It's a mystery! Can you solve it?

My mother is trying to figure out the name and/or author of this favorite poem of hers.  We can't seem to figure it out any way any how.  The text may not be exact, since it's from memory, but I bet it's pretty close.

Under the green glass roof of waves
The little merchildren play.

Their toys are shells
And their homes are caves,
Their little pet fish
Feed beneath the spray.

They slip and dive,
Swoop and swirl,
Where the sea-grass sways
And the seashells curl.

Peep through the seaweed wafting wild,
And you might even see a little merchild.

Gunnerkrigg Court

Lazer cows. They're like regular cows, but with lazers. *zot*

Today I'll be interviewing Jacob about Gunnerkrigg Court, one of our favorite books/webcomics.

Alysa: So. Gunnerkrigg Court. It's pretty good, huh?

Jacob: laughs Yeah.

Alysa: Why don't you tell the blog readers how we found it?

Jacob: That's not a question.  But I can. Alysa got the first book of Gunnerkrigg Court for the Cybils...last year?... or I guess it was two years ago when she was on the Graphic Novels panel she read it and really enjoyed it and told me I had to read it. So I did. Then we found out there was a web comic.

Alysa: That it is a webcomic. (ETA: It won, by the way.)

Jacob: That it is a webcomic, caught up to the current storyline and both have been following it via Google Reader ever since.

Alysa: If I recall correctly, we were reading it pretty much non-stop for several days.

Jacob: I'm waiting for the next question. The first two have not been very good, as questions at least. One ended in "huh?" and the other was less of a question and more of a command.

Alysa: Umm, ok. What literary themes have you identified in Gunnerkrigg Court?

Jacob: Now I feel like I'm back in High School English. But that was a much better question. The main theme...is...the conflict between technology and the natural world. Which is shown through the conflict of Gunnerkrigg Court and Gillitie Wood.

A: How do you spell Gillitie wood?

J: I dunno.  I'll have to find out later.  Are you going to go back and edit this at all?

A: Yes. Yes I am. typos everywhere since I'm transcribing as we go Gunnerkrigg court is the school that Annie goes to.  Gillite wood is the big scary woods on the other side of the ravine/river/bridge.

J: There's also the usual themes of growing up; it's a coming of age story.

A: Yeah, she's finding out about her parents more, Gunnerkrigg Court is a boarding school, and her parents used to go to it.

J: But it's not like Harry Potter.

A: Right.  There's no real bad guy as far as I can tell.  It's just a series of chapters, experiences that Annie and her friends have.

J: There's also themes of friendship, and trust. And loyalty.

A: And mystery! checks email

J: Hey, I thought we were doing something.

A: We are. We're creating something together, that is not a baby.

J: You just want to be able to include that line.

A: What can I say? It's a good one.

J: The next question.

A: Ok fine. To whom would you recommend Gunnerkrigg Court? Or, have you recommended it to anyone already?

J: Ummmm I would recommend it to most anyone. Over the age of.. 12 would you say?

A: Sure. Yeah.  It's not inappropriate--

J: right, it's not vulgar, explicit

A; but the themes are just kind of --

J: Right. One of the things I like about it. Is that it has interesting themes and ideas without needing to resort to that sort of stuff. ... AND there's City Face. Not actually part of Gunnerkrigg Court. But I'll leave you to find out about that yourself.

A: One of the things that I think is kinda weird is reading it just a page at a time, as it comes out.

J: It was much nicer to read it in book form. We would love to purchase Volume 2. (and 3, I don't think it's out yet though.  The material is there, but it's not been published yet.) We're just poor graduate students, though.

A: Hey I wonder if it's on Paperbackswap. Probably not. Cuz --

J: The people who bought it probably want to keep it

A: Yeah. It's not put out by a publisher.

J: Is that true?

A: I think it's self-published. I mean, obviously there's still someone who publishes it.

J: fetches book Archaia Studios Press.  flips through first pages The drawing has gotten much better

A: Yeah his style has changed a lot.  And I think that the style of the story has changed too, over time.  It has become more coherent. Cohesive. Less episodic? But maybe that's just the fact that I'm reading it one page at a time.

J: If you do start reading it, be aware that there's not much exposition.  And by not much, I mean none at all.

A: The backstory comes later. In pieces.  Which I like.

J: It's all part of the mystery. ... Here's how you spell Gillitie Wood.

A: corrects previous. Ok, cool.

J: chuckles

A: What are you laughing about?

J: The first chapter. Annie's trying to figure out how to get Shadow 2 across the bridge but she couldn't walk across herself. And she says, "There was only one sensible resolution to the problem. I must construct a robotic walking device, which will provide you with transit across the bridge!"

A: I like all the fun inventions. Like the laser cows.

J: laughs

A: Ok! That's us signing off then! Tell us if you read it, and if you like it! Here's the first page. Oh! I wanted to tell them about how when we went out for Valentine's Day, dinner without the kids, we spent a good deal of time discussing our Gunnerkrigg Court theories. That was fun.

J: I see... still paging through Vol 1...Jones!

