A place for an elf to live

This elf is starting to feel like she would like to escape. Somewhere without telephones. Somewhere without marking. Somewhere without laundry. I’m thinking here:

I would be happy there in that little jar. Yes I would.

Oh etsy, you temptress you. Visit Greenbriar to see lots of other elf houses.

The Encyclopedia of Immaturity – Review & Giveaway

Alright, I admit it. I was one of those adults who almost, almost, bought a copy of Klutz’s Encyclopedia of Immaturity, Volume 1. Actually, I almost bought it for my hubby for Christmas and then I had the good sense to realize that I’d probably regret it about, oh, 5 seconds after giving it to him. Still, now it would seem that the book gods have decided that I was destined to have The Encyclopedia of Immaturity, Volume 2. And what do you know? As soon as I unwrapped the courier box and pulled it out, my fella practically knocked me over to start checking it out it.

I’m happy to be able to give away both volume 1 and volume 2 to two lucky commenters. All you need to do is drop off a comment on this post, telling me the most immature thing you’ve wanted to do (or have done) recently. I’ll choose two winners by November 20th. Be sure to include your contact email info.

Now, a bit more about the book.

The cover: hilarious. I am loving the twist on two of the most unfun folks in 20th century American art. So perfect. The first volume was a doodled-upon version of the Mona Lisa, remember?

As the introduction notes, “growing up is a very big decision and not one that you should rush into without at least pausing for a moment to consider the implications.” Ah yes, the implications (writing report cards, washing the kitchen floor, ironing shirts, paying for someone to clean out your eaves… the list could be endless). This book is meant to counteract the “dark forces of maturity,” and I think most folks (ages 9-99) need that in order to stay sane. You will learn a whole bunch of strange and silly skills such as: “How to Make a Fauxhawk,” “How to Talk Like a Pirate,” “How to Catch Popcorn on Your Tongue” and “How to Play the Spoons.” (Note: not all are in good taste. Most are just plain fun or funny or a little bit gross. But, I’m thinking we could have done without “How to amputate your leg.” Perhaps it’s the teacher in me, but I’m not finding that one funny). The instructions for each of the crazy skills are fairly good, sometimes more precise than others, but these sorts of things are all about practice, right? I think kids will agree. In my opinion, the design of the pages could have a tad more pizazz overall (there’s a whole lot of white space on many of the pages). The photos of the kids make for the most engaging visuals.

Definitely good fun for middle schoolers and up, I’d say. Many of the tricks / jokes seem most likely to appeal to the ten and up crowd. I can think of a few boys who would get a real kick out of this – and drive their siblings and parents crazy in the process.

Here are two videos showing tricks from volume one and volume two:

Drop off your story of immature behaviour – real or only imagined – for your shot at getting both of these Klutz books.

 

 

Now I wanna read it: other folks’ reviews

I am waiting for my brain power to be restored, if this endless, endless cold/virus/infection thing ever passes. Meanwhile, I have been reading lots of lovely reviews. You should read them too:

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancy, reviewed by Reading Rants. The lines from the review that got me:

Friends, I can barely contain my morbid delight at having discovered this delightfully gruesome book! Yancy’s bloody tale, written in a delicious Victorian gothic style, is just gory and disturbing as the early Stephen King I devoured as a teen while still being a cracking good yarn between explicit scenes of dismemberment and disembowelment that leave nothing (and I mean NOTHING) to the imagination.

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Practicing the Piano by Peggy Gifford, reviewed by Book Nut. The lines from the review that got me:

I love Moxy. I’m not ashamed of this because Moxy is awesome. Very few books make me laugh, chortle, snort, guffaw, and giggle. Moxy makes me do all of those. Perhaps that’s because my sense of humor is not very sophisticated — I mean why does this chapter crack me up every time: “Chapter 29: In Which We Learn What Was Inside The Envelope. Inside THE ENVELOPE was the note.” That’s it. Entire chapter. Cracks me up every time.

