Monday Meme

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

This is the tale of a sweet burgeoning romance between two college students, Gabe and Lea.  Unique in it's style, the story is not told from Lea's perspective, nor from Gabe's.  Instead, author Sandy Hall follows her two love birds through the eyes of those around them: the waitress at the local diner, Gabe's older brother, friends and roommates, the Starbucks barista, a college professor and even the squirrel who gathers food in the quad. Through conversations with friends and observances by strangers, we get to catch snippets of their first meeting and growing attraction. Soon it seems as though everyone but Lea and Gabe can see that they belong together. The unusual telling brings a fresh look at young love and what it takes to move from first glance to first date while dealing with insecurities, course assignments and  life in general. Hall delivers a light yet interesting romance told from 14 different perspectives. some sympathetic, some hostile and others merely curious or with nothing better to do than people watch. Pure fluff, but adorable and different enough to keep readers turning those pages.

The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. You'll be rooting for Gabe and Lea too, in Sandy Hall's quirky, completely original novel A Little Something Different. 

iPod Friday

(Picture adapted from jamona_cl on flicker)

At the end of the week I give myself a treat and listen to my iPod at work while processing books or working on the database.   These are my picks for today.                          What do you listen to at work?

Songs about Censorship

Gearing up for Freedom to Read Week which is all about the right to choose for yourself what you will read, not having that choice made for you by policy, institution or individuals.

Ramones - Censorsh*t

Dixie Chicks - Not Read to Make Nice

Public Enemy - Fight the Power

In Praise of Toronto Public Libraries

Another testimony as to the importance of Libraries, 

yes, even in today's digital age,

"The Last Book" Photographic Series

The debate between print vs. eBooks and who will survive has been going on for some time. Photographer Reinier Gerritsen believes that the print book is a "beautiful phenomenon that's vanishing".  Seeking to document the act of reading books, Gerritsen has spent 13 weeks over three years travelling the New York subway, capturing the images of people and what they are reading.  

Photo: Reinier Gerritsen as shown on theSlate.com in Behold, The Photo Blog.

Here he explores the act of reading as it occurs in public spaces the cramped and jostled environment of a subway car. It began as a series of modest observations and transformed into a collection of vivid documentary portraits, set against a visual landscape of best sellers, classics, romance novels, detective thrillers and every kind of printed book, as diverse as the readers. Conceived as an elegy to the end of bound books, in a positive twist it has now become evident that people are moving away from electronic reading devices and that the printed book is alive and well! (excerpt from the press release form the Julie Saul Gallery where Gerritsen's exhibit was on display from December 13 to Febrary 7, 2015)

 

Photo: saulgallery.com

Caldecott Winner 2015

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

(Print information from http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal)

2015 Medal Winner : The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend

 illustrated and written by Dan Santat 

I am thrilled that one of my picks for my elementary library 'must haves' has been selected as this years winner!  Beekle is so visually appealing and adorable that it practically jumped off the shelf and into my arms.

In four delightful “visual chapters,” Beekle, an imaginary friend, undergoes an emotional journey looking for his human. Santat uses fine details, kaleidoscopic saturated colors, and exquisite curved and angular lines to masterfully convey the emotional essence of this special childhood relationship. 

“Santat makes the unimaginable, imaginable,” said Caldecott Medal Committee Chair Junko Yokota. 

Have a look inside:

Click HERE for an interview with 
Author and Illustrator Dan Santat from Bookpage.com





2015 Honor Books

Nana in the City, written and illustrated by Lauren Castillo

Castillo’s evocative watercolor illustrations tell the story of a young boy’s visit to his grandmother, and the reassuring way she helps him to lose his fear and experience the busy, loud city in a new way.

The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky's Abstract Art, illustrated by Mary GrandPré, written by Barb Rosenstock
Abstract artist Vasily Kandinsky experienced colors as sounds and sounds as colors; he created work that was bold and groundbreaking using colors from his "noisy paint box.” His process is reflected beautifully by GrandPré, whose paint flows across the page in ethereal ribbons of color..

Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett
Klassen’s use of texture, shape and earth tones in this deceptively simple book invite readers into the experience of two boys, who, accompanied by their dog, set out to dig a hole. Readers will find an unexpected treasure and be challenged to ponder the meaning of “spectacular.”

Viva Frida, illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales 
 Using a unique variety of media - puppetry, printmaking, painting and photography - combined with an intoxicating use of color and unfailing sense of composition, Morales celebrates the artistic process.

wEIRD wORD wEDNESDAY

Pareidolia:  the phenomenon of recognizing familiar objects in a pattern, where one does not really exist; the tendency of people to read significance into random or vague stimuli

 Angry Face?  or Writing Machine?

Flower? or Skull?  

   Tree?  or Owl?