PAPER TOWNS by John Green

As most people who read the blog know, I don't read or review many Young Adult novels. (Actually, I am not going to actually review this book. Just tell you all that I think everyone should read it. As soon as it comes out.) I love YA but really don't have time to read many. With reading the K-6 stuff for work and the professional things I read and the adult books I read, YA comes as a last priority. Unfortunate, but true. Not because I don't love YA, but because there are so many books and so little time. So, I have to be very, very picky about the ones I do read. I read the classics. The books that you feel like you can't live without.

So, I can't tell you how happy I am that I made time to read PAPER TOWNS by John Green. As a non-YA reader, I would recommend it to everyone--whether you are a YA reader or not. It definitely deserves to be at the top of your next read stack. Like I said, I read the classic YA stuff. Love Chris Crutcher, Sherman Alexie, etc.

PAPER TOWNS is a great story and I won't go into the plot. Other reviewers have done that here, and here and here. I do have to say, for me, reading is all about the characters. And, these characters, Margo Roth Spiegelman, Quentin Jacobsen, Ben, Radar, Lacey. These characters will stay with me for a very, very long time. After reading the book, I feel like we've spent a lot of time together. Green is a master at creating believable characters that you come to know and love.

The cover is pretty amazing. Actually, the TWO covers are pretty amazing. John Green talks about the two covers here. Or you may prefer to hear him talk about the covers in Video Blog form. You can also hear John Green read an excerpt from his book here. And again here.

To remind yourself exactly how many days, hours and minutes you have before you can actually go out and BUY this new amazing book, you can visit the Paper Towns Countdown Widget. That John Green makes things fun and easy for his fans, don't you think?

And here is the even better news! John Green will be visiting COVER TO COVER Bookstore in Columbus!!! He will be there on October 20th at 5ish. So, you will have plenty of time between the day it comes out (October 16) and the day he visits to read the book because it will only take you a day or two because you won't be able to put it down.

GOODNIGHT GOON: A PETRIFYING PARODY

I was quite happy when I saw GOODNIGHT GOON: A PETRIFYING PARODY by Michael Rex at Cover to Cover today. GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown is a classic. A must have. And I do appreciate a good creative version of a favorite book. This one is perfect!

GOODNIGHT GOON is filled with monsters and Martians and mummies and more. I love how perfectly the author imitated each page of the original book in this version. As in the classic version, this makes for a great read aloud.

The illustrations are quite fun. Quite monster-like but not too scary for young readers. The colors make it a bit eerie but the smiling faces help to keep it more amusing than scary.

My favorite part is the Martians. It starts out
In a cold gray tomb
There was a gravestone
And a black lagoon
And a picture of---

Martians taking over the moon


How smart is that! Too fun!
I can see this book in all classrooms K-5. Younger students will just love a new version of this familiar classic. I can see older kids attempting to play with their own versions. And, of course, this is out in plenty of time for the Halloween season.

Poetry Friday -- Count Ten

Count Ten

by Arnold Wesker

(for Harold Pinter)

Count ten. Then

Count ten again.

That way is time measured

Death denied.

Each measures time

His own way - coffee breaks

Rejections, installments

On the car.

Count blessings. Then

Count them again.

(the rest is here)

Tomorrow I am celebrating 10 years since the end of treatments for breast cancer. I am counting blessings; counting ten. Then I will count ten again. And again and again and again...with hope, and luck, and confidence, and courage, and prayers/pleas to the universe, and surrounded by good friends and loving family no matter what the next ten bring.

Poetry Friday round up is at Big A little a this week.

KISS! KISS! YUCK! YUCK!

I found this fun new book by Kyle Mewburn today--KISS! KISS! YUCK! YUCK!. This book was published in New Zealand where it won some good awards. It is just now being released in the US by Peachtree Publishers.
I am not so good at buying funny books. But this one amused me so I thought I'd add it to my collection. I think it was the art that was the decision maker. It is a bit graphic/cartoony. You can't not love the characters in these illustrations!

