MONDAY READING

 

It's been a very long time since I posted any IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING? reviews. 

 But that doesn't mean I haven't been reading.

Hats way off to my teacher and librarian friends who've managed to read, review, and blog about so many books.

Two middle-grade novels stand out in my reading month. The first is a novel told in two voices by my friend Shannon Hitchcock and her co-writer, N.H. Senzai, FLYING OVER WATER. I bought this one at their launch party, complete with a signed bookplate. (I think you can get the same by checking with our fabulous local independent bookstore, TOMBOLO BOOKS in St. Petersburg, FL.) I bought it for a young reader who's a competitive swimmer and I've already mailed it off so I can't quote from it, but it was a very fast-moving story, with excellent depictions of real kids. The Florida middle-grader in the book (Shannon's voice) is a swimmer whose family supports a newly-arrived Muslim family, refugees from Aleppo. The telling feels real, it's fast-moving, and the background of the 2017 immigration restrictions takes the story even deeper. 

The second fascinating, couldn't-wait-to-read Middle Grade novel finished this week is by a favorite author, Shelley Pearsall. I've read a couple of her other books and heard this one recommended by lots of bloggers and readers. THINGS SEEN FROM ABOVE lived up to the hype! 

Such an unusual and interesting topic. Lots of Food for Thought and character growth and the kids mostly turn out to be just fine. There are two voices in this one also, but Pearsall writes them both. The two characters interact, mostly on the playground, as April fulfills her duties as Buddy Bench volunteer. JoeyByrd (his preferred way of signing his name) is a fascinating kid with much to teach his classmates. I particularly loved the school maintenance guy, Mr. Ulysses. And April's new friend, Veena, from the Buddy Bench, who started out as a shy newcomer and found her way and a friendship. Shelley Pearsall has the perfect touch with her secondary characters. My copy gets returned to our library today where I hope it will be snatched up by a young reader.

I was assigned a Winter Round-Up of picture books by the Christian Science Monitor so I got to read a few picture books these past few months, something I don't do often enough. My reviews are HERE. 

One wasn't exactly a picture book but I fudged my assignment and sneaked in a book I loved, suitable for younger kids. :)Hey, it had wonderful illustrations and I was absolutely delighted by the words, too. Have you read Amy Timberlake's SKUNK AND BADGER? Yes, that Amy Timberlake, the one who's written mostly for older kids. 

 

 Also included in that round-up was SWASHBY AND THE SEA. Yes, it has a summer feeling (if you don't live in Florida, like I do, you might not think of beach books in December).  But the twist near the end made me smile and the book has so much going on in so few pages that I think young kids will love hearing this one read aloud.

 

 

Enjoy December, everybody! 

Buy lots of books for everyone you love. Happy reading!

Monday Reading Report

Man, have I read some great books recently.
Lucky for me, it's Monday and I get to share.

Yesterday I finished a book I LOVED. 

Jonathan Auxier's new middle-grade novel, SWEEP: THE STORY OF A GIRL AND HER MONSTER- don't miss it. 

Chimney sweeps, a taste of late 19th century history, interesting tidbits about golems, characters to break your heart. 
I literally couldn't put this one down. 
Last night, dinner had to wait for a chapter ending. 

I know many teachers and librarians like to share authors reading and talking about their own books.
Here's Jonathan booktalking SWEEP (recorded before the book was published).  
Click this link and check out his website for up-to-date info.

Another book I recently reviewed is Meg Medina's newest. Here's a little adaptation from my Christian Science Monitor round-up of new middle-grade novels:

Merci Suárez Changes Gears 

Mercedes Suarez, Merci for short, lives with her exuberant extended family in south Florida. But she spends school days trying to fit in at the prestigious Seaward Pines Academy. She and her brainy brother are scholarship students and are expected—by their family and the school—to give back, set an example, and never ever cause trouble.

Medina mixes humor with poignancy and affection for her characters with a fast-paced story. The Cuban food and culture, the love tinged with embarrassment typical of many pre-teens make this novel perfect for discussion and for reading together with a friend, a teacher, or a family member.

So many books I want/ need to read! (The part of my bookshelf NOT pictured at the top of this post is my towering TBR shelf. Many of which may not be read, but I'll peruse each of them.)

I'm off to a Highlights Foundation writing weekend and I've loaded my Kindle app. Just in case I have time to read. 

Can't wait to hear what all my #IMWAYR buddies have to share this week.

