YAAC Fall ing
newsletter of the Young Adult & Children’s Services Section of BCLA
yaacs
2013
Teen Reading Club: Post-Apocalypse
Don’t Forget to be Awesome! The Coolest Things We Saw on the Internet
Red Cedar and Stellar Award News
Tricksters Storytime
Bold Beginnings: More First Line Booktalks
1 Message from the Editors 2
news
Summer Reading Club Update 3 SRC Community Story Award 6 Teen Reading Club: Post-Apocalypse 6 Red Cedar and Stellar Award News 6
columns
Teens Only Don’t Forget to be Awesome!:
contents
Message from the Chair
Books for Fans of John Green
Fall 2013
By Amy Dawley 8 The Coolest Things We Saw on the Internet, by Lindsey Krabbenhoft and Dana Horrocks 10 Who’s on the Felt Board? Magnetic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Elizabeth Rhynold 12 Vintage YAACING Princess Power By April Ens 13
Y A A C S ( Y o u n g Adults and Children’s Services) is a section of the British Columbia Library Association. Founded in 1980, our members include librarians, teacher-librarians and other library workers interested in services to youth in British Columbia. Our purpose is to promote the exchange of ideas among library personnel who work with Children and Young Adults.
yaacs
YAACING is 4 times per year.
published
Editors: A pril Ens and Alicia Cheng Art Director: Liza Capdecoume If you are interested in submitting anything for publication, send it to YAACING@gmail.com
Thank you to The Graphics Fairy for the front cover image. To learn how to make the book pumpkin, check out her website at thegraphicsfairy.com
Next Deadline: Novermber 15, 2013
features Tricksters Storytime by Wendy Wright 15 Bold Beginnings: More First Line Booktalks by April Ens 16 Book Reviews Featuring Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan, by Robert Bittner 18
happiness is...
Call for Submissions 22
reading in bed Image from January Magazine
message from the chair Happy Fall Yaacs Fall is my favourite time of year (perfect weather for curling up with a good book) and I’m sure many of you are happy to put another year of SRC madness behind you and are looking forward to new Fall programs. Image from Graphics Fairy
Now that I’ve attended my first BCLA board meeting (back in June) and I’m starting to get my bearings (thanks to board mentor Chris Middlemass), I’m looking forward to really digging in with YAACS and BCLA this season. Is anyone else ready to start thinking about next year’s conference? But before we move on to that, every Chair needs a Vice Chair and YAACS is still looking for someone to fill the position. If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming the next Vice Chair of YAACS, please contact YAACS and we’ll send you an invite to the next meeting. Until then, warm wishes as you wrap up your summer vacations and I’ll see you in the Fall.
Saara Itkonen YAACS Chair, BCLA saara.itkonen@gmail.com
Yaacing Fall 2013
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message from the editors
Where has summer gone? Thank you for your continued support to YAACING. We appreciate all the submissions we got for this issue. Please continue sending us storytime ideas, reviews, book talks etc. After a summer of SRC-filled excitement, it’s time to jump back into Fall programming. Check out the magnetic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Elizabeth Rhynold. It’ll surely become a child’s favourite spot if you have this amazing magnetic tree in your children’s section. Also in this “Back to School” Fall issue is Amy Dawley’s Teens Only Column. Amy shares with us lots of great reads to recommend to John Green fans in her booklist, “Smart, emotional, and sometimes humorous books featuring likeable characters in real life situations. Don’t forget to be awesome!” We would also like to announce the arrival of a new YAACING column written by Dana Horrocks and Lindsey Krabbenhoft. Tying in technology and social media with the library world, they will share with you the coolest new programming ideas out there in the World Wild Web. Happy Reading! Alicia Cheng and April Ens YAACING Editors yaacing@gmail.com
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news
Summer Reading Club Update
What a wonderful SRC Summer it’s been! — I’ve heard from many of you about higher-than-usual registration numbers. Is it any wonder? For the past 2 months, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing and hearing about delightfully-inventive SRC programs, fabulously-creative SRC displays, and wonderfully-engaging SRC community events. What an amazing group of people work in BC Libraries! Thank you to those of you who were able to share a glimpse of your library’s version of SRC 2013 and Up, Up, and Away! And thanks, too, to modern technology (and the folks over at Libraries & Literacy!), for making it possible to share some of the fun with everyone, via the SRC Group on the Commons. Here are a few of the highlights:
Here is Rossland at their weekly farmer’s market booth with stories, crafts and games. They also had books to check out! This photo is from their Facebook page Nice banner!
