Changing Libraries, Changing Books, and Other Topics for Sunday Brunch

Are libraries about to start "thinking locally"? Has a beloved children's book figure regressed in time? Is that furniture-sized appliance with spools of tape actually a computer? And what new and forthcoming books are starting to get "buzz"? We consider all of these questions in today's Sunday Brunch.


OPPORTUNITIES FOR LIBRARIES

The Chinese word for "crisis" is composed of two characters. One stands for "danger" and the other represents "opportunity." I first read that over thirty years ago in THE SON OF SOMEONE FAMOUS by M.E. Kerr, an author who has continued teaching and entertaining me ever since.

Anyway, it seems to me that our libraries are about to face a crisis. Due to the popularity of e-books, the good old-fashioned BOOK (the kind with pages and a cover) appears to be going the way of the dinosaur. At least that's the case at the library where I work. On Friday I learned that, while the number of patrons coming into our library is increasing, the number of books being circulated is getting smaller and smaller. Ten years ago we circulated over 500,000 books per year. Last year we were down to 100,000 circulations. The experts say that we will eventually level off at 20,000 books circulating per year.

When I heard that, a siren and flashing neon light went off in my head ("Danger, Will Robinson!") and I pictured libraries following in the footsteps of the record stores and bookstores decimated by modern technology.

But remember the line about "danger AND opportunity..."?

The experts now tell us that one of the things that will save libraries is a switch in focus. Libraries will now find new life in archiving LOCAL history and events. My own library is already taking steps in this direction and I've heard that many others are following suit.

Strangely, just after attending a meeting about this future role for libraries, I returned to my office and found this book on my desk:



Published by the Marguerite de Angeli Library in Lapeer, Michigan, MICHIGAN'S MARGUERITE DE ANGELI includes biographical material, an interview/conversation from the author's 90th birthday celebration, family photographs, paintings, and material written for, but not included in, her novel COPPER-TOED BOOTS. It also contains a complete bibliography of de Angeli's work, noting where the original manuscripts for many of these books can be found.

I thought this was an excellent example of a library focusing on local resources. Let's face it, except for a few major figures, monographs about children's authors don't have much of a market. Marguerite de Angeli may have been one of the most notable children's writers of the twentieth century, but she's not particularly well-known these days except for her Newbery-winner, THE DOOR IN THE WALL, and perhaps two or three other titles. Yet researchers, writers, teachers, and critics will always have an interest in this author -- and who better to continue her legacy than the library in her hometown of Lapeer, Michigan? This may be one role that libraries will fill in coming years -- creating books, online exhibits, and historical archives about local children's authors who may otherwise be lost to history.


SPEAKING OF LOCAL HISTORY....

The other day I received an e-mail from a woman who had read my recent blog entry on author Palmer Brown. Cindy Z. said:

I don’t know much about him but he did live down the street from me when I was growing up. He gave my sister and I some of his books. He wrote inside the cover of each of the books, personalizing each of them for my sister and I, and drew beautiful unique watercolor artwork and signed them. I have three first edition books. Unfortunately the matching paper book jackets were damaged by smoke in a house fire that we had in 1999. But the books themselves survived and are in otherwise excellent condition.

Palmer Brown lived with his mother in a white stone house covered with ivy in the tiny little town of Oregon, Pennsylvania. [...] Long ago the town was called “Catfish”. Palmer Brown’s home was by the Oregon Hotel, which in later years has become Reflections Restaurant.

I think he gave us the books as a Christmas present because my mom told him how much we loved to read. I remember trick or treating at his house one year. He was very quiet and you never saw much of him or his mother. But they were very nice people, very pleasant and sweet.

Thank you, Cindy, for sharing these memories about the author of HICKORY and BEYOND THE PAW PAW TREES!

Cindy's note got me wondering if anyone else had a famous children's author as a neighbor. If so, did you get to know them? Did you read their books?

As a kid, I was so awed by authors that I could never imagine them living in regular neighorhoods...driving cars...going grocery shopping....

Although I now realize that yes, many writers live in regular neighborhoods and buy milk at the grocery store, I still tend to place them on pedestals.

Many years ago I had a pair of friends in this area. Over the years, I occasionally accompanied them as they visited the wife's childhood home where her parents still lived. One day someone mentioned the neighbor, Mrs. Blos. I said, "There's a children's writer named Joan Blos."

My friend said, "Yes, that's her. We grew up with her children. She won the Caldecott Award for one of her books."

(She meant the Newbery -- and the book was A GATHERING OF DAYS.)

I was so shocked to think that someone I knew grew up just across the street from a Newbery-winning writer! My friend said, "Some day I'll take you across the street to meet her." Alas, my friends soon moved to Chicago and evetnually got a divorce, so I never did have a personal meeting with this famous author.

Have you ever lived across the street or on the other side of the fence from a famous writer?


THE WASP WOMAN AND WEETZIE BAT

Speaking of literary connections: Last Sunday I wrote about actress Susan Cabot whose real-life experiences rivaled any of the B-movies she made in the 1950s. She dated King Hussein until he realized she was Jewish...she gave birth to a dwarf...she dabbled in drugs and even took her son's growth hormone medication...she became a recluse...and eventually the dwarf killed her with a barbell. The reason I wrote about her is that she once illustrated children's books, though I have been unable to find any of specific titles.

I still haven't been able to identify those books, but this week I did note an unusual literary coincidence.

Francesca Lia Block's latest book, PINK SMOG : BECOMING WEETZIE BAT features the eponymous character who made her debut in Block's 1989 debut novel and several subsequent books. In those stories Weetzie grows from a teenager to an adult. However in PINK SMOG we move back in time, meeting Weetzie when she was thirteen-year-old Louise. Reading this book I became intrigued by the character of Weetzie's father, who works in the field of B-movies. Knowing that some elements of these novels mirror Block's own life, I paid a visit to the imdb.com and discovered that Francesca's father, Irving Block, really did work in the field of B-movies.

