Moira Donohue’sPenny and Punctuation Bee and Alfie the Apostrophe both hit paperback this month. As part of our musical welcome, I wanted to introduce you to the person who made me love punctuation (before Moira, I mean). I first saw Victor Borge do his skit on punctuation pronunciation on The Electric Company back in 1974. I can still do the sound effects. Shhhhhh ptt. Here’s a video where VB puts punctuation to music, ably aided by Dean Martin.
And, because punctuation is SO COOL, I’m also posting a link to Interjections from the fine folks at Schoolhouse Rock. They’re my heroes, and not just because I can still sing you the Preamble to the Constitution.
I was unable to find the chords online, dangit, but you can find the lyrics here. (Try A, D and E).
Look for an interview with Moira at the end of the week, along with a chance to win a copy of her book.
The other night I came home to find that our copies of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda had arrived before the launch date. My husband and kids were in bed, reading together. They must have been reading for awhile; they were on page 96. And they were all laughing like crazy. Something about Dwight’s sweater vest, I think. And a picture of Tatooine Idol.
You can’t miss Origami Yoda, Tom Angleberger’s book about a weird kid named Dwight and his wise Yoda finger puppet, which dispenses advice to the sixth grade at McQuarrie Middle School. It was on the front of the Abrams spring catalog. It was on the Starwars.com homepage. There’s a video on how to make the Yoda finger puppet that Tom designed. Plus Tom, who also writes under the name of Sam Riddleburger, has a website dedicated to the book.
Origami Yoda is officially out today, which makes it brand-spanking new. But you know that when something’s new to us, the author’s been working on it for a long, long time. Then comes promo season, which is followed by early reviews. There’s a lot out there about this book already, but not enough — especially after my kids dubbed it The Best Book the Whole Wide World. (Other books that share this title in our house include Harry Potter and Wind in the Willows. No slouches, they.)
In honor of Yoda, I’ve remodeled my virtual living room. The paprika couch has been hauled off by the virtual Good Will. I’ve replaced it with something silk and sage to reflect Yoda’s intellect and hue. Have a seat to learn more about how Tom got the licensing to use Yoda’s name, his secret talent, and how you can win a signed copy of his new book.
I’ve been waiting to see this book in print for years — years I tell you — so I’m psyched to welcome Tom Angleberger’sThe Strange Case of Origami Yoda by playing some of my favorite Star Wars related songs. You know who sings them. You may even know some of the words. It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone you’re a Weird Al fan. It’ll be our little secret.
I’ll have an interview with Tom tomorrow. But today let’s listen to Weird Al’s Yoda, to the tune of the Kinks’ Lola. And in case you were wondering: I don’t know just some of the words; I know all of them. I sing them proudly on, oh, just about every car trip we ever take.
Thank goodness there’s a Weird Al channel on youtube. Here’s a link to The Saga Begins to the tune of “American Pie,” and, yep, I know every word to this one, too. Favorite lines: “So we took him there and we told the tale/How his midi-chlorians were off the scale…”
And just in case you want to play along, here’s where you can find the chords:
The Lola link.
The American Pie link.
Lordy, March is a a busy month for my friends with books! Today I am happy to welcome not just a book, but a FIRST BOOK, by Arlington’s Amy Brecount White. The story is about a girl who discovers a language that isn’t on the course list for her new school — the language of flowers. The blurb is here. The cover gets you ready for spring, doesn’t it?
My choice for the musical welcome is Acony Bell by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. I couldn’t find a live video (they are incredible live) but at least you can hear them play it:
And here are the chords, in case you want to play along. You’re on your own for the tab, though.
I met Jackie Jules soon after I moved to Arlington, Va., when my tiny critique group (three people) was invited to join her critique group, which was larger but which ebbed and flowed. I’ve been a part of that group for four and a half years now — a group that features women of varying ages, personalities and temperaments, all arguing and laughing and yelling over line after line of one another’s work.
It’s a beautiful thing.
During those years I’ve seen a number of Jackie’s books go from a draft on a piece of recycled paper to a hard-bound copy available in bookstores near you. Zapato Power, which is being released today by Albert Whitman, is one of those books. (The grand total of Jackie’s books that have come into being while I’ve been in the group is something like 10 — we figured it out once. And two of them have received Sydney Taylor Honor Awards. It’s the sort of thing that could make someone a tiny bit jealous. Ahem. I’d be more jealous if I didn’t know how hard Jackie works. A lot of sweat and care goes into everything she writes, as you’ll see from the conversation that follows, when Jackie joins me on the paprika couch in my lovely blog living room.) Read on!
Jacqueline Jules’ Zapato Power, Freddie Ramos Takes Off, arrives in book stores today. To say welcome, I’m playing REM’s Superman. You know you want to sing along!
(And if you want to play along, follow the link to find the chords.)
“Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness.”
Jane Austen, from a letter to her sister, Oct. 17, 1815
I’ve been thinking about letters, based on a recent discussion about Jane Austen’s letters, some of which are now on display at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York. (A number of them are also available, via electronic text, at the University of Virginia, Penn, and other university libraries. And of course there are books.) Written in a beautiful, slanted, wispy hand, I find Austen’s original letters, though perfect for their time, hard to decipher, items that need to be studied rather than read. But I trust she would not be able to decipher my grubby scrawl, which is nowhere near perfect, either. She would be able to read my e-mails, though, were any of the thousands of them permanently saved or properly archived and put into context.
“Woo-hoo!” I wrote in an e-mail to my friend Wendy Shang, just after midnight. “I think Mary and I just finished a first draft of our novel.” Then I added a P.S.: Jane Austen would never have said “woo-hoo.”
No, Wendy agreed, in her e-mail reply dated 25th of February. “I believe Jane Austen preferred a fist pump followed by ‘Booyaaaah!’”
I’ve been working on my blog a lot this week, but you won’t see the results until March, when I start bringing you interviews with some friends who have new books. This week, all I’m bringing you is a brief review of a generic product. (I did this in my old blog some, never consistently. But at least I’m consistent about being inconsistent.)
Product: Safeway’s Diced Tomatoes.
Verdict: Splurge on name brand. Maybe I got a bad batch, but these tasted like can. Can, can, can. The meatballs didn’t stand a chance.
If you read my old blog, you know I like to give warm, musical welcomes to new books. Today I’m welcoming Kathy Erskine’s novel Quaking as it comes out in its paperback edition! (That counts as new, right?)
Follow me over to the time-machine that is youtube to watch Elvis Costello singing (What’s So Funny About) Peace Love and Understanding. With Nick Lowe (who actually wrote the song). In Japan! I think it speaks to the underlying theme in Kathy’s novel. Plus, it’s Elvis. And Nick!
I’m also including a link to the chords for the song, just in case you’d like to strum along.
I have a friend who’s not a writer or editor. She is, however, very opinionated and she wants to look at my manuscript, which is with my real editor and is in its final edits before publication. At this point I just don’t think I can take another opinion but she won’t take “no” for an answer. What should I tell her?
