What's Your Winner's Curse? Winner's Crime Blog Tour - March 5, 2015

Rutkoski, Marie. The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy, 1). MacTeen Books (Macmillan Children's Publishing), 2014. 384 pgs. $9.99. 978-1-25005-697-9.

Affiliate Links: (Amazon | Indiebound)

As part of the celebration for the release of Winner's Crime (Amazon | Indiebound) the second book in Marie Rutkoski's Winner's Trilogy, bloggers
around the globe are answering the question: What's Your Winner's Curse?

The Winner's Curse is an economic term that means you've gotten what you wanted -- 
but at too high a price!

Blog Tour Schedule

The weekend of February 20th I was scheduled to take the day off and drive to New Haven (12 hours away) and visit my daughter in college. Her tap dance company was putting on a show, The Tapper Games, so it was a chance to see her in action as well as see her beautiful face in person!  At the last minute, I decided it would be better to fly, since there were winter weather warnings across the Eastern and Midwestern US.  I left early to drive to Chicago, normally a 2 hour drive, but not early enough. I ended up in Chicago 10 minutes too late to board my plane since I need to check a bag!! I only needed to check a bag because I had a huge suitcase full of snacks for the kid! There were no ohter flights to New Haven on that Friday!!! The airline could get me to Philadelphia but I was on my own after that. I decided to go, in the hopes that other flights would be delayed and I would magically be able to make my trip. No such luck. I ended up renting a car to drive to New Haven from Philadelphia, normally a 3 hour drive that took 5 hours!!! And it cost me an extra $400. I ended up getting to New Haven so late we just stayed in the hotel! I could have just gotten a room or stayed with a friend in Chicago untl the next day! Also, my flight back was delayed by 3 hours!! I did enjoy the tap show though!

Learn more about The Winner's Trilogy!

Play the Bite and Sting Card Game from the book!

Find Marie Rutkoski on Twitter!

Giveaway

You can win either a copy of The Winner's Curse or a copy of The Winner's Crime.  Entries accepted March 5, 2015 until March 11, 2015, 11:59pm. US Only please. One entry per household.

Using the above affiliate links will bring a small measure of support to The Brain Lair and I thank you in advance.

Tuck Everlasting 40th Anniversary Celebration

Babbit, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting. Macmillan, 1965. 192 p. $9.99. 9781250059291.

Blessed with—or doomed to—eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less of a blessing than it might seem. Complications arise when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune.

What if you could live forever?

I think about Tuck and his insistence that the wheels of change must keep turning. Everything has a season they say. And I believe that. You could never really get to know anyone new because you would have to leave before they noticed you weren't getting older. Now, I am not a big fan of people but I like talking to them. I think we are built for different levels of companionship.  So, I guess I would not want to live forever!

What would 3rd Graders do?

I talked to several 3rd graders about Tuck Everlasting and asked them the question. Here's what they had to say?:

• Jump into a  volcano
• Drink after I go to college and then go live on Mars
• Drink at 30 so I can drive and give to family so we can live together
• I don't want to live forever
• Give it to people about to die
• Drink at 25 and give to family and go to Pluto
• Drink at 30 and give to family and dive into a volcano with dynamite
• I would not drink it
• I would go to war and be last one standing and win the war

About the Author

A gifted artist and writer, Natalie Babbitt is the award-winning author of the modern classic Tuck Everlasting, The Eyes of the Amaryllis, Kneeknock Rise, and many other brilliantly original books for young readers. She began her career in 1966 as the illustrator of The Forty-ninth Magician, a collaboration with her husband. When her husband became a college president and no longer had time to collaborate, Babbitt tried her hand at writing. Her first novel, The Search for Delicious, established her gift for writing magical tales with profound meaning. Kneeknock Rise earned her a Newbery Honor Medal, and in 2002, Tuck Everlasting was adapted into a major motion picture. Natalie Babbitt lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and is a grandmother of three.

The 40th Anniversary edition will release on January 20, 2015 with a special forward by Gregory Maguire! Pre-order your copy here!

Click to read an excerpt!

Search #Tuck40th to see what other people are saying!

