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by Joyce Audy Zarins If someone from a school overseas invited you to do an author or artist residency in connection with your picture book what would you do? I said yes even before I knew the particulars. If that would be your reaction, there are a few things you may want to consider to […]

I recently did an interview for WritersRumpus.com with Brian Lies, successful author and illustrator of gorgeous books for children. It was posted to coincide with the release of Brian’s latest picture book, Gator Dad. You can see his glorious artwork and read about him here. Bookmark

This is a review of two books with different target audiences that have one mission: to share some of the treasures and history of the Forbidden City in China with the world. They are voices from the other side of the globe. Can you hear them? Bowls of Happiness: Treasures from China and the Forbidden […]

Today I received a copy of my book Sand Dollar, Sand Dollar in its final Spanish/ English dual language paperback version, published by Bab’l Books, Boston. I am excited to see this book in print again! I love the idea of reaching out to bilingual kids. And, its hidden message is environmental – that we […]

• I mention to folks that in my new job I actually don’t work day-to-day with children’s books all that often anymore and they wonder how I’m coping.  As it happens, I’m just ducky.  Since my spare hours are just as chock full of kidlit as before, I honestly don’t feel like I’m missing too much.  I still read my reviews and get my galleys.  But occasionally something will be published and I’ll be hit by an overpowering wave of self-pity.  This week’s, “Why Didn’t I See That?!” kvetch-fest?  Peanuts: A Tribute to Charles M. Schulz by Charles M. Schulz, illustrated by Matt Groening, Raina Telgemeier, and Jeffrey Brown amongst MANY others. And it’s a 2015 title at that.  Waaaaaaaant.

• Meanwhile, another very cool looking book was recently released.  Jules at the Kirkus version of 7-Imp has the skinny on The Complete Alice a.k.a. what you can get me for Christmas.

• I think I could be happy if I just spent the rest of my life reading snarky reviews of that darn rabbit book. First there was Travis.  Then Roger.  And yes, I know that the more we talk about the bunny monstrosity the more time it will take before it goes away.  But we have such a lovely literary community there of mutual appreciation that when we are actually allowed to dislike something, it has a tendency to go to our heads.  Wascally wabbit.

• Sure, they’re a mammoth publishing entity of massive production and countless staff but . . . awww. Look what Harper Collins did for Harold’s birthday.  Ain’t it sweet?

Hmm. Sounds good at first. The headline reads, “Tired of stereotypical characters in books for girls, this dad wrote his own.”  Then it shows a book of various professions helmed by women in an abecedarian fashion.  It’s no Rad American Women A to Z but it’ll do.  Except . . . when you get to “L”.  I don’t generally get all hot under the collar when folks stereotype my profession, but COME ON, MAN.  Shoot, it’s images like that that kept me out of the profession in the first place.

• File this one away in the It Isn’t Just Me drawer.  Some of you may be aware that before I post an episode of Fuse #8 TV, a series where I interview authors and illustrators in a free and easy manner, I always begin with a bit of “Reading (Too Much Into) Picture Books”.  This is a series where I acknowledge (without actually saying outright) that when a parent reads a picture book too many times to a small child, they start to conjure up some pretty crazy theories about the text.  Well, thanks in large part to a recent New Yorker profile of Sandra Boynton by Ian Bogost, I see that I am not alone.  I’m actually in awe of his take on But Not the Hippopotamus.  The North America vs. Africa vs. Central America theory?  Brilliant!  By the way, my most ambitious re-interpretation will preface my Fuse #8 TV episode this coming Thursday.  Be prepared for a truly wacky one.

