January 29 Brunch from a Louse

Today’s Sunday Brunch looks at the State of Children’s Books, lists the winners of the Sydney Taylor Awards, starts a feud with School Library Journal’s Newbery bloggers, and explains why I, a “louse,” have been “laughed upon and ridiculed” on this road of life….


MY “STATE OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS” ADDRESS

Well, President Obama has told us that the state of the union is strong.

What about the current state of children’s books?

Is it also strong?

Here are some very subjective views from someone sitting over here on the sidelines as an observer:

In recent years, there seems to have been a shift in the age parameters of children’s and young adult books. On the higher end of the spectrum -- perhaps led by the success of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series -- there appear to be many more adults now reading YA novels. Hey, I love it -- the more the merrier. But a controversial New York Times article suggests that picture books for pre-readers or beginning readers are not doing well. Sales have slowed and some publishers are releasing 25% fewer picture books than they did in the past. Some say this is due to the economy; others say that many parents are bypassing picture books in order to push their kids into storybooks and novels before they’re ready for them. How this will affect visual literacy or a lifelong love of reading remains to be seen….

Books for young readers are getting bigger. I don’t need any stats to back this one up. Just go to any bookstore or library and look at the fat volumes on the “new book” shelves. Personally, I attribute this to the Harry Potter phenomenon. When publishers became aware that children had no problem reading those behemoth volumes, it seemed as if every subsequent book began gaining weight. Sometimes it’s justified; some novels do require more time and space to tell a tale. Many times, however, these weighty volumes are excessively wordy, poorly-paced, and could be easily cut by a third or a half. What’s that all about? People keep telling me that editors these days are more interested in “acquiring” manuscripts than actually editing them. I’m not sure that’s true, but if it is, it might explain a lot. I’m also intrigued by a third type of book -- the relatively short novel that, due to a large font and a small trim size, ends up at several hundred pages. Two of last year’s most acclaimed titles, THE DREAMER by Pam Munoz Ryan (384 pages) and KEEPER by Kathi Appelt (416 pages) are good examples of this trend. What does it mean...?

Another recent trend is the explosion of high-concept titles -- novels with a “hook” that can be sold in a single-sentence book talk. Vampires. Werewolves. Dystopias. Super wealthy kids. I guess part of the appeal is escapism, but an occasional story about a complicated friendship or complex family situation would be nice too. Your chances of dealing with a problem-friend are much greater than your chances of being the last person alive on earth or having a vampire boyfriend….

Kindles…Nooks…E-books. How are they going to impact the world of children’s books? No one knows for sure. But one word I keep hearing bandied about is “boutiques.” Just yesterday I read a Publishers Weekly article which described the Dutton Children’s Books transformation to a “boutique middle grade and young adult imprint with a focus on titles of exceptional literary quality and strong commercial appeal.” I’m also hearing the electronic book phenomenon may cause the book superstores to topple, but some independent booksellers will survive by becoming small “boutiques” specializing in printed books. Will “boutique” be the children’s book word for the future…?

Although the “state of children’s books” mentioned in this blog may sound worrisome, there is also heartening news. Kids’ books have a huge presence on the web, with so many bloggers that you couldn’t keep up with them all even if you tried. Children’s books are getting more notice in the media (well, except for the TODAY show) with more and more movies and TV shows being made from books for kids -- which in turn brings readers back to the original books. And the fact that the annual children’s book awards can still surprise us with its selections, PLUS honor debut creators such as Erin Stead and Clare Vanderpool, shows there is always great new talent joining the field and providing a lot of hope for the future.

So perhaps, after all, the State of Children’s Books is stronger than we think!



YOUR FIRST BOOKSIGNINGS

As a kid, I was an aspiring writer.

I dreamed of the day when I’d sit in a bookstore signing copies of my latest novel for legions of adoring fans.

But I recently realized that signing books isn’t such a rarified activity.

It dawned on me this past week when I happened upon one of my old yearbooks and saw all the inscriptions inside.

It made me realize I’ve been signing books all my life -- yearbooks.

We’ve all done it – even those who have never had any literary aspirations.

As I flipped through my junior high school yearbook, I looked at the faces of my old classmates with nostalgia…then I turned to the “autograph” section on the back inside covers and remembered what a bunch of jerks they were.

Reading their comments was like looking at a yearbook belonging to Dawn (WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE) Wiener.

To be sure, there were some nice inscriptions:


But a lot of them weren't so nice:


This next one was signed in pencil. Is it too late to erase it?


Gosh, this one is charming:


And here's a note from the friendly thirteen-year-old pothead who sat in front of me. How many back-handed compiments do you count?


Actually, I'm rather amazed at Robin's prescience. How did she know I'd be "laughed upon and ridiculed" along my road of life? I just wish she'd been right about the "success" part, though. I've endured the laughter and ridicule, but the success is still eluding me.

On a happier note, I also took a look at my high school yearbook from several years later and all the inscriptions were exceedingly nice. Maybe that's because I didn't ask Dave, Karen, Mark or Robin to sign that yearbook. And maybe I'd become better at selecting friends. By then (to use a favorite quote from a new YA book, PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ by A.S. King) "I knew not to give the best of myself to the worst of people."


