Season's Readings

 

So, I have a bit of a reputation for being a Grinch, and I am not going to deny that there may be some truth in this assessment. However, I do feel the need to defend my self. My heart is not two sizes too small, as one of my coworkers joked just last week. I do enjoy the holiday season: the snow, the decorations, the gifts, the food, even the music (at least some of it in moderation) etc. What makes me want to retreat to a hobbit hole is the excess and over the top extravagance that seems to grow bigger and last longer every year. As Alfred, the wise beyond his years janitor from Macy's, says: "Yeah, there's a lot of bad 'isms' floatin' around this world, but one of the worst is commercialism." I don't know if commercialism is actually the worst "ism", but it does suck the joy out of the holiday season.

I know that I started this post like a greasy black banana peel, so I'm going to move on to something that does fill me with holiday delight: Christmas books! After all, I am a mom and a children's librarian and nothing makes me happier than reading books to kids.

The first book that I am going to write about is actually better known as a movie, and it is in fact one of my all time favorite holiday films. You may be aware that I have an infatuation with anything and everything Jim Henson.

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas is a less well-know work by Jim Henson, but is enchanting with humor, memorable music, and just the right amount of schmaltz. Even if you are familiar with the Henson version of Emmet Otter you probably do not know that the movie was adapted from an adorable picture book written by Russell Hoban and illustrated by Lillian Hoban that was published in 1971. I actually read this book and watch the movie with my kids every December and I love them both. I will say that Henson's adaptation has a bit of an edge over the book because you get to hear the fantastic music composed by Paul Williams. Music is still an important element of the book, but the jug-band tunes, and Marilyn Sokol singing Our World and Wheren the River Meets the Sea make the movie unforgettable.

The story is a sweet twist on The Gift of a Magi with the widowed Mrs. Otter and her son, Emmet, sacrificing prized possessions in order to give the other the perfect Christmas present. The Muppet version stays very true to the story written by Russel Hoban and and it is impossible to not fall in love with Lillian Hoban's charming denizens of Frogtown Hollow. There is even a second book set in Frogtown Hollow about one Emmet's jugband friends, Harvey Muskrat.
    If the style of Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas and Harvey's Hideout look familiar, you have probably seen some of the other books created by the husband and wife team. The Frances series being the most well known. Although, the first Frances book, Bedtime for Frances, was illustrated by Garth Williams (illustrator of the Little House series) the remaining five books were illustrated by Lillian Hoban. After their divorce, Lillian Hoban went on to write and illustrate the Arthur easy reader series (Arthur the chimpanzee, not the aarvark), the Silly Tilly Mole series, and several other books for children. Russel Hoban switched to writing science fiction and fantasy for adults.

When it comes to reading picture books for storytime or to my own kids I have always preferred stories with humor. Two books that are always a big hit with the younger kiddos are Santa's Stuck by Rhonda Gowler Greene and Who Will Guide My Sleigh Tonight? Both books are silly with fun and colorful illustrations. You can probably guess the plot of each story from it's title and cover. Suffice it to say, little ones are sure to giggle as a family dog, the cat and all of her kittens, the reindeer, and even a mouse have to pull Santa out of the chimney when he eats too many cookies. Also, who doesn't want to imagine Santa trying to deliver toys around the world with a sleigh pulled by tigers, kangaroos, or even snakes.

For older kids, I absolutely adore the Pig the Pug books by Aaron Blabey.  I know that I have mentioned Blabey before, but he is also the author of the Bad Guys series which was recently made into a movie.

It is the most wonderful time of the year and of course to Pig the Pug that means presents and MORE PRESENTS. If you have read any of the other Pig the Pug books, you will not be surprised when Pig's greed lands him in a dangerous and rather painful predicament. As usual, Pig should heed the advice of Trevor, who wisely goes to sleep on Christmas Eve, happy to open whatever Santa brings. Pig's over the top and ridiculous behavior (he actually bites Santa on the bum) will have kids giggling and, perhaps, checking their own attitudes at Christmas time.

Another wonderful book about appreciating family and love during the holiday season  (that is a bit more serious than Pig the Elf) is The Broken Ornament by Tony DiTerlizzi. If you are a fantasy lover, you may recognize DiTerlizzi as the artist of The Spiderwick Chronicles (please, do not watch the movie, it is just bad) and the author and artist of The Search for Wondla series. DiTerlizzi is also incredibly well-known among nerds like me for his Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: the Gathering artwork. He also illustrated an absolutely gorgeous version of the 1930s poem by Mary Howitt, The Spider and the Fly. I digress, The Broken Ornament is about a young boy who is very excited to decorate for Christmas and his enthusiasm breaks an old ornament belonging to his mother. Not really understanding why his mother is upset, the boy just wants everything to be bigger, brighter, more sparkly. Suddenly, a fairy appears that is willing to grant his wish for the best Christmas ever, which has bigger trees, more snow, brighter lights, etc. When the fairy shows Jack why the broken ornament was so important to his mother, though, he realizes that the best Christmas is not about the having the most or shiniest of anything. As parents, I think we all strive to give our kids memories that they will cherish long past childhood and that is really what this story is about. Learning that the best memories are not about stuff, but about spending time with those we love. If you fall in love with this book, be sure to check out Diterlizzi's website where he has ornaments that you can print and cut out. There are also activities, wallpapers, and oodles of other goodies about his books and art. 

Before , I finish I want to mention a couple of fantastic Christmas chapter books that are perfect for reading aloud together. You may have heard of A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig since it was made into a Netflix movie a year or two ago. I actually have not watched the film adaptation so I cannot tell you whether that is any good, but the book is adorable. I read this aloud to my then five-year-old and he was completely enthralled in young Nikolas's journey to the North Pole to rescue his father. Luckily, Haig has written a few more wonderful stories about Santa Claus and Christmas to keep us entertained for a few years to come.  Haig's writing is charming and witty, like a wonderful cross between Lemony Snicket and Roald Dahl. Chris Mould's intricate illustrations make the books even more enchanting.

The last book I am going to recommend is a Christmas mystery/ghost story that will appeal to kids and adults. Part of what makes Greenglass House by Kate Milford so wonderful is a setting that could be straight from an Agatha Christie novel. The ramshackle inn high up above the smuggler's town of Nagspeake that requires a cable car to reach. Snowbound during the Christmas break with a number of quirky and mysterious guests, it is up to Milo to discover everyone's secrets.  This is the perfect book to snuggle under a blanket and read next to a cozy fire. 

If you celebrate Christmas and have little ones (and not so little ones) to read with this December, I hope that I have given you some fun books to read together. 

Happy Holidays!

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.