The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. by Kate Messner, reviewed by The Reading Zone. The lines from the review that got me:

I think girls especially will connect with Gianna.  She isn’t perfect but she is real.  Her imperfections reminded me of a lot of the students I teach every year.  She wants to do well in school but is easily distracted.  However, she is so smart- her interpretation of Robert Frost’s Birches is brilliant and spot-on.  But she doesn’t hand it in, because she thinks it’s not what the teacher wants to hear.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, reviewed at Educating Alice, by one of Monica’s 4th grade readers. The lines from the review that got me:

In addition, the book cover is beautiful and makes you feel like Calpurnia. At first when you look at it, it just looks like branches and trees. But if you look and observe it like Calpurnia, you can find many things; books, microscopes, jars, animals, and other kinds of creatures. It will feel like you are at the river with Calpurnia and her grandfather. You may feel like being Calpurnia in the story.

Sigh. Maybe when I’m feeling better and when Christmas comes, I’ll be able to read all of these.

10 000

Guess what? This month was my biggest month yet for hits to Shelf Elf. The only reason I mention it is that it feels kind of awesome that from a little wee baby blog with only 68 visitors in month number one, I hit 10 000 visits this month, just over two years later.

The Elf thanks those who visit often.

(Groovy numbers photo from stock.xchng)

Kirkus Reviews Book Video Awards

This is fun. The Kirkus Reviews Book Video Awards challenges young filmmakers to produce book trailers for three upcoming YA titles by Delacorte: Fallen by Lauren Kate, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, and Very LeFreak by Rachel Cohn.

(Great covers, no? Fallen is the perfect Halloween image I think. Love it). You can see the videos at Barnes and Noble, here. Then you can vote for your fav. The winner will be announced on November 10th.

Have you read any of these titles? The Maze Runner is on my TBR pile.

World Spinning

You know the kind of day when it’s 8:30pm and you’re just now realizing that you really haven’t done one single thing just for yourself, or taken even a second to contemplate a remotely whimsical thought?

That’s today.

You get me. I know you do.

(well… harumph).

I was just listening to a mix and I heard this song which I love but had forgotten about:

Even better with blue plasticine monster.

Now I am going to close down my computer and eat mini Oh Henry bars in the bathtub while reading this:

Take that world!

Owly Goodness

Hey, did you know one of my favourite, often-unmentioned Harry Potter characters is Pigwidgeon? I was just re-listening to HP 4 last weekend, and the scene when Pig shows up with a letter for Harry at the Dursleys made me remember him. J.K. says he’s a Scops owl. That means he is this cute:

May I ask why we did not see more of Pig in the films? Come on! When something is that high up on the adorable scale, a filmmaker ought to just make the most of it, I’d say.

Actually, come to think of it, I just love owls, period. And anything owly. Like these books:

Little Hoot, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Owl Babies, by Martin Waddell

The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark, by Jill Tomlinson

Owl Moon, by Jane Yolen

The Owl and the Pussycat, illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch

And this bag:

Made by Lynda Lye (super talented artist gal – check out her blog) and it’s available at littleoddforest on etsy. Only don’t buy it, because I want it. Actually, there are zillions of owly things on etsy. That is scary.

(Adorable owl photo by Brian Scott)

Now I wanna read it: other folks’ reviews

Here are a few reviews I’ve read this weekend that make me want to read the books (a lot):

Jen Robinson on Love, Aubrey. The lines that got me: Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur brought tears to my eyes. It made me wonder “why am I putting myself through being so sad about characters that aren’t even real?” And yet, doesn’t that tell you that it’s a wonderful book, a book with three-dimensional characters, so real that I cried over them?

Sarah Miller on Here’s How I See It, Here’s How it Is. The line that got me: This is a book anyone can love, but given Junebug’s ping-ponging between her dreams (Here’s How I See It) and reality (Here’s How It Is) I’m betting fans of Linda Urban’s A Crooked Kind of Perfect in particular will find a friend indeed in this plunge into the performing arts.

Laini Taylor on Ice. The lines that got me: Sarah Beth Durst has folded an amazing amount of research on the frozen Northern world into this tale, to the point that I emailed to ask her (jokingly), if she had been raised on an Arctic research station. The level of detail into the environment, the mixture of science and fantasy, is absolutely to my taste.