Books of Influence by Dorothy Hearst - Guest Post - December 2014

Hearst, Dorothy. Promise of the Wolves. Simon and Shuster, 2009. 363p. $16.00. 978-1416569992.

What is the promise of the wolf? Never consort with humans. Never kill a human unprovoked. Never allow a mixed-blood wolf to live. At least that's what the wolves of the Wide Valley believe. Until a young wolf dares to break the rules--and forever alters the relationship between wolves and the humans who share their world.

Read below to find out what book inspired a young  Dorothy Hearst and how that influenced her series.

There were so many books that influenced The Wolf Chronicles that I could never list them all. 

Here are some of the books I read as a pup—between the ages of eleven and thirteen—that I know led me to the wolves.

The magic of what if:
Madeleine L’ Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time and Peter Dickinson’s Changes trilogy

I remember finishing A Wrinkle in Time, setting it down and thinking “I didn’t know you could do that.” I didn’t know that people were allowed to write about what was known, then—when arriving at what wasn’t known—make stuff up. I knew I wanted to do that. Peter Dickinson’s Changes trilogy is the story of England thrown back into the Middle Ages. I don’t want to give away the ending, but there’s a huge “what if” that drives the story. I had the same reaction at the end of it that I had to A Wrinkle in Time. You can do that? 

“What ifs” ended up at the center of The Wolf Chronicles. What if wolves domesticated us as much as we domesticated them? What if this story was told through the eyes of a young wolf who saves the life of a human child? And then there were all these wonderful gaps in our knowledge about wolf and human evolution that I could fill in with the story.

The animal’s perspective:
Richard Adams’ Watership Down 

When I set out to write about how the wolf became the dog from the wolf’s point of view, I wanted my wolves to be fully-drawn characters, and also realistic wolves. The first book I thought of was Watership Down, which a cousin had given me when I was eleven. I’d gobbled it up. When I started writing about Kaala’s adventures, I remembered how Adams had written his rabbits so that their needs and goals were as important as any human’s, and I modeled the wolves on that. I’d also been miffed that Adams’ female rabbits were so passive, so I got to set that right with Kaala.

Interspecies devotion
Anne McCaffrey’s dragons

I read the first four Pern books the summer I was thirteen. I was entranced by the relationship between the riders and their dragons and, even more so, fifteen-year-old Menolly’s love for her fire lizards. To this day I can feel how much I wanted a fire lizard. The dragons and fire lizards had very clear personalities, but they were definitely not human. The connection between human and nonhuman stayed with me.

A young female character in the center of a complex world 
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The cousin who gave me Watership Down gave also gave me A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I loved how Francie moved through a complex world with clear vision and a solid sense of herself. There was no breathlessness or silliness about Francie like there was in so many girl characters I’d read. I skipped through much of the adult perspectives and kept coming back to Francie and how she quietly, but steadily and firmly, found her way in the world.

About the Author
Before the wolves barged in the door, demanding that their story be told, Dorothy Hearst was a senior editor at Jossey-Bass, where she published books for nonprofit, public, and social change leaders. She currently lives, writes, and plays with dogs in Berkeley, California. Spirit of the Wolves, the third and final title in the Wolf Chronicles, will be released December 2. For more information, and to download free CCSS-aligned discussion questions for all three novels, visit her website: dorothyhearst.com.

Check out all the stops on the Wolf Chronicles blog tour!

Mon, Dec 1             Novel Novice                          http://novelnovice.com/
Tues, Dec 2            The Book Monsters                 http://thebookmonsters.com/
Wed, Dec 3             SLJ Teen                                 http://www.slj.com/tag/sljteen/
Thurs, Dec 4           I Am a Reader, Not a Writer   http://www.iamareader.com/
Fri, Dec 5                I Read Banned Books             http://www.jenbigheart.com/
Mon, Dec 8             Library Fanatic                       http://www.thelibraryfanatic.com/
Tues, Dec 9             YA Book Nerd                       http://yabooknerd.blogspot.com/
Wed, Dec 10           Read Now, Sleep Later          http://www.readnowsleeplater.com/
Thurs, Dec 11         The Brain Lair                        http://www.thebrainlair.com/
Fri, Dec 12              Unleashing Readers               http://www.unleashingreaders.com/
Sat, Dec 13             The Children's Book Review  http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/

Tune in tomorrow for a review and a chance to receive all 3 books in the series!

