Read, Write, Repeat.

Lucy Wu thinks she has her school year planned out perfectly.

She’ll play basketball, her favorite sport, and lead her team to victory. And, she’ll finally get her own room now that her annoyingly perfect older sister is heading off to college.

But nothing goes as planned.

First, her great-aunt arrives from China for a visit. Yi-Po doesn’t speak much English and Lucy doesn’t speak much Chinese. Even worse, Yi-Po looks different than anyone in Lucy’s friends’ families. And, she ends up sharing Lucy’s room.

Next, Lucy’s parents say she can’t play basketball because practice times conflict with her Chinese language lessons. Even when the practice time changes, they aren’t thrilled that she’s playing a sport instead of studying.

And if that weren’t bad enough, a mean girl at school decides to take on Lucy for team captain.

Debut author Wendy Wan-Long Shang tells Lucy’s story in The Great Wall of Lucy Wu (Scholastic Press, 2011).

Does Lucy find a way to salvage her sixth-grade year? Let’s ask today’s reviewer.

Today’s reviewer: Abby

Age: 10

I like: Reading, chocolate, baseball, bowling, sheep and dogs.

This book was about: A girl named Lucy who thinks she is going to have the perfect year, but then, she finds out that her grandmother’s sister, Yi Po, who she never knew existed is going to live with them for a while, and Lucy has to share her own room with Yi Po and is angry at first.

The best part was when: They were playing basketball with eleven seconds left in the game and Talent Chang got the ball and made the winning shot.

I laughed when: It said Kenny had been eating the dumplings for the party as a nightly snack.

I was worried when: Paul passed the ball to Talent in the basketball game and Talent had never played basketball before.

I was surprised that: Yi Po got Lucy a brand new basketball net and backboard for her birthday.

This book taught me: That you can get to know someone new and then be really close to them as if you had been friends forever.

Other kids reading this book should watch for: All the different ways Lucy reacts to Yi Po throughout the book.

Three words that best describe this book are: “Realistic.” “Funny.” “Interesting.”

My favorite line or phrase in the book is: “I thought I was going to have the perfect year …”

You should read this book because: It’s very realistic, and it teaches you a lot about family and friends. It is also a very fun book.

Thanks, Abby!

If you’d like to learn more about Wendy Wan-Long Shang, you can visit her website. Or, you can read this interview on Madelyn Rosenberg’s blog, The Furnace.

You can read other reviews of this book on these blogs:

The Happy Nappy Bookseller.

Reading in Color.

Jama Rattigan’s Alphabet Soup.

The Glee Club at William McKinley High School has more than its fair share of divas.

But no matter how diva-ishly delicious Mercedes, Kurt and Santana can be at times, Rachel Berry always manages to eclipse their efforts.

As En Vogue memorably sang , “And now it’s time for a breakdown”

Rachel temporarily defected from the Glee Club after Mr. Schuster had Tina sing a “West Side Story” song instead of her.

She showed up at Glee Club rehearsal with duct tape covering her mouth to protest Mr. Schuster’s attempts to “silence her voice” after he gave a solo to someone else.

And, she encouraged Sunshine Corazon to join Glee Club so Sunshine could sing back-up. But when it became clear Sunshine was a phenom, Rachel gave her directions to a crack house instead of the auditorium where auditions were really being held.

Sure Rachel, who’s portrayed with neurotic perfection by Lea Michele, occasionally shows flashes of humanity. But ultimately, she always reverts to her true beliefs. That no one else in the Glee Club can hold a candle to her talent.

And, she may be right.

Finn, Rachel’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, believes she’s destined for stardom far beyond Lima, Ohio. And Quinn, Rachel’s best frenemy, has flat-out said, “You don’t belong here, Rachel. And you can’t blame me for helping send you on your way.”

And Kurt Hummel, who’s often battled Rachel for time in the spotlight even admitted, “She may be difficult, but boy can she sing. Bravo!”

Yet Rachel seems stuck in Lima, with the Glee Club the only outlet for her burning passion to perform.

So … if I were the librarian at William McKinley High School, I’d try to expand Rachel’s horizons and help her see some opportunities that exist outside Ohio.

I’d start by giving her Theater Geek (Free Press, 2010) by Mickey Rapkin. Rapkin spent a summer at Stagedoor Manor, a summer theater camp in the Catskills with a reputation for taking in theater-loving misfits and turning out high-quality performances and stars like Natalie Portman, Jon Cryer and Mandy Moore.

Rapkin’s day job is a senior editor at GQ, which I’m sure Rachel and Kurt would find fascinating.

