Tiny Treasury

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.

One of the golden rules in the world of kids’ toys, TV, and books (besides the one that says you must be a celebrity to write a children’s book) is that girls will play with boy toys, read boy books, and watch boy TV. But the reverse is not true. Boys do not play with Bratz dolls, read The Babysitters Club, or watch Dora. Yes, there are exceptions (including my son, who likes to make sure Barbie gets her turn going down the slide). But gender-neutral, feminist fuming aside, it’s a pretty hard and fast rule, whether we like it or not. So when MotherTalk knocked on my door with this book review, I was immediately interested to see how James Patterson broke the rules in Maximum Ride 3 and whether he would get away with it. I mean, Patterson is a 60-year-old white guy who writes books middle aged men read on the beach. How on earth would he 1)write a story from a 14-year-old girl’s point of view, and 2)get boys to like it? But after reading the entire book in two days, all I know is he succeeded.

“Maximum Ride” is the name of the book’s eponymous heroine, a 14-year-old wise-cracking girl who kicks serious butt. Genetically engineered to be two percent bird, she sports giant wings that let her fly into battle against evil scientists, robots, and other nefarious types. As a mother figure to the other bird children, she is alternately tough and tender, leading them on an escape from the lab where they were raised and into a campaign to save the world.

I felt sorry for Max. At 14, she shouldn’t be a mother figure. She shouldn’t have to save the world. She shouldn’t be on her own, taking care of other kids. I mean, I know 14-year-olds who still sleep with stuffed animals. But she is on her own, and the fate of the world does rest on her (feathered) shoulders. Her voice is angry and authentic, right down to the sarcastic distrust of the grown-ups who’ve screwed everything up, and I found myself wanting to cheer for her and hug her at the same time. Not that she would let me.

Joining Max in her save-the-world mission is Fang, a technically talented bird guy who uses his blog to mobilize kids around the world and becomes Max’s love interest at the same time. (And the blog? It’s real- check it out.) So even the most testosterone addled boy who refuses to cheer for Max will find a hero in Fang and the rest of the flock.

All around, I give Maximum Ride 3 two thumbs up. I’ve already ordered the first two books in the series so I can read them before number four comes out next spring. As for the movie … bring it on!

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

But that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth reading.

When I think of summer reading, I think of light and fluffy. This story, written for tweens (ages 10-14) is anything but light and fluffy.

Burying the Sun focuses on fourteen year old Georgi who lives in the Russian city of Leningrad with his mother and sister. When World War II begins, Georgi and his friend Yelena are too young for the army and are given “patriotic work” to support the Russians. Anxious to contribute more, Georgi becomes part of a war relief effort to bring food across the frozen lake and into Leningrad.

The book is authored by Gloria Whelan, who has written a number of similarly-themed works including The Impossible Journey and Angel on the Square.

As a history buff, I found a lot to like about it. It had a “Little House on the Big Frozen Lake in Leningrad” feel to it. But, it is serious and dramatic and somewhat dreary in spots, which could be a difficult draw for the tween crowd. Personally, I’m glad that everything isn’t frou-frou and dating-oriented at this age. But that means that the competition for this book is tough. If you can get your child to give it a whirl, I think he or she will enjoy it. But the convincing in the first place may not be easy.

Get the book.

In yet another example of Hollywood being too clever by half, the book about the Nancy Drew movie (which is, of course, based on the books) is out.

Nancy Drew Movie Novelization is available in bookstores now.

Nancy Drew

Some times a kids’ book comes along that makes you long to be a kid again. that girl Lucy Moon is like that - several times over.

that girl Lucy Moon is authored by Amy Timberlake, whose picture book, The Dirty Cowboy, was fabulous (one of my girls’ favorites) and yet very different from this one. The Dirty Cowboy focused on a loner who liked being a loner, a cowboy who was happy to be left in the wild with his dog.

that girl Lucy Moon is also about a loner, but not one alone by choice. Lucy Moon is that odd kid that we all knew in school - maybe that kid that was you - who marches to the beat of a different drummer. She cares about things that other people don’t. And when that makes her the most ostracized girl in town, she has a choice: she can conform or she can fight. She chooses to fight.

