Lauren Tarshis: Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree

So this month, I guess I'm catching up on books I should have read more than a year ago but didn't. Lauren Tarshis' debut middle-grade novel falls right into that category.

I'd been reading about Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree for quite awhile:

• Fuse #8 called it "memorable and supremely interesting."
• Brookeshelf called it "both funny and heartbreaking."
• Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast said, "Tarshis has absolutely and categorically nailed the day-to-day drama of your contemporary middle-school student."
• My favorite catalog, Chinaberry, wrote a rave review, "Funny, honest, and tender, this is the best book I've come across in a long time about the sometimes excruciating world of middle school."
• Even Oprah has chosen it for her Kids Reading List.

Can a thin little debut middle grade novel live up to all the hype?

Yes, it can.

Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree is quirky, fresh, funny, and honest. The story is told from the point of view of two seventh grade girls: Emma Jean, an exceedingly logical and pragmatic girl who never bursts into tears at the drop of a pin; and Colleen, who above all, just wants to be nice.

Emma Jean observes her classmates in the same way that she observes trees and other natural phenomenon: with a detached sense of scientific curiosity. She finds her fellow seventh graders illogically messy and unpredictable, and she prefers to watch from the sidelines. But when she comes across a tearful Colleen in the bathroom one day and decides to throw all caution to the wind and help her, Emma Jean's tightly controlled universe begins to unravel at the edges.

This book is filled with surprises, thoughtful spots, and laugh out loud moments. There's a particularly satisfying and lovely moment at the end about the edges of a quilt that I won't spoil for you, but I for one, got a little misty-eyed.

There are some great resources on Lauren Tarshis' website, including some information about characters in the book that are based on real people (or animals), a nice biography, and an encouraging little piece about writing. There's even a notice on the front page about a new book, "Emma Jean Lazarus Falls In Love," due out May 2009. I won't be waiting over a year to read that one.

Here's an interview with Lauren Tarshis on Barnes & Noble's website.

Grab Bag Friday: Michael's Birthday Well

Remember my friend Michael who was in Sri Lanka the last time I wrote about him? Well, it was his birthday recently, and instead of gifts, he has asked his friends and family for a well.

There is a great project called Born In September that Michael is taking part in. Last year, people born in September asked their friends and family for birthday donations to charity:water, an organization dedicated to bringing clean drinking water to the 1.1 billion people in the world who don't have access to safe water. They raised enough to bring clean water to 150,000 people. According to charity:water,

• Each day, millions of people drink unsafe water infested with leeches and worse.

• Each day, millions of children walk miles to collect drinking water instead of going to school.

• Each week, 42,000 people die from drinking unsafe water and living in conditions with a lack of sanitation. 90% of those are children under the age of five.

There is something simple we can do. Bringing safe drinking water to a community can make a real, concrete difference in the world.

If you know someone who is born in September, please consider giving a donation to charity:water in their honor. If you don't know anyone born in September, please consider a $32 donation in honor of my friend Michael's 32nd birthday. 100% of your donation goes directly to the costs of construction and maintenance of the well.

This video gives a great explanation of the project:


The September Campaign Trailer from charity: water on Vimeo.

Laura Gibson and The Portland Cello Project: Hands In Pockets

The cello has always been my favorite instrument (elegant, earthy, soaring, grounded), so it's no surprise I was drawn to Hands in Pockets on NPR's Song of the Day this week. Portland, Oregon (the *other* Portland) musician Laura Gibson teams up with The Portland Cello Project and the result is delicate, lilting, and simply pleasant in every way.

I was going to give you a little bio information, but I loved this blurb so much that I decided to just lift it from Laura Gibson's website:

Laura Gibson lives in Portland, sings songs and plays a nylon-stringed guitar. She grew up in a small isolated logging town called Coquille, in the South Coast region of Oregon, the daughter of the town’s kindergarten teacher and a forest ranger. She couldn’t tell you what band put out what particular album in what year, but she could probably describe where she was, how she felt and what you talked about, when she first met you, or what the trees looked like the last time her heart was broken...she likes trees.

You can read about and listen to Hands In Pockets at NPR's Song of the Day.

Here's a YouTube video of a live version of the song:

Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin: Three Cups of Tea

"The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger.
The second time, you are an honored guest.
The third time you become family."

Last winter, it seemed like everyone I knew was reading Three Cups of Tea. And now I know why. It's not a gripping page-turner. It's not a literary masterpiece. It's a simple, inspiring, true story about how one person with vision and determination can truly make a difference in the world.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time follows the story of Greg Mortenson, a young man who fails in his attempt to climb K-2, the world's second tallest mountain. Very ill after his climb, Mortenson is taken in by residents of Korphe, a small Pakistani village. Moved by their hospitality and stunned by the absence of a school in the area, Mortenson vows to return to Korphe and build a school for the village. A school that, against the grain of custom, will teach girls as well as boys.