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Irene Jakse sent along a pic of the Port Moody Library Reading Super Heroes. They appeared in Port Moody’s Centennial Parade on Saturday, June 22. Irene is the one in the yellow wig. According to Irene, bugs really like yellow.
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Lise Kreps sent these photos of the Burnaby Public Library staff in the “Hats Off Parade” in Burnaby Heights on June 1st. Says Lise, ”We had a lot of fun handing out SRC bookmarks dressed up as characters from kids’ books.” (Alice in Wonderland and Amelia Bedelia)
Up Marlee Johnson from Houston Public Library shared some of the creative work their “awesome Summer Student Jessica” did in preparing SRC displays.
Astronauts in our community: on August 29th (Chris Hadfield’s birthday!) Burnaby Public Library organized a special video conference with NASA scientist Darlene Lim and a special message from Colonel Chris Hadfield to all BC kids who have been reading this summer.
Artists in our Midst Children’s Librarian and Visual Artist Suzy Arbor in front of the wonderful poster she painted for Vancouver Public Library
...and in Rossland Public Library (photo courtesy of Beverley Rintoul)
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Up
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and
! ! y a Aw TM (a.k.a Toaster Mouse) was spotted in Thompson-Nicola Regional District’s Kamloops branch (photo courtesy of Lise Kreps)
Preponderance of Pugs? Some sharp-eyed folks have noticed a striking resemblance between the SRC Superhero Space Dog and Port Moody’s “Petey the Pug” and Invermere’s “Kitty the Pug”! See below and compare for yourself....now I’m not saying they are oneand-the-same but it sure makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Mild-mannered library pug by day; Super Pug by night? Just saying.
Petey the Pug
Powell River Public Library’s Deb Zegwyn (a.k.a. a real live children’s book illustrator!) offered a watercolour workshop for Sunshine Coast SRC’ers
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Kitty the Pug
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Teen Reading Club: Post – Apocalypse
news SRC Community Story Award During the BCLA Conference Awards lunch, SRC Chair Andrea Brown announced the creation of the SRC Community Story Award. Thanks to funding from BCLA and RBC this award will be presented annually to an individual whose story best demonstrates the impact of the SRC within their community. And wonderful stories have already begun to arrive! Congratulations to Lara Wright and her crew at Nanaimo Wellington, and to Claire Richardson from Fraser Valley Regional Library’s Mt. Lehman branch for their firstout-of the-gate submissions to the SRC Community Story Award! Each will receive a copy of the official 2013 SRC poster, autographed by the artist, Eliska Liska! We have a total of 10 autographed SRC 2013 posters to give away to the first 10 submissions for the SRC Community Story Award. See the Librarians’ website for more info on submitting. Submit as often as you like, but hurry if you want an autographed poster! as of this writing, there are only 8 autographed posters left! Cynthia Ford 2013 SRC Coordinator bcsrc@bclibrary.ca 778.960.3553
Fall is on the horizon and another year of TeenRC is winding down. The zombie apocalypse has come and gone, feeding on a bounty of teenage brains, and the TeenRC site will soon be shuttering its doors until next year. Zombies proved to be a great success for this year’s TeenRC. Close to 700 teens registered accounts on the TeenRC site, which is more than double last year’s count. They posted over 1,000 book reviews, submitted over 30 stories, videos and even PowerPoint slideshows in our “What’s Your Story” Contest, and suggested hundreds and hundreds of book titles to add to the site. Our Darren Shan author chat was so popular (over 53,000 people tried to login to TeenRC for the chat!) that it took the site down for a couple of hours. The chat had to be moved to Darren Shan’s own website to handle the overwhelming traffic. Needless to say, as a precaution we “under-promoted” Kelley Armstrong’s online chat and had a great turnout of around 150 participants, which worked very well on our little zombie site. Many brains came together to make TeenRC a success this year. Many thanks to: The TeenRC Committee members (Kate Longley, Ellen Wu, Sasha Schertzer, Erika Jelinek) who planned the contests, events, and even dressed as zombies and visited high schools to promote the program; Dale Davies and Kelowna Vincent who designed the graphics and website; and the TeenRC volunteers: Nafiza Azad, Jamie McCarthy, Megan Harris, Dana Horrocks, and Stephanie Dror who Instagrammed, Tweeted and kept the site running smoothly over the summer. And of course, many, many thanks to all the participating InterLINK libraries and the legion of Children’s and Teen Librarians that helped promote TeenRC this year. It was a great pleasure working with you all. Saara Itkonen 2013 TeenRC Coordinator teenrccoordinator@gmail.com
