Chapter III: Children's Stories - Or why to keep them to read again and again

“Many, if not most, of the best and most lasting children’s books have multiple levels, some of which are not fully accessible to their most likely readers…at least, not on their first read-through at age eight or ten or fifteen.” - Patricia C. Wrede

      I touched - manhandled, really - this subject when I discussed The Giver and its following books. They are books for children and for young adults - you can see a layer or two, sometimes more if you read looking hard enough. But you do not have the life lessons necessary to fully appreciate everything when you are eight or ten or fifteen.

       When I read ElfQuest for the first time - a graphic novel dear to my heart and certainly the subject for its own blog post soon enough - I was five. I had learned to read laughably early and comic books, while not my usual fare, kept me satisfied between library trips. ElfQuest was a simple adventure to me at that time. When I read it again at age ten, I realized bits of the social layer, the complciated dealings between elves and humans and trolls, and that I could apply it to the world I knew. I then read it again every year, yearning to learn something new. It wasn't until I was eighteen that I noticed how many tens of ways love was expressed, just in the first four books. I didn't understand until I was nineteen why the elves spent their time before war the way they did, why it mattered so much to experience life in a frenzy before dealing and facing death. Whether it's a whole new lesson or noticing one new nuance to a panel, ElfQuest treats me to a novelty every time.

       The same happens with all the children's books I read. I have shelves in my room dedicated to the books I read when I was younger, from picture books (I still learn from those) to "Independent Readers" to YA, and even the fantasy fiction I read far too early. I make a habit of rereading those when I can. The Giver gets a new reading every year, ElfQuest every two; Ender's Game makes the rounds every two years as well, while books like The Westing Game and Dealing with Dragons (by the author of that lovely quote) and its subsequent books get back into my hands every three or four years. And those are just the titles that are frequent. I've done this so many times - it's really no wonder my "to-read" shelves take so long to get any smaller.

       If you've never given yourself the pleasure of revisiting an old favorite, do so. You'll notice little things you never knew you'd missed, and maybe find a lesson or two that were hiding between the lines, waiting for you to experience just the right things in life. A book is never, ever the same twice.

Chapter II: The Giver - Or I'm so lame I steal from myself

          I'm stealing from myself. Is that hip or lame? Anyway, we're on such a YA kick that I wanted to share my thoughts about a set that did make the top 100 - The Giver and its companion books. I originally posted this on the YA blog for my library (links to the side!).

          Many young adults have been assigned the iconic novel The Giver by Lois Lowry in some grade or another. I remember my first assignment to read it back in the third grade for a gifted class. I was required to read it again in the fifth grade, and once more in the sixth, and then in my college days, I was asked in my third year while taking a creative writing class for children and young adults. But school wasn't the only time I would read this remarkable classic - after my first introduction to the novel, I read it at least once a year. Every year I would discover something a little different, and as I grew up, the book grew up with me.
          If you haven't read the book since you had to for class, give it another go. The themes are poignant and timeless and some things will have evolved in your mind - exactly what the Stirrings mean, how many different variations of love you can find in your life, the fierce impulses to protect a young life. This is a novel that can grow with its reader, and no one is too old to rediscover something beautiful about it.
            And the story doesn't end with The Giver. Many don't realize it is part of a series - once a trilogy, now an impending quartet. The second book, Gathering Blue, is a tale in a dystopian society that doesn't have the outward glamor of a utopia like the communities of The Giver. It is a society that in the face of the nameless horrors that plagued the world before chose to regress into a setting that feels like it is set in a quasi-Renaissance village. Most villagers don't know about running water or electricity. Young protagonist Kira is taken from this rough life in the village to a life of comfort within the village center. There she learns of the horrors of society before her simplistic village - bombs, fires, destruction. Like Jonas, her eyes are opened to both the wonders and the terrors of the world before - our world. While Jonas never makes an actual appearance in the novel, he is mentioned by a description that is unmistakable to any who have read The Giver.
          Following Gathering Blue is the novel Messenger. This novel ties the previous two together, whereas Gathering Blue had been a companion to the first. The main protagonist is Matty, a boy introduced in the prior novel. Kira and Jonas play supportive roles in this novel. Much more straightforward about its themes (namely materialism and how it corrupts), it reads for a much younger crowd than the other two novels. That said, Lowry's prose retains all of its magical qualities, transporting the reader to this strange village that bridges the gap between The Giver and Gathering Blue. The protagonist is not initially the same sort of quiet thinker as Jonas and Kira, but Matty finds himself more and more reflective as the novel progresses, and we learn as much from him as from his predecessors.
           I mentioned that the series is now becoming a quartet. Lois Lowry has written a fourth book to the series, Son, which will be released October 2. A more direct sequel to The Giver, set in the same place, it ties together the previous three novels. The released summary holds grand promises, and as I must wait until October 2 along with so many others, all I can do is quote it (found on both Amazon and B&N's webpages) with great excitement.

