MARGINALIA: Beautiful, Also |
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We made it through January, folks, and here's hoping 2020 gets its footing at some point in the near future. We seem to be off to a wobbly start. And yet! So many wonderful things to share in this newsletter: newly awarded books, new podcasts, new books that are so-new-they-aren't-even-out-yet, and new faces for children's literature. Change is happening, and, though often paired with growing pains, it leads to beautiful things. Sit with me a while and cheer for the new and beautiful. Then close the screen and look for beauty in the real world, please. I promise, it won't be too hard to find. To pull from a beloved musical: Look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now... |
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ON the BLOG: How to Take Your Child to the Bookstore I got a side hustle to my side hustle. In other words: I got a job at a bookstore. It's been a blast (and a learning curve) to jump into the retail side of books, but one of my favorite elements is working with young patrons and seeing how both the bookstore and the child's family help to support their independence. I wrote a little article with six tips for making a trip to the bookstore fun and empowering for you and your child! | | |
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Well, folks, unlike the results of the Iowa Caucus, the results of the 2020 Youth Media Awards are in just when we expected them! The live broadcast was such fun—you could hear attendees yelling with delight as this year's titles earned their shiny new stickers. Along with the usual book awards, a few authors and illustrators received Lifetime Achievement Awards as recognition for their contributions to the field of children's and young adult literature. I was pleased to see Kevin Henkes, Mildred D. Taylor, and Steve Sheinkin recognized! |
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I've snagged the cover photos of this year's Newbery and Caldecott winners, though Honor medals were given in both (and many other!) categories. New Kid by Jerry Craft, a middle grade graphic novel, received the Newbery Award. The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson won the Caldecott Award, giving its title a new layer of meaning. Be sure to check out the full list of winners in all categories—it was quite the exceptional roundup. |
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“Deep reading is always about *connection*: connecting what we know to what we read, what we read to what we feel, what we feel to what we think, and how we think to how we live out our lives in a connected world.” ― Maryanne Wolf, from Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World |
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Simone Davies, an AMI Toddler guide and well-known author, added a new title to her repertoire: podcaster! While there's only a trailer and one episode out now, The Montessori Notebook podcast is sure to be a fantastic resource for parents and teachers alike. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts--and let us know what you think! | | |
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BOOK PICKS: Upcoming Middle Grade Releases |
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MAÑANALAND By Pam Muñoz Ryan From Kirkus Reviews: "Eleven-year-old Maximiliano Córdoba is ready for an idyllic summer. He plans to work hard as a builder for his father and train for fútbol tryouts. Plus, Max hopes dad will take him to visit the towering ruins of La Reina Gigante, a haunted hideout used in the past by the Guardians to hide refugees as they fled Abismo, a war-torn, neighboring dictatorship. However, when Max must provide his birth certificate to join the team, he feels his dream summer crumble away. The document disappeared years ago, along with his mother. Soon, Papá leaves on a three-week journey to request a new one, and Max finds himself torn between two desires: to know the truth about why his mother left when he was a baby and to make the team. As Max discovers the enchanting stories his grandfather has been telling him for years have an actual foothold in reality, he must choose between his own dreams and those of others." I'm consistently a fan of Ryan's nearly magical books, and this was no exception. Thoughtful, lush, and riveting. A beautiful and relevant read. Ages 9-12 (or 6-12 for reading aloud) Coming March 3, 2020 | | |
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JULIETA AND THE DIAMOND ENIGMA By Luisana Duarte Armendáriz From the book's description: "Nine-year-old Julieta is finally about to put a purple pin in her family's world traveling map! She's off to Paris to help her art-handler dad collect pieces for a new exhibit at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Sadly, they must leave Julieta's very pregnant mother behind, but they're sure they'll be back before the baby is born. Julieta sees the best of Paris: the Eiffel Tower, the Sacré-Coeur, and plenty of great art. But things go awry when she and Dad walk in on a thief stealing the Louvre's most prized piece--a priceless cursed diamond with a shady history. When Julieta runs for help, she accidentally frees the thief instead! Now Dad's job is in danger and he's become a suspect. Can Julieta determine who the thief really is before it's too late?" We're still waiting to receive advanced copies of this one, and we're getting antsy! Just look at that fantastic cover art. (The yellow cover on the preorder page is the preliminary version!) We might be a *little* biased, but Julieta's going to be making a splash this spring. Ages 6-12 Coming May 2020 | | |
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ECHO MOUNTAIN By Lauren Wolk From A Fuse 8 Production: "'I had work to do. Honey to harvest. A hag to save. A father to save. And more besides." Maine. 1934. Ellie was just a young child when the stock market crashed. Next thing she knew, her family was pulling up roots and headed to Echo Mountain. With hardly anything more than the shirts on their backs, the family of five settles into the wilderness where Ellie finds a true home. Of course, that was before the accident that put her father in a coma, unable to provide for his family, and the blame for it at her feet. Since that time Ellie has been content to sit back and let her mother and older sister tend to him. That is, until takes it into her head that enough is enough. There's a father to wake, there are mysterious tiny wooden carvings cropping up everywhere Ellie looks, there's a hag on the mountain that needs help, and it’s all so much more than just one girl can handle. Still, handle it, she will, because nobody knows the mountain, its secrets and its cures, better than Ellie." One part Cold Mountain, another part Harper Lee, and a few maggots thrown in for good measure, Echo Mountain is one of the most compelling books I've picked up in some time. Her work is consistently haunting, sharp, and poetic; this one's no exception. Ages 9-12 Coming April 21, 2020 | | |
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Five faces, five authors, five women changing the field of Young Adult literature. Angie Thomas, Elizabeth Acevedo, Tomi Adeyemi, Nic Stone, and Akwaeke Emezi spoke to ELLE Magazine about their experiences in writing and publishing books for young people. They collectively, though uniquely, create books that center a Black voice in a field that has been (and continues to be) dominated by white stories. Read about these authors and their books: |
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My People By Langston Hughes The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.
The stars are beautiful,
So the eyes of my people.
Beautiful, also, is the sun.
Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people. |
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I've been looking for songs to add to the classroom rotation, and I always love including traditional American songs. I searched this time for African American spirituals that could be adapted, and I was not disappointed. This one has few (if any) high quality recordings, but I just adore it. Enjoy. |
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This is a FULL month, but I'm reading more than I have in months. There's a new fire in me to read widely now that I'm working at the bookstore, and thankfully it means I have easy companions on my many plane rides. February usually seems like a long grey stretch before the spring. This time, though, there's a lot to celebrate. Other than Fat Tuesday, the holiday I prematurely celebrated by bringing a king cake as my carry on (Thank you, Elizabeth and Todd!), Gaby and I will be celebrating a CB workshop at the AMI Refresher course this time next week. We can hardly believe it, and we can't wait to report back from Seattle! Until next time: read good books and find the baby in that king cake. Happy reading, Grace |
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