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Happy Monday to you!  You want the goods?  I’ve got the goods.  Or, at the very least, a smattering of interesting ephemera.  Let’s do this thing.

First and foremost, you may have noticed the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards were announced.  The BGHB Awards are some of the strangest in the biz since they encompass the nonexistent publishing year that extends from May to June.  How are we to use such an award?  No cash benefit is included.  And traditionally it has been seen as either a litmus test for future book awards or as a way of rectifying past sins / confirming past awards.  This year it’s a bit of a mix of both.  Both 2015 and 2016 titles appear on the list.  You can see the full smattering in full here or watch a video of the announcement here.  And, for what it’s worth, I served on the committee this year, so if you’ve a beef to beef, lay it on me.

Since this news item appeared on Huffington Post I’m not sure if it is in any way true.  If not, it’s still a lovely thought.  According to HP, the cover artist of Sweet Valley High takes commissions.  Just let that one sink in a little.  I’m not interested, though.  Call me when the cover artist of Baby-Sitters Club starts doing the same.

It’s odd that I haven’t linked to this before, but a search of my archives yields nothing.  Very well.  Whether or not you were aware of it, The Toast has The Giving Tree in their Children’s Stories Made Horrific series.  Shooting fish in a barrel, you say?  Not by half.  It’s not a new piece.  Came out three years ago, as far as I can tell.  And yet . . . it’s perfect.  The latest in the series, by the way, was a Frog and Toad tale.  Sublime.

This Week in Broadway: Tuck Everlasting is out. Wimpy Kid is in.

In other news vaguely related to theater, Lin Manuel-Miranda is slated to star in a 2018 Mary Poppins musical sequel.  And no, not on stage.  On the silver screen.  This, naturally, led to the child_lit listserv postulating over how this could be possible since P.L. Travers had a pretty strong posthumous grip on the rest of the Mary Poppins rights.

So I worked for New York Public Library for eleven years.  Eleven years can be a lot of time. During my tenure I observed the very great highs and very low lows of the system.  I like to think I knew it pretty well.  Now here’s a secret about NYPL: They’re bloody awful at telling you about all the cool stuff they have going on.  Always have been.  For example, I’m tooling about the NYPL site the other day when I see this picture.

I stare at it.  I squint at it.  And finally I cannot help but come to a single solitary conclusion . . . that’s my old boss!  There.  On the left.  Isn’t that Frank Collerius, branch manager of the Jefferson Market Branch in Greenwich Village?  Yup.  The Librarian Is In Podcast seeks to simply talk “about books, culture, and what to read next.”  Frank co-hosts with RA librarian Gwen Glazer and they’re top notch. I haven’t made my way through all of them yet.  I’m particularly interested in the BookOps episode since that’s where I used to work.  And look!  I had no idea that Shola at the Schomburg was on Sesame Street.

Howdy, libraries.  How’s that STEM programming coming along?  Care for some inspiration?  Then take a gander at the blog STEM in Libraries where “a team of librarians with a passion for creating fun and engaging STEM programs for library patrons of all ages,” have so far created fifty-seven different STEM program ideas.

A helpful reader passed this on to me, so I pass it on to you: “The latest New Yorker magazine, dated June 6 and 13, may be of interest to you, if you haven’t yet seen it. It’s the Fiction issue, and in it are some essays by 5 authors, each subtitled “Childhood Reading”…with memories of the books, articles, package labels, events from their childhoods that shaped their idea of what reading is and can be. Having read a couple of these so far, I thought of you, and decided to mention them to you, in case you don’t regularly look at the New Yorker, and might not see them.”  Thanks to Fran Landt for the link.

In other NYPL news, I miss desperately being a part of the 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing committee.  Fortunately, the folks on the committee recently confessed to the books they’re finding particularly good.  So many I haven’t see yet.  To the library!

Daily Image:

You know who won the Best Bookmark Left in a Library Book Award the other day?  That’s right.  This guy.  Check it out:

Sure beats finding bacon.  I was forbidden to own these guys as a kid, so I’ve placed this little fellow in a prominent place on my desk.  Who wants to bet money that some executive somewhere is trying to figure out how to bring these back?  Let’s see . . . the last time they were made they were illustrated by Art Spiegelman.  So if Pulitzer Prize winners are the only people who can draw them, my vote for the 21st artist goes to  . . . ah . . . wait a minute.  Maus is the only graphic novel to ever win a Pulitzer?!?

