School Library Journal recently had an article chastising those in our profession for what we don’t buy.  “A Dirty LIttle Secret:  Self-Censorship”.  I read it.  I pondered it.  And then I asked myself the questions that always plague me when censorship within the profession is discussed, “Why am I only a good librarian if I allow everything?  Can’t good librarians reject things?”

Then I read an SLJ blog post’s rebuttal to the article.  It was stated much more strongly and radically than I would have written, but I found I agreed with a lot of what The Annoyed Librarian had to say.  I wouldn’t have said it quite that way, however… I’m not allowed to use the “f” word. 

I asked my father what f___ meant when I heard it on the playground in third grade.   My question was truly innocent.  He told me in no uncertain terms exactly what it meant and that I was NEVER to use that word again.  I have not.  Ever. 

In my undergraduate child psychology class, however, I remembered that incident.  I went home on break and informed my father that he had completely overreacted to an innocent childish question.  My father asked, “Have you ever used the word.”  “No,” I replied.  “There’s your psychology,” said father.   You’ve got to love the direct ways of the farmer…

So without the “f” word, I’ll add only a little to The Annoyed Librarian’s rant and I will also acknowledge a valid warning in the SLJ article.  I must be careful as I purchase books not to allow my own prejudices to color my selection.  But the SLJ article was not about my prejudices, it was about allowing the anticipation of perceived or real threats of outside objections to color my purchases.  That is a valid warning; I must guard against that as well!  If I don’t buy a good title just because I know it will upset Mrs. SoNSo, I’m not doing my job. 

I know that “Man who walk down middle of road get run over by trucks from both directions”, but I find myself in the middle as I select controversial materials.  First, I make sure I read most fiction completely, but especially those with potential controversy.  When I read the title, I better find something in it to make it worth defending. 

And ALA and SLJ, I’m sorry – many of the awards have lost their credibility with me.  I shall continue to approach all award titles with skepticism and I will decide for myself whether that title is worth defending. 

The word scrotum did not particularly disturb me in The HIgher Power of Lucky, but I also didn’t see how it added to the value of the book or how it was integral to the story.  I also did not think the title was well written.  It had some wonderful characters and was somewhat engaging, but the author totally dropped the title’s theme!  Dropped it!  Gone!  It was a good story, but not a good piece of literature.  So SLJ – add me to your dirty list.  I didn’t buy it.  It wasn’t worth fighting for!

That is my mantra with controversial materials.  Is the book worth fighting for?  If not, I’ve got better things to do with my limited budget.

Mo Willems is the king of simple, and “Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed” is simply hilarious.  What is it with Naked Mole rats?  I never heard of them and then suddenly…  Mary Amato’s Naked Mole-Rat Letters is on the 2010 Rebecca Caudill list in Illinois and Mo Willems writes this one.  Both books are fiction, but Amato’s book shares many facts on the animal, but Mo Willems’ picture book is nothing but fun. 

Willems shares that, for his story, “you only need to know three things: 

1. They are a little bit rat.
2. They are a little bit mole.
3. They are all naked.” 

Except for Wilbur.  Wilbur hears his own drummer and likes to wear clothes.  This is definitely a book the kids are going to scream for, since you have to say the word naked on almost every page.  Subtle themes in the book are peer pressure and individuality, with a very satisfactory free-to-be-you-and-me conclusion.

The Jr. Hi. kids told me today that Ron on Disney’s Kim Possible has a naked mole rat named Rufus for a pet!  Rufus apparently is nothing like the real creature.  So, again, what is it with naked mole rats?  Obviously even Disney knows kids love the word naked.

WARNING.  Philosophy and ranting ahead.  This is what I once thought all blogs were about… but this is my first rant in almost a year of blogging.  Skip it if you wish!

In Monday’s post on Nora’s Ark I mentioned the need to first share the story of Noah’s Ark with the students.  I could hear the voices out there questioning me, “Can you tell that story at school?” 

“Why not?” I ask. 

“Well, separation of church and state, right?” 

 ”Wrong!”

