Ever since Steph Landry spilled a big red Super Big Gulp on queen bee Lauren Moffat’s white D&G skirt back in sixth grade, people in her town have used Steph’s name to describe anyone who is clumsy, oafish, or generally lame. “Don’t be such a Steph!” is such a common phrase in Bloomville that even the little children of customers in Steph’s parents’ bookstore use it with each other.

But all that is going to change, because Steph has THE BOOK. Steph discovered an old book called How to Be Popular among her friend Jason’s grandmother’s things, and Steph is following its advice to the letter. Once she’s popular, though, how will her unpopular friends react?

I “read” the audiobook version of this, which is voiced by the talented Kate Reinders, who has played Glinda in Wicked in Chicago and on Broadway. Reinders does an amazing job, and I love the fact that I was listening to such a clear Glinda-voice read since one of Glinda’s biggest numbers in Wicked is called “Popular.” While the text on its own is a lot of fun, I think Reinders brought a lot to it and made it more enjoyable than it would have been just to read, for me, anyway.

How to Be Popular is a fun tale of an unpopular girl, her meteoric rise to popularity, and her (unsurprising) realization that popularity is a lot of work. I’m having a hard time articulating the book’s strengths, but it is a good time and the characters and situations are familiar to anyone who went to high school ever. It does suffer from a few flaws. As is true in The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot makes some references that were timely when she was writing but are already, less than three years after the book’s release, a bit dated. I’m not sure how long Brittany Murphy will be remembered by teenagers, and I don’t feel like she was ever a household name. These instances, however, are few and far between and the universal themes of wanting to be liked and failing to appreciate that which we have overcome those problems.

While I’m usually inclined to see it as a flaw, the book’s predictability is actually very comforting. This is a romantic comedy, and we go to RomCom expecting certain things. The girl will get A guy, even if it’s not THE guy, and with this one I saw it coming within the first few minutes. I felt like I knew exactly how it would all unfold, and I was not far off. But that’s what we want with romantic comedy, and How to Be Popular satisfied me.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick, fun, life-affirming read. It’s pleasant in its simplicity. To quote Giles in the Buffy episode “Lie to Me,” “the good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and, uh, we always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies, and everybody lives happily ever after.” Sometimes that’s the story you need.

[As an aside: I had to rack my brain to figure out who my own high school’s equivalent of Mark Finley, uberpopular but also very nice guy, was. Once I figured it out, it was kind of fun to remember how I ran into him a couple of years ago and realized that my geeky fiance grew up way cuter than he did. Even though I don’t wish him ill or anything. He actually was a really nice guy.]

Book: How to Be Popular Author: Meg Cabot Publisher: Harper Teen Original Publication Date: July 2006 Pages: 304 Age Range: Young Adult Buy it: IndieBound - Powell’s - Amazon

 I just signed up for MotherReader’s 48 Hour Book Challenge.  I had a lot of fun with this back in 2007 but didn’t participate last year, but I’m back now!  I have no idea what I’ll read.  I have several to-read lists: readergirlz recs, Cybils nominees/winners, YA Romance/RomCom, books that I want to read because of reviews…  I’ll probably hit up the library for a mix and see what happens.

Won’t you join us?

LATIN (from The Latin Library):

Id metuens, veterisque memor Saturnia belli,
prima quod ad Troiam pro caris gesserat Argis—
necdum etiam causae irarum saevique dolores 25
exciderant animo: manet alta mente repostum
iudicium Paridis spretaeque iniuria formae,
et genus invisum, et rapti Ganymedis honores.
His accensa super, iactatos aequore toto
Troas, reliquias Danaum atque immitis Achilli, 30
arcebat longe Latio, multosque per annos
errabant, acti fatis, maria omnia circum.
Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem!

ENGLISH (my translation):
Fearing this and remembering the war, Juno Saturnia,
because she had foremost waged war against Troy for her beloved Argives
(indeed the causes of her anger and cruel passions
had not yet fallen from her spirit; the stored up judgement
of Paris and the injury to her rejected beauty and the hated race
and the stolen honors of Ganymede remain at the top of her mind) –
inflamed by these things also she was keeping the Trojans
tossed on the whole sea, the leavings of the Danaids and of fierce Achilles,
far from Latium, and they kept wandering for many years
driven by the fates around all the seas.
So great a burden it was to establish the Roman race.

MY NOTES:
While I love all of the Aeneid, there are specific lines that pop out as being just perfect. Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem! is one such line. I just love it. If I ever get a proper microphone (and I suspect I will soonish), maybe I’ll start adding an audio component to my poetry Friday posts so you can hear this stuff read aloud in the Latin. It is just so beautiful.

Other Vergil posts:
Aeneid I.1-7
Aeneid I.8-11
Aeneid I.8-11
Aeneid I.12-18
Aeneid I.19-22

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I don’t know if this will become a regular feature, but here’s a quick thought I’m having today:

What happens when the quirky best friend becomes the main character?

