The Songbook Highway » 40 Forever

40 Forever: Unbroken

Chris LeRoy — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:05:40 +0000

Unbroken

You don’t have to be a history buff to get lost in this incredible story about the life of Olympic track star and World War II Veteran, Louis Zamperini. The History Channel bores me to death, but I was fascinated by this book and finished it in two long sittings.

“Zamperini’s story — and Hillenbrand’s unforgettable new book — deserve pride of place alongside the best works of literature that chart the complications and the hard-won triumphs of so-called ordinary Americans and their extraordinary time.” –Maureen Corrigan, NPR.

Hillenbrand, Laura. Unbroken: A World War Ii Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.
New York: Random House, 2010. Print.

`Rebecca Hickman

40 Forever: Academy Awards of Children’s Literature

Chris LeRoy — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:45:27 +0000

The Academy Awards of Children’s Literature

Here are a few of the big winners of the ALA Youth Media Awards which were announced this morning:

Sibert Medal:

Sweet, Melissa. Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2011. Print.

Caldecott Medal:

Raschka, Christopher. A Ball for Daisy.
New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2011. Print.

Newbery Medal:

Gantos, Jack. Dead End in Norvelt. New York:
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011. Print.

Belpré Medals:

McCall, Guadalupe G. Under the Mesquite. New York: Lee & Low Books, 2011. Print.

Tonatiuh, Duncan, and Diego Rivera. Diego Rivera: His World and Ours. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2011. Print.

King Medals:

Nelson, Kadir. Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans.
New York: Balzer + Bray, 2011. Print.

Evans, Shane. Underground. New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2011. Print.

Geisel Medal:

Schneider, Josh. Tales for Very Picky Eaters. New York: Clarion Books, 2011. Print.

Posted by Rebecca Hickman at 9:06 PM

40 Forever: Covers It All

Chris LeRoy — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:33:58 +0000

Record Covers

Here’s a great gift for your favorite Crumb . . . it’s the latest anthology of record cover artwork by cartoonist R. Crumb!

Crumb, R. R. Crumb: The Complete Record Cover Collection.
New York, N.Y: W. W. Norton & Co., Inc, 2011. Print.

And speaking of record covers . . . have you seen Alfra Martini’s reproductions of iconic album covers? The series is called The Kitten Covers. Take a look!

Simon, Paul, and Art Garfunkel. Bridge Over Troubled Water.
New York: Columbia, 1970. Sound recording.

U2.War. New York: Island, 1991. Sound recording.

Clash: London Calling. 1979. Sound recording.

Beatles. Let it Be. London: Apple, 1970. Sound recording.

Morrison, Van. Moondance. Burbank, Calif: Warner Bros, 1970. Sound recording.

Posted by Rebecca Hickman at 7:16 AM

40 Forever: The Marriage Plot

Chris LeRoy — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 14:25:22 +0000

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

The critics absolutely loved the newest book by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Jeffrey Eugenides. Publisher’s Weekly put it at the top of their Best Books of 2011 list.

Eugenides, Jeffrey. The Marriage Plot. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011. Print.

If you went to college in the 1980’s, you will especially like this book. It brings back memories of all those silly comp lit discussions about semiotics, deconstruction, and “coming to voice.”

“Mr. Eugenides brings the period into bright detail—the brands of beer, the music, the affectations—and his send-ups of the pretensions of chic undergraduate subcultures are hilarious and charmingly rendered” –Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal

“No one’s more adept at channeling teenage angst than Jeffrey Eugenides. Not even J. D. Salinger . . . ” –Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

And speaking of Teen Angst . . .

To learn more about The Marriage Plot, check out NPR’s interview with the author.

-Rebecca Hickman

40 Forever: Buy Now!

Chris LeRoy — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:37:29 +0000

Support your local retailers

One fun way to help the economy is to shop locally. A hand-wrapped holiday gift from a local boutique (sent via US Mail to support your local letter carrier) is much more meaningful than something bought online from a huge corporation. It’s also good for your community.

