The calendar may say Wednesday, but it's feeling more like Printz Day on the web.
Today the Horn Book devotes its "Read Roger" blog to introducing School Library Journal's new Printz blog.
So does Elizabeth Burns' "A Chair, A Fireplace & a Tea Cozy" blog.
Ditto Betsy Bird's "Fuse #8" blog.
Did any of these blogs -- even the one moderated by my pal, my buddy, my co-writer Betsy -- give a plug to poor Peter's Printz Picks?
Nary a one.
But that's okay. Reading the blog they're all discussing actually gave me an idea to write about today.
And sometimes an idea is the best thing anyone can give you.
In today's SLJ Printz blog (AKA "Someday My Printz Will Come") co-moderator Sarah Couri discusses A.S. King's new novel EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS.
A couple Sundays ago, I referenced this book in my own blog, stating:
I loved the author's eccentric PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ, but her new YA novel feels like a flop to me. <...> I'm astonished it's getting starred reviews and great word of mouth. What am I missing? I'll read it again if someone can present a compelling argument.
It's evident from Sarah Couri's piece that she likes this novel a lot more than I do. Obviously I am going to have to go back and re-read the book at some point and post my thoughts on Printz Picks.
But for now, I want to talk about about something else Sarah Couri mentioned in her discussion of the book:
And now we’re going to go for a side trip inside my head, because my next complaint is really all about me, me, MEEEEEE!
I really struggled with the dates in this book. Lucky’s grandfather is exactly my dad’s age. Which makes Lucky’s dad analogous to me. In fact, his dad is, according to the text, 3-4 years older than me. And while I would be biologically capable of having a teenage son, I do not. And while I have friends my own age who have children, none of them are teenagers. And while some of my friends who are 3-4 years older than me are capable of having a teenage son, they do not. And I realize that is completely anecdotal and that he wouldn’t be THAT young of a parent (he would have become a parent at 24), it’s…somewhat unusual. Worth remarking on, I guess I would say. And while I don’t believe that any teens are breaking out their calculators and doing this math, it felt off to me — off enough to me that it felt like an authorial intrusion.
I read these paragraphs with a smile and a nod of recognition.
It happens to all of us adult readers of children's books at some point, doesn't it?
You know what I'm talking about.
That dreaded moment when you realize that you are the same age -- or even older than! -- the parents of the protagonist in the book you're reading.
I first read Katherine Paterson's COME SING, JIMMY JO, when I was in my mid-twenties. In this story of a boy growing up in a country-singing family, the protagonist is eleven years old, but during the book there is some confusion about his real age...compounded by the fact that the man he believes to be his father is really his stepfather.
A few months later I happened upon an article that Katherine Paterson wrote about this novel. She revealed:
Usually I determine the date of all my central characters, not just the protagonist. This was crucial to the story in my novel Come Sing, Jimmy Jo. James was born in 1973 and his mother was born in 1959. "But that means...!" Yes, it means that Keri Su was fourteen when James was born.
The fact that Keri Su was only fourteen at the time of Jimmy Jo's birth shocked me less than finding out that she was born in 1959.
1959?
But...that meant she was even younger than me!
It was the first time I realized that a book's protagonist was so young...so very, very young...that I was actually older than his parents.
Believe me, it would not be the last time this happened.
In fact, it now happens nearly every time I pick up a children's or young adult book. More and more, I'm reading about protagonists whose parents are in their thirties or who "grew up back in the eighties." Like Ms. Couri, I also had my own little moment when reading EVERYONE SEES THE ANTS. I was humming along, turning the pages, and comfortably inside the head of its fifteen-year-old narrator when I added up the dates and realized that (gulp) his father was born when I was in junior high school!
Despite these occasional blips, I must say that over the years I've gotten used to it.
In fact, being old actually has its advantages in reading children's books. I now have a broader, deeper perspective on life...on literature...on people. My critical skills are keener. I'm better at expressing my opinions. And (this is the sad one) I've found that people listen to adults expounding on children's books much more than they ever listen to kids.
So it's the "adult me" that chooses what book I want to read next.
And, when I close the last page of that book, it's the "adult me" who appraises the narrative and the characters and writing.
But in between those times...
...when I'm reading the book...
...and deep within the pages of the story...
I am eleven-year-old Jimmy Jo, or twelve-year-old Holling Hoodhood or Ramona Quimby, Age 8.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
A Memorial Brunch for the Late Miss Grundy
Today's blog explains why I've become a pie-makin' fool, points out some recent dustjacket changes, pushes my Mock Printz blog at an unsuspecting public, and mourns the recently-deceased Miss Grundy of Riverdale High.
LIFE OF PI(E)
One of my biggest personal flaws is that I'm far too cautious.
I've stuck with dead-end jobs because I was afraid of trying something different.
I've let people take advantage of me because I was afraid to fight back.
I've sacrificed creativity for complacency.
That's the big picture.
But when it comes to little things, I am wildly impulsive.
I think it's a family trait.
Not long ago, a friend asked one of my older cousins if she'd take care of her farm while she was on vacation for a week. My cousin, city born and bred, didn't even have to think twice: "Oh sure, I'd be glad to!"
She drove out to the farm on the appointed morning, daydreaming about such farm delights as gathering up chicken eggs in the hollow of her gingham apron. Instead she found a four page list of instructions that included mucking out the animal stalls, dragging 100 lb. bags of feed to the livestock, milking a pair of cows ("Do not get behind Bessie. She has quite a kick.") and, most shockingly, "Keep an eye out for the two pregnant sheep. If either one of them seems to be having a breech birth, just reach in and turn the lamb around."
Just reach in and turn the lamb around? Can you imagine someone leaving you that kind of advice as they drove off on vacation?
Thankfully, the sheep did not give birth during my cousin's week at the farm. But they could have! And if she did have to "assist" it would have been her own fault for impulsively agreeing to help out when she didn't know what she was doing.
I've been thinking about this story for the past month, ever since I impulsively agreed to bake a pie for a bookseller.
My bookstore buddy is hosting an author event to celebrate the publication of PIE, a fun new middle-grade novel by Sarah Weeks, and came up with the idea of everyone bringing a homemade pie to the booksigning. When she mentioned this idea to me, did I say, "I've never milked a cow...I've never helped a sheep give birth...and I've sure never baked a pie!" Nope. Instead I impulsively said, "Sure thing. I'll bring two!"
