Author: Loree Burns

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The Secret of the Old Clock

THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK
By Carolyn Keene
Grosset & Dunlap, 1959

Category: Middle grade fiction of the most nostalgic sort

Nancy Drew, an attractive girl of eighteen, was driving home along a country road in her new, dark-blue convertible. She had just delivered some legal papers for her father.

“It was sweet of Dad to give me this car for my birthday,” she thought. “And it’s fun to help him in his work.”

Think what you will, but this opening thrills me. The scene is as familiar as my own reflection. Nancy Drew! I had forgotten how much I admired her independence, her ability to change tires and think her way out of locked closets, the impossible way that coincidence is always on her side.

I don’t think I’ll go back and read the entire series, but reading this first volume again was fascinating. And because I just can’t help but share more, I’ll leave you with this …

With foreboding, Nancy stopped and got out to make an inspection. As she had suspected, a rear tire was flat.

“Oh dear!” she murmered [sic] in disgust. “Such luck!”

Though Nancy was able to change a tire, she never relished the task. Quickly she took out the spare tire from the rear compartment, found the jack and lug wrench, and went to work. By the time her job was completed, she was hot and a little breathless.

“Whew!” she exclaimed, as she started on her way again. “I’ll be ready for a nice, cool swim in Moon Lake!”

 

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Coastsweep

Is it possible I haven’t updated the world (er, my blog world) on my Coastal Cleanup event?

Oi!

A brief reminder: I am sponsoring a coastal cleanup event, a la The Ocean Conservancy‘s International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) event, in central Massachusetts.

The original plan was for a small group of my family and friends to walk the shores of Indian Lake, collect trash, and record what we found. Our results would be reported to the Massachusetts ICC organizing group, COASTSWEEP, and combined with trash data from similar cleanups across the state. Those numbers, in turn, would be combined with trash data from the forty-nine other United States and then with data from the ninety-plus countries that participate in this massive effort to protect the world ocean.

The new plan is similar, except for the “small group of my family and friends” part. The cleanup has turned into a grand community extravaganza, thanks to the Indian Lake Watershed Association, the Worcester Department of Public Works & Parks, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester, the Bancroft School and several local school and scouting groups. In addition to collecting and recording debris, we will be stenciling storm drains, brush clipping, mud scouring, sand raking, and performing a myriad of other lake maintenance activities. An entire community of people who live, work, or play in the Indian Lake neighborhood have committed to a day of caring for it … how cool is that?

In case you are in the area and cannot resist a party, here are the details:

Indian Lake Cleanup Event
Indian Lake
Worcester, Massachusetts
Sunday, October 28, 2007
10am to 2pm
Checkin at the corner of Shore Drive and Holden Street
Dress for MUD!

Participants in any COASTSWEEP cleanup event this year, including the Indian Lake event, are eligible for my TRACKING TRASH drawings, you can find more details here.

And you can find a formal press release describing the event here.

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The Dot

THE DOT
Written and Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Candlewick, 2003

Category: Picture Book

This book was featured in a peace vigil I attended earlier in the month, and I have been thinking about it ever since. I know, I know … THE DOT is not a book about peace. But it is a book about self-expression, and since we were gathered to express our wishes for peace in the world, reading THE DOT was supremely appropriate.

Toward the end of the service, percussionist Matt Meyer reflected on the story and asked us to consider which character in THE DOT most described our place in the world: the student, unsure of her skills and afraid to make her mark; or the teacher, wise from experience and able to say, “Just make a mark and see where it takes you.”

I am SO both.

 

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Before I Die

BEFORE I DIE
By Jenny Downham
David Fickling Books, 2007

Category: Young adult fiction

Practical details:

  • I connected to the BEFORE I DIE buzz at EmilyReads (read this post), and was intrigued.
  • My friend Jane, librarian extraordinaire, saved it for me when it arrived at her library; otherwise I might never have gotten my mitts on it.
  • I read it (lived it, really) for two days.

Less-than-practical truths:

  • I was utterly taken from the first chapter.
  • This was a book I read only in quiet moments when I could lose myself. No reading in the car during pickup, no reading at the stove while fixing dinner. I read this book only when there was quiet space to curl up and feel it. (As mothers of three don’t often have such quiet space, I had to make it. And I did. For this book.)
  • I was inconsolable at THE END. And let’s face it: I knew all along how it would end.
  • Tessa is a girl I will think about for a long while. Perhaps always.

Here’s a review from The New York Times.

 

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If You Were a Parrot

IF YOU WERE A PARROT
By Katherine Rawson
Illustrated by Sherry Rogers
Sylvan Dell Publishing, 2006

Category: Picture Book

We used to vacation with friends who kept an African Grey Parrot as a pet. Ricky was an ornery bugger, refusing most of the time to talk, though we all knew he could. On a good day, and when we least expected it, Ricky would make the sound of a telephone ringing; I fell for it every time.

Perhaps Ricky is the reason I was so enthralled with IF YOU WERE A PARROT. Katherine Rawson’s simple text highlights parrot body parts while Sherry Rogers’s bright illustrations confront readers with compelling “what if” scenarios: What if you had parrot feet? What if you had a parrot beak? The expressive parrots on each spread made me laugh … and think of Ricky. This little picture book explores the relationship between form and function without ever resorting to didactics, and is a fine way for young readers to learn about parrots.

IF YOU WERE A PARROT is also a fine way to familiarize yourself with illustrator Sherry Rogers, who I had the great pleasure of interviewiing recently. Sherry has created a beautiful snowflake for Robert’s Snow, and I will be showcasing Sherry, her art, and her fabulous snowflake on Thursday. I hope you will stop back to meet her!

 

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Blogging for a Cure

Bloggers from the world of children’s literature are launching a massive effort to fight cancer today, and I hope you will lend a hand. Our plan? To support Robert’s Snow by featuring the Robert’s Snow artists and their snowflakes. Below is a schedule of this week’s illustrator features; check them out as you are able. As you are reading these features and perusing the snowflakes, think HOLIDAY SHOPPING!

Monday, October 15

Tuesday, October 16

Wednesday, October 17

Thursday, October 18

Friday, October 19

Saturday, October 20

Sunday, October 21

 

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Boston Globe Horn Book Awards

What a night.

I thought I was prepared for anything, but moments after arriving at The Boston Athenaeum, Roger Sutton, Editor in Chief of The Horn Book and host for the award ceremony, informed me that I would be the first honoree called to the stage.

I thought I handled this news well.

I thought I was poised and confident.

This photograph of my acceptance speech, however, tells another story altogether. Apparently I was terrified!

The beautiful part of accepting my award first was that once it was finished I was able to sit back and enjoy the program. The eight remaining acceptance speeches were lively and thoughtful and as different in style and content as the artists presenting them.

When all the awards had been handed out, my husband took this photo of me with Erica Zappy, the editorial talent behind TRACKING TRASH. I’m holding my silver Honor Book Award plate.

Next on the program was a group book signing. I had planned to use some of this time to congratulate the other honorees, but there simply wasn’t time. I signed copies of TRACKING TRASH and spoke with librarians and teachers and parents and publishing people and graduate students and, well, lots and lots of others. Every soul I met was kind and enthusiastic and I could not—cannot even now, actually—stop grinning.

The rest of the night was spent at dinner with friends from Houghton (thank you for everything, Lisa and Erica!) and several Boston librarians (thank you for joining us Pat and Michael, Sherry, Lauren, Kimberly, and Diana!).

Sigh.

I will be gazing at this plate and thinking about last night for a long, long time.