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By:
Betsy Bird,
on 4/23/2013
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Well sir, it’s a heckuva week. Book stuff is happening out the wazoo, but for a moment I’d like to concentrate on what else is going on in the wider children’s literary world. What say we Fusenews it up a bit, eh?
Of course there’s no way to begin today without a hat tip to the late, great E.L. Konigsburg. The only person, I believe, to win both a Newbery Award and a Newbery Honor in their debut year. Top THAT one, folks! The New York Times pays tribute to one of our luminaries. We had managed to do pretty well in 2013 without losing one of our lights. Couldn’t last forever. Godspeed, Elaine.
- Speaking of deaths, I missed mentioning my sadness upon hearing of Roger Ebert’s passing. Jezebel put out a rather nice compilation of Roger Ebert’s Twenty Best Reviews. I wonder if folks ever do that for children’s book critics. Hm. In any case, amongst the reviews was this one for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It’s rather brilliant. See for yourself.
12. On the original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory:
“Kids are not stupid. They are among the sharpest, cleverest, most eagle-eyed creatures on God’s Earth, and very little escapes their notice. You may not have observed that your neighbor is still using his snow tires in mid-July, but every four-year-old on the block has, and kids pay the same attention to detail when they go to the movies. They don’t miss a thing, and they have an instinctive contempt for shoddy and shabby work. I make this observation because nine out of ten children’s movies are stupid, witless, and display contempt for their audiences, and that’s why kids hate them….All of this is preface to a simple statement: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is probably the best film of its sort since The Wizard of Oz. It is everything that family movies usually claim to be, but aren’t: Delightful, funny, scary, exciting, and, most of all, a genuine work of imagination. Willy Wonka is such a surely and wonderfully spun fantasy that it works on all kinds of minds, and it is fascinating because, like all classic fantasy, it is fascinated with itself.” [
January 1971]
- New Blog Alert: Now I would like to brag about my system’s children’s librarians. They are uniquely talented individuals. Smart as all get out. One that I’ve always been particularly impressed with is Stephanie Whelan, a woman I trust more than anyone else when it comes to finding the best in children’s (not YA) science fiction and fantasy fare. Now Stephanie has conjured up one doozy of a blog on that very topic. It’s called Views From the Tesseract (nice, right?) and it looks at a lot of science fiction and fantasy specifically with side views of topics in the field. You’ll find posts with subjects like A Matter of Taste: Preferring One Genre Over Another, Five Fantasy Pet Peeves, and the fascinating delve into the world of Tom Swift in The Swift Proposal. Stephanie also has access to galleys so be sure to check out her early reviews for books like William Alexander’s Ghoulish Song and Sidekicked by John David Anderson (which I’m reading right now on her recommendation).
- Turns out that the Mental Floss piece 11 Book Sequels You Probably Didn’t Know Existed spends an inordinate amount of time looking at children’s books. Check it out for mentions of the 101 Dalmatians sequel (missed that one), the E.T. sequel The Book of the Green Planet (which, if memory serves, was illustrated long ago by David Wiesner and is the only book he no longer owns the art of), and more.
- Nice blogger mentions this week. Thanks to Sara O’Leary for mentioning my new website and to Jen Robinson’s for the nice review of Giant Dance Party. I appreciate it, guys! Plus Jen is the first review I’ve read that draws a connection between my book and the Hunger Games series. Few can say so much.
Speaking of reviews, I owe Travis Jonker a debt of gratitude for reviewing Marguerite Abouet’s Akissi. I read that book in the original French a year or two ago and was completely uncertain if it would ever see the light of day here in the States due to a final story that, quite frankly, DEFIES anything I’ve seen in children’s literature before. The kind of thing that makes Captain Underpants look tame. You have been warned. Great book, by the way. Let’s not lose sight of that.
- Not too long ago I spoke to a group of 6th graders at Bank Street College’s school about contemporary book jackets and how they’re marketed to kids. Only a portion of my talk was dedicated to race or gender. Fortunately, the kids have been thinking long and hard about it. Allie Bruce has posted twice about a covers project the kids have participated in. Be sure to check out race and then gender when you have a chance. Food for thought.
- What do Pinkalicious, A Ball for Daisy, and Square Cat all have in common? Read ‘em to your kids and you’ll be teaching them that consumerism is king. So sayeth a 196-page thesis called “Cultivating Little Consumers: How Picture Books Influence Materialism in Children”, as reported by The Guardian. And they might have gotten away with the premise to if they just hadn’t brought up I Want My Hat Back. Dude. Back away from the Klassen. Thanks to Zoe Toft (Playing By the Book) for the link.
- Required Reading of the Day: There are few authorial blogs out there even half as interesting as Nathan Hale’s. And when the guy gets a fact wrong in one of his books, he’ll do anything to set it right. Even if it means going to Kansas. Here’s how he put it:
We made a HUGE historical error, and we are going to fix it! We are going to learn why Kansas wasn’t a Confederate state–why it was a “Free State,” and how it happened. We are also going to visit Kansas on an official apology and correction trip. When we are finished, all Hazardous Tales readers will know how to correct their own copy of Big Bad Ironclad! Stay tuned!
You can see the official ceremony here, but be sure to read all the blog posts he drew to explain precisely why Kansas was a free state anyway. You can see Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, and Part Six.
It’s not the holiday gift giving season, but if you know a librarian in need of a unique gift, I have your number.
Awesomesauce. Thanks to Marchek for the link.
By:
Betsy Bird,
on 4/1/2013
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Oh me, oh my, where does the time go? Here we are, it’s Monday yet again, and I’m running about like a chicken with my head cut off. This Friday I head off to Barcelona for a full week (weep for me), then back I come to promote my picture book (Giant Dance Party, or haven’t I mentioned it before?), but not before I’ve finished the promotional videos and my very first website. *pant pant pant*
With that in mind, let’s get through these mighty quick. Not that they don’t all deserve time and attention. And tender loving care. Mwah! Big kisses all around! And yes, I did consider doing an April Fool’s post today but thought better of it. If you’d like to see some of the greatest April Fool’s posts of the children’s literary world, however, please be so good as to head over to Collecting Children’s Books and read the ones that Peter Sieruta came up with. There was 2012′s post (“Selznick syndrome” is just shy of brilliant), 2011′s Charlie Sheen Lands Children’s Book Deal (still feels real), 2009′s Graveyard Book to Be Stripped of Newbery, and his 2008 Ramona piece de resistance. This is the first year he won’t have one up. Miss you, Peter.
- So I had a crazy idea for a Children’s Literary Salon panel at NYPL. Heck, I didn’t even know if anyone would show up, but I invited four different children’s librarians from four very different alternative children’s libraries. Don’t know what an alternative children’s library is? Then read this SLJ write-up NYPL Panelists Explore Alternatives to Traditional Librarianship. The happy ending is that lots of people attended and the conversation was scintillating. And timely. A nice combination.
- Did your stomach lurch a little when you found out that Amazon bought Goodreads? Well, how much should you care? Dan Blank has some answers. In Short: Don’t you worry ’bout nothing (he says it nicer than that).
- A contact recently mentioned that they would like to give a little attention to the children’s book art auction at Book Expo, a yearly event that actually isn’t particularly well known. Said they (take note!):
The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression is an organization that fights book censorship. We mostly work with booksellers, however, in Our Kids Right To Read Project, we advocate for kids when people try to ban books in libraries or classrooms. Our position is that parents have the right to decide what their own children read but they do not have the right to decide for others. Proceeds from the auction will go to our programming. Our website is www.abffe.org and for the auction we have set up a separate page where people can buy tickets and artists can donate art. It is: http://abffesilentauction.wordpress.com/.
- More me stuff. Over at Tor.com I answer the great ponderable facing the world of children’s literature today: Why are dinosaurs so darn popular? The answer may surprise you. Okay . . . that’s a lie. You know why. But at the very least I’m able to draw some conclusions you may not have necessarily come up with before. It all comes down to Freud, baby.
- I’ve a friend who passes along Common Core oddities she picks up on in the news. This week it was a tough call. Which was better? The article that said, “Alabama cannot retain its education sovereignty under Common Core” or Glenn Beck’s even nuttier-than-usual screed against CCS saying that they’ll result in 1984-type changes to the educational system? Honestly, do we even have to choose?
On the flipside, how cool is this? The Eric Carle Museum has a simply lovely exhibit up right now called Latino Folk Tales: Cuentos Populares-Art by Latino Artists. As if you needed an excuse to visit. But just in case you did . . .
I haven’t gotten much from Cynopsis Kids lately for the old blog, but there was this little tidbit I almost missed the other day: “Montreal-based Sardine Productions will develop a children’s television show based on The Mammoth Academy, a book series by British author and illustrator Neal Layton, with TVOKids, a division of Ontario’s public educational media organization TVO.”
