Watermark Teacher Feature – September 5, 2007

In this issue:

BOOK NEWS

Teacher Appreciation Day next weekend!
Fresh Titles: Including cozy family-centered chapter books

UPCOMING EVENTS

Watermark's Teacher Appreciation Day: Sat., Sept. 15.
Bev Buller book signing, Sat. Sept. 15
Jon Scieszka author event: Wed., Sept. 27.
Richard Uhlig book talk & signing: Sat., Sept. 29.
Edward Bloor reading & book signing: Sat., Oct. 13.
Jan Brett book signing: Sunday, Oct. 21.

FEATURED BOOK REVIEWS

* “Cowboy and Octopus” by John Scieszka & Lane Smith
* “From Emporia: The Story of William Allen White” by Beverly Olson Buller

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Greetings and salutations,

As you can see from the listing above, Watermark is buzzing with great author events in upcoming weeks, and truly, that’s just a fraction of the total. For a complete run-down, including a visit by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, the celebrated Yarn Harlot of the knitting world, be sure to visit our events page at: http://www.watermarkbooks.com/events.html

And speaking of visits, please plan to visit us next Saturday, September 15, for Watermark’s annual Teacher Appreciation Day. You’ll receive special educator discounts, we'll have free books and nifty gift bundles to give away, there will be useful and enjoyable book-related information sessions, there will be signing opportunities with local authors Debra Seely and Dian Curtis Regan, and Newton librarian Bev Buller will have a signing for her new book about the life of William Allen White. Look below for details—including how to reserve a spot at our free luncheon—and for a review of Ms. Buller’s excellent book.

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FRESH TITLES

Picture books:

“Pssst!” by Adam Rex (Harcourt Children's Books, 9780152058173, $16.00) This new children’s picture book from the creator of “Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich” is a bold, funny, visually imaginative trip through the zoo that ends with a great big twist. When its young hero strolls into the zoo one day, she encounters something quite curious: the animals are making requests of her—out loud! She does her level best to help them out, and her efforts make for an exciting read-aloud experience that will leave young kids (and adults, too) in stitches: Read a review


“The Only Boy in Ballet Class” by Denise Gruska, illus. by Amy Wummer

(Gibbs Smith, 9781423602200, $15.95) Tucker Dohr is the only boy in ballet class, which means he almost always gets a great part; it also means that he gets teased a lot. This snazzy, joyful picture book tells the story of how Tucker leaps over expectations to become both a great dancer and something of a football star: Read a review


Chapter books that offer high-spirited family stories:

“Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One” by Judy Blume, illus. by James Stevenson (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 9780385733052, $12.99) Judy Blume’s newest is a chapter book in which each brief chapter is a short story about a brother and sister who call each other, somewhat affectionately, “The Pain” and “The Great One.”: Read a review


“Piper Reed, Navy Brat” by Kimberly Willis Holt, illus. by Christine Davenier (Henry Holt, 9780805081978, $14.95) This new chapter book by the author of the National Book Award winner “When Zachary Beaver Came to Town” introduces spunky fourth-grader Piper Reed: she’s a middle child in a military family, and the biggest constant in her life is change. She’s lived everywhere—Texas, New Hampshire, Mississippi, California, Guam—and her family’s latest move is taking her to Pepsi-Cola, Florida (or is it Pensacola?): Read a review


We’re off to read a comedy, a wonderful YA book about Oz (er…-fornia!)

"Drama! The Four Dorothys" by Paul Ruditis (Simon Pulse, 9781416933915, $8.99) It’s mad-cap theatre and mystery as California prep-school students struggle to stage a production of The Wizard of Oz despite a series of strange mishaps with hints of sabotage: There’s a wicked witch on the West Coast, and she’s determined to bring the show to a screeching halt, ruining the debut of an aspiring Dorothy—and of her little dog, too! Read a review


A surprising novel for older teens

“Guyaholic” by Carolyn Mackler (Candlewick, 9780763625375, $16.99) More than just teenage chick lit, this novel goes beneath its heroine’s “bad-girl” façade to find out what really makes V. Valentine tick: when she sets out on an epic summer road trip to meet her absentee mom, V. discovers that there are two sides to everything, including romance and strained parent-child relationships. It’s a story with a shiny surface that conceals surprising depth: Read a review

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UPCOMING WATERMARK EVENTS


Watermark's Teacher Appreciation Day. Saturday, September 15.