I was thinking about this a few days ago when I revisited the paltry amount I wrote for NaNoWriMo 2008.  I, myself, actually preferred my narrator’s best friends to the narrator herself.  And the more I thought about it, the more I thought, maybe I should write THAT book - about those people.

I then thought about books with characters who really tugged at my heart.  It’s a convention in video games that the main character should be rather non-descript.  This makes it easier for players to identify with him or her (almost always him, in games).  This is why it’s funny when you get people talking about which video game character is most like them and the’ll say "I’m just like so-and-so!" and all I can think is, "So you have a mysterious past and terrible tragedy and no personality traits?"

It feels natural to me that books should operate the same way, and I think one of the reasons the Twilight series is so popular is that Bella is (at least in the first one) average and non-descript.  She has average hair and average intelligence, she’s averagely pretty and can’t figure out why anybody would think she’s special, but she IS special… etc.  (I haven’t read any except Twilight so I’m basing all statements on that.)

So for my NaNo I wrote that girl - completely lacking in personality except that she was sometimes sullen but also loved her parents very much (something any girl with good parents can relate to, I think).  But her best friend had loads of personality - wild hair, funny clothes, was a band kid, etc.

And she interested me SO MUCH MORE.  My favorite characters in all of kidlit/YA are probably Lola Cep from Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and Cyd Charisse from Gingerbread.  These are both distinctive characters, dramatic and alternachick.  Lola’s friend Ella is absolutely every-girl, and I like her quite well but I don’t find her interesting.  (I haven’t read the book about her.)

Anyway.  I guess those of us who consider ourselves a bit weird need characters that reflect us, which is why we do get those quirky kids as main characters sometimes, too.

LATIN (from The Latin Library): Progeniem sed enim Troiano a sanguine duci audierat, Tyrias olim quae verteret arces; 20 hinc populum late regem belloque superbum venturum excidio Libyae: sic volvere Parcas.

ENGLISH (my translation): But she had heard indeed that a race to be led from Trojan blood would at some time overturn those Tyrian citadels; this people ruling widely and proud in war was going to come for the destruction of Libya: thus the Fates unrolled.

Poetry Friday Roundup is at Under the Covers today.

Other Vergil posts: Aeneid I.1-7 Aeneid I.8-11 Aeneid I.8-11 Aeneid I.12-18

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1. Stay up-to-date on the latest kidlitosphere news. It can be hard to keep up with everything that's going on in the Kidlitosphere. The News Blog at KC has a column listing important dates and compiles information about Kidlitosphere events, award nominations and wins, and Jen Robinson's visits to other blogs.
2. Find ways to participate in the community. With information on challenges, blog carnivals and multi-blog weekly events, KC's Resources page provides you everything you need to know to jump right into the Kidlitosphere, whether you are new to the community or have been around a while but just have gotten a bit lonely.
3. Find new books to read. On the aforementioned Resources page, KC lists multiple resources that will help you learn about new-to-you books and decide if you'd like to read them.
4. Make new friends. l've been perusing the membership lists at KC and am delighted to find several kindred spirits who I hope will become friends as I engage with them in the comments of their blogs.
5. Keep up with your favorite authors and illustrators. KC has a comprehensive list of author/illustrator-bloggers. For me, the accessibility these blogs provide is remarkable. I want to squee with delight every time I interact with one of my favorite authors.

What are some other ways you’re using Kidlitosphere Central?

From Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast:

As a reminder, these Sunday posts are our weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. Absolutely anyone, of course, is welcome to list kicks — even if, or especially if, you’ve never done so before.

I’ll be featuring stuff from the past few weeks, because I haven’t participated in a while.

1. A couple of weeks ago I learned that our local big-name-theatre that brings in touring companies will be bringing in The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Spring Awakening, and Beauty and the Beast next year.

2. We had several days of good weather this week, so I went on walks - around the neighborhood, to a restaurant, to the grocery store, etc.

3. On a related note, I realized that if I walk for just ten minutes a day every day that’s more time spent walking than if I were to do twenty minutes three times a week. Ten minutes is more manageable for me because I’m easily fatigued recently (I think it’s allergies) and have been having some hip issues, so it’s good to feel like those won’t keep me from getting to walk.

4. I’ve been doing ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog and I feel very good about it.

5. I recently read The Renaissance Soul: Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One and it spoke to me very much. I now am much less overwhelmed by the many worthwhile things to do in the world and know if I take on just a few at a time, I can eventually get to all of the ones that capture my interest.

6. I have a nice stack of non-fiction books to read from the library, and all of them excite me.

7. I am at a place in life where if I need to fall asleep on the couch at 8:30 pm, I can do so and everything is just fine. (Likewise if, on a Sunday, I need to take a nap around 3:15…)

What are your kicks this week?

LATIN (from The Latin Library): Urbs antiqua fuit, Tyrii tenuere coloni, Karthago, Italiam contra Tiberinaque longe ostia, dives opum studiisque asperrima belli; quam Iuno fertur terris magis omnibus unam
posthabita coluisse Samo; hic illius arma, hic currus fuit; hoc regnum dea gentibus esse, si qua fata sinant, iam tum tenditque fovetque.