Meanwhile, from PW Children’s Bookshelf, this little nugget of very cool news: “Anne Hoppe at Clarion Books has acquired North American rights to a nonfiction picture book by Katherine Applegate about Ivan the gorilla, the subject of her Newbery Medal-winning The One and Only Ivan. Elena Mechlin at Pippin Properties represented Applegate. In a separate deal, Mechlin sold North American rights to two middle-grade novels by Applegate, to Jean Feiwel and Liz Szabla at Feiwel and Friends.” Well that’s 12 kinds of brilliant. And how clever of Hoppe to get Applegate for Clarion. She’ll do well there. Nonfiction always does.
I don’t know about you but I was thrilled to see The New York Times write a piece on Rachel Renee Russell. When we talk about bestselling children’s books it seems odd to me that no one ever points out that the top series in children’s literature (rather than YA) right now that is written by a woman is also written by an African-American woman. Now I just want to know who the famous author was that discouraged her from writing when she was in college!
By:
Betsy Bird,
on 2/3/2013
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It is WAY too late in the day for me to be only starting a Fusenews post now. All right, guys. Looks like we’re gonna have to do today double quick time. Sorry, but I’ve a ticking time bomb in the other room (sometimes also known as “my daughter”) and I gotsta gets to bed before midnight. Here we go!
- February means only one thing. The Brown Bookshelf has resumed their 28 Days Later campaign. So stop complaining about the fact that black writers and illustrators aren’t better acknowledged and actually read all about them! This is your required reading of the month. And no, I’m not joking.
- Some sad Obit news. Diane Wolkstein, storyteller and picture book/folktale author passed away after heart surgery in Taiwan.
- Happier news. My mom, the published poet, gets interviewed by Foreword Magazine. Note the copious Little Women references.
- The happiest news of all. This will, if you are anything like me, make your day. Delightful doesn’t even begin to describe it. Thanks to Robin Springberg Parry for the link.
- Were you aware that there was an offensive Flat Stanley book out there? Nor I. And yet . . .
- Hat tip to the ShelfTalker folks for actually putting together the top starred books of 2012. Mind you, only YA titles can get seven stars because (I think) they include VOYA. Ah well.
- My new favorite thing? Jon Klassen fan art. Like this one from Nancy Vo. Cute.
- Meet Eerdmans, my new best friend. Look what they put on their books for the last ALA Midwinter.
Thanks to Travis Jonker for the heads up!
- Hey! Public school librarians and public library librarians! Want money? The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation is giving away grants. Free money! Take it, people, take it!
- The Battle of the (Kids’) Book Contenders are announced and nigh. I’m a little bit late with that info. Ah well.
- One of my children’s librarians has been getting twenty different kinds of attention because she circulated an American Girl doll. Now try and picture how many donations she now has to deal with. Yup.
- An interesting use of the term “whittle”. As in, “I think I’m going to whittle off all the toes on my feet”. Except more drastic, less cosmetic.
- Travis Jonker and the very fun idea to create a Children’s Literature casting call. I’d counter that Josh Radnor is more Jarrett Krosoczka (though I may be just a bit confused since Jarrett was actually in the background of an episode of How I Met Your Mother in the past), Lisa Loeb is more Erin E. Stead, Neal Patrick Harris as either Mac Barnett or Adam Gidwitz, Stanley Tucci as Arthur A. Levine, and maybe Jeffrey Wright as Kadir Nelson, except that Kadir is better looking. Hm. This will bear additional thought.
Fair play to The College of Creative Design. I do like this new ad campaign of theirs.
Thanks to The Infomancer for the link.
By:
Betsy Bird,
on 2/11/2013
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Before we begin I would like to have a few words with the publishers on behalf of catalogers nationwide.
Ahem.
Hi, guys. How’s it going? Heckuva weird weather we’ve had lately, right? Yeah . . . so . . . here’s the thing. You know how you’ve been rereleasing a couple classic children’s books recently like Slake’s Limbo and all the Ramona Quimby books? That is just awesome of you. Seriously, new covers were desperately needed. But, you’re kind of doing this weird thing that’s messing everything up. See, for some reason you’re changing the covers but you’re keeping the old ISBNs. And we wouldn’t really mind if it was just the jackets you were changing, but in the case of the Ramona books you have new interior illustrations. This is a HUGE disservice, not only to libraries, but to your new illustrator, Ms. Jacqueline Rogers. If you keep the same ISBN then in records across the country previous illustrators will be listed in the system. Not Ms. Rogers. So, I know we’re supposedly going to go through some crazy crisis where we run out of all the ISBNs, but do a gal a favor and change the ISBNs on rereleases if you have new interior art (or, also in the case of Ramona, new pagination). It just makes good clean sense.
Okay! Moving on.
- If I say that Travis Jonker fellow at 100 Scope Notes is a nice guy I’m not exactly telling you anything you don’t already know. But how nice is he? Well, in his awesome 10 to Note: Spring Preview 2013 do you know what book he led with? MINE!! I’m thrilled and flabbergasted all at once. Ye gods! I hit the big time, folks! Now I just need to get my hands on that cool looking Lauren Myracle early chapter book and that new Charise Mericle Harper graphic novel. Woot!
- You know you’re cool when the National Coalition Against Censorship collects cool birthday wishes for you. You’re even cooler if those birthday wishes come from folks like Jon Scieszka, Lois Lowry, and the aforementioned Lauren Myracle. And if you happen to be Judy Blume? Icing on the cake, baby.
- On the one hand, it’s awfully interesting to hear folks speculating on what really made Mary Ingalls blind. On the other hand . . . . NBC News linked to me, linked to me, linked to me me me!
- In case you happened to missed it, I hosted a helluva Literary Salon the other day. Yup. Jeanne Birdsall, Adam Gidwitz, N.D. Wilson, and Rebecca Stead all gave up their precious time to stop by old NYPL for a Children’s Literary Salon where they debated why pop culture at large tries to label middle grade fiction as YA. The whole conversation was, for the very first time, recorded for posterity. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the audio feed is lousy. Not sure what I did but it’s a bit mucked up. Clear enough that you could make a transcript from it (casts meaningful looks into the nethersphere) but not so clear that you could actually enjoy listening to it. A little later in the podcast some folks stop speaking into mics. That actually helps. Rear in Gear reports on how it went from the frontlines. By the way, the title “Why YA” is a good one. I might shorten it to Y.YA, then proclaim that to be the newest bestest trend without explanation. Cause that’s how I roll.
- Speaking of my Children’s Literary Salons, I’ve one in early March on the topic of Diversity and the State of the Children’s Book that will prove to be most fascinating (and better recorded, I hope). Much along the same lines is a truly fascinating post over at Ms. Yingling Reads. The post concerns those book jackets that do not reflect the ethnicity of the characters within, but brings up a very interesting p.o.v. from that of the smaller publisher reliant on stock images. This post is your required reading of the day. Many many thanks to Carl in Charlotte for the heads up.
- The post on 10 Fictional Libraries I’d Love to Visit is a lot of fun, but I would add the library featured in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman books most certainly. That would be the library that contains every book conceived of but never published by the world’s greatest writers. The in-jokes alone are worth it. Who doesn’t love Psmith and Jeeves?
Thanks to AL Direct for the link.
- Nerd that I am, I cannot help but be thrilled that the Bologna Book Fair has just established a new prize for the Best Children’s Publisher of the Year. What a fantastic idea, and why has no one else come up with it before? Now THAT is something I can get behind. Boy, yeah.
- Flavorwire’s Conspiracy Theories About Classic Literary Characters doesn’t tell you a lot you haven’t already heard about your classic books (Nick Carraway = gay, Holden Caulfield = gay, yadda yadda yadda) but there are some fun exceptions on the children’s literature side. I think I’ve heard the Winnie-the-Pooh theory before, and I certainly heard the Harry Potter one (Rowling herself even addressed it) but the Wizard of Oz one is actually entirely a new one on me. Huh! Thanks to Annie Cardi for the link.
- I like it when authors reveal the covers of their upcoming books. I especially like it when those authors are folks I’ve heard of before and have enjoyed thoroughly. I met Matthew Kirby (The Clockwork Three, Icefall) at a SCBWI event recently and now I find out that he has revealed his latest title The Lost Kingdom. Yep. I’ll be reading that one.
- The other day I spoke on a panel for some young publishers about the library’s role in the pursuit of Common Core. I was on that panel with Scottie Bowditch of Penguin and John Mason of Scholastic. After the fact I learned that Scholastic has been working to get their hands on all this Common Core schtuf by creating the site Common Sense for the Common Core. It was created to help parents through this tricky time, but no doubt we librarians would benefit a tad as well. FYI!