But that’s not why Rachel needs to read this book.

This book would help Rachel in two ways.

First, it would show her a place she could belong. Stagedoor Manor prides itself on offering a home for talented theater kids who feel they don’t fit into their real life. As Jeff Blumenkrantz, a Stagedoor alum who went on to write the music to “Urban Cowboy” said, “I always felt other than. Let’s put it this way. I used to survive the school year, and the reward was Stagedoor Manor.”

Rachel would thrive in an environment where popularity is based on talent. One student who was not popular in his high school was a star at Stagedoor. When another girl from his school came to Stagedoor, she was floored. “For her, it was like ‘The Twilight Zone,’ ” the student said. “She couldn’t figure it out. Why is David Quinn the most popular person here?”

Rachel could go from being a slushie target to someone who mattered in a heartbeat.

Second, it just might help her see she’s not the only talented kid in America. Lots of kids with talent and theater dreams come to Stagedoor Manor and find themselves in supporting roles. (Case in point. Lea Michele, who plays Rachel on Glee, attended Stagedoor and never had a lead role. Not that she’s complaining now.)

Rachel would be a much nicer person if she had a dose of humility that she’d no doubt get after spending three weeks with kids who not only get subtle Sondheim references but have the vocal chops to execute “Sweeney Todd” and, perhaps, even beat her in a sing-off.

So I’d give Rachel the hardcover book, telling her to pay special attention to the anecdote about Courtney Love’s altercation with a hot dog vendor on page 13 and Chapter 7, appropriately titled “Hell Week.”

And, if Rachel liked the book, she could learn more about Mickey Rapkin at this website.

Rapkin has also written Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory (Gotham Books, 2008) which I’m sure Warblers’ front man Blaine Anderson would be interested in perusing. (And for all you Glee fans out there, this book also focuses heavily on the Tufts Beelzebubs, who provided the background vocals for Season Two’s Warblers’ songs.)

But perhaps that’s a recommendation for another day.

My recommendations for Glee characters so far:

• Rachel Berry – Theater Geek by Mickey Rapkin.

• Kurt Hummel – Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan.

Soulara knows what it’s like to travel far away.

She lives in Wisconsin, but goes to California for chunks of time each year to visit family — sometimes by herself, and sometimes with her mom.

So Soulara could relate to the plot in Only One Year (Lee & Low Books, 2010). This chapter book, written by Andrea Cheng and illustrated by Nicole Wong, tells the story of a Chinese family that sends its 2-year-old son, Di Di, to stay with his grandparents in China for a year.

At first glance, this might seem like an unusual arrangement, but an author’s note at the end of the book explains that many immigrant families temporarily send their young children to stay with relatives in their home country while they work, go to school or try to get established in the United States.

As the mother in the story explains to her older daughter, Sharon, “Di Di is only two. We cannot leave him with a stranger. For a babysitter, Di Di is a job. But for Nai Nai, he is a grandson.”

Soulara has never been away from her family for a year, but she enjoyed reading about Di Di and his time in China. In fact, she says she’d like to visit China some day.

Here’s what she had to say:

Today’s reviewer: Soulara

Age: 7

I like:Ice-skating, swimming and volleyball.

This book was about: Little 2-year-old Di Di and how he went to China for one year.

The best part was when: Di Di came back from China.

I smiled when: Di Di’s sister Sharon asked him where the duck was and then Di Di pointed.

I was worried when: Di Di didn’t remember his mother and father and sisters when he came home and when he cried and threw a tantrum.

I was surprised when: Di Di threw another tantrum because he missed his sisters.

This book taught me: That you should love your brother no matter what. Even when he cries.

Three words that best describe this book are: “China.” “Airplane.” “Year.”

My favorite line or phrase from the book is:“Mary wants to wear a pink skirt and a pink blouse. ‘That’s too much pink,’ I say. ‘It’s my favorite color.’ ‘It’s still too much,’ I say. ‘No one esle in first grade will be wearing all pink.’

Other kids reading this book should watch for: When Di Di’s grandma leaves. It’s sad.

Thanks, Soulara!

Here’s an interview with Andrea Cheng about this book. You also can visit Andrea’s website to learn more.

To learn more about illustrator Nicole Wong, you can visit her website or read her blog.

You also can find another review of this book at Oops … Wrong Cookie.

William McKinley High School needs a librarian.

