Meander over to The Lilting House and see our latest rabbit trail!

I am midway through Susan Fletcher’s Shadow Spinner, a retelling of the Scheherazade story that provides the framework for the Arabian Nights tales. Thus far: thoroughly enjoyable, a suspenseful and nuanced look at desperation behind the scenes.  Sharahzad, as she is  called in the novel, has been spinning stories to postpone her own execution for over nine hundred nights, and she is running out of tales to tell. If she falters for a night, her husband the Sultan will have her killed the next morning—and her sister is next, most likely. They enlist the help of a crippled girl with a habit of collecting stories, and it is this girl, Marjan, who is spinning the story of her own life for us. I’m completely hooked.

Reading this book has reminded me how much I enjoy fresh renderings of old stories. Ella Enchanted, for example, and Gail Carson Levine’s other fairy-tales-turned-novel. I always think of the phrase coined by Gail Godwin in Father Melancholy’s Daughter: "respectful imagination." In that novel a professor applies the words to the main character’s knack of looking at a historical figure from that person’s point of view, putting herself in his shoes, envisioning the complex and subtle range of circumstances that push and pull on him. In Shadow Spinner, Susan Fletcher is applying that same respectful imagination to Sheherezade and the people around her. I’m dying to know what happens next.

With so many great lists floating around the kidlitosphere lately—Jen Robinson’s Cool Boys and Cool Girls of Children’s Literature lists and A Year of Reading’s list of Cool Teachers, to name a few—I thought the time was a ripe to start a list of good contemporary retellings of old tales. What are your favorites?

The latest issue of the online chldren’s literature journal, The Edge of the Forest, is up. Editor Kelly Herold was kind enough to grab me for an interview for the "Blogging Writers" feature. She asked great questions about how blogging dovetails with my novel writing. There is also an interview with Newbery winner Linda Sue Park, as well as lots of book reviews. Enjoy!

This information is so important I’m cross-posting it from Bonny Glen:

An abundance of books is something I take for granted. Everything I write here is shaped by my family’s immersion in literature. "Living the living-books lifestyle," I call it, and it’s true: our days, our experiences, our understanding, everything we do is influenced and in many ways made possible by Really Good Books. I put the best literature in my children’s paths, and they read and learn; it really is as simple as that.

Not all children are so fortunate. I may have to choose between books and nice furniture, but for some families there’s no choice at all. Books or food? That one’s a no-brainer. And schools don’t always have the budget to fill the void.

My good friends Julianna Baggott (aka N. E. Bode) and David Scott are keenly aware of this void in Florida, where they live and write with their three children. Here’s what they are doing to fill the void. Julianna writes:

I’ve recently started a new nonprofit, Kids in Need–Books in Deed, that brings free books and free
author visits to Kids in Need in the state of Florida. In addition to
private funding, schools across the country that hope to inspire generosity and service in their students can sign up to sponsor a Write-A-Thon and the money raised will bring free books and authors to kids who need them most. In this way, one child’s imagination fuels another’s education.

We can help. Schools and homeschooling families or groups can participate in Write-a-Thons to collect money per page for stories they write. Direct donations are also welcome.

KIDS IN NEED—BOOKS IN DEED IS COMMITTED TO:

1. Promoting reading and writing—education and the imagination.
When children create a character, they are learning empathy. When  they are plotting a story, they are learning strategic thought.  When they are inventing what might happen next, they are developing their imaginations. When they are putting one word in front of
the next, they are understanding, deeply, their language and finding their own voice. Reading and writing expand our worlds.
               
2. Getting free books into the homes of underprivileged kids. Having books in the home is a primary indicator of literacy. (For some of these students, this will
be the first book they’ve ever owned. The fact that it is inscribed to them and signed by the author makes it all the more personal and valued.)
               
3. Bringing living and breathing
authors to kids. Books are not born from bookshelves. Writers use words to invent worlds. We want to create that magical moment when the writer brings the book to life, breaking down the wall  between author and reader. Having authors talk to students about their childhoods, their creative processes, their imaginations,
allows students to understand that they, too, have a voice and
that there is value and power in writing down their own stories.
               
