Fusenews: It’s a board book, Jim, but not as we know it

That author/illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka.  He’s a good egg.  It’s not everyone who founds their own youth scholarship, y’know.   For the second time Jarrett will be hosting the 2nd annual auction for the Joseph and Shirley Krosoczka Memorial Youth Scholarships. The auction is already live as of this past Monday morning and it’s benefiting a great cause.  You see, Jarrett named it after the grandparents that raised him and with it the Worcester Art Museum provides tuition to underprivileged children who are in unique familial situations.  As for the auction itself there are all sort of great things up for grabs, including original art (I sure hope someone buys the Lunch Lady art and gives it to an actual lunch lady) and lunch with Jarrett in his studio.  Yet to my mind nothing but nuthin’ beats the idea of having Jarrett design your school’s mascot.  I suggest that even if your school doesn’t have a mascot you make one up just so that Jarrett can illustrate it.  You could be the Fightin’ Banana Slugs (after all, we know he has experience in that area) or the Seething Dust Bunnies.  The possibilities are endless.  And as of right now the bidding is a mere $51.  Y’all better snap that up or I’ll do so myself and just find a school interested.

• All hail our new fearless leader!  Y’all might have heard that our beloved SLJ editor Brian Kenney upped and left us for the library world (doggone worthy that).  So, in essence, I was floating about without a commander-in-chief.  Who knows what kind of mischief I could have gotten myself into!  Thank goodness Rebecca T. Miller is on hand to whip me into shape.  Things to know about this new editor: “With a background in journalism that began at the Utne Reader . . .”  Sorry, sorry, I’d say more but I’m sort of hung up on how fabulous that sentence looks.  Wow.  The Utne Reader.  Love it.  Welcome, Rebecca.

• The holidays are almost upon us and I know exactly what you’re wondering.  You’re wracking your brain trying to figure out what to get the children’s literary enthusiast who already has everything (even the newly annotated Phantom Tollbooth).  I have the solution.  Why not give them me?  Or rather, why not give them 25 seconds worth of me.  Some of you might recall the documentary Library of the Early Mind: A grown-up look at children’s literature that played in select libraries and library conferences around the country.  I bet a bunch of you missed it and wished you could see it.  Well happy days are here again because the producer of the film is selling both a digital download and actual honest-to-goodness DVDs of the film.  There’s a stocking stuffer for you.  The Daniel Handler parts are worth the price alone.

• Yep.  This exists.  And it’s a board book:

Thanks to BoingBoing for the link.

• Now that’s how you review an app.  Give ’em hell, Jennifer.

• Over at Gwarlingo Brian Selznick chose to share his twenty favorite children’s books.  A couple surprises on the list.  I don’t think I could have predicted the appearance of The Borrowers (I wonder if he’s seen the trailer for the Japanese version?) or Twenty-One Balloons (I wonder if he’s seen the 90-Second Newbery version?).  The man has good taste.  Thanks to @LemmeLibrary via @PaulWHankins for the link.

• Life’s too short not to enjoy looking at dead serious Daria cosplay.
  

• Daily Image:

Shoot.  I should just whip up a recommended Gift List for Children’s Enthusiasts, shouldn’t I?  If I did then you can be sure I’d include this jewelry.  See if you can identify the creator:

Twenty points to those of you who said Oliver Jeffers.  The man paired with Digby & Iona to create a line of jewelry based on his children’s books.  I’ve an eye on the paper airplane myself.  It takes a particularly peculiar person to wear a fancy paper airplane around their neck, I think.  Thanks to Swiss Miss for the link.

Filed under: Fusenews