On Thursday, February 18, 2010 from noon to 3pm Frank Griffin will be signing his book, “Touched by Fire” at the Geneva Public Library at 312 South Commerce Street in Geneva. Frank’s story is that of an ordinary young man caught up in extraordinary events. 45 years ago Frank came back to Alabama accompanied by a sheriff’s deputy. He was about to serve two years for a theft he did not commit. Frank served his time, earned a pardon, moved to Texas, and lived the life of a solid citizen; he left his past behind. But the past he was leaving would not let go. Frank was born into the tumult of history, and until he’d turned 21 history hadn’t let him alone.
In 1954 Frank’s father witnessed the murder of Alabama Attorney General-elect Albert Patterson, then was killed after testifying to what he saw. Less than a decade later Frank saw Lee Harvey Oswald fleeing the scene after the murder of Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit. Remembering his father’s fate, Frank walked away. In the years between the two assassinations Frank worked in the circus, ran moonshine, and became a U.S. Marine. At different times he found himself in Florida, Oklahoma, and on a U.S. Navy ship off Cuba’s coast.
With a foreword by former Alabama Governor John Patterson, Frank’s book, “Touched by Fire,”recounts an impoverished boyhood in the South after World War II. Born into a family of southern migrant workers, Frank grew up picking cotton, and grabbing what little education he could. Frank’s life ran in strange parallels with the more public career of John Patterson, so much so that a newspaper article about their first meeting was headlined: “Bound by Blood.” Frank’s father had witnessed John’s father’s death. John Patterson was the last man to talk to Frank’s father alive. Frank ran Alabama moonshine while John Patterson was attorney general. As governor John became friends with JFK, and signed off on the participation of the Alabama Air National Guard in the Bay of Pigs. Frank’s ship sailed beneath the Alabama bombers. Two years later Frank was in Dallas when Kennedy was killed.
Yet John and Frank never met until 2003. That year they exchanged letters, then visited. Since then they have become fast friends. John has encouraged Frank’s book project, contributing the foreword. Former Columbus Ledger-Enquirer city editor Harry Franklin has called the book a “remarkable story.” Famed crime novelist, Ace Atkins, has praised it as “a true American tragedy.” In Atkins’s last novel, “Wicked City,” one of the leading characters is based on Frank’s murdered father.
“Touched by Fire” is history through the eyes of an American everyman. It is a story that teaches us the heroism of survival and hope. It is a lesson we could all use in these difficult times.
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Cindy: For every enthusiastic librarian or teacher, there’s a kid out there with a “prove-it-to-me” attitude. Miss Brooks is a costumed, puppet-wielding vortex of book-loving, book-promoting energy but one of her young students is not buying any.
I ask Miss Brooks why she dresses up for reading circle.
“I want you to get as excited about books as I am,” she says.
I think Miss Brooks gets a little too excited. And I bet her costumes itch.
When the girl asks her mother if they can move to a new town her mother replies, “…there’s a librarian in every town.”
Book Week comes and the librarian gets even more excited while the little cynic rejects the gusto with which a variety of books are offered. It’s finally a wart and a snort that wins the girl’s affections for books. Yes, William Steig’s brilliant Shrek. Miss Brooks Loves Books (Random/Knopf) is sure to become a March is Reading Month staple.
Each fall I start the school year by challenging my students at orientation to play “Stump the Librarian.” I tell them that I know that not everyone likes to read as much as I do, but that I can help them to find at least one item in the library that they will like. They are encouraged to come to me during the first few months of school and say “I dare you to find me a book I will like.” They love hearing that I’ve never been stumped and think that they will be the one. I love that I’ve eliminated a few barriers to getting them to talk to me about books, and, so far, my record stands. We excitable book-loving librarians are hard to outlast.
Lynn: I’m not sure who is going to laugh most at this charming book - kids or librarians. We librarians all know this skeptical child who scornfully rejects every book we offer. Illustrator Michael Emberley captures the very essence of resistance that oozes from this bespectacled child. In contrast, the energetic Miss Brooks seems to spark enthusiasm from the ends of her wild hair. It is clear from Emberley’s warmly comedic pictures that Miss Brooks is not going to give up till the reluctant narrator is converted. Thank goodness for warts and snorts and all the “funny and fantastic and appalling” books in the library and for all the Miss Brooks fighting the good fight.