Ghetto Cowboy

I'd never heard of Greg Neri until I moved to Tampa Bay.
Truthfully, maybe a lot of people hadn't heard about his books then. He was just beginning to be published. But Greg became a big advocate for the Tampa Bay writing community. Workshops, support, encouragement--he did it all. And he did it while writing, learning, and working hard to publish his first book.

Before I really knew who "G. Neri" was, this book really touched me. I reviewed GHETTO COWBOY for the Christian Science Monitor. 
You can read my review HERE.

Now one of my absolute favorite actors has joined the team to make GHETTO COWBOY into a movie. IDRIS ELBA! (Yes, that would be Luther of TV fame, among a lot of other fabulous roles.)

Here's the link about the movie: https://variety.com/2018/film/news/idris-elba-ghetto-cowboy-1202900133/ 

And the cover of the book, in case you somehow don't know it. It's a quick read and a perfect discussion about so many things.

(All my Philadelphia friends and family are going to love this one!)

So many books...

Recently, I was on a reading frenzy. And there were so many great middle-grade novels that needed reading!

Some were reviewed for a Christian Science Monitor spring round-up.

HERE'S THE LINK.  
(Click if you'd like to know more!)

And here are the books. Loved them all. Can't wait to catch sight of young readers under a tree, by the pool, on a bus or a plane, sitting on the front porch, at the public library- reading all summer long!

 




It's Monday. (Is it summer yet?) What's everybody out there reading?

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Just for fun.
A piece I wrote a few years ago about NOT being Irish but wishing I were.

Here it is, in the Christian Science Monitor.

And it got picked up a bunch of places, including this site that includes a video of a guy from Tennessee showing us how to make colcannon.

CLICK HERE for that link.  

Hope you remembered your GREEN today!

Secret Hum of a Daisy

 Funny, tiny remarks that still make me smile:

Jo saying, "I come here all the time when it gets warm and film the wildlife, which includes people."

"That's how it had always been with Mama. Taping things up in a way that was easy to take down."
(She used double-sided tape. What a great image.)


First line: All I had to do was walk up to the coffin.

(I'm thinking a lot about First Lines these days. So important!
Re: Richard Peck's talk at Books of Wonder.  And another Richard Peck beginning thought is HERE.)

Won't give away last line but it does refer back to the title. Which I always like. Titles are also tough. I kept forgetting this one while I was reading the book. Afterwards, not so much.

Here's a nice, short review of Tracy Holczer's debut middle-grade novel, via Publisher's Weekly: http://publishersweekly.com/978-0-399-16393-7

I read this one on the advice of an interesting list in the Christian Science Monitor of the best middle-grade books of the year, so far (though truthfully, some are Young Adult in my opinion) HERE.

A SNICKER OF MAGIC

When Scholastic sent a review copy of this, I knew I'd love it. 
That cover! That title!

And then I opened the book and fell inside.

Such a terrific book.
My review from the Christian Science Monitor. 

If you don't believe me, check out what the  
New York Times Book Review said.

I mean, that's some serious praise going on.


In a recent discussion among some kids' book writers I know, the topic of 
MAGICAL REALISM popped up.
Check out this very clear, cut-to-the-chase explanation from Kimberley G. Little, who knows what she's talking about.
See that list of books at the end of the blogpost? Yep, Snicker of Magic, right there. A perfect example.


CLICK HERE for a look at Natalie's own blog. 

Natalie's done a ton of interviews for other blogs. This is one of my favorite. And not just because of the ice cream...
http://www.foodiebibliophile.com/2014/02/author-interview-natalie-lloyd.html


So, what do you think? Does a "snicker" of magic make for magical realism? Does a cover like this and a great title tempt you, or do you open right up to page one and jump in?

OPHELIA and the MARVELOUS BOY- Giveaway!

To cheer up my frozen, snowed-in, chilly friends, I'm sending a little ray of Valentine sunshine your way and giving away my copy (Thanks, Knopf) of this brand new middle-grade novel.







Here's my review in the Christian Science Monitor.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2014/0131/Ophelia-and-the-Marvelous-Boy

 Here's a little piece they published about the book and the story.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2014/0210/Hans-Christian-Andersen-s-The-Snow-Queen-inspires-Disney-and-a-children-s-author-video

And also, a great interview with author Karen Foxlee.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/60577-q-a-with-karen-foxlee.html

All you have to do is comment (by 2/20/14), here or on my Facebook posting of this link.
You can also share via Twitter and tag me: @ARScattergood.
Sorry, I can only mail to U.S. addresses.