The book is all about making a difference and finding your own identity. It’s about prioritizing what’s important to you in terms of family and community. In other words, it’s about growing up.

It’s funny and sweet and well-written. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. It has won a ton of awards, including Friends of American Writers Literary Award; Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year 2007; 2007 Amelia Bloomer Book; NYPL Children’s Book 2006; and Fall 2006 Book Sense Pick.

I highly recommend it! And if you don’t have a child aged 9-12, pick it up for yourself. Shh! No one will tell.

One of the cool things about writing this blog is being *forced* to review books (and genres) that I would normally not even take off of the shelf. This is one of those books.

Barry Yourgrau’s Yet Another Nasty Book is almost indescribable. It’s weird. It’s oddly written. It has no sense of order. The cover isn’t attractive. The chapters aren’t organized. Some of the pages can’t be read because they’re printed backwards or because there are odd fonts.

And I will say this: if I were a 10 (or so) year old kid, I’d totally be into this book.

With entire chapters that read like this:

If this sentence contains exactly nineteen words, your very least favorite person will turn into a turtle wearing purple earmuffs!

And others with shrinking text, stories about swallowed cell phones and creepy fairy tales, how can you not love it?

The book changes direction every few pages, which is annoying if you’re trying to read a novel, but it’s cool if your attention is short to begin with… The book is clearly written by someone who has a handle on what it’s like to be a kid. A weird kid, maybe, but a kid.

No wonder Lemony Snicket wrote about it: “Barry Yourgrau’s work makes me shudder…”

To find out more about the craziness, you can visit the nasty book web site or Barry’s own site.

Yet Another Nasty Book, Barry Yourgrau

It’s the Friday Fifteen!

Today’s guest is author Tricia Rayburn. Let’s get to the Fifteen…

1. Where are you now?
Near the beach on the South Fork of Long Island.

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
Anything with two covers and lots of pages in-between! I especially loved The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and was seriously addicted to the Baby-Sitters Club, Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High series.

3. What are you reading now?
King Dork by Frank Portman

4. Do you have kids?
Not yet! But I do have one very mischievous shih tzu.

5. What projects are you working on now?
The sequel to The Melting of Maggie Bean, which should be out next spring.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
The big, beautiful desk I bought when my book deal was official!

7. Coffee or tea?
Coffee. Lots of it, preferably iced.

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
Counting Crows, U2, Dixie Chicks, Pete Yorn, Gwen Stefani

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I was the worst skipper in my childhood Polish dancing group.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
Middlebury College in Vermont, majored in American Literature.

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
Professional singer, ballroom dancer or surfer. Not that I’m qualified — at all — for any of those positions.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
It WAS Gilmore Girls, but now it’s Planet Earth, Grey’s Anatomy and LOST.

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
The Melting of Maggie Bean was my MFA thesis, and I sent her into the publishing world as an afterthought, and with no expectations. She’s an actual book now thanks to my amazing agent, Rebecca Sherman of Writers House, and my incredible editor, Jen Klonsky at Simon & Schuster.

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
Is it wrong to say Oprah? Cause I really would, even without the whole book club thing. If it IS wrong to say Oprah, then Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon or Adam Brody.

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
I’ve started to answer this question ten times, only to delete each attempt. Any character that a reader relates to, cares for and is inspired by, is a character worth knowing.

–

Thanks, Tricia! Tricia’s new book, The Melting of Maggie Bean,is in stores now. And for more info, you can check out her MySpace profile.

Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing has developed a new line for tweens with the first branded tween imprint: Aladdin MIX.

Aladdin MIX, with Ellen Krieger at the helm, debuts this week with six titles: The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney by Lauren Barnholdt, The Melting of Maggie Bean by Tricia Rayburn, In the Cards: Love by Mariah Frederick, Totally Joe by James Howe, There’s a Girl in My Hammerlock by Jerry Spinelli, and Just Another Day in My Insanely Real Life by Barbara Dee.

The stories are geared for the so-called tweens market, those between childhood and teen-age years. Traditionally, the ages for tweens are nine to thirteen. There are about 30 million kids who fall into this category.

Of course, we’re all familiar with tweens as made famous by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen who were some of the first (or their “people”, depending on what you believe) to recognize the potential for the market.

