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Ooo.  Lots of adult books with smatterings of children’s literature littered about the pages today.  Don’t even know where to start with this one.  Let’s see, eeny meeny miney . . . MO!

Libertarians on the Prairie: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Rose Wilder Lane, and the Making of the Little House Books by Christine Woodside

This is the most interesting of the batch in many ways.  This year saw the publication of the book The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder, published by editor William Anderson.  I know these letters well since Jules Danielson and I used them for our book Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children’s Literature.  Yet little did I know that the story of Rose Wilder was far more interesting than the degree to which she wrote the Little House books herself or whether or not she could swear like a sailor (she could).  Listen to this part of the description:

“Rose hated farming and fled the family homestead as an adolescent, eventually becoming a nationally prominent magazine writer, biographer of Herbert Hoover, and successful novelist, who shared the political values of Ayn Rand and became mentor to Roger Lea MacBride, the second Libertarian presidential candidate. Drawing on original manuscripts and letters, Woodside shows how Rose reshaped her mother’s story into a series of heroic tales that rebutted the policies of the New Deal.“

Nope.  Didn’t know that one!

Lois Lenski: Storycatcher by Bobbie Malone

Sometimes a book gets published and I sit in my library and think, “Is anyone else in the entire world going to really read and enjoy this besides me?” Then, after a moment, I’ll get a crazed look in my eye, stand up at my desk, and scream, “THEN I SHALL MAKE THEM ENJOY IT!!!!”  Little wonder my desk is sequestered at the end of my floor, far from my cowering co-workers.  This Lenski bio may have a limited built-in audience but for Newbery die-hards (Strawberry Girl fans, are you with me?) this is a must.  Plus I really like the central conceit involving inherent class structures.  Says the description: “Lenski turned her extensive study of hardworking families into books that accurately and movingly depicted the lives of the children of sharecroppers, coal miners, and migrant field workers.”  Now somebody out there write me a comparative study looking at how Kate DiCamillo has done similar work with working class people in Florida, with a good compare and contrast of the two award winning authors’ work.  And . . . go.

Everybody Behaves Badly: The True Story Behind Hemingway’s Masterpiece The Sun Also Rises by Lesley M.M. Blume

Okay.  You’ll bite.  What’s the children’s literature connection here?  Is it the fact that the book’s about Hemingway and we know that his grandson Eddie Hemingway makes picture books?  Is there going to be a revelation in the book that Hemingway based The Sun Also Rises on The Velveteen Rabbit (think about it . . . no, wait, don’t)?  No, it’s a lot simpler than that.  Its author, Lesley M.M. Blume, has made a veritable plethora of children’s books over the years.  My personal favorite was her Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins, and Other Nasties: A Practical Guide by Miss Edythe McFate.  Now she’s getting stellar reviews on the adult side of things.  Bully for her, says I!  Well done!

Love From Boy: Roald Dahl’s Letters to His Mother by Donald Sturrock

What We Know: 2016 marks 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl.

What That Means: Lots o’ books about Dahl.  Some covering areas we’ve seen before.  Others traipsing into new territory.  I certainly haven’t seen this one before and as the mom of a 2-year-old boy it gets frighteningly close to teary-eyed territory.  I also love this part of the book’s description: “Sofie Magdalene kept every letter her son wrote to her (sadly, her own side of the correspondence did not survive).”  Tsk.  Ain’t that like a boy.

The Best “Worst President” by Mark Hannah, ill. Bob Staake

Bob Staake cover and interior art.  Nuff said.

Walking with Ramona: Exploring Beverly Cleary’s Portland by Laura O. Foster

One of my catalogers came up to me the other day, book in hand.  Baker & Taylor has cataloged this book as 813.54 (literary stuff) but the book is clearly (Cleary-ly?) a travelogue.  Indeed, open it up and you get a whole mess of delightful Portland, Oregon haunts.  Where the HECK was this book when I was moving there, all those years ago?  I would have lapped it up.  As it stands, it’s really very delightful.  Those of you planning to move there, or have friends or kids moving there, grab this thing.  Like I say – Ramona invented the original Portlandia.