How I hate the phrase “separation of church and state”.  But what I hate the most is how all of us – people of all faiths and lack thereof – have overreacted to it in light of public schools.  And our students are the poorer for it!

Now I do NOT want to debate the phrase, I will just say that moderate ground is the following statement:  ”When we think of religion in public schools, we think of the students and how they should be free from indoctrination.” 

• Never do I want a student to feel uncomfortable about his personal beliefs.
• Never do I intend to force my religious beliefs on my students – in fact, I’m not there to share my religious beliefs.  I’m there to be the school library media specialist. 
• Bottom line – We are free to educate students.  We are not free to indoctrinate or belittle students.

But I also think we have lost our focus.  Too often people feel that only by excluding things can we be fair to all.  I would like to suggest that we should include all cultures and faiths whenever the opportunity presents itself educationally in view of helping our students learn understanding and tolerance.  And when others practice their faith and/or culture by wearing a cross, a yarmulke, a bindi, or a chador we need not feel threatened or offended, instead we can respect and tolerate the symbols of who they are as an individual.  An educated person should understand world religions and cultural differences.  By avoiding those topics or situations, we leave our students ignorant, and ignorance is ugly. 

Libraries are the great defenders of inclusion.  “There is something in my library to offend everyone,” is one of my favorite quotations.  Libraries strive for balance, freedom of speech, and intellectual freedom.  So why does that often apply to everything EXCEPT mainstream Christianity?  Doesn’t Christianity have the right to be included?  Isn’t it WRONG to exclude a well produced picture book on Noah’s Ark just because it is a Bible story in a public school?

A few years ago I took some heat from one administrator about including the “Left Behind for Kids” series of books in our school library.  The series was hot, then.  Kids were asking for it.  There is no public library in my community to which I could send them so I bought the books. 

If seventy-five percent of my collection is Christian fiction and I refused to buy Harry Potter, we would have a problem.  But tolerance and respect for all faiths INCLUDES Christianity!  And balance does not mean that if I include Christian fiction I have to rush out and buy an equal number of Islamic fiction.  (Is there such a thing?)  -especially if my library would have no audience for it. 

Phew!  Done with the philosophy arguments.  Now to the rant…

There are stories that children once learned in Sunday School that they no longer know because fewer and fewer people attend church regularly.  Personally, this makes me sad.  Professionally, this means that my students no longer know stories such as David and Goliath, Noah’s Ark, or the stories of Moses.  Stories such as these transcend the Judeo-Christian religion of their roots and have become iconic stories in world culture.  They are referred to in literature and in the mass media. 

Last week when I briefly shared the highlights of Noah’s Ark with the students, many mentioned the movie Evan Almighty.  It was a light-bulb moment for them.  The movie was more relevant and funny once they had been introduced to the background story.  How can they understand a story about a modern day Noah if they don’t know the ancient story of Noah?

A few years ago when I shared Steven Jenkin’s book Actual Size, two of the creatures mentioned were the Goliath frog and the Goliath beetle.  When the student’s didn’t connect the meaning of Goliath with the concept of giant I felt I had to share the story of David and Goliath. 

Can I share the story of Noah or David and Goliath without mentioning God?  No.  But can I share the stories as iconic stories of culture without indoctrinating students into what I believe they mean?  Yes, I can!

So if a Bible story becomes relevant to the educational matter at hand, must I exclude it because of separation of church and state?  I think not.

And when censorship rears its ugly head, I can remind someone that if they can ask me to remove a book on evolution, someone else can ask me to remove the copy of Jerry Pinkney’s Noah’s Ark or those Left Behind books…. and vice versa.

I might also mention that I own a Seder plate which I use when I introduce the novel Devil’s Arithmetic to 5th grade.  And I bought a menorah so that I could share some of the Chanukah stories in our collection with the students.  Education.  It is about education, not indoctrination.  And the argument that religious education belongs in the home – well, it isn’t happening anymore, just like so many other things!  And telling a Bible story ISN’T religious education; it is making sure the students are familiar with key stories in Western Civilization.  If the newspaper article refers to something as a Pandora’s box, how can you understand that if you’ve never been taught the story of Pandora?  If the same newspaper refers to the little school defeating the big school in sports as a David and Goliath, well….I rest my case.

