How Cool is This?

Or "are these," I suppose, to be more accurate.

The first is something I'd heard about last spring (or thereabouts) involving the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Now, as a kid, Science and Industry was my favorite of the Chicago museums (I especially liked the trains and the U-505), although it was a knock against them that they didn't have dinosaurs :-).

But. Last year, they did this totally awesome thing: they held a contest to choose a person who would live at the museum for a month. October 20 to November 20. So, when I heard about it, I was sorely tempted. Sigh. Day job. But, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, anyone?

Here's the blog of the chosen one: http://www.msichicago.org/matm

The second really totally cool thing is the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology. Now, apart from the fact that it's a paleontology museum, what's so cool about it?

Here's the thing: It's in a high school. Really.

And it's accredited by the American Association of Museums and has real paleontologists on staff. (Okay, I confess to feeling a special affinity because it's located in Claremont, California, where my grandparents lived after they retired. And that a recent paper by the museum curator of paleontology was extremely helpful on my novel research. And that the place seems almost extreme enough to belong at the Peshtigo School.). But there's also the fact that, ninety (90) percent of their holdings were found by -- get this -- students at the associated Webb School.

And, if you're a teacher in the LA area, they're having free "Paleontology for Educators" workshops this winter. Here's the info I received:

"The Paleontology for Educators Workshop is a two-day workshop providing K-12 teachers with a hands-on introduction to paleontology, the study of past life. Each session includes a short course on paleontology,
evolution, and earth science, with the aim of illustrating how to
present this material in an interactive way to students.

"Each participant will gain experience in paleontological museum methods, within the setting of an accredited museum. A “Paleontology in the Classroom” book of activities and teaching kit will be given to each participant and made available online. The museum will also make available “classroom kits” for check-out, including real and replica fossils for use in activities in the classroom.

"The workshop is hosted at the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology (www.alfmuseum.org), located 30 miles east of Los Angeles in Claremont, in the only accredited natural history museum on a secondary school campus. There is *no cost* to attend this workshop (including all materials, lunch, and snacks), and funding is provided to reimburse school districts for the cost of hiring substitute teachers for workshop participants.

"Workshop dates include: Thurs.-Fri., Jan. 13-14, 2011; Thurs.-Fri., Feb. 3-4, 2011; Mon.-Tues., Mar. 14-15, 2011; and Thurs.-Fri., Apr. 14-15, 2011. For registration information or other questions, please contact museum curator Andy Farke (afarke AT webb.org)."

Caveat: I don't know anyone who's done this, but, heck, I'd look into it. :-).

BROTHERS, BOYFRIENDS, AND OTHER CRIMINALS

Coming this February to the ZACH SCOTT, performed by the ZACH SCOTT's "youth pre-professional troupe," a musical based on April Lurie's young adult novel, BROTHERS, BOYFRIENDS, AND OTHER CRIMINAL MINDS:

"At first glance, April Lundquist seems like your average high school freshman in 1970s Brooklyn. She's sporting bellbottoms and dancing disco like all of her friends. But when the Mafia shows up on her doorstep--literally--April finds herself confronted with some tough choices to make. Will she be able to save her brother, navigate boyfriends, and capture the perfect kiss, all while keeping her cool? Find out in ZACH's world premier production of this new musical for the whole family!"

Saturdays February 5, 12 and 19 at 1pm & 4pm and Sundays February 6, 13 and 20 at 6:30pm on ZACH's Kleberg Stage.

Click here to buy tickets.

Cynthia and I had the pleasure of attending a read-through a few months back. Even at the rough draft script stage and without all the songs, it was hilarious and engaging. Can't wait to see it!

BLESSED countdown widget

More Hollering!

School Library Journal cheers "Readers as well as listeners will have fun with this animated story, and the Southwestern twang will just come naturally."

Check out this post for more great reviews!

Cyn has a interview with Shannon Morgan on the Holler Loudly Teacher Guides! Also, check out an interview with illustrator Barry Gott!

BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY

BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY, by Ruta Sepetys (Philomel 2011)(ages 12+). In spring of 1941, fifteen year-old Lina Vilkas is preparing for art school and the rest of her life. But in Soviet-occupied Lithuania, no one is safe, especially not the family of a university professor. One fateful night, the NKVD -- Stalin's secret police -- come for Lina, her mother, her eleven year-old brother, and thousands of other "unreliables."

Taken from their homes, they are loaded into cattle cars and hauled off to work camp in Siberia. There, they suffer malnutrition and starvation; exposure to the elements; and psychological and physical abuse from their guards. With only each other and only the barest smidgen of hope, can they and their fellow prisoners survive the brutality of the gulag?

BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY is a profoundly moving story of the resilience of the human spirit. Sepetys, herself the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee, is unsparing in her portrayal of one girl's struggle for self and dignity in the face of the most horrifying treatment, and demonstrates the worth of even small acts of kindness in the face of evil.

CAT CALLS!

Cat Calls by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Candlewick, 2010) is now available for free as an e-book from Amazon.com!

"Cat Calls" is a short story set in the Tantalize series universe and features entirely new characters.

"Cat Calls" was originally published in Sideshow: Ten Original Tales of Freaks, Illusionists and Other Matters Odd and Magical, edited by Deborah Noyes (Candlewick, 2009).

It also will be featured at the back of the Blessed (Candlewick, Jan. 25, 2011) e-book.

2010 books by Austinites [Updated]

Post updated and moved to here.

For your holiday shopping this year, I thought I'd highlight some of the books written or illustrated this year by members of the Austin youth literature community:

Picture Books written by Austinites:


Shark vs. Train, by Chris Barton
Chicken Big, by Keith Graves
Holler Loudly, by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Picture Books Illustrated by Austinites:


Sweet Moon Baby: An Adoption Tale, ill. by Patrice Barton
Nonna Tell Me A Story, ill. by Laura Logan
She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story, ill. by Don Tate

Chapter Books, Middle Grade and Tween Novels:



Starfish, by James Crowley
Sunshine Picklelime, by Pamela Ferguson
The Defense of Thaddeus A. Ledbetter, by John Gosselink
Truth with a Capital T, by Bethany Hegedus
Brains for Lunch, by K.A. Holt
The Necropolis, by P.J. Hoover
Clementine, Friend of the Week, by Sara Pennypacker
Betti on the High Wire, by Lisa Railsback
Noonie's Masterpiece, by Lisa Railsback
Anna Maria's Gift, by Janice Shefelman
Front Page Face-off, by Jo Whittemore
Layla, Queen of Hearts, ill. by Patrice Barton

Young Adult Novels:


Saving Maddie, by Varian Johnson
The Less-Dead, by April Lurie
Bad Blood, by Mari Mancusi
The Cardturner, by Louis Sachar
Alien Invasion and Other Inconveniences, by Brian Yansky

WORDS IN THE DUST

WORDS IN THE DUST, by Trent Reedy (Scholastic 2011)(ages 10+). Thirteen year-old Zulaikha lives in an Afghanistan recently liberated from the Taliban. But her concerns are more immediate than the politics of Kabul: getting along with her stepmother; dealing with her siblings; preparing for her sister's upcoming wedding; ignoring the taunts and almost always-horrified reactions to her appearance; and surreptitiously learning to read and write the poetry that so inspired her mother.

Then the Americans come to town, offering protection, opportunities, and a new life. And surgery to fix Zulaikha's cleft palate...

In WORDS IN THE DUST, Trent Reedy offers a human face to what is, for many, a far-off war. Reedy compellingly captures the rhythms of a small Afghan town and the dreams and personalities of its residents. Zulaikha is utterly believable as she reaches toward the future that is now available to her. Ultimately, WORDS IN THE DUST delivers as a finely-wrought novel of love, hope, and decency.

The AUSTIN CHRONICLE covers the YA scene...

This week's Austin Chronicle has an extensive look at YA literature here in Austin:

"Read Cynthia Leitich Smith's Tantalize series, and you may never look at those Con­gress Avenue bats the same way again..."

The article covers the writing community, local book clubs, Book People, APL teen programming, and Texas Book Festival YA programming.

Full article here. Also, check out my post on 2010 books by Austin authors here.

THE HUNCHBACK ASSIGNMENTS

THE HUNCHBACK ASSIGNMENTS, by Arthur Slade (Wendy Lamb/Random House 2009)(ages 10+). In Victorian London, fourteen year-old Modo -- a shape-changing hunchback -- has been raised in seclusion since he was an infant by a Mr. Socrates, leader of a secret society determined to protect the British Empire.

His first assignment: to determine what has caused a group of young men -- Britain's finest -- to turn on their fathers with murderous intent, and figure out if it relates to the kidnapping of scores of orphans.

In THE DARK DEEPS: THE HUNCHBACK ASSIGNMENTS 2 (Wendy Lamb/Random House 2010), Modo finds his second: travel to New York to find out why one of their agents has disappeared and unlock the secret of the "Big Fish."

In THE HUNCHBACK ASSIGNMENTS series, Arthur Slade presents a likeable protagonist in a fantastical, steampunk-inspired Britain. Modo's struggles between duty and self are compelling and the stories are action-packed. Readers will eagerly anticipate book 3.