Dragon Slaying 101 AKAThe Story of Owen by EK Johnston

I always carry my sword in my backpack.

Johnston, E.K. Story of Owen, The (Dragon Slayer of Trondheim, 1), Carolrhoda Lab. 2014. 302p. $17.95. 9781467710664.

Affiliate Links: Amazon | IndieBound

Genre: Fantasy (dragons and dragon slayers)
Cover Appeal: I think the front works better without the dragon on the cover. It's a cover students will look over because it's not bright and eye-catching.

This is actually the story of Siobhan McQuaid, bard to Owen Thorskard, high school student and dragon slayer-in-training. Siobhan is the first person to befriend Owen when his family moves to Trondheim. Owen's family is special, his aunt Lottie is the most famous Dragon Slayer of this time and his dad, Aodhan, is no slouch either. They also bring with them Hannah, the best swordsmaker. They have raised Owen in a loving and kind household. Siobhan's family are no slouches either.

As Owen and Siobhan's friendship grows, the family asks her to be Owen's bard. They want to shape the story of dragon slayers. There's a lot of talk about who controls the message and how. It's like you are reading two stories at once. And therein lies it's excellence.

"This is pretty much entirely not exactly what happened." 199


I recommend this for 7th grade and up.

Tools of the Trade by MK Hutchins - Guest Post - June 2014

Hutchins, M.K. Drift. Tu Books (Lee and Low), 2014. 392p. $19.95. 978-1-62014-145-8.

Pick up your copy of Drift (affiliate links) Amazon | Indiebound and stop by tomorrow for my review.

Drift follows Tenjat, 17 as he tries to carve out a life for his sister Eflet and himself. They lost their parents five years ago as they were escaping their previous island home, Island Ita.  Tenjat is determined to escape the life of a farmer hub and become a Handler on Island Gunaji to give Eflet the future she deserves. The future he promised his father he would give her.

Read on as M.K. Hutchins talks about flintknapping obsidian and how that helped define her worldbuilding in Drift.

Years ago I sat in a room with a tarp-blanketed floor, holding a chunk of obsidian in my hand. Some of the exterior of the rock remained – gray and pitted like a crumbling piece of city sidewalk. Inside, though, the obsidian gleamed: black as ink, glossy and glittering as polished jewelry. The stuff is practically magic.

Using a piece of antler or a round, smooth stone, I struck at the obsidian, trying to fracture off a long flake in a process known as flintknapping. Any badly-angled strikes could produce a bad flake or – worse – cause imperfections inside the stone that would make further flintknapping difficult. My protective leather gloves were soon spiderwebbed with thin cuts, even though I worked with care. Freshly flintknapped obsidian is far sharper than surgical steel scalpels. When the class was over, we gathered up those tarps and safely disposed of the obsidian in accordance with hazardous waste regulations.

Beyond the beauty and the skill and the danger, I also admired the technology I was trying to learn. It would be wasteful to take one chunk of obsidian and knap it down into a single tool. Ancient peoples figured out how to make cores. They looked somewhat like tapering cylinders with a flat striking platform on top. From that platform, an experienced flintknapper could knock of blade after blade, utilizing almost every bit of the beautiful stone.

And the Classic Maya were virtuosos of flintknapping. They didn’t just make tools and weapons, they made art, called flint eccentrics. By striking off flakes, they crafted delicate, graceful patterns and profiles of human faces. Every time I look at one of these, I think of how one misplaced blow during the manufacturing process could have snapped and ruined the entire thing. The technology to create these is lost – modern flintknappers can’t recreate them.

I never became a great flintknapper, but I’m still a little obsessed with obsidian. Fantasy is a genre defined by setting. It’s part of the reason that I, at least, read fantasy. I want to become immersed in a world, in the smells and sounds and tastes.

