Dystopic Book Ladder Podcast

Dear People,

I just finished my Dystopic Book Ladder Podcast for our fina
l project.



Many thanks to the people who run youraudio.com.  It's a great, free place to post audio files.

- Jason McCoy

Ways to get free books!

Some of you may have noticed the blog roll on the sidebar of our blog page.  There I've linked to a few blogs that I've followed over the years and that I trust for quality recommendations and discussions about YA books.

Tonight I just checked out the newest link to librarian Betsy Bird's blog (we read her in the article about Blogging the Kidlitosphere earlier this semester) and found out that Little, Brown Books for Young Readers has begun rolling out its spring list of new titles.

If you go to Betsy's blog post, you'll find that LBBYR School and Library Marketing Director Victoria Stapleton (she's wonderful, and she's known at NCTE for wearing funky shoes) will send an ARC (advance reader copy) of any of the books featured on their spring list to anyone who requests it.  There's an opportunity for those of you trying to build classroom libraries and get your hands on soon-to-be-released titles!  So get to Betsy's blog post ASAP and send Victoria your ARC requests!

Jennifer

An End To Snow Days?!

I heard about this on the news and this gave me a bittersweet feeling! Growing up, and maybe even still, anyone who is goes to school prays for snow days. Now that more and more students are having technology incorporated into their classes, they may not be able to completely miss school on future snow days. A school district in Ohio made the news by being the first district to implement ‘E Days’ during snow days. Teachers and administrators dread the thought of pushing the school year into June days. By implementing E Days, students will be responsible for doing their schoolwork over the Internet during snow days in order to keep up to speed and finish the school year on time. I can see both the good side and the bad side to the situation, but I was a little heartbroken at the concept of no more snow days. That was the best part about winter! I remember watching snow fall at night when I was going to bed and then waking up extra early to read the cancellations on the news… it’s like a right of passage during childhood! Now I realize that this may be dramatic, but seriously… is one snow day so bad that we still have to make kids work? I believe that a snow day is more or less nature’s way of giving kids a break! I say let kids be kids, if a snow day turns into a snow week then E Days would be a great idea! I guess the bright side is that I’m old enough that snow days really don’t matter anymore like they did in grade school and high school, and I’m so happy that I was able to experience that before technology took over snow days. 

Jo Scott

eBooks

I know we've sort of discussed the topic of eBooks in class, but I saw my friends Amazon Kindle for the first time that I thought was über cool and and I just wanted to get everyones thoughts on eBooks.  I like the look and feel of regular books, but the thought of being able to "go green" and save the trees. When I was playing around with her Kindle I found   a search, dictionary and bookmark function among others which I thought were handy.  It was pretty comfortable and the words are comparable to paper books. The friend told me the books are discounted from what you would usually get at a bookstore.  What's stopping me from getting one is the price; I don't think I read enough at the moment to make up the cost of the cheaper version of $189. When I do have extra to splurge I think my next purchase will be the Kindle, Nook, or iPad. So what are everyone else's thoughts on eBooks? Does anyone own any of these devices?

 Disclaimer: The comic is not representative of me. :) It's pretty funny though because it describes some of my friends. I told them I wouldn't mind a hand-me-down X-mas present!

- Jenny

Looking back on the NCTE Annual Convention/ALAN Workshop

Each year when I come home from NCTE/ALAN, there's so much experience to digest, I have trouble telling people about it.  This year is no exception.  One thing I've learned about conferences--this one at least--is that if you go annually, your experience from year to year really morphs and changes.  At first it's about seeing the stars, being in the physical presence of authors whose books you've read.  As time goes by, it becomes more about getting to know people as colleagues.  Just five years ago I couldn't have imagined being a friend and colleague with people like Don Gallo and CJ Bott, but this year I sat and talked with them regularly at YA events.  Here they are signing in for the first day of the ALAN Workshop:

I also attended NCTE for years as a spectator: I went to hear other people talk.  It was such a sea change to begin seeing myself as someone who had knowledge to share and who could initiate conversations.  I loved introducing a panel discussion featuring Matt de la Pena and Coe Booth on issues of race and class in young adult literature and in our schools:

Deborah Appleman is someone I don't know personally (though I did talk with her husband on the convention shuttle bus about their joint work teaching English in a prison), but I love listening to her as a fan and hearing her talk in person about literary theory.  Here you can see her giving a presentation after her Critical Encounters book won the Meade award for outstanding contributions to English education.  She opened her talk with a video clip of Henry Waxman and Alan Greenspan talking about ideology in front of a House subcommittee on finance.  It was a great popular culture connection to the ideas about ideology and literary theory in her book.

