How to use this Page

Good art can be a little dark and disturbing. In the case of a new exhibition at the Whitney Library Gallery, it can also be classified as creepy, spooky, kooky, mysterious and more than a little fun. The show features dark drawings and haunting images, much of them from a new children's book, "The Stumps of Flattop Hill," by Las Vegas-based author Kenneth Kit Lamug.

Add a Comment

Tim Burton, the prolific artist who has brought his unique macabre style to the mainstream shows off more of his quirky characters in this great short story…

Add a Comment

The Inspiring Lessons from Edward Gorey I have a confession to make… It might shock you to know that up until late 2010/2011, I was not at all familiar with the works of Edward Gorey (Gasp!). I wasn’t even really thinking about drawing back then. I was at the infancy of my artistic journey as […]

Add a Comment

Stephanie Graegin spent her childhood drawing and collecting fauna. These days, she lives in Brooklyn, is still drawing, and has managed to keep her animal collection down to one orange cat.

Add a Comment

Jeffrey’s Darth Vader series was originally geared towards adults as it was about the experience of being a parent; however, parents shared it with their kids and now both adults & kids love the series. Goodnight Darth Vader was created with both audiences in mind.

Add a Comment

Giving birth!  All the kids are doing it these days.  And you know what giving birth means, right?  It means having a little extra time to blog and get my non-work related projects done.  Though, naturally, I wrote 50% of this post a day ago and then must have failed to save the darn thing.  *sigh*  C’est la vie, kids.

• I was called upon recently to speak with a writer from the National Endowment for the Arts.  The topic?  Why Children’s Books Matter.  Done in conjunction with Leonard Marcus’s exhibit at the main branch of NYPL I answer all sorts of questions.  Mind you, it was a oral interview so I wasn’t able to parse my own speech.  Read it and you’ll get a real sense of what it sounds like to talk to me (weirdo grammar and all).

• Next up, diversity!  Last week I wrote the post We Need Diverse Books . . . But Are We Willing to Discuss Them With Our Kids? in which I discussed the role of children’s literature when talking to young children about race.  It received some great responses, including this one from Monica Edinger Talking Diversity with Young Children.  Then in other diversity news I interviewed Jason Low about the current state of multicultural books for kiddos today.

• Let’s talk exhibits again.  This time, those in Chicago.  Particularly those in Chicago involving Edward Gorey.  You lucky midwesterners.  Thanks to Mr. Schu for the link.

• And going back to the topic of NYPL, I recently interviewed middle grade author Claire LeGrand.  Claire is the organizing genius behind the upcoming Kids Authors Carnival happening this month on the 31st.  Talking with me, she answered some of my questions about the carnival, the authors who will be there, and where the idea came from in the first place.

• Lucy Liu: YA book jacket heroine?  Sure.  What the heck.  Thanks to Marchek for the link.

• Summer Reading is coming up.  Want a reading list for your kids?  ALSC came up with this one and it’s rather nice.

• Hat tip to Travis Jonker for the hat tip to my book (co-written with Jules Danielson and Peter Sieruta).  It’s coming out in August fer sure, fer sure, and Travis included it in his 10 to Note Summer Preview 2014.  Thank you, man!!

• Oh, I rather love this.  25 Movie Cameos by the Authors of the Original Books.  Because there are children’s book adaptations included that I never knew about.  Michael Morpurgo?  Louis Sachar?  They forgot Wendy Orr in Nim’s Island, Brian Selznick in Hugo, and David Levithan and Rachel Cohn in Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist but no one’s perfect.  Love the snarky comment about Stephenie Meyer, by the way.  Thanks to Cynthia Leitich Smith for the link.

• Woo-hoo!  The next Kidlitosphere Conference (the greatest, biggest, best conference of children’s & YA literature bloggers) is nigh.  Nigh, I sez, nigh!  The focus is on diversity, the location is Sacramento and the guests include everyone from Shannon Hale to Mitali Perkins.  Don’t miss it.

• New Podcast Alert: Little, Brown & Company’s School & Library division has their own podcast channel?  Well, who the heck knew?  Not I, said the fly.  And then there’s the podcast Dear Book Nerd which appears to have some connection to the great and grand Brooklyn children’s librarian Rita Meade.  I am so out of it.

