Colombia From the Hip + December 10 - 15 Book Recommendations

Well, I was caught up in the mad Colombian party vortex last week and was conspicuously absent from my keyboard.
Yikes!!
But for good reason. Really. It was worth every sleepless minute. :-)
On December 7th and 8th, Colombia celebrates the "Alumbrado" -- the Day of the Virgin. And we have a huge party at Cesar's farm the 8th with a group that sings Colombian Christmas carols, the weirdest bunuelo contest (bunuelos are Colombian cheese donuts), and lots of lights!! All the kids light lanterns and stick candles in the grass to burn. (Note: We're NOT in Nevada here where the whole state would go up in a ball of flames.)

Friends came in from Spain and Argentina! (Yay!) And after the big Alumbrado, Cesar celebrated his 40th. (Yikes!) So we had to have another party to commemorate four decades and danced under the stars until our feet hurt.

Then we were invited to a Hanukkah celebration, which was a treat!! And then, of course, another party to celebrate Cesar's four decades just to make sure our bones ached. Nope. Not twenty anymore.

And I think Amelia has officially gone on strike. She's done with all this activity. (Though she's quite the good dancer now!! :-) )

So I'm back. Limping just a tad. (I think I pulled a hamstring or something.) And now we're getting geared up for a big wedding this week, Christmas next week, then New Years with twenty + family from all over the country. Then January. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

So here are my latest book recommendations. Yep. I've been slack. On the computer side of things. I think it's understandable, though. Really. Don't you??

I *heart* Skippyjon Jones. This Siamese cat, wannabe Mexican Chihuaha superhero is the best children's book series I've read in a long time. Skippyjon, much to his mother's chagrin, sleeps in bird nests, writes on walls, and gets into loads of trouble. And the best part? He's the leader of the Chimichangos, a group of vigilante Chihuahuas, that save the world from horrible things like bobbleheads, pinatas and more (most found in Skippyjon's closet). Holy Jalapeno Hilarious!!


Jeanette Winterson's novels blew me away when I was in college. And the other day when I was at the Dollar Store I found one I haven't read yet. That brought me back to my days of quoting Oranges Aren't the Only Fruit, The Passion, Written on the Body -- novels that deal with love, sexuality, past and present, magic and more. Oranges is a semi-autobiographical novel about Jess, a "typical" teen dealing with the things all teens deal with. Add to the pot an evangelical mother that spews bible quotes and expects Jess to do the same and the fact she's fallen in love with another woman. It's a GREAT great novel about identity and reconciling religion, faith, love, parenting, and who we really are.


The other day I was recommending this novel. Actually, I pretty much recommend this novel to every single person I meet. Feed, by MT Anderson changed the way I viewed YA novels before I began writing YA. After I read Feed, I thought, "This is serious. I had better give every word I write in every book 150% effort, or not write."
This. Is. Amazing. In the future world where people are given "feed" implants in their brains -- hard-wired to advertisement-information that constantly 'feeds' into their brains, Titus and his friends meet Violet -- a strange girl who does things nobody else does. Like talk. Everybody in FEED just chats. Brilliant. Thought-provoking. A novel in which even the Sky, Clouds, and Stars are "trademarked", this is a phenomenal criticism of our rampant consumerism, technology, and the inhumanness of it all. Read. This. Novel.

Okay. Hope to not be absent so so long next time. Because that means I've been sleeping and working -- both of which I am behind on!! Ugh.

December 8 and December 9th with Poetry ...

Well, I have one book for two days, but it's a book for two voices!! Does that count?


Flickering fireflies, honey bees who want to unionize, a moth's love affair with the porch light and more, Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman (illustrated by Eric Beddows) is a phenomenal collection of bug poetry. Vivid images, palpable textures, Fleischman's poems are funny, witty, and full of wonder.
It's the perfect book to read with kids (poems for TWO voices), and it's a great gift for those who simply love words.

On the Seventh Day ...

Okay ...
Too biblical, and a somewhat irreverent reference; however, my pick for day seven is Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre.

Set in small town, trailer-park central, Texas, USA, this is a story about how Vernon Gregory Little's life has been turned upside-down after his friend, Jesus Navarro, commits a Columbine-style massacre at his school.
This no-name town becomes the center of a media frenzy and a hungry-for-fame hack reporter, Eulalio Ledesma (yes, they all have weird names in the book!), manipulates events to look like Vernon was the perpetrator of the school killing.
Vernon heads to Mexico, Against All Odds-style to escape trial and possible death row with Taylor Figueros. As you can imagine, he doesn't escape and is represented by a Johnny Cochran-style big-shot lawyer
This is a slicing satire about American media, reality TV, fifteen-minute-famers, death row, and tragedy becoming a media orgy. And it's one of the funniest novels I've ever read in the midst of it all. I laughed out loud from beginning to end, and I sure wish this would be required reading when it comes to media ethics.
Writing a novel is hard work.
Writing comedy, real comedy, is an art.
Plus, Vernon is the best anti-hero I've ever read. And he's always nice to his mom (who's worth about as much as her latest perm).

READ. THIS. BOOK!!

On the Seventh Day ...

Okay ...
Too biblical, and a somewhat irreverent reference; however, my pick for day seven is Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre.

