Fusenews: Rot and Bother

One of America’s great cultural icons has been co-opted in a move that depresses me severely.  From Cynopsis Kids:

• If you have not yet read the Salon article on the Twilight series, get thee to this website.  As Matt pointed out to me the other day, the fame of Stephanie Meyer isn’t akin to that of J.K. Rowling.  It’s far closer to the heyday of Anne Rice, both in size and scope.  An interesting thought.

• I don’t know if this translates across the ocean, but in Britain Random House has been bit by the silly bug.  Here’s a new clause RH just inserted into their standard contract for children’s books.

One wonders what could have inspired such a turn of events. Who did what to whom?  Good thing Shel Silverstein’s dead. That man wouldn’t have lasted five seconds under such rules. And what about Mo Willems and Jon Scieszka having bikini tops thrown at them at the Book Cart Drill Teams at the last ALA?  They’re Hyperion men, right?  The Guardian article about this gets delightfully English at one point and goes on to say, "This is not to say anyone will stand for it – the SoA advises affected authors to ask for it to be removed – and that Random House will suddenly realise that it’s not very good PR and cease this rot immediately."  I love the term "Rot".  I shall now attempt to use it daily in some manner.  Thanks to bookshelves of doom for the link.

• And the award for Most Original Method of Teaching People About Picture Book Art goes to . . . . (drumroll please) . . . ah yes, it goes to Dr. Bergeron’s class at the University of Miami (wild cheers erupt).  On what do I base such a presumption?  Well check out this amazing Book Quilt assignment.

"Every teacher and pre-service teacher enrolled in Dr. Bergeron’s undergraduate and graduate Children’s Literature courses at the University of Miami makes a child-sized quilt-top inspired by a piece of quality children’s literature. Then, Dr. B quilts their projects and the quilts are displayed at the Lowe Art Museum. The purpose of this assignment is educational.  It asks the students to look closely at the artwork of the “masters” in children’s literature in order to develop “visual literacy”."

The results are often magnificent.

Stellar idea, Dr. Bergeron.  Thanks to Children’s Illustration for the link.

• Remember Garfield Minus Garfield?  It was the world’s most perfect example of how to make a bad comic strip work.  Well apparently there’s now a book deal in the works.  I would just love to know how the heck that’s legal.  Does Davis get a cut?  He must, right? 

• Like most New Yorkers, I am a fan of the Strand bookstore.  Now I see that they have created the mother of all store bookbags.  I’m not much of a bag person myself (and yet they flock to me like kittens to cream) but this baggie might lure me towards a purchase.  Check it out over at Galleycat.

• Daily Image:

And finally, on the off-chance that you’ve always wanted to see Astro Boy created out of recycled train tickets but didn’t know where to look:

Thanks to Children’s Illustration for the link.

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