Greg Mortenson sold everything he owned and wrote letters asking for donations. Things began to come together when a group of school children in River Falls, Wisconsin heard about his cause and collected over $600 worth of "Pennies for Peace." Mortenson has spent the last 15 years building schools for girls and boys in Pakistan and Afghanistan, sometimes at great risk and danger to his own life. Today, his schools educate more than 26,000 girls and boys in Central Asia.

Mortenson argues that the education of girls in particular is the key to the end of the "war on terror." While educated boys often leave their villages to work, girls stay home, take care of their families, engage their communities. He quotes an African proverb: “If you educate a boy, you educate an individual, but if you educate a girl, you educate a community.”

There's an interesting quote from a September 2007 article about Mortenson in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Consider the word “jihad.” We know about that word in one context — a violent quest. But the word has other meanings — reflecting other pursuits. But before beginning a jihad, you ask permission from your mother, Mortenson said. If she is educated — she’s less likely to give approval for a violent mission.

Those who dismiss education say that many of the 9/11 hijackers were educated — and that’s true, Mortenson said. “But none of their mothers were educated.”

For more information and to get involved:
Central Asia Institute
Pennies for Peace

Grab Bag Friday: Chocolate!

This summer, one of my sisters has been sending me monthly installments of coffee and chocolate from Seattle (Kevin drinks the coffee, I eat the chocolate.) Is she a good sister or what?

Some of the flavors have been *so* interesting, I had to share them here. Check it out:

First came the Cowgirl Chocolates.

Spicy Dark Lime Tequila, and Spicy Milk Chocolate Mint. And they aren't joking when they say "spicy." Whew!


Then came a couple installments of 3400 Phinney Bars.

Coconut Curry (yowza!)




Chai (yummy with tea or coffee)




Bread & Chocolate (this dark chocolate bar actually has tiny toasted pieces of salted french bread in it...deeelicious)

And I'm usually more of a dark chocolate than milk chocolate kind of girl, and hazelnut is not my favorite flavoring, but the Hazelnut Crunch is ridiculously good. It's like the hazelnut bits have been dipped in toffee and toasted to perfection. Mmmm.

Now don't you wish your sister lived in Seattle, too?

The Airborne Toxic Event: Sometime Around Midnight

I guess I haven't been over to KCRW in a long while, because they have a brand new In Studio on Morning Becomes Eclectic page that I didn't even know about. You can watch videos of "the best of the best" live moments from Morning Becomes Eclectic. Pretty cool.

While there, I came across a great live performance of "Sometime Around Midnight" by The Airborne Toxic Event. I love the lush texture of the violins and the way the song slowly builds itself into a controlled frenzy.

I can't find a way to post that particular KCRW video here, but if you go to the In Studio page, it should be 2nd or so on the list (at least it is today).

I did find a way cool acoustic version on YouTube, though.

Brothers in Hope: Mary Williams

I cannot imagine a more difficult subject for a children's book than the current genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. But in Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan, author Mary Williams and illustrator R. Gregory Christie manage to tackle the difficult subject with grace, poignancy, and hope.

In the late 1980's, over 40,000 boys from the ages of 4-15 were orphaned by the civil war that is still going on in Sudan. These boys banded together, organized themselves into groups, and walked 1000 miles to a refugee camp in Kenya. Over 3000 of them now live in the United States.

It's a story that is almost too much to bear, but Mary Williams and R. Gregory Christie do a beautiful job of focusing on themes of strength and hope without diminishing the intensity and gravity of the situation.

It's the details in this book that bring the story to life. The toys the Lost Boys made out of mud to amuse themselves. The urine they had to drink to stay alive. There is a page that talks about how the boys held hands at night to make sure they didn't lose anyone. The illustration shows an endless line of boys, each holding one hand in front of them and one hand behind them. It took my breath away.

Brothers in Hope is the kind of book that will generate lots of interesting, difficult, and rewarding discussion. It deals with war, losing your family, starvation, struggle. But it also deals with strength, hope, determination, and love. With a caring adult willing to answer questions, I think most children will find this book fascinating and inspiring.

For more information on Darfur and what you can do to help, please visit:

• Help Sudan
• John Dau Sudan Foundation
• International Crisis Group

Grab Bag Friday: Flowers for the Florist

I wanted a chuckle this morning, so I went to my old standby. I have to say, this one has a bit of a cruel tinge to it, but it cracked me up nonetheless. I liked the first guy's reaction best.

Robert Plant: A Birthday Trio

Today is Robert Plant's 60th birthday! And since his is one of my favorite voices of the last century, I couldn't resist posting a few fun videos.

First, a pretty hilarious British TV interview with Robert Plant and John Bonham from 1970, documenting the monumental moment when Led Zeppelin knocked The Beatles out of the number one spot on the charts:



Here is Robert Plant singing one of my very favorite Led Zeppelin songs, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You. I love the way that band took the blues and just went nuts with it, and the vocals on this song are just gut wrenching:



Flashing forward to the new millenium and switching one or two gears, here is Robert Plant and Alison Krauss singing Please Read the Letter:

Cynthia Lord's Summer Blog Reruns

This summer, author Cynthia Lord has been going through some of the blog posts she wrote back when she was in the process of writing Rules. Before it was published. Before it won the Newbery Honor. Before it swept reader's choice awards across the country.

