For seven days Barger traveled to seven different airports, didn’t leave the premises, ate on $20 a day, and snatched bits of sleep on benches and floors – all to observe human behavior.  Step Back from the Baggage Claim is his extended metaphor that how we treat each other and how we behave at the airport is how we behave in our day-to-day lives.  If we change the way we act at the airport we can change our lives and thus change the world.

I have to admit that the idea does sound a bit hokey when I lay it out like that but let me share with you a few passages from the book:

I’m convinced that the lessons learned from our airport experiences can point us toward more fulfilling lives and toward a more compassionate world.  If we really want to change the world, it starts with small moments in our daily interactions.  Since so many people travel by air daily, airports are the perfect locations to begin to affect change in our mobile world.  This book uses air travel experiences as a metaphor for how each one of us can impact our world.

The title Step Back from the Baggage Claim comes from the observation that we all crowd around the conveyor belt to claim our luggage.  We jostle for the best position, crowd each other out and are anxious to catch sight of our bags first.

Just imagine what the experience at the baggage claim would be like if everyone took those three steps back so everyone could see, and if everyone actually helped those around them with their bags.  not only would the spirit and environment around the conveyor belt be more positive for all, but it also would be a more efficient way for everyone to get their bags as quickly as possible.  Imagine if stepping back at the baggage claim became the norm; imagine how that inclusive spirit could impact the underlying tone of complaining that permeates other aspects of the airport.  A place commonly filled with chaos, negativity, and frustration would be changed because of the thoughtful awareness of many. Then, imagine what that same spirit could mean for the world if we carried into other areas of our lives as well.

The analogy works.  I get it.  I totally get it.  And I’m sure that I won’t be able to fly anymore without thinking about my own airport behaviors nor observing others to see how they act.  But oddly enough, I can’t relate to the initial analogy of the baggage claim.  In my experiences of flying, claiming my bags has been nothing but calm and orderly.  My only anxiety that I’ve had is when my luggage was lost upon arrival at my home and the company ended up delivering it to the apartment across the street.  The other is when I moved cross country for college and everything had to fit in three boxes.  I wasn’t sure how I was going to get the largest box off of the conveyor belt but some nice man helped me out.  I’ve yet to experience a overcrowded, impatient baggage claim area.  Perhaps, I’m not well traveled enough?  When Barger says , “Take three big steps back” I couldn’t help but think to myself, “Hmm . . . I didn’t know there was a problem there in the first place.”  Luckily, he’s not only thinking literally but metaphorically as well.  The baggage claim message is simple.  Be aware and thoughtful of those around you.  Turn chaos and negativity into order, calm and a positive experience.

For the remainder of the slim volume, Barger furthers the airport analogy and touches upon the following points:

• Gain perspective and create space for others.
• Practice stillness in this movement.
• Share compassion with those along your journey.
• Quit the comparison game and thrive where you are.
• Celebrate an ethic of creativity.
• Put a grateful spirit into action.

Barger shares stories about his airport observations, movie analogies, stories from his life working in the nonprofit sector and his ministry in his church.  Each chapter ends with a summary, a self-evaluation questioner and place to jot down notes.

For having spent seven days in an airport I had hoped for more stories about the people he met or conversations he had.  I’m sure he has some great ones.  The book is not really about his experience living in airports for seven days but more about his general observation while doing so and combining them with his life experiences and metaphorically sharing the message:  “We can change the world because each one of us has the innate ability to expand our awareness, change our focus, and alter our daily interactions.”

There were a few problems with the design of the book (large font, small margins, unclear headings – which is something that Dawn at She is Too Fond of Books picked up as well) that has me nervous that some won’t pick it up after an initial thumb through.   While I sometimes felt that the airport analogy was a bit over the top, Barger has a sound philosophy and a great message to share:

Change the world by choosing to travel gracefully, living this message not only in the airports, but throughout the path of your life.  Take time to step back and gain a new angle of vision and consider those around you.  Slow down and commit to thriving where you are in the present moment.  Embrace the creative process of living the lift you want to live and, ultimately, build relationships and share compassion with those along your journey.  Small loving actions in every facet of our lives will change the world.  Daily commitment to this spirit in all corners of our lives can’t help but allow a movement like this to take flight!

A fun video about The Step Back from the Baggage Claim movement:

Have you had any airport or travel experiences where somebody touched you by their actions?  Vice-versa any horror stories?

