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I was in San Francisco last weekend and went by Chronicle Books to visit with an editor. Here’s a peek at the tour of their offices.
Mocha at Ironsides Cafe, which is right beside Chronicle Books.
Entering Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.
Social space, gallery space, party space: top floor of Chronicle Books.
Format Archive. This shelf holds copies of every print format Chronicle Books has published. It is used as reference when considering the formatting of a project.
The competition shelf. Major publisher exchange books, so each can see what the competition is doing. When considering a project, editors often visit this competition shelf to compare the project under consideration to "today's crowded market."
One editor's desk at Chronicle Books. In the four story building, one floor is the art floor with all the designers; another floor is editorial; one floor is business personnel.
The Cover Wall. These are covers of current Chronicle books.
Booklist recently announced their list of the Top 10 Graphic Novels for youth, and you have to give them points for originality. While there’s a couple titles on the list you might know (The Unsinkable Walker Bean, Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty), I’m willing to bet my cardigan (well, maybe an item of equal value) that there are a few you weren’t aware of. And really, isn’t that what makes a like this worth it? I’m off to find a copy of Return of the Dapper Men. Click here (or the image below) to read.
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April 1st is a mere two weeks away, bringing with it the glory that is National Poetry Month. On that day I’ll be hosting a gallery of book spine poems (or centos) submitted by you. Interested in getting in on the action? If you give it a try, take a picture and email it to me (scopenotes at gmail dot com) or post it to your blog and let me know.
For those who want to try it with kids, I’ll also put up a students-only gallery on April 1 and add to it for the entire month.
On the first day of National Poetry Month (April 1st), I’m hosting a gallery of book spine poems (or centos, if you want to get technical) submitted by you. If you give it the ol’ college try, take a picture and post it to your blog, or send it my way via email (scopenotes (at) gmail (dot) com). Click here for some tips on creating your own. If you try it with kids, send those in too – I’m also putting up a gallery of student work on April 1st, which I’ll add to for the entire month.
In preparation for the big day, I’m posting a new book spine cento every Friday in March. I used books from my daughter’s library for today’s entry, and it’s one of my favorites. Best read by two voices – one voice for the first three lines, another for the last two:
Be sure to check out the Poetry Friday roundup at a wrung sponge.
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As you may have heard, there was a memorable meeting of pop culture and children’s lit this week on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice. The contestants were tasked with creating a children’s book and boy did it entertain – often for completely unintentional reasons. Click below to watch.
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Stop motion has always been my animation of choice. It routinely beats out CGI in the character department. This pleasingly lo-tech method is used below to create one of the best book videos I’ve seen in a while. Many thanks to author Debbie Diesen for the link.
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11:00pm – Motown Night at Chicago’s Empty Bottle. Loud and great. And loud.
Okay, now the day…
5:30am – Riiiiiiing! What’s that you say? I can’t hear you over my ringing ears. I question my decision to hang out in front of the huge speakers the night before. This may be a problem.
6:45 – MapQuested directions in hand, I head out to Naperville, IL.
7:30 – Dang, the Chicago suburbs are spread out. I arrive at the banquet hall expecting to see a pretty big group of people. I see a huge group of people. Lesson learned – never underestimate the draw of Weird Al.
7:35 – I meet up with fellow school librarian and Chicagoland local John Schumacher (he of the must-follow Twitter account @MrSchuReads and excellent blog Watch. Connect. Read.). He is also, thankfully, good at saving seats. The inevitable Anderson’s Bookshop swag (filled with all manner of poster, bookmark, button, and sticker):
7:45 – What do you know? It turns out I’m sitting at a whole table of Twitter folks. Here we are, not tweeting:
7:55 – I realize that author Tim Green is sitting at our table – my students love his books. I ask him if any other former NFL players have ever approached him about getting into the writing biz. He says “no”. Indeed the path from sports star to author is not a common one.
8:10 – I realize that Order of the Odd Fish author James Kennedy is scheduled to talk about his 90 Second Newbery project at the end of the event – nice!
8:20 – Words in the Dust author Trent Reedy is the first of five keynote speakers. He talks about the military service in Afghanistan and the true events that led to him writing his debut novel. A moving account.
