Obama and the Wild Things

If you're a Fuse #8 reader, you've already seen this, but I can't resist posting it here as well:

FAN-tastic! (har)

I had no intention whatsoever of posting TWICE on my first day back, but this begs to be posted before the next round of verdicts in the SLJ Battle of the Kids' Books hits the blog-o-sphere:



I think I want Hunger Games to win just to see these two uber-fans triumph. They even finger-spell.

(Thanks to Blue Rose Girls for the link.)

Metamorphosis

Who else thinks the paperback cover of The Wednesday Wars kicks the hardcover's butt in terms of kid appeal?

The hardcover, in case you'd repressed it:

State of the TBR pile

Finished:

Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale (audio)
The Animated Man, by Michael Barrier

State of the TBR pile

Finished:

Beyond the Miracle Worker, by Kim E. Nielsen

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly

Fat Cat, by Robin Brande

Next week:

The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney

by Michael Barrier

BEYOND THE MIRACLE WORKER, by Kim E. Nielsen

***We interrupt this blog hiatus to bring you the following review***

BEYOND THE MIRACLE WORKER:
The Remarkable Life of Anne Sullivan Macy
and Her Extraordinary Friendship with Helen Keller
by Kim E. Nielsen

(Beacon Press)

Maybe it seems counter-intuitive to write a solo biography of Anne Sullivan Macy -- who would have heard of her if not for Helen Keller, right? Even for someone who's as nutzoid for Annie as I am, it's odd at first to read a biography in which Helen Keller gets so obviously sidelined. However, much as I value Joseph Lash's dual biography, Helen and Teacher, and as much as the two women's lives were intertwined, reading Nielsen's solo examination of Annie reveals just how much of a distraction keeping up with Helen Keller creates for those of us interested the intricacies of Annie Sullivan.

Without the focus constantly swinging toward the details of Helen's existence, vital elements like Annie's disabilities and mercurial personality virtually become characters in their own right. In fact, Nielsen shows that Annie's wavering eyesight, chronic pain, recurring illnesses, and lifelong bouts of melancholy were more debilitating than Helen's blindness and deafness -- though no one who spent 40-odd years standing next to a deaf-blind icon would dare draw attention to that fact. Not even saucy Annie Sullivan.

While many biographers tend to frame the hardships in Annie's early life as a rags-to-riches buildup to her successes as Helen Keller's famous teacher, Nielsen details the lingering effects of Annie's childhood traumas on her adult relationships and behavior. The truth of the matter is that Annie Sullivan was damaged goods, and even the salve of Helen's decades-long friendship never fully closed those wounds. No matter how much Helen loved and venerated her, Anne Sullivan Macy was not an easy woman to live with. Fortunately for the rest of us, all the extremes that made her such a trial and a delight make for a fascinating read under Nielsen's steady gaze.


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Addendum:
I am vicariously incensed with Publisher's Weekly for referring to this book as "lightly fictionalized autobiography." In fact, NONE of Nielsen's writing in this biography can be characterized in any way as fictionalized. On the contrary, Nielsen uses Anne Sullivan Macy's own lightly fictionalized autobiographical writings as a source for her work, but clearly indicates between documented facts and the autobiographical stories of 'Johannah [Annie] and Jimmie Dunnivan' culled from Macy's unpublished memoirs. *humpf*

Celebrating Annie Sullivan

I know, I know, I know. All that stuff I said yesterday about not blogging? Forget that for a minute, because....

Today is Annie Sullivan's birthday, and just lookit what appeared in my mailbox:

Beyond the Miracle Worker:

The Remarkable Life of Anne Sullivan Macy

and Her Extraordinary Friendship with Helen Keller

by Kim E. Nielsen

My very own signed copy, which I proudly ensconced in plastic less than 10 minutes after its arrival. I fell for this book nearly two years ago when Kim gave me the chance to read an early manuscript, and I can't wait to read it all over again. Judging by the way I raced through the intro, though, I should maybe calm the heck down so I can actually see the words. (Although I did manage to focus long enough to pick out my own name on page 270. Heh.) For now, I'm carrying this thing around like a new puppy.

