Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
January 17th, 2008 by Sara
Wow.
Really wow.
I just listened to the amazing audiobook of Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, read by the author Jack Gantos. I found myself laughing and tearing up at the same time. Joey Pigza, a kid with extreme behavior issues, is so friendly, so dynamic, and so exuberant that I fell in love with him, even while I saw how he disrupted the world around him. The way he tried and the way the world often misjudged him, or didn’t have the time or patience or understanding to give him, broke my heart. But Joey is unstoppable, and infinitely embraceable.
This first-person trip into the mind of Joey, filled with uncontrollable impulses, extreme fears and desires, and a very funny narrative, opened my mind and heart* to kid’s in Joey’s shoes. It gave me a window into attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the same way The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon opened a window into autism. Joey Pigza Swallowed The Key is a masterful book, written with a quality and candidness that you don’t always see in stories for this age group.
Plus, Jack Gantos did an amazing job reading this book. He’ll always be Joey Pigza to me.
HaikuReview: Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos
Just sit. Just listen.
Just do the impossible.
Just wishes he could.
*I do realize that I’ve used the word ‘heart’ twice and ‘love’ once in this review. Because I heart heart heart Joey.
Posted in Books, Haiku review, I heart this book
January 19th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Thanks sooo much for sharing this book!! It is next to read for sure!
Meg
A Company of Swans
January 15th, 2008 by Sara
HaikuReview: A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson
Defiant woman,
Pirouettes through the jungle.
Sweet, swirling story.
Posted in Books, Haiku review, I heart this book
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Can’t this wait till morning?
January 10th, 2008 by Sara
Sigh…
4:03 in the morning. Of course, that’s when I get the idea.
Not when I sit down at my computer in the middle of the afternoon and stare at the blank screen. Not when I’m trying to solve that finicky problem with my picture book manuscript. Not when I have a notebook easily within reach.
4:03 in the morning.
I fumble around in the dark and my fingers ferret out a pen. No paper. I scrawl a word on my hand, so I’ll remember the idea. But that one action releases a torrent of words. If I’d been that dutch boy, Holland would just be one giant lagoon by now.
So, I scrawl another word, then another, till I must look like Noah Webster got drunk and tattooed my arm. I lay in bed fixing that weird phrase in my book that’s been bothering me for weeks. Then moving 
on to a whole new book, scheming it out. I keep my eyes closed, still hoping I’ll pick up on the subtle hint. Finally, I wave the white flag pillowcase. I crawl out from under the snuggly covers, abandon my handsome, sleeping husband and fluffy dog foot warmers for the quiet scratching of pen on paper.
Scritch-scratch. Scritch-scratch. Sigh.
Smile.
I might just have something here.
Or is that just the sleep deprivation talking?
Posted in Writing
January 10th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
After that fantastic Schmooze you gave last night on picture books, I can’t believe the muse was banging on your subconscious at 4:03AM to get you up and writing! There is just no mercy.
Sara, you stated last night that after reading 300 picture books, you had an Ah-ha! moment. What was that? What did you “get” after reading 300 p/b? You had said, “Now, I get it.” What did you get?
I admire you so much in your quest to read 1000 picture books. I read so many of them, myself, I think I will start keeping count.
Thanks for sharing what you learned in this experience.
Hugs,
Edie
January 10th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
You are such a great writer! I feel like I was with you this morning! I hope the the ideas burst the dam ( but not tonight :)
Meg
January 11th, 2008 at 8:24 am
Hilarious. I envisioned your arm filling up with words like the tree branches on your home page. This happens to me, too, and yesterday I wrote about the inconvenience of my characters bugging me.
I am impressed you’ve read 1000 picture books in 100 days! It’s taken me almost three times as long to do that, and I haven’t logged all of them in LibraryThing–what a great idea.
Enjoyed your blog; I’ll be back.
January 12th, 2008 at 11:25 am
I love this post!! And I know all about inconvenient, but you gotta do it. Yesterday at about 5 AM I had to get out of bed to scribble down a whole picture book. (Me, too!!) I spent an hour mooning over my genius, afterward. Then I got very tired and it suddenly seemed ridiculous. (But was it?? Time–or you guys–will tell…)
The other day I had this huge epiphany while writing in my journal. Good thing I was already writing, right? The next morning, away from home, I tried to remember what that epiphany was. It was gone from my brain. I had to wait a whole day to get home, flip open my journal, and re-read my own brilliance. (It was still pretty good, but my hopes had made it huge by then.)