In fact, he wrote the original stories for two movies starring Susan Cabot -- WAR OF THE SATELLITES and 1957's THE SAGA OF THE VIKING WOMEN AND THEIR VOYAGE TO THE WATERS OF THE GREAT SEA SERPENT.


ANOTHER CHARACTER GETS YOUNG

PINK SMOG works fairly well as a "prequel" to the "Weetzie Bat" series. However, I was recently unnerved when I discovered that another beloved children's book figure has also stepped back into time.

You have probably already heard this news, since it's been going on since 2009...but I knew nothing about it until this past week when I saw a reference to this book:


That's Amelia Bedelia? A kid getting off a school bus?

I thought Amelia Bedelia was a middle-aged maid, who looked like this:


Apparently she is both.

Amelia Bedelia was created by Peggy Parish, who based the character on a maid she once knew who always took comments literally. Introduced in 1963, this character starred in a dozen easy readers, sketching pictures of drapes when her employers told her to "draw the drapes" and sticking lightbulbs in the dirt when instructed to plant bulbs in the garden.

Peggy Parish died in 1988, but her nephew continued the series beginning with 1995's GOOD DRIVING, AMELIA BEDELIA.

However, in 2009 a major change took place in the series.

Instead of easy readers, the volumes are now often (though not always) presented in a picture book format...and, instead of being an adult maid, Amelia Bedelias is now a little girl.

The idea is that we're now reading about Amelia's childhood -- an idea that doesn't quite work since the stories don't appear to revisit an earlier time period and Amelia is dressed in very contemporary fashions.

It would be interesting to learn what kids think of this change in Amelia. Do they like her better as a kid? Can they relate to her more easily now?

I guess I'm old school.

There was something especially funny about seeing such a literal-minded adult...and it was comforting to see that, despite her "issues," Amelia Bedelia was so warmly regarded by her employers and friends. Now she seems just like just anohter silly, annoying kid and not nearly as individualized as she was in the adult volumes.

What do you think about this change in Amelia Bedelia?


SERIOUSLY, NOW....

It took many decades for the character of Amelia Bedelia to change.

It took less than a year before GO THE F*** TO SLEEP changed.


Of course you remember 2011's most scandalous d-- a lullabye book that contained such as verses as:

The cats nestle close to their kittens now.
The lambs have laid down with the sheep.
You’re cozy and warm in your bed, my dear
Please go the (bleep) to sleep.

The book has just been released in a new edition called SERIOUSLY, JUST GO TO SLEEP:


The illustrations have been slightly altered, and so has the text.

Here is the new version of the verse above:

The cats nestle close to their kittens,
The lambs have lain down with the sheep.
You're cozy and warm in your bed, my deaar.
Please, just this once, go to sleep.

Same intent, same overall meaning...but this time G-rated.

Though this version unlikely to get the same gut-level (often smirking and nodding) response from adults that the original edition did, this book can at least be brought into nurseries without the threat of a visit from Child Protective Services.


A GOREY COLLECTION

Do you collect books by Edward Gorey?

Last night I was watching ANTIQUES ROADSHOW and saw an appraisal for a colletion of Gorey books and stuffed figures that would make many children's book collector drool. Did you miss it? You can still catch it here.


BUT THAT'S NOTHING...

The $5000 value of that Gorey collection seems like peanuts when compared to the recent ROADSHOW appraisal of a signed first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's THE HOBBIT, which was valued at between $80,000 and $120,000. You can watch that video here.

Many people forget that THE HOBBIT was originally published as a children's book.


OLD SCHOOL COMPUTERS

Wandering through the library stacks this week, I came across an oldie by William D. Hayes -- HOLD THAT COMPUTER! Although I remember a few of the author's other books with fondness (PROJECT: GENIUS and PROJECT SCOOP), I had never read this title before. HOLD THAT COMPUTER! turned out to be a rather pedestrian effort -- a tired plot, flat dialogue, interchangable characters -- so it's hard to believe it was published by Jean Karl at Atheneum during the era of E.L. Konigsburg, Zilpha Keatley Snyder, and so many other luminaries. Of course at the time of publication, many kids were likely drawn to this title because of the topic, as baseball players Hank and his friends use the new school computer to figure out why they can't beat a rival team. The subject -- so new in 1968 -- is what really dates the book today, as the boys input info into a machine as big as a kitchen appliance hung with spools of tape. Predictably, it eventually blows up when facing off with another computer during the book's climax.

Although this book is almost forgettable (how forgettable? I had to go back and look up the name of the protagonist even though I just finished reading the book yesterday) it is rather notable as an early story about computers. Can anyone think of any other children's books from 1968 or earlier that dealt with computers? Of course there were a few nonfiction volumes, plus references to computers in science ficton novels, but I'm hard-pressed to think of any other realistic novels that touch on the topic. I did find one, OLLIE'S TEAM AND THE BASKETBALL COMPUTER by Clem Philbrook, published a year later by Hastings House. Funny that two of earlist children's books to feature computers also focused on sports. Nowadays kids seem to play all their games ON the computer, rather than using computers to help them play better on the field or the court.


