Thank you. I am fine, just unbearably busy. I think about the site, I mean to post, and then time slips away and I still haven't done it.
I haven't completely given up on this yet. I have hope that I will somehow manage my time a tiny bit better in the near future and will, once again, post here. Whether I have any readers left at that point is not clear, but...
If you're on facebook, look me up. I do manage to post there (mainly because it takes an average of 3 seconds per post).
Thanks again to those of you who wrote.
Janet McDonald would have been 55 years old today. Sadly, she passed away two years ago, far too young. In my corner of the world - and I suspect most others, her books are still speaking directly to many of the young people who need her most, letting them know that they are NOT alone. What a wonderful gift she gave the world!
He wrote one of what I consider the most perfect sentences ever: "All of a sudden I slid right down her voice into her living room."
When I wrote to him some years back and said I loved this sentence but couldn't quote it directly at the moment, he wrote back and included a photocopy of the appropriate page from his story "A&P," the sentence marked in red. What a gracious man, as well as a talented writer.
I had a professor who was convinced that Updike deserved - and would receive - the Nobel Prize in Literature. He made me believe it, too, and every Nobel season, I would wait to see if this was the year. I am convinced that Pink Floyd were fans (how else to explain their lyric, "Rabbit, run?").
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
HONORS
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle
Savvy by Ingrid Law
After Tupac and D. Foster by Jacqueline Woodson (I love, love, LOVE this book, so I am *thrilled* it got an honor!)
Beth Krommes for The House in the Night written by Susan Marie Swanson
HONORS
Marla Frazee for A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever
Uri Shulevitz for How I Learned Geography
Melissa Sweet for A River of Words: the Story of William Carlos Williams written by Jen Bryant
Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems
HONOR
Chicken Said, "Cluck!" by Judyann Ackerman Grant
One Boy by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Stinky by Eleanor Davis
Wolfsnail: a Backyard Predator by Sarah C. Campbell
We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson
HONOR
Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past by James M. Deem
What To Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy! by Barbara Kerley
Moribito : Guardian of the Spirit by Nahoko Uehashi
HONORS
Garmann's Summer
Tiger Moon
Margarita Engle for The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom
HONORS
Francisco Jimenez for Reaching Out
Yuyi Morales for Just in Case
Lucia Gonzalez for The Storyteller's Candle/La velita de los cuentos
Yuyi Morales for Just in Case
HONORS
Rudy Gutierrez for Papa and Me written by Arthur Dorros
Lulu Delacre for The Storyteller's Candle/La velita de los cuentos written by Lucia Gonzalez
Amy Cordova for What Can You Do With a Rebozo? written by Carmen Tafolla
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
HONORS
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson
Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Nation by Terry Pratchett
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
FINALISTS
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Absolute Brightness by James Lecesne
Madapple by Christina Meldrum
Me, the Missing and the Dead by Jenny Valentine
Recorded Books for The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian written and narrated by Sherman Alexie
HONORS
Listen and Live Audio for Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady written by L.A. Meyer and narrated by Katherine Kellgren
Listening Library for Elijah of Buxton written by Christopher Paul Curtis and narrated by Mirron Willis
Weston Woods Studios for I'm Dirty by Kate and Jim McMullan and narrated by Steve Buscemi
Peachtree Publishers for Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: a Cuban Folktale written and narrated by Carmen Agra Deedy
Harper Children's Audio/HarperCollins Publishers for Nation written by Terry Pratchett and narrated by Stephen Briggs
Kadir Nelson for We are the Ship
HONOR
Hope Anita Smith for Keeping the Night Watch
Joyce Carol Thomas for The Blacker the Berry
Carole Boston Weatherford for Becoming Billie Holiday
Floyd Cooper for The Blacker the Berry, written by Joyce Carol Thomas
HONOR
Kadir Nelson for We are the Ship
Sean Qualls for Before John Was a Jazz Giant, written by Carole Boston Weatherford
Jerry Pinkney for The Moon Over Star, written by Dianna Hutts Aston
Piano Starts Here: Young Art Tatum written and illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker
Best Middle School Book
Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor (yay!)
Best Teen Book
Jerk, California by Jonathan Friesen
Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick
Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
Just After Sunset: Stories by Stephen King
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
Over and Under by Todd Tucker
The Oxford Project written by Stephen G. Bloom, photographs by Peter Feldstein
Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow
Three Girls and their Brother by Theresa Rebeck
Awards to be announced today are: Alex Awards for the best adult books that appeal to teen audience
Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's video
Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children
Coretta Scott King Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults that demonstrate sensitivity to "the true worth and value of all beings"
Laura Ingalls Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books are published in the U.S. and have, over a period of years, made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children
Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults
May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian, or teacher of children's literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site
Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults
Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children's book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States
Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature
Odyssey Award for audiobook excellence
Pura Belpre Award for a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work "best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth"
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children
Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the outstanding book for beginning reader
William C. Morris Award honors a book written for young adults by a first-time, previously unpublished author. The first award will be given in 2009
I'm going to try to get in on the webcast and post the winners as announced. Later, I will add links and pictures to those entries.