So the past few weeks have seen a flurry of "test pies" coming out of my oven. First I made a blackberry pie. The filling was good, but why didn't someone tell me how hard it is to make a crust? I ended up patching that crust together like a jigsaw puzzle and it still only covered half the pie. Next I made a grape pie. I know, that's not a traditional pie. But I always have to be "different." That's my third-biggest flaw in life. (#1 Overcautious in making big decisions. #2 Impulsive in making small decision. #3 Always has to be "different" from everyone else.) Again, the grape filling was quite good, but the crust was a mess. In fact, I never could scrape up enough dough to cover the top of pie. Instead, it had a little circle of crust centered on top; it looked like my pie was wearing a yarmulke. Test pie #3 was an oatmeal pie (different, as always.) Tasted okay, looked awful. Still, I noticed some improvement with each pie, probably due to my "If at first you don't succeed, try try try again" mentality, plus some helpful tips from Facebook friends. (If you'd like to be Facebook friends too, feel free to "friend" me!) Finally, this past week I made Test Pie #4, a traditional American apple pie. It was the first time I ever got the crust to cover the whole pie. It tasted and looked pretty good too. It's the first one I took a picture of:
I've got eleven days before the the author event, so I'll probably be making at least one more test pie before then. Who knows how this will turn out.... Will the Big Day find me showing up with two home-baked pies or will I be stopping at Kroger's and scraping off price tags in the car?
ORDERING PIE BY MAIL
No, I am not starting a mail-order baking company, but I wanted to add that if you'd like to get a signed copy of Sarah Weeks' PIE, you can order it from Bookbeat at this link. It's a funny, sweet tale of a young pie expert and the book includes pie recipes and a hilarious send-up of the Blueberry (read "Newbery") Award. Bookbeat is also having author events for Lisa McMann's THE UNWANTED (one contributor on the "Heavy Medal" website called it the best book of the year) and Moira Young's BLOOD RED ROAD, one of the season's hottest young adult novels. Signed copies of these books can also be ordered in advance at the above link.
MOCKING THE BOOK AWARDS
Of course if my bookstore friend wanted to be really on point, she could insist that her customers bring pies based on recipes found in children's books.
The Sarah Weeks book contains recipes for apple, key lime, sour cherry, and Peanut Butter Raspberry Cream Pie, among others.
Marjorie Priceman's HOW TO MAKE AN APPLE PIE AND SEE THE WORLD is said to contain a great apple pie recipe.
So do THE APPLE PIE TREE by Zoe Hall and AMELIA BEDELIA'S FIRST APPLE PIE by Herman Parish.
PIE IN THE SKY by Lois Ehlert offers up a cherry pie recipe while HALLOWEEN PIE by Michael O. Tunnell serves a pumpkin pie.
Fellow Michigander Lisa Wheeler includes a recipe for "ugly pie" in her book of the same name. The included recipe sounds an awful lot like apple pie with raisins and nuts.
Given my penchant for always being "different," I'd probably find myself making a "Moves Make the Man Pie."
Does anyone remember the scene in Bruce Brooks' extraordinary novel THE MOVES MAKE THE MAN, in which narrator Jerome and his new frien Bix are assigned to make a Mock-Apple Pie for school, using Ritz Crackers instead of apples? Remember Jerome's hilarious riff to the teacher? ("Is it tastier, more delicious, more scrumptious than genuine apple pie, old Non-Mock-Apple-Pie? ...Are rich crackers more nourishing than apples? ...Are they less expensive? Do they save money on the family grocery bill in these difficult times?")
Yep, that's what I want to make: a Mock Apple Pie.
Then I'd serve it to one of the many Mock Award committees proliferating on the web right now.
As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, we are now in mock award season with the Heavy Medal blog up an rolling at School Library Journal and Calling Caldecott operating at the Horn Book.
In that same entry I mentioned a new blog called Printz Picks which focuses on possible Printz contenders.
What I did not mention was that I am moderating that blog.
I was intentionally holding that info back for a couple reasons. First, I had just started the blog and wasn't completely organized yet. Plus I was hoping to find a co-moderator to help me run it. And I was hoping it might develop into a money-making gig (I don't just "knead dough" when making test pies...I need it in real life too) and was afraid that no one would take Printz Picks seriously if they knew I was moderating it. I'm already "giving my milk away for free" at this blog and we all know the kind of respect that gets ya: zilch. Or, as I like to say, "MOOOOOO!!!"
You might wonder how my "Printz Picks" blog is doing. Oh swell...five postings and so far no reader comments and no submitted book reviews or opinion pieces, no matter how much I've solicited them. So I'm not just eating grape and oatmeal pie over here...I've been havin' a hearty heapin' helpin' of humble pie as well!
Especially since a somewhat more official Printz blog opened up this week at School Library Journal. Moderated by former Printz committee members Karyn Silverman and Sarah Couri, "Someday My Printz Will Come" can be found right here. I definitely plan to follow this one!
I hope you'll follow it.
And I hope you'll follow Printz Picks as well.
Not that I'm competitive or anything (stats so far -- "Someday My Printz Will Come": two blog entries and sixteen reader comments vs. "Printz Picks": five blog entries and zero reader comments) but here's a challenge for the "Someday My Printz Will Come" bloggers: Let's see which of our blogs gets more Printz guesses right on January 23, 2012 when the winner and Honor Books are announced.
Since I'm usually completely and totally wrong in these kind of predictions, I expect that January 23 will find my eating more Humble Pie...a la mode!
A MONSTER CHANGES
Speaking of Heavy Medal, one of their recent blog entries focused on whether Patrick Ness's A MONSTER CALLS is actually eligible for the Newbery. You can read the discussion here.
The eligibility issue is intersting, though I find myself agreeing with co-moderator Nina Lindsay when she says, "Folks–it’s not our game," meaning that it's ultimately up the Newbery committee to sort those issues out.
But I must admit that I'm endlessly fascinated in the cosmetic differences in the two editions of this book -- the British version from Walker and the American version from Candlewick.
The British dustjacket is on top and the American is below:
Same illustration, different font and position of text. I wonder why the British edition used the words "From an original idea by Siobhan Dowd" while the American book instead states, "Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd." You'll also notice that the UK version features a blurb from Phillip Pullman, while the American version has none.
However, on the back cover of the dustjacket, the British book offers only one quote, from Meg Rosoff, while the American volume includes Pullman, Rosoff, Frank Cottrell Boyce and Libba Bray:
Even the spines of the book differ, with the Walker version giving us the author's full name and the title in a smaller size, where the Candlewick edition gives us just the author's last name, along with a larger, more noticable title:
Also, I'm not sure how they did it, but the American edition, at 204 pages, is ten pages less than the 214 page British edition.
I admit this is all minutiae, but I offer it here as an example of how -- even when publishers work together as closely as Walker and Candlewick reportedly did in preparing this book -- every hand that touches it (publisher? editor? designer?) may also leave it slightly changed. I think about beginning writers who are rightfuly happy to place their manuscripts with any publisher. But do they ever wonder how different their book would be if published elsewhere? The jacket illustration would certainly be different, as would the font, perhaps the trimsize -- and those are just external differences. What about changes in the text? A different title? Everyone who works on a book brings their own vision to it and, in the end, the finished product is always a collaboration of sorts. This is not a criticism, by the way, as most authors will tell you that the input of the editor, illustrator, designer, etc., improves their work in unimaginable ways.