AFTER EASTER SPECIAL

Well, it took a week of lunches to finish up all my Easter egg-salad. But the holiday is still not quite over. That's because blog-reader ChrisinNY reminded me of my failed promise to read THE WICKED ENCHANTMENT by Margot Benary-Isbert. During a previous Easter blog I mentioned that many books are set in the days and weeks leading up to Christmas -- and sometimes even leading up to holidays such as Thanksgiving and Halloween. But I could think of very few books set during the Easter season. At the time, Chris suggested the Benary-Isbert novel as a good example, but the seasons passed and I never got around to reading it. This past week Chris wrote to say, "Last year you asked if anyone knew of books that centered on Holy Week and I suggested this title. I actually reread it every year in the weeks approaching Easter, and wondered if you had ever tracked it down and read it? It has a real sense of taking place in another country/culture/time, but has a lot of humor and fun too. If you ever get a chance, try it." Well, I don't have to be told twice (actually, I DID have to told twice!), so this week I finally found a copy. I'll report back with my thoughts when I finish it, but at this point I'm really enjoying it. I believe this is the only fantasy that Margot Benary-Isbert wrote. She was mostly noted for writing realistic fiction about Germany during and after World War II. In fact, her best-known novel DIE ARCHE NOAH (published in the United States as THE ARK) was one of the first children's novels published in Germany after WWII. The book concerns a refugee family who turn an abandoned railway car into a home for themselves. The book was well-received by American critics though, from today's perspective, one wonders how any book about Germany and World War II could avoid mention of Nazis or the Holocaust...and the railway car seems a strange device considering how such cars were utilized during the war. Later books by Margot Benary-Isbert, such as DANGEROUS SPRING were much more unflinching in their portrayals of Nazism and the Hitler Youth. The author had experienced all these things first hand in Germany. Born in 1889, she was not allowed to publish anything between 1933 and 1945 because she refused to join the Nazi writers organization. In 1953, she and her family immigrated to the United States and became naturalized citizens. Her publishing career continued to flourish, although she continued to write in her native language and have the books tranlsated into English.


WHAT'S THE BUZZ?

Although we are only four months into 2012, I'm curious about what books have been getting a lot of "buzz." I don't necessarily mean great reviews (some haven't even been reviewed yet) but just lots of chatter among colleagues, on message boards, on Facebook, etc. Some of the titles I've been hearing a lot about include:

THE FALSE PRINCE by Jennifer Nielsen (I loved this one!)
STEP GENTLY OUT by Helen Frost and Rick Lieder (ditto! And my bookstore friend can't keep it in stock)
WONDER by R.J. Palacio
CROW by Barbara Wright
THE LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK by Kristin Levine
STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY by Grace Lin
TWELVE KINDS OF ICE by Ellen Obed
SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS by Sara Pennypacker
KEEPING THE CASTLE by Patrice Kindl
LIAR AND SPY by Rebecca Stead
SEE YOU AT HARRY'S by Jo Knowles (I'm hearing rapturous advance word)
TEMPLE GRANDIN by Sy Montgomery
CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein

Which titles are you hearing about?


THANKS

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

Sunday Brunch with Uncle Wiggily, The Wasp Woman, and "The Other Quimby"

Happy Easter. Happy Passover. Happy Spring. Hope everyone is having a good weekend. In the spirit of the season, today's blog looks back at a popular bunny book. We also reveal some board games inspired by children's books, share some programs from Newbery/Caldecott banquets, and consider a book with a holiday theme: Christmas! If you have a taste for the macabre, there are also mentions of "The Wasp Woman" and that vampire known as Jack Gantos.


A BUNNY BOOK

There is no shortage of bunnies in the world of children's books.

In fact, they sometimes seem to multiply like...well, rabbits.

There's Peter Rabbit, Br'er Rabbit, Thumper, Little Georgie from RABBIT HILL, and an entire warren of 'em in WATERSHIP DOWN. The current publishing season brings us MR. AND MRS. BUNNY, DETECTIVES EXTRAORDINARE by Polly Horvath.

One of the most enduring rabbit books for children never receives much critical attention, yet it will mark its fiftieth anniversary next year. As far as I know it has never been out of print in all that time. And if you check Amazon.com, you'll find well over one hundred reviews from enthusiastic fans who either remember the book from their own childhood or read it to their children today. I AM A BUNNY, a story in which a young rabbit observes the changing of the four seasons, features some of Richard's Scarry's finest illustrations. You'll note that the author's name does not even appear on the cover. The writer was Ole Risom, who also served as art director at Golden Books; the book's narrator, Nicholas, was based on Risom's own son Nicholas. Risom was born in Denmark, entered the publishing field in Sweden, and came to the United States in 1940. Serving in the U.S. Army in WWII, he met and married a German countess, then returned to this country where he worked for Golden Books from 1947 to 1972 and Random House from 1972 to 1990. In GOLDEN LEGACY, children's book historian Leonard Marcus refers to Ole Rissom as a "populist who took unabashed pride in devising book/toy hybrids that children enjoyed, whatever critics might say about them." He published many Golden Books based on movies, such as THE JUNGLE BOOK, as well as the first American scratch-and-sniff book, THE SMELL OF CHRISTMAS by Patricia Scarry (Richard's wife) in 1970. Ole Risom and Richard Scarry were best friends and Ole would eventually co-write a monograph, THE BUSY BUSY WORLD OF RICHARD SCARRY, published in 1997. Springboarding off the success of I AM A BUNNY, he also wrote several other similar Golden Books for children such as I AM A KITTEN, I AM A MOUSE, and I AM A FOX. None of those titles remains in print today, yet Nicholas-the-bunny is still hopping along nearly five decades since being introduced in 1963.


UNCLE WIGGILY -- IN CONNECTICUT AND EVERYWHERE

Another literary rabbit of renown is Uncle Wiggily Longears.

