Whip It

Excitement abounded when I managed to track down a copy of the recently released DVD Whip It, staring Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore. The film is based on the book Derby Girl by Shauna Cross, which I reviewed here on this blog a few weeks ago.

Overall, I was pleased with the movie. It was actually a good adaptation of the book, staying true to the plot through most of the film. The film actually did a much better job than the book of explaining exactly how roller derby works - what the rules are, what a bout is like, all that good stuff. Yes, there were plenty of moves shown in the film that, while exciting for the sake of cinematics, would never be allowed in actual roller derby. But oh well.

My only complaint is that they majorly changed Bliss's character. In the book she's very sure of herself, very indie rock and tough in her own way. She's an independant spirit who knows what she wants, even if she isn't always sure exactly how to get it. The character was altered in the film to be more doe-eyed, unsure of herself who uses roller derby as a means of finding her own strength. Roller derby isn't another form of rebellion - it's her only form of rebellion. Frankly, I liked the tough Bliss better. Despte this change, however, the central theme of finding your own place in the world and the excitement of the derby shine through.

Not a terrible choice for a fun, laid-back movie night.

Overall Quality of the Film: B+
Overall Faithfulness to the Book: A-

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Minli lives in the village of Fruitless Mountain, named so because nothing grows there leaving the village's residents in poverty. Minli can tell that her mother would like nothing more than to overcome their misfortune, so she takes a page from one of her father's stories decides to venture forth to see the Old Man on the Moon and ask what she can do to improve her family's fortune. Along the way, Minli befriends a dragon, speaks to goldfish, and hears story after story which guide her through her journey.

I've been anxious to read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon for some time, especially after seeing that it had won a Newbery Honor. I was not disappointed. Author Grace Lin has created a lovely, captivating tale that weaves together the stories told in traditional Chinese fairy tales in an intricate and interesting fashion. The stories within the story are interesting, and Minli's own journey takes her to a number of interesting places and situations. Both the writing and the illustrations found in this book are beautifully crafted, and I imagine that this would be a great story to read aloud and share.

Overall Grade: A+

Derby Girl

Last weekend I had the coolest experience ever: I went to see some roller derby. The concept of the sport is to score points by flying around a track on roller skates faster than your opponent. However, both teams also have a series of blockers whose job is to get in your way, knocking you to the floor if possible. It's exciting and intense and a whole lot of fun to watch.

Part of my excitement comes from the fact that several months ago I was able to read the awesome teen novel Derby Girl by Shauna Cross, which features roller derby within its pages. In this story, Bliss is totally indie rock, but her mother is totally a pageant queen. She feels like nothing exciting will ever happen to her in her small Texas hometown, which is way too lame for her sensibilities. Bliss finally thinks that she's found everything she's looking for when she discovers roller derby in Austin, where the girls have tattoos, awesome costumes, and wicked names like Malice in Wonderland. There's even amazingly hot guitar-playing boys around to enjoy. But will she be able to hide her love of the derby from her mother? How will she balance the derby and her new boy toy with her best friend? And what will happen when said boy toy leaves to go on tour with his band?

This is a fun, fast read that, while fairly generic in its themes (mother/daughter conflict, teen rebellion, betrayal of best friend, first love) is nonetheless edgy and interesting. This book was my first exposure to roller derby and while I really wish that the book would have shows us more of the action on skates and explained the rules a bit more clearly, it gave us just enough to pique my interest. But to really discover roller derby, take it from me: Go and see it yourself! It's something that really does need to be experienced in person.

Overall Grade: B

Will the movie Whip It (staring Ellen Page) live up to the book's expectations? Surpass them? I'll let you know soon, pending the upcoming release of the film to DVD.

2010 ALA Youth Media Awards

It's that time of year again! Just a few days ago the ALSC, the children's division of the American Library Association, announced their choices for their prestigious awards. I'd like to take a moment to recognize the great titles that won the two big awards, the Newbery and the Caldecott Medals. To see a full list of winners for all of the awards, including the awards for easy readers, non-fiction, and audiobooks, check out this link.