Drift was largely inspired by Maya mythology, and I wanted to pay homage to that. Often, fantasy is a realm of swords, blacksmiths, and horses, but I wanted to step away from that. I wanted jungles and plaster, howler monkeys and turkeys. And I wanted obsidian – with all its danger and beauty. In the novel, the use of stone tools is just one aspect about the world, but it made the world more real to me.

Sample Chapters of Drift
MK Hutchins blog
MK Hutchins Twitter

Blog Tour

June 19: John Scalzi’s Whatever Blog - M.K. Hutchins on worldbuilding and cultural ecology here

June 20: Supernatural Snark – M.K. Hutchins on being inspired by Maya mythology here.

June 23: It’s All About Books – M.K. Hutchins’ top 5 most influential books here.

June 25: Read Now Sleep Later - Drift GIVEAWAY here.

Batty About Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst - Cover Appeal

Batty About Books

presents

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Simon And Schuster (Margaret K. McElderry Books), 2012

424p. $16.99. 978-1-4424-2376-3

Amazon

|IndieBound

We are trying something new with Batty About Books. Several times we've felt the book would have been better if we'd read it straight through. So we decided that we would do that with Vessel. So, we'll have this cover post then, 2 weeks from now, we'll have our thoughts about the book.

Along the way, check out Batty About Books on Facebook as we promise to post quotes and thoughts as we read.

Cover Appeal

Batty About Books talks Cover Appeal

I love this front view.  It looks like they took shades of one color to make this.  The color scheme is amazing. It gives me a Dune vibe, which I love, but the rich wine colors also pop out.  (Stop making me admit to books I haven’t read...)

It’s very atmospheric. The clouds whirling around her, the bright moon in the background, and the undulating sands at the bottom combine to give the cover movement and depth.

It’s rare to see a person of color on the front of a book. She looks thoughtful and beautiful. Heck, just seeing a full woman - not a portion of the face missing or a focus on a single body part - is also a nice change. (ha!, so true!)

Her clothes speak of times past though the henna on her arms makes it seem not too far in the past. I wonder if she wears that scarf to keep out the heat? I definitely felt the desert even before reading the copy!

I love the typeface. Even though it’s not the same font as Not A Drop to Drink - it has that similar see-through treatment. I like that the title is at the bottom giving the girl the more important part of carrying the cover.  I hadn’t picked up on that - but I love it!

Even the tagline and the author’s name are in the background.  The cover I’m showing is a paperback, but I have the hardcover here and at the bottom it says “She must defy the gods to save her tribe.” The inside states Liyana is abandoned by her tribe. So even though she’s abandoned, she sets out to save them. I like that.

The back of the hardcover is mostly just sand and darkness. I really want to know how she will survive that. My back cover has that image as well, but has the copy over the image. It makes it a little hard to read when it goes over the sand, since the text is white.

The spine is also inviting (if you ignore my messy house). It’s sort of a mini-repeat of the front cover, including Liyana.  I really wonder what she is looking at. Her facial expression is determined, resolute, and a little sad. The letters  themselves are like vessels. They are stronger than the letters on the front. And they appear to be empty. I love the spine! I started with that part of the cover, and found it very intriguing. 

Overall, I think it’s attractive both from the side and the front. I can’t wait to get started!

Now you've seen what I think - head over to Maria's Melange to see how she approached this cover appeal. She starts in a very different spot!

Batty About The Archived by Victoria Schwab - Week Two

Batty About Books presents

The Archived

by Victoria Schwab

This week we tackled the first part of the book. In these pages, Victoria Schwab introduces us to the Archive and the people who work there as well as our main character, Mackenzie Bishop, AKA Mac.

If you missed it:

Week 1 - Cover Appeal

Here are my thoughts in blue (@thebrainlair) and Maria's (Maria's Melange, @mselke01) in purple.

Don't forget to head on over to Maria's Melange to see what she was thinking and my responses to her!

Week 2 - pg 1-110

This first part was all about the setup. I enjoyed learning about the Bishops, the Coronado, and how the The Archives work. I liked the way she used the text to cue us in to when we would read more about the Archive and how what Da taught Mac led us to the place we are in now. At first I thought we were just learning about the past, but when Mac looks back on when Ben died, we didn't get the change in font.

