Halloween Brunch

Happy Halloween! Today’s Sunday Brunch contains some treats and tricks for readers of children’s books. But first, let’s stop at the Johnsons’ house. They’re handing out full-size Baby Ruths and Butterfingers tonight!



PAPER MEMORIES

Several years ago I took a trip to Toronto and stumbled across a store that sold nothing but paper ephemera -- illustrations, advertisements, and other pictures clipped from books, magazines, and calendars. Each illustration was neatly backed by a piece of cardboard and slipped inside a thin plastic bag. The pictures were stored upright in bins, the way old record albums used to be displayed in music stores. They were separated by subject dividers (fruits, musical instruments, fathers and sons, ladybugs) and you’d flip through them the same way we used to flip through lp records. At first I wasn’t exactly sure why this store existed. Why would someone pay $10 for a picture cut from a 1964 LIFE magazine? But I realized that some customers planned to frame these pictures as artwork; other customers were art students who needed sample illustrations of lions or zucchinis. Really, it was kind of a neat store. And I thought I’d finally found a job well-suited to my limited capabilities as an employee. Imagine just sitting around all day cutting pretty pictures from magazines!

I was thinking of that store in Toronto this morning as I flipped through one of my favorite Halloween books:


HALLOWEEN : VINTAGE HOLIDAY GRAPHICS, edited by Jim Heimann and published by Taschen as part of their “Icons” series, is like having the Halloween section of that Toronto paper store within the binding of a book. There are old ads, like the Baby Ruth piece above, that provide a nostalgic look at how Halloween was celebrated in the past. And paging through the book, you may find artwork from your own childhood. Our family had these very same cut-out decorations:


I particularly love the style of these old-school illustrations:


And look how many Halloween motifs are squeezed into this single illustration: a moon, a broom, a cat, a bat, kids bobbing for apples, and a witch in the Stella Dallas role:


I know these images aren’t from children’s books, but they are related to childhood. And wait -- there is at least one illustration with a kid-book connection. Here's a cover from the October 1934 CHILD LIFE magazine, whose contributors that month included two Newbery winners -- Rachel Field and Lois Lenski -- as well as Caldecott winners Dorothy Lathrop and Berta and Elmer Hader:


There are over 200 volumes in the Icons series, including books devoted to vintage Valentine’s and Christmas memorabilia.


BRING BACK THESE HALLOWEEN TREATS!


Spirits are said to arise from the dead on All Hallow’s Eve.

Well, if I had the power bring back books from the dead, here are two Halloween-themed novels that I’d conjure back to life.

For younger readers, I’d summon back THE LITTLE LEFTOVER WITCH by Florence Laughlin. Published by Macmillan in 1960, this perfectly-crafted narrative concerns a young witch who -- due a broom malfunction -- is trapped on earth from one Halloween until the next.


Taken in by Lucinda Doon and her family, Felina-the-witch transforms -- over the course of one year -- from a rather prickly and unlikable character to a charming and likable girl; her peaked witch’s hat is the last of her old life to go, ending up on the head of a snowman during the Christmas holidays. While the tone of the book occasionally gets a little sweet, the compact story is atmospheric and engaging. It’s hard to imagine most readers not falling under its spell.

For older readers, I’d bring back Charles P. Crawford’s 1972 novel BAD FALL. Like THE LITTLE LEFTOVER WITCH, this is a tightly-written and fast-paced tale. But while WITCH is the kind of book that some would classify as “a warm and cozy story,” BAD FALL is edgy and twitchy and unsettling.


Yet there’s not a witch in sight. The novel contains no ghosts, no vampires, and the only monsters are the human kind. Sean tells the story of his friendship with new-kid-in-town Wade Sabbat – a controlling relationship in which Wade slowly seduces Sean into shoplifting and bullying other kids over the course of one autumn season…a “bad fall”…all leading up to Halloween and an abrupt, uncompromising conclusion. Today I came across this comment about BAD FALL from an Amazon.com customer in Minnesota:

I have never been much of a novel reader, but in the mid 1970s, when I was around 11 or 12 years old, I saw this paperback on a table in the front porch of our house. It was a hot, boring summer and I had nothing better to do so I picked it up...having never heard of the book or being familiar with the author.

Several hours later I finally put it down and my life was changed. Not only did I relate to the characters in the book as I had never done before, but it was the first novel that I read that spoke to me. I understood the isolation of the character of Sean and how he could find the wickedness of his new found pal Wade so appealing. The book stimulated in me a love for novels that, for a time, surpassed my fondness for biography, current events and science. To this day, I credit Crawford's work every time I reach for a novel instead of another type of work.

That’s pretty powerful praise, but then the BAD FALL is a pretty powerful book.

I think both THE LITTLE LEFTOVER WITCH and BAD FALL should join the “undead” by being published in new editions for twenty-first century readers.


TRICKSTERS

Incidentally, the reason I used the paperback cover of BAD FALL above -- a picture I poached off the internet -- is because my hardcover copy of this book -- which featured a jagged jack-o-lantern on the cover -- is missing!

I was so careful packing and moving all my books to this new house, but so far I've discovered three titles missing. Strangley, one of the other missing books is also by Charles P. Crawford, THREE-LEGGED RACE.

Obviously I have to do an inventory of my library very soon. I wonder how many other books are missing that I haven't noticed. I wonder what literary Halloween tricksters took or hid them from me?


HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GHOST?

A blog reader sent in a query about a seasonally-themed volume. Does this book ring a bell with anyone?

I'm searching for a book of ghost stories I saw back in 1972. It was in my elementary school library in Ottawa, Canada. It was a drawn and painted illustration of a young confederate ghost and plantation house on cover. The back cover had a few more soldier ghosts floating along in the dark swampy mist.

This illustration actually does sound familiar to me…but I can’t recall a title and a quick look through our library shelves didn’t shake up any ghosts. But I’m anxious to help this reader because he credits that book cover with influencing his current hobby/occupation of creating ghost art. I always love to hear that a children’s book ending up changing one’s entire life and career…so I’d love to be able to track down this book for him. Do you have any ideas?


SEE, I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE

Last week I wrote about having heebie-jeebies at the prospect of writing a world-famous Newbery-winning author. I’ve often wondered if I’m the only person who gets awestruck at the prospect of having contact with a literary idol. I found out I am in good company.

Brian Wilhorn, a teacher from Wisconsin who writes the “Help Readers Love Reading” blog wrote to tell of his experience sharing the novel HOPE WAS HERE with his classes. When the students discovered what they believed to be an error in the book, they did some research, then asked Mr. Wilhorn to contact the author. He was nervous. Brian shares the story on his blog, beginning here and continuing for the rest of the week. Not only does the blog contain the students’ letter to Joan Bauer, but it also includes her response, a review of HOPE WAS HERE, and a list of all the political topics mentioned in this novel.


WHEN I’M CALLING YOU

Back when I was growing up in the Jurassic era, whenever we went to friends’ houses, we would stand outside the door (usually the back or side door for some reason) and call their names until they answered. I remember standing in the cold, stamping my feet on people’s porches and calling-calling-CALLING, never knowing if the family inside could hear me or if they were home at all. Also, you never knew whether to kick it up a notch to make SURE they were home or call more quietly so their neighbors wouldn’t get mad at you for disturbing the peace. Two-syllable names were great for calling. One-syllable names didn’t work as well. If a friend had a single-syllable name, you usually had to add a syllable to it when calling, so “Liz” became “LEEEE-uz!” and “Tim” became “TEEE-um.”

This was in the sixties, in the Midwest.

Did you “call” your friends too, or was that something we did only in my area and era?

I’ve noticed that the days of “calling” seem to be over. In recent years, I’ve seen even teeny-tiny kids approach their friends’ front doors (we had to use the back door!) and knock or ring the bell like little adults. These days they probably don’t even do that. Now they probably TEXT from the driveway!

Anyway, even though there seems to be a tradition of “calling,” at least when I was growing up, I am hard-pressed to think of a single example of kids “calling their friends” from the porch or back door in any children’s book past or present.

Can you re-“call” any examples from literature?


ON THE EDGE

Last Sunday I wrote about words being printed on the fore-edge of Pittacus Lore’s I AM NUMBER FOUR as part of the book’s design. Since then, a couple people have suggested I check out the writings of dustjacket designer and novelist Chip Kidd. A bookselling friend reported, “He said he did his novel CHEESE MONKEYS that way, with words on the side, because he remembered writing on his books in high school to show it was his book, same in college.” My friend said that, depending on how you look at the edge of the book, it either says GOOD IS DEAD or DO YOU SEE.

I’ve got to track down a copy of that!


THE KNEEBONE’S CONNECTED TO THE....

I probably never would have picked up THE KNEEBONE BOY on my own accord. I hate the cover with its awful staring kids (I thought of them as Wednesday, Pugsley, and Cousin It) and am not at all fond of books where characters have last names like “Hardscrabble.” Well, it’s okay when Dickens does it, but otherwise I find it a rather arch and lemony (if you know what I mean) device that almost always signals a parody and makes me think I shouldn’t take the book too seriously. I find this kind of affected writing usually provides more style than substance. Still, a great many people whose opinions I respect are trumpeting this book -- with at least one saying it deserves Newbery consideration -- so I knew I’d better read it.


