Mystery Encased in Ice Freed by the Power of Words

When I reviewed in December of 2010 (It hardly seems that long ago, the memory of that book is so vivid in my mind.) Matthew J. Kirby's debut novel, The Clockwork Three,  I ended by saying that I was waiting and wanting another escapade by this noteworthy author. Matthew Kirby has delivered another superb contribution to the world of children's and young adults' literature in the title, Icefall.

I just finished reading Icefall for the second time.  The first time I read it in huge gulps like a desert traveler throat and lips parched wanting cold sweet water.  The second time I read slowly like a connoisseur savoring each and every element rolling it around in my mind like a taster of fine food does on their tongue.  In a word, Icefall is a masterpiece.

It is first and foremost a story that surrounds you, trapping you with its gripping adventure and treacherous mystery, much as the frigid cold, snow and ice ensnares the characters.  A mighty Viking king is at war with a bitter enemy whose request was spurned; an enemy who wants that which he can not have.  This king sends his three children to a remote steading bordered by a fjord that will freeze for the winter, a dark primal forest, mountains and an enormous wall of ice.  These three, Asa, his beautiful eldest daughter, Harald, his young son and heir, fierce in his pride and Solveig, the middle child, overlooked by her father but nonetheless a young woman whose beauty and strength are yet to be discovered, are accompanied by her father's second in command, Per, his men, Bera, a mother figure for the children and their cook, her son Raudi, and Ole, a thrall.

 As the group waits daily for additional final provisions before the ferocity of winter sets in, a ship does come but it is filled with more than food and supplies, it brings berserkers, the king's personal guard.  Led by Hake they have been sent to further protect the heir.  Alric, the king's skald, is with them too; his presence is a curiosity.  Accused of coming due to cowardice, the storyteller responds.

Alric shrugs.  "Can your sword grant immortality?  Because my voice can.  You would defend the king's body, an honorable endeavor, but I would defend his legend. Which do you think will outlast the other, Captain?"

As winter blankets the land, water and sky, so too does it cover the souls of each person now locked together in survival and unease. Tension descends as events lead to the inevitable conclusion, there is a traitor in their midst.  Someone wishes to weaken those that guard the king's son and daughters.  Everyone is suspect.  Added to this is Solvieg's recurring dream that is either a premonition of dire consequences or an outgrowth of her escalating fears.

Secondly, Kirby has used a technique in bringing this story to us that is brilliant in concept but even more alluring in its fruition. Through Solvieg, chapter by chapter,  Kirby relates the events.  It is her voice that gives us a description of the changing season, the mood and manner of all assembled.  We are privy to the innermost thoughts and struggles of this young woman who slowly, not without doubt, grows into her true potential.  We feel her joys no matter how short lived, her deep sadness, her sense of desperation and her resolve.

I haven't taken my eyes from the wolf.  And he doesn't seem to have taken his eyes from me.  His gaze is intense, full of confidence, without any hostility.  He is not the wolf of my dream.  He knows his place in the world and where he belongs.  I wish I could know the same.

I pluck at the rag in my hands.  "Bravery is nothing without strength."
"But you have that, too."
I say nothing.
"You are stronger than me," Asa says.  "And in bravery and strength, there is a kind of beauty."
"Not like your beauty."
"No. No, not like mine.  Your beauty won't ever fade."

But set within these twenty-three chapters are separate single and double page narratives that are being told to us and other listeners as well.  These small pieces of a larger story give an intimacy and immediacy to the overall tale by defining the characters and Solvieg's assessment of them.  It is in the final entry in this recounting that we see the wisdom that has become Solvieg's guide.  It houses one of my favorite paragraphs in this book.

Thirdly, Mr. Matthew Kirby, I have the heart of a storyteller, most librarians do.  We tell small stories everyday as we bring readers to books.  I have gone farther than that though.  I have been a member for many years of the National Storytelling Association located in Jonesborough, Tennessee.  I have attended several of their National Storytelling Festivals in October as well as classes held during the summer at their institute.  I have taught storytelling in speech and drama classrooms.  I love the beauty and power of a single voice bringing to listeners gifts that they may not know they need until the telling is completed. 

