Picture This: The Obstinate Pen

The Obstinate Pen by Frank Dormer

Grouchy Uncle Flood is delighted at the prospect of using his brand new fountain pen. With anticipation, he sets it to paper, but what he sees on his paper is not "the following story is all true" like he wanted to write. Instead, it reads "You have a big nose." As the pen continues to insult its owner, Uncle Flood throws it out where it starts on a journey spewing rude phrases at various unsuspecting people who stumble upon it.

A fun book with lots of appeal for kids. How could you go wrong with characters like Mrs. Norkham Pigeon-Smythe? When the pen gets into her hands, it promptly writes, "Mrs. Floofy Pants has a spoon up her nose! Can you imagine the delight of children as they hear things like that? The cartoon-like illustrations perfectly suit the story, with their own light-hearted silliness, humor, and playfulness. Make sure you look carefully--don't miss the portraits of pens in Uncle Flood's house, or Officer Wonkle and Miss Weeble Dancing in the background as Mrs. Pigeon-Smythe rides in her convertible like a roller-coaster, of Mrs. Pigeon-Smythe's lamp. Like Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back, I think there's appeal here for adults as well. Get a taste here.

And don't forget to read the back cover

Recent Recommendations: September2012

A conversation in books (literally) (like really literally, not figuratively literally)

100 Abandoned Houses is a collection of photos of abandoned houses in Detroit

Murmuration A video of a large flock of starlings (a mumuration) flying in incredible patterns over the River Shannon. Pretty amazing.

Library Sleeve Facing just go to the site to see what it is.

Dog Shaming Dog-lovers you'd better check this out! Dogs shamefully confess their crimes via written notes tied around their necks. Very funny (although there are a few, where I thought--your dog has a serious problem; this is not funny). A recent gem: "I just ate an entire pound of tender brisket my family was going to eat for their last meal before the fast for Yom  Kippur. I guess their fast starts now. I'm atoning." I love it when they have a photo of the crime/embarassment  itself: "I tried drinking from the display toilets at Lowe's." "I stole a baby doll from a six-year-old and ripped its head off!" Endless entertainment.

Martin Middlebrook's "Faces of Hope" photographs taken in Afghanistan. Beautiful.

Patrick Ness gave a lecture at the World Writers' Conference in Edinburgh this year on censorship entitled (?) "Censorship in the Internet Age." An interesting take on a hackneyed topic.

Dolce and Gabbana's Fall 2012 Ad Campaign 
I love this--the big, loud italian family; baroque-style clothes (i'm thinking architecture and objets d'art as much as fashion) in the Italian countryside, beautiful abnormally tall Italian women in an old-fashioned setting. And, of course, the clothes are gorgeous.

Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) and Maira Kalman sing an ode to libraries. "Without libraries we'd be dumb."

Book Maze

You've all seen Gangnam Style right? But have you seen Deadpool vs Gangnam Style? I also quite like Deadpool vs. Comic-Con 2012. I kinda love this deadpool guy. And I love that a Korean pop song has become so internationally popular.

Recent Read: Bomb

The making of the atomic bomb is one of history's most amazing examples of teamwork and genius and poise under pressure. But it's also the story of how humans created a weapon capable of wiping our species off the face of the planet. It's a story with no end in sight.

And, like it or not, you're in it.

Simply put, this is the story of the atomic bomb. German chemist Otto Hahn's 1938 discovery that atoms could be split became supremely important in the context of a growing world war. Germany and the US were soon racing to use this discovery to create the ultimate weapon (and sabotage their enemy). But they weren't alone—the Soviet Union, in its quest to become a superpower, decided they needed atomic warfare. And wouldn't it be easier to steal the American's atomic plans rather than develop their own? This is the thrilling story of scientific genius and brainstorming, spying, deceit, sabotage, war, and a weapon that has forever changed the world in which we live.

In the first pages of Steve Sheinkin's Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, the author throws the reader into a thrilling spy narrative. In the pages that follow, his skillful use of primary resources, key details and narrative style combine to paint clear pictures, bring people to life, create scenes of suspense, and keep the pages turning. He explains complex scientific concepts and issues simply and clearly enough for anyone to understand and includes photographs for visual support. Not as in-depth as adult nonfiction, but very well-suited to the audience, and very readable. In the epilogue, Sheinkin explains the long-lasting aftermath of the creation of such a weapon--the cold war, the growing prevalence of nuclear warfare in the world, reminding readers of how relevant this story is to their lives now. Fascinating, well-done, highly recommended.

*This book was recommended to me by a great Macmillan publicist at ALA. Here I was a clueless newbie asking about Monstrous Beauty, and she really talked to me as if I mattered (this was not the case at every publisher). Even though she didn't have galleys of this book to give out, she totally sold me on it, and I've been on the lookout ever since. I will forever have a positive impression of Macmillan thanks to her.

Recent Read: Endangered

Sophie is spending yet another summer in the crumbling city of Kinshasa, Congo at her mother's bonobo sanctuary. She becomes responsible for the safety of a baby bonobo who will not survive without her constant companionship and care. She is still caring for this young bonobo when her mother has to leave to release some rehabilitated bonobos into a protected reserve on a remote island in the north. Sophie continues to be a mother to this little bonobo who has become so dear to her, when the president of Congo is shot, and rebel fighters armed with machetes and machine guns take over the city. Alone with her bonobo, Sophie must find a way to survive and get to safety.

