The San Diego Zoo's Panda Cam

The San Diego Zoo's Panda Cam. http://www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam/index.html

Plot: The San Diego Zoo's live feed from the panda enclosure. In addition to the online camera, the site offers information about the pandas at the zoo and in the wild.

Genre: Websites, Animals

Reading Level: Some of the descriptions about panda breeding in the zoo's blog may be unsuitable for sensitive readers, but the rest of the page should cause no problems.

Similar Titles: Giant Pandas at the National Zoo, Panda Cam - Memphis Zoo

Personal Thoughts: The San Diego Zoo produced a welcoming website. The camera works much more quickly than other zoo's and the surrounding images, borders, and buttons offer very appealing visuals. Unfortunately, the overall presentation of information lacks somewhat, since the page presents facts with simple text on a simple background. Also, the information does not go into the depths other zoos, most notably the National Zoo, achieve. Still, for quick information and cute panda images, the site remains highly useful.

Smithsonian National Zoological Park: Giant Pandas

Smithsonian National Zoological Park: Giant Pandas.http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/default.cfm?cam=LP1

Plot: The National Zoo's dedicated several webpages to the giant panda. Links lead to pages offering the life histories, pictures, and news about the zoo's breeding pair of pandas. Additional pages include information about panda conservation, facts, and frequently asked questions.

Genre: Websites, Animals

Reading Level: Not Rated, but some of the terms and concepts may be confusing to some readers.

Similar Titles: San Diego Zoo.org, Zoo Atlanta Panda Cam

Personal Thoughts: The site is one of the best I found about pandas. The pages offers effective navigation, solid information, and pleasing visuals. The Kid's Page appears unsuitable for tweens, but it will appeal to younger viewers. My only complaint comes from the panda cam. The site advertises a live feed from the pandas' exhibit, but I have not been able to find it. Otherwise, the site remains highly recommended.

Horror and Pandas

After the heavier topics of last week, this week will focus on pandas. Pandas are awesome.

Picture from Animal Capshunz

The Wolves in the Walls

Gaiman, Niel. The Wolves in the Walls. New York : HarperCollins, 2003.

Plot: Quite noises creep into Lucy's home. Her family does not seem to hear them, but Lucy states the walls hide a pack of wolves. Each member of the family claims a small animal of some sort must be moving in the wall, because if there are wolves, and if the wolves decide to come out, it is all over. However, despite her family's insistence to the contrary, there are wolves in the walls and, one day, they come out.

Genre: Picture Books, Horror

Reading Level: Grades 3-12

Similar Titles: Peter and the Wolf, The Dangerous Alphabet, Gonna Roll the Bones

Personal Thoughts: A thoroughly creepy picture book. Neil Gaiman takes full advantage of world-building language and uncanny narrative to create a familiar yet unnerving story. The pictures combine actual photographs, ink drawings, and abstract shapes to create a disjointed world completely complementing the language of the story. Gaiman once again proves authors can create scary stories without being gory.

Anya's Ghost

Brosgol, Vera. Anya's Ghost. New York : First Second, 2011.

Plot: Life could not be more frustrating for Anya if it tried. Her family does not understand her, her friends use her, her body mocks her, and her crush ignores her. A walk in the park, however, ends when she falls down a well. The well is not unoccupied. A ninety-year-old ghost greets her. Then follows her home. Initially, the ghost, named Emily, seems helpful. She gives Anya answers in class and gets  to a party with her crush. After the party, Emily begins to act strangely controlling. Anya, claims the ghost, needs her, and Emily will do anything to make sure Anya knows it.

Genre: Graphic Novel, Horror

Reading Level: Grades 7-12

Similar Titles: Zombies Calling!, Habibi,

Personal Thoughts: In some ways, the novel reminds me of Baron: The Cat Returns. A very believable, far from perfect girl is suddenly confronted with the extraordinary. Unlike Haru's klutzy-sweet nature, Anya appears to serve as the stereotypical "bad girl." She smokes, cuts class, and fights with her mother. Yet, she also has very understandable characteristics. Her weight worries her. Her family, infuriating as it is, remains important to her. She wonders about how her peers view her immigrant status. As such, she is a character the reader sympathizes while disagreeing with, much like the reader would if she were an actual person.

Anya also responds like a real teen, most notably at the end of the story. Too many stories imply a revolution in character for their bad boy/girl protagonist into the epitome of virtue through supernatural adventures. Anya, however, still dislikes school, worries about her figure, and tries to avoid too much attention from her teachers. However, she does change as well. She decides to stop smoking and does not appear as troubled by her long, Russian name. Anya grows without destroying her initial personality, which, while tricky to show, is actually realistic, making the story a enjoyable read.

Side Note: Jerome likes Anya.

A Monster Calls

Ness, Patrick. A Monster Calls. Somerville, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2011.

Plot: Conor fearlessly meets the monster in his room. After all, it is not the one that haunted his dreams since his mother's diagnosis. Yet, the monster warns of greater danger. It will share three stories with Conor, then Conor must share his own story or be eaten. None of the stories make sense to the boy, but they inspire (or force) him to act strangely, violently, and monstrously. He abandons his best friend, destroys his grandmother's house, and injures his school's most popular student. As a result, he finds himself alone with a monster. The monster looms ever nearer, but so does the one thing the boy actually fears. Both meet when his mother's cancer treatments no longer work.

Genre: Horror, Coming of Age, Loss

Reading Level: Grades 5-12

Similar Titles: Pretty Monsters, Tiger Eyes

Personal Thoughts: Ness's novel offers a remarkably intense story of fear, loss, and horror. However, I am not sure if I would recommend it. The core aspect of the story focuses on the valid fear of losing a parent, and, as I mentioned in the review of Tiger Eyes, grief can be difficult to convey effectively to anyone, particularly when the target audience is as emotionally intense as tweens. The blend of two themes, monsters and grief, can also easily disappoint the target audience. Horror story enthusiasts will not find the monster "scary enough," while those attempting to cope with grief may view the story as callously mocking their loss. A Monster Calls offers an unusual and emotional view of grief's stages, but the intended goal may not actually reach the intended readers.

Retro Comics and Next Week

So, this week, we discovered comics do not manage against time quite as well as novels, primarily due to their reliance on current events and publishing trends.

Next week, the focus will be a bit darker. The blog will review modern horror stories.

I should go...