Links of interest:  Jason Barger website, blog,  on Twitter, and Facebook.  More book blogger reviews.
Genre: Non-fiction, inspirational.
Publisher: One Love Publishers. September 25, 2008
Paperback , 134 pages. ISBN 0615226663
Step Back from the Baggage Claim is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

In The Curious Garden, Liam is out exploring his very gray city in which there isn’t any kind of gardens, trees or greenery.  Nobody ever went outside.  Why would they?  It’s dark and dreary.  But Liam discovers a railway that had long stopped working and on the railway was the most startling discovery.  A little patch of struggling wildflowers and plants that are in desperate need of a gardener.  Liam didn’t know anything about gardening but he figured it out and as he did so the garden began to grow.  It wasn’t content to stay in one place and so the garden began to “explore.”  Slowly the garden began to overtake all that was barren and to turn the gray city to green.  And more gardeners began to pop up as well.  The entire city had blossomed.

I loved how many of the spreads were wordless.  I loved the illustrations.  They are just perfect.  Absolutely perfect.  I just want to pour over this one.  Obviously, this book is about taking care of the earth but it’s not preachy.  If anything, it’s about being thoughtful.  About nurturing something and reaping the awards.  It’s about creating something beautiful out of something that once was dreary and ugly.

The adult in me thought that this book was wonderful.  I want it all for me.  One that I will enjoy sharing with my boys and to let them know how important greenery is to me.  And man . . . the illustrations are killing me.

Links of interest: Peter Brown website, more book blogger reviews, The Curious Garden is a Fiction Picture Book nominee for the Cybils for which I’m a panelist.
Genre: Fiction Picture Book. Approx ages 4-8.
Publisher: Little Brown. April 1, 2009.
Hardcover, 40 pages. ISBN 0316015474
The Curious Garden is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

From the criticisms that I’ve read of the book and a discussion that we had at book club is the fact that the braille text is virtually unreadable as braille.  The raised dots simply are not raised high enough off of the paper.  I’d be curious to know if a blind individual could actually read the book.

But the book isn’t intended for the blind but rather those with sight and it’s very cool.  I enjoyed feeling the raised line art.  I knew what I was feeling for as I could see the image that the line art created but I would often close my eyes to see if I could figure out what I was feeling.

Thomas thinks that without the sun, water, doesn’t amount to much.
It has no color, no taste, no smell.
He says that green tastes like lemon ice cream and smells like grass that’s just been cut.
But black is the king of all the colors.  It is as soft as silk when his mother hugs him and her hair falls in his face.

How does one describe a color?  A very creative book that would be a welcome addition and a different type of reading experience for any children’s library.

Links of interest:  More book blogger reviews.
Genre:  Picture Book, approx ages 4-8.
Publisher: Groundwood Books.   June 28, 2008.
Hardcover, 24 pages. ISBN 0888998732
The Black Book of Colors is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Little Baby Mummy doesn’t want to go to sleep, so he plays a game of hide-and-shriek with his Big Mamma Mummy.  But Little Baby Mummy gets scared and can’t find Big Mamma Mummy.  There are a lot of scary noises in the night and Little Baby Mummy is apprehensive about what he may discover.  But when he realizes it just your run of the mill (scary to us but not scary to him) Halloween characters, he’s not scared until it’s a little thing that makes him wish he was back home with his Big Mamma Mummy and being tucked in bed.

The illustrations are wonderful!  They are cute and they are funny.  They make my boys laugh.  And with it’s fun, lyrical text and page turning adventure, it’s as much fun to read for the parent as it is for the child listening to it.  This one is going down as a classic Halloween picture book that I HAVE to own.  Definitely seek this one out and share it with the children in your life this Halloween week.

Links of interest:  Carolyn Crimi website, illustrator John Manders website,  more book blogger reviews,
Genre:  Fiction Picture Book, approx ages 4-8.
Publisher:  Candlewick.  July 3, 2008
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 0763631965x
Where’s My Mummy? is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

The Pires, who live in Pennsylvania aren’t getting along with their new human neighbors.  Can you believe that the new neighbors stay up all day long, sunbathe (disgusting!), and lock their windows at night (how inconsiderate) among other things that this family of vampires find disgusting.  In fact, things get so bad that the Pire’s pack up and move back home to Transylvania.

