Why? Because.... The Top Ten

This is my father. He and I are similar in many ways. (Too many ways, probably.) The reason why I bring him up at all here is that he too loves to read.

But that is where this similarity ends.

You see, about five years ago my father decided in his infinite wisdom (and I'm using that expression sarcastically - love you, Dad!) that the only kind of book worth reading.....hang on.....that the only work of literature worth reading is one that has stood the test of time and been deemed a classic by the literary elite (of which I'm sure he would like to include himself.) Although he doesn't have a sweet, rockin'-awesome blog like mine :) he does have a list of books he has read which includes titles like The Brothers Karamozov and War and Pieces of my hair that I pulled out whilst trying to finish the thing. (Okay, so that's not a real title.)

When I was visiting my parents recently, Dad asked me if I ever read the classics. I had already told him before that I rarely read anything but children's literature. He looked at me with an expression that I interpreted as saying, "I feel sad for you." But all that came out of his mouth was, "Why?" So once again for Dad, and now for all of you, I give you my top ten reasons for almost always exclusively reading children's literature.

10. You won't pop a blood vessel reading children's literature. It's been said popping blood vessels are not good for your health.

9. People won't roll their eyes when I tell them what I'm reading.

8. I will sit down and read children's literature and still have energy later on for other good stuff in life - like watching HGTV.

7. I won't say things like, "Nevertheless, authors in those days had a masterful grasp of the depth of the English language as evidenced in their magnificent use of extensive vocabulary which is second only to their genius of syntax." Instead, I'll say, "Dude.... this book is lester, dude." (Sorry, inside joke - couldn't be helped.)

6. I won't look like I'm confused or in pain when I read.

5. I will be a resource for parents who want to know about current children's literature, and I'll be able to give them an honest opinion because I'm actually reading it.

4. I love reading books written by people who respect children and their ability to think, who don't dumb down a story or make it predictable just because a preteen/teenager is reading it.

3. Hopefully I will get my students excited about reading something because I recommended it.

2. I respect, admire, and envy children's literature authors. I wish I could do what they do - so I read what they write and live vicariously through them.

1. I like them. I really, really like them.

So there you have it. Oh, I just thought of another similarity between my dad and me. We've both read The Tale of Despereaux. He read it while he was visiting us this week - all because of my recommendation.

I'm sure if you ask him, he'd say I forced him to read it. Same difference. What matters is, now on his list of books read, he's got a work of children's literature! So the next time he asks me if I only read kids' books, I can say, "No, I also read the classics!"

Blue Balliett Books

Welcome to the written world of Blue Balliett! This former teacher has created a very interesting niche in my Anovelanche. Her stories combine her love of children, art, and literature. These cleverly written mysteries not only entertain but they also teach you a little bit about a certain artist.

Balliett's books are not part of a continuous series. I believe you could read them individually without feeling like you were missing something. But I would encourage you to read them in order of publication for the sake of the character development.

In the first book, Chasing Vermeer, we are introduced to good friends, Calder and Tommy. Tommy has to move away suddenly from the Chicago suburbs, and Calder begins a friendship with classmate Petra. Calder loves pentominoes, and Petra loves to write - and their teacher Ms. Hussey loves to encourage her students to think creatively. When a painting by Johannes Vermeer is stolen, the two kids search for the piece and do a lot of research to help them solve the case. Tommy shows up at the end of the book in the most unlikely of situations.

Next comes The Wright 3, a book that focuses on the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, who lived in a Chicago suburb. One of his well-known houses is being restored, and it is near to the kids' school. Ms. Hussey's class gets involved, especially Calder, Tommy, and Petra. Talk of ghosts in the house and a hidden treasure leave some people in the area worried and some a little too curious.

Finally, we have the book that I just finished reading - The Calder Game. I learned that Calder the character was named after an artist named Alexander Calder. He worked in many art mediums, but perhaps is most famous for his astonishing mobiles. When an exhibit of his mobiles opens at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, Calder, Tommy, and Petra's 7th grade class go to take a look. Calder's encounter with the artist doesn't end there - when his father takes him on a surprise trip to England a few weeks later, there is a Calder scuplture just outside the place where they are staying! Unfortunately, the locals in this classically traditional English town don't like the modern piece. In the first chapter, Balliett prepares the reader for what happens next - both Calder the boy and the Calder sculpture go missing in the same night. Petra and Tommy fly to England to help look for their friend.

Art is not the only thing that is a unifying factor in these books - so are the illustrations, another kind of art, I guess. All the illustrations are done by Brett Helquist, who incorporates codes from the books into his drawings. At the end of each book, you are told about the hidden codes and how to look for them, but the answers you must figure out on your own. (They make me think of Graeme Base's book The Eleventh Hour which is chock-full of codes. I spent a week the summer after I graduated from high school figuring them all out. It was so cool! If you love codes, you have got to check it out!)

Anyway, you should definitely look up books by Blue Balliett, whether you are into art or not. I can't wait to see if she writes a fourth book and who the artist might be. Maybe Da Vinci - oh wait, somebody's already written a book about his "code." (blech!)

A Stolen Life

Well, it has been a long time since I've written...and part of the reason is this book - A Stolen Life by Jane Louise Curry. I was really interested to read this book that I had gotten for my classroom library with bonus points from Scholastic. I had been intrigued by the book's description on the student order form, and when it arrived, the back of the book fueled that interest....only to have it fizzle in the first chapter.

A Stolen Life is a historical fiction novel about true events involving "spiriters," men who would lure children and entice young adults, ultimately kidnapping them and sailing from Scotland (in this story) to America, where they would be sold into servitude. However, I think the story gets jumbled by other plot elements, which I'll explain momentarily.

I have a "rule of three" when I read books - and I advise my students to use it. Sometimes when you start reading a book, it begins slowly with a lot of introducing characters or describing the setting. And you might want to just chuck the thing. But my "rule of three" is that if you aren't hooked by the end of the third chapter, then you can stop reading it. That's what happened to me with this book....except I struggled to even get to the third chapter.

The opening chapter was pretty typical with its introductory material, but it was filled with SO MANY names of people and places - and since the story begins in Scotland, all the people and places have Scottish names (duh! I know!) but that makes it very difficult to follow. Most of those names and places end up being irrelevant for the rest of the story. For example, does the reader really need to know the name of the bagpiper who was hired from the neighboring village to play in the background during the celebration? NO! (and we don't need to know the name of his village either!!!!)

Okay, deep breath...exhale slowly...drink some Pepsi...drink some more...ahhh. Alright, I'm better.

Sometimes I think I channel Animal from the Muppets.

Now, I did finally finish the book. I wish it had just stuck to the main story, but it forced in other things. The main character is Jamesina, or Jamie, who has to impersonate a boy so that she remains out of danger. Her father and one brother have been killed in battle and the ownership of her family's land in Scotland may be taken by force. Jamesina has a "vision" of her father and brother, as well as her three other soldier brothers, and believes it means they are all dead. Jamesina tries to notify a justice in America that she has been spirited out of Scotland, but before she can, she is given to an indentured servant who has fulfilled his contract. That man's sons have "found" some horses in the woods, but the first night Jamesina spends in the family's make-shift cabin, Indians come and kill the family for stealing their horses. The Indians take Jamesina as a slave.....and on and on. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure all those events are historical in nature, but could they all have happened to one girl? It's a little far-fetched.

This is the first book I'm not going to wholeheartedly recommend. Oh you can read it - there's no situation that is offensive or vulgar - it's just confusing and could be better written. I'm actually kind of surprised that this author's editor let it be published this way. I'll keep it in my classroom library, but I'm not going to pull any punches when I describe it to my students.