Thirteen-year-old Otto Hardscrabble (who suffers from that disease which impacts children’s book characters in epidemic proportions – elective mutism) and his younger siblings Lucia and Max live in the English village of Little Tunks. Their mother is missing. Their artist father frequently leaves town to paint portraits of deposed royalty. When Dad must quickly go away on business, the kids end up -- through a series of confusions and complications (let’s call the “unfortunate events”) -- traveling to a seaside village where they find lodgings in a miniature castle, meet their surprisingly-young great aunt, and learn the local legend of the Kneebone Boy, who was kept captive in his own family’s castle many years earlier.

The book contains some intriguing elements, including an unidentified narrator (“I can’t tell you which Hardscrabble I am – Otto, Lucia, or Max – because I’ve sworn on pain of torture not to”) but the story takes a long time to get going (it’s ages before we hear much about the Kneebone Boy) and the conclusion is darker, sadder and more “real world” than the whimsical antics that have led up to it. The denouement also opens up a whole new set of questions that probably shouldn’t be examined too closely or the whole plot of the book gets shaky.

The arch prose makes Otto, Lucia, and Max seem remote, while other characters, such as Great-aunt Haddie, remain vague and contradictory. And while the kids sound British enough in their dialogue, the narrative of the book -- which is supposed to have been written by one of the siblings -- doesn’t much reflect the “Britishness” of the narrator. One seldom feels an English kid is telling this story.

THE KNEEBONE BOY has entertaining moments, yet some readers may find that reaching the jarring and unsatisfying conclusion after nearly 300 pages of stylized writing matches the dictionary definition of “hardscrabble” -- yielding meagerly in return for much effort.


WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE “DISCOVERED”?

It may only take 250 words.

I just received this press release and thought I’d pass it on to my competitors…I mean, blog readers:

Have a young adult novel—or a YA novel idea—tucked away for a rainy day? Are you putting off pitching your idea simply because you’re not sure how to pitch an agent? No problem! All you have to do is submit the first 250 words of your novel and you can win both exposure to editors, and a reading of your manuscript from one of New York’s TOP literary agents Regina Brooks.

Regina Brooks is the founder of Serendipity Literary Agency and the author of Writing Great Books for Young Adults. Brooks has been instrumental at establishing and building the careers of many YA writers, including three-time National Book Award Honoree and Michael Printz Honoree Marilyn Nelson, as well as Sundee Frazier—a Coretta Scott King Award winner, an Oprah Book Pick and an Al Roker book club selection. As an agent, she is known for her ability to turn raw talent into successful authors.

NOVEMBER IS NaNoWriMo: In honor of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.org)—an international event where aspiring novelists are encouraged to write an entire novel in 30 days—this contest is meant to encourage the aspiring YA author to get started on that novel by offering an incentive for completing the first 250 words.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS: The top 20 submissions will all be read by a panel of five judges comprised of top YA editors at MacMillan, Scholastic, Candlewick, Harlequin, Sourcebooks and Penguin. The first 100 will receive free autographed copies of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks. Of the 20, they will pick the top five submissions and provide each author with commentary. These five winners will also receive a free ONE YEAR subscription to The Writer magazine. ONE Grand Prize Winner will win a full manuscript reading and editorial consultation from Regina Brooks and free 10-week writing course courtesy of the Gotham Writer’s Workshop.

Please submit all entries via the contest website at WritingClasses.com/YAPitch. One entry per person; anyone age 13+ can apply. Open to the U.S. & Canada (void where prohibited). Entries for the YA Novel Discovery Contest will be accepted from 12:01am (ET) November 1 until 11:59pm (ET), November 30th

So enter now! http://bit.ly/YAContest

GREAT PRIZES: The Grand Prize Winner will have the opportunity to submit an entire manuscript to YA literary agent Regina Brooks AND receive a free, 10-week writing course, courtesy of Gotham Writers' Workshop.

The Top Five Entrants (including the Grand Prize winner) will receive a 15-minute, one-on-one pitch session with Regina Brooks, one of New York’s premier literary agents for young adult books. They will also receive commentary on their submissions by editors, Scholastic, Macmillan, Penguin, Harlequin, Candlewick, and Sourcebooks. In addition, they will receive a year’s subscription to The Writer magazine!

JUDGING: YA literary agent Regina Brooks and her team , will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions. These submissions will then be read by Nancy Mercado, Executive Editor at Roaring Brook Press(Macmillan); Nicole Raymond, Editor at Candlewick; Cheryl Klein, Senior Editor at Arthur Levine Books (Scholastic); Leila Sales, Editor Viking (Penguin) Evette Porter, Editor at Harlequin and Leah Hultenschmidt, Executive Editor at Sourcebooks. These judges will whittle the top 20 down to five, and each of the five winners will be provided commentary on their submissions.

I can’t vouch for the legitimacy of this contest, except to say that all the individuals and publishers listed above are highly reputable, so I assume this contest must be “the real thing.”


THOUGH I GUESS I SHOULDN’T BOTHER ENTERING….

I’ve mentioned before that I’m going to be one of the judges for the LA TIMES Book Prize in the Young Adult category. The books have been trickling in, though it’s a wonder they ever arrive consider no one ever spells my name correctly on the packages.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. My retirement fund has been sending me letters for TWENTY YEARS with my name spelled S-I-E-R-U-T-O. (I think it’s a plot. They’re going to wait till I try to claim my money and then tell me there is nobody by the name of Peter Sieruta in their fund, only Peter Sieruto -- who is obviously a different person.)

In the meantime, Random House:


is calling me Peter S-L-E-R-U-T-A, and Houghton Mifflin:


thinks I’m Peter S-T-E-R-V-T-A.

It’s no wonder I’ve never had the career I imagined. No one ever sends me book contracts or job offers -- or even advance reading copies! Meanwhile, somewhere in the United States, three guys named Peter Sieruto, Peter Sleruta, and Peter Stervta are sitting pretty, reaping the benfits of my labors!


HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Boy, it’s taken all day to write this blog. It’s now Halloween night. I’ve got my first fire of the season going in the fireplace and I’m going to sit down shortly to a traditional Stervta...I mean SIERUTA...Halloween meal of chili, cornbread, and cider. I’ve also got a pumpkin. In the spirit of “choose your own adventure books,” one side is scary:


and the other is smiling:


So now I can turn the pumpkin around to reflect whatever mood I’m in.

Happy Halloween! May you encounter more smiling pumpkins than scary ones on this dark and spooky night!

October 24 Sunday Brunch

Another helping of random info and opinions on children’s books, presented Sunday brunch style.


NOSTALGIA

Yesterday I learned about a website devoted to the neighborhood in Detroit where I grew up. Then I was up half the night, reading all the discussions and staring at the pictures people had posted from the sixties and seventies. It was a nostalgia overload. In looking at the photos, every house looked strangely familiar. That’s not surprising, I guess, since most of the buildings in that neighborhood were designed in similar styles. The insides of the homes also brought back memories, because they were decorated much like everybody's house in that era. And the kids all looked familiar because we all pretty much had the same haircut and wore similar clothes during any given year. I think you could put a hundred photographs in front of me, all taken at different times and different places across the United States, and I’d be able to pick out the one from our Detroit neighborhood in 1969. Even though I didn’t know most of the individuals posting on the board -- and probably had very little in common with them when we were growing up -- I realized that we were all now bound by our shared memories of a special place and time.

I feel the same way when working on this blog. Sometimes I’ll mention a book I read in my childhood and someone will post a comment stating their own memories of that novel. Other times someone will recall a title from their youth and I’ll immediately think, “Oh yeah, I remember that one!” and a connection is made across miles and time. The books we read in childhood -- like the neighborhoods we grew up in -- unite strangers through shared memories.


WAS IT YOU?

Someone asked me the other day if I’d participated in the CHARLOTTE’S WEB auction. I said I hadn’t been on eBay in a while and why would I bid on that book when I already own a copy?

They explained (patiently, because I’m kind of dumb that way) that they were referring to the big auction of original artwork from CHARLOTTE’S WEB that was being offered by Heritage Auction Galleries last week. Garth Williams’ iconic illustrations for the E.B. White classics were, according to a friend, “estimated to go from $1,500-$3,000 for the lesser pieces, $8,000-$15,000 for the better pieces and $18,000-$25,000 for the cover.”

As it turned out, eighteen pieces sold for between $1000 and $10,000, nineteen pieces sold for between $10,001 and $100,000 and the original cover alone sold for a jaw-dropping, head-smacking, eye-rolling $155,000!


The winning bidder asked to remain anonymous.

Was it you?


IT WASN’T ME

I sure wasn't the anonymous bidder.

Heck, I was stretching my own budget just to spend $25 on this book:


I’ve been blogging a lot about the Newbery nominations from the 1970s lately, and this book from the lists stuck out for me, as it was one title I wasn’t able to track down and read back then. Thirty-plus years later, still intrigued, I decided to hunt down a copy. I found this one online and ordered it last week. It appears to be one of those rare adult books that received Newbery consideration. It’s a story of political exiles in Siberia and involves accusations of witchcraft. According to the dustjacket: “Witch hunting went on in Russia, especially Siberia, much longer than in the Western world. As late as the last quarter of the nineteenth century, there were episodes of witch burnings.” (Good thing Christine O’Donnell wasn’t around back then.)

I’m very intrigued by THE WITCHES OF BARGUZIN and think it will make good reading for the week of Halloween. Incidentally, author Kyra Petrovskaya Wayne was originally from Russia and worked in Leningrad as an actress and singer before immigrating to the U.S. in 1948.

One of the reasons I purchased this book, rather than just borrow it through library interloan, was because it seemed to be a special copy. It contained three publicity photos of the author, each signed on the back. She appears to be quite glamorous:


But this is the photo that REALLY intrigues me:


What in the world does this pose and outfit mean?

And what if she’d actually won the Newbery and appeared on stage to accept her medal in this get-up?


ANOTHER BIRTHDAY PRESENT

Last week I showed off a few of the book-related presents I received for my birthday. Here is another -- an ARC (advance reading copy) of SNOOK ALONE, written by Marilyn Nelson and and illustrated by Timothy Basing Ering:


My very kind friend had the opportunity to meet both author and illustrator, each of whom signed this copy:


SNOOK ALONE concerns a rat terrier who lives happily with his companion, a monk named Abba Jacob, “on an island in a faraway sea.” The poetic, often witty text, describes the daily routine of man and dog, which is interrupted when Abba Jacob assists with a special project on nearby Avocaire Island. When a furious gale arises, Snook does not hear Abba Jacob calling for him and is left behind when the monk is removed from Avocaire to the safety of a larger island. This begins a period of several days in which the lonely dog must fend for himself on the deserted island. And in between scary and poignant adventures with a land crab and a sea turtle,

Snook sat still enough
to find the shared silence
of Abba Jacob’s chapel
under the rhythmic surge of surf.
He could almost hear,
almost make out,
like a whisper in a cyclone,
the voice he was waiting to hear.
“Good boy, Snook. Good dog.”

Readers will be moved by the joyous reunion of man and dog. Ering’s beautiful and animated color illustrations make a good match for Nelson’s sensitive text, though Abba Jacob’s stylized appearance seems more appropriate for a comic strip than for this quietly affecting story.


SAD

I just Googled the title SNOOK ALONE.

There are 1600 references to the book on the net.

Then I Googled the name “Snooki.”

There are over 3 MILLION references to her.

Trash trumps art, yet again.

Oh, and guess what: Snooki is writing a book -- due to be published in January 2011.

Sad to say, it will no doubt receive more publicity and sell more copies than SNOOK ALONE.



LIFE AFTER OPRAH

When I was a teenager, I had a number of friends who went to a local Catholic high school. At the beginning of each semester they had to buy their books, and they’d frequently mark them to identify them. One of the most frequent gimmicks was to write their name across the fore edge of their books. Defacing a book? I was horrified. Besides, I went to public school. We got our books free, had to turn them back in at the end of the semester, and would have been sent to the principal’s office if we wrote anything on our textbooks.

So I was intrigued to see this writing-on-the-fore-edge technique is now being used as part of the book design for I AM THE NUMBER FOUR by Pittacus Lore. The name of the series is printed right across the edge of the pages:


Have you ever seen this gimmick on a book before (not counting textbooks used by Catholic schoolkids?) I know that antiquarian books sometimes feature dappled designs or even illustrations on the fore edge, but no writing as far as I know. Is this a first in modern children’s/young adult publishing?

I AM NUMBER FOUR is the first volume in a six-book series about teenage aliens hiding out on Earth.

You probably know that Pittacus Lore is the pseudonym (what, it isn’t his real name?) for James Frey and a young author named Jobie Hughes.

Yeah, the same James Frey who was taken to the woodshed by Oprah Winfrey.

Now he’s back on top of the bestseller lists with this YA book – and Steven Spielberg is producing a movie version, due out next year (soon after Snooki’s book is released.)

Wonder if Oprah will have him on to promote the movie?


QUESTION ANSWERED…BY NEWBERY WINNER!

Last Sunday I posted the following title request from a blog reader:

I read this book in 1973. It is the story of one of Cinderella's mice that only half ways transforms back the next day, becoming a mousy little man. As I recall, most of the plot concerns the glass slipper as the McGuffin, and the intrigues of getting Cinderella to her happy ending. It is a (short) chapter book, with line illustrations. I do not know the title or author.

Someone wrote in with the correct answer to this question. The book is CINDERS, a 1939 novel by Katherine Gibson.

The person who requested the information was delighted to finally learn the title of this childhood favorite.

But to me the most exciting part of the story is that the question was answered by none other than Laura Amy Schlitz -- who not only wrote the award-winning GOOD MASTERS! SWEET LADIES!, but also wrote another personal favorite of mine, A DROWNED MAIDEN’S HAIR.

How cool is that?

Actually, several months ago, Ms. Schlitz sent me a very flattering e-mail. I was in the crazed midst of moving at the time, so set it aside to answer later…but I kept putting it off because I was too intimidated to write a letter to a Newbery Medalist.

I know, she wouldn’t really send my letter back with the grammar and spelling corrected…but what if she did?

And more than that: what do you say to someone whose work you admire so much?

I know plenty of people who aren’t the least bit shy or intimidated by famous writers, but I’m not one of them. I’m awestruck and starstruck and when I attend a booksigning, I generally just hand my books to the author and then mutter thanks when they're done, rather than stutter and stammer and blather and look like an idiot.

When it comes to famous authors, I tend to follow the advice of Abraham Lincoln, who said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

But, still, I think I’d better write her back and say thank you….

My keyboard is already s-s-s-tuttering and sta---amm—ering!

Does anyone have any entertaining stories about talking to or writing to authors you idolize? If so, I'd love to hear them. Please send them in!

Thanks for visiting Collecting Children’s Books. Hope you’ll be back!

Moments in Time

One of my best blogging moments occurred a couple weeks back, when I published the 1973 through 1976 preliminary lists of Newbery nominees. This was, I believe, the first time these lists had appeared on the internet and I was excited to be the one who shared them. As discussed before, these nomination lists had a huge influence on my own work as a writer and a reader. I’ve often wondered how the listed authors felt when they learned their books were nominated for the Newbery. Did it give them a boost of self-confidence? Did it provide more publishing opportunities for them? Former Harper editor Fran Manushkin wrote to say she was “delighted to see C. L. Rinaldo's first and only novel on the list. I was its editor at Harper & Row --it was an unsolicited ms.” We actually have two copies of this book in the library where I work, on the shelf right outside my office, so I see it every night when I close up shop and lock the door. It’s been over thirty years since I read it, but I remember DARK DREAMS as a quiet, unsettling novel -- one that might not have widespread appeal, but would strongly impact special readers. If C. L. Rinaldo had won the Newbery, would we now see an entire row of the author’s books on the shelves, or would this still be the only one?

I was also thrilled to get this note from author Elizabeth Winthrop, who found her books WALKING AWAY and A LITTLE DEMONSTRATION OF AFFECTION on the lists:

Peter, a million thanks to you. I had no idea until you posted these lists that my first two novels were considered for the Newbery. What a lovely piece of my own publishing history you've just given me.

I remember both Ms. Winthrop’s books very well. In fact, A LITTLE DEMONSTRATION OF AFFECTION has never completely left my mind since 1975. What a daring, yet subtle, novel. The story concerns a summer of growing closeness between thirteen-year-old Jenny and her older brother. After their dog is killed, the two reach out to each other (“She pressed her face against his chest, smelling the clean cotton of his shirt and the damp skin beneath. He was kissing the top of her head and whispering to her, “Oh Jenny, God.” They rocked gently together, his hand sliding over and over again down the smooth length of her hair. The trembling finally stopped, but they hung on to each other for a very long time. “) and the narrative sensitively describes their subsequent confusion. Thinking about this book today, I wonder if it could ever be published in 2010. It actually seems too grown-up to be published today. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking: how could a story written way back before the Bicentennial be considered too mature for the let-it-all-hang-out YA literary pantheon of the 21st century? But I can’t help but think if such a novel were written today, it would be trumpeted as a book about incest or sexual abuse rather than a wonderfully thoughtful and emotional examination of “a little demonstration of affection.”

I felt the same way when I saw Isabelle Holland’s 1972 novel THE MAN WITHOUT A FACE on the Newbery nomination list. One of the most acclaimed books of the early seventies, it became a minor classic and remains in print today. Charles narrates the story of his fourteenth summer, during which the lonely teenager is tutored by Justin McLeod, a local teacher with a horribly scarred face. Their relationship culminates (again, after the death of a dog) in a subtly-portrayed sexual incident. The reviews were excellent. The New York Times, in describing the relationship between Charles and Mr. McLeod, said, ““Their sublimated love leads to the expected -- a sort of homosexual “Summer of ‘42” sexual experience (carefully not described in in the book.)” The Horn Book noted, “The author handles the homosexual experience with taste and discretion; the act of love between Justin and Charles is a necessary emotional catharsis for the boy within the context of his story, and is developed with perception and restraint.” Of the original 1972 reviews I've tracked down, I've only found one -- from Lillian Gerhardt in Library Journal -- that utters the “P” word: "pederast." Yet one wonders, again, if such a novel could be published in 2010 without being described as a book about child molestation or pedophilia. Look at a few of the harsher Amazon.com reviews from contemporary readers. One says, “Child molesters only need read," then compares it to the Mel Gibson filmization: “In the film we have a noble soul, the teacher, who has had his life ruined by false accusations. In the book we have a pervert who rapes little boys" and concludes with “The book should have ended with the teacher being strung up to die; that was the fate he deserved.” Another reader complains: "The scenes are graphic, and the author's not really condemnatory about it at all. I sent a notification to Amazon about this, citing chapter and verse from the text, but they ignored my communication and, to my amazement, are still selling it.”

It's fascinating to see how perspectives change over time.

The Newbery nomination lists from the 1970s very effectively showcase a "moment in time." Books for kids were "growing up" and dealing with more mature topics. For the most part, people seemed to be fairly accepting of these books. I don't recall hearing the words "incest" or "child molestation" bandied about. I don't remember these two novels being challenged in libraries back then.

But I think they might be, if they were released for the first time today.

Of course, if published these days, they'd likely be much more explicit in both description and language. Despite the Amazon reviewer's comment about the "graphic" scenes, the incident in THE MAN WITHOUT A FACE is so subtly portrayed that it went right over my (naive young) head when I first read the book as a teenager. Books in the seventies tended to be subtler, quieter, more introspective.

Heck, DARK DREAMS is probably too quiet and introspective to be published today as well.

Ultimately, any list of books from any given year provides a photograph of its era. Five years ago we were complaining about pastel candy-colored bookjackets and the proliferation of "chicklit." Today you go in a bookstore and see mostly dark dustjackets and themes. Vampires. Werewolves. Dystopias. Every other book is 500 pages. Every third protagonist has Asperger's.

Rightly, wrongly, love it, hate it -- it's our moment in time.

Thirty years from now, what will they think of us?

SUNDAY BRUNCH : I'm so cool. Jenni said so.

This has been a holiday-filled week.

Last Sunday was my mother’s birthday. She is now [edited by blogger for fear of being disinherited] years old.

Monday was Columbus Day. (Whatever happened to PEDRO’S JOURNAL, the Columbus-themed book by the late Pam Conrad? Ten years ago it was on every grade school reading list. Now I haven’t even heard any mention of the book in…well, ten years.)

Monday was also Thanksgiving, just across the river in Canada.

Tuesday I had the day off work…and that always feels like a holiday.

Wednesday was my birthday. I am now [edited by aging blogger] years old.

Saturday was Sweetest Day -- a flowers-and-candy holiday which is celebrated on the third Saturday in October here in the Great Lakes region. Many years ago I saw a couple arguing on Sally Jessy Raphael’s talk show because the guy hadn’t bought the girl any candy for Sweetest Day. Right away I knew they had to be from Michigan. But poor Sally was confused. She asked, “Sweetest Day?” and the woman said, “The day he was supposed to get me flowers and candy.”

“Oh!” said Sally. “You mean Valentine’s Day!” Then she turned to the camera and confidently repeated, “She means Valentine’s Day.”

No, Sally. She meant Sweetest Day. In October. Get with the program.

…And while we’re on the subject, has any children’s book or young adult romance novel ever made mention of Sweetest Day? I can’t think of a single one! Get with the program, YA writers!

(And if I seem a little testy to you this morning, yes, you guessed it: nobody gave me any candy for Sweetest Day yesterday. I ended up buying a Ritter Sports Bar for myself.)

Finally, to round out this holiday-themed week, today is Easter.

Well, at least it is at my house.

Last April, when the real holiday arrived, we were facing a family crisis. Plus we were in the midst of moving, with so many packed boxes stacked everywhere that there wasn’t any place to sit down for Easter dinner. So I ran out and got corned beef sandwiches from a Jewish deli and postponed Easter dinner for a few months. So tonight we’re finally having our ham, au gratin potatoes, vegetables, rolls, and rhubarb pie Easter dinner.

I did not dye Easter eggs.

Easter eggs in October?

We may be strange, but we’re not that strange.

Today’s Sunday brunch lists this year’s National Book Award finalists, wonders where books go to die, shows off a stuffed Fern and Wilber, and talks about the trend toward omnibus editions of children’s books.


MULTI-TASKING

Last Sunday morning it may have looked like I was just sitting in my bedroom blogging, but I was actually having some books signed at the same time.

Late Saturday evening my bookstore friend called and said she was attending a Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association program the next day. Among those signing books were Richard Peck and Jennifer Holm. Knowing that I’m a big fan of both authors, my friend suggested that I run my books over to the store the next morning and she would get them signed for me at the event.

I went to pick up the books later this week. I was thrilled to have Richard Peck sign THE TEACHER’S FUNERAL -- one of my favorites.



But I was really floored by what Jennifer Holm signed in my ARC (Advance Reading Copy) of her latest novel, TURTLE IN PARADISE:



I couldn’t believe she’d ever heard of my blog – much less (hearted) it! And then she signed the book with her first name, as if were personal friends! What a great inscription!

She also signed my hardcover copy of the book. Notice the different cover illustrations. I think Random House made a good decision changing from the ARC illustration to the more sophisticated cover art used in the final published copy:



She also inscribed my copy of PENNY FROM HEAVEN:



Of course it’s a first edition!

Who would believe that, while I sat here blogging away last Sunday, my books were getting such wonderful inscriptions from “Jenni”!

(Should I admit it was the first in my life that anyone called me cool?)


NBA FINALISTS

The finalists for the 2010 National Book Awards were announced this past week. The five nominees in the category of Young People’s Literature are:

Paolo Bacigalupi, SHIP BREAKER
Kathryn Erskine, MOCKINGBIRD
Laura McNeal, DARK WATER
Walter Dean Myers, LOCKDOWN
Rita Williams-Garcia, ONE CRAZY SUMMER

Who will win? The NBAs are notorious for their slightly irregular decisions.
The winner will be announced on November 17.

I hope to have my own reviews of the five titles posted by that day.


RECOGNIZE THIS BOOK?

A new reader to this blog sent me the following stumper. And I am stumped. Does anyone have an idea what book he is referencing:

I read this book in 1973. It is the story of one of Cinderella's mice that only half ways transforms back the next day, becoming a mousy little man. As I recall, most of the plot concerns the glass slipper as the McGuffin, and the intrigues of getting Cinderella to her happy ending. It is a (short) chapter book, with line illustrations. I do not know the title or author.

I do know it was not Cinderella's Rat, by Susan Meddaugh; or I Was A Rat, by Phillip Pullman; or Coachman Rat (Ashmadi) by David Henry Wilson. All these books were published years later. To further muddy the waters of my search, along comes Disney's Cinderella II: Dreams Come True.


BIRTHDAY PRESENTS

My brother sent me this combination birthday/housewarming present -- a set of antique glass bookends for my library:


From what I understand, the retro-Chinese motif was very popular in the 1930s, and searching around the internet I found variations on this same set of bookends -- some made from different materials (metal, marble) and some painted different colors. But most feature the girl seated reading, while the boy leans over her shoulder, either interested in her or what she's reading. I found this interesting, as I might have expected the opposite: that the boy who, historically, probably had better access to education, would be reading, while the girl would look with longing at the book in his hands. Is there a story or legend behind the scene depicted in this bookend tableau?

I also received a set of salt-and-pepper shakers with a children’s book theme:

Okay, the design is based on Disney, but Alice and the Mad Hatter made their debut in a children’s book!

Finally, I received a copy of this paperback edition of NOBODY’S FAMILY IS GOING TO CHANGE by Louise Fitzhugh, notable for including a photograph from the Broadway production of THE TAP DANCE KID on the cover:


I once asked on this blog if TAP DANCE KID was the only Broadway show ever made from a children’s book. Someone pointed out, quite rightly, that WIZARD OF OZ and PETER PAN had appeared on Broadway. I think ALICE IN WONDERLAND was staged on B’way many decades ago. Oh, and THE SECRET GARDEN was a hit musical a few years back too! But I can’t think of any modern (i.e. not classic) children’s novels that have made it to the Great White Way besides TAP DANCE KID. And how amazing that Dell would use an image from the musical on the cover of Ms. Fitzhugh’s book, considering that the vast majority of its young readership probabaly wouldn't know anything about the Broadway production at the time.

I was fortunate enough to see THE TAP DANCE KID on Broadway. It played at the Minskoff Theatre, one of the few B’way theatres where you have to take escalators to get up to the stage and auditorium. Consequently, when the chorus was tapping in unison, it felt as though the entire seating area was shaking and might just fall several floors down to the street level. I loved the show, but wondered at the time what Louise Fitzhugh, then dead for several years, would have thought of it. Though it had serious moments, the narrative was much brighter and happier than the book NOBODY’S FAMILY IS GOING TO CHANGE.

Maybe the author would have thought that the singing and dancing trivialized the book’s somber themes.

On the other hand, Louise Fitzhugh came from a wealthy, patrician southern family which strongly disapproved of her mother -- an aspiring tap dancer -- so perhaps there would have been some vindication in in creating a successful tap musical.

And considering the initial critical drubbing the novel received -- Fitzhugh died just days after the book’s first and most hurtful review appeared -- there would likely be further vindication in seeing NOBODY’S FAMILY IS GOING TO CHANGE made it to Broadway…and still remains in print thirty-six years after it was published in 1974.


