Letters

After my list of 30 recommended graphic novels appeared in SLJ (see "What Teens Want ," August 2002, pp. 42–47), many librarians commented that a number of the titles on the list are currently out of print. Unfortunately, a few comic publishers (namely Darkhorse) seem to allow their popular publications to go out of print, bringing them back within a year or two. Although I still believe that all of the titles in the original core list have a place in your library, I have compiled the following list of in-print titles to replace those out-of-print titles.

Aragonés, Sergio. The Groo Maiden. Dark Horse.
Crilley, Mark. Akiko, Vol. 1. Sirius.
Marz, Ron, et al. Sojourn, Vol. 1: From the Ashes. CrossGeneration.
Marz, Ron, Jan Duursema, et al. Star Wars: Darth Maul. Dark Horse.
Medley, Linda. Castle Waiting, Vol. 1: The Lucky Road. Olio Press.
Robinson, James and Paul Smith. Leave It to Chance: Shaman's Rain. Image.
Takahashi, Rumiko. Inu-Yasha, Vol. 1. Viz.
Tonaka, Masahi. Gon. Paradox.
Whedon, Joss, and Tim Sale, Gene Colan, et al. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales of the Slayer. Dark Horse.
Winick, Judd. Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned. Holt.
Michele Gorman, Librarian Austin Public Library Austin, TX
[An annotated version of the above list appears on SLJ's Web site.]

The latest issue of SLJ is fabulous, focused, full of meat, powerful! There has been a noticeable improvement in the quality of your publication over the last few months. Kudos to you and your staff.

Although our mission is student performance, we struggle daily with computer gradebook programs, annoying network issues, and an endless list of other "technodistractions." But if we can rise above these, we will have a significant effect on the performance of the students in our schools. Your latest issues of SLJ set a fine example for all of us. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." (Aristotle) We need to be asking ourselves what we are "repeatedly doing." At SLJ it is evident that you are repeatedly doing exactly what it takes.
--Charline O'Dell, Media Specialist Boltz Junior High School Poudre School District Ft. Collins, CO

In response to Virginia Walter's review of Randall Bush's Gabriel's Magic Ornament (Pristine, 2002; Oct., p. 57), I can only wonder whether she has read the same book I did, or, for that matter, has read the book at all! Her unfamiliarity with the actual plot of the book is evident in the statement concerning the imaginary land of Arboria that "children are charged with saving this dying world, which they do by absorbing lessons about issues such as commercial greed, the dangers of too much sugar, and war." Nowhere in the book are children charged with saving anything, although they do witness the rescue of Arboria from the evils of greed, selfishness, and hatred (which I should hope the reviewer believes is a good thing!) and learn through their adventure how to practice the gift of true Christmas magic. Walter also falls short of recognizing the deeper universal symbolic structures and patterns within Bush's fantasy that render it appealing to adults, as well as children. In my 30 years as a public school teacher and librarian I've had plenty of experience assessing student reactions to books, and their reaction to Gabriel's Magic Ornament has been positive and enthusiastic. In time, I predict that readers of the book will reject, as I most certainly do, Walter's dismissive and negative conclusive remarks that, "Here the Christian symbolism is too obvious, the moral too overt, and the adventures too contrived to hold readers' interest."
--Carol Wiener, Librarian Patrick Henry Middle, School Houston, TX

Reader response is affected by many variables. Ms. Wiener's middle grade students may have been infected by their teacher's obvious love for Gabriel's Magic Ornament. For the record, I DID read the book, I did not love it, and I stand by my judgment about its lack of intrinsic literary merit or reader appeal.
--Virginia Walter Associate Professor UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies