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Illustration für "König Nussknacker und der arme Reinhold" von Heinrich Hoffmann, Quelle: Projekt Gutenberg

  

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Pullman’s investment in fairy tales is both intellectual and moral. From fiction, he tells us, we learn about good and evil, cruelty and kindness, but in ways that are always elliptical, as the text works on us in its own silent, secret way. “ ‘Thou shalt not’ might reach the head, but it takes ‘Once upon a time’ to reach the heart,” he once observed. Fairy tales began as adult entertainment—stories told just for the fun of it. But with their exacting distribution of rewards and punishments, they also increasingly tapped into the human urge to derive morals from stories, In his own fiction, as well as in these retellings of the Grimms’ fairy tales, Pullman tells stories so compelling that he is sure to produce in the reader the connection—both passionate and compassionate—that Nabokov called a little “sob in the spine.

From Maria Tatar’s superb New Yorker review: Philip Pullman’s Twice-Told Tales: “Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm”

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BOOKS AS ART Almost a year ago I featured images of Mysterious Paper Sculptures that were left about the Scottish Poetry Library in 2011.Here is one of the sculptures and you can click the link to see more. Not only are they amazingly crafted, but they came with curious gift tags that only heightened the mystery. Now I present to you artist, sculptor and bibliophile Kelly Campbell Berry

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Whose idea was this, anyway?  The idea is this:

Post my responses to a set of questions about a work-in-progress.  Then pass the challenge on to other bloggers.  I won’t waste time thinking about reasons not to play along; I’ll just do it.  Which is what we writers do, isn’t it?

Actual photo of PJ newly inspired after succumbing to blog-chain questionaire

What is the working title of your book?

I SWALLOWED A SAINT.  I hope that makes you hungry to read the first page, at least. 

Where did the idea come from for this book?

From a dumpy grizzled sneering failed sculptor who used to frequent the sauna at our local gym.  Wow, what an asshole, always querying me, “So, how’s the writing business going, PJ?” I guess he knew I was making a decent living writing for television.  Out of revenge, I turned him into a fictional character. Unfortunately, the cretin became the protagonist, the novel became a work of humour, and he winds up not only being loveable but also a martyr, of sorts.  And they ask me why I love to write.

What genre does your book fall under?

Literary fiction.  (Are you impressed?)

How long did it take to write the first draft?

“First draft” means what, exactly?  My first draft is the first one I would dare show to other writers.  So, to answer the question…years.

What actors would you use for a movie rendition of your book?

Easy—Paul Giamatti.  Or, Alastair Sim (aka, Scrooge), if was he still alive. 

What is a one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A comedian tries to kill himself.

Will it be self-published or represented by an agency? It IS represented by an agent.  He returned from New York so depressed about the current publishing scene that he decided to retire.  So I reckon, okay, a few publishers read it and rejected it, so maybe it needs another rewrite.  Show me the novel that doesn’t need another rewrite. 

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Didn’t I answer that already?  But let me add this: the novel wasn’t supposed to be funny.  A friend read some tentative opening paragraphs and couldn’t stop laughing.  I said, “What’s so funny?”  He said, “It’s hilarious.”  I grabbed my manuscript and rushed home and continued to write the thing with a brand new energy, as a work of humour.  Oh, and that friend, he became a character in the story, too. 

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Oh, anything by Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Heller, Philip Roth, J.D. Salinger, Dave Barry, you know…

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The notion of a guy who spends his entire life walking around believing he has his girlfriend’s silver saint charm lodged in his intestines—St. Christina the Astonishing, the patron saint of lunatics.  He meant it as a joke, you know, “Hey, watch this…!” (gulp, swallow)  It’ll pass through in three days.  Not. 

Okay, that wasn’t too painful. 

Useful, in fact.  I reckon if I tack Paul Giamatti’s photo to my wall, it might inspire me to finally nail this story. 

I’m passing the blog-chain baton on to author, C. Michaels down in Mazatlan, Mexico.  She’s becoming quite the epub-mistress, having published two thrillers in the last year.  I’ll be interested to hear about her next one.

