Monica Edinger's Blog, page 144
June 27, 2009
Coming Soon: Nova Ren Suma's Dani Noir
A slow fade-in on my life.
So begins Nova Ren Suma's Dani Noir, a gem of a first novel. Thirteen-year-old Dani lives in a small New York State town where, it seems, nothing much happens. She's become addicted to the old movies shown at the local Little Art movie theater, in particular, those of the noir sort — The Third Man, Double Indemnity, Notorious, etc. Now I'm a big fan of old movies, but a kid today? Well, I was convinced immediately. A completely contemporary kid (with a crappy un-noi
Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines' Prequel: Fever Crumb
Fever Crumb is a prequel to the series. Here London is still stuck to the ground, though it is already being menaced by a coalition of wandering, northern tribes called the Movement. Fever Crumb herself is a foundling who has been brought up in the rarified and ultra-rational atmosphere of the Order of Engineers, who live and work inside the head of a colossal ruined statue – an image that mashes "Ozymandias" with Planet of the Apes. When she is sent out to work on an archaeological dig, her com
June 26, 2009
Michael Chabron on the Wilderness of Childhood
Most great stories of adventure, from The Hobbit to Seven Pillars of Wisdom, come furnished with a map. That’s because every story of adventure is in part the story of a landscape, of the interrelationship between human beings (or Hobbits, as the case may be) and topography. Every adventure story is conceivable only with reference to the particular set of geographical features that in each case sets the course, literally, of the tale. But I think there is another, deeper reason for the reliable
June 25, 2009
In the Classroom: Don’t Blame the Book
I know that I am, like, annoyingly old-fashioned about this, but it seems to me that a big part of the problem is that we have lately empowered students to think that their reading of a book is inherently good and/or interesting.
Too often, we teach kids that all readings are created equal and that there are no bad ideas and etc.
But kids are not in school so that they can tell us what they think about Holden Caulfield. They’re in school to learn what to think about. And whether or not you like Ho
June 23, 2009
My Take on Summer Reading
Some recent posts about summer reading reminded me of mine from a couple of years ago; since my feelings are the same I’m reposting it here for anyone who didn’t see it back then (or via my twitter update of today).
To require, or not to require, that is the question:Whether 'tis safer for the child to tackleThe tomes and texts of summer reading,Or to rest after a year of standards,And by resting be just fine? To bore: to make tedious:No more; and by saying no required reading we endThe heart-acJune 22, 2009
Benedict Carey’s The Unknowns
New York Times science writer Benedict Carey, in his first book for children, fills a unique niche in the mystery genre. He packs The Unknowns with drama, excitement, pulse-racing action and some pretty serious math too. I was a bit skeptical going in, but there is a lot to this book and the author pulls it off.
The story takes place on an island that contains Folsom Energy Plant and the Adjacent Trailer Park. Carey does a superb job evoking this place — the trash, the kind-but-down-and-out inha
June 21, 2009
Perilous Times Here and in Fairyland
In the UK Times, Amanda Craig considers most thoughtfully and intelligently fairyland in some recent books.
Ginia Bellafante’s “Jodi Picoult and the Anxious Parent” in today’s New York Times did not make me any more inclined to read Nineteen Minutes, but it was an interesting piece nonetheless.
Ah, Norman!
I spent most of yesterday at the Circle in the Square Theater watching the three separate plays that make-up Alan Ayckbourn’s The Norman Conquests trilogy. I’d seen the original many years ago on television, had seen another of his plays many years ago (of which I only recall that the audience looked down on a couple of rooms as the actors moved between them), and the reviews of this revival just made me want to see it.
It was wonderful. In his rave New York Times review, Ben Brantley wrote t
