Fusenews: In which I finally get to use the term “man up”.
- Working with Pooh Bear is lovely. He is polite and refined. A little honey in his pot and that is all that he requires. Really, he’s the perfect working companion. But this new girl who just moved in? Ugh! Talk about a holy terror. If she’s not running helter-skelter around the building she’s dumping our new books down the nearest unused book drop to see where they go. Pooh and I have decided that we’ll just relegate her to the archivists and let THEM handle her from here on in. Let’s see what mischief she wreaks with their Gutenberg Bible. Heh heh heh.
- Speaking of NYPL, one of our librarians (the fabulous Julia Chang) was honored lately at QUITE the fundraising gala. Needless to say, I was not invited. Fortunately The New York Social Diary (yes, there really is a site called The New York Social Diary) was there to report on the event. Here are two shots of the room they presented in. It’s our Rose Reading Room converted into a . . . words fail me.
Gotta love any event where they line the walls with waiters.
- We haven’t had any pages in my children’s room for the last three weeks so my usual “professional development” (read: reading through my blogroll) has taken the hit and I almost completely missed this fabulous challenge over at Sarah Miller’s site. In Books unmasked Sarah has removed the jackets from 12 different titles. Can you identify them without their packaging? She offers additional hints here for the real toughies that remain elusive. Thanks to Laura Lutz for the heads up.
- Speaking of folks I’ve been missing, my article for SLJ couldn’t have listed 100 Scope Notes as a top blog at a better time. Travis Jonker is smokin’! This week alone he’s done such a crazy array of fascinating posts it makes me feel like a big-time slacker. Best of all, from November 9-13th he’s featuring something he’s calling Cover Week. Full details are here. It’ll be good for Chad Beckerman’s assessment of that loony Treasure Island cover alone. Cannot wait!
- From Cynopsis Kids, the worst idea I think I’ve seen in at least 24 hours:
Director/Producer Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum movies, Cheaper by the Dozen, Big Fat Liar) signs on to produce Walden Media ‘s mixed live-action/CG animated movie based on the kid books The Berenstain Bears , per USA Today . Walden Media CEO Michael Bostick says the move could release as early as late 2011. Created by author/illustrators Jan and Stan Berenstain, The Berenstain Bears first appeared in the 1962 book The Big Honey Hunt , a Dr. Seuss’ Beginner Books title. There are no writers signed to pen the movie as of yet. The Berenstain Bears have been featured in 300+ books, three animated TV series and a range of animated holiday specials as well as video games.
Shawn Levy, I’m beginning to think that I do not like you.
Random Note to Readers: Has anyone seen a halfway decent non-fiction book on how to do magic tricks in the last 10 years? I’m serious. I’ve got kids CONSTANTLY begging for magic trick titles and everything on my shelf is either for five-year-olds or dates back a good 25 years. Truth be told, I’m rather fond of Ventriloquism for Beginners: A Complete Set of Lessons in the Art of Voice Magic by Douglas Houlden, but our copy (which sits directly to the right of my reference desk) is from 1976. Publishers, man up and give me my magic trick books.
Amazon, Amazon, Amazon. First I write me up a little Amazon Vine post that gets.. um. Some interest, shall we say. After the smoke has cleared, others have weighed in. It was with the greatest delight that I saw that Pixie Stix Kids has offered comments on the topic as well. This is good. Gets the old debate ah-continuing. And Amazon just can’t seem to keep its head out of the spotlight these days either. Not content with a mere Vine, MediaBistro recently reported that Amazon.com’s Twitter Program Generates Controversy. I like the points in the piece, though I should mention that it’s the first time I’ve read the term “the integrity of Twitter.” Ah well.
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- Speaking of Amazon (and apparently I can do little else) they produced their list of The Best Books of 2009. Publishers Weekly did the same. Here are the only children’s books they agreed on:
Picture Books:
The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry PinkneyMiddle Grade:
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Philip M. Hoose (considered YA by Amazon)
So basically, they don’t see eye-to-eye on much. And Amazon not including Moonshot? Nutty! Thanks to @medinger and @mitaliperkins respectively for the links.
