Perfect Witchy Combo

Saturday is one of the best nights of the year in my neighborhood: Halloween. It’s the best because my street is one of the premium attractions in the city (in my unbiased opinion) due to the fact that six houses down from us is a full-on Halloween-inspired musical production staged on the front lawn. Each year it’s a different theme, but the show always has lights, sound, costumes, a stage, backdrop and usually a giant screen attached to the front of the second storey of the house. A bunch of families on the street get together to put on the show, so there are kids and adults involved and it’s always hilarious. They do about 4 shows throughout the night and the street is basically shut down to traffic the crowd gets so big. Since we’re so close, we get a lot of trick-or-treaters. A lot. Like 250+ a lot. It’s great. For us it’s pizza and mini chocolate bars on the porch with friends who bring pumpkins so that we end up with a whole bunch glowing up and down our front steps.

Inspired by the year’s spookiest holiday, I present two witchy reads that I delighted in over the summer: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe, and Witch Child by Celia Rees. I had read Rees’ book before, and loved it, so this time I thought I’d get the audiobook for something different. Can I tell you how excited I was when I found out that it is narrated by Jennifer Ehle? (If you don’t know why that is exciting, then I’m guessing you’ve never watched this, say, 5 times. Go. Watch). I ended up listening to the one while reading the other, which was perfect, and I highly recommend this approach if you’re in the mood to immerse yourself in all-things witchy this Halloween.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is an adult title, but I think it has some crossover potential with the right, academically-inclined sort of teen. It has a past/present structure that I often find appealing, when it’s handled well. In the present the story centres around Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin, who is just about to choose a subject for her doctoral dissertation and then spend the summer researching. Her mother asks her to take care of selling her grandmother’s old house close to Salem, and when Connie arrives at the run-down place, she finds herself falling under its spell. She discovers a key hidden in an old Bible and inside the key is a small piece of parchment with a name written across it: Deliverance Dane. Connie begins investigating and as she learns more about this mysterious woman she wonders if there are ties that bind her to Salem in ways she had never imagined. She begins hunting for a book that she believes belonged to Deliverance – a physick book containing secrets, both medical and spiritual, of days long gone. Set against the present day narrative is the story of Deliverance and her family and their struggles as they get caught up in the witch trials of the 1690s.

This is a good book to cosy down with on an afternoon when you don’t have anything to do (because I know we’ve all got lots of afternoons like that, right?), preferably a chilly afternoon involving a couch, a blanket, a cat and a cup of tea. It will draw you in and Howe creates an atmosphere of mystery right from the start. The descriptions of the grandmother’s old house, almost completely closed off from the world by vines and ivy and garden, are especially vivid. I thought it was an interesting and innovative idea to approach this oft-used historical period from the perspective that witchcraft may indeed have been real, just not in exactly the way you might imagine. Two tiny complaints in an otherwise completely enjoyable read. First, the sections of the book set in the 1680s and 90s felt outweighed by the narrative in the present day. At times, I was frustrated that more attention and length wasn’t given to the plot thread in the past, since it was sometimes more compelling than the events with Connie. I found myself flicking ahead to see when the next “past” section was coming up. Also, I felt like it took too long for Connie to find the physick book, almost to the point that the tension dissipated. I can see why Howe might have chosen to delay, but there was some lag in the momentum about 3/4 of the way through the book. Overall, a moody, semi-suspenseful look at a popular historical period, with a new angle that will make you rethink the witch trials.

Witch Child is the perfect teen warm-up for Deliverance Dane, in the way that it presents witchcraft as a real practice, but not a devilish one. Mary Nuttall witnesses her beloved grandmother hung as a witch and then a mysterious and beautiful woman whisks her away from this nightmare to safety. The woman has arranged for Mary to travel to the New World, where she will become a part of a community of Puritans. Too bad those Puritans aren’t any keener on witches than the English folk Mary left behind. It really is too bad, because Mary is a witch. She admits to it. When she arrives in the New World she ends up in Salem and she learns that keeping her power secret is as difficult and important as ever. I found Witch Child to be completely gripping (you might say, bewitching… ha ha). It is in diary format, bringing you right inside Mary’s thoughts and point-of-view and Rees’ writing is evocative. I like it when you find a character in historical fiction who feels somehow contemporary in her perspective and concerns, but who remains true to the period. I suggest reading it and then listening, the way I did. Jennifer Ehle’s performance is exceptional. Too bad she hasn’t recorded the sequel.

