The People in Pineapple Place

Every now and then I discover a fantastic book that I know I'll love forever. I found one today. It's called The People in Pineapple Place and was written by Anne Spencer Lindbergh (the daughter of Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh). It was originally published in 1982.

It's a fantasy set in Washington D.C. about a street of people that are only visible to newcomer August Brown. August gets frustrated that no one else can see the wonderful world he's found (wouldn't you?) but he has great adventures with the (mostly) invisible children of Pineapple Place.

Why did I love it so much? It's timeless and believable in the way a good fantasy should be. It's set in my hometown and I just loved the descriptions of places I know well, such as the National Gallery and the carousel at Glen Echo Park. The characters were endearing. It had a terrific ending. And, most importantly, I could see kids reading this book and loving it as much as I did.

Book Reviews

Looking for reviews of children's books? Look no further than the Children's Book Review wiki. It was created by the indefatigable Kelly Herold of Big A little a, who may be one of the most busy and productive people I've ever met. The wiki contains a wonderful and rich variety of blog reviews from all over the kidlitosphere.

I just put up all the reviews I've ever posted on Wizards Wireless on the wiki. There aren't that many... because I tend to make lists and general comments about books instead of writing formal reviews. But, I was surprised to see that I've written 15 reviews so far... I thought it was far fewer than that.

One of the most rewarding parts of reviewing for me has been connecting with authors. If the book has been published relatively recently and I can find an e-mail address, I will frequently send authors links to my blog reviews. And, every one of them has written back, which I find amazing. I have to admit, I felt like a rock star when I got return e-mails from Susan Patron and Mordecai Gerstein only a few weeks after I started blogging.

I'm in awe of bloggers who write reviews regularly (and sometimes even every day!), such as Betsy at A Fuse #8 Production, Jen at Jen Robinson's Book Page, Tasha at Kids Lit, Jules and Eisha at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Abby at Abby (the) Librarian, Laura at Library & Literary Miscellany... and, ummm... everybody but me.

I've rounded up all the reviews I've written thus far (see the list below). Looking at the list, I notice that I seem to favor titles that contain exclamation points!

Books for Babies and Toddlers

• Freight Train by Donald Crews
• Fuzzy Fuzzy Fuzzy! by Sandra Boynton
• Orange Pear Apple Bear, by Emily Gravett
• Tickle the Duck! by Ethan Long
• The Toolbox by Anne and Harlow Rockwell

Picture Books

• The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury edited by Janet Schulman
• The Baby Beebee Bird by Diane Redfield Massie, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
• Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
• How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman
• Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems
• The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordecai Gerstein
• Shhhhh! Everybody's Sleeping by Julie Markes, illustrated by David Parkins
• When Dinosaurs Came with Everything by Elise Broach, illustrated by David Small
  

Juvenile Fiction

• The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
• Rules by Cynthia Lord

Want to contribute your reviews to the Children's Book Review wiki? Take a look at this post on Big A Little a to see how to do it.

Kindred Spirits

Lucy Maud Montgomery is one of my favorite authors. If the name sounds familiar, it's probably because you know her most famous book: Anne of Green Gables.

Oddly enough, that isn't the book I like best. Oh sure, it's the first one I discovered and I think it's great, but she wrote other books that I fell in love with even more.

Although most people only know the first book in the series, L.M. Montgomery actually wrote eight novels about Anne. Here are my favorite Anne books:

• Anne of the Island. Anne goes to college and rejects suitors right and left. I think this book may be the one I like the best in the whole series. It has a lovely timeless quality to it.

• Anne's House of Dreams. This book chronicles the first few years of Anne's marriage. There's heartbreak and love in it and it's wonderful to see Anne grow up and her relationships develop. I have to say, though, that I recently re-read this book, and found it contained far more sexist attitudes towards women than I remembered.
  

• Rilla of Ingleside. This book contains the story of Anne's daughter growing up during World War One. I learned a lot from this book when I first read it, and the images of war it presents have always stayed with me.

I also love the series of books about Emily of New Moon. My favorite book in that series is:

• Emily's Quest. This is the third book in the Emily series and is quite haunting in parts. It moves me every time I read it. Also, this is the series that I've always considered to be the most autobiographical of L.M. Montgomery, so I think the occasional sadness and despair in it affect me more.
  

And, I can't forget the two books about Pat of Silver Bush.

