Happy Birthday John Schumacher!

Today is John Schumacher’s thirty-third birthday.  John is beginning his twelfth year as a teacher librarian at Brook Forest Elementary School in Oak Brook, Illinois.  His blog Watch. Connect. Read. is a resource for the latest book trailers, chats with authors and illustrators and notable news in the children’s literature field.  In 2011 he garnered notice as a Library Journal Movers & Shakers.  As a member of the 2014 Newbery Medal Award committee he read and read and read some more, working with others to select the top titles.  Each month he and his friend, Colby Sharp, educator in Parma, Michigan host the #SharpSchu Book Club on Twitter.  As an avid user of Twitter he continually posts resources nearly 24/7 for those following him at @MrSchuReads.  

For the past seven years John and his good friend Donna Kouri, a teacher librarian at Longwood Elementary School in Naperville, Illinois have traveled throughout the United States spreading their love of books and reading by going on road trips.  It began with Go West ‘07, followed by Go East ‘08, Go Farther West ‘09, Go East Again ‘10, Adventure Out West ‘11, Let’s Go South ‘12, Let’s Go Northeast ‘13 and Let’s Go Somewhere ‘14.  Together they have posted about their adventures at Mr. Schu’s  Wordpress site which has grown for the past seven years.

With these shared experiences, to my way of thinking, Donna might know one or two things about John we may not know.  She is here today to help me celebrate John’s special day by answering a few questions.  Let’s see what she has to say.

Good morning, Donna.  I am wondering how you and John originally met.  Was it through your jobs in Illinois?  Did you attend the same classes in college?  

John and I met in a Master’s Degree program. It was a cohort so we were together weekly and became great friends. I am grateful for that program.

What sparked the idea for these road trips?

The road trip actually started quite randomly. We were discussing what we should do for a vacation and I mentioned that a friend of mine had opened a pizza place in Colorado that I wanted to visit. We thought about it for a few minutes and decided that a road trip would be the perfect vacation. We decided to go get pizza and to have a great adventure on the way. After the first trip, we had so much fun it became a yearly tradition.

When John is reading books aloud to you as the two of you head down the road, does he use voices?  What’s the best thing about hearing John read books aloud?  

John will use voices as appropriate and always does an outstanding job of bringing the book to life. Often the books he reads aloud are novels that do not lend themselves as well to voices, but he will use them on occasion. I love that he often shares books that are unpublished with me. I also love the discussions we end up having about the books. I am not a passive listener and am always interrupting with questions and comments.

What is the funniest thing (or most embarrassing) thing John has ever done on any of your road trips?  What one thing stands out as the most hilarious moment?

In 2009 we decided to head west. We spent several days driving through Texas and found ourselves at a rest area very late at night. This particular rest area was quiet isolated and creepy so we were both a little spooked. John threw something in the garbage can and out popped a raccoon. Neither of us was suspecting it and it startled John so much he began screaming. I, on the other hand, could not stop laughing.

There are many of John’s friends and colleagues who think he never sleeps considering his online presence, the conferences he attends, the committees on which he serves, all the learning his provides through his school library and the huge number of books he reads.  What’s his secret?  Is it a special beverage or favorite food?  

Ha!! This is a good question! I am usually asleep before John and he is usually awake before me so I am not sure I know the answer. I have tried to search his luggage for a superhero outfit but have yet to find one. I am pretty sure superpowers must be involved.

Oh...just in case he might happen to fall asleep when you are driving down the road.  Does he snore or talk in his sleep?

He doesn’t even sleep when I drive! On the rare occasion he does, he is so quiet I can’t tell and sometimes try to talk to him.

Has John ever talked about going farther in your road trips?  I am thinking Alaska or Hawaii.  Has he ever mentioned leaving the North American continent?

We have discussed taking an overseas trip at some point but logistically it would be difficult to do. It is so much easier taking your own car on a road trip which doesn’t work when overseas.

One of John’s road trip followers said he was the Johnny Appleseed of books.  Do you know what started his passion for this sharing?