ENGLISH (my translation): There was an ancient city (the Tyrian settlers held it) Carthage, far away facing Italy and the Tiber’s mouth, rich in resources and very fierce in the pursuits of war; the only city which Juno is said to have cherished more than all the other lands, with Samo estemmed less: here were her arms, here was her chariot; now already the goddess aimed for and cherished this city to be the ruling power for the races, if some fate would allow it.

Poetry Friday Roundup is at Becky’s Book Reviews today.

Other Vergil posts: Aeneid I.1-7 Aeneid I.8-11

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In case you haven’t seen it yet, Kidlitosphere Central is a hub of activity/resources for the society of bloggers in children’s and young adult literature. I’m honored to be listed among its members. I spent part of the day yesterday and today poking around the membership list and wanted to share just a few interesting posts I found. You can expect more posts like this from me in the future.

From 100 Scope Notes: Three Tips for a Successful Book Fair
When I was a student, the book fair was one of my favorite school events. To my knowledge, the school where I teach does not have one, which I think is typical of a high school. I don’t know if as a librarian/media coordinator I will ever get to produce one, but if I do, I will be going back to this post for help.

From the Almost Librarian: Check It Out At Your Local Library. An excellent catalog of all the resources libraries have to offer that patrons might not know about. I would love to see this turned into a handout to be distributed at schools and libraries and maybe other places, too.

From Becky’s Book Reviews: Why Keep Blogging? Becky asks many good questions about reviewer-author relationships, blog commenting etiquette, and explains her thoughts on these issues.

From Biblio File: Reading Journals On the brink of filling up her current reading journal, Jennie shares photographs and asks for suggestions on a new notebook to use.

From Bildungsroman: Interviews of Hope Little Willow is asking authors for their definition of hope and compiling links to her interviews with them at this post.

From Blue Rose Girls: libraries i have seen Grace Lin shares photographs of the various school libraries she’s toured.

From The Book Chook: What to Do Before You Drop Everything (and read) I missed DEAR day, which was April 12, but Susan’s methods for finding a new book are valuable any day of the year.

I hope you enjoy these posts. Look for more next time I go poking around Kidlitosphere Central!

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As my mind turns to my new career as a school media coordinator, I find myself even more committed to promoting literacy than I have been as a reader, a student, and a teacher. So for those of you who may not have heard of all of them, here are seven resources for literacy activists.

1. America's Literacy Directory, http://www.literacydirectory.org/ Use this directory, provided by the National Institute for Literacy, to find local literacy programs. You can search for programs for children or adults, programs for employers, Learning Disability organizations, and volunteer opportunities.
2. First Book, http://www.firstbook.org/ First Book provides access to books to children who might not otherwise have it. Local advisory boards select programs to receive book grants and then work to fulfill those grants through fund-raising and other activities. The site provides resources for individuals interested in finding or starting an advisory board. The Campus Advisory Board program provides college and university students the opportunity to directly make a difference.
3. Kids Need to Read, http://www.kidsneedtoread.org Founded by actor Nathan Fillion and author P. J. Haarsma, KNTR donates books to schools which may lack funds to develop their own libraries and to clinics which then give the books to low-income families. This organization is a favorite of pop culture and sci fi/fantasy fans, as evidenced by its recent success in auctioning a photo of the cast of the online web series, The Guild.
4. The National Center for Family Literacy, http://www.famlit.org While many organizations focus on providing support for literacy in public spaces like schools and libraries, NCFL focuses on the place where most of us gain our love of reading: the home. NCFL's site provides listings of local family literacy programs which provide training to parents on how to read with their children, as well as an action center which sends out advocacy notices and provides information about government policies affecting literacy.
5. The National Institute for Literacy, http://www.nifl.gov/ NIL is a government agency established by the National Literacy Act in 1991. The website provides information on literacy for all ages, as well as publications, grant listings, and several literacy-related online discussion lists.
6. Reading is Fundamental, http://www.rif.org/ RIF sponsors several initiatives to promote literacy and provides information for educators, parents, and kids on subjects like motivating kids to read and choosing good books. RIF also frequently emails action alerts and includes a list of volunteer opportunities. My favorite part of the site is the Generation RIF page, a place for adults who benefited from the program in their childhood to reminisce through text and photos.
   
7. Share a Story, Shape a Future, http://shareastory-shapeafuture.blogspot.com/ This kidlitosphere initiative, inspired by Jen Robinson's exploration at her blog of how we can encourage reading aloud, now has its own blog. It includes an archive of the blog tour which kicked off the program, as well as a Literacy Resource Kit, downloadable bookmarks, and promotional materials for the program.
   

Do you have any resources to add to the list? Please share them in the comments!

UPDATE! Other Resources for literacy activists include: Everybody Wins, http://www.everybodywins.org/, dedicated to building the skills and love of reading among low-income elementary school students.

Reading Rockets, http://www.readingrockets.org, a multimedia project that includes television programs, online services, and professional development opportunities.

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