Sunday Brunch with Two Helpings of Lois Lowry

Today's Sunday Brunch suggests some good informational books about the Newbery and Caldecott Awards, looks at two new books by Lois Lowry, and explains why you may want to watch (or skip) tonight's CELEBRITY APPRENTICE.


CONGRATS

Julie Danielson, of the Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog and (along with Elizabeth Bird) one of my co-writers for the forthcoming Candewick book, is now blogging for Kirkus Reviews. Check out her first Kirkus column.


WILL GARY BUSEY AND STAR JONES GET IN A SHOVING MATCH?

If you're one of my Facebook friends (and if you aren't, feel free to "friend" me), you'll notice that all the TV series I've "favorited" on my FB page are reality shows.

Yeah, I'm a reality show addict.

One friend calls them "staged." Another calls these shows "trainwreck TV." They're both right to an extent, but I still can't stop watching. Personally, I think reality TV provides a lot of insight into human behavior, which is shown at its best, worst, and (especially) most contradictory, on these shows.

Last Sunday Donald Trump returned with a new season of CELEBRITY APPRENTICE.

According to SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL's website, tonight's episode of CELEB APPRENTICE will either be a "don't miss" or "don't watch" episode for children's book fans:

Margery Cuyler, the publisher of Marshall Cavendish Children's Books, will appear in the episode alongside a star-studded cast that includes Gary Busey, La Toya Jackson, David Cassidy, and Dionne Warwick -- all of whom battle it out for their favorite charities.

The episode will focus on what most of us would consider a dream assignment --children's literature -- as Cuyler, an author and publisher of the Marshall Cavendish imprint, along with actress Robin Holly, judge two teams of celebrities as they author an original picture book.

Okay, first of all, since I seem to be the only blogger in the world not making an income from my blog and I'm poor as a church mouse (see Lois Lowry entry below), would SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL like to hire me as a copy editor for their website? Margery Cuyler is not going to appear alongside David Cassidy, as he got the heave-ho last week. And who the heck is "Robin Holly"? I think they meant "Holly Robinson." Call me, SLJ, I work cheap.

But I digress....

As mentioned earlier, the children's book competition on tonight's Trump show has both positive and negative ramifications.

On the plus side, it's great to see children's books discussed on any prime-time TV show. And it will be nice to see a noted publisher such as Margery Cuyler get some attention.

On the minus side, I hate to see any program promote the idea that anyone (even Gary Busey!) can write a children's book, or that such an endeavor can be completed in a number of hours, as opposed to the weeks, months, and sometimes years required to create a "real" children's book.

Remember, this is not the first time the APPRENTICE has dabbled in children's books. A few years ago, when Martha Stewart hosted her own version of this show, the contestants also competed in a challenge to write a children's book for Random House. The resulting book was even published:


PUBLISHERS WEEKLY called it "a true insult to children's book authors, illustrators and booksellers."


RERUN

Okay, THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE is not the best place to find emerging literary talent...but could television be used to discover the next Katherine Paterson or Maurice Sendak?

A couple years ago I wrote a blog containing my idea for a children's book reality show. Since it fits in with the current discussion, I'm rerunning...er, repeating...it in today's column:

I once had a discussion about reality TV with a former friend who had worked in the field of children’s books for many years. She wistfully said, “I just wish we could find some way to use such reality shows to launch new children's book creators!”

Why not?

Wouldn't that be a great concept for a reality series? Doesn’t everyone want to a write a children’s book these days? Every time I mention my work, people either tell me, “Oh, I love children’s books!” or “I’ve always wanted to write a children’s book!”

Okay, let’s give them a chance. They can try out for...well, let’s call it PROJECT NEWBERY or FINDING THE NEW SEUSS or WRITE ON! or ROWLING FOR DOLLARS.

Obviously it wouldn’t be a major network "American Idol" type of show, but more of a niche series on a network farther up the cable dial, like A&E or Bravo. You get ten or twelve aspiring children's writers and find some cool, funny, quick-witted children’s book person to host the show (paging Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith) and a panel of judges. Maybe one judge is a supportive fellow children’s author. Another is a ruthless agent. The third is a nasty editor (I can offer a list. A long list.)