- You may have heard that tornadoes recently ripped through Mississippi on Sunday causing untold devastation in their wake. They hit in a number of places, including Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Why do I mention this? Well, are you aware what resides in Hattiesburg? That would be the University of Southern Mississippi. And what is the University of Southern Mississippi home to? If you answered that it was the de Grummond Collection “one of North America’s leading research centers in the field of children’s literature” you would also be correct. So did the collection survive the storms? We are happy to report that they did. And on the de Grummond’s Twitter feed they assured everyone that they were safe and sound. Whew!
- Look me in the eye. Right here! Right in my beady little eye and tell me that this is not the smartest use of The Pigeon you’ve seen in a long long time. The crazy thing? I thought they melded together a bunch of different Pigeon books. Not true! Instead, all these panels come from The Pigeon Wants a Puppy.
- Remember when NPR started that program they called NPR’s Backseat Book Club? They said they would pick a new book for kids every month and discuss them. Well, the whole “every month” part of that plan has been spotty and the selections have been even spottier. Seems to me NPR isn’t taking full advantage of the field. I mean, Black Beauty and Wimpy Kid? Is that the best you can do? Fortunately it looks like they’ll crank things up a notch when they discuss Gary Schmidt’s Okay for Now. In fact, kids are encouraged to submit some questions to the author ahead of time. Got yourself some kids? Then go to it!
- Speaking of kids submitting stuff, you may have heard that YA author Ned Vizzini is getting into the middle grade fiction arena. He isn’t doing it alone, though. Director Chris Columbus is penning House of Secrets with him. Aside from the fact that the book has an honest-to-god blurb from J.K. Rowling on it (no blurb whore she) kids can get a copy by tweeting Ned their “secrets”. You can see some examples here. Love the kid who used to eat chocolate dog biscuits. That one I believe.
- Would you like $1000? Sure. We all would. But to be a bit more specific, would you like $1000 for your program that uses, “children’s literature as a way to promote international understanding”? Well then are you in luck! USBBY would sure like to give you some cash. Say they, “Schools, libraries, scout troops, clubs and bookstores are all eligible for this award. Does your school or library program or do you know of another organization that “promotes reading as a way to expand a child’s world”? To learn more about the award, view information about past winners and award criteria and access the downloadable application form, please link to: http://www.usbby.org/list_b2u.html“
- Done and done.I wasn’t particularly aggrieved by the Anne of Green Gables brou-de-haha going on about that random cover someone created. In fact, a commenter at ShelfTalker with my name (not me, alas) basically summarized my thoughts on the matter brilliantly when she said, “Folks, you are getting all upset because you MISUNDERSTAND the situation. This is NOT a ‘PUBLISHER’ with a marketing dept. This is a public domain book that some RANDOM PERSON is selling. You could do the same thing. PUBLIC DOMAIN – it means anyone can do anything with it. Here is a list of public domain books: http://www.feedbooks.com/publicdomain. If you want, you yourself could publish, say, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo with a photo on the cover of Governor Chris Christie eating a donut. (If you had the rights to the donut picture of course.)” Which was all well and good . . . but I truly have to tip my hat to Donytop5 who simply replied, “Here Betsy, I found it! http://wolverinesss.tumblr.com/image/42556986881“ That made my day, right there.
- Apparently there’s a competitor to Goodreads out there and it’s calling itself Bookish. It’s not really the same thing as Goodreads, mind you, since it’s publisher driven through and through. Says Media Decoder, “Instead of relying essentially on the taste of other customers with similar preferences, as most recommendation engines do, Bookish’s tool takes into account critical reviews and awards.” Curious, I decided to see what they had in the realm of children’s literature. It’s interesting. Not a ton of content yet, but their recommendations aren’t shabby. Worth eyeing warily for a while.
Someday I will be very rich and I will create a children’s library of my very own. When I do, I will allow one or two walls to be like this:
Fortunately if that looks cool to you, you don’t have to wait. Just head on over to the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art and have your fun. Thanks to Swiss Miss for the link!
By:
Betsy Bird,
on 3/4/2013
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Tra la! It’s May! The lusty month of May! The time that . . . . what?
It’s March?
Seriously? Forget it then. I’m going back in my hidey-hole. Call me when it’s May. But before I go, here’s a swath of delicious Fusenews. Good for what ails ye.
First off, a gem. I got the following email from buddy and Top 100 Polls guru Eric Carpenter: “So this weekend while working on a project on Weston Woods for one of my school library media courses (yes, I’m getting a library degree!!!) I came across Gene Deitch’s blog/website. http://genedeitchcredits.com. Not sure if you’d seen this but if not take a look, just understand it might be a long, long look.”
Eric couldn’t have been more right. Gene’s a fascinating fellow and he’s quick to recount his Weston Woods days working with Maurice Sendak, with Morton Schindel, with Jules Feiffer, or with E.B. White! And that’s not even counting all the good stuff you’ll find if you go here. Eric, buddy, I owe you yet again.
- So I told myself that I wouldn’t read any reviews of my own book Giant Dance Party (due out 4/23). I figured that was a pretty safe promise to keep. I mean, I review books myself. Why invite trouble by reading other folks? And that noble intention lasted me all of *checks watch* 45 seconds before I caved. Not much is out yet, but I can say with certainty that 8-year-old Jacob at City Book Review liked the book. He is a man of fine and discriminating taste. Well played, young Jacob.
- In other Me Stuff, this past Saturday I hosted a Children’s Literary Salon in the main branch of NYPL. The topic was Diversity and the State of the Children’s Book and featured panelists Zetta Elliott, Connie Hsu, and Sofia Quintero. It was also, to put it precisely, a hit. We’ll have the audio up soon, I hope, but in the meantime Lucine Kasbarian has reported over at We Love Children’s Books. Thanks, Lucine!
- One of the many advantages of joining The Niblings (four numerical children’s literary blogs joined in bringing you only the best in children’s literary news and entertainment) is that I now have a way of actually keeping up with my fellow bloggers. Trust me when I say that I’m ashamed of how rarely I read the best folks out there. But now, thanks to the handy dandy Facebok page, I got to see the 100 Scope Notes Newbery Medal Infographic. I dare say I’m a better person for it too.
- To be frank, I probably would have also have missed the recent 2013 Ezra Jack Keats Award winners too! Back in the day these awards were given in New York Public Library. Now they’ve moved to south where the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at The University of Southern Mississippi makes the announcements. And the winners?
The 2013 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award Winner Is:
Julie Fogliano for And Then It’s Spring
And Then It’s Spring is illustrated by Erin E. Stead.
The 2013 Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award Winner Is:
Hyewon Yum for Mom, It’s My First Day of Kindergarten!
VERY excellent choices.
- And the Acme Powder Company strikes again. This may be your favorite link of the day, I’ll wager. Recently Robin Rosenthal of Pen & Oink took a trip to what may well be the world’s most adorable shared studio of children’s book illustrators. Good looking too, if we’re going to be honest about it. Hear them in their own words and get a glimpse into what an artist’s studio space ACTUALLY looks like. Hint: Lots o’ creepy Victorian photographs. Once you’ve finished with that you can then head on over to Sergio Ruzzier’s new and updated website.
- Aw, what the heck. You know I don’t usually like to do anything with YA stuff, but a friend of mine asked me to mention this and I don’t see the harm. There’s a rather sweet little Delirium Fandom offer going on right now. Prove you’ve pre-ordered Lauren Oliver’s Requiem and you can get a nifty little signed bookplate. Aww.
- Did you know that there was a conference out there dedicated SOLELY to children’s nonfiction? Learn something new every day, eh? Here’s the deets:
It’s a time of re-invention, re-education, and revolution in children’s publishing. There are important developments that teachers, students, writers, and illustrators want to know about. A faculty of publishers, authors, illustrators, digital designers, and educators will inform and inspire at the 21st Century Children’s Nonfiction Conference at the State University of New York at New Paltz on June 14-16.
Topics will range from “Nonfiction and the Common Core Standards” to “Creating E-books and Apps.” The weekend will offer intensives, workshops, one-to one consultations and critiques, an illustrators’ showcase, book fair, meals, and a reception at SUNY’s beautiful Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art. Full details are at www.childrensNFconference.com.
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And last but not least, utterly ridiculous bookshelf wallpaper!
Thanks to BB-Blog for the link.
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Betsy Bird,
on 3/12/2013
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Morning, folks. Bird here. Seems this book I’ve written with fellow bloggers Peter Sieruta of Collecting Children’s Books and Jules Danielson of Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast is in the last stages of completion. Fun With Copyedits is the name of the game this week, which means that my blogging may suffer a tad here and there. Mea culpa. I give you a bright and shiny blog posts to make it up to you. Eat it in good health.
- First off, April’s only here and that can only mean one thing. There’s a call for new spine poetry. Do you have what it takes to stack books in a coherent and literary manner? Well, do you? Punk?