Andy's Aunt Elsie always comes to visit and greets Andy with kisses which he hates! (Thus the YUCK! YUCK!) He tries to hide but Antie Elsie is very smart and she finds ways to lure him out of his hiding places so that she can kiss him. But then Auntie Elsie can't come to visit for a few weeks and Andy finds that he actually misses those kisses!

I think this book would be a fun read aloud. It is predictable and kids can join into the "Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck!" part of the book. The font and text set-up would be a bit tricky for brand new readers. But it would be fun for readers who are more comfortable with text. The text is spread out across the page and in some places is diagonal. There are also speech bubbles and various sized fonts. I could see this as a fun read aloud for K-2. I imagine kid would want to hear it again and again--each time I reread it, I find something new to love!

I Should Never Write Summer Goals!

This should make Mary Lee feel better. Let's see.

1. Read Lots--okay, I feel good about that one.
2. Continue Boot Camp and add a walk 3-5 times a week. Ha! It seemed crazy to get up at 4:45 am in order to exercise at 5:30 when it was summer and I could sleep in. With all of my travel, I had to miss a lot and then this month, I figured I only had a few more weeks to sleep in. So, back to daily boot camp next week when school starts. It is interesting...when you've lived your entire life on the cycle of the school year calendar, it is harder to change than you would think. Getting up at 4:45 am in the summer will have to take a bit more of a commitment. Maybe next year.
3. Learn a few new recipes. If you count fruit dip, then I did this, but I was hoping for some new meals which I haven't gotten to.
4. Drink more water. Hmmm. I drank a bit more on some days but not consistently....

So, there will be no more summer goals. I see a clear pattern here. I don't meet the goals. So, I am not having a list of summer goals again. It seems quite silly when I look at my history of accomplishing them....

Summer Goals Revisited

Sigh.

This isn't going to be pretty. Here are the summer goals I set in June:

1. In an attempt to slow summer down and savor every minute, I vow to make fewer lists. (Ignore the fact that this is a list, please.)
2. I will exercise EVERY morning and walk EVERY morning that it's not raining. EVERY. (Embedded in this one is a daily glance at the ceiling to say, "Thanks for another day above ground.")
3. I will write in my writer's notebook EVERY day. (Embedded in this one is a close attention to what's right in front of me, reminiscing about what's behind, and anticipation for what lies ahead.)
4. Make multi-tasking an endangered species in my life. Focus. On. One. Thing. At. A. Time. Be a better listener.

Here's what I did first thing this morning:

1. Made lists -- not one, but TWO!
2. Gave myself permission not to exercise and walk. (It's not raining.)
3. Moved my writer's notebook to the other end of the kitchen table.
4. Stopped working on an enormous pile of Notables so I could write this post.

Sigh.

How did summer goals go for you? Anyone else want to come clean on their complete failures or stunning successes? (or anything in between)

Franki's goals are here. The round-up of goal-setters is here. Let us know if you post on your outcomes and we'll round those up as well.

***********

Edited to add: Karen at Literate Lives gives herself a 50% success rate. Yay, Karen!

Megan at Read, Read, Read got 4 out of 5 for an 80% success rate. Yay, Megan!
Jen W. at Eclectic Reader is feeling good about her goals. Yay, Jen!

Abby, at Authentic Learner got married AND met her goals.  Yay, Abby!

Bill, at Literate Lives met almost all of his goals, and who cares if it was by accident!  (I call that good goal writing!)  Yay, Bill!

Barbara, at Greetings from Nowhere achieved every single one of her goals!  Yay, Barbara!

Cloudscome, at A Wrung Sponge, has checked in with her successes, accompanied, as you might expect, by a gorgeous photo.  Yay, Cloudscome!

Moxy Maxwell is Back!

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank-You Notes
by Peggy Gifford, illustrated by Valorie Fisher
published by Schwartz and Wade (Random House)
hits the shelves TODAY, August 12, 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher

Moxy has one more day to write her Christmas thank-you notes. If she misses the deadline, her mom won't let her go to Hollywood to visit the father she hasn't seen for three years.