Set in small town, trailer-park central, Texas, USA, this is a story about how Vernon Gregory Little's life has been turned upside-down after his friend, Jesus Navarro, commits a Columbine-style massacre at his school.
This no-name town becomes the center of a media frenzy and a hungry-for-fame hack reporter, Eulalio Ledesma (yes, they all have weird names in the book!), manipulates events to look like Vernon was the perpetrator of the school killing.
Vernon heads to Mexico, Against All Odds-style to escape trial and possible death row with Taylor Figueros. As you can imagine, he doesn't escape and is represented by a Johnny Cochran-style big-shot lawyer
This is a slicing satire about American media, reality TV, fifteen-minute-famers, death row, and tragedy becoming a media orgy. And it's one of the funniest novels I've ever read in the midst of it all. I laughed out loud from beginning to end, and I sure wish this would be required reading when it comes to media ethics.
Writing a novel is hard work.
Writing comedy, real comedy, is an art.
Plus, Vernon is the best anti-hero I've ever read. And he's always nice to his mom (who's worth about as much as her latest perm).

READ. THIS. BOOK!!

On the Sixth Day of Book Recommendations ...

This was a hard list to narrow down. Ellen Hopkins has six verse novels on the shelves, and I'm not sure how to choose. But I had to pick one, and I pick Burned.

Pattyn is caught in a world where abuse, subservience to men, and a rigid church hierarchy reign. Moreover, she'll do anything to prove herself to the person she most cares for -- the person who most abuses her -- her father. When she's suspended from school, her parents send her to live with an aunt in rural Nevada. There, she finds what she's never had her whole life: acceptance, love, her youth. And, through her aunt's kindness and love, Pattyn learns to understand more about her dysfunctional family and acceptance of her father and mother.
Nevertheless, a summer of youth isn't enough, and in the end, after the fairy tale is over, Pattyn is left with a choice that will inevitably make the difference between life and death.
This is an incredibly challenging novel because it doesn't take an easy route, happy-ending trail. Pattyn is tragic and leaves the reader wishing so many things could've been different in Pattyn's life. And Hopkins is a poet; her words are sparing, each one loaded with meaning.
A NYT best seller, Ellen's words have reached youth and adults alike across the states.

(From Burned)
...

When you were almost grown, did you ever sit in a bubble bath, perspiration pooling, notice a blow dryer plugged in within easy reach, and think about dropping it into the water?

Did you wonder if the expected rush might somehow fail you?

And now, do you ever dangle your toes over the precipice, dare the cliff to crumble, defy the frozen deity to suffer the sun, thaw feather and bone, take wing to fly you home?

Three recommendations for December 3rd!!

I know. It's supposed to be one per day. I'm not REALLY cheating. But I'm taking artistic license to share three of my favorite children's books of the moment.


This is one of the most beautiful, poetic books I've read, written by Mexican author Jorje Lujan and illustrated by Piet Grobler. (It has both the Spanish and English text).
Sky Blue Accident is a poetic account of a little boy who crashes into the sky and breaks it, saving some pieces in his pocket. It's simply magical. I've read it to adult and children and all of them fall in love with the funky drawings and beautiful text.
Sure, it's for kids. But if you have somebody on your wish list who loves poetry and magic, I'd definitely buy this for my closest friends!


Now here's a princess I can relate to!! Written by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko (the same author of the famous book Love You Forever). I LOVE this story about a princess who's castle has been destroyed and her "true love" stolen away by a terrible dragon. She's left with a paper bag for a dress and does what Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and all the others should've done. She goes for her man, tromping across burned forests to rescue him.
And the ending? PRICELESS!! Now I only hope that Amelia one day will say, "I want to be the Paper Bag Princess for Halloween." :-)

Written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Leslie Staub, this should be required reading for all heads of state, religious leaders, teachers, parents, children ... human beings. And then read again. And again. And again. If we take a look at our world, it seems we've kind of lost our way. Whoever You Are is an exquisite story about the fact that no matter how different we look, how different our beliefs, homes, lands and religions are, we're still one of the same. Beautiful beautiful illustrations and a story that melts my heart!!

On the First Day of December ...(And Second)

It's December!!
And to celebrate I'm going to post a book a day and why I loved it!!
So celebrate the holidays and give people a book. Keep writers writing, publishers publishing, kids, children, teens and adults reading, and imaginations blooming.

And because I'm late. I'm doing December 1st and 2nd today!!

First up: Bull Rider by Suzanne Morgan Williams. This is a beautiful vignette into the life of a rural American family dealing with war and how it effects us all. When Cam's big brother Ben returns from Iraq severely injured, Cam, a huge skateboarding fan who has never had the slightest inkling to follow in his big brother's bull riding boots makes a pact with Ben: he'll ride bulls, and the never-ridden UGLY, for a fifteen thousand dollar prize if Ben works as hard as he can to get better. It's a beautiful book about healing, courage, and dealing with tragedy. And the relationship between the brothers was incredibly real, not sickly sweet. Morgan Williams did a superb job of creating characters we not only love but also relate to!



Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted was my decadent read while waiting for a twenty-four pound turkey to cook on Thanksgiving Day. (I don't remember the last time I got to read during the day!) This is a beautiful story about Lucius and Aurora -- young teens new to the same school. Aurora is immediately popular while Lucius becomes the school pariah because of a mysterious explosion that blew his hands off. (He now wears prosthetic arms and uses hooks for hands.) Baratz-Logsted does a beautiful job of giving bits and pieces of information about Lucius's past while developing the relationship between him and Aurora. One of my all-time favorite relationships in the book is between Lucius and the school security guard, unlikely allies in a hostile environment: high school.


So every day I will send a book recommendation your way hoping you have a wonderful holiday filled with beautiful words, images, and endless-reading days. Ahhh ... Maybe that's what I'll ask for Christmas. A day to read. :-)