Maria: Oh, that’s perceptive! I didn't notice that - or at least that change. I did pick up on the different fonts, of course. I just didn't think about the difference in the types of memories. Neat!

The Writing

Schwab’s writing is beautiful. Even when not on an intentional hunt for quotes - I found myself pausing to re-read sentences and phrases. She has a way of making you slow down and pay attention to the story.

“The stairs run from the top floor down to the second, where they spill me out onto the landing...”

“The Narrows sigh around me as I enter, humid breath and words so far away they bled to sounds...”

Maria: Agreed! I had fun finding quotes to post on our page. Of course, around 50 pages in I got so sucked into the story that I had trouble slowing back down to pay attention to (or at least write down) quotes. I guess that’s a benefit to rereading a book, right? Ha! I only slowed down because I knew we were posting quotes! And doing this post!

SERVAMUS MEMORIAM (we protect the past)

I loved learning about the Archive and all it’s parts and people who keep it running. The Keepers, Crew, and Librarians. That it has branches. The Returns and the Narrows. The Doors. The cool archive paper where the keepers get their assignments. Roland whose “eyes are tinged with something between pain and longing...” I wonder how and why it all got started. Has it always existed? Why do Keepers choose to leave the fight and become Librarians? Why do Librarians need to have a longer lifespan?

Maria: Yes! I’m fascinated by Roland. I have a thing for this kind of librarian - he reminds me a bit of Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I wrote a note about the archive paper that Keepers use, but then didn't end up writing about that. I’m so glad you brought it up. I loved that detail. I’m also curious about this hidden world. Is it OUR world -- or a near future world where something has changed?

The Keepers

Mac - At first I wondered how old Mac was. She’s been through so much that sometimes she comes across as old. She has such a complicated relationship with her father and mother “I love you. The words taste strange...it’s the only thing I said that wasn't a lie.”  Why did Da choose Mac and not his son? What about her said - I can handle fighting and staying up all hours and keeping secrets? Also, sometimes it seems like her dad knows she is hiding something. Did he know what his father did? She calls reading the past her “talent”. Was she born with it? Or did Da bestow it on her?

Maria: I had a lot of questions about the family relationships, too. Dad seems almost ‘faint’. I wonder if Da considered choosing his son at some point? I know he talks about how his son wasn't a good choice for this calling. Mac does seem a lot older than the book makes her, but her lifestyle certainly had her grow up quickly. I also wrote some notes about teens and responsibilities. She is sure she is ready. Sometimes I think we overly hold on to the childhood of kids today beyond where THEY want to hold it. So hard to see them grow up! Even though it what’s you are trying to help them do! Such a conundrum!

Wesley - “I can’t tell if the eyeliner makes him attractive, or if he’s good-looking in spite of it.” Another Keeper! And he’s as young as Mac. He sounds like he has a different take on being Keeper. He makes it seem like a fun adventure! It appears he will be able to help Mac but what about his own territory?

Maria: I really like Wesley already. I like the fact that she has someone she can share her secrets with now. I wondered about his job as well. Maybe he lives in an area that isn’t very intensive… so he longs for more action and takes on jobs in other territories?

The Librarians (or as I like to call them - the brain lairs!)

So far we’ve met Patrick, Roland, Lisa, Elliot, Meredith, Allen, Carmen. They sound all hipster librarian with their cool glasses, gold fingernails, and Chuck Taylors. I love them. I am them. Without the hipster part. But definitely the chucks and nails.

My nails inspired by The Archive

Maria: I loved the red Chucks detail. I really hope we get to know more about these characters. Again, they definitely have a Watcher vibe for me. Maybe it was all those years of watching and reading Buffy. So, is the point I mention I’ve never seen Buffy? ::hangsheadinshame::   

The Histories

The Librarian have their own section in the Archives - The Special Collections. But everyone else is arranged - how? Mac can never find Ben on her own. To keep her moving forward I’m sure. And some of the histories escape the Archive and try to get home before they “slip”. Why are some so young again? Do grown ups never wake up? And where did Jackson get that knife?