Only Moxy can make not writing thank-you notes so entertaining. Much of the not writing takes place in Ajax's office, and involves Ajax's new copy machine that he got for Christmas, and Ajax's La-Z-Boy chair, and Ajax's carefully organized piles that are everywhere. (Ajax is the "famous children's book writer" who married Moxy and Mark's mom. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Ajax is modeled after J. Patrick Lewis, Peggy Gifford's brother in-law.)

There is also a surprise return appearance by gold spray paint, even though readers of Moxy's experience with her summer reading in Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little might assume that Moxy had learned her lesson about spray paint.

Moxy's mom is again deserving of sainthood in this book, and although it's not clear whether Moxy will ever get her Christmas thank-yous written, she does indeed write the "first real thank-you note of her life."

Alan Silberberg at Thurber House

An article about Alan Silberberg's visit to the Thurber House appeared in today's Columbus Dispatch. I was out of town when he spoke at Cover to Cover but was happy to read about his work with kids at Thurber House.

Blue Vehicle Fables

Little Blue Truck
by Alice Schertle
illustrated by Jill McElmurry
Harcourt, 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher

I grew up with a little blue train that accomplished great things through the power of positive thinking and a deep and unswerving belief in himself.

Fast forward a bunch of years and we have a little blue truck, who takes time to "Beep" at all the animals along the road. A big important dump truck roars through the story and promptly gets stuck. When the little blue truck tries to help, he gets stuck, too. But all it takes is one "Beep," and all of that networking pays off -- all the animals come to help the little blue truck help the big dump truck.

So now it's all about cooperation and collaboration? Self-reliance and independence are out the window (or out-of-date)?

Maybe there needs to be room on the shelf for both the blue train and the blue truck.

Back to School Fears

I'M SCARED TO BE STARTING SCHOOL!
Garmann's Summer
by Stian Hole
first published in Norway by J.W. Cappelens Forlag, 2006
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher

This is not your typical happy-happy joy-joy, don't-be-afraid
everything-will-turn-out-fine kind of book. Garmann works on his fears the way your tongue goes to the sore spot where you bit the inside of your lip. He asks his ancient aunts, his father, and his mother about their fears. He delivers deep, deep lines like, "If you can't remember anything, you have nothing to be scared of."

You may not decide to share this book with children after you read it. But if you are sending kids of any age off to school, or if you will be on the receiving end, you need to read this book to remember how scary the beginning of the school year can be.

Another blog review: Fuse #8


WHAT IF I OVERSLEEP?!?

Late for School
by Stephanie Calmenson
illustrations by Sachiko Yoshikawa
Lerner Publishing Group (Carolrhoda Books), 2008

Here's one that's perfect for the youngest readers. Mr. Bungles wakes up late one day, and realizes that he might be late for school. "Oh, no! I'm the teacher/and it's my rule/to never, ever, ever be late for school!" After the first two pages, which get the reader acquainted with the rhyme scheme, every double page spread sets up a rhyme for the type of transportation Mr. Bungles will use, but the rhyming word is on the next spread. Perfect for making predictions, especially when you start looking closely at the picture clues. (There is also a clock on every spread, ticking closer and closer to 9:00.) For example: "Where is my shoe?/It can't be far./I found it! I'm dressed./Now I'll hop in my..."

No happy ending in this one, either. Mr. Bungles is late for school. You'll have to read to find out how he changes his...


I'M AFRAID MY NEW TEACHER WILL BE MEAN!

I Know an Old Teacher
by Anne Bowen
pictures by Stephen Gammell
Lerner Publishing Group (Carolrhoda Books), 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher

Here's a great addition to your "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" variant collection.

Miss Bindley takes the class pets home over the long weekend and promises her class she'll take good care of them. Unbeknownst to her, the students are peeking in her window and they see her eat a flea, a spider, a fish, rat, snake, and lizard. She has her limits, though. "I know an old teacher who swallowed a child. 'Swallow a child?' the old teacher smiled...'I would never do that!' "

Finally, a happy ending!