Greetings from Martha at the National Book Festival

You would be forgiven if you wandered into the National Book Festival and wondered, "Where are the books?" Leo asked me that the first time we went, and I think it's a valid question. There are authors, tents, people (more than 120,000 this year), and lines (sometimes very long lines, like the line through security to get into the children's tent while Laura and Jenna Bush were reading), but not very many actual books. I think there may have been some for sale near the Capitol (where the book signings happen), but other than that: no.

The kids had a great time at the Let's Read America Pavilion, though. They got their picture taken with Martha of Martha Speaks! (the PBS KIDS program) and listened to author and illustrator Susan Meddaugh talk about the real Martha, and about how she got the idea for the Martha books (from her son, who was in second grade at the time). Meddaugh also read (an actual book!) Perfectly Martha. We love the Martha books (Martha Blah Blah is my favorite), so Meddaugh's session was a highlight of the festival. As was the performance from the cast of the all-new Electric Company. Hey you guuuys!

I admit: I think it's a little problematic that PBS KIDS promotes its television programs so heavily at an event that's all about reading. Granted, PBS KIDS Raising Readers does a lot to help children improve the skills they need to learn to read. And other PBS KIDS programs are based on children's books, too. Maybe it's just me. My kids (who don't even watch TV) didn't seem to mind: they were more than happy to meet Clifford the Big Red Dog (online at Scholastic and PBS KIDS). The line for him was pretty long, too!

Miss Malaprop

I'm rereading Little Women for my neighborhood book club (we're reading it together with March by Geraldine Brooks).  I must have been younger than Amy when I first read Little Women; I've reread it (or parts of it) countless times since then.  It's like an old friend to me.

That said, I had forgotten how irritating Amy's malapropisms can be.  They start on p.3 with "label" for "libel"  and don't stop until Amy goes abroad (at least I hope they stop by then.  I haven't gotten that far yet).  She's the literary forerunner of Junie B. Jones, for goodness' snake!  And all the other fictional children who too-frequently mistake one word for another (Clementine, I'm talking to you).  As far as I'm concerned, it's only funny when my kids do it.  Not to worry, though: I won't quote them here.

PF: Someday When MY Cat Can Talk

I suppose I should be pleased that the cat in Caroline Lazo's charming picture book Someday When My Cat Can Talk (illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker; Schwartz and Wade, 2008) made it to Spain on his European adventure at all.  But here's what he has to say about it:

He'll talk about events in Spain--
like bullfights every spring.
And he'll praise himself for stopping one
by jumping in the ring.

At the back of the book, Lazo notes that "[b]ullfighting is Spain's best known and most-unusual spectacle, but today many people think it is cruel to kill bulls--or any animals--for sport, and hope it will end soon."  While I'm not accusing Lazo of perpetuating the leyenda negra in picture book form, I'm disappointed that she chose bullfighting to represent Spain.  No other country is represented negatively.  Next time, may I suggest that the cat make a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, read Don Quijote, dance flamenco or visit the Alhambra instead?

[Disclaimer:  No bulls were harmed in the writing of this post.  And the Poetry Friday roundup is at author amok.  Thanks!]

Twilight; perhaps you've heard of it?

I try to stay away from vampires. That includes vampire books, movies, and television shows (sorry, Buffy). Not interested. But I haven't been able to avoid the hype about tonight's release of the fourth and final book in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn (I didn't even have to look any of that up). A lot of what I've read, including this article by Laura Yao in the Washington Post ("Bitten and Smitten," 8/01/08), is about the Twilight series as a publishing phenomenon on a par with Harry Potter, and about its predominantly female fan base of daughters and (gasp!) their moms. But Laura Miller, in Salon, offers a damning critique of Twilight in the context of literary vampirism and traditional feminine fantasy as well ("Touched by a Vampire," 7/30/08). I'm beginning to wonder if I should read it myself, if only to know what everyone's talking about, and despite the fact that (see above) I'm not even interested in vampires. Help! They're sucking me in.