The first I really remember was in 2009 when John brought along When Life Gives You OJ. I think that people have been so generous in sharing with John that he naturally wants to pay it forward. John believes strongly in paying it forward and really does so on a daily basis.

Thanks for stopping by today, Donna.  We all can hardly wait to follow the two of you on your next summer journey.  Reading truly is a three hundred sixty-five day a year passion for the one and only John Schumacher.

To further celebrate John’s birthday we are giving away copies of Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson and Leroy Ninker Saddles Up: Tales from Deckawoo Drive, Volume One by Kate DiCamillo.  And Xena wants to get in on the action by giving away Otis and the Scarecrow by Loren Long.

Living The Dream

On January 28, 2013 the American Library Association presented the 2013 Youth Media Awards.  Everywhere people not able to attend in person were glued to computer screens watching the live stream.  I have watched the video posted on YouTube repeatedly (I'm listening to it again as I write this piece.)  Since I began my life's greatest joy as a teacher librarian in 1973, it has always been my wish to attend the banquet honoring the winners.  With tears in my eyes after hearing the announcements of many of the winners, I resolved to get to Chicago this year.  And I did.



Chicago is one of my favorite large cities to visit.  As the taxi veered (are all of those drivers trying to get a position in the Indy 500?) along Michigan Avenue toward my hotel Saturday afternoon (my train was late), the tops of the buildings were shrouded in clouds.  It was my goal to get to the Exhibit Hall as soon as possible to meet author/illustrator Matthew Cordell.

Of course, since my last visit to Chicago, my hotel had moved.  The building was still there but it was renamed.  By the time the helpful desk clerk at the Hilton located my hotel, one of two DoubleTree buildings, I had less than thirty minutes to get to McCormick Place on the other end of the city.

At this point I was hoping my cab driver was vying for the Indy 500.  After race walking up stairs, registering and locating the proper aisle, I spotted Matthew.  He was getting ready to leave.  I nearly broke into a run with a huge grin on my face.  After meeting him, chatting briefly, getting one of my books signed and receiving a charming, original unicorn drawing, I knew this was the first of many magical moments I would experience this weekend.

For the next two hours I roamed around the Exhibit Hall marveling at the sheer vastness of the area, the extent of the displays and the array of titles everywhere I turned. At one point I stopped in one of the aisles, looking back to see Jerry Pinkney on my right and David Small with Toni Buzzeo on my left. I was giddy with book bliss.

I met Leonard Marcus who signed my copy of Maurice Sendak: A Celebration of the Artist and His Work.  The delightful Molly Idle graciously signed my copy of Flora and the Flamingo.  To my surprise Jesse Klausmeier was next door, dressed in a pink tutu, laughing and signing books for all her fans.  Luckily one of the posters Dan Santat designed for Crankenstein was still

available.

Unexpectedly walking from the hall, I caught a glimpse of...it couldn't be...Lois Ehlert.  With energy I didn't know I still had, I changed directions and got in line.  I freely admit tearing up when meeting her.  She said, I'm just a person.  I replied, Not to me you're not. The woman assisting her came up to me after I got my book signed.  She gave me a mock-up of her new book to look at while standing there.  I have to tell you, it's going to be one of her best titles ever.

Saturday evening a group of authors and Nerdy Book Club members gathered at the home of author Elizabeth Fama whose book, Monstrous Beauty, won an Odyssey Honor award this year.  She graciously supplied a delicious buffet and an atmosphere conducive to chatting about books and reading.  In chairs scattered about her lovely backyard we met and talked with people who we only knew virtually previously.  I even got a lesson from Mr. Schu on how to use Vine.

Jen Vincent and Brian Wyzlic

I loved speaking with author Laura Golden (Every Day After) and her husband, Michael as well as Liesl Shurtliff (Rump:  The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin), hearing their thoughts about the writing process and books in the works.  Surrounded by all the Nerdy Book Club people it felt like the best kind of family reunion.  It was an evening electrified by people who love and care about many things in common.  (Laura blogs about it here, including the names of those present.)

