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Right now, I am in the midst of the latest revision for my new novel "Dumpling Days." Not only has my schedule gotten rather full, recently this novel has filled me with anxiety. When I met the lovely
Karen Hesse at the
Literary Lights event, she asked me, "How are you doing?" in a concerned way and talked to me briefly about how winning an award changes things. At the time, I thought she meant speaking engagements and school visits and I breezily told her things were fine. Things were busy, but not in a way that was extremely unusual or unmanageable. Just an extra stir in soup, so to speak.
But now, I realize she meant the actual writing. I hadn't thought too much about it, but slowly as each revision goes by I've become more aware of my personal phantom hanging over me. "Dumpling Days" is a continuation of Pacy's story from
The Year of the Dog and
The Year of the Rat, and, like those books, it is highly autobiographical (this one is about my first trip to Taiwan as a child) and light-hearted.
And in the shadow of the Newbery Honor I start to worry--maybe this book is too light, not ambitious enough, not "Literary" with the capital 'L.' But as I begin to let myself get paralyzed, I see that the award only amplified
worries and thoughts I've had my whole career. The only difference is my shielding mantra of "Just do the best you can!" has run a bit thin.
So, it was with great comfort that I recently discovered (okay, I know I am really, really late to the party)
Just One More Book's podcast of Eva Ibbotson. In her interview she talked about how she knows books about things like escaping the Nazis and suicide are important but she was not the one to write them. She considered her books as personal gifts to her readers and would always work and work to give them what she felt they deserved. In fact, she said she wanted her tombstone to read, "She Took Trouble."
Listening to her was extremely heartening and inspiring to me. It was the right message at the right time. It helped shake away my doubts and transformed the begrudging revisions into acts of love. With any luck, "Dumpling Days" will be a book I will hold proudly and give to my readers with the same warmth as she did.
I'm ashamed to say that I've never read any of Ms. Ibbotson's work--something I inte
By:
Betsy Bird,
on 10/17/2010
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As far as I’m concerned, every good blog post should begin with fiction starring Gregory Peck. What we have here is one of the luscious finds boasted by Greg Hatcher over at the site Comic Book Resources. I’m a big fan of Hatcher because when he does round ups like this one he always takes care to mention a lot of collectible children’s literature. In this post alone you’ll see what the going price is for a good old hardcover Oz or Narnia title, as well as his discovery of Millions of Cats. I remember that when I conducted by Top 100 Picture Books Poll that Millions of Cats was the surprise Top Ten winner. Folks continually forget to give it its due.
- Collecting Children’s Books has the usual plethora of wonderfulness up and running for your consideration. First Peter discovers and prints out the complete shortlists of Newbery contenders between the years of 1973-75 (something I wish they still did) and then in a different post considers the state of recent children’s books and whether any of them have been made into Broadway musicals. None that I can think of, since A Year With Frog and Toad isn’t exactly contemporary. Coraline did sort of make it to Broadway a year or so ago (or was that considered off-Broadway?), but that’s the only one I can think of.
- Hey hey! While we were all sleeping the candidates nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award were announced. You can see the full list of candidates from countries all over the country here. If I had the time and ability I would familiarize myself with all those names that are unknown to me. On the American side of things, however, here are the USA representatives: Ashley Bryan, Eric Carle, Julius Lester, Grace Lin, Walter Dean Myers, Anne Pellowski, Jerry Pinkney, Reading is Fundamental, and Allen Say. Good luck, guys (and well played Grace for being the youngest). Here’s hoping some of you make it to the final consideration. After all, the Lindgren is the largest monetary award a children’s writer or illustrator can win.
- It was a good week for finalists of all sorts, actually. The National Book Award finalists were released last week and included Paolo Bacigalupi’s Ship Breaker, Kathryn Erskine’s Mockingbird, Laura McNeal’s Dark Water, Walter Dean Myers’ Lockdown, and Rita Williams-Garcia’s One Crazy Summer. How interesting it is to me that non-fiction didn’t make even a sin
photos: Akuppa/flickr and Alexandre Ferron.
Hi there! So glad you're here.
I've just poured some tea, and am anxious to tell you all about Newbery Honor winner Grace Lin's brand new picture book, Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival (Knopf, 2010), which is officially out today!
If, like me, you're a big fan of Grace's previous picture books featuring the Lin family (Dim Sum for Everyone!, Kite Flying, Fortune Cookie Fortunes, Bringing in the New Year), then you're in for a real treat. This time, the three winsome sisters and their parents are observing this important holiday with a special evening picnic!
