Lucky/Newbery Controversy

So, I have been thinking and reading about this controversy over the word "scrotum" in THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY. It is interestingly sad to think that this is where we have come as a country. I remember a bit with the small controversies surrounding other Newbery winners. But, I don't ever remember librarians as the ones doing the censoring. It is the librarians that we count on to protect our rights to have access to a variety of books. I am not blaming the librarians who refuse to buy the books--I figure it is a sign of the times and they are getting hit and criticized as we all are.

As a teacher, I read books like this, trying to decide if and how I might include them as read alouds, as part of the classroom library, or just titles to have in mind when a child is looking for a good book.

I think teachers and librarians have always had a dilemma when deciding what to keep in the library. I remember a time when a parent of a young child was angry about a book in the library. But the book was very appropriate for 5th graders. When you are the librarian in a K-5 or K-8 school, how do you make these decisions? I am always aware, as a teacher, of the words and issues that come up in books. It is my job. But deciding not to read a book aloud to a whole class seems different from not allowing a book to be part of the library at all.

Where do we draw the line? Have we come to the point that we cannot realize that we can never know how a book will impact an individual reader? Are we going to allow the parents of perfect families dictate what is on our library shelves? That idea terrifies me. I have only read the first 20 pages of the Newbery book as I finally got my hands on a copy yesterday. But, if it is a story about a strong girl who has had hard times, I am appalled that it is such a controversial book that it made the front page of the NYTimes. I can't believe that we can't admit that some of our children/students could see themselves in Lucky. Or understand the world better because of her. I think we have to trust that a committee of well-informed librarians, and lots of great reviews in other journals prove this book to be worthy of a spot on the shelf. To negate the book for a single word--one that is the correct term for a body part--seems ridiculous.

Where are the voices of other parents like me, who want our children to have access to good, quality books. I know many, many parents who want their children to read as widely as possible. Books are the place where many of us learned about people and life. We want the same for our children. I know that my children will read books that do not necessarily align with my beliefs about life, but that is part of the world of reading--to go outside of the world you live in.

I guess this move by some librarians scares me because it becomes a dangerous first step in taking away our access to good books. I worry about what might be next. If the reason was different, I might not be as bothered. But keeping a book out of libraries for a word like "scrotum" seems very self-righteous.

Sorry for babbling. Just my opinion as a parent, teacher and reader.

I'm Seriously Offended, and NOT by the Word Scrotum

Most* of what I've read about the Higher Power of Lucky "scrotum kerfluffle" (or "uproar," if you prefer, or "controversy") focuses on librarians** and book buying and censorship.***

Now it's time for an experienced (borderline old) career-long teacher of 9-11 year-olds to have her own personal tantrum about being lumped together with sissy teachers who are too afraid? modest? unsure of the meaning themselves? weak in the knees? to deal with a child who might ask what a scrotum is! (It's like a librarian being told, "The education and correct upbringing of a child is the responsibility of parents and teachers, and not of someone who merely knows what Dewey is and can sort books accordingly." Makes your blood boil a little, doesn't it?)

Teaching is not for sissies! We're an integral part of the team (team, not village, and yes, I would include the librarians) who raise the children of our world. We're important because we're NOT the parents. Kids can talk to us in ways they can't talk to their parents, and we can answer them with an honesty parents sometimes can't manage. Recently, sitting around the "coffee table" in my classroom playing Scrabble with about half-a-class worth of kids, A Boy turned to me and asked, "Can guys get breast cancer?" (I've had it, I talk about it. Could that be why a 10 year-old boy could say BREAST right out loud?) Not only could I answer his question without skipping a beat (yes, they can), I could also point out that men do have breasts, albeit undeveloped/non milk-producing ones, and they have the nipples to prove it. Yes, I said nipples, yes, they giggled, and then the conversation went on in other directions. Over the course of my career, I have always insisted that babies are in their mother's uteruses, not their stomachs. When asked if my dog, who was visiting the classroom and who was rolled over on her back when the question was asked, is a boy or a girl, I pointed out that she does not have a penis, so obviously, she is a girl. Breast, uterus, penis, nipple, scrotum. All words for human body parts. They are not "dirty" words unless we refuse to say them or explain them or use them in their proper context.

