Oceans of Possiblities (and Books)

If you are a regular patron of your local library, or have been in the past, you are probably familiar with the summer reading program. Every summer libraries across the nation decorate, plan parties, book performers, and purchase oodles of prizes to encourage kids, teens, and adults to keep reading books and visiting the library.  Since 1987 the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) has connected libraries and librarians across the country so that we all use the same theme, slogan, and artwork for our summer programs. The CSLP provides tons of valuable resources for the consortium including unique artwork created by a renowned illustrator. For example, Jarret Krosoczka, Brian Lies, Brian Pinkney, and Scott Nash have been artists behind previous year's themes.

This year the theme is Oceans of Possibilities and the artwork was created by the Sophie Blackall.

I admit that there are years when I love the theme, the artwork, and the direction that the CSLP provides as far as planning. And then there are years when I feel constrained and unsure what to do. This year has actually been a lot of fun since there are so many interesting and fun things that you can do with the theme of oceans. Our library has made jellyfish in water bottles, mini coral reefs, sea glass candle holders, decorated with paper mache fish and paper bowl sea turtles. It has been so much fun and our patrons of all ages have been delighted. 

Ok, I have talked about themes and artwork, blah, blah, blah, but this post was meant to be about books. Specifically books that pertain to the 2022 theme, Oceans of Possibilities. As the librarian responsible for crafts, programs, displays, and storytimes it is always nice when the theme is fun and easy to promote. The theme, Oceans of Possibilities, brings to mind oodles of entertaining books for all age levels.

Let's start with picture books, since I have been planning ocean-themed storytimes for the past month.

I think it is important to always include the classics so I could not even imagine the summer without reading Mister Seahorse and A House for Hermit Crab by the preeminent author and illustrator, Eric Carle.
Yeah, I am pretty sure that I have mentioned Eric Carle picture books more than once. Come on, though, Eric Carle is a genius, and these books are not only beautifully illustrated, but they are also informative. How many children know that it is male seahorses that actually carry and deliver babies or that hermit crabs grow out of their shells and then look for new ones. These stories are also easy to translate into storytime crafts which is always a bonus. My storytime kiddos decorated their own hermit shell crabs and sea horses with markers, puff balls, glitter, sequins, foam stickers, etc. I always enjoy seeing the variety, how all the kids go about doing the craft in completely unique ways. 

I am pretty sure that I have mentioned having boys with a penchant for carnage in picture books. Honestly, I am not sure whether I should encourage this or not, but here are a couple of books that made my blood-thirsty six year old bust out laughing. If your little one will get upset by animals eating other animals you should probably steer clear of Ugly Fish. Also, if you are offended by the word bum or bothered by the idea of piranhas wanting to eat bums than I would definitely not check out the Blabey book. The majority of kids, though, (at least those that I have encountered) delight in the absurd and will be rolling on the floor laughing at both of these books. Blabey, who is the author of The Bad Guys juvenile series and also the

Pig the Pug picture book series, is a master at appealing to children while also giving them opportunities for a good giggle. Brian, the Piranha tries to encourage the other Piranhas to embrace his vegetarian diet. Eventually, they are willing to try fruit, but ultimately decide that "bum" is still better. 

Ugly Fish by Kara Larou is hilarious story about a ugly fish (who would have guessed) living in a fish tank that loves his solitary life until new fish appear. I don't want to give anything away, but Ugly Fish learns that company can be a fun thing, and then, not so much.

One of my favorite new author and illustrators is

Einat Tsarfati, I only recently became aware of Tsarfati's books (I just happened to see one in a bookstore) and I am so happy that I found them, especially considering this year's summer reading theme. Tsarfati is a brilliant artist whose illustrations contain wondrous detail that accompany her equally delightful text. It Could Be Worse has been my go-to-book for reading to my elementary class tours that would usually claim to be too old for a story.  In this story two shipwrecked sailors are floating along in the ocean on what is left of their ship. Albertini is, understandably, upset about their situation, but George is an optimist and keeps reminding Albertini that things "could be worse". Of course, every time George says this things get considerably worse. Readers of all ages will be in hysterics as the two sailors deal with flying fish with diarrhea, tone-deaf mermaids, ghost pirates, hungry whales, etc.