• Okay. That’s it. No one’s allowed to quit their blogs anymore.  I like the blogs that I like.  I may not check them every day but I like the reliability of visiting them and seeing something new.  And I get very sad indeed when the best ones fall by the wayside.  I mean, let’s say someone walked up to you and asked, “What’s the best children’s literature blog where real kids review real books . . . and it’s fun to read?”  You would answer without hesitation (if you were me, that is), “Aaron Zenz’s Bookie Woogie blog, of course!”  Well, here’s the thing.  The blog?  It’s had a nice run.  Seven years worth, in fact.  And now it’s done.  Over.  Kaputski.  And we’re all just a little bit sadder today. *sigh*

• Me Stuff: First off, I want to bow down low and thank profusely all the folks who came out for my joint SCBWI-IL/Center for Teaching through Children’s Books welcoming party last week.  It was, without a doubt, the BEST welcome party I have ever had, bar none.  I even signed someone’s cookie (that’s a first!).  If you live in the Chicago area and missed it, never fear.  You could come on out to EPL and see me present on the topic of picture books rather soon.  Yes, the very kind and talented Brian Wilson has allowed me to join him on his annual Best Picture Books Presentation.  I’ll get to talk about some of my too little lauded favorites of 2015, which is just a joy.  Finally, Chicago Magazine interviewed me recently.  They’re using the same photo from my Chicago Tribune interview, which is confusing, but the talk is entirely different.  It was awfully fun to do too.

• In my interview I actually mention The Guinness Book of World Records a fair amount.  Rather appropriate since I recently learned that the book Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table has been selected by the Points of Light Foundation as the book to break Guinness World Record for the number of children being read to in a 24-hour period. Part of the Foundation’s “Read Across the Globe” initiative to raise awareness on the global literacy crisis, volunteers all over the world will read the book next Monday, October 19. Here’s a news article and a tv news report that say more about it.  Thanks to Philip Lee for the links.

• Did you see?  They’re releasing Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman.  Wouldn’t be particularly notable aside from the fact that it’s always nice to see diverse books back in print . . . except something’s a bit different from the last time it was printed.  Did you notice what it was?  Debbie Reese most certainly did.

• In case you missed it (like me) there was a new brouhaha last week.  This time it involved author Meg Rosoff.  There’s a recap over at Reading While White which breaks it down.  Aren’t recaps great?  There should be more of them out there these days.

• Each year I try to write a review of at least one self-published book.  It can be a tricky affair since so many of them make common missteps.  That’s why I really appreciated the ShelfTalker piece When a Self-Published Book Is Done Right.  There really are some great ones out there.  Finding them is often the struggle, but when they work, they work.

• By the way, I just want to give a shout out to The Curious Reader Store over in Glen Rock, NJ.  My buddy Tucker Stone was recently there and he mentioned that they had a particular love for Wild Things there.  Thanks, guys (but particularly Sally)! We do appreciate it.

• Daily Image:

The title of this piece is 15+ Book-Inspired Pieces Of Jewelry For Bookworms, which you’ll see is a bit of a stretch. Still and all, I do like these Labyrinth earrings:

This post is #4 in a series. The earlier ones are here, here and here. This article also appears on another blog, here on WritersRumpus.com. We see hundreds of excellent children’s books each year published here in the U.S., but what about those published in other countries? The rest of the world is producing books […]

• Here’s your SAT question for the day: “Making fun of The Giving Tree in a parody is to shooting fish in a barrel as . . .”  You may put your response in the comments below.  I’ve lived long enough to feel that I’ve seen every possible Giving Tree parody man or woman could imagine.  The Taking Tree, the video with Sassy Gay Friend, that other video where it shows the boy growing up.  Been there, done that.  That’s why I really kind of respected The Toast’s take.  At first it sounds like it’s going to be more of the same old, same old: If the Boy From the Giving Tree Was Your Boyfriend.  But like most pieces on The Toast, it’s much smarter and cleverer than its initial concept.  Well played, Meghann Gordon.  Well played indeed.  Thanks to Cheryl Klein for the link.

• Me stuff.  If you find that you haven’t heard enough talkety talk from me, Mr. Tim Podell was recently kind enough to speak to interview me for his remarkable, and longstanding, Good Conversations Radio Podcast.  Seven years ago he walked into my library and we talked about where to take his show.  Now he has a successful podcast and I my same blog.  Seems like only yesterday, eh, Tim?

• This one just sort of sells itself.  The headline read, “British Library releases children’s book illustrations into public domain.”

• Not to be outdone, the Bodleian Library launches its own children’s book imprint.  Not entirely certain how they managed to get Babar, but there you go, I guess.  Thanks to Emma Dryden for the link.

