SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

March 9, 2009 by Betsy Bird

Fusenews: America, Read This Man

March 9, 2009 by Betsy Bird   5 comments

Bad news for my husband. I have just fallen head-over-heels in love with James Kennedy, author of the YA novel The Order of Odd-Fish. Ladies and gentlemen of the liking men variety, I advise you to be very careful in reading this blog post of his which tells (in a fashion) of his experience with the last ALA Media Awards. He had me at "conniving sidelong lope" and now I feel compelled to read every damn word the fellow has ever written, starting from the early scribbles he scrawled out as a toothless mewling babe. Ba-bump goes my little heart. I also feel inclined to give him a bad review with the sole intention of hoping that he will write about me and do complicated things with my name. As I read through it I almost want to dedicate this entire post solely in the purpose of getting you to read this blog. Go. Now. Read. This. Man.  I, for my part, am off to read his book.  Even if it is YA.

  • A great big thank you to my four presenters this past Saturday for participating in my New York Times reviewers’ literary panel.  Thanks, of course, to the elegant Julie Just for her intelligence and forthright answers.  Thanks too to Leonard Marcus for his gravity and presence, Rebecca Zerkin for her smarts and insights, and Ned Vizzini for that completely fabulous story about the letter slush pile and the invitation to an orgy.  And thanks to everyone who came out!  You battled fire (true) and flood (not true) and the incredibly enticing Neil Gaiman event at Books of Wonder (I forgive you for luring people away with your awesomeness, Neil) to pack the room.  I tried recording some of the talk for a podcast (gotta start getting back to that) but I’m not sure if it went through.  Fingers crossed then.


  • A fun idea.  "Notes" of one sort or another float about on Facebook all the time.  Follow the steps in a note and you’ll be able to use your iPod to create the soundtrack of your life, or you can press random buttons to create a great album cover.  100 Scope Notes takes the idea one step further with the challenge to Create Your Debut Fantasy Book Cover.  You follow the steps he has ascribed and you come up with some truly wonderfully awful fantasy books.  A couple of them have been sent to the site and posted here.  I still like the first cover created best.


  • There’s a really excellent post over at writer/teacher Kate Messner’s Livejournal blog about a recent virtual author visit her school conducted with writer Laurie Halse Anderson.  The kids read Chains and then proceeded to speak, in a fashion, with Ms. Anderson using Skype.  Messner’s piece is great reading for anyone interested in doing something similar with their own kids in a school or library setting.  It covers the good, the bad, the ugly, and the awesome. Thanks to Kate Messner for the link.


  • Alvina Ling, editor of Ed Young’s Wabi Sabi (am I the only one who always misspells it Wabit Sabi on a first go?) has a lovely piece up called Child Friendly? If any of you have ever wondered if editors take child-friendliness into consideration when they help to produce beautiful works of art, here is your answer.  And she has a query for you too: "A question: have you ever been surprised by a book, either one that you thought would be a no-brainer in terms of kids liking it, but they turned out to not be interested, or vice versa–a book you were pretty sure they would hate, that it turned out that they loved?"  I sure have.  One of the big shocks of my library career came in discovering that Dr. Seuss picture books don’t always translate beautifully when read aloud in a storytime.  Oh, Horton Hatches the Egg.  You broke my heart when I tried to read you to preschoolers (I’m clearly in a romantic mood today).


  • Wait. . . . no no no… wait.  Are you telling me that they didn’t sell the rights to Hunger Games until now?  Somebody’s been clever.



  • Daily Image:


In the same vein, here is a rather illuminating look at a French cover of our recent Newbery Award winner:

My French is rusty, but if I don’t miss my guess doesn’t that say The Strange Life of Nobody Owens?  Thanks to Neil Gaiman for the link.

Filed under: Fusenews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

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

Related Posts

January 2019

Fusenews: All the news that's fit to fuse

by Betsy Bird

December 2018

Fuse 8 n' Kate: Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems

by Betsy Bird

November 2018

Fusenews: She Has a Name

by Betsy Bird

October 2018

Fusenews: We Would Have Also Accepted "Fast Food Fairies"

by Betsy Bird

September 2018

Fusenews: STEM Girl Fashions, the Death of "Hypothesis", and More

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Your 2023 Caldecott Comment Card

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Poems As Picture Books: Zetta Elliott Discusses the Upcoming A Song for Juneteenth

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

2023 ALA Youth Media Awards

by Esther Keller

Heavy Medal

FREEWATER wins the Newbery Medal, live reactions from Heavy Medal bloggers

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

A Conversation with Kendare Blake about BUFFY, THE NEXT GENERATION

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

34 Standout Titles, Including Books in Translation and the Latest by Malinda Lo & Aida Salazar | Starred Reviews, November 2022

8 Books For Younger Readers That Feature Animals Celebrating Holidays

Best Books 2022 | The Year in SLJ Covers

Eight Graphic Works that Offer Fresh Perspectives on the Past | Stellar Panels

Three Horrifying Titles for Fans of 'The Midnight Club' | Read-Alikes

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.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Laura says

    March 9, 2009 at 7:59 am

    Oh, man, Betsy…THANK YOU for linking to that blog post on a Monday morning – that is exactly what I needed to read to put everything in perspective. Fan-friggin-tastic. And how appropriate for you to also link to Neil Gaiman…now that we know he is “comically small” and imprisoned by bees.

  2. Kathryn Grant says

    March 9, 2009 at 8:41 am

    Thank you for another wonderful Children’s Literature Cafe afternoon. All the speakers were great and you did a terrific job moderating.

  3. Laini Taylor says

    March 9, 2009 at 9:43 am

    Betsy, re: James Kennedy’s post: I know!!! And, I consider Odd-Fish Middle-Grade; it was a M.G. Cybils nom, and though the writing is sophisticated, I still think it’s M.G. so you needn’t worry about slipping down a YA slope.

    🙂

    P.S. Do you sniff public telephones?!?!?

  4. Fuse #8 says

    March 9, 2009 at 10:05 am

    All the time. Though I don’t think he makes it clear that it’s actually a job requirement. And in a building as big as my own, that’s a lotta phones to odor identify (<--- technical term)

  5. Ryan Wilson says

    March 10, 2009 at 9:00 am

    That is a great blog post! He is one smart guy. No quicker way to get into librarians um…stacks than with a hilarious send up of their profession.

    Also, I love that French Graveyard Book cover! Are French kids really that sophisticated? Once again the French have made me feel like a lout.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023