Tiny Treasury

There’s an email forward that’s been going around the internet for weeks now, telling people to boycott the film version of The Golden Compass as well as the books. The gist of the emails is that the author, Phillip Pullman, is anti-Christian. While it’s true that Pullman is an atheist, the anti-Christian statement is mostly based upon two quotes from the author. Both quotes, while certainly provocative in nature, are taken out of context, making them seem far more subversive and offensive than they are when the interviews are read in their entirety.

The His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass is the first book of the series) is the story of how a girl discovers a plot to separate children from their “daemons”, which are animal-shaped physical manifestations of the soul in the universe of the books. Both adults and children have daemons, but only children’s daemons can change shape, which makes them valuable to the villains, for mysterious reasons. The story is about the science and morality behind the existence of daemons (souls), and the power of these souls. It’s a profoundly moral story. There’s no question that there are anti- religious elements in the book. But in regards to those elements Pullman said in an interview, “As for what it’s against - the story is against those who pervert and misuse religion, or any other kind of doctrine with a holy book and a priesthood and an apparatus of power that wields unchallengeable authority, in order to dominate and suppress human freedoms.”

One of the quotes used to justify the boycott is “my books are about killing God.” But in the same interview Pullman says “That’s not to say I disparage the religious impulse. I think the impulse is a critical part of the wonder and awe that human beings feel. What I am against is organised religion of the sort which persecutes people who don’t believe. I’m against religious intolerance.” The “God” in his books isn’t the God worshiped by Christians. The God in his book is a God in an alternate universe with a corrupt church trying to stop the spread of good and wisdom.

Another quote the anti-Pullman camp is jumping on is from a different interview when Pullman says, “I’m trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief.” What the email doesn’t add is the rest of the quote that continues, “Mr. Lewis would think I was doing the Devil’s work.” Pullman is specifically answering a question about what C.S. Lewis would think of his work. He’s not saying that he’s trying to undermine Christian belief. He’s saying that’s what someone else would think. The author isn’t against Christianity, Catholicism or religion in general, he’s anti-religious intolerance and against the dogmatism and oppression of the church.

If you’ve read the complete interviews and still disagree with the author’s viewpoint and don’t want to read the books that’s one thing. It just irks me that based upon a few emails and memos from people who haven’t seen the movie or read the books that parents all over the country are going to forbid their kids from reading an award winning trilogy.

I should add that I am completely against censoring books for children for any reason except age-appropriateness. I am all for dialogue between parent and child and think that it’s imperative for parents to monitor what their kids read. But I think it’s most important for parents to read along with their children and discuss the books they read rather than forbidding them from reading them altogether. Though I wouldn’t necessarily agree with the decision, if a parent were to take the time and read the book before deciding they didn’t want their child to read it I wouldn’t complain. As a parent it’s your right to make decisions for your family.

As for the movie, it doesn’t bother me that parents may not want their children to see it. I’ve read the books and I don’t think they’re appropriate for young children. As far as I know the movie is rated PG-13, and if it’s true to the book I wouldn’t recommend kids much younger seeing the movie since the books were written for a young adult audience. Based on my classroom experiences, kids much younger than seventh grade wouldn’t even understand the books for the most part, so a PG-13 rating seems spot on. In other words, while I haven’t actually seen a movie in the theater for two years now, if I were to see this movie and parents with children under ten were in the audience I’d be annoyed.

I have to admit that I’m reticent to see the film because I don’t want it to ruin the books for me. The books are remarkable. I can’t recommend them enough. But I have hope. One blogger who has seen the movie writes, “It is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Go see it in the biggest theater you can.”

Unless you’ve been media deprived the past few days you’ve probably heard that J.K. Rowling outed everyone’s favorite wizard, Albus Dumbledore. Frankly, I’m a bit underwhelmed by the news. Since the series has been completed and Dumbledore’s sexuality never came into play, why does it matter now?

Here’s an article from the Harry Potter Fan Zone:

You can read more from Stacey, the new blogger at Hogwarts Herald.

Celebrate Teen Read Week along with YALSA. This year’s theme is “LOL@ your Library,” encouraging teens to laugh out loud. Here are some quotes from some favorite teen authors from the Teen Read Week wiki about what makes them LOL.