Let's give this a week. Surely by then Spring will have sprung?

Oh What Fun

I don't often have a chance to really and truly focus on fabulous picture books.
Not like the Olden Days of school librarianship when I'd read a book over and over, plan activities, share with teachers. Not even like reading aloud at bedtime to little ones, the same book begged for each night.

So it was a treat to get to review these. (My usual assignment is Middle Grade novels.) I adored each of these gorgeous books in different ways.

And I'm still thinking about Brownie.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2013/1216/4-fabulous-picture-books-for-the-young-readers-on-your-list


(An aside: it always cracks me up to see what some Cyber Brain thinks are "if you liked that, try this." Salted caramel brownies? Yummy, yes. But PLEASE. Do not eat Brownie Groundhog. Not even close to the same thing.)

Friday Favorites

Figs.

Love 'em or hate 'em. I love them. A lot.

So of course I had to check out the country's largest fig tree, located in Santa Barbara, California.
Where I just happened to be last week.

Click that link if you'd like to read more.

The tree looks like no other fig tree in my experience.
It's not the southern fig from my grandmother's backyard.

BUT there were figs on it.  They were terrible. 

Okay, yes, I picked a ripe one and opened it up and maybe I even kind of tasted it.

I've written about figs before.
Maybe some would say I've over-written on the topic.

But if you're a Fig Freak also, here are a few things I've said on the topic.

FIGS, on my own blog, here: http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2012/07/figs.html

A FIG recipe, here: http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2012/07/fig-recipe.html

And another FIG recipe, from my friend and food blogger, Lee Hilton.
I'd love to make preserves like this.
If I could get enough figs and if I could keep from eating them right out of the little baskets.
http://spoonandink.blogspot.com/2012/08/preserving-summer.html

And WAY back in 2008 when I first joined a great gang of Southern Writers on A GOOD BLOG IS HARD TO FIND, I wrote this about my Great Fig Fiasco. My failed attempt to break into NPR.
http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/2008/10/great-fig-fiasco-im-writer.html

And if you're still reading? Here's the essay that put the whole Fig Fiasco thing in motion:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0830/p18s02-hfes.html

I'll bet there are still a few figs out there just waiting to be turned into a Fig Garlic Pizza.
So easy and delish. (Recipe's on my Pinterest board.)

What's in a Name?

Sorry if I seem to obsess over the Name Thing.
But I LOVE what Liesl Shurtliff says in her Author's Note to one of my most favorite, fun-to-read, perfectly voiced (is voice a verb yet?) middle-grade novels of 2013, RUMP: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin.

She, too, seems to collect names.

Here's a thought, from that Note, about names shaping characters, real or imagined.

"Did their parents intuitively know that was the name for them, or did the name have a role in shaping their behavior and self-perception?"

Maybe it's just writers who have unusual names, the names rarely found on any of "those personalized pencils and key chains in gift shops" who obsess over naming things.
She kept looking, between Leslie and Lisa, to no avail. 

Growing up, my name didn't seem unusual. It just seemed un-glamorous. Some days, I wanted my friend Peggy's name, changed to Peggi when she hit High School. 

As Liesl Shurtliff notes, RUMP is her way of answering that age-old question, What's in a name?

I love this book! 
Here's my review from the Christian Science Monitor.

But I also love pondering the influence names have on our persona. 
Would you be a different person if you'd been given a different name?

Is it true of your fictional people?

Every Day

Writing book reviews is easy, right? Read a little bit, google the author, jot down your thoughts and Bingo! A review.

If only.

It's harder than it might look. At least for me.
The reading, the pondering, the writing. I agonize way too much over tiny word choices. Edit a zillion times for a 400-word review. ACK! But I love doing them.

And I mostly review books I love a lot. Almost all "Middle Grade" for the Christian Science Monitor and adult for Delta Magazine. Anything goes on the blog.

 That said, I couldn't resist this book marketed as Young Adult.  

It's not a long book. It's an intriguing one. Its premise, page-turning and fascinating.

Here's my review. 

EVERY DAY by David Levithan.

Liar & Spy

I'm a fan of Rebecca Stead's books. If your middle schooler, or young teen, wants a novel that surprises, Liar & Spy, just out this month, is it. CLICK HERE for my review in the Christian Science Monitor.