I love Cracked online but honestly sometimes their headlines tip a little too far into the realm of the hyperbole. Consider the following: 5 literary classics that put x-rated movies to shame. It’s actually not inaccurate to say that of numbers one through three, but by the time you get to number five (Where’s Waldo) it’s stretching it a tad. Then again, the naked clown on the pogo stick isn’t exactly normal . . .
- In case you missed it, Marjorie Ingall alerted me to the children’s literature reference name dropped by Bob Balaban on a recent episode of Girls. Sorry I missed this one. I’ve been too busy catching up on episodes of Once Upon a Time which is admittedly corny, but weirdly similar to LOST before the show went haywire. Hence the fix.
- And what will YOU be doing on April 2nd of this year? Celebrating International Children’s Book Day, I certainly hope. Seriously, are you going to let this Ashley Bryan poster go to waste? For shame!
- Speaking of worldwide travels, care to attend an Irish children’s literary conference? Would I kid? Observe:
“We are delighted to announce that the CBI 2013 Conference Rebels and Rulebreakers is now open for booking! We’re really looking forward to a weekend with some of the most exciting names in writing, illustration, publishing and criticism in the fabulous surroundings of Lighthouse cinema on May 18th and 19th. Click here for the booking form or call CBI on 01 8727475 to secure your place. Remember the conference is open to everyone with an interest in children’s books so tell your friends! We’ve started counting down to the conference weekend with blog features on Sarah Ardizzone, Sarah Crossan and Colmán Ó Raghallaigh.”
- Though she was by no means the first children’s librarian in the country, NYPL’s own Anne Carroll Moore was a force to be reckoned with, back in the day. Now there’s a picture book bio of her coming out called Miss Moore Thought Otherwise by Jan Pinborough. A Women’s History Month series celebrates the book and Ms. Pinborough discusses why she wrote it in the first place. Thanks to Lisa Taylor for the link.
As my recent review of the Matilda musical will attest, I’m a sucker for stage adaptations of children’s books. So how completely and utterly delightful does this version of Owl Moon look to you? Picture book adaptations are always difficult, whether it’s to the stage or the screen. Dance is honestly the only way to go sometimes. Consider this post your required reading of the day.
Hey! In all the flutter and kerfuffle surrounding the ALA Youth Media Awards it’s mighty easy to forget about the 2013 Notable Children’s Books list that was announced at the end of February. Nice to see my beloved Zombie Makers getting some love.
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Oh good. Something new to desire. I was running low. It seems that a certain Charlotte Olympia has taken it upon herself to create a fairytale line of shoes.
If you happen to purchase that $985 froggy pump for me, I honestly won’t be embarrassed by the largess of your generosity. Scout’s honor. You know where to reach me. Many many thanks to Marjorie Ingall for the link.
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Betsy Bird,
on 4/25/2012
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Ain’t he just the sweetest thing? Author/illustrator Aaron Zenz recently wrote just the loveliest ode to his four top favorite children’s literary blogs, and then went and created original art for each. In my case he created this little Fuse guy (or possibly Fuse gal) based on the bright yellow Fuse you see at the beginnings of each of my posts (I put it there in lieu of my face because I can only look at myself so often before going stark raving mad). This, I should point out, is not the first time a little Fuse person has been created for this blog. Katherine Tillotson, an artist of outstanding ability (I’m biased but it also happens to be true) created not one but TWO little Fusemen in the past, both for separate birthdays.
I’m a fan. So thank you Aaron and, once again, thank you Katherine. Fusemen of the world unite!
- *sniff sniff* Smell that? That’s the distinctive odor of a brouhaha brewing. Sort of a combination of burnt hair, dead goldfish and patchouli. And you wonder why I don’t cover YA books. Sheesh! One word: drama. Seems that a YA blog called Story Siren plagiarized the work of others for her own blog posts. Folks noticed and suddenly the internet was was heaping helpful of flames, burns, accusations, and other forms of tomfoolery. For a sane and rational recap we turn to our own Liz Burns who gives us the run down in Today’s Blog Blow Up. Ugly stuff.
- And while we’re on the subject of YA (which I just said I don’t cover, and yet here we are), I thought we were done with whitewashing, folks. So what’s up with this? Harlequin Teen, you got some explaining to do.
- In other news, book banning: It’s what’s for dinner. Take a trip with me to The Annville-Cleona School District where a picture book fondly nicknamed by some as Where’s the Penis? is getting some heat. If you’ve ever seen The Dirty Cowboy by Amy Timberlake, illustrated by Adam Rex, then you know that calling it “pornographic” works only if you are unaware of what the word “pornography” actually means. I would like to offer a shout-out to librarian Anita Mentzer who has handled the whole situation with class and dignity. You, madam, are the kind of children’s librarian others should aspire to be. Well done. And thanks to Erica Sevetson for the link.
- We may not yet have an ALA accredited poetry award for a work of children’s literature but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a Poet Laureate or two instead. Rich Michelson, gallery owner and
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Betsy Bird,
on 7/4/2012
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Okay! So I’m a little out of practice when it comes to these news items and looking at some of the stuff I’ve accumulated in the last month, a good swath of it is out of date. Here’s what I have that’s current then.
Not long ago the good people at the Women’s National Book Association called me up and wondered if I’d be willing to participate in a kind of panel discussion with some female children’s author/illustrators . . . from Kazakhstan. Twist! Naturally I said yes indeed. I mean, how often do you come across that kind of an offer? Publishing Perspectives wrote up the meeting here. No pictures of me except a nice glimpse of my left arm. Publishers Weekly also wrote it up here but my favorite recounting is from what must be a translated site at How to Be Published which refers to me as a “New York Public Library girl materials dilettante”. If I were a tattoo kind of gal, I would make that my standard.
- Two news items regarding good leftist cartoonists/children’s authors of the past. The first is this fine cartoon tribute to Syd Hoff in Tablet by Sarah Lazarovic. Thanks to Marjorie Ingall for that link. The second regards one Mr. Crockett Johnson. As you might recall he will be featured in a dual biography with Ruth Krauss by the multi-talented Phil Nel this coming fall. The magnificent title is Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss: How an Unlikely Couple Found Love, Dodged the FBI, and Transformed Children’s Literature. And then there’s the drop dead gorgeous book jacket by Chris Ware. Phil pointed out that not only is Ware drawing in the style of Crockett, he’s also doing a Sendak here, a Mary Blair there, etc. It’s also one of the sexier Ruth Krauss images I’ve seen. Cannot wait to get my grubby mitts on that one.
- Not a New Blog Alert BUT . . . it might as well be for all that I’ve paid attention to it. When I write a review on this site I puff myself a little and feel smart because I’m capable of linking to other reviews. Big whoop. When the good folks at The Classroom Bookshelf review a book they don’t just review it. They interview the author via video, provide countless useful links, and generally make the book as useful and accessible to teachers as humanly possible. It just puts me to shame. They’re off for the summer (teachers, y’know) but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a bit of jaw-dropping in by seeing what they accomplished so far. Dear Lord, I stand amazed.
- Some more me stuff. First a
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Well, now we’ve gone and done it. Greedy gus that I am, I’ve always found it hugely inconvenient when my favorite authors and illustrators live in other countries. Shaun Tan in Australia. Kate Beaton in Canada (we had her briefly, then lost her again, consarn it). And then there’s that charming Frances Hardinge. When are we going to convince her to move Stateside? Never if the publication of her latest book is any indication. Or, shall I say, the LACK of publication since if you are looking for her latest novel A Face Like Glass here in America you are seriously out of luck. Not entirely without options, mind you, since you can buy a Kindle edition (the hardcover claims to come out May 1st yet has “not yet been released” and has no American publisher) which is pretty much your only option if you’re a Yank. Harper Collins has traditionally been the publisher of all the Hardinge books in the States but is eschewing her latest novel. Unless, of course, they’re just biding their time until the spring. However, if they do not opt for her latest I’d be more than happy to see some other publisher pick up the slack. Recall, if you will, the fact that the last Hardinge won the 2010 Battle of the (Kids’) Books. Just sayin’. Thanks to Dan Levy for the info.
- Speaking of Brits, a fascinating article came out in The Guardian recently posing the question: “Which books offer the best introduction to New York?“ The answer was a fascinating mix of the usual suspects (Mixed-Up Files, Eloise, Little Red Lighthouse, etc.) and stuff that would never occur to me, the New York Public Library Youth Materials Specialist. Grk and the Hot Dog Trail? In the Night Kitchen? The Arrival?!? I pity the poor child that walks into Manhattan with The Arrival as their guide. Think of their disappointment (particularly when you consider that Tan took as much inspiration from classic Australian photographs as American ones). Almost more interesting than all of these is the recommendation to read Rosa Guy’s books. When we think of New York we almost never take her into consideration. As I say, fascinating. Thanks to Playing By the Book for the link.