The creation of Howard R. Garis, Uncle Wiggily first appeared as the lead character in a children's story Garis published in the Newark News on January 10, 1910. For the next 37 years, Mr. Garis published six Uncle Wiggily stories in the newspaper every week -- over fifteen thousand in total. The stories were collected in nearly eighty volumes, beginning with UNCLE WIGGILY'S ADVENTURES in 1912 and featuring such volumes as UNCLE WIGGILY AND OLD MOTHER HUBBARD and UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE AUTO SLED:



Surprisingly, a few of the Uncle W books are still in print today, including UNCLE WIGGILY'S STORYBOOK:


In addition to writing the Uncle Wiggily books, Howard Garis and his wife Lillian both wrote for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, producing volumes for Tom Swift, the Bobbsey Twins, and many other lesser-known series.

Their son Roger wrote a 1966 biography of his dad, MY FATHER WAS UNCLE WIGGILY:


Just today, in writing this blog, I learned about a 2007 memoir written by granddaughter Leslie Garis called HOUSE OF HAPPY ENDINGS:


The book was given a starred review by Publishers Weekly, which said:

In this spellbinding memoir of green moments and gray ones, Garis chronicles how, in this book-reading, music-playing and, most importantly, loving family of writers, her grandmother went from being a vibrant woman to a recumbent recluse and how the years damaged her father, who seemed perfect; her beautiful mother; and her adorable brothers. You can't turn away from the truth because it's lurid and jarring, her playwright father advises. In lesser hands, the quarrels, litigation and violence that surface might control the narrative, but even as the family copes with disappointment, financial stress, nervous breakdowns, physical illness and death, Garis's capacity for conveying the family's vibrancy and vigor trumps. Garis's remarkable accomplishment in this memoir is to convey the normal, the enviable and the gothic with unsentimentalized affection, grace and painful honesty in her grandparents' writing against the harsh realities of their family life.

Sounds fascinating. I just ordered a copy of the book this morning.


BOOKS BECOME GAMES

I imagine that one of the reasons the UNCLE WIGGILY STORYBOOK remains in print is because the name "Uncle Wiggily" has become part of popular culture...and one of the reasons that name remains known is because of the Uncle Wiggily board game, which was first released in 1916 by Milton Bradley. Over the years there have been several variations in the game itself, as well as in the packaging:







You can tell that last example is one of the most recent, as it includes the usual modern-day warning of the small game pieces being a "choking hazard" for kids. I wonder if, between the game's first incarnatiion in 1916 and whenever this warning appeared, any kids actually DID choke on one of the game pieces....

Seeing Howard Garis' name displayed so prominently on the box made me wonder if any other children's books inspired board games.

My first thought was that games don't usually appear until after a children's book becomes a movie. For example, when I was a kid some of our neighbors had these games based on the then-current movie version of MARY POPPINS. I particularly liked the first one because it featured a spinning device. You'd insert the characters into slots in a plastic holder and then they'd slowly spin down a grooved plastic mechanism.



And it's true that there are board games (and now computer and Playstation games) based on books-into-movies such as WINNIE-THE-POOH and CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, but upon further research I was surprised to learn there have also been games that seemed to be inspired -- not by a movie, but by the original books.

This 2003 CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY board game has Roald Dahl's name on the cover and features illustrations by Quentin Blake:


And who knew there was a 1933 Parker Brothers board game based on Winnie-the-Pooh?



Now if you were going to base a board game on any Newbery winner, which title would you choose?

Maybe THE WESTING GAME? Or perhaps you'd send Claudia and Jamie through the Metropolitan Museum of the arts in search of an original Michelangelo in a FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES game?

...But would you believe that there was actually a game based on the very first Newbery winner, 1922's THE STORY OF MANKIND by Hendrik Van Loon?



Thanks to internet friend Sarah H. who tipped me off to this vintage board game some months ago. I understand it sells for about $200 these days. I've never seen a copy myself. Have you?


EASTER BANQUET

Incidentally, when Hendrik Van Loon accepted that first Newbery in 1922, the American Library Association conference was held here in Detroit. Although Van Loon delivered an acceptance speech for the award, there is no written record of what he said. I don't know if there was an actual "banquet" for the award back then, but in later years there would be.

As a Newbery buff, I am an avid collector of the programs given out at these banquets and have quite a few in my library -- though still less than half the amount one of my fellow collectors has. But I'm working on it!

A couple weeks ago, just as I got my income tax refund, a bookseller contacted me about seven Newbery/Caldecott programs she had for sale.

There went part of my tax refund!

Actually, two of the seven I already owned, but I bought them anyway -- for future trading!

These are the brand new ones I added to my library.

A bland 1962 (Newbery winner THE BRONZE BOW by Elizabeth George Speare, Caldecott winner ONCE A MOUSE by Marcia Brown) program:


1963's is very nice, especially since this was the year that two especially popular titles won the award:


Inside is a tribute to Frederic G. Melcher, who had died earlier that year. One of the last letters he ever wrote was to Madeleine L'Engle, congratulating her on winning the Newbery:


The 1966 program contains a signed block print from Nonny Hogrogian (it's signed in pencil so hard to see on this scan) and a signed message from Elizabeth Borton De Trevino:


The program from 1968 contains a signed print from Ed Emberley:


What makes my copy of the 1978 banquet program especially interesting is that it's autographed by Beverly Cleary: "Love to the Harriet -- the other Quimby." Harriet Quimby worked for the American Library Association and her name appears on some of the other materials.


Here is the cover of the 1980 program, which honored Joan Blos for A GATHERING OF DAYS, Barbara Cooney for THE OX-CART MAN and Dr. Seuss for his entire career:


And looked what I noticed on the back cover. Sitting at the Head Table (lower tier) was Ole Risom, author of I AM A BUNNY!


