April A to Z Challenge Letter "C" = Children's Books #AtoZChallenge @AprilA2Z

Welcome back for the third day of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. 

Today's letter is "C" and my topic is = CHILDREN'S BOOKS. I'm going to tell you a few favorite books my daughter and I use to have when she was young and we have an opinion from my great friend, Pam, An Unconventional Librarian.

1. Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes

Chrysanthemum thinks her name is absolutely perfect, until her first day of school. When her new friends make flower jokes at her expense, Chrysanthemum wilts. What will it take to make her blossom again?

2. In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak

Mickey goes on a romp in the wonderful night kitchen, where bakers make bread while the rest of the world sleeps. He imaginatively devises a way to get the milk the bakers need.

3. Seven Little Monsters, by Maurice Sendak

Seven Monsters in a row, see the Seven Monsters go! Seven Monsters in a row, making trouble. There they go!

4. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, Illustrated by Lois Ehlert

A told B, and B told C, I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree. In this lively alphabet rhyme, all the letters of the alphabet race each other up the coconut tree. Will there be enough room? Oh, no - Chicka Chicka Boom! Boom! The well-known authors of Barn Dance and Knots on a Counting Rope have created a rhythmic alphabet chant that rolls along on waves of fun. Lois Ehlert's rainbow of bright, bold, cheerful colors makes the merry parade of letters unforgettable.

5. Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown, Illustrated by Clement Hurd

A little rabbit bids goodnight to each familiar thing in his room, in this classic story told with gently lulling words and soothing illustrations. 

6. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, by Bill Martin Jr., Illustrated by Eric Carle

A big happy frog, a plump purple cat, a handsome blue horse, and a soft yellow duck-- all parade across the pages of this delightful book. Children will immediately respond to Eric Carle's flat, boldly colored collages. Combined with Bill Martin's singsong text, they create unforgettable images of these endearing animals.

Let's see what Pam The Unconventional Librarian has to say about the topic...

As an Unconventional Librarian, aka PammyPam, I love to share books with others. 

Here are two of my favorites: books and food. The title of this little favorite is Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.

I imagine that I live in the town of Chewandswallow where all the food comes raining down on my head. Good thing I packed my umbrella, I don't want to get hit with a meatball! Please excuse the coffee cup stain and the spaghetti sauce drippings; it was a busy day in Chewandswallow. 

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I would love to know what some of your favorite Children's Books are or were. 

Thanks for taking the time for stopping by today. I hope you are having a fantastic week and you're having as much fun with the A to Z Challenge as I am. 

Happy Reading and Arrivederci.

April A to Z Challenge Letter "B" = Banned Books #AtoZChallenge @AprilA2Z

Welcome back for the second day of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.

Today's letter is "B" and my topic is = BANNED BOOKS.

“Books won't stay banned. They won't burn. Ideas won't go to jail. In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas.” —Alfred Whitney Griswold, Essays on Education

Here are the top seven from the current list from The Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom via American Library Association.

This list represents books challenged, removed, restricted or banned from May 2010 - May 2011.

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

Banned in the Stockton, MO School District (2010) because of violence, language and some sexual content. Retained in the Helena, Mont. School District (2011) despite a parent's objection that the book contained "obscene, vulgar and pornographic language." This New York Times Bestseller won the National award in 2007 in the "Young People's Literature" category, and is on many recommended book lists.

2. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Challenged in the Republic, MO. schools (2010) because it is "soft-pornography" and glorifies drinking, cursing and pre-marital sex.

3. The Flamingo Rising, by Larry Baker

Challenged on the Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, III summer reading list (2010) because a parent complained that "a sexual encounter depicted in the novel was definitely something you could consider X-rated."

4. The Notebook Girls: Four Friends, One Diary, Real Life, by Julia Baskin, Lindsey Newman, Sophie Pollitt-Cohen and Courtney Toombs

Reclassified from the Young Adult section to the adult non-fiction section at the Waukee, Iowa Public Library (2011) because of a complaint citing "foul language" and "cussing." The book includes frank discussions about  adolescent sex, drinking and drug use. Body use, sexual orientation and the 9/11 terrorist attacks are also addressed.

5. Forever in Blue : The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood, by Ann Brashares

Challenged at the Theisen Middle School in Fond du Lac, Wis. (2010) by a parent who believes that the book has inappropriate subject matter for children. "Some (of the characters in the book) are sexually active, and alcohol is part of their recreation."

