Got kids on your Christmas gift list who like, love or need books?

Allow me to hook you up with the 4:00 Book Hook, a fantabulous e-newsletter dedicated to children and YA literature. The latest edition features their annual holiday book gift guide and I’ve gotten the okay to post that section online :).

The holiday gift guide features author reviews and recommendations of some of their favorite children and young adult books on the market. With the wonderful variety of books for kids and teens, you’re sure to find something for your selective young reader.

For your convenience, I’ve uploaded the entire Holiday Gift Guide section of the 4:00 Book Hook–just click on the page links below:

4:00 Book Hook Page 2

4:00 Book Hook Page 3

4:00 Book Hook Page 4

BTW, my recommendations for three of my favorite recently-published picture books are on page 4.

Oh, and please don’t forget to buy your books from your local brick ‘n mortar bookstores or at independent bookstores online–not that nameless shameless one using books as loss leaders :(. This holiday season especially, let’s show support and love for true book-loving booksellers… just sayin’. :-)!

Happy gift giving and reading!

P.S. 4:00 Book Hook is a free e-newsletter for people who share books with kids: parents, home-schoolers, teachers, grandparents and librarians. Contact the 4:00 Book Hook at this email address for your free subscription: thebookhook@gmail.com

(The above image came from this article).

This weekend an “earth-shaking” literature event is taking place: Reading the World X, a conference dedicated to multicultural literature education, held in San Francisco, CA at USF. I say earth-shaking because my lovely neighboring city of San Francisco, is rumbling with the footsteps of attendees from all over CA and other states, who have gathered together to celebrate, educate and share with one another—a wealth of voices in multicultural literature. Guest speakers include: Ashley Bryan, Naomi Shihab Nye, Alma Flor Ada, Leslie Tryon, Laurence Yep, Sarah Ellis, Peter Sís, Rita Williams Garcia, Jack Zipes and Doris Orgel.

I’m honored to participate as a presenter my first year at this event. Today, I’m putting on a workshop titled From Hawaiian Talk Story to Printed Page. I’ll be leaving shortly and will update this post with stories, updates and hopefully, pictures. Stay tuned…

The above image is from the picture book, Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei by Peter Sís, which graced this year’s Reading the World X posters and promotional materials.

Peter Sís tells an evoctive, multi-layered tale of growing up behind the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia in his picture book, The Wall. I couldn’t put this book down even after it turned dark and I had to read with just the inside car lights on. (I brought the picture book along on an errand, hoping to squeeze it into my day–which I did!)

In the car’s dim lighting, I learned how the seemingly innocuous, yet twisted schooling of the boy, mounted up to a lifestyle of paranoia and fear. He hears of a relative being thrown into prison for planning to defect to the West. His parents no longer speak freely in front of him and his sister for fear of being ratted on by them. However, the boy’s internal walls, erected and reinforced by Soviet society, begin to crumble long before the Berlin wall does, thanks to his love of drawing and hunger for artistic expression.

Sís captures the flavor of youth’s innocence amid sordid world views through stunning pen and ink illustrations, graced with sensitive, carefully-placed color washes. Read this book and relish the visuals, but take time to read the timelines at the beginning and end of the book. Much more than a memoir, it summons a fresh take on Communism and the Cold War. Other reviews on The Wall can be found here (must sign into the NY Times) and here.

I look forward to hearing Mr. Sís speak, along with other children’s literature luminaries, at Reading The World X, a multicultural literature conference held next month at USF–it promises to be an enriching event. I’ll be an attendee, as well as, presenting insights on Hawaiian storytelling. Stay tuned!

Thanksgiving ‘07.

I brought my daughter’s copy of THE GIVER by Lois Lowry on our annual Thanksgiving trip to the east coast. Kai lauds THE GIVER as her favorite book “of all time.” Not a surprise. It sported the worn and tattered look of a well-loved book.