There is a sequel to Witch Child, called Sorceress, but I haven’t read it for some time. Maybe I’ll get my hands on it before tomorrow. Perfect reading for when the candy runs out and we close down shop for the night.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is published by Voice. Witch Child is published by Candlewick (paperback edition).

Author/Illustrator Interview: Matt Phelan

I’m honored to have the amazingly talented Matt Phelan visiting Shelf Elf today for an interview about his upcoming graphic novel, The Storm in the Barn. His book is already snapping up many glowing reviews all around the kidlitosphere (right here, educating alice, Reading Rants, Welcome to my Tweendom) and I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if it’s on a fast train to Awardsville. This is a book to buy and linger over and read again and again. Welcome Matt!

How would you describe The Storm in the Barn to a potential reader?
The Storm in the Barn is a graphic novel set in the Dust Bowl about a boy who discovers a sinister figure hiding in the neighbor’s barn. It is part tall tale, part historical fiction, and part supernatural thriller.

What are you most proud of in this upcoming book?
The story was first and foremost in my mind. I wrote it first as a very detailed script, describing each individual panel. I started to worry about how it would look only after the story was set.

When you were working on this book, which came first, images or story?
Although I wrote the script before I began drawing, the initial inspiration for the book was visual. I was very influenced by the WPA photography of that time and it was those images of the Dust Bowl that started me thinking. Also, the villain of the story originated as an offhand doodle that I once made during a meeting at my old copywriting job.

In what ways do you think a typical urban kid in 2009 can relate to the experiences of Jack Clark, a kid growing up in the Dust Bowl?
I think Jack faces some universal challenges of being a kid: bullies, a feeling of uselessness, the desire to impress his father, the desire to save his family. I think most kids can relate to that feeling of being powerless yet wanting desperately to make things better.

The Wizard of Oz is an important element in The Storm in the Barn. Why did you choose to bring this text into your book? What did you hope it would add to the fabric of your story?
I wanted the book to be an American fairy tale and to incorporate elements of folklore and myth. The Jack Tales were the first stories I wanted to include, but since the story is set in Kansas, I naturally gravitated to the Oz books. They had been around for many years by the time this story takes place (1937) so I knew that these kids would be familiar with them (especially if you are a young girl in Kansas named Dorothy). Reading Ozma of Oz, I found some passages that I thought would work nicely as a sort of commentary on what was going on in my story. So I had Jack or Dorothy reading these passages out loud in two scenes.

The Uninvited

Spooky and summer go so well together, don’t you think? If you’re in the mood for a thriller to sink into while lounging on the dock, I can’t think of a better recommendation than Tim Wynne Jones’ latest, The Uninvited. Sure to spook your socks off, the story captivates in true Tim Wynne Jones style.

Mimi is desperate to get away, somewhere quiet and remote, somewhere far away from her mildly-stalkerish NYU professor/boyfriend. So she drives north, to her father’s cottage in Canada. It’s been years since he’s used the place, and when Mimi shows up she is shocked to discover there’s someone already living there. That person is Jay, a young musician who is using the rundown cottage as a space for writing his latest composition. When Jay first sees Mimi, he thinks she is the weirdo who is responsible for leaving strange and freaky things around the place – a dead bird and a snakeskin and other odd tokens. It doesn’t take long for the pair to realize that someone else is watching them both, someone who seems to want to frighten them, or worse.

I’ll read anything Tim Wynne Jones writes. His stuff is literary but never self-consciously so, and he creates characters that I always wish I could keep company with just a little bit longer. This is exactly the case in The Uninvited. Jay and Mimi and Cramer, the third main character, are so well drawn that I believed in them completely. Their motivations are complex and their histories messy. Tim Wynne Jones should know a thing or two about writing suspense. His first book, Odd’s End, was a prize-winning thriller, and he’s done a bunch of much-praised suspenseful novels for young people since then. Everything in this latest book is woven together in ways you don’t see at first, and then slowly, you begin to put the pieces into place.

