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All right, all right, all righty, all right then.  Where to begin . . . I know.  With a tribute that deserves notice first and foremost.  I had heard that Laura Amy Schlitz was writing an obituary for her friend, fellow writer Eva Ibbotson.  I expected it to be brilliant.  It has, in fact, exceeded my expectations.  So much so that it gives me the rather morbid hope that I die before Laura just so that she can write an obit for me as well.  Nobody does it better.

• Hooray!  It’s time of the year again!  The Best Book lists of 2010 are beginning to arrive.  Just the other day New York Public Library decided on their 2010 list of 100 Books for Reading and Sharing (I’m not offering any hints, but it’s good).  They’ll be printing that soon.  And now Publishers’ Weekly has release their own Best Children’s Books 2010.  I don’t agree with all their choices, but it’s certainly got some great books on there.  Be sure to check it out.

• Speaking of Bests, my co-author Peter Sieruta at Collecting Children’s Books just printed the list of the 2010 ABC New Voices list of “outstanding debut books by authors for middle-grade and young-adult readers.”  I must say, I’m more than a little disappointed in the results.  No Adam Gidwitz.  No Kate Milford.  No Margi Preus.  No N.H. Senzai.  We must have been reading very different authors this year, those independent booksellers and I.  I would like to read The Clockwork Three, though.  I’ve been hearing good things.

• Wow!  So somehow I was unaware that Lisa Brown (she of the recent picture book Vampire Boy’s Good Night) had created a large archive of three panel cartoon reviews of various works of classic literature.  Or, if not classic literature, at least well known literature.   Some of you, I know, will be fond of the Little House one.  Thanks to Educating Alice for the link.

• Got word the other day from illustrator Annie Beth Ericsson that due to the fact that NYC’s Mayor is declaring a brand new Illustration Week soon, she is going to interview a whole slew of new up-and-coming illustrators “many of them children’s book-related” on her blog Walking in Public.   Sounds good to me.  Please note, oh ye librarians that work with small children, that a couple of the illustrators have images that aren’t necessarily workplace friendly.  Good stuff that should be checked out, though!

• The screening of the children’s literary documentary Library of the Early Mind went swimmingly here at NYPL last week.  But don’t take my word for it.

• You know that
  7 Comments on Fusenews: “swinish Milneish parts”, last added: 11/11/2010
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  Debbie Reese said, on 11/9/2010 5:07:00 AM
  

  Hi Betsy,

  That was my first visit to Kalamazoo, and I liked it so much, that I’ll pose the question (to you) that I often get… Why did you leave there? (For me, its “why did you leave NM for Illinois? and the answer is grad school.) The library is gorgeous. And the rolling hills, fall colors… And the hospitality, too! All in all, a terrific visit.

  Regarding my reference to the list… Did I note that it wasn’t your personal list? I don’t, in fact, recall just what I said, but will make absolutely sure to do it in the future when I reference the list in a lecture. I was talking about the prevalence of stereotypical images and referenced the list and my analysis of the list. Words matter, as I take great care to point out, and I certainly don’t want to add confusion to the work you do, and did, with that list. I’ll make a clarification on my post about the seminar.

  An aside… yesterday I pulled up Amazon’s list of “Bestsellers in Children’s Native American Books” and posted that list to my blog. I haven’t done much with it yet, but it occurs to me that it’d be interesting to see how much cross-over there is from that list to the list generated from your poll.

  Elizabeth Bird said, on 11/9/2010 8:21:00 AM
  

  Thanks, Debbie! Ah, Kalamazoo. You know, as a kid I always thought I’d end up in Kalamazoo again. Somehow that hasn’t quite turned out that way, but I’m a big-time fan of the town. So glad they treated you well! They’re swell folks, those Kalamazooians.

  And many thanks for understanding why I’d want to clarify that my list was a poll rather than something I conjured from my own noggin. I do agree with you on a fair number of the titles and find your commentary a necessary part of the list itself. And thanks for letting me know about the new post to your blog! I too would be interested in seeing how much crossover there is.

  Now what’s your take on that graphic novel collection Native and that new MG novel The Mourning Wars? I’ve been dying to know!

  Debbie Reese said, on 11/9/2010 9:38:00 AM
  

  The graphic novel… I wish the people who put it together (designers?) had made clear what tribe each story is from. The info is in the back with the bios, but I’d have liked to see it with each story.

  MOURNING WARS? I don’t know it… I’ll look for it. Publishers do not send me books. I only get them when someone asks me “have you seen” — and then I track things down, usually buying them or borrowing from the library. I read some blogger’s comments, about how publishers send them books, and I wonder how they get on those publisher’s distribution lists.

  I admire how much you are able to do. I have stacks of things around me that I’ve not yet blogged about. Like LAST SUMMER OF THE DEATH WARRIORS, which I like. And, I’ve got Pratchett’s NATION here with dozens of tags sticking out…. things that ‘broke the magic’ for me (to use Cynthia Leitich Smith’s phrase from her talk at Kalamazoo). And I just got I AM NUCHU… But, I’m teaching, and put a lot of time into that.

