The House of Glee visited friends and family in Portland, Oregon, this past weekend. We went to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) for the first time, and were impressed that the chemistry lab was an actual lab with chemicals and experiments, and the physics lab had a theremin and static electricity to play with. Bede and Lucia finally got to try freeze-dried ice cream, too.
The science section at Powell's Books now has its own building (along with math and technical books), which is new since we last visited Portland. It used to be that I could park myself in the science section while my daughter browsed the children's books. At Lucia's request, I got for her Jeff Kinney's The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book, which occupied her attention for the rest of the trip. I would never have guessed that Diary of a Wimpy Kid would be the book to turn her from someone interested in stories to an avid reader, but that was the book that first grade boys carried around last year. While I am a little tired of hearing about the "cheese touch," I am getting a kick out of the drawings she's come up with.
I'll admit that I went to town in Building 2 of Powells. I found a used copy of Robert Zubrin's The Case for Mars, plus an out-of date but much enjoyed book both Bede and I pored over when we were children: National Geographic Picture Atlas of Our Universe, by Roy Gallant. I also decided to capitulate to the purchase of a few science and math Basher Books, a series aimed for children and published by Kingfisher. The books provide overviews and explanations of basic science and math concepts as first person anthropomorphized accounts.* The House of Glee currently owns the following:
Chemistry: Getting a Big Reaction
Physics: Why Matter Matters
Math: A Book You Can Count On
Algebra and Geometry
I hovered over The Periodic Table: Elements with Style at Ada's Technical Books today, but made myself practice restraint. Funds aside, we've got plenty to read. Speaking of funding, I always get a little frenetic around the time of Seattle Public Library's annual furlough because of budget cuts. I hope my fellow Seattleites have stocked up.
*August 26 update: The problem with giving objects and concepts personalities (as in the Basher Books) is that one inevitably has to deal with the sex of the anthropomorphized subjects. In Physics: Why Matter Matters, when personal pronouns came up, they were male. My daughter notices. I notice. She can change the text to suit her, i.e. decide that Gamma Ray and Photon representations are female, but she shouldn't have to. Inclusive language would have been so simple.
Showing posts with label children's books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children's books. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
KidLitCon teams up with Reading is Fundamental
KidLitCon* is joining up with Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), a nonprofit children's literacy organization. Colleen Mondor of Chasing Ray has the scoop:
KidLit Con teams up with RIF because it is the right thing to do
*From the website: "The “KidLitosphere” is a community of reviewers, librarians, teachers, authors, illustrators, publishers, parents, and other book enthusiasts who blog about children’s and young adult literature."
KidLit Con teams up with RIF because it is the right thing to do
*From the website: "The “KidLitosphere” is a community of reviewers, librarians, teachers, authors, illustrators, publishers, parents, and other book enthusiasts who blog about children’s and young adult literature."
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Pippi Longstocking Fans
Over the past couple of weeks, I've read aloud Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking books to Lucia. We'd finished Ronia, the Robber's Daughter previously, and Lucia really enjoyed that book, so I brought out Pippi to see how the humor would work with her. (Lucia herself is reading beginning readers series.) Often, things that are funny have to be explained to her why they are funny, but Lucia has been laughing outright over Pippi's utterances and actions.
I realized recently that Pippi is a child's superhero. She has amazing strength, and she uses it for good to defy those who would squelch children, i.e. bullies, robbers, domineering grownups. Her table manners are deplorable, but she is generous and sensitive to those in need. She is "rich as a troll" with her suitcase of gold coins, but she herself wears rags and lives in a ramshackle house called Villa Villekulla, and uses her wealth to buy presents for others.
Lucia admires Pippi greatly, and wants to be like her. We've had to talk about some caveats besides the obvious (don't eat mushrooms in the forest, drink coffee before you've stopped growing, or tell tall tales about how people live in other countries). We've also had age-appropriate talks about post-colonialism and perceptions of people outside one's own culture as "other."
In the meantime, Lucia has made paper dolls and dioramas inspired by the Pippi books. Here are her latest creations:
Villa Villekulla with Pippi (Mr. Nilsson the monkey is on her shoulder), Tommy, Annika, and the horse
Tommy, Annika, Pippi
Last night, we learned of the the existence of Astrid Lindgren's World. Who's up for a trip to Vimmerby, Sweden?
I realized recently that Pippi is a child's superhero. She has amazing strength, and she uses it for good to defy those who would squelch children, i.e. bullies, robbers, domineering grownups. Her table manners are deplorable, but she is generous and sensitive to those in need. She is "rich as a troll" with her suitcase of gold coins, but she herself wears rags and lives in a ramshackle house called Villa Villekulla, and uses her wealth to buy presents for others.
Lucia admires Pippi greatly, and wants to be like her. We've had to talk about some caveats besides the obvious (don't eat mushrooms in the forest, drink coffee before you've stopped growing, or tell tall tales about how people live in other countries). We've also had age-appropriate talks about post-colonialism and perceptions of people outside one's own culture as "other."
In the meantime, Lucia has made paper dolls and dioramas inspired by the Pippi books. Here are her latest creations:
Villa Villekulla with Pippi (Mr. Nilsson the monkey is on her shoulder), Tommy, Annika, and the horse
Tommy, Annika, Pippi
Last night, we learned of the the existence of Astrid Lindgren's World. Who's up for a trip to Vimmerby, Sweden?