Lynn: I just want to say up front that I’m starting a new campaign to make this book required reading for every teenage girl before she gets her driver’s license. In the Driver’s Seat (Zest Books, 2009) begins with this introduction, “This book will elevate you from clueless newbie to a total car star who refuses to be taken for a ride.” In an accessible chatty style, the book brings readers up to speed on important topics like how to buy a car, how a car actually works, how to maintain and repair it as well as fun things like “styling your ride.” Designed to fit into a glove box, the book’s practical information includes tips on how to be taken seriously by a mechanic and how to handle tricky driving situations. Totally geared to girls, this terrific book is much more than just a regular car book with a pink cover. It’s pretty great for grown up girls too - I’m getting one to keep in my car!
Cindy: Our school district (West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI) is fortunate to have a very talented female Industrial Arts teacher among our faculty. Robin Mamo taught in our middle school until this school year when budget cuts moved her to the high school. How lucky for our high school to get her and to have such a great role model for students both male and female. One of the classes she now teaches is Home and Auto so we gave her our review copy of the book to use with her female students. Here’s what she had to say:
I love how the book is written with humor, and without a condescending tone, which is often the case when a non-traditional subject is being taught to girls (believe me, I know this from personal experience). It’s also not “silly”, but it relates topics to real life experiences most girls will or have had. Love it!–Robin Mamo
As an example of what Robin highlights, there’s a section that talks about draining your car battery by “rocking out to your newest killer playlist while waiting to pick up your little brother from school. But like the dying hero in any daytime drama, a car battery can almost always be resuscitated in a matter of minutes.” The book then goes on to explain how to jump your car.
Besides all the practical advice in this book, I enjoyed the fun extras like the lists of female auto-centric movies (Thelma and Louise, anyone?) or the list of car-themed songs to listen to while you drive. And, I loved the historical facts about women drivers and female inventors…did you know it was a high school girl who invented the gizmo that knows to turn off your turn signal once you’ve completed your turn? And it was a woman who invented windshield wipers! This book does belong in every high school library collection, but what a great gift book it would be for new girl drivers (along with a gas gift card!).
Lynn: Incarceron (Penguin/Dial 2010) has already gathered five starred reviews and is one of the most talked about books of the new season. As a devoted skeptic, I started this book with a prove-it-to-me attitude but this is a bandwagon I am happily joining.
Set in a future earth, the story follows two teens, each imprisoned, one physically and one by the culture. Finn is a prisoner in Incarceron, a prison envisioned and created by social engineers who hoped to develop a utopian model. Over time the prison has become sentient and is sadistically cruel to the vast population within it. No one has EVER escaped. Claudia, privileged daughter of the Warden of Incarceron is betrothed to the appalling young heir to the throne. Her father has long schemed to control the realm through his daughter. Possessing highly sophisticated technology, society has chosen to impose a seventeenth century mode of life, called the Protocol and Claudia chafes against its choking restrictions. When Finn and Claudia each discover a crystal key, they begin to communicate, and their stories and lives intertwine.
Fisher’s highly original concept is wonderfully intriguing and is matched by the labyrinthine plot which kept me guessing all the way through. The characters are terrific, humanly flawed and full of depth. I cared about them all and especially fascinated by the villains. Who could resist that sentient prison - what a cool concept! While there is a complete story arc, the ending left me gasping and I was SO happy to hear there is already a sequel, Sapphique, published in England. Bring it on!
Cindy: Can we start with the cover? It’s attractive. It has the currently popular gears that hint at steam punk, which fits the story in some respects. But the key? It’s gorgeous and iridescent but it’s completely the WRONG SHAPE. I know, I know, skeleton keys are all the rage (we covered that in a fall blog post) but the crystal key that is central to this book’s plot is described as hexagonal in shape, a faceted crystal with hidden buttons around the edges. I know this doesn’t diminish the story and that marketing folks don’t give a rip if the cover matches the text if the book will sell, but still, cover inaccuracies irritate me. How about you?
But oh, the villains in this book. Here’s just one:
Jormanric grinned. Ket-juice glistened on his teeth. “You want my word! I haven’t kept my word since I was ten and knifed my own brother. You’re welcome to it.”
Jormanric is pure evil, but just as in Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking series, I’m not always sure just who the good and bad guys are here. There are lots of questions to be answered in the coming installments, and this is a series that I think I might like more later in the series once some of those questions are answered. It’s certainly one that will keep me thinking about it until I can get my hands on the next installment.
Utopias are so unpredictable. When Claudia and her sapient (tutor) Jared first hear voices from Incarceron prisoners coming from the crystal key, Claudia is confused. “They sounded scared,” she says, but…”there’s nothing to fear in a perfect world, is there?”