4. Promoting community service.
Students participating in the Write-A-Thon know that their imaginative efforts are going to a good cause. The web site spotlights the
Kids in Need that the books and authors are going to. With statistics alongside pictures alongside personal anecdotes, we hope that Write-A-Thon
students can get a real sense of the kids they’re helping and a real sense of purpose. We hope that kids receiving free
books and author visits are inspired in this process by a greater
sense of community that reaches beyond the boundaries of their neighborhoods and schoolyards. They, too, will have the opportunity
to be generous by using their imaginative power writing stories
to ensure author visits for the future students of their school
and to build up their school library.

Participating authors include Lisa McCourt, David Kirby, Sherry North, Mary Beth Lundgren, Adrian Fogelin, Paul Shepherd, Gaby Triana, and Joyce Sweeney.

Spread the word! If your kids are in school, share the Write-a-Thon information with their teachers. If you are homeschoolers, consider organizing a Write-a-Thon among your friends or support groups. Let’s get some good books into the hands of kids who need them.

And if you decide to participate, please do let me know. I’ll want to shout your names from the blogtops!

An abundance of books is something I take for granted. Everything I write here and at The Lilting House is shaped by my family’s immersion in literature. "Living the living-books lifestyle," I call it, and it’s true: our days, our experiences, our understanding, everything we do is influenced and in many ways made possible by Really Good Books. I put the best literature in my children’s paths, and they read and learn; it really is as simple as that.

Not all children are so fortunate. I may have to choose between books and nice furniture, but for some families there’s no choice at all. Books or food? That one’s a no-brainer. And schools don’t always have the budget to fill the void.

My good friends Julianna Baggott (aka N. E. Bode) and David Scott are keenly aware of this void in Florida, where they live and write with their three children. Here’s what they are doing to fill the void. Julianna writes:

I’ve recently started a new nonprofit, Kids in Need–Books in Deed, that brings free books and free
author visits to Kids in Need in the state of Florida. In addition to
private funding, schools across the country that hope to inspire generosity and service in their students can sign up to sponsor a Write-A-Thon and the money raised will bring free books and authors to kids who need them most. In this way, one child’s imagination fuels another’s education.

We can help. Schools and homeschooling families or groups can participate in Write-a-Thons to collect money per page for stories they write. Direct donations are also welcome.

KIDS IN NEED—BOOKS IN DEED IS COMMITTED TO:

1. Promoting reading and writing—education and the imagination.
When children create a character, they are learning empathy. When  they are plotting a story, they are learning strategic thought.  When they are inventing what might happen next, they are developing their imaginations. When they are putting one word in front of
the next, they are understanding, deeply, their language and finding their own voice. Reading and writing expand our worlds.
               
2. Getting free books into the homes of underprivileged kids. Having books in the home is a primary indicator of literacy. (For some of these students, this will
be the first book they’ve ever owned. The fact that it is inscribed to them and signed by the author makes it all the more personal and valued.)
               
3. Bringing living and breathing
authors to kids. Books are not born from bookshelves. Writers use words to invent worlds. We want to create that magical moment when the writer brings the book to life, breaking down the wall  between author and reader. Having authors talk to students about their childhoods, their creative processes, their imaginations,
allows students to understand that they, too, have a voice and
that there is value and power in writing down their own stories.
               
4. Promoting community service.
Students participating in the Write-A-Thon know that their imaginative efforts are going to a good cause. The web site spotlights the
Kids in Need that the books and authors are going to. With statistics alongside pictures alongside personal anecdotes, we hope that Write-A-Thon
students can get a real sense of the kids they’re helping and a real sense of purpose. We hope that kids receiving free
books and author visits are inspired in this process by a greater
sense of community that reaches beyond the boundaries of their neighborhoods and schoolyards. They, too, will have the opportunity
to be generous by using their imaginative power writing stories
to ensure author visits for the future students of their school
and to build up their school library.

Participating authors include Lisa McCourt, David Kirby, Sherry North, Mary Beth Lundgren, Adrian Fogelin, Paul Shepherd, Gaby Triana, and Joyce Sweeney.

So Bonny Glen readers, let’s spread the word. If your kids are in school, share the Write-a-Thon information with their teachers. If you are homeschoolers, consider organizing a Write-a-Thon among your friends or support groups. Let’s get some good books into the hands of kids who need them.