The Sandcastle is another book written and illustrated by Einat Tsarfati. The book features characters from one of Tsarfati's other books, The Neighbors. In this story the young red-haired protagonist is enjoying a day at the beach with her parents and decides to build a sandcastle. Not just any sandcastle, though, a fantastical sandcastle of such enormity that kings and queens from around the world move in and hold elaborate balls, games, and feasts. As with all of Tsarfati's books, the illustrations are whimsical and intricate and you will want to have a copy in your hands so you can appreciate all of the magical details on each page.

I could probably go on for several more pages describing picture books about the ocean but right now I do want to mention a few ocean-themed chapter books. The Flooded Earth Trilogy by Mardi McCondrie is an exciting sci-fi, dystopian adventure with a climate change twist that is sure to grab middle grade readers. It is the not-so distant future and in order to address world-wide drought caused by climate change scientists developed a machine that resulted in the earth being flooded.The planet-wide flooding has resulted in the navy taking control of what is left of America, billions of refugees whose homes are now underwater, and countless pirates roaming the expanded seas. These are books that I will continue to recommend and hope that I can get kids to check out, because I loved it. The premise and characters are intriguing and appealing and once you read the first book you are going to be chomping at the bit to find out what happens to twins, Will and Annalie, as they search for their missing father.

The last book I want to mention is a historical fiction set in Europe during the aftermath of World War I. There are so, so, so many books about WWII and young readers (as well as teens and adults) are fascinated by holocaust. I have enjoyed explaining to my younger patrons that there was a first world war that did not include Hitler and it also historically significant. Voyage of the Sparrowhawk by Natasha Farrant  is about two children whose lives are in turmoil following WWI. Together they set across the English Channel and into France aboard a narrow boat called the Sparrowhawk.  Voyage of the Sparrowhawk is an exciting adventure that is sure to capture the attention of young readers.

I know that there are countless more books that I could include in this post. I didn't even make it to teen or adult books. That will have to be my next post, I guess.  Anyways, I hope that this post inspires you to read some new books that revolve around the ocean. OR at least fish since I just realized that I mentioned two books that have nothing to do with the ocean. Obviously piranhas are freshwater fish and Ugly Fish takes place in a fish tank. Oops.

Fine! I'll watch Ted Lasso!

 I have written quite profusely about the books and genres I love to read. When it comes to movies or television, it is much the same. I love anything science fiction and/or fantasy (I have watched and rewatched every permutation of Star Trek created), and beyond that I steer towards mystery shows. What can I say, I grew up watching Star Trek with my dad and Murder She Wrote with my mom and, BOOM, my life long watching habits were set. Seriously, turn on any episode in any season of Murder She Wrote and I can tell you who the victim and murderer are within the first five minutes. I should probably be embarrassed about that but any reader of this blog already knows that I am a complete nerd.

What I don't watch (or at least very rarely) are comedies. This  drives my drives my husband crazy when he just wants to watch something light and I suggest Criminal Minds, Picard, or that new show, Severance. He (my husband) is always talking about sitcoms and comedies that he loves and that I need to watch and I just smile and nod or sit for a scene or two and then go back to reading my book.

For the past year my husband has been gushing about Ted Lasso. It is one of the best shows he has ever watched, I will love it, I need to watch it, blah, blah, blah. I won't lie, I pretty much ignored him and forgot about it. Not that I am anti-sports, because I am an huge follower of professional tennis and there are some amazing sports movies that I have watched more than once. But a comedy about an American football coach that moves to England to coach a professional soccer team doesn't sound that interesting.

Well as famed author and family therapist, Virginia Satir, stated "Our biggest problems as human beings is knowing that we don't know."  Side note: If you have never heard of Virginia Satir, she is a fascinating person who was a child prodigy that taught herself to read at age three, but by the time she was a teen one of the few fields open to females was education. Eventually her interest in family dynamics led to her becoming an esteemed family therapist.

