Fusenews: Respect the Pile, Obey the Seuss

• This falls under the wing of YA, but in this particular case I’ll wave my No YA rule.  Got a prom or bridesmaid dress growing moldy in your closet?  One that’s, y’know, still a looker?  I ask not for myself but via a message I got from me lawyer pal Jennie Laurin just the other day. Her friend Audra Acey writes:

• One Baby-Sitters Club blog I could understand.  It made sense.  It fit within the known parameters of this world in which we live.  But consarn it, TWO Baby-Sitters Club blogs exist out there?  Really? Really really?  What odd times these are in which we live.  Thanks to bestest buddy Dan for the link.

• I’m no editor, but I’ve known enough of them to be able to tell that even though slush piles sound like oodles of fun, they are not.  They are slushy and they sit in a pile.  But just in case you’ve ever wanted to dive into one ala Scrooge McDuck (or is that just me?), now you can do so virtually.  Guardian Unlimited comments on Random House’s recent initiative to give slush piles a second chance online.  Well, Harry Potter was a slushy. So was this year’s Newbery winner.  Respect the pile, people.  And thanks to Finding Wonderland for the link.

• Over at Collecting Children’s Books, Peter has left his old job for a newer sparklier one.  In the course of his goodbyes he has also taken a lot of pictures of literary busts.  I’ve not done a children’s literature statue post in a while (it’s still percolating in me brain) so use his photos as a temporary way of sating your hunger for the inanimate.

• Wow.  Becky over at Becky’s Book Reviews has posted every single The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe cover ever conceived of by man.  Even the super weirdo ones like this:

• BACA Alert.  Aw… but it’s Bernadette Peters.  How can I dislike a book by Bernadette . . . . oh.  That’s how. Ick.  Thanks to Chicken Spaghetti for the link.

• Award announcements for you.  First off, there was the Charlotte Zolotow Award which went to the frighteningly handsome Greg Foley for Thank You, Bear with many notable runner-ups.  Also, the 2008 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts have been announced.  Oh!  And author Esme Raji Codell has printed up her notable and well-thought out 2007 Index.  You’ll never need to ask anyone for book recommendations again.
  

• Those of you who were fans of the author Siobhan Dowd and her work may wish to know about the Siobhan Down Trust which, amongst other things, offers support to libraries.  Thank to Bookwitch for the link.

• Gay-friendly board books: Name ’em!  If you are an American than you may find yourself drawing a blank.  If you are from Spain, however, then you may already be familiar with the Manu series which has recently been brought to America.  For those of you who know a gay couple with a baby, this may be the only item of its kind available in this format.  It even has the K.T. Horning stamp of approval.  Not too shabby, eh?

• Free picture books online are nothing new.  You can find everything from Lookybook to ebooks at the library, if you’ve a need.  But the site Big Universe is kinda fun, if only because you can create your own low-budget book as well.  I can see parents and teachers using this to show kids how to make their own book.  I used to have an old Commodore 64 program that did the same thing, actually.  Hm.  You can also look through other people’s books on the Big Universe site, and some look fairly practical.  Might be useful to the teacher who wants to show a book in class on an obscure subject unavailable in book form at this particular moment in time.

• And finally, Mr. Seuss would like to have a word with you.

Filed under: Fusenews