The Uninvited is more than just a straightforward page-turner. It’s about creativity, family, lies and isolation. Oh, and the setting just rises right out of the pages till you can see the sun dappling the river and hear the wind through the trees. Perfect cottage book – just make sure you’ve got company.

The Uninvited by Tim Wynne Jones is published by Candlewick, 2009.

When the Whistle Blows

Fran Cannon Slayton’s debut, When the Whistle Blows, has garnered a lot of critical attention, earning praise all over the book world including starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal. It’s one of those books that you read and can’t quite believe is the author’s first novel. It’s a beauty. You need to read it not just because everyone else loves it. Read it because this is a story that will sneak up on you and leave you with the feeling that you’ve just read something that has all the makings of a classic.

When the Whistle Blows is the story of Jimmy Cannon, who lives in Rowlesburg, West Virginia. It’s the 1940s and the railroad is the lifeblood of the town, and it is also Jimmy’s passion. He is crazy about steam trains, and he dreams of working on the railroad just like his dad, who is the Baltimore and Ohio foreman. Jimmy’s dad doesn’t want his son to choose this life, because he predicts that the new diesel technology will cut railroad jobs dramatically. Yet Jimmy doesn’t want to walk away from the future he has always imagined.  The railroad is a part of his family and his identity. Each chapter in the novel is set on All Hallows’ Eve (Jimmy’s father’s birthday), between the years 1943-1949, so we watch Jimmy grow up from age 12 to 18. We follow Jimmy as he orchestrates pranks with his buddies, when he sneaks a look inside his father’s secret society, on the day of his high school football Championship game, and one night when he has a close encounter with a train.

This novel is a marvelous snapshot of small town boyhood in the 1940s. Fran Cannon Slayton really makes you understand the railroad and its huge significance to the people of Rowlesburg. Even though this novel is set long ago, it has real resonance in the current economic climate as lots of people struggle with letting go of livelihoods that they’ve known for decades. Really, just as much as this is a tremendously believable and rich coming of age story, it’s about change in a larger sense too. The change of a community and an entire society. Jimmy’s dad tells him, “Change comes Jimmy. It’ll thunder down the tracks towards you like an engine with the brakes gone out. And sometimes, there ain’t a dagburn thing you can do to stop it.” Jimmy learns what it means to face change and to make choices about whether to stand up against it, or to adapt and keep moving.

Woven into all of this is Jimmy’s complex relationship his father. Jimmy desperately wants to figure his dad out, but it takes him a long time to even begin to get to the bottom of his father’s mysterious past. I enjoyed the structure of Slayton’s book a great deal. Each chapter felt a bit like a self-contained short story, but they built upon each other and the overall effect was a richer appreciation of the characters and the family relationships. You really do get to watch Jimmy grow up, from an adventurous prankster / dreamer, into a young man who confronts loss and uncertainty for the first time. There’s romance, but it’s not of the lovey-dovey variety. It’s the romance of the railroad. You’ll feel it.

In When the Whistle Blows, there’s rule-breaking and humor, loss and family secrets, all explored and mingled together with such deftness and clean writing that readers will certainly recognize Fran Cannon Slayton as a new writer to watch.

When the Whistle Blows is published by Philomel, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

Class of 2k9 Author Interview: Danielle Joseph

It is my very great pleasure to host Class of 2k9 debut author, Danielle Joseph, for an interview. Her novel, Shrinking Violet, was released just this week, and you should pick it up, because it’s sweet and funny and romantic. Read my review here.

Welcome Danielle!

Tell us about the moment you found out your book would be published. How did you celebrate?

I was visiting my family in South Africa when I read the email from my agent. I was ecstatic! I celebrated by spending the day on the beach with my family. My two sons made me a cake out of sand. It was a beautiful day! The most wonderful thing was that my grandmother, an avid reader, was there to hear the news. She was sick and passed away several weeks later, but I know she was proud of me.

What was the most challenging part of writing your debut novel, and what did you do to overcome the challenge?

Really the most challenging thing was just laying down the plot and making sure all the key elements were there to tell a good story. I belong to two really great critique groups so I had a lot of great feedback along the way.

Do you outline or do you just hold onto your idea and dive right in?