And if you decide to participate, please do let me know. I’ll want to shout your names from the blogtops!

One of the questions on Kelly’s stolen books meme has got us talking in the comments. The question was, "Name one book you wish had never been written."

My answer was:

I have thought long and hard about this one since I first saw this
meme, and I can’t do it. I can’t wish a book unwritten. There are books
I dislike and books that I think have done outright harm. But still,
something in me recoils from the idea of entirely erasing one from
existence. What if IT was the book that sparked the idea for another
book by another author down the line? I’m picturing literary dominoes
that poof one another out of existence as they topple down
the line. If I wish my most hated book away, I might take something
precious with it.

Jennifer replied:

I guess without Mein Kampf there would be no Number the Stars or Diary of Anne Frank…but still…

Which is an excellent point. I responded (not terribly articulately):

Well, strictly speaking I was sticking to children’s books in the meme.
But I did think about the question you raise—without Mein Kampf would
there have been no Holocaust? If so, that’s a domino worth knocking
over. Impossible to know, though, if unmaking the book would have
unmade the atrocities, or might in some way have made things (hard to
imagine) worse. I dunno.

What do you think?

Meanwhile, here’s a look at how other people answered the question. Some responded lightheartedly, identifying poorly written books they’d just as soon not have had to endure. (I could certainly come up with a long list of those.)

Others seemed to select books they perceive as harmful in some way. Here’s an incomplete survey, with links to the source:

Big A little a: First choice: Notes from the Underground, by Dostoevsky. Second choice? Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed! by Katharine DeBrecht and Jim Hummel (I see there’s a sequel to this one: Help! Mom! Hollywood’s in my Hamper! I’ll put that on the list too.) 

Blog from the Windowsill: The horrific, claustrophobia-inducing Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner. At any rate, I wish I had never read it.

Tockla’s World: I was totally creeped out by reading Helter Skelter about the
Charles Manson murders. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t have been
written. Even more controversially, perhaps we’d be better off without
some religious texts (Bible?) for all the trouble it’s caused.

Scholar Blog: Oh Pamela – that book bored me stupid at college – I stopped half way through to read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban !!

Journey Woman: So many choices for so many different reasons.  Perhaps any book by Madonna.  [Interjection from Lissa: Ha!]

Jen Robinson: Kiss the Girls, by James Patterson. It’s a serial
killer/predator novel set at Duke, where I did my undergrad degree.
While I couldn’t help finishing it (because it was compelling), it made
my skin crawl. I did really like Patterson’s Maximum Ride, however, so I’m not holding it against him.

Children’s Literature Book Club: Ugh, gee, let’s think about this one.  I know a million people love the book Love You Forever
by Robert Munsch, but I CAN"T STAND IT! Yes, it makes moms everywhere
cry, but come on, an elderly mother breaking into her adult son’s house
to hold him while he’s sleeping and chant, "love you forever"? Creepy!

Farm School: Love You Forever by Robert Munsch; Disney’s Princess Storybook Collection; The Sesame Street Treasury. Oh dear.  Is that more than one?

Becky Levine: I don’t know that I think any book should never have
been written. A book I wish I’d never read…? Nope, can’t think of
one. Okay, sure, I’ve read and partially read lots of badly written
books, but they just needed a lot more rewriting!

Tasha of KidsLit: This will probably seem strange.  But I wish that Lowry had never written a sequel to The Giver.
I loved the ambiguity of the ending, the gasp that would escape
readers, and the fact that they alone had to wrestle with the
possibilities of what may have happened.

MotherReader: If you’re a reader of my blog, you’ll know the answer. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Stupid bunny book.

A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy: There are books that I finish reading and think, well, there’s three
hours of my life I wont’ get back. But often it turns out that my hate
is another’s love, so I don’t wish any book unwritten.

Gail Gauthier: The fourth Artemis Fowl book. I found it very, very weak. A sad decline.

A Year in Reading: Not a wish I am philosophically able to make. (ML) The new NANCY DREW books–I liked the old ones! (F)

Little Willow: There are many books which I dislike, but they may be loved by others
and were most likely valued by their authors, so I do not want to
condemn anything to "never written" status. If the question posed was,
"What famous, popular, or critically acclaimed novels do you dislike?"
I would have many, many answers.

