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Here are our five favorite books to read this November — a bilingual special edition and one part of a witty and well-illustrated history series are just two of this month’s favorites!
Children have been drifting off to sleep to the soothing sounds of Goodnight Moon for over 65 years. And now, we are beyond delighted to offer this classic bedtime story for the first time as a Spanish-English bilingual board book. More kids than ever before will be able to experience the tender warmth of the great green room and say good night to balloons and moons, kittens and mittens, bears and chairs.
Grades 1-2 (Ages 6-8):
I Am Jazz written by Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jennings; illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
“I am Jazz!” This is the proud, bold, and life-affirming statement that begins and ends the story of now thirteen-year-old Jazz Jennings, who explains in simple terms that she was born with a girl’s brain and a boy’s body. Jazz’s story grabbed our attention immediately with its ability to give young students a clear and accurate window into the life and experiences of a transgender child. By acknowledging the realistic lack of understanding from some peers and balancing it alongside the overwhelming acceptance of family and close friends, this warmly illustrated picture book is an ideal way to begin conversations with young readers about accepting differences.
In this early chapter book, Lulu rescues a duck egg from disaster by tucking into her pocket, unbeknownst to her teacher! Her plan to keep the egg safe begins to crack when the duckling decides it’s hatching time. This is the first of several books starring Lulu, each depicting lively adventures and animal friends. While Lulu is best known for her devotion to animals, she is also an adventurous, kindhearted friend, which makes her the perfect companion for any student who’s ready to transition from beginning readers to longer stories.
After being swallowed whole by a humongous magical history book moments before he is hanged as a Revolutionary War spy, Nathan Hale delays his executioners by telling them everything he has learned about the future of the new nation. With unmatched wit and engaging illustrations, Nathan Hale (the graphic novelist, no relation to the spy) brings the American Revolution, the Civil War, an unappetizing dinner party at the Donner Pass, and World War I to life. And stay tuned – there’s plenty more history to illustrate!
Inspired by the author’s own childhood, this hilarious graphic novel is a warm, sincere invitation into the life of a young bunny who feels isolated by her hearing loss and the humongous Phonic Ear she wears daily to boost her hearing. It is impossible not to root for Cece as she searches for true friendship, and turns often to her super hero alter ego, El Deafo, for confidence while coping with real-life issues like bossy friends and cute boys. The underlying message here is that we should each embrace what makes us different and understand that the power to define who we are ultimately rests in our own hands (or paws).
It’s unusual to be completely thrown by a question from the audience, but a teenager in the audience at my most recent event managed to do just that.
The event was the Hay Festival, my fellow panellists were Sally Nicholls and Anne Cassidy and the question was this: ‘If you could be any other writer, who would you be?’
‘Homer,’ said Sally, for his wonderful stories and use of language. ‘J K Rowling,’ said Anne, ‘just think of the money.’
I mumbled something about Shakespeare, but it wasn’t really true, and over the last few weeks I’ve been wondering which writer I should have picked. Anne Tyler, whose novel ‘The Accidental Tourist’ is written so beautifully that I have line-envy on every page? Antonia Forest, because then I’d know more about the Marlows, possibly my favourite family in children’s fiction? Hilary McKay for creating the Casson family, who run the Marlows a close second? Lauren Child, because I’d love to have her visual imagination? Jodie Picoult or Joanna Trollope, because I feel I could do what they do, but then I wouldn’t have to do it and I’d have all their royalties.
No. The answer, I realised was simple. I write because I like to create my own stories. I don’t want to write other people’s books or plays, even if they are more lucrative than mine, win more awards, are better written. I don’t want to be another writer, is what I should have said. I just want to work on being an even better version of me.
How about you? Is there an author you’d like to be?
0 Comments on Who Would You Be? by Keren David as of 1/1/1900
I am going on a blog mini-hiatus which means; don't expect much in June. Tomorrow, my remaining parent goes in for surgery; my son is finishing his degree which means we are babysitting more; and I must battle bunnies in the garden - oh, and weeds.
I suddenly got an urge to re-read Exiles at Home by Hilary McKay. This was the first McKay book I ever read and the the way the girls' project intersects with another family member's project delights me. I want to revisit the details. Why exactly DID they send in that magazine coupon? How did they manage to meet their commitment? What happened to that nice older couple?
So, a visit to the library is in order. I may re-read all the Exiles books, and then, who knows? The Amber Cat? The Casson Family series? It's summer. Time to go on a Favorite Author tour.
