By: David Elzey,
on 2/16/2008
also: Fancy Nancy and The Boy From Paris & Fancy Nancy at the Museum all by Jane O'Connor illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser HarperCollins 2008 What began as a cute picture book for the pink-and-sparkly girly-girl set is now officially a brand, a series, and an inferior product. This, the third Fancy Nancy book, was released the same day as two I-Can-Read titles that are trading on the Fancy
By: Betsy Bird,
on 4/27/2007
His birthday was this past Monday, so maybe that accounts for why Shakespeare's all over the news these days. It was only a manner of time before he infiltrated the world of video games. From bookshelves of doom I heard all about Speare. It's Shakespeare in space, but not in a Forbidden Planet kind of way. The Toronto Star (who, if I'm gonna be snobby, totally messes up the name of their article) reports that, "The game also links with an interactive website of Romeo and Juliet, which features everything from the text of the play and scholarly debates about its meaning, to samples of movie adaptations and clips with real actors and Claymation characters. And designers have created a free resource guide and lesson plan for teachers." So there you go then.
Meanwhile the blogger Miss Erin has set up The Shakespeare Challenge. What have you read? Basically she encourages you to go through the list and mark off what you have and have not perused in the course of your lifetime. Then read through your gaps. Personally, I'm abysmal when it comes to the Histories. No Pericles for me, please.
There was also a rather interesting Shakespearean kerfuffle on the child_lit listserv this week, and Roger Sutton brought it to the attention of the blogging community. Really, though, the best summary of this Shakespeare debate came via Becky's Book Reviews. You don't need to go any further than her posting for an intense little summary.
Finally, via Bookninja is the Telegraph article, Is there a lost Shakespeare in your attic?. How very British. The piece explores the great lost play of Mr. Shaking a Spear. Says the piece the, "same fate nearly befell Troilus and Cressida." And wouldn't THAT have been a loss to the world.
I'd never heard of Fancy Nancy before this post (the only girl in this house in now 10), but I'm grieved to hear the latest sad news about the I Can Read books, which I loved in my own childhood and rediscovered when my three were young. Thanks for a bluntly honest review.I'd like to think that Ursula Nordstom, Little Bear, Syd Hoff, and Millicent Selsam are not pleased.
Oh, my. Someone else told me that this one was the *best* of the Fancy Nancy cannon. I still haven't seen it, but I imagine our library copy will be coming in soon. (The demand for Fancy Nancy is at fever-pitch levels here, so I have to buy them whether they're good or not.)
Children's writers are getting way too cheery. I miss the old peculiar ones stomping about New England or someplace bleak, writing about children who could hold a thought in their heads. Children's writer sites are also insanely cheerful sunny places and they are all frighteningly social. What ever happened to the cranks in ratty old clothes and lots of cats and weedy yards?