Tidbits: Carl Sommer and why publishers, librarians, and educators can save the world (together)

• Okay, anyone care to explain to me why at last glance, in the past month there have been 69 visits (sweet irony) to my post on Carl Sommer's Sex: If You're Scared of the Truth, Don't Read This Book, 61 of them in the past week?  Did a shipment of these just land in libraries across America?  Does the Rapture have anything to do with this?  Anyone care to share why you are googling this title? 
  
• This opinion piece (Publishers as Partners in Literacy) on the NYTimes website is such a great argument and explanation on why book donations are not a solution for the book shortages in low income schools, how low cost publishing for low income schools is great, and how it can be mutually beneficial to libraries, the communities they serve, and, yes, THE KIDS. 

  Libraries, as noted, can make a huge difference. In fact, public spending on libraries has been shown to correlate with improved learning outcomes (something that the Congress should remember as it cuts budgets). But many of the families that First Book targets lack a strong tradition of reading or library use. Parents who struggle with their own literacy issues often feel ashamed by their lack of education, and some feel out of place in libraries and schools. A middle class adult who has grown up with books might say that these parents should just get over it and help their kids read — but that’s not how behavior change happens. Where there is resistance, an appreciation for books needs to be cultivated. Which is why efforts to deliver new books to poor children through educational channels are vital. Any program that gets books into the hands of children in a way that sparks their interest in reading serves as a bridge to other books and to libraries.

  Win, win, win, you guys!  The piece makes you feel warm and fuzzy.  There may have been more mist in my eyes than outside when I read the part about incarcerated dads recording first chapters of books for their teenagers...This is a great way to use up one of your quota of five (or whatever it really is) articles per month on the NYTimes website.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Check back soon for a new review of a YA translation done real, real well, and two more recipes!
  
  

Hey Carl Sommer: If You're Scared of the Truth, Don't Read This!

You know what happens when you work in a library?  Occasionally, publishers will send books your way, usually in the hopes that you will put it on your shelf and then buy more.  Today, the Gods of Snail Mail sent me something truly...jaw dropping.  Behold:

Initially, I was moste amused.   Because you know?  This book is ridiculous.  Absolutely ludicrous, and unfortunately exactly what you'd expect a free book promoting (nay, trumpeting) abstinence to be like.  It has a chapter titled 'Why Men Won't Buy the Cow," and the jacket promises to tell me all about "Why today's youth aren't animals."  The section on porn?  Let me just feed you a quotation:

Forever, by Judy Blume: Smutty Books!

Forever, Judy Blume (1975).
NY: Bradbury Press. ISBN: 0-02-711030-3

Katherine is 17, and has just met a cute boy named Michael, who is totally requiting her crush. They bond over records (see publication date), start to date and hang out, and Katherine finds herself falling hard for him. Her best friend Erica has a crush on his best friend, Artie, who may or may not be gay, but who is definitely depressed. Katherine and Michael eventually decide to take things up a notch, and Do It. They like Doing It, so they keep Doing It. Artie and Erica don't, because Artie is gay-maybe, depressed-definitely. When Artie tries to commit suicide, the teens all come together to help each other and Artie accept who they are and the choices they make. Meanwhile, back at their parents homes, Michael and Katherine are still in love, forever, and Doin' It. Even though their parents and other grown ups want them to try dating other people, they can’t see the point, because this is love. They are presented with a major hurdle when their parents make them spend their senior summer apart. This is the story of first love, friendship, sex, and growing up.

I do love me a good smutty book. Banned book list? Bring. It. On. I’m somewhat disappointed with my teenaged self for never getting more into dirty Judy Blume books; I guess finding my fourth-grade-self somewhat scandalized and over-stimulated all the period talk in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, is probably is a good explanation for why I never branched out. I digress... Forever did not disappoint.

This is really at its core a story about growing up, accepting your sexuality (and that of others, like gay-maybe Artie), love, and doin’ it. It goes without saying that Katherine and Michael take an express train to Boom City. Judy Blume doesn’t shy away from the nitty gritty of sex, be it in the form of teenage pregnancy, sexual attraction, premature ejaculation, etc. While I initially giggled and gasped about the awkwardness of Michael and Katherine’s first time(s), this book serves to debunk the myths surrounding sex for most teenagers. While Katherine is kind of an insensitive flake when she breaks up with Michael (in my humble opinion), she is a role model for girls who are thinking about becoming sexually active because she is so responsible, taking a trip to Planned Parenthood and always insisting on protection. Despite being written thirty-three years ago, this book stands up to the passage of time as a testament to growing up. High five, Judy Blume.

Best for: Teenage girls, ages 13-18. Or dirty book affectionados, avec moi.

The Hook: Banned book about sex. It kind of sells itself. Short of that, I would give a brief summary, holding up the cover of my copy, which features a big brass bed with….wait for it…rumpled sheets! SCANDAL.