Lynn: What is your schedule like - crazy busy or have you got a little time? Before you pick up Possessed (Scholastic/Point 2010) or recommend this to someone make sure it’s the latter because this is one of those deliciously addictive books that you won’t be able to put down. Trust me, you’ll be staying up past midnight telling yourself you’re going to read just one more chapter…well maybe two more because they’re short. Before you know it, you’ve gobbled the whole thing down and it’s going to take major doses of caffeine to keep you from sleeping at your desk the next day.
Rayne Peters feels so trapped in her tiny noisy London apartment she wants to scream and run. She’s trapped between her whiny mother and her tense relationship with her controlling boyfriend. “Sex hung over their relationship like a great bird of prey, waiting for its time.” When she sees an advert for a waitressing job in a country manor far from home, Rayne seizes her chance and runs, telling her mom the job is just for a gap year and she’ll be home every weekend. Rayne revels in the quiet, the isolation and the privacy. But Rayne senses that there are huge forces at work at Morton’s Keep and something ancient wants to keep her there.
Cann’s atmospheric tale blends supernatural terror with an intensely sympathetic coming of age story. Rayne is a vividly developed character and her struggles to define herself are deftly drawn. Two gorgeous boys add palpable sexual tension heightening interest. The result is irresistible. You’ve been warned - clear your calendar, sit back and enjoy.
Cindy and Lynn: You may have already seen this fun, inspiring middle school reading video, but if not, check out what Ocoee Middle School in Orange County Florida did to celebrate reading. 1600 students and staff, holding books, dancing and singing to a remake of the Black Eyed Peas song, “I Gotta Feeling.” Using the song with permission, they changed the title to “Gotta Keep Reading” and wrote new lyrics. Take a look! And how are YOU celebrating Read Across America Day?
We noticed that they filmed this in December.
Outside.
In t-shirts.
No coats.
We’d be dancing too!
(Shout out to our colleague, West Ottawa Public Schools elementary school librarian Debbie Whitbeck for sharing this awesome video!)
Lynn: Perhaps it is the enormity of tragedies such as war that make them hard to grasp. Despite embedded reporters and dramatic photographs, such events often remain distant and unimaginable. Somehow it is the small stories that bring the reality of the suffering into our hearts and minds. Saving the Baghdad Zoo (Harper/Greenwillow 2010) does exactly that. This is the story of the courage and kindness of a committed group of people who worked to help innocent creatures literally caught in the crossfire. Some, like Major Sumner, were assigned to the task. Many volunteered, giving their time and often their own food to the starving, suffering animals.
Halls and Sumner tell the story of the impact of the Iraq War on the animals of the Baghdad Zoo and other smaller animal collections around the city, including palace zoos. An international group headed by Sumner found an appalling situation. With the infrastructure destroyed, the animals were scattered and starving. Some were stolen, some butchered for food. Still under fire, the group worked quickly to help. Some of the stories are heartbreaking like that of the old bear, given a new home, who touched grass for the first time. Some are triumphant like discovering the hidden location of valuable Arabian horses. The book is illustrated with wonderful photographs and enriched by sidebars with information about the animal species. Fascinating and moving, the book makes real the tragedy of war but also affirms the goodness that exists in human hearts. Just put this one on display and watch it fly out the door with readers.
Cindy: A few years ago Lynn and I read an adult graphic novel called The Pride of Baghdad (DC Comics, 2006) written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Niko Henrichon. Told from the viewpoint of four lions that escaped from the zoo in April, 2003, the book showed the horrors of war and the destruction of the Baghdad Zoo from another perspective and was a metaphor for all of the displaced Baghdad citizens. I was thrilled when I heard that Halls was telling another chapter in this zoo’s war history for a youth nonfiction title so I could share the events with my middle school students. Most of the chapters are centered around an individual species, but each situation builds on the understanding of the challenges, dangers, and rewards of helping the animals. Ultimately, the beneficiaries of the humanitarian efforts were not just the animals. When the zoo reopened in July of 2003, it began to restore some normality and hope for the Iraqi people. There’s still a long way to go as Iraq rebuilds, but this book shows that good acts can help healing in many forms.