I barely slept Saturday night, so full of excitement for the next day.  I hurried over to the Exhibit Hall Sunday to meet with Kellie Celia, the Walden Pond Press Marketing Communications Manager.  We strolled around exchanging ideas about books and getting them into the hands of our readers.  Our first stop was to meet Tom Angleberger and Cece Bell, two people filled to the brim with happiness.  Cece signed my copy of her Geisel Honor book, Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover. They both signed their new title Crankee Doodle.

From there I had the privilege of meeting Jarrett J. Krosoczka, getting a couple of the Lunch Lady books signed (I'll be giving one of those away soon.)  His exuberance is contagious.  Colby Sharp had advised me to go to the Artist Alley area where I met Matt Phelan (The Storm in the Barn, Around the World).  I was able to get one of the few remaining ARCs of his new book, Bluffton, plus signed prints of Keaton.  He explained his illustrative process to me.  By now I'm absolutely glowing with the amazement of the day. One hour had passed.

As I was wandering in the aisles, I received a text message.  It was from a person whose blog I have been following for years.  When we spotted each another we both broke into grins and hugged.  I finally got to meet Jules Danielson from Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.  

Next I waited in line to meet Eric Rohmann and Candace Fleming.  Even though I already have copies of Bone Dog and Papa's Mechanical Fish, I really wanted to talk with them both, however briefly; to express my appreciation for their work.  They both revealed tidbits about how these two books were created.

I putt puff puttedy chuffed my way over to Loren Long's meet and signing line.  He is as sincere and wholesome as his character Otis.  The gentleman standing with Loren directed me to the f & g of the new book coming out in October, An Otis Christmas.  Be sure to add this title to your list.  Filled with the spirit of the season, it's a touching, heartwarming gem.

Even though it was hours away, I headed back to my hotel to get ready for the epic evening, The Caldecott, Newbery and Wilder banquet.  I still had another surprise in store before the doors of the Sheraton Ballroom opened at 6:30.  Due to the thoughtfulness and generosity of a PLN member, I was invited to the Random House Fall 2013 Preview Tea.

Can you imagine my amazement to discover I was in the room with not one, not two, not three but four well known authors?  I was able to get books signed by all four, Patricia MacLachlan, Steven Kellogg, Cynthia Voigt and Brandon Sanderson.  After Patricia MacLachlan hugged me, I think I floated back to the table.

Thanks to the kind-hearted Brian Wyzlic who advised me about the shuttle to the Sheraton, arrival at the event was timely.  The very air outside the ballroom was charged with anticipation.  Nerdy Book Club people gathered; more people were meeting one another for the first time.  As she was leaving for another commitment, Donalyn Miller looked to the gathered group and whispered, Someone please check Colby Sharp to make sure he doesn't have an air horn. I've laughed about that over and over again.

Sherry Gick, Niki Barnes, Katherine Sokolowski, Kirby Larson and Cynthia Alaniz with me

From the moment the doors opened until I hailed a taxi for the ride home, every minute was pure joy.  I thought my heart would burst.  The group at our table, the delectable food, pictures of the dessert which was tweeted and re-tweeted, videos and pictures projected on large screens on either side of the dais, the laughter, conversation and the mingling with authors and illustrators before the award presentations and speeches, were all pieces in this picture puzzle being created in my memory.  Paul O. Zelinsky was introduced to me by Jarrett J. Krosoczka.  Laura Given talked with Jon Klassen while I listened.


The speeches given by Jon Klassen (Caldecott), Katherine Applegate (Newbery) and Katherine Patterson (Wilder) were mirrors into the creative souls of each; individual but united in their desire to bring the very best to their readers.  Their words made us laugh and cry together.  People in the ballroom that evening were in the presence of kidlit royalty; you could feel it like a warm, gentle breeze on a summer's eve surrounding you on all sides.