Okay. I'm done. Now I'm going to go read the book.
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*Do a blog search yourself. (I recommend you filter it.) There are pages and pages and PAGES of posts on the Great Scrotum Debate of 2007. I only read the ones posted in the last 8 hours.
**An author makes it clear that authors do not sneak. (Roger hates that part, too.)
***This is the smartest rant I found****.
****See * above.

Book Lists and the Kitchen Utensil Drawer

Liz, over at Liz in Ink, has taken book lists and book categories to a whole new level: She explores which books are her forks, knives, and spoons.

Then, tantalizingly (is that a word?) she ends with:

Really, wouldn't it be torture to have to work with one single utensil for the rest of your days? (And I haven’t even gone into my chopsticks here, or egg slicers!)

Okay, Liz. Here goes:

Books that are my chopsticks:



No negative stereotyping intended. It's just that I'm feeling very clumsy (like when I use chopsticks) and ignorant (and OLD) as I try to make sense of these books (Kingdom Hearts). I used Wikipedia to help when my first reading fell flat on its face, and there I learned that I had a serious chunk of background knowledge missing: more than these are books, apparently they are video games. I'm going to try them again, and maybe with more practice I won't be so clumsy. Watch for a review in the coming days.


Books that are my egg slicers:
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell is my audio book in progress. This means I get to "read" it in neat, 20 minute slices during the commute back and forth to work. I LOVED Cloud Atlas (also by David Mitchell) as an audio "read," and I'm pretty sure there is no other better way to experience Black Swan Green. Kirby Heyborne, the reader, has the requisite (and I assume, authentic) British accent, but his Belgian accent for Madame Crommelynck ("...go to the hell!") is perfect!



Books that are my whisks:
Manga and graphic novels are stirring things up so much in my classroom, that they have to win the designation of whisks. I bought volume 2 and 3 of Hikaru No Go yesterday at Waldenbooks and asked to use my teacher discount. The clerk gently informed me that I could only use my teacher discount on books that I would be using in my classroom. "I AM going to use these in my classroom!" I informed her. "Really?!! WOW!" she replied, and I zoomed up to super teacher status in her eyes.

Cybils Ordered

Well, I just placed an order on Amazon. I usually buy books from my favorite independent children's bookstore, but I thought Jen Robinson had a great idea about making an impact in sales by ordering the winners online this week. So, I ordered PTOLEMY'S GATE even though I haven't read the other two. I also ordered AMELIA RULES #3 (and may love it so much, I'll get the others!). I ordered AMERICAN BORN CHINESE. I have been debating reading it but it has won so many awards, I can't resist. I also ordered FRAMED. I have already read the winner of middle grade fiction so I chose this one from the short list, based on Jen Robinson's review. Looking forward to reading all of them.

I highly recommend ordering some of the Cybils books. A huge support of the award and also a little gift to yourself. I think these are some of the best books out there this year and am excited to have such a list to shop from:-)

Has anyone been tracking the amazon numbers? Is the world buying lots of the Cybils winners?

If you haven't stopped in at the Cybils site lately, there are great links to all of the places that have been celebrating the Cybils with us! There are also some interesting facts about the Cybils.

Poetry Friday--BRRRRrrrrrr!

Walking the dog in the pre-dawn below-zero windchill the last few weeks, I've felt a bit like Sam McGee in The Cremation of Sam McGee (by Robert Service):

Talk of your cold! through the parka's fold it stabbed like a driven nail.
If our eyes we'd close, then the lashes froze till sometimes we couldn't see;

And like Sam, there are some mornings (like today) when I think I won't warm up unless I crawl right into the furnace. This is what the speaker in the poem witnesses when he finally has the nerve to see how it's going with Sam's cremation:

I do not know how long in the snow I wrestled with grisly fear;
But the stars came out and they danced about ere again I ventured near;
I was sick with dread, but I bravely said: "I'll just take a peep inside.
I guess he's cooked, and it's time I looked;" ... then the door I opened wide.
And there sat Sam, looking cool and calm, in the heart of the furnace roar;
And he wore a smile you could see a mile, and he said: "Please close that door.
It's fine in here, but I greatly fear you'll let in the cold and storm-
Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee, it's the first time I've been warm."

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Links:
Robert Service reciting The Cremation of Sam McGee
Johnny Cash reciting The Cremation of Sam McGee
Spooky reading on YouTube

Support the Cybils Winners...