6. Running With Scissors, by Augusten Burroughs

Challenged as a suggested reading in a class where juniors and seniors earn a college credit in Hillsborough, County, FL (2010). Four high schools - Plant, Middleton, Hillsborough and Bloomingdale - voted to keep the book and place a "Mature Reader" label on the front cover. Three high schools - Sickles, Robinson and Lennard - will require parental consent. Gaither High School and Riverview High School voted to ban the book. Riverview's report stated:

"This book has extremely inappropriate content for a high school media center collection. The book contained explicit homosexual and heterosexual situations. profanity, underage drinking, smoking, extreme moral shortcomings, child molesters, graphic pedophile situations and a total lack of negative consequences throughout the book." 

7. My Mom's Having a Baby, by Dori Hillstead Butler

Challenged in the Carrollton, TX Library (2011) because it is inappropriate for children. The book won an Editor's Choice award from Booklist in 2005 and was named a Top Ten Sci-Tech for Youth by Booklist. 

Retained at the Hillsborough County, FL Public Library System (2011).

Published in 2005, the book tells of a little girl named Elizabeth who is curious about childbirth and how her mother became pregnant. Throughout the book's thirty pages, little Elizabeth learns about these topics in great detail.

A couple of my personal favorite Banned Books that are not listed above are:

Go Ask Alice and To Kill A Mockingbird. 

What are some of your favorites? 

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by.

Have a fantastic week!

Happy Reading and Arrivederci. 

April A to Z Challenge Letter "A" = Artist #AtoZChallenge @AprilA2Z

Welcome to the April A to Z Challenge Day One! Today's letter is A. My word is = ARTIST.

I am going to share some of my favorite paintings from one of my favorite artists:  the one and only Vincent van Gogh. 

I am also going to share some of van Gogh's paintings that my daughter re-created about five years ago. Enjoy!

Vincent Willem van Gogh

March 30, 1853 - July 29, 1890

Vase w/ 3 Sunflowers '08 by L. D.

Van Gogh began to draw as a child, and he continued to draw throughout the years that led up to his decision to become an artist. 

He did not begin painting until his late twenties, completing many of his best-known works during the last two years of his life.

Vase with 3 Sunflowers by van Gogh

  In 1873, his firm transferred him to London, then to Paris. He became increasingly interested in religion; in 1876 Goupil dismissed him for lack of motivation. He became a teaching assistant in Ramsgate near London, then returned to Amsterdam to study theology in 1877.

After dropping out in 1878, he became a layman preacher in Belgium in a poor mining region known as the Borinage. He even preached down in the mines and was extremely concerned with the lot of the workers. He was dismissed after 6 months and continued without pay. During this period he started to produce charcoal sketches.

In the winter of 1885-1886 Van Gogh attended the art academy of Antwerp, Belgium.

Starry Night by van Gogh

Starry Night 2007 by L. Del Rosso

In 1888, when city life and living with his brothers proved too much, Van Gogh left Paris and went to Arles, Bouches-du-Rh, France. 

He was impressed with the local landscape and hoped to found an art colony. He decorated a "yellow house" and created a celebrated series of yellow sunflower paintings for this purpose. 

Only Paul Gauguin, whose simplified colour schemes and forms (known as synthetism) attracted van Gogh, followed his invitation. The admiration was mutual, and Gauguin painted van Gogh painting sunflowers. 

However their encounter ended in a quarrel. Van Gogh suffered a mental breakdown and cut off part of his left ear, which he gave to a startled prostitute friend. Gauguin left in December 1888.

Starry Night In Rhone

In May 1890 Vincent van Gogh left the clinic and went to the physician Paul Gachet, in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris, where he was closer to his brother Theo, who had recently married. Gachet had been recommended to him by Pissarro; he had treated several artists before. 

Here van Gogh created his only etching: a portrait of the melancholic doctor Gachet. His depression aggravated. On July 27 of the same year, at the age of 37, after a fit of painting activity, van Gogh shot himself in the chest. He died two days later, with Theo at his side, who reported his last words as "La tristesse durera toujours" (French: "The sadness will last forever").

The extent to which his mental health affected his painting has been a subject of speculation since his death. Despite a widespread tendency to romanticize his ill health, modern critics see an artist deeply frustrated by the inactivity and incoherence brought about by his bouts of illness. 

According to art critic Robert Hughes, van Gogh's late works show an artist at the height of his ability, completely in control and "longing for concision and grace".

The Red Vineyard

The only painting he sold during his lifetime, The Red Vineyard, was created in 1888. It is now on display in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Russia.

Vincent van Gogh's mother threw away quite a number of his paintings during Vincent's life and even after his death. But she would live long enough to see her son become a world famous painter. 

Tomorrow's letter is "B" 
I hope you stop by and see what I have in store for you.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

Happy Reading & Arrivederci!

Author Interview with Jill Hathaway and Signed Bookmarks Giveaway

BIO: Jill Hathaway lives in the Des Moines area with her husband and young daughter. Having earned her BA in English Education from the University of Northern Iowa and her MA in Literature from Iowa State University, she teaches high school English and dual credit courses for Des Moines Area Community College.

Contact Jill: Blog * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

 

Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered. 

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body. 

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane. 

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

***

Hey guys. Today is author, Jill Hathaway's release day for her debut novel SLIDE. Yay! 

I have a little Q&A with Jill and then a giveaway for some super shiny *signed bookmarks! 

Let's get to know a little more about Jill..

1.      Can you tell us what inspired you to become a writer?

J.H.  I don't know that anything really INSPIRED me to do it. I just like writing and making up stories. Things just pop into my head, and one day I started writing them down!

 2.      How long did it take you to write SLIDE? During that time did you come across any blocks/times that you couldn’t write?

 J.H.  It only took me 4-6 weeks to write the rough draft, but dude, it was ROUGH. I had to completely rewrite it the summer after I signed with Sarah Davies. Then I rewrote it several more times for my editor, Donna Bray. I didn't really experience writer's block during that time.

3.      What inspired you to write SLIDE?

J.H.  I wanted a really great hook, and I thought it would be neat if the main character found herself standing over a dead body with no idea of what happened. The sliding evolved from that seed idea.

 4.      What is it that you’re exploring in this book?

J.H.  In Publishers Weekly's review of SLIDE, they mention the theme of empathy. Because Vee is able to literally walk in other people's shoes, she gets to know their lives in a really intimate way. This greatly affects her world view.

 5.      Who is your favorite character in this book, and why?

J.H.  Probably Rollins, but I won't say why. You'll have to read and find out! :)

6.      Do you have a favorite story to tell about being interviewed about your book?

J.H.  Nope, sorry!

 7.      What question are you never asked in interviews but wish you were?

J.H.  I wish people asked me what my favorite cartoon as a child was. (Jem)

 8.      Which authors have been most influential to your own writing?

J.H.  Someone once compared my writing to R.L. Stine or Christopher Pike, and I thought that was cool. 

 9.      If you weren't writing, what would you want to be doing for a living? What are some of your other passions in life?

J.H. I'm a high school teacher during the school year. It pretty much rocks. I also like to paint pictures of shrubberies and rock out to A Perfect Circle.

 10.   If you could have written one book in history, what book would that be?

J.H. The Shining

 11.   Tell us about the biggest challenges you face in your writing process.

J.H. Right now, it's writing another book that will live up to the concept of SLIDE. It's killing me a little.

12.   Please list seven random likes; then do the same for dislikes, go way random.

J.H.  Likes:   wiggly french fries, Jared Leto, the smell of early spring, going to the movies by myself, rainbow sprinkles, school supplies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

J.H. Dislikes:  candy corn, working out, the smell of old dictionaries, boy bands, death, public speaking, the word probletunity

13.   Is there anything that you’re working on that we need to be looking out for?

J.H. SLIDE's sequel, IMPOSTOR!!!

Thank you so much, Jill. Congratulations on your big day!

Thanks for having me!! <3 <3 <3

***

HAPPY SLIDE DAY!

Wanna read the first few chapters? Go for it. Right --> HERE!    

Now for the goods. I have a few of signed bookmarks to giveaway. 

Standard procedure guys. Everyone is welcome to participate.

 Deets:

1. One entry per person.

2. You must be 13 or older.

3. Giveaway is International.

4. Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. on April 7th.

Enter Giveaway --> HERE! 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

Happy Reading & Arrivederci

Exclusive Cover Reveal - PASSENGER (The Marbury Lens, #2) by Andrew Smith

Jack and Conner have a plan. 

They think it's the only reasonable way to deal with the Marbury lens. 

But the four boys - Jack, Conner, Ben, and Griffin - end up scattered in different places at different times. Jack is lost in a Marbury that isn't Marbury, a Glenbrook that isn't Glenbrook, pursued through every crumbling not-world by an uncaring cop trying to solve the mystery of Freddie Horvath's murder, and a deceitful kid named Quinn Cahill who believes he is the King of Marbury. Jack's universe is collapsing in on itself. He finds his friends. He finds his home. 

There's always just one thing, and Jack knows it. 

This can't be it.

***

Thanks to Andrew Smith for allowing me to be one of the four blogs to reveal this spectacular cover. PASSENGER is the highly anticipated sequel to THE MARBURY LENS and will be released Fall 2012. 

Also, stay tuned for the event coming up to celebrate the release. For now we're calling it: Smith Saturdays. The event will kick off in June on my blog. The other blogs are:

Smash Attack , Not Now I'm Reading and Roof Beam Reader.