After the festivities inside the ballroom, the medal and honor winners along with their trusted friends, greeted all in a receiving line.  While waiting in line, noticing Jerry Pinkney, I sang the song from John Henry to Laura Given.  Were we giddy with the events of the evening?  Completely.  To be able to shake hands with each of these people and express your gratitude for their books while looking them in the eyes, was golden.

The last person in the line was Katherine Paterson.  When I told her I had in fact read her first published book as well as many others, she said, Then we have a history together.  I was so touched by her genuineness, I started to cry.

I think my final tweet in the early hours of the morning sum up exactly what this weekend means to me.

For the past two days and tonight I got to live in a dream come true.  Thanks to all authors and illustrators.  You are my heroes. Always.

Thank you everyone for sharing this dream with me.

ALA Youth Media Awards 2012

It's not every day when you get to attend a prestigious award ceremony wearing your pink flannel pajamas covered in sock monkeys but that's the beauty of technology and an Ice Day courtesy of Mother Nature.  Here I sit in front of my computer listening and watching the ALA Youth Media Awards event taking place real time in Dallas, Texas.  Twitter is on fire as followers are tweeting each other about every award.  The energy and excitement is oozing out from the screen.

It's now nearly 10AM and all the award announcements have been made.  For complete information about all of the awards please follow this link.  Much like the Academy Awards in film they waited until the end for the final two awards to be announced, the Randolph Caldecott Medal which is celebrating 75 years of selecting the most distinguished American picture book for children and the John Newbery Medal for most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

Randolph Caldecott Honor---2012

Blackout written and illustrated by John Rocco
Grandpa Green written and illustrated by Lane Smith
Me...Jane written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell












Randolph Caldecott Medal---2012

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka

















John Newbery Honor---2012

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin

John Newbery Medal---2012

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos


The links embedded in those titles noted above have been reviewed on this blog.  I've read them all except for one.  Another title which I will gladly add to my TBR pile.  Congratulations to all the winners of all the awards; so much this year for readers to enjoy and savor again and again. 

And the Winner Is---Newbery 2011

One of the perks, for me at least, in reviewing books is going to the author's or illustrator's web sites or blogs to gain insight into their individual creative process and personalities.  This year's winner of the Newbery Award, Clare Vanderpool, is a debut author.  On her web site she reveals that the spark for writing her book, Moon Over Manifest, came from reading a nonfiction book about cartographic crime---say, what?  But a quote by Herman Melville on the first page, It is not down on any map; true places never are, is exactly what got her inventive imagination wondering.  And that for all us lucky readers is what is at the heart of Moon Over Manifest; true place and the meaning of home.

It's May 27, 1936, and Abilene Tucker has been sent by her daddy, Gideon to the town of his boyhood, Manifest, Kansas.  She is to spend her summer there with an old friend, Pastor Shady Howard, while he works on a railway job back in Iowa.  It's been the two of them for so long drifting from place to place that Abilene fights her loneliness and sets her considerable plucky sights on finding out about her father's past.

Armed with her father's compass wrapped in an old 1917 Manifest Herald newspaper and her first night discovery of a cigar box of small tokens, letters and a map hidden beneath the floor boards of her bedroom, Abilene and two new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne set out to unravel the mystery of the Rattler in a town filled with secrets.  An unfortunate accident with a debt to repaid matches Abilene with a town eccentric, Miss Sadie, a diviner.

Through Miss Sadie's stories of the past, a collection of newspaper articles, Hattie Mae's News Auxiliary and humorous newspaper ads from 1917, threads from bygone days are woven together to complete a truly heartwarming tapestry of the 1936 present. 


About halfway through the book I had an uncontrollable urge to start marking passages with sticky notes due to the insight and beauty of Vanderpool's writing.  It is evening and Abilene is musing about her day---

The moonlight shone on the silver dollar and I thought of Miss Sadie's story of Jinx and Ned.  Of Uncle Louver's ghost story.  Of Lettie's story about having had her fill.  Of Ned's letters and Hattie Mae's "News Auxiliaries," that I read like bedtime stories.  And of Gideon's story I was struggling to learn.  If there is such a thing as a universal--and I wasn't ready to throw all of mine out the window---it's that there is power in a story.  And if someone pays you such a kindness as to make up a tale so you'll enjoy a gingersnap you go along with that story and enjoy every last bite.