REVIEW : TOUCH BLUE by Cynthia Lord

When the small school on the Maine’s Bethsaida Island is threatened with closure due to lack of students, several island families agree to take in foster children to increase the school’s enrollment and “give some needy children good homes.” Eleven-year-old Tess narrates this story about thirteen-year-old Aaron arriving from the mainland to join her family. The remote teenager rejects Tess’s efforts at friendship, only letting down his reserve when accompanying Tess and her dad on their lobster boat and, later, when asked to perform at the big Fourth of July picnic -- an event that goes all wrong when an island bully puts an insulting note in Aaron’s music book. Aaron’s continued longing for his troubled mother (“I have to know for sure that she’s okay and ask her if she’d going to try to get me back. …I have to see her.”) causes Tess to come up with an ill-conceived plan of going behind the backs of her parents and Aaron’s social worker and inviting the boy’s mother to the annual island talent show where he will be performing. Cynthia Lord’s first novel, RULES, was a well-intentioned, if somewhat limited, problem novel that received a surprising Newbery Honor. TOUCH BLUE is stronger on every level. Though the storyline may be somewhat predictable, the characters are well-individualized, the island setting is superbly-rendered, and every emotion rings true in this well-crafted and satisfying novel.


REMAINDERED BOOKS

There is an awful phrase that people use to describe nursing homes: God’s waiting room.

But that phrase sprang to mind this week when I wandered into a local remaindered bookstore and saw a football field of space filled with books that nobody really wanted....

Even I, a book lover and book collector, couldn’t work up much enthusiasm for the several thousand volumes displayed on the cold metal tables: overly commercial children’s books…coffee table books tv shows or movies or trends that never hit it as big as expected (dance the lambada!)…vaguely-foreign novels…omnibus volumes that contain three or four individual mysteries within one cheaply-manufactured spine...every book marked with a black felt-tip remainder slash along the bottom of the pages.... It was depressing.

I guess there are many types of remaindered stores, with wide ranges in quality and quantity. I’ve heard of book collectors who have found treasures at Half Price Books locations. And there used to be a good remaindered store in Ann Arbor called Afterwords that often had recent, even brand-new, titles that were only slightly nicked or damaged. But the majority of remaindered stores I see are usually fly-by-night operations that set up shop in near-empty strip malls or large stand-alone buildings in neighborhoods that have seen better days. Just the sheer NUMBER of books in these stores makes me think I’ll find something worth purchasing. But, even with prices at $5 and less, I seldom find more than one or two cheap books that somewhat interest me.

I’m not really sure what happens to all the unpurchased books when these fly-by-night stores close up shop. Are they among the up to 40% of titles which (according to some sources) are destined to be pulped? Or have they already been separated from those books…and will they just be packed up and sent to yet another remaindered store where wait like dogs at an animal shelter, hoping to be chosen, or will they spend the remainder of their lives in “God’s waiting room” just waiting to be pulped?

Maybe I need to look more closely at such books the next time I visit the remaindered store. I’m sure some of those vaguely-foreign looking novels are better than they look.

And getting three mystery novels in one omnibus volume (no matter how thin the pages, no matter how small the print) is a pretty good deal.

Maybe it’s time I learn to Lambada.


DON’T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE OMNIBUS

I don’t get it. I never have and never will.

When I was growing up, a nice middle-grade novel was maybe 120-220 pages. A typical young adult novel was perhaps 150-280 pages.

So how did we reach the point that most books for kids are now 300…400…500…or more pages?

Sometimes I think it all started with those phonebook-thick Harry Potter volumes.
But sometimes I think the problem is (pardon the expression) bigger than that -- applying not just to books, but spread across every aspect of our culture: Big Gulps. Super-sized meals. Mega malls. McMansions. DVDs that contain deleted scenes and extras and short subjects. (When was the last time you saw a 110 minute movie? Now they’re all 2.5 hours long -- often to the detriment of the film.)
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against a nice thick novel if it truly takes 400 pages to tell that particular story. But what I’m seeing now are bloated, unfocused stories that severely need editing. Or small narratives that -- by using a small trim size, big print, and lots of white space -- are pumped up from 80 typed pages to a book 320 pages long.

There definitely seems to be some cachet associated with thick books.

It’s gotten to the point that yesterday’s thin books seem downright puny sitting on the shelf next to today's 600 pages behemoths.

Maybe readers feel it makes then look like literary lightweights when you select a 220 page novel from the bookstore shelf, rather than one that causes carpal tunnel syndrome as you carry it to the cash register.

Or, perhaps in these economic times, you feel like you’re getting more bang for your buck with a 500 page novel than a 200 pager.

Whatever, the case, it appears publishers have found a way of addressing the I-Heart-Thick-Books Trend.

In recent weeks I’ve noticed that Atheneum has begun repackaging Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s “Alice” novels in three-volume omnibus editions.

For example, the 640 page I LIKE HIM, HE LIKES HER contains the books ALICE ALONE, SIMPLY ALICE, and PATIENTLY ALICE.

IT’S NOT LIKE I PLANNED IT THIS WAY contains the books INCLUDING ALICE, ALICE ON HER WAY and ALICE IN THE KNOW -- and clocks in at 816 pages.

Geez-oh-pete, the paperback edition of CRIME AND PUNISHMENT is only 560 pages long!

And there are more on the way.

Three of Ellen Raskin’s puzzle mysteries will soon be published in one volume:


which is rather a shame, since I know that book design was very important to Raskin and placing these three individually-designed books in one cohesive volume would probably not be what their creator wanted.

[NOTE: Someone just pointed out to me that the advance reading copy of the Raskin contains all three titles, but the actual BOOKS will be issued in SEPARATE BOUND EDITIONS. Sorry for the error!]

Also on the horizon is David Macaulay’s BUILT TO LAST, which contains his architectural wonders, CASTLE, CATHEDRAL, and MOSQUE -- albeit with substantially different texts and -- for the first time -- full-color illustrations:


I guess these books are filling some kind of need with readers, but personally I will always like the feeling of turning the last page of a book, seeing the words “The End,” and moving on to a brand new book. It’s a feeling of accomplishment! And a feeling I won’t get seeing the words “The End” and then turning to the next page and realizing I still have over 400 more pages to go....


THERE’S A SCARECROW THAT I KNOW....

Last year I thought I hit the jackpot when I drove through the center of town and saw all the scarecrows on display were based on children’s rhymes and stories. Great blog fodder!

I didn’t think I’d be as lucky this year, but driving through town yesterday I saw a number of children’ s book characters on display again. This year’s scarecrow theme was the movies so, in between scarecrows depicting Marilyn Monroe with her skirt blowing up and the BLAZING SADDLES cowboys eating beans, I also saw this Dr. Seuss favorite:


and Captain Hook from PETER PAN:


It’s the Tin Man. No, it’s a scarecrow. No, it’s the Tin Man…but it’s a scarecrow:


This one was labeled THE SECRET GARDEN:


Here’s Violet turning into a giant blueberry in CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTOR:


as well as Fern, Wilbur, and Charlotte:


Finally, I guess Miss Gulch wasn’t actually in the book THE WIZARD OF OZ (was she?) but...


Toto was!


Thanks for visiting Collecting Children’s Books. It's where all the cool (and us not so cool) people hang out. Hope you’ll be back!

10-10-10 Sunday Brunch

I'm sorry for my recent silence. Last weekend I was facing a chapter deadline on the book I'm writing for Candlewick with Julie Danielson of Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast and Elizabeth Bird, aka Fuse #8 from School Library Journal. Then, after finishing the chapter, I was too tired to blog all week!

Hey, if Julie's blog contains the number 7 and Betsy's features the number 8...maybe I should add the number 9 to the title of my blog, just to keep things nice and sequential.

Speaking of numbers, do you know what today is (besides my mother's birthday)?

It's 10-10-10!

Here are TEN children's books to celebrate the day:

TEN LITTLE FINGERS AND TEN LITTLE TOES by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury
TEN APPLES UP ON TOP by Dr. Seuss
TEN BLACK DOTS by Donald Crews
10 MINUTES TO BEDTIME by Peggy Rathmann
TEN KIDS, NO PETS by Ann M. Martin
TEN THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE by Daniel Ehrenhaft
THE TENTH GOOD THING ABOUT BARNEY by Judith Viorst
TWENTY AND TEN by Claire Huchet Bishop
ALEX ICICLE : A ROMANCE IN TEN TORRID CHAPTERS by Robert Kaplow
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN by Herge


DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE TROIKA

I always love getting comments on this blog -- keep 'em coming (well, except for you spammers from gift shops in Malaysia and India.) Last week an anonymous reader left an intriguing comment about a painting that has been referenced in at least four children's books.

Here's the reference in HENRY REED'S JOURNEY by Keith Robertson:

"Have you two children ever seen that painting of the Russians in a sleigh being chased across the snow-covered steppes by wolves?"

"I have," I told him.

"Do you remember what the woman in the back of the sleigh was doing?"

"She was about to toss a baby to the wolves," I said.

"What a horrible idea," Midge said. "Why would she do a thing like that?"

"I always assumed she was sacrificing her baby to the wolves to allow those in the sleigh time to escape."