What makes me laugh most is Congress. Dogs can also be very funny, but I have to give the edge to Congress. –Dave Barry author of Peter and the Starcatchers

A woman strutting out of the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to her heel gets me every time. –Lisi Harrison author of The Clique

Freudian Slips: One night I was reading to my four-year-old daughter a rather boring picture book about Paul Revere. When I came upon the word ‘timber’ I accidentally said ‘tampon’ instead. I became immediately hysterical, laughing so hard tears were running down my cheeks. Of course my daughter thought I was insane and insisted that I continue reading, even though I had the giggles. Soon she had the giggles too and our giggles morphed into uncontrollable howls of laughter. It reminded me of my seventh grade biology class when I raised my hand to answer a question and I said ‘orgasm’ instead of organism. I turned purple and had to hide under my desk because my teacher was a man with a mustache and I could not look at him without bursting into hysterical laughter. By the end of class we were all under our desks. — Cecily von Ziegesar author of Gossip Girl

Reading (and writing about) characters’ excruciating embarrassing social gaffes always make me laugh! Which is awful, since goodness knows I’ve committed enough of them! — Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries

The Readergirlz are also celebrating Teen Read with chats this week.

October 14th: Tanya Lee Stone
October 15th: John Green
October 16th: Sara Zarr
October 17th: Deb Caletti
October 18th: Rachel Cohn
October 19th: Kirsten Miller
October 20th: Mitali Perkins

Last night I tuned in to my first of the Readergirlz 31 Flavorites forum discussions in real time. To be honest, it was an accident. I wanted to check out what Nikki Grimes and Chris Crutcher had to say, but saw Ann Brashares, author of “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series, at the top and started there instead. I was about 14 pages and 10 minutes into the discussion when I realized I was at the end only it wasn’t over. I refreshed the page and there was more!

Before I get to the meat of the discussion I have to get a few things out of the way. First of all, Myspace makes my eyes bleed. I’m about 15 years too old for the bizarre fonts, hearts, and flashing backgrounds. Secondly, the structure of the forum was hard for me to adjust to. People ask questions all at the same time and it goes incredibly quickly. I’ve never been in any real online chat groups, so I’m unaccustomed to the format. It’s unlike most forums I’ve been involved with, where people take the time to read previous questions before barreling in with their own.

Aside from my Myspace issues, I was quite impressed with the chat. Ann Brashares did a much better job of keeping up with the questions than I did and did an admirable job of giving the Readergirlz thoughtful answers. The girlz were giggly and excited and through their squeeing they managed to ask equally thoughtful questions, though many came from the Divas and the teachers logged in to the chats.

When asked about how she handles writing from four perspectives her Pants series, Ann responded

I try to approach each of my characters individually. Though you read the book with the characters’ parts spliced together, that’s not how I write them. I focus on one girl at a time and write her story from beginning to end. That way I’m able to lose myself in her as best I can. To spend days and weeks as Carmen, say, and not have to be anyone else. At the end I write the scenes where the girls appear together.

Her advice for the writers in the group

My advice is not original, I’m aftaid–read a lot. You probably do that already. Write a lot. Write so much that writing feels natural the way thinking and speaking do.

Also, leave yourself alone. Give yourself time to imagine things. I am a big proponent of having absolutely nothing to do.

Her thoughts on community service

I went to a quaker school and started community service projects in first grade, so that’s always on my mind. I am just starting the Sisterhood Foundation. I’m putting a bunch of the money from the books into it and using the money to benefit girls and education and literacy. It’s a new project, and I’m excited about it. Also, I’m a mentor to a high school girl. We’ve been together for three years so far, and I love being part of her life.

And one of her low moments as a writer

I have had many low moments! One came recently, when I did a signing at a Costco in New Jersey. (I think it was New Jersey.) I was all set up with my books and not one person came. Not one. Finally a woman ambled along. I got all ready to sign a book for me and she asked where the office furniture was. The saleswoman in the book area felt so sorry for me she hugged me.

The internet’s first literary awards are back.

Because The Cybils is a blogger-run, blogger-inspired awards process, we operate with the expectation of openness and transparency. If you have any question about the process—any question at all—please feel free to e-mail Anne or Kelly at any time.

Nominations are open in the following categories:

Fantasy/Science Fiction
Fiction Picture Books
Graphic Novels
Middle Grade Fiction
Non-Fiction: Middle Grade and Young Adult
Non-Fiction Picture Books
Poetry
Young Adult Fiction

Here are the rules:

The book must have been published in 2007:

* Only one book per category;
* Click on a category and read the description;
* Click on “comments” and type in the author and title;
* Make sure your book isn’t already listed, please.