“Can you tell that story at school?”  You bet!  This is America!  Liberty and justice for all – even for the Bible stories! 

Library Lion is my favorite of the 2009 Monarch titles, but Nora’s Ark by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock comes in as a close second!  It is a beautifully told story of a true disastrous event, the Vermont flood of 1927.  (See links at the end.)

Grandma Nora’s newly constructed home up on a hill becomes a refuge for people and animals alike during the flood.  One of the beautiful elements of the book is how Grandma doesn’t want this new house, considering it “just gravy” on an already blessed life.  When the waters rise, however, Grandma moves on up without complaint. 

Grandma explains the phrase “just gravy” to Wren – and by the time I was done reading the book aloud twelve times (as I do on Thursday story days at my school) I was missing MY grandma and was REALLY hungry for her fried chicken, mashed potatoes and white gravy.  Of course that exists only in my memories… 

Side note:  There is a scene in the movie “Peggy Sue Got Married” where Peggy Sue, who has gone back in time to her teen years, makes use of this time-travel experience to spend time with her grandparents.  I cry often at movies.  I even cry two minutes into “Extreme Home Makeover”!  But this scene in “Peggy Sue Got Married” makes me not cry, but weep every time I see it.  (I’m splashing on the keyboard now just thinking about it!)  If time travel were possible I would spend one more Sunday dinner as a little girl at my grandparent’s with all the aunts and uncles and cousins around.

Sigh!

As for reading aloud “Nora’s Ark”, be prepared to say a line in French.  Madeleine Lafleur is amazed at chickens in the baby carriage in the kitchen and says, “Des Poulets dans le chariot de bébé?”  (My three years of high school French paid off!) 

And if you are like me, be prepared to choke up a bit while reading.  Grandpa is missing in the midst of this awful flood.  Wren and Grandma find him, but Grandpa cries over a dying cow… and the fact that they have lost absolutely everything on the farm, save this brand new empty house.  Because this portion chokes my voice with emotion and fills my eyes with tears, those sweet soft hearted boys and girls to whom I’m reading often tear up, too.  This is the power of story – a good story well told. 

Unfortunately, if you do not preface “Nora’s Ark” with a brief overview of the iconic ancient story of Noah’s Ark, students will not understand grandpa’s line, “Nora, I thought I was building you a house, but I see it was really an ark.”  Very few of my students knew the story of Noah’s Ark.  I let those students help me with a brief telling of the story before we began reading.  I also brought in the following books from our collection and promoted them with the students for further reading:
222 Ife K.3                  
           Ife, Elaine, 1955-.  Now you can read… : Noah and the ark.
                Windermere, Fla. : Rourke Publications, c1983.  A recounting
                of the Bible story in which Noah builds a large strong ship
                to save his family and two of every kind of animal from a
                flood which covered the earth.

222 Pin K.3                  
           Pinkney, Jerry.  Noah’s ark.  New York : SeaStar Books, 2002.
                Retells the biblical story of the great flood and how Noah
                and his family faithfully responded to God’s call to save
                life on earth.

222 Spi K.3                  
           Spier, Peter.  Noah’s ark.  1st ed.  Garden City, N.Y. :
                Doubleday, c1977.  Retells in pictures how a pair of every
                manner of creature climbed on board Noah’s ark and thereby
                survived the Flood.

363.3 Vog 4.8                
           Vogel, Carole Garbuny.  The great Midwest flood.  1st ed.  Boston
                : Little, Brown and Co., c1995.  Text and photographs depict
                the cause and effects of the Midwest flood of 1993.

Fic Cal K.3                  
           Calhoun, Mary.  Flood.  New York : Morrow Junior Books, c1997.
                One fictional Midwestern family is forced to leave their
                home during the flooding of the Mississippi River in 1993.

