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Mm. Double quick time Fusenews today, I should think. All the goodness. Less of the commentary. As such . . .

• What is the scariest children’s film of all time? If you mentioned a particular film that involved decapitated heads and Wheelers, this link’s for you.

• I’m not a teacher so I had no idea what the Best Websites and Apps for teaching and learning really were.  Now I do.  Thanks to Travis and Mr. Schu for the link.

• In case you missed it, the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award 2015 longlist was released and there are at least two Yanks present and accounted for.

• This one’s for any high school students you might know.  They’re looking for kids who know how to write funny stuff.  Since this is very much my wheelhouse, I’m going to ask you to think particularly of any funny girls you know.  Let’s make sure this puppy is well represented in both genders, shall we?  Due date: August 3rd so get cracking!

• The Kirkus/7-Imp piece on Private Readers is absolutely fantastic.  It isn’t just what we read but how we chose to read it (and keep it to ourselves).

• Made my day:

So did this, actually.

• Absolutely love this too:  Non-required summer reading.  Beautifully rendered. Thanks to Mike Lewis for the link.

• Question: Which hugely famous (and still alive) children’s book illustrator used to paint naked geishas for the troops during WWII?  The answer may surprise you.  Or not.  After all, have you ever checked out the bodies in A Circus is Coming?  Va-va-voom!  Extra sidenote: Is that clown with the glasses a barely disguised Kay Thompson?  Discuss.

• How sad that one of my former co-workers won’t be around to bid me goodbye as I leave NYC.  I mean, I understand why.  He’s got places to go.  People to see.  But still, bidding goodbye to the talking parrot head just isn’t going to have the same oomph.

• This note is just for my sister.  Kate, we need to do this.  Call me.

• Daily Image:

Okay. So this is pretty much just about the coolest float I’ve ever seen. As I am moving to Evanston, IL, it seems only fitting to know how they celebrate the 4th of July.  Recently, this float (in a photo taken by Junko Yokata) was on the route.  I have never, in all my livelong days, seen a Newbery float before.  Absolutely remarkable.

Thanks to Junko for the image.

Morning, folks. We’re beginning this Sunday morn with stuff that’s good for the soul.  How often have you said to yourself, “I’d love to own some original art from illustrator Matthew Cordell but I’m too busy spending all my cash on children’s literacy foundations”?  Well, fear not!  Now you can do both.  In celebration of their book Special Delivery, Messrs. Cordell and Philip Stead are going to hold a raffle for five pieces of awesome art.  You win by donating money to good causes.  The details are here and the video here:

Next up, the American Hogwarts.  I mean, it is if by “Hogwarts” you’re referring to a well-established university setting with a clear cut amazing children’s collection, staff, program schedule, and more.  Princeton finally decided to create a little trailer for the Cotsen Children’s Library, and I have to say I’m stunned. First off, there’s my girl Dana Sheridan killing it with the storytimes.  Then there’s the just wide range of services they provide.  And the furniture, dear GOD the furniture!!  I’m fascinated by the Cotsen Critix program too since bookclubs for 9-12 year-olds are my weakness.  Wish I lived closer to it!  Here’s more background information and here’s the trailer:

Someday I shall teach a course on the art of the book trailer. In it I will show all the different myriad styles and techniques one can utilize when coming up with your very own.  And always assuming that I remember, I shall include this simple, lovely trailer for The Mystery Hat by Rune Brandt Bennicke and Jakob Hjort Jensen .  Sometimes it’s all in the soundtrack, folks.

There go Scieszka and Biggs.  I’ve suspected for years that they were in the pocket of Big Audiobook but never had the proof . . . until now!!

Seriously, though, I’m-a wanting that crazy white wig.

So this year we are seeing not one but TWO different early chapter book series about Latino girls. This is a good thing since the running tally before 2015 was . . . um . . . yeah, it was zero.  Zero series in total.  The first is the Emma Is On the Air series by Ida Siegal and illustrated by Karla Pena.  The second is the Sofia Martinez series by Jacqueline Jules, illustrated by Kim Smith.  But only one of these (as of this post) has a book trailer:

It’s not a children’s book.  It’s not even a YA novel.  It’s (*gasp* *shudder*) an adult book . . . but its book trailer is adorable.  I can resist it, not at all.

Thanks to Alison Morris for the link.

