Pirates in Twin Cities!

Remember how excited I was about Liz Duffy Adams' Aphra Behn ('shipping Charles II & Nell Gwynne at once!) play OR,, when it played here in NYC?

Well, if you're in the Twin Cities, you can take your nearest & dearest kids (including your Inner Child) to see her new kids' musical, BUCCANEERS! I am dying to go, but since I can't, I need you to tell me all about it. The Children's Theater says:

When Enid Arabella learns of her downtrodden parents’ plan to send her away, she takes to the high seas, only to be captured by the tyrannical pirate Johnny Johné. Enid must summon her wit and gumption to save herself and the rest of the children of Johné’s crew. .... This raucous world premiere pirate musical, with a score drawn from sea shanties and music from around the world, is a thrilling tale of empowerment, leadership, and justice.

Buccaneers is strongly recommended for grades three and up due to scenes of intensity and complex language.

First time I"ve ever heard of a PG warning for language - not foul, just "complex." Sheesh.

Plus, shanties!!! (And I dont' think she even knows my mom's name is Enid.)

I tell you, she's One of Us.

My favorite Imaginary Book

As promised:

From Ysabeau S. Wilce's brilliant "Flora" series, beginning with FLORA SEGUNDA:

"A series of yellowback novels called Nini Mo: Coyote Queen."

Nini Mo is badass. She is a fighter and a trickster, a legend in her own time. Some of the yellowbacks Flora mentions are Nini Mo vs. the Ice Weasels: the Ultimate Ranger Dare . . . Nini Mo vs. the Xocholatte Rustlers . . . and of course, her autobiography, High Jinks in Low Palces.

Flora wants to be a Ranger, like Nini Mo. But she's still in school, which seems like a waste of time. As Flora complains in Book 2, FLORA'S DARE:

"There is no yellowback called NIni Mo Sits in Math Class, or Nini Mo and the Curse of the Overdue Library Book, or Nini Mo vs. the Term Paper on the Orthogonal Uses of Liminal Spaces in the Novels of Lucretia McWordypants."

While we never get more than a hint of the texts Flora and her friends have read, Nini Mo is full of Sayings that turn out to be very useful, like:

"Think twice and act once" . . . "Not all battles are fought on the battlefield." . . . "Sometimes, by the time you get it, you don't want it anymore." . . . "Fear will kill you faster than any bullet." . . . "Move forward, and don't look back, even if you can hear the snapping of the wolves on your tail." . . . "There's no way out but through." . . . "Keep it meaningless, if you don't know the meaning." . . . "Don't spit in your own well." . . . "That day, that sorrow." . . . and of course, the famous "Dare, Win, or Disappear."

So there it is. If you haven't read Wilce's books, obviously I think you should.

What else did all 100+ of you not touch on in the Imaginary Books (in other books) Contest list? Well:

I just read Mark Siegel's new graphic novel SAILOR TWAIN,* and am most eager to get my hands on a copy of Secrets and Mysteries of the River Hudson, by the mysterious C.G. Beaverton.

And I was surprised no one mentioned Stick Wizard from the Bordertown series - that doesn't really exist, does it??

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* I will be moderating a panel with Mark & 2 others on Sunday, Sept. 23rd at 1 pm at the Brooklyn Book Festival.