Top 10.4

Top 10 – 2 years old!

Happy birthday, Librarianista!

Wow!  I almost never keep up with something for this long.  Books and libraries seem to have a hold on me, though…

Let’s see.  Since the last time I did a top 10 list, I bought a house and moved, drastically changed my job, and still found some time to read some excellent books.  Here are the top 5 YA and top 5 kids books I’ve read (or listened to) in the last 6 months.

Top 5 YA

1. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
   Hilarity abounds!  I listened to this book on CD and it was one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard.  If I had read it, I know I probably wouldn’t have loved it as much.  But as read by the author, I practically peed my pants for 17 hours.
2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
   I am loving the new take on fairy tales lately.  And I also think robots are pretty cool.  For some reason, I was skeptical about reading this one since I kept seeing ads for it on Goodreads and hearing great things about it.  Honestly, I don’t know what I was afraid of.  The last time Goodreads did that, it was for The Help, and I loved that, too!  I can’t wait to see what comes next in this series.
3. Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
   This isn’t what I’d call a new take on fairy tales – it’s probably the best take on fairy tales.  This series has been around for awhile and I can’t believe that no teacher or librarian ever put it in my hands before.  Characters that reject their own stereotypes, and a wit that rivals The Princess Bride.  Give this to any reader over the age of 10.
4. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
   I had forgotten that I read this book until I was looking at my past blogs.  But I hadn’t forgotten how much I loved it.  The characters were so real.  A definite diversion from all the fantasy I’ve been reading that gently made my heart break for the real world.
5. After by Amy Efaw
   Speaking of heartbreaking… I loved how much this book got into the mind of someone who could do something so awful as throw a baby away.  I didn’t feel sorry for the main character; but I couldn’t put this book down either.  The human brain is a powerful thing.  It’s almost frightening what we can convince ourselves of.

Top 5 Kids

1. Every Thing On It by Shel Silverstein
   A collection of original Shel Silverstein poems and drawings published post mortem?  How could this not show up on my list!  Silverstein’s poetry was essential to my development as a reader.  But the most interesting part about this collection was how poignant and reflective it was.  Like he knew how much he had impacted kids throughout his life, and that he was coming to the end.  His silly words, however, will not.
   
2. Elephant and Piggie by Mo Willems
   I love Elephant and Piggie.  All of them.  And anything that Mo Willems does.  Kids don’t even realize what they’re learning when they read his books.  All they know is that they love these characters and that these books are funny!  They also made a great Halloween costume:
3. Small Saul by Ashley Spires
   Pirates and short people – two things near and dear to my heart.  Not being a kindergartner any longer, I’m not sure how many of them get her jokes.  But being a twentysomething with the heart (and possibly the attention span) of child, I greatly appreciate her giggle-worthy writing.
4. Mirror by Jeannie Baker
   This book said so much without actually using words.  This is a great example of picture books as an art form.
5. A Drove of Bullocks and A Filth of Starlings by PatrickGeorge
   I couldn’t pick just one of these books.  Besides, I blogged them together, so I have to put them together on this list.  Or so I think.  Also another very artsy picture book set, but one that is absolute fun.  It’s great word play, and also scientific.

Honorable Mention

1. Bossypants by Tina Fey
   I can’t technically include this on my list since it’s not children’s or YA literature.  But oh my gosh, was it ever one of the best things I ever let my ears listen to.  It was like 5 hours of the best Weekend Update clips about an amazing woman.  I want to grow up to be like Tina Fey.

Stat curious?  To date, you all have visited my 319 posts 7,397 times!  Thank you all so much!  Here’s to another great year of literature!