“Nora’s Ark” on the surface is about the 1927 Vermont flood.. but the theme of this book is really about remembering what is important – “family and friends and neighbors helping neighbors.” – another timely lesson for ourselves and our students during these tough economic times.  “Everything else is just gravy.”

Vermont Flood History websites:

http://www.vermonthistory.org/freedom_and_unity/1800s/natural_disaster.html

http://vermonthistory.org/index.php?Itemid=241&id=391&option=com_content&task=view

http://www.vtgrandpa.com/fhs/flood27.html

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/btv/events/27flood.shtml

Abraham Lincoln would have been 200 years old today and it was a big deal at our school.  Of course, this is Illinois the Land of Lincoln, and I just happen to have a dining room decorated with Lincoln pictures and collectibles.  (Every bit of which is at school at the moment.)  No way around it, I’m a fan of the man. 

Our school celebrated by participating in the simultaneous reading of “The Gettysburg Address”.  Dubbed “The Four Score and Seven” project, this is a national attempt to establish a new Guinness Book of World Record for the most people reading aloud simultaneously.  Our second thru sixth graders all participated in the choral reading.  Hearing their voices at the end, “of the people, by the people, for the people” was moving. 

In addition to coordinating the event, today was story day for K-3.  How do you choose which of the many new Lincoln books to read aloud?  I didn’t.  I gave commercials for several of our recent purchases.   

To begin, the students and I discussed the word Bicentennial with the roots bi and cent.  I explained that because of the Lincoln Bicentennial publishers have recently released a number of wonderful new titles.  Rappaport’s “Abe’s Honest Words” is one I introduced to them, but did not read all aloud.  First grade and up know about quotation marks, so I related their knowledge to the fact that the “honest words” in the books were quotes or quotations from Lincoln.  (Information Literacy skill!) With second and third grade I read them the last quote in the book.  They quickly recognized the ending of “The Gettysburg Address”.  It was a special moment with each class for they all spontaneously joined me in the ending and I was able to again hear their voices.  “…government of the people, by the people, for the people…”. 

I allowed classes to indirectly chose which of the titles I would read aloud in its entirety by asking them to vote (with eyes closed) on whether they were in the mood for a happy story or a sad story.  The happy story was going to be Jim Aylesworth’s “Our Abe Lincoln”, but EVERY class surprised me and voted for sad.  They must like to see me cry when I read???  I sang them bits of “Our Abe Lincoln” anyway as a book commercial.  The subtitle is “an old song with new lyrics” and you indeed MUST sing (not read) it to the tune of “The old gray mare.”  

But the kids chose sad and “Abe Lincoln Comes Home” by Robert Burleigh fits the bill!  They kids all know about Lincoln’s assassination, therefore I actually begin introducing the book by telling them about Lincoln’s Farewell Address, his brief words to his friends and neighbors in Springfield as he left to assume the presidency on February 11, 1861.  Lincoln’s Farewell was final, for his only return was via his funeral train on May 2, 1865.  I showed my students the map at the back of the book and told them that what impressed me was the common man’s reaction.  Sure the big cities had the train stop for huge memorials, but it was the many who waited by remote tracks all along the route that touch my heart.  And this is the subject of Burleigh’s book.  I also took the opportunity to remind the students of a wonderful but dying custom of today; when passing a funeral procession on the highway it is courtesy to pay your respects by pulling over and stopping.  A few kids knew the custom, but I encouraged them to practice it and educate their parents if necessary.  This seemed to help them understand why folks in 1865 would drive miles and miles to simply stand by the tracks to watch a funeral train pass. 

On a lighter note, each student in my schools were given a penny pin today.  My aide and I made all 900 of them and pinned them through Lincoln Bicentennial cards I made from white cardstock.  The penny pin project was fraught with setbacks, but the genuine appreciation from students Kindergarten through 8^th grade made it worth all the trouble.

Today was the Lincoln Bicentennial.  My efforts today were “for the people” – for the young people whom I hope will remember today as a special time in their learning experience.  To quote Lincoln:  “Upon the subject of education, I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in.”  Perhaps it is the fact that Mr. Lincoln (don’t call him Abe!) acquired the bulk of his education from reading books that serves to endear him to my librarian’s heart.  I celebrate his memory!