- It’s no secret that I think that YA author James Kennedy is the best thing since sliced bread. Whether he’s losing to Neil Gaiman in a footrace or showing off his protegee the pipe bearing Freya, he’s never boring. Now he has a plan for his fan art. Lots of folks get fan art. Kennedy’s the one who knows what to do with it. He’s planning a crazy party and a display of fan art from all sides. So. If (A) you read The Order of Odd-Fish and (B) want to submit some art, that is cool. Apparently he’d like a mix of straight up fans and professional folks. And really, who doesn’t want to do justice to flying noggins and cockroach dandies? Check out his website for more info.
- It’s the year for time travel. Abby (the) Librarian and Melissa at Book Nut have climbed into their respective time machines so as to go back and correct the great wrongs of the past. I, for one, salute them! Particularly since it is apparent that Melissa owned the same pair of glasses between the ages of 13 and 15 as my own unfortunate self.
- Roger Sutton keeps linking to me. It’s incredibly flattering and mildly unnerving, particularly when he responds to articles I’ve written. Fortunately, he seems to like what I’ve said, as with my recent SLJ piece. On his blog, he responds to some of the questions I throw out there. He says the questions are swell and then raises a few of his own: “There’s a whole sub-genre of children’s literature that has found its best audience among the adults who serve children (The Wednesday Wars, for example); does the same thing go on among bloggers?”
- The other day I mentioned that I should really write a steampunk/zombie/vampire/angel YA novel. Apparently on the very same day the webcomic Questionable Content was thinking the exact same thought. Many thanks to Ann Carpenter for catching the similarities.
- The economy is bad. Libraries need books. If you do, you might be interested in the Usborne book giveaway contest. If you live in the U.S. just tweet to win some of their titles. Those Kane/Miller books in particular are pretty sweet.
- Daily Image:
Customizable alphabet plates.
Or, as I like to call them, extreme wishful thinking. Because really, the only way “Lily” is going to see the message that she loves broccoli is if “Lily” has already eaten said broccoli. It’s the Catch-22 of dinnertime. Thanks to Swiss Miss for the link.
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.
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I wanted to respond to your question about magic books–my 13 year old son is a very serious magician and member of the Magic Castle here in Hollywood. Here are some of his favorites along with brief reviews I did for a library school class:
1. Wilson, Mark. Mark Wilson’s Complete Course in Magic. Running Press Kids, 2003 (originally published 1975). 512 pages. ISBN 0762414553
Genre: Nonfiction
Reading Level: Grade 5 through adult
While this book is not written specifically for children, it is a classic in the field, written by a well-known professional magician and encompassing all major areas of magic. The author has been named one of the top 10 magicians of the 20th century by Magic magazine, the leading magazine for professional magicians. Wilson claims his book is the most popular book of magic instruction in history, and the book has sold over 850,000 copies. There are good reasons for its success; it is abundantly illustrated, with more than 2,000 pictures which illustrate over 300 tricks, ranging from simple card tricks to advanced illusions. The tricks are explained very clearly, with easy-to-follow instructions. He also provides advice on planning a quality magic show. Of 52 reviews on Amazon, 51 of the readers, many of whom are professional magicians, give the volume 5 stars. It is a must-have for any library collection on magic. Tannen’s Magic Store, perhaps the leading magic store in the country, give the volume this enthusiastic endorsement: “Its thoroughness makes Mark Wilson’s Complete Course In Magic especially recommended for the beginner with absolutely no experience in magic. At the same time, its scope and depth has earned this book a place in the libraries of many of today’s most accomplished magicians, professional and amateur alike!” The book does not have an index but features an extremely detailed table of contents, and the tricks are well organized into different categories such as coin tricks, card tricks, silks, ropes, and so on.
