If you’ve read TRACKING TRASH, then you know Curt Ebbesmeyer is an oceanographer with a passion for floating garbage and the things he can learn from it. What you may not know–and what I am thrilled to tell you today–is that Curt has written a book of his own:
FLOTSAMETRICS AND THE FLOATING WORLD will be published by HarperColliins in March 2009, but
amazon is taking pre-orders now.
Congratulations, Curt!
THE BACKYARD BEEKEEPER
By Kim Flottum
Quarry Books, 2005
Category: Nonfiction for all ages
Of all the beekeeping books I have read in the past eighteen months, this is my favorite by far. It is clearly written, thoroughly illustrated, and beautifully designed. In its pages you will find everything you need to know about keeping bees of your own. (You want to keep bees of your own, don’t you?)
THE BACKYARD BEEKEEPER explores the whys and wherefores of the beekeeping business, its equipment, and its tools. It explains basic bee biology, the job of the beekeeper, and the myriad uses for hive products. Among the latter is a chapter of honey recipes, including ‘Honey Dill Dressing over Red-Skinned Potatoes’ and ‘Crispy Honey Cookies’, both of which may have finally convinced my family to let me keep bees of my own.
How can they resist?
By the way, author Kim Flottum also edits the journal Bee Culture, a must-have for beekeepers … or non-beekeepers who happen to be writing about honey bees. In his June editorial, Flottum said about Colony Collapse Disorder: “Whatever it is, it’s still out there and it’s still killing bees.” The line gives me goose bumps.
ODD BOY OUT
By Don Brown
Houghton Mifflin, 2004
Category: Picture Book Biography
I was in search of a little picture book biography inspiration this week, and ODD BOY OUT delivered.
In his brief portrayal of Albert Einstein’s life—from “too fat” babyhood to “famous” adulthood—Don Brown shares the iffy and spiffy bits of young Einstein’s life: the childhood tantrums, the dull-witted response to Greek and Latin, the isolation, the mathematical genius, and the astounding insights that changed our world forever.
All this in 1178 words and 22 images.
Inspiration, indeed.
HONEYBEE
By Naomi Shihab Nye
Greenwillow Books, 2008
Category: Poetry
How could I not pick up this book? A little honeybee buzz, a little reviewer buzz (Richie Partington’s review), a little cover buzz (a la Chris Raschka); not even my fear of poetry could keep me from reading HONEYBEE.
I was surprised to find in it a collection of poems and paragraphs that are as much about the curious way we humans live as they are about honeybees:
There is a poem about unacceptable contradictions, as in
“George W. Bush believes
In a ‘culture of life’.This is very interesting to those
Who have recently died
Because of his decisions.”
And there is a poem about the joy and guilt that is motherhood, as in
“Take your laundry baskets, your first-aid kit,
But don’t take my failings, okay? Forget the times
I snapped, or had no patience, okay?”
The piece I can’t shake is the one called “We Are The People”.
“I know people who, the minute they get into their homes, tell you where they are going next.”
Nye goes on to tell of the evening she decided to slow down, take in a sunset from her front porch. A neighbor, out walking the dog, stopped to ask if she was locked out of the house.
“So ask yourself, you swirling tornado of a human being, in a world of disoriented honeybees, do you want to look locked out the minute you sit down?”
No. I most definitely do not.
Oh, I’ve been a bad blogger lately. But I am really, really, really trying to finish up a draft of the bee book before school lets out. And school lets out NEXT WEEK.
The kids and I just finished CLEMENTINE’S LETTER (Hyperion, 2008), written by Sara Pennypacker and illustrated by Marla Frazee, and I want to sing its praises. Alas, the bees, man. The bees.
So, for a proper review, read this one at Jen Robinson’s Book Page. Jen rocks. And she never lets her blog go all quiet.
THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES
By Sue Monk Kidd
Penguin, 2002
Catgeory: Adult Novel
I might be the last person on Earth to read this book. And I didn’t even read it, I listened to it on CD. But it is so very good that I have to sing its praises here. Better late than never, you know?
First, a word on audiobooks. Listening to the marvelous Jenna Lamia read THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES has won me over completely. While I will always prefer curling ‘round a book and experiencing it wholly, I discovered that listening has its own appeal. I was amazed at Ms. Lamia’s ability to inhabit characters by voice alone, and at how comforting it was to be read to.
As for story, I was swept away. Fourteen-year-old Lily Evans journeys so very far in this book. She overcomes grief and guilt, she lets go of ignorance, she embraces family in the strange form it finally comes to her. By the end of the story, I loved Lily Evans, and I hated to see her go. And then, just this morning, I learned I can look forward to seeing her again, this time on the silver screen. THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES movie will be released on October 17, 2008. Just look at this cast:
Lily is played by Dakota Fanning;
Rosaleen is played by Jennifer Hudson;
August is played by Queen Latifah;
June is played by Alicia Keys;
May is played by Sophie Okonedo.
