Fusenews: There’s a Princess in the South and a Tree Upon My Arm!

The Guardian blog discovered that when it comes to bookmarks, some people take their love above and beyond the call of duty.  The blog examines everything from exhibits of bookmarks in Germany to a store that sells them in Yorkshire (hence the example here which is called, I kid you not, The Executive Orb).  Personally, I like my bookmarks to be smooth and shiny, better able to allow me to put my sticky notes on them.  That way I can highlight passages in the books I read with greater ease.

• Hah hah ha!  Eat it, Samantha!  I’m back.

• It sounds odd, but one of the more popular requests I get on the reference desk comes from five-year-olds in search of circus books.  New York has always had an odd obsession with circuses (I blame old P.T.) which has not flagged to this day.  Now according to the UnBeige blog (the design blog for Media Bistro), Taschen is about to put out The Circus: 1870-1950.  Consider it worthy inspiration for any of you wishing to dip your toe in the ring.

• My original plan was to turn this into a Daily Image, but it’s too fabulous not to mention immediately.  Bookslut recently linked to the blog YuppiePunk which in turn created A (Not So) Complete History of Literary Tattoos.  As you might suspect, children’s literature makes a fine showing.  Many are fierce and cool, but what would you think about the people that put these particular tats on their arms?

Y’know… I’m not a fan of the story but the colors are pretty lush.  I would avoid these people like the plague, but they’ve certainly a fine sense of shade and tone.  Scary scary shade and tone.

• The story is as old as time itself.  Author writes book.  Hollywood buys book (fine, maybe not as old as time itself).  Hollywood screws over author and does whatever it wants with book (see: Susan Cooper).  None of us get particularly excited or interested when this occurs.  So imagine my surprise when I saw a story of the opposite variety.  Hollywood exceeds an author’s fantasy.  Hubba wha?  John Flanagan, author of the Ranger’s Apprentice series (yes Mr. Green, I know I should really really read it) has nothing but sunshine, joy, and kisses for the people he’s working with.  He does harbor some concerns over CGI, but that’s only natural.  Children and YA fantasy novels turned into films have a remarkable range of CGI capabilities.  On the low end of the spectrum is the werewolf in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and on the high end is Buckbeak in…. uh… Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.  Hm.  I understand your concern now, Mr. Flanagan.  Thanks to Bookninja for the link.

• Illustrator Jon Buller has created a fun recap of how he came to become an artist, from childhood onward.  I’m just happy that he ends the tale with a nod to my favorite of his books, The Noisy Counting Book.  Many thanks to Children’s Illustration for the link.

• As Sam Riddleburger is quick to tell us, the first line of Ordinary Jack is: “When Rosie, who was only eight anyway, beat him doing ten lengths of the pool, it was the last straw.”"  Boo-yah!  That’s how you begin a children’s book, my friends.  Sam’s been talking up Helen Cresswell’s wonderful Bagthorpe series all week, going so far as to collect all the Trina Schart Hyman covers as well.  Check it out.
  

• Papercuts (the New York Times literary blog) recently asked, "what children’s books — or adult ones — seized you at an impressionable age and made you identify so strongly with a character that you changed your wardrobe, or your appearance, or your destiny?"  The answers come up with some surprising repeats, most of them female.  It’s either Harriet the Spy vs. Pippi Longstocking or in the girl detective ring, Trixie Belden vs. Nancy Drew.  Now there are some smackdowns I’d pay good money to see.  Gimme 20 on Trixie, anyday.

• And finally, author Sarah Miller did a bit of detective work that deserves some notice.  Upon seeing the hardcover jacket of Ann Rinaldi’s Juliet’s Moon she noticed something.  Is that Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna posing in front of a burning building and a Confederate flag?  Yes, it’s another case of the old ARC to final copy switcheroo!  Sure, the old girl on the cover was just as historically inaccurate as this new re-Anastasiaed version but as my husband says, "Just take a new picture, people!  Stop grabbing things off the internet!" 

• Daily Image:

We all know that Brian Floca got rave reviews, attention, and awards for his book Lightship last year.  But how cute is this drawing he just finished for the Aquinnah Public Library?

Answer: Very cute. Muy cute.  Tres cute.

Filed under: Fusenews