Then there's the privilege of hearing a YA author talk in depth about the ideas behind her book, and the pleasure of seeing that author win a $5000 award with her sister and parents in tow.  Kristin Cashore was passionate and eloquent in talking about the ideas that led to Fire, this year's winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award.  You can read her speech by visiting her blog.  Below you can see her with the committee that selected her book to win and with her editor at the book signing table. 

You can see how many people were excited to get her signature in their book!

In another toast to admired experts who eventually become colleagues and friends, here is Professor Nana, otherwise known as Teri Lesesne, with Michigan teacher Daria Plumb.  I got to know these two when I served on the Walden award committee myself a couple of years ago.  Daria and I spent a lot of time together this year at NCTE/ALAN, presenting together and attending the sessions of other YA booktalkers.  You can read Daria's much more thorough account of our experience here and here.

I thought of several of you when Ned Vizzini spoke at ALAN about his experience writing It's Kind of a Funny Story.  To Ned's right is Han Nolan, a wonderful YA author who wrote a book I loved called Dancing on the Edge.  She also wrote a great book called Born Blue, but she was at ALAN to promote her newest novel, Crazy.

An ALAN report wouldn't be complete without giving you at least a glimpse of the boxes and boxes of free books given away to workshop participants.  When I shipped my book box home, I learned it weighed 33 pounds!  The first morning of ALAN, it's like seeing a bunch of teachers and librarians opening Christmas presents, there is so much excitement in the room over free books.  Some participants like Professor Nana (and me) already own a lot of the books we get in our boxes.  Professor Nana usually gives most of hers away!  I have mine at home, ready to dole out to any of you who still want to join ALAN.

Finally, there's not much down time for me over five days at this conference, but I do admit that Orlando was a beautiful setting.  This was the sunrise one morning when I left my hotel room:

I hope this post inspires you to make mental plans to get yourself to Chicago for NCTE/ALAN next year.  Remember that once you are employed as an early-career teacher, you can apply for a Gallo Grant to reduce the cost of the ALAN workshop for yourself.  Gallo Grants cover your registration fees for ALAN and give you a newly-upped $750 stipend for travel and lodging costs.  It helps your case if you're a member of ALAN, so remember that it's never too late to join!

Jennifer Buehler

Who Likes the Harry Potter Movies Better

Hey Guys,

I just posted a new poll asking who liked the Harry Potter movies better, so be sure to vote!

I'm posting this because a couple of days ago I thought that the answer was obvious but then I ran into a friend that had just recently seen the new Harry Potter movie.

He tried to convince me that people who had not read the book would not like the movie because they have not read the books, and therefore, they would compare the movie to other movies rather than the book itself and realize it is not that great of a movie when compared to other movies.  However, if one has already read the books they would like the movie because of the special attachment they have to the franchise.

My friend’s ideas seemed contradictory to mine which were that people who had read the books would not like the movie because the move is almost never identical to the one the reader imagined when reading the book, the movie therefore falls below the readers expectations and the reader does not like the movie.  However, for the viewer who has not read the book, the movie is simply just another movie and they are ready to experience it as a black slate.

I wanted to know what you guys thought. So please comment and vote!

---Amer

Bullying, are we doing enough?

