Controversy?

The book I just read, The Bronze Bow, could stir up controversy over the religious context. The book is about a young boy Daniel Bar Jamon and is a spiritual, physical, and emotional journey. It won a Newberry which I thought was appropriate to chose seeing as we just spoke with Dr. Naylor about the selection process and being on the comittee for Newberry awards. It was a wonderful book in my oppinion as the history and descriptons of the Holy Lands seemed accurate and wonderful. Some of the criticisms are that the writer is a Sunday School teacher and that her views and characters are swayed, as they follow Jesus. However, being someone who myself follows Jesus, it doesn't bother me.

At my father's funeral his boss spoke about how he did his job so well but above all he was a Christian. His did what was right in the workplace but never did anything to undermine his Christianity. I think that even though I want to be a librarian who is completely fair and knowledgeable about book selections, well, above all I want to be a Christian doing it. Therefore, I think that I am probably not the best person to ask about keeping this book in a library if it is controversal. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'm Glad I'm Me

This poem is totaly written for my husband...

I’m Glad I’m Me
by Phil Bolsta

I don’t understand why everyone stares
When I take off my clothes and dance down the stairs.
Or when I stick carrots in both of my ears,
Then dye my hair green and go shopping at Sears.
I just love to dress up and do goofy things.
If I were an angel, I’d tie-dye my wings!
Why can’t folks accept me the way that I am?
So what if I’m different and don’t act like them?
I’m not going to change and be someone I’m not.
I like who I am, and I’m all that I’ve got.

Phil Bolsta, “I’m Glad I’m Me” from Kids Pick the Funniest Poems, edited by Bruce Lansky (Minnetonka, Minn.: Meadowbrook Press, 1991). Copyright © 1991 by Phil Bolsta. Reprinted with the permission of the author.Source: Kids Pick the Funniest Poems (1991).

Cute Children's Poetry

Deep in Our Refrigerator
by Jack Prelutsky

Deep in our refrigerator,
there's a special place
for food that's been around awhile . . .
we keep it, just in case.
“It's probably too old to eat,”
my mother likes to say.
“But I don't think it's old enough
for me to throw away.”
It stays there for a month or more
to ripen in the cold,
and soon we notice fuzzy clumps
of multicolored mold.
The clumps are larger every day,
we notice this as well,
but mostly what we notice
is a certain special smell.
When finally it all becomes
a nasty mass of slime,
my mother takes it out, and says,
“Apparently, it's time.”
She dumps it in the garbage can,
though not without regret,
then fills the space with other food
that's not so ancient yet
Text © 2000 Jack Prelutsky. Used by Permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

This sounds like my grandmother. I like the light hearted humor of this poem.

Publish Children's Book

http://www.booksurge.com/content/Google_Childrens.htm?cid=publish_childrens_book&gclid=CKCvmoiFrZkCFQxhnAodZx5qJA

I just mentioned in my last blog about wanting to write children's books. Yeah, I probably won't do that but I did find this site that says you cna publish your works with its help.

This is what it says, "BookSurge, part of the Amazon group of companies, offers a broad array of publishing services to help you craft the book of your dreams, as well as promotional tools and resources to help you gain an audience for your work. Our most popular package for children's book authors includes a customized interior and cover, complete with full-color illustrations to bring your vision to life.
We recognize that selecting a publishing partner and path is an important decision. Once you submit your information in the form below, you'll have access to the following free resources available from Brian Jud, book marketing guru and bestselling author of Beyond the Bookstore:
"Why Self-Publish?," an article evaluating the publishing options available to authors today
"Get Your Word's Worth: 555 Tips for Improving Your Book's Promotion," an eBook filled with low-cost and no-cost promotional techniques."

Pretty cool

Boy

I think this is going to be great when we finally get t discuss our books with students in Australia. The coolest thing being that they are in Australia. I also like the fact that they can give me their reactions to the books from a young persons standpoint. Since I am not a teacher it is hard for me to really relate to the kids I think but I guess it hasn't been too long since I was that age. I would love to have those days back! I don't think Boy is the greatest Dhal book I have ever read but it really allows readers to see the inspirations for some of his great works such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach. I wish I were a children's book writer.

Catching up

Since the death of my Dad I have realized I am falling behind on these posts. I do thoroughly enjoy this class. Reading these children's books is actually a stress reliever most of the time because I don't have to think too hard when reading them :) I have really enjoyed Coraline the most I think...I love modern fantasy. I think that I would have to say Ida B. and The Moves Make the Man were probably not the greatest to me at this time because of what I have been going through. Mental illness is so real but children need to see characters experience it as well as cancer as in Ida B. I havn't yet decided my next book as an individual book but will do so soon.

Update

I have been so busy with my father's funeral and also all the estate stuff that I haven't blogged as much as I should so I am going to make up for it now. Since I have blogged I have read Ida B. Coraline, The Root Cellar and The Moves Make the Man. These are all wonderful books. Ida B. was a great book about hardships and healing as well as growing up and imagination. The Moves Make the Man is also a book about a child who's mother is suffering with an illness. This one is mental illness. The children all overcome obstacles such as lonliness (Root Cellar an Coraline) and illness (The Moves Make the Man and Ida B.) These have all been great reads and helpful to young readers I feel by way of showing that all children have hardships as well as the ability to overcome obstacles. The theme running through all of them is just that. Even thouh time shift fantasy and modern fantasy were the genre's of two of them. I really enjoy this class and it is great to get to read books that are easy reads though they have a lot of meaning and are great works of literature.