Newbery Medal
The Newbery Medal is awarded every year to, "the most outstanding contribution to children's literature." A few weeks ago I tried to predict who the winners in this category would be. Exciting news - I called the big winner! The gold medal went to Rebecca Stead's wonderful novel When You Reach Me, a story of a girl in 1979 who goes through a strange series of events involving her former best friend, a mysterious letter, and perhaps even time travel. This was definitely a great choice for the award as it was captivating and beautifully written, giving a bit of a nod to well-loved favorite A Wrinkle in Time.

While I did not manage to predict ANY of the honor books (and in fact somehow managed to miss reading several of them) the books selected are, from what I've heard through the grapevine, worthy choices. The honor books are:

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick

Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott Medal is given every year to the, "most distinguished American picture book for children." This year's big winner is a stunning piece of work - The Lion and the Mouse by highly acclaimed author and illustrator Jerry Pinkney. This wordless retelling of Aesop's popular fable features gorgeous pencil and watercolor illustrations and invites readers to tell the story in their own words.

The honor books are:

All the World, illustrated by Marla Fraze and written by Liz Garton Scanlon.

Red Sings from the Treetops: A Year in Colors, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski and written by Joyce Sidman.

My Thoughts
This year's selection of winners are all excellent. The one big surprise that I saw was in awarding the Newbery Honor to The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg. While an excellent book in its own right, I really thought that certain other books were better written and more worth of the award. But oh well - surprises like this keep things interesting.

Congratulations to the winners!

Shiver

When she was very young, Grace was attacked by wolves that lived in the forest behind her house. She survived, seemingly rescued by a yellow-eyed wolf from the pack. Ever since she has had a bit of an obsession with the wolves, especially with her yellow-eyed savior. When another boy from her high school is attacked by wolves, Grace worries that her wolves will be in danger. And then she finds a boy with the same eyes as her wolf on her back porch, shot by hunters...

Sam is a werewolf. During the summer he takes on his human form, and when the weather grows cold he becomes a wolf again. Unfortunately, as time goes on his time in his human body becomes shorter and shorter. It seems likely that this will be his last summer before he remains a wolf forever. Will he and Grace be able to find a way for him to hold on to his humanity so that they can be together?

This book plays on the popular themes of supernatural romance. Maggie Stiefvater's novel contains many elements that will appeal to Twilight fans - a dreamy boy who struggles to maintain his humanity despite his life as a supernatural being, a girl who has largely uninvolved parents and does a lot of cooking, and an incredible amount of romantic tension between the two that, with the exception of one fade-to-black scene, is largely chaste. Plot is unfortunately somewhat lacking as much the the middle of the book focuses on Grace and Sam's budding romance, and the characters are not as strong or developed as they could be. The good news - the end of the book is excellent and everything comes together perfectly. This is the first in an expected trilogy, and I'm hopeful that the upcoming sequels will be a bit more interesting and focus more on the wolves now that the characters have all been introduced.

Overall Grade: B

Speak

While most of Syracuse's 14-year-olds are excited about starting high school, Melinda is dreading it. She has lost all of her friends after calling the police at a huge end-of-summer party just a few weeks before classes started, becoming a social outcast. Since things aren't going well, Miranda builds a hideout in an abandoned janitor's closet, begins to skip classes, and becomes more and more silent as time goes on. Her only solice is in her art class, where her teacher Mr. Freeman encourages her to add emotion to her work.

But as time goes on, Melinda can no longer ignore what happened to her on the night of the party. When her former best friend Rachel begins dating Andy, the boy who was involved in the incident at the party, Melinda realizes that she needs to warn her about what kind of person Andy really is. But will she find the strength to speak out? And if she does, will Rachel - or anyone else - believe her?

