By: David Elzey,
on 2/16/2008
also: Fancy Nancy and The Boy From Paris & Fancy Nancy at the Museum all by Jane O'Connor illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser HarperCollins 2008 What began as a cute picture book for the pink-and-sparkly girly-girl set is now officially a brand, a series, and an inferior product. This, the third Fancy Nancy book, was released the same day as two I-Can-Read titles that are trading on the Fancy
By: Betsy Bird,
on 4/27/2007
I just had the nicest l'il ole birthday this year. 29 is a great age to be, it seems. And some wonderful blog readers out there were kind enough to send me gifts. I got a lovely CD from a fella in California, and two beautiful books from someone in Texas. All fairly anonymous and all very lovely.
So what I could not have expected today was the latest gift. Let's see if you can help me solve this mystery. A box arrives at my office. It bears an address for San Francisco, but no name is attached. Interesting, no? I do not know anyone in San Francisco except my married cousin with whom I do not communicate often. I do not know any authors or illustrators off the top of my head either. Head scratching takes place.
The box is addressed to "Betsy Bird (The Fuse)", which is amusing. The fact that they know my real name suggests that they pay attention and read me regularly. This is not a gift from a fly-by-night personage. So I open it up and inside is a lovely little wrapped gift, entirely enclosed in bubblewrap. I should note that on the outside of the box is a large "FRAGILE: HANDLE WITH CARE" sticker.
The present is wrapped in orange string with a tiny note that reads:
I'd never heard of Fancy Nancy before this post (the only girl in this house in now 10), but I'm grieved to hear the latest sad news about the I Can Read books, which I loved in my own childhood and rediscovered when my three were young. Thanks for a bluntly honest review.I'd like to think that Ursula Nordstom, Little Bear, Syd Hoff, and Millicent Selsam are not pleased.
Oh, my. Someone else told me that this one was the *best* of the Fancy Nancy cannon. I still haven't seen it, but I imagine our library copy will be coming in soon. (The demand for Fancy Nancy is at fever-pitch levels here, so I have to buy them whether they're good or not.)
Children's writers are getting way too cheery. I miss the old peculiar ones stomping about New England or someplace bleak, writing about children who could hold a thought in their heads. Children's writer sites are also insanely cheerful sunny places and they are all frighteningly social. What ever happened to the cranks in ratty old clothes and lots of cats and weedy yards?