Cheryl Rainfield's Blog, page 102

The Illusionists looks like a worthy cause to back

I've just made a pledge to the Illusionists documentary project (on body image and the beauty industry selling insecurity) on KickStarter because it's something I believe in, and I think that we're stronger when we look at things that negatively impact us. The project has some *fantastic* experts who will be interviewed, including author & filmmaker Jean Kilbourne (Killing Us Softly, Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel) and psychotherapist Susie Orbach (Fat is a Feminist Issue). If this is something that you care about, too, I hope you'll consider

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Published on July 16, 2011 13:52

Beautiful book app trailer – The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Have you seen this absolutely beautiful book app trailer? The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. It's also a short film. Wow, do I ever want to see it! But I haven't figured out where or how. It is just gorgeous and feels like a loving tribute to books! What do you think?

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Published on July 14, 2011 22:55

Bridge to Terabithia on sale on Kindle

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (my fave of her books) is on sale for $1.99 (ebook version for Kindle)

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Published on July 14, 2011 18:15

Do you like ESP novels (paranormal talents) for teens and children? Here are some recommendations.

I LOVE reading (well-written) YA and middle-grade novels with some form of ESP in them–telepathy, telekineses, clairvoyance, etc. Those books seem to feed me; sometimes I feel starved for them. (That's why I put telepathy into Hunted.) I never feel like I have enough. So I asked my fellow readers and writers for some suggestions.

My recommendations–paranormal-talent books that are my favorites and that I love:

-Lois Duncan's books, especially Down a Dark Hall, The Third Eye, A Gift of Magic

-Tamora Pierce's The Immortal series, starting with Wild Magic

-Alexander Key's books: The Forgotten Door, Escape to Witch Mountain, The Magic Meadow, The Preposterous Adventures of Swimmer, The Mystery of the Sassafras Chair) (out of print, so check on AbeBooks)

-Melinda Metz' Fingerprints series, starting with Gifted Touch

-Cora Taylor's Julie series (middle grade), starting with Julie

-Lena Coakley's Witchlanders

-Jay Williams' The Magic Grandfather (middle grade) (out of print, so check on AbeBooks)

-Dorothy Hass' The Secret Life of Dilly McBean (middle grade) (out of print, so check on AbeBooks)

-Wilanne Schneider Beldon's Mind-Find, Mind-Hold, and Mind-Call (out of print, so check on AbeBooks)

-Michelle Grose's Jasper (middle grade) (out of print, so check on AbeBooks)

-Stephanie Tolan's Welcome to the Ark

-Jude Watson's Premonitions and Premonitions 2. Also The Sight (haven't read The Sight yet)

-John Wyndham's The Chrysalids, and Cholky

-Madeline L'Engle's Time Quintent starting with A Wrinkle In Time (middle grade)

-Sherwood Smith's Wren series, starting with Wren To the Rescue

-Willo Roberts Davis' The Girl With the Silver Eyes (middle grade)

New (to me) recommendations that I'm excited to read (with some that I've read but will likely check out again):

-L J Smith's Dark Visions series, starting with The Strange Power

-Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Powers trilogy, starting with The Summoning

-Marilyn Kaye's Gifted series, starting with Out of Sight, Out of Mind

-Brent Hartinger's Shadow Walkers

-Cindy Pon's Silver Phoenix and Fury of the Phoenix

-Marlene Perez' Dead Is series, starting with Dead Is The New Black

-David Lubar's Hidden Talents

-Nina Kiriki Hoffman's A Fistful of Sky

-Alyson Noel's Immortal series, starting with Evermore

-Patrick Ness' The Knife of Never Letting Go

-Kim Harrington's Clarity

-Neal Shusterman's Bruiser

-PJ Hoover's Forgotten World series, starting with The Emerald Tablet

-Linda Joy Singleton's Seer series, starting with Don't Die, Dragonfly

-Robin McKinley's Damar series: The Blue Sword, and The Hero and the Crown

-Kiersten White's Paranormalcy

-Myra McEntire's Hourglass

-Laurence Gonzales' Lucy

-James Dashner's MazeRunner series, starting with The MazeRunner

-PHC Marchesi's Shelby and Shauna Kitt and the Dimensional Holes (middle grade)

-A. E. Van Vogt's Slan

-Zenna Henderson's Ingathering: The Complete People Stories

I also received a few adult book recommendations:

-Rachel Caine's Weather Wardens series, starting with Ill Wind; and

-Julian May's Saga of Plicene Exile, starting with The Many-Colored Land

If you have any other YA or middle-grade books to recommend with paranormal gifts in them, please let me know in the comments!