MORE CHANGES
It's also interesting to note the changes in dustjacket illustrations that occur, sometimes right up until the last minute before publication. Laini Taylor's new novel, DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND MIRRORS, has been getting some great buzz over the summer. Now that it's been published, the cover illustration of the hardcover (on the right) is very different from the illustration used on the advance reading copy on the left:
Which do you prefer?
Another book that's getting a lot of critical attention, LIFE : AN EXPLODED DIAGRAM by Mal Peet, is using this cover in the US:
but used this one in Great Britain:
The latter cover reminds me very much of MY NAME IS MINA, the prequel to SKELLIG, just out from David Almond -- an also getting raves from reviewers.
I wonder if we're looking at a new trend in dustjackets.
THE DEATH OF MISS GRUNDY
Several years ago I had a freelance job writing a few entries on children's book authors and illustrators for THE OXFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, edited by Jack Zipes. I was surprised to be assigned several pieces on comic creators such as Walt Kelly and probably sniffed in judgement at having to write about "comic books." But the more I thought about it, I had to grudgingly admit that comic books are part of the larger, overall canon of "children's literature." For some kids, they may be the only books they ever read. And even I, a lifelong book-reader have to admit a certain fondness for Archie Comics. (Hey, I'm in good company, as my pal Fuse #8 has also written about growing up with Archie.)
However, I was a bit taken aback
to read a recent CNN article by Erika D. Peterman about the evolution of Archie Comics. I was particularly struck by this passage:
Archie has always traded in lighthearted laughs and hijinks, which is why the heavily dramatic “Life with Archie” made such a splash when it launched in 2010.
The comic chronicles two alternate realities in which Archie is married to either Betty or Veronica, and the storylines have been surprisingly serious. Shady business dealings, failed dreams, troubled marriages and even death — beloved teacher Miss Grundy died of cancer — are all part of the mix. Even if you have just basic knowledge of the characters, it’s fascinating stuff.
They killed off Miss Grundy?
I can't believe it!
In case you're not familiar with the character, Miss Grundy taught Archie and his pals at Riverdale High. She seemed to teach almost any subject. She was stern, cranky, yelled a lot, and, on occasion, her white wig would fly off her bald head when she was shocked. Of course there were also times when Miss Grundy was funny, sardonic, compassionate, and sometimes even likable.
She'd been teaching at Riverdale for decades, always looking the same (white bun, red polka-dot dress), never changing, never aging, and the whole idea of this fictional character dying ticks me off!
And don't even get me started on "alternate realities" where Archie is married to either Betty or Veronica!
To quote my Archie-obsessed brother upon learning of Miss Grundy's death: "I will NEVER read 'Life with Archie.'"
Amen, brother!
And rest in peace, Miss Grundy.
ARCHIE LIVES ON
Though I also plan to boycott any Archie book that includes subjects such as "failed dreams and troubled marriages," not to mention death, I am tempted to add the new, ongoing hardcover Archie Archives volumes to my own library reference section for the nostalgic purposes.
OTHER BOOKS I'M GETTING
Reading the new issue of Booklist magazine and noticed a starred review for THE WATCH THAT ENDS THE NIGHT : VOICES FROM THE TITANIC by Allan Wolf, a verse novel about the Titanic. Reviewer Daniel Kraus says, "Wolf leaves no emotion unplumbed, no area of research uninvestigated, and his voices are so authentic they hurt. Nothing recommends this to a YA audience in particular, but who cares? Everyone should read it. Outstanding, insightful backmatter completes this landmark work."
As a long-time Titanic fanatic, I can't wait to read this book!
Also noted a starred review for THE MAGIC MAKER : A PORTRAIT OF JOHN LANGSTAFF AND HIS REVELS by none other than Newbery winner Susan Cooper. I have to admit that I'm completely unfamiliar with Langstaff's "Christmas Revels," which were apparently huge in England. But I do know Langstaff from his children's books -- especially the Caldecott winning FROG WENT A COURTIN', so I can't wait to read this book too.
I'm up for any book-length bio of a chilren's book creator. In fact, I can't believe we don't have more of them.
Which authors or illustrators of children's books would you like to read an in-depth biography about?
My first choice is Louise Fitzhugh.
What's yours?
THANKS
Thank you, as always, to those who write in and/or leave comments on this blog. I learn so much from you. Last week I learned that Rick Yancey's Monstrumologist series will not end at volume three, as recently reported. A write-in campaign by fans has convinced the publisher to issue a fourth book! Mr. Yancey himself wrote in to answer my questions as to whether a Printz Honor helps book sales. He said, " As to the larger issue of the Printz Awards, I can only speak for myself. The selection of THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST as an honor book raised it out of obscurity and undoubtedly increased its modest sales. It is my personal opinion that had it not been recognized a fan write-in campaign for more books would have been unsuccessful." Fascinating to hear that. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. After loving CURSE OF THE WENDIGO, I can't wait to read the newly-published THE ISLE OF BLOOD and the forthcoming fourth volume.
Thanks to everyone who read this blog. Hope you'll be back. And don't forget Printz Picks!
LIFE OF PI(E)
One of my biggest personal flaws is that I'm far too cautious.
I've stuck with dead-end jobs because I was afraid of trying something different.
I've let people take advantage of me because I was afraid to fight back.
I've sacrificed creativity for complacency.
That's the big picture.
But when it comes to little things, I am wildly impulsive.
I think it's a family trait.
Not long ago, a friend asked one of my older cousins if she'd take care of her farm while she was on vacation for a week. My cousin, city born and bred, didn't even have to think twice: "Oh sure, I'd be glad to!"
She drove out to the farm on the appointed morning, daydreaming about such farm delights as gathering up chicken eggs in the hollow of her gingham apron. Instead she found a four page list of instructions that included mucking out the animal stalls, dragging 100 lb. bags of feed to the livestock, milking a pair of cows ("Do not get behind Bessie. She has quite a kick.") and, most shockingly, "Keep an eye out for the two pregnant sheep. If either one of them seems to be having a breech birth, just reach in and turn the lamb around."
Just reach in and turn the lamb around? Can you imagine someone leaving you that kind of advice as they drove off on vacation?
Thankfully, the sheep did not give birth during my cousin's week at the farm. But they could have! And if she did have to "assist" it would have been her own fault for impulsively agreeing to help out when she didn't know what she was doing.
I've been thinking about this story for the past month, ever since I impulsively agreed to bake a pie for a bookseller.
My bookstore buddy is hosting an author event to celebrate the publication of PIE, a fun new middle-grade novel by Sarah Weeks, and came up with the idea of everyone bringing a homemade pie to the booksigning. When she mentioned this idea to me, did I say, "I've never milked a cow...I've never helped a sheep give birth...and I've sure never baked a pie!" Nope. Instead I impulsively said, "Sure thing. I'll bring two!"