Saturday, February 12, 2011
The Blue Valentine, revisited
Two days ago, I received the out-of-print copy of The Blue Valentine, by Gwen Schutlz, illustrated by Theresa Sherman, that I mentioned in my last post. The plot is a little bit different from what I remembered, so I will summarize it for those who are searching for the book and want to make sure that the out-of-print copy they order is the right one. The book was published in 1965 by William Morrow and Company. I would really like to see it republished with new illustrations. Aside from a few minor details (the mention of a hatbox, all the first graders going home for lunch before returning to school for the afternoon), the story could easily take place today:
Cindy is a first grader who has recently moved to a new school. She is shy, doesn't know anyone, and her attempts to be friendly to other children are rebuffed. When she finds out that blue is the favorite color of her teacher, Miss Kelly, Cindy decides to make her a blue valentine for the Valentine's Day party. Blue is Cindy's favorite color, too. She spends a lot of time and care in the creation of the valentine, and makes an envelope to go with it. The morning that Cindy, is to bring the special valentine to school, she falls into a puddle, and the envelope gets wet. Cindy arrives at school, and is the first one to put her valentine in the box.
The following week is the party. Cindy only gets four valentines (instead of each child having to give one to every other child in the class), but her minor disappointment is nothing in comparison to the anticipation of Miss Kelly opening her valentine. However, Miss Kelly hangs up all the other children's valentines, but not hers, remarking that red and white are such cheery colors. Cindy is convinced that Miss Kelly hated the valentine because it wasn't a traditional color, and slips away from the party.
The next day, Miss Kelly tells the class that she checked the box one more time and found an envelope that had gotten stuck at the bottom. She shows the class the blue valentine, and someone sneers, "How can a valentine be blue?"
Miss Kelly replies, "A valentine can be any color we want to make it....This one is blue because blue is my favorite color, and someone was nice enough to remember. I think because her favorite color is blue, too." She tells the class that Cindy made the valentine, and that, "Most of us don't know Cindy very well yet.... We don't know what lovely things she can do. This is one of them."
At Miss Kelly's request, Cindy shows the class how to make the intricate valentines. The blue valentine gets put on display in the class case outside the classroom. The final scene has Barbara, a girl who snubbed Cindy earlier, walking home with her. The last part of the book has nine pages of diagrams on how to make both the valentine and the envelope.
I read this book to my daughter on Thursday. Immediately, she ran for her art supplies, and said she had to make valentines like the one in the book. She ended up making her own versions inspired by The Blue Valentine.
Cindy is a first grader who has recently moved to a new school. She is shy, doesn't know anyone, and her attempts to be friendly to other children are rebuffed. When she finds out that blue is the favorite color of her teacher, Miss Kelly, Cindy decides to make her a blue valentine for the Valentine's Day party. Blue is Cindy's favorite color, too. She spends a lot of time and care in the creation of the valentine, and makes an envelope to go with it. The morning that Cindy, is to bring the special valentine to school, she falls into a puddle, and the envelope gets wet. Cindy arrives at school, and is the first one to put her valentine in the box.
The following week is the party. Cindy only gets four valentines (instead of each child having to give one to every other child in the class), but her minor disappointment is nothing in comparison to the anticipation of Miss Kelly opening her valentine. However, Miss Kelly hangs up all the other children's valentines, but not hers, remarking that red and white are such cheery colors. Cindy is convinced that Miss Kelly hated the valentine because it wasn't a traditional color, and slips away from the party.
The next day, Miss Kelly tells the class that she checked the box one more time and found an envelope that had gotten stuck at the bottom. She shows the class the blue valentine, and someone sneers, "How can a valentine be blue?"
Miss Kelly replies, "A valentine can be any color we want to make it....This one is blue because blue is my favorite color, and someone was nice enough to remember. I think because her favorite color is blue, too." She tells the class that Cindy made the valentine, and that, "Most of us don't know Cindy very well yet.... We don't know what lovely things she can do. This is one of them."
At Miss Kelly's request, Cindy shows the class how to make the intricate valentines. The blue valentine gets put on display in the class case outside the classroom. The final scene has Barbara, a girl who snubbed Cindy earlier, walking home with her. The last part of the book has nine pages of diagrams on how to make both the valentine and the envelope.
I read this book to my daughter on Thursday. Immediately, she ran for her art supplies, and said she had to make valentines like the one in the book. She ended up making her own versions inspired by The Blue Valentine.
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Reticence
Author Sarah Prineas wrote a guest blog-post I appreciated on Shrinking Violet Promotions. It's called I Will Be Your Friend But I Will Not Be Your Fan: A Rant About How Authors Use Social Media Promotion. I took time to read through the comments as well as the post, as they provided some good counterpoints to the rant. Prineas follows up that post with Solutions: One Way to Deal With the Self-Marketing Frenzy, Plus a Shout-Out to Publishers.
I am reticent to do self-promotion for my online shop because I am easily overstimulated, and operate from the assumption that you are easily overstimulated as well. Still, I would like for people to find my shop easily through internet searches when what I offer is what they want. I've considered a paid ad, but as one who doesn't often click on ads, I wonder how prudent the expense would be.
Enough about promotion! I am happy that I now have a childhood favorite book called Little Witch, by Anna Elizabeth Bennett. I plan to read it to my daughter after slogging through the rest of The Road to Oz. I enjoyed rereading the first few books as an adult, but despite the presence of Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter,I realized I was Done With Oz when we came to the chapters with the head-throwing Scoodlers.
I am reticent to do self-promotion for my online shop because I am easily overstimulated, and operate from the assumption that you are easily overstimulated as well. Still, I would like for people to find my shop easily through internet searches when what I offer is what they want. I've considered a paid ad, but as one who doesn't often click on ads, I wonder how prudent the expense would be.
