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

August 1, 2009 by Betsy Bird

Fusenews: There ain’t no party like a Boston Tea Party, ’cause a Boston Tea Party don’t stop!

August 1, 2009 by Betsy Bird   4 comments

I love cupcakes, sure, but I wouldn’t say no to a nice pint of Ben & Jerry’s if you handed it to me.  Of course, all those flavors… they sure seem to be named after other folks a lot.  Where’s my own personal librarian flavor, I ask you?  Looks like there’s a movement to make just that.  Dusty Stacks sounds good (layered ice cream with speckles of cocoa in every layer).  Bookninja came up with his own flavors as well.  Due Dates and Figs might work, except … date and fig ice cream?  ew.  Misshelved Maple is better.  Even The Guardian got in on the act reporting that Arnold Carbone the "flavor guru" made a mighty sweet suggestion himself: "Malt Whitman: ‘a malt ice-cream, with chocolate alphabet letters and two decadent rivulets – one caramel and one fudge – as an ode to writer Walt Whitman’."  Smart, funny, AND I would eat it in a second.  Malt Whitman it is!  Thanks to Bookninja for the links.

  • I’ve been greatly enjoying illustrator Paul Schmid’s blog as of late.  When it comes to author or illustrator blogs, I’m drawn particularly to those sites with opinions, that also happen to provide content that I can’t find elsewhere.  Schmid provides.  Recently he has broken down for us some of the choices other illustrators have made when doing classic books.  For example, his examination of Zwerger’s take on the Wizard of Oz poppy scene is particularly insightful. "An eerie greyish green background suggests an endless field without the literal busyness that would overwhelm the viewers eyes, while simultaneously being complimentary to and enhancing the purer red of the poppies. She suggests the field without being controlled by it."  I liked his response to Ferdinand the Bull as well.  "Perfect. Except for the cover, the cover design sucks."  Thanks to Oz and Ends for the first link.


  • I own a UK paperback edition of the first Harry Potter book, which I picked up in London around 1999.  And I did notice on a reread that the American edition specifies that Dean Thomas is black while the British one leaves it a little more ambiguous.  The Magic District takes this issue to heart and examines race as it appears in the Harry Potter books a little more closely.  It doesn’t bring up the Thirteenth Child debate either, but perhaps it’s mentioned in a different post.  Thanks to Shaken and Stirred for the link.


  • Lest we fail to give Little Golden Books enough credit, Alison Morris over at ShelfTalker has highlighted some of their truly terrible cousins; The Rand McNally books.  Love the tears of anger/shame.


  • You know, there is a downside to being a prolific writer.  Roald Dahl’s autobiographer learns the hard way. Thanks to Bookninja for the link.


  • British Book I Would Like To Read Someday, Please:



I mean, it’s twins trying to kill each other.  What’s not to love?  Thanks to Achocka Blog for the link.

  • Now that The Hunger Mountain magazine’s Children’s & YA section is online, I’m intrigued by the notion of placing small sections of middle grade novels, YA novels, children’s poetry, and children’s non-fiction titles there for perusal.  It’s a good idea.  One that I’ve seen done far more often on the adult side of things.  Are there other online literary journals that do the same with children’s lit?


  • Someone asked me the other day what my picks from the multitude of astronaut books published this year would be.  Truth be told?  If I haven’t reviewed it, my thoughts are usually all ah-jumble.  Fortunately Lisa Von Drasek over at Early Word Kids has come up with a fabulous compilation of the new astro books, highlighting those she recommends.


  • It’s been a year for faux album covers.  First Dan Santat and Tammi Sauer did their thing.  Now the self-dubbed Brothers Delacorte have created their own hits via HiFi Stereo.  Good things come in threes.  I dare one of you to come up with yet another.


  • Bearing in mind the recent Liar controversy surrounding its cover, Jacket Whys did an informal survey of what jackets out there actually feature African-American kids.  The results are there, but they’re pretty few and far between.  For more, I suggest you head on over to The Brown Bookshelf.  They always keep close tabs on books worth reading and sharing.


  • Ashley Bryan killed at the Newbery/Caldecott Banquet when he accepted the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award.  Now you have a chance to nominate the next winner for the 2011 Award.  The criteria can be found here. More info on the ALSC Blog. Perhaps a lady should win next.  We haven’t had a lady since 1995, after all.  Let’s Beverly Cleary it up, shall we?  Failing that, perhaps a touch of Judy Blume would suffice.


  • This is what happens when people who don’t usually work with children’s books start trying to make lists of the worst of them.  The American Scene designated The Giving Tree as bad, which is fine.  But as for The Polar Express his only objection seems to be that it suggests that grown-ups don’t believe in Santa.  The comments make for interesting reading as well.  The American Scene in general calls itself "An ongoing review of politics and culture," so it’s interesting to see folks outside of our librarian/publisher sphere talking about the books they do not like.  They can be mighty rude to one another too.  Thanks to Bookninja for the links.

  • Daily Image:


Author and great blogger Jay Asher (of Thirteen Reasons Why fame) went to Boston and got himself a little Robert McCloskey action.


I want to go to there.  And I certainly hope that’s your Facebook profile picture from here on in, Jay.  Thanks to Jen Robinson’s Book Page 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

Keeping an Eye On . . . the PEN America Book Ban Lawsuit

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Ellen Myrick Publisher Preview: Fall 2023/Winter 2024 (Part Four – TOON Books, Albatros, Arctis, and Barefoot Books)

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Spider-Man Fake Red | Review

by Esther Keller

Heavy Medal

And now there are 38: May Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Suggestions

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Not the Mermaid or Monster You Knew, a guest post by author Robin Alvarez

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Conversation with Laurel Snyder

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Gregory Maguire and David Litchfield Weave a Colorful Tapestry of Life in 'Cress Watercress'

SLJ and Penguin Random House Create Poster Supporting the Freedom to Read

Debut 'Star' Author Erica Martin on Poems of Injustice

“Learn About” These Early Childhood Nonfiction Series

SPONSORED

'Salt Magic,' 'The Legend of Auntie Po,' and 'Run: Book One' Among 2022 Eisner Award Winners

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. rams says

    August 1, 2009 at 6:37 am

    Well, I worry a bit about Mama Mallard’s ankles, but am pleasently distracted by the gauzy scarf and jaunty hat-angle of the duckling behind her…

  2. WendieO says

    August 1, 2009 at 7:05 pm

    Jay, you’ve shaved your beard! As for the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award — Jane Yolen should be next. Over 300 books isn’t small change. -wendieOld

  3. Eric Carpenter says

    August 1, 2009 at 10:50 pm

    Yeah a lady should win the Wilder soon. (Cynthia Rylant perhaps.) But I would like to throw some support behind William Steig, yeah I know dead white guys are not popular picks but Steig’s career fits the award’s criteria perfectly, especially since he had such an unwarrantedly bad showing in the top 100 picture book poll, (i voted for 3 Steig titles so it’s not my fault).

  4. Dan Santat says

    August 1, 2009 at 11:24 pm

    “Worth Your Salt” HAHA what hilarious album covers.

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