- Speaking of New York City, heads up, hipsters. Actually, a better way of putting this would be to say heads up those of you who want to hang out with famous people for a reasonable price and an even better cause. 826NYC is having its Dueling Bingos competition, and this season you’re going to have a chance to match your Bingo chops against folks like Sarah Vowell, the guy who plays “Pete” on 30 Rock, Catherine Keener, and maybe even Jon Scieszka if you’re lucky. Are you in town August 1st? Then you have no excuse. Come by, come by . . .
Is it just me or are more people dying this
By:
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on 8/9/2012
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I apologize for the recent radio silence, folks. There’s something goofy in the state of Fuse 8. For one thing, I can’t seem to comment on my own posts. Most peculiar. I will assume that this is just a passing fancy of the blog and that all will be well and good from this day forward. Onward then!
This year, as some of you may know, I eschewed plastering myself with fake tattoos in favor of instead impaling myself with Shrinky Dinks at the Newbery/Caldecott Banquet. Shrinky Dinks: The classy choice. I did this because I was tired of picking clumps of multicolored skin off of my arms in airports, but if we want to get to the real reason behind the reason I can sum it up in three words: Becky Quiroga Curtis. More specifically, Becky Quiroga Curtis, the Children’s Book Buyer and Event Coordinator of Books & Books (also known as one of the only reasons to visit Miami). This is a woman who takes her love of children’s books and turns it hardcore. Oh, you think you love picture books? Really? Enough to have them tattooed onto your arm?!?! Just one arm, mind you. In any case, you can see how she convinces artists to draw on her arm here and you can see a feature on her at the Scholastic blog On Our Minds here and an older PW article on her here. You can also enjoy a slew of posts showing the tattoos if you follow the Becky’s Arm tag. Hard. Core.
- By the way, folk. A bunch of you signed up to get cool PDFs of my Top 100 polls, yes? You may be wondering where the heck those PDFs are, yes? Well fear not. I have it from on high that they are almost done, looking good, and you should see them within the next week or so. Stay tuned, faithful readers!
- On the One Hand: The recent news that Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan is being turned into a film is fantastic and I am very excited indeed.
- On the Other Hand: The book is being turned into a screenplay by . . . . Stephenie Meyer. Hubba wha?
- So I was looking at the very cool Spring 2013 Sneak Preview provided by PW, which offers a glimpse of some of the upcoming books next year. Fun stuff. And as I look I note several things of interest. The most notable is by far the fact that Yuyi Morales has a book coming out called Niño Wrestles the World that features a kid dressed as a Mexican wrestler . . . I’m beyond thrilled. Oh, and then there’s this little picture book coming out with Greenwillow called, um, Giant Dance Party. And who is it by? Well let’s see here. . . could it be by me? I do believe it could be. *smile*
Howdy-do, folks. Today I am off to the Yonkers Library to participate in a Charles Dickens panel with some experts in the field. Why me? I don’t precisely know but I’m honored to be asked. Plus the train ride will allow me to read my new Lemony Snicket book (this would be the children’s literature equivalent of bold as you please name dropping).
Onward!
First up, some nepotism, uncut. The resident husband has a tendency to be brilliant (not that I’m biased or anything). Recent evidence of this can be found on editor Cheryl Klein’s podcast Narrative Breakdown – Creative Writing, Screenwriting,Young Adult Lit, TV shows and More. With partner-in-crime James Monohan, the two of them have a habit of talking about writing in all its many forms. Mr. Bird appears on the episode called “Scene Construction 1 > Character Expectations and Tactics” on 9/8/12 which was described as, “what may be our most ambitious episode yet.” In related news, Mr. Bird has restarted his blog Cockeyed Caravan in all its wild advisory glory. I just like this picture he came up with when talking about the roles individuals play in teams:
- Wow. This post outlining how creating a book trailer meets Common Core Standards is fantastic. Many thanks indeed to Joyce Valenza for the link!
- In case you weren’t aware of it, the Onion A.V. Club has decided that young adult literature is interesting enough to highlight on occasion (articles equating it with chick lit and meritless copyright suits notwithstanding). In the series YA Why? they split their time evenly between new hot titles and older fare. Stay for the new stuff but eschew the looks back in time. Odds are whatever title you see there, the Fine Lines column by Lizzie Skurnick did it better.
- “…the critic is someone who, when his knowledge, operated on by his taste in the presence of some new example of the genre he’s interested in…hungers to make sense of that new thing, to analyze it, interpret it, make it mean something.” Flatterer. As an aspiring book critic of children’s fare, I was much taken with the Darryl Campbell Millions article Is This Book Bad, Or Is It Just Me? The Anatomy of Book Reviews which seeks to not only summarize in brief the spats and spits in the adult literary criticism world (a fine and fancy recap if ever there was one) then goes so far as to define the four classical elements of literary appraisal (“Reaction. Summary. Aesthetic and historical appraisal”). This one is your required reading of the day. Many thanks to Marjorie Ingall (who will be part of the literary criticism panel at this year’s KidLitCon) for the link.
List this one under Good Folks Doing Stuff You Should Know About. Now tell me everything you know about The Foundation for Children’s Books. Not to worry. If you don’t live in Boston you might not have heard about them. I’m a New Yorker but I know all too well the good works of the Bostonians, and this organization is particularly keen since they “bring acclaimed children’s book authors and illustrators into underserved K-8 schools in Boston for visits and workshops focused on writing and illustration.” Folks like Barbara O’Connor, Grace Lin, Mitali Perkins, Bryan Collier, and many many more. From what I hear, this year they’re hoping to expand their work in six schools, increase the number of donated books they bring to each school, and start a “Books for Breakfast” professional development series in Boston classrooms where they focus on particular “libraries” of new books–for example, “great non-fiction for 4th and 5th graders,” and then donate the books that they highlight to those classrooms. FYI!!
- Movie news time! As you may know I tend to get my heads up from Cynopsis Kids. This week they threw out a little piece of info that I almost missed. I was reading up on future children’s movie projects when the title Happy Smekday floated past. Happy what now? Apparently I missed Adam Rex’s June post that mentioned that an official announcement had been made about a True Meaning of Smekday movie from Dreamworks Animation. More to the point the press release (and IMDB page) report that it will star Jim Parsons and Rihanna. Which . . . is perfect. Blooming bloody perfect. Clearly J.Lo will be played by Parsons and Tip by Rihanna. I’m a little floored. Mind you, the description of the film that they provide is a bit ugh. “In Happy Smekday! an alien race invades Earth and uses it as a hideout from their mortal enemy. When one lowly alien accidentally notifies the enemies of his whereabouts, he is forced to go on the run with a teenage girl. The two become unlikely buddies and embark on a comical globe-trotting adventure to right his wrongs, in which our alien hero learns what it really means to be human.” As I recall J.Lo discovers “what it really means to be human” insofar as it means taking road trips and wearing a sheet over his head. Ah well. All I ask is that they include my favorite line in the book when he looks at Tip’s car and says with sweet condescension “Oh. It rolls”.
There’s other book news on the horizon too, so look lively. Cynopsis Kids has been busy. To wit:
- “Universal looks to Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to produce its feature film adaptation of author Dugald A. Steer’s popular kid’s book series Dragonology (12 books so far), per Heat Vision. Kurtzman and Orci have a first look deal with Universal under their banner K/O Paper Products Dragonology is part of that agreement. Dragonology was to be written by Leonard Hartman who will now serve as an executive producer. A new writer has not yet been named. Kurtzman and Orci, who wrote and produced Star Trek 2, are also set to write and executive produce the Amazing Spider-Man movie sequel.”
And very very exciting news:
- FilmNation Entertainment acquires the feature film rights to the popular kid’s book A Tale Dark & Grimm by author Adam Gidwitz. FilmNation is partnering with Marissa McMahon of Kamala Films to finance the development and produce the live-action movie with FilmNation Entertainment’s Aaron Ryder and Karen Lunder. Jon Gunn (Mercy Streets, My Date with Drew) and John W. Mann (Mercy Streets) will pen the screenplay. Based on some of the more gruesome Grimm Brother’s stories, A Tale Dark & Grimm follows the adventures of two unsuspecting kids who hold the key to breaking out of the dark ages. McMahon explains, “Gidwitz’s A Tale Dark & Grimm is a smart, addictive, and hilariously gruesome narrative that turns familiar fairy tales on their head, much to the delight of both children and parents.” FilmNation recently completed filming on the new teen-targeted comedy Premature, which they are producing from writer/director Dan Beers.”
Not so sure about the whole “hold the key to breaking out of the dark ages” part (and you know the devil is totally going to get cut) but still good news for the author. Have no idea how they’ll do it, though. I mean, there is a LOT of blood in that book.
