A Book So Good . . .

Did you ever read a book so good that even though you were dying to find out what happened next, you read slowly because you didn't want the experience to end?

I knew from the first page that A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness would be that kind of book for me. 

Here are the first few sentences:

The monster showed up just after midnight.  As they do.

Conor was awake when it came.  He'd had a nightmare.  Well, not a nightmare.  The nightmare.

Everything about this book was perfect.  Every sentence just right.  It inspired me to ask questions, then answered each with great satisfaction.  It's a sad book, but a healing one, too.  A beautiful book based on the idea by Siobhan Dowd, who died at 47 from cancer.  Delightfully dark illustrations were created by Jim Kay.  The publisher, Candlewick Press, did a fabulous job making this book.  It deserved every single starred review it earned.

A couple other great books for kids that provide therapy of sorts for dealing with loss, especially from cancer are MILO:  STICKY NOTES AND BRAIN FREEZE by Alan Silberberg and MRS. BIDDLEBOX by the late Linda Smith and illustrator, Marla Frazee.

Two other fantastic books I've enjoyed this year are WONDER by R. J. Palacio and THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN by Katherine Applegate.

Which books have you absolutely loved so far this year?  (Or last year?)  Share your favorite books for children or for adults in the comments section.

RANT -- I DO JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER

Book covers have two jobs -- to attract potential readers and to give a hint at what the book's about.

I'll go so far as to say the cover of a book is a promise to the reader of what lies inside those pages.

And frankly, I'm pissed off about a couple recent covers.

My biggest pet peeve is about the book MILO (Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze).



Doesn't this look like a fun, silly book about a few kids having a good time on a summer day? It's not!

Is MILO funny? You betcha. But it's also heart-breaking. MILO is NOT about having a good time on a summer day. It's a beautiful book about a kid learning to come to terms with his mother's death. And when I got to the end, I cried my eyeballs out! That cover did not prepare me for the intense reaction I'd have to the book, and it pissed me off.

MILO is going to be so helpful to a child dealing with the death of a loved one, but will the child even pick up the book with such a silly, fun-loving type of cover?

I hope the publisher changes the cover to reflect the truth of this book for the paperback version so the right kids will get hold of it.

THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN is another one.


Cartooney, right? Total silliness? Nope. It's got a smart, savvy deaf character who tries to assimilate into mainstream high school.

Absolutely delighted to see there is a new cover for the paperback. Check it out . . .


Listen publishers, I know DIARY OF A WIMPY KID is selling more books than imaginable, but please, PLEASE don't portray every book as the next Wimpy Kid. Unless it really is like Wimpy Kid.

For example, meet BIG NATE by Lincoln Peirce.



This is a wonderful series that's "like" Wimpy Kid, except with a character that I feel has more heart and empathy. I love this series . . . and the cover is perfect for what's inside.

I've had librarians complain that the cover for HOW TO SURVIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL was a little too silly and misleading for some of the seriousness and heartbreak inside the covers.



While I love the singing hamster cover, I can understand and appreciate their point.

This happens in picture books, too.

I'm a huge fan of Marla Frazee's work. Did you see her new book, BOSS BABY?

It's hilarious and true with illustrations that enhance the story and humor. And it has a perfect cover . . .


Did you know Marla Frazee illustrated a book called MRS. BIDDLEBOX about -- to borrow the words of the amazing Judith Viorst -- a "terrible, no good, very bad day?"

The late author, Linda Smith, wrote this gem of a picture book -- one of my favorites -- while she was going through treatment for breast cancer.

Here's how it begins: "On a knotty little hill, in a dreary little funk, Mrs. Biddlebox rolled over on the wrong side of her bunk."

This book -- its honesty about a grim reality, perfect poetry and imaginative, dark illustrations -- helped me get through treatment for cancer eight years ago.

I love this book. And I love the cover . . .



But guess what? The powers that be at the publishing company thought it was too dark, too dreary. So they had Marla Frazee create a new cover . . .




I hope the new cover helps sales, but I will cherish my copy with the darker cover, the one that conveys a promise, a promise on which the book absolutely delivers.

Rant over.

Favorite Book Friday

Mrs. Biddlebox by Linda Smith with illustrations by Marla Frazee is one of those picture books I not only borrowed from the library a dozen times, but had to purchase for myself and others.

The book won the 2002 Original Voices Award from Borders. You can read about that here.

Linda Smith wrote this book while she was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation to treat breast cancer. Her battle was ultimately unsuccessful. She left behind a husband, eight children and several books that were published (after she died). You can read more about Linda Smith here.

I love Mrs. Biddlebox because the illustrations are perfect. I love Mrs. Biddlebox because the language is surprising and delicious. (“When the fog gave her the whiffles, she held her broomstick steady, stabbed the dreary lot of it, and twirled it like Spaghetti!”) But mostly I love Mrs. Biddlebox because it captures the truth about feeling rotten, about having a really bad day. We’ve all felt like Mrs. Biddlebox and it helps to know we’re not alone in those feelings.

That’s why I was disappointed when I read on Alice Pope’s blog that Mrs. Biddlebox sold only 12,500 copies with HarperCollins then went out of print.

Harcourt recently purchased rights to the book and is reissuing it . . . with new cover art.

Sigh.

Children have really bad days, too. Mrs. Biddlebox gives them permission to do that. She lets them know they’re not alone in their feelings. (“On a knotty little hill, in a dreary little funk, Mrs. Biddlebox rolled over on the wrong side of her bunk.”)

The new and “improved” cover looks too cheery. The blue color is too bright to represent the feelings in this book. Although different from most picture books, the original cover art captures the essence of the story.

I’m thrilled that Harcourt is reissuing Mrs. Biddlebox so more children (and adults) can enjoy this gem of a book, but I wish they’d kept the original cover. I know I’m going to treasure my copy with the amazingly “dreary” cover.

Your thoughts?