Top o’ the Tuesday to you, gentle readers! After a delightful Memorial Day Weekend of doing very little (aside from watching somewhat strangely high statistics for my dinky little Saturday review) I am now working my final week at NYPL before the imminent arrival of a brand new Baby Bird. So let’s pack in the news items while we may, eh?
First off, big time thanks to everyone who showed up for the BEA Kidlit Drink Night. We raised excellent money for Reading is Fundamental and Rasco from RIF provided her own sweet thanks as well. Y’all are sweet and good and I appreciate you thoroughly.
And now the sad news. I’m sure that some of you may have heard that librarian, blogger, and 2012 debut author Bridget Zinn died of colon cancer at the age of 33. Tributes to her have been springing up all over the web and Liz at Tea Cozy has created a very impressive rundown on all the best Zinn links. I was sorry not to have known her better.
- I mentioned everything in my Day of Dialog rundown except the new books coming out. Until I get around to typing that up, why don’t you head on over to the PW post BEA 2011: A Bountiful Fall for Children’s Books. I’ve read some of those books, but a lot are unfamiliar to me. Get a glimpse of what the publishers think will be big (warning: may differ wildly from what librarians think will be big).
- I just can’t stop mentioning Candyland these days. One minute I’m talking about the Candyland movie. The next I’m insisting that you head over to The Scop where Jonathan Auxier talks up his favorite board game of all time: The Settlers of Catan. Sounds a bit like Risk except, as Jonathan says, “Risk is Candy Land in wingtips and a smoking jacket — a game of luck pretending to be a game of skill.” I’m just amazed that no one’s done a Risk movie yet. I mean, come on! We’re already shooting most of our films in New Zealand/Australia anyway. Clearly that’s where you’d have to set it.
- Sounds pretty standard at first. The online children’s book magazine Books for Keeps puts out a piece called Ten of the Best Dystopian Novels. You probably are, like myself, expecting them to cover the usual. Your Eva. Your Z for Zachariah. So it was with great pleasure that I noticed the #1 was The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. Wait . . . oh! Dystopian. Not post-apocalyptic. The other choices are just as fascinating (I always liked The Wind Singer).
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
Yep! I’ve determined that midway through June is the perfect time to start toting various Newbery/Caldecott predictions. This time last year I listed When You Reach Me, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, and The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate amongst my winners. Let us all hope I’ve such good luck this year as well.
Newbery Predictions (Summer Edition!):
My Top Newbery Award Pick:
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia -
No real surprise there. I’ve been toting this book since I read it back in February. The title has absolutely everything going for it. A strong family story, an unconventional setting, and a historical topic that hasn’t really been covered much at all in children’s literature. Williams-Garcia has always been a top notch writer, but with this book she has finally produced something young enough to grab the attention of a Newbery committee. As far as I can tell, this book should at least be able to nab an Honor. I hope for more, but Newbery committees do love to break my heart.
My Top Newbery Honor Picks:
Keeper by Kathi Appelt – It’s a strong choice and is considered widely to be more accessible than her previous novel The Underneath. And even with all the debate surrounding it that book still won a Newbery Honor! Again, this is a story about family (a popular theme this year) and mothers. It has a great deal of heart too, which may push it over the edge. I wouldn’t mind seeing it do very well indeed.
The Water Seeker by Kimberly Willis Holt – Entirely based on heresay and conjecture. I haven’t read it myself. I simply hear good things. Consider it to be on my To Be Read list.
The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz – It was pointed out to me after the last set of predictions that fairy books don’t win big medals. They might be right. We’ve already a serious mermaid title going for the gold this year. Can we handle both fairies and mermaids in a single category? I’d like to think so since Schlitz’s book takes a topic that is usually brushed over by lesser authors and makes it into something wild and classic. But I can also see the Newbery committee dismissing it as . . well . . as too much fun. It happens.
The Boneshaker by Kate Milford – In any given year you’ll usually find a debut author/wild card. This book has both. I consider it a serious Honor contender. The shades of Ray Bradbury in it don’t overwhelm the text. It’s creepy and delightful and the writing itself is superb. I am much taken with this book.
The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan – A Hispanic-American has never won a Newbery Award proper, you know. Could this be the first time it happens? Maybe so. I liked the book, though I know folks who found it too “writerly” to sink their teeth into
Keeper
By Kathi Appelt
Illustrated by August Hall
Atheneum (an imprint of Simon & Schuster)
$16.99
ISBN: 978-1-4169-5060-8
Ages 9-12
On shelves now.