It came out a couple months ago but I never linked to it. You’d do well to discover this great Flavorwire post on 10 Wonderful Libraries Repurposed from Unused Structures (though really, how can you link to one jail and not mention the greatest courthouse-to-library conversion of all time, the Jefferson Market Branch?). Here’s a converted railcar to library:
And if you liked that be sure to read the follow up post on 10 Awesome Bookstores Repurposed from Unused Structures. Big thanks to Mike Lewis for the links!
You folks have been awfully good about my recent shoddy blogging, so I tip my hat in your general direction. Jules of 7-Imp and I are putting the final touches on our book for Candlewick editing-wise and, as you might imagine, it eats up large swaths of time like an irate and hungry badger. There is no situation in which a badger cannot be used as an example. True fact.
In other news, there’s an author/illustrator out there that I happen to like very much. His name is Aaron Zenz and over the years he has startled me time and again with the relative brilliance of his creativity. If he wasn’t making multiple inspired pieces for the Re-Seussification Project then his kids were contributing to the stellar Boogie Woogie blog. Well, Aaron and Co. are some of my favorite folks so when I saw the Friends of Zenz page asking to help ‘em out in the midst of some pretty upsetting surgery, you can bet I jumped on board. If you’ve a minute, you can too. They’re swell folks.
So I got to meet J.K. Rowling the other day. Yup. The woman who basically set me on the path of children’s librarianship in the first place via her books and I up and met her. You see the good Dan Blank had tickets and one of those tickets happened to have my name on it. So I got to see her speak with Ann Patchett about this adult novel of hers The Casual Vacancy (a title I’m certain she stole from the notes of Lemony Snicket) and then I stood in a long line and got my copy signed. The conversation between us is as follows:
J.K. Rowling: Thanks for coming.
Betsy Bird: Guh.
Many thanks to Dan for the opportunity. He’s blogged about the experience here and just so you writer folks know, he’s doing another session of his author platform course starting Oct 31, with a free webinar. The course features Jane Friedman, Richard Nash, Colleen Lindsay, Kathleen Schmidt, Joanna Penn and Jeff Goins as guest speakers. Info on the session is here and the webinar is here.
“COMIC LEGEND: There was a Winnie the Pooh comic strip where the characters acted a lot more aggressively than most Winnie the Pooh fans are used to.
STATUS: True”
Thus we find the strangest and maybe most engaging link of the day. Apparently there was a Winnie-the-Pooh syndicated comic strip out there for a while that contained the Disneyfied Pooh and friends. And apparently it was written by some seriously odd souls. How else to explain some of these downright weird inclusions? Comic Book Legends Revealed explains more (you’ll have to scroll down a little but they’re worth finding). This one’s my favorite:
Wowzah.
And speaking of bears . . . how do you get kids interested in the political process? Have ‘em vote for bears, of course! The West Linn Public Library had an inspired idea. They’re holding a bear election through election day on November 6 and, as they explained it to me:
“inviting kids (and adults) to vote for their favorite bear from children’s literature: Pooh, Paddington, Mama Berenstain, or Corduroy. We have also gotten staff involved by asking them to volunteer to be bear campaign managers. The response from staff and patrons has been tremendous! Our campaign managers have embraced their roles beyond my wildest dreams by designing posters, stickers, bookmarks, and games to support their bear.We are having so much fun that I thought I would share with other libraries. I have even created a campaign video for my candidate, Mama Bear—here is that link: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=vb.153513568034372&type=2“ Love it! I suppose I’m a staunch Pooh supporter thanks to my job, but it’s tough. Paddington comes in at a close second in my heart.
Okay, let’s do the Me Stuff all in one fell swoop today. First off, I made a reading list for NYC’s New Victory Theater to accompany their upcoming shows. Check it out here. I never properly thanked Miss Kathleen at Mental Floss for including me in the 24 Library-Centric Sites We Love round-up, to say nothing of the compliments regarding my video with Travis Jonker. Thanks to Maureen Petry for the links! I’m speaking at a Joan Aiken event tonight so enjoy this piece written by Lizza Aiken, Joan’s daughter, entitled Voices: The magical mysteries of children’s literature. I was interviewed at the blog The Children’s Book Review as part of their ongoing librarian series. And the Children’s Media Association blog gave me what could well be the most flattering spotlight I’ve received in my long internet life. Whew!
There was a Bibliography-Off between Judy Blume and one of my favorite comics Patton Oswalt not long ago. As Jezebel described it, “The only thing that could really be better than this (for a Sunday, anyway) is if Calvin and Hobbes were real and they spoke at a TED Talk about the vividness of a small child’s imagination.” I just wish S.E. Hinton had heeded Patton’s call to give him a hand. She’s on Twitter all the time, y’know. Thanks to Marjorie Ingall for the link!
Maybe you can’t see Phil Nel speaking in my library tomorrow about Crockett Johnson. If not, here’s the next best thing.
All right. Enough with the books. Let’s look at some up-to-date movie news directly from Cynopsis Kids. First up:
“Nickelodeon begins production this month on its new original comedy/caper TV movie, Swindle, which will star a bevy of the network’s stars including Jennette McCurdy (iCarly), Noah Crawford (How to Rock, You Gotta See This), Noah Munck (iCarly), Ariana Grande (Victorious), Chris O’Neal (How to Rock, You Gotta See This) and Ciara Bravo (Big Time Rush). Based on the popular kids book of the same name by Gordon Korman, the movie will be shot in Vancouver Canada. The movie is set to begin airing in 2014 on Nickelodeon’s 40+ international channels across Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia. The story begins when an evil collector cons Griffin (Crawford) out of a million dollar baseball card that could have saved his best friend’s (O’Neal) home, he teams a ragtag group of his classmates (Grande, McCurdy, Munck and Bravo) to take down the swindler. Directed by Jonathan Judge (Big Time Rush, Fred 3), Swindle is written by Bill Motz (Brandy & Mr. Whiskers) & Bob Roth (Lion King 2), Eric Freiser (Road to Ruin) and Adam Rifkin (Small Soliders, Mousehunt). Marjorie Cohn (Big Time Movie, Rags), Lauren Levine (Bridge to Terabithia, Best Player), Loris Lunsford, Karen Glass and Paul Barry serve as executive producers. Scott McAboy’s Pacific Bay Entertainment is producing.”
Second up:
“Toronto-based Radical Sheep Productions (Stella and Sam, Yub Yubs, The Big Comfy Couch) acquires the rights to the graphic novel series Fangbone! Third-Grade Barbarian, by author/illustrator Michael Rex (Goodnight Goon, The Runaway Mummy). Under the deal Radical Sheep will develop a K6-11 aimed animated series based on Fangbone! The story revolves around Fangbone, a nine-year-old barbarian warrior from Skullbania who winds up in third grade at Eastwood Elementary in order to save his native land from the evildoer Venomous Drool. With the help of his new pal Bill, a lovable, average, goofy kid, Fangbone outwits his enemies while discovering the modern world.”
Sometimes the title sells it alone: Children’s Author Illustrator Elisha Cooper Gives Lecture on “Inappropriate” Children’s Books.
New Blog Alert: The election’s coming up and everyone’s getting ready. With that in mind, did you know that there’s a blog out there solely dedicated to talking about political children’s books? Kid Lit About Politics it’s called. One for the radar.
New Blog Alert II: For that matter did you know there was a mother-son blog out there (adult mother and son!) called crossreferencing: a hereditary blog? Yep. There you can find Sarah and Mark Flowers as they, “discuss YA Literature and Librarianship from our dual perspectives.” It’s pretty cool.
New Blog Alert III: Tis the season. This third new blog is actual that of The Junior Library Guild called Shelf Life. It’s currently doing a wonderful job of discussing current issues and hot books. Of particular note is the post Save [Books of Wonder] and Save Your Soul. Couldn’t have put it better myself.
Have you ever watched the movie Matilda and thought to yourself, Whatever happened to child actress Mara Wilson? Thank god for the internet, eh? Thanks to Brita for the link.
On a serious note there is a lovely memory of Peter Sieruta up at the blog Archives and Special Collections. It happens to include what may be the first picture of Peter to ever make it to the world wide web. God, I miss that guy.
The Onion’s A.V. Club has been a bit lazy in their looks at children’s and YA literature but this recent post on 2012 graphic novels is well worth reading. Many thanks to Eric Carpenter for the link!
Daily Image:
Just knowing that Gabi Swiatkowska has a blog where she displays art like the pieces below is enough to make my life complete.
Thanks to Jane Curley for the link.
As I write this I don’t know what the election results are and I shall refuse to think about them all the livelong day. Lalalalalala! No images today, by the way. I apparently hit my limit and need to beg SLJ for a little more space. I’m good for it! Honest!