THE YEARBOOKS OF CHILDREN'S BOOK PEOPLE

My trip down memory lane, as bitter (and somewhat comical) as it was, got me wondering about the yearbooks of famous children's book writers.

Wouldn't it be fun to open your old high school annual and realize that classmate Maurice Sendak had provided some of the artwork way back in 1946? Sendak is one of many illustrators whose early work appears in his high school yearbook. John Schoenherr, Trina Schart Hyman, Nancy Ekholm Burkert, and Charles R. Smith Jr. also contributed art to their high school volumes.

David Macaulay was named “Best Artist” in his high school yearbook, and the words "Future Novelist" appeared under Lois Lowry's senior picture. Daniel Handler ("Lemony Snicket") was voted "Class Clown" and "Friendliest" in his yearbook, while Theodore Geisel ("Dr. Suess") was chosen as "Class Artist" and "Class Wit."

When she appears at speaking engagements, author Claudia Mills often entertains her audiences by doing the "Ape Dance" that she invented when she young. Her high school yearebook includes a photo of her doing the dance.

My favorite yearbook story concerns, by chance, my favorite author. Marijane Meaker ("M.E. Kerr") attended boarding school in Virginia and was expelled for throwing darts at a dartboard decorated with photos of teachers cut from an old yearbook. Her suspension ended up affecting her own status in the yearbook. By the time she was reinstated to the school, her senior yearbook had gone to press and her photo could not be included in the alphabetical display of graduates. It had to be slapped onto the last row of pictures, after her classmates whose names ended with X, Y, and Z!


AS THE MOON SETS ON HEAVY MEDAL, WE SAY, "HI BOB!"

Over at the School Library Journal, the annual Battle of the Books is about to begin. BOB is described as "a competition between 16 of the very best books for young people of the year, judged by some of the biggest names in children's books."

This year's contenders are:

AS EASY AS FALLING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH by Lynn Rae Perkins
THE CARDTURNER by Louis Sachar
A CONSPIRACY OF KINGS by Megan Whalen Turner
COUNTDOWN by Deborah Wiles
THE DREAMER by Pam Munoz Ryan
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE BARBIE by Tanya Lee Stone
HEREVILLE: HOW MIRKA GOT HER SWORD by Barry Deutsch
KEEPER by Kathi Appelt
THE ODYSSEY by Gareth Hinds
ONE CRAZY SUMMER by Rita Williams-Garcia
THE RING OF SOLOMON by Jonathan Stroud
SUGAR CHANGED THE WORLD by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos
A TALE DARK AND GRIMM by Adam Gidwitz
THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE K.K.K. by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
TRASH by Andy Mulligan
WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON by John Green and David Levithan

I'm glad BOB is starting up just as the Heavy Medal blog is closing down for the year, as I will miss all the Newbery discussions.

Here's where I'm going to get in trouble....

I shouldn't do this...I shouldn't do this...I shouldn't do this....

And I especially don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, as the folks at HM are great. I've corresponded with Nina a few times and she seems really nice, and I've known Jonathan forever and he's a friend.

But was anyone else disappointed that, after months of discussing every aspect of the Newbery -- what should win, what shouldn't win, why some books didn't cut it as contenders, why others were better suited for the medal, parsing every official rule and regulation, etc., etc. -- that we never did get a final blog telling us their opinions on MOON OVER MANIFEST and whether it was the best choice for the Newbery?

Unless I missed something, the only statement we got from Nina was, "MOON shows remarkable complexity and attention to audience in its multilayered 'interpretation of theme or concept'…a confluence of themes of 'story,' 'home' and 'belonging.'"

And Jonathan says he's still on the library waiting list to get a copy of the book!

My suggestion: buy a copy of the book.

I know, times are hard and books are expensive but, c'mon, it's a good thing to support the Newbery...and support the children's book industry that we work in. When you're done with the book, you can donate it to the library. Give it to student or library patron. Write if off on your taxes.

If that's not possible, contact the publisher and see if they can send a review copy for Heavy Medal -- I'm sure your blog is famous enough to merit a review copy.

Heck, if it comes down to it, I will cash in 170 of the empty Diet Coke cans in my garage, go buy a copy of the book, and personally send it to Heavy Medal so you can read and review it.

Because closing down the blog without a final judgement on the winning title is like watching an entire season of TOP CHEF and then missing the last episode...walking out of a play at intermission...or eating dinner and having to leave before dessert is served!


SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARDS

The Association of Jewish Libraries has announced the 2011 winners of the Sydney Taylor Book Awards. "Presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience," the awards are given in three categories -- Younger Readers, Older Readers, and Teen Readers. This year's winners are:

GATHERING SPARKS / Howard Schwartz, author; Kristina Swarner, illustrator / Younger Readers

HOW MIRKA GOT HER SWORD / Barry Deutsch / Older Readers

THE THINGS A BROTHER KNOWS / Dana Reinhardt / Teen Readers

2010 / NEW YEAR AT THE PIER : A ROSH HASHANAH STORY / April Halprin Wayland / Younger Readers
2010 / THE IMPORTANCE OF WINGS / Robin Friedman / Older Readers
2010 / TROPICAL SECRETS / Margarita Engle / Teen Readers

2009 / AS GOOD AS ANYBODY / Richard Michelson / Younger Readers
2009 / BROOKLYN BRIDGE / Karen Hesse / Older Readers
2009 / A BOTTLE IN THE GAZA SEA / Valerie Zenatti / Teen Readers

2008 / THE BEDTIME SH'MA / Sarah Gershman / Younger Readers
2008 / THE ENTERTAINER AND THE DYBBUK / Sid Fleischman / Older Readers
2008 / STRANGE RELATIONS / Sonia Levitin / Teen Readers

2007 / HANUKKAH AT VALLEY FORGE / Stephen Krensky / Younger Readers
2007 / JULIA'S KITCHEN / Brenda Ferber / Older Readers
2007 / THE BOOK THIEF / Marcus Zusak / Teen Readers

2006 / SHOLOM'S TREASURE / Eric Silverman / Younger Readers
2006 / CONFESSIONS OF A CLOSET CATHOLIC / Sarah Darer Littman / Older Readers

2005 / Change in dating system of awards

2004 / REAL TIME / Pnina Moed Kass / Older Readers

2003 / BAGELS FROM BENNY by Aubrey Davis / Younger Readers
2003 / WHO WAS THE WOMAN WHO WORE A HAT? / Nancy Patz / Older Readers

2002 / CHICKEN SOUP BY HEART / Esther Hershenhorn / Younger Readers
2002 / HANA'S SUITCASE / Karen Levine / Older Readers

2001 / RIVKA'S FIRST THANKSGIVING / Elsa Okon Rael / Younger Readers
2001 / SIGMUND FREUD: PIONEER OF THE MIND / Cathrine Reef / Older Readers

2000 / GERSHON'S MONSTER / Eric A. Kimmel / Younger Readers
2000 / THE KEY IS LOST / Ida Vos / Older Readers

1999 / THE PEDDLER'S GIFT / Maxine Rose Schur / Younger Readers
1999 / SPEED OF LIGHT / Sybil Rosen / Older Readers

1998 / NINE SPOONS / Marci Stillerman / Younger Readers
1998 / STONES ON WATER / Donna Jo Napoli / Older Readers

1997 / WHEN ZAYDEH DANCED ON ELDRIDGE STREET / Elsa Okon Rael / Younger Readers
1997 / THE MYSTERIOUS VISITOR by Nina Jaffe / Older Readers

1996 / SHALOM HAVER = GOODBYE FRIEND / Barbara Sofer / Younger Readers
1996 / WHEN I LEFT MY VILLAGE / Maxine Rose Schur / Older Readers

1995 / STAR OF FEAR, STAR OF HOPE / Jo Hoestlandt / Younger Readers
1995 / DANCING ON THE BRIDGE OF AVIGNON / Ida Vos / Older Readers

1994 / THE ALWAYS PRAYER SHAWL / Sheldon Oberman / Younger Readers'
1994 / THE SHADOW CHILDREN / Steven Schnur / Older Readers

1993 / THE UNINVITED GUEST / Nina Jaffe / Younger Readers
1993 / SWORN ENEMIES / Carol Matas / Older Readers

1992 / SOMETHING FROM NOTHING / Phoebe Gilman / Younger Readers
1992 / LETTERS FROM RIFKA / Karen Hesse / Older Readers

1991 / CAKES AND MIRACLES / Barbara Diamond Goldin / Younger Readers
1991 / DADDY'S CHAIR / Sandy Lanton / Younger Readers
1991 THE DIAMOND TREE / Howard Schwartz and Barbara Rush / Older Readers

1990 / MY GRANDMOTHER'S STORIES / Adele Geras / Older Readers

1989 / BERCHICK / Esther Silverstein Blanc / Younger Readers
1989 / NUMBER THE STARS / Lois Lowry / Older Readers

1988 / THE KEEPING QUILT / Patricia Polacco / Younger Readers
1988 / THE DEVIL'S ARITHMETIC / Jane Yolen / Older Readers

1987 / THE NUMBERS ON MY GRANDFATHER'S ARM / David Adler / Younger Readers
1987 / THE RETURN / Sonia Levitin / Older Readers

1986 / JOSEPH WHO LOVED THE SABBATH / Marilyn Hirsh / Younger Readers
1986 / BEYOND THE HIGH WHITE WALL / Nancy Pitt / Older Readers

1985 / BROTHERS / Florence B. Freedman / Younger Readers
1985 / IKE AND MAMA AND THE SEVEN SURPRISES / Older Reader

1984 / MRS. MOSKOWITZ AND THE SABBATH CANDLESTICKS / Amy Schwartz / Younger Readers
1984 / THE ISLAND ON BIRD STREET / Uri Orlev / Older Readers

1983 / BUBBY, ME AND MEMORIES / Barbara Pomerantz / Younger Readers
1983 / IN THE MOUTH OF THE WOLF / Rose Zar