Maria: I guess I made a few assumptions. One was that younger Keepers end up getting the responsibility of Returning the less dangerous Histories - and those tend to be the ones who died young. I assumed it was the Crew that takes on the older, more dangerous ones. I am curious about “slipping”... I’m still not clear on that.

Overall

This was a slow, but packed, beginning. Full of everything and everybody. We were introduced to many people and several places. All within 110 pages! We know about the family and how people are connected. We’ve met some of the people who live in the Coronado and some who work in the Archives. We’ve also been introduced to a mystery! A lot has happened and I’m left with so many questions!

Maria: What a cliffhanger, too! I’m ready to move on and find out what happens next!

Don't forget you can head over to:

Batty About Books Facebook

Batty About Books tumblr

We will continue to post quotes and talk about the book throughout the week in those places. Stop back here on Saturday, March 8th when we discuss part 2 pgs 111-224!

I'm Alive AKA The Real Boy by Anne Ursu

Ursu, Anne. Real Boy, The. Walden Pond Press (HarperCollinsChildrens), 2013. 341p. $16.99. 978-0-06-201507-5.

Affiliate Link: Amazon
| Buy Indie

Genre: Fantasy (magic smiths, apprentices, wizard trees)

Cover Appeal: Fantasy lovers, cat lovers, artistic students. The cover begs to be studied: What's over the door? What's Oscar doing?

Immediately After:  "PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS, itty bitty living space." (Genie, Aladdin)

Right Before
We all have things we are good at and things we aren't.  And if at all possible, we avoid those things we aren't good at or don't like to do. Unfortunately for Oscar, there's no escaping the people.

Oscar, the 11-year-old hand for the magician Caleb, is very good with cats, small spaces, and plants. The plants speak to him, in a way people cannot. For the past five years, he's been responsible for picking and mixing the plants together to provide the magic needed for Master Caleb and his apprentice, Wolf.  And everything is fine, as long as he get's to stay out of the shop, away from everyone.

But, Master Caleb has to go on a trip and Wolf disappears. Now Caleb has to keep the shop running. And that is bad enough. But something was odd. About Oscar. About Caleb's leaving. About the Shining People on the hill. About everything he once believed.

During
"Once upon a time, magic flourished on all of Aletheia. And for centuries, legendary wizards worked the island's magic... Everyone knew the story." (13)

It too me until this paragraph to get into The Real Boy. Something about the writing style: the word choice, the imagery, the sense that I was being spoken to personally, all came together to transport me back in time. I felt like I was in The Barrow.  In the time of good old-fashioned magic with apprentices, sorcerers, poulitices and hidden charms. It reminded me of one of my favorite books, The Demon King by Cinda Chima and brings to mind another of Ursu's books, Breadcrumbs.

The beauty continues in the interactions between Oscar and Callie. Callie is mostly sure of herself and Caleb is mostly not. He has no censor, and when forced to talk to people, his thoughts pop out of his mind and into his mouth.  Callie, while careful what she says, uses her facial expressions, and the times when she can talk to Caleb separately, to get her point across.

Sometime After
I thought I knew what The Real Boy was about. Anne Ursu set me up beautifully, and then she left me hanging in the end. I'm still wondering what's going on with Callie and Oscar and have gone back and read the ending chapters over again. As a matter of fact, if I had more time, I would read the entire book again!  #winterbreakideas

You have the strange sickness affecting the "Shining People's" children; these mysterious and weird ailments that nothing seems to cure. You also have Caleb's frequent trips into the continent as well as Madame Mariel's, the healer and Callie's master, absence. Underneath it all, you have both Callie and Oscar trying to figure out their place in the land, as assistants, who they are, and what they truly believe.

Oscar is desperately trying to keep the shop running while Caleb's gone but he not only can't look a person in the eye, he doesn't know how to frame his responses in a non-offending manner. Callie has the gift of communication but doesn't really know all the properties of plants in order to provide the right healing for Madame Mariel's patients.