...buy your copies of the winning books by ordering via the Amazon link on the Cybils website!

And the winners are...

Fantasy and Science Fiction:
Ptolemy's Gate (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 3)
Jonathan Stroud
Hyperion: Miramax

Fiction Picture Books:
Scaredy Squirrel
by Melanie Watt
Kid’s Can Press

Graphic Novels:
Ages 12 and Under:
Amelia Rules! Volume 3: Superheroes
by Jim Gownley
Renaissance Press

Ages 13 and Up:
American Born Chinese
Gene Yang
First Second

Middle Grade Fiction:
A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama
by Laura Amy Schlitz
Candlewick Press

Non-Fiction, Middle Grade and Young Adult:
Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
by Russell Freedman
Holiday House

Non-Fiction Picture Books:
An Egg Is Quiet
written by Dianna Aston; illustrated by Sylvia Long
Chronicle Books

Poetry:
Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow
written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes
Houghton Mifflin

Young Adult Fiction:
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Knopf Books for Young Readers

Valentines for Book Lovers

Our bestbestbest Year of Reading Valentine was received from Jennifer and Matt Holm: copies of BABYMOUSE HEARTBREAKER for each of us and for our school libraries! Thank you Jennifer and Matt!

In a close second place is the Chronicle Books Best Chronicle Children's Books of the Year Contest. This is not a one-time deal, folks! Visit their site often to check out the great books AND because the contests are on-going, with a different children's books-related theme (and prizes!) changing about every 6 weeks to two months.

Sharing second place is TokyoPop, who sent a fat package of review copies just in time for Snow Day, the Sequel!

Grand Prize, of course, comes this afternoon, when the winners of the Cybils are announced!

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

What a great snow day it was! I stayed up late last night reading more of THE BOLEYN INHERITANCE and decided that I'd spend the morning finishing it. What an amazing read! If you've read Philippa Gregory's other books, this one is just as good, if not better. I always worry about sequels meeting my expectations. This on surpassed all that I hoped it would be. I have never been a huge reader of historical fiction but got hooked a bit with Tracy Chevalier's books. I somehow picked up THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL last year (after hearing about it from so many people) and loved it--bought it for all of my friends. 

This is the story of Anne of Cleves and of Katherine Howard--both interesting characters as portrayed by Gregory. The book follows both characters as well as the character of Jane Boleyn. If you read the first book, you get to know a bit of a different side of Jane. The book is told by all 3 of these women and goes back and forth between the three. The book is amazing on all accounts. Such a great study of character and such an interesting look at the times. The plot is based on much of what happened during the time period and it is gripping throughout. There isn't a point in the book where you wish it was over. Since morning, I have been in a half fog. Thinking of the court of England all afternoon. A great book that I am sad to have finished.

Decorating for the Holiday

I first saw the Cybils widget on Jen Robinson's blog and I knew it was only a matter of time before we would have one, too.

Since tomorrow is the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT DAY, it seemed only appropriate to decorate for the holiday.

Jeremy Fink Fan Club

Is there room for one more member?

I haven't read a book this good...this SATISFYING for I don't know how long! Thank you, Wendy Mass for Jeremy and Lizzy and for reminding me of all those things I already knew (especially the story about the two wolves), and thank you, Franki, for being so rabid about this book. It wouldn't have made it to the top of my to-read pile so fast if it weren't for your enthusiasm. What WERE the Newbery Committee members THINKing when they passed THIS one BY?!?!

One more thank you -- to the universe, for this snow day in which I have done nothing but lay about in my pj's and read. Quite a contrast to the person I was yesterday, all full of my important lesson plans and all the work we need to accomplish before the end of the trimester. Just goes to show...well, I'm not sure what it goes to show, but in case any of my students (or more likely, their parents) are reading this, I promise that I'll do some school work after we take dog and XC skis and snowshoes over to the OSU golf course Griggs Reservoir for a snowy romp. (A POX on OSU for closing the golf course to sledders and skiers! How unsporting of them! Afraid we'd mess up the precious greens? Grrrrr...) And in the extremely unlikely event that my back surgeon is reading this, no, I am not going to ski before I've even been cleared for PT. I'm going to WALK. You didn't tell me I couldn't walk with snowshoes on my feet.