Today's song is Ingrid Michaelson's The Hat. (Napster, apparently, is no longer offering the option to blog music. :( )
The store for November is up. Check out some of my favorite things and help support my habit!
In interesting news, I tried something new for my 6-9 year old story time last week. I "read" them the wordless graphic novel, Robot Dreams, by Sara Varon. They sat still for the entire half hour while we went through each panel and told the story to each other. It was great. I've never seen them pay so much attention and they *loved* the story.
But, onto the books:
This is not an old, unblogged book, but rather one I just finished. (I'm trying to keep on top of things, you know!)
When Storm's mother, Zella, dies, she leaves Storm an ordinary tin pipe, but tells her Look after it, Storm. Don't be careless with it. It's not a trinket. Whatever you do, don't let it fall into the wrong hands. If you do, you will regret it, for such an event would put you and your sisters into terrible danger. I have chosen you, Storm, because I know that you will not betray my trust.
But, of course, it does fall into the wrong hands and Storm and her sisters must go into the woods and to the mountains in order to save it. Using the tales of the Pied Piper of Hamlin, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, and Sleeping Beauty, Gardner has spun a completely original tale about what happens with the piper tries to come back, and the people who remember what happened the first time around.
A great adventure with girls kicking some serious butt and the middle child as the leader. Mini Grey's large black-and-white pictures not only adorn the chapter pages, but also help break up the text and add to the spookiness of the tale.
This is one that I read last November. What I remember most about it is the hope in times of despair and the friendship. I remember it being fantastic, though I only remembered the basics of the plot. (Funny how that works.) I had to look up some of the plot details.
It's 1348 and Henri is a choir boy in St. Luc's Abbey. Brother Bartholomew is always bringing weird things back from his travels and one day he brings back ragamuffin Micah. He has an angelic voice, but is mischievous. When the Plague comes to Paris, the boys form a comedy troupe to entertain the grieving masses, to offer an alternative to the endless funeral dirges. Surrounded by death, especially when the plague comes to the Abbey itself, Henri's tale stays strong. He doesn't waver into melodrama. I liked it.
by Catherine Atkins is restricted in Irving, TX middle schools--students must have written permission to check it out. 
by Deborah Ellis has been removed from the curriculum in an advanced reading program in York, Ontario, Canada.
by Vladimir Nabokov is challenged in Marion County, FL 
by Charleen Touchette has been unsuccessfully challenged in the Woonsocket, RI public library. 
by Paul M. Handley isn't even out yet, but the country of Thailand has pre-emptively banned all imports AND is blocking access to the Yale University Press website.
by Alice Sebold has been unsuccessfully challenged in Malibu, CA. I might have mentioned that before, but I can't remember...