Red Cedar and Stellar Award News Hi Everyone, In case you missed the announcement, the winners of the 2012/2013 Red Cedar Awards are: Fiction Award Winner: Count Me In by Sarah Leach Information Book Award Winner: Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch And…the 2012/2013 Stellar Award winner is: Blood Red Road by Moira Young
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For the new 2013/2014 season, check out the new nominated titles for the Red Cedar Book Award and the Stellar Book Award. Please remember to register your Red Cedar group for this season if you haven’t done so already. All group leaders need to create a new account; even if you had an account last year, you’ll need to register for a new one. Register early, as groups are eligible to win copies of nominated titles. The Red Cedar Award is B.C.’s very own Young Readers’ Choice book award. Students in grades 4-7 read and review at least five nominees and vote for their favourite in the spring. The Stellar Award is B.C.’s teen readers’ choice award. We are hoping to transfer all the information to a more accessible blog in the very near future; stay tuned for more information to come. In the meantime look for a list of nominated titles in this YAACing edition. This season, we will be starting our reading in early fall because we would like to move up the voting dates to late March/early April. This will allow us to have an announcement of the winners in early May in conjunction with the BC Book Prizes 2014 celebration happening this year in Vancouver. Let the reading begin! Noreen Ma YRCA Society of B.C., Secretary Red Cedar Book Award Fiction Nominees 2013/2014
Gargoyle at the Gates by Philippa Dowding
My Name is Parvana by Deborah Ellis
Mimi Power and the I-Don’tKnow-What by Victoria Miles
Mr & Mrs Bunny, Detectives Extraordinaire! by Polly Horvath Summer in the City by Marie-Louise Gay and David Homel Torn Apart: The Internment Diary of Mary Kobayashi (Dear Canada) by Susan M. Aihoshi Ungifted by Gordon Korman Encyclopedia of Me by Karen Rivers Grave Robber’s Apprentice by Allan Stratton Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis Cat’s Cradle Book 1: The Golden Twine by Jo Rioux Redwing by Holly Bennett Yaacing Fall 2013
Red Cedar Book Award Information Book Nominees 2013/2014 Bodyguards! From Gladiators to the Secret Service by Ed Butts, illustrated by Scott Plumbe The World in Your Lunchbox: The Wacky History and Weird Science Of Everyday Foods by Claire Eamer, illustrated by Sa Boothroyd Earth-friendly Buildings, Bridges and More: The Eco-Journal Of Corry Lapont by Etta Kaner, illustrated by Stephen MacEachern The Big Green Book of the Big Blue Sea by Helaine Becker, illustrated by Willow Dawson Mimi’s Village and How Basic Health Care Transformed It by Katie Smith Milway, illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
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Cryptic Canada: Unsolved Mysteries From Coast To Coast by Natalie Hyde, illustrated by Matt Hammill Secret Life Of Money: A Kid’s Guide To Cash by Kira Vermond, illustrated by Clayton Hanmer City Critters: Wildlife In The Urban Jungle by Nicholas Read Rescuing The Children: The Story of the Kindertransport by Deborah Hodge
Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel The Calling by Kelley Armstrong Rebel Heart by Moira Young Getting Over Garret Delaney by Abby McDonald Opposite of Tidy by Carrie Mac Three Little Words by Sarah N. Harvey
Willie O’Ree: The Story of the First Black Player in the NHL by Nicole Mortillaro
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Stellar Book Award - Fiction & Information Nominees 2013/2014
I, Witness by Norah McClintock
Running on Empty by Don Acker 40 Things I Want to Tell You by Alice Kuipers Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock
Prisoner of Snowflake Falls by John Lekich
The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielsen
column Teens Only
Don’t Forget to be Awesome! Books for Fans of John Green By Amy Dawley
If your library is anything like mine, you probably can’t keep any John Green is an author that I’ve been recommending for a very long time, but it seems to me that the majority of teen readers hadn’t “ discovered” him until recently.
