Monday, January 17, 2011

Briar’s Journal (January 17 to February 1, 2011)

Dream Entry*

Date: May 7, 2004


Bigfoot throws an orange frisbee. It’s rubbery. I watch it wobble as it sails away.


“What are you waiting for?” Bigfoot says to me. “Fetch!”


Of course I’m insulted. But when I look up at the frisbee, I see that it has transformed into a giant peanut butter cookie. Peanut butter cookies are my favorite, so I’m compelled to chase it.


The giant cookie keeps sailing and sailing. It’s not an especially windy day, so there’s no good reason the cookie hasn’t landed yet except that this is a dream. When I get close enough to grab it out of the air, the cookie turns back into an orange frisbee. As soon as I stop chasing the frisbee, it turns back into a cookie and I start to run after it again. This happens over and over. Eventually the cookie starts to mock me. It calls me “molasses mutt” and “Poky Little Puppy.” The angrier I get, the more the cookie jeers. I want to sink my teeth into that cookie so bad.


I lose sight of the cookie when it sails over a hill. Looking down from the top of the hill, I see the cookie has finally landed in a field of grass next to a proportionally large bowl of milk. Bigfoot is standing in the field beside an orange oven. He’s wearing an apron covered with peanut butter and flour. He beckons me with a spatula. I run to join him. While he’s bent over pulling a tray out of the oven, I chomp down on the mean cookie. My mouth fills with paper. I look at the cookie to see what’s wrong with it. It’s not a cookie at all. It’s a book.


“I didn’t bake that for you,” Bigfoot says. “That’s for Penny.”


He’s holding a tray. On the tray is a thick and steaming hot book.


“Bookies are best straight from the oven, don’t you think?” he says.


Then he points beyond the orange oven to books stacked on oversized plates. Next to each plate is an oversized glass of milk and a place card. I examine each stack hoping to find a peanut butter cookie, but I wake up before I do.




On BIGFOOT’s plate:


JENNA & JONAH’S FAUXMANCE

by Brendan Halpin and Emily Franklin

[YOUNG ADULT]

Walker

February 1, 2011


BRASS MONKEYS by Terry Caszatt

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Mackinac Island Press-Charlesbridge

February 1, 2011




On MORZANT’s plate:


AMAZING SPACE Q & A

[NON-FICTION]

DK PUBLISHING

January 17, 2011


MY COLD WENT ON VACATION by Molly Rausch,

illustrated by Nora Krug

[PICTURE BOOK]

Putnam-Penguin

January 20, 2011


THE MULTIPLYING MENACE DIVIDES by Pam Calvert,

illustrated by Wayne Geehan

[PICTURE BOOK—MATH STORY]

Charlesbridge

February 1, 2011




On PENNY’s plate:


SUBJECT SEVEN by James A. Moore

[YOUNG ADULT]

Razorbill-Penguin

January 20, 2011


DROUGHT by Pam Bachorz

[YOUNG ADULT]

Egmont USA

January 25, 2011


VESPER by Jeff Sampson

[YOUNG ADULT]

Balzar & Bray-HarperCollins

January 25, 2011


DEATH CLOUD (YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES) by Andrew Lane

[YOUNG ADULT]

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

February 1, 2011


MIND GAP by Marina Cohen

[YOUNG ADULT]

Dundurn

February 1, 2011


YOU KILLED WESLEY PAYNE by Sean Beaudoin

[YOUNG ADULT]

Little, Brown-Hachette

FEBRUARY 1, 2011




On NORMAN’s plate:


THE RENDERING by Joel Naftali

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Egmont USA

January 25, 2011


BONGO FISHING by Thatcher Hurd

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Henry Holt

February 1, 2011


ZITA THE SPACEGIRL by Ben Hatke

[MIDDLE GRADE—GRAPHIC NOVEL]

First Second-Roaring Brook

February 1, 2011




On BEVERLY’s plate:


SMALL PERSONS WITH WINGS by Ellen Booraem

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Dial-Penguin

January 20, 2011


A DAZZLING DISPLAY OF DOGS by Betsy Franco,

illustrated by Michael Wertz

[MIDDLE GRADE—POETRY]

Tricycle Press-Random House

January 25, 2011


DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver

[YOUNG ADULT—FIRST IN TRILOGY]

HarperCollins

February 1, 2011




On OLIVER’s plate:


SUKI, THE VERY LOUD BUNNY by Carmela D’Amico,

illustrated by Steve D’Amico

[PICTURE BOOK]

Dutton-Penguin

January 20, 2011


EXCEPT IF by JIM AVERBECK

[PICTURE BOOK]

Atheneum-Simon & Schuster

January 25, 2011


LITTLE WHITE RABBIT by KEVIN HENKES

[PICTURE BOOK]

Greenwillow-Harpercollins

January 25, 2011


MR. DUCK MEANS BUSINESS by Tammi Sauer,

illustrated by Jeff Mack

[PICTURE BOOK]

Paula Wiseman-Simon & Schuster

January 25, 2011




On LENNY’s plate:


LOOKING FOR THE EASY LIFE by Walter Dean Myers,

illustrated by Lee Harper

[PICTURE BOOK]

HarperCollins

February 1, 2011


RAJ, THE BOOKSTORE TIGER by Kathleen T. Pelley,

illustrated by Paige Keiser

[PICTURE BOOK]

Charlesbridge

February 1, 2011


SCAREDY SQUIRREL HAS A BIRTHDAY PARTY by Mélanie Watt

[PICTURE BOOK—FIFTH IN THE SERIES]

Kids Can Press

February 1, 2011




On VIOLET’s plate:


GOLDIE AND THE THREE HARES by Margie Palatini,

illustrated by Jack E. Davis

[PICTURE BOOK]

Katherine Tegen-HarperCollins

January 25, 2011


I MUST HAVE BOBO! by Eileen Rosenthal,

illustrated by Marc Rosenthal

[PICTURE BOOK]

Atheneum-Simon & Schuster

January 25, 2011


A PET FOR PETUNIA by Paul Schmid

[PICTURE BOOK]

HarperCollins

January 25, 2011


RIBBIT RABBIT by Candace Ryan, illustrated by Mike Lowery

[PICTURE BOOK]

Walker

February 1, 2011



* The dream entries from Briar’s journal contain premonitions of books that will be published in the future. Briar’s dream self foresees the books’ summaries and knows which will likely appeal to each of her friends. Briar always wakes up before she can see whether her friends will enjoy the books.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for all the good suggestions.
Check out the animated reviews on Kid Lit on RAT CHAT -- funny and informative.
www.ratchatreviews.com

Bigfoot said...

I checked out RAT CHAT and am now a fan of Stanley and Morris.
-Bigfoot

stanley and morris said...

Thanks, BIG FOOT!
We have a new chat just airing today on a book called MEADOWLANDS. (A subject we know intimately.)
Hope you check it out!