Fusenews: We Would Have Also Accepted “Getting Kneed in the Groin by Dickens.”
-
Stephanie Meyer is quickly becoming the Oprah of middle grade/teen book recommendations. First she goes and blurbs The Hunger Games and I literally end up with a new comment from a Twilight lurving teen on my review almost every day of the week (The Reading Zone is in a similar situation). Now she’s turned around and tapped first time novelist Victoria Forester on the head with her wand of massive booksales, granting her book The Girl Who Could Fly instantaneous fame. That must be nice. Being able to grant someone new a lot of attention. Particularly if their book flew under the radar the year it came out. Feiwel and Friends isn’t too upset about it either, I hear. Thanks to EarlyWord Kids for the link.
-
Oog. Why do I not like the sound of this one little bit? Now you just hang in there, Harper Collins. Don’t go about doing anything rash.
-
There’s a great piece on/by Sherri L. Smith, author of (amongst other things) Flygirl over at Finding Wonderland. I don’t usually link to interviews that often, but I found this one interesting. Particularly because it was followed up with this post.
-
Will wonders never cease? After all this time Touchstone Pictures is adapting the Tripods trilogy. I stand amazed. Please, somebody tell me, what the last movie adaptation based on a children’s science fiction novel? Was it Alexander Key’s Escape to Witch Mountain? Cause it certainly wasn’t Flight of the Navigator , I can tell you that. Good old, Flight of the Navigator . Thanks to bookshelves of doom for the news.
-
Tea Cozy queries "We’ve had vampires, and now zombies. So what supernatural creature will be the next ‘it’ book?" Werewolves turn out to be the obvious answer, though there’s a surprising push for mummies, mermaids, and angels. My vote is for evil unicorns. And if Rampant is any indication, I’m on the right path.
-
It’s always a dangerous site to look at while at work (the recent Betty Page tribute, for example), but Mr. Door Tree’s work at Golden Age Comic Book Stories is almost always worth a glance or two. Recently he put up scans from Old-Time Stores by Charles Perrault as illustrated by William Heath Robinson as well as Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen, art by Kay Nielsen. Of these day I’m just going to pluck the books from my stacks and look at them myself. In the meantime, I was particularly fond of this picture.
It’s the fact that she’s so tall that she downplays it by slumping her shoulders. I don’t even know which fairy tale this is. I just like the body language in the illustration.
-
One of those memes just cropped up over at Just One More Book. Here’s the gist of it. "Which children’s book best represents your marriage? Your life?" Boop. That’s a toughie. My first thought is Eggs by Jerry Spinelli, but that’s way too on the nose. No… I think I’d have to go with Houndsley and Catina by James Howe. It’s just the kind of relationship we go for (lord grant that I’m a better writer than Catina, though). As for my life . . . that’s actually harder. Sometimes I feel like it’s Ordinary Jack by Helen Cresswell, with me surrounded by a wild array of crazy and brilliant people. Other days there’s a bit of Harry Potter to it, in terms of how lucky I feel. Go to this site to add your own thoughts on the matter.
-
Dear future publishers of my books (if they ever get written): If I should someday write a book and that book is sent to Adam Rex, PLEASE do not ask for a new blurb if he says my title is "Like getting kicked in the nuts by Mark Twain." For the love of all that is good and holy USE that blurb!!! I mean it. Even if we’re talking about a series of rhyming couplets featuring baby lambs.
-
Lois Lowry wrote an update on her site entitled Snape. Calculated to get me interested, such a title is that. Did I tell you that a friend of mine here in town named her child Malcolm Severus? I haven’t asked her why yet. Maybe because I’d be too sad if the reason wasn’t Potter related. I wonder if he’ll ever drop the "Malcolm" part for fun . . . Thanks to Sarah Miller for the link.
-
I was reading this Galleycat post on how a bit of smart marketing resulted in at least one person writing online, "but my interest has certainly been piqued enough to pick up the copy that’s been lying on my desk for weeks." That’s really the goal these days, isn’t it? To not only get the book to the reviewer, but to be compelling enough in some way to make them want to pick it up. It’s only early February and already I’m looking at a stack in my home that seems difficult to consider, let alone wholly review. Food for thought.
-
Man. Titles like Director Catherine Hardwicke to Pen Twilight Book really got my hopes up in the wrong way. I had visions of her writing the next installment of the Twilight series, since Meyer wasn’t willing to. Midnight Sun by Catherine Hardwicke. Tee hee hee. Thanks to Bookninja for the link.
-
Daily Image:
Ian Schoenherr had this on his blog and I just had to snitch it. Those of you with any familiarity with the original Wyeth cover of Treasure Island will get a kick out this. To compare:
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
SLJ Blog Network
Tegan and Sara: Crush | Review
The Seven Bills That Will Safeguard the Future of School Librarianship
Take Five: Dogs in Middle Grade Novels
Gayle Forman Visits The Yarn!
ADVERTISEMENT
jmyersbook says
Boy, I do love me some Wyeth. Where else in the world of children’s book illustrations can you get a Maxfield Parrish sky AND a character with chest hair? (Must say, though, I’m glad that there was no chest hair involved in the Black Angus homage!)
Tanita says
Malcolm Severus!!!!! Oh my word, I should hope that name is Potter-related. I’d be bewildered if it weren’t!
schmid says
W Heath Robinson was an odd little genius who deserves to be rediscovered. David R. Godine republished a beautiful edition of ‘Uncle Lubin’ in the early 90’s that is a pleasure to look at and hold in your hand. Nice paper, gold embossing. Books should make your hands happy too.
Paul
Nathan Hale says
Wasn’t CITY OF EMBER considered sci-fi? I didn’t see it, but I did think it was funny that they spoiled the whole thing in the opening line of the trailer. Kinda like showing the Statue of Liberty shot in a trailer for PLANET OF THE APES.
Fuse #8 says
Give that man a cigar! Failing that a cookie.
Ryan Wilson says
As far as sci-fi movies from kid lit goes, there’s also Brad Bird’s excellent “The Iron Giant” based on Ted Hughes’ “The Iron Man.”
I love that illustration from the unknown fairy tale! Illustrators of that style and period are the ones I’m most in awe of. I could never leave that much white space, and those lines! Great stuff.
Oh, and Stephanie Meyer may beat me with her Wand of Massive Book Sales any time she wants (wait,W.O.M.B.S, hmmm i don’t know about that).
Fuse #8 says
Um… can I kinda copyright the term W.O.M.B.S? Cause, that’s awesome. And you’re completely correct about “Iron Giant”. Yet another example of a successful sci-fi children’s adaptation. I bow before the superior knowledge of my readers. Then I giggle over the term W.O.M.B. *snicker*
Marci says
Did you realize that you referenced Charles Dickens on his birthday? I attended a dinner party in his honor last night in which I resisted the urge to show up dressed as Miss Havisham.
BTW, Malcom Severus is about 50% Potter related. J. has never read the books but her husband has.
Fuse #8 says
I did? The air must have been particularly Dickensian that day. And thanks for letting me know about little M.S. Though the fact that J. has never read the books . . . well, that actually explains the name right there. I’ll have to ask her about it. And if you didn’t go as Miss Havisham, who did you go as?