Enough about promotion! I am happy that I now have a childhood favorite book called Little Witch, by Anna Elizabeth Bennett. I plan to read it to my daughter after slogging through the rest of The Road to Oz. I enjoyed rereading the first few books as an adult, but despite the presence of Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter,I realized I was Done With Oz when we came to the chapters with the head-throwing Scoodlers.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Paper Doll Art
Bede is going to have two art shows at local venues this winter. One art show will be at the coffee shop 3 blocks from our house. Lucia is planning an art show, too, and has already started hanging her pictures over the fireplace. I hope that some of her paper-doll art inspired by Elisa Klevin's The Paper Princess and sequels will make it into the show. Here is a scanned reproduction of one of the paper-dolls:
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Alice's Celestial Globe
The Bainbridge Island library has a copy of Alice's Celestial Globe made by Greaves and Thomas. John Tenniel's illustrations for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Thought the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There are matched with many of the known constellations. The link has photos that are much better than the ones I took last Friday plus explanations of the constellations.
The Orrery Cafe in the Isle of Wight is a planetarium that depicts Alice's celestial globe. When the House of Glee finally visits England, we must also visit the Isle of Wight for the Orrery Cafe alone.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
On Reading the Little House Books
I have been reading aloud to Lucia the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved them as a child, and reread them many times. While I recoiled at the racist depictions of Native American Indians and African-Americans (the minstrel show in Little Town on the Prairie) and was able to filter them out, it never occurred to me until I was an adult how these books might affect American Indian and African-American children. Why not? I certainly was affected by reading a lot of classics and contemporary books that were demeaning to women and girls.
Lucia first learned about the Little House books when one of her classmates dressed up as Mary, Laura's older sister. When my father sent out my dolls that had been stored in his attic for over 20 years, I gave Lucia the dolls that I had named Laura and Mary (Fisher Price My Friend dolls from the 1970's). She asked again about the books. I told her that the stories were good, but that there were certain things I objected to. I decided to read them aloud to her with some editing involved plus age-appropriate discussion about those sections.
"Laura" and "Mary" in their little bed
A couple of years ago, I brought up the issue of the Little House books with an online community, and my qualms about reading aloud a beloved series that I nonetheless had problems with. No one came out and directly accused me of censorship, but the term was bandied about. I didn't think that was fair. I didn't say others shouldn't read the books or that they should be removed from the shelves. I talked about my misgivings about giving the books to my own daughter, for whom I am supposed to be a responsible, conscientious parent. When I decided to read the books to Lucia, it was with the idea that this would be her introduction to the stories. Later, when she was older and had more critical thinking skills in place, she could read the books in their entirety.
It's almost two months since Lucia and I started reading the Little House books together. We're on These Happy Golden Years with no plans to continue on to the dreary The First Four Years, published after the deaths of both Wilder and her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane. We've talked about the issues mentioned above, plus the settlers' sense of entitlement to the land, and I think Lucia understands them as much as a 6 1/2 year old can understand.
While she enjoys the stories, Lucia is most fascinated with the clothes described. Last night, she interrupted my reading aloud to ask "What's a polonaise?"
"I think it's a bodice like a basque," I replied.
Please feel welcome to share in the comments or your own blog posts your experiences of being alienated by books beloved to others or your struggles with "problem books" you enjoyed as children.
Lucia first learned about the Little House books when one of her classmates dressed up as Mary, Laura's older sister. When my father sent out my dolls that had been stored in his attic for over 20 years, I gave Lucia the dolls that I had named Laura and Mary (Fisher Price My Friend dolls from the 1970's). She asked again about the books. I told her that the stories were good, but that there were certain things I objected to. I decided to read them aloud to her with some editing involved plus age-appropriate discussion about those sections.
"Laura" and "Mary" in their little bed
A couple of years ago, I brought up the issue of the Little House books with an online community, and my qualms about reading aloud a beloved series that I nonetheless had problems with. No one came out and directly accused me of censorship, but the term was bandied about. I didn't think that was fair. I didn't say others shouldn't read the books or that they should be removed from the shelves. I talked about my misgivings about giving the books to my own daughter, for whom I am supposed to be a responsible, conscientious parent. When I decided to read the books to Lucia, it was with the idea that this would be her introduction to the stories. Later, when she was older and had more critical thinking skills in place, she could read the books in their entirety.
It's almost two months since Lucia and I started reading the Little House books together. We're on These Happy Golden Years with no plans to continue on to the dreary The First Four Years, published after the deaths of both Wilder and her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane. We've talked about the issues mentioned above, plus the settlers' sense of entitlement to the land, and I think Lucia understands them as much as a 6 1/2 year old can understand.
While she enjoys the stories, Lucia is most fascinated with the clothes described. Last night, she interrupted my reading aloud to ask "What's a polonaise?"
"I think it's a bodice like a basque," I replied.