If you have ever been curious about how a writer's mind works while working on a novel, these "summer reruns" are fascinating reading.

If you are a writer, you're bound to pick up some tips and inspiration.

And, most especially, if you're a fan of Rules, it's a real treat to get a special in-the-moment glimpse of Ms. Lord's processes, struggles, and triumphs during the book's creation.

Here are some of the recent highlights:

• How she came up with some of the details for Catherine's room
• How she finally made Catherine's friend Kristi come alive
• How she started over (Seriously. She wiped her entire file clean and started the book over after it was written and sold because she knew it could be better. Bold. Scary. Absolutely courageous.)

Grab Bag Friday: Sarvodaya

My friend Michael has done something extraordinary: he's committed himself to traveling around the world for nine months, "visualizing social change." And, happily for the rest of us, he's started a blog where he will post pictures and thoughts during the journey.

His first few posts have been about Sri Lanka, where he is documenting the work of Dr. Ariyaratne, the founder of Sarvodaya.

Sarvodaya began 50 years ago as a small group of volunteers dedicated to helping rural villages organize and work together to improve their living conditions. They helped communities join together to build roads and dig wells. And through the hard work and collaboration, the communities and individuals themselves grew stronger. Today, Sarvodaya has served over 15,000 villages, helping them create and bring improvements like clean water, libraries, health centers, and peace into their lives.

In his blog, Michael writes,

As I travel and work with Sarvodaya, I am blown away by the scale of what they have been able to achieve with modest means...I am humbled by how comprehensive, how holistic, Sarvodaya's approach is to their work. They create a family where those who otherwise fall through cracks of society find a home.

To learn more about Sarvodaya, or to find out how you can get involved, please visit their website.

Here is a video about Sarvodaya's work (8 minutes):

Clare and the Reasons: Pluto

Over at The Cinnamon Rabbit last week, talented illustrator Julia Denos recommended some music. And whenever Julia Denos recommends music, I listen. It's certain to be something charming and ethereal.

And of course, I wasn't let down. Clare and the Reasons are the epitome of charming and ethereal. Especially Pluto, the first song off their debut album, The Movie.

I listened to this song the first time, and was taken with the playful arrangement and Clare Muldaur's light, mischievous voice. It's similar in tone and style to Nina Persson from The Cardigans (which, if you ask me, is *always* a good thing).

Then I listened to the lyrics. Who would have thought someone could (or would) write a smart, witty, and truly catchy song about Pluto losing it's planet status? (Ok, They Might Be Giants could do it in their sleep, but who else?)

I'm in love with the line, "Cheer up, Pluto, the stars still want you and we down here do too."

Then I saw the video. Quirky, goofy, and ridiculously fun. And that's when I got addicted. I've had the song in my head for a week. Thanks, Cinnamon Rabbit!

Eudora Welty on Charlotte's Web

I'm reading a book right now called The Eye of the Story, a collection of essays and reviews by the master short story writer, Eudora Welty.

Because of the title, I expected the book to be mostly about writing, but I was surprised and pleased to find a whole section of Eudora Welty's reviews of books that were popular or new at the time. Including books by Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, and the most pleasant surprise (for me, anyway), a review of E. B. White's Charlotte's Web, the year it came out. She says:

"What the book is about is friendship on earth, love and affection, adventure and miracle, life and death, trust and treachery, night and day and the seasons. As a piece of work it is just about perfect, and perfectly effortless and magical, as far as I can see, in the doing."

Classic works like Charlotte's Web are such an ingrained part of our literature and culture, that we almost take them for granted. I can sometimes forget that a book like that was actually created by someone, published by someone, and reviewed by someone in real-time. It can seem like it just popped right out of thin air, fully formed and beautiful.

So I had a lot of fun reading this review and imagining what it might have been like opening the book for the very first time, before you had seen the movie (animated or live action), or heard the story, or seen the book on somebody else's shelf.

And it makes you think...what is coming out now, this very moment, that will someday be treated as an old classic that has been around forever, well-loved, and taken for granted?

You can read a short version of Eudora Welty's review of Charlotte's Web at the New York Times (includes an audio clip of E. B. White reading from the book).

You can read all kinds of interesting articles and reviews on Eudora Welty's Featured Author Page also at the New York Times (includes audio of Ms. Welty reading some of her short stories).

Grab Bag Friday: Broken Angels

Ok, at the risk of being a total fangirl I'm posting two So You Think You Can Dance posts in one week. The finale was last night, it was spectacular, my favorite dancer won, so a little celebration/indulgence of sorts is in order, right? Hey, what else are obsessions for? Or blogs, for that matter.

So this is the first season of So You Think that I've watched, and one of my favorite things about the show was the group performances. The diversity of choreography on the show is unreal and so much fun. It's hard to say, but I think the Broken Angels piece by Mia Michaels was my very favorite.

So here's a behind-the-scenes interview with Mia Michaels about the piece:



Here's the piece:

Season Finale!