- So there’s lots of post-Sandy news and ways that you can help the libraries that got hit hard in the gut this past week. First let’s start with something (relatively) cheery. PW did a great series of interviews with folks in the publishing industry hit by Sandy. There you can read how Lois Lowry and Laura Vaccaro Seeger dodged death (fairly literally) and why folks like Eric Berlin and Rebecca Stead are being namechecked in Hoboken. They also did a piece on how folks like Kate Messner (with Kid Lit Cares) and Urban Librarians Unite have been coming together to collect books and money for hard hit systems. Author/illustrator Peter Brown alerted me to this fantastic and continually updated list of what the various shelters and organizations in the community need desperately at this time. Meanwhile I wanted to help out Hoboken in some way but it’s still too soon to find out how. In the meantime, there’s a good site dedicated to Rebuilding New Jersey’s Libraries for those of you who want to help.
- There are some interesting posts ah-brewing over at the Forum of the American Journal of Education. Steven Herb, a fellow who has served on more than a few committees during his time looks at Caldecott Awards and Honors past and present with some interesting insights. I never knew the beef folks had with Marcia Brown’s Shadow until now, but I definitely get the grumbles. Then he goes on to answer all your questions about how the darn Caldecotts are given out anyway. Thanks to Vic Sensenig for the links!
- One request: When I die, could someone please write a catchy song using my name that sounds as fun as this one made for picture book author/illustrator Bill Peet by the kids at The Calhoun School? It’s all I’ve ever wanted. Honest. Thanks to Karen Walsh for the link.
- Suppose I should mention some of the serious news out there. This broke just before the hurricane did but even strong winds couldn’t distract us from the fact that Penguin and Random House are set to become as one. Naturally the response over the blogosphere is to come up with a name for this new company. The Random Penguin House is the most repeated, so why don’t we just simplify things and just call it Odd Ice Floe instead? Has a ring to it, it does.
You may have missed it, and you’d be forgiven if you had, but the New York Times Best Illustrated list of 2012 is out and boy is it a doozy! The winners include:
- Bear Despair written and illustrated by Gaëtan Dorémus (Enchanted Lion)
- The Beetle Book written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins (Houghton)
- House Held Up by Trees written by Ted Kooser; illustrated by Jon Klassen (Candlewick)
- The Hueys in the New Sweater written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers (Philomel)
- Infinity and Me written by Kate Hosford; illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska (Carolrhoda)
- Little Bird written by Germano Zullo; illustrated by Albertine (Enchanted Lion)
- One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World written and illustrated by Joe McKendry (Godine)
- Red Knit Cap Girl written and illustrated by Naoko Stoop (Tingley/Little)
- Stephen and the Beetle written by Jorge Luján; illustrated by Chiara Carrer (Groundwood)
- Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad written and illustrated by Henry Cole (Scholastic)
I’ve read each and every last one of these and what strikes me is how international it is this year. French, Irish, Japanese, Canadian, and more author/illustrators grace the list. A special shout out to Claudia over at Enchanting Lion Books for getting two titles on there, but it’s just as nice to see little guys like Groundwood and Lerner having their day in the sun. I haven’t reviewed a single one of these, but now I’m thinking maybe it would be a good idea. Dunno. They’re all rather . . . rather tasteful, wouldn’t you say?
- Hey! Travis Jonker over at 100 Scope Notes went and had a baby on us! Well, congrats to you, Travis! Little bugger is one good looking dude. Woo-hoo!
- You know how college kids are always creating elaborate, relatively clever pranks in their Senior years? Well, when I attended Earlham College back in the day I walked into our cafeteria (called, like every other cafeteria in the nation, Saga) to find that someone had managed to paint a huge image on the ceiling . We’re talking a good 40 feet off the ground, there were some beloved character’s from the school newspaper, Plato’s Republic, as penned by Alexis Fajardo. They were reenacting Michelangelo’s God touching Adam’s finger moment. It was beautiful. Fast forward some 20 odd years later (doing the math . . . not quite right but close enough) and that same Alexis Fajardo has started a Kickstarter page for his graphic novel series Kid Beowulf. Seems that his publisher up and died on him as he was producing the third volume, so he needs a bit of a kick. Check out the site and see what you think. I guarantee you won’t find another comic starring Beowulf and his twin brother Grendel having adventures.
- Finally, the following notice was sent by author Kathi Appelt. I met Laura myself, so I know how important this can be. In lieu of a Daily Image today, please read the following:
Dear everyone–
I have a favor to ask. A few years ago I met a remarkable young girl named Laura Rodgers. When she was in the second or third grade she made a decision to read all of the Newbery books, along with honor books. When she was in the fifth grade, she started her own mock Newbery blog: http://lauramitolife.blogspot.com/
Now she’s in the seventh grade and she is really struggling. Laura was born with mitochondrial disease and it appears to be taking a huge toll on her, effecting primarily her muscular functions. It seems to be mimicking something like MS, and she is no longer able to walk or to use her hands for small motor things. I’ve been in touch with her mom, Rylin, and it’s not looking good right now.
Since the one thing that Laura loves above all else is books, I asked her mom if she thought some autographed books would cheer her up, and her answer was unequivocal. So, here I am, asking you all to consider sending Laura an autographed book or two with your John Henry’s. I know it would mean the world to Laura. Over the years, I’ve sent her as many picture books as novels, along with non-fiction and poetry. She loves all of them.
If you’re like me, I’m always getting asked for free autographed books, and I give an awful lot of them away, mostly for auctions and prizes, and always for good causes. But in this case, I know exactly who is receiving my books–someone who loves them, and needs them too.
If you have the inclination, please send copies to:
Laura Rodgers
4060 W 400 S
Lebanon IN 46052
And please also, send this message to any other author/illustrator pals you know. As I write this, it’s late and I know I’m missing people. I think it would be great to bombard our young reader with a whole boatload of autographed books. I’m not going to post this on facebook just because I don’t want it to get that out of control, but it would be great to send it to anyone you know personally, along with my gratitude.
Thanks so much,
Love, Kathi
In a weird way, Twitter sort of made my Fusenews posts this side of obsolete. If you want cool things to see online it’s often just a case of knowing whom to follow. And yet I love my little Fusenews. Pressed as I am for time today, let’s pretend that these are little tweets:
Pinterest continues to remain a strange elusive creation that I have a hard time wrapping my head around. Fortunately sometimes it will do something like post images from William Steig’s Agony in the Kindergarten (circa 195o) and all at once everything is clear. Thanks to Alex Penfold for the link.
And while you’re looking at vast numbers of images, why not look at this collection of international children’s art. Purdy. Thanks to Warren Truitt for the link.
Adrienne says, “I Can’t Imagine There Was Ever a Time in Which This Version of Little Red Riding Hood Wasn’t Creepy.” I don’t quite know what she means since I haven’t yet seen the . . . GAAAAAHHHHH!!!
- I want a new Leslie Connor middle grade novel for kids and I want it now now now now now. (This is called “baiting the universe” and should only be attempted under the strictest of circumstances.)
- Was anyone else aware that Thomas Locker died this year, or just BookMoot? First I’ve heard of it. Shoot.
- As per usual, the best round-up of the year is happening at Chicken Spaghetti. If you want to see every last Best Of list printed for 2012 books, seek ye no further.
- Speaking of Best Of lists, I am not usually flummoxed by the books folks pick. I like to think that on the children’s side I see almost everything. So imagine my flummoxing when I check out the 100 Scope Notes Top 20 Children’s Books of 2012 and find that #20 is a book I have NEVER heard of before!?! I am tongue-tied, stopped, and otherwise befuddled. You win this round, Jonker, but I shall have my revenge!!
- The Bookbug children’s bookstore in Kalamazoo, Michigan does many things right. But most recently they managed to make this remarkable little fellow:
Don’t try to buy him for your holiday shopping, though. Apparently to make it you need to get “many different packages of legos from several different vendors.” Worth it.
- You know how weird it was when they redid Spiderman with an all-new cast? Yup. Well, hold onto your hats, folks. A children’s book is getting yet another reworking as well. From Cynopsis Kids:
Columbia looks to Zach Helm (Stranger Than Fiction, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, which he also directed, and the upcoming The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) to write a new big screen adaptation of Jumanji, based on Chris van Allsburg’s 1981 book of the same name, per THR. Matt Tolmach (The Amazing Spider-Man) will produce the new Jumanji movie. Joe Johnston directed the 1995 feature film incarnation of Jumanji, which starred Robin Williams and Kirsten Dunst.
There is a giant swing installation somewhere in New York City right now. You walk in, you sit, and you swing.
I may have missed the Columbus Circle installation but by gum I am finding this one! Thanks to Crooked House for the heads up.