As y'all know, I suck at predicting winners. I would love to see The GUardian by Julius Lester recognized. I am pretty confident that We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson will at LEAST get an Honor, but more likely, the Caldecott (and Coretta Scott King). WOuldn't be a bit surprised to see The Hunger Games honored in some way. And really hoping that The Underneath is *not* on any lists (though I really think it will be).
Only a few more hours!
sigh. I will try harder. I miss my bloggy friends.
ANYway, what shook me out of my stupor was waking up to the terribly sad news that David Foster Wallace has apparently hanged himself. What a loss - to his family and friends and to the literary world. I am so sad he had so much pain.
There is an unofficial David Foster Wallace website here.
Wishing peace and comfort to his family and friends. I hope he is at peace now.
"The government insists that the statements made in the documents are reliable because the State and Defense Departments would not have put them in intelligence documents were that not the case," the court wrote. "This comes perilously close to suggesting that whatever the government says must be treated as true."
The judges compared the argument to the logic in Carroll's nonsense poem, in which a hapless crew hunts for a creature that is never quite defined. The Bellman, the ship's leader, led his men across the ocean, guided by a map that was just a blank piece of paper. He rallied and reassured his crew simply by repeating himself.
"I have said it thrice: What I tell you three times is true," the Bellman says in the poem.
"Lewis Carroll notwithstanding, the fact that the government has 'said it thrice' does not make an allegation true," the court wrote.
Read the whole story here.
Better yet, read "The Hunting of the Snark." I know I plan to re-read it when I get home!
I just received word that the incomparable Tasha Tudor died yesterday at the age of 92.
illustrations in books for young people. My personal favorite is The Doll's House written by Rumer Godden. Yes, the story captivated me, but all these years later, I can still easily call to mind the face of Birdie, the sweet and flighty and doomed celluloid mother doll. | What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm You're probably in the final stages of a Ph.D. or otherwise finding a way to make your living out of reading. You are one of the literati. Other people's grammatical mistakes make you insane. | |
| Dedicated Reader | |
| Literate Good Citizen | |
| Book Snob | |
| Non-Reader | |
| Fad Reader | |
| What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz | |
"There has never been anything false about hope." (Barack Obama)
My heart is overflowing right now. For the first time in too long to remember, I am truly hopeful about the future of our country.
As a people, we are *not* apathetic, letting others do unto us without asserting ourselves for what we believe to be true and right. Our votes *do* make a difference.
Science Boy laughed at me a little bit this morning. We were speaking about the nomination and suddenly, I said I wished Tupac was alive. SB gave me the "is my Babi crazy?" look, so I explained. Tupac's amazing hit, "Changes," is one of the songs I play when I am running. it carries me through. But lately, everytime I hear the lyrics, "And though it seems heaven sent / We ain't ready to see a Black president," I want to cry out, yes! Our world is changing! We *are* ready! I love that song, and I am so happy that it seems that maybe that lyric is wrong now...
I was moved to tears by the news of the nomination. It seems like this is a new world that, to quote my favorite high school valedictorian:
We will be teaching the next generation, spreading our ideas throughout the world, and providing a lasting legacy for humanity to come. Even though it may be a little scary, we will do our best to create a saner, more stable planet for our children, and will try to disprove ignorance, intolerance, and hatred.
The incomparable and tireless hero, Caesar Chavez, champion of a people who were marginalized by mainstream society, reminded those who would be trampled that they deserved better, that they could *make* it better, that "¡Sí se puede!"
Yes. *WE* can!
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." (Barack Obama)
My heart is so full. My hope shines so bright.
You are giving someone hope when you join the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry.
Help the NMDP reach their goal of recruiting 46,000 members to the Registry during the Thanks Mom marrow donor drive. During Thanks Mom, May 5 - 19, you can join online for free, while funding remains.
Until the NMDP reaches its goal during Thanks Mom (May 5 to May 19, 2008), generous partners and contributors are covering the costs to add members to the Registry.
It's easy to join:
Step 1. -- Confirm you meet basic donor guidelines.
Step 2. -- Complete the online registration form and order your tissue-typing kit. This step will take about 30 minutes. Please remember funding is limited. To join for free, you must complete the online registration step before May 20 or while funding remains.
Step 3. -- Use the kit to give a swab of cheek cells to test for your tissue type.
I signed up tonight. If this is something you'd like to do, click here.
Bad.
Maybe because it firs put me in mind of looking in your reaerview mirror and seeing a person where there shouldn't be one. (Oh, crap. Now I'm freaking myself out more...)