• I don’t know as many literary apps for kids as I might.  Pretty much everything on my phone is of the Endless series.  Endless Reader.  Endless Alphabet.  Now I hear they’ve a Spanish one as well: Endless Spanish/Infinito Español.  This is a great day for kinderappkind.

• Who doesn’t like a good bookface (as the kids are calling it these days)?  Lots of children’s literature was on display in this recent Guardian article about NYPL’s call for pictures ala #bookfacefriday.

I think the Libba Bray one is particularly inspired too.

• With the sheer number of picture books out there, sometimes you want to see a recommendation list that isn’t the same old, same old.  So if you want something fun and entirely up-t0-date, step this way and take in the Pink Me post Super Summer Picture Books 2015.  Good for what ails ya.

• I missed a lot of Publisher’s Weekly Children’s Bookshelf issues while I was moving to Evanston, so perhaps this piece has already been discussed ad nauseum without me.  Just in case it hasn’t, though, The Guardian post Picture Books That Draw the Line Against Pink Stereotypes of Girls is very interesting to me.  I should do an American version as a post soon.  In any case, many of these I recognize but I don’t think we’ve seen I’m a Girl by Yasmeen Ismail yet.  Eh, Bloomsbury?  Eh?  Eh eh?  *bats eyelashes*  Eh? Thanks to Kate for the link.

• With his customary verve and panache, Travis Jonker accurately (insofar as I am concerned) pinpoints the books that will probably get some New York Times Best Illustrated love this year.  The sole book he neglects to mention, insofar as I am concerned, is my beloved Moletown by Torben Kuhlmann and possibly Mr. Squirrel and the Moon by Sebastian Meschenmoser.  Let’s show our German compatriots a little affection!

• One might argue that launching a literary periodical with a concentration on children’s literature in this day and age is as fraught with peril as launching a children’s bookstore (if not more so).  Yet I find much to celebrate in this recent announcement about The Read Quarterly and what it hopes to accomplish.  You know what?  What the heck.  I’ll subscribe.  Could be good for the little gray cells.

• Daily Image:

This . . . this looks like a lot of work.  Whooboy.  A lot of work.  But super cool, you bet.  Super cool.  It’s kids made out of books:

also posted on WritersRumpus.com most visuals by author Here’s something for writers and illustrators to consider: the painful physical effects of your work. Don’t laugh. I kid you not. You might think that the arm in the photo (mine, actually) looks pretty healthy. After years of making welded steel sculpture using all sorts of heavy […]

Today Kristine Carlson Asselin revealed the cover of her debut YA novel, Any Way You Slice It, about Penelope Spaulding, who uses hockey as a great escape from her parents’ restaurant. As her confidence on the ice and her commitment to the Rink Rats and someone named Jake Gomes grows, she finds it harder and […]

This article is a post I wrote for the fabulous Writers Rumpus blog today, September 30th. While recently reading John Green’s Looking for Alaska, I was surprised by the shape of the story. I’ll get to that in a minute, but it reminded me of other authors who played with the structure of their narratives. […]

By Joyce Audy Zarins Like daffodils naturalized in the woods, all Native Americans, immigrants from everywhere in the world, people with various abilities, talents, handicaps, and preferences populate our American nation. We are all in this cross-pollinated garden together. Our stories should reflect that biodiversity. By “naturalized diversity” I mean that the characters in our […]

This article also appears at writersrumpus.com. While your book is percolating in your mind, in revisions or sketches, or under the scrutiny of your crit group buddies, you can explore ways to build your publishing credentials. Magazines and other media can be valuable, shorter-term ways to get your work seen. Here’s a more-or-less “out there” […]

Don’t you hate it when you’ve saved oodles of links for a Fusenews only to find your computer apparently ate them without informing you?  Fun times.  So if I promised some of you that I’d post something and then I didn’t, remind me of the fact.  Clearly me brain is running on fumes.

• Stop.  Before you go any farther I will show you something that will make you laugh.  It is this post by my sister on making a particularly unique gingerbread creation.  If nothing else the photos at the end will make you snort in a distinctly unladylike manner.

• Bookish wanted great children’s book recommendations from NYPL so Booklish now HAS great children’s book recommendations from NYPL.  Ha HA!