of John Green’s books on the shelves. With the publication of Green’s most recent and extremely popular book, The Fault in Our Stars, readers are clamouring for copies of such favourites as Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines. John Green is an author that I’ve been recommending for a very long time, but it seems to me that the majority of teen readers hadn’t “dis-
covered” him until recently. I’m so excited that teens are starting to talk about John Green’s amazing books with each other — you can always tell that something’s a hit when teens start recommending the books to their friends.
And because my library only has so many John Green books on the shelf and our customers usually have to put The Fault in Our Stars on hold, I did some librarian sleuthing and put together my newest read alike list for people who love John Green. The caption is “Smart, emotional, and sometimes humorous books featuring likeable characters in real life situations. Don’t forget to be awesome!” Enjoy! Yaacing Fall 2013
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13 Reasons Why
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
by Jay Asher
by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Before I Die
Okay For Now
by Jenny Downham
by Gary D. Schmidt
Before I Fall
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Lauren Oliver
by Stephen Chbosky
Boy Meets Boy
The Probability of Miracles
by David Levithan
by Wendy Wunder
Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares
Please Ignore Vera Dietz
by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
by A. S. King
Deadline
Suite Scarlett
by Christ Crutcher
by Maureen Johnson
The Disenchantments
The Truth About Forever
by Nina LaCour
by Sarah Dessen
Geektastic: Stories From the Nerd Herd,
Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short
edited
Film About the Grapes of Wrath
by Holly Black
by Steven Goldman
Going Bovine
Why We Broke Up
by Libba Bray
by Daniel Handler
If I Stay
Winger
by Gail Forman
by Andrew Smith
Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl
Amy Dawley is the Teen Librarian at the Prince George Public Library.
by Jesse Andrews
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the
coolest
things we saw on the
internet By Lindsey Krabbenhoft and Dana Horrocks
In this column, Jbrary creators Dana and
Speaking of apps, our Storytimer of the Fall is Anna
Lindsey will be sharing their favourite internet
Reynolds, Head of Youth Services for Annapolis Valley
finds of the season. Learn about the amazing
Regional Library in Nova Scotia. Her blog Valley Story-
things Children and Teen Librarians are doing
time features cool posts on app-like books and outlines
across the continent!
her milk and cookie storytimes which she uses to experiment on (oops, with!) digital elements and the families
Awesome People
in her community.
Doing Awesome Things Following all the app chatter at the BCLA Conference this year the West Vancouver Memorial Library just launched their Recommended App tumblr, as well as their new website. Their tumblr highlights the best apps for children, making it easier for parents to find age appropriate, educational options. The best part is that patrons can try out these apps on one of the Youth Department’s technology petting zoo devices.
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Next up is Steven from Beyond the Book Storytime. This summer Steven began posting YouTube videos with puppets, as well as larger than life storytelling ideas. It’s easy to lose sight of professional development in the feverish days of the Summer Reading Club, which is why we liked this post by Abby the Librarian. She suggests some really neat ideas for out of the box training such as attending a session for parents on kindergarten readiness, going to seminars by local health authorities, or joining a class with musicians to brush up on knowledge and skills.
Image from: http://www.teachthought.com/
Finally this may have already made it’s way into your inbox but the recent article by Nell Coburn of Multnomah County Library in School Library Journal is an excellent collection of storytime tips which are well worth revisiting as we head into Fall.
Programming Resources Before we delve into all the storytime goodies we’ve bookmarked for you, we can’t overlook these two outstanding examples of programs and resources for the middle years. Rachel Keeler, a Children’s Librarian at the Boston Public Library, introduced us to an app called Scribble My Story that allows kids to write, illustrate, and share their own ebooks. Among the sea of apps, this is a great one to recommend to parents looking for a blend between technology, literacy, storytelling, and creativity.