 

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Sky Arts has released a clip from an upcoming episode of "A Young Doctor's Notebook," which will star Dan Radcliffe and Jon Hamm. You can watch the clip here or below, where Radcliffe's character panics over not knowing what to do for a hernia. "A Young Doctor's Notebook" will premiere on Sky Arts on December 6th.

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Callenbach has produced this beautiful Dutch translation of Small Damages.

I am ever-grateful to Tamra Tuller, Kiffin Steurer, and the Philomel team for taking such good care of this book.

And so grateful to Callenbach for having faith.

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Christmas parties in Fremantle, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland and Sydney – SCBWI celebrates a brilliant year with:–

- best ever International SCBWI Conference at The Hughenden in Sydney

- best ever illustrator showcase

- new chapter with Australia West for WA and NT

- with new leaders -Sheryl Gwyther (QLD), Deb Abela, (NSW) James Foley (WA), Sarah Davis (Illustrator Coordinator Australia East & NZ)

joining the team of Corinne Fenton King (Vic, SA, Tas), Meg McKinlay (WA), Susanne Gervay (RA ANZ East), Frances Plumpton (NZ),

- Chris Cheng going international

HUGE thanks to Dianne Wolfer for her dynamic leadership in WA who has passed the baton to Frane Lessac in WA

Cupcakes and champagne to Dianne Wolfer!! THANKYOU for being YOU Dianne – SCBWI LOVES YOU!

See dates of parties on www.scbwiaustralianz.com

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Wow, I'd forgotten how hard it is to work out these silly cat books... deciding on how all the objects are rendered and building them out of paper and making them look messy while still fitting them EXACTLY on the flaps... My easiest task today was drawing this vase. My hardest one is ongoing: building a crude paper piano that opens up. And it all has to look good!

Talking about the vase: I decided that this book will have more detailed drawings, like that vase. A bit like the fish in the first book. I think it might help contrast the animal characters and the inanimate objects. It also helps me, because the area I live in doesn't seem to have as many nice bits of paper to pick up in the street as the last one, and I threw out most of my paper scraps last time I moved house. So I am doing a little bit more drawing and less collaging. Thus, vase.

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The Gift of Nothing – Patrick McDonell

 Julie:  I have committed a cardinal sin for a children's book writer.  I have, in my lifetime, read picture books like THE GIFT OF NOTHING and thought, So simple!  So few words!  How hard can it be?  Several years and one master's degree later, let me tell you:  To write a truly good picture book?  Very, very hard.  But Patrick McDonnell has done it.  THE GIFT OF NOTHING is playful, timeless, meaningful, linguistically interesting, and full of heart.  I wish I’d written it.  Mia, did you like it as much as I did?

M: Julie, THE GIFT OF NOTHING caught me by surprise.  I was reading along, thinking, OK, this is cute.  The humor reminds me a bit of I’M BORED in the way it handles the tediousness of everyday life (for instance, pointing out that there's nothing to watch on 200 channels of TV).  But then I got to the end and was tearing up. THE GIFT OF NOTHING is sweet and simple, accomplishing so much with so little.  The same could be said for the art, with its attention to the white space on the page.  The words deepen what we see on the page.  Julie?  

J:  Yes, the style of the art perfectly suits the style of the text. And I love that there's humor and depth. I splurged for the special gift edition, which comes complete with lovely packaging.  Perfect for those upcoming holidays.  I might need to get another, because I have twin nephews. 

M: Woohoo for getting some holiday shopping off your plate, Julie. And off we go to find more books to recommend!

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I’ll keep this post short and sweet because I realise some of my recent posts have been impassioned and epic. Besides, the focus of this blog is best viewed rather than read. I’m talking about some adorkable pics of people dressed up as books.

I have to thank my friend and fellow writer and editor Judi for once again coming through with the interwebby goods. I don’t know where she finds this stuff, but I’m incredibly glad she does.

Nothing beats getting dressed up as an iconic Popular Penguin. It’s simple and oh so flexible: paint part of it orange and insert your title of choice here.