• Here’s your SAT question for the day: “Making fun of The Giving Tree in a parody is to shooting fish in a barrel as . . .”  You may put your response in the comments below.  I’ve lived long enough to feel that I’ve seen every possible Giving Tree parody man or woman could imagine.  The Taking Tree, the video with Sassy Gay Friend, that other video where it shows the boy growing up.  Been there, done that.  That’s why I really kind of respected The Toast’s take.  At first it sounds like it’s going to be more of the same old, same old: If the Boy From the Giving Tree Was Your Boyfriend.  But like most pieces on The Toast, it’s much smarter and cleverer than its initial concept.  Well played, Meghann Gordon.  Well played indeed.  Thanks to Cheryl Klein for the link.

• Me stuff.  If you find that you haven’t heard enough talkety talk from me, Mr. Tim Podell was recently kind enough to speak to interview me for his remarkable, and longstanding, Good Conversations Radio Podcast.  Seven years ago he walked into my library and we talked about where to take his show.  Now he has a successful podcast and I my same blog.  Seems like only yesterday, eh, Tim?

• This one just sort of sells itself.  The headline read, “British Library releases children’s book illustrations into public domain.”

• Not to be outdone, the Bodleian Library launches its own children’s book imprint.  Not entirely certain how they managed to get Babar, but there you go, I guess.  Thanks to Emma Dryden for the link.

• I don’t know as many literary apps for kids as I might.  Pretty much everything on my phone is of the Endless series.  Endless Reader.  Endless Alphabet.  Now I hear they’ve a Spanish one as well: Endless Spanish/Infinito Español.  This is a great day for kinderappkind.

• Who doesn’t like a good bookface (as the kids are calling it these days)?  Lots of children’s literature was on display in this recent Guardian article about NYPL’s call for pictures ala #bookfacefriday.

I think the Libba Bray one is particularly inspired too.

• With the sheer number of picture books out there, sometimes you want to see a recommendation list that isn’t the same old, same old.  So if you want something fun and entirely up-t0-date, step this way and take in the Pink Me post Super Summer Picture Books 2015.  Good for what ails ya.

• I missed a lot of Publisher’s Weekly Children’s Bookshelf issues while I was moving to Evanston, so perhaps this piece has already been discussed ad nauseum without me.  Just in case it hasn’t, though, The Guardian post Picture Books That Draw the Line Against Pink Stereotypes of Girls is very interesting to me.  I should do an American version as a post soon.  In any case, many of these I recognize but I don’t think we’ve seen I’m a Girl by Yasmeen Ismail yet.  Eh, Bloomsbury?  Eh?  Eh eh?  *bats eyelashes*  Eh? Thanks to Kate for the link.

• With his customary verve and panache, Travis Jonker accurately (insofar as I am concerned) pinpoints the books that will probably get some New York Times Best Illustrated love this year.  The sole book he neglects to mention, insofar as I am concerned, is my beloved Moletown by Torben Kuhlmann and possibly Mr. Squirrel and the Moon by Sebastian Meschenmoser.  Let’s show our German compatriots a little affection!

• One might argue that launching a literary periodical with a concentration on children’s literature in this day and age is as fraught with peril as launching a children’s bookstore (if not more so).  Yet I find much to celebrate in this recent announcement about The Read Quarterly and what it hopes to accomplish.  You know what?  What the heck.  I’ll subscribe.  Could be good for the little gray cells.

• Daily Image:

This . . . this looks like a lot of work.  Whooboy.  A lot of work.  But super cool, you bet.  Super cool.  It’s kids made out of books:

Morning, folks.  We’ve a good store of goodies this morning, and I’m pleased as punch to give them to you.  First up, a short film.  A very short film, actually.  I’ve spoken in the past on how Hollywood views children’s writers and the creation of children’s books.  This film seems to believe that children’s books in general are being urged to be “darker”.  Even picture books.  An odd sentiment, but there you go.

Thanks to Stephanie Whelan for the link!