1 Comments on Favorite Author tour with Hilary McKay, last added: 6/7/2013
YOU GUYS! So, I don't do that many blog tours, because they can be work. But occasionally I do, usually for an author I'm already a huge fan of.
The good people at Albert Whitman approached me for this one and it said I could interview the author. I COULD INTERVIEW HILARY MCKAY. Fortunately, they asked over email, and not in person, so they didn't see my stunned stammering followed by my ecstatic happy dance.
Then it took me FOREVER to come up with questions, because all I really wanted to ask was "what's your secret to being totally awesome?" and "Is Saffy real, and if so, can I be her second-best friend (after Sarah)?"
Lulu is known for animals. At the beginning of Lulu and the Dog from the Sea, she has "two guinea pigs, four rabbits, one parrot, one hamster, a lot of goldfish, and a rather old dog named Sam." She's also not your only character to have a backyard menagerie (the Cassons, for instance). How many pets do you have? What animal have you always wanted as a pet, but are unable to have?
At the moment I have only one cat and a lot of goldfish. I am looking out for a puppy but it has to be the right one. In the past, especially when my children were younger, we have had rabbits (several) hamsters (three) guinea pigs (two) dogs (two) hedgehog (one) tortoise (one). As a child I longed for a donkey, but I have got over this now.
What is Lulu's dream pet? Where would Lulu's parents draw the line at what she could adopt, even if she did clean up after it?
Well, Lulu isn't silly! I think she would probably like all sorts of wild and interesting animals in her life, but perhaps not as pets. Maybe she will end up working in conservation. She is very interested in animal welfare. I think her parents might draw the line at snakes. In a later book in the series a snake is mentioned and her mother is not enchanted.
In the illustrations, Lulu is a person of color, even though this is never mentioned in the text. How did you convey this factor to your editor and illustrator?
I said "Let's make Lulu black." And they said, "Yes okay." So we did.
Will we see more of Lulu?
I hope so! There are six books out here and I have two more to write.
Questions about your work in general:
You've written for a wide variety of ages, from picture books to YA. What's your favorite age-range to write for? How hard is it to switch between age-ranges?
My favourite age range is the 10+ books, when you can be a bit more self indulgent with jokes and descriptions and hope the reader hangs on with you. I think books for younger readers are much harder- you need an equally strong plot and characters, but you have fewer words to achieve your end. Illustrations help. Priscilla Lamont's Lulu illustrations have been a wonderful asset to the stories.
Which one of your characters is your favorite? Whose voice refuses to leave your head?
I don't have a favourite character- or at least not a perennial favourite. There are some that I have become very fond of. Lulu is one (and Mellie is another). I have a grumpy young lad in my latest book who has stolen my heart at the moment!
English-English and American-English are not the same, which can cause issues for Americans, especially new readers. The Lulu books have been 'translated' into American. How much of your work in general gets this treatment? How do you feel about it?
I should say that at least three quarters of my work eventually makes its way across the water. The translations are minimal, and I rarely find them difficult. We have a lot of American culture over here, don't forget; films and tv and music, perhaps more than goes back the other way, so the American editions feel quite familiar. (I wonder a lot more about the translations into languages I have no hope of reading! Chinese, Korean, Arabic- I look at the pretty writing and hope for the best!) Also, I was brought up on American children's literature- everything from Alcott onwards. Laura Ingalls, Eleanor Estes, LM Montgomery (okay, Canadian there), Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and lots more. Ursula le Guin. So in some ways I feel quite at home.
How do I feel about it? Thrilled. Enchanted. Privileged.
Questions about you:
If you could go back and talk to yourself when you were Lulu's age, what would say?
Things were not good for various small reasons when I was Lulu's age. I would say, 'It'll be all right in the end.'
What are you currently reading?
Sara Wheeler The Magnetic North
What are you currently watching?
Grey light across the valley. I wish Spring would come!
What are you currently listening to?
Nothing. I can hear a blackbird singing, far away traffic, my daughters flute, and the washing machine.
Want to win a signed copy of a Lulu book for your very own? (The answer is OF COURSE I DO, JENNIE!) Fill out the form below and I'll pick a winner next weekend!
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1 Comments on Interview with Hilary McKay, last added: 4/1/2013
I'm not entering your giveaway because I'm the last stop on the tour and have my own giveaway.
Great interview! Especially the question about American English vs. British English. As someone who has lived in both countries, I wish American publishers didn't feel they have to "translate" it. I think Americans could handle biscuits for cookies and lift for elevator.
