Monica Edinger's Blog, page 100
March 12, 2011
Debating Nonfiction
Marc Aronson, in his Horn Book Magazine article "New Knowledge", has provoked some interesting conversations by arguing that there is a distinctively new and different kind of nonfiction for young people, something that involves original research and speculation. He concludes:
Just as we have both realistic fiction and speculative fiction, maybe we ought to split up our nonfiction section into books that aim to translate the known and books that venture out into areas where knowledge is just taking shape. See you on the borderline.
I'm definitely on the side of those who do not see such a sharp distinction between old and new. I've read older works of nonfiction for children filled with original research and am wary of speculation in nonfiction writing in general, be it for an adult or child audience. And so I appreciated Jim Murphy's response "The Line of Difference" as well as Laurie Thompson's "Drawing Lines in Nonfiction: 'Old' vs. 'New'." Marc's responses to them on his blog are here and here. Be sure to read the comments too — lots to mull over here.
March 9, 2011
In the Classroom: Book Reviews
One of the most important homework I give is nightly reading. Most of the time the kids read whatever they wish, but occasionally I do give a more directed assignment. Recently, for example, I pulled together a bunch of old favorites, forthcoming galleys, and recent publications; book talked them; then asked the kids to each chose one to read. When they were finished, I told them, they would write reviews of the books on their blogs. And if, I also told them, the reviews were well-done, I'd write a blog post here with links to their reviews. Of course, the possibility that outsiders (you all) might read their reviews was very exciting!
Happily, they LOVED the books they chose. They couldn't stop talking to me about them as they read them and were primed to write those reviews. But before they did I did a lesson on review writing. First I showed them several reviews of Frank Cotrell Boyce's Cosmic, a book I'd just finished reading aloud, and then asked them to come up with a list of attributes for good reviews. Here's the blog post for that lesson. After that they were off to write their own reviews and, in no particular order, here they are:
Clete Barrett Smith's Aliens on Vacation
Pam Munoz Ryan's The Dreamer
Kate Messner's Sugar and Ice
Jeanne Birdsall's The Penderwicks at Point Mouette
Audrey Couloumbis's Jake
N.D. Wilson's Leepike Ridge
Elizabeth Partridge's Dog Tag Summer
Roderick Townley's The Door in the Forest
Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday
Thanhha Lai's Inside Out and Back Again
Rita Williams-Garcia's One Crazy Summer
Cal Ripken Jr.'s Hothead
Tom Angleberger's The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
Margi Preus's Heart of the Samurai
Chris Rylander's The Fourth Stall
Dan Gutman's The Genuis Files: Mission Unstoppable
Walter Dean Myers' and Ross Workman's Kick
Ellen Potter's The Kneebone Boy
Tove Jansson's Comet in Moominland
March 8, 2011
Special Horn Book Magazine Issue on Fact, Fiction, and In Between
The latest Horn Book Magazine is filled with insightful articles from all sorts of luminaries considering the complexities of writing for children and young adults about facts, nonfiction, history and a whole lot more. I'm honored to be included with a piece about historical fiction back matter, "After 'The End'". While it isn't available online a number of the other articles are here. Do check them out.
A number of the articles are available on the magazine's website here.
March 6, 2011
Top Ten Reasons to See How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
10. If you like old-fashioned musicals, this Broadway revival by the creators of Guys and Dolls, Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows, in previews with a March 27th opening, is well worth your time.
9. It is presented straight; that is, nothing has been cut (as was the case in the 1995 revival) or adjusted for 2011 sensibilities. Yes, you are forewarned, the secretaries — all women, natch — in the corporate world of this historical artifact of 1961 want nothing more than to marry and spend their lives in one of the snazzier suburbs. (The heroine yearns for New Rochelle.) The men, on the other hand, are all are clawing their way to the top. Not to mention the acceptance of their bits on the side. Bits like Hedy La Rue who causes all the men to ogle and all the women sigh. An ironic view of a particular stereotyped time and place. Don't go if this sort of stuff bothers you. Watch the movie The Apartment instead.
8. The staging is terrific — the set, the costumes, lightning, and all. Very Mad Men, but in the frothy vein.
7. There are a bunch of winning production numbers. Director/Choreographer Rob Ashford knows what he is doing.
6. The ensemble is excellent.
7. So are the various secondary players.
6. Tammy Blanchard's portrayal of the vavoom girl, Hedy La Rue, a close cousin of Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls. She's remarkably nuanced in this production — at one moment a bit of a flit and at another smart and savvy, but not mean or nasty. It is a tightrope to walk/dance/strut in 2011 and Blanchard pulls it off.
5. Rose Hemingway, in her Broadway debut as the ingenue Rosemary, is totally charming.
4. It is a kick to see hangdog John Larroquette, also in his Broadway debut, singing and dancing. Not to mention, knitting.