8:45 – Anderson’s emplyees Jan Dundon and Kathleen March share a few of their favorite recent books, including Cat Secrets, A Pet for Petunia, Young Fredle, and Small Persons with Wings. I am instantly inspired to buy a bunch of books.
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One one hand, basic ownership rights seem to apply. When a library buys a book, they own it, right? It isn’t the fault of libraries that ebooks never die. I like the idea that if we purchase a Beezus and Ramona ebook for my library, we own it forever. Well, ebooks are a bit different, as you don’t actually “own” an ebook – just the license for one.
But I can see where HarperCollins is coming from in terms of wanting to maintain the status quo.
I recently re-purchased almost every Ramona title for two of my school libraries. They were getting on in years, grungy, and were in need of a cover refresh. This sort of thing goes on at every library around the country. It isn’t a scam – the books break down over time or start to look dated and new copies are needed.
Now imagine if every Ramona book, at every library, never needed to be purchased again. No matter your opinion on ebooks, that’s a huge change.
But this 26 checkout business reminds me a little of Kurt Vonnegut’s short story Harrison Bergeron – it feels like an artificial handicap that can’t last.
On a purely technical level every book engages the reader, right? The act of reading or listening demands at least a small amount of participation. Then you run into a book like Cat Secrets, which shows the heights to which engaging can go, as it pulls kids into its participatory tractor beam. Confidently stepping into territory Mo Willems has been dominating in recent years, Cat Secrets takes a wrecking ball to the fourth wall and speaks directly to its audience. An audience that will be quite delighted.
Can you prove you’re a cat? Because that’s what you’ll have to do if you want to read Cat Secrets. Non-felines are not allowed. A trio of suspicious cats guard the book, and aren’t going to let just anyone crack the cover. They administer a couple tests to determine if the reader is a cat. Meowing and purring ensue, but the third and final test (napping) proves to be the cats undoing, as they can’t help but take a snooze themselves, leaving their book of secrets up for grabs.
The simplistic cartoon illustrations are an excellent match for the comedic text, creating a unified mood that screams funny. Bold colors coat every surface, with minimal backgrounds to focus attention (as if it were needed) on our main characters.
The conclusion is more calm then expected and no actual secrets are revealed – aspects that, while lending contrast and continuing the mystery, make the ending seem slightly abrupt.
Well-suited for read aloud settings, Cat Secrets will find plenty of kids eager to join in he fun.
INDIES CHOICE/E.B. WHITE READ-ALOUD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED
I’m especially curious to see who wins the Middle Reader category, as it is loaded with talent. Click here to read.
GO FLY YOUR GOLDEN KITE
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators recently dished out their Golden Kite and Sid Fleishman awards. Some great choices to be seen. Click here to check out the winners.
Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers. On shelves June 28, 2011
Looks like we have a good ol’ blockbuster in the wings. Fun activity: put this on the shelf and see how long it is before you see it again.
Watch. Connect. Read. Has a great roundup of resources related to this and other books by Dav Pilkey. There’s even a video of Pilkey himself, which marks the first time I’ve ever laid eyes on the guy. Click here to check it out.
It would take a lot for me to give up the Dewey Decimal system for classifying books. It’s just…so…organized. But there are those shooting for a more bookstore feel. Click the image above to read.
April is National Poetry Month, or as I call it ’round these parts, National (Book Spine) Poetry Month. I actually do the air parentheses and everything. Last year, inspired by the amazing work of Nina Katchadourian, I tried my hand at creating a book spine cento. Here were the results:
I also encouraged all comers to give it a shot as well, and was amazed by what I saw.
Let’s kick off National Poetry Month in style. Create your own book spine poem, snap a picture, and send it my way (scopenotes (at) gmail (dot) com) or post it to your blog and let me know. Starting tomorrow, I’ll post one of my book spine centos every Friday for the month of March. On Friday, April 1st, I’ll post a gallery with all of the entries I receive from you.
Get to a place with plenty of books. A library works nicely. Or a large home collection.
Start looking at titles, and see what strikes you. Arrange and rearrange in your head. The best part of this type of poetry is the fact that you don’t know where you’ll end up.
Have a pencil and paper with you to write down titles that stand out – you can refer back to them later.
Don’t be afraid to use the library catalog to look up titles with specific words or phrases that fit.