Colleen on Ash. The lines that got me: Ash is a very subtle tale of grief and longing that requires a quiet read; it is not about hot passion so much as a cool appraisal of life’s tragedies and decisions to survive. There is a happily ever after here, but it is found in Ash’s decision to live and love and find happiness. That she makes unconventional choices will just endear her even more to her readers and elevates Ash high above the standard fare. Read this one as the leaves fall and the weather changes; it is a perfect autumn tale that will haunt you long after the last page is turned.

Abby on Leviathan. The lines that got me: ...it’s unlike anything else I’ve ever read. I’m not saying I’m all that well-read, but it’s definitely nice to read something different. If it reminded me of anything, it was Airborn, which I LOVED. It’s the same kind of adventure story in a really interesting alternate history. Oh, and there are airships. *nods*

Any others I can’t miss? Drop off a comment.

Banned Books Week Roundup

Last week was ALA’s Banned Books Week, and I found a whole lot of interesting stuff throughout the week on subjects of censorship. I just thought I’d round up a few here.

Here’s a wonderful talk by Lauren Myracle on the subject of book banning, from a recent Freedom to Read Foundation fund-raiser. Makes you like her and respect her work even more than I’m sure you did already, yes?

And Ellen Hopkins, reading a Banned Books Manifesto:

(thanks to Superstition Review for the link)

An article on why Banned Books Week is still needed in the U.S.

As it happens, Susan Patron wrote a fantastic article called “Shock Treatment,” in Horn Book Magazine this month (the theme of the issue being “Trouble”). She discusses the censorship controversy that arose after the publication of her book, The Higher Power of Lucky, in which a dog gets bitten on the scrotum on the first page and the word scrotum actually appears in print (*gasp*). You should read the whole article, but I wanted to include a quote that Patron references, by Joan Aiken:

It is the writer’s duty to demonstrate to children that the world is not a simple place. Far from it. The world is an infinitely rich, strange, confusing, wonderful, cruel, mysterious, beautiful, inexplicable riddle… Children need to get from the stories they read a sense of their own inner existence, and the archetypal links that connect them with the unexplored past… A story should give a child some kind of glimpse or vision or key or intimation that things are not necessarily what they seem.

Isn’t that something? I love the last sentence about things not being what they seem. Isn’t it important for children to question what they think they know? I’d want a kid who does that. Patron has more on censorship at her website.

FYI Teachers: Winter’s Tail Essay Contest

Lots of you read my recent review of Scholastic’s Winter’s Tail. (Great book – especially for fans of Owen and Mzee and most useful for teachers who are working on habitats and animal adaptations units). Scholastic is offering a fun essay contest with quite the prize. Here are the details:

Winter the Dolphin has been an inspiration and hero for children and adults alike.  When Winter was just three months old, she was rescued from a crap trap which had seriously damaged her tail.  It wasn’t clear that she would survive but she did.  However, the damage to Winter’s tail was so extensive that it fell off.  To everyone’s amazement, a prosthetic company stepped in an fitted Winter with a prosthetic tail.  Now Winter is using her new tail and thriving.

Scholastic wants to hear about an animal that has most inspired your children by having them tell us about their favorite animal hero in 200 words or less.

One grand prize winner and his/her guardian will receive a trip to visit Winter at her home in Clearwater, Florida, one night’s stay at a hotel, plus more treats! 10 runners up with receive a copy of Winter’s Tail, a Winter’s Tail Nintendo DS game and a Winter plush doll!

HOW TO ENTER
Send entries to:
Scholastic’s Meet Winter the Dolphin Contest
557 Broadway
New York , NY 10012

Each entry must include student’s name, age, and grade; teacher’s name; and school name, address, and phone number.

(All entries must be received by November 30, 2009.  Winners will be announced on or around December 14th.  No purchase necessary.  Open to legal residences of 50 United States and D.C. ages 6-14 as of November 30th 2009.  Void where prohibited.  Click here for complete contest rules).

So start writing kids!