The Diamond in the Window

We Recommend: Books Set in the Middle Ages

It's We Recommend, in which we use our superpowers to find readers the perfect book. Got a kid who needs a recommendation? Write us at thediamondinthewindow (at) gmail (dot) com with the age, reading tastes, favorite books, and any other relevant (or irrelevant) information, and we'll give it a shot. And really? All the good suggestions are in the comments.

We're having a mini-run of We Recommends here, which is fun for us, and (we hope) helpful to someone, somewhere. We love getting the requests, is the truth, so keep them coming. Here we go:

My son, aged very nearly 10, wants us to read some stories about the middle ages. There's Robin Hood, of course, and King Arthur. Beyond that, what do you suggest? To give you a target range, his desert island books so far include Treasure Island, Tom Sawyer, My Side of the Mountain, The Princess and the Goblin, Swallows and Amazons, and My Family and Other Animals.   

This one is a little tricky for us. Middle ages? Says Wikipedia, that's 5th to the 15th Centuries, which is...broad. And, says Chestnut, the real question is, is he OK with magic? Or does he want realistic middle ages?

Given that we don't really know, we're just going to take a stab here with one both Chestnut and Diana have loved. (Though it was an interesting question, making me wonder a lot about just what realism means, exactly. Anyway, thoughts for another time.) Here's our pick:

Though, I mean, middle ages? Yeah sort of. But per Tamora Pierce's web site, these take place in a different universe, so that makes it a little tricky to call them really middle ages. I mean, I figure the "King Arthur" reference meant that The Once and Future King is already done. But oh! And I thought of another, and it's super-middle ages-y. Middle aged?

OK, that's what I got this sleepy evening.

But what I would really like, what I hope you guys can offer up in the comments, is a book set in the middle ages that's full of the sort of adventure it seems like this kid goes for. Anyone have an idea?

We Recommend: Books for Teenager Learning to Read

It's We Recommend, in which we use our superpowers to find readers the perfect book. Got a kid who needs a recommendation? Write us at thediamondinthewindow (at) gmail (dot) com with the age, reading tastes, favorite books, and any other relevant (or irrelevant) information, and we'll give it a shot. And really? All the good suggestions are in the comments. - See more at: http://www.thediamondinthewindow.com/the-diamond-in-the-window/we-recommend/#sthash.USBMo618.dpuf

It's We Recommend, in which we use our superpowers to find readers the perfect book. Got a kid who needs a recommendation? Write us at thediamondinthewindow (at) gmail (dot) com with the age, reading tastes, favorite books, and any other relevant (or irrelevant) information, and we'll give it a shot. And really? All the good suggestions are in the comments. - See more at: http://www.thediamondinthewindow.com/the-diamond-in-the-window/we-recommend/#sthash.USBMo618.dpuf

It's We Recommend, in which we use our superpowers to find readers the perfect book. Got a kid who needs a recommendation? Write us at thediamondinthewindow (at) gmail (dot) com with the age, reading tastes, favorite books, and any other relevant (or irrelevant) information, and we'll give it a shot. And really? All the good suggestions are in the comments. - See more at: http://www.thediamondinthewindow.com/the-diamond-in-the-window/we-recommend/#sthash.USBMo618.dpuf

It's We Recommend, in which we use our superpowers to find readers the perfect book. Got a kid who needs a recommendation? Write us at thediamondinthewindow (at) gmail (dot) com with the age, reading tastes, favorite books, and any other relevant (or irrelevant) information, and we'll give it a shot. And really? All the good suggestions are in the comments. - See more at: http://www.thediamondinthewindow.com/the-diamond-in-the-window/we-recommend/#sthash.USBMo618.dpuf