Real Learning: Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown

Cottage Blessings: Misty’s Twilight by Marguerite Henry. This is admittedly a quirky pick on my part, but I so loved the Misty of Chincoteague series, and Misty’s Twilight, written by Ms. Henry much later in life, was disappointing in the extreme.

Mozart & Mud Pies: The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. Blech. The worst sort of book. And made more so by the sad, but not surprising, way that so many clung to its message as truth. Demoralizing twaddle.(Also, I’d like to include every Social Studies textbook I ever had to suffer through in middle school.)

Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks: The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Fowler. I’m sorry but it doesn’t even deserve a link—am I a meanie, or what!

Karen Edmisten: Helter Skelter, Vincent Bugliosi; Salem’s Lot, Stephen King. (Both gave me endless nightmares in high school.)

The Bookworm: The Antiquary by Walter Scott. I had to study it for an exam during my school days and have never been able to bring myself to read anything by Scott since.

Kate’s Book Blog: I could name a few books that I wish I hadn’t read but I wouldn’t go so
far as to say that I wish they had never been written. Just because I
didn’t like them doesn’t mean that others who did or would should be
deprived of their enjoyment. I’m not sure that I would wish out of
existence even those books full of political ideas that appal me. I
struggle with this issue, but I’m inclined toward the view that it’s
better to have the ideas out in the open where they can be combated as
opposed to leaving them to fester beneath the surface.

Marihalo Jen (writing at sea):
Stove by a Whale by Heffernan, just the title is horrifying!

There are many more, and if I’ve left you out it’s only because following these link chains is time-consuming, and I’ve consumed every morsel of my portion of time. Maybe I’ll add more later. I so enjoy this food for thought (not to mention the chuckles—thanks, Jen!) For now—speaking of food and time—we’ll give Susan of Chicken Spaghetti the last word (and since she names my favorite herb, I’m glad this is just an exercise):

Rather than books, I am going to talk about a herb. Specifically,
thyme. I wish it had not been invented because it crops up when I least
expect it. Some people feel this way about raisins, but those I don’t
mind. Tarragon, dill, cumin, curry, cilantro: thumbs up. But spare me
the thyme.

Kelly tagged all the children’s lit bloggers, and Alice tagged me specifically, so here goes:

1. One book that changed your life?

The Lord of the Rings wasn’t written for children, but I first (and second and third, etc) read it as a child, so  I’m counting it. The reason I say it "changed my life" is that it’s responsible for sparking my romance with Scott. At a college party, we fell into discussion of this mutual favorite and, well, suddenly the music and noise around us faded away, and you know the rest.

2. One book you have read more than once?

Ha, what book HAVEN’T I would be a harder question to answer! Limiting the answer to ONE I’ve re-read is harder still. If I’ve written about a book on this blog, you can bet I’ve read it a bunch of times. But let’s see. One book. Anne’s House of Dreams.

3. One book you would want on a desert island?

Again, sticking with children’s books: it would have to be something very very big. A complete edition of Grimm’s tales, maybe? Or no, I know: The American Boys’ Handy Book. (I think the boys’ version would be more useful in this circumstance than the girls’.)

4. One book that made you laugh?

The Anybodies by N. E. Bode.

5. One book that made you cry?

 Old Yeller.

6. One book you wish had been written?

 Betsy’s Baby (a sequel to Betsy’s Wedding by Maud Hart Lovelace).

7. One book you wish had never been written?

I have thought long and hard about this one since I first saw this meme, and I can’t do it. I can’t wish a book unwritten. There are books I dislike and books that I think have done outright harm. But still, something in me recoils from the idea of entirely erasing one from existence. What if IT was the book that sparked the idea for another book by another author down the line? I’m picturing literary dominoes that poof one another out of existence as they topple down the line. If I wish my most hated book away, I might take something precious with it.

8. One book you are currently reading?

I just picked up Susan Fletcher’s Shadow Spinner at the library yesterday.

9. One book you have been meaning to read?

Rules by Cynthia Lord.

10. Now tag five people:

I think everyone’s been tagged already!* Now, on to the Bookworm’s homeschooling meme. ::::rubbing hands together gleefully::::

*No, wait! I know someone! Heh heh…I tag Scott.