• Mistress Pat, the second book in the series, is the one I like the best. There's something intriguing about Pat's devotion to her house. Also, aspects of Pat's story are similar to Emily's, which I've always found interesting. I think it contains my least favorite male name, though. The hero's name is Jingle. That's never really worked for me.
  

Another book I like (but it isn't part of a series) is:

• A Tangled Web. This book brings all of L.M. Montgomery's major stories together in one book. It's like reading short versions of all her other books.
  

I've read every book that L.M. Montgomery wrote. What's my favorite book of all? Hands down, it's:

• The Blue Castle. It's not very well known at all, and it's the only book she wrote that is not set on Prince Edward Island. It's about a woman, Valancy Stirling, who is told she only has a year to live. She completely reinvents herself in a wonderful way. I think this is the most romantic of all of L.M. Montgomery's books.

Why am I mentioning this author now? 2008 is the one hundredth anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables, which was originally published in 1908. There are lots of celebrations going on in honor of this famous red-haired orphan.

Interested in more about L.M. Montgomery? The best and most comprehensive book I've ever found on the subject (and I found it when I was visiting the site of the author's childhood home on Prince Edward Island) is called The Lucy Maud Montgomery Album. This five hundred page book is an absolute masterpiece, complete with rich essays and photographs from both family members and scholars that chronicle and honor the life of this wonderful author. It's being re-released in March 2008.

There's also a new Anne of Green Gables book about to be published called Before Green Gables. It's a prequel to the first book, and is written by Budge Wilson. See this post by Cheryl Rainfeld for more details.

Do you have a favorite book by L.M. Montgomery? Let me know in the comments, or vote in the new poll on the sidebar.

Trouble

Is it too early to start making Newbery predictions for next year?

I just finished an advance reader's copy of an absolutely exquisite book: Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt. It's a beautiful, touching, and poignant work of fiction. I was sorry it had to end, but since it did... I don't think the author couldn't have picked a better place to stop his narrative. The cover is beautiful too. I saw a picture of it in a 2008 Spring catalog from the publisher, Clarion, but I don't think the cover art is available online yet.

It's a bit cruel of me to write about it now... since the book won't be published until April. I'm not doing a formal review of it yet, because I don't want to spoil the plot for you in any way. It's one of those books that has brilliantly interwoven twists and turns... and you should discover them through the text and not through a review.

Keep an eye out for this book. Reserve it in advance from your library. Buy it at a bookstore in April. Dig out the advance copy (if you have one) from your stack of books to be read and put it on top of the pile.

Once you've read it, tell me what you think... and if you love it as much as I do.

On January 26, 2009 (almost exactly a year from today) in Denver, Colorado, the press conference will be held announcing the winners of the 2009 American Library Association Youth Media Awards. I'm not much of a gambler, but I'm betting that Trouble will be on one of those lists. Check back in a year, and we'll see if I'm right.

And... the book jacket would look truly beautiful with a gold Newbery Medal on it.

Update: The cover art is now available. Here it is:


Look under the "ou" in Trouble, about level with the nose on the face in the clouds. Isn't that the perfect place to put a Newbery sticker?

There's a lovely review of this book at The Reading Zone.

I've never been so happy to be wrong

Did you hear shouts of joy at 8:28 a.m. this morning, Eastern time? That would have been me, screaming and cheering in delight as I heard the news that The Invention of Hugo Cabret had just won the Caldecott Medal.

It's been a busy day in the children's book selling world. There was frantic dictation as the awards were announced. There were hurried phone calls to distributors, publishers and reps to secure as many of the winning books as possible. There was scouring of bookshelves and overstock to find every last copy of every book that had just been anointed with a magic sticker. There were signs that had to be made, and books that had to be organized and re-organized to make room for the winners. There were conversations with colleagues about which books won. Oh, and there was all the other business of a regular Monday to attend to. So, it's been a long day.

But now, I finally have a minute to sit down. And here's the first thing I want to do: stand up.

I want to give a standing ovation to the 2008 Caldecott committee. I want to applaud you for making a brave and gutsy choice and for recognizing the most distinguished book of the year.

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that I wrote a very detailed post about why Hugo Cabret wasn't going to win the Newbery Medal, even though I really, really, really wanted it to. Not because it's not a great book, but because the Newbery is all about text, not illustrations. And Hugo Cabret is all about illustrations. And while Hugo Cabret was eligible for the Caldecott, selecting something that isn't a "picture book" would fly in the face of Caldecott tradition.