  Richard said, on 11/9/2010 9:44:00 AM
  

  Sometimes I think authors should leave well enough alone rather than ruin a good thing. I’m referring to the debate in the Observer on whether JK Rowling should continue with another Harry Potter book. In the context of this post Betsy alluded to the prequels of the Star Wars saga.

  Well…this just got my juices flowing…

  Coincidently, the other day on cable TV I saw the movie Phantom Menace (prequel #1) for only the second time in my life. The first time was in a theater when it was released back in 1999.

  I thought it was bad then. But sitting through the movie a second time really drove home how bad it really was.

  I was interested to see how others felt, so I went out on the Internet and poked around. On You Tube there was a review of the film that was one of the funniest and most clever things I’ve ever seen. Actually, it was more a “seven part dissertation” on how not to make a movie (or craft a story).

  Due to some coarse language, as well as a few short segments that are a bit off-color, the 7-part video may not pass “Video Sunday” muster. But otherwise, it was spot on! It’s a compendium of everything concerning “story as it relates movies”. Of course the observations are equally applicable to “story as it relates to books”.

  In this season of Newbery debates, putting aside all the individual nitpicky criteria, for me a book boils down to one thing…
  Does it tell a good story.

  For a primer on how not to craft a story:
  1- Watch the original Star Wars movie.
  2- Watch The Phantom Menace.
  3- Find the You Tube “Phantom Menace Review Part 1″, and view all seven parts.

  One of the opening lines of the vide #1 review is:
  “The unfortunate reality of the Star Wars prequels is that they will be around…forever.
  They will never go away.
  They can never be undone.”

  :paula said, on 11/9/2010 2:48:00 PM
  

  Jeez, I was using Anakin Skywalker as an example of how NOT to evolve a villain (I was reviewing Barry Lyga’s Archvillain), and I could not even bring myself to link to anything from those Star Wars prequels. SO BAD. My kids adore them though, which really calls their judgment into question, in my opinion.

  Elizabeth Bluemle said, on 11/11/2010 4:41:00 PM
  

  Betsy, publishers had to submit their books to be considered for the New Voices program, which accounts for the omission of those wonderful books you mention.

  Elizabeth Bird said, on 11/11/2010 7:32:00 PM
  

  Gah! Then I shall run about NYC kicking the publishers in the shins. Thoroughly.

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White, T.H. The Once and Future King.
Part One: The Sword in the Stone

I have been wanting to read this book for years. It's been on my to-be-read list for ages. But I decided fairly early on that 2008 would be THE YEAR to make it happen at last. The first book in The Once and Future King is The Sword in the Stone. I was somewhat familiar with the story having seen at least glimpses of the movie growing up. We never owned it on VHS, but I do think I probably saw at least clips of it on tv now and then. Our hero is a young boy, Wart, who is growing up alongside another little boy, Kay. Kay is going to grow up into quite a legacy. He's going to be a knight. Wart is not his 'equal' in that sense. He's going to grow up to be his squire. Or so everyone thinks. The book focuses on the boys' education. Particularly on Wart's education. Even the first sentence highlights this: "On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays it was Court Hand and Summulae Logicales, while the rest of the week it was the Organon, Repetition and Astrology." In the first few pages, we learn that while the boys at one time did have a governess looking out for them, she has since left. The boys are in need of someone--a tutor--to help with their education.

Wart is the one who accidentally stumbles onto a solution for their problem. He discovers Merlyn quite by chance. Merlyn is a wonderful teacher. As you probably remember, he ages backward. He's old, but getting younger by the day. He knows the future, but he's living in the moment. I don't quite "understand" all the implications of this. It befuddles me if I try to wrap my mind around the concept. But regardless, the chapters focus on their relationship. This teacher-student relationship. Wart is getting extra-attention and extra-guidance than Kay. Kay is sometimes jealous, sometimes quite a jerk, but he can't quite help it.

Wart loves best the lessons where Merlyn turns him into an animal, vegetable, or mineral. He spends time as a fish, bird, ant, badger, and I can't-quite-remember-what else. But he spends his childhood and teen years learning to think, learning to question. He is a very curious boy/man. And he learns so much because he is able to listen--really listen--and observe the world around him.

The book has many many characters many of whom are delightful. The book also shows Wart and Kay having an adventure or two with Robin Wood (Wood-not-Hood) and Lady Marian and Little John and the whole gang of 'Merry Men.'

I don't think I would be spoiling it for anyone if I mentioned the ending, but just in case you don't know who Wart grows up to be, stop reading and consider yourself fully warned.

The book concludes with the rather famous sword-in-the-stone incident. Wart quite by chance pulls out the sword. Kay is in need of a sword, and he is "borrowing" it from a war monument or so he thinks. Kay's own sword accidentally being left behind at the inn. Wart isn't trying to be king. He isn't wanting to rise above Kay. But it's just natural for him. He is the one--the only one--who seems to be able to pull this sword out of the stone. Merlyn later fills him in on a little secret.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this book. I look forward to reading the rest of the novel. I will be reviewing them separately. But when I have finished all four, I'll do a recap post and link them all together.