1982 / THE CASTLE ON HESTER STREET / Linda Heller / Younger Readers
1982 / CALL ME RUTH / Marilyn Sachs / Older Readers

1981 / YUSSEL’S PRAYER / Barbara Cohen / Younger Readers
1981 / THE NIGHT JOURNEY / Kathryn Lasky / Older Readers

1980 / A RUSSIAN FAREWELL / Leonard Everett Fisher

1979 / IKE AND MAMA AND THE BLOCK WEDDINGS / Carol Snyder

1978 / THE DEVIL IN VIENNA / Doris Orgel

1977 / EXIT FROM HOME / Anita Heyman

1976 / NEVER TO FORGET / Milton Meltzer

1975 / WAITING FOR MAMA / Marietta Miskin

1974 / no award

1973 / UNCLE MISHA’S PARTISANS / Yuri Suhl

1972 / Molly Cone for her contributions to Jewish children's literature

1971 / Isaac Bashevis Singer for his contributions to Jewish children's literature

1970 / THE YEAR / Suzanne Lange

1969 / OUR EDDIE / Sulamith Ish-Kishor

1968 / THE ENDLESS STEPPE /Esther Hautzig


SYDNEY, ONCE SARAH

The Sydney Taylor Book Award is named after the ground-breaking children's author whose "All-of-a-Kind-Family" stories are still read and loved.

She was born Sarah Brenner in 1904 and grew up on New York's Lower East Side. As an adult, she changed her first name to Syndney and danced professionally with Martha Graham. She would later marry and have one child. At night she would tell her daughter bedtime stories about her own childhood. She eventually wrote these stories down and put them away, with no plans for publication.

Years later, when Ms. Taylor was away working at a summer camp, her husband submitted her manuscript to the Charles Follett contest without Sydney's knowledge. The author later recalled, “No one was more surprised than I when I received a letter
from Mrs. Meeks, the Children’s Book Editor of Wilcox & Follett, telling me she wanted to publish ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY. I didn’t know what she was talking about. I told my husband and the whole story came out." She later received word that she had won the Follett Award.

In addition to ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY (1951), she published MORE ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY (1954), ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY UPTOWN (1958), ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY UPTOWN (1972) and the posthumous ELLA OF ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY (1978.)


She also wrote a few stories unconnected with her famous series, but these are mostly forgotten. But sisters Ella, Henrietta, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertrude (Taylor used the real names of her sisters and herself in the books), growing up poor in New York City remain known today.

One of the earliest children's series to feature Jewish protagonists, the books provide insights into Jewish traditions and holidays within the context of warm family stories. The many readers comments on Amazon.com range from "I am Jewish and could relate to the characters" to "I first read this as a child, growing up in the south in a pentacostal holiness church. This book was my very first introduction to the Jewish Faith, what it means and how it impacted day-to-day life." One common theme that runs through the customer comments is that so many readers say they wanted to be part of this family when they were growing up -- surely a sign of the books' success!

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

Sunday Brunch with Betty White

Today's Sunday Brunch lists the latest Edgar Award nominees, recommends books for Chinese New Year, and takes you dancing with Betty White.

Okay, not the Betty White, but still....


THE SHELVING CEREMONY

So, the 2011 book awards have now been announced.

Collectors have spent the past couple weeks scurrying around trying to find copies of the winning titles.

In years past it seemed as if all available copies of the books would disappear from store shelves within twenty-four hours of the announcement...and then there would be a lull of four to six weeks (during which the book was being reprinted) before bookstore shelves were stocked again. However, I've noticed for the last couple years that the reprint process is much faster than it used to be. Desperate customers no longer have to wait till late February or early March for copies to become available.

As you know, the awards were announced on January 10 this year.

By January 20, my local bookstore already had a new batch of MOON OVER MANIFEST -- fourth printings with the gold Newbery sticker on the dustjacket.

A couple years ago a book-collecting buddy talked about the annual "ritual" of adding the new winners to the shelves that hold the previous winners. He asked if I played any special music to commemorate the event.

This year, due to the economy, I had to ditch the trumpet corps.


But it was still a wonderful moment when I added the books to the shelves. Here are the latest entries to my Newbery shelf:


And here's the Printz shelf:


Actually, I cheated a bit with this one. Normally I collect only first editions, but my copy of NOTHING is second printing. Right now it's serving as a "place holder" until a first edition turns up.


EDGARS

The nominations for the 2011 Edgar Awards have just been announced.

The finalists for Best Juvenile Mystery are:

ZORA AND ME by Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon
THE BUDDY FILES : THE CASE OF THE LOST BOY by Dori Hillestad Butler
THE HAUNTING OF CHARLES DICKENS by Lewis Buzbee
GRIFF CARVER : HALLWAY PATROL by Jim Krieg
THE SECRET LIFE OF MS. FINKLEMAN by Ben H. Winters

The nominees in the young adult category are:

THE RIVER by Mary Jane Beaufrand
PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ by A.S. King
7 SOULS by Barnabas Miller and Jordan Orlando
THE INTERROGATION OF GABRIEL JAMES by Charlie Price
DUST CITY by Robert Paul Weston

The winning titles will be announced on April 28.


