Genius, according to R. L. Stevenson

"I am not a man of any unusual talents; I started out with very moderate abilities; my success has been due to my really remarkable industry--to developing what I had in me to the extreme limit. When a man begins to sharpen one faculty, and keeps on sharpening it with tireless perseverance, he can achieve wonders. Everybody knows it; it's a commonplace, and yet how rare it is to find anybody doing it--I mean to the uttermost as I did. What genius I had was for work!"
Quoted in The Green and Burning Tree, by Eleanor Cameron.

The Van Gogh Cafe: This Week with Cynthia Rylant

"The Van Gogh Cafe brings out the best in people.." But I'm not sure it brought out the best in Cynthia Rylant. Publishers Weekly said, "Readers will share the wonder of ten-year-old Clara and her father Marc, the cafe's owner, as they witness a series of serendipitous occurrences involving stranded seagulls, aged film stars, magic muffins, lost pets, and mysterious travelers." I think it was the gluttonous seagulls and aged film star that lost me toward the end.
School Library Journal enthused- "A lovely title that's perfectly suited to all readers who can recognize the special magic of the world around them." Of course it is lovely; Rylant will not, perhaps cannot, produce anything else. It's the special magic that I'm unsure of. What do you think of this kind of "magic"? Is it similar or different from the kind of magic in, say, Narnia?
Reading level = 4.5; not recommended.

Missing May: This Week with Cynthia Rylant

Deservedly the winner of the 1993 Newbery Award (and many others), this is the story of a death in an unusual family, a family that God brought together out of the mutual need of its members. The book is PG on our shelves, due to mild profanity and a (futile) attempt to contact the dead. I use it, with some editing, as a middle school read-aloud. Another sensitively written story from a great writer. Reading level = 6.7; Quality = 5; Acceptability = 3.

The Relatives Came: This Week with Cynthia Rylant

So who could craft an award-winning picture book out of a visit by a station wagon full of relatives from Virginia? Cynthia Rylant and illustrator Stephen Gammell could. And did. This affectionate, exuberant memoir gets a 4 for quality and a 5 for acceptability.

The Blue Hill Meadows: This Week with Cynthia Rylant

Cynthia Rylant is one elegant writer--she handles words with clarity, ease, and great sensitivity; and she does it across a surprising range of reading levels. This book includes four stories of the Meadow family, drawn from the author's childhood in the Appalachian Mountains. Ellen Beier's interspersed watercolors set just the right tone. A good read-aloud for younger children.
Reading level = 4.5; Quality = 5; Acceptability = 5.

Thunder Cake

So what do you do with a Ph.D. in art history? Write and illustrate children's picture books, of course! At least, that's what Patricia Polacco has done. Thankfully. For us. Frequently drawing on her Russian heritage and Michigan childhood, Polacco's "stories are perfectly complemented by her distinctive style of art." (Silvey, 361) Thunder Cake is classic Polacco, with Talking Points on "courage", and should, I think, have won the Caldecott Medal in 1991. Quality = 5; Acceptability = 5.

What will be next in the Government usurpation of parents' rights?

With the recent California court decision that apparently outlaws homeschooling unless the parent is a certified teacher, will the Government decide it is illegal to read to your kids unless you are a State-approved librarian?
Until that happens, check in to this site frequently, or better yet, subscribe to our free feeds, and we will do everything we can to help you find and select quality children's/young adult reading. (The advantage of subscribing being that, without having to remember to look at our blog, you will get four or five reminders each week to do the very thing you want to do more--read to and with your children!)

What should we do about Gary Paulsen?

Use great caution. Here's why: "At various times a teacher, field engineer, soldier, actor, director, farmer, rancher, truck driver, trapper, professional archer, migrant farm worker, singer and sailor.." Gary Paulsen is a multiple award-winning writer of youth (and adult) books. He is wildly popular, obviously talented and extremely prolific. He cannot be ignored; and yet, neither of the two most useful Christian book resources (Honey for a Child's Heart and Books Children Love) mention his work at all. Many of the themes and some of the language in Paulsen's books are just not appropriate for the twelve and under crowd. So, Gary Paulsen earns our first YELLOW FLAG AUTHOR designation, given to those writers whose work is outstanding in some respects, but parents should use great caution in guiding their children's selections. (His Newbery winner-Hatchet- is very popular among boys.)
Most recently, I read The Night the White Deer Died. The story line is so improbable at so many points, that Publishers Weekly resorted to calling it "an allegory, rooted in the chasm between actualities and pretensions." I suppose. The book typically includes themes of divorce, alcoholism, and an oblique reference to teen sex. There are a few expletives. And a standard helping of Paulsen's philosophizing-"before she learned that all things beautiful are sometimes ugly and that many ugly things are just waiting for beauty to come to them." This one is PG.

Three ways of writing for children

"There are three ways of writing for children....the third way, which is the only one I could ever use myself, consists in writing a children's story because a children's story is the best art-form for something you have to say." C. S. Lewis, "On Three Ways of Writing for Children"
Aren't we grateful he did!

How to use this website

1. Use the search function (upper left of screen) to find a book, an author, or even key words.
2. Use the labels feature to find Talking Points-books that are useful in talking to your kids about a lot of really important things.
3. Please leave your comments: agree, graciously disagree, or steer us all to other books, websites and resources of value.
4. In addition to posting brief comments and evaluations of books, I will be sharing thought-provoking quotes, author profiles, and other comments relating to children's books.

Christian writers--listen up!

"It is not necessary to make a great show of seriousness to be serious, and the stories most likely to help children to a better understanding of life and the strangely-constructed human beings with whom they will have to share it, are often those least obviously designed to do so." Frank Eyre, British Children's Books in the Twentieth Century, p.80.
I add: Trust the Spirit; trust your art; don't preach. Tell a good story, and children will get the message, children who will never hear or listen to a sermon.

Hildilid's Night

Hildilid hated the night. Arnold Lobel, Caldecott Medal winning illustrator of nearly 100 books, deftly chronicles her varied attempts to rid herself of the night. This 1971 fable by Cheli Duran Ryan is another keeper. Quality = 5; Acceptability = 5. Read it aloud and talk about foolishness.

When I was Young in the Mountains

Richly deserving of a 1982 Caldecott Honor, Cynthia Rylant's childhood memories are beautifully illustrated by Diane Goode. In a future post, I will talk more about children's literature awards; for now, it is enough to say that, especially with the Caldecott Award for illustration, not all past award winners deserve our time and money. This one does. This would be a great read-aloud for grandparents who would, I'm sure, personalize the story. Quality = 5; Acceptability = 5.

Stories play a vital part.

"...something that everyone seriously interested in children's books has known for the past century--that the stories children read play a vital part in their total education. A part that may be at least as important as their formal studies." Frank Eyre, British Children's Books in the Twentieth Century, p. 79.

The King's Equal

Katherine Paterson's spoiled rich Prince is no match for Rosamund, the plucky, pretty, poor farmer's daughter in this short fairy tale. Curtis Woodbridge's illustrations add to the story. Reading level 4.2. Quality = 4; Acceptability = 5.