To my delight, THE GIVER was an excellent holiday read. You see, I’ve grown weary of all the holiday hullabaloo pressuring us into a spending frenzy. Don’t get me wrong. One of my favorite things about the season is gift-giving. However, what is the true meaning of gift and giving, especially in today’s culture? These words have been stripped of their true lustre thanks to the bombardment of holiday advertising, spend-now-pay-later deals and other commercial trappings. THE GIVER pulls us in, neck deep, into rushing waters forcing us to tread on the genuine meaning of giving and receiving.

A riveting tale set in a pristine, ideal community, THE GIVER suggests that a smooth ride in life is not without bumpy, disjointed truths, or dangerous consequences, even if things are perfect. I love Lowry’s voice—her expert build-up of tension, clarity of storytelling and poetic description satisfied me to the bone. Although it took me away from my NanoWriMo writing, the story was a welcome distraction. I was inspired and rejuvenated by Lowry’s words, secretly wishing that her gift of language would rub off on me. (Okay, it’s not a secret anymore.) THE GIVER earned the prestigious Newbery Medal in 1994.

I am paying my respects to Ms. Madeleine L’Engle (1918-2007), who wrote one of my very favorite books as a child, A WRINKLE IN TIME. The book came to me when I was nine and I’d grown tired of reading and re-reading my robust collection of comic books. Though our teacher read us parts of A WRINKLE IN TIME, I wanted the book for myself. So, I borrowed it from the library, ever eager to visit Ms. L’Engle’s words again. Instead, I visited her worlds. And mine changed in the process. Thank you for your stories, Ms. L’Engle.

“It was only after it was written that I realized what some of it meant.” ~ Madeleine L’Engle, Referring to A WRINKLE IN TIME

A mish mash of photos from my summer trip will come, I swear. Here’s one taken of my son and I (by my daughter, Kai) when we were in Montreal. I love how the leafy shapes fall on my face. I had just finished reading a super cool YA book, Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, while on the trip. This pic reminds me of the book’s hyper-succulent faery world. Perhaps my mind was still there when this photo was snapped?

Meanwhile, Here’s a Meme

I was tagged by Italy-based writer, Natalie, with my very first meme! Here’s how it goes: Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names (see below), then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

8 Facts/Habits About Me

1. As a kid, I “failed” at coloring books and paint-by-numbers sets. I much preferred coloring outside the lines and drawing in new stuff. As for following a paint-by-numbers color key? No way! I tried painting my own “masterpiece” on the back.

2. I drove my kindergarten teacher crazy due to my incessant daydreaming. Behold, a typical scenario…
She: Now, class…blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Me: … … … Huh, what? You said somethin’??

3. My best ideas often come to me while in transit, whether I’m riding a bike, car or train. I always keep a sketch book and pen or pencil handy. Now, if I could only steer and write/sketch at the same time…

4. I won an art contest when I was eleven. All I did was draw a picture of an elf and mail it in. A little while later, I received a check for fifteen dollars and a scholarship to an art study program. I didn’t do the program, but I did cash my check.

5. Guess what I bought with the cash? Comic books! As a kid, I subsisted on a steady diet of Archies, Supergirl, Superboy, Richie Rich, Dot and others. I was also quite fond of Mad magazine.

6. My sixth grade teacher had a strict policy: NO farting in class. If you did, you were sent straight to the office. Mr. Bosworth sent certain kids to the office all the time. Oh, how they loved the attention! Whatever! My point: I have a gift (or is it curse?) for remembering an inordinate amount of info about my childhood–the people in my neighborhood, all the happenings, the good, the bad and the butt ugly. Such precious fodder for stories…

7. I lost my childhood collection of writings, artwork and journals. Fortunately, I haven’t missed them that much thanks to Meme No. 6.

8. I daydream on the job. It’s..like…a requirement for what I do. … … Um, someone say somethin’?

Fellow writers & artists I’m tagging (so far): Elizabeth, Karen, Paula, Sarah, Jenn, Laura