So the past few weeks have seen a flurry of "test pies" coming out of my oven. First I made a blackberry pie. The filling was good, but why didn't someone tell me how hard it is to make a crust? I ended up patching that crust together like a jigsaw puzzle and it still only covered half the pie. Next I made a grape pie. I know, that's not a traditional pie. But I always have to be "different." That's my third-biggest flaw in life. (#1 Overcautious in making big decisions. #2 Impulsive in making small decision. #3 Always has to be "different" from everyone else.) Again, the grape filling was quite good, but the crust was a mess. In fact, I never could scrape up enough dough to cover the top of pie. Instead, it had a little circle of crust centered on top; it looked like my pie was wearing a yarmulke. Test pie #3 was an oatmeal pie (different, as always.) Tasted okay, looked awful. Still, I noticed some improvement with each pie, probably due to my "If at first you don't succeed, try try try again" mentality, plus some helpful tips from Facebook friends. (If you'd like to be Facebook friends too, feel free to "friend" me!) Finally, this past week I made Test Pie #4, a traditional American apple pie. It was the first time I ever got the crust to cover the whole pie. It tasted and looked pretty good too. It's the first one I took a picture of:
I've got eleven days before the the author event, so I'll probably be making at least one more test pie before then. Who knows how this will turn out.... Will the Big Day find me showing up with two home-baked pies or will I be stopping at Kroger's and scraping off price tags in the car?
ORDERING PIE BY MAIL
No, I am not starting a mail-order baking company, but I wanted to add that if you'd like to get a signed copy of Sarah Weeks' PIE, you can order it from Bookbeat at this link. It's a funny, sweet tale of a young pie expert and the book includes pie recipes and a hilarious send-up of the Blueberry (read "Newbery") Award. Bookbeat is also having author events for Lisa McMann's THE UNWANTED (one contributor on the "Heavy Medal" website called it the best book of the year) and Moira Young's BLOOD RED ROAD, one of the season's hottest young adult novels. Signed copies of these books can also be ordered in advance at the above link.
MOCKING THE BOOK AWARDS
Of course if my bookstore friend wanted to be really on point, she could insist that her customers bring pies based on recipes found in children's books.
The Sarah Weeks book contains recipes for apple, key lime, sour cherry, and Peanut Butter Raspberry Cream Pie, among others.
Marjorie Priceman's HOW TO MAKE AN APPLE PIE AND SEE THE WORLD is said to contain a great apple pie recipe.
So do THE APPLE PIE TREE by Zoe Hall and AMELIA BEDELIA'S FIRST APPLE PIE by Herman Parish.
PIE IN THE SKY by Lois Ehlert offers up a cherry pie recipe while HALLOWEEN PIE by Michael O. Tunnell serves a pumpkin pie.
Fellow Michigander Lisa Wheeler includes a recipe for "ugly pie" in her book of the same name. The included recipe sounds an awful lot like apple pie with raisins and nuts.
Given my penchant for always being "different," I'd probably find myself making a "Moves Make the Man Pie."
Does anyone remember the scene in Bruce Brooks' extraordinary novel THE MOVES MAKE THE MAN, in which narrator Jerome and his new frien Bix are assigned to make a Mock-Apple Pie for school, using Ritz Crackers instead of apples? Remember Jerome's hilarious riff to the teacher? ("Is it tastier, more delicious, more scrumptious than genuine apple pie, old Non-Mock-Apple-Pie? ...Are rich crackers more nourishing than apples? ...Are they less expensive? Do they save money on the family grocery bill in these difficult times?")
Yep, that's what I want to make: a Mock Apple Pie.
Then I'd serve it to one of the many Mock Award committees proliferating on the web right now.
As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, we are now in mock award season with the Heavy Medal blog up an rolling at School Library Journal and Calling Caldecott operating at the Horn Book.
In that same entry I mentioned a new blog called Printz Picks which focuses on possible Printz contenders.
What I did not mention was that I am moderating that blog.
I was intentionally holding that info back for a couple reasons. First, I had just started the blog and wasn't completely organized yet. Plus I was hoping to find a co-moderator to help me run it. And I was hoping it might develop into a money-making gig (I don't just "knead dough" when making test pies...I need it in real life too) and was afraid that no one would take Printz Picks seriously if they knew I was moderating it. I'm already "giving my milk away for free" at this blog and we all know the kind of respect that gets ya: zilch. Or, as I like to say, "MOOOOOO!!!"
You might wonder how my "Printz Picks" blog is doing. Oh swell...five postings and so far no reader comments and no submitted book reviews or opinion pieces, no matter how much I've solicited them. So I'm not just eating grape and oatmeal pie over here...I've been havin' a hearty heapin' helpin' of humble pie as well!
Especially since a somewhat more official Printz blog opened up this week at School Library Journal. Moderated by former Printz committee members Karyn Silverman and Sarah Couri, "Someday My Printz Will Come" can be found right here. I definitely plan to follow this one!
I hope you'll follow it.
And I hope you'll follow Printz Picks as well.
Not that I'm competitive or anything (stats so far -- "Someday My Printz Will Come": two blog entries and sixteen reader comments vs. "Printz Picks": five blog entries and zero reader comments) but here's a challenge for the "Someday My Printz Will Come" bloggers: Let's see which of our blogs gets more Printz guesses right on January 23, 2012 when the winner and Honor Books are announced.
Since I'm usually completely and totally wrong in these kind of predictions, I expect that January 23 will find my eating more Humble Pie...a la mode!
A MONSTER CHANGES
Speaking of Heavy Medal, one of their recent blog entries focused on whether Patrick Ness's A MONSTER CALLS is actually eligible for the Newbery. You can read the discussion here.
The eligibility issue is intersting, though I find myself agreeing with co-moderator Nina Lindsay when she says, "Folks–it’s not our game," meaning that it's ultimately up the Newbery committee to sort those issues out.
But I must admit that I'm endlessly fascinated in the cosmetic differences in the two editions of this book -- the British version from Walker and the American version from Candlewick.
The British dustjacket is on top and the American is below:
Same illustration, different font and position of text. I wonder why the British edition used the words "From an original idea by Siobhan Dowd" while the American book instead states, "Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd." You'll also notice that the UK version features a blurb from Phillip Pullman, while the American version has none.
However, on the back cover of the dustjacket, the British book offers only one quote, from Meg Rosoff, while the American volume includes Pullman, Rosoff, Frank Cottrell Boyce and Libba Bray:
Even the spines of the book differ, with the Walker version giving us the author's full name and the title in a smaller size, where the Candlewick edition gives us just the author's last name, along with a larger, more noticable title:
Also, I'm not sure how they did it, but the American edition, at 204 pages, is ten pages less than the 214 page British edition.
I admit this is all minutiae, but I offer it here as an example of how -- even when publishers work together as closely as Walker and Candlewick reportedly did in preparing this book -- every hand that touches it (publisher? editor? designer?) may also leave it slightly changed. I think about beginning writers who are rightfuly happy to place their manuscripts with any publisher. But do they ever wonder how different their book would be if published elsewhere? The jacket illustration would certainly be different, as would the font, perhaps the trimsize -- and those are just external differences. What about changes in the text? A different title? Everyone who works on a book brings their own vision to it and, in the end, the finished product is always a collaboration of sorts. This is not a criticism, by the way, as most authors will tell you that the input of the editor, illustrator, designer, etc., improves their work in unimaginable ways.