The Michel Foucault reference is a bit wanky (Foucault—the term, not the person—was bandied around too much for my taste in uni days and I’m happy to leave it behind) and the bible is likely to end in a crazy-assed religious fanatic versus atheist punch-driven debate.

The Twilight costume is ingenious, both because of its simple, arms-incorporating execution and because the costume looks padded—something that could come in handy should there be a fisticuffs (see above).

The book of fairytales is quaint and clever, although as a friend of mine pointed out, it would be better more pocket protector sized. The dictionary entry reeks a little of precious Hermione—clever, but not appreciated by others and certainly not the life of the party.

I’m a little puzzled by the Fifty Shades of Grey costume. I suspect they’re hinting at the dog’s fur colour, although my initial, confused thought was that it was a reference to bestiality.

But my favourite—the one I’ve saved for last and that appears last on the page itself—is that of the book fairy. Those wings! That skirt! Someone have a fancy dress party so I can justify constructing one! Or getting someone to construct one for me! (Because let’s face it, I’m so craftily challenged I’d likely super glue or staple my fingers to my face.)

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Wishing you all of you from the US a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. This year, as work demands and the holiday season combine to pile on stress, I remain increasingly grateful for the solace provided by books, and for the gift of literacy that keeps giving forever. 

Today I will be sending out the new issue of the Growing Bookworms email newsletter. (If you would like to subscribe, you can find a sign-up form here.) The Growing Bookworms newsletter contains content from my blog focused on children's and young adult books and raising readers. There are 1626 subscribers. Currently I am sending the newsletter out once every two to three weeks.

Newsletter Update: In this issue I have six book reviews (five picture books and one young adult title), one children's literacy roundup, and one post with links that I shared on Twitter. The newsletter is a bit shorter than usual because I decided to send it out before the Thanksgiving holiday. I have several middle grade reviews scheduled to come out soon. 

Reading Update: In the past 2+ weeks, I finished three novels for middle grade readers, and one nonfiction title for adults: 

• Jo Knowles: See You At Harry's. Candlewick. Middle Grade. Completed November 12, 2012, on Kindle. Review to come. 
• John Stephens: The Fire Chronicle (Books of Beginning). Knopf. Middle Grade. Completed November 18, 2012. Review to come. 
• Kell Andrews: Deadwood. Pugalicious Press. Middle Grade. Completed November 19, 2012. Review to come. 
• Paul Tough: How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Adult Non-Fiction. Completed November 11, 2012, on Kindle. Not sure if I'll have a chance to write a review for this book, but I thought that it was an excellent look at the impact of character traits on success. Well worth a read to anyone interested in education. 

Right now I'm reading Book Love by Melissa Taylor on my Kindle, and reading The Expeditioners by S. S. Taylor. I'm still listening to The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan on my MP3 player. And of course I'm reading lots and lots of books to Baby Bookworm. I plan to do a post highlighting her favorites soon. How about you? What have you and your kids been reading and enjoying?

Thanks for reading the newsletter, and for growing bookworms. I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving, surrounded by people you love. 

© 2012 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.

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I highly recommend it, though be prepared for your heart strings to be pulled!

The Dogs of Winter
Bobbie Pyron
312 pages
Middle Grade
Scholastic 
9780545399302
October 2012
Review copy

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I found some cute recipes pages in vintage Jack & Jill childrens magazines from the 1960's.
I'm in the middle of making my last minute shopping list for cooking Thanksgiving diner tomorrow, and maybe you are too. Here are some quick and easy recipes the kids can help out with when preparing the holiday feast.

Trimmings for Turkey: Parsley rolls, Perky Turkey Stuffing, Cranberry-Orange Relish, and Down East Pumpkin Pie.

November recipes: Write your name on pumpkin pie, Gelatin salad or dessert, and Turkey Noodle Casserole.

And when all the food is in the oven, and all you have to do is wait for it to get ready, keep the children busy with this easy handmade thanksgiving decoration. Make a Thanksgiving turkey from paper plates!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you'll get to eat lots of turkey and pie!