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On the programming front, Miss Ingrid at The Magpie Librarian shared her secrets to throwing a Diary of a Wimpy Kid party! Check out her individualized marble composition books, her quiz, and all the games she organized. On to storytime! Have you heard of the recently created Storytime Underground? It’s a group of Children’s Librarians dedicated to supporting each other and sharing resources. They were the ones who alerted us to this fabulous list of early literacy tips to share with caregivers of children ages 0-2 years. You can also check out Storytime Share for early literacy talking points matched with specific books, songs, flannel stories, and crafts. With fall storytimes right around the corner, be sure to check out the Born Librarian’s Body Positive Self-Esteem storytime plan. What a great way to
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promote self worth and confidence in children! Future Librarian Superhero created a super neat way to sing Five Green and Speckled Frogs that reinforces the counting aspect. We’re always looking for little tricks like this that incorporate STEM activities into storytime, which is why Falling Flannelboard’s count and clip cards caught our attention. Why not end storytime with a little caregiver-child counting! Have you seen something on the internet that knocked your socks off? Give us a shout at jbrary@gmail. com.
Dana Horrocks and Lindsey Krabbenhoft are a triple threat duo working as On Call Children’s Librarians at West Vancouver Memorial Library, the Vancouver Public Library, and Surrey Libraries
column Who’s on the Felt Board
Magnetic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Based on the Book by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault, with Illustrations by Lois Ehlert
Magnetic Story by Elizabeth Rhynold
Creative mom Elizabeth Rhynold shared her creative magnetic version of the picture book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom with Librarian Kate Lowe from the Vancouver Public Library.
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[Editors’ note: Yes, we know, this isn’t a felt at all. But we love the interactive potential. If anyone makes one of these for the shelf ends of your children’s section, be sure to send us a photo!]
vintage yaacing
Princess Power By April Ens
As a grown-up-tomboy type, I’ve never quite been able to comprehend the legions of pink-clad children clamouring for jewel encrusted books about royal girls in gowns living happily ever after. Nevertheless, I know that princess books sate the deep-seated narrative needs of some of my most fervent young readers so I am more than happy to order (and reorder) them heavily and furnish my library shelves with bright pink spines. It seems this has been going on for quite some time. Our Vintage piece is a storytime about unconventional princess stories designed for some familiar sounding library users some sixteen years ago. For those who might like to update this program with more recent unconventional-princess stories, consider: Part-time Princess by Deborah Underwood or The Princess and the Packet of Frozen Peas by Tony Wilson. April Ens is a Children’s Librarian at the Vancouver Public Library
►►► Yaacing Fall 2013
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feature
Tricksters Storytime By Wendy Wright
Fly away Jack, Fly away Jill, Come back Jack, Come back Jill Two little blackbirds sitting on a cloud, One named Quiet and ONE NAMED LOUD Fly away Quiet, FLY AWAY LOUD, Come back Quiet, COME BACK LOUD Two little blackbirds sitting in the snow, One named Fast and one named Slow Fly away Fast, Fly away Slow, Come back Fast, Come back Slow Story: M rs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile by Won-Ldy Paye
Trickster tales—fraught with danger, magic, and slippery morality—seem ideally suited to the dark, mysterious days of late fall. Folkmanis makes a raven finger puppet perfect for Two Little Blackbirds, and a magnificent larger puppet that children are convinced is a real live Raven Child from Gerald McDermott’s book. In Won-Ldy Paye’s story, kids are delighted by Mrs. Chicken’s audacity when she proclaims that the hungry crocodile cannot eat her because they are sisters. The Gingerbread Man is so adaptable that you can abandon the book and use whichever puppets are at hand to tell the story, the only constants being a fox and the gingerbread man himself. The craft below is popular with ages two to five, and encourages spontaneous storytelling. Story: Raven: A Trickster Tale From the Pacific Northwest by Gerald McDermott Fingerplay: Two Little Blackbirds... sitting on a hill, One named Jack and one named Jill
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Fingerplay: Making Cookies, see: Hennepin County Library YouTube I am making cookie dough, Round and round the beaters go Pour some flour from a cup, Stir and stir the batter up, Roll them, Cut them nice and neat, Put them on a baking sheet Bake them, Count them, 1-2-3, Serve them to my friends for tea Story or Puppet Show: The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth, Mairi Mckinnon or others Craft: Gingerbread Man Puppets (glue-stick jiggly eyes, yarn mouths and dried currant buttons onto brown construction paper cut-outs with craft stick handles) Wendy Wright is a Library Assistant at the Hornby Island Branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library