And while you're here, friendly reminder: ONE more day to enter for a big box of the latest, greatest middle-grade novels. COMMENT right here or just scroll down a few more entires, and be entered in the giveaway. Yay for brand new books!

Good Company, again.

I'm really thrilled and delighted to be included on this list of books about girls with "scrappy courage"!

Check out all three new books, recommended by a reviewer for the Christian Science Monitor whose writing I've admired for quite a while.

CLICK HERE for the link.

Fall Books for Kids

I loved having an assignment from the Books Editor at the Christian Science Monitor. She sent me a stack of great new books. She tied them together around the theme of Friendship. I got to write just enough to entice readers to buy or check them out from the library.

I guess I have to confess that my favorite among the group was HOUND DOG TRUE.
 How I love that book! The wisdom, the characters, the writing. So good.

Click here for the list.


All are terrific, for different reasons.

Anybody out there with a great new fall book to recommend?

Peaches!

In honor of the delicious summer peaches at all our NJ Farmers' Markets-- not to mention the end of the blueberries-- here's the article from the Christian Science Monitor I wrote a couple of summers ago. Includes an easy "mock" cobbler recipe that's so easy to make I could do it on a tiny kitchen table with a questionable oven.

(However, mine didn't rival Aunt Lynn's cobbler topping,  made with real cream, butter, sugar. I need that recipe from our family dinner last week!)

(Photo from Morguefile, thanks to Jeremy Wrenn)

Book review: Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai

Perhaps the reason this new novel for young readers resonated so strongly was that the entire time I was reading it, I remembered the story of King, a Vietnamese immigrant of Chinese ancestry who also escaped his country after the war. Our friend Hal had served with him as a doctor during the Vietnamese War and became his sponsor. King cooked fabulous dishes, introduced the neighbors to his culture and intrigued us all. Until I read this, I don't think I truly grasped how strange we must have seemed.


Book review: Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

When I was quite young, a Rock and Roll King began his career just up the road from where I lived. Even as pre-teens, my friends and I adored Elvis.

In the draft I'm revising of my middle-grade, to-be-published novel set in the early 60s in Mississippi,  Elvis plays a tiny part. Of course, my truly brilliant editor might cut all the Elvis references out. I'll have to wait to see. And that would be OK. But for now, this is my main character, eavesdropping on her big sister. Any clue who this big sister is loosely based on?

“I love Elvis Presley. I have every one of his records,” my sister was saying.

I heard a voice answer, “My mama loves Elvis better than anything. I’m named after him. Robbie, short for Robert Aaron Presley. Elvis Aaron Presley? Did you know Aaron was Elvis’s middle name?”

As if my sister didn’t own a scrapbook full of Elvis stuff and even a plaster of Paris Elvis statue. In fact, Jesslyn was liable to stand up and start singing Love Me Tender right about now.

See, I loved Elvis a lot. And once when we were ten, three friends and I did an Elvis impersonation. With an audience. A few years ago, I rounded up my courage and wrote about it. It was hard to admit to this oh-so-brief career choice, but my critique group thought it was a fine essay and the Christian Science Monitor published it.

So in honor of The King's birthday, here it is. You can click right here to read about our group's winning TV performance. In Memphis. When Elvis was in town.

National Book Awards

An interesting list of nominations...

Which includes one of my favorite kids' books of the year, Rita Williams-Garcia's One Crazy Summer.

Winners to be announced in New York on November 17.

World's Largest Book Club?

I admit. I'm intrigued.

I know a little about traditional Book Clubs. I edited a monthly magazine column, reading dozens of submissions about mostly women's book groups. I've been in at least two of my own. I mostly like talking with other readers about books we've all read. So maybe I'll hustle on down to my local bookstore and get this one to twitter about.

It's just one step away from the whole One City One Book concept. It might just work.
Click here for a good piece from the Christian Science Monitor's book editor about the undertaking.

A few words from the article:

Gaiman told The Guardian that he's "half-pleased and half-not," because "American Gods" is "a divisive book" and "some people love it, some sort of like it, and some people hate it." Gaiman figures he'll end up spending some time on Twitter himself, "sending helpful or apologetic tweets to people who are stuck, offended, or very, very confused."

(Gaiman may be half right. This morning's comments range from, "Chapter 9...it's just too good to stop at 6. :)" to "well, no book is for everyone :)" ).

Something about discussing a book via twitter has my book antennae going. Is it a good thing, a fun thing, a gimmick?