**********************

Currently reading (duh):

Beyond the Miracle Worker

by Kim E. Nielsen

The trouble with blogging

Pros:

1. The kidlitosphere keeps me in the loop and aware of what new books are buzzing.

2. Blogging provides me with a legitimate reason to wheedle with sales reps for ARCs and review copies of fresh novels.

3. An active blog helps readers remember I exist, even though I've puttered around so much that it'll be about four years between my first novel and my second.

4. Blogging about books I love makes me feel like I've still got my bookseller mojo.

5. Reading blogs and exchanging comments with other readers and writers is just plain fun, and keeps me in touch with cool people.

Cons:

1. It's work, and though it tends to be a whole lot more fun than laundry, blogging is one of those never-ending tasks. Scheduling posts in advance sacrifices spontaneity, while blogging on the fly leaves me panting.

2. I'm the sort of person who wants to silence all the bitsy little chores from my to-do list before tackling the big ones. Which means that keeping up with my blog and reading journal often gets put before keeping up with my actual book-writing. Not ideal.

3. Maybe this is only a reflection of my own frame of mind, but it seems like the kidlitosphere isn't as dynamic as it used to be. Lately I find myself dropping some blog feeds entirely, and skimming the vast majority of the keepers. Something's got to be amiss when an author I love posts a new blog and my first reaction is to feel put upon at the thought of taking the time to read it. Seriously? Do blogs and/or blog reading have a shelf life?

4. It's not a tremendous time commitment in the grand scheme of things, but keeping up with blogs, Facebook, Goodreads, and my reading journal is fragmenting my attention far more than it ought to, and I do not like that feeling. Not one bit. I want my focus back. (I suspect this also has something to do with writing a book from four points of view, but there's no turning back on that front.)

And yet I refuse to quit. I don't want to lose touch with my virtual buddies, or stop yammering about good books. A break might be in good order, though.

So I'm taking the week off. Maybe the one after that, too. Ok fine, "off" doesn't really mean radio silence. More like maybe-I-might-if-I-feel-like-it. (Because I do predict a blog-worthy day in the very near future.) No obligations, though, except the Sunday TBR updates. But that's it. Sort of.

State of the TBR Pile

Finished:

Tales of the Madman Underground, by John Barnes
The Castle in the Attic, by Elizabeth Winthrop (audio)

Braille fail

Wednesday night I got this bright idea: As long as I'm indulging in audio-egotism, maybe I could practice my Braille skills by following along in my bumpy edition of Miss Spitfire while I lie in bed listening to the CDs.

Bah-hahahahahahaha....

You know how long it took before I got completely overwhelmed? Exactly ONE sentence. (Shut up -- it was a long sentence.)

Poetry Friday

in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little lame baloonman

whistles far and wee

and eddyandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer
old baloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's
spring
and
the

goat-footed

balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee

~e.e. cummings

Make Way for Ducklings, Walt Disney World-style

Check out the photo of the week at my favorite WDW fansite, AllEars.net, taken by a certain Michelle W. of Marshfield, Massachusetts:

Make Way for Ducklings

Judging by the socks, some ducklings got themselves lost in Adventureland and a Magic Kingdom cast member served as a stand-in for Mrs. Mallard until the family was reunited.


(click here for a direct link to the photo after April 13, 2009)

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Currently reading:

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tateby Jacqueline Kelly

All over again

Tell me how high this rates on the vanity scale...

A couple nights in a row this last week, I woke up in the wee hours for what felt like at least half an hour -- that annoying kind of awake where it's too much trouble to reach for the lamp and a book, so you end up just lying there, bored and semi-groggy.

By night #3, I decided an audiobook playing low on my iPod dock might lull me (or at least occupy me) better than my view of the ceiling. This is a tricker proposition than meets the eye -- you need something in a soothing, level tone. Something familiar enough to doze off into, yet not so familiar as to send you drifting back toward boredom. Also, something that doesn't have harmonica riffs in between each chapter, like the Grapes of Wrath, which made my eyes flap open every 10 minutes or so.

Now, I have always been the sort of author who doesn't dare open her own book. Not because I can't stand it, though. Quite the contrary -- if I open it, there's a 96% chance I'll sit right down and read it like I've never read it before. So on night #4 I kind of smirked and glanced over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching as I dialed through the Authors listing on my old pal the iPod and caught myself pausing over the M section. Not M for "Miller," mind you -- M for...wait for it... "Me."