In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant, Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown by Amy Gary

 Hold the phone. Now hand the phone to me.  Someone else besides Leonard Marcus has written a biography of Margaret Wise Brown?  Who is this Amy Gary type personage?  Sez the description: “In 1990, author Amy Gary discovered unpublished manuscripts, songs, personal letters, and diaries from Margaret tucked away in a trunk in the attic of Margaret’s sister’s barn. Since then, Gary has pored over these works and with this unique insight in to Margaret’s world she chronicles her rise in the literary world . . . Amy Gary has cataloged, edited, and researched all of Margaret’s writings for the last twenty-five years.”

Oh.  There you go then.

Okay.  One more.

Looking for Betty MacDonald: The Egg, the Plague, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and I by Paula Becker-Brown

For whatever reason I feel like this is slightly more accessible than the Lois Lenski book.  Probably because MacDonald had a career outside of children’s literature occasionally.  “Readers embraced her memoir of her years as a young bride operating a chicken ranch on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, and The Egg and I sold its first million copies in less than a year. The public was drawn to MacDonald’s vivacity, her offbeat humor, and her irreverent take on life. In 1947, the book was made into a movie starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert, and spawned a series of films featuring MacDonald’s Ma and Pa Kettle characters.” Piggle-Wiggle is what she’ll go down in history for, but it’s nice to see another side of her as well.  Could have put a little more work into that book jacket, though.  Seriously, University of Washington Press.  You weren’t even trying.

Time for another post that justifies my current job.  As you may or may not know, as Evanston Public Library’s Collection Development Manager I buy all the adult books.  Which is to say, they apparently make them for people over the age of 12 these days.  Who knew?  Happily, there are plenty of connections to the wide and wonderful world of children’s literature in the grown-up book universe.  Here are a couple of interesting recent examples you might enjoy:

Though she’s best known in our world as a mighty successful picture book author (with a killer ping-pong backswing) Rosenthal’s that rare beast that manages to straddle writing for both adults and kids.  The last time she wrote an out-and-out book for the grown-up set, however, was ten years ago (Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life).  This next one’s a memoir of sorts (I say “of sorts” because the subtitle belies this statement).  Here’s the description:

“… each piece of prose is organized into classic subjects such as Social Studies, Music, and Language Arts. Because textbook would accurately describe a book with a first-of-its-kind interactive text messaging component. Because textbook is an expression meaning “quintessential”—Oh, that wordplay and unconventional format is so typical of her, so textbook AKR. Because if an author’s previous book has the word encyclopedia in the title, following it up with a textbook would be rather nice.”

Sorry Permanent Press Publishing Company.  This cover doesn’t do justice the myriad children’s book references parading about inside.  I read all the reviews and tried to find the best description (the official one is lame).  Library Journal‘s was the one that piqued my interest best.  As they said:

“Jonathan Tucker lives with his dog Nip on 20 acres on Long Island, having left his job with a high-powered law firm three years earlier after his wife and two children were killed in a traffic accident. Now his mentor, a senior partner, asks for help. The firm’s biggest client, billionaire Ben Baum of Ozone Industries, has died in London under suspicious circumstances. A descendant of L. Frank Baum of Wizard of Oz fame, Ben had been obsessed with fantasy, in particular the works of Baum, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Lewis Carroll. Attached to his will, he left behind an enigmatic letter, prefaced by runes and filled with puzzles hinting at forces of evil arrayed against him. It’s up to Jonathan and his team to unravel what may be a deadly conspiracy with a host of suspects, each one poised to benefit from Ben’s premature death. . . . Readers may enjoy the kid-lit nomenclature—characters include Alice, Charlotte (who spins webs), Dorothy, Eloise, Madeline, Herr Roald Dahlgrens (a “peach of a man”), Frank Dixon (the Hardy Boys), Peter Abelard, and the Baums—and may not mind the sometimes too-evident craft, e.g., characters who “tell their story” at length and dialog laden with exposition.”

Admit it.  It sounds fun.  But that cover . . . I mean, did they just hire someone who just read the title and found the nearest Getty Images of crows?  No points there.

I feel like it’s been a while since one of these round-ups included a book about a picture book author/illustrator.  This one counts.  In this story, said picture book creator has lost her inspiration.  Other stuff happens too, but with my tunnel vision that was pretty much all I picked up on.

Um.

Moving on.

Part of the joy of my job is buying the “cozies” i.e. sweet little murder mystery novels (usually in paperback).  You would not believe the series out there.  There are quilting mysteries, yoga mysteries, jam mysteries, bed and breakfast mysteries (that one makes sense to me), you name it.  The newest series I’ve found?  Little Free Library mysteries.  I kid you not.