In bringing the skald, Alric, to the fortress Icefall goes from a finely wrought adventure taunt with unanswered questions, bristling with battle scenes and a climatic pursuit to a whole new level.  Through the tellings of Alric and Solvieg, as she shapes her sight and memory, of the Norse legends that gave birth and life to this glacial landscape, readers are given insight into the true magical might of story; it is the tie that binds not only this tale but all the stories of our lives together.

He closes his eyes.  "Stories give you a way to see things.  A way to understand the events of your life.  Even if you don't realize it while you're hearing the tale."

The potency of story is a grand thing to behold as is Icefall.  Matthew Kirby can spin a tale like none other using beautifully descriptive language that allows his readers to transcend their reality taking them into a harsh land of the past peopled with unforgettable characters whose actions though very human do rise almost to the divine.

Someday Mr. Kirby the PA in your school may announce that a strange woman is there to see you.  That will be me hoping to shake your hand and thank you in person for this wondrous story of epic proportions.

Popping To World Full of Island Adventures

A post on The Children's Book Review on Saturday October 8, 2011, caught my eye.  It was a video titled Jeff Kinney (author of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series) Talks About Poptropica.  That triggered another memory filed away about another post that mentioned Poptropica.  No matter how hard I looked I could not find that original post but it must have impressed me because I noted Poptropica on my "to-try" list.  Poptropica also made Time magazine's The Top 50 Best Websites of 2011.

Poptropica is not new to the online scene.  According to their web site Poptropica® was developed by Family Education Network (FEN), the makers of Funbrain.com....In September 2007, FEN launched Poptropica®, a virtual world in which kids explore and play in complete safety. Accessibility to this world for kids is important to the creators, which is why the Poptropica® Islands are free for all kids to play. Although the site is free, memberships are available that offer additional perks to players.  While the site is designed for young elementary age children up to tweens, if users are under the age of 18 they need to go over the Terms of Use with a parent or guardian.  No personal information is ever asked for on the site.



When you enter the site you can either click the New Player or Returning Player button.  I decided to do some further exploration before getting into the site.

I first clicked on the Island Tour icon.  You are taken to a page that lists the current twenty-two islands that can be visited.  By selecting any of those listed on the right another page is shown.  This includes an overview of the island as well as a video trailer.  I clicked on Mythology Island but other islands go to comic characters such as Peanuts Snoopy and books that children and young people enjoy such as The Magic Tree House series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid series or the Big Nate series.

The Creators' Blog! leads to all the latest news and ideas about using Poptropica.  When a new island is introduced it will be announced here. 

Poptropica:  The Official Guide is to be released on October 13, 2011.  Several copies will be finding their way to our Charlevoix Elementary School Library Media Center. 

When I choose the New Player button the next screen asked me to create my character.  I was first asked if I was a boy or a girl.  Then I was asked my age; ages 6-15 whirl around for selection.  Sadly, my age was not among those but being 10 again sounded like a good idea.  I wanted to pick an age between the span not knowing if that would change the way Poptropica played for me.  The character selected for me was Shiny Lightning but you can change your character.  To move the character point and click with the mouse.

Once the character is created move your mouse to the basket of the hot air balloon to enter Poptropica.  Shiny Lightning popped into the basket and we were moved to a map of all the islands in this new world.  Your mouse acts as a compass rose moving the tiny blimp around until you go to a specific island.

With Halloween nearing I choose Great Pumpkin Island.  When you first enter an island a group of icons are displayed in the upper right hand corner.  By exploring each the user learns to navigate around the area.  The tool box houses items that are collected as the island is explored.  The map reveals where your avatar has gone and is currently located.  The POP icon has comics, games, sneak peeks and creator clips.