My friend who also collects these programs asked if I thought the American Library Asscociation kept an archive of these materials. You'd think so, right? I mean they are librarians. But I would not be surprised to learn that the ALA (which I find lax in so many matters) does not actually have an official collection of such materials. I hope I am wrong.

ALL TUCKERED OUT ON EASTER

This past December I asked people to name their favorite holiday books -- titles they read over again every Christmas. Several mentioned THE COTTAGE HOLIDAY, a book in "The Tuckers," series. The Tuckers were featured in nine novels and a handful of storybooks published by Whitman in the early 1960s. These were the types of book usually sold in dimestores and giftshops for a dollar or so. The author was "Jo Mendel," actually a pseudonym for Gladys Baker Bond, who was born in 1912 and (has anyone seen obituary?) may still be alive and approaching her hundredth birthday. The other writer was Mildred Gilbertson, who usually wrote under the name Nan Gilbert and she lived from 1908 to 1988.

Here is the complete series of Tucker novels, followed by the the name of its author:

The Wonderful House, 1961
The Special Secret, 1961, Bond
The Adventures of Plum Tucker, 1961, Gilbertson
Trouble on Valley View, 1961, Gilbertson
The Cottage Holiday, 1962
Tell a Tale of Tuckers, 1962, Gilbertson
Here Comes a Friend!, 1963, Bond
The Turn-about Summer, 1963, Gilbertson
That Kitten Again!, 1964, Bond

I cannot find a reference to who wrote the first book, and both Bond and Gilbertson claim credit for THE COTTAGE HOLIDAY in different reference books.

When so many people recommended THE COTTAGE HOLIDAY, I found an copy online and planned to read it on Christmas break, but you know how that works out. You get busy and suddenly it's Easter! But in honor of blog readers Linda, Bybee, and others who suggested it, I finally read it this weekend. Some of the earlier Tucker books I've read have featured multiple viewpoints between the five children in the family: eleven-year-old Tina, male/female twins Terry and Merry, seven-year-old Penny and young Tom. THE COTTAGE HOLIDAY is written entirely the perspective of Penny -- the "sickly" member of the family who often finds herself left behind on family activities. But it's Penny's idea for the family to spend Christmas vacation at Lake Annabelle (also the summer setting for HERE COMES A FRIEND!) and the book explores the Tuckers' adventures -- there's a cougar loose in the woods and a baby abandoned in a trailer on the side of the road -- as well as Penny's growing independence, bravery and self-empowerment, as she experiences new challenges and learns to accept the help of others cheerfully (some may say too cheerfully; the Tuckers are sometimes a bit too good to be true.) On a sentence-by-sentence basis, the writing is pedestrian -- sometimes downright clunky ("To skate was fun!") but it's also well-paced and emotionally satisfying. Though this kind of warm family story can seem dated, the Christmas setting (the Tuckers decorate a tree outside with lights and "baubles"), the "nice" sibling dynamics, and the many descriptions of meals and meal preparations combine to make this what a friend of mine calls a "cozy book" -- the type of story you enjoy reading because you want to be a member of the Tucker family for a little while. I can easily see why so many people re-read this book every December. I might do so next December as well. But it's also fun to read it in the spring, as I did...because the winter setting is so convincing portrayed that, during the few hours I was reading THE COTTAGE HOLIDAY, Eastertime turned into Christmas.


MY EASTER BOOK, SHE IS BEAUTIFUL!

THE COTTAGE HOLIDAY is not the only book I've been reading this week. In fact, I have a whole stack of them. I just started reading an adult novel, THE BEGINNER'S GOODBYE by Anne Tyler, one of my favorite writers. It just came out this week and I thought that reading it would be the perfect way to spend Easter weekend.


I've only read a couple chapters, but so far I'm enjoying it. However, I had to laugh at a typo on the backflap.

When I was a kid, there was a convention in sitcoms and bad movies to have comic characters from foreign countries as supporting character or guest stars. Seems like every time I turned on a TV show in the sixties or seventies, the characters would receive word that "Uncle So-and-so" was coming for a visit. Uncle So-and-so was usually a big, boisterous guy with a mustache who'd throw his arms around and announce "Life, she is beautiful!" or "Your house, she is magnificent!" or "The United States, she is my favorite country in the world!"

Anyway, I was reading the backflap of THE BEGINNER'S GOODBYE yesterday aand noticed this:


I guess Uncle So-and-so liked America so much that he finally stayed -- and found a job writing author blurbs on dustjackets!


WHO WAS THE WASP WOMAN AND WHAT CHILDREN'S BOOKS DID SHE ILLUSTRATE?

This story is as over-the-top and bizarre as a B-movie.

That makes sense, since the story has connections to a B-movie.

The film in question is the Roger Corman shlocky shocker THE WASP WOMAN, about a cosmetics company executive who, fearful of losing her youthful looks, begins injecting herself with royal jelly from a queen wasp. What happens next?Just read the movie's tagline: "A beautiful woman by day -- a lusting queen wasp by night!"

Love the illustration used in the ad!

What makes this story especially intriguing is the actress who played "The Wasp Woman."

Susan Cabot was her name and her LIFE was something of a B-movie!

She never made it big in Hollywood (she mostly made B-westerns) but her personal life would probably merit her a reality TV show today.

Married twice, she also dated King Hussein of Jordan...until he discovered she was actually Jewish (born Harriet Shapiro in Boston, 1927.)

In the early sixties Susan gave birth to her only child, Timothy.

He was a dwarf.

Growing up Tim took a human growth hormone to help his condition.

His mother, who was by then no longer acting and becoming increasingly unstable, began taking the growth hormone as well, which only added to her mental problems.

