SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

October 6, 2017 by Betsy Bird

Surprising Jolts of Children’s Literature

October 6, 2017 by Betsy Bird   1 comments

Yes, dearies, it’s that time again. As I purchase adult materials for my library system I stumble across books with distinct connections to children’s books. Here are some of the latest finds from the other side of the reading spectrum.

First off . . .

LifeLikeMusical

Awwwwww. There he is. That’s our guy! You may not know it but aside from penning such marvelous middle grades like Better Nate Than Ever, and besides hosting one of the finest Twitter feeds this side of the Potomac, and besides putting together such classic cocktail creations as Tequila Mockingbird, Mr. Tim Federle has a l’il old memoir coming out.  Oh. Wait. No. According to Baker & Taylor its BISAC says that it’s SELF-HELP / Personal Growth / General. So! If you know of any Generals in search of personal growth and a little self-help, you know where to turn. It’s out now and PW called it, “an intuitive guide that puts life into perspective in humorous and entertaining fashion.”

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

This next one takes a second . . .

NeverComingBack

Any clue why it’s here? The key is the author. Alison McGhee! Author of such fine middle grade novels as this year’s Pablo and Birdy or the picture book that renders all new mothers quivering, shivering lumps of pure emotion Someday (seriously, can we just secretly swap out all the editions of Love You Forever for that book instead?). Kirkus called this a “luminous” novel saying, “McGhee has an almost musical ability to repeat the themes of her novel with enough variation to keep them fresh.” PW didn’t disagree, saying the book was “poignant.” LJ didn’t fawn, but it liked the book too. Apparently McGhee’s been writing these adult books on the side for years. Gosh, and you think you know a gal.

EmeraldCircus

Now for this next one I’m going to have to turn to the publisher’s description:

“Where is Wendy? Leading a labor strike against the Lost Boys, of course.

A Scottish academic unearths ancient evil in a fishing village. Edgar Allan Poe’s young bride is beguiled by a most unusual bird. Dorothy, lifted from Kansas, returns as a gymnastic sophisticate. Emily Dickinson dwells in possibility and sails away in a starship made of light. Alice’s wicked nemesis has jaws and claws but really needs a sense of humor.

In Jane Yolen’s first full collection in more than ten years discover new and uncollected tales of beloved characters, literary legends, and much more. Enter the Emerald Circus and be astonished by the transformations within.”

Nothing could be simpler!  Ms. Yolen hasn’t done a book for adults in several years, so this is a return to form, as it were. And as you can see, Holly Black does the Intro.

MontanaNoir

The Akashic Noir series put out by Akashic Books has been a pretty fair success for them. It’s hard to say how many they’ve done so far, but I’m consistently impressed by the reviews of the books, to say nothing of the caliber of editors they seem to acquire. This latest title in the series is edited by one Keir Graff.  Name ringing any bells? You might have seen him traipsing about the country with James Kennedy so as to present the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. Or you might have read his rather delightful middle grade novel out this year, The Matchstick Castle. Whatever the case, the fellow has range. Noir-y range.

Visitations

Now this one is a collection of short stories, and you know what they say. If a hundred monkeys were typing a hundred short stories on a hundred typewriters, eventually they’d reference a children’s book in one of the tales (that’s how the saying goes, right?).  In this case there’s a tale where, “an unruly, unpredictable shadow creeps in a child’s window to demand that he cut off the other hand of Captain Hook in ‘A Shadow’.”  I’m going to admit I’ve never seen that twist on Pan before, and I have seen a LOT of twists. Kirkus went into a little more detail on the story, describing it this way: “In ‘A Shadow,’ a maid discovers a piece of metal in J.M. Barrie’s sitting room on the morning of the author’s death. The item eventually finds its way to a boy, who’s haunted by an unrelenting shadow in his dreams, demanding he cut off a pirate’s hands. ”  They also called the collection, “Poignant, exquisite, and endlessly witty.”

AfricanAmericanFolktales

For folklore nerds, seeing the combined prowess of Henry Louis Gates AND Maria Tatar in the same place is a bit of a thrill. Don’t ruin it for me if you know of any of their previous collaborations. I want to savor this.  The book collects 150 African-American folktales and Tatar’s contribution appears to have been to create (according to Kirkus), “the organizing principle behind the book’s arrangement of stories, which go from continental-African tales to African-American ones to ‘folkloric cousins abroad’ from the Caribbean and Latin America.”  And as a particularly nice touch for you children’s lit scholars out there, the Harlem Renaissance African-American children’s periodical, Brownies’ Book, has inclusions in this collection as well. It’s out November 14th, so FYI.

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Unexpected Jolts

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

June 2022

Have You Seen the Darkness? A Richard Fairgray, Black Sand Beach Interview

by Betsy Bird

June 2022

Publisher Preview: Ellen Myrick (Part Three!)

by Betsy Bird

June 2022

Newbery/Caldecott 2023: Summer Prediction Edition

by Betsy Bird

June 2022

School's Out for Summer So We're Talking About Lunch Lady Day!

by Betsy Bird

May 2022

The Sun Does Shine: How Does an Adult Title Get Adapted for Young People? A Talk with Olugbemisola Ruday-Perkovich and Anthony Ray Hinton

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Notes on June 2022

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day: Listen to the Language of the Trees by Tera Kelley, ill. Marie Hermansson

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Banana Fox and The Gummy Monster Mess | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

Mock Newbery Update – Our List of First Half Suggestions

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

by

The Classroom Bookshelf

by

The Yarn

Shark Week, Vanilla Ice Cream, and the Honda CRV: Bob Shea and Brian Won Team Up for ADURABLE

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Author Jimmy Matejek-Morris on Hope, Humor, and Bipolar Disorder | Middle Grade & Mental Health

Remembering the Pioneers: Arnold Adoff, Floyd Cooper, Eloise Greenfield, and Bernette G. Ford

"Your Place in the Universe" Named 2021 Cook Prize Winner

A Long Time Coming: Angeline Boulley's 'Firekeeper's Daughter' Takes 2022 Printz Award

Authors Share Readers' Letters to Show Impact of Books

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.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Carl in Charlotte says

    October 6, 2017 at 12:02 pm

    I wonder if the Henry Gates book includes Anansi stories. They’re from both Continental Africa and the Caribbean. I’ve seen them in folktale collections from both places and I once worked with a Jamaican lady who told me she remembered hearing those stories growing up.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2022


    COPYRIGHT © 2022