Fusenews: Deceased Roller Skaters and Wacky Policemen
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Lest you fall under the singular misapprehension that I am the only blogger out there who provides recaps of publisher previews, do be so good as to check out this highly informative look at the Baker and Taylor Fall 2008 Preview, as reviewed by The Reading Zone. I was particularly intrigued by the notion of a preview lasting three (count ’em) three days. But then, I’ve been to previews by single publishers that lasted a morning. Put those publishers in the same room and I’m sure you could get a week’s worth of information out of the subject. Fascinating!
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I’m so out of the loop. Did you guys all know about the cool Cybils prizes given to the winners of this blogger-driven award? The ones that look like this:
I didn’t. Very neat stuff.
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Peter at Collecting Children’s Books has amassed his own list of Newbery winners that spawned sequels "for better or for worse." Several points grabbed my attention.
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David says of the book Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field, "No sequel yet, but why do I get the feeling that some smartypants is just waiting for the copyright to expire so they can write about Hitty’s ‘second hundred years’?" How true it is.
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He is under the distinct impression that Lucinda kills herself at the end of Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer and his evidence is compelling.
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Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander was apparently the editor’s idea. So THAT’S why I found it so dull!
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Strider is the sequel to Dear, Mr. Henshaw? Bad, librarian! I should have known that!
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Two words: "Desperaux Deux". Wish I’d thought of them.
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David discovers Marty McFly’s love of reference librarian tomes.
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Teach Alice in Wonderland in the classroom! Why not? It’s an idea. An idea that has had its time. Besides, Monica Edinger does such cool things with the book that you just HAVE to give at least some of them a try.
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Daily Image:
I love children’s books, I do. But what I really love are modified children’s books rendered inappropriate for their original audience. I am sophomoric at heart. In a style that owes much to Uncle Shelby’s ABZs, please be so good as to check out The Ladybird Book of The Policeman as seen here.
James Lileks could be behind this and I wouldn’t bat an eyelash. Thanks to Boing Boing for the link.
Filed under: Fusenews
About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.
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Oh! I got bored and quit halfway through Taran Wanderer, and this has always haunted me since I couldn’t figure out why, having thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the series. All this time I thought it was just me! Does this mean I can FINALLY read The High King without worrying that I never finished Taran W?
No!No!
Take it back!!!
Taran Wanderer is an amazing book and the editor was right that we needed more about Taran before he fought the last battle.
Oddly, it’s always seemed to me like Castle of Llyr was the added-on book, though it, too, is a great book.
Aw. Sorry, Sam. But as you can see the masses have spoken (masses = one other person besides me). As a kid I managed to get through most of the Prydain books, but Taran stopped me cold. I forgot all about it, grew up, attempted to read through the series again… and Taran stopped me cold. Don’t get me wrong. I read the entire thing cover to cover. But there’s something odd about the story. Taran is, in many ways, one of the less interesting characters in the series and to have to spend an entire book with him was not exactly my cup of tea. I can understand the necessity of fleshing out his growth from a literary perspective, but my gut reaction was one of boredom. Maybe boys like that book better. Dunno.
Thanks so much for the link!! I am fairly certain the publishers could talk for days on end about their books, and I wish I could have stayed for all three days. 🙂