The clincher for this book was the closing page which shows the new nieghbors saying, “It’s a pity the Pires are moving, dear.  It’s so hard to find good neighbors.”  A full moon is shown and the family has transformed to werewolves.  I chuckled out loud.  It was very clever.

Loved how the vampires were black and white and the rest of the story was all color.  Dear Vampa is a new picture book, just published last month.  It will make for a fun addition to your Halloween reading the next couple of weeks.  Speaking of Halloween, I have a few Halloween picture book reviews that I’ll be featuring until Halloween.  My boys and I have been having a great time with them.

Links of interest:  Ross Collins website.
Genre: Fiction Picture Books, approx ages 4-8.
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books. August 25, 2009
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 0061355348
Dear Vampa is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Haunting Bombay is the story of the family’s dark secrets that have been kept hidden for more than a decade.  In the attempt to rid the household of the small ghost, the family must reveal that which they’ve ignored for years and risk tearing their family further apart while doing so.

Haunting Bombay was a beautifully told book with haunting characters.  I loved getting to know each of the characters, including the servants.  I love back stories and Agarwal gave us enough story for each character that the story needed each and every one of them.  Although there is still the element of the cruel family who unwillingly takes in an orphan, I’m glad that her grandmother fiercely loved her.  It was an nice change from the typical orphan story.   I loved the Indian setting and culture, the oppressiveness of the monsoon heat and dampness, the superstitions, and the food (mmmm . . . . why do I always pay special attention to the food?).

At the heart of this story is a ghost.  I knew there was a ghost when I started to read the book, but I wasn’t prepared for just how much the ghost would present itself in the story.  Haunting Bombay truly has its supernatural elements which I honestly didn’t enjoy as much.  I might have preferred the suggestion of such things rather then the clear manifestation of the supernatural.  But I thought that Agarwal did a great job of seamlessly combining the supernatural with a story about a family tragedy.  I also think that the book could have been a bit shorter.  At 362 pages, it’s not a long book, but  I struggled a bit through the ending and found myself anxious to finish.

After finishing the book and unraveling the mystery behind the young ghost, I could see that clues had been scattered throughout the story but I was glad to have  not picked up on them while reading.  I truly did not know how this story would end which kept me involved and invested in the story.  For those who would not only love a cultural book set in the heart of India but also a ghost story during this fall season, Haunting Bombay would be an excellent book to pick up.  For a debut novel, Agarwal does an excellent job with characters, language, and a sense of time and place.

While I didn’t find myself falling head over heels in love with the manifested supernatural elements of this particular story, Agarwal is an author that I would definitely read again for the pure joy of  story, setting and characters.

And as a total side-note, when I was little I named my journal for a while.  I had completely forgot that I had named it Pinky until coming across this oddly named character.  Funny.

Links of interest:  Shilpa Agarwal website, blog, and on Twitter.  Visit TLC Book Tours for more reviews on Agarwal’s blog tour.
Genre:   Fiction
Publisher: Soho Press. April 1, 2009.
Hardcover, 368 pages. ISBN 156947558X
Haunting Bombay is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

The boy, ten-year-old Peter, is an orphan who is being cared for by a cranky old soldier who wants nothing more for him than to train to be a soldier as well.  When Peter finds a coin on the street, he visits the tent of a fortune teller.  He only has one question.  Is the sister whom he has been told died in childbirth alive?  The fortune teller’s answer is ambiguous and mysterious:  follow the elephant.

An elephant?  He’s never even seen an elephant!  The answer makes no sense whatsoever.  Imagine his surprise when a magician performing at the local opera house mistakenly conjures an elephant which falls through the roof and into the lap of Madam LaVaughn.  Now crippled, Madam LaVaughn insists that both the elephant and the magician be locked up right away.  Peter knows that the mystery of his sisters existence and the path for a new future lies with the elephant.  If he can bring about a chain of events to bring him and the elephant together, perhaps not all hope is lost.

The Magician’s Elephant is a beautiful telling.  It’s magical.  It’s mysterious.  It’s hopeful.  It’s also sad in the sense that a cloud of darkness always loomed over the story.  DicCamillo’s narrative is stunning.  Each word carefully chosen and not a single word in there that wasn’t meant to be.  I enjoyed the story and its magical elements although I wasn’t falling head over heels for it – if you know what I mean.  I really liked it but didn’t loooove it.  Even so, it’s a special book and I recommend it.

