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

March 24, 2021 by Betsy Bird

Unexpected Jolts of Children’s Literature

March 24, 2021 by Betsy Bird   Leave a Comment

Even after all these years of purchasing adult materials for my library system, I still find it strange that I don’t buy books for kids anymore. Fortunately, I just can’t help but love finding references to children’s books everywhere I go. Today I return to an old series where we look at titles written for adults that have some connection to the wide and wonderful world of books for kids. There are some true beauties on the roster today, so let’s dive in!

First up . . .

Murals of New York City: The Best of New York’s Public Paintings from Bemelmans to Parrish by Glenn Palmer-Smith, photos by Joshua McHugh

This book sounds like a mural version of my Complete Listing of All Public Children’s Literature Statues in the U.S. You know, I missed the Parrish when I lived in NYC, but I did at least make it to the Bemelmans Bar once while there. Back in 2012 when I conducted the 100 Picture Books Poll, I wrote the following on my Madeline post:

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

There are many fine and fancy places to visit here in New York, but one of the finer establishments would have to be the Bemelmans Bar.  Bemelman painted it himself and the bar’s website has this to say about the arrangement: “Bemelmans transformed the bar with clever, whimsical scenes of Central Park (including picnicking rabbits). Instead of being paid for the art, Bemelmans exchanged his work for a year and a half of accommodations at The Carlyle for himself and his family.”

The Swallowed Man by Edward Carey

One of these days I need to bite the bullet and just read an Edward Carey novel. The man has a tendency to vacillate between writing for children and for adults and sometimes the two get a bit mixed. Case in point, his latest.

Now if any of you reading this are (A) parents and (B) parents that tried to read your children the original Pinocchio, you may understand my ambivalence towards that particular classic. That puppy is wuh-eird (though I harbor a great love for the Kate McMullan/Pascal Lemaitre version). Now Mr. Carey has written a book for adults from Geppetto’s p.o.v. And if you know the original tale, it isn’t going to be a laugh riot.

The Charmed Wife by Olga Grushin

Kirkus dismissed it and called it “disappointing”. Library Journal called it “absorbing” and gave it a star. My opinion? Haven’t read it myself, so I’m not sure what to think of it. Here’s the plot:

“Cinderella married the man of her dreams–the perfect ending she deserved after diligently following all the fairy-tale rules. Yet now, two children and thirteen and a half years later, things have gone badly wrong and her life is far from perfect. One night, fed up, she sneaks out of the palace to get help from the Witch who, for a price, offers love potions to disgruntled housewives. But as the old hag flings the last ingredients into the cauldron, Cinderella doesn’t ask for a love spell to win back her Prince Charming.

Instead, she wants him dead.”

Women and Other Monsters: Building a New Mythology by Jess Zimmerman

At first I was confused about why I included a book that takes its basis in Greek myths. Then I read the fact that “Electric Literature editor-in-chief Zimmerman blends memoir and cultural criticism in a wide-ranging feminist analysis rooted in her youthful love of D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths.” Oooooh! This is a book that, as Library Journal said, “examines misogyny through the framework of Greek mythology.” And when it comes in I’ll be sure to check out

Parent Like It Matters: How to Raise Joyful, Change-Making Girls by Janice Johnson Dias

Remember Marley Dias, the girl that launched the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign? Well, her mom just wrote a book with a one-two punch of an introduction by Jackie Woodson and a blurb on the cover by Kwame Alexander. It’s a parenting book, and one that’s been getting multiple starred reviews.

The Life She Wished to Live: A Biography of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Author of The Yearling by Ann McCutchean

Hard to remember now but when The Yearling was published it won a 1939 Pulitzer Prize. Not too shabby for a children’s book. In this bio we learn how Rawlings chucked convention (and her mom) and went off and bought an orange grove all for herself. I think some of us can relate.

The Hummingbirds’ Gift: Wonder, Beauty, and Renewal on Wings by Sy Montgomery

And just to round it all off, I am pleased to report that there’s a new Sy Montgomery book for adults on the horizon. I only really ever read her children’s books, but I can attest that her adult fair, like The Soul of an Octopus, gets a LOT of attention from my patrons.

Filed under: Surprising Jolts of Children's Literature, Unexpected Jolts of Children's Literature

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 2021

Unexpected Jolts of Children's Literature

by Betsy Bird

May 2021

Unexpected Jolts of Children's Literature

by Betsy Bird

November 2022

Unexpected Jolts of Children's Literature

by Betsy Bird

April 2022

Unexpected Jolts of Children's Literature: 2022 Debut!

by Betsy Bird

August 2021

Unexpected Jolts of Children's Literature: Now Extra Jolty!

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

One Star Review, Guess Who? (#184)

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day – Trees: Haiku from Roots to Leaves by Sally M. Walker, ill. Angela McKay

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Review: Nat the Cat Takes a Nap

by Esther Keller

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Here Be Monsters: On Horror, Catharsis, and Uneasy Truces with Yourself, a guest post by author Rebecca Mahoney

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Newbery Medalist Amina Luqman-Dawson visits The Yarn

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Nat Geo Explorers Highlight Trailblazing Women in 'No Boundaries' Anthology

Comic: Laura Gao's 'Messy Roots' Goes From Viral Tweet to Indie Bestseller

Debut 'Star' Author Erica Martin on Poems of Injustice

Carole Lindstrom Turns Family History into a Song of Hope

'Salt Magic,' 'The Legend of Auntie Po,' and 'Run: Book One' Among 2022 Eisner Award Winners

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.

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

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 © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023