That author/illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka. He’s a good egg. It’s not everyone who founds their own youth scholarship, y’know. For the second time Jarrett will be hosting the 2nd annual auction for the Joseph and Shirley Krosoczka Memorial Youth Scholarships. The auction is already live as of this past Monday morning and it’s benefiting a great cause. You see, Jarrett named it after the grandparents that raised him and with it the Worcester Art Museum provides tuition to underprivileged children who are in unique familial situations. As for the auction itself there are all sort of great things up for grabs, including original art (I sure hope someone buys the Lunch Lady art and gives it to an actual lunch lady) and lunch with Jarrett in his studio. Yet to my mind nothing but nuthin’ beats the idea of having Jarrett design your school’s mascot. I suggest that even if your school doesn’t have a mascot you make one up just so that Jarrett can illustrate it. You could be the Fightin’ Banana Slugs (after all, we know he has experience in that area) or the Seething Dust Bunnies. The possibilities are endless. And as of right now the bidding is a mere $51. Y’all better snap that up or I’ll do so myself and just find a school interested.
- All hail our new fearless leader! Y’all might have heard that our beloved SLJ editor Brian Kenney upped and left us for the library world (doggone worthy that). So, in essence, I was floating about without a commander-in-chief. Who knows what kind of mischief I could have gotten myself into! Thank goodness Rebecca T. Miller is on hand to whip me into shape. Things to know about this new editor: “With a background in journalism that began at the Utne Reader . . .” Sorry, sorry, I’d say more but I’m sort of hung up on how fabulous that sentence looks. Wow. The Utne Reader. Love it. Welcome, Rebecca.
- The holidays are almost upon us and I know exactly what you’re wondering. You’re wracking your brain trying to figure out what to get the children’s literary enthusiast who already has everything (even the newly annotated Phantom Tollbooth). I have the solution. Why not give them me? Or rather, why not give them 25 seconds worth of me. Some of you might recall the documentary Library of the Early Mind: A grown-up look at children’s literature that played in select libraries and library conferences around the country. I bet a bunch of you missed it and wished you could see it. Well happy days are here again because the producer of the film is selling both a
Actually, that little icon here is a touch misleading, but I took it since it talks about our first news item of the day. This l’il here ole blog got itself nominated for an Edublog Award, which is mighty nice. SLJ wrote an article about me and my fellow nominees, Joyce Valenza’s NeverEndingSearch, Karyn Silverman and Sarah Couri’s Some Day My Printz Will Come, and Angela Carstensen’s Adult Books 4 Teens. I’m in the Best Individual Blog category along with Joyce. Let’s face it, though. Joyce actually does discuss education on a regular basis (far more than I do), which is the point of the award as I see it. Therefore, if you’d stop over and vote for her along with my other nominees (preferably before the 13th), I’d appreciate it.
- Speaking of accomplished folks getting noticed, our own Mary Ann Scheuer of Great Kid Books (I call her “our own” since she speaks at Kidlitosphere Conferences regularly) spoke on Boston’s NPR show Here & Now about book apps for kids. Woman knows her stuff.
- Marjorie Ingall manages to locate two wall decals of infinite peculiarity. One is just weird. The other will undoubtedly be the bane of many a child’s life, possibly haunting them well into their adulthood. Fun!
- So what, precisely, is up with that The Graveyard Book movie? Waking Brain Cells has the skinny.
Let’s chalk this next one up to Books for Adults That Look Like They’re For Kids. I am speaking, naturally, about Honey Badger Don’t Care by Randall. Oh, it may look like children’s fare, but if you’re familiar with the YouTube sensation (I only recently learned about it myself, so don’t feel bad if you haven’t seen it) then you’ve got the gist of the book. Long story short, it has nothing to do with James Odone’s far sweeter picture book Honey Badgers.
- It’s one thing to find out that your childhood idol and author is still alive. It’s another thing entirely to give that person the respect and honor they never found on his own. Marc Tyler Nobleman
Oh, you think the award season is done, old bean? Why we have only but BEGUN to hand out the 2011 awards! The Newberys, Caldecotts, and other ALA Media Awards are just the tip of the old iceberg. There are so many others to explore. For example, did you get a chance to really examine the 2012 Notable Children’s Books list from ALSC that was recently released? Absolutely fascinating stuff. Some books delight, some baffle, and some I’ve not even heard of. To the library! Don’t forget that the Sydney Taylor Awards were given out recently too. Offered to books that “authentically portray the Jewish experience” there were twenty-eight for 2011 alone. Woot! The Scott O’Dell Award went to a book that’s a bit better known since this past Monday. Fun Fact: That award hasn’t gone to a Newbery Award winner since 1998’s Out of the Dust. Then on the mystery side of the things the Edgar Award nominations were released. I adore that they distinguish between “Juvenile” and “Young Adult” books. Icefall is a particularly clever inclusion (I hadn’t categorized it as a “mystery” but I suppose that it is in the old-fashioned sense of the term). Heck, I’m surprised they didn’t include Dead End in Norvelt as well. And if I’m not mistaken, at some point here the American Indian Youth Literature Awards for 2012 should be released. Anyone know roundabout when that might be?
- Meanwhile, other blogs have been doing their post-ALA Award round-ups as well. There are many to pick and choose from, but I think I’ll highlight the Seven Impossible Things post that shows some prototypes from A Ball for Daisy and Travis at 100 Scope Notes who gives everything a once over.
- Who told me about this on Twitter? Was it you, Rocco? Or you, Mr. Schu? Whoever it was I’m still puzzling it over. Basically it boils down to five words: Sweet. Valley. High. Television. Musical. Throw in Diablo Cody and the guys behind Next to Normal and . . . words, for once, fail me.
And then it’s February. How the heckedy heck did that happen? Looks like 2012 is already establishing itself as the Blink and You’ll Miss It year. Well, let’s get to it then.
First and foremost was the announcement of Battle of the Books 2012. Or, as I like to think of it, the place where Amelia Lost gets its bloody due (if there’s any justice in this world). We’re now in the earliest of the early days of the battle, but stuff’s on the horizon. I can smell it.
- In other news there was an SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) meeting here in New York this past weekend. I didn’t attend because, apparently, if it’s way too convenient I’m absent. After checking out the recap on this blog, however, I clearly need to change my priorities. Though I had to miss the cocktail party on Friday I did attend Kidlit Drink Night which was PACKED, dudes. Packed to the gills!
- In her post Ms. Turner mentions the Mythopoeic Society. By complete coincidence I stumbled over yet another link involving that society in question. Neil Gaiman reprints an old speech he gave to the society in 2004 on C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and Chesterton. A great look at how good fantasy can influence kids. Also a good look at how bad television programs lead kids to books. I believe it.
- Well The Today Show may have passed up the chance to talk to the Newbery and Caldecott winners but leave it to NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me to speak to Jack Gantos for their Not My Job game. Someone must have tipped them off to the fact that the man is the world’s greatest interview. Love the Judy Blume reference. And though I thought I knew his Hole in My Life story, clearly I missed some details. Thanks to Susan Miles for the link.
- Of course Jack and Chris Raschka were interviewed by SLJ about their respective wins. That’s good news about a Dead End in Norvelt companion novel. Ditto the idea of Raschka working on a Robie H. Harris title.
And I couldn’t be more pleased with Chris Ware’s cover. The only down-side is that, for all subsequent books of mine, I’ll think, “Well, it’s not a bad cover. But this designer is no Chris Ware….”
0 Comments on Fusenews: Look for the Girl with the Caterpillar Tattoo and She’s Gone as of 8/9/2012 11:16:00 PM
6 Comments on Fusenews: “whimsically apocalyptic”, last added: 3/5/2012
Thanks for the introduction to Stephanie’s blog! I feel sad that even though I search the internet assiduously every Sunday for my mg sff round-ups, I never found her–makes me wonder what else I am missing.
She’s relatively new to the blogging game, all things considered. Glad to help you direct your attention to her. I trust her opinions implicitly.
Aw, thanks, Betsy. I’m working on another kidlit footwear post — there is no better way to procrastinate than looking at bananas (LITERALLY) crazy shoes. And I know you know what I’m talking about.
Love your news! “Back away from the Klassen” ha! I do agree Pinkalicious can be a bit bratty, but I’m perfectly good with the lying and theft of the hat in Klassen’s- what does that say about my morals!!!!
Thanks Betsy!
Glad you found the review. I wonder if it will remain the only one to draw a connection to the Hunger Games books… Love the shoe piece, too. I can see why you had to include it
My reaction was more “NO! Not ANOTHER blog I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO READ!” *added to my feed reader*
Don’t worry. Blog death rates are skyrocketing these days. Surely some of your favs will pass in time. Then you’ll be grateful for the newbies.
Thanks for the shout out, Betsy!
Thanks for the link to my Kansas blunder. I’m still cringing at the thought that somewhere out there, there is an angry librarian shaking her head at my horrible map mistake. The good news is, the map has been fixed and all future editions will have it correct.