You thought you got good stuff for Christmas? Beat this!
Well, the Bird family had a lovely Christmas down in old Atlanta, GA. We didn’t lose any offspring either going there or back again, so I consider that a win. And the presents! Whether it was the Matilda soundtrack (yes, I’m a million years old and still request CDs as presents) or the collected Pogo comics (Vol. 2!) or a new laptop, this was a good little year.
What I did not know when I flew back at 6:15 a.m. yesterday was that I was rapidly winging my way home to an unexpected gift like no other. A gift that can only be described as one-of-a-kind. Indeed, unless more than one was produced this season, I may have the only one quite like this.
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You will all recall Alison Morris. Dubbed “The Mayor of Children’s Books” by T.A. Barron she is one of the smartest, wittiest people I know. She is also now currently living in Washington D.C. which is a crime against man (or at least, against the convenience of seeing her as often as I’d like).
Over the years it was Alison who has inspired some of the greatest children’s literature crafts I’ve ever seen. That Shrinky Dink necklace of Newbery and Caldecott winners? Inspired by Alison and our Shrinky Dink Christmas ornament year. The birdhouses made out of F&Gs? All Alison.
So I open a present in the mail from her and this is inside:
Yes. Your eyes do not deceive you. In her infinite awesomeness, Alison created (and I do not know how) a Donner Dinner Party snowglobe.
Best. Gift. Ever.
Thank you, Alison.
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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 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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LOVE IT!
You were in Atlanta!? That’s just down the road a piece from Charlotte. (well, 5 hours by car) If you’re ever down there again and have time to spare or if you ever take a road trip to A-town from NYC, be sure to stop in Charlotte and look me up.
I need to have an Atlanta Kidlit Drink Night some time. Maybe in 2 years time? That’s when I’m slated to return.
Of all stories to make a snow globe of!! I’m a middle school librarian in Texas. I’ve tried to turn one boy to reading anything at all. He took the Nathan Hale tales and loved them! The Donner Party is his favorite. The boy loves history, so I ordering any graphic novels about history. I just order more copies of the books. It is too bad that it is a “one of kind” gift, Sam would have loved it!
My deepest hope is that Alison does a piece for ShelfTalker on how she did it. Then maybe you could make your own? Fingers crossed!
Just fyi– we did have a few great kidlit drink nights in ATL, and there’s a Facebook page (though I got busy with kids and so forth, and stopped organizing), if you feel inspired to make use of it when you next pop into town!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Atlanta-Kidlit-Drink-Night/128736227182877
Kidlit Drink Night in 2 years? Reserve me a spot now! And Martha, our library runs a blog about books for boys. There’s a post up now about Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln called “Presidents as Tough Guys.” Take a look at http://jaja-cas.blogspot.com
And I’m going to take a look at that FB page.
Thanks for the link!
Betsy, I’m SOOO glad you love your snowglobe!! I made one for Nathan Hale as well (since he authored the book that inspired them!), plus a few others using other books for a few select friends. Will try to put together a how-to post for those interested (and I promise this craft is WAY easier than the birdhouses)!