And of course the weekly writing assignments would have to be humorous and entertaining:

Week 1) Each contestant is given a dog to take care of for a day. Hilarity ensues. Then they have to write a story about the dog.

Week 2) Each contestant has to attend a modern high school for a day. Hilarity ensues. Then they have to write a fictional story using what they learned about high school life.

Week 3) A 24-hour write-off in which each contestant has to write a 100 page children's book in one day. Hilarity ensues as contestants yawn and fall out of their chairs while writing.

The viewers see each contestant reading parts of their stories out loud to the judges (of course the film editors would include REALLY bad sections so they can show the judges wincing, as well as really good sections which make the judges nod and smile.) All the complete stories would be included on the show's website so viewers at home could read the entire texts.

At the end of each show the judges praise the best stories, criticize the worst and someone is handed a "rejection slip" and, in a nod to children’s book character Philip Hall, told to “Get on out of here.”

The last contestant standing gets a publishing contract and the series is timed so the winning book is available the week after the show ends. Because of the TV exposure, the book becomes a bestseller.

Hey, I'd watch it.

But then I watch CELEBRITY APPRENTICE and DANCING WITH THE STARS too.



THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS

I guess that should really read "The Trouble with Stock Photographs."

In recent years, publishers have turned away from original cover artwork on dustjackets, relying more and more on stock photographs. This has resulted in a lot of nearly indistinguishable dustjackets featuring close-up shots of feet (sometimes bare, sometimes clad in tennis shoes or funny socks), an infinity of chopped-off heads, and occasionally a single flower or random tchotchke.) It can also cause unwitting publishers to select the exact same image for two completely different books.

Case in point:



Have you seen any other examples of the same photo being used on two children's or young adult books? If so, let me know and I'll post them here.



NEWBERY READING

Children's book fans frequently ask me if I can recommend a book about the Newbery and Caldecott Awards.

Looking through my own collection, here are my four favorites:


NEWBERY MEDAL BOOKS: 1922-1955, WITH THEIR AUTHORS' ACCEPTANCE PAPERS & RELATED MATERIAL CHIEFLY FROM THE HORN BOOK MAGAZINE. Edited by Bertha Mahoney Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, the volume was published in Boston by the Horn Book in 1955.

There is also a Horn Book Caldecott volume that covers the years from 1938 to 1957, as well as supplemental Newbery-Caldecott volumes issued about every ten years since then. Though seeking the texts of the winners' speeches, as well as biographical sketches of these creators will find them here. Not every volume in this series is the same, but some contain critical discussions of the winners, recaps in which the winners reflect on life since the award, and other intriguing additions and articles.


A HISTORY OF THE NEWBERY AND CALDECOTT MEDALS by Irene Smith. New York : Viking, 1957. Another edition was published in 1962.

This volume provides an historical summary of children's books before the advent of the awards, as well as details on how the prizes came to be. My favorite section compares the relative popularity of the winning titles circa the late 1950s.


NEWBERY AND CALDECOTT AWARDS : A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FIRST EDITIONS. Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, 1949.

If you're a true bibliophile, this is the book for you. An entry for each award winner gives specific, detailed info on how to identify a first edition of that title. Each book's original publication date and award date are provided. (For example, JOHNNY TREMAIN was published November 15, 1943 and received the Newbery on May 11, 1944.) The only problem with this book is that it only covers the winners through 1948. Man, do we need a new edition that takes us into the twenty-first century!


NEWBERY AND CALDECOTT MEDAL AND HONOR BOOKS : AN ANNOTATED BIOGRAPHY by Linda Kauffman Peterson and Marilyn Leathers Solt. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1982.

After chapers describing general "characteristics and trends" of the Newbery and Caldecott winners, the book provides a detailed description of every award winner and Honor Book. Often running a full-page in length, each entry includes a plot summary and critical appraisal which is usually positive in tone, though not always. The information on Honor Books is especially valuable, as most award volumes don't usually recognize the Honors this thoroughly. The book is also notable for its comprehensive listing of the illustration style, page size, and media utilized in each Caldecott winner and Honor Book. Published by an academic press, this book -- with its bland cover and "typeface" font -- isn't much to look at it, but belongs in every award fan's personal library. Again, though, we really need an update edition to cover the winners since 1982!

