Picture This

Coral Reefs by Jason Chin

The title page shows a young girl taking a book called Coral Reefs off the library shelf. Beginning to read about the structure of corals, the girl wanders around the library while coral reefs spring up behind her leaving pools of water on the table. Soon ocean water is pouring in the windows and the girl is swimming in the reef. At the end of the book, the girl leaves the library. With wet hair and dripping flip-flops, she runs over to share the book with her friends.

Titanic: Eyewitness Books by Simon Adams

We only have Mary Pope Osborne to blame. After listening to Tonight on the Titanic, the kids had a million more questions about the great ship. This book has plenty of graphics, photographs, and informative captions to read multiple times. Days later, E. is still reminding us that the ship was the length of 22 buses. And he is convinced that he would have definitely had one of the first-class tickets.

Flora by Gail Godwin

It's the summer of 1945 and Helen is ten. Her father is spending the summer overseeing construction for the war effort in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Helen is less than thrilled to find out her mother's cousin Flora will be spending the summer with her. To make matters worse, Helen's best friend contracts polio, and Helen and Flora must spend the remainder of the summer quarantined. They quickly befriend the young man who delivers their groceries, plying him with lemonade and cheese straws. Finn in turn starts showing up daily to give Flora driving lessons.  
 

The peaceful routine of the summer is shattered in August when the household discovers an atomic bomb has been dropped on Hiroshima and Helen's father's work at Oak Ridge is somehow involved. That same night Helen's discovery of Finn's true feelings for her "simple-minded" cousin triggers a series of events that will have devastating consequences for everyone in the family.

Godwin's story, narrated by Helen, looks back with nostalgia and retrospection to that lonely summer of radio plays, daydreams, and a temptingly unread packet of her grandmother's letters. Helen discovers that what at first appears to be simple-minded in Flora's teaching is actually simple-hearted. And it is a distinction that the reader will also take to heart. 

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)