Funny how my reading accidentally follows a theme sometimes.  Elephant Run by Roland Smith and The White Giraffe by Lauren St. John are two I read recently.  Both of them have a young protagonist sent to live in a foreign country to make a new home with estranged family members. 

In Elephant Run Nick Freestone is sent to Burma in 1941.  His mother thinks he will be safer living with his father on the teak plantation there.  The White Giraffe’s setting is present day South Africa.  Eleven year old Martine Allen’s parents are killed in a house fire and she is sent to live on an African wildlife reserve with a grandmother she never knew (and who seems to not want her.)  The audience of both books probably follows the ages of the protagonists; Nick is 14 and Elephant Run is the longer more difficult read of the two books.

Both books have elements of not magic, but mysticism – a Buddhist monk named Hilltop and an elusive white giraffe respectively.  And with both an animal plays a key role in the plot and events.  Nick and Martine are both strong characters who make mistakes but face them with pluck.

Both books also have strong environmental themes that are skillfully and sensitively woven into the narrative.  Elephant Run has the additional strength of a well crafted historical novel.  Since I have read little about Burma during World War II it would surprise me if this was not also new to my students.  And yet it requires little prior knowledge of World War II to be read successfully.  Roland Smith seems to take pains to not totally vilify the Japanese occupation of Burma by providing the sympathetic and sensitive Sergeant Sonji character.  But Smith does not whitewash either the Japanese occupation or the British occupation of Burma.  One of the closing comments in the book is Nick’s father answering, “It’s time we give Burma back to the Burmese.”

I enjoyed reading both novels, but the meatier Elephant Run was my favorite of the two.  It has so much going for it – adventure, history, animals, mystery, friendship, and lots of action.  I kept remembering Elephant Walk, a 1954 Elizabeth Taylor movie, as I read.  (Not to be confused with the John Wayne movie Hatari which featured the song Baby Elephant Walk.)  The movie “Elephant Walk” was set in Ceylon (filmed in Sri Lanka), not Burma, but Elizabeth Taylor was married to a plantation owner with a huge plantation manor.  And of course, there was a jungle and elephants!  It has been years since I’ve seen it on the late, late show!  I wonder if Roland Smith was at all inspired by the movie?  Regardless, he has crafted a top notch book.  My students recommended it to me!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day…Coleen Murtagh Paratore bills herself as a hopeless romantic and a life-long believer in the magic of Cape Cod.  She puts both of those to excellent use in creating The Wedding Planner’s Daughter.

Readers looking for a romantic novel will not be disappointed.  Willa’s dad died before the honeymoon was over and Stella, Willa’s mother, has deliberately closed off her heart.  But Willa wants a father and now that they have moved back to Stella’s hometown on Cape Cod, Willa and her Nana are determined to make it happen. Oddly enough, for someone with a broken heart, Willa’s mother is a successful professional wedding planner.  Although Stella tries to keep Willa on a non-romantic and practical life plan, Willa has her own ideas and complications ensue.

If they don’t pre-judge the book by the title, those looking for a novel of substance will not be disappointed with The Wedding Planner’s Daughter either.  Willa is a huge reader of classic novels and references to them are tangled throughout the plot.  (Their last name is Havisham.)  Chapters start with very readable quotations, most of which come from classics such as Little Women, Alice in Wonderland, Tom Sawyer, and the like.

Fresh and funny with more substance than you would guess from the title and the cover… I highly recommend this for middle and high school readers.

Unbelievable!  Another incredible first novel, this one by Lauren Tarshis.  The writing is tight, the story is compelling, the pace moves quickly, there is wonderful symbolism (the quilt!), the characters are well developed, and the storyline is appropriate and of interest to middle school students… so Tarshis has her quality-writing ducks in a row.  But what I really admire about this book is, like The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt, the book has heart and soul.  Two sweet souls, actually – Emma-Jean Lazarus and Colleen Pomerantz – both students at William Gladstone Middle School.

