Oh man. I need to get my third Newbery/Caldecott predictions up and pronto. Now that the Heavy Medal blog has entered the arena again you just know that the debating is about to begin. Already I can see that I’ll have to fight tooth and nail for my beloved One Crazy Summer and that Nina and Jonathan will have to convince me on why a person would want to read a children’s book on playing bridge (no one has given me an adequate explanation of its charms quite yet). Most importantly, can A Conspiracy of Kings stand on its own without a person having read the other books? Which is to say, am I gonna have to read it? Ooo! I love these debates! So much to talk about already. Now I need to finish Only One Year . . .
- Great news came to me yesterday all thanks to Cynopsis Kids. Check it out, Kevin Lewis fans:
“Disney Publishing Worldwide names Kevin Lewis as Executive Editor, Disney Hyperion Books, an imprint of Disney Book Group. In his new position Lewis is responsible for acquiring and editing picture books, as well as middle grade and young adult novels for Disney-Hyperion. Most recently, Lewis was Editorial Director, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, and prior to that as an Associate Editor with Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic.”
This makes me happy. Some of us have been waiting on tenterhooks to hear where Kevin would settle down next. This is the guy who has, in the past, edited folks like Tony DiTerlizzi and Kadir Nelson. We have little doubt he’ll work his magic at Hyperion now. Couldn’t be happier.
- Sick and tired of not getting enough Monica Edinger? Well if Educating Alice doesn’t satisfy you then you might be pleased to learn that our Dalton School blogger has a good looking HuffPo blog up and running as well these days. A smart idea too. It’s always wise to expand your audience.
- RoadsideAmerica.com (“Your Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions”) stopped by the old children’s room to have a gander at our famous residents. It’s a rather smart little write-up with some facts in there that I myself was not entirely clear on. They get extra points as well for the snarky end to the write-up. Couldn’t agree with them more. Thanks to The Infomancer for the link.
- You can criticize a person’s personal beliefs, clothes, worldly possessions, and general attitude all you want but better keep your hands off their The Giving Tree. Yes, the triumvirate of mediocrity made the news yet again with the New York Times article Children’s Books You (Might) Hate and Silverstein’s weirdo tale is
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Ah ha! So Carter did write one! I wondered.
Yesterday, I was trying to remember where the trend of sitting prez/first lady/vp/second lady children’s book started: there was Millie’s Book, by Barbara Bush, and that Socks book from the Clinton years, and then there was the Lynne Cheney book. Dunno about the Reagan years, though.
Exactly. The thing is, I can’t help but think that there was a Carter children’s book published while he was in office too. What on earth was the name of it, though? Maybe I’m just thinking of a book that was about him while he served, but … huh. And amazing that the Reagans never succumbed. Or Laura Bush for that matter. I mean, she’s a librarian. You’d think the siren lure of the printed page would get to her.
Am I totally out of the loop, or did the POTUS’s children’s book appear out of nowhere? I pay close attention to the fall, and I realize that I probably do miss a few….but I think I would have noticed this. The first I heard about it was yesterday when an email from RH appeared in my inbox. It’s not even in Baker and Taylor (tried yesterday and tried again today).
While I’m not saying it should win the Newbery (but it*could*), A Conspiracy of Kings stands on its own without the other books. I gave it to teen readers who hadn’t read the other books, and they lurved it. Lurved it. Lurved. It.
“The Cardturner” is a wonderful read even if you think ‘bridge’ is only something that gets you across the river. I mean, come on, we’re talkin’ Louis Sachar here. I fought against reading “Holes” for the loooooongest time, back in the day, because I thought it would be a one-note juvie-detention-center book — and just look at all the fabulous stuff IT contained. Like “Holes,” “The Cardturner” has an intriguing paralell storyline from the (not-so-distant) past, and it deals with issues ranging from greed to love to loyalty. It blew me away AND it made me laugh out loud, turn for turn. Great stuff!
Laura Bush did do a children’s book while her husband was in office…co-authored with her daughter Jenna, it was a picture book called “Read All About It”, illustrated by Denise Brunkus.
Haven’t read it myself, so can’t comment…..the only reason I remember it is because they did a book signing at the LOC Festival that year, and the security was insane (I was very happy to have wheeled transport for the ton of books that I DID bring, ’cause the security detour was a looooong way)
I would just like to say that the second cloud formation picture is so totally Sookie on True Blood. Take that, Vampire King of Mississippi! That is all.
Oh, Susan, you’re right. I’m an idiot. Totally forgot about that book. For that matter one of the Bush daughters did a teen novel too.
It was Jenna, I think.
Betsy, you haven’t read the Megan Whalen Turner books? Oh, say it isn’t so! Come on, The Thief was a Newbery Honor winner!
As much as I soooo want Megan Whalen Turner to win, I wasn’t as crazy about the latest as I was about The Queen of Attolia. As much as I’d like to say the book can stand alone, I really really don’t want people to read things that give away what happens in the earlier books. The amazing beauty of the first three books is in their plot twists. Of course, on the other hand I love rereading them over and over and over to see all the cleverly placed clues that I completely missed — so maybe you could get that kind of enjoyment on the first reading — the appreciation of a genius at the craft of plotting.
As for The Cardturner, I did love it. But I grew up in a family of Rook players, and Rook is very like Bridge. I’m also a math nut, and I think it appealed to the math and games loving side of my personality. Adding the uncle-nephew interaction and the boy-girl interaction made it an absolutely delightful book — but I don’t really expect it to win with the committee.