Told in three separate story lines, Lois Lowry’s Son combines elements from the first three novels in her Giver Quartet—The Giver (1994 Newbery Medal winner), Gathering Blue, and Messenger—into a breathtaking, thought-provoking narrative that wrestles with ideas of human freedom. Thrust again into the dark, claustrophobic world of The Giver, readers will meet an intriguing new heroine, fourteen-year-old Claire. Jonas from The Giver is here too, and Kira, the heroine of Gathering Blue. In a final clash between good and evil, a new hero emerges.

          I hope that if you have not had the chance to read the series that follows The Giver, you will give the rest of Lowry's world a chance. It may be dark, but the hopeful lights of the characters will give you cause to reflect on values you may have otherwise taken for granted, such as choice, acceptance, and compassion.

Chapter I: NPR's Top 100 YA Novels - Or lists aren't lame! Sometimes.

So today I learned the term is "Library Assistant" but that doesn't have the same ring for the blog title. Drats. When I learn how to edit the blog title I shall try to remedy this error.

I am not going to review the quote reference from my last post as my first book review, it seems. That reference is to the series ElfQuest and I just don't believe I have the time to dedicate to something that was so influential to me growing up. So instead I'm going to link a list I found: NPR's Top 100 YA novels.

NPR's Top 100 YA Novels

Give it a gander and then bear with me as I touch on just a few of them. (You will soon learn I make huge blog posts. Blogger needs the LiveJournal option of hiding things beneath cut links.)

I'm hardly surprised that two breakout hits from the last decade and change have dominated the list. Harry Potter impacted me heavily, and I still reread the books (and write fanfiction and cosplay the characters and wow that series is apparently huge in my life), and while I'm not the biggest fan, The Hunger Games did a great job hooking more new readers. If you liked the series - and don't mind something just a little darker - a similar novel, Battle Royale, was the reason I read this series in the first place.

I'm pleased that so many classics managed to retain footholds in this list - especially The Giver Series (11th). Giver is easily the most influential book in my life, and since I had to read it in the third grade, I've read this novel once a year, and its sequels, Gathering Blue and Messenger every few years. I eagerly await the fourth book in the series, Son, and strongly encourage anyone who has read Giver to give the other books in the series a read. They aren't as strong an impact, but still exceptional. A little further down, at 17th, I had a laugh at The Princess Bride. The movie was one of my first favorites, and the book is witty and has the same irreverent style as the film.

Then I skim a lot of the list, because I haven't quite gotten a taste for authors Stephanie Meyer or Cassandra Clare or similar novelists, and some of them dominate the teens to thirties in the list. I fully appreciate their impact, and know enough about their books to recommend them, but I have much more on my plate.

I am more than a little surprised at the few literary fiction novels (that is, bookstore speak for grownup fiction) that made their way onto the list, most notably My Sister's Keeper (43rd). It has been on my to-read list for a while, and the fact that it has so many YA fans has only solidified this want. The same holds true for number 50, The Song of the Lioness Series.

And I've been at this for a while so I want to leave off with just three selections from the final fifty on the list. Many people who knew The Last Unicorn animated movie growing up don't realize that it was based on a beautiful novel by Peter S. Beagle (73rd). I've had the pleasure of meeting this wonderful man, and he's as great a person as he is an author. The book explores so much more than the movie, and it's a great insight on humanity. The graphic novel is equally beautiful. At 84 I found a surprise - that other people knew of The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I grew up on this series, centering on a princess who doesn't want to be a normal princess, but does something most tomboys in fiction don't - she is strong and independent without being a male character in a female body. Leviathan squeaked in at 92. The novel is one of the first YA novels to introduce steampunk to the YA room, a tread I'd love to see continue.

I wish I had a fun picture to tie into this large wall of text. But I don't tonight. What books from the Top 100 are you happy or unhappy to see up there? What should have made the cut? I'd love to have more to add to my list of books to read (and by that I mean to add to the many bookshelves of books to read I own).

Preface: The Rambling Beginning - Or proof that I'm not much good at starting things

Nearly three weeks have passed with me in my new position. I'm still not quite sure what that position is. My brand new, just-got-yesterday name tag simply labels me as belonging to the Adult Services Department. I know I shouldn't use the term "librarian" because I studied English, not Library Sciences. That's about as far as I got. I wormed my way in because they needed a presence for the teen section, and the teens wanted someone young. I cemented my place with the other woman in charge of YA because the section was weak on fantasy and comics, and those are my two passions.

But otherwise, I'm still a little lost. Which is okay - finding your way is sometimes the best way to learn where you should go.

I wanted to make this post as a sort of FAQ answer - "What is this blog about?" Because blogs have become so popular, so numerous, you really need a good edge in to make it count. I doubt mine is a novel one, but I'm a young woman who loves books who learned two months ago that working at a library was a legitimate thing to do, and I'd love to share my experiences. At the same time, I want to make a place where I can expand upon this job, learn new things and share what I learn, be that new books (expect a lot of book reviews - I've always wanted to try writing those), interesting program ideas that I won't have a chance to get to for a year, and ways to connect with the teen generation that wants to experience the world through a digital mirror.

Let's see how it goes.

Shade and sweet water to you all! (Perhaps that quote reference will provide my first blogged review!) -- Samma Lynne