Watermark invites local teachers to come enjoy special discounts, free give-aways, and book-centered programming. We’re planning several information sessions:

10:00 a.m. - Hosting successful author events with local authors Debra Seely & Dian Curtis Regan (there will be an opportunity to have them sign your books, too!)

11:00 a.m. - Improving reading comprehension with Cori Eck Schad

12:00 p.m. - Free Luncheon & discussion of middle-reader and YA titles

12:30 p.m. - Great graphic novels for schools & libraries with Mark Bradshaw

1:00 p.m. - Book signing by Bev Buller, author of the new biography "From Emporia: The Story of William Allen White."

To reserve a spot at our free noon-time luncheon, please send an e-mail message (with "Teacher Lunch Reservation" in the subject line) to Rebekah Rine at: rebekah.rine@watermarkbooks.com


Jon Scieszka author event. Thursday, September 27.

Children’s author Jon Scieszka, creator of the “The Stinky Cheese Man,” will appear in Wichita at a Watermark event promoting his wacky new picture book “Cowboy & Octopus,” illustrated by Lane Smith. The event is open to the public and to school field trips. Time and place will be announced when final. Look below for a review of the new book!


Richard Uhlig book talk & signing. Saturday, September 29. 3:00 p.m.

Richard Uhlig will be at Watermark with his new book, “The Last Dance at the Frosty Queen.” It’s a novel for teens set in a small Kansas town. Mr. Uhlig is a Kansas native with family ties to Wichita, and it’s a pleasure to have him visit Watermark!


Edward Bloor Reading & Book Signing: Saturday, October 13. 2:00 p.m.

Edward Bloor will be at Watermark to read from and sign copies of his latest book, “Taken.” Bloor is the author of several acclaimed youth novels including the soccer story “Tangerine” and “London Calling,” a tale that uses magical-realism to blend a contemporary school story with historical fiction of the London Blitz. It has been a favorite of Watermark’s young readers since its release last fall.


Jan Brett Book Signing: Sunday, October 21. 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Beloved writer and illustrator Jan Brett is returning to Wichita with a brand-new picture book: “The Three Snow Bears” retells the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears—starring an Inuit girl who finds the igloo home of three unsuspecting polar bears! For her Watermark-hosted book signing, 275 signing tickets will be distributed to first-comers at the door (not in advance) on the day of the event. Time and place will be announced when final.


For a full listing of Watermark events, including book clubs and art openings, visit the Events page of our Web site at: http://www.watermarkbooks.com/events.html

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FEATURED REVIEWS:

“Cowboy and Octopus” by Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith (Viking Juvenile, 9780670910588, $16.99)

It will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith’s previous work (“The Stinky Cheese Man,” “Squids Will Be Squids,” “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs,” and more) that their new picture-book collaboration is delightfully weird and very funny. It relates the two-dimensional adventures of two cut-out paper friends: Cowboy and his best pal, Octopus. Together, these amigos enjoy the ups-and-downs of a friendship filled with slapstick humor and broken knock-knock jokes in quick stories aimed squarely at the funny-bones of attentive young readers.

When they first meet, Cowboy and Octopus team up to fix a neglected seesaw (remember those ups and downs?), and they learn the lesson that some things work better with a friend… especially things like a two-person piece of playground equipment. Striking up a quick friendship, the two buddies shake hands, and shake hands, and shakes hands, and shakes hands, and shakes hands, and shakes hands, and shakes hands, and shakes hands.