This week, we were exposed to the struggles of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are faced with the harsh cruelty of being bullied. While awareness is growing, so also are the means of which to BE bullied. In an article written based out of Rhode Island, teachers are stressing the importance of new sources of bullying through the internet. It is a sticky theme to follow due to the source being at home or on pages where passwords are required to view, however, the seed has been planted and has potential to grow into a dark forest if something is not done quickly.
So, the question is, what can we do? how do we monitor this behavior and act upon it accordingly? One of the ideas these schools in Rhode Island have accustomed is the presence of a tip box, along with safe rooms. The idea behind the tip boxes are for kids who witness bullying but have the age old idea that "tattling" is bad behavior. We learn this concept when we are grade school and it tends to stick with us throughout high school. It can be a detrimental for future years when children hold on to this idea and the fear stays in their conscience. The tip boxes are what seem to be an ideal way to begin the journey to end bullying. For the whole article --> http://www.projo.com/news/content/bullying_summit_10-27-10_0VKJDPR_v10.230b9ec.html

Another celebration of Laurie Halse Anderson's visit to St. Louis

There's no way I can top Shannon's account of Laurie's visit, but I do have a few more images to share.

Laurie has been on book tour since October 14th.  Does she even look tired?  She began her talk last night by showing us pictures of her chickens on the "focus" slide shown here.  "I hope I won't offend any vegetarians out there," she said, "but those chickens will become dinner in a few weeks."  Later in the talk, Laurie showed us a picture of a skinned rabbit that she was roasting oven an open fire in order to experience eating like a Revolutionary War soldier.

If I was a better photographer, I would have gotten a shot when Laurie turned her right hand to show the inside of her wrist.  "Mama, she has a tattoo!" my nine-year-old son Ethan whispered.  In the book signing line, we heard Laurie tell some kids ahead of us that her tattoo is the word "Hwaet," which is the first word from Beowulf, and which roughly translates from Anglo-Saxon to mean "Listen to my story."

Try to ignore my underwhelming photography skills, but check out the slide to Laurie's left.  It reads, "George Washington is my homeboy."  Laurie talked for a good while last night about her love of history; her disillusionment when she learned that Benjamin Franklin, her favorite founding father, had owned slaves; and her conviction that a lot of the problems we still struggle with in America regarding racism and hatred stem from the fact that we don't know our own history.  But she touched on these subjects at the same time she was making us laugh.  "Benjamin Franklin was the kind of guy I would have dated in high school," she said.  "He must have had ADD."

The quote that moved me to get out a piece of notepaper was this one:  "We read literature to prepare for life's challenges."  Laurie said that if she wore a hat, it would have a big elephant on the front, because as an author, she chooses to write about the elephant in the room, or things that people would prefer not to talk about.  Then she gave a hats off to Missourians because so many of us wrote to her after the Wesley Scroggins editorial that called Speak pornography.  Laurie said she loves George Washington because he fought for us to have a country where people like her and Wesley Scroggins have the freedom to publicly disagree.

I'd say these last two shots illustrate how readers are made.  Thank you, Laurie.

Jennifer Buehler

Laurie Halse Anderson: Queen of Awesome

This semester, we've gotten to talk to a lot of author's on the phone. Tonight, I got to hear Laurie Halse Anderson Speak in person, and it was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. Laurie came to St. Louis County Library to promote her latest book, Forge, the second in a series about escaped slaves in the Revolutionary War. As she started her talk with cute and funny pictures of her as a child, I was instantly captivated by her charisma and humor. Unlike the author's in our phone interviews, Laurie spent some time telling us about her background, which was really interesting to hear. As she continued, she dispensed some of the wisdom she's gained as a writer (revise, revise, REVISE!) and told us about her writing process. Let me just say, she has so much passion and love for what she does it's absolutely inspiring. Just in her research for Chains and Forge, Laurie read secondary sources, studied primary sources, road tripped to Valley Forge, cooked like Revolutionary soldiers at her sustainable home, and even took a walk in the snow with wool socks and a blanket as her only real sources of warmth. For Wintergirls, she dropped 25 pounds (under doctor
supervision) and experienced the constant hunger of her character Lia. I was awestruck by her passion and knowledge, and can't say enough how amazing it was to hear her. After her talk, Laurie stayed for ages to answer questions, sign books, and take photos with fans. I have to admit, even I became a total fangirl when it came to my turn to have my book signed. Even now, I'm so excited to have gotten the chance to meet her and I can't believe what a truly beautiful soul she is. As I reminisce about the great experience, I'm left with my signed book, blurry cell phone photo, and amazing memories.