Because much as I like what Recorded Books has done with Miss Spitfire, actually listening to the audio edition myself has always made me a tad self-conscious in a way that reading the print version never does. Could I really use my own former ruminations to hush my brain back to sleep, I wondered?

As it turns out, HECK YES. I dunno if it's good news or bad that I've spent the last two nights snoozing through the bulk of my very own book, but I sure am taken with the drifting off and waking up parts. You'd think I'd know this story well enough by now that I could lie there and recite it along with Terry Donnelly; instead I find myself just plain enjoying a good story on a topic I like a whole lot. This may become a permanent habit.

WAIT TILL HELEN COMES, by Mary Downing Hahn

WAIT TILL HELEN COMES

by Mary Downing Hahn

(Brilliance Audio)

Ever go back to one of your childhood favorites and discover it's a cringe-worthy piece of work? That's why I've been chicken to reread Wait Till Helen Comes ever since I went to work at Halfway Down the Stairs and got religion regarding quality children's lit.

I SHOULD NOT HAVE WORRIED.

It's not one of those exquisite, highbrow pieces of writing, but Wait Till Helen Comes is about as solid and reliable an example of storytelling as you'll ever want to see. Out of 160 ratings on the Evil Online Chain Store, a full 140 are five-stars. After 23 years, this book's still selling strong enough to produce a sales ranking that's a good 6,000 places over my momentary personal best. And here I thought WTHC was an under-the-radar gem appreciated by myself and an enlightened few. Heh.

As a kid, I loved that there was no Scooby-Doo style unmasking at the end - Helen was real, and not somebody to be trifled with. I also loved that Heather was a first-class brat, and the vicarious indignation over the stunts she pulled is as much a part of my memory of reading this book as the plot itself. Plus, narrator Molly was into unicorns and rainbows AND Edgar Allan Poe - an unbeatable combo in the eyes of 10-year-old Sarah Miller.

As for the audio recording? Well...I liked it better than Read Roger, but he's not entirely off base, either.

Amusing aside: A couple years back, my kidlit professors imported Mary Downing Hahn to Oakland University as a speaker in their summer Authors and Illustrators Art and Craft seminar. And I got to sneak in to hear her speak. Couldn't find my beloved old paperback to save my soul, but I did get a fresh new hardcover of Wait Till Helen Comes signed. AND I got recruited to drive Mary Downing Hahn to lunch afterward. Which made me grin and giggle enough that I had to explain how perfectly surreal it was to go from worshipping the book in elementary school to chauffeuring the author across campus in my grand old Town Car a dozen years later.

State of the TBR pile

Finished:

Freeze Frame, by Heidi Ayarbe

Wait Till Helen Comes, by Mary Downing Hahn (audio)

The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs, by Jack Gantos

Next:

Thirteenth Child, by Patricia Wrede

Tales of the Madman Underground, by John Barnes

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly

If you're a fan of Harriet the Spy...

...do me a favor and go rent yourself a copy of Wait Until Dark and then tell me if Gloria (played by Julie Herrod) isn't a dead ringer for Harriet M. Welsch.

The kid's stealthy, nosy, and not in the least averse to shouting. Honest to Pete, when she made her entrance, I sat there trying to figure out where *else* I knew her from.

(And if you're not a fan of Harriet the Spy, rent the movie anyway. I dare you not to jump when...well...you'll know.)

*******************
Currently reading:

Tales of the Madman Underground
by John Barnes

Poetry Friday

If You Catch a Firefly

If you catch a firefly
and keep it in a jar
You may find that
you have lost
A tiny star.

If you let it go then,
back into the night,
You may see it
once again
Star bright.

~Lilian Moore
From A Jar of Tiny Stars

(Impatiently awaiting the delivery of two of these for the Wendy House...)


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Currently reading:

The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs
by Jack Gantos
(Because Stacy at the library said I had to.)

No foolin'

Alligator pears. Did anyone else know that avocados are also called alligator pears? Why on earth should I ever say "avocado" again when I can say ALLIGATOR PEARS instead?