This is a book that I've been meaning to read for a long time, but had a difficult time actually picking up. There are plenty of awards and five-star reviews to recommend Speak (acclaimed YA author Laurie Halse Anderson's debut novel), including a Prinz Honor medal. But due to the content, I just never wanted to pick up the book. It seemed depressing and difficult. And in a lot of ways, this book is difficult - not in terms of language, but in terms of the complicated issues that it deals with. However, this is really an important book, probably because of the difficult issues that it deals with. And even if it is hard to get through at some points and your heart aches as Melinda struggles to deal with her depression and isolation, the writing is so beautiful that it will ease readers though Melinda's flood of emotions. There's plenty of great symbolism to be found that reflects Melinda's state of mind, and I don't know that I've cheered so hard for a character to do something as deceptively simple as speak. This book made me feel stronger for having read it because of the challenged it provided. A definite must-read for any teen.

Overall Grade: A+

Newbery Predictions

In just a few weeks, a committee for the American Library Association (ALA) will announce their selections for the 2010 Newbery Award. This award is granted every year to the most distinguished works of literature for children. In honor of the upcoming award as well as of the conclusion of a great 2009 in children's literature, I'm going to try something crazy this year and make my own predictions for the award. Based on what I've read this year (and I've read a lot!) here are my picks:

Newbery Medal

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.

The writing in this book is so incredibly clean and efficient. Every single word packs a lot of punch, and nothing is wasted or fluffed up. The story is deceptively simple, yet plenty complex enough to get readers to really think. The nod to Madeline L'Engel's A Wrinkle In Time with probably appeal to committee members as well, since the books is a much-beloved classic which won the Newbery Medal itself in 1963. Historical works have also been popular with the committee in recent years, only increasing this book's chances. In short: When You Reach Me is a nearly flawless book with interesting characters, great setting, and amazing writing that (even more amazingly) should appeal to most children.

Newbery Honors

Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin

This is a stunning, thought-provoking story of a boy with autism. The narration was absolutely perfect and really reflects Jason's (the main character) unique mindset. I loved getting inside this great character's head and seeing what makes him tick. The subject matter is serious enough to grab the attention of the committee but can be broken down into matters that concern children of all backgrounds: Friendship and finding a place to fit in. Here's hoping that the Newbery committe enjoyed this read as much as I did.

The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had by Kristin Levine

This story is told much in the style of Richard Peck, an author who has been loved by the Newbery committee in the past. Another story of friendship (a popular theme this year among my Newbery picks), The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had is one that might not jump out immediately to kids, but will appeal with some pushing for its very tasteful yet honest look at racism and race relations in the deep south. I loved the story's short chapters which will make readers feel a great sense of accomplishment as they tear through them quickly, while at the same time giving proper treatment to the book's meaty themes.

Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino

You may recall that several months ago I blogged about the wonders of this book and its similarities to Newbery Medal favorite When You Reach Me. In truth, the books are incredibly similar, with their historical settings and perfectly efficient writing. Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle was actually my personal favorite of the two. I loved its stunning look at the complex world of childhood friendships and petty hatreds, and the main character was perfectly drawn as an antagonistic protagonist. However, there's something about When You Reach Me that I can't quite put my finger on that make me think that it's the more likely candidate for the big medal and that Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle will get recognition with the silver Honors award.



Finally, here are a few other titles that didn't quite make my own cut, but have a decent shot at recognition. They help to round out my best-of-the-best list from 2009:

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko
The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur
Positively by Courtney Sheinmel

Amazingly enough, I actually think that almost all of my Newbery picks for the year have a decent amount of kid appeal to them! Then again, that probably has a lot to do with the fact that I read an enjoyed them all. Does anyone else have other picks to add to the list?

Kids Internet Resources - Math

Are all of you getting geared up for Do Nothing But Read Day? I hope so! I know that I've got a nice long book lined up for my afternoon. :)

Meanwhile, I think it's time for another installment of Kids Internet Resources. Today's topic: Math.