• Please remind me the next time I wish to garner outrage to simply tap Philip Pullman.  The man has sway.  Big time sway.

• This is fun:

The SCBWI is proud to announce the winner and honor recipients of the 2013 Jane Yolen Mid-List Author Award.  Congratulations to winner Eve Feldman, author of such works asBilly and Milly Short and Silly (Putnam) and Dog Crazy (Tambourine).  Eve has been a children’s book author and SCBWI member for over twenty years.  To learn more about Eve visit www.evebfeldman.com.

Two Honor Grants were also awarded to authors Verla Kay and Deborah Lynn Jacobs.  Verla Kay is the author of Civil War Drummer Boy (Putnam) and Hornbooks and Inkwells(Putnam) among others.  Learn more at www.verlakay.com.  Deborah Lynn Jacobs is the author of the young adult novels Choices (Roaring Brook Press) and Powers (Square Fish).  Learn more at www.deborahlynnjacobs.com.

• Gift giving to a young ‘un when you yourself are without young ‘uns?  Well, this post A Message to Those Without Children is dead on.  She doesn’t mention alternatives but I can: What about books instead?  Board books!  Give it a whirl, prospective gift givers.

• The most amusing part of this Harry Potter Swimsuit Line to my mind isn’t the content so much as it is the models they got to wear the outfits.  Most of them don’t seem to have any clue what they’re wearing.  However, #2 in the Snape dress model appears to have been cast solely for the part and #3 has the decency to look slightly embarrassed to be there at all.  Thanks to Liz Burns for the link.

• Speaking of HP, we all knew that the covers of the Harry Potter books were being re-illustrated here in the States.  But how many of us knew that the Brits were planning on releasing full-color illustrated books with art by Jim Kay?  Does the name Jim Kay ring a bell for you, by the way?  You might be thinking of the art he did for A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.  That was a far cry from that cutesy Harry picture included in the article.  Suddenly I can’t wait to see what the man can do with Dementors.  Thanks to Ben Collinsworth for the link.

• The site Latinas for Latino Lit has released their list of Remarkable Latino Children’s Literature of 2013.  It really is an excellent list.  And at least two of the titles mentioned appeared on NYPL’s recent 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing list too.

• Daily Image:

• Oh, so very much has gone on this week!  Where to begin?  What to do?  Well, for starters, NYPL released a handy dandy list to accompany their current exhibit The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter.  I helped make said list, which is officially called 100 Great Children’s Books, 100 Years.  So, two things.  #1: We didn’t say “best” or “most popular”.  We just said great.  These are great books.  Hard to argue with that.  And #2: It’s just the stuff published in the last 100 years.  So before you get your knickers in a twist, there is a reason The Secret Garden, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland are nowhere in sight.  NYPL even lets you buy the books in little packages by age level or the whole kerschmozzle at one time.  Groovy.

• In conjunction with the exhibit and the list, the library brought over Judy Blume and Eric Carle.  So, naturally, when a photograph was to be taken I wedged myself between the two of them.  I intend to blow it up, crop it, and then in fifty years claim to my grandchildren that we were all bestest buddies and this was taken mere moments before we stepped out for some pie.

• And now, on the depressing side of things, Gary Soto explains why I haven’t seen a new children’s title come out of him since I got my library degree.  I just completely missed that entire Marisol debacle.  In 2005 I was a newly minted librarian.  Seems a bit unfair that I just missed the output of Soto.  So come on, man!  That was basically a decade ago.  Time to do with the typey type.

• In happier news, Vermont college offers a scholarship to minority children’s & YA authors.  This fact is accompanied by a killer photo of Angela Johnson.  Worth it right there.

Hey all!  Before I dive into the oddities of the world in which we live, I just wanted to give a bit of a shout out to two distinct groups that allowed me to sprawl my librarian self all over their respective gatherings.  First up, credit and love to Nancy Castaldo and all the folks who made this weekend’s Eastern NY SCBWI Regional Conference the success that it was.  I’m mighty appreciative that I was able to offer the dessert keynote on Saturday.  Moreover, thanks to everyone who came out to see my censorship panel on Saturday at the Brooklyn Book Festival with David Levithan, Francesca Lia Block, and Lauren Myracle.  It’s always nice to moderate something that hardly needs any moderation at all.  Extra thanks to anyone who stayed around for my picture book reading later.  David Maybury I be looking at you.

And now, because the weekend was so darned exciting, I’m going to do some super quickie round-ups of the recent news.

• What’s that you say?  Beautiful posters inspired by the work of Roald Dahl?

Don’t mind if I do!

• I have dealt with difficult reference desk requests in the past, but Benji’s story on dealing with a student looking for Effie?  That takes the cake.  Thanks to 100 Scope Notes for the link.

• All right.  Love this look at what the voices behind Disney’s Winnie-the-Pooh looked like when it first came out and what they look like today.  Had no idea Clint Howard was Roo.  That’s gonna take some reconfiguration in my noggin.  And I thought Thurl Ravenscroft was the first Tigger!  No?  Thanks to PW Children’s Bookshelf for the link.An

• Though it falls squarely into the Couldn’t Be Published in America category of European picture books, Sergio Ruzzier’s remarkable The Birds is WELL worth reading through today.  And not just because I like the name.

• Ever been curious about the history of children’s theater in New York City?  Well, you lucky ducks, I just found a post that’s gonna make your day.

• Confused as to where exactly I work and what exactly I work for?  My job has gotten a bit more complicated since I became part of BookOps.  This interview with my colleagues by Booklist should clear up any and all confusion, though.  At least I hope it does.

• Take one look at this image and tell me what you think it is:

If you said it was an Anne-of-Green-Gables-inspired-wedding-shoot you would be correct.  Sadly it wasn’t a real wedding, but you can tell it’ll serve as inspiration to a lot of folks.

• The title probably says it all for this one: Reading for pleasure puts children ahead in the classroom, study finds. Yup.  Thanks to Amie Wright for the link.

• Hooray!  The good Elizabeth Bluemle has collected The Stars Thus Far for 2013 and they’re a doozy.  A bunch of five stars are up, but not a single six star book has appeared so far this year.  Whodathunkit?

• Looks like we have a bookless library on our hands.  Now the only question is whether or not we’ll be seeing the community clamoring for print or not.  Not so sure I agree with the statement that “it will take more than 100 years before all libraries are paperless” (so that’s inevitable, eh whot?) but we can all watch this site with some interest.

• Daily Image:

Yup.  That’s gonna be the walls of my house someday.  Though the books will undoubtedly be thinner.

Thanks to Aunt Judy for the link!

This charming book by Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Erlbruch, which I bought in Zurich, cleverly presents its theme on the cover as a title: “Vom kleinen Maulwurf, der wissen wollte, wer ihm auf den Kopf gemacht hat” on the cover. Egils translates this as “From small Mole, who wanted to know who dropped this thing [...]

Okay. News of a double quick time fashion today, folks. Let’s see what you can do with these yummy numbers:

Maurice Sendak as hot young man. Now that I have your attention I will now direct you to this magnificent interview with Phil Nel. As you may have heard he has a helluva biography coming out about Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss publishing this fall and Jules at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast has the season’s must read interview with the man on the topic. If you follow no other link today, follow that one. I wasn’t kidding about the Sendak photo (Jules thinks he looks more like a superhero, so you make the call).

• Jealous at all of those folks who can afford to buy original art from great illustrators? Wish you had the means? Well, here’s a solution I wish more people considered. Sergio Ruzzier was cleaning out his desk drawers and decided to just sell the extra stuff he found in there. Whether it’s a map of Thailand or some seriously laconic bees, Ruzzier’s got the goods. Just saying.

• Things that make you say, “Awwww”. I am thinking specifically of this lovely little piece from Horn Book called The Secret Garden’s Perennial Wisdom . . . for Parents. Yes, the title sounds schlocky yet Ms. Andrea Fox’s writing is anything but. It’s just good honest goodhearted honestness. Honest (and it’s good).

• It’s back! It’s back, it’s back, it’s back! Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!!

• Well, I’ll be hornswaggled. I’m fairly certain that the Parents’ Choice blog has never linked to me before. First time for everything! And I’m just pleased as punch that they’re highlighting this year’s 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. Remember folks, any kid can enter a video. Go to it!