Cinder

Cinder
by Marissa Meyer

Robots.  Grease stains.  Plagues.  Moon people.  Are these the things you think of when you hear the name “Cinderella”?  Well they should be now!  126 years after WWIV, the world is suffering from a terrible plague.  No cure has been found, and the Emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth has fallen victim to it.  The young Prince Kai is now facing a diplomatic and emotional nightmare.  And we have Cinder.  Cinder is a cyborg – part human, part robot.  They are seen as less-than human, mere property.  Her guardian has “volunteered” her to be studied (aka sacrificed) in hopes of finding a cure for the plague.  What she discovers in the research lab changes her life forever, and has the potential to change the fate of the world.  But can she reach Prince Kai in time?  Would he believe her?

I’ll be the first to admit that my description does not do justice to this novel.  There’s just soooo much packed in there!  This novel is a prime example of how much more a journey can be over the destination.  Almost everyone knows the Cinderella story – you know how it ends.  So then why should you keep reading?  Because these characters are amazing!  Honestly, who would think of a robot fairy tale?  Cinder is a strong lead with a great android sidekick.  The Prince is a gem, caught in the middle of awful circumstances.  Some of the plot twists that were in there were too easily predictable.  But I am excited for the rest of this series!  I am bummed that it’s not supposed to be finished until 2015…  I so hope that cyborgs are the new vampires.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

ArchEnemy

ArchEnemy
by Frank Beddor, read by Gerard Doyle

Warning!!  Contains spoilers for The Looking Glass Wars and Seeing Redd!

The final segment in The Looking Glass Wars trilogy.  What began as my happy accident with an audiobook on a trip to New Mexico in March has now finally concluded.  Well, the book was written in 2009, but I just recently finished listening to the last disc.

Wonderland has fallen to its worst enemy, King Arch of Borderland.  His aim is to destroy the Heart Crystal – the source of all imaginative power in Wonderland and on Earth.  Queen Alyss and her followers are unable to comprehend how this could happen.  Are the Caterpillar Oracles working against her?  How could Wonderland actually thrive in the hands of Arch, or worse, her Aunt Redd?  How could it survive without imagination, that which its very essence?

I am almost sad that these adventures have concluded.  I have come to care for these characters and for the world which Beddor has expanded from Carroll’s original.  Between Beddor’s excellent pen and Doyle’s perfect delivery, I have left part of my heart in their Wonderland.  I have no idea if these works are well-known.  I had never heard of them – as I said, the first encounter was a happy accident.  But they should be.  Do yourselves a favor.  If you ever loved Alice in Wonderland, if you ever loved a good fantasy story, pick up these books.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

E-Mergency!

E-Mergency!
by Tom Lichtenheld and Ezra Fields-Meyer (illus.)

E has fallen down the stairs and broken its leg!  Now in the hospital, the only way for E to get well is for everyone to stop using it.  A replacement must be found immediately!  The rest of the alphabet decides on O, because of how well-rounded it is.  But even after all of the changes have been “onforcod,” E still isn’t getting better!

Rave reviews from publishers leave much to be desired by readers.  Well, that’s sort of true.  The story is great and words are well-chosen.  But this book suffers from its illustrations.  There is way too much going on for it to be an effective read-aloud.  Although the text certainly lends itself to general hilarity, the busyness on each of the pages prevents a reader from grasping the cohesive story.  One is too occupied with looking at all of the jokes drawn around the text to get to the end of the book remembering what happened in the beginning.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

Mirror, Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse

Mirror, Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse
by Marilyn Singer and Josee Masse (illus.)

In Mirror, Mirror, Singer offers her readers poetic shifts in points of view.  Read one way, her poetry tells one story from a fairy tale.  Read in reverse, they tell another character’s point of view.  If you’ll pardon the pun, it puts a whole new twist on the fairy tale genre.

