Supergirl

That's really super Supergirl
How you saved yourself in seconds flat
And your friends are going to say
That's really super Supergirl
How you're changing all the world's weather
--Supergirl by XTC

Here are three great graphic novel series that feature girl superheroes:

Amelia Rules by Jimmy Gownley

Gownley, Jimmy. Amelia Rules!: Vol. 3. Harrisburg, PA: Renaissance Press, 2006. Print.

I made the mistake of giving an Amelia Rules book to my niece at the beginning of our visit. I didn't get to chat with her because she couldn't stop reading!

Babymouse by Jennifer L. Holm and Matt Holm

Holm, Jennifer L, and Matthew Holm. Babymouse: Our Hero. New York: Random House, 2005. Print.

This funny series about a spunky kitty was written by Newbery honor winner, Jennifer L. Holm, and illustrated by her brother Matt!

Fashion Kitty by Charise Mericle Harper

Harper, Charise M. Fashion Kitty Versus the Fashion Queen. New York: Hyperion Paperbacks for Children, 2007. Print.

Fashion Kitty protects her classmates from Cassandra the mean Fashion Queen bully. Fashion Kitty is the cat's pajamas!

Stitches by David Small

National Book Award Finalist

Small, David. Stitches: A Memoir. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2009. Print.

"David Small evokes the mad scientific world of the 1950s beautifully, a time when everyone believed that science could fix everything . . . Capturing body language and facial expressions subtly, Stitches becomes in Small's skillful hands a powerful story, an emotionally charged autobiography." --R. Crumb

"Small, in a style of dry menace, draws us a boy's life that you wouldn't want to live but you can't put down. From its first line four pages in, 'Mama had her little cough', we know that we are in the hands of a master." --Jules Feiffer

Judging by the bright, cheerful children's book illustrations David Small is most famous for, you would never guess that his own childhood was so dark. All families are a bit dysfunctional, but David Small's family was criminally insane. His grandmother, who used to discipline him with scalding hot water, was institutionalized after she locked her husband in the basement, set the house on fire, and celebrated by dancing around naked in the front yard. David Small's father, a radiologist, used extremely high levels of radiation on his son in an attempt to cure his minor sinusitis. These treatments were likely the cause of the cancerous growth that appeared on David's neck. The growth grew and grew, and David's mother put off taking him to a pediatrician for years because she didn't want to throw away good money. Years later, when David's growth finally became too big to ignore, he was operated on, and awoke to discover that one of his vocal chords had been removed along with the growth. He could no longer speak above a whisper.

Thankfully, David and his brother developed creative ways to escape the abuse. David turned to art and became an award-winning children's author. His brother turned to music and became a professional classical percussionist.

This is the most compelling graphic novel/memoir I've read since Art Spiegelman's Breakdowns.

Spiegelman, Art. Breakdowns. London: Viking, 2008. Print.

Here are just a few of David Small's wonderful books for children:

Small, David. Imogene's Antlers. New York: Crown Publishers, 1985. Print.


Stewart, Sarah, and David Small. The Library. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1995. Print.

Caldecott Medalist
George, Judith S, and David Small. So You Want to Be President. New York: Philomel Books, 2000. Print.

Broach, Elise, and David Small. When Dinosaurs Came with Everything. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007. Print.

It's National Bookmobile Day!

"Libraries exist to serve readers, and bookmobiles are a terrific example of library service. If you are very old or very young, if you live off the beaten track, if you just can't make it to your local library, bookmobiles are for you. A good bookmobile warms the cockles of my heart; it is a movable community, bringing books to the readers."

- Audrey Niffenegger, Honorary Chair, National Bookmobile Day 2011

Audrey Niffenegger is an artist and author. She has a really, really cool graphic novel series called The Night Bookmobile. It appears in installments in the Guardian newspaper. Audrey Niffenegger also wrote the novel The Time Traveler's Wife which is about a girl who falls in love with a time-traveling librarian. The book was a bit too odd for my taste, but most people loved it. The story was made into a movie starring the stunning actress Rachel McAdams. The talented actress also starred in the comedies Mean Girls and Wedding Crashers.

Shop Indie Bookstores
Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveler's Wife: A Novel. San Francisco, CA: MacAdam/Cage, 2003.

R. Crumb's Book of Genesis

Great illustrations, but the text is a bit pedantic and repetitive.