MORE CHANGES
It's also interesting to note the changes in dustjacket illustrations that occur, sometimes right up until the last minute before publication. Laini Taylor's new novel, DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND MIRRORS, has been getting some great buzz over the summer. Now that it's been published, the cover illustration of the hardcover (on the right) is very different from the illustration used on the advance reading copy on the left:
Which do you prefer?
Another book that's getting a lot of critical attention, LIFE : AN EXPLODED DIAGRAM by Mal Peet, is using this cover in the US:
but used this one in Great Britain:
The latter cover reminds me very much of MY NAME IS MINA, the prequel to SKELLIG, just out from David Almond -- an also getting raves from reviewers.
I wonder if we're looking at a new trend in dustjackets.
THE DEATH OF MISS GRUNDY
Several years ago I had a freelance job writing a few entries on children's book authors and illustrators for THE OXFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, edited by Jack Zipes. I was surprised to be assigned several pieces on comic creators such as Walt Kelly and probably sniffed in judgement at having to write about "comic books." But the more I thought about it, I had to grudgingly admit that comic books are part of the larger, overall canon of "children's literature." For some kids, they may be the only books they ever read. And even I, a lifelong book-reader have to admit a certain fondness for Archie Comics. (Hey, I'm in good company, as my pal Fuse #8 has also written about growing up with Archie.)
However, I was a bit taken aback
to read a recent CNN article by Erika D. Peterman about the evolution of Archie Comics. I was particularly struck by this passage:Archie has always traded in lighthearted laughs and hijinks, which is why the heavily dramatic “Life with Archie” made such a splash when it launched in 2010.
The comic chronicles two alternate realities in which Archie is married to either Betty or Veronica, and the storylines have been surprisingly serious. Shady business dealings, failed dreams, troubled marriages and even death — beloved teacher Miss Grundy died of cancer — are all part of the mix. Even if you have just basic knowledge of the characters, it’s fascinating stuff.
They killed off Miss Grundy?
I can't believe it!
In case you're not familiar with the character, Miss Grundy taught Archie and his pals at Riverdale High. She seemed to teach almost any subject. She was stern, cranky, yelled a lot, and, on occasion, her white wig would fly off her bald head when she was shocked. Of course there were also times when Miss Grundy was funny, sardonic, compassionate, and sometimes even likable.
She'd been teaching at Riverdale for decades, always looking the same (white bun, red polka-dot dress), never changing, never aging, and the whole idea of this fictional character dying ticks me off!
And don't even get me started on "alternate realities" where Archie is married to either Betty or Veronica!
To quote my Archie-obsessed brother upon learning of Miss Grundy's death: "I will NEVER read 'Life with Archie.'"
Amen, brother!
And rest in peace, Miss Grundy.
ARCHIE LIVES ON
Though I also plan to boycott any Archie book that includes subjects such as "failed dreams and troubled marriages," not to mention death, I am tempted to add the new, ongoing hardcover Archie Archives volumes to my own library reference section for the nostalgic purposes.
OTHER BOOKS I'M GETTING
Reading the new issue of Booklist magazine and noticed a starred review for THE WATCH THAT ENDS THE NIGHT : VOICES FROM THE TITANIC by Allan Wolf, a verse novel about the Titanic. Reviewer Daniel Kraus says, "Wolf leaves no emotion unplumbed, no area of research uninvestigated, and his voices are so authentic they hurt. Nothing recommends this to a YA audience in particular, but who cares? Everyone should read it. Outstanding, insightful backmatter completes this landmark work."
As a long-time Titanic fanatic, I can't wait to read this book!
Also noted a starred review for THE MAGIC MAKER : A PORTRAIT OF JOHN LANGSTAFF AND HIS REVELS by none other than Newbery winner Susan Cooper. I have to admit that I'm completely unfamiliar with Langstaff's "Christmas Revels," which were apparently huge in England. But I do know Langstaff from his children's books -- especially the Caldecott winning FROG WENT A COURTIN', so I can't wait to read this book too.
I'm up for any book-length bio of a chilren's book creator. In fact, I can't believe we don't have more of them.
Which authors or illustrators of children's books would you like to read an in-depth biography about?
My first choice is Louise Fitzhugh.
What's yours?
THANKS
Thank you, as always, to those who write in and/or leave comments on this blog. I learn so much from you. Last week I learned that Rick Yancey's Monstrumologist series will not end at volume three, as recently reported. A write-in campaign by fans has convinced the publisher to issue a fourth book! Mr. Yancey himself wrote in to answer my questions as to whether a Printz Honor helps book sales. He said, " As to the larger issue of the Printz Awards, I can only speak for myself. The selection of THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST as an honor book raised it out of obscurity and undoubtedly increased its modest sales. It is my personal opinion that had it not been recognized a fan write-in campaign for more books would have been unsuccessful." Fascinating to hear that. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. After loving CURSE OF THE WENDIGO, I can't wait to read the newly-published THE ISLE OF BLOOD and the forthcoming fourth volume.
Thanks to everyone who read this blog. Hope you'll be back. And don't forget Printz Picks!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Sunday Brunch with Goats and Birds
Today's Sunday Brunch revisits the book President Bush was reading when America was attacked, has a link to a Nancy Drew website, and wonders if the Printz Award really has much clout.
TAKING MY OWN ADVICE
Two weeks ago, on the tenth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, I wondered why we didn't hear more about MY PET GOAT, the "children's book" that played a supplementary role in the tragic events of that day.
As it turned out, the correct title is actually "THE Pet Goat" and it's not a stand-alone book, but a story from an elementary school reader. Still, it's a part of history and it remains surprising to me that more book collectors haven't grabbed up READING MASTERY II : STORYBOOK I, the volume that contains this story -- especially since copies can be found for as little as one dollar!
Taking my own advice, I ordered a copy of this book-for-a-buck for my own collection. It arrived yesterday:
Though the textbook is credited to Siegfried Engelmann and Elaine C. Bruner, no authors are listed for the individual stories; perhaps Engelmann and Bruner wrote them all. The tales in the book are flatly-written and contain no spark or finesse. Here is the first page of "The Pet Goat" and one its illustrations:
For the life of me, I can't figure out the diacritical marks used in the stories. Most seem to represent long vowel sounds, like the "o" in "goat" and the "a" in "day." Yet they are used inconsistently (where is the long vowel for the "a" in "cape"?) or in ways I don't quite get. (In another story the "o" in "horn" is repeatedly marked, but that's not a long vowel sound, is it? And what are the marks over every "ng" about? AND WHERE IS THE CAPITALIZATION in the story?