Jay, Joshua. Magic: The Complete Course: Book and DVD. Workman Publishing, 2008. 278 pages. ISBN 0-7611-4987-2
Genre: Nonfiction
Reading Level: Grade 5 through adult
This brand-new book is sure to become a new must-have for magic lovers, young and old, and an excellent addition to public and school library collections. Written by Joshua Jay, a charismatic young magician who won the top prize at the prestigious World Magic Seminar when he was only 16 years old, this very attractive book includes high quality color photographs and step-by-step instructions for 100 assorted tricks. It also comes with an invaluable, very well-made 90 minute DVD in which Joshua Jay demonstrates how to perform 35 of these tricks. Each trick is broken down into various components, including the effect, the secret, the set-up, and the performance, with suggestions for patter, what to do with your hands, and other hints for a good performance. The book also provides suggestions for combining the tricks in this volume into discrete shows of varying lengths designed for different types of audiences. He also includes examples of famous magicians who have invented particular tricks in the books or done something related to the trick, thus providing some magic history as well. In the back of the book is a resource list, giving ways to stay involved with magic, and a detailed index. There is also a useful DVD menu on the inside back cover of the book, which lists to find the same trick in the book. Of 37 reviews posted to date on Amazon.com, the book receives an average 5 star review, with most of the readers raving about what a wonderful addition this volume is to the field. Jay writes in his blog that this book is intended by the publisher to be a “category killer,” a book more comprehensive, wide-ranging, and aesthetically beautiful than anything that has come before it. The author adds, “The book is the beginner’s guide I wish I could have read.” Although some of the tricks in this book are not suitable for tweens because they involve matches, this book nonetheless is so attractive and otherwise suitable for tweens in appeal and ease of use that it belongs in every library magic collection.
9. King, Mac and Mark Levy. Tricks with Your Head: Hilarious Magic Tricks and Stunts to Disgust and Delight. Three Rivers Press, 2002. 208 pages. ISBN-10: 0609805916
Genre: nonfiction
Age range: 5th grade and up
The gags and stunts in this perfect are perfect for the gross-out stage all tween boys seem to go through. Written by award-winning magician Mac King, winner of 2008’s Best Comedy Magician award, and Mark Levy, author of Magic for Dummies, this book includes tricks sure to “gross out” school friends such as how to make your head disappear, penetrate your skull with a straw, make a French fry disappear up your nose, jab a fork in your eye, and more. The book receives an average 4 star review on Amazon, with 24 reviews. The book is written in a comical, entertaining style, and is amply illustrated with funny cartoons. Instructions are clear and easy to follow. This book is sure to be a hit with boys, who seem to comprise about 95 percent of the kids interested in magic.
It is my feeling that most of the books on magic tricks written for little kids are not very good; DVD’s are great for learning magic tricks–much easier than books. The great thing about the Joshua Jay book is that it comes with an excellent DVD.
There’s also a lot of great magic out there on You Tube and other internet sites; I’d be happy to send you some links after checking with my son (in school at the moment!)
Excellent! Good point about books Vs. DVDs. I think there’s room enough in systems for both, but these are magnificent! I’ll be forwarding this on to my Materials Specialist immediately.
Thanks so much, Margo!
Wow…Walden Media is really scraping the bottom. It started in 2002 as a company who’s founding principle was to bring kid’s books to the big screen as well as find and publish new books that could also become movies in their own right.
As noble as it sounds, I think it was really part of the idea of “synergy” that was sweeping over the big media/entertainment conglomerates back at that time.
Disney, Universal, Paramont and all the others were trying to either find, or better yet develop product internally, that could be leveraged across books, movies, video games, and theme park rides.
Unfortunately, it seems that the “synergy thing” never really worked out–for anyone.
Other than it’s original “Narnia” movie, Walden seems to have struggled with stinker movies, especially “Around the World in 80 Days”, “Hoot”, “The Dark is Rising”, and “City of Ember”. Even their last big-budget “Prince of Caspian”, which did well overseas, bombed domestically (overseas take must be divided by 2 before hitting the bottom line).
But worse than movies, Walden’s book impact has been nill(and books are infinately easier to produce than a movies). So far Walden has made 19 movies(with partners), but other than SAVVY which was co-published with Penguin’s DAIL imprint, I can’t think of a single memorable book example.
Recently Walden left Penguin Putnam and they are now a stepchild over at Harper Collins, I believe under the Bazler and Bray imprint.
So it looks like Walden Media is imploding. I think by this point all the principles who started the company back in 2002 have been purged.
So where big conglomerates fail, someone must step in, and there continues to be an insatible demand for good movie material. But when millions of movie production dollars are spent to bring “Sunny with a Chance of Meatballs”…or now…”THE BERENSTAIN BEARS” to the big-screen, it’s a sure sign of a dearth of new, quality(movie-wise) stories coming out of the children’s book arena.
Dover Publications has a lot of books about magic including some for beginners.
How important is recent for a book on magic? It seems like there are a lot of good books which have been around for awhile. Is it just that you already have the older books?
Well, that and the fact that if a book is out of print I can’t purchase it. For example, I went to check out the Jay Joshua book mentioned earlier only to find that it’s unavailable now.