A+ Math
This website has lots of great flash cards for those of us who need to brush up on our basic math skills - especially those pesky multiplication tables. There's also worksheets and a homework checker for more drills and math help, as well as a few fun math games.

Ask Dr. Math
Do you have a math question that's really stumping you? If so, then you can e-mail the students at Drexel University who run this website with your questions (just make sure that your question hasn't already been answered on the website first). This is a great place to get information on more complicated math skills, including theories and formulas.

Math Playground
Probably my favorite website of this bunch, Math Playground offers more games, flash cards, and worksheets for kids who need to brush up on their skills. But what I really love are the videos which walk you through how to solve different kinds of problems. This is great for when you just need to see exactly how something such as reducing fractions works one more time, or maybe need to have it explained in a voice other than your teacher's.

Do Nothing But Read Day

Sometimes it's hard to find time in your schedule to curl up with a book. We're all busy with school, work, or any of a myriad of other activities. Especially during this busy holiday season, who really has time to read everything they want? Well, a library student from UW-Madison (and, coincidentally, a friend of mine) mused about this conundrum one day on Facebook. The response was overwhelming. So many people shared this plight that Amanda decided to do something about it. She quickly started to spread the word about Do Nothing But Read Day (DNBRD), which she hopes will be a chance for people like her to catch up on all of that reading that they've been meaning to do.

DNBRD is scheduled to take place on Sunday, December 20. The rules (which you are free to interpret somewhat loosely to fit your situation) are as follows:

Requirements:
-you must read more than one book (they can be short, and short stories count!)

-comfy clothing (jammies preferable)

-no shoes (slippers are ok)

-mugs of beverages and snacks

Optional:
-sleepy cat(s)

-blankies


Even if you don't adhere COMPLETELY to the rules (even Amanda has admitted that there's plenty of wiggle room there), I really urge all of you to try to participate. Take this opportunity to say, "Yes, I will read that book that's been sitting on my table for months!" or "Yes, I'll try a new author/genre! or "Yes, I will take time out of my busy schedule just for me!"

Be sure to also take a look at the official DNBRD blog. I believe that you can register to participate and even win some prizes. Amanda also has some great book recommendations - mostly teen stuff - if you need some ideas for what to pick up. She's also documented how the idea of DNBRD has spread so rapidly - people in Rhode Island, California, and even Poland and Australia are getting excited!

The Magician's Elephant

Apologies for the long delay in posting. Between holidays and a number of other things I haven't had time to do much reading, much less blogging. But better late than never, I'd like to share the latest book by much-beloved author Kate DiCamillo!

When Peter sees a fortuneteller's tent set up in the market, he knows exactly what he wants to ask: Does his sister live? And if she does, how can he find her? Peter had long believed that his sister had died, but a glimmer of hope compels him to believe otherwise. Sure enough, the fortuneteller assures him that Adele lives, and that an elephant will lead Peter to her. An elephant? How absurd! But on that same night, a magician who intended to conjure a bouquet of lilies before a full audience instead summons an elephant who comes crashing through the ceiling and lands in the lap of an unsuspecting noblewoman. Through a series of unusual events, Peter, the magician, and a host of other characters begin a journey of discovery as they uncover their place in the world.

Kate DiCamillo has created yet another stunningly simple, yet incredibly moving novel for young readers. Her prose is fluid and would be a joy to read aloud with a loved one. The old-world scene is drawn very well and the book's touching conclusion will wrap readers in a cozy feeling of happiness as everything comes together. I truly feel like this book needs to be read during winter in front of a fire while wrapped in a blanket. While not quite as brilliant as The Tale of Despereaux (then again, what ever could be?) and didn't make me sob like The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Magician's Elephant can certainly find a place in the hearts of DiCamillo's fans.

Overall Grade: A