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Over at The Rumpus, middle-grade author Cecil Castelluci will coordinate the new Letters For Kids program–a subscription service giving readers mail from authors who write for kids.
According to the launch page, participants will receive “two letters a month written by middle-grade authors like Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler, Adam Rex, Kerry Madden, Natalie Standiford, Susan Patron, Rebecca Stead, Cecil Castelluci, and more.” The service will cost $4.50 per month for U.S. readers, and $9 international readers. The project will expand upon The Rumpus’ Letters in the Mail program for adults. Check it out:
Some of the letters will be illustrated. Some will be written by hand. It’s hard to say! We’ll copy the letters, fold them, put them in an envelope, put a first class stamp on the envelope, and send the letters to you (or your child) … Six is pretty much the perfect age to start checking your mailbox for actual letters. And if you’ve waited until you were ten, well, you’re four years behind but still, it’s not too late. And if you’re sixteen, that’s OK, there’s still something of the kid left. And if you’re sixty, well… OK. You’re young at heart.
So last week I shared a bit about my experience at ALA. Here is the rest of the dirt. This time no pictures of me (possibly), just fawning over famous-er and hugely (brilliantly) talented people (and therefore this post will get lots of hits).
Seriously.
It was like Wonderland (or WondLa- land, but I didn't get to see Tony DiTerlizzi). A famous face at every turn. Fun to say hi, to have a chance conversation, to meet a hero and be inspired. Here are some inspiring moments and inspiring people ...
The charming, enchanting and legendary Ashley Bryan, signing his book 'Word's to My Life's Song'.
If you haven't read it yet, GO get it.
And then I got to sign my book for Ashley when he dropped by Charlesbridge Booth! A-MAZ-ING.
A hug from Mr. Bryan can keep you warm and inspired a long time, let me tell you.
Here is the wonderful David Small. I love David's work .. his loose and yet controlled line work is so awesome. He's signing 'One Cool Friend' by Toni Buzzeo of MAINE. So I had to get a copy ....
LUUURRRRVVV this drawing he did!!!
4 Comments on What happened at ALA Anaheim 2012 - Part deux, last added: 7/10/2012
Love, love, love this post. The next best thing to going to an event like this is pictures from someone who was tickled to be there. Thanks for putting faces to some of the names I've heard of for so long.
And yes, to have a character come to life and walk around a show is an admirable goal. Make it happen.
#48 The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (1999)
43 points
Also brought me a huge list of new readers – boys and girls and teachers loved to read them out loud to the class. – Cheryl Phillips
I’m a Snicket girl, loving the play with wit and words in this Series of Unfortunate Events. – Pam Coughlan
Unlike other series no one had any desire to nominate a Snicket title other than this, the first. That helped its rating considerably. Previously #71 it now leaps up to the 40s. Not too shabby. My encounters with the book precede my library degree. When I lived in Portland, Oregon after college I started reading children’s books out of the blue (yet never dreamed I’d be a children’s librarian, odd as that may sound). I read the first few Snicket books in Powell’s on a lark and loved them, so after the publication of #4 I went and saw Mr. Snicket speak. He was wonderful, and the crowd was reasonable if not excessive. Later, when he would command entire buildings like the Union Square Barnes & Noble, I missed the early days of Snicketmania. Ah, nostalgic me.
Library Journal described the plot in this manner: “This series chronicles the unfortunate lives of the Baudelaire children: Violet, 14; Klaus, 12; and the infant, Sunny. In Bad Beginning, their parents and possessions perish in a fire, and the orphans must use their talents to survive as their lives move from one disastrous event to another. Surrounded by dim-witted though well-meaning adults, the Baudelaires find themselves in the care of their evil relative, Count Olaf, a disreputable actor whose main concern is getting his hands on the children’s fortune. When Olaf holds Sunny hostage to force Violet to marry him, it takes all of the siblings’ resourcefulness to outwit him. Violet’s inventive genius, Klaus’s forte for research, and Sunny’s gift for biting the bad guys at opportune moments save the day.”
In Funny Business: Conversations with Writers of Comedy (edited by Leonard Marcus) an interview was conducted with Daniel Handler, the face behind the Snicket. The son of a man who escaped the Holocaust, Handler’s career as a children’s author began when his editor suggested (after reading an adult manuscript) that he write for kids. The editor was Susan Rich, a woman we will now refer to as “Resident Genius” because I doubt that many editors would have seen the possibilities in Handler’s wordplay. The ideas? Not a problem. “That’s what always happens to me: I have a clear idea for a story right away, and then as I’m writing it I find that it has more twists and corners than I knew.” He told his editor it would be a thirteen book series. She told him he’d be lucky if he could publish four.
The charm of the series is well defined by Sandra Howard in the August 25, 2001 edition of Spectator. “As a child I had an invented other child that I used to enjoy pretending to be; she had a permanently wretched time, always cruelly treated, slaving away. I’m sure Lemony Snicket’s constant exhortations to expect only the direst events to occur will have a happily morbid appeal and I found myself impatient to know how the orphans were going to get out of one scrape to be ready for the next. The tales are straightforward, no foe-defying magic, just companionable sharing of a disastrous state of affairs.”