Nominations close Nov. 21, so take your time and come back often.Thanks for joining us!

The seven stories in Judy Blume’s “Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One” (which I finally finished) revolve around third grader Abigail, the Great One, and her little brother first grader Jake, the Pain. Written for ages 4-9, the target age group will definitely relate to the sibling bickering in this fun and easy to read chapter book. Abigail is afraid to ride a bike but too embarrassed to admit it to her friends. Jake is afraid to get his hair cut for fear the barber will cut off his ears. The situations are sweet and true to life and James Stevenson’s illustrations are delightful.

Judy Blume’s stories aren’t all so kid friendly according to parents. Blume’s books are some of the most challenged books in schools and libraries across the country. One of my father’s favorite stories is that when I was little I read books faster than he could buy them. By the age of five I was reading books well above my maturity level because I could. One night when I was five I was in bed reading “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” and I called him into my room. “Dad,” I asked, “what’s a period?” My poor, flustered father had to try to explain menstruation to his slightly grossed out kindergartener.

When I was eight my aunt took me out shopping with her and we stopped to browse at a used bookstore. I recognized Judy Blume’s name on the cover and had her buy me a copy of “Forever” for a quarter. I got home and read the entire thing in one sitting, not quite mature enough to really understand what it was about, but old enough to know it was steamy stuff. It was only when I lent it to my best friend that I got in trouble. Her mother was outraged that I’d lent her a book with obscene language and sexual content. In retrospect, my “bad influence” may have been one of the reasons her parents moved out of the neighborhood.

While I don’t plan on purchasing young adult novels for my future early elementary grade children, I certainly hope that they’ll learn to appreciate Judy Blume’s stories about young love, friendship, and insecurities. Her books were groundbreaking at a time when books about love were either chaste or preachy, and the characters in young adult novels didn’t experience the down and dirty, uncomfortable moments that most actual young adults experience on a daily basis.

Five of Judy Blume’s books are on the ALA’s list of 100 Most Challenged Books of 1990 to 2000. She continues to fight censorship.

“[I]t’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.” — Judy Blume

Because things never go as planned, I never finished Knots (which I read all but 30 pages of months ago and finally picked up again to finish), which means I never even started Soupy Saturdays, which will most likely take under an hour for me to read. The Chicago Tribune briefly noted the book in their reviews this weekend.

Teaming up with YALSA, Readergirlz is hosting 31 Flavorite authors for teens in 31 days during the month of October to celebrate Teen Read Week. Here’s a full list of the amazing authors who will be available to chat at the Readergirlz forums at 8 pm EST each night.

Week One
October 1st: Meg Cabot
October 2nd: Tiffany Trent
October 3rd: Brent Hartinger
October 4th: Lorie Ann Grover
October 5th: K.L. Going
October 6th: Nikki Grimes

Week Two
October 7th: Ellen Hopkins
October 8th: Justina Chen Headley
October 9th: Chris Crutcher
October 10th: Ann Brashares
October 11th: Sarah Mlynowski
October 12th: Cecil Castellucci
October 13th: Kirby Larson
Week Three
October 14th: Tanya Lee Stone
October 15th: John Green
October 16th: Sara Zarr
October 17th: Deb Caletti
October 18th: Rachel Cohn
October 19th: Kirsten Miller
October 20th: Mitali Perkins
Week Four
October 21st: Sonya Sones
October 22nd: Lisa Yee
October 23rd: Carolyn Mackler
October 24th: E. Lockhart
October 25th: Janet Lee Carey
October 26th: Gaby Triana
October 27th: Lauren Myracle
Week Five
October 28th: Holly Black
October 29th: Cynthia Leitich Smith
October 30th: Dia Calhoun
October 31st: Stephenie Meyer

I just picked up Judy Blume’s new book “Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One” from the library and I’m looking forward to reading it this weekend. I haven’t read a new Judy Blume book since Just As Long As We’re Together was published in 1987, but Fudge’s 35th birthday made me feel a bit nostalgic. I’ll let you know how I like it.

Judy Blume’s Tale’s of a Fourth Grade Nothing published 35 years ago still remains a classic. Younger readers from all generations can connect with poor Peter Hatcher who is completely overshadowed by his little brother Fudge. Fudge was so popular with young readers that Blume wrote four more books about him.

To celebrate the anniversary the complete set of Fudge books are being released in a box set with a new look. The set will be available in October. You can pre-order at Amazon.

Read more about Fudge and Peter at Judy Blume’s website.