As you may know, the Moon Festival is a time for families to come together and give thanks for a good year. It's traditionally celebrated by the Chinese and other Asian peoples on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month (September 22nd this year). In this lovely, contemplative story, simply told and illustrated in deep gouache jewel tones, we observe each member of the family helping with picnic preparations.
(click on all spreads to enlarge)
In homage to the full harvest moon (symbol of wholeness and harmony), they place mooncakes and other round foods (pomelos, grapes, smiling steamed cakes, Asian pears) on the honor table. There's also a rabbit statue, since a white rabbit supposedly lives on the moon. After warm tea is poured in round cups, they all sit down and feast on those "soft, sweet mooncakes." Yum! Then, they thank the moon and send it their secret wishes. Carrying glowing paper lanterns, they join all the other picnickers on the lush green hillside, happy just to be together.
I love how the story begins on the title page, as the family drives up in their little red car. As you turn the pages, the moon gets closer and larger, and the sky gradually turns a darker shade of blue. Of course, the sky is decorated with Grace's signature swirls, taking on added meaning as they echo the shape of the moon. And I love the adorable endpapers and varying perspectives, especially the big facial close-ups when Mei-Mei plays with a pomelo. An Author's Note providing more details about the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival nicely rounds out this luminous and delicious offering, guaranteed to make everyone want to try a mooncake if they haven't already, and have a nighttime picnic of their own.
Now, ple
By:
Aline Pereira,
on 8/31/2010
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I have been intrigued by the Red Threads in Chinese folklore that link people invisibly and irrevocably, ever since first reading about them in Grace Lin’s beautiful picture book The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale. They then reappear in her wonderful Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Jama at Alphabet Soup quotes Grace as saying: “To me, those red threads, those connections are the stories we share.”…
So I couldn’t resist picking up Ed Young’s Red Thread (Philomel Books, 1993) when I came across it recently: and it’s a wonderful story, which grows in meaning the more you read it. Wei Gu is a young man who, having been orphaned as a boy, is keen to find a wife and be part of a family. Hearing that a matchmaker is going to be in the town of Quinge, he travels there and makes sure he is at the temple good and early – in fact, he is so early that it is still dark (and here, Young’s illustrations are particularly stunning). He meets an old man, a spirit who can tell him that the red thread connecting him to his future wife leads to a three-year-old girl, and that they will marry in fourteen years time. Not only that, but they can go together to see her right there and then. However, Wei Gu is disgusted that she is apparently the daughter of vegetable sellers; and he also finds her ugly. Horrifically, he orders his servant to murder the child – but the red thread cannot be broken so easily and when Wei Gu marries fourteen years later, he discovers that the flower seed his beautiful wife always wears between her eyebrows carries a not unfamiliar story with it…
The narrative is simple but still manages to convey psychological depth; and the complexities inherent in the story mean that the book will grow with young readers. The act of violence is shocking – but as is so often the case in fairy-tales (and I am particularly struck by parallels with the western Snow White here), young readers/listeners will probably be less affected by it than the grown-ups reading it to them. The message that you can’t outrun your destiny is clear – but all the same, Wei Gu is lucky after his wicked act to end up with a loving wife who still loves him, even when the truth comes out.
A red thread runs throughout the book, straight across the pages, separating the text from the main focus of the illustrations, which completely fill each double-page spread. There are grandiose architectural spaces, busy market scenes and energetic close-ups, all depicted in a beautiful pallette of blues and greens, with orange as a striking outline color. In fact, as far as Young’s illustrations go, this for me is right up there as one of my favorites.
Now, there’s a question: which books by Ed Young are your and your children’s favorites? I am being very kind putting it in the plural, because I would find it very hard to narrow it down to just one myself!
Children's Books at ALA: A PW Photo-Essay (Publishers Weekly, July 2010)
NOTE: The photo-essay includes pictures of my fellow Blue Rose Girls Grace Lin and Alvina Ling.
Story behind the Story: Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan’s Ballet for Martha
The Art of Making Art
by Ilene Cooper (Booklist, July 2010).
Books and Authors: Talking with Cathryn and John Sill by Terrell A. Young and Barbara A. Ward (Book Links, June 2010)
The husband-and-wife creators of painterly picture books about wildlife and nature discuss their collaborative process.