If that last paragraph made you groan out loud, rest assured that seven-year-olds in all fifty American states nearly burst with laughter just at the thought of it. And that’s one of the great appeals of “Cowboy and Octopus”: kids can see the silly punch-lines coming, which means they will love each off-the-wall joke all the more. When Cowboy serves Octopus beans and bacon, bacon and beans, and plain beans with a bit of bacon, every second-grader worth his salt knows what’s for dessert. No way is it crème brûlée!

The second great plus of the book, which will be a mercy for many humor-calloused grown-ups, is the presence of fantastic visuals. Each page is constructed like a collaged wonderland of paper cut-outs, decals, cartoon clippings, comic book special-effect symbols, and ransom-note letters. Cowboy and Octopus are always in the same cleverly disguised poses because they, too, are retro-styled paper dolls. Adults will enjoy the ingenuity of it all, and kids will have fun spotting the repeated images. Everyone wins!

Mark you calendar now with a reminder to attend John Scieszka’s author event on Thursday, September 27. In fact, bring your whole class on a field trip: everyone will enjoy meeting one of the twisty minds behind “Cowboy and Octopus,” and they’ll have a blast shaking hands, and shaking hands, and shaking hands, and shaking hands, and shaking hands, and shaking hands, and shaking hands…

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“From Emporia: The Story of William Allen White” by Beverly Olson Buller (Kansas City Star Books, 9781933466460, $19.99)

I remember first hearing of William Allen White while I was a fourth-grader at Girard Elementary, off in Crawford County, Kansas; I’m pretty certain it was my school librarian who performed the introduction, and I’m grateful to her for it. I encountered White again while at the University of Kansas when I took a summer job on the campus newspaper: the whole journalism school there is tasked with bearing up his name. But it wasn’t until I sat down with Bev Buller’s new book “From Emporia” that I discovered the whole admirable life of a great man and a great Kansan who seems, most benevolently, to have shadowed me and other Kansas kids for decades.

Buller begins with White’s birth and early days and follows him through his astounding career as a small-town newspaper editor whose scope and acumen were anything but small. From his start in newspaper work as a printer’s devil, White quickly gained national and international acclaim through what Franklin Roosevelt later described as his “terse, forcible and vigorous prose.” White’s many editorial essays, short stories, and two novels gained him a broad following and brought the world’s attention—and many of its foremost writers—to his family’s adopted home of Emporia, Kansas.

In over a hundred incredibly well-illustrated pages, Buller’s book captures the texture of White’s life and displays his thorough dedication to free speech and public service. Buller uses vintage photographs and documentary illustrations to chronicle White’s rise to prominence and the profound but modest effect he and his family have had on their home base in Emporia. Most importantly, Buller incorporates pieces of White’s writing into her own excellent prose, giving readers the taste of his thoughtful eloquence and making me, for one, want to read more of his work—a task one great childhood librarian and an entire stone building of journalism students had previously found too strenuous.

“From Emporia” is impressive. It presents in miniature a life lived generously and well. The book does kind justice to White’s energetic working life and to the vital contribution made by his wife Sallie White, his most important editor and co-writer. It describes the pair’s personal triumphs and painful losses, including the death of their teenage daughter, which brought a grief that threatened all the happiness they had built together. This brief biography also works to recall White to the status he earned as one of America’s best writers and greatest promoters of the common good.

Bev Buller has given us all a gift: a story that makes William Allen White more than just a name for a book award or a building, more even than a celebrated memory. She reminds us that his work and his life are a legacy for all Kansans to share in, to benefit from, and ultimately, to emulate. It’s a fine book indeed.


Meet Ms. Buller on September 15 during her afternoon book signing—a part of Watermark’s Teacher Appreciation Day!

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Past reviews and archived issues of Teacher Feature can be read on-line on the Watermark Web site at: http://www.watermarkbooks.com/teach.html

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Later educators,

Mark David Bradshaw

 

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