-Shannon Hunt

Language

I figured everyone would enjoy this since we're all in an English class!

Hilary

Sara Zarr on judging the National Book Awards

Sara Zarr is a writer whose thoughts I always love to read.  Her books are awesome, too.  Here are a few of her comments about being a judge for this year's National Book Award for Young People's Literature:

The judging process reminded me what a mysterious, personal transaction reading is. At first, that stressed me out. How were we going to get through these books and make decisions if we’re all so different? By the end, I marveled at really what a cool thing it is that each person can connect so differently across such a broad range of material, and that gives me hope for each of the books I’ve written and the ones I’ve yet to write.

Richard Rodriguez says that the reader re-creates the book when he reads it. If that’s true, and I think it probably is, that means 100 readers could have 100 different experiences of the same book. Which can be frustrating, but is also kind of magical and also tells you something about what it is to be a person, an individual.

Sara's comments reminded me of conversations we've had in class this semester.  I encourage you to visit her blog and read more of what she has to say.  Then tune in for the announcement of the NBA winner next week!

Jennifer Buehler

I love John Green!

Sooo this week I have decided to revisit John Green by reading his latest book Paper Towns. As of now I have not finished it but after speaking with a friend I decided to check out the blog that he did with his brother in 2007 as my own supplemental material. I have watched all of the posts for January and plan to continue because they are hilarious. So I encourage anyone who hasn't to check it out at

 http://www.brotherhood2.com/index.php/?m=200701&paged=4 

-Chloe

Author Visit!

Next Tuesday night, November 15th, Laurie Halse Anderson will visit the St. Louis County Library in Frontenac on book tour for her new historical novel Forge.

I hope some of you will get out there to see her!  The event starts at 7 p.m., and the county library is across the street from Plaza Frontenac mall.  Puddnhead Books is one of the tour stop sponsors.

Forge is a great Revolutionary War page-turner featuring an escaped child slave named Curzon and scenes from the long winter at Valley Forge.  There's humor, grit, friendship, loyalty, betrayal, a great narrative voice, and many, many cool historical epigraphs that link each chapter to voices from the time period.

Jennifer

Revisiting Countdown

Today I received a reader's guide for Deborah Wiles' Countdown.  This excerpt resonated with me, having just read everyone's weekly response papers:

History happens to real people with real feelings and real lives, everyday lives. Heroic things are done by ordinary, everyday people, every day. In Countdown, I consider each character no less heroic than those in the biographies I tell. My characters have more everyday lives, perhaps, but so did Harry and Fannie and Jack and Jackie and Pete, when they were young. And my readers were once kids, or are kids, and I want them to know that they also live lives full of everyday heroics. They make history every day. Every choice they make reverberates and becomes a part of their history, and affects others’ history as well. I chose to extend the biographies in Countdown to the present day, in order to show how every choice we make affects not just our own lives, but history as a whole—everything is connected, which is something Franny finds out for herself in Countdown.

I'll post the reader's guide on SLU Global for anyone who'd like to hear more from Deborah Wiles.  If you have suggestions for other topics you'd like to hear her address, please post them in the comments.  I will be interviewing her next Friday at NCTE.

Jennifer Buehler

The Beauty of Graphic Novels

Sorry it took so long for me to post! I am at caveman status when it comes to using technology… seriously, I even find iPods confusing.

I honestly was not excited about blogging and doing my booktalk about graphic novels. I knew nothing about them other than Manga, which is not something I am completely interested in, and comics, which I considered something for the Sunday paper. When I did go to Dr. Buehler’s office to choose a book, I was pleasantly surprised by how wrong I was about graphic novels. She showed me ones about topics I was interested in like homelessness, the Cold War, the Holocaust, etc. I chose a relatively short book and began reading. What I loved most about my experience with this graphic novel was that not only did the characters tell a story like in a movie, but the art in the book was equally as important as the content, perhaps even more!