So, First Book is doing something called the Speed Read Challenge.  It’s being done to draw attention to First Book’s Be Inspired campaign, which is attempting to get 1 million books into the hands of kids.  You can see a whole slew of celebrities told to speed read book in ten seconds.  First, recent Newbery winner Kwame Alexander:

Next, Mo Willems:

I wanna do it.

As you may have heard from folks like Travis Jonker, Jimmy Kimmel started a regular feature where he has a bookclub with kids.  So far they’ve covered Goodnight Moon and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.  Naturally when it came time to embed one, I went with The Giving Tree. To know me is to know why.

Barb Langridge has made it her goal to get the ALA Youth Media Award titles back in the public eye and conversation.  Here she talks with the people of Baltimore about the recent winners.  Good stuff.

And for our off-topic video,  I had two really good choices.  Still, in light of last Sunday’s Oscars, this seemed like the link that made a bit more sense:

Have you ever been in the midst of your writing and you have to stop in order to find the perfect word?

Happy birthday to a very special boy! Keep reading… First published in 1964 The Giving Tree has been translated into more than 30 different languages. Written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein, this story is about a relationship between a boy and a tree. The tree loved the little boy very much and the little boy [...]

#85 The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (1964)
23 points

Somebody’s moving up in the world.  At last count Silverstein’s most divisive book was low at #93.  Now it has climbed the ranks to a respectable #85. And there we have it.  One of the most divisive books in children’s literature.  To my mind, you are either a Giving Tree fan or you loathe and abhor it.  My husband is a fan.  In fact, if you get him at a party he will explain at length how subversive the title is, and how Silverstein is playing with the reader and isn’t serious about the tree’s “giving”.  Others prefer to take the book at face value, finding it to be a tale of self-sacrifice and parenthood.  The story, just in case you are unfamiliar with it, is about a tree and the boy it loves.  The boy takes apples, wood, and eventually everything from the tree itself, and it is happy with the process.

It is also notable for this infamous author photo of Mr. Silverstein on the back.  Those of you who read the third Diary of a Wimpy Kid book will remember the passage where Greg’s dad kept him from getting out of bed at night by threatening him with the back of The Giving Tree, telling him Shel Silverstein would get him if he left his room.  You can see it here in this image of Tracy Morgan.

And you’re in luck folks.  There’s now a video out there of the book as read by the author himself:

To say nothing of the perhaps-not-workplace-friendly Sassy Gay Friend edition.

A lot of people stop by this site because they’re curious to learn what it takes to not only write a children’s book, but to write a successful one. Some authors appear at workshops where they charge hundreds of dollars to dispense such insider tips. Not me. Today, I’m giving the good stuff out for free. I only ask that you thank me in your acknowledgements and cut me in on any foreign rights. It’s a fair trade for this invaluable wisdom. Let’s get down to it.

First off, the old advice is often the best advice. Write what you know. Do you know a puppy that’s a bit poky? How about some teenagers who hunt each other for sport? Connecting with children is about connecting with the world around you. A few monkeys don’t hurt either. That’s right. Forget wizards, vampires and zombies. Monkeys are what distinguish great children’s books. Try to imagine The Secret Garden without Jose Fuzzbuttons, the wisecracking capuchin whose indelible catchphrase “Aye-yaye-yaye, Mami, hands off the yucca!” is still bandied about schoolyards today? I don’t think you can.

Of course, the magic that is artistic inspiration must find its way in there. So how do you grab hold of it? Christopher Paolini swears by peyote-fueled pilgrimages to the Atacama Desert. I’m more of a traditionalist. A pint of gin and a round of Russian Roulette with Maurice Sendak always gets my creative juices flowing. Have fun. Experiment. Handguns and hallucinogens need not be involved. Though I see no reason to rule them out. Find what works for you.

Now, you’ll inevitably face a little writer’s block. There are two words that cure this problem and cure it quick. Public Domain. Dust off some literary dud and add spice to it. Kids dig this stuff. For instance, you could take some Edith Wharton and inject it with flatulence. The Age of Innocence and Farts.  Done. Easy. Bestseller.

I give this last bit of advice with a caveat. Resist the temptation to write unauthorized sequels to beloved classics. I speak from experience. My manuscripts for You Heard What I Said Dog, Get Your Arse Outta Here! and God? Margaret Again…I’m Late have seen the bottom of more editors’ trash cans than I care to mention. Newbery bait? Sure. Immune to the unwritten rules of the biz? Hardly.