Even though Oscar is afraid and lacks confidence when he talks to people, even though he'd rather stay in his pantry and work with his plants, he forces himself to work in the shop each day. He continually steps outside his comfort zone, with no hint of a personal incentive. It's just who he is, even though he can't see it.

Quotes
"The apprentice's name was Wolf, because sometimes the universe is an unsubtle place." (3)

"He half expected a shelf to fall on Wolf's head. It didn't. Shelves never fell on Wolf's head when Oscar wanted them to." (10)

"These hours in the library were stolen things, and he had to be as careful as a thief about how he chose to spend them." (76)

"She promised, and so Oscar believed her." (104) <--profound in it's simplicity.

Overall
Can reading two of an author's books make you a fan? Because I feel like a fan. I don't want to say Ursu's writing is simple. It isn't. But, it doesn't have all the "trappings" you find in some contemporary fantasies. There's no instalove, no overwhelming action without cause, no overexplaining as if the reader can't be trusted to understand what the author is saying. The magic seems more organic. The characters seem more developed.

That being said, it's a hard sell in today's supernatural paranormal world. Books like Ursu's don't get the recognition they should. It's a book that requires the reader to engage. And a teacher or librarian to talk it up.

I've given the 6th grade teachers Breadcrumbs and they recommend it to their high ability students. I will do the same with The Real Boy. I'll give it a spot on the Good Reads table. I'll talk about it on our school news. And I'll make sure the teachers get a copy to read at home.

Giveaway


Find Anne Ursu
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Blog Tour
My Favies
Monday, 9/30 - Maria's Melange - Review and Giveaway until 10/15
Wednesday, 10/2 - Sharp Reads- Colby Interviews Anne
Monday, 10/14 - Heise Reads and Recommends - Editor Jordan Brown Interviews Anne

All The Stops

Thank you to Walden Pond Press for allowing me to jump on this tour and share my love of their books! 

Catching a Moment by Kathi Appelt- Guest Post - August 2013

Appelt, Kathi. True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp,The. Atheneum Books for Young Readers (Simon and Schuster), 2013. 336p. $16.99. 9781442421059.

If you're looking for a great middle grades novel that BEGS to be read aloud - look no further than the True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt!

 Keep reading below to find out why Grandpa Audie carries a Polaroid Land Camera. You'll wish you carried one too!

Cameras and Birds and Other Surprises

My father loved cameras, and he loved taking photographs. But he never owned a Polaroid Land Camera, at least not one that I can recall. However, our neighbor across the street, Tom Cunningham, owned one. And about the time that my sisters and I ranged in ages from 5 (me) to 3 (my youngest sister B.J.), with Patti (4) in between, Uncle Tom as we called him, walked across the street one night with that big, fat camera and took a group shot of the three of us.

That photo is long gone, but I definitely remember it. Patti was sitting in the middle atop our overstuffed living room chair, and B.J. and I sat on the opposite arms, straddling them like we might straddle a pony. To say that we looked goofy would be an understatement. We were all in our summer nighties, too, which added to the goofy charm. A scruffy trio of sisters, our hair still wet from our nighttime baths, and our faces scrubbed and shiny, looking directly into the camera, looking surprised.

It was a sweet photo, and my father treasured it for many years, long after it was taken.

The thing about a Polaroid was that it was automatic. There, right in front of you was an instant photo. I know that these days, with digital photos, that’s nothing new. But back in the late fifties and early sixties, photographs were anything but instant. The Polaroid was an exception. It didn’t require a darkroom, it didn’t require a two-week wait while you sent the film off to a lab to have it processed and hoped like crazy that at least one photo had merit.

But the Polaroid had requirements nonetheless. I remember watching Uncle Tom. As soon as he took the photo, he popped the melted flashbulb out of the camera where it dropped into the palm of his hand. There he bounced it up and down to keep it from burning his skin. “Don’t touch,” he told us.

Then he pulled the film out of the back of the camera and waved it back and forth in the air. If he had said the word, “abracadabra” it couldn’t have been more magical.

While we watched, he carefully peeled the film apart. Then, he took a lipstick-shaped tube of fixer and rubbed it over the finished photo. Voila! He held it front of us and said again, “Don’t touch.” It wasn’t hot, but it was still sticky from the fixer. A touch would leave a fingerprint that would never go away.