Cindy: Who knew garbage could be so much fun? If you’re looking for a different spin on “green” literature, try Here Comes the Garbage Barge! (Random / Schwartz & Wade, 2010). Before I even read the story I was sidetracked by the cover tease telling me to look inside the book jacket to learn how the art was created. Readers of all ages will be fascinated by the photos of the behind the scenes process of the Red Nose Studio’s creation of the barge, the expressive characters, and the rotting garbage. As a teen in the 70s I used to make and sell realistic food out of clay for the dollhouse/miniatures craze and this book with its carefully modeled and photographed scenery brought back lots of those memories. But I digress. I was so pleased when I saw the final hardcover copy and was reassured to find this treat included on the back of the jacket there, too, and not just in the advanced review copy. Now if libraries can find a way to process the book that allows for this to still be viewed.
Now, on to the book. Jonah Winter regales us with a lively fictionalized retelling of the adventure of the garbage barge that left Long Island in March 1987 filled with almost 3200 tons of garbage with the idea of hauling it by water to a cheaper dumping ground in the South. Denied at every port, the barge ended up making a six-month, six-thousand-mile trek through the hot summer months looking for a home for the garbage. I can’t imagine the smell! This book will be a great addition to elementary school Earth Day celebrations, but it could also make a great middle school reader’s theater…and adults who will remember this summer of stink are going to want to take a peek, too. It’s sure to make us all think a little more carefully about just how much garbage we produce.
Lynn: The twins and I had a lot of fun with this book. 3000 tons of stinky garbage is a totally gross topic - what could be more riveting for small boys? They loved the pictures and descriptions on the back of the cover about how the book was created too. Rotting banana peels - ewwww!
The school librarian part of me loved this book too because of its many fascinating possibilities for use. It’s a hoot to read aloud with the diverse locations and accents and would be terrific, as Cindy says, for speech and theater classes. It’s a natural for art and photography classes. For science classes and as a research starter, this is a total gem. The real barge, the Mobro 4000, is credited by many for spurring national interest in recycling. Ask students to discover if our propensity for producing garbage has improved since 1987. How much garbage do we produce and incinerate and how much do we recycle? Fascinating, eye-opening stuff, including this article from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and it will lead to passionate classroom discussions for kids of all ages.
And one more thing - at the end of the book there is a moral. It was a perfect illustration of that term for young readers and the boys and I had fun assigning morals to other favorite books. Hmmm - libraries may need multiple copies of this versatile book
Lynn: The publication of a new book in the Thief of Attolia series is exciting news and the latest, A Conspiracy of Kings (Harper/Greenwillow, 2010) will publish in April. We were very lucky and received arcs in December and of course we sat down and read them instantly. We normally don’t like to blog new books until very close to the release date but we can’t stand to wait any longer - and April isn’t THAT far away.
Anxious fans won’t be disappointed and readers will find they can slide smoothly back into Turner’s exquisitely imagined world. This story focuses on Sophos, whom we first met in The Thief. Dubbed “Useless the Younger” by Eugenides, Sophos, a scholar at heart, was supremely uninterested in power, preferring to study poetry. Heir to the throne of Sounis, Sophos remained hopeful that his uncle would marry, produce a son and spare him the rigors of kingship. Then Sophos is kidnapped and sold into slavery and enemies threaten the kingdom. Sophos must step up to his responsibilities and find a way to save his country and the people he loves. Filled with intrigue and witty humor, there is also an abundance of heart-stopping action and a lovely lacing of romance. Readers familiar with Turner’s books will be on the lookout for her trademark twists and turns but this beautifully plotted book is full of unexpected surprises even for the cagiest reader. Eugenides’ hand is discernible stirring the pot in the background and the resulting concoction is richly satisfying.
Cindy: Well, I thought Lynn and I were big fans of this series (and we are), but we have yet to construct Lego companion stories, or a livejournal for fanantics (I mean fans) where you can read fanfiction and view fanart and get all the Sounis/Eddis/Attolia news. We have read the delightful HipWriterMama interview with Megan Whalen Turner and were thrilled with the news that she expects to write two more books in this stellar series.
Since I reviewed The Conspiracy of Kings for Booklist, you can read my starred review through the title link in Lynn’s post. I’ll use my space to praise HarperCollins/Greenwillow for one of the best cover re-issues in all of children’s/YA literature. Take a look, folks, at the original cover of The Thief and it’s reissue:
Cover changes have rarely improved circulation as much as this one has. I’ve not changed my booktalk at all, but the circ has increased dramatically with the new covers. And the best part? The new fans are hand-selling the books to their friends so that even though I have a lot of copies, they are rarely on the shelf for me to promote. I have them in my middle school, but they should be required for every high school collection. Recommend these to your Percy Jackson fans who are ready for more complex plotting and deeper themes. Eugenides and his colleagues will steal their hearts.