Lulu is known for animals. The rule in Lulu's house is "The more the merrier, as long as Lulu cleans up after them!"
Every week, Lulu's class goes to the local pool for swimming and walks back to school through the park, where they take a small break. The kids love their time at the park, sitting by the pond. Lulu especially loves the area known as "duck row" where many ducks have made their nests under the bushes. This week, two dogs get loose and scare all the ducks. In the process, many of the nests and their eggs get smashed. Lulu notices one egg left unbroken, rolling away, so she scoops it up and takes it back to school.
Mrs. XXX has just instituted a rule saying that the kids aren't allowed animals in class, so Lulu has to keep the egg hidden, and safe, and warm, but what will she do when it starts to hatch?
When Lulu and her family go on vacation, she sees a dog that seems to come from the sea. Everyone know town knows about the dog from the sea-- he's the reason you have to take your trash can inside the house at night. Stealing hot dogs from the hot dog stand an understandable thing for a dog to do. Stealing (and eating!) a shovel (the most expensive, nicest shovel) from the postcard stand? That dog is a nuisance!, but the dog catchers can't get him.
Lulu wants to get to know the dog from the sea, so she breaks all the rules to lure him closer, to get to know him. I mean, the more the merrier, right? But another hamster or rabbit is one thing-- can Lulu really handle another dog?
*****************************
I was a little apprehensive of this series-- I love McKay's Casson family books, so there were high expectations going into this-- could she maintain the same level of awesome for an early chapter book?
Short answer--yes.
I love Lulu's relationship with her cousin Mellie, especially because they don't always enjoy the same things or understand each other. I like how there's more to Lulu than animals (such as jumping off the swings at the highest point possible) but everyone remembers the animals.
As an adult reader, I love the adults. They're done with enough comic timing to make kids laugh, but adult readers will understand where the book adults are coming from and with sympathize. It's also the little touches-- Lulu's mom brings a book for every day of their vacation, plus War and Peace, just in case.
I loved a scene in the first book when Lulu's teacher tries to read the kids Harry Potter but they keep interrupting to tell her that that's not right, because that's not how the movie was, and that she was doing the voices wrong. McKay has an excellent touch for the small details of life.
This is an excellent series, up there with Clementine.
Come back tomorrow, where I'll actually be interviewing Ms. McKay! Squee! So exciting! Also, a giveaway!
Books Provided by... the publisher for blog review and book tour stop.
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Should there be a literary prize specifically for women? Does the Queen of Teen award celebrate or denigrate? Keren tackles these questions and more, in a wonderfully nuanced and well-argued post that is our third most-read:
Sigh. I just finished Caddy's World by Hilary McKay. I needed this book. I needed Caddy to have a book that was almost free of Rose's very definite, and pervasive personality. Caddy's World is the last, or hopefully just the latest, of McKay's books about the chaotic but always lovable Casson family. The series started with Saffy's Angel all about Saffron, the second oldest Casson child. Then, Indigo, child three, got a book of his own, Indigo's Star.Rose gets her own book in Permanent Rose. And although, the fourth book in the series, Caddy Ever After is supposedly about Caddy, it has so much of the other Cassons in it that this fifth book is really Caddy's very own.
Rose is not even in the first half of Caddy's World. Caddy is only twelve and the Casson family consists of Dad, Darling Bill the London artist, Mum, disorganized painterly Eve, Caddy, Saffy and Indigo. Saffy's very best friend, Sarah, hasn't even appeared. She's there at the end of the street and we do meet Sarah's Mum at the end of the book.
This book is about Caddy and her three best friends, Alison - who hates everyone, Ruby - very bright, and Beth who is perfect. Each girl has a specific problem that each girl attacks in a perfectly reasonable way- by 12-year-old girl standards. With so many different characters, because, of course, the Cassons have to have a major crisis, it's amazing how clearly drawn each character is. There don't seem to be any bad guys in a Casson family story just impossible situations and busy, busy lives.
Caddy wants things to stay the same. (Me, too, Caddy.) So do her friends, especially Beth and Ruby. But in the end, it is Caddy who helps her friends navigate their futures - in the hair-brained, intuitive leaps that Casson family fans have come to know and love. I want these people to move next door. All of them, even Dingbat.
I strongly suggest that you read the Casson family books in the order in which they are written. Some prequels need to be read last, or later, in the series. This is the book that makes sense of the others - not that those books aren't perfectly lovable on their own.
I adore Hilary McKay. If McKay wants you to love a character, you do. And even her most flawed characters are treated humanely. Look what she did with Miss Minchin inWishing for Tomorrow, the sequel to Frances Hodge Burnett's Little Princess.