The Sight, authored by Erin Hunter, is billed as “a dazzling feline twist on classic epic fantasy” and is the first book of an arc of the national bestselling series Warriors: The Power of Three.

Fantasy is not my thing, but I was willing to give it a whirl. After all, the praise for the series was positive. “Action-packed. Certain to please any young reader who has ever wondered what dreams of grandeur may haunt the family cat” claimed Publishers Weekly. And “A suspenseful adventure story that urges readers onward” touted ALA Booklist. Even the reviews on amazon.com were overall positive, though there was some grumbling about the original series being much better - isn’t it always?

And I like cats. I like fiction. I was ready to embrace the book.

The beginning of the book is a just over four page summary of the characters, the “allegiances” - literally a laundry list of who’s who. And the who’s who was lengthy. There are more than forty cats classified as leader, deputy, medicine cat, warriors, apprentices, queens and elders for each of four clans. This was my first inkling that I wasn’t going to love the book. As a rule, I don’t like books that require flow charts.

The book spends a lot of time setting up story lines that never seem to take off. I assume that many of the questions raised in the book will be resolved in the remaining two books of the series - and that the purpose of this book was to whet your appetite for those that follow. And herein is my second gripe: I’m not a big fan of series that purposefully set you up to buy more books. Now wait, don’t get me wrong. I like series. As a kid, I was a big fan of Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, you name it. I like stories that build on each other. But I am not crazy about those that just feel like they’re written in order to sell another book. And that’s what this feels like to me, pretty much from top to bottom.

The basic story line of the book is that three kittens from the ThunderClan (Hollykit, Jaykit and Lionkit) are set to more or less take over the next generation. Each of the the three has a special power or talent that will allow them to take their rightful place in the Clan. About halfway through, the kittens become warriors and thus change their names to Hollypaw, Jaypaw and Lionpaw. With the number of characters in the book, I’m not crazy about the switch - I’m surprised that children aged 10 (which is the recommending reading level) and up can keep them all straight…

The one aspect of the book that I did find compelling was the determination of Jaypaw to become a “medicine cat” despite his disability (I’ll let you read it to find out what it is). The underlying principles that you can do anything if you work hard enough, and the admonition to Hollypaw (Jaypaw’s sister) to follow your heart and do what it is that you love and not what you feel is simply your lot in life are good lessons for children to learn.

But all of the good principles and plot twists couldn’t make this an enjoyable read for me. I couldn’t find that moment in the book where it all clicked for me and made me want to read more. Instead, I found myself flipping the pages backwards trying to recall which cat was which, and wondering when it was going to end…

Fans of the books (and there are a number of them despite my take on the book) can visit the web site to find out more information about the series, the characters and the authors. That’s right, authors plural. Despite the name “Erin Hunter” on the book, the series is actually penned by a group of three children’s authors, Victoria Holmes, Kate Cary and Cherith Baldry. You can read their bios on the site.

Warrior Cats, Power of Three, Warriors: The Sight, Erin Hunter, Victoria Holmes, Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry

I am not a 12 year old boy. But I kind of felt like it while reading Sharon Creech’s novel, Replay. From a 30 something year old mother of three, that’s a compliment.

Replay is a novel about a 12 year old boy, Leo, who nicknamed “Sardine” by his family. As you may surmise from his nickname, he often feels overshadowed by the more gregarious members of his Italian-American family. He writes about himself:

I was always in the middle or on the edge. Watching.

As a middle child, I get it. And the family dynamic is key to the story.

Despite feeling a little lost at home, Leo loves to be artistic, and has dreams of being a famous Broadway actor. He can’t imagine that anyone in his family understands how he feels - that is, of course, until he finds an journal belonging to his father. He also discovers that his father has a secret - a sister that he never talks about.

When the school holds auditions for its play, Leo is disappointed not to get the lead role, instead landing the role of the “old crone” who is… a woman! At first, he isn’t sure how he could possibly make the character his own. Through reading his father’s journal and delving further into his own family and his own life, he begins to breathe life into the character. Ultimately, he learns that sharing your story through writing, acting, performing or simply talking with your family is what brings us together. He also learns that being a standout doesn’t have to be about being the oldest, the loudest or the brightest star. Sometimes, just embracing who you are is really what sets you apart from the crowd.