So remember how I have these wicked Ticketmaster gift cards burning a hole in my pocket? Well, Kevin and I finally made our decision. Turns out, I had enough for two shows. So first, we're going to see my girl Sam Phillips.

And then...we're going to see our latest obsession live...woohoo!

Don't judge, ok? :) Season finale tonight!

I loved this one:

Michael Pollan: The Omnivore's Dilemma

On our recent road trip, Kevin and I listened to Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma on audiobook. Our farmer friends recommended it, oh, two whole years ago, so we finally decided to pick it up.

Now, this is a long audiobook for a single car trip. 13 discs. 15 hours and 58 minutes of super-detailed nonfiction. I wasn't sure I could handle it. But Michael Pollan's prose is engaging, and his subject matter completely absorbing. I was hooked.

Essentially, The Omnivore's Dilemma is about food. More specifically, about how the food we eat ends up on our plate. As omnivores, Pollan argues, we can eat anything we want (not, say, like a Koala who only eats eucalyptus leaves). So how do we decide what we eat? Or do we think about it at all?

What follows is an in-depth exploration of our major food systems: industrial agriculture, organic industrial agriculture, sustainable "beyond-organic" agriculture, and traditional hunting and gathering. Pollan somehow manages to engage the topic of food production in a manner that is page-turning, riveting, non-judgmental, and at the risk of sounding too dramatic, potentially life-changing.

Kevin and I had the added benefit of live illustrations, of course. For the entire first quarter of the book, as Pollan writes about the subsidized, overblown, unsustainable process of creating cheap, plentiful corn, we were driving past miles and miles of lush, green cornfields. During the hunting and gathering section, we had just driven through wooded areas filled with deer and fox and mushrooms. It was a pretty stunning experience all around.

I will admit, Michael Pollan ruined some things for me. I had (mostly) given up industrial meat after Fast Food Nation, so that wasn't a big surprise. The Omnivore's Dilemma just confirmed the fact I'll be eating meat from places like our local Wolfe's Neck Farm or none at all. But I will never be able to look at a cornfield the same way again. Or a box of breakfast cereal. I'm sure that I will still eat cereal (maybe). But at least now I will know how it's made. And that it's pretty much just made of corn, corn oil, corn syrup, corn starch. Corn from fields that are overproduced, overfertilized, and oversubsidized by farmers who are, quite simply, underpaid.

Michael Pollan suggests that it will take nothing less than a grass-roots revolution to change some of the disastrous ways we are producing food. And that can be a daunting, depressing thought. To think of the ways that in the current system the economically poor often only have access to the most unhealthy, most industrially produced food; to think of the big-money corporations who are pushing systems that are of great expense to the land, animals, and the people. It's depressing.

But, strangely, I didn't come away from The Omnivores Dilemma depressed. Instead, I even felt a little empowered. There are things I can do. I can support local agriculture. I can vote with my dollars. I can buy fewer items in those center (corn-filled) aisles of my grocery store. Sure, I'm just one person. And sure, those are small acts. But revolutions begin with individuals and small acts. That's why they work.

Here are some interesting links:

Read the introduction and first chapter (.pdf) of The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Find local, sustainable, organic food in your area.

Read the New York Times Review of The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Read Michael Pollan's articles on related topics (from New York Times Magazine):
The Modern Hunter-Gatherer
Power Steer
An Animal's Place

Grab Bag Friday: Fresh Tomato and Zucchini Tart with Mozzarella and Basil

Photo by jpmatth.

Looking for something new to do with all the fresh summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and basil that are starting to brighten up gardens, farmer's markets, farm shares, and grocery stores this summer? Well, at least in New England they're "starting"...I'm sure in other places you're way ahead of us. :)

I found this great recipe in Cooking Light a couple years back, and it's great for a summer evening when you don't really feel like cooking. All you have to do is chop, arrange, and drizzle. It's kind of like a pizza, but fancier.

Fresh Tomato and Zucchini Tart with Mozzarella and Basil

1 tb. cornmeal
1 (10-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough (choose whole wheat to make a really healthy meal, or make your own if you like!)
1 cup (1/8 inch thick) diagonally sliced zucchini (and/or summer squash)
4 plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch-thick slices (or use baby tomatoes, sliced in half & seeded)
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
4 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced (or the pre-shredded bag of mozzarella works just fine)
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves (this makes it!)

Preheat oven to 400.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or use a pizza stone). Sprinkle the paper or stone with cornmeal. Unroll dough onto paper; let stand 5 minutes. Pat dough into a 12-inch square. Arrange vegetables (except basil) over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Fold edges of dough over zucchini and tomato (dough won't completely cover the veggies).

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until the dough is lightly browned. Top with cheese; bake 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Drizzle with oil; sprinkle with basil. Cool on baking sheet 10 minutes on a wire rack.

Yield: 4 servings

Songwriting for Kids: The Mystery of Nate and the Skate

Well, we had another fabulously fun and creative summer session of Songwriting for Kids! Over the course of the week, my students (aged 4-8) not only learned Rock Island Line, Red River Valley, Oh Susanna, and I See the Moon by heart, they also wrote their own song. Melody, words, tempo...they created the entire thing all on their own.