We gathered around. There we were, three small girls smushed together on the chair, only minutes older than we were when he snapped the shot. We were fascinated. But not as much as our father. He loved Mr. Cunningham’s Polaroid Camera. And he loved us, his three daughters. He kept that photo for as long as he lived, and by the time he died, forty years later, it was so faded that you had to know what was on the surface of it to actually see it.

What I know about that long-gone Polaroid photo is that it was important to my dad. And thinking about it, it’s still important to me. It reminds me of my two sisters and me and how many moments we shared together, the three of us taking up space together, happy. 

So, when I thought about my character Audie, and his quest for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, it seemed important to me that he use a Polaroid Land Camera, not necessarily because it was the only camera in town, but because it reminded me of the wonder of catching a moment in time that can’t really be repeated, only treasured. 

I suppose every photo is like that, to a certain extent. But there was something magical about that Polaroid process—the melty flashbulb, the film being pulled out of the back of the camera, the lipstick-shaped tube of fixer. Everything had to happen in a certain order for the magic to occur. 

When I sit down to write my stories, I think hard about the objects that my characters use and carry and treasure, because I think they say something about the characters themselves. But sometimes, like it was with the Polaroid, I simply hand over to my characters something that I loved too. I loved Tom Cunningham’s Polaroid camera. I loved my dad and sisters. I especially loved the surprise of it all. And that is the very best part of all about writing and reading stories. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you even get a photo, like my character Audie did, of a surprised armadillo. Or a bird that was so beautiful people said, “Lord God,” whenever they saw it fly over their heads. 

We might not be able to get the Polaroid back. But maybe we can find the bird. Lord God, I hope so.

What Kathi's Reading

And speaking of surprises, I’m right in the middle of reading Uma Krishnaswami’s new book, The Problem with Being Slightly Heroic. It had me from the very first page. (The Brain Lair will be talking about The Problem With Being Slightly Heroic next week! Make sure you tune in!)

More about Kathi Appelt
Kathi Appelt is the author of the Newbery Honor-winning, National Book Award finalist, PEN USA Literary Award-winning, and bestselling The Underneath as well as the highly acclaimed novel Keeper, The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, and many picture books. She is a member of the faculty at Vermont College’s Master of Fine Arts program. She has two grown children and lives in Texas with her husband. For more information, visit her website at http://www.kathiappelt.com/.

Watch these two rascally raccoons in the most adorable book trailer ever:



Be sure to visit Kathi’s other stops on her blog tour!

Mon, Aug 12
GreenBeanTeenQueen
http://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com/2013/08/blog-tour-true-blue-scouts-of-sugar-man.html

Tues, Aug 13
There's a Book
http://www.theresabook.com/2013/08/author-interview-and-giveaway-20-questions-with-kathi-appelt/

Wed, Aug 14
Bigfoot Reads
http://www.bigfoot-reads.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-true-blue-swamp-scouts-of-sugar-man.html

Thurs, Aug 15
Read Now, Sleep Later
http://www.readnowsleeplater.com/2013/08/the-true-blue-scouts-of-sugar-man-swamp.html

Fri, Aug 16
I Read Banned Books
http://www.jenbigheart.com/2013/08/guest-post-giveaway-true-blue-scouts-of.html

Sat, Aug 17
Booking Mama
http://www.bookingmama.net/2013/08/kid-konnection-true-blue-scouts-of.html

Mon, Aug 19
The Compulsive Reader
http://www.thecompulsivereader.com/2013/08/interview-with-kathi-appelt.html

Tues, Aug 20
Mother Daughter Book Club
http://motherdaughterbookclub.com/2013/08/interview-with-kathi-appelt-author-of-the-true-blue-scouts-of-sugarman-swamp/

Wed, Aug 21
The Book Monsters
http://www.thebookmonsters.com/author-interview-kathi-appelt/

Thurs, Aug 22
Sharpread
http://sharpread.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/54321-interview-kathi-applet/

Fri, Aug 23
The Brain Lair
You are here!