Honestly, in finishing Eliot Schrefer's Endangered, I was surprised because I have an aversion to monkeys and apes, and Schrefer had me caring about a bonobo in the first chapter alone. The bonobos are characters just as the humans are, and I enjoyed getting to know them, their culture, and their individual personalities. Among the many things I liked about this book, I loved seeing Sophie grow and mature and become a selfless caretaker. Though the conflict is fictional, I found the survival aspect of the story surprisingly believable. Schrefer depicts the tragedy and horror of the conflict in a frank and concise way, while still shielding the reader from some of the more sordid and disturbing details. Had I known what the story would be before I read it, I might have passed it over, thinking I would be bored. Instead I found myself interested and invested the whole way through.

Releases October 1

 

based on NetGalley advanced reader copy.

Picture This: Life in the Ocean

Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle by Claire A. Nivola

From an early age, Sylvia Earle was fascinated by the animal and plant life around her, observing, collecting, and admiring. When she moved from a farm in New Jersey to a coastal city in Florida, Sylvia "lost her heart to the water." As she grew older, she pursued her passion and love for the ocean, becoming a pioneer both as a scientist and researcher and as a woman. She swam with whales, walked on the ocean floor, and even lived underwater for two weeks.

Nivola's beautiful, skilled illustrations brim with details and rich colors, creating a sense of the depth, majesty, diversity, and boundlessness of nature and the ocean in particular. In just one illustration of Sylvia's childhood explorations, I counted 20 insects and 11 animals. In another, she paints Sylvia next to a whale, giving the reader a sense of the immense size of the animal. The prose itself is also lovely and eloquent, with a gentle feel, and quotations and facts that bring Sylvia to life. The basic story reminded me a bit of 2011's Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell: childhood love becomes lifelong pursuit. It had that same sense of wonder. At the end, Nivola provides some additional information about Sylvia, and information about the state of oceans now and how humanity/civilization affects them.

See a preview here (know that it does not do the illustrations justice).

Recent Read: Wonder

August Pullman is accustomed to being gawked at. The facial deformities that he was born with have not only meant that we would be in and out of surgery 27 times during the first ten years of his life, they've set him apart, eliciting all sorts of reactions from people who don't know him. Now that he's approaching fifth grade, his parents decide it's time to send him to school outside the home. Can August overcome the challenges he faces at school? Will his classmates be able to see him and not just his face?

R. J. Palacio's Wonder was a joy to read. I loved it. Even though it's a book dealing with serious subjects, it's funny--charming and sweet funny, as well as laugh-out-loud Diary of a Wimpy Kid funny. The style was refreshingly direct and matter-of-fact. With the aid of that style and short chapters, the pace moves quickly.

Perhaps the best part of the book--the thing that elevates it to another level--is the excellent characterization and the way Palacio tells the story from different perspectives. The characters (Auggie in particular) are well-drawn, very human and so appealing. We get to see Auggie and the story through the eyes of Auggie himself, his sister, two of his friends/classmates, his sister's boyfriend, and his sister's friend. This added such depth and perspective. And I think it gives the book an all-ages appeal--I would recommend it to teens and adults as much as I would recommend it to children. I thought Palacio's take on each point of view was spot-on, as was her depiction of the behavior of the children around Auggie.

There are a few of things that could be criticized. I don't see the point of having a section written from the perspective of Justin (the sister's boyfriend). The pop culture references may date it at some point (they already show the author's age). And the quotes that start sections are bordering on didactic (quoting Christina Aguilera? really?). But when it comes down to rating the book I didn't care much about those things. Wonder is great not because of the "important" subject, it's great because of the real, irresistible characters and wonderful story. It may make you cry, but it will also lift your spirits.

Also, read the explanation of where the idea for the book came from in Palacio's words:

About five years ago I took my kids to visit a friend of mine who lives out of town, and at some point during the day we found ourselves sitting next to a little girl who looked the way Auggie looks in the book. We were in front of an ice cream shop, and she was sitting next to us with her mother and a friend. My younger son was only about three at the time, and he reacted exactly the way you might think a three-year old would react when seeing something that scared him: he started to cry—pretty loudly, too. And though my older son, who was ten at the time, knew better than to stare, his expression said it all despite his best efforts: he looked like someone had just punched him. It was terrible, on all counts, and I got up as quickly as I could to remove us from the scene—not for their sakes, of course, but to spare the little’s girl’s feelings. As I pushed my younger son’s stroller away I heard the little girls’ mom say, in as sweet and calm a voice as you can imagine: “Okay, guys, I think it’s time to go.” And that just got to me. 

On the drive home I couldn’t stop thinking about how that scene had played out. It occurred to me that they probably went through something like that dozens of times a day. Hundreds of times. What would that be like? What could I be teaching my children so they could understand how to respond better next time? Is “don’t stare” even the right thing to teach, or is there something deeper? All this stuff was flying through my head on the long car ride home while my boys slept in the back seat of the car. I was literally obsessing about it, so after a while I turned on the radio just to keep myself from thinking about it and the first thing that started to play was Natalie Merchant’s "Wonder." It was so amazing because that song had always been one of my absolute favorites—but that night the words really hit me, almost like I was hearing them for the first time. "People see me—I’m a challenge to your balance. I’m over your heads, how I confound you and astound you, to know I must be one of the wonders of god’s own creation…" It was like the song had been written for this girl I had just seen. 

The book kind of wrote itself in my head on that drive home. I would write the story from the child’s point of view. It would help people understand—not pity. I’m just like you, the child would say. I’m an ordinary kid—except for this one thing. And I would call the book Wonder because this child is a wonder.