It's We Recommend, in which we use our superpowers to find readers the perfect book. Got a kid who needs a recommendation? Write us at thediamondinthewindow (at) gmail (dot) com with the age, reading tastes, favorite books, and any other relevant (or irrelevant) information, and we'll give it a shot. And really? All the good suggestions are in the comments. - See more at: http://www.thediamondinthewindow.com/the-diamond-in-the-window/we-recommend/#sthash.USBMo618.dpuf

It's We Recommend, in which we use our superpowers to find readers the perfect book. Got a kid who needs a recommendation? Write us at thediamondinthewindow (at) gmail (dot) com with the age, reading tastes, favorite books, and any other relevant (or irrelevant) information, and we'll give it a shot. And really? All the good suggestions are in the comments. - See more at: http://www.thediamondinthewindow.com/the-diamond-in-the-window/we-recommend/#sthash.USBMo618.dpuf

It's We Recommend, in which we use our superpowers to find readers the perfect book. Got a kid who needs a recommendation? Write us at thediamondinthewindow (at) gmail (dot) com with the age, reading tastes, favorite books, and any other relevant (or irrelevant) information, and we'll give it a shot. And really? All the good suggestions are in the comments. - See more at: http://www.thediamondinthewindow.com/the-diamond-in-the-window/we-recommend/#sthash.USBMo618.dpuf

It's We Recommend, in which we try to help people find books that will bring them great joy. The secret? Look in the comments, that's where all the best suggestions hide. Do YOU want a recommendation? Just email us a thediamondinthewind (at) gmail (dot) com and tell us everything about your reader (or yourself). We'll do our best to find the perfect book.

So this is a tough one. But it's essential. Because reading should be a pleasure—it is pleasure, through and through, and when it's treated like medicine that's what it tastes like. Read on, and let's see what we can do.

is not a request for recommendations for literature per se. I have a teenaged son who still cannot read -- although he loves listening to books on tape and having me read to him. The problem is that all the resources I can find to teach reading are geared toward young kids. Having little kid stuff shoved in his face, reminding him he can't read while knowing little kids are learning this stuff, means that he refuses to work with these materials, and continues to not read. So I continue to search for resources to help him learn the basics of reading -- GEARED to TEENS. Nothing with little kid stories, or pictures, or voices (software) is acceptable. Anyone have any suggestions?

Here's the thing: he wants to read. He loves books. I feel it is our duty to see what we can do. And of course he doesn't want to read little kid stuff learning-to-read stuff. Some little kids don't even like it.

Back in the olden days, before I had children, I used to be a literacy tutor at the public library. I was terrible at it. I mean, I wanted to do it and I went to a training and everything, in fact to several trainings, and then I used to take two subways (at age 25 I didn't understand how to say stuff like "Could I work at a library closer to my house?") and go see someone, and she was embarrassed, and I was embarrassed, and I was not entirely competent, and...I wish I had been better at it.

A lot of people were, and an enduring memory of that hazy time of my 20s is going to the celebration in the Botanical Gardens and seeing all the people for whom it really worked: they spoke of their struggles with learning to read, and the incredible relief when they broke through. And then for some reason I slipped away before it was done and walked home by myself through the Botanical Garden at night, something I bet I will never get to do again, and rabbits and other weird animals were out. I really wished I could have helped someone.

So: here is my chance. Here is our chance. There were books in the program for adults learning to read. Not only to avoid embarrassment, but because they would be interested. Books about lives like theirs, about adults, about pain and difficulty and struggle.

Part of me thinks that the key for this boy might be comic books. They've worked for so many adolescents—so many images, so much story, so few words (read My Dyslexia by Phillip Schultz, the poet [and a teacher whose classes I went to long ago] for his story on learning to read as an adolescent). Maybe X-Men? Maybe Batman? Maybe something even more grownup, like The Sandman? Graphic novels and comic books offer important crutches, I think.

But then, too, there are these:

These are a series of books by an organization called Good Reads, which aims to offer compelling books to adults learning to read. They have large fonts, simple words, gripping stories (one is The Stalker, which I already want to read). They are for adults—would he be OK going a little older?

