But Did You Read it First?- Help!

Today, I have occasion to see the the movie version of Jeff Kinney's best-selling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. I'm doing so because I'll be seeing it with some individuals whose company I value highly.

Unfortunately, in doing so, I am violating on of my cardinal rules involving literary adaptations: I have yet to read the source material. I know, I know, I've heard nothing but great things about the series, but there are only so many hours in a day, and my stack of to be read books hovers around three feet tall.

So, gentle reader(s), I put forth the following plea: who can review either the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book or movie (or both) for the site? If it falls to me, it will be weeks, if not months before a review is ready. In the meantime, audience interests might have moved on to the next big thing.

Odd and the Frost Giants- Neil Gaiman

Fresh of his Newbery Award winning performance in The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman returns with the delightful and slightly more suitable for my current reading audience Odd and the Frost Giants.

Playing to one of his many and considerable strengths, Gaiman sets this story within the world of Norse mythology. Odd is a young boy living in a Viking village in Norway. His father perished on a raiding expedition, and his mother (a captive from Scotland) has remarried Fat Elfred, the village oaf. To make matters worse, a tree fell on his leg when he was younger, crushing his bones, and leaving him with a debilitating limp. To Vikings, a boy who can not handle himself physically, does not have much worth at all.

One day, Odd decides to run away from home. (Given his home life, we can imagine how he might long for something different.) While walking in the woods, Odd encounters three very special animals: an eagle, a bear, and a fox. He comes to recognize that they are in fact Odin, Thor, and Loki, three of the mightiest gods from the Norse Pantheon.

They have been banished from Asgard, the city of the gods, by a particularly surly Frost Giant thanks to the arrogance of Loki. In being banished, they have lost their human forms and been trapped as considerably less powerful (although not powerless) animals. Their banishment has lead to an extra long and brutal winter in Midgard, the realm of humans.

It seems that only Odd can help the gods regain their rightful place, and end the horrible winter. Although physically impaired, Odd is cheerful, clever, and, perhaps most importantly of all, infuriating. Will he have what it takes to defeat the mightiest of all the Frost Giants? Will he succeed where the the steely will of Odin, the unfathomable might of Thor, and the devious machinations of Loki have all failed? What does he possibly have to offer that these gods do not?

Odd and the Frost Giants is a slim volume, coming in at just over 100 pages including wonderful illustrations by award-winning artist Brett Helquist, and it's over almost before it's begun. I guess Gaiman is abiding by the old show business maxim: always leave your audience wanting more. In his author biography, Gaiman says that there are more Odd stories he'd like to tell, and I for one would be happy to read them.

Neil Gaiman's most excellent website for young people:

Mr. Bobo's Remarkable Mouse Circus

When You Reach Me- Rebecca Stead

Sorry gentle reader(s). Once again, an unforgivably long period of time has passed between my reviews. Life, as they say, happens, but I now find myself with a bit of free time, and a stack of books three feet high that I'm going to try and get through. In addition to this post, look for a review of Neil Gaiman's latest coming soon as well.

I didn't get a chance to do a post on this year's American Library Association (most notably the Caldecott and Newbery Awards- for a complete list of this years winners and honorees go here.) but I wanted to make sure that this year's Newbery winner, When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead got its proper due in these hallowed yet electronic pages.

When You Reach Me is nothing short of an amazing and mesmerizing second novel from Rebecca Stead. She effortlessly blends at least three genres (realistic fiction, mystery, and science fiction, and throw in historical fiction to boot as the book is set in 1979.) and her characters and depiction of New York City never once seem forced or contrived.

In the story, Miranda is a regular, everyday sixth grader living in 1978-1979 New York City. Her mother is a paralegal who is training to appear on the game show The 20,000 Dollar Pyramid. Like many sixth graders, Miranda struggles with friendships, boys, money, her mother, school, bullies, and, oh yes, mysterious anonymous letters that know too much about her, and appear to be sent from the future.

It's thee letters that make When You Reach Me so great. The first reads:

I'm coming to save your friends life and my own.

I ask two favors.

First, you must write me a letter.

Miranda has no idea where the letter came from or who sent it. As more letters appear, it is clear that the author knows things about the future that no one should, and Mira becomes increasingly enmeshed in what appears to be prophecy. The juxtaposition of Mira's everyday sixth grade life and the mysteries of time travel shouldn't work at all, yet all aspects of the plot come together seamlessly and the resolution (like all truly great resolutions should) leaves the reader thinking, pondering, and mulling for days afterwards. Couple this with an extended running homage to Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, and you have a book truly worthy of the Newbery's lofty pedigree. Highly recommended.

Rebecca Stead's Site

Wait, A Link Post?

Yes, I know I'm not big on posting links to other sites (at least separate from larger posts), but I'm bogged down in at least three different reviews right now, and wanted to put this info out there before I forgot. It's incredibly exciting news, but readers of my "But Did You Read It First?" posts will know that I remain cautiously optimistic at best.

Squeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, Squeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! implies a bit more excitement than just cautious optimism, but it's just so fun to type.