Please feel welcome to share in the comments or your own blog posts your experiences of being alienated by books beloved to others or your struggles with "problem books" you enjoyed as children.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Children's Book Blogger Triumvirate
Congratulations to Jules Danielson of Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Peter D. Sieruta of Collecting Children's Books and Betsy Bird of A Fuse # Eight Production for Candlewick's acceptance of their book proposal, tentatively titled Wild Things! : The True, Untold Stories Behind the Most Beloved Children’s Books and Their Creators. Each link has each blog's announcement of the book-deal plus details.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Goffstein's How to Write and Illustrate a Picture Book
I hope to be back into my regular rhythms of the day soon. That story I promised (a silly one, but a story nonetheless) still exists only in longhand form in my notebook. It will come, as will others. In the meantime, please read How to Write and Illustrate a Picture Book, by M.B. Goffstein, dedicated to our own Victoria Thorne. After reading it, I want to return to Pablo Neruda's Odes to Common Things and Carl Sandburg's Wind Song: Poems for Children.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Melisande, Or Long and Short Division
Melisande, Or Long and Short Division, by E. Nesbit, is a literary fairy tale that incorporates mathematics. Perhaps when I made Princess Division for my Royal Math Gnomes, I unconsciously had this story in the back of my mind. Lucia enjoyed it very much. While you can read the story in its entirety, I read the story aloud from a collection called Stories for Eight Year Olds. When I was in second grade, I had a book from the same series called Stories for Seven Year Olds, which I enjoyed very much. Sara Corrin, the editor, and I seem to have similar tastes in stories, so I am going to look for her other collections available in the library.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Stonewall Hinkleman, Time-Traveler: The Exclusive Interview
In the past, I’ve posted performer interviews on this blog, but decided that I would not do author interviews or book reviews. However, when I found out that Stonewall Hinkleman, THE actual Stonewall Hinkleman, whose time-traveling adventures were documented by Michael Hemphill and Sam Riddleburger in Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run, was willing to be interviewed for Saints and Spinners, I jumped at the chance. Some of my favorite books of all time have been “time-slip” stories like Fog Magic by Julia L. Sauer and Justice and Her Brothers by Virginia Hamilton. You can read more about other time-slip novels over at Charlotte’s Library through her Timeslip Tuesday feature. The opportunity to speak with someone who actually traveled through time was too good to miss. Sam Riddleburger (who, in the interest of full disclosure, is a blog-friend) set up the meeting.
This interview is part of the Stonewall’s Blog Tour. The master link will guide you to other parts of the tour. You can win prizes courtesy of Dial Books For Young Readers: the Stonewall Hinkleman Prize Pack contains a signed copy of Stonewall Hinkleman & The Battle of Bull Run, a t-shirt just like Stonewall wears on the cover, plus advance copies of other Dial Books for Young Readers titles. To enter, send an email to blogtour@stonewallhinkleman.com and put "Stonewall Contest" in the subject line.
The Exclusive Interview with Time-Traveler Stonewall Hinkelman
Saints and Spinners: Stonewall, thank you for sitting down with me over lunch and answering a few questions about your new memoir, Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run, as told to Michael Hemphill and Sam Riddleburger. People keep telling me that the book is not a memoir but a fictitious children's book, and that you are not real. And yet, just like Snuffleupagus, here you are. Since we are at a restaurant where you can order anything you want to eat in the whole world, what will you have?
Stonewall Hinkleman: I always like to order Pibb Extreme, because the waitresses always say “You mean, Mr. Pibb?” But, Pibb Extreme IS the real name of it. They changed it. Also, a chicken filet sandwich with just mayo. No lettuce.
S&S: With the release of the book, you’ve been getting your fair share of media attention. By the way of an extraordinary bugle that’s actually a device called a Tempest, you were able to leave the scene of the Civil War reenactment site where your parents drag you every weekend and travel back in time to the Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. Not only that, you had to deal with the nefarious machinations of another time traveler who tried to change the course of the Civil War so that the South would win. Along the way, you got to meet your great-great-great-great uncle Cyrus. So far, what has been the most challenging part of dealing with your subsequent fame as a result of Hemphill and Riddleburger documenting your adventure?
SH: Everybody comes up to me and is like “Wow, that must have been so cool!” Uh, it's not that cool to have a bunch of maniacs trying to kill you all day long! And it's not cool trying to figure out how to make the South lose when the Yankees are the ones trying to blow your brains out and the Southern guys are your great-great-great-great uncle and his friends. That's like the definition of “not cool.”
S&S: Since the book of your adventures came out, the media has made much of your friendship with Ashby “Ash” Dupree, a girl named after Ashby Turner, another Civil War general. Ash ended up traveling back in time with you as well and sharing your adventures. What does Ash think of the book and her role in it? Has your friendship changed as a result?
SH: I miss Ash so much! I can't believe we only spent one day together and that most of that day we were getting shot at. But I haven't seen her much since we came back, since her father is trying to kill me.
SH: Your parents named you after the Confederate General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson. Your middle name is Traveler, after Robert E. Lee’s horse. Just out of curiosity, what are your parents’ names?
SH: See that's the thing. My dad was named after Robert E. Lee. So his name is Robert. Why coudn't he have just named me Robert? Or even Jefferson? Then I could be Jeff. My mom's name is Jennifer. They don't have any idea what it's like to have a dumb name.
S&S: What are your words of advice for other would-be time travelers?
SH: Make sure you read Ben Franklin's instructions, which are way in the back of the book.
S&S: Speaking of the back of the book, it has some fascinating end-papers that document other Tempests more powerful than your bugle. Are you tempted at all to find and use them?
Actually, what I'm tempted to do is to throw out the bugle and play some video games. But, if I absolutely have to go back in time again then I sure hope I get something better than that lousy bugle. I want the mighty Hammer!
S&S: What was it like to work with Sam Riddleburger and Michael Hemphill?
SH: They're annoying.
S&S: Do you anticipate any more time-traveling adventures? If so, do you think you will continue to visit the Civil War era or will you journey elsewhere (or should I say, “elsewhen”)?
SH: Well, the Antietam re-enactment is coming up soon.
S&S: Stonewall Hinkleman, thank you so much for taking part in this interview. I wish you much success in all your present and future endeavors.