feature Bold Beginnings
More First Line Booktalks By April Ens
Last issue’s Vintage YAACING column featured a piece from 1995 on “first line booktalks,” which listed some classic and then-contemporary books with eye-catching beginnings. This issue we wanted to print an updated version that you could use when promoting your collection to kids and teens this fall. Books with gripping, compelling, or just plain odd first lines are harder to find than you might think, especially when limiting the candidates to books that are worth widely recommending. Many books have great first chapters, first pages or first paragraphs, but do not have exceptional first lines. However, we think we’ve come up with a respectable list that might inspire readers to snatch up the books below. Our thanks to Alicia, Amanda, Amy, Annette, Beth, Els, John, Justin, Kay, Lindsay, Lisa, Matt, Neil, Niki, Nona, Noreen, Randi, Sara, Senn, Sharon, and Stephen for helping us sleuth out some good titles and sharing their suggestions. A couple of my own favourites have to be the surprisingly long first line of Anne of Green Gables, and the playfully cliche opening of the modern classic, A Wrinkle in Time.
Children's Titles “Even before he got electrocuted, Jason was having a rotten day.” The Lost Hero, Rick Riordan “I know I'm not an ordinary 10-yearold kid.” Wonder, R. J. Palacio “Mickey Cray had been out of work ever since a dead
Yaacing Fall 2013
iguana fell from a palm tree and hit him on the head.” Chomp, Carl Hiaasen “Like all big mistakes, mine started with a goat.” 13 Gifts, Wendy Mass “The knife had a handle of polished black bone, and a blade finer and sharper than any razor.” The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
“For the record: I did not mean to send my two half sisters to the emergency room.” Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom, Susin Nielsen “The closing door made the candlelight dance, waltzing and flickering over the girl strapped to the table.” Skulduggery Pleasant Death Bringer, Derek Landy
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“If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book.” A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning, Lemony Snicket “‘It’s gaining on us!” Pandy screamed, craning her neck to look back over her shoulder.” Pandora Gets Angry, Carolyn Hennesy
“When Mary Lennox was sent to Mistlethwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen.” The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett “Mrs. Rachel Lynde lived just where the Avonlea main road dipped down into a little hollow,
fringed with alders and ladies' eardrops and traversed by a brook that had its source away back in the woods of the old Cuthbert place; it was reputed to be an intricate, headlong brook in its earlier course through those woods, with
Teen Titles “The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don’t got nothing much to say.” The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness “Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite
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dark secrets of pool and cascade; but by the time it reached Lynde's Hollow it was a quiet well-conducted little stream, for not even a brook could run past Mrs. Rachel Lynde's door without due regard for decency and
a bit of my free time to thinking about death.” The Fault in Our Stars, John Green “There’s this totally false map of the human tongue.” Liar & Spy, Rebecca Stead “We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck.” Feed, M.T. Anderson “Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she’d been told that she would kil her true love.” The Raven Boys, Maggie Stiefvater
decorum; it probably was conscious that Mrs. Rachel was sitting at her window, keeping a sharp eye on everything that passed, from brooks and children up, and that if she noticed anything odd or out of place she would never
“I am a coward.” Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein “This is the story of a blood-stained boy.” Railsea, China Miéville “My father got the dog drunk on cherry brandy at the party last night.” Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4, Sue Townsend “They say that the prospect of being hanged in the morning concentrates a man’s mind wonderfully; unfortunately, what the mind
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rest until she had ferreted out the whys and wherefores thereof.” Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery “All children, except one, grow up.” Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie
inevitably concentrates on is that it is in a body that, in the morning, is going to be hanged.” Going Postal, Terry Pratchett “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”
The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger “It was a dark and stormy night.” A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L’Engle Honourable Mention (Not Quite Oneliners) “First the colours, then the humans, that’s how I usually see things, or at least how I try. Here’s a small fact, you are going to die.” The Book Thief, Markus Zusak “hello I am Ivan. I am a gorilla. It’s not as easy as it looks.”