• That nice Travis Jonker guy has been busy. First he ends up on the cover of SLJ talking about eReaders in comic form (love it). Then he’s up and bought by SLJ! That’s right folks. 100 Scope Notes will soon be joining the happily family here. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer, smarter fellow.

• Here’s the deal. If you were me would you go see Eric Carle Museum curator Jane Curley speak on the topic of ILLUSTRATED BOOKS IN THE AGE OF VICTORIA: BRITISH PICTURE BOOKS, 1837-1901? In a word: Duh. It’s free. It’s December 11th at 6:00 p.m. I am so there.

• I think my mom asked if anyone else had sent me this link to educator reformer Jonathan Kozol talking about the children’s books he’s been reading. That would be a definite nope. I’m glad she took the initiative though since Kozol’s great. He expounds on many fine points. Just listen to this description of Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse: “It’s a delectable story of an irreverent girl.” I am now claiming this description for my eulogy someday. Dibs!

• I’m very pleased to announce that the very first winner of the PEN/Steven Kroll Award Honoring the Author of an Illustrated Children’s Book has been chosen by a distinguished panel. Kudos to Carmen Agra Deedy, Susan Kuklin, and Vera B. Williams for selecting the magnificent Never Forgotten by Patricia McKissack. Just such a lovely work. Well played!

• Ugh. Reading articles like this just remind me that I need to do another critical review soon. Fortunately I found the perfect candidate recently. Stay tuned.

• FYI, our wonderful blogger turned author Gwenda Bond has a new book out and it’s getting reviews of the rave variety (and SHE doesn’t need to pay for them).

• Daily Image:

Book fountain, book fountain, book book book fountain!

Thanks to Aunt Judy for the pic.

For a number of years I have been collecting children’s picturebooks from other countries when I travel or friends and relatives do. It is good to be aware of the visual voices from other lands, so now and then I will post images of a few. The first entry in this series was October, 2010, [...]

Willow’s Walkabout: A Children’s Guide to Boston had a fabulous launch at the Agonquin Club on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston recently. This picturebook, written by Sheila S. Cunningham and illustrated by my friend Kathie Kelleher,  is about a wallaby named Willow who goes on a walkabout from the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, MA to explore [...]

Alas, I have been so busy with life, so you have not heard from me. But here is something intriguing. My sister Norma alerted me to a certain delicate Edinburgh mystery. This NPR article by Robert Krulwich describes a trail of surprise gifts given anonymously to those with eyes, a heart, and a brain. Bookmark

I love this! An anonymous artist is leaving book sculptures all around Scotland! And even though one librarian figured out who the artist was, since he’d bought a similar sculpture years ago, the newspaper asked readers if they wanted to know the artist’s identity or allow her or him to remain anonymous–and the readers voted to leave the artist anonymous! How cool is that?

I LOVE book sculptures. When they’re done well, they are beautiful, intricate, and show the incredible beauty and imagination of books. Su Blackwell is my top favorite book sculptor. How I wish I could afford one of her book sculptures! I love to look at her works–they are everything I just said–beautiful, intricate, and speak to the magic of books. I could look at them all day long.

And now I–and any other book lover–can, through Su Blackwell’s greeting cards. She has created greeting cards with photos of her book sculptures on the covers. They are 3.50 pounds each, which comes to about $5.50 US–or 15.00 pounds for her collection of 6 designs.

These make an incredible gift to a book lover. You could frame them, just have them loose, or use them as a card to write something meaningful in.

My absolute favorite is her Wild Flowers (pictured below). She also has The Illustrated Book of Birds, Alice In Wonderland, Peter Pan, and more! …Excuse me, I’m going to go order some. (smiling)

Thanks to all the hard work of ultra-organized Children's Librarian Christa Muscatine, the Santa Monica Public Library's Creative Kids' Club was a smashing success on February 16th!

Lots of wonderful folks donated "green" art materials so that kids could create their very own "furnimals" based on the ones in Animal House. Some extra-creative kids even dreamed up their own.

A pair of snailboxes.

A hampster and a refrigergator.

A hampster.

One cute furnimal!

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By: Betsy Bird, on 1/30/2011
Blog: A Fuse #8 Production (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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