It already has a library. It’s where Noah Puckerman famously asked Lauren Zizes out for a pre-Valentine’s Day date. It’s where Artie, Tina, Kurt, Mercedes and Brittany performed “You Can’t Touch This,” an M.C. Hammer tribute complete with parachute pants. And, it’s where Finn and Rachel had a shelf-clearing lovers’ quarrel.

But the only librarian I’ve ever seen is a stereotypically stodgy woman who periodically appears to shush any Glee kids who get carried away.

Nothing against actress Jean Sincere who plays the role, but if there’s ever been a school that could benefit from a tuned-in, turned-on librarian who really knows young adult literature, it’s William McKinley High.

Because – brilliant singing voices aside – the kids there have issues. And, sometimes, the best way to cope with whatever issue is troubling you at the moment isn’t bursting into song. It’s reading about someone facing a similar situation.

That’s why so many young adult books feature characters who feel left out, unaccepted, abused or lacking in some vital way.

What teen hasn’t felt that way at least once? What Glee teen hasn’t felt that way at least once per episode?

A librarian could recommend the perfect book for each character.

I’m not officially a librarian, but I could play one on TV. And if I did, the first book I’d recommend to a Glee cast member would be David Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy to Kurt Hummel, who is beautifully portrayed by Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer.

If you watch Glee, you know Kurt has had two stressful seasons. He’s come out as gay, seen his father nearly die after a heart attack and formed an uneasy alliance with his new stepbrother, Finn. Through all this, he’s endured escalating bullying from closeted football player Dave Karofsky that had Kurt briefly transfer to another, more accepting, school. There, he met, sang with – and ultimately kissed – a boy named Blaine.

Boy Meets Boy (Alfred A. Knopf, 2005) paints the picture of a much more accepting world than anything Kurt has encountered so far. As Paul, the main character, says on the first page, “There isn’t really a gay scene or a straight scene in our town. They got all mixed up a while back, which I think is for the best.”

And Paul’s high school reflects that. Paul is gay. His best friend, Joni, is straight. The school’s quarterback is a 6-foot-3 drag queen named the Infinite Darlene who also is the homecoming queen. There’s also Ted, Joni’s on-again, off-again boyfriend. And Kyle, Paul’s ex-boyfriend, who’s a bit confused. And Noah, the new boy in town who’s caught Paul’s eye.

It’s kind of like Kurt’s new school, Dalton Academy, might be if it were co-ed and no one wore uniforms.

The best thing about this book is its simple charm.

It’s mainly a love story between Paul and Noah, who meet in the self-help section of a bookstore in this scene:

“I am aware of my breathing. I am aware of my heartbeat. I am aware that my shirt is half untucked. I take the book from him and say thanks. I put it back on the shelf. There’s no way that Self-Help can help me now.”

Paul and Noah meet, connect and date with help and some well-intentioned hindrances from Paul’s friends. (Besides being a drag queen, the Infinite Darlene is a bit of a drama queen.)

The book’s appeal also lies in the fact that while it focuses on gay relationships, it’s a sweet, romantic story that would work just as well if it were about a heterosexual couple. The characters’ sexual orientation is beside the point.

Because their struggles are universal.

How do you stay connected to someone you love? What do you do when you don’t like the person your best friend loves? How do you apologize when you’ve made a mistake? How do you forgive someone who has hurt you?

If I were Kurt’s librarian, I’d hand him the paperback version of this book and tell him to read it all, paying special attention to Paul’s alphabetical list of why he doesn’t know what to do about Noah on page 156 and the very romantic kissing scene on page 178.

I’d also point out that The Bulletin gave this a starred review and said, “In a genre filled with darkness, torment and anxiety, this is a shiningly affirmative and hopeful book.”

Which is just what Kurt Hummel and many of the other students at William McKinley High School need to read.

So hey, Ryan Murphy. If you think Glee needs one more librarian … give me a call.

Today, author and illustrator Janeen Mason joins Read, Write, Repeat.

And our converstion covers a wide range of topics from her recent books to the projects she’s working on now and how her youthful fascination with girdles helped her discover her talent as an artist.

Janeen has written and illustrated several books, including:

• Gift of the Magpie (Pelican Publishing, 2011)
• Ocean Commotion: Life on the Reef (Pelican Publishing, 2010)
• Ocean Commotion: Sea Turtles (Pelican Publishing, 2006)

She’s also illustrated books by other authors, including several with Jan Day.

Now, on to Janeen!

You’re a wonderful artist, who also writes. How did you make the transition from illustrating to writing and illustrating?
It has always been easier for me to tell a story with pictures. I COULD write, but it felt a lot like algebra … you know? Work … work … work … work … The stories I’d written and sent around didn’t sell – so it was just easier to concentrate on illustrating, my first love anyway.

