Fusenews: In Which I Finally Get to Use the Word “Yurt” in a Sentence

I hadn’t been paying much attention to the newest surprisingly long Where the Wild Things Are New York Times article since I’m beginning to suffer from Wild Thing Overload (which, coincidentally, is sure to be the title of my new band). However, this is why the world invented husbands. Matt read the article then mentioned two salient points about the piece. Salient Point #1: There was going to be a Harold and the Purple Crayon movie? And Sendak was involved? Um, why have I not heard anything about this before? Salient Point #2: The piece begins by quoting bloggers and the rumors that surrounded the production woes of Wild Things. Then you read through, get to the end of the piece, and it’s clear that Jonze isn’t going to talk about what went down. Which means that The Times is getting a lot of this speculation from blogs. Now since the original objection to blogs as sources of news was that they simply regurgitate the information they gather from "real" news sites (like The New York Times), it seems pretty interesting that this particular article gets its original information from the bloggers themselves and then never gets additional facts from its primary source. Worth mulling.

• Accelerated Reader was developed in 1986?  Gee whiz.  Funny that there weren’t lots of 20th birthday celebrations three years ago.  Or maybe not so funny after all.  Thanks to Bookninja for the link.

• The Chocolate War Objections Redux: This time we’re talking about the same darn thing, only now we’re pointing the finger at Patrick Ness instead of Robert Cormier.  Oh, the pain, the pain.  Thanks to @medinger for the link.

• I harbor no particular dislike of The Berenstain Bears.  They is what they is.  However, there are some of you out there who can’t stand the bearish clan.  For you, I link to this.  You’re welcome.

• We are, of course, pleased to hear that Crayola is creating a Very Hungry Caterpillar crayon and presenting it at an Eric Carle Museum event.  Then I get to thinking: Would a (here he is again) Harold and the Purple Crayon crayon be redundant or could they do something with that?  Perhaps various shades of purple?  A Harold and the Purple Crayon pack of sorts?  This is what I get to thinking about on my long subway rides home.  Thanks to Omnivoracious for the link.

• Ever wondered what the ground you’re standing on looked like, oh say, 400 years ago?  The Wildlife Conservation Society did, and by extension came up with a wild idea.  The created a little something called The Mannahatta Project which, in their own words, "aims to re-start the natural history of New York City, a few hours before Henry Hudson arrived 400 years ago."  Here in New York we’ve been marking Hudson’s arrival with an increase in homework assignments and many a school system has been studying him.  Thank goodness for our multiple copies of River of Dreams: The Story of the Hudson River by Hudson Talbott, eh?  But teachers doing projects on this topic will now also find The Mannahatta Project useful, since the site allows you to plug in any Manhattan address, whereupon it will show you what it would have looked like long ago.  The site also notes the likelihood of certain wildlife, flowers, insects, etc. in the area.  It’s a whole lotta green, I tell you.  Thanks to Mom and Making Light for the link.

• If your public library is anything like my own then you’re probably dealing with a lot of parents looking for good First Day of School picture books for the little ‘uns.  We all have our go-to titles.  For me, it’s simply not a new school year without Miriam Cohen’s Will I Have a Friend? WHICH I recently discovered had been reprinted with new interior illustrations (sacrilege or awesomeness?  You be the judge).  As it happens, author Miriam Cohen is still around and about these days, and she was recently profiled over at Mermaids On Parade.  Go go go!

• Cross-marketing as a term or phrase sounds dull.  But pairing Arnie the Donut with actual delicious donuts?  More fun than a barrel of sea monkeys.  Author Kelly DiPucchio has a contest for you then.  After posting some creative cross-marketing pictures involving grocery stores she urges you to do the same.  Sez she: "Send me your own cross-marketing book campaign pictures: kelly*AT*kellydipucchio*DOT*com.  I will post them periodically throughout the month of September. One lucky winner will win their very own frolicsome colony of Sea Monkeys! Haven’t you always wanted a monkey?"  A contest and free sea monkeys.  What more can life possibly offer?

• When is a mobius strip like a library?  When it’s built in Kazakhstan by the Dutch.  That sounds like the world’s worst riddle, but it may also turn out to be the world’s greatest library.  I’ve always said our libraries simply don’t reference yurts enough.  Thanks to AL Direct for the link.

• Daily Image:

If you know me at all then you know how much pure unadulterated will it’s taking me to keep from purchasing this t-shirt for storytimes:

If they had one with cute little sleeves I’d have cracked long ago.

Filed under: Fusenews