"Everyone's afraid of something."

I caught Gitty Daneshvari at the Little, Brown booth between sessions at ALA 2009 and she signed a copy of School of Fear for me. She was very friendly!

Imagine your worst fear. Madeleine, Theodore, Lulu, and Garrison's fears go deeper: they each have a phobia. Maddie is afraid of bugs. She lives covered in nets and bug spray. She insists that rooms be fumigated before she will enter. Theo is afraid of dying. So afraid, in fact, that he has created an elaborate system for his family to check in and prove that they're not dead. Lulu is claustrophobic. She won't even use an elevator. Garrison is afraid of deep water. He is an athlete, but will not swim. Their fears are so deep that they have affected the way the children live their lives. In order to help relieve them of their phobias, the children are sent to the School of Fear for the summer. This uber-secretive institution is run by the eccentric Mrs. Wellington from an exceptionally secluded location. What exactly happens at the school is anyone's guess. However, it is understood that the children will be sequestered for the summer and will be helped to overcome their fears.

Upon arrival, it becomes clear to the children that School of Fear is not an ordinary institution. It is held in Mrs. Wellington's home which is decorated in a 50's motif (original, not retro) and includes the "Fearnasium," a place for the children to work out their fears. Mrs. Wellington, a former beauty queen, imagines the children as contestants and puts them through a hilarious and ridiculous form of pageant training. The children wonder, however, just how this will help cure them of their phobias. Mrs. Wellington has an elaborate plan to help the children. Can she carry it out? As they story unfolds, along with the groundskeeper and cook Schmidty, the lawyer Munchauser, and Mrs. Wellington's bulldog Macaroni, the children realize that they will never forget their summer at the School of Fear.

When I first received this book from Little, Brown as a "Galley of the Week," I was taken by the cover. I'll be the first to admit that I am attracted to book covers. There has been a lot of buzz about this lately (Justine Larbalestier's post, John Green's post, a challenge found via A Chair, a Fire Place, and a Tea Cozy at Color Online) and I admit that I have a habit of snapping pictures of book covers (wherever I see them) so I can go to my trusty computer and find out what the book is "really about." The cover, as well as the art throughout the book, really does depict the feel of the book itself, which I like.

I also loved the language. There are several places throughout the book where I wanted to write notes because I wanted to remember how things were described or stated. My friend Kristin felt the same way, writing about it in an e-mail to me, " . . . there would be a line that was so pitch-perfect! There was one about how Mrs W. was never so alert and so insane as when she talked about pageantry that was priceless."

Finally, I learned about Casu Frazigu (a.k.a. maggot cheese) which I had never heard of before. Thank you, enlightening children's books, you may help me win a trivia game one day!


School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari will be published September 1, 2009.

Kalamazoo Public Library Millage Renewal Vote Today!

There are lots of issues that are important to people; the library is my cause. The Kalamazoo Public Library is asking for a renewal of its current millage for 20 years. I rely heavily on the public library in both my personal and work lives, but I'm not sure if everyone knows just how amazing KPL is and the services public libraries offer to their communities.

My children (yes, that's them!) love going to the various branches of the library to enjoy not only the special programming, but the unique facilities (their favorite activities include creating puppet shows and completing puzzles!) and kind, caring librarians and staff members who always offer amazing book suggestions and wonderful service. Public libraries often offer author and illustrator visits to their communities. In the picture above, my son is wearing a t-shirt he got during the Nerdfighter Gift Exchange while visiting a stop on John Green and Hank Green's Nerdfighting Tour, an event also sponsored by a public library (Ann Arbor District Library). Thanks to funding and support from KPL, my children met Paul O. Zelinsky and they count Awful Ogre's Awful Day and The Wheels on the Bus amongst their favorite books to read aloud. Each summer, my children participate in KPL's Summer Reading Program and they love getting the opportunity to choose new books and tell the librarians all about what they have been reading.

In my professional life, I know I can count on the KPL librarians to work collaboratively on author visits, programming, and book selection. Sharon Flake and Sharon Draper have visited my students thanks to KPL. Draper's fall visit in 2008, in conjunction with an all-school read, spurred a frenzy of reading which has continued throughout the school year. Students clamour for books both written by Draper and like those she writes. The KPL librarians also spend time promoting the Summer Reading Games to all my students which is so important in order to avoid summer slide. There are frequently books that I am unable to purchase for my students. I know that I can send them to KPL for additional resources that extend beyond my budget. I also check out books from the public library in order to read them before purchasing them for my collection in order to stretch my budget dollars and purchase the most appropriate materials.

Public libraries level the playing field in communities. There are computers with Internet access, allowing job-seekers to find resources they need to empower themselves. Families can enjoy resources and programming selected and planned for their enjoyment. I calculated the cost of the books our family has read in the past year. Without our public library, the cost would have been over $4,000. That is books alone. No programs, concerts, puppets, or professional service. The millage will cost our family about $200 per year, all of which we are already paying since this is a renewal. There is no question that we're getting a bargain. I urge you to support your local public library--and VOTE YES if you live in the Kalamazoo Public Library District. It's amazing what you will find there!