• Kids aren’t reading!  No way, no how, not happening.  Unless of course they are.  Common Sense Media recently decided that kids weren’t reading anymore and they went and made a huge deal about it.  Two alternate takes on the study are worth noting.  The first is from Forbes.  The second, from Liz Burns.  And quite frankly, I probably don’t have to tell you that it’s Liz’s take that I prefer.

Nothing I love more than a new children’s book prize.  Particularly when I get to help to narrow down the contenders.  The New York Historical Society was looking for great books of American history, either fiction or nonfiction for kids.  The winner?  The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine.  She gets a $10,000 prize and is the inaugural winner.  Check out the other finalists here and an interview with Kristin about the book here.

The big news last week, aside from the birth of my baby Bird, was the Rush Limbaugh win at the Children’s Book Choice Awards.  It wasn’t a surprise but it did make for some good think pieces.  And Travis Jonker, bless his soul, rounded them up for you.  Amusingly, I had to miss the banquet because of back pain.  Had I attended I not only would have gotten to see that particular person give a speech but there was a fire scare that made everyone go outside.  Methinks this was not the worst year to miss.

Wait just a minute there . . . there’s a children’s literature conference in Hawaii and I’m only NOW hearing about it?  Man!  Now there’s a place I’d love to speak.  Pity I’d have to win a Newbery Honor to do it.

• Daily Image:

It was St. Martin’s Press that advertised this one originally.  I don’t know where they got it, but it’s such a brilliant display that I just had to share it with you.  Libraries and other bookstores take note (and copy at will!).

Display Comments Add a Comment

Add a Comment

Add a Comment

“To be perfectly honest, Ticky,” said Professor John, “I do not care for grandfather clocks as a rule. They are so very tall that one can never look into their faces and see what they are thinking. But your grandfather must be a very special clock, and it is always a good thing to have an ancestor who lives in a castle.”

—The Very Fine Clock by Muriel Spark, illustrated by Edward Gorey (1968)

Add a Comment

Edward Gorey was born 88 years ago today and here is just one of the ways he enriched the world before leaving it.



Read more about him here and consider how wonderful it would have been to see how he would have illustrated Neil Gaiman's Coraline.  Then go and visit the Gorey Store where you can buy everything from soap to to iPhone cases to jewellry.

Add a Comment

Or, After the Outing   by Edward Gorey Simon & Schuster 1963  A ghastly little abecedarian for hip little children... who might just happen to be teens or adults with a sense of humor. I think this one is best explained by example. You can probably figure out how the rest of this plays out. Twenty-six children, each with their own half of a dactylic couplet to explain their demise.

Add a Comment

Haven't yet picked up a box of chocolates or a dozen roses. Here are some Valentine's Day suggestions for the special bookish person in your life.

Add a Comment

Haven't yet picked up a box of chocolates or a dozen roses. Here are some Valentine's Day suggestions for the special bookish person in your life.

Add a Comment

When I first became interested in children’s literature I decided that it would be a good idea to teach myself about all the old greats of the picture book world.  A good idea, but self-teaching is inherently limited.  As such, I’ve missed a lot of folks. For example, until now “Saul Bass” meant nothing to me.  Yet after reading the Ward Jenkins post on the Rizzoli reprint of Henri’s Walk to Paris, that is one book I would love to get my sticky digits on.  Just gorgeous stuff.

I’ve noticed a couple of folks around the country working to make literary loving hip in the mind of the average consumer with varying degrees of success.  One project that has interested me, though, is this Litpunch idea the Twin Cities are engaged in.  Basically you get a card, you attend fun free literary events, and if you get your card punched twelve times you get a $15 gift card to a bookstore.  I do wish the libraries were involved in some manner but it’s a great notion.  Imagine if they did the same thing with children’s literature!  I await that happening someday.

• This is impressive!  Want a fabulous list of in-print books set on every continent of the world?  And would you like such a list to also include activities and recipes and the like?  Then I think it’s time to take a trip to Read Around the World.  It’ll do your old heart good.  Promise.

• Speaking of recipes, you know that fabulous book Press Here by Herve Tullet?  Well, would you fancy trying a mess of Press Here cookies?  Children’s Books for Grown-Ups has got the goods.  It’s part of a regular “Bookish Bites” series.  I’m seriously looking forward to how Natasha will tackle that upcoming Moomin birthday cake.  There but for the grace of parental challenges go I . . .