Or do you, my most excellent readers, have a better idea? I am truly out of my depth here, but I am very moved by the plight of this kid, and I wish there were more I could offer. I know a whole lot of you are librarians; some are teachers, some are reading specialists: got anything? Leave it in the comments.

My Friend Wrote a Book You Might Like

But it is not for kids. Not by a long chalk.

Unless your kids want to sneak it off your shelves the way some people might have done with Fear of Flying circa 1978. Or so I hear.

But you? You might really like it.

Note: Jessica is a nut, and it's a nutty book, just like her in any number of endearing and entertaining ways. It's warm, and smutty, and friendly, and giddy, and fun-loving. It's the book you want to go to a party with, the book who will warmly introduce you to everyone she's with and make sure you're having a good time. Oh, and did I say she's really, really funny? Even Nick Hornby thinks so, and he is famous.

I know I am utterly without objectivity (hi, FTC!), but I can tell you that I went to see her read, and it was funny and excellent, and I went home and read her book, and all of it made me really happy.

I must, however, warn you that if you don't think the following things have at least the potential to be funny, maybe skip it: a bread bag of cocaine, sex with Billy Idol, people indiscriminantly (and discriminantly) flashing their whangs around. But if you do? I say go for it.

But don't let your kids see where you shelve it.

Hey, Check It Out!

I noticed something different when I was reading the New York Times Book Review this past weekend. There, at the bottom of the page towards the end, where they list the editor's choice books, were books for kids.

Now as far as I know, this has never before been the case. Though maybe I never noticed it? That's a little too possible, given my recent discovery of a new ice cream place, to which Chestnut replied, "It's been there for two years, how could you not have noticed that?" Yeah.

Anyway, let's proceed with the idea that I am not slowly fading into hazy irrelevance, and assume that they really are starting something new. And I would like to go on record here (does this count as a record? A blog?) that I think it's pretty great. Come on, kids books, stand up and be counted! Take your place in the editor's choice with pride!

When you think of how many great books are children's books, it only makes sense. Still, it feels a little heady, and it so doubt due to the new editor there, Pamela Paul, who was formerly the children's books editor (natch), and to whom I am everlastingly and probably not FTC-approved grateful for assigning me my first review there.

This is as "in the biz" as I am every likely to get, so enjoy it if you like that sort of thing, and if not, my apologies and I promise to return soon with a tortured metaphor about bike riding or pointed hats and their MEANING in LIFE and LITERATURE. Should be good.

Who Do You Like?

I was actually going to ask, "Who Do You Have a Crush on?" but the more common formulation seems to be, "Who do you like?" (RIP, poor whom), and they don't even bother with "You know, like like."

Who are "they" you ask? Why, they are middle schoolers. You may remember them from your youth as "kids in junior high" or simply, "some kids." And they care who you like, and they care about the whole phenomenon of liking, and who can blame them? Their bodies are going crazy, they are almost teenagers but still secretly play at home, and they have to confront things like Taylor Swift and somehow make sense of them.

However. If your child is (or if, in fact, you are) being subjected to these questions day in and day out, and you just want a break, a moment where that isn't what everyone is thinking and talking about every single second, I have a solution. Or rather, I have three. And, of course, they are all books. And they are random. First, for the person who still wants a realistic fiction book, but wants to think about something other than romantic relations, there is this:

She goes to middle school. Her friends...change. She survives.

Then, for those who are zany, and also ambitious readers, there is this:

It is nuts, in the best possible way.

For those who are, perhaps, gentler, and willing to deal with romance as long as it's inter-species, this is a comforting friend to return to. And blissfully less sassy than the movie.

Maybe no one is asking you who you like. Or maybe you do like someone, and want to talk about it. If so, carry on, by all means.

But if you just want a moment of being away from that ubiquitous question, or to be in a time and space where no one is asking you, a moment with one of these books will provide respite.