Do you have any favorite informational books about the Newbery and Caldecott to add to this list?


WANDERING THE STACKS

While wandering the library stacks this week, I came across a series of children's art books by Ernest Raboff. Each thin volume was devoted to an individual artist, including, among others, Paul Klee, Frederic Remington, Marc Chagall, and Pablo Picasso.


Essentially, the books were just compilations of the artist's work, with a single page of simple analysis for each painting. For example, here is Picasso's 1901 painting "The Gourmet":


On the opposite page, we learn these simple facts:

* Picasso was only twenty when he painted this picture.

* It was created during his “blue period,” three years in which “a warm blue light is seen in all his paintings.”

* “The lines of her hair, the folds of napkin around her throat, across her shoulder and down her back, keep oureyes moving.”

* “The circle formed by the head is repeated by the position of her arms, the bowl, the top and bottom of the tablecloth, and the hem of her dress.”

and

* “Even the lines of the floor and curtains give life and moment to the painting.”


I was amazed that just a few lines of text (printed in a visually arresting way) could provide so much information -- not just basic facts about the painting, but also explaining the techniques Picasso used in line and form to achieve his desired effect. As old as I am, it certainly made me view the painting more closely. So I can only imagine the effect this type of analysis could have on a young reader -- perhaps turning him into an art afficionado at an early age.

Looking at these Ernest Raboff volumes today, I thought, "Why didn't they have books like this when I was a kid?" Then I looked at the copyright pages and, noting they were all pages in the late sixties and early seventies, I realized they DID have these books when I was a kid...but I never came across them in the library stacks, nor did anyone introduce me to them.

But the books are still out there. I hope today's kids stumble across them at the library. It would great if they learned a bit about art and increase their "cultural intelligence" while young instead of waiting till age 52 like me!


LOIS LOWRY TWOFER

One of our most-acclaimed children's writers, two-time Newbery winner Lois Lowry, seems to have entered a new phase of her career in recent years. After a succession of ambitious novels such as the "Giver Trilogy" and THE SILENT BOY, a book which never got as much attention as it deserved, she has spent recent years experimenting with a variety of styles and formats, including a series for early readers (the "Gooney Bird" series), a picture book, and satires of Victorian novels and fairy tales. This spring brings us two more unexpected works, an animal fantasy and a volume in the popular "Dear America" historical series.

The latter book, LIKE THE WILLOW TREE : THE DIARY OF LYDIA AMELIA PIERCE, concerns an eleven-year-old girl who, along with her older brother, is orphaned by the influenza epidemic of 1918. Lydia and Daniel are eventually taken to the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake. Lydia's diary describes the simple customs of her new life, as well as her fear when Daniel runs away from the religious community. Real figures in Shaker history appear throughout this quiet story of growth and acceptance. The book only covers a few months in the lives of the siblings and some readers may wish for a longer story that could have explored the dramatic events of Lydia and Daniel's later lives which are summarized rather quickly in the epilogue. As in all the "Dear America" books, back matter includes background information and black-and-white photographs that place the fictional work in historical context.


BLESS THIS MOUSE also has a religious component, as the story is populated by 220 ice, led by Mistress Mouse Hildegarde, who live hidden inside an (apparently Episcopalian) church. When a few of the mice are spotted by parishoners ("Eek!") the church calls in an exterminator and the rodents make an "exodus" to live outdoors. Profusely illustrated by Eric Rohmann, this is one of those animals fantasies where the mice where shirts, hats, and glasses but no pants. (Why do so many animals in kids' books dress up and then go without pants? It's so pervy.) And the gently humorous story comes to a strong conclusion as the community of church mice figures out how to foil the exterminator's glue traps and Hildegarde eventually participates in the church's annual "Blessing of the Animals."


Though not major Lowry works, both novels are written with the author's assured, professional prose and will please many young readers.


IT'S A TWIN THING!

About three years ago I wrote a blog about THE GOLDEN BOOK OF 365 STORIES, which contained a story or poem for every day of the year. It turned out to be one of the most popular blog entries I ever wrote -- not, I should quickly add, due to my cogent literary analysis or scintillating prose, but simply because so many people remember this book so fondly from their childhoods.