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Published on July 13, 2011 15:22

Great article in Hunger Mountain on "dark" YA

I love this article in the Hunger Mountain written by child psychiatrist and writer Ilsa J Bick, in response to Meghan Cox Gurdon's articles on "dark" YA.

I especially loved this:

Now, if you do want to know about some kids like that, talk to a very wise librarian I met a few weeks ago at ALA. She works in Anaheim, and the population she serves lives with violence, gangs, drugs, rape, incest . . . you name it. Know what those kids like to read? They devour contemporary novels that accurately depict their reality. And you know why? Because, in those novels, the kids triumph. They find a way out of hell. These books are quite hopeful because the teens in them do succeed where their parents and society have failed. These novels are journeys of growth from and through darkness toward the light.

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Published on July 11, 2011 21:15

Chris Crutcher's book removed from summer reading program

Chris Crutcher's book Angry Management has been removed from a summer reading program because ONE angry parent decided that, after "reading" the first twenty-four pages, it had too much profanity. Yeah, you read that right. That offends me on so many levels. One parent gets to decide for the entire summer reading program, not just his kid? Based on only the first twenty-four pages–where swearing fit the context and the characters going through hard lives? And please–teens are not new to swearing, and there is so much on TV and movies alone. Why go after a book that gets the reader inside the character and offers insight?

I LOVE Chris Crutcher's response–to send five copies of Angry Management to the local library near where the book was removed. You go, Chris! Smart teens will still access his book, and decide for themselves whether it appeals to them or not. And I think it will.

This is another book that is going on my to-read pile, now. I hope it'll go on yours, too.

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Published on July 08, 2011 14:50

Funny booklover comic–Books or Me

Kidlit author and illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi's writer and booklover comics often tickle my funnybone, but this one particularly did! I hope you enjoy it. If you've never read Debbie's comics before, you're in for a treat!

"Books or Me"--comic by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Used with permission from Debbie Ridpath Ohi at Inkygirl.com.

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Published on July 08, 2011 14:36

If you missed Maureen Johnson on NPR today with Meghan Cox Gurdon…

you can still

listen in through the podcast! I LOVED how articulate, clear, strong, and intelligent YA author Maureen Johnson was!

I also called in (since Gurdon slammed Scars in her WSJ essay). I was glad to be able to say a short bit–and so grateful, as always, for all the lovely YAlit people's support through Twitter! It really makes a huge difference.

I found it…hard…to have Meghan Cox Gurdon tell me that she pities me. Pity feels…far away from compassion, and can be condescending. I think it usually makes the person pitied feel awful. And I found it hard that again, Meghan thinks that most teens can't relate to dark books because it's not their experience (she thinks). I SO wish I'd been able to get in that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 8 boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. That alone shows how many teens need "dark" fiction, and that's just one issue. Never mind teens who haven't been through such things but have friends who have.

But Maureen Johnson was so articulate and smart (I knew she would be), and so was the teen reader! And the Twitter support–you all are wonderful!

Check out the podcast if you want to hear it for yourself.

http://www.whyy.org/podcast/070611_110630.mp3

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Published on July 06, 2011 18:01

YA author Maureen Johnson on NPR TODAY with Meghan Cox Gurdon, talking about "dark" YA!

The wonderful Maureen Johnson, who started the #YASaves movement on Twitter in response to Meghan Cox Gurdon's WSJ article that slammed so many good books (including Scars) will be on NPR TODAY at 11am EST!! I hope some people will call in to support her!

The radio show is here: http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/

And that is a CALL IN show. The number is 1-888-477-9499.

HOW to be a caller on the show: http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/how-to-be-a-caller-on-radio-times/

If you don't get NPR locally, here is the LIVESTREAM: http://www.whyy.org/91FM/live.html

You can hear it live streaming here:

You go, Maureen!! I am so very grateful for strong, reasonable voices like Maureen, who know that YA books make a positive difference in teens' lives. And that if a book doesn't work for you, personally, just put it down!

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Published on July 06, 2011 12:19