The roundup of links on Stonewall's blog tour can be found here.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Unnecessary Sequel Honorable Mention: Where The Wild Things Aren't
Here is the schedule for announcing the Unnecessary Children's Book Sequels contest:
Third Place: Monday, April 20
Second Place: Wednesday, April 22
First Place: Friday, April 24
In the meantime, Minh Le of Bottom Shelf Books has illustrated a cover for sequels to Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, called Where the Wild Things Aren't. Please visit Minh's blog for the book cover. Here are 5 entries for Wild Things sequels:
Where the Wild Things Aren't: a loving commentary on boredom and conformity. -Greg W.
Where the Wild Things Aren't: After seeing his pediatrician and a child psychologist, Max is prescribed medication for his anger management issues and night terrors. -Rocco Staino and Cynthia Sandler
Where the Wild Things Are Having a Bash: Max grows up and leaves home for Carousal State College--the biggest party school in the country. There, he meets other "wild things" and sails off with them into drunken oblivion every weekend. Of course, when he sobers up on Monday mornings, his Friday night dinners are always cold and moldy. -Elaine Magliaro
Where the Wild Things Aren't: Max grows up, becomes an accountant, marries the nice Jewish girl next door and spends the rest of his life in painful anonymity. -The Library Lady
Wild Things: A Tropical Theme Park: This picture book is a story about an important industry called tourism. In it, we welcome you to a tropical paradise reached by some pretty clever chronological sailing. See our monsters in their very specially designed habitat and later you can even watch a trained monster show while sipping on banana daiquiris as the sun sets over the ocean. Written and developed by Imperial Corporate, Inc. just for you. -Kate Coombs
Third Place: Monday, April 20
Second Place: Wednesday, April 22
First Place: Friday, April 24
In the meantime, Minh Le of Bottom Shelf Books has illustrated a cover for sequels to Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, called Where the Wild Things Aren't. Please visit Minh's blog for the book cover. Here are 5 entries for Wild Things sequels:
Where the Wild Things Aren't: a loving commentary on boredom and conformity. -Greg W.
Where the Wild Things Aren't: After seeing his pediatrician and a child psychologist, Max is prescribed medication for his anger management issues and night terrors. -Rocco Staino and Cynthia Sandler
Where the Wild Things Are Having a Bash: Max grows up and leaves home for Carousal State College--the biggest party school in the country. There, he meets other "wild things" and sails off with them into drunken oblivion every weekend. Of course, when he sobers up on Monday mornings, his Friday night dinners are always cold and moldy. -Elaine Magliaro
Where the Wild Things Aren't: Max grows up, becomes an accountant, marries the nice Jewish girl next door and spends the rest of his life in painful anonymity. -The Library Lady
Wild Things: A Tropical Theme Park: This picture book is a story about an important industry called tourism. In it, we welcome you to a tropical paradise reached by some pretty clever chronological sailing. See our monsters in their very specially designed habitat and later you can even watch a trained monster show while sipping on banana daiquiris as the sun sets over the ocean. Written and developed by Imperial Corporate, Inc. just for you. -Kate Coombs
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Come Again in the Spring
A month ago, I heard fellow storyteller Aarene Storms tell Richard Kennedy's "Come Again in the Spring" on her Global Griot Sunday morning radio program. As I listened, I knew I had read or heard the story sometime ago in my childhood, but I couldn't remember when or what context. It's a story about a man named Old Hark who has fed the birds ever since he was a little boy. One day in winter, a stranger comes to visit. The stranger is Death, and it's Old Hark's time to go, only Old Hark will have none of it. Old Hark tells Death,
Come again in the spring. I won't hinder you none then. But you see all these birds? Come winter time, they depend on me to feed them. They naturally ought to fly south in the fall but don't, reason I been feeding 'em all winter since I was no bigger 'an a skip bug. They'd die if I was gone-- they ain't real wintering birds. But you come back in the spring, and they'll know I won't be here next winter and have enough sense to go south.
Death offers a wager of three questions that involve memory, and Old Hark takes it. The birds are instrumental in the winning of the wager. I won't give away the ending, but I'll tell you that every time I read it, I have to take a deep breath and hold myself still. It's the literary equivalent of the "tenor rush."
You can find "Come Again in the Spring" and other stories in the book Richard Kennedy: Collected Stories, illustrated by Marcia Sewell. It's out-of-print, but I hope you can find it through your library system, through Interlibrary Loan, or inexpensively through a used bookstore.
Contest update: There's still no final word from our judges. They're slogging it out! I am glad other people are judging the entries. There are a lot of good submissions, and I wish we had more prizes. Really.
Come again in the spring. I won't hinder you none then. But you see all these birds? Come winter time, they depend on me to feed them. They naturally ought to fly south in the fall but don't, reason I been feeding 'em all winter since I was no bigger 'an a skip bug. They'd die if I was gone-- they ain't real wintering birds. But you come back in the spring, and they'll know I won't be here next winter and have enough sense to go south.
Death offers a wager of three questions that involve memory, and Old Hark takes it. The birds are instrumental in the winning of the wager. I won't give away the ending, but I'll tell you that every time I read it, I have to take a deep breath and hold myself still. It's the literary equivalent of the "tenor rush."
You can find "Come Again in the Spring" and other stories in the book Richard Kennedy: Collected Stories, illustrated by Marcia Sewell. It's out-of-print, but I hope you can find it through your library system, through Interlibrary Loan, or inexpensively through a used bookstore.