As for other mysteries . . .

Now I know what you’re thinking.  You’re wondering if this is actually a book about a murder that occurs at Misselthwaite Manor.  And the answer is . . . . it’s not.  No, it takes place at a book-themed resort where a secret garden has been created for the guests.  How do folks die?  Deadly herbs!!  That gets points from me.

Oh ho!  This one almost sneaked past me the other day.  I read the review, dutifully put it in my order cart, and just as I was moving on to the next book my eye happened to catch the name of the author.  Marjorie?!  The same Marjorie who writes those magnificent yearly round-ups of Jewish kids in books at Tablet Magazine at the end of each year (to say nothing of her posts throughout the other seasons)?  That’s her.  The book’s getting great reviews too, so go, Marjorie, go!

So here’s the problem with this book.  It should be in the humor section alongside the Amy Sedaris title Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People.  Instead, it somehow ended up legitimately with a “Craft” Dewey Decimal Number, a fact I’m going to have to rectify at work tomorrow.  Not that you couldn’t actually do the crafts if you wanted, but the book’s far funnier than it is practical.  No one knows what to do with the thing when they see it, of course.  So why am I including it here?  Because darned if the author isn’t Ross MacDonald, the author/illustrator of fine picture books everywhere.  I did my due diligence to make sure it was actually the same guy.  Yup.  It sure is.  So Macmillan, about that DD# . . .

And finally, just because I thought it was cute . . .

Now someone go out and write a picture book of the same name for all our budding scientists out there.

It’s back!  I’ve been doing my thing, buying lovely adult titles for my library system, and time and again I’ve run across ideas or names that fall squarely in the children’s book realm.  Here then are some real beauties. Things you just might not know about otherwise.

I know and like Elisha Cooper but I’m ashamed to say that before this book was announced I was unaware of his previous memoir A Father’s First Year which was released in 2006.  Since that time, Cooper’s daughter was diagnosed at the age of four with pediatric kidney cancer.  This book examines her treatment, recovery, and what this all did to Elisha himself.  On my To Be Read Shelf.

Thus continuing my series of books about people I know or have met, and yet never had any idea about when it comes to their personal lives.  In this upcoming August memoir, Nadja (who penned Lost in NYC amongst other things) opens up about herself, her mother, and even her grandmother.  It’s a deeply personal work about someone I’m desperately fond of (Francoise Mouly, Nadja’s mother, is the founder of TOON Books, as well as serving as the Art Director of The New Yorker, and she is delight incarnate).  Also on the To Be Read Shelf.

This inclusion is a bit of a stretch.  I really only put it here because in the Library Journal review of the book it said, “Soviet-style medical ethics or lack thereof frame an intimate story that the publicist calls One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest crossed with The Fault Is in Our Stars.”  So there’s that.

Jackie writes something for adults and people get very excited.  Book Expo America hasn’t even happened yet, but I’ve already been seeing this title showing up on lists of Best Books of the Summer and what have you.  I foresee some libraries have problems cataloging this title (the cover looks awfully similar to her YA novels and will be easily confused) but for all that, I suspect it’s going to be a book club hit and a New York Times bestseller.  Just you wait, just you wait . . .

No further comments, your honor.

For those of us floored by M.T. Anderson’s Symphony for the City of the Dead last year, here is a new biography of its star, Dmitri Shostakovich.  And it’s a novel.  It’s out May 10th.  Look for it.

A Garth Williams biography!  Whodathunkit? Seems pretty specialized and for a veeeery small market, but there you are.  I know the estate of Williams doesn’t exactly bend over backwards to allow folks to use his art (even his obscure art) in any context. They must have approved of this book from the start.  Heck, I’ll read it.

This is one of those series I like to do, regardless of whether or not anyone else finds it interesting. So, in effect, it’s the most self-indulgent of my postings.  Still, I think these books say something about how children’s literature is viewed by mainstream culture.  And in that there is a benefit.

Onward!

I include this not merely because it takes Shakespeare and applies a Choose Your Own Adventure format to the template, but because of the art.  There are images in this book by Kate Beaton and Jon Klassen (who are buds) amongst others.  FYI.