I climbed back up the rope fairly early in my stroll through this place and  moved to another island where I was able to collect several items for my tool box. Saving that game as well, I decided that I needed to give Great Pumpkin Island another try.  I went back to the Island Tour which was exceedingly beneficial.  It is important to know the goal for each island before attempting to maneuver around.  I am still working on saving Halloween!  I can see where this site would provide hours of entertainment for most ages.

For hand-eye coordination and use of the mouse this is an excellent site.  There is no audio.  Pre-scripted chats take place between the characters by clicking on them providing practice with reading. Some games can be played between players as you move around an island but for the most part this is interaction between a player and the site itself.    This site promotes creativity in solving a particular problem and down right doggedness to complete the designated task.

Poptropica is a proven, promising ticket to multiple adventures.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

As far back as I can remember each spring, summer and fall I would garden with my Dad.  We spent endless hours turning the soil, coaxing life from seeds and plants, weeding, pruning and picking.  There were huge vegetable gardens showcasing award-winning tomato plants and flower gardens with breathtaking roses.  Time spent gardening with my Dad took on a magical quality.  We were removed from the normal hustle and bustle of our days into a quiet, serene world of beauty and purpose.  Gardening is a part of who I am and my gardens are a reflection of where I have been; my Mom's heritage peony bushes, a portion of my Dad's sage plant, a lilac bush I've moved twice that was a gift from a memorable eighth grade homeroom class and numerous other plants acquired as trades from fellow gardeners.

Given my background, even before all the buzz, I was drawn to Grandpa Green written and illustrated by Lane Smith by the cover alone; the young boy hanging from the tree looking at the topiary elephant being clipped by an older guy garbed as a gardener.  Shades of green reach out enveloping you with the endpapers and a foliage title page scripted in the same white lettering as the cover.

The text tells the story of the life of the elderly man .

He was born a really long time ago, before computers, cell phones or television. 

We follow his childhood on the farm, his bout with chicken pox in the fourth grade staying home but reading classic stories, his first kiss and his dream of studying horticulture.  A world war came taking him away from that dream but introduced him to his future wife.  They had a harmonious, happy life filled with children, grandchildren and a great-grand child, a young boy. 

Older now the grandfather forgets details but the garden is adorned with his most significant memories done in elaborate topiaries. His story closes with a single visual; a continuation of that which he has depicted most eloquently.

The title page indicates that Lane Smith utilized brush and waterproof ink to render his characters for this book.  Digital paint, watercolor, and oil paint fashioned the foliage.  These whimsical, lyrical illustrations not only compliment the narration but tell a story of their own.  Our fingers walk through a botanical museum displayed on pristine white illuminating each amazing delicate detail; lush leafiness amid graceful trunks and branches.

Each visual flawlessly leads into the next; at times an extension of the previous presentation.  The initial topiary of a crying baby has an arched spray of blue seemingly coming from his eyes.  When the next page is turned at a different angle we see that it is the young grandson holding a hose upright as he turns the spigot. 

As the grandfather's life's tale is recounted readers stroll along with his grandson through the greenery of those remembrances.  Along the way he gathers items:  a trowel, a glove (left on top of a baby chick looking like a cock's comb), a dustpan and whisk broom gathering fallen berries, a wagon carrying a pot, a watering can, eyeglasses, lunch pail and remnants of a partially eaten meal, hedge shears and a floppy straw hat.  Not only gazing at the riches around him this traveler through time interacts with certain topiary commemorations of a life well lived.

It is when the young grandson pulling the wagon laden with all the gathered goodies approaches his grandfather working on a new creation, that what we readers have suspected all along is confirmed; the deep and abiding love between this pair.  As a four page spread unfolds we are greeted with an amazing artistic accomplishment by the grandfather and Lane Smith.

