Library Wars

Library Wars by Kiiro Yumi. In the Japan of a not-too-distant future, libraries are at war. The central government-run Media Betterment Committee has been fighting for control of library collections, which are protected from their censorship by the Library Defense Force. As a young teen, Iku Kasahara had a longed-for book taken out of her hands at a bookstore by the Media Betterment Committee, then returned to her by an LDF agent. Now she’s joined the LDF as the first female agent. Does her supervising officer’s gruff exterior conceal a soft heart, or is he really just a jerk? Will she make it in the Defense Force? Who was her mysterious hero, and can Iku ever find him? This is written as a shojo, or girl’s manga, so romantic concerns take up most of the space for the first book and a half, with the censorship plot slowly gaining importance. Book 4 is due out in March 2011. The art is on the realistic side for manga. This is a fun and frothy read, with underpinnings of serious issues.

Crossposted to http://sapphireone.livejournal.com and http://library-mama.dreamwidth.org .

Sneaky Fitness

Sneaky Fitness by Missy Chase Lapine and Laryssa Didio Everyone knows that kids need exercise, and that the only thing more certain to make a wiggle-worm hold still is to tell him or her that they need to get some exercise to be healthy. Lapine of Sneaky Chef fame joins with exercise therapist Didio to create this book of fun ways to make fitness a bigger part of your kids’ lives. The first part is an introduction on why kids need fitness and why it should be fun. For me, the best part of this was a list of equipment for active play that every kid should have, including some items that I need to look up as I’ve never heard of them. Then, the rest of the first half of the book is games for fitness. They are roughly organized by the age group they’re designed for (preschoolers, early grade-schoolers, tween and teen), and include when and where they should be played, equipment needed, time frame, and (rather unnecessarily in my view) the calories burned. In my opinion, the game ideas were not really earth-shattering – things like taking a parade through the house or jumping during tv commercial breaks. The book suggests a lot of activities for commercial breaks, which I notice particularly as we watch only dvds. I really feel that it’s better to cut down on overall tv time than to rely on commercial breaks. Still, the ideas sound like fun, and it’s often helpful to have a list of ideas to turn to when your brain inevitably freezes under pressure. The index lists the games organized by type – rainy day, beach, snow, inside, etc. The second half of the book contains new Sneaky Chef recipes. These seemed to focus on snacks and treats, with fewer regular meals. I would be especially interested in trying out the strawberry cupcakes, even if cupcakes are supposedly no longer the thing. I don’t think too many people need convincing that fitness is important for kids, and this is a good source for simple ways to keep kids active.

Crossposted to http://sapphireone.livejournal.com and http://library-mama.dreamwidth.org .