 I’d finished the art for my seventh book when a group of philanthropic women formed in Stuart, my little town on the east coast of south Florida. Each decided to donate a certain amount of money annually to create a pool of funds they could use to support art in our community. So, I wrote for a grant from Women Supporting the Arts, and I was among the recipients in their first granting cycle.

 South Florida is one of two places in the world where loggerhead sea turtles nest, and the story of their migration is simply astonishing. I believe kids think nothing important ever happens in their own backyards. I wanted our kids to know how unique in the entire world our sea turtle nesting beaches are – how impossible the journey of the female loggerheads who crawl out of the ocean to dig their nests under the sand on the very beaches where we play every day.

But I had to write the story. And I needed the comfort of freedom from overhead to do so. It was an enormous honor to have Women Supporting the Arts believe in me enough to fund my living expenses while I wrote the book.

It’s powerful when someone believes in you. I met the scientists, I did the research, I wrote the book. My critique group helped me polish it up, and by that time in my career I had relationships with a couple publishers where the editors knew my name and were willing to consider my material. I sold it!

When it was time to make the art my paintbrushes practically rattled every morning when I walked into my studio. The illustrations were calling, “Paint me today! I need blue! Right here, right here! Dab a little yellow!”

Ocean Commotion: Sea Turtles!was hatched, and I was hooked. I’m willing to do the algebra, the work … work …work …work … work … to write the
manuscript, because I’ve discovered one of life’s greatest luxuries is to paint
the artwork for a book I’ve written. Ahhhh.

Many of your books have ocean themes. What are your favorite things to draw?
Well … I love color. Always have. When I looked underwater at a living coral reef for the first time I was about 13 years old. It changed the direction of my
life. To see such a dazzling display of brilliant color, and to swim over this
neighborhood populated by astonishing and unlikely creatures … each one
perfect and perfectly unaware of our human civilization just above, I was
fascinated.

I fell in love with the life in the sea and knew then that by studying it I could learn the use of color. I’ve never looked back. Saltwater flows in my veins.

Which picture books or illustrators have influenced you most?
This is such a good question because I’m helpless in the children’s department of the bookstore. I’ve developed a pretty substantial collection of picture books over the years, and I’d be hard pressed to name my favorite illustrators.

The list is ever changing. Here are some that I’m perpetually crazy about:

Henry Cole, Floyd Cooper, Betsy Lewin, Ted Lewin, David Shannon, Mark Teague, David Diaz, Maurice Sendak, Anik McGrory, James Dean, Mark Buehner, Carter Goodrich, Mini Grey, Jerry Pinkney, Judy Schachner, Erin Stead and Peter Brown, and I’m sure I’ve left off names of others I’ll feelbad about tomorrow.

When did you first realize you could draw and that you liked it?
Oh, I’ve always, always, always been attracted to a new box of crayons! Ahhh! The smell! The colors! The possibilities! Then when I went to kindergarten I got in serious trouble for drawing on the floor with a fat red crayon when we were supposed to be napping after lunch.

I was just trying to figure out what the teacher had going on under her dress – such an odd contraption, I could see when she passed by and I looked up. I’d never seen a girdle before. Fascinating.

Boy, did that sketch cause some commotion. Later, after I’d scrubbed the wax off the wood floor and the proverbial dust had settled, I handed in a drawing of my mom waiting at a bus stop (I don’t know why the bus stop … Mom had a car.) But my drawing was clearly my mom – everyone else drew their mothers with huge heads shaped like a piece of toast and little tiny bodies. I couldn’t see the sense in that.

Perhaps for that reason alone, a proportionate head, my career was launched at such a tender age.

What have you learned about illustrating books as your career has progressed? What advice would you give someone just starting out?
To someone just starting out I would say “pace yourself.” The nature of this business is fraught with disappointment. It is a tricky field. Know your client – the young reader who is going to stare at your work open mouthed in rapt attention.

Children’s picture books are a primary source of inspiration which have enormous consequence in our culture. They provide the introduction to a lifetime of creative imagination and appreciation for the arts. This is powerful juju in a landscape of ever-accelerating technology. It can be tough to navigate the world of laying your heart and your talent on the line for the
business people in publishing to march across on their way to the bottom line.

Do your best artwork, remember the children you may never meet but whom you may influence in ways that cannot be quantified, and be gentle with yourself when the accountants and attorneys and editors stare at you with one eyebrow raised. To prosper they need the creative visionaries, but it can be hard to be the one who has to have one foot in each world.

What are you working on now?
I’ve been on a really busy schedule lately. I just finished serving four years on the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. (You know how tough state budgets have been on the arts! If you’ve got money in your state budget for the arts, I guarantee someone has been actively advocating with your legislators, and that’s the job of members of State Arts Councils). Florida’s Secretary of State appointed me two weeks ago to serve now on a board of Citizens for Florida Arts.

It’s more work, but I can’t think of a cause more important to me. Sir Ken Robinson said it best, I think: “Creativity is as important as literacy, and must be nurtured.” Legislators tend to treat the arts like they are only for the elite. It takes time to teach them that, “NO! THE ARTS ARE FUNDAMENTAL.” I live my life in columns, its eems. That is one important column.

In my career column, which is also important, I’ve been promoting my newest books. Last fall, Ocean Commotion: Life on the Reef came out, then in January Gift of the Magpie was released. (Hooray, it got rave reviews from Kirkus!) In March I finished the artwork for a 48-page nonfiction picture book
written by the curator of fish at the National Museum of Scotland. It’s titled Fish Facts and is due for a fall 2011 release.

Then I took a short breath for another important column. (One daughter is getting married in the fall and our son and his wife just had their first child, a baby boy. I’m also involved in the lives of our other five grandchildren, whom I adore.)

And now back to column number two, I’ve just sent off a manuscript for my mentor, Joyce Sweeney, to read, before it goes to my editor – this is the third in my Ocean Commotion series, titled Ocean Commotion: Caught in the Currents!

While waiting for Caught in the Currents to come back, I’m finishing up a spectacular room divider for a patron of mine. It measures 6 feet, 8 inches tall and 7 feet wide. I’m using Japanese paints and gold leaf on wood laminate. My husband is a master cabinetmaker, and he created the most magnificent, manly frame for it. The paint has dried, and I’ve got to get back to work on it right now, actually!

Thanks, Pat, for asking me out to play with you on your blog. It’s been a pleasure.

To learn more about Janeen’s artwork and stories, visit her website.

You also can read this interview that Elizabeth O. Dulemba conducted with Janeen on her blog.

Good books are meant to be shared.

So sisters Jaiden and Sienna did just that, sharing reviewing duties for Immi’s Gift (Peachtree Publishers, 2010).

This is an appealing picture book written and illustrated by Karin Littlewood.

Immi, an Inuit girl, fishes every day. And, she often catches brightly colored carvings of exotic birds and animals along with her fish.

These carvings make her wonder what life is like in other parts of the world. And, eventually, they inspire her to share something she loves with someone far away.

As Booklist says, the book is about “the interconnectedness of all beings on earth.” And that theme is especially effective when it’s told with Littlewood’s gorgeously vivid  illustrations and charming text.

But don’t take my word for it, listen to our sister act. They’re double the fun.

Today’s guest reviewers: Jaiden, 6.5, and Sienna, 3.

Jaiden likes: To read, cook and garden.

Sienna likes: To play chase and hide-and-seek and cook.

Jaiden and Sienna say this book was about: A little girl who wears a bear on her neck. Every day when she fishes, she finds more and more stuff. Then one day, her igloo turns different colors and all the animals stay for supper. Then, when the snow melts, she drops her polar bear in the water.

Jaiden says the best part was when: Her igloo turned different colors.

Sienna says it was when: The polar bear dropped in the sea and goed on the beach.

Jaiden smiled when: Immi dropped her polar bear necklace in the sea, and the boy found it.

Sienna smiled when: The girl came up with the idea.

Jaiden was worried when: Immi was hugging that fox, because I thought it was going to eat her.

Sienna was worried when: She dropped the polar bear in.

Jaiden was surprised: When the other little boy found Immi’s bear.

Sienna was surprised: On every page.

This book taught Jaiden: To share.

This book taught Sienna: Never litter. (Editor’s note. This may be my favorite response EVER from any kid who’s done a book review for me.)

Three words that describe this book: “Colorful.” “Happy.” “Cold.”

Favorite line: “Oh, it was cold.”

Jaiden says you should read this book because: It was a very happy story.

Sienna says you should read this book because: It is special for you.

Thank you Jaiden and Sienna. You’ve just proved that two heads really are better than one!

If you’d like to learn more about Karin Littlewood and the other books she’s created, visit her website.

If you’d like to see other reviews of this book, visit:

• The Sunday Book Review
• Spirituality and Practice
• Janet Boyer’s blog