In 1986, Tim called the police saying that a man dressed in a Ninja costume had broken into the house he shared with his mother. Susan Cabot was found bludgeoned to death in her bed, under a mirrored ceiling. Eventually the police figured out that there was no Ninja. Tim had killed his own mother and hidden the murder weapon -- an exercise weight -- in a box of detergent.

During Timothy's trial there was some confusion about his parentage. (Some said King Hussein was his father, but actor Christopher Jones claimed he was the real father. Apparently both were wrong and Susan's second husband actually was the father.) Tim's lawyer also said that the human growth hormone taken by his client was known to cause mental issues. So Tim ended up receiving a three-year suspended sentence and being placed on probation.

So, you're probably wondering: what in the world does this have to do with children's books?

Well, according to nearly every biographical sketch I've found about Susan Cabot, when she was first starting off in show business, "she illustrated children's books by day" while singing in nightclubs at night. Yet I've been able to find no references to any children's books illustrated by Susan Cabot AKA Harriet Shapiro.

Have you seen any?

What children's books were illustrated by The Wasp Woman?


NOTHING LIKE A DAME

Finally, I couldn't let Easter go by without telling you about a holiday party you would NOT want your kids to attend.

This pasat week I came across this book in the children's section of the library where I work:


I don't think the book is really written for child readers, but is rather about children. Apparently "Dame Curtsey" was a persona adopted by Ellye Howell Glover, who wrote books about cooking, entertaining and etiquette early in the twentieth century.


This particular volume contains instructions for all kinds of elaborate parties one can throw for children. Needless to say, the entire enterprise is very dated. Some of the parties even segregate activities by sex, allowing boys to play and girls to be the timekeepers or cheering squad.

There are instructions for several Easter parties in the book, but this one is my favorite:

A Jolly Easter Party

The invitations to this pretty party were issued in a unique way. Wee baskets, each containing an egg tied in the middle, carried the following neatly written message:

Lillian Whiting
33 Chestnut Street,
Easter Party,
Monday, April 12, 1944,
2:30 to 6.
Egg Rolling,
Rabbit Hunt,
Lots of fun.

The names of the children invited were written on Easter cards tied to the handles with white and yellow ribbon. Partners for refreshments were found by matching eggs of the same color. The ice cream was in the form of yellow chicks on nests of green spun sugar candy. The best of all was the rabbit hunt, which took place just before the children went home. Real live rabbits (one for each child) were in a screened corner of the porch in straw and leaves; the children went one at a time and took a bunny by it ears, put it in a little covered basket, and took it home.

Can you imagine such a party today? With kids coming home carrying live bunnies in baskets? The mind boggles!


THANKS

Many thanks to the readers of Collecting Children's Books. I especially appreciated the kind words about last Sunday April Fool's blog. It was a blast to work on that one and I could hardly wait to post it last weekend. I also participated in another April Fool's hoax last week. I wrote and illustrated (well, photoshopped) a piece about a new series called "Vamped-up Newberys": which appeared on the Horn Book's site last Sunday. If you haven't seen it yet, you can visit by clicking here. It's fun to write blogs for various holidays, like today's Easter entry, but the funnest ones to write are the April Fool's Day blogs! Thanks for visiting. Hope you'll be back soon!

A Sunday Brunch with All the News That's Fit to Blog

Children's books have really been in the news this week!

Needless to say, a lot of media coverage has centered on THE HUNGER GAMES, which is breaking records at the box office. We too have several HUNGER GAMES stories to share, as well as news reports on an upcoming picture book from a political wife, a re-release of a young adult novel from the seventies, a new study on the popularity of various Newbery winners, and a tragic tale about the loss of a beloved children's book icon. Read on for a round-up of recent children's book news stories, presented Sunday Brunch style.


REAL LIFE HUNGER GAMES PLOT FOILED

Cuts in library budgets. An overworked public servant. A popular children's book, recently made into a major motion picture.

These three components came together last week in a near-tragic incident that resulted in the arrest of a beloved children's librarian.

Delores Clemmons, 38, was head children's librarian at the Collingswood, Colorado Public Library. Popular with both young patrons and their parents, Clemmons was known for afterschool programs such as "Westing Game Mini-Mysteries," "Sew Your Own Joseph's Little Overcoat," and every Christmas Eve she would dress up as a train conductor and take young library patrons on an imaginary trip aboard the Polar Express.

However, city budget cuts for fiscal year 2011-2012 resulted in Clemmons' staff being reduced from four full-time librarians and six part-time paraprofessionals, to one librarian -- Clemmons herself -- and two teenaged book shelvers.

Clemmons (shown below in an unrepentant arrest photograph) has become a fixture at Collingswood City Council meetings over the past year, complaining of overwork and demanding increased staffing. Her parting words at last week's Council meeting -- "We either need a bigger staff or fewer young patrons!" -- seem particularly chilling in light of what would happen several days later. To celebrate the release of the new movie, Clemmons planned a Friday night "Hunger Games Party" in the basement of her library. Children between the ages of five and twelve were invited to dress as their favorite character from the book. When they arrived, Clemmons locked the children in the basement with hunting bows and arrows, razor-tipped lawn darts, and flame throwers, as well as an assortment of loaded firearms. Fortunately, Collingswood Police -- contacted by a Facebook friend of Clemmons -- were able to break down the doors and remove the weapons before any children were hurt.

"Social networking saved those kids!" declared Police Chief Dan Landale.

In the days leading up to the Hunger Games Party, Ms. Clemmons had posted a number of disturbing messsages on her Facebook wall, including:

CALL ME KATNISS!

ONE LIBRARIAN + 2000 PATRONS = MADNESS!