You can listen to The Mystery of Nate and the Skate at www.songwritingforkids.com.

A few of my favorite moments:

• When we learned Oh Susanna, I asked the kids what they thought it meant when the songwriter wrote contradictory lines like, "The sun so hot, I froze to death." One little girl said she thought he was just trying to cheer Susanna up by making her laugh. I thought that was just about right on.

• The first version of the class song had present tense and past tense all mixed together. I have to admit, I didn't know if the kids would be able to understand tenses enough to be able to fix it. Boy, was I wrong! All I said was something along the lines of, "It looks like sometimes Nate did something in the past and sometimes, it looks like he's doing it right now...does that make sense?" And they zipped through the entire song, replacing "is" with "was" and "don't" with "didn't." I was blown away.

• I loved the concentration and detail they put into their song, throwing out their ideas with abandon, but choosing their words carefully. For instance, all on their own, the group had a short discussion about how the phrase magical belt is more musical and has better flow than magic belt.

• Polka-dot, polka-dot, polka-dot underwear. Need I say more?

Lisa Wheeler: Jazz Baby

I'm always on the lookout for new picture books to use during my summer Songwriting for Kids workshops, and this year I was absolutely elated to come across Lisa Wheeler's Jazz Baby.

Jazz Baby grooves and swings like nobody's business. The rhythms are infectious. The text is filled with bounce and joy. R. Gregory Christie's illustrations of Jazz Baby and his family, hip-hopping and be-bopping around the house practically dance themselves off the page.

The kids in my class had a blast repeating Jazz Baby's parts ("Snap-snap-snap" and "Go Man Go!") back to me. And in the end, when Jazz Baby is gently put to bed after all that dancing and swinging and shouting and jiving, we all took a deep breath and echoed the sleepy, satisfied last lines...."Oh, yeah!"

It's no wonder this book has won awards like the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book (that's Dr. Seuss to you and me) and the ALA Notable Children’s Book. It is a commendable celebration of rhyme, rhythm, and music. Most importantly, it is pure fun.

Grab Bag Friday Movie Vault: Here Comes the Groom

It's been a rainy week here in Maine, and there's nothing like grey, drizzly days to put me in the mood for old movies. So here's a very special one from my movie vault for you.

When I was a kid, Frank Capra was the only movie director I knew by name. And I devoured his movies. I loved his dramatic stories of community, love, and decency triumphing over individual greed. I loved his screwball comedies. I loved the family dynamics and the big, teary-eyed finales. I remember inviting friends over in junior high to watch movies and being somewhat shocked that they had never heard of Meet John Doe or You Can't Take it With You. And I have to say, they were probably equally stunned (and dismayed) that I was suggesting we watch them!

But there is one little known Frank Capra comedy that has a special place in my heart. In Here Comes the Groom, Bing Crosby plays Pete Garvey, a journalist who adopts two orphans while on assignment in France. When he returns to the States, he has five days to win back his ex-fiancee Jane Wyman (who is now engaged to another man) or he will have to give up the children.

This movie can *still* make me laugh until my sides hurt. There's something about the combination of the slapstick comedy, the orphans, Bing Crosby's charm, Jane Wyman's endearing practicality, and the music (be prepared for a great Louis Armstrong appearance!) that is absolutely timeless. As far as I know, Here Comes the Groom can only be found now in a double-feature DVD set with "Just for You" (another Bing Crosby/Jane Wyman flick).

And here's a little secret for any Songwriting for Kids enthusiasts out there. You know how "We Always Leave 'em Singing?" Well, that little gem comes straight from this movie. You'll just have to watch it to find out!

Here's a clip of Bing Crosby and Jane Wyman singing In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening:

Jo Stafford: The Gentleman Is a Dope

Jo Stafford, one of the great singers of the big band era, died last week at age 90. She studied opera as a child, and had a brief stint singing with her sisters as "The Stafford Sisters." In the mid-1930's, she joined the popular vocal group, The Pied Pipers, and had the opportunity to sing with Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey's big band.

In her solo career, Jo Stafford was clearly a star. She had a pure, clear voice, and was an incredibly versatile singer, pulling off comedy numbers like Tim-tayshun, traditional American folk songs like Poor Wayfaring Stranger, and pop ballads like You Belong to Me. A video I posted last summer shows her holding her own with Ella Fitzgerald on St. Louis Blues.

Here's a video of Ms. Stafford in concert in the 1950's with her hit song, The Gentleman Is a Dope:

Gary Schmidt: The Wednesday Wars

Well, I'm finally *back* from blog vacation. Well, sort of.

One of the books that I enjoyed quite a bit when I was away from my computer was Gary D. Schmidt's middle grade novel The Wednesday Wars. I was going to write you a nice little review about it, but since my husband already wrote one this morning that pretty much covers what I would have told you, I thought I'd just point you to his.

How about that? First day back, and already I'm passing the buck. :)

You can read K. M. Johnson's review of The Wednesday Wars over at Guys Lit Wire--a new blog about books for guys.