Do you want to try book spine poetry with your students during April? I’ll post a second gallery on April 1st exclusively for student poems, and add to it for the entire month.
I like special days where the method of celebration is clearly described in the title. Take today’s special day, for example – World Read Aloud Day. Grab a book and read it out loud – to your class, your child, yourself. Click here for details.
Have you subscribed to author/illustrator Katie Davis’s podcast yet? It would do ye some good, as Davis consistently interviews children’s lit luminaries and provides reviews from the likes of Jennifer Hubert Swan (Reading Rants) and Betsy Bird (A Fuse #8 Production). This week, she interviews Terry Doherty (of Reading Tub fame) and even kindly shouts out my Covering the Newbery project. Click here to download.
Every Thing On It by Shel Silverstein. On shelves September 2011.
Chances are you’ve already seen this one, as it’s been making the rounds pretty swiftly this week. Clear space on the shelf.
Based on the massive hype surrounding every step The Hunger Games takes towards theaters, I’m predicting a modest to larger-than-predicted hit for this adaptation of the Suzanne Collins novel. Click the image above for the inside word on casting.
They say that the hold shelf is a window into the soul.
Well, that might be overstating things a bit, but it is certainly a way to find out what kids are reading when given the freedom of choice. Let’s take a look at the books students are lining up to read at the 5th and 6th grade school where I work.
Rivers of Fire (Atherton series) by Patrick Carman
As Far as I Can See (My America series) by Kate McMullan
Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn
The Ugly Truth (Diary of a Wimpy Kid series) by Jeff Kinney
Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur
The Burning Bridge (Ranger’s Apprentice series) by John Flanigan
School’s Out – Forever (Maximum Ride series) by James Patterson
I’m seeing two common themes here:
Series. While I sometimes poke fun at the proliferation if series books in recent years, it is cool that kids are able to continue on with characters and stories they’re into.
Fiction. It seems like our hold shelf is always stocked with fiction titles. Do you get this too? My initial thought is that it’s due to the fact that with nonfiction, you can usually get another book on the same topic, so there is less need to put a specific book on hold.
The appropriately-titled Booklist went and created a book list. A rather sound book list. A top 10 list of black history books for youth, all published in 2010. Click the image below to check it out, and add to your collection accordingly.
In the past few weeks I’ve started following some new blogs, some of which might be of interest to you…
e is for book
Have I mentioned that 2011 is the year ebooks explode? It’s time to start figuring these things out (so says the reluctant librarian). The group blog e is for book should prove pretty helpful in this pursuit, with a bevy of authors talking about the transition to the brave new eworld.
Author blogs can be a dicey proposition. The best of them go beyond self-promotion and interact with the children’s lit world as a whole. Jonathan Auxier, author of the forthcoming Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes takes this wide-angle view, highlighting interesting topics and sharing personal knowledge. Plus, there’s funny drawings.
Klickitat is the brainchild of librarian Julie Judkins, and even though she’s just 9 posts in, I’m digging what I see – a nice mix of reviews, link round-ups, and discussion starters. It also don’t hurt one bit that Judkins is a fellow Michigander.
Started by a pair of children’s lit hobbyists, Reads for Keeps has all the reviews, book lists, and rambling editorials you could hope for. Bonus points for a cool header as well.
This one’s on the list for all the school librarians out there, but it may have some solid public library use as well. AASL Advocacy Tip of the Day is as straightforward as a blog can be – one post per day about how to generate support and spread good news about your school library. Brief, to the point, and useful.
Hang-wringing complete. It’s time for the quarterly look at upcoming releases I’m calling 10 to Note.
What follows are the 10 titles set to hit shelves in March, April, and May that had me most saying “Yeah, boiiiii!” (or something along those lines). Not a guarantee of quality, but a subjective list of books that struck my fancy as a K-6th grade elementary school librarian.
Middle Grade Fiction
The Trouble with Chickens by Doreen Cronin; illustrated by Kevin Cornell
Mar. 1, 2011 | Balzer + Bray | Grades 2-5
Diary of a Worm and Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type have made Doreen Cronin a well known figure in children’s lit. With The Trouble with Chickens, Cronin tries something she has never done – a middle grade novel. A mystery about a search-and-rescue dog (J.J. Tully) pulled out of retirement to crack a case of missing chicks, laughs are likely. And the “A J.J. Tully Mystery” tag on the front ensures more adventures to come. I’m anxious to see how this one turns out.
Invisible Inkling by Emily Jenkins; illustrated by Harry Bliss
Apr. 26, 2011 | Balzer + Bray | Grades 2-4
And hey, speaking of Diary of a Worm, the illustrator of that book, Harry Bliss, is handling the artwork for Invisible Inkling, written by Emily Jenkins. I love the premise of a boy with an invisible (I repeat: invisible – not imaginary) friend. When I hear the phrase “in the vein of Clementine”, my ears perk up, and that what the publisher is touting this middle grade title as.
Tales for Very Picky Eaters by Josh Schneider
May 2, 2011 | Clarion | Grades 2-4
No matter how many funny books come out, there will always be a clamoring mass of young readers ready for one more. This story about the lengths a father goes to to get his son to try new foods looks promising on the comedy front. A book that may speak to the scores of, ahem, selective eaters out there.
Nonfiction Picture Books
Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, Civil War Hero by Marissa Moss; illustrated by John Hendrix
Mar. 1, 2011 | Abrams | Grades 2-4
Have you heard of Sarah Edmonds? This woman who disguised herself as a man to fight in the civil war isn’t a household name, especially with kids. This picture book biography by Marissa Moss and John Hendrix should help bring Edmonds’ story to younger readers. Is it okay for me to have favorites? I’m not sure how that works since I review books and all. Alright, I’m just gonna say it – I’m a big John Hendrix fan. Big. Fan. If you know his work from When Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creekor the more recent
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You thought she was moody before, just wait until she appears on the silver screen. Yes, a film adaptation of the popular series by Megan McDonald is coming to theaters. Click here for details, including cast photos. Click here to read about the film in the LA Times blog.
I’ve been reading (and purchasing books for my libraries based on) librarian Tasha Saecker’s reviews for years at her blog Kids Lit. She recently switched blog monikers (to Waking Brain Cells) and moved locations – be sure to make the move with her. Click here to visit her new site and subscribe.
Over at Bookends, Lynn and Cindy share a genius reading promotion tool – the Good Books Bin. Steal this idea accordingly. Click the image above to read.
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The Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards (a.k.a. the Cybils) were just announced and demand a look-see. Having served on the Fiction Picture Book panel, I’m thrilled to see David Ezra Stein’s Interrupting Chicken take top honors in that category. Click here to see all the winners.
0 Comments on 2010 Cybils Winners Announced! as of 2/14/2011 4:19:00 AM
If you throw an I Spy, a Where’s Waldo, and a fiction picture book into your children’s lit blend-o-matic and hit puree, what you get is Look! A Book! – pure entertainment in printed form. I can’t wait to start circulating this.
A boy and a girl pick up a book – the same book the reader is holding in their hands:
HERE’S a CRAZY
SEEK & FIND
With images of every kind!
So many objects,
big and small.
Let’s see if you
Can find them
ALL….
From here on out, the spreads alternate between rhyming text set against bold colors and incredible seek and find illustrations. The conclusion of the book lists many more objects to go back and locate, ensuring hours of happy hunting.
Staake’s bright, abstract style has never been more detailed, with wildly creative results. Robots serving orange juice, dolphins wearing football helmets, clowns in shopping carts, seals operating machinery – the wackiness is seemingly endless. Kids will be pleased.
More than just an I Spy read-alike, the amount of care and consideration that went into Look! A Book! is impressive. Circular die cuts reveal objects that become part of the text. Staake smartly names only one object for the reader to locate on each seek and find spread, a decision that keeps the proceedings moving along during the first reading.
The verdict on this book is short and sweet. Get it. For your children’s collection, your kids, your neighbor’s kids – basically anyone that is or even vaguely resembles a youngster. It will receive a warm welcome everywhere.
An agreeable side effect of featuring cover lookalikes is that I occasionally find a suggestion in my inbox. Today’s Cover Curiosity is a perfect example. With credit and thanks to Cindy Dobrez, school librarian and Bookends blogger (a site you should be reading if you aren’t already), I bring you a possible trend in the making (and one that I quite fancy):
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