I formulate an idea in my head, jot down some notes and then plunge right into the first chapter. After I get a few chapters down, I then go back and outline the first half of the book.

Best writing advice you’ve received: Just write! Really, if you only have ten minutes a day, then make those the best ten minutes.

Is your main character, Tere, like you?

I am similar to Tere in some ways. I too was shy growing up but not nearly as shy as Tere. We also share the same love of music, radio and the quest to follow our dreams no matter what obstacles might stand in our way.

In your novel, Tere wonders, “…if it’s ever too late to be somebody.” One way that she finds inspiration to express herself is through learning more about the life of Helen Keller. Who has inspired you?

There are many people that have inspired me over the years. I credit my teachers for helping me foster my love of writing by introducing me to the craft and my parents for encouraging me by listening to my stories. I also think Helen Keller is a great role model because she had to overcome such obstacles to become who she was. She really was a remarkable person that didn’t feel sorry for herself. It’s people like Helen, that make it against all odds, that really make me smile.

Shrinking Violet is about making your mark, being true to yourself and celebrating your own talents. What advice would you give to young people reading your book about how to achieve these things in their own lives?

The most important thing is to believe in yourself. If you have confidence in what you do than that’s all that should matter. Nothing happens overnight and things aren’t always easy but just like Tere you can perservere if you don’t give up. Make small obtainable goals and don’t let anyone stop you from dreaming, from being what you want to be.

What’s your earliest reading memory?

My mom used to read to me every night, a time of the day I used to really cherish. I had a book of Mother Goose nursery rhymes and I never tired of her reading those to me. The first book I read on my own was Go Dog Go by P.D. Eastman when I was four because I had it memorized. I was so proud of myself.

Five favourite books of all time: Wow, this is a hard question because I have enjoyed so many books over the years. Here are five that immediately jump to mind: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, Tunes for Bears to Dance to by Robert Cormier, White Oleander by Janet Fitch, Born Blue by Han Nolan and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume.

Most listened to song on your iPod: Hey There, Delilah by the Plain White T’s because my boys really enjoy singing it and it was the inspiration behind my next novel, Indigo Blues (Flux, Fall 2010).

Thanks so much Danielle for offering to do the interview!

And thank you for having me!

Happiness must be a box filled to the brim with your very own book!

The Underneath

Now I’ve met plenty of true villains in all my years of reading. Or, at least I thought I’d met real villains. That was before I discovered Gar Face, from Kathy Appelt’s Newbery Honor title, The Underneath. He’s bad, so, so bad. I hate him. I really do. He’s the kind of bad guy that forces you to redefine bad guy.

I described the events of this book to my husband in installments as I was reading over the past few days, and I think at first he thought I was making it up, all the sad, sad things that happen to the animal characters one after the other and then a little bit more all the way to the end. Today, I got home from school after having finished reading it on the streetcar. I sat down and told him how it all turned out, and as I got close to the end I pretty much lost it, kind of half choking at the worst part and then picking up my own sweet hound and scratching his curly head while I finished telling the story.

We started talking about who is meant to read The Underneath, because I have to wonder how many kids will read it. I’m not saying that there are no children out there to read The Underneath. Nor am I saying that I wouldn’t want a child to read it. It’s just that I wonder if perhaps some of the most extreme scenes of animal abuse really need to be depicted in order for the author to achieve her purpose and to sustain the intensity she has created so brilliantly here.

Now don’t accuse me of “not getting it” everybody. Believe me, I get it. Appelt is writing about evil (and loss and hope and love in the darkest, most horrible circumstances). The kind of evil that is so far beyond redemption. I know that the fact she didn’t shy away from the scenes of extreme cruelty to animals played a huge role in my total emotional investment in this story, and in her characters. I will never forget Ranger and Puck and Sabine. Ever. They’ll be in my head, roaming about together for a long, long time, and I’m glad to have met them. I’m just not convinced this is a book for kids. Kids could read it. Some kids will read it. The Underneath is one of the most powerful novels I’ve read in a long time, and it already feels like a classic. I’ll line up to read whatever Kathi Appelt comes up with next, that’s for sure. (I’m kind of hoping there won’t be kittens in it though).