Guys Lit Wire is a great project and it's worth heading over there anyway to see what they're all about. So see? I'm not just passing the buck. I'm giving you more bang for your buck. Ok, I'm off now before the buck stops here. Ouch. That was sad. Really sad.

Blog Vacation and I Wrote a Hit Song!

I am going on a blog vacation until July 21st. I'm going to try to stay off the computer as much as possible during my time off, but I *will* be stockpiling all kinds of great music, books, composting tips, and maybe a recipe or two for my return to cyberspace.

In the meantime, please check out this summer's I Wrote a Hit Song! winner (Ketty, age 9), and leave a comment for her on her song page. And while you're there, scroll down to check out all the other budding songwriters and leave a comment for them as well...they'll appreciate your encouragement, probably more than you know.

Tricia Tunstall: Note By Note

A few weeks ago, Roger Sutton over at Read Roger (the Horn Book blog) mentioned that he was enjoying Tricia Tunstall's Note by Note: A Celebration of the Piano Lesson. So I picked it up from the library and got immediately swept away.

Everyone who has ever taken private music lessons remembers something about their teacher vividly. My father *still* can drum up images of the nun he learned from (and the sharp rap of her ruler on his knuckles!) As Tricia Tunstall so astutely points out, "there are very few occasions when a child spends an extended period alone with an unrelated adult." She proceeds, elegantly and sweetly, to give us an intimate glimpse into that unusual relationship from the perspective of both student and teacher.

I loved this book. If you have ever taken music lessons, or have ever taught a child how to play piano, dance, or read a book, my guess is that you'll probably love it too.

Grab Bag Friday: Dryer Balls, Anyone?

Instead of passing on *my* advice today, I'm going to ask for *yours*. :)

I've been tempted to buy these dryerballs on a number of shopping trips, but every time I see them, I pick them up, read the package blurbs, turn them over in my hand a few times, hem and haw, and then put them back on the shelf.

The idea is that the balls go in your dryer instead of a chemical based fabric softener. They bounce around and soften your clothes and since they keep all the clothes from clustering, they should also reduce your drying time up to 25%.

Have any of you tried these (or something like it)? What did you think? Did it do the trick? Did you have:

• Static?
• Clothes damage?
• Reduced drying time?
• Do they need to be replaced (& if so, how often)?
  

Just curious.

Woody Guthrie: John Henry

After reading Elizabeth Patridge's book on Woody Guthrie last week, I came across this very cool rare clip of Guthrie playing "John Henry" with Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. If you believe what you hear/read online, there are only two remaining film clips of Woody Guthrie performing music. (Here's the other one.) Any of you know if that's true?

Books for Teen Boys: Guys Lit Wire

Thank goodness, as of this summer, there's a much-needed and very cool new blog out there for teenage guys. Guys Lit Wire is dedicated to posting literary news and reviews specifically for teen boys.

What a great project. And what makes it even cooler is that my husband is one of the regular contributors. You should definitely stop by and read his post about Richard Ford's masterful yet relatively unknown book, Wildlife.

Here's a blurb from the Guy's Lit Wire About Us page that sums up their mission quite nicely:

There seems to be a perception that boys don't read as much as girls, especially teenage boys. As the YA Columnist for Bookslut it has been especially clear to me that whether or not boys want to read more, finding books for boys is not so easy. There are so many more books targeted toward female readers than male that it is really quite amazing - and also very disturbing.

So we decided to do something about it.

And do something they have! Looking for summer reading? Head over to Guys Lit Wire and browse their reviews, booklists, and more!

Grab Bag Friday: Somebody Give This Man a Medal

First off, if you're looking for a last-minute Father's Day gift, Have Fun Do Good posted a great list of Do-Good Gifts for Dad.

Now here are just a very few of the things that make *my* dad great:

He loves the outdoors.

He counts his blessings.

He always finds a way to be happy, no matter what the odds.

He lets the small stuff go (as he puts it, "Like water off a duck's back").

He lets the important stuff count.

When I wanted to spend an entire summer perfecting my running stride (don't ask why, it's inexplicable even to me) he was there every day with the harness, the timer, the pep talks, and (thank God) no camera.

He always forces you to do things when he *knows* you'll feel better afterwards. (Usually waterskiing, running, pushing through that last twilight hour to finish a project.)

He never makes you feel bad about quitting when he knows you gave it your best shot (like in 5th grade when I gave up on trombone after using my toe for 6 months to reach the low notes...when the band teacher refused to let me switch instruments *or* leave band, my dad strolled in, handed him the trombone and said "She's done.")

When Kevin & I bought our house in Maine and the basement flooded in the first week, he came all the way out from Wisconsin and in *five* days put in a new sump pump, installed a dishwasher, put in kitchen floors, a new venting system in the bathroom, did something useful to our circuit board, and helped pack and unpack our gigantic U-Haul (mostly books). Plus, somehow found time to secretly plant three trees in the backyard. Like a superhero.

There are a million other small but important things that I could never fit in a blog and he would be embarrassed about anyway because on top of it all, he's truly humble.