• Once in a while at Hark, A Vagrant, Ms. Kate Beaton will reinterpret various Edward Gorey covers.  Here’s one she may have missed.  It appeared recently on the 50 Watt blog and features a Gorey spider.  Have you ever seen a Gorey spider?  Did you know that you were missing out?  That your life contained a gigantic Gorey-spider shaped void?

Well now you know.

• Is texting “an ideal sp
  6 Comments on Fusenews: Hotsy Totsy, Ducky, Spiffy, Etc., last added: 9/12/2011
  Display Comments
  Storied Cities said, on 9/10/2011 2:39:00 AM
  

  Surprisingly, I DO know of a Scottish picture book author! Natalie Russell!

  Elizabeth Fama said, on 9/10/2011 6:44:00 AM
  

  That Edward Gorey spider reminds me of the Medieval bestiary drawings, where the artist had never seen the living creature before! “Uh, it has 8 legs. It’s sort of furry up close. Yeah, it’s sort of like a crab, I guess.”

  DanMc said, on 9/10/2011 8:21:00 AM
  

  I can understand not knowing he did a kids’ book (certainly came as a shock to me) but how could you be married to Matt and not know Saul Bass?

  http://notcoming.com/saulbass/index2.php

  Elizabeth Bird said, on 9/10/2011 9:55:00 PM
  

  This is a pretty good case of my blithely blogging something without consulting the resident husband. Good call, Dan. Matt definitely knows who he is.

  Rams said, on 9/11/2011 4:43:00 AM
  

  Now we know why the itsy-bitsy spider was looking for a water spout.

  jules said, on 9/12/2011 10:36:00 PM
  

  Wow. Thanks for filling the gigantic Gorey-spider shaped void in my life. Creepy cover.

  Add a Comment

Display Comments Add a Comment

Display Comments Add a Comment

Add a Comment

So I’m reading through my weekly edition of AL Direct and I notice that no matter what worldwide occurrence takes place, librarians are always there. Whether it’s damage to two libraries in Egypt, stories from the librarians in Christchurch, New Zealand, or how the Wisconsin Library Association delayed Library Legislative Day due to the protests, the profession is there.  That last story was of particular interest to me, since I had wondered whether any school librarians were amongst the protesters in Wisconsin lately.  According to the article, they most certainly are.  You go, guys!!  Seriously, I want to hear more about it.  If any of you know any school librarians marching in WI, send them my way.  I’d love to do a full post on them.

• Speaking of folks in the news, I have to give full credit to author/illustrator Katie Davis for consistently locating the hotspots in children’s literature and convincing folks to talk to her about them on her fabulous podcast.  In the past she’s managed to finagle everyone from the editor who wanted to replace the n-word in Huckleberry Finn to James Kennedy on the 90-Second Newbery.  Now she’s managed to get Bruce Coville to talk about what went down when he and fellow children’s author Liz Levy got stuck in Egypt during the protest period.  That Katie.  She’s got a nose for news.

• I’m having a lot of fun reading How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely these days, and I can’t help but see echoes of the plot in this story about the man behind the Hardy Boys novels.  We hear about the various Carolyn Keenes all the time, but why not the Dixons?  After reading this old piece in the Washington Post from 1998 (The Hardy Boys The Final Chapter) I feel vindicated.  I reread some of my old Three Investigators novels not too long ago and they STILL held up!  I always knew they were better than The Hardy Boys.  Now I have proof.  I was going to save the link to this essay until the end of the Fusenews today, but it’s so amusing and so delightfully written that I just have to encourage you, first thing, to give it a look.  Thanks to The Infomancer for the link.

• Fun Fact About Newbery Winning Author Robin McKinley: She’s learning to knit.  Related Sidenote: She also has a blog.  Did you know this?  I did not know this.  And look at the meticulous use of footnotes.  McKinley should write the next Pale Fire.  I would
  10 Comments on Fusenews: “The Hardy boys were tense with a realization of their peril.”, last added: 2/25/2011
  Display Comments
  Jonathan Auxier said, on 2/23/2011 11:21:00 PM
  

  I’ve been meaning to pick up HOW I BECAME A FAMOUS NOVELIST ever since John August mentioned it on his blog. He tells the story of optioning the book in his usual charming fashion here: http://johnaugust.com/archives/2009/how-i-became-a-famous-novelist. I’m gratified to hear someone dumping on the Hardy Boys. I hated those books as a kid … along with all the other series in which nothing actually happened to the characters. Why read a book that ends where it starts? (I will make an exception for Beckett.) That bias is probably the same reason I don’t watch procedural dramas today.

