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I got you a present. It's my heart. Just don't go burying it under your floorboards or anything. Thanks to BB-Blog for... Read the rest of this post

Come on over to the ALSC blog to read my post "Graphic novels are haunting my dreams." Or at least taking over my office. It's a good thing I love 'em so much, because they really are becoming a can of worms, professionally speaking!

You know how something happens that makes you more aware of something and then suddenly it seems like the whole world is full of this thing?  Your best friend gets pregnant, say, and suddenly you see pregnant women everywhere, or you finally learn what jejune means and the word is suddenly popping up every day.  You wonder, “Is it just that I’m now noticing pregnant women more – or are there really a whole bunch more pregnant women roaming the streets?!”

This is how it is with graphic novels and me.  Oh, I’ve been a fan of graphic novels for all ages for at least a year now (don’t snort – I’ve always been a late-bloomer).  But suddenly it feels like graphic novels for kids are just exploding; you can’t turn a corner without bumping into some mention of them.  Whether it’s various lucky ducks attending the New York Comic Con (such as Elizabeth Bird, Sophie Brookover, and Molly Phelan) or a school librarian blogging about the huge popularity of graphic novels, it’s clear that this is a huge phenomenon.

I would be happy to sit back and let all the excitement flow around me, but there are some big issues that keep insisting on my attention.  Here are just a few:

How to catalog?  In my library system, we use a fiction, independent reader, or nonfiction Dewey number for children’s graphic novels (depending on whether it’s Coraline, Stinky, or a graphic novel on a nonfiction subject), followed by a “GN” designation, followed by a series cutter if necessary.  But the YA graphic novels are all in 740.9999.  Go figure!  And how to deal with those unending volumes in a series, some with different authors?  Our catalogers keep finding new situations for which they must cobble together solutions.

Where to shelve them?  I highly recommend pulling graphic novels together into a special collection, but not everyone agrees.  And should nonfiction graphic novels be shelved with the fiction graphic novels, or should they be with other books on the subject?  And what about those independent reader graphic novels? 

Juvenile or YA?  This is not a new question, but graphic novels complicate the issue.  Manga in particular has huge appeal for young readers, but the content is not always what some folks might call appropriate for kids 12 and under.  And many graphic novels look like they are aimed at kids, but they are actually adaptations of “classics” that teens read for school.  Will kids read them?  Will teens be offended by them? 

How to handle the flood of graphic novels?  Oh, it’s easy to deal with those wonderful one-offs or those short-series graphic novels, but what about those series that stretch off into the distance?  By the time you’ve learned about a popular series, it’s on volume 22 and the first 10 are out of print.  And now of course publishers have jumped on the bandwagon and are producing graphic novels by the hundreds.  Let’s just say that they are not all of the highest quality.  Will they have child appeal regardless?  Separating the wheat from the chaff is not always easy when there are so many new series.

It’s important to seek guidance and to work together.  In my library system, children’s librarians and catalogers are working closely to figure out the best way to guarantee good access to graphic novels.  Children’s librarians and YA librarians are coordinating efforts to make sure graphic novels are shelved in the appropriate sections of the library.  And we’re consulting sources like the Graphic Novels in Libraries listserv and the book The Librarian’s Guide to Graphic Novels for Children and Tweens by David S. Serchay (Neal-Schuman, 2008).  Searching Google for blogs on graphic novels yields many useful sources, as well.

I am ecstatic that graphic novels have come into their own.  They are a fresh and exciting new format that has an important place in every library.  Someday I hope to see a big, prestigious award just for graphic novels for youth.  And I’m happy to be a tiny part of this new groundswell that is exploring how best to evaluate, select, catalog, shelve, display, and market graphic novels.

And now I’m going to snuggle up with that stack of new graphic novels shimmering on my desk!

Graphic novels.  I swear it’s not just me.  They are popping up everywhere these days.

I love Simon Pegg.

I love Dylan Moran.

That is all.

I love Simon Pegg.

I love Dylan Moran.

That is all.

I love Simon Pegg.

I love Dylan Moran.

That is all.

Not only was I able to interview one, but TWO magnificent authors. The second is Kirby Larson - who has written one of my favorite books, Hattie Big Sky. I asked Kirby some questions about writing and herself which she answered below.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Because I was such a huge bookworm, reading all the time as a kid, writing stories felt like a natural next step. One of my favorite things was making up little plays and making my two younger brothers and sister be in them, but I always got the starring role! I had no idea that I could be a writer of books for children, however, until I was an adult. The trigger for pursuing that path was Arnold Lobel's MING LO MOVES THE MOUNTAIN. When I read that book to my then-small children, a little switch went off inside me and I knew I'd found what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I truly do hope I'm writing until I'm 99.


What is the story behind the first book you got published – how many tries to find a publisher, etc.?

This is ancient history -- so long ago, I can scarcely remember! I do remember that I began writing for children when my kids were teeny ones; maybe it was in the late 80s. My first book wasn't published until 1994. Along the way, I accumulated enough rejection letters to start a good-size bonfire -- and I'm still getting rejections! The first book that sold was a chapter book, one I was inspired to write by my daughter who loved Patricia Reilly Giff's Polk Street School Kids series. She got so frustrated when we'd read all the books out at that time. That made me realize that perhaps there was room in the market for more chapter books. . . maybe even one written by me! Before I even started the manuscript, I studied Patricia Reilly Giff's books thoroughly, even typing two of them out to help me get a feel for the rhythm, pacing and length of a chapter book. My daughter's second grade teacher was crazy about pigs so I played around with that idea and soon had a chapter book manuscript of my own, Second Grade Pig Pals. That manuscript was rejected only 4 or 5 times before Holiday House published it.


How do you choose your topics for your books?

It varies with each book. The chapter books focused on that confusing time of life, in the primary grades, when you're trying to figure out the "rules" of life, like how to be a good friend and what on earth it is that adults want from you. The Magic Kerchief grew out of my childhood love of fairy tales; Hattie Big Sky out of a curiosity about my great-grandmother's homesteading experience and the Two Bobbies out of wanting to share a story of hope in a time of trouble.


What is your favorite food??

Homemade berry pie is something I can never resist and red licorice is my favorite junk food.


Who are some of your favorite authors?

Thank you for not asking for favorite books! I hate trying to answer that question; it's really, really hard for me to select just a few. Authors I read and admire include (but are in no way limited to): Laurie Halse Anderson, M.T. Anderson, Betsy Byars, Karen Cushman, Brenda Guiberson, Karen Hesse, Laura Kvasnosky, Barbara O'Connor, Dave Patneaude, Katherine Paterson, Ann Whitford Paul, Neal Shusterman . . . and I hate the fact that in putting these names down I am omitting many, many others. The children's literature world is full of fine, fine writers and illustrators -- we are so lucky!


Who has inspired you as a writer?

My mom and dad believed I could do anything, if I set my mind to it; I am ever grateful to them for their faith. My husband carried the financial burden of our family for far too many years, all the while certain I would someday "make it." I am thankful to my kids for story ideas and for my favorite word, "Mom," and I couldn't keep writing without the support of the generous and loving community of children's book creators.


Plans you can share for upcoming books?

My friend, Mary Nethery, and I have a second book coming out in fall 2009; titled Nubs: A Mutt, A Marine and a Miracle, it tells the amazing story of an Iraqi dog and his bond with a US Marine. I am working on another (and overdue-to-the-editor) historical novel and am taking notes for a possible second story about Hattie.


What has been one of your favorite books to write?

Hattie Big Sky was my favorite to write for so many reasons: it felt like a love letter to my grandmother (and great-grandmother) and it also introduced me to research -- something I've discovered I thoroughly enjoy. The research and writing of HBS also led me to other historical fiction ideas, so I've got book ideas lined up for a ways to come.


Where is your favorite spot to write?

I have a great (and very messy) office at home which suits me well but, lately, I've been taking my laptop to a local coffee shop because I like what happens when I change up my work space and habits.


Can you tell us a bit about your family….

I have a darling and long-suffering husband who has been my sweetheart since we attended the Senior Prom together in 1972. Our son, Tyler, lives in New York and currently works for HBO though his mother is not-too-patiently waiting for the day when he also becomes a writer. Our daughter, Quinn, is an interior designer who lives with her husband, Matt, in a community about 40 minutes south of us.

Thanks again to Kirby Larson for appearing, courtesy of Provato Marketing, for other stops on the tour please check www.provatoevents.com.

I also try to be a weekly geek (I mean, I do geek out daily in my own special way) but I never seem to get around to it.

BUT! HA! Better late than never, right? This week we're talking book covers. I'm going to talk about consistency within a series. I'm a big fan of consistency. I like the books on my shelf to match and am not happy when a series changes look half way through. I mean, read my rants here and here about the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series.

And Georgia's where I'm going to start, because I wasn't originally a fan of the new covers. When I started reading, the covers all looked like this:



But, when Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers went to paperback, they changed cover designs. Now the first 4 books (pictured above) look like this:



Now, it's been a few years, and the new covers are starting to grow on me. I like that they incorporate Angus (the cat) on every cover, because he is a big part of every book. I especially like the new cover for Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants, because the romantic shadow on the wall is that of two cats. It's subtle and funny once you read the book (although the old cover, check out the man in the moon--it's two kissing cats!) I miss the old covers, but I do think the new ones will appeal to more teens today. I still, however, insist that those nunga nungas would not knock anyone out.

Despite my fuddy-duddy DON'T CHANGE THE BOOK COVER ways, sometimes it's necessary. I've been reading the Alice books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (expect a big review this weekend or next week.)

Now, Naylor started writing the Alice books in the mid-80s and the series is ongoing. The old covers needed to go. However, they then changed the covers again and the newest ones are fine, but the older ones are still good. Here's the progression for Alice in Rapture, Sort Of.



And! Some of the newer titles/those featuring an older Alice, have totally different covers! (I'm judging entire remakes based on the "Alice" logo, which is consistent across books, but changes when they redesign the overall package)

Now, these two versions of Including Alice are pretty similar, to the point where I think both pictures were taken in the same photoshoot--the model is wearing the same top! But, I think they're both paperbacks...:



There's a bigger difference between these two paperback versions of Alice in April



And a really big difference between these two paperback versions of


The big thing I can see with the newer editions of the Alice books is that each cover seems to look like it's for an older audience than the older cover. I'm wondering why this is. Alice has always been a very controversial series (Alice thinks about sex a lot. Not that she wants to have a lot of it, but just that's she's naturally very curious about this thing that no one talks about.) So, are the publishers trying to push it into older hands by making the covers look older?

Or is it because kids like to read "up"--reading about characters older than they are and books that look older. So are the publishers aging up the covers so that the kids who are Alice's age (she ages a year every 3 books) won't think they're too babyish based on the cover?

Also, some of the covers needed to change. The illustrated version of Alice in Rapture, Sort of needed to go. But the middle one is the right age for Alice. The newer one of the heart in the beach, while technically age ambiguous, makes it feel like it's for a much older reader. The newer version of Simply Alice looks more like how old Alice should be. She's 15 and a sophomore in high school in that book--the older one just looks too young. On the other hand, the newer Alice in April might be too old, as the older one (where you can see her face) looks about the right age.

What are your thoughts?

While I'm off enjoying a nice Valentine's Day lunch and shopping with my adorable husband tomorrow, the Cybils winners will be announced. It seems like a long time since nominations were opened, then I read made a pretty good attempt to read all of the books in my Young Adult category for which I was a panelist. The ladies and I had a lively discussion as to our favorite books, finally narrowing it down to seven and now it's been in the judges hands for the past month and a half.

The finalists in the Young Adult category are:

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
I Know It's Over by C.K. Kelly Martin
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher
Thaw by Monica Roe

You can find the rest of the finalists in the other categories here.

I know I have my own personal favorites, which do you think will win? Or which do you WANT to win?

I've been absolutely loving Abby (the) Librarian's posts about a day in the life of a children's librarian. I think a lot of my love of these posts is that her days are so different than mine, even though I'm also a children's librarian!

But, I'm totally stealing her idea and giving you a taste of what my work day is like. I give you 2 days this week:

9 am Get to work, pull books on the holds list and process them, clean up the children's room, discuss upcoming displays with my boss, help design a flyer.

10 am The library opens. I'm on desk. When slow, I check email, work on a replacement list, and weed some books. Some questions

Do you have story time today (YES!)
Do you have A Narrative of Frederick Douglass? (YES--in teen)
Do you have books about Barack Obama for 8-year-olds? (YES, but there's a waiting list)
I need information about different types of land forms.

1 pm Lunch!

1:30 pm Attempting to unearth my desk

2 pm Staff meeting

3 pm Back on desk! Lots of computer help and giving out passes. When slow, I also do some paperwork for an upcoming conference and work on the replacement list. Some questions:

Do you have this book called The Graveyard Book? (That's exactly how they asked and the answer is YES! But there's a waiting list)
Do you have the Firebird anthonogy? (NO, but we can ILL it.)
Do you have any books about Frederick Douglass (YES!)

5:30 pm Home!

Another day:

9 am Pull and process holds, clean up the children's room.

10 am Library open! I set up for storytime and do last-minute prep work.

10:30 am I do story time for 2-3 year olds!

11 am Catch my breath

11:15 am I do story time for 3-5 year olds!

12 pm On desk. Biggest problem is helping a customer open a .docx file.

1 pm Lunch!

2 pm I should be off desk and dealing with new books, but it's a little crazy, so I jump onto the adult information desk to help out. Some questions:

Do you have books by Allison Hobbs (YES! But there's a waiting list)
Where are your books about resumes?
Do you have books about KSAs? (YES! Also, I think that is a very DC-centric question)
What's the status of my ILL book?

3 pm Back in the land of children. I talk to a Babymouse fan about the new one (we haven't gotten Babymouse #10: The Musical in yet, but it's on order!). Some questions:

Where are your Frog and Toad books?
When does your chess club meet? (Monday nights)
Do you have the book Tales from the Crypt? (We have the TV series on DVD, but no books. I then get in a long discussion with a 10 year old about the cryptkeeper and how much he freaks me out.)
I need pictures of viral reproduction

5:30 pm Off desk! Grab the new books, yay! replacement copies of the first two Diary of a Wimpy Kid books have arrived! I bring them back to the children's room and get mobbed. I touch base on some things with a few coworkers and then...

6 pm Home!

Hughes, Shirley. 2003. Ella's Big Chance: A Jazz Age Cinderella.

Ella's Big Chance doesn't have much to do with jazz itself--though the illustrations clearly show the styles to be from the jazz age of fashion--but it does have everything to do with Cinderella. And with Valentine's Day less than twenty-four hours away, it is appropriate to review it now. There were things that I enjoyed about Ella's Big Chance. Things that disappointed me. And things that surprised me. I mean really surprised me about the book, the story. Things I'd not seen done with the story...ever. So it was refreshing in a way. I loved the clothes, the fashion. Ella works as a seamstress; making clothes is how she slaves away her time. And for the most part, she doesn't have the fun-and-glory of wearing the aforementioned garments. Her life is drab...except for one person, one friend in particular...a character named Buttons. You'll have to read this one for yourself to see if it's your style or if you prefer a more traditional take on Cinderella.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Brinton, Sybil. G. 1914/2008. Old Friends and New Fancies: An Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen.

Originally written in 1913 (published in 1914), Old Friends and New Fancies is the first Jane Austen sequel ever created. It has been newly published by Sourcebooks. The book is a first in many ways. It is unique too. It is a sequel to all SIX Jane Austen novels: Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, and Sense and Sensibility. You'll find several of your best-loved and best-love-to-hate characters within its pages.

At its heart, Old Friends and New Fancies is a love story. A book all about the ups, downs, twists, and turns of courtship--Austen style. Misunderstandings abound!

I especially loved to see how Mrs. Jennings, Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Emma Knightley are still causing trouble--intentional or not.

The book is essentially concerned with four would-be-pairings. I hesitate to tell you too much. After all, half the fun is seeing which pairs Sybil Brinton imagined being compatible. There are two primary narrators, however, in the book: Georgiana Darcy and Elizabeth (Bennet) Darcy. (Other viewpoints are shown. And it is more than just those two, but over half the book at least are those two.)

S
P
O
I
L
E
R

Mix and match: James Morland, William Price, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Tom Bertram...with....
Georgiana Darcy, Kitty Bennet, Isabella Thorpe, and Mary Crawford.


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Katherine Hannigan, of amazing Ida B. fame, has come out with another for the middle grade fiction set, one that is both sweet and charming, and even a bit silly at times.

Emmaline has been born and raised in the town of Neatasapin. As the name describes, everyone and everything in town must be incredibly clean, neat, and quiet, all of which Emmaline has trouble with. She doesn't understand what is so wrong about wanting to dig in the dirt or run around and shout if she so wishes. Emmaline has always wanted a bunny and finally dares to ask for one for her birthday, but of course, her parents explain that bunnies are not clean and neat, so a bunny she will not be given.

When Emmaline finds one place in town that allows digging, running, and even bunnies, she thinks she may have found a way to live like a real child, rather than one constantly being quiet and neat. She may even get a bunny too!

Emmaline is a sweet and charming character, one that your younger children will really enjoy, especially when she's hopping around, shouting out her fun, if rather odd statements (really, what does 'Hoopalala' mean?).

There are some adorable illustrations, also done by Hannigan, pleasing those that aren't quite ready for a total chapter book, still needing some pictures to hold their attention. This one would be great for those transitioning to reading chapter books or for a fabulous family read aloud.

Emmaline and the Bunny is a book that almost makes me want a bunny myself!

To learn more or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon.

Emmaline and the Bunny
Katherine Hannigan
112pages
Middle Grade fiction
Greenwillow Books
9780061626548
February 2009

ALSC offers several professional awards including grants and fellowships to recognize our members, support their outstanding programming, and aid in their continuing education. Congratulations to the following ALSC members!

Jane Botham is the 2009 recipient of the ALSC Distinguished Service Award. As stated in the press release, Botham’s contribution to the library profession is summed up well in the words of ALSC member Mimi Kayden, “She knows so much, imparts it so well and is so entertaining when she does it.”

The Fair Oaks branch of the Redwood City (CA) Public Library, partnered with the Garfield Elementary Charter School, has been awarded the 2009 Maureen Hayes Award. Award-winning author Pam Muñoz Ryan, whose books portray and honor the Latino cultural experience, will visit the Garfield school which, as shared in the press release, is 94 percent Latino.

The 2009 ALSC Penguin Young Readers Group Award allows four children’s librarians to each receive a $600 grant to attend their first ALA Annual Conference. The 2009 winners are:

• Cheryl Lee from the Palo Alto (CA) City Library
• Katherine T. McCabe from the Briarcliff Middle School in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.
• Heather Karrick Perkinson from the Falmouth (ME) public schools
• Sarah Polace from the Cuyahoga (OH) County Public Library, Parma-South Branch

The 2009 ALSC/BWI Summer Reading Grant is awarded to the Madison (OH) Public Library. The $3000 grant is to promote the development of outstanding summer reading programs for children. As shared in the press release, Madison Public Library’s 2009 summer reading program theme, “Be Creative @ Your Library,” will offer music and motion activities for preschoolers and art experiences for school age children.

Linda Martin, library media specialist from Gainesville, GA, is the 2009 recipient of the ALSC Bechtel Fellowship. The fellowship provides a stipend of $4000 to an ALSC Member to spend a month or more reading and studying at the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature at the University of Florida, Gainesville. According to the press release, Martin’s ultimate goal in her study, “Storytelling in the Content Areas,” is to use story as framework for learning in all subject areas, finding stories from the past to adapt to the modern classroom.

For more information about ALSC Professional Awards, visit the ALSC website–>Awards & Grants–>Professional Awards.

You all know the best laid plans.  I planned to feature another class of poems.  Since I was out of the building attending a fabulous conference this week, the poems did not get transferred into my “drop box”.

However, the students in Ms Padden’s class have been dropping poems in like crazy. (you see, our plan is to self publish a book through Blurb) so here is one that sums up February by Kylie:

February Days

February days drift across my mind,
Dreaming
February Days will come back,
Sliding in the low snow,
Drinking the last of my Stock of hot chocolate
February Days

Poetry Friday is being held at Big A little a.  Thank you, Kelly.

Happy Reading.

MsMac

I'm guest blogging at the Shelf Space Blog of ForeWord Magazine for the next few weeks.

Longtime readers may recall I was also a guest blogger back in December 2007.

Please head over and say "hi"!

During my happy reading childhood, it became clear to me that I was lucky not to have been born 100 years earlier. I remember my horror at how thrilled Laura was to get her one book as a gift in Little Town on the Prairie--the thrill of it! and I have countless, unspecific, memories of children in books not being allowed to read fiction because of Satan, concomitant descent in to moral turpitude, etc.

Is this later phenomena is an American thing, a holdover from the Puritan mindset? Do we still, as a country, carry with us a vague fear that fiction (Harry Potter aside) will corrupt our youth?
I am thinking about this because of today's post at the Guardian Book Blog, that font of useful stuff for spin-off blog posts, entitled: "Warning: books may damage your health." (tongue in cheek) seems to suggest that a different mindset holds sway across the pond.

How can one not read all of a post that includes such thought provoking utterances:

"After last week's Children's Society report declared that Britain's youth were devolving into feral illiterates, the government insisted that what they need is a damn good reading." The author goes on to propose that "books – lumped together into a single medium, individual content unspecified – have come to be seen as the natural catalyst for wholesomeness."

Hmmm.... Read the rest of this post

Myers, Walter Dean. 2006. Jazz. Illustrated by Christopher Myers. Holiday House.

This week I'm in with a review of a poetry book/picture book entitled Jazz. I just love the cover. How about you? There's something so vital about it, so expressive. Which gives you just a glimpse of what the book has to offer readers. The book presents jazz as a living, vital, emotional experience. About as far from boring as you can get! The book is a collection of fifteen poems. And they're good. My personal favorite is "Jazz Vocal." A poem that is just perfect for Valentine's Day.

"Jazz Vocal"
by Walter Dean Myers

A sultry love song, sassy as a summer day,
goes dancing from my heart and fills my mind
with such sweet things to say,

Like I love you oh so much
and I tremble when you touch my hand.
Can you understand?
Or can't you really see
what your beauty does to me
and your every word to me is my command?
It's our song. Our love song.
Can you hear it just beginning
Or am I just imagining those precious sounds?

it's a warm night, and much to my delight
my heart beats like a cool jazz bass,
making a special place for us to follow
as we walk on the edges of a dream
or is that horn man painting the edges of a love moonbeam?
Are those chords the heart of reason
or is this just the silly season to fall in love?
The melody and beat are blending
to a happy-ever-ending for you and me.
It's a love song. A sultry love song. All right.

The book includes a glossary of jazz terms and a time line.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Love is a good thing to feel, written by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Jennifer Plecas
My mom knows Barbara Joosse somehow, I should say that. Hasn't influenced me unduly so far: in fact, I've never reviewed any of her books before, and she's written plenty. Seems like a nice lady though.

And she sure does know about LOVE. THIS adorable thing I'm holding in my hands is all about Harriet, who is frizzy-haired and wears striped tights and stomps in puddles and tap dances. Harriet tells us about the ways to say I love you, and what love does for you (it can "make bad better") and how anger and jealousy and sorrow can exist at the same time as love. We need to explain this to kids every chance we get. Harriet also tells us that sponges don't have hearts but worms have five.

And then she sings a song. Now I will sing a song:

Ohhh... you beautiful readers of Pink Me
You are smart and funny and I love your sweaters!
The way you put up with my silly crap
It's like a bubble bath on the Internet!
Happy Valentine's Day, you sweetly-scented shiny and bouncy PEEOPLE!
(And thanks especially to mamele, who called me "mouthy")

Hey, brother readers guys, cyber kid 303 has just sent us a review of The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones:

The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones is a good book by HELLEN HEMPHILL! Yes, I did go to her workshop at Imaginon. The book is filled with action and adventure. The story starts when Prometheus Jones and Homer Shine win a horse in a raffle. They got the ticket from LaRue and Pernie Boyd Dill, two dumb rednecks, who said there was no way they were gonna let a black man, even though he was born on the day of the Emancipation Proclamation and was free from his first breath, keep that horse. Prometheus and Omer (that's what they called Homer) then jump on and ride that horse to Texas where they join a cattle drive. Many adventures happen while they drive the cattle to Deadwood in the Dakota Territory. Once they get to Deadwood, those two rednecks show up and accuse Prometheus of stealing the horse. Read the book! Read it!

What did I tell you guys? This IS a terrific book! So do as cyber kid says--"Read the book! Read it!"

Carl

Writing non-fiction has made me a lover of bibliographies. When I pick up a history book, I skip directly to the bibliography. It's a great gauge of the seriousness of the author; a threadbare bibliography is something of a red flag. My eye jumps immediately to primary sources – another measure of the books authenticity – but also for the joy of learning about sources I never knew existed. Secondary references are fun, too, and a useful research tool if I'm tackling a similar subject in my own work. Comparing bibliographies of several books devoted to the same subject will reveal the most esteemed sources and give hints of generally accepted historical "truth"

Sometimes bibliographies contain odds and ends of informantion that fall outside the demands of the larger manuscript, but are too compelling for the author to leave out. Heck. there have been bibliographies I've enjoyed more than the book they served.

Susan Goodman here: I know that this is my normal blogging day, but I.N.K. has decided to have a occasional guest blogger and I can't think of anyone better to invite than Jill Davis. Jill is one of the best nonfiction editors I know. I owe her a debt of gratitude for making my book See How They Run as fun as it was, I bet a lot of authors feel the same. P.S. Jill is also a writer herself, The First Rule of Little Brothers came out this fall. So here's Jill....

* * * * * * *

I have been lucky to be a children’s book editor for 17 years, and have worked at many terrific and unique places, including Crown, Knopf, Viking, Bloomsbury, and FSG. My early days were filled with nonfiction more than anything else, but I worked on it all the way through. Over the years, I have noticed how things have changed:

Back in the day, nonfiction had much more of a Life Magazine book series look—straight text and photos. Some people still refer to children’s photographic nonfiction as “a photo essay.” Trade houses would publish a fair amount of these and expect them to do fine. Usually, a publisher would publish a few nonfiction titles per year--most of them books about a specific topic—Dogs!, Adolph Hitler!, The Cuban Missile Crisis!—often they’d take a chronological approach, use a generic-sounding title. Of course there were always the mavericks--like Russell Freedman and Jean Fritz--but the general tone was a bit unadventurous.

Fast forward to nowadays, when so many exciting, innovative books are coming out every season. Commercial is the “insider” buzzword of the day, and it means lots of different things at once. When I explain that a book idea is or isn’t commercial to an author, sometimes I get a confused look. The label “commercial” had me wondering too. Eventually I came up with my own definition: A book is commercial if it’s so appealing in some particular way that you want to buy ten copies and ten people spring immediately to mind that would love it.

The book doesn’t have to appeal to everyone. How can it? It doesn’t have to be flashy. A few examples: The Dangerous Book for Boys, 101 Things to do Before You Die, The 39 Apartments of Ludwig Van Beethoven, See How They Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes, and the Race to the White House.

So the obvious question is: How can I make my nonfiction commercial?

Here are a few ideas:
1. Humor is not for every book, but it sure helps—try a humorous voice or a funny illustrator. Humor makes a book feel LESS like a homework assignment and more like fun. This can apply both to picture books and longer nonfiction. Kids love nonfiction naturally, but we teach them to be afraid of it.

2. Picture book biographies have to sparkle! One way to do that is to narrow it down. Just because you love some amazing person’s life story doesn’t mean kids are going to want to know everything about them, including where they were born and what kind of diapers they wore. Pick a subject, and isolate an event in their life that you can highlight gorgeously in a picture book text. One example, When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan and Brian Selznick.

3. Get a little bit edgy: That’s what the rest of the world is doing, so why not nonfiction? Some children’s nonfiction has been pushing the envelope for decades. So don’t be afraid to get obscure, or super specific, or down and dirty when writing for kids. A good storyteller can bring any good story to life, so pick something YOU would have loved to read about. Of course, if some important historical figure is having a huge birthday—that’s never a bad topic, either!

P.S. Something to realize about nonfiction: Publishing nonfiction is what we editors call “labor intensive”—and not just for the author. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it, but it takes a lot of people at a publisher to work on one detailed nonfiction book. Maybe five times as much work as a novel or a picture book.

Think about it. Fact-checking, design (this part is huge), photo research, illustration research, illustration proofreading, fees, permissions, source notes, index, front matter, back matter. Often, a freelance designer is needed because large-scale nonfiction takes up so much of a designer’s time. So authors: realize that committing to a big nonfiction book is like deciding to have a baby. You never have any idea how much work it’s going to be until you are there doing it. And even though you love it, it takes a lot out of everyone—most of all, you! And like a baby, it’s always worth it in the end, but not often a great plan for getting rich.

...and I got slammed by two of them.

Thus the lack of posting this week.  So sorry about that, but this/thesecold/s is/are so bad that I haven't done much of anything this week other than sit by the woodstove, work on a puzzle (Which I finished yesterday -- and then promptly ordered two more -- I CAN'T STOP!) and watch Buffy.  I haven't even been reading.  It's extremely pathetic.

Oh.  Also, a reminder to anyone who is thinking about submitting a piece to TBR Tallboy: we've reached the halfway point in this round -- so you've got approximately six more weeks until the March 31st deadline.

...and I got slammed by two of them.

Thus the lack of posting this week.  So sorry about that, but this/thesecold/s is/are so bad that I haven't done much of anything this week other than sit by the woodstove, work on a puzzle (Which I finished yesterday -- and then promptly ordered two more -- I CAN'T STOP!) and watch Buffy.  I haven't even been reading.  It's extremely pathetic.

Oh.  Also, a reminder to anyone who is thinking about submitting a piece to TBR Tallboy: we've reached the halfway point in this round -- so you've got approximately six more weeks until the March 31st deadline.