JUST THINK OF IT AS "THINNING THE HERD."

AND YOU THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A GAME!

Concerned by these messages, Ms. Clemmons' Facebook friend contacted authorities just minutes before the party was to begin.

Delores Clemmons is currently being held without bail at the Collingswood City jail, charged with child endangerment and conspiracy to commit murder. Her lawyers are seeking a plea bargain, but the librarian says she is ready and willing to go to prison and looks forward to possibly working in the prison library and organizing events such as ground-digging/tree-planting parties inspired by the children's book HOLES.


A NEW HUNGER GAMES BOOK

No, Suzanne Collins does not plan a fourth book to her very popular series...but the success of the movie version has inspired a coloring book based on the novels. "Why should older kids have all the fun?" asks Richard Deeth, vice-president of marketing for Colormore Coloring Books. "Kids five and under may be too young to read the books or see the movies, but there's no reason they can't 'Color Along with Katniss.'"


Mom-of-two Jackie Oberg has a different perspective on the issue, stating, "Preschoolers are too young for all that blood and gore," but Deeth countered by asking if she'd even looked at the coloring book "which contains many character studies and lovely pastoral landscapes."

Oberg then asked why the accompanying "Hunger Games Crayon Set" was issued with every crayon a different shade of red, all labeled with names such as Plasma, First Blood, Splattered Scarlet, Transfusion Red, and Type O Negative.


Deeth stated that it's not unusual for Colormore to release boxes of only color tone, pointing out the recent set of gray crayons that accompanies the company's new coloring book based on the internet literary sensation, FIFTY SHADES OF GREY.


ONE LAST HUNGER GAMES STORY

Perhaps the biggest controversy surrounding this week's release of the HUNGER GAMES movie had nothing to do with the film's violence. It turns out that some fans were upset by the movie's depiction of Roo, a young participant in the Hunger Games ceremony. "She didn't look like I expected," tweeted one, adding, "and I think you know exactly what I mean!"

Several other viewers took to Twitter with complaints that usually began, "Don't call me a bigot, but...."

One Twitter user finally said it straight out: "I pictured Roo being a blonde-haired, blue-eyed little girl. I never dreamed they'd cast this part with a male kangaroo!"


The young actor playing this role is disappointed in the reaction "from a few bad apples," but says the majority of moviegoers have been nothing but supportive. Roo (shown on the left with actress mother Kanga in an earlier, undated photo) said times have been rough since he outgrew the Winnie the Pooh movie franchise some years ago. "I was thinking of chucking my acting career and heading off to Australia or someplace," says Roo, now basking in great reviews for his comeback performance in the year's hottest film. "If a few of the book's fans feel I don't have the right 'physical appearance' for the role, they can bite me. I thought we'd outgrown the era when actors were judged by the color of their pelt. Look around yourselves, folks. I mean, there's nothing wrong with blonde, blue-eyed girls, but thank goodness our world is filled with a lot more variety than that!"


OF COURSE HE'D LIKE IT

However, those who do have an interest in blonde, blue-eyed girls can still find one hanging out on the cover of Fran Arrick's 1978 young-adult novel, STEFFIE CAN'T COME OUT TO PLAY.

One of the first YA novels to deal with the subject of teenage prostitution, the novel was a groundbreaker in 1978 and still speaks to youth today, according to publisher Deb McClain-Volson, who has just re-issued the book for twenty-first century readers, along with a cover blurb from an individual known for his strong feelings on the subject:



BAN THE HOODIE FOR GOODIE?

Meanwhile, Limbaugh's colleague Geraldo Rivera stuck his foot in his mouth this week when he advised young people to avoid wearing "hoodies."

Spurred on by Geraldo's remarks, thousands of Fox News viewers mounted a "ban the hoodie" campaign and directed it at an unlikely enemy: children's books.

In a petition to several major publishers, Fox viewers demanded a number of high profile novels have their texts altered and illustrations changed to eliminate hoodies from the pages of children's books. Favorite characters who could be affected by this petition include Harriet M. Welsch:


and Ramona Quimby:


Needless to say, Harriet and Ramona are two of the most formidable children's book protagonists of all time.

Something tells us that the Fox crowd have picked the wrong kids to tangle with!


HAS THE NEWBERY FOUND ITS WAY AFTER ALL?

The question that has confounded children's book critics for generations may finally be answered: do children really like books that have won the Newbery Medal? Past criticism has centered around the award winners being appreciated much more by adults than by young readers. However, a new poll from KidReadUSA -- the first of its kind -- may stand conventional thinking on its ear. According to this poll of 3000 grade school kids who characterize themselves as "average to compulsive readers" ("average" being described as "reading 2 to 4 books per month" with "compulsive readers" reading "between 12 to 1800 books per month"), the Newbery books are among the most popular volumes being read by youngsters today. Which Newbery titles are their very favorites? According to the poll, which ranked the individual titles from first to last, the #1 favorite among young readers is the 1966 winner I, JUAN DE PAREJA by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino. As Melinda W., age 8, said, "If I have to choose between a book cover that shows a boy playing with his dog, or a couple girls talking, or a grown-up man with a mustache and pantaloons...well, I'm always going to choose the man with the pantaloons." Danny G., age 10, stated, "You can never go wrong with a book by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino -- and this may be the very best!" Kristin K., age 6, said, "Stories about modern kids having problems at school and home are okay, but I always prefer a good novel about a thirty-five-year-old illegitimate slave serving a Spanish artist like Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez."