In case, you thought I forgot that this is Kids Book Website Tuesday, I'd like to introduce Rose Casson's blog. Oh, yeah. Rose has a blog! Actually, she stopped blogging and is tweeting instead but read her blog posts if you want to find out how Rose is. She's indomitable! From there, you can visit Hilary McKay's page and check out the other books that she has written.
BTW, Sarah needs her own book, whether she is an actual Casson or not.
Alison … hates everyone. Ruby is clever. Beth. Perfect. Caddy, the bravest of the brave. (‘Mostly because of spiders,’ said Caddy.)
This book takes place before Saffy's Angel, the summer and fall when Caddy is twelve. Caddy knows all about the genie that spins the globe on his finger and turns your world upside down. The genie struck when Indigo was born. The genie struck with Saffy showed up. The genie struck when Dad moved to London. But the genie is stuffed in the bottle and won't strike again. Everything will stay this way forever. With Indy and Saffy and Alison and Ruby and Beth. (Even Saffy knows that all the best stories begin AlisonRubyanBethanme...)
But of course, when you're 12, nothing stays the same for Alison (who may be moving to the other side of the world) Ruby (who is so clever that she's been offered a spot at a special school away from Alison and Beth and Caddy ) Beth (who is growing up and out so quickly she's too big for her pony and will do everything she can to make it stop) and Caddy (who is so terrified of the genie, she may have completely forgotten that her mother is pregnant.)
And then the Firework Baby (so-called because it was due on Guy Fawkes day, November 5) comes so very early (September 25) and Eve has to spend all of her time at the hospital and Bill's moved back to take care of the house.
Oh, the Casson family. Caddy's still... Caddy, and we see where and why and how she starts rescuing animals. Saffy and Indigo are hilarious as younger children. And you guys... picture the Casson kids with Bill in charge and Eve out of the way. Just... think about it. It's hilarious.
These books just make me happy. Even when I'm aching for the characters (and I loved the additions of Alison and Ruby and Beth.) This one focuses less on the family and more on Caddy's friends, who is who she takes refuge with when everything (once again) falls apart at home. I liked this honest look at how hard it is to live in that house, sometimes. And, as much as I love her, Rose has dominated the last few books and she can't talk in this one, yet. So, while she's a pretty major plot point, she doesn't steal the scene in the same way.
Love love love love love love love.
If you haven't read these books yet, get yourself a copy of Saffy's Angel NOW. I'll wait.
A note on the cover-- ew. I bought the Kindle version (which was released in the US in December, the US print version comes out today) and this was the cover that came attached:
What? You speak against Julia Denos? *shakes head sadly* I think her cover will be popular for a long time and is sooo much prettier than the stock photo which will date, like, tomorrow.
First off, I'm really anal about matching covers. (Go back in the archives and see my rant when they stopped illustrating the Georgia Nicholson covers).
But, I also know that I have 2 copies of Saffy's Angel-- one illustrated and photographic. I can't get anyone to check out the illustrated cover, but the photographic one circs well. The photographic one may date soon, but the illustrated one is already dated. It looks old fashioned and gives a serious historical fiction vibe.
When you work with the real Winnie-the-Pooh you have a tendency to get complacent. “Oh sure,” you think. ” I know everything about that bear. Absolutely everything.” So it’s nice when the universe gives you a swift kick in the pants to remind you that you are not always up on your Pooh knowledge. Or at least not as up on it as you might think. For example, I completely missed the fact that they just reissued The Winnie-the-Pooh Cookbook by Virginia H. Ellison (amusingly my library’s gift shop has known for quite some time has stocked several copies accordingly). I found this out when a reporter from the Associated Press wanted to interview me (or anyone else who worked with the silly old bear) about Pooh and food. The final piece, Counting pots of honey? Pooh’s recipes for them consists of me desperately trying to think of ways to describe Pooh and food. You will probably enjoy it more for the cute honey gingerbread cookie recipe at the end.
The article in Tablet Magazine (“A New Read on Jewish Life”) is entitled The Others: Several new books for children and young adults ask us to see the world through Palestinian kids’ eyes. Its author is Marjorie Ingall, one of my favorite children’s book reviewers, most recently seen heaping praise upon A Tale Dark & Grimm in the last New York Times children’s book supplement, as is right. The article in Tablet gives great insight into books like Where the Streets Had a Name (which I reviewed myself) as well as Sarah Glidden’s How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less, which I have on order with my library. For this article, Marjorie is lambasted in her comment section. Some of the comments are thoughtful, but a great many show why this issue is so rarely discussed in children’s literature today.