It's mentioned in two books by Elizabeth Enright, THE FOUR-STORY MISTAKE ("Look, here's a whole story pasted up; illustrations and everything. Pretty nifty, too," said Rush. "It's called 'Pursued by Siberian Wolves!'") and THEN THERE WERE FIVE ("The dogs were loving it. They bounded and snapped and barked their great hollow, brutal barks. Through Randy's panic-stricken mind flashed the image of a picture on the Office wall: an old steel engraving entitled 'Pursued by Siberian Wolves.'")

There is also a possible reference in Arthur Ransome's GREAT NORTHERN:

"They won't kill him even if they catch him," said Peggy.

"We've got to count him as a baby thrown to the wolves," said Dorothea.

Anonymous is trying to track down this mysterious painting -- and now I am too! It does seem like a picture I've seen at some point...but maybe I just conjured it up in my head when I read the above books.

Does anyone know this image?

And can you think of any other children's books that make reference to it?


AND TO THINK THAT I SAW IT IN VANITY FAIR!

Children's books pop up in the most unexpected places. This past week I was reading the new issue of Vanity Fair and came across a squib on Pee Wee Herman's upcoming Broadway show. And in the photo he's shown reading the 1965 picture book PART-TIME DOG by Jane Thayer (pen name of Catherine Woolley, who died a few years ago at age 100.)


I bet the sight of PART-TIME DOG -- a frequent book club selection in the 1960s -- brought back memories for a lot of babyboomers, who probably rushed out to get copies for their own kids.


OR NOT

On second thought, perhaps those parents didn't try to track down a copy. After all, PART-TIME DOG is a picture book. The internet has been abuzz about this article from last Friday's New York Times, which notes a recent decrease in the publication and sales of picture books. The article states:

The economic downturn is certainly a major factor, but many in the industry see an additional reason for the slump. Parents have begun pressing their kindergartners and first graders to leave the picture book behind and move on to more text-heavy chapter books. Publishers cite pressures from parents who are mindful of increasingly rigorous standardized testing in schools.

“Parents are saying, ‘My kid doesn’t need books with pictures anymore,’ ” said Justin Chanda, the publisher of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. “There’s a real push with parents and schools to have kids start reading big-kid books earlier. We’ve accelerated the graduation rate out of picture books.”


What a shame. Not only will small kids who bypass picture books miss an important part of childhood (imagine growing up without GOODNIGHT MOON!) but one wonders how many will end up rebelling against reading altogether after encountering a few chapter books that they are too young or unsophisticated to understand.

Of course not all kids will rebel. I have to admit I was raised mostly on chapter books from the time I was born. But every kid is different. I guess the best thing to do is provide kids with every type of book (hey, the library is full of 'em!) and let them gravitate where they will.

And while it's great to challenge oneself with difficult or demanding books, there's also a lot to be said for pleasure reading at any age:



HIGHLIGHTS FOR TEENAGERS

When I was in high school, I was blown away by the Pulitzer-Prize winning book PILGRIM AT TINKER CREEK by Annie Dillard. Every line sounded like something you could write on a poster and hang on the inside of your locker door. Trying to be hip and cool and pre-collegiate, I bought a yellow highlighter and went through the book, marking all the "profound" passages. After a couple chapters, I noticed that nearly every page was yellow from top to bottom. So I gave up on that plan. But it makes me wonder which children's books are so quotable that they'd be yellow from cover to cover if we highlighted all the most beguiling passages. ALICE IN WONDERLAND? The aforementioned GOODNIGHT, MOON? Any suggestions?


THE NEWBERY, BACK IN THE DAY

I was thinking about one of my highlighted passages from PILGRIM AT TINKER CREEK this morning. In this section, Annie Dillard talks about her fascination with weather:

Any time you care to get in your car and drive across the country and over the mountains, come into our valley, cross Tinker Creek, drive up the road to the house, walk across the yard, knock on the door and ask to come in and talk about the weather, you’d be welcome.

I'm not sure if I'm that obsessed with the weather myself...BUT, any time you care to get in your car and drive across the country and over the flat midwest, come into Farmington Hills, Michigan, cross I-696, drive up the road to the house, walk across the wooden deck, knock on the door and ask to come in and talk about the Newbery Awards, you'd be welcome.

My favorite subject to talk about, think about, and argue about is the Newbery Medal. That's why I'm glad that Nina Lindsay and Jonathan Hunt are back to work at School Library Journal's Heavy Medal blog. Recently, a Heavy Medal reader was concerned that the Newbery committee may not give enough consideration to books outside the category of middle grade fiction. Jonathan Hunt responded:

Sometimes, I wish ALSC would publish all of the books that got official nominations throughout the fall–or all of the books on the final ballot. The Medal and Honors tend to skew toward middle grade fiction (i.e. 4th-8th grade), but I think if we saw these kinds of lists we would be more pleased with the diversity of literature represented. Peter Sieruta told me that back in the day, they *did* publish these lists, but somewhere along the way it changed.

Yep, back in the day the preliminary Newbery and Calecott lists were published -- and they were extraordinarily informative. Everyone in the children's book world has heard me blather on and on (ad nauseum) about what an important role those lists played in my teenage years. I was already a Newbery Nerd at the time, so having access to the lists of nominated titles sent me into maximum overdrive. I obsessively hunted down as many of the books as I could -- buying a handful with my paper route money, but mostly tracking them down at the library. My world got bigger and bigger as I moved beyond my local library to discover other branches of the Detroit Public Library system...ordering books through interloan from the Main Library...and over time even traveling into the suburbs to find these books. It was really a growing up experience. And I'd never been exposed to so many wonderful books and authors in my life. Some of the books on those lists remain favorites to this day. Many of the authors I still follow.

Well, you've heard all this before.

But what you've probably never seen are the lists of titles nominated for the 1973 through 1976 Newbery Medals. To my knowledge, they are not printed anywhere else on the internet...so even though this next section of the blog is going to be lengthy, I think it's important to document this info on the net. Things have probably changed a lot in the Newbery nominating process in the past thirty years, but even back in the mid-seventies, you will get a sense of the "diversity of literature represented" on these preliminary lists. They include poetry, nonfiction, picture books, high-end YA novels, and even a few adult books (LIFE IS A LONELY PLACE; IN A BLUEBIRD'S EYE) that the committee thought deserved consideration for the Newbery.

It all started with this announcement in the October 1972 issue of SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:

For the first time in 50 years, the Newbery-Caldecott Committee of ALA has decided to publish lists of preliminary selections for the awards. The one-year experiment is designed to stimulate discussion of the merits of each title and to allow the membership to become more familiar with the best books published each year. The committee thinks that the experiment will aid the membership when it votes for the winners in December.

December?

Whatever the case, these were the books that were considered for the 1973 Newbery:

COCKLEBURR QUARTERS / Charlotte Baker
ONLY THE NAMES REMAIN / Alex W. Bealer
IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD / Judy Blume
DOODLE AND THE GO-CART / Robert Burch
THE HOUSE OF WINGS / Betsy Byars
THE MOUNTAIN OF TRUTH / Dale Carlson
DELPHA GREEN & COMPANY / Vera and Bill Cleaver
THE YEAR OF THE THREE-LEGGED DEER / Eth Clifford
ME AND THE EGG MAN / Eleanor Clymer
A TRICK OF LIGHT / Barbara Corcoran
FAR IN THE DAY / Julia Cunningham
WHEN THE WORLD’S ON FIRE / Sally Edwards
THIS STAR SHALL ABIDE / Sylvia Louise Engdahl
OH, LIZZIE! : THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH CADY STANTON / Doris Faber
BLACK PILGRIMAGE / Tom Feelings
THE DEATH OF “EVENING STAR” : THE DIARY OF YOUNG NEW ENGLAND WHALER / Leonard Everett Fisher
STICKS AND STONES / Lynn Hall
W.E.B. DUBOIS : A BIOGRAPHY / Virginia Hamilton
THE SECRET OF THE CRAZY QUILT / Florence Hightower
THE MAN WITHOUT A FACE / Isabelle Holland
LONGHOUSE WINTER / Hettie Jones
MOM, THE WOLF MAN AND ME / Norma Klein
FOG / Mildred Lee
THE FARTHEST SHORE / Ursula LeGuin
THE MAGIC MOTH / Virginia Lee
THE WITCH OF FOURTH STREET AND OTHER STORIES / Myron LeVoy
FROG AND TOAD TOGETHER / Arnold Lobel
THE IMPOSSIBLE PEOPLE : A HISTORY NATURAL AND UNNATURAL OF THINGS TERRIBLE AND WONDERFUL / Georgess McHargue
WHARF RAT / Miska Miles
THE TREASURE OF TOPO EL-BAMPO / Scott O’Dell
THE UPSTAIRS ROOM / Johanna Reiss
THE WATCHERS / Barbara Rinkoff
FREAKY FRIDAY / Mary Rodgers
THE WICKED CITY / Isaac Bashevis Singer
BLACKBRIAR / William Sleator
THE WITCHES OF WORM / Zilpha Keatley Snyder
DOMINIC / William Steig
TATU AND THE HONEYBIRD / Alice Wellman
THE FOG COMES ON LITTLE PIG FEET / Rosemary Wells
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A BRAVE BULL / Maia Wojciechowska

In the January 1973 issue of SLJ, the committee published this second list of titles also being considered:

THERE’S A PIZZA BACK IN CLEVELAND / Hope Campbell and Mary Anderson
THE ICE GHOSTS MYSTERY / Jane Louise Curry
PEOPLE OF THE DREAM / James Forman
JULIE OF THE WOLVES / Jean Craighead George
CROSS FIRE / Gail Graham
GHOST PADDLE / James Houston
DINKY HOCKER SHOOTS SMACK! / M.E. Kerr
CHILDREN OF VIETNAM / Betty J. Lifton and Thomas C. Fox
TEACUP FULL OF ROSES / Sharon Bell Mathis
UNDERGROUND MAN / Milton Meltzer
DEATHWATCH / Robb White

You'll note that the winning book, JULIE OF THE WOLVES, appeared on the second list, while all three of the Honors (FROG AND TOAD TOGETHER; THE UPSTAIRS ROOM; THE WITCHES OF WORM) appeared on the first.

