Oh man. Sometimes I just don’t manage to keep up with all the news. Lightning fast round today, folks! Keep up if you can.
- A show of hands. How many of you knew that the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at NYU was hosting, in conjunction with the Institute of African American Affairs, a conference called A is for Anansi: Literature for Children of African Descent? Well, it’s going on October 8th and 9th (both days that I have to work, doggone it) and will feature such luminaries as Andrea Davis Pinkney, K.T. Horning, Zetta Elliott, Arnold Adoff, Michael Patrick Hearn, and there will be a tribute to Virginia Hamilton, Tom Feelings, and the Dillons with the Dillons actually present! Oh, did I mention the price? It’s FREE! You residents now haven’t any excuse at all. Me? Stuck at work, but maybe I can make the keynote and opening reception.
- There was lots of news this week. One of the biggest stories concerned the Chicago parents that staged a sit-in at their local school so that a library could be built. I’ve heard word that there might be a way to send them children’s books (they’d like bilingual ones in particular). If I get more details I will let you know.
- Mike Jung’s Little Bloggy Wog (winner of my personal Best Blog Name of the Year Award two years running) says, I wanna see some Mock Fleischman action! For my part, I was only recently made aware of the Fleischman Award (I’d been under the impression that the Brits had cornered the market on funny book awards with their Roald Dahl prize). SCBWI, here in the States, tends to bestow the Sid Fleischman Funny Book Award. Mike wants to hear your nominations for such a prize. Me too, for that matter. I think Popularity Papers, Milo, and The Strange Case of Origami Yoda are my frontrunners. Dunno if they’re SCBWI members, though.
- Do kids get irony? Monica thinks so as does Michael Rosen (the man behind said Roald Dahl Funny Prize).
- My vow to be short and sweet was apparently all bluster. But I mean it this time! Okay, so I find the stats of how many folks read my book on Goodreads really funny. I was impressed at first. Then I noticed what the numbers on the left-ha
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Thanks for highlighting the protest in Chicago over the lack of a school library. Reading the article, I was stunned to read this fact: “But according to Bond, classroom libraries are common, with more than 160 schools in Chicago without libraries.” There are “over 600″ public schools in Chicago, so perhaps 25% don’t have a school library? As a 25+ year resident of Chicago, this makes me furious. What can the Illinois Library Association and ALA (headquartered in Chicago) do about this crisis?
Wow! It’s like this Fuse News was written just for me!
1) That hand coming out of the ground may be a homage to the cover of John Christopher’s last-people-on-earth book, Empty World.
2) Two of my favorite illustrators are women who went from animation to children’s books: Mary Blair and Alice Provensen.
3) Witches of Oz: I’m interviewing the Cowardly Lion for GeekDad.
4) Gregory K. is right about the NIMH animator! If you want proof, peek at the dedication of Loud Boy #1. The first name is: Mr. Don Bluth!
And thanks for the Mock Sid nomination!!
Thanks for the Sid Fleischman Award link! I didn’t know this one, though I should have.
Oooo! I loved the interview — 35 minutes of highly entertaining behind-the-scenes info and backstory (but not much of a glimpse of your apartment! lol).
Ehh, your head’s not so big. Thanks for the shout-out, and for the head-up about the Dahl award, I didn’t know about that one! And if I hadn’t picked 8TH GRADE SUPERZERO as my Mock Sid winner, I would definitely go with ORIGAMI YODA.