KIDS' BOOKS IN THE MEDIA

I'm always on the lookout for references to children's books in the popular media. And on Friday night a famous book by Charlotte Zolotow got mentioned on TV's WHAT WOULD YOU DO? I don't know if you've ever seen this program, but it might best be described as a serious version of the classic series CANDID CAMERA : a hidden camera tapes the reactions of bystanders who witness actors engaged in situations that have moral or social repercussions. Will they help a welfare mother who runs out of money at the grocery checkout? Will they get involved when they see someone discriminate against a minority? This past Friday one of the segments concerned a father in a toy shop who refused to buy the Barbie doll that his young son was demanding.

Several shoppers contributed their opinions, then one woman jotted something down on a piece of paper and handed it to the man:


She said, "You should read this book." The camera then showed the cover of the book and several pages of the text.


Hurray for children's books on TV!

How ironic that this 1972 picture book got more airtime this week than the Newbery and Caldecott winners got from the TODAY show last week.

If you're still steamed about the TODAY fiasco, read the next item.



HEY, IT WORKED FOR BETTY WHITE

Did you hear about the Facebook campaign to get this year's Newbery and Caldecott winners, Clare Vanderpool and Erin Stead on the TODAY SHOW?

Incidentally, according to Dictionary.com, the word "snook" is defined as "a gesture of defiance, disrespect, or derision."

Don't you think the TODAY SHOW deserves our defiance, disrespect, and derision for the Snooki debacle?



SPEAKING OF BETTY WHITE....

I was browsing through the library stacks this week and discovered several books for teenagers written by Betty White.

Okay, it's not the Betty White of Password/Sue Ann Nivens/Rose Nylund/Snickers Bar/Saturday Night Live fame, but this lady had the same name and she wrote books of dance instruction for young readers, including DANCING MADE EASY (1953), HOW TO MAMBO (1955) and, my favorite, TEEN-AGE DANCE ETIQUETTE (1956.)


That last book, a slim, picture-filled (illustrations by June Kirkpatrick) volume was written, according to the foreword, because "Too often...the teen-ager who knows how to dance does not have any conception of what constitutes socially acceptable behavior at a dance."

BETTY WHITE'S TEEN-AGE DANCE ETIQUETTE explains the "socially acceptable behavior" from popping the big question (notice how the guy gets to sort through options like a gambler sorting through a deck of cards while the lonely girl is thrilled to simply be chosen?)...


...to the end of the date, with a last-page fade-out just before the good-night kiss?


But it's everything in-between that makes the book so fun! (Make sure to click on the images to get a better view of the pictures.)

There are tips on selecting the right clothes, proper grooming, arranging transportation, then arriving to pick up one's date. I love the line "And don't forget to include the small fry if they happen to be hanging around."


My favorite section comes at the end: several pages of admonitions on what NOT to do.

They include not primping at the table...


...not pigging out at the refreshment table or being a "dance exhibitionist"...


...and not having "octopus" hands on the dance floor:


And remember, kids, no rough-housing" or closing your eyes!


(Actually, I think the girl bustin' the balloon with a pin looks kind of fun.)


BETTY WHITE'S HUSBAND

As I said, the Betty White we know from television has never written a children's book...but her husband did!

Those of us who are, well, old, may remember Betty's late husband, Allen Ludden, who hosted PASSWORD and other game shows on television.

Because he knew all the answers on these games shows (of course he did -- he had the answers on index cards in his hand!) and because he wore glasses and had a slightly professorial appearance, he was known on early TV as "the happy highbrow."

I wonder if that nickname influenced the name of Betty's character on THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW -- the "Happy Homemaker"?

I did not know until recently that Mr. Ludden parlayed his "happy highbrow" persona into a career as a children's book writer. During the fifties and sixties, he wrote several books of advice for young readers, including PLAIN TALK FOR MEN UNDER 21 (1954), PLAIN TALK FOR WOMEN UNDER 21 (1956), PLAIN TALK ABOUT COLLEGE (1961), and PLAIN TALK FOR YOUNG MARRIEDS (1964.)

He even wrote a novel, ROGER THOMAS, ACTOR! (1959) for Dodd Mead's Career Book series for young readers.


WHILE BROWSING THE STACKS THIS WEEK....

I came across several intriguing books. First, a children's book by entertainer Pearl Bailey:


Because DUEY'S TALE came out in 1975, years before the recent explosion of "celebrity author" books, I thought it may have been published due to some real writing ability rather than just because the a author had a famous name.

Wrong.

This is a book about a maple seed.

Yeah, one of these things:


After a big wind blows him off the mama tree, Duey the seedling floats around, meeting other goofy objects like Gabby the Log and Slicker the Bottle. Duey apparently has eyes and a mouth (at one point he sticks out his tongue) though it's hard for me to envision this and the unappealing gray silhouette illustrations provide no clue.

(The touching group portrait below features Duey, Gabby and Slicker. AKA a seed, a log, and a bottle.)