I suppose it’s old news, but more Best Book lists of 2010 are up and running! First you have the Kirkus list, which contain more than a couple non-fiction titles that I would like to get my hands on. It also features my beloved Departure Time, a fact that makes me inordinately happy. Another list that came out last week was the School Library Journal picks. Split into different parts, you can read the somewhat truncated non-fiction list here, the picture book list here (
10 Comments on Fusenews: A small smackerel of news, last added: 11/23/2010
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate — water and OJ. Get as much sleep as you can. And find a great book to re-read. (I am a firm believer in self-medicating with doses of carefully chosen literature. Something funny/happy/uplifting. As the old saying goes, “It’ll do you good and help you, too.”
marjorie said, on 11/22/2010 9:03:00 AM
Feel better, Betsy! Thanks for the link.
And I give up — WHICH That 70s Show star is in Molly’s Pilgrim???
Jennifer Schultz said, on 11/22/2010 9:36:00 AM
Oh, boo! Shoo that cold away. Hope you feel better.
Elizabeth Bird said, on 11/22/2010 9:45:00 AM
Answer: Mila Kunis, of course! She looks exactly the same at 10 as she does today. The true irony is that the actress was born in Kiev and yet plays a part where she mocks a girl for being Russian. Sweet irony.
Genevieve said, on 11/22/2010 12:21:00 PM
The Hundred Dresses has also been performed at Imagination Stage in Bethesda, MD, a few years back.
Alyson Whatcott said, on 11/22/2010 3:36:00 PM
I loved Departure Time too! Thanks for the recommendation. What a great read!
Cecilia said, on 11/22/2010 3:43:00 PM
How strange–I loved all the Casson books but never really got into the Penderwicks. It just felt too much like Elizabeth Enright’s work for me to really love it.
Elizabeth Bird said, on 11/22/2010 5:07:00 PM
Maybe it’s an either/or proposition. Either you like one or another. Interesting.
mhg said, on 11/22/2010 6:32:00 PM
I enjoyed reading the news today. Hope you feel better. And don’t forget that you and I became friendly due to a critical yet astute observation of my picture book (even if I still disagree). Good things grow from honesty.
Brooke Shirts said, on 11/23/2010 1:27:00 PM
Thank you so much for the news that The Winnie-the-Pooh cookbook is back in print! Now if only I can get my hand on those adorable cookie cutters . . .
As promised. Despite a brain filled with mush (flu vaccine reaction plus 2 nights' rotten sleep) and gloom (British spending review. Does George Osborne really think he can make it all okay by saying "Fairness" a gazillion times? And furthermore calling them "savings we've found in the budget" doesn't make them anything other than cuts. No it does not.).
The connection between sartorias' Coronets and Steel and Hilary McKay's Wishing for Tomorrow was a random thought that passed through my head one night as I was trying to get to sleep, and has stuck there. Possibly its sticking has as much to do with the amount of readerly pleasure I got from the two books as anything, but it also seems to me to give yet another perspective on the endlessly fascinating matter of how writers present the past. ("Present the past" btw, was totally unintentional, but its dual meaning is perfect. Sometimes English rocks. ) Although the past to be presented is quite different in the two books, it seems to me that there's a surprising degree of similarity in the way -- well, not the way it's done, exactly, but one way in which it's experienced. Must admit that I've never read The Prisoner of Zenda, but steepholm has said many times that being able to talk about a book you've never read is a trademark academic skill, so I won't let that stop me. If embarrassing mistakes ensue, just hum to yourselves and move along, okay?
Both Coronets and Steel and Wishing for Tomorrow are homages to older books - to The Prisoner of Zenda and The Little Princess respectively, which is the major apparent similarity between them. Unless Wiki has let me down (unthinkable!) The Prisoner of Zenda was published in 1894, while A Little Princess was published in 1904, but is an expansion of the earlier Sara Crewe, serialized in 1888, so the mean date of publication as it were, is quite close. The fact that Wishing for Tomorrow is a sequel to A Little Princess while Coronets and Steel has a modern setting and none of the characters of the earlier book doesn't make as much difference as it might be expected to, I think.