  Elizabeth Bird said, on 2/24/2011 6:04:00 AM
  

  I’m probably reading the book for the same reason you’ve been meaning to pick it up. Which is to say, I think Matt read the John August piece, got intrigued, read it, and passed it on to me. It feels so up-to-date and contemporary too. I have to wonder how well it will age, or if the books that are blockbusters now will continue to remain the same kind of blockbusters ten or twenty years down the road.

  Three Investigators 4-Evah.

  Julia Karr said, on 2/24/2011 10:58:00 AM
  

  Ah, I was always a Nancy Drew fan and only read Hardy Boys comics (put out by Walt Disney when they were airing The Hardy Boys on The Mickey Mouse Club.) However, my tender young writer’s heart was crushed when I found out that Carolyn Keene was a psuedonym for a stable of writers. *sigh*

  Jean said, on 2/24/2011 11:48:00 AM
  

  “You go, guys!!!” How about a little objectivity? How about a Wisconsin public school where the librarian’s job description, according to the principal, was “to provide release time for the teachers”, which they were entitled to in their union negotiated contract? Yes, I went – to a non-union charter school (at half the pay), not to protest in Madison.

  Dan McCoy said, on 2/24/2011 1:41:00 PM
  

  >bites his lip, Jupiter Jones-style and nods approvingly<

  Sondy said, on 2/24/2011 1:57:00 PM
  

  I am SO with you on the 3 Investigators! Jupiter Jones rocks!

  Hey, I’m planning to do a little piece of Library Advocacy this weekend with the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. I’ll post about it on my blog, and then will try to get a little attention… We’re supposed to be happy that they aren’t planning any further cuts this year, after they cut 30% the last two years. I am glad to have a job back, but it’s still rotten for the people of the county….

  Tracey said, on 2/24/2011 4:18:00 PM
  

  I LOVED the 3 Investigators!

  I was in first grade when the childrens librarian introduced me to the Hardy Boys. I didn’t like them that much, but I could read them very quickly, which mattered to me for some reason. And then, I found Nancy Drew and I never picked up another Hardy Boys again. To this day, I wonder why the librarian showed me the Hardy Boys but not Nancy Drew.

  Lisa Yee said, on 2/25/2011 8:30:00 AM
  

  L is for Lisa who loves your blog.

  I’m in Boston this weekend, signing at Peter Reynold’s Blue Bunny bookstore on Saturday. When I saw on your blog that there’s a Gorey exhibit in town I was soooooo excited. Can’t wait to see it!

  Sergio Ruzzier said, on 2/25/2011 8:36:00 AM
  

  Thank you Betsy! I should get images from the show in a week or so.

  Joanne Fritz said, on 2/25/2011 7:12:00 PM
  

  The entire first chapter of HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE on a bathroom wall? Some people have waaaaay too much time on their hands.

  Great post, Betsy!

  Add a Comment

 Edward Gorey needs no introduction. I won't trivialize his massive talents or contributions by trying to come up with a witty line about how influential he has been and continues to be to countless artists of all media for the past 50+ years. So instead, I will just share my observations with you about a show of his work that I was lucky enough to attend today at the Boston Athenaeum!

The show features Edward Gorey's original pen and ink work in the forms of finished illustrations, loose sketchbook art/writing, book covers (rejected and accepted), writings, and incredible lettering. There are also a few lovely illustrated envelopes, stuffed toys made by Gorey himself, original-edition miniature books, and some early editions of some of his books. Most of the art is original art, except for a few reproductions.


I was unable to take photos since they were prohibited, but for all you art geeks like me, I took notes on some of my observations on his process and the like.