Sean Beaudoin is first and foremost a YA author in my eyes.  So to hear that he’s come out with a collection of short stories for adults is interesting.  However, the real thing that caught my eye was a Kirkus description of one of those tales.  Say they, one to watch is the story, ” ‘Base Omega Has Twelve Dictates,’ a really funny satire of teen dystopian fiction.”  This I gotta see.

Did you know about this one?  I sure as heck didn’t.  According to the description, this is the first time the letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder have been collected into a single book.  This would have been infinitely useful as a resource when Julie, Peter, and I were writing Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children’s Literature.  Lackaday.

Next up . . .

But wait, you say.  Wasn’t this book already featured in an Unexpected Jolt posting?  Ah, no, you’re thinking of this title:

That one came out in 2009.  Of the two covers I’m gonna give this one to the new Lehane book since the police-tape-as-lion-necklace is more visually dynamic than a mere “Police Line Do Not Cross” pylon.

And finally . . .

Ten points to anyone who can identify the picture book in this photograph:

It’s clearly a real book.  They didn’t make one up for a photo shoot (which happens a lot more often than you might think).  So what is it?  I thought Mercer Mayer maybe since the central figure is a bit Little Critter-ish but I don’t necessarily trust my instincts on this one.  Help?

It’s that time again!  Time for me to bring your attention to a variety of strange and interesting books never meant for children, but that contain some hint of influence (little or big) from the literary world of the youth.  Feast thine peepers on the following:

We Were Brothers by Barry Moser

It’s not that Moser has spent his life only doing children’s books, but a significant portion of his artistic life has been dedicated to them. So when I was perusing my library’s new book section and stumbled on this I was amazed. There’s a Moser memoir out there? Indeed there is. Here’s a description of the book from the publisher:

“Preeminent illustrator Barry Moser and his brother, Tommy, were born of the same parents, were raised in the same small Tennessee community, and were poisoned by their family’s deep racism and anti-Semitism. But as they grew older, their perspectives and their paths grew further and further apart. From attitudes about race, to food, politics, and money, the brothers began to think so differently that they could no longer find common ground, no longer knew how to talk to each other, and for years there was more strife between them than affection.

When Barry was in his late fifties and Tommy in his early sixties, their fragile brotherhood reached a tipping point and blew apart. From that day forward they did not speak. But fortunately, their story does not end there. With the raw emotions that so often surface when we talk of our siblings, Barry recalls why and how they were finally able to traverse that great divide and reconcile their kinship before it was too late.”

It got great reviews as well.

Wonderfully Wordless: The 500 Most Recommended Graphic Novels and Picture Books by William Patrick Martin

Missed this, did you? I’m not surprised. Published by Rowman & Littlefield it’s not been advertised to those of us in the children’s book world much at all. And here’s the kicker of a description: “… the first comprehensive best book guide to wordless picture books (and nearly wordless picture books).” The only review I’ve found of it was through Library Journal and they were not particularly impressed. That said, I remain curious about it. Wordless gets its day.

The Spring at Moss Hill by Carla Neggers

YESSSS! An actual honest-to-goodness contemporary romance novel. It’s not a straight-to-paperback, but I’ll take what I can get. Why is it on the list? Check out this product description: “A children’s book illustrator finds she has a lot in common with a private investigator who moves to town to keep a friend out of trouble.” Alas, you can’t give it to your favorite illustrator for the holidays. It ain’t out until January 26th.

Spirituality in Young Adult Literature: The Last Taboo by Patty Campbell and Chris Crowe

And here I always thought abortion was the last taboo. Shows what I know. The description reads, “This book examines the presentation of spiritual issues in young adult fiction. It looks at how religious ideas, and those matters that are defined more broadly as spiritual, are represented. YA novels are selected by the authors, who then explain how these pieces of literature can appear as metaphors or as more direct theological references.” So, naturally, I looked at the Table of Contents. They include “Church and Clergy, Mostly Negative”, “End Times and the Apocalypse”, “Other Faiths and Spiritual Practices: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and a Sikh or Two”, and “Mormon Themes in YA Literature”. Admit it. You’re wondering what books are listed inside.

Fairy Tale Baking: More than 50 Enchanting Cakes, Bakes, and Decorations by Ramla Khan

I know the fairy tale cake on the cover is probably Ice Queen / Frozen based but how cool would it be if it were The Glass Mountain instead? Edible gold paint is one of the ingredients you’ll need to make these complex creations. I didn’t even know they made it. Now I kind of want to cover all my food, no matter the time or day or foodstuff, with gold paint. Mmmmmm. Pricey.