I can hardly wait.
A final word … on bees, of course. (Duh!) I was struck by how subtly the author instilled her novel with ‘bee love’, the comfortable feeling–familiar to those with a passion for raising bees–that comes from being close enough to see and smell and hear and taste and touch the hive. It added so much to the story.
BLUE LIPSTICK
By John Grandits
Clarion, 2008
Category: Concrete Poems
I know! I know! A Poetry Friday post from me? Crazy. But I am so excited about this collection of poems that I have to share.
Concrete poems, for the uninitiated, are poems whose words are displayed purposefully and artistically so as to expand the meaning or context of the poem. The resulting images lend nuance and intrigue and humor. For example, the poem “Talking to my Stupid Younger Brother Is Like Swimming Upstream in a River to Nowhere” is a hilarious and oh-so-realistic conversation between fifteen-year-old Jessie and her younger brother Robert; the fifty-four lines of the poem are arranged in the shape of a river. (For a better explanation from a better-qualified explainer (is that a word?), check out this How-To by concrete poet Paul B. Janeczko.)
Anyway, I was inspired to pick up BLUE LIPSTICK after hearing John read from the collection at IRA last week. His poems are funny, realistic, accessible, and completely brilliant. BLUE LIPSTICK is a glimpse into the life of a contemporary teenager; Jessie touches on everything from bad hair days to silver spandex … and she brought me straight back to the 1980s (er, my teenage years).
The truly fabulous news is that BLUE LIPSTICK is a follow-up to John’s earlier collection of concrete poems, called TECHNICALLY, IT’S NOT MY FAULT, which gives reader’s a look at life from younger brother Robert’s point of view. TECHNICALLY is so on my To Read list.
Happy Poetry Friday!
MY DAD’S A BIRDMAN
By David Almond
Illustrated by Polly Dunbar
Candlewick, 2008
Category: Middle Grade Fiction
I’ve said it before, but I love meandering through the library stacks, judging books by their covers. Just last week I came upon MY DAD’S A BIRDMAN and was taken in by the title, the jacket art, the cover beneath the jacket. It is a gorgeous little package and there was simply no way to leave without it.
Reading the book felt the same way. One glimpse into Lizzie’s world and I was hooked: Lizzie’s dad, whose sadness is barely hinted at in words and pictures; Auntie Doreen, who just doesn’t understand sadness that cannot be cured with dumplings; and Lizzie herself, who loves her dad enough to don wings and fly. I thought the book was a Dahl-esque little masterpiece of oddness and irresistibility and I highly recommend it. In fact, I have been told by a certain kidoodle in this house that I should read it again … out loud.
PIPPI LONGSTOCKING
Written by Astrid Lindgren
Translated by Tiina Nunnally
Illustrated by Lauren Child
Viking, 2008
Category: Middle grade fiction
Somehow I got through a childhood filled with books and stories without ever reading PIPPI LONGSTOCKING. And so I was tickled to find this newly translated and fabulously illustrated version in my daughter’s Easter basket. (Love that Easter bunny!)
Pippi captured my heart in Chapter Two, “Pippi Is a Thing-Searcher and Ends Up in a Fight.” What’s a thing-searcher, you ask?
“Someone who goes searching for things, of course! What else would it be?”
I am, in fact, a thing-searcher. I’ve never called it that, but as I listened to Pippi explain it all became very clear:
“The whole world is full of things, which means there’s a real need for someone to go searching for them. And that’s exactly what a thing-searcher does.”
And that, my friends, is exactly what I do. The world is full of things and there is a real need for someone to go searching for them. Pippi hunts for gold nuggets and ostrich feathers, I seek trash trackers and honey bee keepers. Like Pippi, I always find something. And after these many, many weeks of school visiting and writing conferencing and in-general gallivanting, it is high time for me to get back to it … “before some other thing-searchers show up and make off with all the gold nuggets around here.”
INVASION OF THE ROAD WEENIES
By David Lubar
Starscape, 2005
Category: Middle Grade Fiction (Short Stories)
Rain cancelled the season opener yesterday, so the kids and I hit the library … and came home with David Lubar’s INVASION OF THE ROAD WEENIES. The title alone put a smile on the face of my Avid-But-Picky reader. The cover art produced an actual giggle. The fact that I had not read the book won him over entirely.
And I woke this morning to this:
Excited Picky Reader: “Mom! Mom! Wake up! Quick! You have to read this!”
Tired Mom: “Can it wait? Can I have tea first?”
Excited Picky Reader: “NO! You have to read it now.” There followed some confusing talk about copy machines and butt cracks, none of which made a lick of sense to me. By the time I opened my eyes all three kids were in my bed and begging.
Tired Mom, with a big, dramatic sigh: “Okay …”
There has never, ever been a funnier morning in this house. Someone once said that the perfect short story takes moments to read and a lifetime to forget; David Lubar’s “Copies” was just that sort of story. None of us will ever look at a photocopier with a straight face again.