Sharon Creech, Replay, adolescence

Charlesbridge Publishing is honoring National Poetry Month with its “I Must Go Down to the Beach Again” poetry contest.

The first-place winner receives a $100 gift certificate to their local independent bookstore, a subscription to Stone Soup Magazine, and an autographed copy of I Must Go Down to the Beach Again written by Karen Jo Shapiro and illustrated by Judy Love.

Second- and third-place winners receive a subscription to Stone Soup Magazine and an autographed copy of I Must Go Down to the Beach Again.

All entries will be published on Charlesbridge’s website.

Poems can be any length, typed or hand-written (legibility counts). Participants must be fourth through sixth grade elementary students. Deadline for submission is April 30, 2007. Winners will be notified by May 15, 2007.

Email your submissions to trademarketing@charlesbridge.com, or send them by snail mail to:

Charlesbridge Publishing
I Must Go Down to the Beach Again Poetry Contest
85 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472

No purchase necessary. Sorry guys, contest is open to students in the United States only. For more information or complete details, visit the website.

poetry, Charlesbridge, National Poetry Month, poetry contest

In the US, there’s really no such thing as real princesses. Since we don’t have royalty, we create our own. We elevate celebs like Paris Hilton and Ivanka Trump (my mother would argue that Elizabeth Taylor is a better choice) to nearly royal status due to their money and position in life. And it hasn’t gone unnoticed. In fact, some dictionaries actually now define “princess” beyond being descendants of royalty to “a woman considered to have the qualities or characteristics of a princess.” So, if you think like a princess and act like a princess, apparently you can be a princess.

But what does it mean to think or act like a princess? If you asked ten people to define the characteristics of a princess, you’d probably get ten different answers.

In one of my favorite books of all time, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess,the underlying theme is just that: what really makes a princess a princess?

The heroine of the story is a little girl named Sara. She is the daughter of a wealthy father (her mother is dead) who dotes on her. While her father chases his fortune, he enrolls Sara in a boarding school in England. Sara has everything that she could ever want in terms of material things - she is, in that regard, a little princess.

When tragedy hits home, little Sara is no longer a princess in the eyes of the headmistress, who condemns Sara to the attic to live and work in poverty. However, those that Sara had always been kind to remember her thoughtfulness and remain her friends when everyone else abandons her. Sara and her friends create a fantasy world in the attic above the boarding school. But little by little, the fantasy seems real.

Sara finally regains her fortune and her place as a little princess. But this time, being a princess is more about kindness and graciousness than money or treasures.

The ending, while “happy” isn’t a fairytale ending. Everything isn’t magically okay at the end. And perhaps that’s why my pink, paperback copy of The Little Princess was so well worn. Life is not always easy. Bad things happen. Even children understand this concept, though admittedly in a relative way. But this notion of being kind to others, keeping your spirit even when things seem darkest, believing in the good in other people are the traits of a true princess, I loved this as a child. I still do as an adult.

It’s easy to be jaded nowadays and to watch whom the media regards as princesses and wonder what kinds of messages we’re sending our children. A book like “A Little Princess” is just the answer. It reminds us - kids and adults alike - that kindness has its own rewards and that there is magic all around us in our everyday lives. It’s a nice lesson to remember.

And speaking of remembering, don’t forget to sign your own child up to be princess for a day on Tiny Treasury!

A Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett, princess

I am soooo a child of the 80s. I wore rubber bracelets. I wore crinoline skirts with high tops. I had about a zillion brightly colored scarves strategically tied around my wrists, in my hair, you name it. Neon colors popped out of my closet. My earrings never matched. I wanted to be Madonna.

At the age of 30-something, I still want to be Madonna. And not pop star Madonna. I want to be self-assured, business-woman, mother, successfully published author Madonna. That’s right, Madonna has gone all respectable on us.

I realize, on some level, this is “old news”. But not really. When The English Roses came out about three years ago, I thought it was a flash in the pan. I figured that it was Madonna re-inventing herself and that this new “children’s book author Madonna” would fade away. I was wrong.