Astro the Steller Sea Lion

Astro is an orphaned Steller sea lion who was found and brought to a marine mammal center on the California coast. When he'd grown big enough, his rescuers released him into the ocean to swim away and make his own way in the world. But Astro had other ideas. He'd become too attached to humans in his time at the marine center, and though they tried releasing him farther and farther away, Astro kept making his way back to civilization, once even joining a walk-a-thon taking place at a school!

When it was clear to the marine-center workers that Astro wasn't going to stay away, a new home was found for him at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, where he now lives happily.

This was a sweet children's book sent to me by its author to read and share with my son and review on the blog. Spencer asked lots of questions as I read, and I quite liked the colorful illustrations, so all in all, an enjoyable read, especially for any kids out there interested in marine life.

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch

Guys. You've got to read this one.  It's totally awesome.

The tagline is "Yet Another Troll-Fighting 11-Year-Old Orthodox Jewish Girl!"  The book made me laugh and I particularly loved the sibling interactions, being from a big family myself.  It's just darn good storytelling is what it is.  I made Jacob read it.

Jacob says: "It left me wanting to know the rest of the story, which is a compliment!"

Yes, it is the story of how Mirka gets a sword, and I too am curious to see how she'll use it in the future.

You can read the 57 page webcomic here(ville), but I recommend just getting your hands on the book because it is the expanded (139 page) version.

Seriously though. It's in my Top 5 graphic novels. Or among my favorites, anyway. I don't think I could make a top five (or even 10) list.

Cybils Winners!

Happy less than three day! <3

Happy Interplanetary Be Who You Are Day!

Happy Singles' Awareness Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Cybils Award Announcement Day!

You can find all the winners here!  Winning the Middle Grade Fiction award (the one that Ashley and I helped to judge) is...

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger! Huzzah!  I liked it.  My Review went up in November.

How Romantic

Firelight, by Sophie Jordan.
The latest Twilight-esque book.

Jacinda is a "draki"---a dragon descendant with the ability to shift into human form. Her kind are hunted and endangered, and with her rare fire-breathing abilities, Jacinda is particularly important to her tribe. She's destined to marry and "breed" with the clan leader's son, but Jacinda's mom has other ideas. She sneaks both of her daughters away in the night and moves them to a desert town in hopes that Jacinda's inner draki will die, leaving her a normal girl, and keeping her safe from the grasping claws and horrifying future the clan has planned for her.

But Jacinda doesn't want to let go of her draki identity. She fights its withering decline, torn between a desire to please her mother and twin sister and a love for her kind. The only thing she's found in the moistureless desert that keeps her draki alive is Will.

Will is all broad-shouldered, rippling-muscled, sultry-voiced, romantic-ness incarnate. He also happens to be a Hunter---a member of the very family that killed Jacinda's father and nearly captured Jacinda herself.

They are destined to be together, yet so wrong for each other. Star-crossed lovers. *sigh*

There was something about this book that kept me reading. It was fast-paced. It was interesting. But ... it was kinda corny. So if that's your thang, by all means, read Firelight. It'll have a sequel too, to carry on where we left off with a cliffhanger ending, natch.

Matched, by Ally Condie.
And then there's Matched. Apparently the movie-production rights for both of these books have been optioned (is that the right word?), which is unsurprising and potentially fun.

Matched is so deep and lovely where Firelight feels (at times) kind of canned and two-dimensional. Set in a dystopian world, this book tells the story of Cassia, a model citizen who has been matched for marriage to her best friend and next-door neighbor Xander. But when, after the matching ceremony, another boy's face appears on her information card, her tidy life begins to crack, and Cassia has to navigate the treacherous waters of inner rebellion in a society of merciless perfection.

This book pretty much screamed The Giver, but I was okay with that. The writing---the writing! I've read an awful lot of YA books, and it's kind of rare to find a book that puts so much effort into the art, instead of focusing only on a gripping storyline. This book's got both---the grip, and the art. Highly recommended.

Shark vs. Train

Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton

Maybe if I transcribe some of the gleeful exclamations of Benjamin about this book, we'll have a review that will make you want to read this imaginative book without spoiling any of the fun.

Alysa: Let's write about Shark vs. Train.
Benjamin: Lets read it! Shark bersuz Train. (Pointing to wordless page): read this words! Grr... Shark is not too heavy, Train is too heavy! The train is hot! The shark is burping!  Wemomade! Crabs not have mouths. Shark have mouth! Silly wemomade. Trick-or-treating... Having some ice cream. I want to ride on the train. Play hide and seek. Mommy and a Daddy. Light is off. Mom Mommy Mom! Playing a game. Holding that, holding those. That is a TV. Mommy listen! That is the little 'boose! It's too far away. Riding motorcycles! Boys, lunch!

There you have it! Hilariously written, stupendously illustrated, a Cybils finalist this year, among many other accolades.

And then, as he sees me add the cover image to this review:
It's Shark bersuz train! Yay! Mom, clap! (Mom obliges.) Mom, it's a book.