It’s probably not too surprising that the first book Handler bought with his own money was Edward Gorey’s The Blue Aspic. He was in first or second grade at the time. His other influences
0 Comments on Top 100 Children’s Novels #48: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket as of 1/1/1900
Seth’s cover for the first volume of Lemony Snicket’s new series of books has been released, along with Snicket’s warning: “I suggest extreme caution … The distribution of this cover image should be on a need-to-know basis, limited to librarians, booksellers, readers, e-readers, educators, journalists, muck-rakers, bloggers, tweeters, men, women, and children.”
Seth will provide illustrations for the new series, which is titled “All the Wrong Questions” and reportedly deals with a somewhat more autobiographical subject matter set in a fading town.
0 Comments on Seth covers Lemony Snicket for Who Could That Be at This Hour? as of 1/1/1900
The Toronto Librarians are on strike. There is no need to panic… Ahhhhhhhh! Failing to reach a labour agreement over the weekend 2,400 librarians went on strike. All 98 library branches across Toronto are close as of Monday. The library is asking borrowers to hold on to all checked out books and materials. No overdue [...]
Sometimes you receive a message from the dead. Other times—luckier times—you receive an exclusive poem from famed children's author Lemony Snicket, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events. That's what happened to our friends over at Figment.com.
Figment is a community for young readers and writers—it's a place to read, write, and connect with like-minded aspiring authors. They host contests all the time, too—often judged by professional authors or editors. It's a great place to hone your craft—and to look for exclusives like this one!
Author Daniel Handler (who sometimes goes by Lemony Snicket) and illustrator Maira Kalman visited Amazon to chat about their new book Why We Broke Up, chosen by editors as one of January's Best Books of the Month. If we gave awards for most delightfully entertaining interviewees, these two would be shoo-ins.
The fictional author Lemony Snicket will return in a four book series from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers called All the Wrong Questions. Graphic novelist Seth will illustrate the “authorized autobiographical account” of Snicket’s childhood.
The series will debut with Who Could That Be at This Hour? in October. The publisher will print one million copies of the first book by the fictional author since A Series of Unfortunate Events sold over 60 million copies. Snicket is the pen name of author Daniel Handler.
Here’s more from the release: “Drawing on events that took place during a period of his youth spent in a fading town, far from anyone he knew or trusted, Snicket chronicles his experiences as an apprentice in an organization nobody knows about. While there, he began to ask a series of questions—wrong questions that should not have been on his mind. Who Could That Be at This Hour? is Snicket’s account of the first wrong question.”
The fictional author Lemony Snicket will return in a four book series from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers called All the Wrong Questions. Graphic novelist Seth will illustrate the “authorized autobiographical account” of Snicket’s childhood.
The series will debut with Who Could That Be at This Hour? in October. The publisher will print one million copies of the first book by the fictional author since A Series of Unfortunate Events sold over 60 million copies. Snicket is the pen name of author Daniel Handler.
Here’s more from the release: “Drawing on events that took place during a period of his youth spent in a fading town, far from anyone he knew or trusted, Snicket chronicles his experiences as an apprentice in an organization nobody knows about. While there, he began to ask a series of questions—wrong questions that should not have been on his mind. Who Could That Be at This Hour? is Snicket’s account of the first wrong question.”
The fictional author Lemony Snicket will return in a four book series from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers called All the Wrong Questions. Graphic novelist Seth will illustrate the “authorized autobiographical account” of Snicket’s childhood.
The series will debut with Who Could That Be at This Hour? in October. The publisher will print one million copies of the first book by the fictional author since A Series of Unfortunate Events sold over 60 million copies. Snicket is the pen name of author Daniel Handler.
Here’s more from the release: “Drawing on events that took place during a period of his youth spent in a fading town, far from anyone he knew or trusted, Snicket chronicles his experiences as an apprentice in an organization nobody knows about. While there, he began to ask a series of questions—wrong questions that should not have been on his mind. Who Could That Be at This Hour? is Snicket’s account of the first wrong question.”
So I’m at a lovely Little Brown librarian preview earlier this week and the first special guest star of the day turns out to be none other than Daniel Handler a.k.a. Lemony Snicket. A resident of San Francisco, I wasn’t sure why he was in town. Turns out, he was on Rachel Maddow’s show talking about his recent Occupy Wall Street piece that had been making the internet rounds. Maddow says that he’s a “cultural hero of mine” and then later that she is “dorking out” being in his presence. The interview is great in and of itself, plus you get this fun bit at the start about what you do when the police have confiscated your generators.
Of course if I’d known he was in town I would have tried to hook him into saying hello at the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival festivities. Hosted in my library I’ll be blogging about it rather soon. It was rather epic, I have to say. Everything from a children’s musical about the birth of the Newbery Award to kids singing the plot of The Westing Game to Katie Perry’s “Firework” (a song that seems to haunt Mr. Kennedy wherever he may go). Of course we ran out of time so we never got to show this final video. I present it to you now because it’s rather brilliant. As Ira Glass imitations go, this has gotta be up there:
This next link is here only because Travis at 100 Scope Notes spotted it first. According to Reuters, the Japanese have brought The Magic Tree House books to life on the screen. Apparently Mary Pope Osborne has always resisted film adaptations but the filmmakers so wowed her that she gave them the rights. The result pairs nicely with that recent Borrowers adaptation, also out of Japan:
In other news, Newbery Honor winner Kathi Appelt recently interviewed Caldecott Award winner Eric Rohmann about his latest hugely lauded Halloween tale Bone Dog. Perhaps I should have posted this before Hal
5 Comments on Video Sunday: I’m gonna give you some terrible thrills, last added: 11/6/2011
Thanks so much for co-curating the film festival with me, Betsy, and thanks especially for putting up that “This American Life”-style RING OF ENDLESS LIGHT — I was so disappointed that we ran out of time and couldn’t show it! Next year I’ll have a better sense of timing…
Also- that AFP performance was meant for me too I am a long-time fan of Neil, I stood in line for hours to get him to sign Death and Sandman graphic novels for me back in the day! Because of him, I discovered Amanda when they worked together on Who Killed Amanda Palmer? Now I love them both.
Eti Berland said, on 11/6/2011 7:35:00 AM
Thank you so much for sharing my Ira Glass-inspired contribution to the 90-Second Newbery festival! It gave me a wonderful thrill to see it on your blog and I appreciate the lovely compliment. I wish I could have been in New York for the festival, and I can’t wait to see your coverage of the event.
Anonymous said, on 11/6/2011 2:40:00 PM
I LOVE Bone Dog. I read it to my schoolchildren last week, and they loved it, too. It spans the different ages beautifully, and many children remarked on the beauty of the illustrations. It’s a big, generous book–funny, sad, spooky, imaginative, with a denouement that’s both logical and surprising. It’s my favorite for the Caldecott–quite simply a perfect book.
Kathi Appelt said, on 11/6/2011 7:58:00 PM
Betsy, thank you so much for posting my video with Eric Rohmann. I love BONE DOG, and hope for many good things to happen for it, and for Eric too.
I know, it seems crazy to talk about the holiday season already. But this is also the point where we start putting in book orders for the latest titles and replacing old books as well. So let’s jump in and talk about some of the newest books for the holiday season:
THE HAPPY ELF by Harry Connick Jr., illustrated by Dan Andreasen (On-sale now). Based on the song by Harry Connick Jr., this comes with a CD. You can also watch the video.
A CHRISTMAS GOODNIGHT by Nola Buck, illustrated by Sarah Jane Wright (On-sale now). In its starred review, Publishers Weekly said that this book “serves special status, to be kept off-season with other holiday decorations and then brought out each year at Christmas.”
THE LITTLEST EVERGREEN by Henry Cole (On-sale now). School Library Journal calls this “a fine Christmas choice with an environmental message.”
Now we have a rallying cry. Bonus. Thanks to Maureen Johnson for the link.
Travis at 100 Scope Notes recently discovered the author video cache to beat all author video caches. As he puts it”I challenge you to a good ol’ fashioned game of ‘I Bet I Can Find a Video Interview of An Author You Like’.” Apparently Reading Rockets has done everything in its power to videotape many of the major power players out there. Your Selznicks. Your McKissacks. Your Yolens. There’s a Website and a YouTube channel so take your pick! Talk about a useful resource.
Of course, if you want to save yourself some time and trouble you can just watch this trailer for The Chronicles of Harris Burdick. But make sure you watch it until the end.
I could live a long and happy life in the belief that Chris Van Allsburg was some kind of a criminal mastermind. Yup.
Do all the classic children’s authors also know how to draw? I only ask because it keeps coming up. Tolkien drew. J.K. Rowling can draw. Now apparently Philip Pullman does too. Extraordinary.
A couple thoughts on this next one.
A: Check out those guns on Katie Davis! Wowza!
B: Yes, folks, we all know that Tuck Everlasting didn’t win a Newbery. It’s okay.
C: When I start a band I am totally calling it Weirdly Supple Crystal Ball.
Book trailer time! This one comes to us courtesy of Jonathan Auxier. He’s even gone so far as to write a post about the Five Things I Learned from Making My Own Book Trailer. The piece is fascinating in and of itself. The final product? I’d say it’s worth it.
You can see all of Philip Pullman’s illustrations for HIs Dark Materials on his blog: http://www.philip-pullman.com/pages/js_gallery/index.asp (I have a boxed set that was published a while back that has all the illustrations.)
James Kennedy said, on 9/11/2011 9:05:00 AM
Lordy! That Sxip Shirey one was like staring down the abyss of madness!
The edition of “His Dark Materials” that Philip Pullman had illustrated is beautiful. I was moved to buy the whole series over again. By the way, I don’t know if he’s still like this now, but back in 2000 or so, every time I wrote Philip Pullman an email he would write back scarily quick — like, within the hour. And I was nobody! A complete stranger! Eventually I stopped writing to him, only because his rapid response time exhausted me. Classy fellow, that Pullman.
Happy to find myself cheek-by-jowl with Auxier. His trailer is marvelous, and so is his book!
mhg said, on 9/11/2011 3:42:00 PM
Sxip Shirey is amazing! I love the off-beat music. He’s a regular in the Brooklyn/NYC music scene. I especially love when hooks up with my Superfine friends here and in Europe.
Katie Davis said, on 9/12/2011 4:07:00 AM
Obviously James and I *think* TUCK EVERLASTING won, because we refer to it in that category. But we’ll let it go now, James, yes? Unless I’m still dead to you?
Jonathan Auxier said, on 9/12/2011 10:53:00 AM
ALA was one of the most fun weeks of my life — in part because I got to hang out with James and Katie! Thanks for linking to my book trailer, though I must say that to compare it to Adam’s trailer is crazy … his is way slicker AND has werewolves!
James Kennedy said, on 9/12/2011 8:59:00 PM
@Katie Still dead to me. But I hear tell zombies are a big deal these days.
@Jonathan ALA was a blast, I agree! Roger Sutton facedown in that punch bowl — I’ll never forget it. I wonder if he even remembers?
We’re in ALA Annual Countdown Mode here in the office – it’s only one week away! Dozens of boxes have been filled with galleys and we can’t wait to share them with you. However, while galleys are certainly a huge incentive to come by Booth #1315 to say hi, we also want to offer up our OUTSTANDING list of authors and illustrators signing in our booth during the conference:
So let’s get a grasp on what exactly it is I’m talking about here. Day of Dialog. A day when School Library Journal and roughly 1.5 billion children’s book publishers (read: 16, give or take) get together and attendees (who are mostly children’s librarians and children’s booksellers) get to witness a variety of interesting panels and previews of upcoming children’s books for the Fall season. It tends to be held on the Monday before BookExpo so that it doesn’t conflict with anything going on at that time. And since my library was closed that day for it’s big time Centennial celebration, I thought to myself, “Why not go? I could report on what went on and have some fun along the way.”
Of course I had forgotten that I would be typing all that occurred on Dead-Eye the Wonder Laptop: Capable of carrying at least two hours of charge in its battery . . . and then dying altogether. So it was that I spent much of the day seeking out outlets and either parking myself next to them or watching my charging laptop warily across a crowded room. Hi-ho the glamorous life.
Day of Dialog is useful in other ways as well. It means getting galleys you might otherwise not have access to. It means sitting in a nice auditorium with a belly full of muffin. Interestingly the only problem with sitting in the audience when you are pretty much nine months pregnant (aside from the whole theoretical “lap” part of “laptop computer”) is that you start eyeing the panelists’ water bottles with great envy. I brought my own, quickly went through it, and then found myself wondering at strategic points of the day and with great seriousness “If I snuck onto the stage between speakers, do you think anyone would notice if I downed the remains of Meghan McCarthy’s bottled water?” I wish I could say I was joking about this.
Brian Kenney, me boss o’ me blog and editor of SLJ, started us off with a greeting. He noted that he had placed himself in charge of keeping everything on track and on schedule. This seemed like a hazardous job because much of the day was dedicated to previews of upcoming books, and there is no good way to gently usher a sponsor off of a stage. Nonetheless, Brian came equipped with a small bell. Throughout the day that little bell managed to have a near Pavlovian influence on the panelists. Only, rather than make them drool, it caused them to get this look of abject fear that only comes when you face the terror of the unknown. For some of them, anyway. Others didn’t give a flying hoot.
Luann Toth came after Brian to introduce our keynote speaker though, as she pointed out, “Does anyone really need to introduce Katherine Paterson?” Point taken. Now upon entering the auditorium this day, each attendee had been handed a signed copy of a new novel by Ms. Paterson and her h
4 Comments on SLJ’s 2011 Day of Dialog: “The best thing about being a writer is that you have readers” – Katherine Paterson, last added: 5/31/2011
Thank you for this recap. You are a trooper! I like that it’s possible to win the Day of Dialogue.
Lisa said, on 5/30/2011 2:47:00 PM
You got Flint Heart and I got a beautiful “prepublication announcement,” which consists of Chapter 5 and a conversation with the creators. I guess this will have to hold me until September.
I haven’t read it yet, but your post sent me scurrying to my bag of unpacked BEA goodies. Thanks for the reminder. I’ll be reading Chapter 5 tonight!
Tracy said, on 5/31/2011 10:42:00 AM
Didn’t Melissa Sweet write and illustrate, “Carmine: A Little More Red”? (One of my daughter’s favorites.)
Elizabeth Bird said, on 5/31/2011 11:11:00 AM
Huh! So she did. Good memory. I guess they must have meant that this was her first nonfiction book she’d authored and illustrated. Excellent catch.
So often I expound on such serious matters for picture books: the Holocaust, scientific inquiry, and war. It's nice once in a while to pick up a picture book that's just fun to read, and Lemony Snicket's 13 Words is such a book. 13 Words couples simple words (Bird) with complex (Despondent), and common words (Dog) with uncommon (Panache).
Just last night my seven year-old daughter asked if we could read a book together. From stacks of dozens of picture books on our dining room table, Mackenzie selected this one to read (I think the striking school-bus-yellow cover had much to do with that).
As we began to turn pages, she decided that some were mine to read while others were hers. The page featuring the word Despondent was hers. Dad the teacher, never one to miss ruining the moment, stopped her to ask, "What does despondent mean?"
Mackenzie dutifully replied, "It means very unhappy," and explained why, using the pictures and context sentences to prove her hypothesis. (By the way, there is no difference between hypothesis and absolute-certain-truth in the mind of a seven year-old).
As we continued through the book, often stopping to discuss Maira Kalman's surreal illustrations, we came across the word Panache. Learning its meaning (from the book, mind you, not from Dad), my daughter called to my wife, "Hey, Mom! You have panache!"
Enter Mom. Good thing, too, because we needed some help with Word Number 13: Mezzo-Soprano. My wife offered, "I think that's a soprano that sings really high. Casey would know."
Enter the thirteen year-old, the musical theatre aficionado. Thirteen year-olds know everything, so it was extremely fortuitous that she was available to confirm my wife's conjecture. And with the whole family now gathered, we finished the book.
The book in one word? Crazy (Mackenzie). In two? Pretty Neat (Mom). In three? Kind of Weird (Casey). In four? Completely unique, absolutely original (me).
And that's that. As promised, I won't discuss the book's potential for creative story prompts, vocabulary development, or writing models. I could, and should, but I won't.
Instead, I'll offer you a copy of your very own, courtesy of the folks at Media Masters Publicity, who were kind enough to share the book with me. Simply email me with the words Thirteen Words in the subject line by midnight EST, Saturday, January 29th, 2011. Good luck!
Today Simon & Schuster released more details, a web video, and excerpts from O: A Presidential Novel–an anonymously written novel about the Barack Obama White House.
Here’s an excerpt: “‘Even though O assumed it wouldn’t happen, he wished The Barracuda, as he liked to think of her, would join the Republican race. O knew they wouldn’t be that lucky, but he had let himself imagine such a contest. He had watched her speak to a rally of her faithful. There she was, thick hair piled up high, chin out, defiant, taunting, flaunting that whole lusty librarian thing, sweet and savory, mother and predator, alluring and dangerous.”
In a letter to readers, publisher Jonathan Karp compared the author’s choice of anonymity to both Jane Austen and Lemony Snicket–a surreal, possibly satirical, pairing. According to The Cutline, the publisher has urged journalists not to comment on the book. What do you think about this mysterious book?
I am writing this post today around 9 p.m. on Sunday. As such, many of you will read this, knowing full well who the Newbery and Caldecott winners are. I will be a little behind you in this respect. Amusingly, I realized too late that I scheduled my latest sonogram for the PRECISE moment the ALA Media Awards will be announced. I blame time zones. Or, rather, my apparent lack of understanding about time zones. So just picture me on the doctor’s table, Android phone in hand, watching the Twitter updates scroll past. That’s priorities for you, eh?
Speaking of Caldecotts and Newberys (I always come this close to writing “Newberies”), Elizabeth Bluemle over at ShelfTalker recently figured out how many men vs. women win those two awards. In short, boys get lots of Caldecotts, girls get lots of Newberys. Harold Underdown points out in the comments that when he did similar research ten years ago he pretty much got the same results. The more things change, the more things stay the same. For her part, Kyra Hicks at Black Threads in Kid’s Lit calculated similar stats a year ago for male to female winners of the Coretta Scott King Award. She’ll have to update those stats after today, of course. Fingers crossed for Rita Williams-Garcia (I want her to win everything).
I was talking with an author the other day about the books that I’m working on. Infinitely lucky, I’m publishing books with two of my favorite companies/imprints: Greenwillow of Harper Collins and Candlewick. When I mentioned this and that I was trying to get all my favorites under my belt (I’m eyeing you hungrily, Chronicle) they replied, “Ah. How about Abrams?” Well, I’ve been very impressed with Abrams over the last two to three years, and not just because they know how to raise a Wimpy Kid. They just do good work. So it was with great pleasure that I learned that one of my husband’s fellow screenwriters, Jonathan Auxier, has a book with Abrams due later this year in the fall called Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes. Keep that title in your brain for a while and check out Jonathan’s new blog The Scop if you’ve a chance to do so.
Yes my husband Matt is a screenwriter and he sports a jaunty blog of his own called Cockeyed Caravan. From time to time he’ll allow friends and folks in the field to write posts there with their own cinematic recommendations. Not too long ago our best buddy Geoff went on with his own, and danged if one of films he came up with wasn’t Sounder, based on the 1970 Newbery Award winning novel by William H. Armstrong. I swear he didn’t do that film for me, as (I’m ashamed to admit) I’ve never seen it. I want to now, though. A nice continuation of our Newbery themed day, eh?
Hey, do you remember a couple months ago when I asked you guys to mention any books about Afr
7 Comments on Fusenews: As one does, last added: 1/11/2011
Betsy’s OB: Congratulations, Mrs. Bird. You’re having twins.
Betsy: WHAT?! Oh, my God. Tell me you’re joking. For the love of God, tell me you’re joking. I cannot believe this. They picked THAT BOOK?
I’m sorry, did you say something? My mind was just totally blown.
rams said, on 1/10/2011 8:09:00 AM
Ahem. I actually MET Bob Graham, who has the most spontaneous teeth this side of Austin Powers (or me) and is as charming as his books, which is saying a VERY great deal. Our pick at the bookstore was always Let’s Get a Pup! Said Kate.
And ah, Dick King-Smith. His guinea pig book (maybe I Love Guinea Pigs?) illustrated by Anita Jeram, the woman who can do Cute while maintaining little beady eyes (on her critters) almost made me love guinea pigs. Almost.
Jennifer Schultz said, on 1/10/2011 10:25:00 AM
FYI…the link to your older entries does not work. I wanted to reread your Newbery/Caldecott predictions, which I knew were in a recent post. Newcomers to your blog will miss out on your excellent older posts! However, I was able to search for the post. Looking forward to your thoughts on the winners. I ordered Moon Over Manifest several months ago for our library, but haven’t read it yet. That will be corrected ASAP!
Elizabeth Bird said, on 1/10/2011 10:39:00 AM
Actually, it does but it’s annoying. What you have to do is to reload my blog’s page with a / at the end of the web address. Once that’s there you can click on the “Older Entries” message and be taken to earlier posts. Failing that, just type “Newbery” into my Search box on the right and it comes right up.
Post on the winners shall go up tomorrow!
Jonathan Auxier said, on 1/10/2011 12:07:00 PM
Thanks so much for the kind words, Betsy! You were missed at ALA.
Kristin McIlhagga said, on 1/10/2011 7:32:00 PM
Interesting news about Candlewick and NetGalley, I’m fascinated to see how all of that will play out and what things will look like.
LOVE the comic too!
Carl in Charlotte said, on 1/11/2011 12:27:00 PM
Why don’t you check out Netflix and find Sounder? I remember it being a good movie. Better do it soon, though–speaking from experience, you won’t have much time for movies in about eight months.
No. Wait. Scratch that. But I have been to a couple of marvelous parties as of late. Under normal circumstances I don’t mention them all that often, but this week I’ll make an exception. [Note: If you don’t like party posts, avoid this one at all costs. Even if it does involve Lemony Snicket on a merry-go-round built for two . . .).
The two parties were very different, but of great interest to all parties involved. The first I will mention was the party held last week to which all Kidlit Drink Night attendees were invited. Mr. Robert Forbes (yes, THAT Mr. Forbes) was kind enough to invite us to attend a little soiree at The Forbes Gallery here in New York City. Why would he want grimy children’s literature people mucking up his space? Well, Mr. Forbes recently published a book of children’s poetry called Let’s Have a Bite, illustrated by the illustrious Ronald Searle.
Now, I had never been to the Forbes Galleries. Truth be told, I had no idea that they were (A) open to the public and (B) awesome. In point of fact, they are both. And if you happen to be interested in visiting (which I highly recommend) I would suggest that you do so before November 22nd. You see, until that moment in time the galleries have a magnificent selection of toy soldiers, toy boats, and old Monopoly games on display. And what a display! There is an art to their presentation. A skill to the little hidden rooms in which you will locate them. To top it all off, there was a retrospective of Searle’s from the last 40-50 odd years. Should you be nowhere near New York right now, much of that same work is visible in this recent interview he conducted:
And what of the book itself? Well, a special side room exists in the Galleries of the work Searle did for Mr. Forbes’s newest. The two collaborated back in 2007 on a similar book called Beastly Feasts. Both books contain poems with accompanying illustrations. In what I imagine must be very much the spirit in which Mr. Searle works, Mr. Forbes served us lots of tiny food made out of the very animals featured in the poems. Grilled octopus, turtle of some sort, as well as a little cheese fondue that was liable to tempt you into thinking that you’d never had anything quite so good ever before (a little mouse appears in each of the paintings in Mr. Forbes’s book).
As for Mr. Forbes himself I was rather expecting him to look like his portrait here:
I am weeping copiously right now with sheer envy. What a night, you lucky lucky girl!
Cynthia von Buhler said, on 10/11/2010 11:38:00 PM
Hi Betsy, Daniel/Lemony was on the guestlist because I’m friends with his wife Lisa Brown and Adele Griffin (Picture the Dead). Lisa couldn’t make the party because she had a book event elsewhere. I introduced you to Adele, remember? I’m connected to Neil and Amanda because I illustrated the Evelyn Evelyn graphic novel which will be out next Spring. I’m glad that you enjoyed yourself. May I use a couple of these pictures for my upcoming blog post? Cheers, CvB
Elizabeth Bird said, on 10/12/2010 5:59:00 AM
But of course! Use any and all pictures you prefer, though I wish they were of better quality.
I think I knew the Lisa Brown/Adele Griffin connection, but I was baffled by the Snicket/Gaiman link. Good to know!
JMyersbook said, on 10/12/2010 7:45:00 AM
Oh! Oh! Oh! Dare I hope that the title of today’s blog truly is the opening from the Noel Coward poem of the same name? (“I have been to a marvelous party/With Noonoo and Nada and Nell./It was in the fresh air and we came as we were/And we STAYED as we were, which was hell…”)
JMyersbook said, on 10/12/2010 7:50:00 AM
Well, DANG! I was so enchanted/distracted by all of your glorious photos that I skipped right OVER the opening line of today’s blog, which would have assured me that YES, you know you some classic Noel Coward (and isn’t some of his stuff just ducky, even today?) Happy sigh of contentment….
Elizabeth Bird said, on 10/12/2010 1:07:00 PM
I’m just pleased that someone got the Noel Coward reference at all. I thought about sneaking in more lines, but then decided that I’d be overplaying my hand. I do love me my Noel Coward, though I admit to knowing this particular work of his best because of the group Divine Comedy.
jone said, on 10/12/2010 2:29:00 PM
Oh lucky, lucky you on both accounts. This was just so much fun to read. Thanks.
MH said, on 10/13/2010 7:33:00 AM
Just so you know, the male half of the awesome couple to your left is Franz Nicolay, former keyboardist/accordionist for the Hold Steady, World/Inferno Friendship Society, Against Me!, and other such bands.
Amazing party.
Elizabeth Bird said, on 10/13/2010 9:57:00 AM
Oh so? Well that just goes to prove that only the undeserving ever get to stand next to the big musicians. I’ve heard of Hold Steady and . . . . yeah, that’s about it.
Eric Carle Honors 2010 (Also Known as More Party P said, on 10/13/2010 9:02:00 PM
I am indebted to Jenny Schwartzberg for bringing to my attention the fact that the BBC’s extensive archives are offering up recordings of some of the great British Novelists of the past. These are both television and radio programs and they are intoxicating. You can hear the very voice of Virginia Woolf herself. And on the children’s side of things, there are folks like T.H. White, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Penelope Lively. You could get lost in there. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Jenny.
New Blog Alert: And it’s a doozy too. If you missed the fact that the magnificent Philip Nel started a blog called Nine Kinds of Pie recently, then now is the time to know. Mr. Nel is that nice young man who teaches as a Professor of English at Kansas State University and also writes books like The Annotated Cat in the Hat and, my personal favorite, Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children’s Literature (that one was done with co-writer Julia L. Mickenberg, of course). He updates his blog with frightening regularity as well. Of course, it’s the summer. The school year is only just now picking up. Still, anything he cares to write is well worth your time to read. Plus he wins an award for Best New Blog Title in our field.
All right. Let me see what I can do with this. Ahem. So Beatrix Potter was friends with Anne Carroll Moore. Anne Carroll Moore was a famous children’s librarian who worked at the main branch of NYPL. I am a children’s librarian who works in the main branch of NYPL. I have seen the picture Potter gave to Ms. Moore as a gift. Ipso facto, I’m going to weigh in on the whole Emma Thompson writing a new Peter Rabbit story news item. I feel entirely ripped in half too. On the one hand, I love Emma. I honestly adore her. I think she’s a modern marvel. I want to be her best friend and to just listen to her talk for hours on end. On the other hand, this marks a very bad precedent: The celebrity picture book sequel to a classic work. No. No no, this will not do. We can’t have Justin Bieber writing conclusive storylines to Stuart Little or Courtney Love putting the last touch on an official return to Wonderland. Nope. I love you Emma, but this cannot stand. I’m sure you’re a perfectly fine writer, but you’re making it look too enticing to the others. Thanks to @PWKidsBookshelf for the link.
I envy not the good people charged by ALSC to regularly determine the official Great Websites for Kids as promoted by the librarians. I’m just grateful they exist and that they’re willing to add some new additions. Had I the power, I’d place these on my library’s children’s website pronto, if not sooner. A magnificent resource.
Thanks for the plug on the blog! Speaking of: am planning a brief post on Seuss’s advertising work later today.
Jennifer in GA said, on 8/21/2010 7:04:00 AM
I think Emma Thompson is one of the few celebrity-type people who could actually pull off writing a sequel to a classic book. She’s more of a writer-turned-actor than actor-who-wants-to-dabble-in-writing. She got her start as a comedy writer. I know it’s not the be-all and end-all, but she did win an Oscar for writing the screenplay adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, and she’s also adapted the Nanny McPhee screenplays. Even though she hasn’t published and works of fiction, I think her writing background is strong enough to do the job and do it well. Personally, I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt until she proves otherwise.
Elizabeth Bird said, on 8/21/2010 7:10:00 AM
Oh, I don’t deny that she may end up doing a stand-up job of it. I just worry that it sets a bad example for other celebrities. They’ll eye Emma’s work, forget the whole she’s-also-a-real-writer element, and try doing the same thing themselves. *shudder*
rams said, on 8/21/2010 8:24:00 AM
That Viewmaster Alice looks like The Lonely Doll Goes Anti-Grav.
mhg said, on 8/21/2010 8:29:00 AM
Emma Thompson already has work that sets her salary in the millions. She was “asked” to do this. Meanwhile, the usual meme for authors is that we do not make money at our profession (heard it again right there in your seminar this month BB). Publishers are telling authors to have low expectations while the jobs go to people who are not in the business and already have jobs. WTH?????? Let’s stop the poverty meme to authors and get some reality, folks.
Tricia said, on 8/21/2010 11:25:00 AM
The voice of Virginia Woolf! I don’t get the feeling she’d have enjoyed making podcasts.
The viewmaster picture reminded me tiny boxes I found at the fleamarket here with slide rolls. Held up to the light, I realized they were fairy tales! They were popular in East Germany. The artwork on the ones featured on the website above is worth a check-out. Just click on the name of the fairy tale (sorry, the site is just in German). Weiter means continue. Have fun!
Man! You guys have been ACTIVE!! I'm gone one day and, when I come back, my email box is FULL of book reviews! You all are GREAT!!
Since I've received so many reviews, I'm not going to comment after each set, but hold any comments until the end. In fact, I'll list the reader guy's name, put his reviews after that, thank everybody at once, and give the standings.
But before I do that, let me direct your attention to a comment from Jana, a librarian, a mom of boys, and one of the faithful followers of our blog:
OK, guys, go over there and vote! I've already done it. Jana runs a good blog and recommends some good stuff. Take a look.
Now for the Slam Dunks. First up is magnificent Michael:
The Elijah Project, book 1
On the Run by Bill Myers People have started noticing 7-year-old Elijah's supernatural God-given powers... even the people who want them for their own purposes. When the villains make an advance, Elijah and his siblings: 13-year-old Piper and 15-year-old Zach, find that their parents have dissapeared, and now they must run away on their own. With the help of their friends Cory and William, the group must believe in God to help them defeat their enemy the Shadow Man, and the ultimate villain the Supreme Master, who in reality is Satan. Bill Myers makes another home run with this amazing book!
Jellaby, book 1 by Kean Soo Meet Portia. She has no friends, her parents are divorced, and now she's got a monster for a friend! But that won't stop her and her friend, Jason, from finding Jellaby's home. Fast-paced, funny, and creative, this comic book is perfect for everyone!
Then we have the dynamic Dakota T:
The next book that I read was High Rulian By Brain Jaques. this book was about a young ottermaid who's skills in the sling exceed any others. When a Giant bird and a barnicle goose , both injured by a Tyrant who rules over Green Isle, come to Redwall to find refuge. They both tell them of where they come from and how the otter tribes are getting tormented by a raging cat who will stop at nothing to remain Tytrant of the Isle. It's up to the ottermaid to rescue the tribes enslaved. This book has more than it's fair share of action, adventure, and care for others. This was one of my favorite book in the entire Redwall series. The flaw in this series is that most of the books get off on a slow start.
I read a book entitled Holes by Luis Sachar and it's about a poor boy who is taken to Camp Green Lake where you get to dig a hole five feet wide and five feet deep. If you find anything you are to report it to the warden who turns out to be a girl. But why? This book is creative, yet realistic, and is one of my all time favorites. While telling the story of Stanely, It also tells a story about a teacher and an onion farmer. It was amazing how everything just fit together and made sense. Hope you read this and enjoy it!
1 Comments on Time In! SLAM! DUNK!, last added: 3/15/2010
...is pure genius. If you get one book this year for a kid who likes to be scared, make it this one.
Half-Minute Horrors
Edited by Susan Rich
HarperCollins, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-06-183379-3 Age range: 10 and up
This anthology of thirty-second frights wowed us like few books have of late. A collection of super-short scary fiction - many pieces no longer than half a page - these tales range from the amusing and intriguing to the creepy and downright terrifying. A lot of big-name writers from both the children's and adult fiction world contributed; Lemony Snicket, R.L. Stine, James Patterson, Neil Gaiman and Margaret Atwood, to name just a few. Not to mention the KinderScares-beloved Adam Rex!
The sheer inventiveness and creativity of the stories really sets this book apart, and it was a refreshing discovery. And to make something great even greater, it was published in partnership with First Book, a non-profit organization that provides books to children in need. So by purchasing a copy you'll not only be getting ahold of some awesome reading, but doing some good in the world as well. How can you resist? (This is an excellent reason to buy the book for yourself if you don't have a child as an excuse...)
You can get more info and a sneak peek of some of the stories at the Half-Minute Horrors website, so be sure to check it out! You can even submit your own thirty-second scary stories for publication on the site.
0 Comments on Half-Minute Horrors... as of 1/1/1900
‘Mockingjay’ to Conclude the Hunger Games Trilogy
Scholastic released the title and cover art for the third and final book in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy. Mockingjay will be released on August 24, 2010 and will have 750,000 first printing.
Seeing How Far $100 Can Go
A Brooklyn writer is celebrating four years of giving her friends cash and asking them to find ways to donate.
Lemony Snicket: Interview
Philip Womack on Daniel Handler, the enigma behind Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.
And it wouldn’t be a long weekend without a few reading lists:
Lemony Snicket Threatens a ‘Dreadful’ New Series
The Guardian features a humorous article announcing that “elusive author Lemony Snicket (aka author Daniel Handler) is working on a four-book series as a follow-up to the bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events.”
Over at Omnivoracious, the wonderful Lemony Snicket is giving advice for the holidays. Here's the plum I pulled out:
Dear Mr. Snicket: What is mince meat? Why do people seem to like it so much? Do I have to eat it? --A Loyal Reader
Dear Loyal Reader: I am afraid to try mincemeat, as it appears to be made from the innards of ungrateful nieces and nephews, demanding hostesses, and concerned parents. Apparently some people like such things. One of the great things about the world, even at holiday time, is that you do not have to eat it.
My advice is to go check it out for yourself. And then, if you're not feeling sufficiently despondent, you might like to go and read the story A Lump of Coal which is published here.
Coincidentally, this is also the title of a book by our friend Mr. Snicket, which you can purchase here.
0 Comments on A Lump of Coal as of 12/5/2008 8:11:00 AM
Over at The Rumpus, middle-grade author Cecil Castelluci will coordinate the new Letters For Kids program–a subscription service giving readers mail from authors who write for kids.
The fictional author Lemony Snicket will return in a four book series from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers called All the Wrong Questions. Graphic novelist Seth will illustrate the “authorized autobiographical account” of Snicket’s childhood.
I am a long-time fan of Neil, I stood in line for hours to get him to sign Death and Sandman graphic novels for me back in the day! Because of him, I discovered Amanda when they worked together on Who Killed Amanda Palmer? Now I love them both.
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is such a book. 13 Words
couples simple words (Bird) with complex (Despondent), and common words (Dog) with uncommon (Panache). 
10 Comments on I’ve Been to a Marvelous Party, last added: 10/13/2010
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You write as fun as you draw. Judy Wirzberger
Thanks Judy! Praise indeed.
Love, love, love this post. The next best thing to going to an event like this is pictures from someone who was tickled to be there. Thanks for putting faces to some of the names I've heard of for so long.
And yes, to have a character come to life and walk around a show is an admirable goal. Make it happen.
Wendy
Thanks thanks thanks! It's great when you can share ... hope you get to go too!