American Independent Business Alliance

Here are some great picture books about shops and shopping:

Rylant, Cynthia. The Bookshop Dog. New York: Blue Sky Press/Scholastic, 1996. Print.

Wells, Rosemary. Bunny Money. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1997. Print.

Dodds, Dayle A, and Jill McElmurry. The Kettles Get New Clothes. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2002. Print.

Lewin, Ted. Market!New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1996. Print.

Lobel, Anita, and Arnold Lobel. On Market Street. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1981. Print.

Shaw, Nancy, and Margot Apple. Sheep in a Shop. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. Print.

ps. For more information on why it’s important to shop locally, visit The American Independent Business Alliance, The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, and Sustainable Table.

40 Forever: El día de los muertos

Chris LeRoy — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 06:24:45 +0000

El día de los muertos

My husband and I recently celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. Six years ago today, we were honeymooning in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico as the town was getting ready for the día de los muertos/Day of the Dead holiday. Marc and I were in a cab headed to a nearby beach, when we passed by a beautiful cemetery all decked out in marigolds and other traditional Day of the Dead decorations.

Then we saw something strange . . .

A young woman was crossing the street carrying a human head under her arm.

Luckily, it turned out to be just a mannequin head. She was on her way to the neighborhood beauty school.

Like the mannequin head, the Day of the Dead holiday isn’t half as scary as it seems at first glance. It is simply a time to remember and honor loved ones who have passed away. There is even a sense of whimsy to the holiday, almost like our Halloween. One of the most popular symbols of the holiday is the calavera, or skull.

And speaking of The Day of the Dead . . .

Here are some great children’s books that celebrate the fun side of the Mexican holiday:

San Vicente, Luis. The Festival of Bones = El Festival De Las Calaveras. El Paso, Tex: Cinco Puntos Press 2002.

Morales, Yuyi. Just a minute: a trickster tale and counting book. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2003.

Da Coll, Ivar. El Día de Muertos.
[New York, NY]: Lectorum, 2003.

Winter, Jeanette. Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book. Orlando: Harcourt, 2004.

Ancona, George. Pablo recuerda: la fiesta del Día de los Muertos. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1993.

Posted by Rebecca Hickman at 12:43 PM

40 Forever: Match Your Costume

Chris LeRoy — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:03:13 +0000

A book to match your costume

Myers, Christopher. Black Cat. New York: Scholastic Press, 1999. Print.

Lots of parents come to the library this time of year searching for books to match their children’s costumes. Here are a few of my favorite pairings:
For the Egyptian princess:

costumeworld.com

Climo, Shirley, and Ruth Heller. The Egyptian Cinderella. New York: Crowell, 1989. Print.

For the Tin Man:

costumeworld.com

Baum, Frank J, and W W. Denslow. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. George M. Hill Company, 1900.Print.

For the fairy princess:

costumeworld.com

Owen, Robert. The Golden Book of Peter Pan. Newnes, 1965. Print.
(Visit ProjectGutenburg.org for a free e-book of the unabridged, original story by J.M. Barrie.)

For Ben Franklin:

costumeworld.com

Schanzer, Rosalyn. How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Print.

The possibilities are endless! Of course, we also get parents who ask us for last minute costume ideas. A ghost is pretty easy:

Bridwell, Norman. Clifford’s Halloween. New York: Scholastic

Posted by Rebecca Hickman at 11:44 PM

40 Forever: In Stitches

Chris LeRoy — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:50:35 +0000

Stitches by David Small

National Book Award Finalist

Small, David. Stitches: A Memoir. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2009. Print.