The One and Only Ivan, Katherine Applegate; “They say when you’re about to die, you see your entire life flash before your eyes. They lied.” Chronicles of Nick: Invincible, Sherrilyn Kenyon April Ens is a Children’s Librarian at the Vancouver Public Library
review novel with many hopes and expectations, and was not disappointed. Having read the deeply complex Every Day (2012) in which a young person wakes up in a new body and a new life every single day, I know how nuanced Levithan’s writing can be, and I know what sort of characterization he is capable of. In Two Boys Kissing his writing continues to be poetic, his characters so filled with brittle humanity, that it was incredibly difficult for me to put down. The cover itself provoked much discussion upon its reveal earlier in the year, but it fits the plot like a glove, and I was delighted to finally receive an early copy for review.
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan By Robert Bittner
NOTE: This review is being written based on an unedited bound galley provided by Random House by request. If you are a teenager now, it is unlikely that you knew us well. We are your shadow uncles, your angel godfathers, your mother’s or your grandmother’s best friend from college, the author of the book you found in the gay section of the library. We are characters in a Tony Kushner play, or names on a quilt that rarely gets taken out anymore. We are the ghosts of the remaining older generation. You know some of our songs. [Citation from unedited galley. Changes may occur in final edition.]
The opening of Two Boys Kissing read much like his beautiful and heart-wrenching short story in Michael Cart’s collection of stories, How Beautiful the Ordinary (2009). In the prescient opening lines, a chorus of voices from the past ring out: “You can’t know what it is like for us now—you will always be one step behind. Be thankful for that. You can’t know what it was like for us then—you will always be one step ahead. Be thankful for that, too.” These words reach out from the unknowable into the knowable and allow Levithan to explore the connections between then and now in a unique and rich narrative that just cannot be matched by a first-person narrator, at least not in this case. If you have read “A Word from the Nearly Distant Past,” you will know what to expect. But should you not have had the privilege, I will endeavour to do his novel justice within this review.
Two Boys Kissing. A simple and straightforward title for a novel that is anything but. I came to this novel eager Two Boys Kissing tells the stories of a number of young to see what David Levithan had in store. I came to this men, each separate, but revolving (and evolving) and ultimately connecting in surprising ways by the final pages.
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We are first introduced to Neil Kim, who is about to have a movie date with his boyfriend Peter. We are then shown a glimpse into the worlds of Tariq Johnson (finally able to dance without judgement, surrounded by others like him), Cooper Riggs (spends most of his time on the web, chatting with anonymous men for kicks, but still feeling that something is missing), and Ryan and Avery (whose pink hair says more about him that you might think), who find each other at a gay prom. And finally, we meet Craig Cole and Harry Ramirez, ex-boyfriends whose story, I should note, is based on a true story. These two boys are at the center of the story, planning the kiss that will break the current world record of over thirty-two hours.
I thought a certain scenario was just too emotional or another was manipulating me with overly intense emotion, but then I look back at my own life and remember how emotional I was as a teen, and it came back as feeling realistic, though definitely raw.