Starting with Wishing for Tomorrow, in a way, the attempt to write a successful (for any values of successful) sequel to A Little Princess would seem doomed from the outset. The big emotional payoff that comes from the restoration of Sara to her 'proper place' in life is so dependent on an understanding of society that really isn't one most people can comfortably hold to now. Even though Sara's nobility is shown to be unrelated to her current financial situation, it's anything but class-free. No matter how choked up we get in reading the scene in the bakery with the girl who's even hungrier than Sara, or how pleased we are to see that the inspired baker has hired the girl so she's never hungry again, it's always Sara who's inspirational, or generous enough to remain a friend to Becky after she's restored to wealth, never the lower-class character.
On the other hand, an unsubtle "updating" of the story, with Sara becoming a crusader for social justice rather than a
...but I'm perfectly happy that Hilary McKay (author of Forever Rose and all the other wonderful books about the Casson family) will be writing the sequel to Burnett's The Little Princess.
1 Comments on Eva Ibbotson would have done a great job..., last added: 5/15/2009
I recently went to an event where there were lots of writers chatting to each other about life, the universe and chocolate (the nibbles provided were very good). And, many people there were concerned about the future. Not the rising flood waters seeping into out repossessed homes, mind. But ebooks. The digital revolution that has changed music and TV and film now really does seem to be headed for the book world.
Now, I understand the fear, I really do. BUT. I can’t help feeling quite optimistic. I quite agree that it might be hard to make money from this writing lark once everything it instantly piratable and downloadable onto your phone. But, on the other hand, it has never been easy to make a decent living as a writer; it’s just a fact of life.
If we ignore the money thing, I can’t help thinking that the growth of different mediums is quite exciting. Like the invention of computer graphics must have been for artists working in paints. I can’t ever see myself loving mini-novels texted to my phone, Japanese-style. But I AM very interested to see how writers are using technology, specifically their websites, to expand the world of their stories. It draws out the lifespan of a book by providing a focus for your fans while you’re away scribbling the next instalment.
For example, Hilary McKay’s wonderful creation Rose Casson keeps a blog. And Mal Peet’s Paul Faustino has his very own website. And I was delighted to discover that one of the minor characters in Michael Grant’s Gone is re-telling the whole story again from a different perspective.
These websites are the DVD extras; places for fans to revel in the world of the books they have enjoyed. They are an exciting symbiosis of traditional books and the digital world. As soon as I get a bit of cash together, my own website will see the addition of a ‘deleted scenes’ page; maybe even an actor’s commentary...
Digitised words are nothing to be scared of – they’re still just words after all. As writers, we should feel, if not at home, then at least eager to explore our new neighbourhood.
Who have I missed out? Which writers do you know of who are using new technologies creatively?
4 Comments on ePositive - Elen Caldecott, last added: 4/22/2009
OK, my MG podcasts are very popular (and we'll be doing a similar thing with Corvus), but I've thought about using e-formats even more creatively. We haven't even begun to see the narrative forms which will evolve digitally.
It's very time-consuming if you don't have a publisher's resources behind you, however. Or aren't wealthy enough to hire your experts ...
There's been concern here about the Amazon Kindle with text-to-voice capabilities cutting into recorded book sales. While the authors understandably want to protect their profits (such as they are), the vision impaired community is disappointed. With the Kindle, they would have far more titles. Any thoughts on something like that?
Regarding the Kindle - voice thing, I don't see that it can't exist in parallel with audio books. When there is no audio book, the visually impaired can use the Kindle (or whatever reader). But for listening pleasure, a synthetic voice can't compare with a trained actor reading a book allowed. It's a whole different experience. I, for example, only really enjoyed Tolkien's 'Silmarillion' when I got the audiobook read by Martin Shaw. What a tough gig that must have been for him...
I agree Ellen, that there is lots to be excited about and nothing to be scared of - at least if publishers approach it in the right way (there is little sign of many of them doing that so far, though). Giving away e-books won't kill paper sales: OK, it's a gamble. But it's a gamble we might as well take, as pirates will give the e-books away if we don't do it ourselves. I was talking to a (children's) writer last night who had put the whole of his novel online with extra info (dvd extras style) and the paper sales for that book were higher than for his other similar novels. At least for now, paper and e-books can live happily side by side. As for the future, we just have to wait and see. But that's what makes it the future. (When did we get so risk averse?)
I Am Jazz written by Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jennings; illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
Lulu and the Duck in the Park written by Hilary McKay
Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy written and illustrated by Nathan Hale
El Deafo written and illustrated by Cece Bell.jpg?picon=1806)
2 Comments on Caddy's World, last added: 3/20/2012
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Enjoy the bloggy time off, Bookkm, sounds like your feet will be flying! :)