While I was intrigued by the concept and structure of this book, it gets old quickly.  Once you read a few, you’ve pretty much got them all.  The two voices could be the same character, feeling two different emotions.  Or they could be two different characters – a princess and a prince.  Fun to use as a writing exercise or prompt, but even at 30 pages, this book seemed to go on a bit long.  Masse’s illustrations definitely augment the poems.  They are bold and bright, and help you see the shift when the words fail to convey whose point of view we’re supposed to see.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

The Help

The Help
by Kathryn Stockett

Set in Jackson, MI in the 1960′s, The Help tells a story about telling stories.  Any white family who can afford it has “help” in their home.  These are African American women who cook, clean, and raise the children.  While they are cherished in one way, they are scorned in others.  It’s the 1960′s in the south – there is racial tension.  Then enter Skeeter, white, a recent college grad, returning home while working to become a writer.  She sees her old friends differently – how they treat their help.  She wants to give the help their own voices (and hopefully use those writings to spur her own writing career).  However, it’s almost all-but impossible to get these women to open up.  Sharing what they know about these families with the rest of the world could cost them their jobs and their lives.  But sharing what they know may also free others.  Told from multiple points of view.

Very rarely do I read what I call a “grown-up” book.  Most of the time, I find them too thick, too wordy, or too hopeless.  I am glad I hung up my prejudice to read this book.  There’s a reason why everyone was talking about this book.  It has marvelous characters, none of whom really trump the others in importance, voice, or style.  It catches you up and doesn’t let you go until the end.  I’m not really any kind of authority to say whether or not everything about this book is believably accurate in terms of setting and plausibility, but even if there are inconsistencies, it was a fabulous read.  And I hear the movie is well-worth it, as well.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

Fat Vampire: A Never Coming of Age Story

Fat Vampire: A Never Coming of Age Story
by Adam Rex

Doug was turned into a vampire at the worst possible age – 15.  So he will forever be undead, unable to drive, unable to lose his baby fat, unable to clear up his acne.  He will forever be awkward around girls.  He is mysteriously matched with a vampire mentor who will hopefully help him out of this awkward stage to become that glorious vampire image.

This book started out so well – two geeky kids, a vampire and his bff, at a Comic-Con; the vampire too afraid to actually bite someone, stealing blood packets from a Red Cross blood donation van.  But my hopes of the continuing misadventures of an awkward teenage vampire were quickly dashed as the story progressed. At one point in the story (I forget which, since it wasn’t terribly memorable), Doug turns into something completely different than fat and awkward – just kind of an all-around jerk.  I lost more and more interest in him, and none of the other characters made me want to care what happened to them.  This is one that probably everyone could avoid, even the most hardcore vampire-fiction lovers.

Adam Rex, I still love your Frankenstein poetry.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick
by Chris Van Allsburg et al.

The chronicles of Harris Burdick are based on the 14 mysterious drawings, titles and captions supposedly left at a publisher’s home in the mid 1950′s.  Mr. Burdick brought them to a Mr. Peter Wenders, promising to bring the rest of the stories that went with the drawings the following day.  Burdick never returned and was never heard from again.  The art and quips were originally published in 1984 after Chris Van Allsburg first heard this story in The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.  Since then, these drawings have captured the imaginations of readers and writers everywhere.  These 14 chronicles, inspired by Burdick’s mysterious work, are written by some of the most prominent authors in fiction.

I had never heard of The Mysteries of Harris Burdick until I read a review for The Chronicles of Harris Burdick.  All the reviews I read raved.  Naturally intrigued, I checked both of them out.  There was reason to rave.  With just one brief sentence, the drawings (obviously the work of the Caldecott medalist Van Allsburg) invoke all kinds of emotions – hilarity, tragedy, horror, whimsy, and curiosity, just to name a few.  It is easy to see how you can’t not be inspired to write the rest of the untold story.  Like with any collection of short stories, there are those that make you wonder, “That was really the best you could do?” And then there are those that you want to reread again as soon as you’ve finished.  For very different reasons, those for me were the ones by Jon Scieszka (hilarity), Linda Sue Park (heartbreak), Walter Dean Myers (mystery), and Chris Van Allsburg (whimsy).

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.