Judy Blume, Fudge books, box set, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, young readers

Madeleine L’Engle a gifted storyteller, died of natural causes on Thursday at the age of 88. Her great Newbery Award winning novel A Wrinkle in Time was one of my favorite books as a child and remains one of my favorite books today.

Kids Lit writes, Our planet just tilted a little and hole has been left behind.

AmoXcalli has a full list of L’Engle links

The New York Times ends their obituary with

“Why does anybody tell a story?” Ms. L’Engle once asked, even though she knew the answer.

“It does indeed have something to do with faith,” she said, “faith that the universe has meaning, that our little human lives are not irrelevant, that what we choose or say or do matters, matters cosmically.”

It’s the War of Words Wednesday! Since next week starts the official “back to school” week for most schools in the US (I know that you folks in the Southern Hemisphere start first term in January), I thought I would focus on great school-themed books. Beverly Cleary is one of the best authors when it comes to capturing the spirit of first day angst, be it kindergarten or 3rd grade. So, today’s War of Words Wednesday is a battle of two Cleary books…

Which Beverly Cleary book reminds you most what it was like to be in elementary school?

Ellen Tebbits

or

Ramona the Pest

Beverly Cleary, school, Ellen Tebbits, Ramona the Pest

Following up on yesterday’s post about The Higher Power of Lucky, and the continued controversy surrounding the book, here is a clip of the author talking about the book:

To publish a children’s book that incorporates the word “scrotum”?

Susan Patron, that’s who. You may recall that Ms. Patron won a the Newberry Award for her coming of age novel, The Higher Power of Lucky. However, because of the appearance of the word “scrotum” in the text of the book, many libraries chose not to stock the book.

Earlier this year, Ms. Patron had this to say in response to criticisms about her book:

“I wrote The Higher Power of Lucky for the 10-year-old who lives inside me. That girl was curious about everything and sometimes went to great lengths to get information about the world and how it works.

In writing The Higher Power of Lucky, I was interested in creating authentic characters who would ring true for readers. I wanted readers to trust that I respect them and would not talk down to them. Like the child-version of myself, Lucky eavesdrops on adult conversations; she is searching for a form of spirituality, a higher power.

I was shocked and horrified to read that some school librarians, teachers, and media specialists are choosing not to include the 2007 Newbery Medal winner in their collections because they fear parental objections to the word scrotum, or because they are uncomfortable with the word themselves. If I were a parent of a middle-grade child, I would want to make decisions about my child’s reading myself—I’d be appalled that my school librarian had decided to take on the role of censor and deny my child access to a major award-winning book. And if I were a 10-year-old and learned that adults were worried that the current Newbery book was not appropriate for me, I’d figure out a way to get my mitts on it anyway, its allure intensified by the exciting forbidden-ness—by the unexpressed but obvious fear on the part of these adults.

There’s a direct correlation between fear of naming body parts and kids’ interest in finding out about them. To figure out the world, children have to unscramble a mishmash of secrets, clues, overheard tidbits, half-truths, out-of-context information, and their own observations. The lucky ones discover the Robie Harris/Michael Emberley books, and/or they have access to parents or teachers or librarians who will answer their questions and define unknown words. The child who learns the definition of scrotum and other body parts in this way, through reading and talking with responsible adults, is armed with, for one thing, an alternative to finding answers through first-hand experience.

As regards 12-step programs, it seems there are also literature gatekeepers who are frightened that children may learn that these recovery programs exist.Do they think children are unaware that drug/alcohol/tobacco/gambling/overeating addictions are rampant in the U.S.? Many children, of course, know about addictions first-hand, through affected family members. Isn’t it useful for them to know that some adults choose recovery through a 12-step program? Isn’t it one of the truly heartening aspects of our culture that human beings can be this brave?”

I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit - especially in light of the Gossip Girl series that I mentioned earlier. Books - unlike television - are a little more difficult for parents to monitor. Should that responsibility fall to public and school librarians?

I know that, as a kid, I checked Jackie Collins and Danielle Steel (I was a child of the 80s) books out of the library without my mom knowing - or maybe she did know and chose to not make a big deal of it, who knows? And I didn’t implode into a million little pieces from reading them. I didn’t become trampy or run out and try drugs. In fact, I stayed a pretty good kid; trashy novels were probably my biggest vice.