Contest update: There's still no final word from our judges. They're slogging it out! I am glad other people are judging the entries. There are a lot of good submissions, and I wish we had more prizes. Really.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Yes, you can write children's book sequels (or at least suggest them)
Minh Le (of Bottom Shelf Books) and I are enjoying reading the entries of the Unnecessary Children's Book Sequels That Never Were contest, but there are still quite a few of you from whom we hope to hear. Minh Le has one of his own unnecessary sequels he hopes will inspire you. It's "the follow up to Leo Lionni's heartwarming classic Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse..."
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Unnecessary Children's Book Sequels That Never Were: a Contest
The Contest is now closed. Stay tuned for the results, including contest winners, Minh Le's illustrations of the winning entries, and more.
When Millions of Cats was published in 1928, no one, least of all Wanda Gag, could have predicted how successful the story of an elderly couple in need of a feline companion would be. It became the 1929 recipient of the Newbery Honor award, and decades later, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958. Gag posthumously won the 1977 Kerlan award for the body of her work, but that award did not include the ill-fated sequel to Millions of Cats, the recently discovered Millions of Rats:
Graphic modified by Minh Le
The book cover, as well as snippets of the proposed manuscript, came from the vaults of Garrulous MacKenzie, hapless editor of Sharper and Crow (whose collection of Children’s Books That Never Were may be found here and here). Notes from the editor read along the lines of “Millions of cats swarming over the countryside and gobbling up each other is wildly amusing. The idea of millions of rats doing the same thing makes my skin crawl.”
Minh Le of Bottom Shelf Books and I thought about some of wonderful picture-books we enjoyed that were followed by unnecessary sequels. such as Esphyr Slobodkina's Caps for Sale followed by Circus Caps for Sale, formerly known as Pezzo the Peddler and the Circus Elephant. We acknowledged that there were probably far more unnecessary movie sequels (i.e. Weekend at Bernies II). Then, we decided to host a children's book sequels contest that would call upon the creativity of our readers.
Between April 1—10, we invite you to submit your book titles and 2-3 sentence synopsizes to the Unnecessary Children’s Book Sequels That Never Were contest. For simplicity's sake, the books should be either picture books or early readers such as the "I Can Read" books. While Minh and I will have a say in terms of which entries we like best, we will have judges determine the winners in order to avoid even the hint of favoritism. The judges are Phil of Pilcrow and Melangell of Pipers at the Gate of Dawn.
The three prizes are a small painting of a random robot by Minh Le, a "butterfly herder" doll (i.e. "action figure") created by Farida Dowler, and a gently used DVD copy of Jim Henson's The Storyteller, series one. The first, second and third place winners get to choose their prizes based on their order. These winners will also have their submissions illustrated by Minh Le. All entries will grouped together in a blog post with links to your blogs if you have them.
Here are the rules:
1. You may submit entries as many times as you like before midnight on April 10, Eastern Standard Time.
2. You may submit your entries in the comments of this post, or if you want to keep your entries secret until after the contest, you’re welcome to send them directly to saintsandspinners [at] gmail [dot] com.
3. Immediate family members (Minh's and Farida's spouses and siblings) are welcome to submit entries; however, they will not be eligible for prizes.
4. You do not have to be an active blogger in order to participate. However, we ask that you be at least an active reader of blogs and have a viable commenter profile.
5. Please have a means for us to contact you so that we can get your prizes to you, should you win.
6. At the risk of fettering your wild and wonderful creativity, please refrain from overtly lewd and offensive submissions. This is a different contest altogether.
After the contest closes, the judges will have the weekend of April 11-12 to decide upon the top three entries. Then, Minh Le will illustrate them, and after he's done, we will post the winners and the rest of the entries.
By the way, Millions of Rats is an April Fool's joke. The contest itself is on for real!
When Millions of Cats was published in 1928, no one, least of all Wanda Gag, could have predicted how successful the story of an elderly couple in need of a feline companion would be. It became the 1929 recipient of the Newbery Honor award, and decades later, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958. Gag posthumously won the 1977 Kerlan award for the body of her work, but that award did not include the ill-fated sequel to Millions of Cats, the recently discovered Millions of Rats:
Graphic modified by Minh Le
The book cover, as well as snippets of the proposed manuscript, came from the vaults of Garrulous MacKenzie, hapless editor of Sharper and Crow (whose collection of Children’s Books That Never Were may be found here and here). Notes from the editor read along the lines of “Millions of cats swarming over the countryside and gobbling up each other is wildly amusing. The idea of millions of rats doing the same thing makes my skin crawl.”
Minh Le of Bottom Shelf Books and I thought about some of wonderful picture-books we enjoyed that were followed by unnecessary sequels. such as Esphyr Slobodkina's Caps for Sale followed by Circus Caps for Sale, formerly known as Pezzo the Peddler and the Circus Elephant. We acknowledged that there were probably far more unnecessary movie sequels (i.e. Weekend at Bernies II). Then, we decided to host a children's book sequels contest that would call upon the creativity of our readers.
Between April 1—10, we invite you to submit your book titles and 2-3 sentence synopsizes to the Unnecessary Children’s Book Sequels That Never Were contest. For simplicity's sake, the books should be either picture books or early readers such as the "I Can Read" books. While Minh and I will have a say in terms of which entries we like best, we will have judges determine the winners in order to avoid even the hint of favoritism. The judges are Phil of Pilcrow and Melangell of Pipers at the Gate of Dawn.
The three prizes are a small painting of a random robot by Minh Le, a "butterfly herder" doll (i.e. "action figure") created by Farida Dowler, and a gently used DVD copy of Jim Henson's The Storyteller, series one. The first, second and third place winners get to choose their prizes based on their order. These winners will also have their submissions illustrated by Minh Le. All entries will grouped together in a blog post with links to your blogs if you have them.