In the original blog, I bemoaned the fact that the GOLDLEN BOOK entry for my birthday was a blandly sweet poem about being twins. Yesterday I received an e-mail from a reader asking, "Can you please post a copy of the 'Two of us' poem? I have been searching for it for years as a teacher gave it to my sister (my twin) as a child. I know it's sickly sweet...but it's a twin thing! Thanks!"

Sure, I'm glad to help. Here's the poem:


If it's difficult to read the text, click on the image to make it bigger.

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

Sunday Brunch for March 6

Today’s Sunday Brunch identifies the children’s book author who won an Oscar last week, takes a peek at the correspondence between two major twentieth-century authors, and asks if bookstores need a bill of rights. Oh, and then there’s the little matter of a twenty-six-year-old literary newbie making a million dollars on Amazon.com….


IS THIS THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE?

I can’t stop thinking about this article and video clip from the Huffington Post.

It concerns twenty-six-year-old Amanda Hocking who, a year ago at this time, was an aspiring writer of young adult novels. Rejected by all the major publishers, she decided to release her novels as e-books. Available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble for prices ranging from ninety-nine cents to $2.99 each, Ms. Hocking’s books have become very successful.

How successful?

In less than a year, the young author has become a millionaire.

Yeah, you read that right.

Granted, Ms. Hocking writes in a genre that is currently huge with young readers -- romantic horror. (Many, many readers compare her work to the TWILIGHT series by Stephenie Meyer.) But how does someone go from an unpublished wannabe to a bestselling author in less than a year?

It would be interesting to know how these books were promoted and publicized.

I’d also like to know if her success is a fluke, or if any other young-adult authors are experiencing this type of success. Heck, even if an author sold one-tenth the number of e-books Ms. Hocking does, they’d be considered a literary smash.

What does all this portend for the future? Will other aspiring authors, tired of dealing with the whims of the publishing industry, begin releasing their own manuscripts as e-books, thereby “eliminating the middle-man”? And how would that affect the quality of young adult literature? The main criticism of the Hocking books is that they’re poorly edited, contain many copy-editing errors, rely on repeated pet stock phrases -- all elements that would probably be corrected if they’d been professionally edited and published by a mainstream press.

I haven’t read any of Amanda Hocking’s books, as I do not own a Kindle or Nook.

I’m the guy who rails against e-books as opposed to paper copies.

But when I read about Amanda’s success (a millionaire! at twenty-six!, I’m beginning to think she’s a pretty smart cookie. Isn’t it better to have thousands of people reading and loving your words in an e-book than to have a whole file cabinet full of manuscripts that no one will ever read?


COUNTDOWN

So many successfully self-published novels eventually get picked up by mainstream publishers.

Christopher Paolini’s ERAON comes immediately to mind.

Now I’m wondering how many mainstream NY publishers (including those who once rejected her work) will soon be knocking on Hocking’s door, offering her huge offers to release her novels in hardcover.

I think it’s inevitable and am counting the days till we see a press release in Publishers Weekly or elsewhere, stating, “E-BOOK PHENOM OFFERED MILLION $$$ DEAL FOR YA HORROR SERIES.”


OSCARS

Gee, what’s a reality-show-freak like me supposed to do tonight with every station running some competing show? There’s AMAZING RACE on CBS, some new restaurant show and CELEBRITY APPRENTICE on NBC, CHOPPED ALL-STARS on the Food Network… Oh, for the good old days of last week when the only show we had to worry about was the Oscars. And our worry was well-founded. Has there ever been a more poorly-hosted ceremony with so many predictable winners? The highlight for me was seeing children’s book author Shaun Tan win an Oscar for his animated short, THE LOST THING. By the way, “The Lost Thing” is the second of three stories presented in Mr. Tan’s new book for kids, LOST & FOUND, which was just published this past Tuesday. I haven’t seen the book yet, but if it’s even half as good as Tan’s THE ARRIVAL or TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA, it’s going to be a treat.

