunate opportunity to attend ALA Boston Midwinter 2010 yesterday, and it was a bookapaloza of freebies. My beloved Lois Lowry gave an interview at the Horn Book Booth with Rodger Sutton and I got to see the wonderful writer and friend Bethany Hegedus sign copies of her fabulous book, Between Us Baxters for a line of people. I also got to give M.T. Anderson a hug hello (yes, I know him from Vermont College, it wasn't a rabid fan moment) before he was wisked off to do another interview.

But the buzz now is who will win tomorrow am? I don't know but you can bet I will be up, all cozied up to my computer while it snows away in Beantown, and I hope I can get through to the live webcast.

My Newbery predictions? Either Evolution of Calpurnia Tate or When you Reach Me, reviews of both to come later, but both are wonderful, fabulous books.

And I hope that Kekla Magoon gets the John Steptoe that she truly, (imho, of which you are all entitled to) deserves.

Pond Jumpers

2009-12-08T17:29:00.004-05:00

http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=3860724

I am always amused when people think that it is easier to write for children than adults. Fewer words and pages, and they are kids, they like anything, right.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

The above link leads to an op ed piece that is great, and speaks to why some adult authors fail abysmally at writing for children and teens, and why some writers succeed.

I think it is worth noting, when you write for children and teens as if they have a brain, a moral compass, and when you are a great writer, the readers will come.

A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck

2009-12-04T14:05:00.007-05:00

It's the holiday season...and while I am a sucker for classic favorites like The Gift of the Magi or A Christmas Carol, it is always a delight to find a new holiday treat to read with a cup of warm cider or cocoa.

Grandma Dowdel is a character for the folk record books. She lives by the "rob Peter to pay Paul" system of management, and she does it with shotgun in one hand and a loaf of bread for the neighbors in the other. Her heart is always in the right place, even if her tounge is not.

It is now several years since we have last seen her, 1958, the Great Depression is over, but threads of poverty remain in rural Illinois. A new family has moved into town and right next door to Grandma Dowdel--a Methodist minister, his wife, and children. They need more than just a full church, they need a friend in town, and Grandma might just be that friend, whether she wants to be or not. From haunted melon patches, to run-ins at the privy, and a kidnapped tree, this short novel is full of high jinks and misdemeanors that will entertain many for years to come.

Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee and Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

2009-06-05T14:19:00.012-04:00

I read these two books, one right after the other. I wanted to take the food off of the cover of this book and give it to the main character in Wintergirls.

In Artichoke's Heart, southern gal Rosemary has a lot going for her. She's smart, has well-meaning friends, and a beauty salon full of people willing to offer advice. But these things that she has going for her are also her downfall. Her mother is pushy, and her aunt, well, her aunt is a piece of work who really just does not get it.

Good intentions, with too much emphesis on looks, may be this book's downfall however. Obesity is one of the fastest growing diseases in this country, especially among young people. And you don't find too many fiction books for girls about weight loss and a main character. But I am not completly certain I always liked the way this book represented Rosemary's actual weight loss. The diet drinks she consumed sounded terrible, and should have had a more adverse affect. And her positive changes in nutrition, so important for young girls, should have been highlighted.

Scenes with wonder-boy Kyle will make shy girls smile, and the best friend is the friend we all want to have. Positive and resourceful. But in the end, Rosemary discovers that her weight-loss journey was never really about weight loss, it was about discovering herself.

By comparison, Wintergirls is the story of a downward spriral of anorexia. A far more common topic in teen literature, but this one is a shining star that surpases the collection. An emotionally difficult to read book but an important one for everyone, parents, teachers and students to read.

Lia and Cassie, Lia and Cassie, both wintergirls, both stuck, frozen in their own thoughts. Their world consisted of a competitive game of calories, scrutinity, and scale sabotage. Until it kills Cassie. Now Lia is left alone to play the game with Cassie in her head, telling her what to do. Lia tries to outsmart her father, stepmother, stepsister, and finally her mother. But through it all can she outsmart her own deepest inner thoughts.

