The Storytelling Animal; How Stories Make Us Human
Jonathan Gottschall
ISBN: 9780547391403
Read June 26, 2014
Nonfiction; imagination and story, anthropology, sociology
This is a really good read. Gottschall pokes at biology, evolution, anthropology, ethnography, and sociology, and even a few dream studies, to give a well-rounded view of this instinct for story and creative play that all humans share. Excellent read.
Friday, June 27, 2014
American Girl: Isabelle, Designs by Isabelle, To the Stars Isabelle, by Laurence Yep
American Girl's 2014 Doll of the Year is Isabelle, and while I've never owned an American Girl doll (I wish I had that kind of money) I am always very impressed with the books that go along with them.
Isabelle is a ballet dancer living in Washington DC with her older sister (also a ballerina) and her museum-curator/fabric-artist mother and hospital administrator/jazz-musician father. Despite her skills in costume and fashion design, Isabelle feels like she's shadowed by the dancing talent of her older sister Jade, and also struggles with a classmate who is prickly and meanspirited.
All read June 25, 2014
Isabelle
ISBN: 9781609583712
Introduces the character as she practices for a school recital, performing choreography that is proving difficult to master.
Designs by Isabelle
ISBN: 9781609583729
Chosen as part of the cast of a modern-day Nutcracker, Isabelle helps her older sister adjust to a growth spurt, and uses her design talents to help improve the costumes, but her own part in the show is causing her trouble.
To the Stars, Isabelle
ISBN: 9781609583736
After mastering her role in the Nutcracker, Isabelle is thrilled when her dance idol chooses her as part of a small outreach program to perform in nursing homes and hospitals, but performing in impromptu locations proves to be a challenge, and Isabelle needs her sister Jade's support to feel inspired.
These three are written by the award-winning (and very good) author Laurence Yep, and he does a very good job within the obvious strictures of the extremely socially-conscious American Girl framework. With him at the helm, obviously-included mentions and characters almost seem like grace-notes, and less like a rigid requirement. Doubtful that younger readers will even notice, making these nearly-seamless inclusions even more important.
Isabelle is a ballet dancer living in Washington DC with her older sister (also a ballerina) and her museum-curator/fabric-artist mother and hospital administrator/jazz-musician father. Despite her skills in costume and fashion design, Isabelle feels like she's shadowed by the dancing talent of her older sister Jade, and also struggles with a classmate who is prickly and meanspirited.
All read June 25, 2014
Isabelle
ISBN: 9781609583712
Introduces the character as she practices for a school recital, performing choreography that is proving difficult to master.
Designs by Isabelle
ISBN: 9781609583729
Chosen as part of the cast of a modern-day Nutcracker, Isabelle helps her older sister adjust to a growth spurt, and uses her design talents to help improve the costumes, but her own part in the show is causing her trouble.
To the Stars, Isabelle
ISBN: 9781609583736
After mastering her role in the Nutcracker, Isabelle is thrilled when her dance idol chooses her as part of a small outreach program to perform in nursing homes and hospitals, but performing in impromptu locations proves to be a challenge, and Isabelle needs her sister Jade's support to feel inspired.
These three are written by the award-winning (and very good) author Laurence Yep, and he does a very good job within the obvious strictures of the extremely socially-conscious American Girl framework. With him at the helm, obviously-included mentions and characters almost seem like grace-notes, and less like a rigid requirement. Doubtful that younger readers will even notice, making these nearly-seamless inclusions even more important.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
The Revenant of Thraxton Hall, Vaughn Entwistle
The Revenant of Thraxton Hall (the Paranormal Casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, book 1)
Vaughn Entwistle
ISBN: 9781250035004
Fantasy of Manners: What if the author of Sherlock Holmes lived in a world where the paranormal really did exist?
I liked this quite a lot, except for a few really minor niggles here and there. First off, I adore Wilde, and I hope that we get quite a lot of him enjoying his life before everything goes to shit for him (poor guy). I also like that we get to see a side of Doyle that most people aren't aware of - his worries about his family tendency towards insanity, his grief over his wife, his seething resentment of Sherlock Holmes, and his stubborn determination that he will be remembered for his "serious" writings and his interest in the paranormal. That last bit is actually the most interesting here, because in Entwistle's world (and I really really hope that's a pseudonym) the paranormal is actually real and can interact violently with the world and with living persons.