Although originally intended as a "one-year experiment," the preliminary list for the 1974 Newbery was also published:

AMERICAN GHOST / Chester Aaron
THE CAT WHO WISHED TO BE A MAN / Lloyd Alexander
MILLS OF GOD / William Armstrong
IN THE COMPANY OF CLOWNS / Martha Bacon
THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS / John Bellairs
THE WINDS OF ALTAIR / Ben Bova
GILDAEN : THE HEROIC ADVENTURES OF A MOST UNUSUAL RABBIT / Emilie Buchwald
THE 18TH EMERGENCY / Betsy Byars
ME TOO / Vera and Bill Cleaver
THE WHYS AND WHEREFORES OF LITTABELLE LEE / Vera and Bill Cleaver
THE WAYFARERS TREE / Ann Colver and Stewart Graff
DREAMS OF VICTORY / Ellen Conford
THE DARK IS RISING / Susan Cooper
SHE, THE ADVENTURESS / Dorothy Crayder
NA-NI / Alexis Deveaux
BEYOND THE TOMORROW MOUNTAINS / Sylvia Louise Engdahl
UNDER THE HAYSTACK /. P.A. Engebrecht
GORILLA GORILLA / Carol Fenner
THE WOLF / Michael Fox
GOOD ETHAN / Paula Fox
AT THE MOUTH OF THE LUCKIEST RIVER / Arnold Griese
TIME AGO LOST : MORE TALES OF JAHDU / Virginia Hamilton
HEADS YOU WIN, TALES I LOSE / Isabelle Holland
CHILDREN OF MORROW / H.M. Hoover
GUESTS IN THE PROMISED LAND / Kristin Hunter
THE ENDLESS PAVEMENT / Jacqueline Jackson and William Perlmutter
IT’S NOT WHAT YOU EXPECT / Norma Klein
A PROUD TASTE FOR SCARLET AND MINIVER / E.L. Konigsburg
ZOO CONSPIRACY / Betty Levin
A WIND IN THE DOOR / Madeleine L’Engle
I WILL GO BAREFOOT FOR YOU ALL SUMMER / Katie Letcher Lyle
THE HOUSE ON PARCHMENT STREET / Patricia McKillip
SNOWBOUND / Harry Mazer
THE CRYSTAL NIGHTS / Michele Murray
FREDDY’S BOOK / John Neufeld
THE CRUISE OF THE ARCTIC STAR / Scott O’Dell
A DAY NO PIGS WOULD DIE / Robert Newton Peck
PATH OF HUNTERS : ANIMAL STRUGGLE IN A MEADOW / Robert Newton Peck
CALL ME HELLER, THAT’S MY NAME / Stella Pevsner
RASS / Bernice Rabe
IN SEARCH OF A SANDHILL CRANE / Keith Robertson
THE TRUTH ABOUT MARY ROSE / Marilyn Sachs
THE GENIE OF SUTTON PLACE / George Selden
THE MAGICIAN / Uri Shulevitz
RUN / William Sleator
TASTE OF BLACKBERRIES / Doris Buchanan Smith
THE VISIONARY GIRLS : WITCHCRAFT IN SALEM VILLAGE / Marion Starkey
THE REAL THIEF / William Steig
THE MALDONADO MIRACLE / Theodore Taylor
OPPOSITES / Richard Wilbur
WALKING AWAY / Elizabeth Winthrop
TAKERS AND RETURNERS / Carol Beach York

The second preliminary list was brief, but it had the eventual winner on it:

THE COURT OF THE STONE CHILDREN / Eleanor Cameron
A HERO AIN’T NOTHING BUT A SANDWICH / Alice Childress
THE SLAVE DANCER / Paula Fox
SUMMER OF MY GERMAN SOLDIER / Bette Greene
SWEETWATER / Laurence Yep

My head is still reeling with the thought of FREDDY'S BOOK (otherwise known as "that book about a kid trying to find the meaning of the F word") was ever given serious consideration.

Another year passed and the committee posted their 1975 nominations:

I’M NOBODY, WHO ARE YOU? / Mary Anderson
THE DEVIL’S STORYBOOK / Natalie Babbitt
THE SPIRIT IS WILLING / Betty Baker
HOW MANY MILES TO SUNDOWN? / Patricia Beatty
JENNY’S CORNER / Frederic Bell
BRIGHT CANDLES / Nathaniel Benchley
BLUBBER / Judy Blume
HUT SCHOOL AND THE WARTIME HOME-FRONT HEROES / Robert Burch
SOMEBODY GO AND BANG A DRUM / Rebecca Caudill
THE WORLD OF SAMUEL ADAMS / Donald Chidsey
I TELL A LIE EVERY SO OFTEN / Bruce Clements
GREENWITCH / Susan Cooper
WINDS OF TIME / Barbara Corcoran
THE CHOCOLATE WAR / Robert Cormier
THE SON OF THE LEOPARD / Harold Courlander
THE LOST FARM / Jane Louise Curry
FIDDLESTRINGS / Marguerite DeAngeli
WHERE THE ROAD ENDS / Ella Thorp Ellis
DUFFY’S ROCKS / Edward Fenton
GREENHORN ON THE FRONTIER / Ann Finlayson
WARLOCK OF WESTFALL / Leonard Everett Fisher
RETURN OF THE GREAT BRAIN / John Fitzgerald
WHY DON’T YOU GET A HORSE, SAM ADAMS? / Jean Fritz
PHILIP HALL LIKES ME. I RECKON MAYBE / Bette Greene
SISTER / Eloise Greenfield
M.C. HIGGINS THE GREAT / Virginia Hamilton
SLAKE’S LIMBO / Felice Holman
GLORY IN THE FLOWER / Norma Johnston
THE SON OF SOMEONE FAMOUS / M.E. Kerr
CONFESSIONS OF AN ONLY CHILD / Norma Klein
RATTLESNAKE CAVE / Evelyn Lampman
GOODBYE TO BEDLAM / John Langone
JASON AND THE MONEY TREE / Sonia Levitin
MAMA’S GHOSTS / Carol Lorenzo
FAIR DAY, AND ANOTHER STEP BEGUN / Katie Letcher Lyle
FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD / Patricia McKillip
DRIFTER / Daniel Mannix
LISTEN FOR THE FIG TREE / Sharon Bell Mathis
POOR JENNY, BRIGHT AS A PENNY / Shirley Murphy
THE JARGOON PARD / Andre Norton
LAVENDER-GREEN MAGIC / Andre Norton
CHILD OF FIRE / Scott O’Dell
SOUP / Robert Newton Peck
THE PERILOUS GARD / Elizabeth Marie Pope
FIGGS & PHANTOMS / Ellen Raskin
WINGS / Adrienne Rich
A BILLION FOR BORIS / Mary Rodgers
TRYING HARD TO HEAR YOU / Sandra Scoppettone
HOUSE OF STAIRS / William Sleator
TOUGH CHAUNCEY / Doris Buchanan Smithh
THE HAYBURNERS / Gene Smith
THE TRUTH ABOUT STONE HOLLOW/ Zilpha Keatley Snyder
WITCH OF THE CUMBERLANDS / Mary Jo Stephens
JOHN, COME DOWN THE BACKSTAY / Caroline Tapley
NONE OF THE ABOVE / Rosemary Wells
THE GIRL WHO CRIED FLOWERS / Jane Yolen
THE MAGIC THREE OF SOLATIA / Jane Yolen
MY GRANDSON LEW / Charlotte Zolotwo

Second preliminary list:

WHIRLWIND IS A GHOST DANCING / Natalia Belting
ME AND THE TERRIBLE TWO / Ellen Conford
THE OSTRICH CHASE / Moses Howard
THE SYCAMORE YEAR / Mildred Lee
CITY / David Macaulay
THE DOLLAR MAN / Harry Mazer
THE REAL ME / Betty Miles
C/O ARNOLD’S CORNERS / Suzanne Newton
OF NIGHTINGALES THAT WEEP / Katherine Paterson
DARK DREAMS / C.L. Rinaldo
KICK A STONE HOME / Doris Buchanan Smith

I just love those 1975 lists. The winner and all the Honors appear on the first preliminary list though, intriguingly, one honor MY BROTHER SAM IS DEAD by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier appears on neither list. But look at all the treasures here: M.E. Kerr and Sandra Scoppettone and Robert Cormier...an early book by Norma Johnston...TWO nominations for both Andre Norton and Jane Yolen (you'll note that it's not unusual for authors to have two noms in one year back then; nowadays few authors even published two books in a year)...a serious nonfiction book about mental illness (GOODBYE TO BEDLAM)...our first Katherine Paterson sighting....plus those always-fascinating titles by authors who got nominated for a Newbery with their very first book (hello, C.L. Rinaldo!) and then never published another. Who knows how their fortunes would have changed if they'd actually won?