Clicking on the photo reveals that it is a crop of a larger photo, one that depicts, "An August 1, 1951, photo shows a slotted peephole in the steel door of gambling room in Melrose Park that was raided by Cook County sheriff's police. (Tribune archive photo)"
Still creepy, though.
“Stop by your local Dunkin' Donuts on Thursday May 15, 2008 from 10am
until 10pm and receive a FREE small (16 oz.) sized Iced Coffee*.You will have the option of trying one of our 9 flavors (French Vanilla,
Toasted Almond, Raspberry, Hazelnut, Coconut, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Caramel, and Blueberry) or create your own flavor by combining 2-3 flavors.*At participating Dunkin' Donuts shops only. Thursday, May 15, 2008 from 10am-10pm. Cannot be combined with any other offer. One free small 16 oz. Iced Coffee per person, per visit.”
Thursday is also the day McDonald’s is giving out free samples of their new chicken breakfast and lunch sandwiches (but you have to buy a drink to score that one...).
I'mma skip on the McDonald's (Science Boy and I are taking Gram out for dinner tonight, so trying to have a low-cal day), but think I'm just about ready to go get a blueberry iced coffee.
I love the way the house smells delicious when I get home from work and how lovely it is to have dinner ready to go.
While doing a random search, I came across the fantabulous Crockpot Lady's blog. She has resolved to use her crockpot Every. Single. Day. Wow. Looks like she has lots of great ideas and recipes. I think I {heart}
If you haven't created your cartoon avatar at Meez.com, you should try it out sometime. It's fun!
Hi, friends!
Walk NOW for Autism!
Well, not *right* now. And you don't actually have to walk anywhere. I will do it for you.
May 18 is the Walk Now for Autism 5K walk in Chicago. My colleagues and I have spent a lot of time this past year discussing autism and how we can best serve those families with a member on the autism spectrum. I decided that one thing I, personally, can do is to help raise awareness and money for research by participating in the event.
I will be walking and I would like to ask every one of you to contribute in any way you can. Seriously. If you can only give $1, I will take it and thank you with sincere appreciation.
A few facts (I am, after all, a Librarian):
* 1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism
* 1 in 94 boys is on the autism spectrum
* 67 children are diagnosed per day
* A new case is diagnosed almost every 20 minutes
* More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined
* Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
* Autism costs the nation over $90 billion per year, a figure expected to double in the next decade
* Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases * Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
* There is no medical detection or cure for autism
You can contribute directly online by going to our Baby Got Book team page. If you are not comfortable using your credit card (or want to give less than the $20 minimum the site requires from credit card donations -- and we would appreciate ANY amount!), you can click on "make offline donation" and a form will pop up. Fill out the form, print it, and you can mail it with a check made out to "Autism Speaks" to the address they provide (or, if you'll see me soon, just give it to me and I can take it along to the walk).
Please feel free to pass this on to others who might be interested in contributing, too.
THANK YOU!
wishing peace, love, and healthy children to all,
Katharine
We rode the train home and then just had a short walk. There were three boys playing in a field on our way. I would have guessed them to be between 10-13 years old. I noticed them and then didn't pay any more attention.
Suddenly, one of the boys shouted something. I glanced over and saw them watching us. He yelled again, his words clearer.
"White Bitch!"
And then, the little darling threw a rock at me.
He missed.
SB saw a rock land but had missed the yelling. He asked, "Did someone throw a rock at us."
"Yeah, those kids," I nodded that way. We kept going and the same kid called out, loud and clear, "White Bitch!" again. Another rock. (Thankfully, another miss.)
This time, SB heard and froze. He turned to look at the kids. The same one who seemed to be doing all the yelling and rock throwing called out that ugly name one more time and then yelled, "We'll beat all your asses!"
Then, he and his friends, turned and ran away.
Our mood was somewhat subdued after that. I felt so wounded. "They don't even know me," I said. "I am a bitch sometimes, but I don't think it's because I'm White."
This might be the time to mention that SB and I live in a relatively poor, predominantly African-American community on Chicago's West Side. We've only lived here since August, but I like it. People are pretty friendly and our apartment is beautiful. I like our neighbors. When an electrical fire broke out on our back porch a few weeks ago, neighbors saw, called the fire department, and alerted SB. People say hi when they pass you on the sidewalk.
SB is African-American; I am Caucasian. It's never been an issue.
This is the second time I have been called a White Bitch since we moved. The first time, Two teen girls were walking past my house as I was bringing mail in in the evening. I said, "Hello."
One replied, "White Bitch."
That time hurt, too.
I just don't understand what would move someone to call another person, one they don't even know, an ugly name based on nothing more than race. I try to be pleasant to the people I encounter. These children, both of them who have called me this name, are very likely neighbors.
And do I have to worry that might run into these boys again one day while I am walking home, heaving their nasty words and solid rocks?
I've been lucky that their aim with the rocks was not good this past Saturday. Their words, however, hit their mark.