The story is pretty simple - a locked-room murder mystery, but with one twist; the murder has to be solved before it happens in order to keep it from happening. Doyle is a phlegmatic hero (aided immensely by Wilde's antics whenever the action needs a bit of spice) and the cast of characters is suitably eccentric and mysterious. I feel like this could be an homage to the movie Clue. The Lady of Thraxton Hall is a psychic medium, and she has forseen her death at a meeting of the Society for Psychical Research (yes, a real thing, both then and now) taking place at her ancestral pile. The suspects, er, guests, all assembled per vision, poor Doyle has to work out the mystery to save the young Lady's life, aided only by Wilde, his raging libido, and a ghostly, sardonic Sherlock who mocks him in his dreams.
The characterization was a bit slim at times (with a large cast, nearly impossible to avoid) but the main characters and main villains got handled respectably. I especially appreciated the time spent with George.
Despite knowing that poor Wilde's life is about to go downhill, I'm looking forward to continuing this series.
Vaughn Entwistle
ISBN: 9781250035004
Fantasy of Manners: What if the author of Sherlock Holmes lived in a world where the paranormal really did exist?
I liked this quite a lot, except for a few really minor niggles here and there. First off, I adore Wilde, and I hope that we get quite a lot of him enjoying his life before everything goes to shit for him (poor guy). I also like that we get to see a side of Doyle that most people aren't aware of - his worries about his family tendency towards insanity, his grief over his wife, his seething resentment of Sherlock Holmes, and his stubborn determination that he will be remembered for his "serious" writings and his interest in the paranormal. That last bit is actually the most interesting here, because in Entwistle's world (and I really really hope that's a pseudonym) the paranormal is actually real and can interact violently with the world and with living persons.
The story is pretty simple - a locked-room murder mystery, but with one twist; the murder has to be solved before it happens in order to keep it from happening. Doyle is a phlegmatic hero (aided immensely by Wilde's antics whenever the action needs a bit of spice) and the cast of characters is suitably eccentric and mysterious. I feel like this could be an homage to the movie Clue. The Lady of Thraxton Hall is a psychic medium, and she has forseen her death at a meeting of the Society for Psychical Research (yes, a real thing, both then and now) taking place at her ancestral pile. The suspects, er, guests, all assembled per vision, poor Doyle has to work out the mystery to save the young Lady's life, aided only by Wilde, his raging libido, and a ghostly, sardonic Sherlock who mocks him in his dreams.
The characterization was a bit slim at times (with a large cast, nearly impossible to avoid) but the main characters and main villains got handled respectably. I especially appreciated the time spent with George.
Despite knowing that poor Wilde's life is about to go downhill, I'm looking forward to continuing this series.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
The Dolphin Way, Shimi K. Kang, MD
The Dolphin Way
Shimi K. Kang, MD
ISBN: 9780399166044
Nonfiction: Parenting
A backlash against "tiger" parenting, this book mainly rehashes the benefits of authoritative (not authoritarian or permissive) parenting styles by drawing on the playful and communal lives of dolphins. However, she never seems to get far enough into dolphin biology and behavior to suit me, nor does she really add much to the authoritative viewpoint other than that particular framework.
Lots of "do" and "don't" lists, and the text in those lists is formatted in a strangely unreadable font - very compressed and smaller than the "reading" text. I suppose it's to make them stand out, but for as long and involved as they are (bullet-points these are most assuredly not) it seems like they could have found a more inviting text to use.
Final personal preference quirk: I really love individual case stories (even when I know they're made up - scuse me, "compiled" from actual cases) and while there were a few sprinkled here and there, the ones that were there were really interesting and compelling - sadly moreso than her directives and musings on dolphins. I would have liked to see more of the cases used as examples for both good and bad.
Shimi K. Kang, MD
ISBN: 9780399166044
Nonfiction: Parenting
A backlash against "tiger" parenting, this book mainly rehashes the benefits of authoritative (not authoritarian or permissive) parenting styles by drawing on the playful and communal lives of dolphins. However, she never seems to get far enough into dolphin biology and behavior to suit me, nor does she really add much to the authoritative viewpoint other than that particular framework.
Lots of "do" and "don't" lists, and the text in those lists is formatted in a strangely unreadable font - very compressed and smaller than the "reading" text. I suppose it's to make them stand out, but for as long and involved as they are (bullet-points these are most assuredly not) it seems like they could have found a more inviting text to use.