I think that this could be hit or miss with young readers to tell you the truth.  I could see them either really loving it or either hating it.  I do hope that they love it.  It’s not often that a book like this comes along.  It deserves an audience.  But it’s DiCamillo that we’re talking about here.  If you haven’t discovered her yet, it’s high time that you do.  And this is one not to be missed.

Kate DiCamillo reading the first chapter of The Magician’s Elephant:

Links of interest:  Kate DiCamillo website, more book blogger reviews,  illustrator Yoko Tanaka website.  Maw Book reviews of Because of Winn Dixie, The Tiger Rising, The Tale of Despereaux, Great Joy,and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.
Genre:  Middle Grade Fiction, approx ages 9-12.
Publisher: Candlewick.  September 8, 2009
Hardcover, 208 pages. ISBN 0763644102
The Magician’s Elephant is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Skeleton Creek finished with a huge cliffhanger.  Argh!  I couldn’t wait for the next book.  I had no idea that I would be receiving a copy of Ghost in the Machine, so I know that I let out an audible squeal when I opened a mystery package one day and it was this book!  Seriously, so excited to read this one.

In Ghost in the Machine, Ryan and Sarah are still forbidden to see each other and trying to solve the mystery at the gold dredge, which is haunted by the ghost of Old Joe Bush.  Time is running out because the town has decided it’s become so dangerous that they are going to burn it down.  But things get complicated when Ryan and Sarah uncover a secret society called The Crossbones which keeps the secrets of the dredge and Ryan’s father is in the middle of it all.

This is a great follow-up to Skeleton Creek.  Kids will enjoy the mystery and love getting spooked with the videos.  I remember that I jumped in one video and for another I had to keep pausing it because it was just plain scary.  Such fun!  But nothing to lose sleep over at night – unless maybe you don’t finish the book before you go to sleep which is virtually impossible because you’ll want to read it in one sitting.

The videos do take some time to load so I recommend skipping ahead to the next video as soon as you finish one so it’s already loaded by the time you get to it.  Be warned though, it’s hard to not have your eyes glaze over potentially spoiling text when skipping ahead.   Although everybody is in need of a few acting lessons, the videos are great.  I was hoping for a third book but everything wrapped up pretty tightly.

Which does remind me.  Ryan writes in his journal like ALL the time.  So I was surprised to see at the end of the book he doesn’t write for four days.  His last entry reads like an epilogue.  It wasn’t in his character to not write during those four days where everything gets wrapped up.  And Sarah also writes in the journal at the end too.  I’d much rather her stick to the videos.  So the ending felt a little bit unbelievable to me because they acted out of character.  But all in all nothing to spoil my enjoyment of the book.

My biggest disappointment is that there is not another book in the series.  I’m not ready for it to be over, I’d love to have more.  And the mystery/ghost story is the PERFECT genre for this concept.   October is also a great time to read this book especially together as a family.  I can see everybody gathered around the computer watching the videos and somebody else poking somebody right in the middle of a cliffhanger.  I can see screams.  Oh, I love it.

Great book, great fun!  We are reading mysteries this month for my Children’s Literature Book Club.  I can’t wait to meet next week to see what everybody thought about this one.

So are you up for it?

Links of interest: Maw Books review of Skeleton Creek (including book trailer to give you an idea of video content), more book blogger reviews, Patrick Carman’s website, extensive alternate reality Skeleton Creek game.
Genre:  Middle Grade Fiction with video elements, approx ages 9-12
Publisher: Scholastic.  October 1, 2009
Hardcover, 192 pages. ISBN 054507570X
Ghost in the Machine is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Twelve-year-old Jason Blake has been diagnosed on the autistic spectrum disorder and in this story Jason shares with us what his life is like.  Incredibly intelligent and talented, Jason has a difficult time communicating with others.  Having a conversation with somebody takes all of his concentration.   He’d rather not say anything at all.

But the thing people see the most is his silence, because some kinds of silence are actually visible.

Anything can go go wrong at school.  It’s difficult for him to remain in control.  But there is one place where he can always control his environment and that’s at an online writing message board.  He writes stories and posts them online.  He can interact with others in this space called the internet without having to deal with all the extras.  He has a voice:

When I write, I can be heard.  And known.

But nobody has to look at me.  Nobody has to see me at all.

And he can listen to others more easily:

Neurotypicals like it when you look them in the eye.  It is supposed to mean you are listening, as if the reserve were true, which it is not; Just because you are not looking at someone does not mean you are not listening.  I caan listen better when I am not distracted by a person’s face:

What are their eyes saying?