Because the story is so slight, the text is formatted oddly with a paragraph here, a paragraph there, until it reaches the inevitable conclusion in which Duey the seedling becomes...

(Wait for it.)


...a mighty maple tree!

Pearl Baily (1918-1990) was a hugely talented actress and singer. I love watching this Youtube clip of her Broadway performance in HELLO DOLLY.

But as a children's book author, she's...well, she's a hugely talented actress and singer.

I was shocked to learn that this hacknayed, cliched, and poorly-written story won a Coretta Scott King Award in 1976.

The committee must have been starstruck.

Or maybe they thought Ms. Bailey would perform at the award ceremony and save them from having to hire entertainment.

During my library stack wanderings, I also stumbled across (well, not literally) these two curiosities:



TEN BOYS FROM DICKENS and TEN GIRLS FROM DICKENS by Kate Dickinson Sweetsir contain portraits of Little Nell, Sissy Jupe, Tiny Tim, Oliver Twist, and Pip and other young people from the novels of Charles Dickens. As Ms. Sweetsir says in the foreword of TEN BOYS, the characters are "followed only to the threshold of manhood and in all cases the orignal text of the story has been kept, except where of necessity a phrase or paragraph has been inserted to connect passages."

She explains the purpose of these books: "If through this volume any boy or girl should be aroused to a keener interest in the great writer, and should learn to love him and his work, my labor will be reachly repaid."

I'm not sure how much "labor" was involved in cutting and pasting Dickens' own words together, but I digress.... I found the books interesting for a couple reasons. First, that there was so little true children's literature being published back then that one had to adapt stories from adult books to serve a young audience. Secondly, it's intriguing to think that much of Dickens work was only forty to fifty years old when these books were published in 1901 and 1902 -- yet Dickens already had the kind of "classic" appeal that made it appropriate for all audiences. To put that in perspective, can you think of many authors who flourished from 1960 to 1970 who would merit a children's volume of this type today?

...Continuing my stack wanderings, I noticed this book on the fiction shelves:


I took it down mainly because the spine title made me think it was an author study and not a work of fiction. I thought I'd have to recatalog it.

As it turns out, THE MANY WORLDS OF ANDRE NORTON is basically a book of fiction. It does contain a couple essays about the author, but most of the volume is devoted to seven Andre Norton stories that were originally published in science fiction and fantasy magazines from the 1950s through the early 1970s. They recall an era when the newstands were filled with all sorts of magazines that published short stories. Try to find such a magazine today. The science fiction and fantasy magazines were particularly important because they introduced new writers to the genre as well as allowed established novelists, such as Ms. Norton, make an occasional foray into short fiction.

I suspect that even some fans of the author are not familiar with THE MANY WORLDS OF ANDRE NORTON, which was published by a smaller press (Chilton) in 1974.


ANDRE NORTON'S DREAM

Long known as the "Grande Dame of Science Fiction," Andre Norton amassed quite a large research library during her writing career.

One of her lifetime goals was to establish a library complex and retreat for genre writers -- those writing science fiction, mysteries, romances, and westerns for adult, YA, or juvenile audiences.

Ms. Norton announced plans for "High Hallack" (named after a geographical region in her "Witch World" novels) in the early 1990s. It would be located on seventy acres of land in the Tennessee mountains. Norton's personal collection of ten thousand volumes would seed the library and the elderly author's administrative assistant would continue to run the library after Andre Norton's death.

You know what they say about "the best laid plans"....

Despite her fame as a writer, Ms. Norton was unable to get funding for her dream project. Her decades-younger assistant, who was supposed to continue Norton's legacy after her death, ended up dying of cancer long before Ms. Norton herself died.

However, Andre Norton's dream did not die.

Instead of establishing a huge library complex in the mountains, she instead had a large building constructed behind her Murfreesboro, Tennessee home and opened High Hallack in her own backyard.

Curious to know what it looked like? Then take the virtual tour!

Several years later, the 92-year-old author was in declining health and decided to close High Hallack to the public. In 2004, the contents of the library were auctioned off to private collectors and book dealers, with the remaining books sold to the public for two dollars per hardcover and fifty cents a paperback.

I understand that all these bookswere labeled "Formerly Owned by High Hallack Library/Andre Norton."

Who knows where they've ended up?

Maybe one day you'll stumble across one at a used bookstore or rummage sale and you'll hold a piece of Andre Norton's dream in your hand.


HOW TO CELEBRATE CHINESE NEW YEAR

I just read something awful.

The Chinese Year of the Rabbit begins on February 3 and many people are marking the event by giving rabbits as pets. Most of these animals are being shipped through the mail and, according to a CNN article, "many have suffocated or frozen to death in the small boxes in which they are sent."

So I've come up with an alternative idea.

Instead of sending a kid a pet rabbit for the Chinese New Year (or, come to think of it, for Easter a couple months from now), why not send a children's book about rabbits instead?

There is certainly no lack of good bunny books.