Final personal preference quirk: I really love individual case stories (even when I know they're made up - scuse me, "compiled" from actual cases) and while there were a few sprinkled here and there, the ones that were there were really interesting and compelling - sadly moreso than her directives and musings on dolphins. I would have liked to see more of the cases used as examples for both good and bad.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Summer Reading Program 2014. Week 3: Animals
Had an ENORMOUS group this morning for our Family Storytime - lots of toddlers, lots of babies, lots of relatives visiting from out of town. Excellent group tho, and the stories flowed so well!
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild
Peter Brown
ISBN: 9780316200639
Stylized stiff animals and buildings inhabit a faux-victorian world until Mr Tiger loosens up.
Mister Tiger is prim and proper, just like all of his neighbors, in a starched jacket, tophat, and excellent manners. Until he just gets sick of it, and starts going WILD - walking on all fours, roaring, even going for a skinny-dip in the town square fountain. His neighbors and friends are scandalized, and suggest that if Mister Tiger wishes to behave wildly, he should do so in the wilderness - which he does, until he gets lonely and heads back home. Once there he discovers that his wild behaviors have loosened up his neighbors too, and everyone is now just a little bit wild.
Polar Opposites
Erik Brook
ISBN: 9780761456858
Soft-edged pictures carry the background story of two friends packing for a trip to the tropics, while the text busies itself with defining opposites.
I love this story. Lots of science and lots of solid information packed into a showboat of a story of two good friends who live on opposite poles. Alex the polar bear and Zina the penguin are opposites in so many ways, and the story lists a great number of them, while the artwork begins with their homes and shows them cleaning, packing, and traveling to the tropics for a vacation together.
The Wide-Mouthed Frog (pop-up version)
Keith Faulkner, illustrated by Jonathan Lambert
ISBN: 9780803718753
A variety of pop-up animals highlight the story of a boastful wide-mouth frog who goes around comparing dinners with everyone.
I love this book so hard, and with a group this big, it was perfect for a SUPER QUICK, super fun ending story. It's VERY VERY short, but the pop-ups are fun and the kids get a kick out of the ending, especially when the storyteller gets into it and makes funny faces and voices (which I was happy to do today).
For the afternoon, with the older kids, I switched it up with a few longer books that I rarely get the chance to read, even though they are excellent storybooks.
We started again with Mister Tiger (he's one of the featured Summer Reading titles, which is why he gets to go twice) and then moved on to One Cool Friend and then a new one for the blog:
Two Bad Ants
Chris Van Allsburg
ISBN: 9780395486689
Stylized line drawings chronicle the story of two ants who shirk their duties and face a perilous world.
Van Allsburg is a freaking genius, and one of the true sorrows of my professional life is that I work with kids too young to really get his stories, so I can't read them at work as often as I would like. Something about his approach and his slightly-slanted viewpoint makes me think of Neil Gaiman or Lemony Snicket, or even Saki. Just delightful, and just a smidge perverse in a lovely subversive way.
Next week we're celebrating our nation's birthday by NOT having any programs, and then after that we're on to dinosaurs!
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild
Peter Brown
ISBN: 9780316200639
Stylized stiff animals and buildings inhabit a faux-victorian world until Mr Tiger loosens up.
Mister Tiger is prim and proper, just like all of his neighbors, in a starched jacket, tophat, and excellent manners. Until he just gets sick of it, and starts going WILD - walking on all fours, roaring, even going for a skinny-dip in the town square fountain. His neighbors and friends are scandalized, and suggest that if Mister Tiger wishes to behave wildly, he should do so in the wilderness - which he does, until he gets lonely and heads back home. Once there he discovers that his wild behaviors have loosened up his neighbors too, and everyone is now just a little bit wild.
Polar Opposites
Erik Brook
ISBN: 9780761456858
Soft-edged pictures carry the background story of two friends packing for a trip to the tropics, while the text busies itself with defining opposites.
I love this story. Lots of science and lots of solid information packed into a showboat of a story of two good friends who live on opposite poles. Alex the polar bear and Zina the penguin are opposites in so many ways, and the story lists a great number of them, while the artwork begins with their homes and shows them cleaning, packing, and traveling to the tropics for a vacation together.
The Wide-Mouthed Frog (pop-up version)
Keith Faulkner, illustrated by Jonathan Lambert
ISBN: 9780803718753
A variety of pop-up animals highlight the story of a boastful wide-mouth frog who goes around comparing dinners with everyone.