Literary Deposits

We were peeling carrots, and putting them in a tall glass of water in the refrigerator to chill, which is something my mother used to do. The idea was that it was so hot, and it would be great to have something cool and crunchy to eat whenever you came out of your heat-induced torpor enough to be hungry. But here's the problem: as I put them in the refrigerator, I said, "And crispy, crunchy carrot sticks just about any time!"

Do you know why I said that? Because the Berenstain Bears have carved a rut into my brain.

It's a parental occupational hazard: you read the same books over. And over. And over. And then, like anything, they cut a groove in your brain just like pop songs from the year you were 13, or television commercials you consumed repeatedly. And you can't. Get them. OUT.

Whenever I see carrot sticks, that freaking sentence comes into my mouth AND MAKES ME SPEAK IT.

Every. Single. Time.

It's from The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food, one of my most heartily detested chores. I don't know how many times I read it. I don't know how long it will take before it becomes expunged. If ever. Which is something I just have to deal with, you know? IT MAY NEVER BE EXPUNGED.

I will be 96 years old (if I'm lucky) and they'll walk by with carrot sticks (they won't offer them to me, because I won't have any teeth left), and I'll mumble "Crisp, crunchy carrots sticks just about any time!" And they'll think I'm mad. And maybe they'll be right.

Also, in a desperate attempt at journalistic integrity I just searched for the cursed book to see if I have altered the hated quote, and found that it has four stars on good reads. Which must be in some way significant, though I am too horrified to figure out why.

Anyway, I woke up at 5:55 a.m. thinking, "Literary deposits," and that's what I realized I meant: these things leave their traces in your brain, and you can't get them out, and then that IS your brain, all the literary deposits that have been left there.

If this has happened to you, if you are a helpless victim to some trigger phrase or another, tell me in the comments. Just don't come by with carrot sticks. You know what I'll say.

We Recommend: Books about...American Culture?

It's We Recommend, in which we use our superpowers to find readers the perfect book. Got a kid who needs a recommendation? Write us at thediamondinthewindow (at) gmail (dot) com with the age, reading tastes, favorite books, and any other relevant (or irrelevant) information, and we'll give it a shot. And really? All the good suggestions are in the comments.

 Well, faithful readers, we have reason to rejoice (I think so anyway) because this is yet another return visitor whom we have helped before. But now, it's different.

We live in Australia and are heading to America for three months at the end of this year.  We will be based in Boston, but will also be exploring other parts of the country, and spending Thanksgiving with distant relatives in Arizona. Obviously in Australia (as everywhere) we get a fair bit of exposure to American culture, but I would be really interested in some ideas for the 8 - 10 year age group that deal interestingly with American history and culture, perhaps especially history relevant to Boston and New England.  We have read the Little House series, and Caddie Woodlawn and quite a number of other regular recommendations on your website (Understood Betsy, Betsy-Tacy, lots of Judy Blume, the Penderwicks, Ramona et al).  Your help is greatly appreciated.

OK, I absolutely know people will ahve excellent ideas on this one. But for me? There's only one real choice. It came to me in a blinding flash.

Is it too dorky for me to pick this? Probably yes. And yet! It's set in Concord, and it's about the Transcendentalists in New England, and the Alcotts, and Walden, and Thoreau...I just had no choice, can't you see that? For heaven's sake, it's my namesake, I couldn't just forsake it. (But maybe Little Women, too? Just because why not?)

Anyway, I believe (I hope?) that you guys have all sorts of other American, New England, Boston books for the 8- to 10-year-old crowd.

(Also, this cover in no way resembles any of the many I have owned, but it is so awesome and majestic and creepy that I had to put it here. Thanks, GoodReads!)

Any ideas? Put them in the comments, if you will.

 

The Annual Non-Literary Request

Hello, all:

Chestnut is, once again, participating in a punchathon to raise money for the Center for Anti-Violence Education. Here is the statement from her website:  

i am trying to raise money for teens, transgender people, women, and victims of violence to give them free self-defense classes.