I don’t consider myself a particularly sentimental person. I don’t really cry at movies (E.T. was supposed to go home, for crying out loud). Television shows leave me high and dry (sorry LOST finale). And books? Considering that I read most of them in quick bits and bites as I travel the New York City subway system, you’re going to be some kinda book to crack so much as a sniffle out of me, let along an out-and-out bawl. So imagine my surprise the other day as I stood on the platform of the F train in Brooklyn, tears merrily streaming down my face as I read Kathi Appelt’s latest. Now I’ll be the first to admit that there were some personal reasons why this book was hitting me as hard as it was. And what’s more, I’m fairly certain that if I was eleven and reading the same book I wouldn’t have cracked so much as a sniffle. That said, there are some authors that can make words twist emotions out of your chest. Who can embarrass you when you board the F train, trying desperately to look like you weren’t just crying over a small, unprepossessing children’s book. Appelt’s one. And her latest is going to win over a whole new generation of young fans.
How can a single day go so wrong? It wasn’t supposed to be a bad day, after all. It was a day that was leading up to a sweet blue moon. But that was before ten-year-old Keeper ruined her guardian Signe’s traditional crab gumbo by setting the crabs free. Before she inadvertently destroyed grandfatherly Mr. Beauchamp’s most prized possessions. Before she was present when Dogie, a man she sees as a kind of father, watched as his hopes of asking Signe to marry him were dashed before his eyes. Now the only way Keeper can think to make amends is to cast off into the sea with just her dog B.D. in tow to find Meggie Marie. Meggie Marie is Keeper’s mama and, she thinks, a mermaid as well. Along the way Keeper gives up the things that mean the most to her, and comes to appreciate the fact that it’s people, not objects, that bind a family together. No matter how bad your day has been.
When Appelt wrote The Underneath it caused strong emotions in her readership. You loved it or you hated it. A couple folks didn’t commit one way or another, but for the bulk of us that was it. Love or hate. Tempers seethed. Sharp words were exchanged. The important thing to remember is that folks were talking about a children’s book. Their hearts got mixed into the discussion. It’s a powerful writer that can wring such passion out of her readership, even if it results in debates over the quality of the book itself. The Underneath was a dark piece of writing hidden behind a kitten-laden cover. It confronted the nature of evil itself with a villain so nasty, reviewers couldn’t even contest his lack of redeeming qualities. Keeper is an experiment in contrasts. Where The Underneath examined hate and bitterness, Keeper is about love, family, and forgiveness.
There is a note at the back of this book in the Acknowledgment section that strikes me as just as important as any word in the text itself. Writes Ms. Appelt of one Diane Linn, “She lovingly cast her knowledge of tides and currents and stingrays my wa
Top o’ the Tuesday to you, gentle readers! After a delightful Memorial Day Weekend of doing very little (aside from watching somewhat strangely high statistics for my dinky little Saturday review) I am now working my final week at NYPL before the imminent arrival of a brand new Baby Bird. So let’s pack in the news items while we may, eh?
On the YA vs MG issue: I would say that YA books seem to be a “hotter” market right now in terms of film rights and multi-book deals. (maybe I’m wrong about this — any YA authors care to clue me in?) However, I would agree that MG books might enjoy a cultural edge insofar as they get to be more directly connected to the larger tradition of Children’s Literature. Given the ages of their protagonists, books like TREASURE ISLAND or ANNE OF GREEN GABLES should probably be called YA … and yet the MG crowd claims them.
Yep. That’s a much clearer and concise way of saying what I was attempting. Cheers, Jonathan.
Regarding your hits: as far as I can tell, your blog stats don’t include all the people who read you through their google reader (like me). My g-reader says you have 586 google subscribers.
Have a comfortable, happy, healthy maternity leave, Betsy!
Wow. Thank you so much for the wonderful comments, and the great article (as always.) A pretty awesome way to start a Tuesday morning! All the best, Donna
Didn’t Anne Carroll Moore [sp?] write a column called The Third Owl? Ah-ha.
And it’s Brooke for the win!!!
I was glad to see that the stand-alone article mentioned Charlotte’s Imaginon, which I worked at for four years.
Other stand-alone children’s libraries include the Children’s Resource Center located in New Orleans and one of the New Orleans Public Library branches. It’s also a Carnegie library, I believe.
There’s also the Saucier Children’s Library (Saucier, MS), a branch of the Harrison County (MS) Public Library (located in the Biloxi area).
Speaking of NOPL and Harrison County libraries…these libraries are still in recovery from Hurricane Katrina (6 year anniversary).
NOPL has exciting plans for their reimaged and reconstructed libraries: http://www.nutrias.org/~nopl/recovery/recovery.htm
Harrison County is also closing their temporary library in preparation for their new Biloxi library: http://www.harrison.lib.ms.us/
How did I not think of Captain Sweeto until now? I shall hang my head in shame. Delicious gumdrop flavored shame.