“David Small evokes the mad scientific world of the 1950s beautifully, a time when everyone believed that science could fix everything . . . Capturing body language and facial expressions subtly, Stitches becomes in Small’s skillful hands a powerful story, an emotionally charged autobiography.” –R. Crumb

“Small, in a style of dry menace, draws us a boy’s life that you wouldn’t want to live but you can’t put down. From its first line four pages in, ‘Mama had her little cough’, we know that we are in the hands of a master.” –Jules Feiffer

Judging by the bright, cheerful children’s book illustrations David Small is most famous for, you would never guess that his own childhood was so dark. All families are a bit dysfunctional, but David Small’s family was criminally insane. His grandmother, who used to discipline him with scalding hot water, was institutionalized after she locked her husband in the basement, set the house on fire, and celebrated by dancing around naked in the front yard. David Small’s father, a radiologist, used extremely high levels of radiation on his son in an attempt to come up with a cure for sinusitis. These experimental treatments were likely the cause of the cancerous growth that appeared on David’s neck. The growth grew and grew, and David’s mother put off taking him to a pediatrician for years because she didn’t want to throw away good money. Years later, when David’s growth finally became too big to ignore, he was operated on, and awoke to discover that one of his vocal chords had been removed along with the growth. He could no longer speak above a whisper.

Thankfully, David and his brother developed creative ways to escape the abuse. David turned to art and became an award-winning children’s author. His brother turned to music and became a professional classical percussionist.

This is the most compelling graphic novel/memoir I’ve read since Art Spiegelman‘s Breakdowns.

Spiegelman, Art. Breakdowns. London: Viking, 2008. Print.

Here are just a few of David Small’s wonderful books for children:

Small, David. Imogene’s Antlers. New York: Crown Publishers, 1985. Print.

Stewart, Sarah, and David Small. The Library. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1995. Print.

Caldecott Medalist
George, Judith S, and David Small. So You Want to Be President. New York: Philomel Books, 2000. Print.

Broach, Elise, and David Small. When Dinosaurs Came with Everything. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007. Print.

40 FOREVER: That Doggie In The Window!

Chris LeRoy — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 17:06:25 +0000

October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month

Orlean, Susan. Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011. Print.

Susan Orlean’s book about Hollywood’s most celebrated rescue dog is not your ordinary dog story. It’s about the impact of moving pictures (There were more canine roles during the silent film era), the use of dogs in the military, the social history of dog ownership (obedience classes are a fairly new concept), and much more. Learn more about this great tale and listen to an interview (with the author, not the dog) on npr.com.

ps. October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. Visit your local Humane Society and adopt a friend for life.

pps. Patti Page recently rerecorded “Doggie in the Window” to “Doggie in the Shelter.” 59 years later, she still sounds amazing.

Posted by Rebecca Hickman at 9:34 AM

40 Forever: Red Palms

Chris LeRoy — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:52:26 +0000

Red Palms

If you liked Forever by Judy Blume, and The Cay by Theodore Taylor, you will absolutely LOVE Red Palms by Cara Haycak. I did!

Haycak, Cara. Red Palms. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2004. Print.

Blume, Judy. Forever: A Novel. Scarsdale, N.Y: Bradbury Press, 1975. Print

Taylor, Theodore. The Cay. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday, 1969. Print.

Here’s what the critics had to say about Cara Haycak’s unique coming of age story set in an exotic island off the coast of Ecuador:

“Readers will be enchanted by the exotic, magical qualities of this coming-of-age story. Unique and beautifully written.” –Kirkus Reviews.

“Haycak serves up a rich literary stew, like a chef who throws all her ingredients into the pot at once.” –Voice of Youth Advocates.

“Haycak writes a captivating, insightful story, and the vividly evoked setting, cultural specifics, and strong characterizations distinguish this inventive, ambitious effort from a talented new author.” –Gillian Engberg, Booklist.

By the way, Cara the Author is really fun. I had the pleasure of sitting next to the author at my friend Dib Ziade’s 50th birthday party. Cara named a character in Red Palms after Señor Ziade!

Posted by Rebecca Hickman