I love this book so hard, and with a group this big, it was perfect for a SUPER QUICK, super fun ending story. It's VERY VERY short, but the pop-ups are fun and the kids get a kick out of the ending, especially when the storyteller gets into it and makes funny faces and voices (which I was happy to do today).
For the afternoon, with the older kids, I switched it up with a few longer books that I rarely get the chance to read, even though they are excellent storybooks.
We started again with Mister Tiger (he's one of the featured Summer Reading titles, which is why he gets to go twice) and then moved on to One Cool Friend and then a new one for the blog:
Two Bad Ants
Chris Van Allsburg
ISBN: 9780395486689
Stylized line drawings chronicle the story of two ants who shirk their duties and face a perilous world.
Van Allsburg is a freaking genius, and one of the true sorrows of my professional life is that I work with kids too young to really get his stories, so I can't read them at work as often as I would like. Something about his approach and his slightly-slanted viewpoint makes me think of Neil Gaiman or Lemony Snicket, or even Saki. Just delightful, and just a smidge perverse in a lovely subversive way.
Next week we're celebrating our nation's birthday by NOT having any programs, and then after that we're on to dinosaurs!
Monday, June 23, 2014
Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, Misty Copeland (with Charisse Jones)
Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, My Story of Adversity and Grace
Misty Copeland (ghostwriter/assist Charisse Jones)
ISBN: 9781476737980
Read June 22, 2014
Nonfiction: memoir of a modern African American ballerina with the American Ballet Theatre.
Either Misty or Charisse has a very personable "voice" for this memoir of a young girl who discovered her true calling in ballet. The story flows well, her love of dance and movement is clear, as is her love of her family and friends. The latter is especially evident in the care taken in describing flawed or abusive relatives.
Not much insight into the world of ballet, but lots of insight into this one woman's life as she grows and matures.
Misty Copeland (ghostwriter/assist Charisse Jones)
ISBN: 9781476737980
Read June 22, 2014
Nonfiction: memoir of a modern African American ballerina with the American Ballet Theatre.
Either Misty or Charisse has a very personable "voice" for this memoir of a young girl who discovered her true calling in ballet. The story flows well, her love of dance and movement is clear, as is her love of her family and friends. The latter is especially evident in the care taken in describing flawed or abusive relatives.
Not much insight into the world of ballet, but lots of insight into this one woman's life as she grows and matures.
Storytime Potentials: The Invisible Boy, Trudy Ludwig; The Most Magnificent Thing, Ashley Spires
The Invisible Boy
Trudy Ludwig, illustrated by Patrice Barton
ISBN: 9781582464503
Read June 18
Watercolor washes and peculiar animated faces make the one grey "invisible" boy stand out.
I want to like the illustrations in this book, but Barton gives her children, especially the invisible boy, nearly black lips, stretched out in their caricatured heads, and it just gives me the willies. Other than that, the art is sensitive and painterly, with care taken in physical expressions and posture. The storyline is equally sensitive, showing an "invisible" boy who is simply overlooked by his classmates, until a new kid comes in and upsets the status quo.
The Most Magnificent Thing
Ashley Spires
ISBN: 9781554537044
Read June 18
A girl inventor and her pug battle through the struggle to get your inventions to "just go right."
This is the perfect book for anyone who has ever tried to create anything ever. I am serious. It absolutely nails the frustration of having a perfect vision in your head, and trying so hard to make it real, and failing miserably and continually until you finally get it almost (but never exactly) right.
So perfect.
Trudy Ludwig, illustrated by Patrice Barton
ISBN: 9781582464503
Read June 18
Watercolor washes and peculiar animated faces make the one grey "invisible" boy stand out.
I want to like the illustrations in this book, but Barton gives her children, especially the invisible boy, nearly black lips, stretched out in their caricatured heads, and it just gives me the willies. Other than that, the art is sensitive and painterly, with care taken in physical expressions and posture. The storyline is equally sensitive, showing an "invisible" boy who is simply overlooked by his classmates, until a new kid comes in and upsets the status quo.
The Most Magnificent Thing
Ashley Spires
ISBN: 9781554537044
Read June 18
A girl inventor and her pug battle through the struggle to get your inventions to "just go right."
This is the perfect book for anyone who has ever tried to create anything ever. I am serious. It absolutely nails the frustration of having a perfect vision in your head, and trying so hard to make it real, and failing miserably and continually until you finally get it almost (but never exactly) right.
So perfect.
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