Further distinguishing this book from most middle/YA novels, these girls are NICE, NORMAL kids with normal problems.  Emma-Jean is an extremely level headed and intelligent girl who contentedly keeps to herself since she has very little in common with her peers.  Colleen Pomerantz is a truly kind and good hearted girl.  When Emma-Jean finds herself unusually conflicted by a sobbing Colleen, she proceeds, in typical deliberate Emma-Jean fashion, to provide assistance.  Despite pure intentions and a well-thought-out plan, complications ensue.

Other than the death of Emma-Jean’s father two years prior to the narrative’s setting, this book doesn’t deal with extreme circumstances and evil or absent or ineffective adults.  As a matter of fact, it has fully-functioning, extremely realistic adults doing their best for their offspring and/or students.  The adults are not perfect, just realistically flawed.  Colleen’s mother struggles to show affection, but she does show affection in her own way.  Mr. Petrowski, the most flawed adult, unfairly harasses his student Will Keeler.  Unfortunately I’ve known teachers like him; thank goodness not very many!  And he is balanced (and chastised) by a wonderful young teacher, Ms Wright.  (Hmmm… Ms Wright.  I didn’t notice the name before.  Perhaps it is a coincidence and perhaps it is purposeful?)  And like Schmidt’s The Wednesday Wars, this novel realistically includes faith in the life of a character.

Part of growing up is realizing that everyone views the same circumstances differently.  Wendelin Van Draanen’s novel Flipped remains my favorite for illustrating this reality, but Lauren Tarshis has credibly provided similar insights.  Because Emma-Jean does not pick up on “normal” social cues due to her mathematically analytical (and abnormally mature) perspectives, the reader can examine the middle school world objectively.  Because Colleen views the world completely through emotion the reader is provided important contrast.

But nothing in this novel is didactic.  It is funny and sweet.  Among my favorite moments is when Emma-Jean shows up at Colleen’s home to offer advice.  Colleen is obviously not answering the doorbell deliberately, but Emma-Jean does not view it that way:

(p137) “Emma-Jean backed away from the door and looked up at the curtained window through which Colleen had been peering.  There was no sign of Colleen.  In fact, to the casual observer, the house would appear completely empty.  However, Emma-Jean was not a casual observer.  Colleeen Pomerantz was in this house.  And there was only one explanation for her failure to respond to the doorbell:  She was too weak, perhaps in a state of collapse.  Very likely, her mother had gone to the market or the drugstore, believing that Colleen’s condition was stable.  Perhaps she was unaware of the capricious nature of viruses, how symptoms can subside only to flare suddenly and violently just hours later.”

You can see from the passage above that Emma-Jean’s sections of this novel require readers with good vocabularies… or a good dictionary and the will to use it!  Those readers without good vocabularies will understand the narrative, too, and may benefit from learning a new word or two!

It is worth noting that Lauren Tarshis is writing an Emma-Jean sequel coming out in May 2009.

The overall message of this book is valuable!  When we seek to interact and truly understand others… we often end up understanding more about ourselves.  Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree was an Oprah’s Kid Book Club Selection, but don’t let that stop you!  This novel is worth reading and worth recommending!

Runaway.  This is not only the title, but advice.  This is the first of Wendelin Van Draanen’s novels that I have not swooned over!  Told in diary fashion, it is somewhat interesting to read about Holly, a young homeless girl, and how she got that way… but not THAT interesting.

Holly was a side character in Van Draanen’s previous novel, Sammy Keyes and the Sister’s of Mercy.  In her author’s note at the end of Runaway Van Draanen explains how she felt compelled to flesh out Holly’s story.  The author also immersed herself in writing poetry.  But this narrative feels more like a writing exercise than a novel to me.  I think Van Draanen should have used her research and instead written a non-fiction book on life for homeless teens.  It would have been more interesting.

So Swear to Howdy this is the first novel from this author that I have not Flipped over.  No home on my shelves for Runaway.  Sorry.