3. The show is a lighthearted treat. Go to be entertained and nothing more.
2. The audience is a hoot. Lots of very, very, VERY excited young women because…
1. Daniel Radcliffe is pretty darn good. Yep, he sings and dances very nicely indeed. And he plays the tricky role of someone slipping his way up the corporate ladder in a remarkably endearing way. No easy thing to do that.
Also at the Huffington Post
Top Ten Reasons to See "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying"
10. If you like old-fashioned musicals, this Broadway revival by the creators of Guys and Dolls, Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows, is well worth your time.
9. It is presented straight; that is, nothing has been cut (as was the case in the 1995 revival) or adjusted for 2011 sensibilities. Yes, you are forewarned, the secretaries (all women, natch) in the corporate world of this historical artifact of 1961 want nothing more than to marry and spend their lives in one of the snazzier suburbs. (The heroine yearns for New Rochelle.) The men, on the other hand, are all are clawing their way to the top. Not to mention the acceptance of their bits on the side. Bits like Hedy La Rue who causes all the men to ogle and all the women sigh. An ironic view of a particular stereotyped time and place. Don't go if this sort of stuff bothers you. Watch the movie The Apartment instead.
8. The staging is terrific — the set, the costumes, lightning, and all. Very Mad Men, but in the frothy vein.
7. There are a bunch of winning production numbers. Director/Choreographer Rob Ashford knows what he is doing.
6. The ensemble is excellent.
7. So are the various secondary players.
6. Tammy Blanchard's portrayal of the vavoom girl, Hedy La Rue, a close cousin of Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls. She's remarkably nuanced in this production — at one moment a bit of a flit and at another smart and savvy, but not mean or nasty. It is a tightrope to walk/dance/strut in 2011 and Blanchard pulls it off.
5. Rose Hemingway, in her Broadway debut as the ingenue Rosemary, is totally charming.
4. It is a kick to see hangdog John Larroquette, also in his Broadway debut, singing and dancing. Not to mention, knitting.
3. The show is a lighthearted treat. Go to be entertained and nothing more.
2. The audience is a hoot. Lots of very, very, VERY excited young women because…
1. Daniel Radcliffe is pretty darn good. Yep, he sings and dances very nicely indeed. And he plays the tricky role of someone slipping his way up the corporate ladder in a remarkably endearing way. No easy thing to do that.
March 3, 2011
March 2, 2011
The Scenic Book Journey — Good, Bad, or What?
I admit that I started and left unfinished Moon Over Manifest until after it won the Newbery at which point I returned to it and read it with pleasure. On my first go-round, like some others, I'd found it a bit too languid and easy to put down and not pick up again. Now having just read Laura Miller on the amount of description in novels I'm wondering if that was what caused me to lose interest. Or is it a taste thing? Miller references David Wroblewski's The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, a book I definitely found had too much description for me to stick with it. I thought it was just me, but is it? There are books where I love the world building (the Harry Potter series comes to mind) and the more description the better, but there are other books where it just gets a bit too tedious for me. For example, I finally have put aside Salman Rushdie's Luka and the Fire of Life unfinished for the time being. I had enjoyed his first children's book (and several of his adult books) and so dived in feeling delighted to be in that familiar world building, filled with wild imagery and language. But then I'd tire of it and was unable to sustain interest.
There is occasionally complaining about the bulk of some children's books and the suggestion that they would have benefited by page culling. Is that because there was too much description? Or something else?
Diane Ravitch: Teachers deserve rights
If the voices of their teachers are silenced, who will stand up for students?
via To my critics: Teachers deserve rights – CNN.com.
February 26, 2011
Ipad Kid Book Apps
While I'm still not ready to plunk down $500 for an Ipad of my own (and will make do for the time being with my beloved Iphone and the Ipads my school has) as a long-time techie, I am very, very interested in book apps. While many are rather limited and seem to be one-shot experiences for kids, others are innovative and exciting. Yet it can be hard to find them as the various app stores have yet to provide a relatively easy way to know what is what. And so I'm very appreciative that the established review publications are coming on board to help.
Kirkus, for example, is reviewing Ipad apps, discussing them, and highlighting the best that they find. Great food for thought (and may cause me to change my mind about getting an Ipad now rather than later).
Publishers Weekly continually has interesting pieces on this burgeoning area.
And the venerable Horn Book Magazine is also taking a careful and smart look at them.
As this new world of apps and ebooks keeps building and building I for one am glad the old world is keeping apace.
Also at the Huffington Post.
February 24, 2011
NCTE Notable Children's Books 2011
Having been a past chair, chair, and member of this fantastic committee I'm always on pins and needles waiting to see the latest list of the best books of the previous year for use by language arts teachers. And so I'm tremendously excited to see that this year's list is now announced and viewable here; it is fantastic as always. My congratulations to all the book creators honored this time round and most of all to the committee:
Mary Lee Hahn—Chair
April Bedford, Mary Napoli, Donalyn Miller, Nancy Roser, Yoo Kyung Sung
Janelle Mathis—Past Chair