Musing over the works of Lane Smith that I continue to adore, one word comes to mind, versatile.  This is the man who brought us The Happy Hockey Family, numerous collaborations with the witty, wondrous Jon Scieszka including the Caldecott Award winning, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairy Stupid Tales, Madam President, The Big Elephant in the Room and It's A Book. 

Grandpa Green has raised the bar clear up to the stars having universal appeal to all ages touching hearts, making us all as one.

The following links are to an outstanding two-part interview recently conducted with Lane Smith by the blog, Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves, Part One and Part Two.

There Are Lists And There Is Weblist

In 2010 the American Association of School Librarians, a branch of the ALA, selected under the Manage and Organize Standards for the 21st-Century Learner: 2.1.2 - Organize knowledge so that it is useful., 2.1.4 - Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information. and
3.1.4 - Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess. an application that is perfect for those of us that rely on lists or what I call one stop shopping for resources, WebList.  WebList is an interactive and dynamic content sharing site.

WebList is a free service that can be used without registering.  If you want to save and edit that list you will need to register.  To register enter in a username, password, first and last name, email address and country.

You will receive an email at that address confirming your registration, username and password.

As you can see by the home page you can browse categories of lists already created or start building your own weblist immediately.  First type in a name for your list.  By selecting Click here for additional list settings, a window pops up allowing users to add a description, tags (subject headings), choose thumbnail preview or show items on page, check add voting to items and make my list private.  If the list is made private only those with the special link received directly from you can unlock the URL.  Just by using the URL it will be closed.

Once this is completed adding the items begins.  When users click on web page a window appears in which as many web sites as needed or necessary can be added using the URL.  When that box is filled in click on next.  You can enter in the title and a description of each of the web sites included on that list.

An image can be uploaded from your computer or a URL to a image can be posted in the box. As with adding a web page when the images are uploaded or URLs are added, a title and description for each can be made.

When text is added to your weblist you have control over its appearance as you would in most document applications.  The text is titled and described.  It can be made bold, in italics, strike-through or underlined.  Four types of justification are available as are indent and outdent, subscript and superscript and horizontal rule.  Lists and images can be inserted.  A link can be created.  Three sizes of headers can be chosen.

Upload a document from your computer by clicking on add to list once a title and description are included in the window.

To add a video to the weblist enter in the URL from one of the following platforms:  MetaCafe, YouTube, DailyMotion and Vimeo.  Be sure to include the title and description before clicking on the upload button.

Any type of file can be uploaded from your computer.  As stated above remember to add the title and description before selecting the upload tab.

Each time an item is added to your weblist it appears on the home page screen.  When you have all the items selected for the time being click on Save Your List.  The window to the right will appear.

At this window the List Address can be sent via email or to the following social networks:  Reddit, Digg This, StumbleUpon, Mixx, Facebook or Twitter.  A unique URL can be emailed to yourself (recommended) or placed in your favorites so the list can be edited in the future.  A short URL can be sent to Twitter and a unique Invite URL can be emailed to others.

If you wish, when this window is closed, there are the choices of opening all windows, leaving comments, getting the full list information and sharing with many social networks.  If you are logged in you can also go back in and edit the list.

In order to provide easy access to appropriate Internet sources for younger students this web 2.0 application is an educator's dream.  It also provides another way to save research done on a particular lesson or unit.  WebList gets an A+!

Check Out The "Kid" At Champlain Elementary School

With several New York Times bestsellers to his credit, A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech and Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Spider and Diary of a Fly by Doreen Cronin,  as well as illustrating books for well know authors, William Steig, Robie H. Harris, Kate DeCamillo and Alison McGhee, cartoonist, Harry Bliss, is no stranger to the world of children's literature.  His August 2011 title, Bailey, is a stellar representation of his work.

Shadowing Bailey is a joy-filled treat for readers as he rises and shines early, performs his morning
cleansing rituals and selects appropriate attire that showcases his complete assuredness.  Carrying his backpack he leaves his house heading for the school bus nearly missing it again when a particularly appealing stick catches his eye. 