Okay, let’s jump forward. So now you’ve got your masterpiece, but how the heck are you going to sell the thing? Truth be told, you’re going to need an advanced degree first. As anyone will inform you, kid lit authors without PhDs or MFAs are rarely taken seriously. If you can’t work Derrida or Foucault into a pitch letter, then you certainly can’t survive a 30-minute writing workshop with Mrs. Sumner’s 5th period reading class. So invest 60-100K and 3-6 years of your life. Then let the bidding war begin.

In the off chance that your book isn’t going to sell for six figures, try blackmail. Sounds harsh, but the children’s book industry runs almost exclusively on hush money and broken kneecaps. I mean, Beverly Cleary doesn’t even own a car. So why is she always carrying a tire iron?

Money is now under the mattress and the editorial process begins. Don’t worry at all about this. Editors won’t even read your book. They’ll simply call in Quentin Blake for some illustrations and then run the whole thing through a binding machine they keep in the back of the o

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
  10 Comments on Fusenews: Juice proof, last added: 9/15/2010
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  Leila said, on 9/15/2010 4:52:00 AM
  

  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.

  Elizabeth Bird said, on 9/15/2010 6:28:00 AM
  

  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.

  Jennifer Schultz said, on 9/15/2010 6:31:00 AM
  

  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).

  David Macinnis Gill said, on 9/15/2010 6:42:00 AM
  

  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.

  JMyersbook said, on 9/15/2010 8:07:00 AM
  

  “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!

  Susan said, on 9/15/2010 8:55:00 AM
  

  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)

  marjorie said, on 9/15/2010 10:04:00 AM
  

  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.

  Elizabeth Bird said, on 9/15/2010 1:15:00 PM
  

  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.

  Leila said, on 9/15/2010 1:31:00 PM
  

  It was Jenna, I think.

  Sondy said, on 9/15/2010 2:10:00 PM
  

  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.

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We begin today with a mild pet peeve of mine.  Here we go.  You see this lovely new paperback edition cover of the book Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me?  Well I had great affection for the original story, though I was relatively lukewarm on its first cover.  The original jacket just sported an image of the moon with a little astronaut sticking in a flag.  Clearly they wanted to spice things up a bit.  I don’t blame them.  Lots of great books see a second life in paperback when they go with a more contemporary photographed look.  That said, this particular book’s new cover suffers from a current trend I’ve found in some children’s jackets.  It is a whatever-you-do-don’t-make-the-kids-think-the-book-is-historical cover.  Now look at it.  Look long and hard.  Is there anything about the hair or dress of these two kids that screams 1969 to you?  You might argue “well, is there anything that looks absolutely contemporary?” and you’d be right.  But they’re definitely fudging the time period.  This will happen from time to time.  A bit of historical fiction will end up faking its cover to look contemporary, for all sorts of reasons.  Generally you can get around this if you shoot the photo close up (as with Frances O’Roark Dowell’s Shooting the Moon) or the characters backs (though I’m still pretty sure the hair on Doris Gwaltney’s WWII novel Homefront was a bit suspect).  Still and all, though I peer at this new Neil Armstrong book with a suspicious eye (shouldn’t Muscle Man McGinty be wearing glasses anyway?) it’s still loads better than the original back of the jacket for A Friendship for Today by Patricia McKissack.  There you saw two pairs of legs wearing jeans (on girls in the American South in the 1950s) and Airwalk sneakers.  Airwalks were established in 1986, folks.  My oh me oh my.  Nice book, though.

• Ah!  It’s that time of year again.  Time for Lee & Low to hand out their New Voices Writers Award.  As they say, “LEE & LOW BOOKS, award-winning publisher of children’s books, is pleased to announce the eleventh annual NEW VOICES AWARD. The Award will be given for a children’s picture book manuscript by a writer of color. The Award winner receives a cash grant of $1000 and our standard publication contract, including our basic advance and royalties for a first time author. An Honor Award winner will receive a cash grant of $500.”  You can see more information here if you’re interested.