The Violet Hour: Great Writers at the End by Katie Roiphe

“From one of our most perceptive and provocative voices comes a deeply researched account of the last days of Susan Sontag, Sigmund Freud, John Updike, Dylan Thomas, and Maurice Sendak—an arresting and wholly original meditation on mortality.” Sendak! Of course I’m pleased a children’s book writer is considered “Great” by Ms. Roiphe. And you certainly couldn’t have selected a better topic to tie him in with. Sendak was nothing if not eloquent about sweet mortality.

The Braindead Megaphone by George Saunders

And finally, a book that isn’t in the least bit new (unlike all these others). I was listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour the other day and Glen Weldon mentioned that he had just read this book. In an almost throwaway line, he also mentions that in this collection of short essays, there is praise for Johnny Tremain. Come again? Sure as shooting, the title of Chapter Three is, “Thank You, Esther Forbes”. I have not read this, but if anyone has I’d love to know what his take on everyone’s favorite ex-silversmith is. According to the Kirkus review it, “details how his childhood reading of that author’s award-winning Johnny Tremain showed him how and why sentences matter.” Saunders says of the book that it was, “my first model of beautiful compression.” Fascinating.

And now it’s time for yet another edition of Unexpected Jolts of Children’s Literature in Very Adult Places.  This is where my job as a Collection Manager comes in handy.  I go through all the new adult titles coming out, and locate the books with a children’s book focus or mention.  And today, I’m starting out with a bang!

The Secret Life of Stories: From Don Quixote to Harry Potter, How Understanding Intellectual Disability Transforms the Way We Read

by Michael F. Bérubé

I think I’m going to have to lean a bit on the Kirkus review to explain precisely what this book is about.  Say they:

“How does the study of disability help us to understand stories? In this important contribution to disability studies, literary scholar and critic Bérubé (Literature, Director of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities/Pennsylvania State Univ.; The Left at War, 2009, etc.) examines how characters with intellectual disabilities shape “the specific narrative they inhabit.” What can these characters know about this narrative? How can they serve as “a device for exploring the phenomenon of human sociality?” How can they inform our assumptions about “the ‘real’ and the ‘normal?’ ” Central to this inquiry is the overarching question of how to define intellectual disability. The author resists diagnosing characters and perpetuating stereotypes of such conditions as autism and Down syndrome, rather arguing that each character is distinct.”

The book covers the Harry Potter series, The Woman Warrior, The Sound and the Fury, A Wrinkle in Time, Life and Times of Michael K, Don Quixote, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

A Wild Swan and Other Tales

by Michael Cunningham

When I first started this series, I included a Michael Cunningham story that had appeared in The New Yorker.  Innocent that I was, it did not occur to me that the Rumplestiltskin tale “Little Man” was just a selection from an upcoming book.  Now the book hits shelves within the week.  Kirkus called it, “A likable and occasionally provocative set of variations on kid-lit themes.”  The fairy tales are familiar.  The take is not.  I already have a hold on a copy.

The Big Green Egg Book

by Dirk Koppens, Vanja Van Der Leeden, and Remko Kraaijeveld

Bit of a cheat, this one, as the only connection to children’s literature is the fact that I can’t see this cover without thinking of Green Eggs and Ham.  Apparently a kamodo style cooker is referred to as a “big green egg”.  Who knew?  You learn something new every day.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Decoded: The Full Text of Lewis Carroll’s Novel With Its Many Hidden Meanings Revealed

by David Day

Alice’s 150th anniversary is leading to all kinds of publications.  Day is a J.R.R. Tolkien scholar that, according to Library Journal, “proposes that Alice is about Victorians of the time, especially those at Oxford University. A staunch conservative Oxford don, Charles Dodgson, writing as Lewis Carroll, strongly opposed the liberal ideas and reforms that were beginning to permeate Oxford, especially those of Dean Liddell, the father of the real life Alice.”  I’ve never heard THAT one before!

And finally, I was looking at an author photo of Ann Patchett the other day, and I couldn’t help but notice some familiar friends in the foreground:

Mo Mo and a Doe Doe Doe.