The "one-time experiment," stretched to four years, but unfortunately ended after the publication of these preliminary lists for the 1976 Newbery:

WIZARD IN THE TREE / Lloyd Alexander
TO NOWHERE AND BACK / Margaret J. Anderson
REBELLION AT CHRSTIANA / Margaret Hope Bacon
THE FIGURE IN THE SHADOWS / John Bellairs
THE TERRIBLE THING THAT HAPPENED AT OUR HOUSE / Marge Blaine
JOHNNY MAY / Robbie Branscum
YEAR WALK / Ann Nolan Clark
RAMONA THE BRAVE / Beverly Cleary
THE GREY KING / Susan Cooper
THE CLOWN / Barbara Corcoran
BERT BREEN’S BARN / Walter D. Edmonds
THE GREEN HERO / Bernard Evslin
A PRIVATE MATTER / Kathryn Ewing
WHERE WAS PATRICK HENRY ON THE 29th OF MAY? / Jean Fritz
LIFE IS A LONELY PLACE / James Fritzhand
RUMBLE FISH / S.E. Hinton
NEW LIFE : NEW ROOM / June Jordan
IS THAT YOU, MISS BLUE? / M.E. Kerr
THE SECOND MRS. GIACONDA / E.L. Konigsburg
A GRIFFON’S NEST / Betty Levin
FUNNY BANANAS : THE MYSTERY IN THE MUSEUM / Georgess McHargue
STONEFLIGHT / Georgess McHargue
THE HUNDRED PENNY BOX / Sharon Bell Mathis
SATURDAY, THE TWELFTH OF OCTOBER / Norma Fox Mazer
A HEART TO THE HAWKS / Don Moser
GARDEN OF BROKEN GLASS / Emily Cheney Neville
Z FOR ZACHARIAH / Robert C. O’Brien
FROGS, TOADS, SALAMANDERS, AND HOW THEY REPRODUCE / Dorothy Hinshaw Patent
THE GHOST BELONGED TO ME / Richard Peck
FAWN / Robert Newton Peck
MADE IN WEST AFRICA / Christine Price
NAOMI / Bernice Rabe
THE TATTOOED POTATO AND OTHER CLUES / Ellen Raskin
LONG MAN’S SONG / Joyce Rockwood
HENRIETTA, THE WILD WOMAN OF BORNEO / Winifred Rosen
THAT WONDERFUL PELICAN / Jack Denton Scott
BELOW THE ROOT / Zilpha Keatley Snyder
CAT IN THE MIRROR / Mary Stolz
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GATE / Yuri Suhl
JENNIE JENKINS / Mark Taylor
SONG OF THE TREES / Mildred Taylor
THE DARK DIDN’T CATCH ME / Crystal Thrasher
THE FRIGHTENED FOREST / Ann Turnbull
A LITTLE DEMONSTRATION OF AFFECTION / Elizabeth Winthrop

Second preliminary list:

TUCK EVERLASTING / Natalie Babbitt
HOSEA GLOBE AND THE FANTASTICAL PEG-LEGGED CHO / Grayden Beeks
TO THE GREEN MOUNTAINS / Eleanor Cameron
TITANIA’S LODESTONE / Gail Hamilton
OF TIME AND OF SEASONS / Norma Johnston
IN A BLUEBIRD’S EYE / Anita Kornfeld
PYRAMID / David Macaulay
FAST SAM, COOL CLYDE, AND STUFF / Walter Dean Myers
THE WITCHES OF BARGUZIN / Kyra Wayne
DRAGONWINGS / Laurence Yep

People often gripe that TUCK EVERLASTING didn't win the Newbery. Well, there's the list of its competitors. THE GREY KING won and THE HUNDRED PENNY BOX and DRAGONWINGS were the Honors. But that year the winner could also have been a nonfiction volume (FROGS, TOADS, SALAMANDERS, AND HOW THEY REPRODUCE -- can you imagine that one winning?), a picture book (HENRIETTA, THE WILD WOMAN OF BORNEO), a second undeserved title by Ann Nolan Clark (can you imagine the griping if she'd won: "It was bad enough that she won in '53, but then she turned around and got another in '76!"), or one of several titles that are now completely forgottten, such as HOSEA GLOBE AND THE FANTASTICAL PEG-LEGGED CHO or THE WITCHES OF BARGUZIN.

These lists really do show the wide net that is cast by the Newbery committee -- and the broad diversity of titles that are considered for the award. Reading these lists of books, even now, can be a real education in children's books. Reading them "back in the day" (i.e. 1972-1975), when the awards had not yet been decided, trying to figure out which books might win, and developing a critical voice of my own, was a life-changing experience for me.

Bring back these preliminary lists, Newbery committee!

A whole new generation of critics, teachers, librarians, and kids should have the same experience of discovering the books -- and with the internet, there could be nationwide discussions about the Newbery nominees!


CALDECOTT PRESTIGE

Lists of Caldecott nominees were published for 1973 to 1976 as well, but I am not sure I have the complete lists here...nor the energy to type them all up. I'll leave that for a Caldecott enthusiast. What I did find in the file folder holding my old Newbery lists was a 1972 SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL called "Victim of Success? : A Closer Look at the Newbery Award" by Peggy Sullivan, an assitant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences. I remember seeing Ms. Sullivan's name on several articles "back in the day," but reading her article again today I found it dull and rather uninformative.

Two lines toward the end of her piece really stand out though:

Surely by this time, someone has noted that the Caldecott Awards have not been mentioned. I do not consider them similar to the Newbery in terms of controversy, even in terms of prestige.

Ouch.

Was that just Ms. Sullivan's personal view -- or did the Caldecott actually have less prestige than the Newbery back in 1972?

Do you think the Caldecott and Newbery are equally prestigious today?


FOR LITTLE HOUSE FANS

A couple weeks back, I blogged about some comments that Rebecca Webb posted regarding real-life locations from Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books. Her original remarks appeared on a children's book listserve way back in 1999.

I was delighted to get a note from Rebecca Webb the other day, stating that she's still alive and well and "had another nifty Laura adventure recently." You can read about it right here.


HARPERCOLLINS LIBRARY EDITIONS

Does anyone remember the old days of Harper books?

They were published in two editions -- a trade edition with a cloth cover and a "Harpercrest" library edition that had a shiny paper cover, often imprinted with the cover illustration on the binding. The library edition also had an ugly gold band around the spine, identifying the book as a HARPERCREST LIBRARY EDITION. The library editions were supposed to be sturdier, so they'd hold up better over many readings...but book collectors like me always hated those shiny covers and obtrusive gold stickers on the spine.

I'm not sure if the Harpercrest stickers are still used on the spine...or if the binding is much different from the trade editions. But I do know that library editions are still published. The other day I tried to purchase Terry Pratchett's new YA novel, I SHALL WEAR MIDNIGHT, but when the bookstore owner started to ring it up, she noted that the price ($17.89 instead of $17.99) indicated that this was the library edition. I looked at the binding, which was cloth and even had the title embossed on the front cover; the spine of the dj did not have the gold seal either. Yet the dustjacket said this was the library edition. Has anyone else run across this problem with the Pratchett book or any other recent Harper title?


THE WINNER

I recently blogged the following:

or Tom Angleberger (AKA Sam T. Riddleburger) of the Berger and Burger blog recently sent me a challenge. He asked: "Which current day kidlit author (not illustrator) was an animator on Nimh? Hint: his main character is rather loud."

I didn't know the answer, so asked for another hint.

Tom wrote back to add: "He wrote a bunch of funny poem books and more recently a series if graphic novels for kids. Also worked on Mulan, All Dogs Go to Heaven and Rockadoodle!"

Gregory K. responded with the correct answer:

For your trivia question, I'm going with David J. (D.J.) Steinberg, whose "loud" character is Daniel Boom.

Thanks for the answer, Gregory K!


FROM ENGROSSING TO GROSS

We've all had the experience of getting so engrossed in a book that the real world just fades away....

The other day I had some heavy reading to do, so stopped at 7-Eleven on the way home from work and got a Diet Coke with lots of ice from the pop machine. Then I started reading WICKED GIRLS, a novel-in-verse about the Salem witch trials by Stephanie Hemphill. As I read, I nursed my Diet Coke along, occasionally chomping on the ice (yes, I know that chewing ice is terrible for your teeth; yes, I know that diet soda is terrible for you in general) as I grew increasingly engrossed in the story.

When I finally set the book down, I looked into my paper cup and noticed one particularly large piece of ice that, unlike the rest, had not melted at all.

I fished it out and examined it:


It was the plastic spout from the pop machine.

Gross.

Have you ever been so engrossed in a book that you've not noticed a hunk of plastic paraphernalia in your Big Gulp? Have you ever let dinner burn or the bathtub overflow because you've been so involved in a novel?

Do you have any stories to share about being too engrossed in a book?

Share them here!

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