Here are a few of the things that I am especially thankful for this year...

1. Book deals

2. The sunny new house that we'll move into in the spring

3. Getting to meet my cousin's beautiful baby, Harper.

4.  My dreamy husband

5.  Gingerbread lattes

6.  My jumbo round watercolor brush

7.  The illustrations of Gyo Fujikawa

8.  My friend, Jaclynn Larington, who co-founded NYCmore 2012, to organize NYC marathon runners to volunteer for the Sandy relief effort. 

What are you thankful for this year?  

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Book: Trapped
Author: Michael Northrop (@mdnorthrop)
Pages: 240
Age Range: 12 and up

Michael Northrop's Trapped is a book that you'll want to read while snuggled under a warm blanket. Doesn't matter how warm it is where you live - Trapped will make you feel the cold.

Trapped is a story about seven high school students trapped in their remote rural high school by the blizzard to end all blizzards. No on knows that they are there (as far as they can tell), and no one could get to them anyway. It starts out a bit of a lark, but when the power goes out and all of the first floor windows are buried in snow, things aren't quite so fun. Within a few days, when there's no more heat, and the roof starts to make ominous noises, things get really scary.

Trapped is a quick, suspenseful read, an obvious choice as an ALA/YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (now even more appealing in a slim, take-anywhere paperback edition). Like books such as Life As We Knew It, Trapped makes you appreciate basic things like heat and working plumbing. And cell phones, the absence of which really bothers the kids. 

Scotty's voice is quite strong. It's a bit surprising, almost, that Michael Northrop isn't still a fifteen year old boy. Because he sure can channel one. As an adult, female reader, there was a bit more attention to zits and boy banter than I was exactly interested in, but I think that Trapped must work very well with male teen readers. Like this:

"I'd made sure I was walking on Krista's right, but I could see now that it wouldn't matter much. Weak light is a lit's best friend. 

The snow reached the top of the windows now. It felt like being buried. The windows looked out on to nothing, as if some idea had installed waist-level windows in a basement. The light from the emergency lights faded in and out as we moved past one and toward another. It was gold now, piss-colored." (Page 101-102)

I also thought that Northrop did a nice job of working in a tiny bit of knowledge here and there, without slowing the pace of the book, or feeling like he was out to teach readers anything. There are explanations of Occam's Razor, phantom limb syndrome, how storms work (where they get their energy), and various practical matters related to survival. 

In general, Northrop has a gift for throwing in little insightful observations that resonate. Despite Trapped being a fairly short book, I flagged quite a few passages. Like these:

"It wasn't the creaky tools that were worrying Holloway, though. It was the snow. That was the other thing he really valued: Like a lot of New Englanders who've reached a certain age and haven't had the common sense to leave, he really had a thing for winter, like it was some beautiful beast that had to be respected." (Page 22)

"It wasn't really cold enough to need that many layers yet. She wasn't bundled up against the cold. She was bundled up against the possibility of cold." (Page 65)

There's a hint of The Breakfast Club in the story's setup, with kids from different social groups forced together by the blizzard. But Northrop's treatment, while not quite so smart-alecky, is far more believable. Certainly the kids, particularly Scotty and his two best friends, are more than stereotypes. 

I was a bit irritated by the abrupt ending of the book. I would have liked an epilogue or something. But there is no question that Northrop keeps the story moving forward right up to the last page. 

Trapped is a must-purchase title for high school libraries, and a recommended read for anyone looking for a tense survival story. Just make sure you have a blanket handy, and an uninterrupted chunk of time to finish the book. 

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (@Scholastic)
Publication Date: December 1, 2012 (this edition)
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher

© 2012 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you). 

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A crucial deadline looms. I've walked the beach to marshal my ideas. I'm finally ready to write a story that could change everything. But not for me. At my desk I begin: "If any one student can be said to have a widespread positive impact on his school, Ethan is the one. But how does [...]