I know that I went off topic a bit there so back to television. My husband has been talking about the series, Ted lasso, for MONTHS!!!!! I am not going to lie, I probably started to say no out of pure stubbornness, but eventually I caved.  We had just finished watching the most recent season of Star Trek Discovery and he asked if I wanted to try Ted Lasso and I said "sure". Honestly, I figured I'd humor him by watching the first episode and then I would stop hearing about the weird soccer/football show.

You have probably already guessed that I ended up LOVING Ted Lasso and we watched both seasons in a single weekend. Before I tell you why Ted Lasso is so amazing let me give you a quick origin story. You may be surprised to learn that Ted Lasso began as commercial.  The character was co-created by actors, writers, and comedians, Joe Kelly, Brendan Hunt, and Jason Sudeikis and  then used by NBC sports in a series of videos in 2013 and 2014 to promote their coverage of the Premier League. The videos went viral, Sudeikis loved playing the character, fast forward several years of Hollywood wheeling and dealing, and Ted Lasso premiered on Apple TV on August 14, 2020.

 

 

 Now that you know how Ted Lasso began, let me get into what sets it apart from other shows. You've heard the term "feel-good" but I don't know if it has ever been more applicable then when used to describe Ted Lasso. The show should be a train wreck. Lasso is basically Pollyanna with a stache and you would think that alone would make it too unbearably saccharine to even watch. Sudeikis's performance of the persistently positive Lasso is nuanced and sincere. At first glance Lasso may seem to have rose colored glassed staple-gunned to his face, but the superb writing and Sudeikis's brilliant performance lead to a much more nuanced character. We see the cheerful, let's just "BELIEVE" and "we can do it" Lasso, but there is also the Ted Lasso who is heartbroken over the breakup of his marriage and suffers severe panic attacks. It is this earnest depiction of serious issues such as mental illness intertwined with the humor that takes Ted Lasso from mediocre to exceptional television. 

It takes more than a title character to make a show stand out, though. As phenomenal as Sudeikis is as Lasso, it would not be nearly as good without a fantastic supporting cast. First among these has to be Lasso's assistant coach (and one of the co-creators of the show), Brendan Hunt aka Coach Beard. Lasso's assistant football coach and best friend goes all in with Lasso and heads across the pond to coach soccer. Coach Beard's sardonic attitude is the perfect foil to Lasso's relentless positivity and the interplay between the two is delightful to watch. Almost as good as the dialogue is Beard's stoicism and sporadic delivery of side line wisdom and one liners. As a librarian (and a nerd) I love that Beard is this quirky dude who is always reading books and randomly demonstrating his vast knowledge of random subjects. This is probably a good thing, since Lasso is not up on the rules of football across the pond. 

                                                                                                                                                                          

I love the entire cast of Ted Lasso. Hannah Waddingham just won her first emmy for her role as Rebecca Welton, owner of AFC Richmand. Waddingham's character, who only became the owner of the team after a nasty public divorce is brilliant, funny, strong, and an amazing inspiration to all women who watch the show not just her goddaughter and Keely. I cannot express how wonderful it is to see a leading female character on television who is sexy, smart, and interesting who is not barely out of high school. Hollywood has a long tradition of allowing men to age and continue to land starring roles, while female actresses are relegated to grandma roles when they are barely over thirty. Ted Lasso actually shows two female characters who have relationships with men younger than them. Isn't it strange how the majority of people barely bat an eyelash when they see an older man with a younger female, but vice versa and we instantly question it. Ted Lasso really tackles this issue head on and  and celebrates women for their individuality and strength and intelligence. This isn't just  Rebecca, but extends to Keely, Mae, Julie Higgins, Jane, Dr. Sharon, Sassy, Nora, and even Phoebe.