I had not yet taken the time to see the trailer for the Lena Dunham/Hilary Knight documentary. Nothing too surprising to see here, but it’s certainly a very clear cut case of a famous person attempting to shine their light on someone they admire who might not be a household name (though Eloise certainly is).

Thanks to educating alice for the link.

And I’m not feeling too creative on the off-topic video of the day.  And when the going gets tough, the tough links to cat/dog videos.  So goes the world.  So goes the world.

Eloise series illustrator Hilary Knight will star in an HBO documentary called It’s Me, Hilary: The Man Who Drew Eloise.

Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner, two filmmakers who are best known for their work on the Girls TV show, served as executive producers for this project. Dunham also makes appearances in the actual film.

The Huffington Post reports that this movie is “a portrait of Knight and his role in forming the origin story of a revered female protagonist.” The video embedded above features the full teaser trailer. A premiere date has been set for March 23rd.

When actress Lena Dunham started talking in the news about how she wanted to turn Catherine Called Birdy into a film, I was intrigued.  And apparently she’s not a fly-by-night children’s book lover either.  All her tattoos are children’s literature inspired.  Hearing this I figured she’d have the usual suspects.  Eloise, sure.  And she does have some normal ones like Ferdinand the bull and Olivia.  But then she starts talking about her Little Golden Book tat (for Pals).  The kicker, however, is the Fair Weather by Richard Peck tattoo.  I think I’m safe in saying that this may well be the only Fair Weather tattoo in the history of the world.  Now she’s created a documentary on Hilary Knight called It’s Me, Hilary. Some additional info:

Thanks to Michael Patrick Hearn for the link.

And now a lovely little video in tribute of my workplace.  I do love that main branch.  It would be awfully nice if a video like this was made of each of the branches as well.  We have 86+ but boy would it be cool.

The art of the book trailer, and I would call it an art, requires a certain level of absurdity. After all, we’re talking about a video medium celebrating a literary one (by extension, my Video Sunday series is a regular exercise in peculiarity). So when a trailer comes along that is purposefully absurd and sets the correct tone (music, voiceover, visuals, etc.) it is worth highlighting. Behold Night Circus by Etienne Delessert. It works, man. It works.

Night Circus from ZauberGuitarre on Vimeo.

Full credit to Travis Jonker for locating this next one.  In case you missed it, it’s Dr. Seuss and how he created Green Eggs and Ham.

And while it’s not really off-topic, let’s just end with a cheery video of Lori Prince and I reacting to Yuyi Morales’ Pura Belpre win.  This is pretty typical for both of us, I’d say.

Reacting to the ALA Youth Media Awards from School Library Journal on Vimeo.

Eloise

By Kay Thompson; drawings by Hilary Knight

Have you ever taken young ones to The Plaza Hotel in New York? If you have, please take a peek with them of the portrait hanging there of a diminutive “force of nature” of picture book fame named Eloise, from the book of the same name, written in 1955. Maybe you’ve seen it. The portrait  is one of a young sophisticated dynamo, dressed in signature black pleated skirt, ruffled white blouse, her tiny feet shod in black patent leather shoes, with white knee socks. Young Eloise seems the stuffy soul of decorum with her trademark red bow atop pin straight hair. Decorum?  But then I must presuppose you haven’t read the book detailing the days and nights of this pint sized human whirlwind and world traveler to Paris and Moscow that calls the top floor at The Plaza home, along with Nanny. Boring, she ain’t, if you will please pardon this horrible slip in grammar. Eloise is anything but boring, nor can she stand to be bored.

Maybe you’ve seen TV versions of Eloise. They date back to a live black and white TV version in 1956 on Playhouse 90 with Evelyn Rudie as Eloise. Young Ms. Rudie won an Emmy nomination nod for her performance as the precocious Eloise with the famous Mildred Natwick as Nanny. In more recent years, Eloise at the Plaza and Eloise at Christmastime were done for TV with Julie Andrews as Nanny. Most recently, an animated series entitled, It’s Me, Eloise with Lynn Redgrave as Nanny and Tim Curry as Mr. Salomone, The Plaza Manager, debuted in 2006 on the Starz TV Kids and Family Network.

If you learn about the author of Eloise, one Kay Thompson, you will find the heart of who Eloise really is, for as Ms. Thompson put it once, “I’ve discovered the secret of life: a lot of hard work, a lot of sense of humor, a lot of joy and a lot of tra-la-la!” Ms. Thompson, like her creation Eloise, lived at The Plaza Hotel. She was the alter ego of Eloise, creating an imaginary voice for the character before the book was written and using it in phone conversations with friends. I would have loved listening in on the other end of some of those conversations!  