The #2 favorite in the poll was 1928 winner GAY-NECK : THE STORY OF A PIGEON by Dhan Gopal Mukerji. According to Matt S., age 11, "Some kids like boy-and-dog stories. Me, I like a good boy-and-pigeon story!" Another reader, Morgan Y., age 11, said, "Some of the Newbery books tend to stretch credibility. Kids running away to a museum? A dead kid living in a graveyard? C'mon. For me there's nothing better than a good, ol' realistic story told in first-person by a pigeon." Finally, Heather A., age 5, had this to say: "Gay-neck's insights into India's caste sysem are fascinating!"

Rounding out the top three favorites among average-to-compulsive readers is SECRET OF THE ANDES by Ann Nolan Clark, which won the Newbery in 1953. Of this book, Jacob C., age 9, said, "Llama herders living alone in Peru? It doesn't get more exciting than that!" Boyd M., age 8, reported, "A lot of people pre-judge this book because it beat out CHARLOTTE'S WEB for the Newbery. My advice? Read the book! By the time you get done with SECRET OF THE ANDES, you'll be saying, Charlotte WHO?" Perhaps Katherine R., age 12, summed it up best when she said, "Who doesn't love a 'SECRET'?"


THE GROWING THREAT OF SELZNICK SYNDROME

This is Bobby.

Bobby has Selznick Syndrome.


You've never heard of this condition?

You will soon.

Selznick Syndrome has increased by 300% during 2011 and, experts predict, it may double yet again by the end of this year.

Bobby, like thousands of other children in the United States, suffered a broken arm when he attempted to lift Brian Selznick's WONDERSTRUCK off the picture book shelf at his local public library.

"It was the fifth time this year that we've had to call EMS for a child who tried to read a Brian Selznick book," reports Richard Warrington, children's librarian at the Peoria, Illinois main library. "Folks, there's a reason that picture books traditionally had very few pages. Children's bones are not fully-formed and they don't have the strength to hold such heavy books. It was bad enough that THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET was 533 pages. Two of our young patrons broke their arms just carrying the book to the circulation desk. Then WONDERSTRUCK came out this year and it's over 600 pages! One little girl put the book in her backpack and is now hospitalized with a broken spine."

Because of the high incidence of injury associated with Selznick's books, many libraries will not allow children under ten to borrow these volumes without bringing in either a muscular parent or a wheeled cart to transport the book home.



PEEPY, WE HARDLY KNEW YEE

For years now, award-winning author Lisa Yee has traveled with a special mascot in tow -- the much-loved Peepy.


Peepy has many friends and fans in the children's book community, ranging from ORIGAMI YODA author Tom Angleberger:


to Newbery winners Richard Peck and Avi:


And then of course there is Peepy's BFF (Best Friend FOREVER), Judy Blume:


So it's with a heavy heart that we report the sad news that Peep met her maker this past week during the author's visit to Sarah Palin Grade School in Dayton, Ohio.

"I'd been invited to the school to discuss my novels MILLICENT MIN, GIRL GENIUS and WARP SPEED," sobbed Yee, "and of course I brought Peepy with me, never realizing it might be her...her last school visit. I handed her to the students, saying, 'I'd like you to meet Peepy' and the next thing you know, Peepy was...gone!"

"So I misunderstood her. Big deal!" said fifth-grader Tommy Dumbas. "Meet, eat...they sound a lot alike. Hey, it's Eastertime. I thought she was passing out candy!"

"We couldn't believe it!" exclaimed Tommy's classmate Kaylee Johnston. "Mrs. Watson told us to use our best 'company manners' when Ms. Yee visited, but Tommy never listens in class, which is why he got a D in behavior last semester AND got sent to the office twice this year."

A memorial service for Peepy was held in the school library during lunch period. Weepy Peepy owner Lisa Yee thanked Mr. Harnell's shop class for making a special bunny-sized casket for her big-earred yellow companion, whom she tearfully described as "my pal...my mascot...my, as Philip Pullman would say, daemon."


However Yee cheered up considerably when the students pooled their milk money and class president Kaylee Johnston walked over to the local K-Mart during recess and purchased a new Peepy for the visiting author.

"Big deal!" said Tommy Dumbas. "If they'd just waited till next Monday they could have gotten it for half-price when all the Easter junk goes on sale."

In a kind gesture of forgiveness, Lisa Yee later presented Tommy Dumbas with an autographed copy of her newest book -- and said it was "most likely a mistake" that she misspelled his last name in the inscription.


FROM THE "WHO REALLY CARES?" DEPARTMENT

Why is that every politician's wife thinks she needs to write children's books? Laura Bush...Lynne Cheney...Callista Gingrich. Now Ann Romney, wife of aspiring GOP presidential candidate joins their ranks with SEAMUS GOES ON VACATION!


"The book is based on a real-life incident involving the Romneys' dog Seamus," said publisher Harvey Cooper, who recently inked the half-million deal with Ms. Romney. "It's about a dog who's a bit..put out...by the fact that he has to travel in a cage on top of a car, but eventually learns he's got 'best seat in the house' -- or, as Ann's lovely rhymes tell us:

Sitting on a rooftop is the very best place to be,
To view the good old USA, from sea to shining sea."

Asked if the book was an attempt to rehabilitate the Romney family image after the political fallout from, you know, sticking a big dog in a little cage and then chaining the cage to the roof of a speeding car and traveling several hours until the dog gets sicks out of both ends, publisher Cooper simply said, "Pshaw."

He added, "We could take a real loss on this book. If Mitt gets elected in November, it could be a bestseller. But if he loses...well, expect to see SEAMUS GOES ON VACATION! at a remaindered store near you for $1.98 by Thanksgiving."


AND SPEAKING OF GIVING THANKS....

Thanks, as always, for visiting Collecting Children's Books. Hope you enjoyed the April Fool's Brunch!