;)
r
P.S.
And I concur with Edie–GREAT SCHMOOZE THE OTHER NIGHT!!
January 12th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I’ve found my light up in the dark pen and a little notepad to be really useful. I used to get up, turn on the light, search for pen and paper, and by that time both I and my guy were completely awake. Much better to only wake him up gently, so he can fall back asleep sooner. Also, by my not getting up (just reaching over) I’m able to keep the fluttering muse hovering just so, and the idea gets on the page more completely.
In the morning, it’s often illegible, and I have to strain to figure out what was so brilliant I had to jot it down…But I love the idea of writing it on your hand, arm, and body – like an inspiration tattoo… hmmm – there’s a fabulous character in there, somewhere!
Namaste,
Lee
January 15th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
That’s funny!!! This has happened to me, too! But for some reason, any ideas I have in the wee hours of the morning just don’t gel. In fact, any ideas that come to me when I’m not writing never work themselves into the actual writing. So, sigh, I have to sit down and write and see what happens.
It makes me wonder, though, why this happens to us.
Great post!!!
:D
January 18th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
You know what makes me sooo happy about this post (well… *one* of the things that makes me so happy about this post!)…. that you used the word ‘lagoon’ :) I got a big beaming smile when I read it… dont know why but it just felt good and big and round and like the word was so relieved it got used :)
btw… it’s 4am here in Bombay… ha!
If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period
January 7th, 2008 by SaraHaikuReview: If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period by Gennifer Choldenko
Now that I’m done will the Great Picture Book Read of ‘07, I’ve been catching up with some middle grade and YA books. It turns out that If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period was a great place to start. Gennifer Choldenko won the Newbery Honor, as well as the Sid Fleishman Humor Award, for her earlier book, Al Capone Does My Shirts. So, of course, I was eager to read her latest book. Bonus points: she’s also a really nice person.
I’m glad to say that I was completely pulled into this story of outcasts and friends, told by two alternating main characters. Intriguingly, Gennifer Choldenko decided to tell one character in first person and the second main character in third person. I’m not sure I’ve seen that before, but it really worked in this book. I’d love to know why she chose to tell it like that.
Okay, enough chit-chat. On with the Haiku!
Flashbacks to 7th grade,
Feeling queasy as I read.
She gets it spot on.
Posted in Books, Haiku review, I heart this book
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1000 Books!!!
January 1st, 2008 by SaraHooray! On the last day of 2007, I reached my goal of reading 1000 picture books in 100 days. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done for my writing. I have a new understanding of picture books that I’m already putting to good use and much fun.
I kept track of all the books on LibraryThing. You can sort the entries by any category, author, ratings, or, most handy of all, publisher. I’m excited about using it to see what publishing houses are publishing what sort of books. I hope you find the list useful as well.
To celebrate in the right way, I finished the Great Picture Book Read of ‘07 by reading 2 of my favorite classics to the people who read me my first picture books. My parents.
Here I am reading my final books, Goodnight Moon and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, to my rapt audience.
Many thanks to Linda Sue Park, who suggested at this summer’s SCBWI conference that reading this many picture books was essential to writing one yourself. She is a great writer and one smart woman. Happy New Year, Everyone!
Posted in Books, Nifty happenings, Picture books, The Great Picture Book Read
January 4th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
that’s so awesome! i am super proud of you for making it through all 1000 in 100 days! quite an acheivement, and i’m sure you’re already reaping the benefits :) congratulations!
January 6th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Hurray for Sara!
That’s amazing – and it proves that ambitious plans yield impressive results!
I’m super proud of you!
1000 picture books in 100 days…
WOW!
Hurray!
Lee
January 7th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Wow, that is SO inspiring… congratulations on achieving your goal!!!
Happy New Year!!!
:D Monique
January 8th, 2008 at 7:30 am
Woo hoo!! Congratulations!! And thanks for keeping us posted on all these great finds!!! :D