Arriving at school he longingly  looks at a familiar squirrel.  As he enters the building the principal offers a greeting and a request to try not to lick anyone today.  Gathering with the rest of his classmates he unloads his backpack at his cubby and approaches his teacher with a gift for her birthday, an old, chewed-up bone, his favorite. 

Bailey's day at school is wonderfully typical:  sharing time, math, lunch, presentation of his big report, art, recess, working in the school garden, music, dancing and quiet reading at day's end. But Bailey's approach to each of these activities is anything but typical for he is a pup with extraordinary skills and a huge appetite for pure dogginess.

To begin, that standard reply to a questioning teacher of where one's homework might be, the dog ate it, is true and Bailey has a stomach ache to prove it.  During math instead of numbers Bailey uses dog bones to show his work on the chalkboard.  After sitting at the table during lunch with his classmates, who do not want to trade a sandwich for a dog bone, Bailey dives into the trash can to whet his hunger. His tale wags out of control when using it as a brush in art class.  As each hour progresses Bailey gives it his own canine spin much to the delight of his classroom companions; that dog sure can dance. 

At the end of the school day Bailey nearly misses the bus again having fallen asleep after the reading of his most loved chapter 7, Catching a squirrel.  He does call out from the school bus, in his mind, to that squirrel hanging on the tree just out of reach.

What sets this title far apart from others is the combination of humanness without the loss of canine character.  When readers peek into his home in the morning it looks just like ours except Bliss has added descriptive details in his illustrations that are comforting and comic; a bedspread and pillow covered in dog bones with a chewed up stick and collar on the floor, a cat on the calendar eyes shifted to the bird on the window sill tweeting, Don't be late!, and instead of clothing hanging in the closet a colorful array of collars swing from the hangers.  On the outside his house looks like a dormered Cape Cod complete with flower-filled window boxes. 

During the day Bailey never speaks to anyone but readers have a clear perception of his thinking through thought balloons.  While most of his classmates would rather be anywhere but on the bus, Bailey is saying, Faster! Faster! head hanging out the window.

Bliss has cleverly assigned speaking text to his human characters as well as thought balloons so readers are completely engaged during the entire story.  Humor abounds throughout  the narration and within the nuances of his graphics. 

Part of the appeal for me was the choice that Bliss made to portray Bailey's home, the school and the surrounding community as more traditional; a rural setting bringing readers to a slower paced environment.  This coupled with his visuals convey a sense of warmth, security and sweet serenity.  The cover art really sets the tone for the complete piece, right down to the tail-wagging detail.  Dog people know that tail wagging equals happiness.  And Bailey is one happy dog.

A day in the life of this precious pooch at school is entirely endearing.  Flawless in every aspect Bailey written and illustrated by Harry Bliss is the definitive title of a dog at school.  I love everything about this book.  My students will too.

Twitterville Talk #17

Here's the latest and greatest picks from some of those I follow on Twitter.  Enjoy.

 The tweets from Children's Bookshelf at Publishers Weekly that I am highlighting are:

Gorgeous Grimm:  130 Years of Brothers Grimm Visual Legacy is a review written by Maria Popova of The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, edited by Noel Daniel.  This is a compilation of the illustrations from the 27 most favorite stories.  This gives readers a glimpse of some of the beautiful artwork used to portray these stories.

'Percy Jackson' Author Planning Book on Norse Gods headliner written by Hillel Italie reveals that Rick Riordan has signed with Disney Publishing Worldwide to create at least three books.  I can't wait for that.

Film studio Lionsgate Lands Chaos Walking award winning books written by Patrick Ness.  This is a fantastic article about the books, Patrick Ness and the filmmakers plans for production.

The most popular article on the Publishers Weekly site currently is YA Comes of Age written by Sue Corbett.  Corbett offers up thoughtful insights.

In the spring of 2012 an exhibition will be open to the public, for a fee of course, to see sets, costumes, props and effects from the Harry Potter films at Leavesden studios near Watford, UK.  Beam me across the pond, Scotty!