• The blog Looking Backward recently
  8 Comments on Fusenews: Chicken pox for the soul, last added: 8/16/2010
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  EdenStorySnoop said, on 8/15/2010 9:43:00 PM
  

  I loved Muscle Man McGinty, and I REALLY don’t like this cover! Thank you for articulating my feelings–I probably wouldn’t have realized exactly what was bugging me, but I agree about the trying to hide the historical nature of the book. Argh.

  Thalia Kids’ Book Club Camp « educating alice said, on 8/16/2010 4:09:00 AM
  

  [...] [...]

  Sharon said, on 8/16/2010 5:10:00 AM
  

  Yikes! Historical fudging aside, the design on that cover is atrocious. Shame, for such a lovely little book.

  Brian said, on 8/16/2010 9:21:00 AM
  

  Also, that’s a photo of Buzz Aldrin, not Neil Armstrong. C’mon.

  Elizabeth Bird said, on 8/16/2010 9:31:00 AM
  

  Woah. Okay, Brian. I gotta ask. You’re the expert… how do you know? You’re pulling my leg here, right?

  Brooke Shirts said, on 8/16/2010 9:33:00 AM
  

  Thank you so much for the Eric Carpenter list! My oldest son is beginning 2nd grade next week, and I’m tickled to have a custom-made (as it were) booklist to share with him.

  Brian said, on 8/16/2010 10:26:00 AM
  

  Two part answer!

  First, the picture on the jacket, though cropped and upside down, is still recognizable as the most iconic of all astronaut-on-the-moon photos, and is of Aldrin. Here it is, intact: http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~5~5~21581~126368:Buzz-Aldrin-on-the-Moon

  Second, and maybe more interestingly, there are in fact almost no pictures of Armstrong on the moon. Armstrong and Aldrin shared the camera, and while Armstrong took plenty of pictures of Aldrin, Aldrin, for whatever reason, took almost none of Armstrong. Armstrong shows up incidentally in a couple of images, but is the focus of none. The best picture we have of him on the moon was teased out of video footage taken by an automated camera: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1200725/Never-seen-photo-shows-Neil-Armstrongs-face-walks-moon.html

  Consider your leg unpulled!

  Elizabeth Bird said, on 8/16/2010 4:33:00 PM
  

  Unpulled it is! And what a magnificent encapsulation. I doff my hat to you, Mr. Floca. Together, I propose that you and I shall become forensic book jacket scientists. Picking apart the minutia of misbegotten covers. You handle anything that has to do with astronauts. I’ll cover anything that has to do with various cinematic versions of the film “The Phantom of the Opera” (because sadly I feel unqualified to call myself a specialist in any knowledge I acquired post 9th grade).

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Now, for today’s lesson:

di-dac-tic –adjective

2. inclined to teach or lecture others too much: a boring, didactic speaker.

3. teaching or intending to teach a moral lesson.

4. didactics, (used with a singular verb) the art or science of teaching.

If you were to read Scarlet Whisper’s origin story (Action Comics #666), you’d learn that as a child, I attended Sunday School every week.

In these moral fiber knitting sessions, sweet little old ladies shared a lot of “application stories.” Some sort of flip chart, poster board, flannel graph, or book story was presented in order to “teach a lesson.”

These stories were didactic by design.

They were also usually boring.

Take a gander at some of the lovely illustrations from actual examples.

Look closely: Are they children or frolicking Stepford robots?

 Maybe that’s why I always hated those stories. When a book does all the heavy lifting, by answering all the important questions, what is left for the reader to do?

The best stories allow the reader to grapple with questions and issues for themselves. The message is oblique and awaits discovery.

Maybe that’s why my favorite application story was never Grandma Takes Rainbow Kitty to the Dentist or Too Much Candy for Tommy Tuttle.

Instead, I always prayed the little old ladies would read The Giving Tree again. The spare illustrations and simple words leave a lot the imagination, but it’s Shel Silverstein’s message which stayed with me all these years.

Once there was a tree...

 I’d love to know what you think about the modes and messages of books.

 Hungry for more?

Check out this wonderful discussion on didactism in children’s literature. And you might enjoy my Seven Layer Bars. These gooey sweet treats are a lot to chew on.

Seven Layer Bars

Ingredients:

1/2 cup real butter

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup milk choc. chips

1/2 cup semi-sweet choc. chips