Craig and Harry are probably my favourite characters overall (possibly because I watched the actual events their story is based on), but it is difficult to play favourites since each young person has his own difficult and joyous story. The tale is universal, exploring diverse and very familiar subjects, from coming out to feeling trapped and alone, from the beauty of a kiss to the hatred it can inspire. These characters feel and desire, and hurt, and find happiThe novel is narrated by a Greek Chorus of past genera- ness, and they, like the current generation of young queer tions of gay men lost to AIDS. While some cynical read- people in the world, can overcome bigotry and ignorance. ers may find this style to be emotionally manipulative, these voices are crafted with such tenderness, I challenge Possibly the best of Levithan’s work to date, Two Boys you, the reader, to make your way to the end without Kissing is a truly amazing piece of literature that will being moved. This chorus of voices bridges a gap and will hopefully stay with you for a long, long time. remind readers what past generations endured and how current experiences for queer young people is both much We watch you, but we can’t intervene. We have already more hopeful and yet still brutal and difficult at times. done our part. Just as you are doing your part, whether you know it or not, whether you mean to or not, whether The narrative weaves through each sub-story, revealing you want to or not. the past and present to us with consistent tenderness, eventually bringing all of the stories together for an emo- Choose your actions wisely. tional and intense conclusion. Though the plot does become quite full in the middle, and some might find it to Robert Bittner is currently pursuing his PhD with Simon Fraser University’s Department of Gender, Sexuality, be overwhelming, I found that Levithan was able to pull and Women’s Studies. the story back from the brink, saving it from being too busy and too big for its own good. There were times when
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Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks First Second, 2013 Audience: Teen
Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong is a graphic novel about a scheme to secure funding for two rival student groups (the robot club vs the cheerleaders) through high school politics. At its centre of the story is the friendship between Charlie and Nate, and the way Charlie is forced into the middle of other people’s problems. There’s also quite a bit of (not Pacific Rim scale) robot fighting. One of the aspects that makes the book great is how Charlie—the captain of the basketball team and former boyfriend of the head cheerleader—is the outsider. The story critiques the way nerd culture can be just as exclusive and ridiculous as being one of the cool kids in high school. It does a great job with these little subversions of the traditional jocks vs. nerds high-school comedy, including the accidental “dad’s out of town” party which Charlie spends reading under his bed. Faith Erin Hicks’ black and white art for the book is wonderful. She captures the big action scenes (a basketball game and a bunch of robot fights) in near-wordless pages that do so much more than loads of description could. That said, my favourite scenes art-wise are the ones of Charlie on the phone with his absent mother. Hicks captures precise emotions in the body language she depicts, and it’s specific and painful. But the book is also funny, and that’s what the reader’s going to draw readers in. It’s filled with vandalism, synchronized-texting cheerleaders, and a pitch-perfect use of the immortal line “Stop. We’ll meet them on the battlefield.” Justin Unrau, Librarianaut.com
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Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein Random House Books for Young Readers, 2013 Audience: 9 – 12
Mr. Lemoncello’s library is every child’s dream, including a café, tv, and video games room, to name a few. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library is a story of puzzle, suspense, adventure…set in a library! Kyle Keeley is a 12 year old who loves games. Any kind of game. Which is why when he finds out his local library is being renovated and reopened by the famous game creator, Luigi Lemoncello, and 12 kids will be chosen to spend an evening at the library before grand opening, Kyle knows he wants to be one of the chosen kids. Kyle wins a spot through an essay contest and experiences an adventure of a lifetime – an ultimate board game at the library where Kyle becomes one of the game pieces. The 12 kids must solve a series of puzzles and learn to work together to find their escape route out of the library. Chris Grabenstein brilliantly alludes to many wonderful books which will definitely entice readers to further great reads. Described as a cross between Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and A Night in the Museum, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library is funny, quirky, and gripping. This book has it all. Not only will readers learn about friendship, teamwork, and sleuthing skills, this book celebrates books, the library, the value of libraries in a community, and especially the joy books and reading can bring to a child. If you haven’t picked this book up yet, join Kyle in Mr. Lemoncello’s ultimate library game. Alicia Cheng, Children’s Librarian at Vancouver Public Library
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call for submissions
YAACING is published four times per year and is always looking for submissions that might interest children’s and teen specialists in BC libraries. We accept news pieces, articles, program descriptions and ideas, conference reports, and much more. If you would like to write a regular column, send us a brief pitch. Submissions should be no more than 2500 words, sent as .doc or text files. Please include a byline with your job title and workplace, or for students: your school, program and class information, if applicable. YAACING invites your contributions to our Review and Felt Story sections: Reviews: Please send us reviews of books, blogs, websites, or other resources. Submissions should be no more than 300 words. Longer reviews may be considered for publication as featured articles. Felt Stories: Share your creativity! YAACING is looking for felt story patterns. Submissions should include a printable pattern, photograph of the finished product, and related rhyme or note about the origin of the story. The deadline for the Winter 2014 issue of YAACING is November 15, 2013. Email your submissions to the editors at YAACING@gmail.com end
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