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What a beautiful morning, day before Thanksgiving.  Sometimes I walk in the garden and feel like I'm Alice in Wonderland.  Then I go back inside and draw. :)

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Author: Marie-Antoinette Burrell
Publisher: Parrhesia Enterprise
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-0-9850263-0-1
Price: $14.95

Buy it at Amazon

We all know it’s not safe to text and drive. In fact, Miss Toadd, the Queen of Mobile Phone Land, has issued a decree against it. But one day Terrance Texter ignores the rules and runs right through the land, not noticing the obstacles in his path.

In a land where everyone has a cell phone, caution must be used when operating cars and machinery. And a warning is given to use texting, tweeting and facebook status updates wisely, since inappropriate messaging can have dire consequences.

Terrance Texter is a nicely illustrated rhyme, but I struggled with the intended age group for this book. While the story preaches to young children, I don’t know how effective the “don’t text and drive” message will be in reaching them. They will have long forgotten a childhood book by the time they receive their driver’s licenses.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

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Recommended for ages 10-14.

Newbery-award winning novelist Karen Cushman is an expert writer of historical novels for youth, and is particularly drawn to tales set in "merry old England."  I use this phrase a bit ironically, since one of the features of Cushman's writings is that she does not shirk from describing the hardships of life at that time, particularly for those children in the lower classes.  Her newest book differs from all her past novels by featuring a boy as a protagonist rather than her usual feisty girl heroines.

The novel opens by introducing its hero as follows:

"Will Sparrow was a liar and a thief, and hungry, so when he saw the chance to steal a cold rabbit pie from the inn's kitchen and blame it on the dog, he took it--both the chance and the pie."

We learn that Will, not yet thirteen, has had a hard life, having been sold by his father to the innkeeper for free ale.  With the threat of being once again sold to London to be a chimney sweep, Will runs away, preferring the dangerous life on the road, in which he must scrounge for food and some kind of shelter from the cold,` to a sure early death as a "climbing boy."  What kind of future faces our hero, besides an empty belly?

Will meets up with all kinds of colorful characters on his travels in Elizabethan England, including a quack of a doctor who recruits Will to serve as his stooge, a blind juggler, and a cranky dwarf, and quickly learns to trust no one. Will manages to attach himself to a group of entertainers who perform at fairs, an Elizabethan freak show that includes a unicorn skull and a sea monster.  He even makes a few friends, including Duchess, the world's smartest pig, who performs tricks and even is learning to understand French, her owner, Samuel Knobby, and Grace, a young girl with a hairy face who is billed as a live monster in the show of wonders.  As we might expect in a book for young readers, Will, who is friendless and penniless at the beginning of the tale, ultimately finds a family of sorts, one of his own choosing, among the misfits of the fair.

I have to say that this was not among my favorite of Cushman's novels; the story simply didn't engage me the way Midwife's Apprentice, The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, and others of her work have.  I'm not sure exactly why, but I think that the story is not paced as well as some of her other books and I was not as drawn to the character of Will as to some of her earlier protagonists.  As always, however, she is skilled at creating an authentic historical setting, and the reader is drawn into the world of the Elizabethan fair, including its smells and sounds.  She liberally sprinkles her text with Elizabethan-sounding phrases, such as "certes" to provide some local color as well.

While this book is likely to appeal to those youngsters who are drawn to historical stories, I would be more likely to recommend others of Cushman's titles to a young reader before this one.

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©2012 Shawna JC Tenney

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Today I want to share my new illustration and the process I went through to get to the final. I did this illustration as part of Chris Oatley's Painting Drama 1 class. His new painting drama independent study course is now open for enrollment here. Chris teaches tools that will help you have beautiful dynamic compositions and will help you understand what needs to be fixed. You learn from the masters of art history- which is awesome! The process which you see here was guided by Chris, but is individual to me. He doesn't teach you how to draw like him, but rather gives you the tools to make your compositions strong in your own style. I've never learned composition in the way he teaches, and I am so glad I took his class! I highly recommend this course if you want to learn how to successfully tackle any project you are working on with a fabulous dramatic outcome.

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When you should and should not add an epilogue to your book. 

http://writerunboxed.com/2012/10/30/after-the-end-the-epilogue/

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