Is that a frown or a smile?

Why are they wrinkling their forehead or lifting their cheeks like that?  What does that mean?

How can you listen to all of those words when you have to think about all of that stuff?

He develops a connection with a girl on the writing site who calls herself PhoenixBird.  He likes to think of her as his girlfriend and they exchange a few messages back and forth and critique each other’s writing.  For Jason’s birthday his Dad registers him for a large writing conference, one that he’s excited for but also very apprehensive about.  So when PhoenixBird writes to say that she’ll be at the conference at well, he reaches a crisis.  That means that she wants to meet him and while he’s curious about her, that’s the last thing he wants to do.  Will he be able to show her his true self?

I remember reading Nicola’s review at Back to Books after I finished reading Anything But Typical.  Nicola’s son has also been diagnosed on the Autistic Spectrum and she herself has Asperger’s.  I appreciated her review because it made me realize that Nora Raleigh Baskin got it right.  I’d highly recommend checking out her review but I’ll quote two points here.

The author has the inside feelings of an autistic person down to a “T”. She has either researched very well or lived with someone on the spectrum herself”

and

It would be a great read for teens on the Autism Spectrum so they can relate to what the main character has gone through and for other teens interested in the subject matter. I also recommend the book to adults with any interest in the field of autism as I can personally vouch for the validity of the feelings and inner turmoil portrayed by one with ASD. A rather bittersweet ending but then such is life.

I particularly liked getting inside Jason’s head.  I loved how his little brother loved him so much that he also picked up some of Jason’s behavior so he could be just like him.

So glad that I picked this book up on a whim.  It’s a winner!  And one definitely worth adding to any book list for those who want further reading that feature characters with Autism.

Links of interest:  Nora Raleigh Baskin website, more book blogger reviews.
Genre:  Juvenile Fiction, approx ages 9-12.
Publisher:  Simon and Schuster.  March 24, 2009
Hardcover, 208 pages.  ISBN: 1416963782
Anything but Typical is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s and Amazon.

So I decided that it was high time that I actually read the book.  And I must admit that there was no way that I could read the book without the movies influencing me.  I was constantly comparing them to each other and taking note of how both movies adapted the book to screen.  So I feel like I have now come full circle and finally discovered the words that inspired both movies.

Do I even need to summarize?  The infamous Willy Wonka hasn’t shown his face in years and is opening his factory to five lucky children for a tour and a promise of something grand and wonderful to one of them.  Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Mike Teavee and Charlie Bucket (how could you forget those names?) all get more than they bargained for in Wonka’s wild and crazy factory.

I found Charlie and the Chocolate Factory delightful.  Dahl is a master storyteller and the book was fun to read.  I did find that although the book was short, I found myself unable to read it straight through.  Not sure why I needed little breaks from the narration.   It’s a perfect book to read-a-loud as a family or one-on-one with younger kids.  It’s fast paced and funny.  A story for everybody of all ages to enjoy.

As soon as I finished, I had to put in the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Johnny Depp version) movie and and have it playing now.  This review is taking me forever because I keep watching the movie instead.  I’m not going to go into a movie critique  at all.  Suffice it to say that there are noticeable differences in both movies from the book which I think make both stories better.  It’s fun to see which dialogue they’ve changed and what they’ve kept especially has I have the book fresh in my mind.

And to prove just how influential this story is in our household, check out these family photos from about three years ago:

Can I just mention that I sewed that vest?  Because I don’t sew.  So I was  impressed with myself.  And for those who will ask (because they always do) – yes, that is my husband’s real  hair.

I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl as part of Banned Books Week.  In 1988, a Colorado librarian placed the book in a locked vault because she thought that it espoused a poor philosophy of life.  I would highly recommend reading this essay entitled Charlie and the Political Correctness Factory which I found very enlightening about how Dahl changed some of his text after it was printed and the changes made in the movie.

Links of interest:  Roald Dahl website.  Other Maw Books reviews: James and the Giant Peach (which I reviewed last year for Banned Books Week),  The Witches and yesterday’s post about the Mike Teavee song lyrics (where I ask which movie you liked better).
Genre:  Juvenile Fiction.  Approx ages 9-12.
Publisher:   Puffin.  June 1998.  Originally published 1964.
Paperback, 176 pages.  ISBN 0141301155
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.