Pumpkin Moon by Tim Preston

Minimal text accompany the colorful, surreal illustrations of what happens on October 31 after humans go to bed. Pumpkins, witches and ghosts have the wildest party of the year.

The watercolor illustrations were vibrant and active replacing the storyline. The text was used as transitional or explanatory to the illustrations. I can imagine young children will enjoy looking at the pictures and forming their own story as they turn the page.

Preston, T. (2001). Pumpkin moon. New York, NY: Dutton Children's Books.
ISBN: 0525467130
Illustrated by Simon Bartram

The Grounding of Group 6 by Julian F. Thompson

The people in their group, Group 6, were all sixteen, all five of them and none of them was fat.

Imagine finding out the private boarding school you have been sent to was not where you will study but you will be killed. The members of Group 6 find this out because their teacher has a change of heart and cannot kill them. The group stays together in the woods learning to live off the land, evading killers and dealing with the realization their parents hate them enough to kill them.

Great questions asked of the reader not just what if? but what kind of person are you?

Thompson, J.F. (1997). The grounding of group 6. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.
ISBN: 080505085X

The Adventures of Blue Avenger: A Novel by Norma Howe

Scientists say that in human males, a single seminal emission contains something in the neighborhood of 300 million spermatozoa.

On his birthday, sixteen year old David Bruce Schumacher decides to change his name to Blue Avenger. Blue Avenger stands up for the little guy, fights injustice and does everything David didn't do including boldly pursuing Omaha Nebraska Brown. Throughout the book, free will versus determinism is discussed in a clever, humorous way.

I enjoyed this book very much, falling in love with Blue Avenger's heart. The author was able to wind the free will and determinism discussion within the story so it didn't feel like a dry philosophical discussion.

Howe, N. (1999). The adventures of blue avenger: A novel. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.
ISBN: 0805060626

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me.

And so begins this retelling of the tale of Cinderella. Ella was blessed at birth by a fairy with the gift of obedience - imagine having to obey everyone! Ella does what she can to rebel and delay following orders but in the end she must. After her mother passes away, her father remarries the evil stepmother and terrible stepsisters we are all familiar. Ella does not sit by passively accepting her fate. She searches for the fairy to end her curse, torments her stepsisters right back and falls in love with her prince. Like all good fairy tales, it is only when Ella realizes her own strength found within that everything ends happily ever after. The glass slippers, pumpkin coach and fairy godmother are all found here just as in the original Cinderella. Ella and the prince first become friends and then fall in love. A nice change of pace over the 'their eyes meet, fall in love and live happily ever after' love story.

I thought the author did a great job demonstrating Ella as a strong, feisty girl.

Levine, G. C. (1997). Ella enchanted. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.
ISBN:0060275103

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Anchor Books, 1995. 239 pages. Trade Book $14.95. ISBN: 0385480016.

I loved the conversational tone of this book! I felt that Anne Lamott would be saying the exact same way if she was in front of me teaching. She must be a fabulous storyteller in person able to take an ordinary trip to the grocery store and turn it into the most fascinating story ever. This is my impression from reading her book. Of all three books I read, I found her writing to be the most hilarious!

Like the other books I read, it is not a how-to write book. Lamott does not sugar coat the writing experience and even discusses her flaws and failures. Writing is not easy and rejection is common. She says the book is written for anyone who writes NOT just those dreaming of publication. I don’t know if I ever will write well enough to be published so I appreciated the nod from her.

Much of her advice was not any different than Goldberg or Bradbury.

Write, write and write some more. Silence the perfectionist within. Observe. Listen. Communicate. Don’t be afraid. Explore your childhood and write about it. Remember when you were free. Everything is material.

I did take the tip of index cards to heart. I was trying to write something for our website and I kept coming up with ideas when I was not near my computer or at work. I took the index cards with me and was able to get some text down or at least an outline.

One of the final chapters is entitled “Finding Your Voice” and it is that exact thing I am trying to do. Lamott mentions when Isabel Allende comes out with a new book half of her class will start writing like her. I am doing that exact thing! When I write, the book I am reading seeps into my writing. How do you read, read, read and not take some of that into your writing? I think she would say that I am not opening the closed door and looking in but instead are staying behind safe topics. Probably true. She quotes Jesus “If you bring forth what is inside you, what you bring forth will save you. If you don’t bring forth what is inside you, what you bring forth can destroy you.” Great quote!

I am finding it hard to write when I get home from work because all that comes out is related to work. I haven’t been able to get it all out to move on. I was hoping reading her book would provide me with some inspiration. Today, it is not helping. I can barely get anything out that is coherent or meaningful. I must need a vacation from work!

Overall, a funny book that tells you what it is to be a writer and offers some advice when hitting the walls. I would recommend the book and will plan on rereading it again as I continue to write.