And yet, they did it. They awarded it the Caldecott Medal. Now, the book will be in schools and libraries everywhere and will be in print for decades to come. And it's an excellent, timeless book and it deserves to be where children can get their hands on it. Bravo to the courageous members of Caldecott committee. And, thank you.

Incidentally, when I put signs above the 534 page Caldecott winner and the 85 page Newbery winner today, it looked like I made a mistake. But I didn't... and neither did the committee.

Update: Now that I've had a chance to look around at other blogs, I see that several people commented on the huge ovation Hugo Cabret received when it was announced as the Caldecott winner. Although I was watching the webcast, I didn't hear the applause of the crowd. Why? Because I was too busy screaming.

Additional Update: I just watched the webcast again, this time in far calmer circumstances. I can't believe that I missed the unbelievable amount of applause that stopped the show when Hugo was announced. I must have been really screaming.

Yet Another Update: Here are my reactions to the other 2008 ALA awards. And, did I correctly predict the winners and have them in stock at our store? See my scorecard. And this post tells you where to go to hear the Hugo Cabret Caldecott announcement cheer for yourself.

One More Update: Nah, I don't have anything to say this time. False alarm.

New books!

Here are some brand new children's books that I'm excited about (but haven't gotten a chance to read yet). Reviews will follow in the next few weeks (or months) but I wanted to highlight a few books on my reading list.

Peter and the Secret of Rundoon by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.

This is the third book in the Peter and the Starcatchers trilogy (the second one was Peter and the Shadow Thieves) and I've found it to be a terrific series. Dave Barry is a humor writer and Ridley Pearson is a mystery writer and together they've produced funny mysteries. All three books are prequels to Peter Pan... so it helps to have a basic knowledge of the plot of Peter Pan. Peter and the Secret of Rundoon just came out yesterday... and I'm about 20 pages into it. I can't wait to finish it and find out the answers to some of the mysteries in the second book.

Blue Moo by Sandra Boynton and Michael Ford

This is the fourth Boyton/Ford co-production and my son is an enormous fan of their other three albums: Rhinoceros Tap, Philadelphia Chickens and Dog Train. My personal favorite (thus far) is Dog Train... it's rock and roll and hits me just right. Blue Moo is full of 1950's types songs- and I'm really looking forward to it. As with the previous albums, Sandra Boynton has created a delightful companion book and has gotten some really cool people to record the songs: Patti Lupone, B.B. King, Brian Wilson, etc. There's a great video about the making of this album on YouTube called "Behind the Moosic" which is a lot of fun to watch.

Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf by Jennfer L. Holm, illustrated by Elicia Castaldi

This is an incredibly creative book by the author of Our Only May Amelia, Penny From Heaven and Baby Mouse. The story of Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf is told completely thorough stuff: calendars, post-it notes, bank deposit slips, shopping lists, etc. While there's text on the page, it's not done in a standard way at all and is a highly visual book. This book came out a few months ago and I've heard great things about it. I just picked up my copy at the library today and I can't wait to read it.

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle: New and Improved?

Look! This post isn't about Harry Potter! Amazing, isn't it?

One of my very favorite children's book characters has always been Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. She's a wonderful (and unfortunately fictional) woman who lives in a very 1950ish neighborhood (not surprisingly since the books were published in the 1950's) who always knows exactly how to solve every possible child-rearing problem. Each book contains several short stories that are very loosely connected and they make great early chapter books. They're slightly difficult to read aloud because of the complicated sentences and long chapters, but well worth the effort. My personal favorites are the very first chapter "Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Herself" in the first book (Mrs. Piggle Wiggle) and "The Waddle-I-Doers" which is the last chapter in the last book, (Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Magic).

My friend Cate likes the earlier books the best because Mrs. Piggle Wiggle comes up with creative (and vaguely believable) solutions like the Radish Cure.... whereas in the later books Mrs. Piggle Wiggle primarily uses magic, and well, that's a little harder for the average parent to do. Cate also wonders (and so do I every time I read the books) why the neighborhood mothers haven't learned that when they have a problem with their children they should immediately call Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (who will, of course, be able to solve it for them). Instead, they all seem to waste valuable time by calling several of their friends until one of them finally suggests asking Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (who then, of course, solves the problem.)

Alas, author Betty MacDonald passed away in 1958, and so only four Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books were ever published. The original books are in the process of being re-released with new covers. I think it's great to have these books in print, in any form, though it's hard to improve on the classic illustrations by Hilary Knight and Maurice Sendak.