What a powerful truth that is and how it was placed in this book is perfect.  Near the end when Abilene has nearly fulfilled her obligation to Miss Sadie we read,

I knew the choice in front of me.  I could walk out of that divining parlor right then and be done with it all.  I could leave Miss Sadie behind and never come back.  But I knew these people, Jinx and Ned, and Velma T. Shady and Hattie Mae.  Even Mrs. Larkin.  They'd become part of me.  And I loved them.  What else had Miss Sadie said?  "Who would dream that one can love without being crushed under the weight of it?" 


Decision made we follow this delightful character and the complete cast of 1917 and 1936  townspeople caught up in the trends, prejudices and tides of their histories to a conclusion that is so savory and delicious we just know that it won't be long before this book will be in our hands to be read again.  Well done, Newbery committee, well done.

Nod to Another Newbery 2010

Jacqueline Kelly, author of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Henry Holt and Company, May 12, 2009), a Newbery 2010 Honor book, has penned a truly memorable first novel.  What makes this story unforgettable is the sense of time, place and family that Kelly brings to the reader through her love of words crafting visuals that not only transport but will transform.

Calpurnia Virginia Tate, fondly called Callie Vee, was eleven years old in the summer of 1899.    She is the middle child of seven with three older and three younger brothers.  Her family is of means owning a large working farm and cotton gin which her grandfather established.

It is blazing hot in Fentress, Caldwell County, Texas.  Callie seeks respite in the cool waters of the San Marcos River near their family home floating in her chemise and thinking as she watches the webworms hanging from the oaks that lean across the water.  Seeing and questioning life around her differently than other young women her age sets Callie apart.

 Her oldest brother, Harry, notices that Callie has an attachment to the natural world and he gives her a notebook to record her questions and observations.  Callie has heard talk about Charles Darwin's book, On the Origin of the Species.  A visit to the Lockhart library has Callie fit to be tied as the cranky librarian huffs that there is no copy of such a book in her library, she would need fifty cents to get a copy from another library and does she have a letter from her mother giving her permission to read it.

 Bravely seeking out her grandfather, an eccentric living with the family but spending most of his time outside in his laboratory or in his library, Callie talks about her humiliating experience.  Without so much as a word he leads her into the house and his library.

He extracted a book covered in rich green morocco leather handsomely tipped with gold.  He polished it with his sleeve, although I could see no dust on it.  Ceremoniously, he bowed and offered it to me.  I looked at it.  The Origin of Species.  Here, in my own house.  I received it in both my hands.  He smiled.  Thus began my relationship with Granddaddy.

It also begins our relationship, in a small way, with Darwin as each chapter of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate begins with an appropriate excerpt from his book.

That summer and beyond, before the turn of the century, readers journey with Callie as Harry courts two different women, as her tenderhearted brother Travis must face Thanksgiving and the loss of his turkey friend, to piano recitals, when three of her brothers fall in love with her best friend, during a cotton harvest, and the family dogs, the county fair, the first telephone and automobile, expectations of women of the time, the possible discovery of a new species by her and her grandfather and the inevitable discourse between members of the family.  The family dialogues around the dinner table were absolutely priceless especially after Callie tests out a new batch of her Grandfather's pecan brew. From spending so much time with her grandfather in scientific study Callie is able to set in her mind how she wishes her life to be but will society let her be herself  is a question left unanswered

For this reader  The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly was most assuredly historical fiction at its best but it was so much more.  It was about connecting soul to soul with another like-minded individual, about the bridge that can be built between generations through conversation and shared experiences, about noticing  details that give the whole its uniqueness, and about choices that women must make; to choose their own road or the road that society dictates they take. 

Working my way through Newbery 2010

Early last evening I finished my third of the five books which were given Newbery Awards in January of 2010.