I’ve indicated this title as Middle Grade, YA and Crossover. There will be kids and teens and adults who’ll love it. It’s just got to find the right readers. For goodness sake don’t go passing it to anybody (child or grown up) who lost it when they read Stone Fox or Charlotte’s Web and the like. Clearly those stories are for sissies.

For more about The Underneath, try out one of the many reviews in the kidlitosphere:

Sarah Miller
Fuse 8
The Reading Zone
Seven Imp
Educating Alice

Now, for a complete change of pace, I think this might do the trick:

Tales from Outer Suburbia

(This review is cross-posted at Guys Lit Wire)

Some authors seem so crazy brilliant that I imagine I would turn into a blithering idiot if ever I had the chance to meet them. Shaun Tan is right up there on that list for me. Of course, it doesn’t help that not only is he an amazingly talented writer, but the man is one of the most gifted illustrators working right now too. Everything he has created feels important to me. Not a pretentious capital a “Artistic” kind of important. It’s more like reading Tan’s books lets you glimpse his thoughts on some of the deepest questions about what it means to be human. Reading a new Shaun Tan book is almost a spiritual experience.

Enter Tales from Outer Suburbia. You’ll find fifteen short stories, all illustrated with trademark Tan art, featuring strange happenings in the fringes of civilization (aka – suburbia). It’s really impossible to say what’s better in this slim volume – story or images. Both will captivate and charm you, and make you wonder about the extraordinary things out there in your own backyard, hiding in the places you think you know best.

Curse of the Spellmans

If there’s a book out there that’s more fun than Lisa Lutz’s purely wonderful Curse of the Spellmans then I sincerely hope I’m lucky enough to find it someday. In the meantime, I want Lisa Lutz to write, write, write, so that I don’t have to wait very long to read the next installment in her series about the delightfully neurotic Spellman family.

For those of you who haven’t read Lutz’s first book, The Spellman Files, I am very jealous. This is what you need to do. Send away your children (or don’t have any until you’ve read the aforementioned books) and your spouse/partner (or stay single until you’ve read the aforementioned books) and then settle down in a sunny spot for a weekend of reading with some yummy treats and beverages to fortify you. If you don’t fall head over heels for the hilarious Spellmans, I’ll be very worried about you.

The Spellmans are a completely dysfunctional family of private investigators. There’s the “Parental Unit” (Albert and Olivia Spellman), David Spellman (lawyer, perfect older brother), Izzy Spellman, (diehard PI, middle child) and Rae Spellman (super precocious youngest daughter). You couldn’t call any of the Spellmans “normal.” Aside from David, they’re just about the most suspicious, bungling, secretive, wacky crew you’ll meet in a novel. I’d love to be able to describe the plot, but it’s just too silly and convoluted to bother. Let’s just say it involves Izzy doing some serious surveillance, numerous Suspicious Behaviour Reports on family members, some vandalizing of holiday lawn tableaux and a few Doctor Who marathons. Part of the pleasure in reading this book is trying to follow all of the crazy narrative threads. It’s one madcap romp into family instability. Read it. Love it. Then introduce the Spellmans to everyone you know.

Read my equally gushy review of The Spellman Files here.

Cuba 15

If you happen to be looking for a book that will warm your exhausted, wintery soul, then look no further than Nancy Osa’s Cuba 15. Always one to be seduced by a fine cover, I snapped this book up at one of the best bookstores for teachers in Toronto (and possibly anywhere): Another Story Bookshop. Another Story has an unparalleled collection of books that focus particularly on social justice, equity and diversity. No proper teacher could possibly walk out empty handed. I was looking for a few of the titles for my Expanding Horizons Challenge booklist. I didn’t ending up choosing Caramelo, as planned, because I picked up Cuba 15 and practically started reading on the spot.

