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October 21, 2010 by Betsy Bird

Fusenews: Fight fight, inner light. Kill, Quakers, Kill!*

October 21, 2010 by Betsy Bird   14 comments

Well, kids, here’s the deal.  While I’d love to tell you that I won’t be blogging for the next few days or so because I’ll be at the Kidlitcon in Minnesota this weekend, truth be told the real reason for my sporadic bursts is that it’s my 10-year college reunion and I am in the heart of this metropolitan: Richmond, Indiana.

I may try to blog on the side while dodging rampaging Friends (mine was a Quaker school).  If I fail miserably, though, here are some tidbits to tide you over.

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First off, this sort of reeks of awesome.  Nathan Hale (perhaps best known to you because of the art he did on Shannon Hale’s Rapunzel’s Revenge books) has paired with one Rick Walton and together the two of them present a parody of Madeline called (appropriately considering the season) Frankenstein.  Each day they’ll release a little more of the story.  You can see the first spread here, the second one here., and others on Nathan’s blog.  Frankly, I don’t see why this couldn’t be marketable.  If the parody laws allow for Goodnight Goon, Runaway Mummy, and Furious George Goes Bananas, then why not Frankenstein?  The name may have to change, of course.

  • From the Mixed Up Files presents a few thoughts on what happens when you go about Amending the Classics.
  • Say the words “historical fiction” to a room full of fifth graders and prepare for a bit of synchronized snoring.  Laurie Halse Anderson proposes an alternate name: Historical Thrillers.  Works for me.  Might make for an interesting series of booktalks anyway.  Thanks to Margo Tanenbaum for the link.
  • A Virginia history textbook for fourth graders has come under significant fire for its claim that thousands of black soldiers fought for the Confederacy during the civil war, some of them under the command of Stonewall Jackson.  The Washington Post has the scoop.  The author of said textbook defends the choice, having gotten much of the information off of the internet.  Who is she?  None other than Joy Masoff, author of Oh Yuck! The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty and Oh Yikes! History’s Grossest Moments.  Oh yikes indeed.  Thanks to @PWKidsBookshelf for the link.
  • J.K. Rowling just won the Hans Christian Andersen Award.  Nice to see, though I don’t suppose she particularly needs the dough.  Now will she please write us a new book?
  • Along similar lines, author/illustrator Roxie Monroe considers what it actually takes to start a new book.
  • Fun Fact: What pair of successful children’s book authors have been friends since they were sixteen?  If you answered Cressida Cowell and Lauren Child then you probably already read this article in The Independent.  Thanks to Jenny Schwartzberg for the link.
  • Well, the original cover of Charlotte’s Web just went for a whopping $155,000 in auction.  Fun Fact: It probably wasn’t you.  It wasn’t me either.  Guess we better go round up the usual suspects.
  • Daily Image:

Anyone else find this weird? Apparently Barnes & Noble has just added a new section to their shelves.  Can you see the rogue element?

One of these things is not like the other… or one of these authors anyway.  Thanks to @PWKidsBookshelf for the link.

*Actual Earlham fight chant.  The other one was “Fight ’em, fight ’em, beat ’em senseless / Do it till we reach consensus.”  Oddly, we won very few games.

Filed under: Fusenews

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Charlotte's WebCressida CowellE.D. Baker?J.K. RowlingJoy MasoffLauren ChildLaurie Halse AndersonMadelineNathan HaleRick WaltonRoxie Monroe

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 Kirkus, 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 BlueSky at: @fuse8.bsky.social

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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 Kirkus, 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 BlueSky at: @fuse8.bsky.social

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jody says

    October 21, 2010 at 12:55 pm

    Your title for this post caught my eye, glad to hear they are still using that chant at losing football games. I’ve never heard the one in your footnote, must have been after my time there. Cheers.

  2. Kathy says

    October 21, 2010 at 5:48 pm

    Talk about contradictions! I thought that fight song must belong to Earlham; I moved to Richmond almost three decades ago for my very first library job and discovered Earlham while living there…a lovely little campus.

  3. Melissa (Book Nut) says

    October 21, 2010 at 6:21 pm

    LOL. My husband works for Friends University here in Wichita (yet another Quaker school, though it’s now just plain nondenominational Christian). Their fight song ends with “good old FU.” Better than the original name (Friends University of Central Kansas) which really didn’t make a good (well, acceptable) acronym.

    Have fun at your reunion. You will be missed at KidlitCon, though.

  4. Judy Hijikata says

    October 21, 2010 at 7:25 pm

    I could not believe it when I saw this the EC “fight song” on my Twitter stream!!

    Have a great Homecoming weekend!

  5. Tricia says

    October 21, 2010 at 7:35 pm

    Yay Earlham!

  6. Adam Rex says

    October 21, 2010 at 8:47 pm

    Why would they have to change the title from “Frankenstein?” That novel is almost two hundred years old.

    • Elizabeth Bird says

      October 22, 2010 at 2:26 pm

      I just figure it would lead to confusion, Adam. This from a librarian search standpoint. Even if it was a small tweak to the title (subtitle “A Parody”) it would sufficiently keep folks searching on library catalogs from getting the wrong book.

  7. Meredith says

    October 21, 2010 at 9:44 pm

    Glad to see Nathan Hale getting some love. And I for one, would totally buy Frankenstein.

  8. Lisa says

    October 21, 2010 at 10:58 pm

    hilarious combination of headline and content on a day I’m researching not-too-violent graphic novels to add to a k-8 Quaker school library.

  9. KHazelrigg says

    October 22, 2010 at 2:51 pm

    “Madelinstein!” I’d read it.

  10. Sam Bloom says

    October 23, 2010 at 12:03 am

    Ahhh, RIchmond. One of the highlights of our drive from Cincinnati (current home) to Fort Wayne (where I grew up) is the fact that there are *two* Dairy Queens in Richmond. So, theoretically, I could have two butterfinger blizzards in the span of ten minutes. Have one for me, will you?

  11. Joanne Fritz says

    October 24, 2010 at 12:35 am

    Well, I work for an indie bookstore and we shelve E.D. Baker in Middle Grade Fantasy, NOT Teen Paranormal Romance!

    And, hmph, WE started our YA Paranormal Romance section six months ago! (Grumble, grumble, Barnes & Noble, grumble, grumble).

    • Elizabeth Bird says

      October 24, 2010 at 12:24 pm

      Well, no one ever gave Barnes & Noble an award for originality, after all.

  12. mhg says

    October 24, 2010 at 1:58 pm

    Francostein, oui? 🙂

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