Recently, Betty MacDonald's daughter Anne MacDonald Canham found an unpublished manuscript of a Mrs. Piggle Wiggle story. The first new Mrs. Piggle Wiggle book in fifty years will be be published in October 2007, it's titled Happy Birthday Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and features the unpublished story along with several new stories written by her daughter. Several more Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books by Anne MacDonald Canham are currently in the works. I have mixed feelings about this... on the one hand, I love the character, in any form... and on the other hand I think it's hard to improve on the originals. But since it's written by MacDonald's daughter, it's being done with a huge amount of love and respect... so I'll reserve my opinion until I read the new book. What do you think about it?

Rules

This book kept surprising me... particularly how I was unable to put it down until I finished reading it. I had heard the book was about autism (and knew that author Cynthia Lord has an autistic son). But really, that is only one part of this incredibly dynamic book. It isn't preachy, it isn't filled with beat-you-over-the-head lessons and morals... it's about accepting who you are (and accepting the people around you for who they are.) It's also about how important words are... and how easy they are to take for granted.

I love the protagonist Catherine... and how human she is. And her brother David is so well described that you really feel like it's like to live with someone autistic. Catherine's and David's parents are terrifically portrayed... not as saints, but as believable and realistic people.

I must admit, though, that wheelchair-bound Jason was my favorite character, he just kept getting more interesting and I couldn't wait for the next chapter with him in it.

This is a compulsively readable joy of a book... I can't say enough good things about it. A few things to keep in mind...

• This is Cynthia Lord's FIRST novel. WOW!
• It received an extremely prestigious Newbery Honor.
• It also received the Schneider Family Book Award which honors children's books about disabilities.
• It's fantastic.

If you're interested in more about Cynthia Lord, check out her website and her blog.

The Higher Power of Lucky

Read this book. Not because it won this year's prestigious Newbery medal (which it did), not because it incited controversy(which it also did).... read it because it's a fabulous book.

What's so great about it? It's funny, heart wrenching, quirky, and hard to put down. It feels both incredibly modern.... and simultaneously timeless. I don't feel like this book could have been written twenty years ago because of the contemporary feel of it.... but I also think I could pick it up in twenty (or sixty) years and enjoy it as much as I do now.

The characters are so achingly well described, and are all so imperfect and.... human. The location is so vivid and detailed that when I read this book, I feel like I'm sweltering in the heat in Hard Pan waiting for my shipment of government food to arrive.

One of my favorite things in the book is the last page... the author's note to the reader. Susan Patron is a librarian, after all, and she tells you just where to find the website for the International Guild of Knot Tyers, the bibliographic information for Are You My Mother?, etc.
Actually, this is probably my second favorite thing.... because my favorite is really Chapter 22 "bonne nuit" which is... a perfect chapter.

The first time I read The Higher Power of Lucky it was very very quickly. I was taking an advanced seminar in children's literature in library school... and the semester started 2 days after the ALA awards were announced. Our professor had scheduled members of this year's Newbery and Siebert committees to talk to us- which was fantastic... but they were scheduled for three weeks from the first day of class. Which meant everyone in my class had to read all the Newbery, Siebert and Caldecott medalists and honor books in the next three weeks. The reading was no problem, but tracking them all down when they had just become the most popular books in the country overnight.... well, that was a problem. (Example, the day before The Higher Power of Lucky won the Newbery it was ranked over #700,000 on Amazon's bestseller list.... the day it won it was ranked #4.) The Higher Power of Lucky was the hardest of all the books to find because its initial printing had been fairly small, and it had been published fairly recently. My professor had a copy, which my class passed around like contraband... I think I had under 24 hours to read it before I had to give it to another classmate.

And, sigh.... after all that... the class session where we were going to talk about the book got cancelled due to snow. Fortunately, one of my classmates did her term paper on 50 years of books about 10 year old girls (and how Lucky compared to her 10 year old predecessors)... so we did get to discuss the book after all.

And now I have a copy all my own (autographed, no less!) so I can enjoy the book over and over.
I'll have to get a second copy to lend out.

Her speech at the Newbery banquet was beautiful, funny, heart wrenching... just like her book.... see my earlier post about the banquet.

In the precious thirty seconds I got to talk to author Susan Patron while she was signing my book at the ALA conference, I learned the following things:

• She is a joy to talk to.
• She REALLY likes it when you mention her other books published before Lucky (although she loves to hear about Lucky too.)
• It was surreal for her to be at the ALA conference as a Famous Author, instead of as a conference attendee.
• Yes, she does speak French.
• You can get a parsley grinder on Ebay for $4.