Osa’s story is completely charming. It’s warm, rambunctious and peopled with kind-of-crazy, endearing characters. It’s a bit like going to dinner at someone’s place when you don’t know them very well and then finding that the rest of the party-goers are mostly cuckoo but you stay up all night long eating and drinking and having the best time you’ve ever had in your life. In fact, Osa’s story is about a party, a quinceañero. When Violet Paz turns 15, her Cuban grandmother announces that she’s going to start planning Violet’s quinceañero (the traditional party where 15 year old Latinas celebrate their coming of age with family and friends). Violet is not loving this plan. She hasn’t ever exactly felt “at one” with her Cuban heritage, mostly because Cuba is a bit of a taboo topic in her house. No one ever really talks about the family’s history there, and so Violet feels disconnected from all of that. She’s also half Polish. Violet has no interest in the traditional quince, with the tiara and girly pink gown. Mostly to please her Abuela, Violet agrees to the whole production on the condition that she organizes everything and everyone involved. With Quinceañero for the Gringo Dummy close at hand, Violet begins serious party-planning. Along the way, she draws closer to her family and discovers what matters to her, beginning to grow into herself. There’s another thread to this story, as Violet joins up with her school public speaking team, and finds a way to bring her often hilarious family life into her performances. Toss in a little romance and some well-wrought secondary characters and you’ve got a lovely jumble of happy, mixed-up, heart-warming real life. I sunk into this book and finished it with a smile on my face.

Possible discussion points for the classroom: making your own traditions, learning to compromise with family, cultural and parental pressure on young adults, coming of age traditions, cultivating a talent… There’s a Reader’s Guide and Author Interview included in the book. It’s also won tons of prizes, if that’s your thing: Pura Belpré Honor Book, ALA Notable Book, ALA Best Book for YA, Américas Award Honor Book, Booklist Top Ten First Novel for Youth and it was named a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. I think it merits each and every one of this awards. As for the degree to which it serves the purpose of this challenge (providing insight into a different culture), I think it does this quite well. It certainly made me want to head out and learn more about the quinceañero tradition and Cuban culture and music. I imagine many young people would want to do the same after reading this.

It’s made me want to check out a few of the many quinceañero-themed books out there, including:

Fifteen Candles – by Adriana Lopez

Estrella’s Quinceañera – by Malin Alegria

Once Upon a Quinceañera – by Julia Alvarez

These should tide me over while I wait for Nancy Osa’s next book.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Well… here it is then. My first review of an adult book. I feel as if I’m sullying my kids-lit-only blog, but fear not, I’m planning to bring it all back to children’s lit at the end. I offer this review because A Thousand Splendid Suns is one of the titles I selected for my list for the Expanding Horizons Challenge over at Book Nut.

Set in Afghanistan in the years preceding the Taliban, A Thousand Splendid Suns traces the experiences of two women, Laila and Mariam, as they are buffeted through chaotic years of war in their country. A bookselling friend of mine described it to me as “a Kite Runner for women” and I’ve heard and read many similar descriptions since, for Hosseini has focused this work on the lives of women during this recent harsh period in Afghanistan’s history. The novel begins with Mariam’s youth and later we meet Laila. Eventually, the lives of these two women become entangled, resulting in blessings and tragedy.

I heard Hosseini interviewed, and he explained that the focus of his novel was not so much political, but it was to look at the life of his characters. This is indeed the case. I find his writing old-fashioned. It’s really about the story more than anything else. Some characters are not as nuanced as others and I did find myself reading with a certain expectation for the next horribly sad event to unfold. He is a direct writer. You won’t find a lot of surprising descriptive passages in this novel. The New York Times calls his style “melodramatic,” and “black and white” and there’s something true in these observations.

This being said, every so often I like a read that is simply satisfying, that doesn’t push me too much, but that is still worthy and in some measure, thought-provoking or instructive. A Thousand Splendid Suns is this sort of story. Where Hosseini’s book becomes more than this, is in the portrayal of the friendship between Laila and Mariam. This is achieved with complexity and subtlety, and is the strength and heart of the story. As for the book serving what I see as the purpose of this challenge (to offer you a meaningful glimpse into the history and culture of another country), I think A Thousand Splendid Suns achieves this completely. You see inside the constant struggle for survival of many Afghan women. It’s one way to lend humanity to the news stories.

I said I’d bring it all back to children’s lit, right? Well that’s pretty easy to achieve. I’ve decided that whenever I present an adult book for review, I will offer a Companion Read for Kids.

So, while mom and dad are reading ,

the kids should try

Deborah Ellis’s novel, The Breadwinner, is as close to Hosseini’s novel as you could get, in a form appropriate and accessible to children. Imagine the conversations that might be had around the dinner table…