Happy Father's Day, Padre! I love you!

Sam Phillips: Don't Do Anything

So after listening to Sam Phillips' new album Don't Do Anything all week, I sat down this morning to compile a list of a couple highlights. After about a half hour's contemplation, I sheepishly realized that I had written down almost every song on the album. :)

For me, Can't Come Down and Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us are clear stand-outs, but the entire album has a lyrical, human, down-to-earth quirkiness to it. I love the raw energy that is pent-up in these songs...the boomy drums, the violins-run-rampant, the moments of old-timey swing and pop.

What I like so much about Sam Philips is how she can make a song that seems so light and airy and simple, and yet with each listen, you uncover new layers, both musically and lyrically. When I first heard Little Plastic Life, I only noticed the catchiness of the chorus. But with each consecutive listen, I started to hear how the song begins as a very organized, rigid march, a perfect intro to the theme of the "little plastic life" we build around ourselves. But with the lines "I detected fire in myself before the flame," the electric guitar comes in and suddenly the chorus becomes a celebration and release, letting go and allowing the little plastic life to burn. I think this careful craft is why Sam Phillips songs always grow on me incrementally, and I like them more and more with each listen.



The title song, Don't Do Anything, is a love song in the truest sense. On her MySpace page, Sam Phillips writes:

In one of the most important election years in the history of our United States, I am bringing out a record called Don’t Do Anything. This is not a political statement. The line of the song it’s taken from is “I love you when you don’t do anything”. I might have written this to my child, a lover, a friend, a dead person, or all of these. Maybe I wanted someone to write it to me. Maybe an extravagant expression of faith is the last thing we need this year. Maybe it’s the first. There is a lot to do in between.

Ok, now I'm getting tempted to go through my entire list of "highlights," but instead, why don't I just leave you to go enjoy the album and make your own decisions. :) Then let *me* know what *you* think!

Elizabeth Partridge: This Land Was Made for You and Me

I just finished Elizabeth Partridge's biography of Woody Guthrie: This Land Was Made for You and Me. The book is geared for kids ages 12 and up, but there is enough detail and depth there to hold the attention of any adult interested in Woody Guthrie's music. Pete Seeger calls it "The best book about Woody ever written!"

In my "Stories behind the Songs" post about This Land Is Your Land, I wrote that Woody wrote over 1400 songs in his lifetime. Elizabeth Partridge says the number is over 3000, which is incredible especially when you consider that he only lived to be 55 years old.

The story of Woody Guthrie's life is fascinating, filled with moments of optimism, despair, redemption, and unthinkable tragedy. Elizabeth Partridge places Woody's story firmly within the events, places, and people who were so important to him and shaped who he was. The Dustbowl, Great Depression, migrant farms, New York City folk scene, and the Cold War all play a major role in the development of his songs.

And all the folk music greats show up: Ledbelly, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Pete Seeger, Odetta, Bob Dylan...the list goes on and on. The tragedies in his story are so heavy, and would almost be too much to bear if it wasn't for the stories of the people he loved and who cared about him and took him in and forgave him his weaknesses and idiosyncracies time and time again. Through good times and bad, it is clear that those relationships were influences on his music. Woody famously said:

"I hate a song that makes you think that you're not any good. I hate a song that makes you think you are just born to lose. I am out to fight those kinds of songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood."

The one question that is still burning in my mind after closing the book is, whatever happened to Mary? His first wife who dropped out of high school to be with him and endured all his wayward, rambling ways while she tried to take care of three children with little to no sporadic income. Halfway through the book, I started to hope that after their divorce, she went on to have the happy, stable life she probably dreamed of. But from the notes in the back of the book, it looks like two of her children contracted Huntington's Disease (the disease that tragically killed both Woody and his mother) and the third died in a car accident. There should be a song for Mary. Maybe there is, but there should be more.

There is much more information on Elizabeth Partridge's website, including an interview with Arlo & Nora Guthrie (two of Woody's children from his second marriage with the incredibly talented, patient, and giving dancer Marjorie Mazia).

Grab Bag Friday: Sun Mar 200 Compost Update

I've had a number of requests for a Sun Mar 200 continuous composter update, so here's what I've got for you:

My composter is about 3/4 full. When I open it, steam comes out and everything appears to be moist and breaking down, so something has to be working.

But. (You knew it was coming, didn't you?) In the inner drum where the compost is supposed to be gathering, there is still a bunch of dried garbage collecting there. Even when I push it back into the main composter (as suggested by Sun Mar), more dried garbage still falls into the inner drum. Let me be clear: everything in the inner drum is not composting because it is completely dried out. Got it?

So I chatted with the friendly folks at FW Horch this week (rather than try to duke it out with the Sun Mar folks again), and they suggested that instead of pushing the dried garbage from the inner drum back in, to pull it out and put it back in at the top. In case it is the same dried garbage that keeps falling in?

So that's my next plan of attack. In the meantime, Brett at FW Horch pointed out that at least it's working like a bottomless garbage can. Which, I suppose, is something. As always, I'll keep you posted.