This books is frightening and devastating at the same time, because you know it is true. When food becomes an enemy, for weight gain or loss, it is time to seek help. Events can spiral out of control so quickly, before you even know it is happening.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

2009-04-08T13:39:00.000-04:00

2009 Scott O'Dell Award
2008 National Book Award Finalist

Some authors are one-hit-wonders. You know the type. They write something brilliant for their first novel and then, sadly, they just keep getting worse with each novel. It's like being in a train wreck on a blind date.

Thankfully, Laurie Halse Anderson is not one of these writers. She started out with Fever 1793 and now, six books later, has written the epic Chains. Anderson has crossed all boundries in her writing; time, gender, taboo, and now race. Many times I will enjoy a book. I'll smile and it will give me warm fuzzies. A great book will blow me away and stay with me for weeks, months, and I can't wait to put it into the hands of the nearest student, because I know that they will love it as much as I did. Chains is a great book.

Thirteen-year-old Isabel and her sister Ruth are cheated out of their promised freedom when their master dies and are unscrupulously sold upriver to the Locktons, a loyalist New York City couple. Isabel's thoughts are consumed with keeping Mrs. Lockton happy as she runs errands for her new masters and tries to conceal Ruth's frightening illness, that if discovered, would have her sister sold elsewhere. Freedom for her and Ruth is at the forefront of her mind, and when she is given an offer by a young rebel slave Curzon, Isabel starts to spy on the Locktons. This sets off a chain of events right as the Revolution is headed to New York.

The first book in a trilogy, Chains is a mesmerizing read, full of intrigue and passion. You feel for Isabel and Ruth, their loss of freedom when they are sold like cattle, Isabel's fierce protection of her sister, and her harrowing mistery and pain when she is publicly branded. She holds no loyalty to either Tory or Patriot, she simply wants to be free.

But what side will break her chains?

Around the World in 80 Books (give or take a few)

2009-04-06T22:01:00.000-04:00

Travel around the world with childrens books! Click on the above map and it will lead you to a larger version of this world map. Each region and that will lead you to a middle school book list for that region.

I will update this as often as I can.

Enjoy!

Between Us Baxters by Bethany Hegedus

2009-01-23T11:00:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday I got to watch in awe and tears as the first African-American President was sworn into office. I can only hope our children understand what a great moment in our country's history this was.

In my parents' history, black children and white children could not go to school together.

When I was one-year-old, a lawyer was speared with a American flag during the violent bussing protests.

I don't remember this Pulitzer Prize photograph moment, but I know about it, and I hope the children I teach know that this history is not so long ago and far away.

It was in my lifetime, and in my hometown.

And it is not lost on me that in the very week when President Obama was sworn in and I read Between Us Baxters, a local disturbed madman killed two innocent people and was on a rampage to kill many more, all in the name to "save his race". Two steps forward, one step back.

In Between Us Baxters, Hegedus puts a twist on the tale of a Southern friendship between two girls, one black one white. One girl is poor, and her family is considered the trash of the town. The other is bright and has plans for going to college, and her family owns a prosperous store in town. Both girls are at the age where it is an unspoken rule in 1959 Jim Crow South that they should have "outgrown" such a friendship. But Polly is a poor white girl who has to wear friend Timber Ann's cast-offs, and she needs all the friends she can get. And Timber Ann is a good friend, and her Aunt Henri is a good friend to her mother, so while these friendships bring shame upon the Baxter family name in town, and scorn from Polly's grandmother and Aunt Clara, they are her and her mother's daily lifeline to keep moving and living.

But when fires start blazing through town, deliberately set to thriving African-American establishments, Polly and Timber Ann's friendship is tested beyond endurement. Families and lives are destroyed as the Civil Rights movement takes hold of this fiercely divided town that resists change at all costs.

As I have witnessed this week in Boston, stories like this need to be told, over and over again. History and hate will continue to cycle through the generations only until the message dissipates, and we can finally see our way through the smoke.