Here is a just a small sampling:

THE RUNAWAY BUNNY by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd, 1942

WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams, 1972

UNCLE REMUS STORIES by Joel Chandler Harris, beginning in 1881

BLACK RABBIT SUMMER by Kevin Brooks, 2008

BUNNICULA : A RABBIT TALE OF MYSTERY by Deborah and James Howe, 1979

THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT by Beatrix Potter, 1902

THE VELVETEEN RABBIT OR HOW TOYS BECAME REAL by Margery Bianco, 1922

THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE by Kate DiCamillo, 2006

SHADRACH by Meindert DeJong, 1953

PAT THE BUNNY by Dorothy Kunhardt, 1940

VOYAGE TO THE BUNNY PLANET by Rosemary Wells, 1992

GILDAEN : THE HEROIC ADVENTURES OF A MOST UNUSUAL RABBIT by Emilie Buchwald, 1973

RABBIT HILL by Robert Lawson, 1944

KNUFFLE BUNNY by Mo Willems, 2004

Thanks for visiting Collecting Children's Books. I plan to write another blog entry sometime during this week and and hope you'll come back to read it.

Till then, remember:

Don't play with your food or silver...

Don't be an exhibitionist on the dance floor...

Avoid "octopus holds"...

And don't forget to "include the small fry" and their books in your life!

13 Random Midweek Facts, Opinions, and Anecdotes

1. RAMONA’S CHOLESTEROL PROBLEM

Sometimes authors ponder and debate and fret over character names for weeks. Other times a name will fall into their lap. That’s basically what happened to Beverly Cleary when she was writing her first book about Henry Huggins. She’d just realized that all her characters were from single-child families and decided she needed to add a little sister. Just then she heard someone yell the name “Ramona!” outside her window and gave that name to Beezus’s little sister.

However she based part of the character's personality on another little girl in the neighborhood who was always getting in trouble. For example, the girl was once sent to the store to buy a pound of butter, but by the time she got home, she had unwrapped it and begun eating it.

Ugh. The worst thing Ramona Quimby ever ate in the books was a raw head of cabbage.


2. I WONDER IF HIS FAMILY EVER KNEW

Not every character name comes wafting through the window. Sometimes you have to seek them out. When writing a story about a boy’s correspondence with his favorite author, Ms. Cleary found the name in the obituary section of her local newspaper. I wonder if the family of the deceased ever knew that their own late “Mr. Henshaw” inspired the title of the Newbery-winning novel DEAR MR. HENSHAW.


3. I CANNOT TELL YOU THE CHARACTER’S NAME OR I WILL BLUSH

The protagonist of Cin Forshay-Lunsford’s 1985 young adult novel, WALK THROUGH COLD FIRE, is named Désirée (a name so pretentious that it makes me want to throw up) but there's a striking story about why the author chose another name found in that book. One of the female villains has a very bland name. But in a long-ago article, Ms. Forshay-Lunsford admitted that if you remove a few letters from that character's name you will see the author's opinion of her. No, I cannot give a hint. The word Forshay-Lunsford was hinting at was very, very vulgar.


4. WALKING THROUGH COLD FIRE

The winner of a Delacorte Press Contest for a First Young Adult Novel, WALK THROUGH COLD FIRE got a lot of attention when it was published, mainly because the author was only nineteen years old. Cin Forshay-Lunsford never published another book, but this first effort has garnered quite a few devoted fans, many of whom rhapsodize about it on Amazon.com. They've also started a Facebook page for the book.

Me? I never could finish the novel.

Maybe it had something to do with the grandoise name of the narrator.

Désirée?

Too many vowels! Too many accent marks!

No sirée, not a book for me.


5. SORRY, YOU DIDN”T MAKE THE CUT

I’m so intrigued by the Young Adult Library Services Assocation’s new Best Fiction for Young Adults list. With ninety-nine titles (out of 191 nominations) it's pretty much an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink list…yet Morris winner THE FREAK OBSERVER by Blythe Woolston is not to be seen, nor is Morris nominee HUSH by Eishes Chayil. National Book Award nominee DARK WATER is absent, as is the highly-praised suspense novel YOU by Charles Benoit.


6. CALDECOTT NOT

Did you know you can order a print or postcards featuring Amos McGee?

Unfortunately, it’s not this Amos McGee.


7. PLUM CREEK REVISITED

In Sunday's blog I mentioned that our latest Newbery winner Clare Vanderpool cited Laura Ingalls Wilder's ON THE BANKS OF PLUM CREEK as one of her favorite books. I added that, for me, PLUM CREEK was not a stand-out title the way the first and last Wilder volumes, or the epic LONG WINTER, were.

Since then, I have received several notes from readers who disagree!

Wendy said, "I think it's the most kid-friendly (for all kids, not just bookish ones), because it shows Laura having lots of normal-kid adventures, getting in trouble, being resourceful in a fun way, and so on, plus living underground and Nellie Oleson."

Laurie A-B added, "Plum Creek is jam-packed with memorable scenes and characters: Ma's new stove, Nellie Oleson, the Olesons' store, Laura's Christmas furs, going to school, going to church, Pa giving the money for his new boots to buy the church bell, moving the woodpile inside the house, LEECHES, the dugout, Reverend Alden, GRASSHOPPERS!!!!"