Writing blogs is hard work. So now, as Megan says repeatedly in the interview linked above, “I need to go lie down.”
UPDATE: Since Noa brought up the cover art of Queen of Attolia, I’m adding it here so everyone can view the original and new covers. Another wise move by Greenwillow.
Lynn and Cindy: The Finalists for the 2009 LA Times Book Prize were announced Monday and we are really excited! Four of these were in Lynn’s Top Ten. Here are the finalists:
James Cross Giblin. The Rise and Fall of Senator Joe McCarthy
Frances Hardinge. The Lost Conspiracy
Deborah Heiligman. Charles and Emma: The Darwin’s Leap of Faith
Elizabeth Partridge. Marching for Freedom: Walk Together and Don’t You Grow Weary
Shaun Tan. Tales from Outer Suburbia
Congratulations to the finalists and the brilliant committee. The winners will be announced April 23, 2010.
Lynn: If we were as clever as Marilyn Singer, we’d write this blog in reversible lines in honor of her wonderful new book, Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse (Penguin/Dutton, March 2010). There is a reason she is a writer and we are reviewers though so we won’t try. I’ll resort to saying that this book is a sheer delight in every way. Read the lines of the first poem top to bottom and then watch the meaning subtly change as the lines flip in the second poem so that the bottom lines are now the top. I especially love the poems that reflect the viewpoints of two narrators: Snow White and the Evil Queen, the witch and Hansel or the Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood. Josee’ Masse’s equally clever illustrations add delightful visual clues for the reader as well.
Share this book with kids and challenge them to try writing their own reversible verse. Singer used familiar fairy tales as her subject but the range of topics is wide open. Irresistible!
Cindy: Speak for yourself, Lynn! How could I ignore that challenge? I’ll readily admit I am no Marilyn Singer, but here’s my composed-at-5 a.m.-in-15-minutes attempt at a reverso poem in honor of this book, our friendship and this blog:
As for the book, I agree with Lynn, it is delightful. Singer’s poems change meaning and give the opposing evil viewpoint of the villain in her reverso poems. The Booklist review targets this book for grades 2-5 and while that is appropriate for the natural audience of the book, consider purchasing this for middle school collections, too, for its creative writing or readers theater classroom possibilities. And I love the title! Using the familiar chant of Snow White’s queen for a book of fairy tale poetry with poems that mirror themselves is brilliant. This poetry book is among the fairest of them all.
Lynn: Cindy is clearly up to the challenge! Now I’ll have to see what I can write after I get the boys on the bus. Stay tuned
On Thursday, February 18, 2010 from noon to 3pm Frank Griffin will be signing his book, “Touched by Fire” at the Geneva Public Library at 312 South Commerce Street in Geneva. Frank’s story is that of an ordinary young man caught up in extraordinary events. 45 years ago Frank came back to Alabama accompanied by a sheriff’s deputy. He was about to serve two years for a theft he did not commit. Frank served his time, earned a pardon, moved to Texas, and lived the life of a solid citizen; he left his past behind. But the past he was leaving would not let go. Frank was born into the tumult of history, and until he’d turned 21 history hadn’t let him alone.
Book Week comes and the librarian gets even more excited while the little cynic rejects the gusto with which a variety of books are offered. It’s finally a wart and a snort that wins the girl’s affections for books. Yes, William Steig’s brilliant Shrek. 
Lynn: I just want to say up front that I’m starting a new campaign to make this book required reading for every teenage girl before she gets her driver’s license. 
Cindy: Our school district (
Besides all the practical advice in this book, I enjoyed the fun extras like the lists of female auto-centric movies (
Thanks to 
Lynn: 
Lynn: What is your schedule like - crazy busy or have you got a little time? Before you pick up 
Lynn: Perhaps it is the enormity of tragedies such as war that make them hard to grasp. Despite embedded reporters and dramatic photographs, such events often remain distant and unimaginable. Somehow it is the small stories that bring the reality of the suffering into our hearts and minds. 
Cindy: Who knew garbage could be so much fun? If you’re looking for a different spin on “green” literature, try 
Lynn: The publication of a new book in the Thief of Attolia series is exciting news and the latest, 
Lynn: If we were as clever as Marilyn Singer, we’d write this blog in reversible lines in honor of her wonderful new book, 
Head over to