Where will I be?

At fourteen, when I heard I was going to Costa Rica,  I pulled this book down to make sure I knew where in Central America I was going. At 22, I found out I was accepted to a volunteer program in Oregon. I pulled out my dad's road atlas to figure out how far I would be from Portland (26 miles) and Seattle (172 miles).

When I got my placement letter for the JET Program, I did an Internet search for Ka-mi-ya-ha-gi. However, this being 1999, the only site I pulled up was written in Japanese, cheerfully festooned with a smiling yellow flower, but no map. Since this site did not exist yet, I went to the library and sought out the atlas stand to find out where exactly I would be living for the next year. Eleven years later, one of the first Christmas presents my husband picked out for me, the Oxford Atlas of the World, was spread out on the floor so we could figure out how many states separated us from Michigan.

I'm not sure what our next destination will be, but I may have to dust off the atlas and unplug the GPS. I also want to make sure the kids have a copy of this book in the backseat. 

A Child's Introduction to the World by Heather Alexander caught my attention as soon as I opened it to find a paper pop-up globe tucked in an inside pocket. After that discovery, I was eager to flip through the introductory pages explaining everything from the earth's formation to how a GPS works. Enchanting illustrations by Meredith Hamilton explain topography with different heights of fancy hairstyles and scale with dollhouses. The book's second half includes sections on the continents. And more enticing maps.

So, where will it be?

The End of the Point by Elizabeth Graver

"Bargain, theft, or gift," inquires this generational novel about one family's relationship to their summer sanctuary - Ashaunt Point.  

 

It is 1942. Bea is again accompanying the Porters to the Point as their nanny. Although her main responsibility is eight-year-old Janie, she keeps on eye on the teen-aged Helen and Dossy since "the place was filled with men and boys" stationed there by the army. Later in the summer, Bea herself turns down a proposal from one of the soldiers but will always wonder what she gave up in the bargain. 

 

For Helen, the Point offers timelessness. "I would like to stay just where I am or go backwards," she writes in her diary of 1961. Spending time in her garden and swimming with her children distract her from her fears about her pregnancy and not finishing the degree she has just begun. What will this next child take from her? Or will he be a gift?

For Helen's oldest son Charlie, the Point offers shelter after he drops out of college in 1970. Short of funds, he feels justified taking food from vacant summer homes. "Stolen? Gifted? Doors were open. Help yourself," he thinks. However, his plan to live off the land is short-lived when developers arrive with bulldozers. 

Finally, it is 1999. Bea has made a home for herself in Scotland and does not return to the Point. Helen returns between chemo sessions and finds beauty in the family land that has been preserved. Charlie and his wife also return to visit. Coping with the stress of trying to conceive, they find distraction in digging up the bones of a porpoise Charlie buried years before. "Together they dig, then, the sun on their back, Ashaunt quiet…" And they imagine that someday their daughter will be "a lover of plants and flowers, a worrier with perfect pitch."

Listen to This

Lately my daughter will lift her head from the one of five books she likes to read simultaneously and say, "Listen to this, Mama."
  
For example, this morning she read this from Fourth Grade Fairy: Gnome Invasion by Eileen Cook:  "Every time Katie came to the house he was always making notes about what she ate, what types of games she liked to play, what kind of socks she liked to wear..."

I think she was struck by this line in particular because having just finished reading Harriet the Spy ("that was satisfying") she has been doing a little spying on her own. Or it may be because she, too, is obsessed with socks.

While waiting for the kids to select library books yesterday, I flipped through a few Middle Zone books that caught my eye. So listen to this...

"All sorts of folks were making the long trip north. There were slouchers and starers. A few snoozers. Puckered here and there along the row were men stretching their limbs, hoping to catch a hint of a breeze."
- A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff

"Once I am aloft I am surprised how well I operate the balloon. I figure out the blast valve as I move very slowly on currents of air. It is quiet and peaceful and I wonder if I will be going to jail at the end of this."  
- my one hundred adventures by Polly Horvath

"My name is August, by the way. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse." - Wonder by R.J. Palacio

The Bow of Odysseus

We recently saw this exhibit at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth. It reminded me that my kids' exposure to mythology has been laughingly lacking considering my own undergraduate experience. So I went to the library to see what versions of Homer's Odyssey have been published for children.

For reference, I began with the text we used in Freshman English:

 

The Odyssey of Homer Translated by Richard Lattimore

"So the suitors talked, but now resourceful Odysseus, once he had taken up the great bow and looked it over, as when a man, who well understands the lyre and singing, easily, holding it on either side, pulls the strongly twisted cord of sheep's gut, so as to slip it over a new peg, so, without any strain, Odysseus strung the great bow. Then plucking it in his right hand he tested the bow string, and it gave him back an excellent sound like the voice of a swallow." (319)

I then turned to the "retellings." With colorful illustrations on each page, this first version captures the poetry of the original and the gripping tension of its plot:

The Odyssey Retold by Robin Lister and Illustrated by Alan Baker

"Odysseus ignored the mockery. He tested the bow in his hands, taking his time, until it began to feel once more, as it had done all those years ago, like an extension of his own arms and hands. At last he was satisfied, and in a single flowing movement, he bent it back and strung it and then plucked it like a lyre so that it sang out pure and clear as a swallow's song." (Chapter XV)

I was pleasantly surprised to find this next version by the author of the Magic Tree House series. Fans of this series know that Osborne can tell a compelling story. Her simplified version may appeal to younger readers or listeners:

 

Tales from the Odyssey by Mary Pope Osborne

"Odysseus slowly examined the bow. Then he bent and strung it effortlessly, as if he were a musician stringing a harp. When he finished, he plucked the taut cord. It sang like a swallow's note." (239)

The final version I looked at comes from the Classic Starts series. Illustrated with pencil drawings, this version captures the main events, but its simplified language is somewhat tedious:

 

The Odyssey Retold by Tania Zamorsky and Illustrated by Eric Freeberg

"Finally the suitors agreed. They gave Odysseus the bow. The moment it touched his hands, Odysseus handled it easily. He strung it quickly. He plucked the string to test it. It rang with a grim tone." (131)

Yukata Always Get What You Want

Last spring my daughter's class was studying Asia. For show and tell, my daughter decided to take her yukata from Japan. However a few minutes before her presentation, she decided not to put it on. I thought that was a bit strange since she had been so excited about wearing it all week, even doing a dress rehearsal the night before.

Perhaps she was motivated by stage fright or even shyness, but I suspect she had a premonition of what occurred next. The teacher called on another volunteer to dress up in the yukata. As soon as she put it on, the class erupted in laughter. Now maybe it was a laughing-with rather than laughing-at situation, but it was not the reaction I was expecting. Looking back I wish we had known about this book beforehand. 

Suki's Kimono, by Chieri Uegaki, tells the story of Suki's first day of school. Suki wants to wear her new favorite outfit- a kimono. Her sisters try to talk her out of it: "People will think you're weird," says her sister Mari. 

Suki and her sisters walk to school. Feeling like a butterfly, Suki is oblivious to the snickering crowd walking behind her. She ignores the giggles on the playground, but when she gets to class the teasing becomes harder to ignore: "She's a bat!" one boy yells. 

When her turn comes to talk about her summer vacation, Suki stands up straight and tells about her grandmother's visit and the festival they attended. Then she begins to dance. One of my favorite illustrations (done by Stéphane Jorisch) shows the students settling down to watch with expressions that show interest rather than derision. Suki gets a standing ovation. 

On the walk home from school, Suki's sisters complain about no one noticing their new shoes or sweater. Suki just smiles. And continues to dance.  

Lists

Midweek has caught me mid-book in, well, several titles.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
I am reading this one to my son at bedtime. We began with the picture book edition illustrated by Tudor Humphries. Then we watched this movie version . We've begun the chapter book and I for one am delighted by how much fun it is to read out loud.

The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt 
Having finished Part I, I hope to be as riveted by the next chapter in her life as I was by her account of her childhood of the late 1800s, her education abroad, and her early years managing the household and raising children. Whether it's breakfast at boarding school or traveling with AP reporters, Roosevelt includes just enough detail (and humor) to remind us that she is just as much human as she is icon.


You Are One of Them by Elliott Holt
Sarah Zuckerman works in Moscow. She has come to Russia in part to solve the mystery of what really happened to her childhood friend, Jenny.

Sweet and Sugary

Lately my kids have been obsessed with this show. They act it out in the car, on the playground, and since summer vacation has started, in the kitchen. Therefore it came as no surprise when my daughter became equally obsessed with a series of books starring a family of magic bakers. 

The Bliss family runs a special bakery in Calamity Falls. Middle child Rose dreams of becoming a kitchen magician like her parents. When her mother and father are called away to help with a flu epidemic, Rose finally has her chance to try out a few recipes from the sacred family cookbook. 

Before Rose has a chance to crack an egg, a stranger rides up on a flashy motorcycle and claims to be their long-lost Aunt Lily. Although her brothers quickly grow smitten, Rose is suspicious and convinces them to keep the cookbook (and pantry of magic ingredients) a secret from Lily. 

The arrival of Lily doesn't stop Rose from trying out a few recipes. First, she decides to play matchmaker by whipping up a batch of Love Muffins. Then she tries to cure a lonely customer of her tall tales with some Snickerdoodles of Truth. However, when the ingredients include eggs of masked lovebirds and tears from a warlock eye, things are bound to go wrong. And they do. 

Rose tries to fix the mess with an upside-down cake that leaves the town, well, not exactly upside down but definitely backwards. Soon she has no choice but to show Aunt Lily the cookbook in attempt to set things right. Lily helps save the day, but the temptations of a magic cookbook are too much to resist. Although this installment ends in a happy family reunion, the rogue aunt has set the scene for the second book of the series.  
With a fist of flour, and a pinch of magic, Kathryn Littlewood has filled Bliss with enough mystery, humor, and baked goods to appeal to the eight (or thirty-eight)-year-old in your family.