As a parent, I will say that I don’t want my kids to be exposed to a lot of things before they have to be. In this day and age, information comes at our kids from all kinds of sources, fast and furious. And my gut instinct is to protect those children. But as a reader (and a writer), I personally don’t believe that censorship of a child’s reading material should be the job of anyone else but the child’s parent.

What do you think?

children, censorship, book, The Higher Power of Lucky, library, Susan Patron, Newberry Award

It’s the Friday Fifteen! Today’s guest is author Deborah Ellis.

Deborah’s first novel for young adults, Looking for X, was published in Fall 1999 and won the 2000 Governor General’s Award for Children’s Text in Canada. Her novel, The Breadwinner, is also widely acclaimed.

And now, onto the Fifteen!

1. Where are you now?
I’m in the Simcoe Public Library, in Simcoe, Ontario

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
I grew up in small town Ontario, so most of my favourite books took place in New York City - A Teddy Bear Habit by James Lincoln Collier, Harriet the Spy, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Valley of the Dolls

3. What are you reading now?
I’m reading a lot of stuff about the Renaissance, as I’m about to start another historical novel.

4. Do you have kids?
I don’t have kids. I like kids, but don’t have any.

5. What projects are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a book of interviews with kids who are part of military families, to find out what it’s like for them to have a parent serving overseas in harm’s way. If any kids would like to share their stories, their parents could contact me at dellis@can.rogers.com

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
I live near the north shore of Lake Erie, and my biggest writing luxury is to take a lawn chair and a towel to the beach and write and swim and write and swim all day long.

7. Coffee or tea?
Coffee. Cheap instant.

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
I have no IPod or anything like that. I like silence, The Beatles and slow jazz, but am always open to hearing something new.

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I like to walk around my town in the wee hours of the morning when everyone else is asleep.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
Never went to college. Graduated from Paris District High School in Paris, Ontario.

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
My dream job is to be the Gorilla Girl with a traveling carnival - the woman who turns into a gorilla. Maybe one day.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
Reruns of The West Wing. Also, there are sometimes British shows about people trying to live as though they lived in Tudor times, and so on. Those are great, too.

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
I entered a competition Groundwood Books was having for folks who had never published a novel for kids. I didn’t win, but they published the book - Looking for X - and it went on to win a Governor-General’s award.

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
Vanessa Redgrave. After her, Studs Terkel

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
Just about any character Dickens ever wrote.

Thanks, Deborah! Deborah’s new book, Jakeman, is in stores now (I just received a copy so look for my review in an upcoming post).

As a mom of two young daughters, I am very sensitive to this notion of the connection between females and the fields of math and science.

I was a math girl - math team, math minor, attended the NC School of Science and Mathematics. But I was acutely aware that this wasn’t encouraged. I guess I realized this for the first time when my friends thought I should “play dumb” during a math competition. I had just bested my “steady” at try-outs and that was viewed as a death sentence. I could do okay at math, they said, just don’t embarrass the boys.

By the time that I enrolled in college (at an all women’s college), I was struggling to remember why I liked math. I enrolled as a history major and tested into Calculus (we were required to take one math class). During Calculus, my professor, Dorothy Preston, took me aside one day and gave me a pat on the back. I was, she told me, good at this. Next semester, I took Calculus 2, then Calculus 3… you get the picture.

I am now a tax attorney, a field that is hardly proliferated with women. And (gulp) I like math - despite the stereotypes, despite the Barbies that were programmed to say “Math is hard!” (remember those?).

I am so glad that I didn’t just become a statistic, another girl that gave up math in junior high, when in wasn’t cool anymore. My senior college thesis was a report on the connections between girls and math/science - and the ages at which interest and retention in those subjects decreased. It is very clearly in junior high and my “attitude surveys” in the local schools showed that girls perceived math to be fun and easy until puberty. What changed at that age? The coolness factor. The number of girls interested in math after that plummeted.

It is, then, encouraging and refreshing, to see someone willing to take center stage and be a good role model for girls who are interested in math. Huge kudos to brainy (and beautiful) Danica McKellar for choosing to transform her celebrity into something positive instead of taking the dumb party girl route favored by such embarrassments as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears.

Danica’s book, “Math Doesn’t Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math without breaking a nail or losing your mind” goes on sale this week. If you know a middle school aged girl, I hope that you’ll consider preordering it.

Positive role models for girls in Hollywood these days are far and few between. I hope that this inspires girls to take a second look at math - and what success and math can mean (there’s a link on Danica’s web site where she discusses the correllation between math and the arts).

math, girls, Danica McKellar