Masterpiece by Elise Broach

2008-11-23T10:25:00.001-05:00

A boy, a beetle, and an art heist make for an entertaining read in this fast-paced mystery.

Marvin the beetle has a talent for painting, and he lives under 11-year-old James's kitchen sink. His family does not understand his need to interact with humans.

James lives in New York City and on a birthday trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Marvin's miniture drawing is discovered, and now Marvin and James are involved with helping to solve an art theft. But can James help the museum without his new beetle friend being discovered? And how long can he keep up the lie that he drew Marvin's marvelous painting?

I am not normally a fan of talking animal books. Watership Down? Never read it--bunnies talk. Redwall? Nope--warring mice. But I loved Masterpiece, it has a talking animal, well insect, but there are plenty of humans to keep me interested. You fear for their survival in the human world. This is a finely crafted emotional story. You feel for James as he struggles to please his parents, but who don't really see him until they think he has a newfound talent for art. You feel for Marvin, you is just a bit different in his passions than the other beetles, a little bit more adventurous, and who wants more than the average beetle life.

This book is a wonderful follow-up to Shakespeare's Secret. I look forward to more of Broach's offerings.

The Traitor's Gate by Avi

2008-10-07T10:50:00.000-04:00

Fourteen-year-old John Huffam, the "last male in the Huffam line" is pulled out of school one day by his servant, only to be informed that his father is in debt of 300 pounds for gambling and is going to debtor's prison. His distraught mother and sister have no other means of supporting themselves and must live in prison with him until the money can be raised.

But is the debt real? And who is the mysterious inspector that keeps watching his father? And why does his great-aunt refuse to help his family but offers him a job?

With twists and turns, and a cast of characters that could have been transplanted straight from a Dickens' novel, Avi's Victorian-era mystery is a delight. Black and white illustrations decorate the story and characters. Descriptions of seedy undergound London are to be savored, the smells and sounds are sure to tickle any imagination.

John must seperate lies from the truth, and untangle the web of treason his father and others has created if he is ever to release his family from prison. But first he must learn that no one is to be trusted.

The Great Newbery Debate

2008-10-06T14:57:00.000-04:00

Every January I am glued to my computer. I wait for the announcement. What titles will win this year? What did they decide? Will I agree? Will my picks be honored or ignored?

I must admit, many a time in the recent years the winners have left me scratching my head, and now I know I am not the only one.

In the October 2008 SLJ opinion article by Anita Silvey , many feathers were ruffled with her suggestion that the latest winners were not up to children’s' likability snuff. I quite agree. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I believe the Newbery Award and Honor books should stand for excellence in a book that will grab a child's imagination and get them to read. According to the Terms and Criteria of the Newbery Award, the award is given to a "distinguished" piece of work. One that is supposed to "consider excellence of presentation for a child audience". Plot, characters, and setting are all to be considered. Nowhere in the in the official terms and criteria did it say that they have to pick "a good book". And what a shame. This is what children ask for. The good books, the good stories.

The books that engage children to read, that have them coming back and asking for more. These are the books to celebrate. There are thousands of books published for children a year, why is the committee trying so hard to go out of their way to find books that children rebel against reading? The one that not only would they never pick up off of a shelf, but librarians and booksellers cannot honestly recommend because they are not likeable or sometimes readable books.

The honor books from the past several years have been better contenders for the winners. These are the books I can recommend, enjoy, and I think are deserving of a seal on the cover. They are distinguished, they are excellence, and they are good stories.

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

2008-10-06T10:59:00.000-04:00

2008 Newbery Honor

"Hope is the thing with feathers/that perches in the soul" so says Emily Dickinson in a poem that is in the mind of sixth-grade Frannie, trying to figure things out in 1971 when a white boy enters her all-black school.

Feathers is a rare gem. When a new student, dubbed "Jesus Boy" brings with him a sense of calm and peace into a rowdy classroom, Frannie and her classmates begin to question if he really is Jesus and their own faith. Because, as her friend Samantha says, "If there was a world for Jesus to need to walk back into, wouldn't this one be it?"