Is Shaun Tan the first children’s book creator to win an Oscar in the category of Best Animated Short Film? You would think that many children’s book illustrators would work in animated film, but I checked this Wikipedia list and didn’t see any familiar names among the winners. …But then again, I am not as familiar with illustrators as I am writers. Did I miss anyone?

Incidentally, I was tickled to see that THE CRUNCH BIRD won an Oscar in 1971. I never saw the animated film -- never knew one existed -- but in 1971, the “crunch bird”was the most repeated joke at my junior high. Now I know where it came from!

Anyway, congratulations to Shaun Tan for winning that Oscar. Can’t wait to read the book!


A BOOKSTORE BILL OF RIGHTS

Should bookstores have a Bill of Rights posted on their walls? After reading this blog about customers who use bookstores “as showrooms” for the titles they’ll later purchase online, I think it might be a good idea.

What items would you include on a Booksellers’ Bill of Rights?

NOTE: PJ Grath pointed out that the above link does not work. I can't get it to work either. Until I figure out the solution, you can access the article via this url: http://brucejquiller.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/newspapers-bookstores-and-bezos/


SMALL PERSONS. I PREFER THEM WITHOUT WINGS.

One of the most talked-about titles of this new publishing season is SMALL PERSONS WITH WINGS by Ellen Booream. It’s the story of Mellie Turpin who, as a young child, had a fairy friend named Fidius. (Correction: according to Fidius, “We are not fairies. We are Small Persons with Wings.”) After causing Mellie to become a grade school laughingstock, Fidius disappears -- not returning until the protagonist is thirteen years old and moves into an inherited inn and tavern overrun with fair -- er, Small Persons with Wings. The plot hinges on a hidden moonstone ring that has magical properties, a mannequin made up to be a nefarious realtor, and a grandfather imprisoned in a grandfather clock. While reading the book, I could already imagine the CGI special effects that will be employed in the inevitable movie -- the old man turning back and forth into a clock, Mellie transformed into a frog, the circle of Small Persons with Wings spinning through the air -- even as I found myself not caring much about the magic that moves the plot. I wasn’t interested in the history of the fairies or their plight. Take a look at this passage:

The Parvi’s first, true magic, the Magica Vera, gave us skills we needed to live, bu also it protected us from spells. We saw through all lies and illusion. This was our salvation when sorcerers were everywhere, so many centuries ago. In your year 453, the last of them helped us invent the Magica Artificia, but our native magic prevented us from seeing the beauties it created. We cast the Magica Vera out of ourselves, transferring it into the Gemmaluna so we would have it at need. But we rarely used the Gemma, and three hundred years later we were giving it to you, the Turpini

Now if you’re a fantasy fan, you’re going love all that convoluted magica stuff…but it nearly put me to sleep. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the more “human” side of this story -- the characterizations of plump, prickly Mellie and her offbeat parents, as well as the boy next door. The sarcastic first-person narration and the humorous, pitch-perfect dialogue are pretty great too. But add in the magic stuff, and the book becomes an uneven mix of reality and magic. Some readers may find it the perfect blend, but I suspect that true fantasy addicts will find the novel too grounded, while fans of realistic fiction will complain that the whole thing’s a little too twee.


A TABLE FOR SMALL PERSONS

Here is the Table of Contents from SMALL PERSONS WITH WINGS.

Notice anything unusual?


While the title of each chapter is listed, there are no corresponding page numbers.

At first it struck me as odd but, the more I thought about, the more I realized it probably isn’t truly necessary to have a page number listed after each chapter. It may be just as easy for the reader to “flip through” the book to find the chapter, rather than go through page-by-page looking for the number.

I like tables of contents because I enjoy seeing the specific titles of chapters…but I seldom utilize them to find anything within a book. Do you?


“WHAT A GAL!

Last Sunday I blogged about Eleanor Cameron’s “Julia Redfern” books, a series of autobiographical novels that were written out of sequence. Since I only had one of these books -- A ROOM MADE OF WINDOWS -- in my collection, I decided I’d try to add the other volumes as inexpensive copies became available.

I then did an internet search and found a copy of JULIA AND THE HAND OF GOD, the second book in the series which wasn’t inexpensive because it was autographed and included a personal letter from the author tipped in.