Bybee noted, "Plum Creek was one of my favorites when I was younger because this is the one in which Nellie Oleson and her family are introduced."

Lisa Jenn Bigelow said, "Add me to the list of people whose favorite Little House book has always been Plum Creek! I think everyone else has probably mentioned all the reasons it stands out in my memory -- leeches, Nellie, Pa getting stuck in a blizzard and having to eat all the candy and oysters.... I think I first read it when I was just Laura's age, which made it perfect. Plus I always thought it would be immensely cool to live in a dug-out. (Actually, I still do, though I could do with indoor plumbing.)"

Laura Canon added, "I'd say the same about Plum Creek -- maybe it's a girl thing, but it's very easy to identify with Laura in that book. She's about to right age to start to interact with the outside world more,getting to know the neighbors and going to school. Also, leeches.

"And even today I cry over the scene where Ma makes her give away her only doll to the mean neighbors and later she finds it discarded and frozen in a mud puddle. And I'm not much of a doll person, or a crier."

Ali said, "I'm another Plum Creek lover. I adored the Little House books as a child. I could "see" Laura, her family, the Oleson's store and Nellie so clearly, even though I am English and grew up in the north western suburbs of London."

And Grrlpup added a succinct: "Re: the memorability of Plum Creek, I have one word: LEECHES."

Obviously I am going to have to go back and re-read ON THE BANKS OF PLUM CREEK very soon!


8. ...BUT NOT THESE EDITIONS

Just came across some 2007 paperback editions of Wilder's "Little House" books with photographic covers. Ugh.






Bring back Garth Williams!


9. ROOM SERVICE, I NEED A PAIR OF FORCEPS

I know several Jehovah’s Witnesses and we get along quite well as long as I remember not to wish them "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Fourth of July."

I'm a little slow on the uptake at times.

Like yesterday when one of them was telling me about a wedding she attended at the Kingdom Hall. I said, "Is it a traditional-type wedding? Does the bride wear a wedding dress? Does she come down the aisle to the usual wedding march?"

My friend said, "Oh sure, she wears a wedding gown and comes down the aisle. But we don't use that song everyone else uses. We feel that song places too much emphasis on the bride. And even though everyone says, 'It's the bride's day, it's the bride's day,' it's really not the bride's day. It's His day."

I'm like, "Whose? The groom?"

(Told you I was slow on the uptake.)

"No," she said, looking upward, "HIS day."

Oops.

Anyway, a couple Jehovah's Witnesses I know once went on a trip to Brooklyn, New York, where the Watch Tower Society is headquartered. One of the buildings the Witnesses own there is the former Hotel Bossert, a landmark once know as "the Waldorf-Astoria of Brooklyn."

You may wonder what any of this has to do with children's books.

Barbara Cooney, who won the Caldecott Medal twice (CHANTICLEER AND THE FOX, 1959; OX-CART MAN, 1980) was born in Room 1127 of the Bossert Hotel on August 6, 1917.


10. EVEN WORSE THAN BEING BORN IN A HOTEL ROOM...

British author-illustrator Mini Grey was actually born in the front seat of a Mini Cooper. Her parents memorialized the event by giving her that unusual first name.

Thank goodness she wasn't born in a Lamborghini.


11. DID YOU KNOW...?

...That Katherine Paterson is related to Mark Twain?

...That the agent who sold this year's Newbery Honor Book, HEART OF A SAMURAI by Margi Preus, is the great-great-great grandson of navigator Nathaniel Bowditch, himself the subject of the 1956 Newbery winner CARRY ON, MR. BOWDITCH?

...That Newbery Honor author Polly Horvath (EVERYTHING ON A WAFFLE) recently published an ABC book with a small press here in Michigan?


...That double-Newbery winner Lois Lowry has written a book in the "Dear America" series?


I've never understood why famous established writers such as Walter Dean Myers, Karen Hesse, and Kathryn Lasky would ever write for a pre-formatted series of this type, but a friend of mine who has read Ms. Lowry's entry, LIKE THE WILLOW TREE, says it's something special and you definitely feel you are "in the capable hands" of a gifted writer while reading this book.


12. CAN AN AUTHOR PLAGARIZE HERSELF?

IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE by Laura Numeroff -- brilliant!

IF YOU GIVE A MOOSE A MUFFIN by Laura Numeroff -- gilding the lily.
IF YOU GIVE A PIG A PANCAKE by Laura Numeroff -- overkill.
IF YOU GIVE A CAT A CUPCAKE by Laura Numeroff -- unnecessary.


13. SOMETIMES I HATE REALITY

Boy, this blog entry by author Eric A. Kimmel depressed me.

But I refuse to stay depressed. The new year has just begun and there are lots of good books on the horizon: OKAY FOR NOW by Gary D. Schmidt; a new Penderwicks novel by Jeanne Birdsall; a biography of Alexander Hamilton by 95-year-old Jean Fritz; books by Cynthia Voigt, Shaun Tan, Lisa Yee, Melina Marchetta, Jennifer Holm, Joan Bauer, Walter Dean Myers, Helen Frost....

As well as new books by authors we haven't ever read before.

We'll be okay.