Frannie questions all that surrounds her at school and at home as she watches her beloved older brother, who is hearing impaired, struggle to be accepted by the hearing world. And she watches her mother be full of hope and worry with her new pregnancy. Frannie feels the worry in her family surround her, but carries the poem in her heart while she searches for the thing with feathers.

When Trevor, the classroom bully, rages against Jesus Boy, truth is shone on both children. And Frannie asks herself, was he God's child? Aren't we all?

Woodson was smart to set this quick novel in 1971, during the rising tide of the Vietnam War, and the racial tension of desegregation. For the questions asked then still mirror the questions children growing up today ask themselves.

The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

2008-08-25T19:32:00.000-04:00

I really enjoyed the companion book, Life as We Knew It, so when I saw there was going to be another book I was really excited. And I was suprised, The Dead and the Gone is darker, grimmer, and not for the faint of heart. When the moon is struck by a meteor, it is knocked off orbit and pushed so close to the earth, throwing the weather patterns out of wack, creating massive flooding, tsunamis, and earthquakes. New York is now an apocalyptic wasteland, no electricity, or heat in the winter, there are rats galore, people dying in the streets, food riots,"body shopping" (the robbing of corpses), and much more--all in the name of survival.

At the center of this madness is teenager Alex and his two young sisters, thoughtful Briana, and feisty Julie. Their parents are missing, and the siblings must decide to either wait and believe their parents are alive and come back for them, or imagine life on their own, in a deadly wasteland. And resources are getting low, the weather is changing, and their situation is getting worse.

I enjoyed the Morales family, what a contrast to Miranda's family in Life as We Knew It. It seemed Pfeffer wrote this companion in response to all the outcries of spirituality and morals that seemed so lacking in the first book. While you still need to suspend disbelief (seriously, couldn't the scientists predict something like this could happen?) Alex's situation was much more dire, and even with his faith, and the help of his church, there was no quick thinking mother to stockpile food and other items for him, he was on his own and he had two sisters depending on him. His courage was genuine, and you pray for him and his sister to triumph.

Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson

2008-07-21T18:43:00.000-04:00

I must confess, I could never quite manage the series of the Anne books when I was a child. I would skip over the long passages where Anne would ramble on so. It shocked me that there was a character in literary history that could talk more than me. So I would skip to where there was action, and pictures. The copy that I had when I was 10(and still have) had color plates that helped move the story along. But when one entire page was one long monologue of Anne's dramatic speech about something describing the Haunted Wood, or the Lake of Shining Waters, I tended to skip it.

But that isn't to say that I didn't get the main point of the story, and that I didn't have a genuine love for the characters, because I did. So when PBS released the Kevin Sullivan production with Meagan Follows as Anne Shirley, I was in love with the books all over again, even though I knew the movie mixed them up, and cut them back drastically (Davie and Dora, where are you??). I even convinced my mom to take a family summer trip to P.E.I with her and my older brother (what a sport!) so I could see the Anne house, the red clay beaches, and all that my imagination had created while speed-reading the books and watching the movies. My trip did not disappoint. I loved it. And I hope future generations of Anne readers will get a chance to take this trip as well.

So now it is the 100 year anniversary and a writer has taken it upon herself to create Anne's world before Montgomery imagined it, using hints mentioned in the previous novels. This is no small feat, and Wilson has done a marvelous job. She has to please Anne fans and critics alike.

Remember, Anne's life before the Cuthbert's was not a happy one, she's an orphan, and Wilson does not shy away from the grim reality of being parentless during this time period. Despite baby Anne's horrid homelife, her exuberance shines through. She has an imagination that allows her to rise above the servitude she is forced to live and she survives within her own world. Wilson writes this without being too heavy handed, you cheer for Anne all the way through because you know how it is going to end.

Anne's journey to Green Gables is a wonderful read, not as amusing as the other books in the series because her transfers from horrible home to horrible home are so sad, but she meets many wonderful characters, mirroring the character journey in the other books. And these characters become her friends, and you know she has become important to them. This book is about her journey, her resilient spirit, and her search for a loving home.