I didn’t really have the money (story of my life) but I decided to buy the book anyway (the other story of my life), spending money I didn’t have on a book I couldn’t afford (the real story of my life) because I couldn’t resist reading the letter that came with the book.

The letter, written on December 3, 1959, was written by Eleanor Cameron to fellow children’s book writer Doris Gates.


The book arrived yesterday and it was absolutely fascinating to read the included letter. It made me wish I could read the entire correspondence between these two important writers.

Ms. Cameron describes Ms. Gates’ previous letter as “so full of meat and vitality…so full of your particular personality” that her husband “was moved to say when he put it down, ‘What a gal!’”

The letter, which discusses both authors’ current projects, contains the usual writer’s lament: “Why will I never learn that this is always possible, that each book is a completely new experience, will not go with ease simply because others have preceded it, and that I will always seem to myself to never have written before. Something has been learned from each book – yes, but there is so much still to be learned, limitless expanses, that I am always an amateur.”

There is much talk about Virginia Woolf’s novels, the role of women writers, a complaint about “novels that were fairly good in content – but written so flatly, so without evocation, vividness, dimension. <…> And this is what is lacking in so many children’s books.” Mrs. Cameron goes on to praise Lucy Boston’s “Greene Knowe” series and Mary Norton’s “Borrowers” books as exceptions to this rule. Ms. Cameron adds that she’d recently read THE TREASURE OF GREEN KNOWE to her mother (who lived with Cameron’s family) “and she was enchanted.” It was the third time Eleanor herself had read the novel and “for the third time I make respectful, wistful obeisance.”

Ms. Cameron ends the letter by saying that if Doris Gates would come to visit “Mother says…she would be able to do nothing but sit in the background and listen. Well, she might find it difficult, what with all the things we would be bursting to toss back and forth, to squeeze in a word….” She adds that her fourteen-year-old son “says that at parties given by our group, everything goes so fast that by the time he finally does get his word in, that subject of conversatioin has been left so far behind that nobody knows what he’s talking about!”

Wouldn’t it be fun to have been at one of Eleanor Cameron’s parties? Or to listen to a conversation between her and Doris Gates?

I’m so glad I got to witness part of their “written conversation” by reading this one letter.


LIBRARY CUTBACKS LED TO A CLASSIC NOVEL

In her letter, Eleanor Cameron references the novel THE CAT AND MRS. CARY, which was one of the few fantasies that Doris Gates published during a long literary career that included animal stories, retellings of Greek myths, and realistic novels. As an author, she broke new ground writing early books with African American characters (LITTLE VIC, 1951) and dealing with social issues such as criminal justice (MY BROTHER MIKE, 1948) and the plight of migrant workers. Employed as a librarian in Fresno, California, Doris Gates had the opportunity to visit migrant schools and meet children who had been uprooted by the Depression and Midwestern Dust Bowl. When the economy caused a cutback in library hours, Ms. Gates used her extra day off to write books for children…including BLUE WILLOW, the story of Janey Larkin, a Texas girl who has roamed the country with her migrant-worker family for five years before temporarily settling in a Fresno shack. During their travels, Janey has carried a blue willow plate which she plans to display when her family finds a permanent home. The symbolism of the china plate, the dimensional portrayals of the family members, and a solid sense of place make this realistic novel – a sort of junior GRAPES OF WRATH – an important work in the history of children’s literature. It was named a Newbery Honor in 1941, the year that Armstrong Sperry’s CALL IT COURAGE won the top prize. Although Sperry’s lean, mythic novel is considered a classic by many, its remote location and emotionally-distant hero leave some readers cold. Amid many good customer reviews on Amazon, there is also a contingent that refers to the CALL IT COURAGE as “one of the most boring books in the world,” “one of the slowest books I've ever read,” and “so boring that it actually takes courage to turn the page.” I wonder if BLUE WILLOW wouldn’t have made a stronger Newbery winner, for its immediacy, strong characterization, and for shedding light on an issue of great social significance. It certainly would have been a daring choice for its era.