And I hate to be one of those "my childhood was better than today's childhood" types, but I have to say that the school readers from my day were beautifully illustrated in a number of styles. I can still remember many of the full-color pictures from my own grade school textbooks. The illustrations in this book are also done by a number of different (uncredited) artists, but they're terrible! Look at this one:
However, I'll give the illustrations plenty of credit for trying to reverse sex-role steretyping. One story takes place in a railway yard and one of the track workers is a woman. In other story, a dog stops two robbers from escaping and -- although the sex of the robbers isn't mentioned in the text -- they are shown to be women, an unusual and refreshing choice:
Finally, I noticed that the volume has this "THIS BOOK IS THE PROPERTY OF" label inside the cover:
Ah memories! Did your schoolbooks also contain this label? I remember this identical form turning up in all my textbooks starting around the time I finished grade school (1971) right up through high school. And it appears it's still being used today. Strangely, I don't ever recall filling out the form. (For one thing, we weren't even allowed to take textbooks out of the classroom before seventh grade.) But I do remember being fascinated by these labels as a kid. I was always tempted to fill one in myself -- in pencil, so I could erase it before the teacher noticed.
Wouldn't it be fun to go through a collection of old textbooks and find the childhood signatures of people such as Barack Obama, Michelle Robinson (Obama), and so many other young people who grew up to be famous figures?
NANCY GOES COUNTRY
There are already enough books and websites about Nancy Drew to satisfy avid fans of the teenage detective.
But if you're just a casual fan, or you have an interest in the monetary value of Nancy Drew books and memorabilia, you might want to take a look at the October 2011 issue of COUNTRY LIVING magazine, which contains a brief piece about the collectability of Nancy.
The article tells us that the first volume in series, THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK, published in 1930, is now valued at $5000 for a mint copy first edition:
If signed by author Mildred Wirt (who wrote 23 volumes as "Carolyn Keene") the value increases to $10,000.
Volumes from the forties can be worth around $200. The article mentions that Nancy's hairstyle here was reminiscent of Lauren Bacall's hair:
This volume from 1953 is valued at $140. The article mentions Nancy's "prim" look but doesn't compare her to anyone else:
I wondered if she wasn't then being modeled after fifties stars June Allyson and Doris Day:
You can also access an online feature from COUNTRY LIVING magazine which lists the plots of all 56 Nancy Drew books here.
Believe it or not, I've only read one Nancy Drew book -- THE CLUE OF THE TAPPING HEELS, also known as the one where Nancy gets locked in a trunk and, from inside, tapdances a message in Morse code. This must have been the book that started my lifelong case of claustrophobia!
PRINTZ POPULARITY
Okay, I don't have any definitive facts and figures here to back up what I'm going to say. I'm sort of writing from observation and intuition. Maybe those of you who work directly with young adults in libraries or who publish YA books can tell me if I'm on the right track here or if I'm all wet.
But I've come to the conclusion that, as much as I love the Printz Award, it doesn't have the same kind of clout that the Newbery Award does.
Every year when the Newbery is announced, the winning title and Honor Books immediately hit the Amazon.com bestseller list. And, to a greater or lesser extent, these books continue to sell well over time. Winning the Newbery gives an author star quality, even if he or she had been a midlist author in the past. It's like someone said about winning the Oscar: once you've won the prize, every time your name is seen in print, right up through your obituary, it will be preceded by two words: "Oscar winner..." The same is true for Newbery medalists.
But is it true for Printz winners?
Though I'm sure that winning the Printz gives an author greater visibility and more opportunities, I'm not sure it's the life-changer that the Newbery is.
Looking at a list of the eleven winners to date, I don't see too many titles that have become wildly and continually popular with readers. The lone exception may be LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green, though perhaps part of its popularlity is due to the author's own self-promotion and connection with readers through social media sites. It might have been equally popular without that gold seal. Have the careers of An Na, Angela Johnson, and Geraldine McCaughrean (to name just three) really taken off in sales or wider popularity since winning the Printz? I'm not sure.
I guess I'm thinking about these things ever since reading this rather sad interview with Rick Yancey at the Bookshelves of Doom blog. Two years ago, Mr. Yancey received a surprise Printz Honor for his YA debut, THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST. I have to admit, I was not a fan of that novel. But many readers were and the book ended up being published in nearly twenty countries. The author's second YA novel, THE CURSE OF THE WENDIGO was published last year and I thought it was vastly better than the first book. In fact, we selected this title for our top-five shortlist when I was one of the judges for the LA TIMES Book Awards.
You would think a Printz Honor would guarantee an author some career momentum for at least the next decade, but the Bookshelves of Doom piece reveals that Yancey's series is now being ended by his publisher, even though the author original planned his story to play out over several more volumes. The publisher's reasoning? "We think we've spent too much on these books already. We're not prepared to spend any more."
It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. And I can hardly imagine this happening to an author continuing a series that received a recent Newbery Honor.
Is the Printz the "red-headed stepchild" of youth literary awards?
Will it always be this way or will this fairly-young award acquire, over time, the prestige of the Newbery and Caldecott?
THINGS WITH WINGS : THE APOTHECARY AND THE AVIARY
For the past few months, people have been talking about the enormous coincidence that two of this year's likely Newbery contenders -- Gary Schmidt's OKAY FOR NOW and Jack Gantos' DEAD END IN NORVELT -- feature eerily similar dustjacket illustrations.
Here's another coincidence: two other likely contenders share similar titles and a fantasy plot element reminiscent of Mary Chase's 1968 cult classic THE WICKED PIGEON LADIES OF THE GARDEN.
Of the two titles, THE APOTHECARY is the more ambitious, broadly-focused novel, but also the more problematic. Set in 1952, the story concerns a fourteen-year-old American girl who
moves to London with her parents. Janie's friendship with Benjamin, the son of the neighborhood apothecary, turns into a wild ride of espionage and globe-hopping when it's revealed Benjamin's dad is an alchemist working with other international scientists to prevent a nuclear apocalypse. Janie's measured, almost frosty, first-person narration sometimes tells more than it shows, but the story is well-paced and exciting. A novel like THE APOTHECARY requires the reader to suspend disbelief as the characters work with herbal elixirs that make them speak only the truth (fun!), become invisible (even more fun!), turn into birds (funnest of all!), or reduce a person into a pile of salt and then be restored to human form (that one is really stretching it.) The story occasionally suffers from an issue common to many fantasies: what I like to call "convenient magic." That is, just as the characters are backed into a corner, someone comes up with a facile magical solution to the whole mess. For example, enthralled readers will completely accept the major storyline that has Janie and Benjamin stowing away on a Norwegian vessel to help suppress a nuclear bomb, yet the small scene in which a scientist whips up some special paint that changes the ship's appearance will have some readers muttering, "How con-ven-i-ent!" On the whole, though, THE APOTHECARY is a lively and involving novel that will appeal to a broad range of readers. And Ian Schoenherr's artwork adds a nice touch to the story (why oh why can't we have more illustrated novels for kids?) The hint of a sequel in the book's final pages will cheer readers who want to spend more time with Janie and Benjamin; others will wonder how any sequel can trump a novel in which the characters have already saved the world from nuclear extinction?
In THE APOTHECARY, Janie and her friends transform into birds to escape capture by the "bad guys." Humans living in the form of birds is also a major plot component of Kathleen O'Dell's THE AVIARY, but it is the only fantasy element of this more tightly-focused historical mystery.
Almost twelve, Clara has spent her entire life living in the Glendoveer mansion with her mother, the housekeeper for anicent Mrs. Glendoveer. Overprotected and friendless (she's not even allowed to leave the house due to a "bad heart"), Clara is beginning to chafe at the restrictions placed on her life. But a word spoken by one of the birds kept in the backyard aviary soon has Clara and a secret new friend exploring the mystery of the kidnapping and murder of Mrs. Glendoveer's children many decades earlier. Stories of a character from one era (in this case, the late nineteenth century) exploring a family mystery from the past have garnered a lot of Newbery attention in recent years (MOON OVER MANIFEST, WALK TWO MOONS, etc.) and THE AVIARY likely deserves some award consideration as well. Clara is a likable character, slowly and believably asserting her independence for the first time, the plot is suspenseful and exciting, and the novel as a whole is reminiscent of the great books that Zilpha Keatley Snyder published in the late sixties and early seventies -- stories grounded in reality, but with just enough magic to attract fantasy fans as well.
THE GIVER THAT KEEPS ON GIVING
Just when I was dismayed to discover the existence of two Facebook groups called "I Haven't Read Much" and "I Haven't Read Too Many Books Since High School," I was heartened and delighted to learn there is also a Facebook group called "My Favorite Book is THE GIVER."
I don't know if children's author extraordinaire Gary D. Schmidt is a member of that group, but I loved reading the following quote from him:
On my desk are a dictionary and a thesaurus, books by Emerson and Whittier and Longfellow and Darwin, Henry David Thoreau’s journals, a collection of Churchill’s war speeches, two volumes of Shaker hymns, some Tolkien, some Avi, some Katherine Paterson, some Elie Wiesel, THE GIVER, and a statue of a greyhound that has been in my family for four generations.
My own desk is too small and crowded to keep any books on it, but when I lived at my old house, my computer chair backed up to a book shelf where I kept all my M.E. Kerr books within easy reach. Now that I have a library of my own, my M.E. Kerr books are a bit farther away...BUT she also has a special shelving range which, from top to bottom, only contains her books -- an honor afforded no other author in my collection.
Now I have to get up from my desk to reach her books...but they are worth the walk!
What special children's books do you keep on your desk -- or within a handy distance?
Thanks for visiting Collecting Children's Books. Hope you'll be back!
TAKING MY OWN ADVICE
Two weeks ago, on the tenth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, I wondered why we didn't hear more about MY PET GOAT, the "children's book" that played a supplementary role in the tragic events of that day.
As it turned out, the correct title is actually "THE Pet Goat" and it's not a stand-alone book, but a story from an elementary school reader. Still, it's a part of history and it remains surprising to me that more book collectors haven't grabbed up READING MASTERY II : STORYBOOK I, the volume that contains this story -- especially since copies can be found for as little as one dollar!
Taking my own advice, I ordered a copy of this book-for-a-buck for my own collection. It arrived yesterday:
Though the textbook is credited to Siegfried Engelmann and Elaine C. Bruner, no authors are listed for the individual stories; perhaps Engelmann and Bruner wrote them all. The tales in the book are flatly-written and contain no spark or finesse. Here is the first page of "The Pet Goat" and one its illustrations:
For the life of me, I can't figure out the diacritical marks used in the stories. Most seem to represent long vowel sounds, like the "o" in "goat" and the "a" in "day." Yet they are used inconsistently (where is the long vowel for the "a" in "cape"?) or in ways I don't quite get. (In another story the "o" in "horn" is repeatedly marked, but that's not a long vowel sound, is it? And what are the marks over every "ng" about? AND WHERE IS THE CAPITALIZATION in the story?
And I hate to be one of those "my childhood was better than today's childhood" types, but I have to say that the school readers from my day were beautifully illustrated in a number of styles. I can still remember many of the full-color pictures from my own grade school textbooks. The illustrations in this book are also done by a number of different (uncredited) artists, but they're terrible! Look at this one:
However, I'll give the illustrations plenty of credit for trying to reverse sex-role steretyping. One story takes place in a railway yard and one of the track workers is a woman. In other story, a dog stops two robbers from escaping and -- although the sex of the robbers isn't mentioned in the text -- they are shown to be women, an unusual and refreshing choice:
Finally, I noticed that the volume has this "THIS BOOK IS THE PROPERTY OF" label inside the cover:
Ah memories! Did your schoolbooks also contain this label? I remember this identical form turning up in all my textbooks starting around the time I finished grade school (1971) right up through high school. And it appears it's still being used today. Strangely, I don't ever recall filling out the form. (For one thing, we weren't even allowed to take textbooks out of the classroom before seventh grade.) But I do remember being fascinated by these labels as a kid. I was always tempted to fill one in myself -- in pencil, so I could erase it before the teacher noticed.
Wouldn't it be fun to go through a collection of old textbooks and find the childhood signatures of people such as Barack Obama, Michelle Robinson (Obama), and so many other young people who grew up to be famous figures?
NANCY GOES COUNTRY
There are already enough books and websites about Nancy Drew to satisfy avid fans of the teenage detective.
But if you're just a casual fan, or you have an interest in the monetary value of Nancy Drew books and memorabilia, you might want to take a look at the October 2011 issue of COUNTRY LIVING magazine, which contains a brief piece about the collectability of Nancy.
The article tells us that the first volume in series, THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK, published in 1930, is now valued at $5000 for a mint copy first edition:
If signed by author Mildred Wirt (who wrote 23 volumes as "Carolyn Keene") the value increases to $10,000.
Volumes from the forties can be worth around $200. The article mentions that Nancy's hairstyle here was reminiscent of Lauren Bacall's hair:
This volume from 1953 is valued at $140. The article mentions Nancy's "prim" look but doesn't compare her to anyone else:
I wondered if she wasn't then being modeled after fifties stars June Allyson and Doris Day:
You can also access an online feature from COUNTRY LIVING magazine which lists the plots of all 56 Nancy Drew books here.
Believe it or not, I've only read one Nancy Drew book -- THE CLUE OF THE TAPPING HEELS, also known as the one where Nancy gets locked in a trunk and, from inside, tapdances a message in Morse code. This must have been the book that started my lifelong case of claustrophobia!
PRINTZ POPULARITY
Okay, I don't have any definitive facts and figures here to back up what I'm going to say. I'm sort of writing from observation and intuition. Maybe those of you who work directly with young adults in libraries or who publish YA books can tell me if I'm on the right track here or if I'm all wet.