Now if only it had color plates...

http://www.beforegreengables.com/

Miss Spitfire: reaching Helen Keller by Sarah Miller

2008-07-18T12:32:00.000-04:00

I have had an obsession with Helen Keller and Laura Bridgman since I was a little girl. For those of you who don't know, Laura Bridgman was the pre-Helen Keller. She was famous before Helen Keller, was blind, deaf, and mute just like her from a very young age and acquired language as well. But she was not very pretty or even-tempered as she grew up, so she was not quite the showcase for the Perkins School, but she paved the way for the next generation of blind, deaf, and mute learners like Helen Keller.

Miss Spitfire is the story of Helen Keller from the beginning of Helen's education from her teacher, Annie Sullivan's point of view. Much like the famous movie, The Miracle Worker, it includes all the famous scenes with the doll, the locking in the room, the antics of learning to use a napkin in the dining room, and of course, the culminating scene by the water pump. But because this novel was researched using Annie Sullivan's letters, each chapter is started with an inspiring and insightful words from the letters. It is a wonderful fictional biography that has filled my obsession nicely.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

2008-07-16T21:27:00.000-04:00

No more Bunny Rabbit. Really. Parents should learn
that if they give their girls stupid nicknames, the girls are going to rebel. Can anyone say "Nobody puts Baby in a corner?"

Frankie experiences a revelation the summer before her sophomore year at Alabaster, a private boarding school that is as white as it's name. She no longer wants to be the innocent Bunny Rabbit her parents think she is, the invisible geek her classmates think she is, and foolishly underestimated by her new boyfriend.

So she evokes the mastermind of mischief that has laid dormant inside for so long. She infiltrates the all-boy secret society at her school, anonymously having them doing her biddings with hilarious pranks and high jinks.

But while she wanted to teach everyone at Alabaster a lesson, she learned a few herself, and what it means to be a true leader.

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

2008-07-09T11:45:00.000-04:00

I love Lois Lowry, it's no secret. Many a time I have said I want to be just like her when I grow up. One of my greatest moments in life was when I got to give her a ride home from Vermont to Massachusetts in my little car. I think she wanted to sleep, but I, being the quiet, shy, silent type, would not let her sleep a wink as I peppered her with questions about the writing life.

However, lately her books have seemed a bit, well, grim, to me. Depressing even, that I have to ask who her intended audience is. I love her writing, I love her style, she is truly gifted, but I have been worried about my hero.

So enter The Willoughbys. Lowry knocked this one out of the park in every way. I loved the cover on sight, with its Edward Gorey-esque style, designed by Lowry herself. And I love the name of the family, bringing in Austen references of the foolish player from Sense and Sensibility. But what Lowry does best is treat her readers as smart thinkers, something often missed in children's books today. This book is a satire, it is not as what it appears; it is not simply the story of a family of abandoned children trying to off their parents any more than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is about a kid going to a candy store.

The Willoughby children are four smart children born to the most unfortunate parents. Forced to endure the same names, share the same sweater, and dealing with general neglect, the children are not too heartbroken when their parents decide to take an extended vacation--with out the children. So the four Willoughby children declaire themselves orphans, much like their literary heros, Anne of Green Gables and Pollyanna. But, to their suprise, they must endure an odious nanny, an impending house sale, an auspicious neighbor, and many other adventures that will lead them with a most unexpected family.

An enjoyable read for the Lemony Snickett crowd.

A New Venture Begins

2008-07-07T12:14:00.001-04:00

I have another blog where I discuss knitting and my knitted baby hats, but all the time people are asking me for reviews of children's books and what to read and more suggestions. So I thought, wouldn't it be smart to have one place where I could write reviews and have links to websites where I know others could find great reads for their kids, so voila!

The Butterfly Review is born.

Here you will find nuggets of info about children's, YA, and sometimes adult books, some suggestions from humble little me, and other great resources.

Enjoy!