If you've missed any of this riveting food-disposal drama, you can catch up here.

Here is the complete How to Compost series in case you'd like to catch up or review:

Step 1: Make it a Priority
Step 2: Choose a System
Interlude: Nature Tried to Kill My Composter
Step 3: Collect Organic Material
Step 4: Mix the Materials
Step 5: Moisten the Mixture
Step 6: Wait
Interlude: The Lightbulb Change
Interlude: The Yogurt Change
Interlude: The Sponge Change
Interlude: The Leftover Change
Interlude: The Napkin Change
The Sort-of Sun-Mar 200 Review Part One
The Sort-of Sun-Mar 200 Review Part Two
Sun-Mar 200 Compost Update
Sun-Mar 200: Starting All Over Again
Step 7: Use Your Compost
Step 8: Sun Mar 200 Garden Composter Review

Sam Phillips: Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us

The new Sam Phillips album is out! Normally, I would listen to the album straight through from start to finish, but this time I had to go straight to Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us. Alison Krauss and Robert Plant covered the song on Raising Sand, and if you remember, I was pretty wild about it. So I was dying to hear the Sam Phillips rendition.

It's always so interesting to hear how a writer interprets their own work. A poet, for instance, might put completely different emphasis on line breaks when reading their work outloud than I could have ever imagined in my head. Alison Krauss & Robert Plant's version of "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us" is dreamy, introspective, eerie, polished. Sam Phillips takes a completely different approach to her own work. In comparison, it's messy, rushed, untamed...all in the best of ways. The way Alison Krauss sings the song, Sister Rosetta's music comes to the singer like a strange gift from above, supernatural, beautiful, and detached. In Sam Phillips' version, the music is a down-to-earth personal revelation, a tangible refuge, a place of abandon and release.

Ok, off to listen to the rest of the album. Tune in for more gushing next week...

Alison Krauss & Robert Plant version:


Sam Phillips version:

Hope is the thing with feathers

This morning, I read Jacqueline Woodson's Newbery Honor Book, Feathers. It's this slight little middle-grade book that fearlessly delves into weighty issues like hope, faith, race, belonging, and family without being heavy handed or overbearing or preachy in any way. That's no small feat.

On the very surface, Feathers is a classic story of the new kid in town who doesn't fit in. But Ms. Woodson takes that simple story to entirely new depths, so it truly becomes the story of how we are *all* that kid, trying to find our place in the world.

On her website, she sums it up simply:

Feathers is a book I wrote because I wanted to write about the many ways people find Hope in the world.

Here is the Emily Dickinson poem that is the heart of the story. The first stanza is both the epigraph and an integral part of the book. I hadn't read it in a long time, and Ms. Woodson's book has set it in a fresh light.

XXXIII

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Grab Bag Friday: Patriot Guard Riders

Ok, I'll admit it. I had more than one teary-eyed moment at our town's Memorial Day Parade on Monday. The Veterans for Peace got me. The Navy's unaccompanied singing got me. Even the shy girl leading the tiny horse got me. Ok, so I was feeling a little emotional.

But I almost lost it when the Patriot Guard Riders came by and parked right in front of us for a few minutes. These guys are true heroes.

A couple years ago, when Westboro Baptist Church members traveled to Maine to protest and spread anti-homosexuality hate messages during Sgt. Corey Dan's funeral, the Patriot Guard Riders came to the funeral and created a human shield.

Groups of Riders have been doing this all over the country, and on their website you can read seventeen pages of heartfelt thank you letters. It's pretty amazing.

You can see them in action here. Don't be surprised if you get a little choked up or extra-proud. It's almost impossible not to.

American Songs 2 on Zooglobble

Thanks to Stefan over at Zooglobble for his Memorial Day review of American Songs vol. 2! If you haven't yet been to Zooglobble, it is *the* place to go for kids and family music reviews. That said, I'm pleased as punch to see American Songs vol. 2 reviewed on the site and considered "a good folk song primer for slightly older kids."

Also just up at Zooglobble, and worth a visit, is an interview with Frances England about her much-anticipated new album, Family Tree, and the surprise success of her first, truly lovely album, Fascinating Creatures.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Since I'm planning to be outside as much as possible this weekend and hope the same for you, I'm not even going to post any links for you to peruse.

Instead...get your work done as fast as possible, shut down your computer, go home early, and enjoy the long weekend! Maybe even leave the computer *off* all three days!

I'm planning to work in my garden, read a book or two, take in a parade, soak in the sun...oh, and this little project of building a set of stairs into our house. (Wish me luck!) I'll be off on Monday, but back with some sort of musical post on Wednesday. Enjoy the weekend!

Oren Lavie: A Dance 'Round the Memory Tree

Here's another lovely song from the end of the Prince Caspian movie.

I had never heard of Oren Lavie, but according to his bio on Tuition, he's originally from Tel Aviv and just came out with his debut album, Opposite Side of the Sea. If you want the ultra-quick version of the bio, I liked Muzorama's sum-up. You can listen to the whole album and flip through the pages of some very cool virtual liner notes, lyrics, and reviews at www.orenlavie.com.