Fusenews: “Can’t you send the police to arrest the author?”

Since I started organizing the Children’s Literary Cafes here at the Humanities Library I’ve been wracking my brain to try and think up interesting topics and speakers.  And here’s one topic that would never have occurred to me in a billion trillion years: "the relationship between wallpapers and books created for children."  Nope.  Never would have crossed my mind.  But clearly it has crossed the mind of someone over at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.  Their exhibition Wall Stories: Children’s Wallpaper and Books is up until April 1st.  And since it has been showing since October, I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who has already been to this particular show.  Thanks to Children’s Illustration for the link.

• I mean, if you aren’t faithfully reading your Collecting Children’s Books on a regular basis by this point then I can only assume you are a small children’s literature-minded hermit who has just crawled out from under a rock, unaware of the wonders in store for you.  With that in mind, I direct you today to Peter’s last post which was named one thing but which I have renamed GIRL FINDS MESSAGE FROM DEAD MOTHER…ON AMAZON.COM because I liked the tabloid feel of the sentence.  Other pieces of interest include clever thoughts on the early Newbery members’ lamentable notetaking skills and speeches both charming and lamentable by Newbery/Caldecott winners over the years.  Amongst other things.

• Though I wouldn’t want to be on the judging committee, I would rather like to see an American equivalent to the Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition, which gives an award to an unpublished children’s novel.  This year’s winner is the book Threads by Sophia Bennett.  As I say, wouldn’t want to be on the committee, but I would like to see the winner.  And yes, I do prefer to eat my dessert first at each and every meal.  Thanks to Omnivoracious for the link.

• I’ve gotten girlier in my old age.  As a kid you couldn’t have gotten me to so much as glance at shoes, dresses, or the sweet lacy things that girlfolks are supposed to love.  Age has changed my mind on this subject.  That and a distinct lack of new clothing in my closet (doggone winter), so it was with rather Pavlovian drooling that I saw the clothes featured on the blog Blaze Danielle.  In Storybook Fashion the clothes of Mary from The Secret Garden, Lucy from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Nancy Drew from The Secret in the Old Attic are updated and located at various stores, creating quite remarkable outfits for adult women.  Storybook Fashion II goes a little older, and a little stranger (but no less accurate) with updated versions of Ramona, Meg from A Wrinkle in Time, and Pippi Longstocking.  Do Harriet the Spy next!  Do Harriet the Spy next!  A thousand strangled thanks to ShelfTalker for these links.

• Remember the other day when I lamented that I had never known that actor James Franco was the son of children’s book author Betsy Franco?  And in the midst of my temper tantrum I pouted aloud, "Why did nobody tell me?".  In any case, someone did tell me, of a fashion.  Cast your mind back in time to the distant age of November 2007.  President Bush was still in office.  Heroes was already getting old.  People were dancing a fast jig to the newest Timberlake tune, and James Franco appeared on the Disco Mermaid blog.  Says hugely-popular-in-his-own-right author Jay Asher about the event, "He was there, apparently, because his mom works at the school.  So whenever he’s in town, he drops by and gives the teens free acting lessons.  Even though I was freaking out, all the students were totally cool with it.  In person, he is a very nice guy!"  Thanks to Jay Asher (who is in the New York Times today in a feature, if you can find it) for the link. 

• Here’s a site for the process junkies out there.  Chad Beckerman goes through the creation, step by step, of the book John Brown: His Fight for Freedom over at his blog Mishaps and Adventures.  A magnificent peek into how a cover evolves and emerges over time.  Just great.

• And this will make your day if nothing else will.  It’s Publishing 911.  Are you an author?  Are you a reader?  Are you having a bad day?  Read this.  Thanks to Nathan Bransford for the link.

• As for your theatrical news of the day, according to Mr. Mo, "Thespian toddlers beware, today the Kennedy Center in DC announced the inclusion of Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical on their 2009-10 schedule ."  I hadn’t a clue such a thing was even in the works.  One wonders if it will incorporate both Knuffle books as one.  Hmmm.  Thanks to Mr. Mo for the link.

• That reminds me… if you still haven’t sent me your Top 10 Picture Books of All Time, it’s not too late.  I hunger for opinions.  My stomach verily growls for lack of consensus.  Even if it’s Love You Forever, I don’t mind!  Tom at Omnivoracious just did his own list and it’s magnificent.  I’m always delighted to see Stamaty getting love.  Sadly Go, Dog, Go is an easy reader and won’t make the cut, but as you can see he has plenty of back-up titles in reserve.  Send me what you like at Fusenumber8@gmail.com !

• Daily Image:

I could see more than one author allowing fans to poke and prod about their personal writing space in this manner.  Probably the only reason you can do it with Mr. Dahl is because he is dead, but don’t let THAT little detail get in your way.  Just go here and you can sneak about Roald Dahl’s "writing hut".  Not too dissimilar from J.K. Rowling’s messy desk website, when you think about it.  People do love to pry.
 

Thanks to Boing Boing for the link.

Filed under: Fusenews