As author Rodman Philbrick says in the first paragraph: My name is Homer P. Figg, and these are my true adventures.  I mean to write them down, every one, including all the heroes and cowards, and the saints and the scalawags, and them stained with the blood of innocents, and them touched by glory, and them that was lifted into Heaven, and them that went to the Other Place.

And so begins the story titled The mostly true adventures of Homer P. Figg.  Homer and his older brother, Harold, are orphans living with a hateful relative, Squinton Leach, in the state of Maine.  When that uncle's cruelty expands to a profitable ruse which finds Harold being lead off to war, Homer, escapes from the locked cellar to find his brother.  From being kidnapped by ruthless slave hunters, to being saved by a wealthy Quaker abolitionist, to being tricked by a less than stellar traveling minister, to being a Pig Boy in a traveling medicine show and then finding himself right in the middle of the Battle of Gettysburg, Homer survives by his truly remarkable gift of gab.  Certainly this tale is loaded with episodes that will have the reader grinning as they shake their heads but Philbrick, underneath it all, is revealing a world that can be cruel and tragic.  The narrative has been well researched and includes some additional Civil War facts, opinions, slang & definitions, to be argued, debated & cogitated upon at the end. 
I found myself liking this book not only for the humor and plot twists throughout but for the honest way that part of history was portrayed through its descriptive characters, their dialect and mannerisms and the sense of time and place that Philbrick created with his style of writing.  Although not nearly as graphic and haunting as Paulsen's successful depiction of a true story in Soldier's Heart it is more than deserving of the Newbery honor.

Newbery Honor Winners Strike Again

In 2009 Kathi Appelt for the Underneath and Ingrid Law for Savvy were winners of the Newbery Honor Award.  With both of their latest books which I just completed reading, they have proven that they were indeed not "one hit wonders."

Appelt's Keeper again crosses into the mixed genre realm of magical realism.  In Keeper as in The Underneath she uses her gift of weaving multi-layers to create a powerful message. Within twenty-four hours, which begins with 10-year-old Keeper uttering "You stupid crabs!", the lives of aging Mr. Beauchamp, war-ravaged Dogie, runaway Signe, a missing mermaid mother Meggie Marie along with the requisite animals of Sinbad, the one-eyed cat, Too, Dogie's dog, Captain the seagull and BD, Best Dog owned by Keeper are disclosed through a series of flashbacks.  What propels the reader forward are revealing, snappy chapters. Keeper constantly examines what happened to turn the traditional highly anticipated day of the blue moon into a personal disaster for all these people living on Oyster Bay Road because of those "stupid crabs".  Certainly the setting of a beach along the Gulf Cost in Texas adds to the ebb and flow of these people's personalities, what brought them to be living in "the world unto itself" and of Keeper floating in a small boat at night trying to make everything right again.  As The Underneath focused on the power of hate and love, Keeper crafts its own definition of family.  This author's writing is excellence times two.
Please be aware that Keeper is edgier than The Underneath in that issues which may be controversial play a part in the plot.  In my opinion this is for older, more mature readers.

Scumble, companion to Savvy by Law is even more fun than its predecessor.  Ledger Kale can hardly wait to turn thirteen.  He is sure that his savvy (magical talent) will propel him into "savvy history".  It doesn't take long for everyone to agree that his savvy does indeed set him apart in a big way as everything around him falls apart. When Ledger's family decides to brave a trip to a family wedding in Wyoming, it is all they can do to get there with the car intact.  Due to Ledger that momentous event will live on in the family annuals for all the wrong reasons--complete and total destruction of one of the barns on the farm, complete and total chaos of the wedding party and an unintended injury to the groom--all witnessed by a bigger than life snoop called Sarah Jane Cabot, newspaper reporter extraordinaire.  And that's just the beginning!  Ledger's parents decide to leave he and his sister at the family farm so he can master (scumble) his wild ways with help from other savvy struck relatives.  It's the addition of what might be weak secondary characters in the hands of any other author that adds to the plot twists and richness of this tale just as it did in Savvy.
In a word-marvelous.