 

Speaking of Phoebe, I can't write about the show Ted Lasso without discussing her uncle, the surly and foul-mouthed Roy Kent. Brett Goldstein, who won the best supporting actor emmy alongside for his role in Ted Lasso began as a writer on the show. After working on several scripts, Goldstein felt that he understood the character of Roy and was capable of bringing him to life. Luckily, Sudeikis and the rest of the casting crew agreed and Goldstein got the part, because it is impossible to imagine anyone else playing Roy Kent. I am not going to lie, Roy is my favorite character. He is sardonic, tough, and I already mentioned foul-mouthed. Underneath that rough exterior, though, he is a total softy as exhibited by his relationship with his niece, Phoebe. You know that I am a librarian and a sci-fy/fantasy nerd so my favorite scene is after Coach Lasso gifts all of the players with books and Kent receives A Wrinkle in Time. It seems like an odd choice until he is reading it to Phoebe and he realizes that Lasso wants Kent to be a better leader of the team. Wow, my bookworm heart melted into a puddle around my toes.

So, you may be one of those people that reflexively avoid Ted Lasso because of the Emmy wins, the hype, your nagging spouse etc. Don't give in to your inner contrarian! Watch Ted Lasso, I promise that you will not be disappointed. It is a show that will make smile, laugh, cry, and want to be a better human being.

Ban What?

Even if you are not an avid reader, you have probably heard news about the astronomical rise in book banning and challenges at school and public libraries.  These have occurred all over the United States, but one particularly egregious township council meeting took place not too far from me. Video of the Byron Township Council meeting was also shared on the Michigan Library Association website as an example of challenges to intellectual freedom.  Feel free to watch the video or read this news article about the meeting.

Can we all agree after watching the video that the Kent District Library director deserves an Oscar for his "Good Ol' Boy" way of talking to this group of primarily old white dudes.  To paraphrase: "If it were up to me we would probably just have Louis Lamour westerns and fishing books in the library, but we need to have something for everyone." I was shocked that he wasn't chewing on a wheat stem and wearing a cowboy hat. 

Let's move past political prowess, though, and take a look at this "trash" book that a college educated vet who was "no prude" found unfit for readers of any age. 

Check Please! is a graphic novel written and drawn by Ngozi Ukazu, who first started writing the story of Bitty when she was still a student Yale University. Originally from Houston, Ukazu had little exposure to hockey before attending Yale. It required a significant amount of research into both hockey and baking for Ukazu to publish the story of a gay former figure skater who receives a hockey scholarship and loves baking first as webcomic. The massive popularity of Bitty's story on the web resulted in one of the largest kick starter campaigns for a web comic ever to have Check, Please! published.

So, getting down to details of Check, Please! is it pornographic, obscene, or 'trash"? The quick answer is No. Yes, there is language. This is a story about college students, mostly male that are on a sports team. I don't know what high school and/or college the Byron Township Council members attended, but teens swear. I was a teenager, a college student, a mother of teens, and now I work with a lot of teens. Swearing is not abnormal. It makes teens feel grown up and like they are doing something "forbidden" without actually doing anything. Now, please do not think that I condone swearing or that I allow my teens or the teens at my library to stroll around dropping F-bombs left and right. There are rules of behavior, especially in public, where others may hear them, but swearing is often a way teens rebel and express their emotions and independence. Now the minute language becomes mean-spirited or derogatory that is a completely different story. Honestly, I question the members of the city council who seemed so preoccupied with the notion of kids reading swear words, but never mention the homophobic slurs hurled at Bitty by opposing teams at hockey games. As a parent, I would be far more upset if my child said something purposefully degrading about someone's sexual orientation, race, weight, appearance, etc. than them saying shit or damn when goofing around with their friends.

Please know that I am not trying to make light of anyone's aversions to cursing. However, this is a graphic novel recommended for readers in 10th grade or higher and the author is using language authentic to a group of college aged boys living in what is basically a frat house. If anything, the language is probably cleaner than what is typical in many college dorms, locker rooms, or fraternities. As far as the abuse Bitty endures (which I am sure is probably less than what many LGBTQ youth are subjected to) it is integral to the story.  If you are concerned read it with your child and talk about it together. Discuss the language. Why does it bother you? Have you heard other kids talk this way? What about the way some people talk to Bitty (or other LGBTQ people)? How does that make you feel?