It seems that 'Marcel the Shell with Shoes On' is back with a children's book.  In an article written by Stephen Lee we get the complete scoop and a video preview to boot, er I mean shoe.

Beverly Wrigglesworth of School Library Journal has written: Singing Their Hearts Out: Music for young kids has come a long, long way. Here’s our guide to today’s top albums.

Brian Selznick Takes a Twitter Question; the results are posted by Kathy Ishizuka.  View the Vimeo video.

Johnny Depp is set to star as Dr. Seuss in a live action movie.  Now this I have to see.

Jonathan Hunt gives readers his take on nonfiction possibilities for the Newbery Award.

To celebrate the newest title in the Elephant & Piggie series, Happy Pig Day!, Mo Willems has a kit available on his site.

Try these great games at GoMo.net courtesy of Mo Willems.

Take a fews minutes to see the pictorial timeline of The Red Elephant designed by Mo Willems and now in place at the Eric Carle Museum.

The Intrepid Tractor Is Back!

That little indomitable red tractor that putt, puff,  puttedy, chuffed  his way into our hearts in the title, Otis, is back.  From the imagination and hand of his author/illustrator, Loren Long, readers follow the friendly farm fixture on a new adventure, Otis and the Tornado.

After work on a sunny summer day Otis and his companion, the little calf, play.  They like nothing better than a grand game of follow-the-leader gathering all their other farm friends to join the line.  Each takes a turn at lead, winding around all the familiar landmarks-the apple tree, the barn, the rolling hill, Mud Pond, the cornfield, the meadow and the banks of Mud Creek.

This daily delight is enjoyed by all except for...the bull.  Fierce, unfriendly and fearsome, he does not participate staying alone in his fenced pasture.  Having had his attempts at friendship spurned, even Otis stays away. 

Life on the farm is good until one day when a humdinger of a Midwestern storm rolls in.

Otis didn't mind the rain, but there was something different about this storm that he could feel down deep in his pipes. 

When Otis sees all the farm hands heading to the cellar not taking the time to care for the animals, he gazes skyward into the greening grayness....a TORNADO.  Without a moment to spare Otis rallies the troops into a faster paced version of that grand game of follow-the-leader straight down into Mud Creek where they wait.  But, what's that sound?

A large fierce, unfriendly, fearsome and now frantic someone has been left behind.  Trouble with a capital "T" is heading his way.  Can a tractor triumph?

Mother Nature has her way but so does Otis.  Out of adversity old friendships grow stronger and new ones are forged.

Gouache and pencil are like tools of magic in the capable hands of Loren Long as he visually portrays this tale.  His style and colors are reminiscent of an older, more agricultural America.

Each illustration is framed with a heavy black line as are most of the elements within the frames.  Readers feel as though they are slowly walking through an art gallery as the pages turn.  When appropriate the frame is broken; by puffs of smoke from Otis, an apple tossed to the bull or Otis charging out of Mud Creek.

Long alternates between single page spreads with text opposite, centered on white space or text beneath each illustration to a two page quartet of panels showing a progression as in the follow-the-leader game to the larger two page spreads for emphasis; the bull, a landscape view of the tornado or Otis with his farm friends eyes closed nestled on the bottom of Mud Creek.  I would truly frame any one of these to hang in my home.

Otis and the Tornado written and illustrated by Loren Long is a priceless portrait combining timeless text and vivid visuals bringing to readers the defining ingredients needed in a recipe for heroism and friendship.

Take a journey at Long's web site by following the link embedded above.  He has original sketches and finished pieces from Otis including those not used.  A wonderful Q an A interview by Publishers Weekly is linked on the Otis page as are explanatory YouTube videos and great story stretchers for readers, six pages of activities.

For me reading Otis and now, Otis and the Tornado, is like going to a place that is safe, snugly and sincere; a place of affection and contentment.  It doesn't get much better than that.