Although she did not win the Newbery, the Fresno Public Library honored the author by naming its children’s department the “Doris Gates Room.” This month the Fresno Public Library is celebrating Cesar Chavez Day with a display called “The Migrant Experience : Books for Children and Teens.”

Strangely, BLUE WILLOW by Doris Gates -- one of the first and most-important novels about migrant workers ever published for kids -- is not among the books included.

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

Smud-ged in Earthsea

Most book collectors are pretty persnickety about the volumes they add to their shelves.

The books must be first editions. The dustjackets must be crisp, with no chips or tearing. The pages must be unmarked with no stains, spots, or smudges.

But I know at least one volume which collectors want to find smudged.

The book is A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA, written by Ursula K. Le Guin and published by the Parnassus Press in 1967. Founded by Herman Schein in 1957, this small, Berkeley-based children's book publisher had a hit almost right out of the box when BABOUSHKA AND THE THREE KINGS, written by Ruth Robbins (AKA Mrs. Herman Schein) and illustrated by Nicolas Sidjakov, won the 1961 Caldecott Medal. Although perhaps best known for picture books, Paranassus also published works for older readers, including novels by Edward Ormondroyd (TIME AT THE TOP, 1963) and the biographical account ISHI, LAST OF HIS TRIBE (1964) by Theodora Kroeber. Ms. Kroeber was the mother of Ursula K. Le Guin who, during the 1960s, was making her mark as a poet, short story writer, and author of several paperback science fiction novels. In 1967, Herman Schein invited Ursula Le Guin to write a novel for young adult readers. A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA was the result. This coming-of-age story concerns Ged, a boy growing up on one of the islands of Earthsea. When he discovers he has a talent for magic, he is apprenticed to a "mage," then sent to a school for wizards. (No Quidditch at this school.) Ultimately, he must battle an evil spirit which he has recklessly summoned into the world. Met with great critical acclaim, A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA won the 1968 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and, though originally conceived as a stand-alone novel, was followed by several more "Earthsea" books including the 1972 Newbery Honor THE TOMBS OF ATUAN and the 1973 National Book Award winner THE FARTHEST SHORE. With millions of copies sold, the "Earthsea series" is considered a landmark achievement in twentieth century fantasy writing.

Needless to say, A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA has become one of most collectable fantasy novels of all-time. Over the years, dozens of editions have been printed in both hardcover and paperback, but readers seeking the true first printing always want a copy of that 1968 edition published by the now-defunct Parnassus Press. Unfortunately, they're as hard to find as dragon's teeth. The original first printing was only 6800 copies, most of which went to libraries. There would later be two more Parnassus printings totally 16,200 copies. Unlike most publishers, which utilize copyright page statements or other measures to distinguish between various printings/editions, Parnassus did nothing to indicate the difference between a book from the 6800 first printing and the 16,200 copies that followed.

Or at least they did nothing intentionally.

But as L.W. Currey noted in SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY AUTHORS : A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FIRST PRINTINGS OF THEIR FICTION AND SELECTED NONFICTION (1969), a minor printing error helps collectors learn if their copy is one of those precious 6800 books from the original run. Currey states, "All examined copies have a faint vertical line or smudge from the top to the base of the title page, generally running through the r or d of Wizard to the p or s of Press."

In other words: If you find a copy of A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA published by Parnassus and it does not include the smudge on the title page, it is one of the 16,200 later printings and is worth a nothing-to-sneeze-at $150 to $200.

However, if you run across one of the rare copies with a title page smudge, you've found a true first printing, valued at $1000 to $3000.

I mentioned before that book collectors are notoriously persnikety.

Right now I'm imagining one of those finicky folks coming across an extremely underpriced Parnassus Press edition of A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA in a used bookstore and taking out their monocle or lorgnette (AKA glasses-on-a-stick) or jewelers loupe (note: the more persnickety you are, the more likely you are to use a monocle, loupe or lorgnette) in order to slowly examine the volume page-by-page. After much page-turning and sighing, they'd cast the book aside, declaring in a snooty voice, "Oh this copy won't do. It won't do at all! The title page is smudged! I refuse to pay $20 for any book that is less than PRISTINE! I will wait for an unsoiled copy of A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA to turn up...even if it does cost a few dollars more!"