Poetry Friday: Naming the Stars

Read this week's poems here.

It's rather interesting to think about the way we commemorate tragedies in our news driven society. And since we just passed the anniversary of Katrina, this poem made me pause.

On the subject of Tango...

It tops the list.

From Harriet to Tango

I just re-read this article from the Horn Book's K. T. Horning about the gay subtext of Harriet the Spy. I'd read it a while ago but this time it got me thinking about other books, particularly And Tango Makes Three. I am so glad that books like Tango exist today. I think that it's important to have both types of books, those that like Harriet have a gay subtext and those like Tango, where gay characters are simply part of the text. But the one thing I am reminded of, after reading Horning's article, is how life changing it can be for children to see themselves in a book.

Montreal Pics

My favorite is Jason and Josh "falling" off the mountain. And that fish. Who knew fish were so hard to photograph?

Montréal était très amusement

Back from Montreal. Aside from the hellish 12 hours it took for us to get back to Philly, plus the two it took us to get home the next morning, the trip was much fun. The hotel was very nice and in a great location. And true to my word, I did my best to eat my way through the city. We had pho and bagels and poutine (fries smothered in gravy and cheese) and croissants galore. And of course, getting to hang out with our dear friends was the best part. However, if you are ever going to Montreal I recommend the botanical gardens. They were beautiful. Pictures to follow, I promise. I just have to get them uploaded.

In other news, I have accepted a new job as a children's librarian at a new library. I am both terribly stressed out and excited by this turn of events. I'm sad because I will miss my co-workers but this is what I've been working towards. If only I didn't work with such a fun group!

Oh Canada!

We head off to Montreal tonight. Yay for all the yummy food I can't wait to eat. Yay for no work for five whole days. Yay for vacations!

YA Book Recommendation of the Moment

I just finished Un Lun Dun by China Mieville and since I've had a few people ask me for book recommendations recently, I thought I'd put this one out there. It's a pretty familiar plot; young girl finds herself in a fantastic "other world" and must rely on wits and friends to save the day. But the book has a cleverness that is reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland and The Phantom Tollbooth and a heroine that's a sort of cross between Lyra from the Golden Compass and Harry Potter's Hermione Granger. It's really a creative, fun fantasy.

Next book on my list is Eclipse, the next of Stephanie Meyer's vampire series. I know, I know, a vampire series. Maybe it's a hold over from my Christopher Pike reading middle school days but I am really into her books and they really are incredibly well written. I'm first on the hold list for this new one.

Poetry Friday: The Poets' Grimm

This week's poem is from an anthology called The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from the Grimm Fairy Tales. Looks like a good read for anyone who's into fractured fairy tales. It almost makes me want to be a teacher again so I could use it in the classroom. Almost.

Snow White Turns 39 by Anne Sheldon

I'm planning how to break a talking mirror:

hammer and earplugs. Seven years of bad luck?

Better than that Bette Davis cackle

every morning when I hit the sink

Read the whole poem here.

"The Compound"

So, I'm home now and I survived Josh's family reunion. I think that I'm okay up there as long as we make a whole lot of side trips and I don't have to spend a significant amount of time with crazy relatives. We took a trip to Woodstock, which is very cute and full of leftover hippies and we hiked around a bit. Unfortunately, the crazy relative part was hard to avoid this time as it was a family reunion. But I got to hang out with my awesome niece and paint pictures and avoid the crazies, so that helped.