Here are the rules:
1. You may submit entries as many times as you like before midnight on April 10, Eastern Standard Time.
2. You may submit your entries in the comments of this post, or if you want to keep your entries secret until after the contest, you’re welcome to send them directly to saintsandspinners [at] gmail [dot] com.
3. Immediate family members (Minh's and Farida's spouses and siblings) are welcome to submit entries; however, they will not be eligible for prizes.
4. You do not have to be an active blogger in order to participate. However, we ask that you be at least an active reader of blogs and have a viable commenter profile.
5. Please have a means for us to contact you so that we can get your prizes to you, should you win.
6. At the risk of fettering your wild and wonderful creativity, please refrain from overtly lewd and offensive submissions. This is a different contest altogether.
After the contest closes, the judges will have the weekend of April 11-12 to decide upon the top three entries. Then, Minh Le will illustrate them, and after he's done, we will post the winners and the rest of the entries.
By the way, Millions of Rats is an April Fool's joke. The contest itself is on for real!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Birds in Trees: Ten Favorite Picture Books
I sent off my list of 10 favorite picture-books to Fuse #8 today. In the event you are curious, I have posted my list with its quickly jotted down notes.
1) Zigger Beans—Diane Redfield Massie
As a child, I loved both the catchy rhythm and rhyme of this story about a mouse who finds some magical beans that make whoever swallows them act boisterous and start “ziggering”. I knew it by heart (and still do). My favorite spread is the scene where “John the mouse put on his skates and rolled across the dinner plates.” This book is out of print, and it’s very hard to find copies.
2) “I Can’t” Said the Ant--Polly Cameron
When rhyming works, it really works. The story is of a teapot that falls to the floor in an extremely well-stocked kitchen. In our house, “'Form a battalion!’ said the scallion” has become a rallying cry.
3) The Great Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog—Margaret Read MacDonald, illustrated by Julie Paschkis.
This simple, eloquent retelling of a Beauty and the Beast variant is relatively new, but I believe it’s going to become a classic. I love how Pashkis has illustrated end-papers of different flowers and their symbolisms which she then weaves through the pictures in the story.
4) Voices in the Park—Anthony Browne
Years after the book was first published, I still discover new things in the pictures. This book took awhile to grow on me, and I'm glad it did.
5) Zzzng, Zzzng, Zzzng!—Phyllis Gershator, illustrated by Theresa Smith and Greg Henry
I’ve told this story and read it aloud, and it manages to capture the attention of reluctant listeners so often that it's become a mainstay.
6) Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present—Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Maurice Sendak.
I love the colors in this book. The picture with the night sky reflected in the lake is an image I often return to in my mind. I also appreciate the conversations between the little girl and Mr. Rabbit. “My mother likes birds in trees” (instead of in cages) pretty much sums up the way I feel about the natural world. Charlotte Zolotow's website has an interesting section on how the book came to be.
7) Rich Cat, Poor Cat—Bernard Waber
The juxtaposition of Scat, a poor cat scrabbling around the city and a rich cat that has all the dainties in life is a crafty indictment of our nation’s underserved children.
8) Julius, the Baby of the World—Kevin Henkes
I started reading Kevin Henkes in college. A friend of mine gave me Chester’s Way, and when I discovered Julius while shelving books at my 10 hour a week job as a library page, I made all my friends sit and listen while I read the book aloud to them.
9) Saving Sweetness—Diane Stanley
This story rolls off the tongue when I read it aloud, and I can’t say that for many books written in dialect. This is one of the few longer books I read aloud for storytimes with much success. I'm always surprised.
10) The Lion and the Little Red Bird—Elisa Klevin
People can be friends even if they can’t speak the same language. Art is universal. It’s all good.
1) Zigger Beans—Diane Redfield Massie
As a child, I loved both the catchy rhythm and rhyme of this story about a mouse who finds some magical beans that make whoever swallows them act boisterous and start “ziggering”. I knew it by heart (and still do). My favorite spread is the scene where “John the mouse put on his skates and rolled across the dinner plates.” This book is out of print, and it’s very hard to find copies.
2) “I Can’t” Said the Ant--Polly Cameron
When rhyming works, it really works. The story is of a teapot that falls to the floor in an extremely well-stocked kitchen. In our house, “'Form a battalion!’ said the scallion” has become a rallying cry.
3) The Great Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog—Margaret Read MacDonald, illustrated by Julie Paschkis.
This simple, eloquent retelling of a Beauty and the Beast variant is relatively new, but I believe it’s going to become a classic. I love how Pashkis has illustrated end-papers of different flowers and their symbolisms which she then weaves through the pictures in the story.
4) Voices in the Park—Anthony Browne
Years after the book was first published, I still discover new things in the pictures. This book took awhile to grow on me, and I'm glad it did.
5) Zzzng, Zzzng, Zzzng!—Phyllis Gershator, illustrated by Theresa Smith and Greg Henry
I’ve told this story and read it aloud, and it manages to capture the attention of reluctant listeners so often that it's become a mainstay.
6) Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present—Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Maurice Sendak.
I love the colors in this book. The picture with the night sky reflected in the lake is an image I often return to in my mind. I also appreciate the conversations between the little girl and Mr. Rabbit. “My mother likes birds in trees” (instead of in cages) pretty much sums up the way I feel about the natural world. Charlotte Zolotow's website has an interesting section on how the book came to be.
