Newbery Watch I

Anybody into Newbery predictions? I think I'm incurable. I have, I should say upfront, predicted the Newbery exactly ONE TIME ever, that being The Giver by Lois Lowry. So yeah, it's been a while since I got it right. But I did real well last year! And, had I read Good Masters, Sweet Ladies before the awards were given out, I'd like to think I'd have picked it for the gold. I love it! And that's the thing: the more books I read, the more books I realize I haven't read. When King Solomon lamented in the book of Ecclesiastes that "Of making many books there is no end," he wasn't kidding. Not that I'm complaining! So I know there are worthy contenders I won't read by next January, and that will skew my predictions.

Mostly, if we are considering MG books by US authors with a 2008 publication date, we will be considering eligible books, but if there's any doubt, the criteria for the major awards can be found here: http://www.ala.org/alsc.

If you want to talk about Printz awards too, fire away.

I will be naming books that have so far blown me away; I read voracious amounts, and the book has to be really memorable if I'm to list it.

My picks thus far:

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt. So far, this is my choice for the winner.
Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
Trouble by Gary Schmidt, although this might be on the fence with the Printz.

Sentimental favorite: The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall. I'm not sure I'm confident in picking it as a contender, but I was overjoyed when the first book won the National Book Award. I adore the Penderwicks!

Queen of the Office

No, this won't turn into a major kitty-cat blog. I'm fond of the furry girl, but she's not the center of the universe. Despite the fact that she's sitting smack-dab in the middle of my desk, sunbathing in golden lamplight, the family pix mere peripherals, and my book-in-progress under her front paws. She's not the center of the universe. Not.

But she is a literary cat. She must always sit on paper, steal pens out of my hand, march across the keyboard, lie in wait with twitching tail in front of the printer as if at a mousehole, and would insert her entire self into that machine if she could. She thinks it's alive.

No, she's not the center of the universe. But maybe she's a kiddie-lit kitty? A kitty litter-ary?

Or maybe I should just get back to work?

Book of the Semi-Month Club

On or about the 1st and 15th of each month, I'll try to post a blurb about a good book I've read recently. Calling it a "blurb" shall absolve me of pressure to write a proper review, but I'll do my best to stick to the usual review policy of no spoilers. I'll be featuring mostly MG and YA novels, but the occasional wildcard will no doubt appear.

Without further ado, let's lead off with THE PENDERWICKS ON GARDAM STREET, by Jeanne Birdsall, our second visit from the four Penderwick sisters: Responsible Rosalind, hot-tempered Skye, dreamy Jane, and shy Batty, and their attentive yet laid-back professor father. In this modern story with a gently old-fashioned tone, Dr. Penderwick's sister insists it's time her widowed brother begin dating again, to the consternation of all five Penderwicks. While the girls hatch a Save-Daddy-Plan (not to mention neighborhood spying, homework swap, and getting-rid-of-boys plans), their Latin-spouting, literature-loving father comes up with a Save-Daddy-Plan of his own. No one need bother fixing him up with women, he asserts, now that he's keeping company with one -- Marianne Dashwood.

Though at least one plot element is thoroughly predictable, this is a fun, uplifting visit to one of those fictional worlds readers hate to leave.