But I've come to the conclusion that, as much as I love the Printz Award, it doesn't have the same kind of clout that the Newbery Award does.
Every year when the Newbery is announced, the winning title and Honor Books immediately hit the Amazon.com bestseller list. And, to a greater or lesser extent, these books continue to sell well over time. Winning the Newbery gives an author star quality, even if he or she had been a midlist author in the past. It's like someone said about winning the Oscar: once you've won the prize, every time your name is seen in print, right up through your obituary, it will be preceded by two words: "Oscar winner..." The same is true for Newbery medalists.
But is it true for Printz winners?
Though I'm sure that winning the Printz gives an author greater visibility and more opportunities, I'm not sure it's the life-changer that the Newbery is.
Looking at a list of the eleven winners to date, I don't see too many titles that have become wildly and continually popular with readers. The lone exception may be LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green, though perhaps part of its popularlity is due to the author's own self-promotion and connection with readers through social media sites. It might have been equally popular without that gold seal. Have the careers of An Na, Angela Johnson, and Geraldine McCaughrean (to name just three) really taken off in sales or wider popularity since winning the Printz? I'm not sure.
I guess I'm thinking about these things ever since reading this rather sad interview with Rick Yancey at the Bookshelves of Doom blog. Two years ago, Mr. Yancey received a surprise Printz Honor for his YA debut, THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST. I have to admit, I was not a fan of that novel. But many readers were and the book ended up being published in nearly twenty countries. The author's second YA novel, THE CURSE OF THE WENDIGO was published last year and I thought it was vastly better than the first book. In fact, we selected this title for our top-five shortlist when I was one of the judges for the LA TIMES Book Awards.
You would think a Printz Honor would guarantee an author some career momentum for at least the next decade, but the Bookshelves of Doom piece reveals that Yancey's series is now being ended by his publisher, even though the author original planned his story to play out over several more volumes. The publisher's reasoning? "We think we've spent too much on these books already. We're not prepared to spend any more."
It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. And I can hardly imagine this happening to an author continuing a series that received a recent Newbery Honor.
Is the Printz the "red-headed stepchild" of youth literary awards?
Will it always be this way or will this fairly-young award acquire, over time, the prestige of the Newbery and Caldecott?
THINGS WITH WINGS : THE APOTHECARY AND THE AVIARY
For the past few months, people have been talking about the enormous coincidence that two of this year's likely Newbery contenders -- Gary Schmidt's OKAY FOR NOW and Jack Gantos' DEAD END IN NORVELT -- feature eerily similar dustjacket illustrations.
Here's another coincidence: two other likely contenders share similar titles and a fantasy plot element reminiscent of Mary Chase's 1968 cult classic THE WICKED PIGEON LADIES OF THE GARDEN.
Of the two titles, THE APOTHECARY is the more ambitious, broadly-focused novel, but also the more problematic. Set in 1952, the story concerns a fourteen-year-old American girl who
moves to London with her parents. Janie's friendship with Benjamin, the son of the neighborhood apothecary, turns into a wild ride of espionage and globe-hopping when it's revealed Benjamin's dad is an alchemist working with other international scientists to prevent a nuclear apocalypse. Janie's measured, almost frosty, first-person narration sometimes tells more than it shows, but the story is well-paced and exciting. A novel like THE APOTHECARY requires the reader to suspend disbelief as the characters work with herbal elixirs that make them speak only the truth (fun!), become invisible (even more fun!), turn into birds (funnest of all!), or reduce a person into a pile of salt and then be restored to human form (that one is really stretching it.) The story occasionally suffers from an issue common to many fantasies: what I like to call "convenient magic." That is, just as the characters are backed into a corner, someone comes up with a facile magical solution to the whole mess. For example, enthralled readers will completely accept the major storyline that has Janie and Benjamin stowing away on a Norwegian vessel to help suppress a nuclear bomb, yet the small scene in which a scientist whips up some special paint that changes the ship's appearance will have some readers muttering, "How con-ven-i-ent!" On the whole, though, THE APOTHECARY is a lively and involving novel that will appeal to a broad range of readers. And Ian Schoenherr's artwork adds a nice touch to the story (why oh why can't we have more illustrated novels for kids?) The hint of a sequel in the book's final pages will cheer readers who want to spend more time with Janie and Benjamin; others will wonder how any sequel can trump a novel in which the characters have already saved the world from nuclear extinction? In THE APOTHECARY, Janie and her friends transform into birds to escape capture by the "bad guys." Humans living in the form of birds is also a major plot component of Kathleen O'Dell's THE AVIARY, but it is the only fantasy element of this more tightly-focused historical mystery.
Almost twelve, Clara has spent her entire life living in the Glendoveer mansion with her mother, the housekeeper for anicent Mrs. Glendoveer. Overprotected and friendless (she's not even allowed to leave the house due to a "bad heart"), Clara is beginning to chafe at the restrictions placed on her life. But a word spoken by one of the birds kept in the backyard aviary soon has Clara and a secret new friend exploring the mystery of the kidnapping and murder of Mrs. Glendoveer's children many decades earlier. Stories of a character from one era (in this case, the late nineteenth century) exploring a family mystery from the past have garnered a lot of Newbery attention in recent years (MOON OVER MANIFEST, WALK TWO MOONS, etc.) and THE AVIARY likely deserves some award consideration as well. Clara is a likable character, slowly and believably asserting her independence for the first time, the plot is suspenseful and exciting, and the novel as a whole is reminiscent of the great books that Zilpha Keatley Snyder published in the late sixties and early seventies -- stories grounded in reality, but with just enough magic to attract fantasy fans as well. THE GIVER THAT KEEPS ON GIVING
Just when I was dismayed to discover the existence of two Facebook groups called "I Haven't Read Much" and "I Haven't Read Too Many Books Since High School," I was heartened and delighted to learn there is also a Facebook group called "My Favorite Book is THE GIVER."
I don't know if children's author extraordinaire Gary D. Schmidt is a member of that group, but I loved reading the following quote from him:
On my desk are a dictionary and a thesaurus, books by Emerson and Whittier and Longfellow and Darwin, Henry David Thoreau’s journals, a collection of Churchill’s war speeches, two volumes of Shaker hymns, some Tolkien, some Avi, some Katherine Paterson, some Elie Wiesel, THE GIVER, and a statue of a greyhound that has been in my family for four generations.
My own desk is too small and crowded to keep any books on it, but when I lived at my old house, my computer chair backed up to a book shelf where I kept all my M.E. Kerr books within easy reach. Now that I have a library of my own, my M.E. Kerr books are a bit farther away...BUT she also has a special shelving range which, from top to bottom, only contains her books -- an honor afforded no other author in my collection.
Now I have to get up from my desk to reach her books...but they are worth the walk!
What special children's books do you keep on your desk -- or within a handy distance?
Thanks for visiting Collecting Children's Books. Hope you'll be back!
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