7) Rich Cat, Poor Cat—Bernard Waber
The juxtaposition of Scat, a poor cat scrabbling around the city and a rich cat that has all the dainties in life is a crafty indictment of our nation’s underserved children.
8) Julius, the Baby of the World—Kevin Henkes
I started reading Kevin Henkes in college. A friend of mine gave me Chester’s Way, and when I discovered Julius while shelving books at my 10 hour a week job as a library page, I made all my friends sit and listen while I read the book aloud to them.
9) Saving Sweetness—Diane Stanley
This story rolls off the tongue when I read it aloud, and I can’t say that for many books written in dialect. This is one of the few longer books I read aloud for storytimes with much success. I'm always surprised.
10) The Lion and the Little Red Bird—Elisa Klevin
People can be friends even if they can’t speak the same language. Art is universal. It’s all good.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Your Favorite Picture Books Poll
Betsy Bird, a.k.a. Fuse#8, is compiling the Top 100 Picture Books Poll. Vote for your top ten picture books of all time (not just this year or last year) by 11:59 Eastern on March 31, 2009, and list your books in order of preference. These are not necessarily the books that are critically considered the best, but your personal favorites. For more details, follow the link.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Once Upon a Classic
The storytelling video shoot went well yesterday! I plan to give you an account soon, but in the meantime, does this video clip ring any bells with television viewers in the late 1970's?
As I think I've mentioned before, I didn't watch much television unless I was visiting relatives, and besides Mister Rogers and Wonder Woman*, I really enjoyed public telelvision's Once Upon a Classic, hosted by Bill Bixby, a.ka. The Incredible Hulk. Unlike the usual fare of Masterpiece Theatre, Once Upon a Classic had stories that were interesting to children. The story I remember best is Susan Coolidge's What Katy Did, followed by part one of What Katy Did at School. Anamaria of Books Together reminded me of my introduction to Katy through television. I'm sure the production values are quite low, but I'd still like to see What Katy Did again. I have all the books in the series in one volume. Most of them deal with Katy as a teenager and an adult, but as with Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables, I like the book best of when Katy was a little girl.
*They were two different shows, but I would have traded in all of my Strawberry Shortcake Dolls to see them in one show.
As I think I've mentioned before, I didn't watch much television unless I was visiting relatives, and besides Mister Rogers and Wonder Woman*, I really enjoyed public telelvision's Once Upon a Classic, hosted by Bill Bixby, a.ka. The Incredible Hulk. Unlike the usual fare of Masterpiece Theatre, Once Upon a Classic had stories that were interesting to children. The story I remember best is Susan Coolidge's What Katy Did, followed by part one of What Katy Did at School. Anamaria of Books Together reminded me of my introduction to Katy through television. I'm sure the production values are quite low, but I'd still like to see What Katy Did again. I have all the books in the series in one volume. Most of them deal with Katy as a teenager and an adult, but as with Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables, I like the book best of when Katy was a little girl.
*They were two different shows, but I would have traded in all of my Strawberry Shortcake Dolls to see them in one show.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Moomintroll, Snufkin, and Mamakopp
This past Saturday, my mom and aunt flew into town. The next day, we headed off to Orcas Island for a day and two nights, and then came back into Seattle on Tuesday. Since then, I've been focusing on school auction work and the upcoming filming of the promotional storytelling video. I know! I sound like a skipping CD* with nothing new to report. I have been enjoying the family visit, though. My mom is leaving Seattle tomorrow afternoon and my aunt on early Saturday morning, and I will miss them both. As I type this, my mom is working on a moss maiden, having been inspired by my doll-making of late.
After my auction work is done, I can focus on getting my Etsy shop ready in time for May Day. Speaking of Etsy, one of the big contributors to our nature table is an artisan who works in wood. Her name is Mamakopp, and she is a Waldorf-inspired homeschooling parent of two boys. Not too long ago, I asked if she knew about the Moomin books by Tove Jansson. She hadn't, but checked out the books and was inspired to create Snufkin and Moomintroll:
I tried to resist. I really did. I went through all the usual reasons as to why it was prudent that I let someone else discover them. But then, I knew I'd be sad if I let them go by. And so, Snufkin and Moomintroll will grace our spring nature table.
The Moomintroll books are quirky. They are odd. I don't quite get them. And yet, I appreciate them. My favorite Moomin story stars Snufkin in "The Spring Tune" from Tales from Moominvalley:
"It's the right evening for a tune," Snufkin thought. A new tune, one part expectation, two parts spring sadness, and for the rest just the great delight of walking alone and liking it.
*The cliche used to be "a broken record." I am a child of the 1970's...
After my auction work is done, I can focus on getting my Etsy shop ready in time for May Day. Speaking of Etsy, one of the big contributors to our nature table is an artisan who works in wood. Her name is Mamakopp, and she is a Waldorf-inspired homeschooling parent of two boys. Not too long ago, I asked if she knew about the Moomin books by Tove Jansson. She hadn't, but checked out the books and was inspired to create Snufkin and Moomintroll:
I tried to resist. I really did. I went through all the usual reasons as to why it was prudent that I let someone else discover them. But then, I knew I'd be sad if I let them go by. And so, Snufkin and Moomintroll will grace our spring nature table.
The Moomintroll books are quirky. They are odd. I don't quite get them. And yet, I appreciate them. My favorite Moomin story stars Snufkin in "The Spring Tune" from Tales from Moominvalley:
"It's the right evening for a tune," Snufkin thought. A new tune, one part expectation, two parts spring sadness, and for the rest just the great delight of walking alone and liking it.
*The cliche used to be "a broken record." I am a child of the 1970's...
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