tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post7199374198647166492..comments2024-01-10T17:38:08.333-05:00Comments on Elizabeth Burns: See, Definitions Are Important!Liz Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16671844475303001610noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-49064547460448628702009-02-17T22:37:00.000-05:002009-02-17T22:37:00.000-05:00Liz, Thanks for taking out sissy. I appreciate it...Liz, <BR/><BR/>Thanks for taking out sissy. I appreciate it! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-80415166938294046032009-02-13T07:13:00.000-05:002009-02-13T07:13:00.000-05:00Treasure Island. Two deaths in the beginning that ...Treasure Island. Two deaths in the beginning that starts off the adventure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-73304466373411406682009-02-11T19:02:00.000-05:002009-02-11T19:02:00.000-05:00How about James and the Giant Peach?How about James and the Giant Peach?Mary Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078793537148794310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-42810265825721165712009-02-11T06:42:00.000-05:002009-02-11T06:42:00.000-05:00By middle school, students are ASKING for books wi...By middle school, students are ASKING for books with murder. I'm far more squeamish about it than they are (and let's hope that Shan's Lord Loss is never shelved in children's!). Maybe I can get them to read Roller Skates BECAUSE of the murder. I'll give it a try!Ms. Yinglinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-40009370827056249922009-02-10T17:17:00.000-05:002009-02-10T17:17:00.000-05:00Angie, wasn't my intent to be negative, thanks for...Angie, wasn't my intent to be negative, thanks for making me aware of how it read! It's done.<BR/><BR/>I totally forgot about the murder in Roller Skates, and that was one of my favorite books as a kid.Liz Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16671844475303001610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-91075418205669524412009-02-10T14:41:00.000-05:002009-02-10T14:41:00.000-05:00Well, I would point out that The Underneath, a New...Well, I would point out that <I>The Underneath</I>, a Newbery Honor book, that many people thought was THE front runner for the big prize is also amazingly violent and bleak and depressing. (and a splendid book, might I add.) But it's "only" about animals, right? Would we be seeing the same outcry if <I>The Underneath</I> had won or are we prepared for THAT kind of scariness and violence in our children's books? (you know, <I>Where The Red Fern Grows, Old Yeller</I>, etc.) <BR/><BR/>Also, Liz, can I ask you to take the word <I>sissy</I> out of this post? In this context, it has negatively gendered connotations I don't think are necessary for the point you are making.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-89369865755807669152009-02-10T10:02:00.000-05:002009-02-10T10:02:00.000-05:00Roller Skates, a 1930s Newbery winner, has a COMPL...Roller Skates, a 1930s Newbery winner, has a COMPLETELY GRATUITOUS AND HORRIFYING murder.<BR/><BR/>When I was a kid, the only books on the YA shelf at my local library (it was one small shelf) were books with explicit sex scenes. (And I think everyone knew why they were there, and wouldn't go near that shelf; too embarrassing.) That was, maybe, the early 90s. Categories are fluid. Lois Duncan books are full of murders and attempted murders, and they were all in the children's section.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-28319325005056595582009-02-10T05:40:00.000-05:002009-02-10T05:40:00.000-05:00I am neither a librarian nor a MG specialist, but ...I am neither a librarian nor a MG specialist, but I am a sissy -- the first chapter of <I>The Graveyard Book</I> freaked me RIGHT out. It might have been different if I'd been reading it, instead of hearing it being read aloud -- by Neil Gaiman. <BR/><BR/>But thinking about your question, I don't find that I was running to hide this from the children. Bod grew on me and I would love to squeeze his little insubstantial ghostly cheeks. The problem -- which maybe isn't a real problem, but maybe just a confusion -- is that people tend to think of "Children's Books" as if they alone are an indisputable single genre. <I>The Graveyard Book</I> is arguably a mystery/suspense book, and so the death is perfectly reasonable. And, if you're a kid who prefers folk tales or country stories or comedies or something else - there's other books for your librarian to recommend. <BR/><BR/>I was a sissy kid, too, and it would have taken me an age to pluck up the courage to read something with the word "graveyard" in the title. But I'm darned if I would support that book not being there for when I finally got the courage to want it. It is a <B>good book</B>, and someone would merely need to put on their big-girl panties and read it to know this.tanita✿davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01671822274852087499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-75660220807047783742009-02-09T21:11:00.000-05:002009-02-09T21:11:00.000-05:00The Series of Unfortunate Events, The Westing Game...The Series of Unfortunate Events, The Westing Game, Peppermints in the Parlor... What is a middle grade novel without at least one orphan, preferably made so by violent means? And they say YA is the gritty category. :)holly cupalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15012572116406283386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-11121263988360465362009-02-09T19:55:00.001-05:002009-02-09T19:55:00.001-05:00The library I used to work with had YA as 7th up, ...The library I used to work with had YA as 7th up, so the "5th to 8th" books fell right in the middle. Their rule of thumb was the age of the main character -- if it was 10/11, it went J, if it was 12/13, they went YA. They have G' Book in YA; I'm assuming because Bod is a teenager by the end of the book.Liz Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16671844475303001610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-67793053696479517622009-02-09T19:55:00.000-05:002009-02-09T19:55:00.000-05:00The Twilight series isn't in the elementary half o...The Twilight series isn't in the elementary half of our K-12 library, but I know some of the 5th and 6th grade students are reading it - purchased for them by their parents.<BR/><BR/>Narnia books, LOTR all have battles and death.dianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11292813474160548707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-69824868244088327632009-02-09T19:52:00.000-05:002009-02-09T19:52:00.000-05:00Three Little Pigs, Hansel and Gretel, The Pendrago...Three Little Pigs, Hansel and Gretel, The Pendragon series, and MANY others. Not all Newbery winners are sweet little tales either.dianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11292813474160548707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-67768803787785173682009-02-09T19:47:00.000-05:002009-02-09T19:47:00.000-05:00PS-- Criss Cross and Hattie Big Sky are both in th...PS-- Criss Cross and Hattie Big Sky are both in the YA section at my library.<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, my local library (not the one I work in) keeps their J/YA break much lower. It has Last Apprentice crosslisted in J and YA. Bindi Babes and Millicent Min are in YA, but Graveyard Book is in J.Jenniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02024880986964198385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-29451072768412075822009-02-09T19:42:00.000-05:002009-02-09T19:42:00.000-05:00Off the top of my head:The Dollhouse Murders by Be...Off the top of my head:<BR/><BR/>The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright<BR/><BR/>Assassin by Lady Grace Cavendish<BR/><BR/>Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor<BR/><BR/>All of which are in the children's section at my library (which runs through grade 7-ish.)<BR/><BR/>If you look at the plot structure of Graveyard Book--highly episodic with some things tying together at the end, it's definitely children's.Jenniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02024880986964198385noreply@blogger.com