 From a teaching perspective, I was happy to see a way for visual students to learn that didn’t involve them reading and rereading and not even processing the words. I also appreciated the amount of talent and work that goes into making such novels. I did some research as to when the graphic novel began, and it turns out they have always been around! Cave paintings and hieroglyphics are technically graphic novels because they evoke the power of pictures to help tell a story.

I know I can’t be the only one who was less than enthusiastic to have to read a graphic novel at first, and I’m wondering if anyone else was surprised by how good these novels actually are. Did anyone go through that experience of being proved wrong like me? I’m a little embarrassed for not even wanting to give this genre a shot just because of my assumption of the genre as a whole. Do you think that other people have the same assumptions and that’s why they defer from reading these books? I’m just wondering… I am definitely going to reconsider this genre, especially for education. 

My experience was definitely a good one, and I guess I should’ve known since we have yet to read any books that I don’t like in this class. 

- Jo

so this is a graphic novel....

This being my first experience reading a graphic novel I didn't really know what to expect, and honestly I still do not know how I feel. I have always loved art and literature so I do not know why I haven't read graphic novels before. When I picked up American Born Chinese I finished it easily in one sitting but at first I didn't really get much out of it........so I read it again. With the second reading I began to realize how smoothly the three different stories fit together an the intricate ways that the main character(s) came to terms with being a Chinese American. Using the ancient Chinese story as a parallel was brilliant. It used a part of Jin Wang's heritage to describe his own struggle to fit in, it showed Jin that by being himself he had a specific role to fill, that he could be both American and Chinese and that that was who he is suppose to be. American Born Chinese has opened my eyes to the world of Graphic Novels and the new hidden layers and facets it makes available to literature.
-Chloe

Picture is worth a Thousand Words

This week we were required to read American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. I can honestly say that I have never read a graphic novel before this one. I have never had any interest in them and always thought it was a “boy” thing with superheroes and Batman and Superman and Spiderman, the list goes on and on. I was not particularly excited to read this graphic novel this week but when I opened it I tried to open my mind to it as well. This is what I discovered upon reading it. Graphic novels – if this one is any indication – can hold some really complex issues and present them in a quick , “easy” format that allows the reader to grasp the concept even if it is largely complex and would take hundreds of pages in a traditional novel. I have to give authors of graphic novels credit where credit is due in this sense because they are so limited to the amount of text on a page and specifically in each frame on that page. The combination of text and visuals is used to portray a lot of emotion which allows them to put into our minds what would take a thousand words to do – in this sense, a picture really is worth a thousand words.

Kaylin

The "literariness" of graphic novels

In 2007, Gene Yang's American Born Chinese became the first graphic novel to win the Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature.  A few months earlier, in 2006, it was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.  ABC even won the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album!

 So what makes this book literary?  What text features or aspects of the writing do you think led more than one award committee to single this book out for its literary merit?  Also, what is it like for you as a reader to look for literary elements in a book whose graphic format may be entirely new to you?

Jennifer Buehler

Yang Nods To A Classical Chinese Epic Novel

In Gene Luen Yang's Young Adult Graphic Novel American Born Chinese the plot line that involves the Monkey King is alluding to a classical Chinese epic novel called Journey to the West.  A wikipedia summary of the book shows how closely Yang's book follows the plot line of the ancient Chinese text.

"He took a great leap and then flew to the end of the world in seconds. Nothing was visible except for five pillars, and Wukong surmised that he had reached the ends of Heaven. To prove his trail, he marked the pillars with a phrase declaring himself "the great sage equal to heaven" (and in other versions, urinated on the pillar he signed on)"

I think that it's interesting that Yang used the plot from Journey to the West to create a comic book that conveys a coming of age story.  There are many other interesting parts of Yang's work that are hidden right under the surface

- Jason McCoy

The above picture is a depiction of The Monkey King from Journey to the West.

I guess you could call this relevant:-)

Does anyone remember this episode of Boy Meets World? I thought of this immediately when reading this week's book.