• Writing: I knew he was a writer of course and an excellent one, but after seeing some of his rejects it hit home how truly imaginative and innovative he was with words and with creating his own words. I was able to wrap myself a little bit in his process with some of the papers here and got to get a feel for his process. From what I can tell, it's a lot like the rest of us, which I liked a lot! I also noted that his poetic and rhyming verse is in general extremely technically sound. It's clear that he took pains to make sure that his work was technically correct and that he had a great respect for formal education in language, grammar and creative writing.

• Line work: Some of the line work is done with an impossibly fine and delicate line, and his control and consistency to his style is remarkable, especially given the fact that he likely was using pen nibs and an inkwell and not continuous-flow ink pen such as Rapidograph. Being a Rapidograph fanatic myself, I found this fascinating and really impressive. I have also used nib pens extensively and I have to wonder where the renegade ink drops are in Gorey's work. that sometimes wind up in my ink and  nib-pen art! I think he was so precise and controlled and possibly trained himself to work with an immediate emergency blotter immediately at the ready in case any ink blobs came quickly.

Display Comments Add a Comment

 by Herb Valen  illustrated by Susan Perl   Little, Brown and Company  1968  A boy discovers he can literally jump into paintings and interact with the people there, but his ability all mysteriously vanishes just as he's about to enter school... Edward has grown big and strong, and can hop around on a single leg all the time without getting tired.  he spends his cold winter days in his

Add a Comment

Can you see the influence? I'm a big Edward Gorey fan, one of the greatest story tellers in pictures. His stuff is dark, funny and a wonder. These little morbid tales are great for Halloween.

Display Comments Add a Comment

I'm venturing outside the traditional 'safe' realm of Children's Book Illustration today to share one of my favorite artists, and an inspiration to so many of us: Edward Gorey. The above is from The Gashleycrumb Tinies, a poster I got in high school, which followed me to college, and still lives in my basement. Don't you love the tilt of Basil, and how Gorey has captured this moment just before the terrible action. His little eyes go right out to us amidst a sea of inky texture. Yes, his work is dark, but here's a link to an excellent list of his books, and a little encouragement to actually share his work with children. It starts with this quote:

"(Edward) Gorey is perfect for children." -- Maurice Sendak, Children's Literature Association Quarterly, Spring 2007

This image was in an anthology I own, Amphigorey Also. I tucked it away and kept it with my class notebooks - something about it just spoke to me (hardy-har-har). He had remarkable lettering skills, and a way of making the titles fit perfectly. No computers, no undo button - just pure draftsmanship.

I was lucky enough to see an exhibit of Gorey's in Boston shortly before he passed away. I found out later that he liked to attend his shows, in disguise, so I like to imagine him walking the show the same day I was there, mysterious and observant. Have you seen a photo of him? I'm still unclear how exactly he 'disguised' himself. I also visited his home, now a museum, in Yarmouthport just a few years after his passing. I highly recommend a visit if you ever find yourself on Cape Cod. His life seemed almost obsessively devoted to his art. There are several great books on Gorey, as well as a wealth of information on the internet.

Display Comments Add a Comment

I was reminded by the Paper Cuts blog that one of the stars of our 2009 BookFinder.com Report, The Recently Deflowered Girl by Edward Gorey has just made the jump back into print!  Finding a copy of the original is still a pricey endeavor but reprints are now easily attainable.   

[Now Reading: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick]

Add a Comment

The used book gods were smiling on me last weekend.  Somehow,  a copy of Leepike Ridge ended up in the Barnes & Noble bargain room for three dollars.  I scarfed it up and read it in two sittings that would have been one sitting if people around here hadn't started getting hungry on Sunday.  It was that good.

I read a review (I think it  might have been from Fuse #8, but I'm too lazy to go hunting for it right now) that made comparisons between this book and Louis Sachar's Holes.  This kind of comparison always makes me skeptical.  "We'll just see about that," I thought.  I read it.  I saw. And I get it now.  This one is worthy of that comparison -- and then some.

Leepike Ridge is a book for every kid (and every grown kid) who played in refrigerator boxes, caught critters in the woods, and floated down creeks on homemade rafts.  It's a fantastic story with a grand adventure, a heroic boy, bad guys that you love to hate, a loyal dog, and a hidden treasure.  The fact that it's beautifully written with magical, transporting descriptions is gravy.

If you know and like a boy between the ages of, let's say 9 and 13, you really ought to pick up Leepike Ridge for him this holiday season. 

Add a Comment