Crumb, R., and Robert Alter. The Book of Genesis. New York: W.W. Norton, 2009.

Yes, I still watch The Real World.

McGrath, Tom. MTV: The Making of a Revolution. Philadelphia: Running Press, 1996.

Yes, I'm 42 years old and I still watch MTV's The Real World. This documentary/sociology experiment started back in 1992 when 7 strangers were chosen to live together in an amazing Manhattan apartment for a few months and have their every move taped.

Johnson, Hillary, and Nancy Rommelmann. The Real Real World. New York, NY: MTV Books/Pocket Books/Melcher Media, 1995.

Each year the show takes place in a different city with different cast members. The Real World is often credited as being the first influential reality show on national television. In fact, it is even featured in the Paley Center for Media.

Maupin, Armistead. Michael Tolliver Lives. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2007.

The San Francisco season was especially ground-breaking because one of the cast members, Pedro Zamora, had the AIDS virus. He passed away only a few months after the last episode was aired and his death made national news. As President Bill Clinton said, Pedro had become a part of all our families and that now none of us could say that we didn't know someone living with AIDS.

Winick, Judd. Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned. New York: Henry Holt, 2000.

To learn more about Pedro, I highly recommend Judd Winick's book Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned. One of my favorite authors, Armistead Maupin writes:

"Pedro and Me is as lovely and resonant a tribute as one friend could possibly pay another. Judd Winick takes us beyond all those tilty camera angles into the realest world of all: the hearts and minds of the people who actually lived this wrenching but triumphant story. I was utterly captivated."

I met Judd Winick a few years ago at an ALA conference, but I was too shy to say much. I did get him to sign my copy of his book, though.

ps. In my opinion, Honolulu, Las Vegas, and Denver were the worst seasons because the kids acted like drunken springbreakers throwing off their clothes and getting into bar room brawls. It was kind of like watching the Jerry Springer Show, only with better looking people.

pps. I think this year's Real World: Brooklyn is the best season since San Francisco. I actually cried when I watched last week's episode. To learn more about Real World: Brooklyn, visit MTV.com.

Breakdowns by Art Spiegelman

Spiegelman, Art. Breakdowns. New York: Pantheon, 2008. ISBN: 978037542395.

I just finished reading the reissue of Art Spiegelman's memoir, Breakdowns. This masterpiece is not for the faint of heart--it even has an "adults only" label on the cover. (I don't usually approve of labels, but the artist added it himself.) If you like R. Crumb, you will LOVE Art Spiegelman.

Actually, you probably already know Spiegelman's work. He won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for his amazing book about the Holocaust, Maus, which was followed by Maus II.

Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor's Tale. New York: Pantheon Books, 1986. ISBN: 9780394747231.

By the way . . .

Tomorrow I am off to the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Denver, and guess who is going to be there? Art Spiegelman!


I will probably be really shy when I meet him. I'm okay when it comes to talking with musicians, but I get all embarrassed when I meet authors. Books can be so intimate, and I don't like the feeling of knowing too much about someone who doesn't know anything about me.

The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar

Sfar, Joann. The Rabbi's Cat. New York: Pantheon Books, 2005.

I stumbled upon this wonderful book when I was up in the stacks looking for something entirely different. The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar takes place in Algeria during the 1930's. It's a funny story about a rabbi, his beautiful daughter, and their loyal cat. Since the book is kind of hard to describe, I'll leave it to the pros. NPR's Laurel Maury says it best:

Sfar has a kind of Isaac Bashevis Singer-like love of rambling, subtle yarns with universal appeal. The artist's wavering line beautifully renders his characters' sympathetic imperfections, but the real magic is in the gentle wisdom of his words. It's a rare book that makes talk of art, faith and humanity as exciting as a rollicking thriller.

Just in time for Banned Books Week

Clowes, D. (2001) Eightball. Seattle: Fantagraphics.

Thanks to Bloglines, I found out about a book censorship case that is going on in my hometown. The father of a high school student filed a complaint about a book that was recommended to his daughter by her English teacher. The book in question is the graphic novel Eightball #22 by Daniel Clowes.

I’m surprised because my town is pretty liberal. Back in the early nineties our public library even had a circulating copy of Madonna’s Sex book right out on the shelf. (I say had because it was stolen, of course!)