Another issue with Check, Please! that came up in the council meeting is that drinking occurs in the story. Once again, I am not saying that I condone excessive drinking and I definitely don't want to say that underage drinking is acceptable. This is a book about college students, though, and many college students can legally drink. If you are worried, talk with your teen about alcohol, the dangers, the risks, and how to drink responsibly once they are over 21. 

The wonderful thing about books is that they can give adults an easy way to connect with kids about serious topics. If you read a book and than sit and talk about it together, it becomes a discussion of thoughts and feelings, rather than a lecture.

Now I am going to address the elephant in the room that was never brought during the council meeting. Would there have been the same brouhaha if Check, Please! was about a female freshman who loved baking and fell in love with a the captain of the hockey team? Probably not! Maybe a parent would have said that they didn't like the swearing, but they would not have spread copies of pages everywhere and taken it all the way to a council meeting. The recent tsunami of book challenges (which have only been about books that deal with race or LGBTQ issues-go figure) are about hatred and fear. 

Check, Please! and the sequel, Sticks & Scones, are both such fantastic stories of inclusion, friendship, love, and camaraderie. My soul aches when I think that people think it is garbage unfit to be read. You may raised an eyebrow during the meeting video when one council member claimed that a coach has a relationship with a player in the second book. That does not happen, and it was quite obvious that not a single one of those council members knew anything about these books other than there was swearing, parties, and two young men kissed (once, so hardly pornography). What I found so beautiful about these books was the love and support Bitty's teammates show him and Jack. The team doesn't care that that they are gay. All the team wants is for their friends to be happy and comfortable being themselves. Isn't that what we all want and deserve? 

I have not been in locker rooms with many hockey teams, or any sport team for that matter, but it saddens me to think that Check, Please! may not be as realistic that I want it to be. Unfortunately, there are kids every day that are too afraid to come out or ones that do and they are ostracized and tormented by people in their communities, schools, and even families. Everyone deserves to have a family and a "team" that loves and supports them. Just as every reader should be able to go to a library and find a book in which they see themselves. And every library needs to have books in which readers can step into the minds and lives of people who are different from them. It builds empathy, respect, and love that can only make this world a better place.

Nothing sums up my feelings more on this than a passage from the book In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner.

"You'll never regret a decision more than one you make out of fear. Fear tells you to make your life small. Fear tells you to think small. Fear tells you to be small-hearted. Fear seeks to preserve itself, and the bigger you let your life and perspective and heart get the less air you give fear to survive." 

So, what can we do about book challenges, the increased desire by some people to censor what kids read, and make our world smaller rather than larger. Well, first off. Pay attention to what is happening in your community and when you hear about groups wanting books taken out of libraries and schools speak up. Attend the library, school, or city council meetings and make your opinions known. I firmly believe that the vast majority of people support intellectual freedom, the need for diversity in books, and learning history even when it is ugly and makes us uncomfortable. Unfortunately, at most of the board meetings that deal specifically with book banning it is a very vocal few making the most noise. Let people know that you support your library and school and tell them about the positive impact reading has had on your life and the lives of your children and friends. 

The most important thing you can do, though, is READ MORE BOOKS! Go to your local library and check out books about all different types of people and places and if they are not on the shelves request them so the library will know that people want diverse collections. Jason Reynolds who is a fantastic young adult and juvenile author and also happens to be the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature said in a recent interview: “We need to make sure that they know, that we know that they’re in the world. That they have value”. Every child, teen, or adult no matter their race, religion, gender, sexuality, etc. deserves to see themselves as the hero of a story. Just as important, though, is for kids that are not part of a marginalized group to read books where kids not like them are the accurately and honestly portrayed. 

Lastly know that book banning, fear of the unknown, and vilifying what is different is nothing new. Below you can watch the book banning scene from Field of Dreams which came out in 1989. People have always feared change and what they don't understand and that leads to them wanting to withdraw and make the world smaller. Those of us that reading need to continue to stand up for the books.