And just who were Kay Thompson’s friends? Oh nobody special – just the one and only Judy Garland was her BEST friend. And as Judy’s daughter, Liza Minnelli, once stated, “The best gift my mother ever gave me was Kay Thompson as my godmother.” Vocal coach to people such as Lena Horne and Frank Sinatra, Kay was an actress who appeared in movies such as Funny Face with Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn and all but stole the show. Ms. Thompson was also a writer, choreographer, composer, singer and musician. And if you are a fan of the singer Andy Williams, Kay did a cabaret act with him and was an integral part of shaping his career.

I would be terribly remiss if I did not give equal praise to Hilary Knight, the man who made Eloise spring to picture book life with his distinctive black, white and pink renderings of the girl who is always six and seemingly absent the presence of her parents. Ms. Thompson gave voice to Eloise literally and through her picture book narrative, but it was Mr. Knight that captured and brought her wistful vivacity to life with his drawings! For you see amid the energy and nonstop activity of Eloise’s life, if you read between the lines, there is a distinct unspoken longing.

If you would like your young reader to see just a snatch of the energy that created the narrative side of Eloise, please go to YouTube and watch two songs that feature Ms. Thompson’s talent. They are called “Think Pink” and “Clap Yo’ Hands” from Funny Face. Her enormous energetic confidence and charisma is catching, and you can also find that same magic in her picture book called Eloise.

Eloise helps maids change beds at The Plaza, drops in on weddings receptions uninvited and watches demure debutantes mingling.  Your young reader will love meeting Skipperdee, her raisin-eating turtle that also wears sneakers, plus her dog Weenie that looks like a cat! Ms. Thompson felt her book was created not solely for children, but, as she put it, for “precocious adults” as well!

Former New York mayor, Ed Koch once said of her, “Eloise is one of the more delightfully fiendish literary heroines of our time,” and The New York Times heralded, “Eloise is one of the most recognizable characters in children’s literature”

But don’t take my word for it. Please take a young reader in tow and read for yourselves about this six year-old wonder that orders Room Service each day with careless aplomb and relays most orders with a mimicked three word emphatic repeat learned from Nanny, as in “Nanny likes her coffee HOT HOT HOT.” And, if you just happen to be having luncheon at the Palm Court at the Plaza and see someone of six with a black pleated skirt, white blouse and black Mary Janes, tucking into a serving of the Gugelhopfen, pull up a chair and ask to join her. I promise you it will probably be a VERY entertaining time. But FIRST, read the book! It’s a classic – just like Eloise!!  

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If you want to read more about The History of Eloise at The Plaza, may I suggest the following link?  

http://www.theplazany.com/history/

I love Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle!

Children love Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (still after 50+ years) and how can parents and teachers not love her practical ways and advice! I am so very excited about this Timeless Thursday post because I hope if you haven’t shared Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (written by Betty MacDonald and illustrations by Hilary Knight) with your children or students yet, this post will remind you to go to the library and check her out or visit a bookstore and grab her up!

What can we learn today from Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books? Besides being fun (since Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle lives in a mostly upside-down house and she was once married to a pirate), children and parents can learn about manners, responsibilities, imagination, and good old-fashioned fun. For example, in the first one of the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, Mary Lou Robertson hated doing dishes. She couldn’t believe her mother had the nerve to make her do dishes. So, she is complaining and whining to Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle until Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle tells Mary Lou that she loves to do dishes. She always pretends she is a princess and a mean old witch is coming to inspect her work in the kitchen. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle gets Mary Lou caught up in the creative play; and all of a sudden, Mary Lou doesn’t mind doing dishes so much anymore. And this is only the beginning. As a matter of fact, someone on Wikipedia actually made a chart of the behaviors that Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle tackles in her books. Check it out! Behaviors like talking back, not picking up toys, and bickering with siblings are no match for Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle!

Have fun with this book! (or any of the other Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books) Ask your students or your children what chore they hate doing. Imagine Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle was here, and figure out how she would make it more fun. How can you and your child make the task more fun? Also, you can discuss with your children or your students why it is important to do chores, take a bath, and so on–why it is important to have responsibilities and fun in life–a balance. Why do we have rules? Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books can open up this discussion with your students and children!