Madonna has gone on to author several more children’s books (the English Roses Collection consists of five: The English Roses, Mr. Peabody’s Apples, Yakov and the Seven Thieves, The Adventures of Abdi, and Lotsa de Casha) and has a website dedicated to promoting the books. I have to say, the web site is extremely cute. Like the illustrations in the books, the website illustrations are very 60s fashion pop in nature. There’s an About page, which explains why Madonna wrote the books in the first place, information about the characters in the books and a fun and games section with coloring pages and more. And of course, it would be the Material Girl’s site without a shop where you can buy books, fashion items and more.

In 2006, Madonna updated the original English Roses book with the version, The English Roses: Too Good to Be True. In keeping with her international stature, the book was translated into several languages including Chichewa, the national language of Malawi. Malawi is, of course, the country where Madonna visited last fall to adopt a child, one year old David Banda.

Last year was also the first time that I took a peek at the books. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Did I love them? No. Did I hate them? No. The illustrations are delightful - Jeffrey Fulvimari is really very talented. The characters are cute and the dialogue is well done. And the stories do have a point, the overreaching theme in each book is a moral. In The English Roses, the moral is “… in the future, you might think twice before grumbling that someone else has a better life than you” no doubt geared at those folks who think that Madonna and daughter Lourdes have a picture-perfect life. I think the moral comes across as a little preachy - and maybe it’s because it’s Madonna. I’m willing to admit that I have a hard time believing that Lourdes leads anything but a pretty cushy life, and that taints my view of the book. A fair assessment? Of course not - but it’s kind of like if I read a romance novel from Steven King - I’d totally be expecting one of the protagonists to be revealed as an axe murderer. And with Madonna? Well expecting tolerance and humility from a woman who, as a tween, I watched reveal that her goal was to “rule the world” is kind of difficult. A little ironic, considering the whole point of her book is about not being so judgmental. Maybe I should read up a bit? At any rate, my view of the book, like that of many, is tainted by her celebrity. On the other hand, I suspect that her celebrity was directly responsible for the book being published. Quite the catch-22.

All of that said, the books are an enjoyable outing. If your kids are looking for a sweet story, beautifully drawn, you might want to take a peek. It’s not great literature but I suspect the kids won’t complain.

Madonna, The English Roses, Mr. Peabody’s Apples, The Adventures of Abdi, Lotsa de Casha, Yakov and the Seven Thieves, The English Roses: Too Good to be True, Jeffrey Fulvimari, Chichewa

I’m a garden nut. I’ve always loved the idea of digging around in the dirt and making something pretty out of it. Gardening is, in that way, wildly satisfying.

As a kid, my other passion was reading. I was a reader. Morning, afternoon, evening. Under the covers, at the dinner table (despite protestations from Mom), in the living room, on the bus. It was so easy to get carried away by the wonder of words, to be transported to a different time and different place.

I think, perhaps, that the combination of those things is why I loved - no love - Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden. It is, simply stated, one of the best children’s books ever.

The book centers around Mary, who after being orphaned (a theme in those Burnett books), is sent to England to live with relatives. Mary finds out about a walled garden, which is kept secret, due to a family tragedy. She is fascinated by the garden and decides to revive it herself. Over time, she recruits the help of others, including Colin, the sickly son of her uncle. As the garden becomes healthy and beautiful again, Mary, Colin and the others at the home find joy and health themselves.

I think we all love stories of redemption - those sad stories that have that moment when everything turns out to have a purpose, to happen for a reason - those stories when somehow you really believe that everything will turn out okay. It’s the stuff that classics like Anne of Green Gables, Charlotte’s Web and The Little Princess are made of.

As a child, I loved this story because, to me, it was filled with good things: flowers, beauty, love and hope. It was such a nice idea, this thought that working at one thing could yield such positive results. It was the ultimate makeover story.

I still love this story, even as an adult. My nanny bought the DVD for my children and I can’t wait to show it to them. I hope that some day that my children will love the book as much as I do. If I had to guess, I would peg my oldest for a fan. She is, even at the age of five, so introspective and thoughtful. She, too, loves to make things pretty and dig in the dirt (though, in contrast to me, she’s more fascinated in the worms than in the plants!).

If you haven’t yet shared it with your children, I’d encourage you to do so. And yeah, while you’re reading it to them, it’s okay if you crack a smile or two, as well.

Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett