It's been a while, hasn't it? Guess that just means it's time to get back to my bread and butter. My raison d'etre, and all that (pardon my French). Yes, I've been tossing about today's particular HMOCL for some time now in the back of my brain. It's rare that an author gets big, has loads of talent, and yet somehow remained below my radar all this time hotnesswise. Today's feller is a Canuck through and through. My first, if I stop to think about it.
I present to you . . . .
KENNETH OPPEL
And he can brood. Awesome.
His
website, for the record, might serve as a good example for you fellow author/illustrators out there. Look how nicely everything is laid out. First of all, there's a good intro that allows you to skip past if needs be. Then there's the information itself, clearly labeled and colorful. It's got study guides for teachers and up-to-date news. You can even find a way to contact the author. The sole element missing is a blog, but that's all right. There's time enough for that in this world. Plus the guy happens to be a top-notch writer. Those of you who never saw
Airborne (cool Canadian paperback cover too) are missing out. For fun, check out some of the cheapo paperbacks he wrote long ago as
viewable on Wikipedia.
Plus he's totally cute. Like, totally.
If nothing else, Kirby Larson's Hot Women of Children's Literature (she's up to #3 right now) inspires me to keep current with my own postings.
Remember when I had that recent poll to determine who exactly the next Hot Man of Children's Literature should be? Good times. Scott Magoon won it fair and square in spite of the rallying forces of several kidlit nominations. Just the same, I looked back at that old poll lately and what did I see? In my absence someone (or several someones) had continued to vote. The new winner is now the subject of today's entry.
Today's feller is a resident of Queens but we don't hold that against him. KIDDING! I'M KIDDING, PEOPLE! Phew.
He was born a Brooklynite, and draws the most adorable hugging monsters you ever did see. I suspect they may have weighed the vote in his favor, but it doesn't hurt that he rivals them in adorableness. His website includes everything from How to Make a Snappy Book to ... well did I mention the hugging monsters? I did, didn't I?
So here he is folks!
DAVID EZRA STEIN
Things That Are Not My Fault: Go to his
website and you can find all kinds of pics. But on the Internet at large? This was the sole picture I could find. Thank God it's still adorable.
What do I like?
Book covers.
When do I like 'em?
Now.
What do I want?
A blog that discusses book jackets from the perspective of an Associate Art Director. Preferably one that's a former HMOCL, if at all possible.
What have I got?
Just the thing.
The polls are closed.
The votes are in.
The ballots counted.
The judges accused and then cleared of all charges pertaining to personal preferences.
I asked you who the hottest man of children's literature was and you responded (when given a nice neat list to choose from). I even conceded the point and allowed a YA feller in there once or twice. And when all was said and done, I was just as amazed as you were at the results. Maybe it was because I kept misspelling the candidates' names, or maybe the mother of the winner kept voting for him, but this week we turn our attention to the one....
... the only ...
SCOTT MAGOON
His boyish charm won him a whopping 84 votes as of midnight, April 24th, just narrowly beating out David Ezra Stein, whose fans attempted a last minute coup. To be frank, this is the very first time Mr. Magoon has come to my attention. The same cannot be said for his books. I'm well-acquainted with his work on last year's
Ugly Fish. Falling into the ever-widening category of Let's Eat the Hero books (alongside such worthy fellows as
Wolves and
Tadpole's Promise)
Ugly Fish's art is all Magoon. As of yet, he's still a newbie. With only a few books to his name he's just now coming to the attention of publishing world at large.
What we like about Mr. Magoon are the props he pays to his fellows. When you look at
his website, his
About Me page is only half him. The second half is a magnificent listing of fellow artists he admires. And the usual Sendak, Herge, and Steig inclusions appear next to the lesser lauded Sweets, Lehman, and Childs.
Plus he dislikes circus peanuts. What more could you possibly want in a man? Mr. Magoon, welcome to the pantheon of kidlit hotties.
Hip to hot men, that is. Y'all know the blog Disco Mermaids, right? And the fact that newbie author Jay Asher is one of the three DMs in questions is an uncontested fact, yes no? So check out Jay's authorial bio on the Razorbill website. Imprints come and imprints go, but any imprint that acknowledges honors like that of the HMOCLs is far and away more up-to-date than their brethren. Brava.
And coming out of the starting gate it's Timothy Basil Ering. Yes Tim's doing very well indeed in spite of the fact that his name was misspelled on the actual poll. But wait! What's this? It's looks like David Levithan's people are turning out and they are (as we all know) a passionate crew. All right David's now in front with David Ezra Stein coming up close to the rear. And now...
Ladies and gentlemen, Scott Magoon has broken away from the pack. He's making a wild rush for the finish line! Will this be Magoon's race after all?
If you haven't done so already, get out the vote.
The Hot Men of Children's Literature postings are not democratic. As Judge Judy and executioner I make the decisions around here. But what was I to do when I received this list of suggested possibilities? My mind, it boggled. Boggled and scurried thither. So for the very first time ever, you the viewer at home gets to decide the next HMOCL we'll feature here at Fuse Huit. Here were the suggestions I received.
Timothy Basil Ering
David Levithan
Peter Brown
Derek Anderson
Scott Fischer
David Ezra Stein
Scott Magoon
Jeff Newman - Best I could find. Sorry.
Now use that democratic system we love so very dearly and vote on your favorite.
Bear in mind that we are not voting on level of intelligence, the ability to have a secure and healthy relationship, or how well they do their job. This is a quiz based on surface appearances alone. Vote before midnight on Monday the 23rd and I'll announce everything bright and early on the 24th.
Official Hot Man of Children's Literature #6 (he's a veteran) hath done been interviewed on 7-Imp. Thar they strikes! Everyone's favorite WorldSuck Decreaser (not to be confused by WordSuck Decreasers who are important in their own way) talks about his upcoming novel. Neat, huh? There's even some mention of his lovely Brotherhood 2.0 and its slow surge of popularity. Go. Shoo. Bask in his glow n' stuff.
You guys have been so good lately. You deserve a new hot man to feast your hungry eyes upon.
So, funny story. As a children's librarian, my job is to fulfill a host of different requirements. Your average kidlit librarian needs to provide customer service, maintain assigned jobs (i.e. organizing the non-print and the paperbacks, oddly enough), work a Reference Desk with aplomb, and (here's the biggie) work with classes. That means giving kids a tour of the library alongside some basic orientation. And orientation sometimes works so much better when you've some good picture books to read aloud to the young 'uns. I used to be a fan of D.W.'s Library Card since it had that irresistible Arthurian lure (by way of Marc Brown) to it. As time went by, however, I found that there was a better book out there to suit my needs. Beverly Billingsly Borrows a Book. Oh, it's great. It addresses fears, and concerns, and contains a whole host of information. I've always been vaguely aware that there's a whole Beverly Billingsly series out there, but it never occurred to me to check out the relative hotness of the author/illustrator.
More fool I, it seems.
And so I present unto you the enormously hoo-haa...
Alexander Stadler
No blog. No upcoming appearances. Just a woefully out-of-date
website. Still, I'll forgive a lot if a fellow's as hip as this.
LOVED Cowboy Ned and Andy and looking forward to his next one....