Sometimes I forget things . . .

I suddenly realized that I'd promised to share more of my ALA finds but never did. Maybe the New Orleans heat is still affecting my brain. At any rate, here are more titles to anticipate.


I Will Hold You 'Til You Sleep by Linda Zuckerman
At first glance, this may seem like just another "parents have unconditional love for their children" sort of book, and you may be tempted to skip it. But the text is sweet without being treacly, and has a more universal quality than is usually found in this type of book. And the gorgeous illustrations by Jon J. Muth (whose Zen Shorts was a 2006 Caldecott Honor book) are so layered and rich, it's almost like you fall into them. Michelle and I were lucky enough to see some of the original watercolors from the book, and then to meet Muth. He very graciously humored us when we told him how beautiful and mesmerizing we found the super-saturated patches of "spilly blue" that ran throughout. We love him!



Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos
I had already ordered plenty of copies of this debut teen novel by the time that ALA rolled around, but that didn't make me any less excited about it when I heard Vrettos read. After all, it's about divorce and anorexia and all those other things that teens like to read about. I'm not sure that I was prepared, though, for the immediacy and urgency of the writing. It has a certain truth to it, and I am hooked.




Here There Be Dragons by James A. Owen
I have not yet had a chance to read this book, but a friend borrowed a copy and enjoyed it quite a bit. It is the story of three young men who come into possession of an atlas of fantastical places that shouldn't exist, and then travel to these places as part of their epic quest. This is fantasy as written by a hard-core nerd--and I intend this statement to be a very high compliment. But perhaps even more compelling than the twisty plot are Owen's highly intricate illustrations, which fairly leap off the page.


The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: The Pox Party by M. T. Anderson
This is a fastidiously researched and gorgeously written story of slavery and rebellion during the Revolutionary War. Octavian, one of the most compelling characters that I've encountered lately, is a slave whose owners seem to treat him well, but who use him for their "scientific" experiments. I fear that this book--which is the first of two volumes--will have a hard time finding an audience, which would be a shame, as it truly is remarkable. Recommend it to teens who need to read historical fiction.