The Summer Reading Network: To keep kids reading during the summer, librarians connect online to share resources (School Library Journal, July 2010)
RIF Reading Planet
Summer Reading Fun (RIF Reading Planet)
Pile them high; it's summer time by Sheila Wayman (Irish Times, 7/13/2010)
Excerpt:
School may be over for the summer, but that’s no reason for the reading to stop.
WITH NO school or homework to interrupt them, summer is invariably a time of great discovery for avid young book readers.
It is a chance to try different kinds of books or wallow in a whole series from a favourite author. Some holidays will forever be associated with who or what you found between those pages.
The only downside is likely to be a nagging parent: “What are you doing indoors on a lovely day like this? Put that book down and go out.”
But, according to the director of Children’s Books Ireland, Mags Walsh, “If they are happy reading, let them read. Don’t put any walls or barriers around it.”
Q & A with Grace Lin by Julie Yates Walton (Publishers Weekly, July 2010)
Over the years, author-illustrator Grace Lin has mined her own childhood for funny, upbeat stories that shed light on the unique experience of growing up Asian-American. The past year has been a good one for Lin, with her novel, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, winning a 2010 Newbery Honor and earning a selection on Al Roker's Book Club for Kids. Known for her novels and her vibrantly illustrated picture books, Lin is now reaching out to the audience in between. Her first early reader, Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same, features twin Asian-American girls, and is due out this month from Little, Brown.
NOTE: Grace has garnered another award for her fantasy novel Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Read about it here.
Let's celebrate the publication of Grace Lin's fabulous first early reader--
Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same.
(It has already received four starred reviews!)
You'll find links to the book trailer, to an activity guide, and details on how to get yourself a personalized, limited edition bookplate for your Ling & Ting book.
Attention Grace Lin fans!
She's officially celebrating the release of her new early reader, Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same (Little, Brown, 2010), with limited edition bookplates!
Aren't they adorable?
You must act quickly, since this special offer is valid only for today, July 6th. Click through to gracenotes for all the details!
♥ Read all about Ling & Ting at Grace's website.
♥ Click here for my Soup of the Day post on Ling & Ting.
Happy Week!
photo credit: Alexandre Ferron.
Polka dot polka dot. Hip hip hooray!!
Guess who's got a brand new book officially out today?
Two clues: - She's one of my all-time favorite children's author/illustrators.
- She likes to bake cupcakes.
Yes, Newbery Honor winner Grace Lin has done it again! Her new early reader, Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same! (Little, Brown, 2010), packs a double wallop because it's all about twins. If it's possible to love a book twice as much as I should, I'm guilty times two.
How could I possibly resist these adorable imps? Everyone tells Ling and Ting they are exactly the same, but in six interconnected vignettes, they show us just how different they are -- in personality and abilities.
In the first story, the girls get a haircut. Ling sits still and gets a nice clip, but Ting's a bit of a wriggle worm, sneezing when hair falls on her nose. "Oh no!" She ends up sporting a cutting edge (giggle) set of bangs for the rest of the book. An ingenious way to set the stage, making us want to read more of their amusing antics.
Now, as much as I love Ling's magic card trick and Ting's trip to the library, I must point out that there are two whole stories about
food -- one, preparing it, the second, eating it. And what did they eat? DUMPLINGS!
*kill me, kill me now, i'm so happy*
How cute are these two in their chef hats, rolling out dough, mixing the filling, and shaping the dumplings into half moons -- nice and smooth for Ling's, fat and lumpy for Ting's (aptly named dump-Tings). Each story is simply told and contains just the right measure of fun, verve, and believability.
The final story, "Mixed Up," features the girls in their red polka dot dresses, picnicking with chocolate cupcakes! *swoon* They're reading Grace Lin books, natch, and Ting makes up a funny story using (and cleverly mixing) elements from the previous five
stories -- the perfect way to stir up a warm serving of friendship and togetherness.
Grace says this book inspired her dotted dresses!
Easy readers are notoriously difficult to write, and with Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same!, Grace has proved her mettle yet again. She's one of those rare authors who can successfully write across genres -- picture books, chapter books, novels, and now, early readers. The everyday scenarios will engage and amuse the targeted ag
Grace Lin is blogging about her experiences at ALA this year.
Whether she is describing a lovely vacation trip or her Newbery dinner dress hunt, her accounts make you feel like you are there. Gracenotes readers feel like they are a close friends who are privileged to share these moments with her.
Grace admits there were moments she had to try very hard not to cry at the luncheon Little, Brown gave in her honor. Read her eloquent words about Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.
If you do not tear up, there is no hope for you. I am awash.
So so so so so happy for Grace.
By:
Betsy Bird,
on 6/1/2010
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I’m still wrestling with this new blog format. I worry that a lot of you are checking the old links or the old RSS feeds and are simply under the impression that I’m not updating anymore. Aside from Facebook, Twitter, and various Group updates (social networking has never been so useful) I’m not sure how to let folks know about my new location. I sort of feel like I’m whistling into the wind. But we’ll figure it all out. No migration goes perfectly the first few weeks, right? The kinks with out kinkify themselves. In the meantime, have a bit o’ Fusenews.
- I was rather taken with this recent profile of children’s author and adult satirical cartoonist (amongst other things) Jules Feiffer at CNN. It has never really occurred to me, but it makes sense that he would have influenced Doonesbury in some way. Never really thought it through, though. The comments about his thoughts on Charles Schulz are also fascinating. Good reading!
- Some days, you just feel like screaming. Other days, you scream and it ends up in blog posts called Why Is Fuse #8 Screaming? I’ll explain more about the reason for the less than impressive shriek (there are reasons I never became an actress) in an upcoming Lerner Librarian Preview, but for now I thought the blog post’s title funny enough to link to.
- Oh man. I almost made this a Daily Image before I figured it wouldn’t be fair to Leila. Have you seen some of the awesome library posters from the late ’60s/early ’70s she’s been putting up? Honest-to-Murgatroyd, they are amazing. You can see most of them here, and an additional bit of magnificence here.
By:
Aline Pereira,
on 5/18/2010
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Saturday was the deadline for nominations for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) 2011. Having barely caught our breath from this year’s announcement of Kitty Crowther as the ALMA winner for 2010, we found ourselves working right up to the mark to get our nominations submitted in time, but in they are and it’s very exciting to be able to share them with you all now, along with our 500-character nomination statements:
Author and illustrator, Allen Say, whom we also nominated last year (and if you haven’t already, do read our interview with Allen and enjoy our Gallery of his work):
Often drawing on his own background, Allen Say captivates his readers through beautifully honed prose and luminous watercolors. He embraces a striving for happiness with a blend of gentle humor and realism, and touches on many aspects of being human, such as race, migration, disability and age. Even young children can empathize with and find echoes in many of his stories. Say opens young hearts and minds both to new cultures and to their own potential; and his portrayal of the human condition provides a forum for children to recognize their own value and to dream.
Author and illustrator, Grace Lin (and don’t miss our interview with Grace, either, or her two Gallery features here and here; and do visit her blog):
Grace Lin is passionate about writing for children. Her child-centred creativity is filled with energy and imbued with core values such as family, friendship, loyalty and love. Her readers respond to the warmth of her stories, whether founded on reality or imagination, and to the charm of her illustrations, which demonstrate a commitment to unobtrusive detail. Often drawing on her Asian American heritage, and with a gift for interweaving old and contemporary elements in her work, Grace is not afraid to step away from tradition to create new, meaningful narrative for today’s children.
And Katha, a “profit-for-all”organisation based in India:
Katha is an Indian non-profit organization working in the areas of literacy and education. Since 1988, it has been successfully promoting the literacy to literature continuum in urban disadvantaged communities across India. Its multi-faceted school and community-based outreach approach, including reading campaigns, the supporting of pavement schools in slum clusters and the translation and publishing of Indian literature, among other initiatives, are playing an essential role in helping create a more literate, less divisive
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“Peace the World Together with Children’s Books” is the theme of the International Board on Books for Young People regional conference hosted by California State University, Fresno this fall.
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Thanks, Betsy!
Ooo! Many of these look toothsome! (By the way, Happy Birthday!!!)
The Bunheads cover makes me swoon!
Thank you again for tormenting us with info about books we can’t get our hands on for months!
Although it’s lovely that we have a chance to receive a galley from Little Brown. “FuseNumberEight is Great” is certainly true!
Also, laughed out loud when you dropped “Boo-urns” — I use that all the time!
Oh yeah. “Boo-urns” is a standard in my vocabulary now. I don’t go anywhere without it.
It’s always a good day when I see a new Little Brown & Co preview post, because I know that, through the generosity of Ms. Stapleton, I may receive several ARCs of upcoming books. Thanks, Betsy, for these previews, and thanks to Victoria for the ARCs.
I really appreciate the update all the previews of upcoming book releases, it’s a nice chance to review and to know which books to really look forward too.
Thanks Little Brown & Co!