Fusenews: Gray skies are gonna clear up, put on a happy face!
Fusenews Fusenews
Fusey Oozy Fusenews
Fusenews Fusenews
Eat it up . . . . YUM!*
Oh we are high spirits here in New York now that the weather has cooled down a tad. So let’s keep the party going strong. It’s news time!
- Undoubtedly many of you encountered the recent New York Times article “I’m Tired of Reading Out Loud to My Son, O.K.?” by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic. Eschewing knee jerk reactions, anyone who has ever read to a small child for long periods of time will recognize what Lucianovic is saying here. However, it was Jules Danielson who created the best possible response to the piece in her Kirkus blog post Reading Aloud. Jules is dead on in her assessment. God, can you imagine only having books like Goodnight Moon and Rainbow Fish to read to your child? It’s enough to make me want to send a care package of Barnett/Blackall/Santat/Rex/Scieszka/Gravett and more to poor Ms. Lucianovic, just to spare her.
- Years ago Erica Perl wrote an article for Salon called Great kids’ books about financial ruin. Since the piece came out in 2008 it’s a bit out of date and the slideshow, for whatever reason, no longer works. Still, fear not. If it’s titles for a moneyless age you crave, look no further than this U.S. News and World Report piece The Best Children’s Books for Money Lessons. Make that The Best Children’s Picture Books for Money Lessons, since chapter books are few and far between here (always excepting the exceptional Ramona). A little baffled by the inclusion of that pluck-out-your-eyeballs bad Dolly Parton title, but otherwise it’s an interesting list.
- Wantwantwantwantwantwantwantwantwantwantwant . . . .
…. wantwantwantwantwantwantwantwantwantwaaaaaaaaaaant . . .
- In other news the kids of Bank Street have wrapped up their thoughts on Allie Bruce’s book jacket project. But even before they did that they got to actually discuss these issues with honest-to-god book editors. Sheesh! Some lucky kids!
- Out of professional jealousy I rarely link to reviews other people have made of upcoming children’s books that I myself intend to review. That said, I clearly haven’t been paying enough attention to Teach Mentor Texts. Their review of Peter Brown’s Mr. Tiger Goes Wild covers whole swaths of interesting stuff. Clearly I need to read their site more often.
- Heads up, francophiles! Guess who’s coming to the States in November? Stay tuned for more details. Meanwhile, if you’d like a handy dandy PDF of the best French children’s books (in French, not English) available in the States, my fellow NYPL librarian Libbhy Romero whipped up this list.
- Happy news for happy people (it’s just that kind of day). Terry Pratchett is still writing his books and giving talks. Hooray!
- You’re never too old not to enjoy a rousing alternative epilogue to Harry Potter. Zounds!
- Royal baby news is finally abating. As such, I was delighted to read this poem for the occasion by Michael Rosen. Right on, man. Thanks to Playing By the Book for the link!
I have a perpetual list going right now of all the children’s literary statues in the United States that I know of. Sadly, most of the time I don’t hear about them unless they’ve been stolen or vandalized. Such was the case when a Runaway Bunny got the brunt of it recently. Who knew there even was one?
Happy Highlights news is out there for all you incipient writers.
The Highlights Foundation in northeastern Pennsylvania has openings in some Fall workshops for writers for children and young adults. Fairy Tales Revisited, Advanced Illustration, Biography, Picture Books, and much more. To find out more, go to:
- I love this recent SLJ encapsulation of the Maureen Johnson coverflip creation and where it has led in the end. Always nice to get a conclusion on these types of things.
- Daily Image:
I could actually go so far as to read the New Yorker blog The Page Turner’s piece Internet Book Fetishists Versus Anti-Fetishists. I really could.
OR . . . I could just post a picture of “Withdrawn from Circulation” by Wendy Kawabata. I think you know where I’m going with this.
Thanks to AL Direct for the link.
*To be sung to the tune of Fish Heads.
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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Such a great lineup of news! And I do love that bunny sculpture.
You know about the Henry/Ribsy/Ramona statues in Portland, OR, don’t you? Just made a pilgrimage to there w/ my daughter (and have a picture of her with Ramona). We also visited Beverly Cleary’s childhood home, which was just sold and is undergoing renovation…
Oh yes! I should do a collected blog post of all the statues I know of. Everything from the dogs from Where the Red Fern Grows to the Seuss sculpture garden to Peter and Willy in Prospect Park. The Ramona statues have the singular distinction of being some of the few I’ve actually visited firsthand. Didn’t know about Cleary’s childhood home, though. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for the links to the pieces about reading aloud to children.
Stephanie should be glad she only has to read a book. Her story reminded me of the time my kid went through where he wanted me to tell him a different story that I made up every single night. Now that is pressure…
Oh, I’d love to see a collected blog post of children’s book-related statues! Or a little Google Map tour of them. The only one that comes to mind right now is the Make Way for Ducklings statue in the Boston Public Garden…
Is there a way to make a Google map like that? Because that would be keen.