It is a noble cause, and if you're looking for something to donate to it's a great organization.

What You Should Do Right Now

Lately I have been beset by sudden attacks of loose ends, when I wander the neighborhood (or house, if I'm tired) not knowing quite what to do. Of course, there are many things I should do—clean the bathrooms. Earn some money. Find out what I'm supposed to do with the mysterious tax letter. But somehow those never come immediately to mind.

I am writing this in case you are suffering the same strange, late-May fog, because I have recently discovered what to do. You should read The Blue Fairy Book. No, not the big thick one with lots of words. The weird, inexplicable hard-cover one from my childhood. Like so:

Do you know why you should read it? Because of Felicia and the Pot of Pinks.

There is something about these illustrations that touches my soul in a strange and profound way. But even the pot of pinks pales beside—Diamonds and Toads.

Do you SEE? Jewels are coming out of her mouth! The extent to which this affected me as a child is...is probably not altogether OK. And not just because of her poor sister:

Snakes and toads in her mouth. How did it feel? I mean, I spent some time wondering about the jewels in the mouth too (aren't diamonds sort of, er, hard and sharp?) but the slithery aliveness of these give me pause.

But truly, there is nothing like a weird, fairy-tale book from your childhood to send you rocketing back to when you were another person, and the world and its stories were more...permeable. You could go right inside, without even hesitating. I think it's what I still search for, when I read.

Anyway, there you go, that should keep you off the streets and prevent you from getting anything useful done. If you have any bizarre dreamworld books from your childhood that might not be actually good, but have that weird hold on you, by all means leave them in the comments. We're always looking for tickets to the other side.

We Recommend: A Mysterious Request

It's We Recommend, in which we use our superpowers to find readers the perfect book. Got a kid who needs a recommendation? Write us at thediamondinthewindow (at) gmail (dot) com with the age, reading tastes, favorite books, and any other relevant (or irrelevant) information, and we'll give it a shot. And really? All the good suggestions are in the comments.

Ah, we're back. It's been a while since we've had a We Recommend, and this one will challenge and perplex you, in the best possible way. Also, it comes from someone you have all been successful with in the past. But now he is (as we all are, inevitably) older and more complicated. Like so:

His reading is quite voracious and I have exhausted my list of ideas from my own childhood. He is 9 next month.
He has enjoyed all of the Harry Potter books and has read them independently (although the last couple I think had a lot of material that went over his head content-wise). He's currently racing through the Lemony Snicket series, and absolutely loving those.
He's not much into fantasy stuff, sci-fi or war. He loves anything to do with language (adored 'The Word Spy') and is keen on maths and music at school. Loves a good story.

Here's where I am caught: he loves Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket, but is not into fantasy, sci fi, or war. But...Lemony Snicket and Harry Potter? These are not realistic fiction by a long chalk. So I think we have a case of maybe he likes things that he thinks he doesn't like? At any rate, what matters is what will work, and so we can look at the books he enjoyed and from that we can deduce: he's a word kid. And he likes funny things.

I think we can all take a moment to meditate on how delightful these attributes are. And then we can try to think of things that will fit for the young gentleman, while not scaring him off with any wizards on the cover. I toyed with Septimus Heap. I considered Artemis Fowl. I even thought about Terry Pratchett, to whom he will make his way some time soon. But in the end, I went way WAY back, to the book all humorous word-lovers should spend some time with at one point or another.

Unless I have completely misread this young person, this should fit the bill nicely. It's funny! There's word play! It's awesome!

But of course, I might have misread him completely. Oooh, and should I have said Holes? I should probably have said Holes, right? Or Sideways Stories at Wayside School? But don't let me sit here torturing myself: please, in the comments, offer up some ideas, and possible alternate reads of his wishes, and get the kid something great to read!