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The title of the New York Times piece is Masters of Prose Warm Up to Children’s Picture Books.  Innocuous enough.  Inside, the article looks at the current spate of authors who normally write for an adult audience but have recently switched their focus to our youngest readers. Jane Smiley, Sherman Alexie, and Calvin Trillin are spotlighted in particular, though they are hardly the first of their kind.  As the writer Alexandra Alter rightly points out, it is far more common for (for lack of a better term) adult authors to write middle grade or YA books for kids.  Picture books take, in many ways, a different set of muscles and only recently have they become quite so popular with writers for adults.

Part of what I liked so much about Ms. Alter’s piece was the fact that it mentions historical precedents. “Writing children’s literature has always appealed to a subset of serious novelists. James Joyce, who wrote some of the most famously impenetrable passages in English literature, wrote two children’s fables about cats for his grandson. James Baldwin, John Updike and Kurt Vonnegut all published illustrated books for young readers.”  To say nothing of poets like Sylvia Plath or Ted Hughes.  And so on.  And such.

So why are so few children’s books by adult writers truly memorable?

That’s a rather broad brush to paint with, so I’ll endeavor to explain.  Think about the adult authors you really admire.  Now think about their children’s books, if indeed they’ve written any.  Were they good?  Or merely mediocre?  Chances are, they’re in the latter category.

This is not to say, of course, that an author of adult stories and texts can’t also win big in the children’s book realm.  Look at one of the Newbery winners.  Neil Gaiman is probably the most prominent example of someone who has truly succeeded in the children’s book realm, conquering not just middle grade novels but also early chapter books and picture books too.  But for every Gaiman there’s a Michael Chabon or Alice Walker or Donald Barthelme (I’m looking at YOU, Slightly Irregular Fire Engine).  You love their adult work.  You’re kinda meh on what they do for kids.

A lot of these authors have children of their own, or even grandchildren.  Many create stories for those kids and turn those stories into books.  Jules Feiffer, for example, wrote Bark, George after telling that tale to this daughter at bedtime.  But pleasing your own children vs. pleasing other people’s children?  They don’t always go hand-in-hand.

Here then, is a list of adult authors that I think really and truly got it right.  A hat tip to the books that could have been published, even if the authors had been completely and utterly obscure first-time writers:

The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman

Granted, it wasn’t his first picture book, but I’d maintain it remains his best.  It taps into fears, feeding and allaying them simultaneously.  I suppose he’s always lucked out in his illustrators.  A lovely musical was constructed out of it years ago too.

Thunder Boy, Jr. by Sherman Alexie

The NY Times article is right.  It really is quite good (though he also lucked out on his illustrator).  Little wonder it’s done well since apparently he went through 70 drafts.

Old Possums’ Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot

I still haven’t heard a good reason for why Eliot wrote this.  Before Andrew Lloyd Webber was even a gleam in his grandma’s eye, Eliot penned this lovely, rolicking, quite silly collection.  The later illustrations by Edward Gorey are just icing on the cake.

The Bed Book by Sylvia Plath

I know parents who swear by this book.  Their children won’t go to sleep without it.

13 Words by Lemony Snicket, ill. Maira Kalman

Because technically he was an adult author first, even before A Series of Unfortunate Events.  This is kind of a twofer, since Kalman works primarily in the adult art world as well.  But all I really care about is that they created this great book trailer.

Who’s Got Game: The Ant or the Grasshopper? by Toni Morrison with Slade Morrison

The whole “Who’s Got Game?” series was an original way of reinterpreting the Aesop fables.  I liked Morrison’s style.  Her picture books haven’t always hit it out of the park, but I thought this series had a lot going for it.

And now . . . a list of adult authors I’d really and truly love to see children’s books by, if only because I’m having a hard time imagining how those books would go.

• Zadie Smith
• Salman Rushdie (a picture book – his Haroun books were nice enough but I’d like to see the man go younger for a change . . . and not just in his dates. Goodnight, everyone!  Try the fish!)
• Allie Brosh
• Stephen King (that pop-up book The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon doesn’t count – not really)
• Louise Erdrich (again, younger than her middle grade novels – a picture book would fulfill all my hopes and dreams)
• Gary Soto (because I know exactly what I’m saying)

Honestly, I don’t quite know why I even bother doing Fusenews posts on Saturdays.  As you might suspect, my readership dips considerably when the weekends hit, but an old Fusenews post is like a week old fish.  Time does it no favors.  As such, I shall cut through my seething envy of everyone at BookExpo this week (honestly, why are you folks having SO much fun anyway?) and pretend that Maureen Johnson’s tweets about how bad the coffee is there will convince me that it’s not that interesting anywa . . . wait a minute . . . they’re giving away copies of that Scieszka/Biggs early reader series in the Abrams booth?!?!  WAAAAAAHHHHHH!

• New Site Alert: We begin with the big, interesting, important news.  Phil and Erin Stead aren’t just Caldecott Award winners.  No siree bob, they also happen to be innovative interviewers.  Having just started the site Number Five Bus Presents (I approve of the title since it fits in nicely with 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast, A Fuse #8 Production, and 9 Kinds of Pie . . . we just need a blog that uses the number 6 to fill in the gap), the two are conducting a series of conversations with book makers.  There will be 9-12 episodes per “season”.  So far they’ve spoken with Eric Rohmann (consider this your required reading of the day) with many more interviews on the way.  You can read the reasons why they’re doing this here.  Basically it boils down to them wanting to connect to fellow book makers in what can often be a lonely field.  If I were a professor of children’s literature, I would make everyone in my class subscribe to this site.  Many thanks to Jules for the tip!

• About a month ago I was at an event where a venture capitalist with an interest in children’s literature was asking how much money a new children’s book prize should pay out.  “$20,000?  $30,000?” he ventured.  We all sort of balked at the amounts, assuring the man that any author would be grateful for $10,000, let alone a larger amount (the authors in the room, as you might imagine, were gung ho for the original mentioned amounts).  Meanwhile, had I but known, the people at Kirkus were debating the self-same thing.  Only when they came up with their brand new book prize monetary amount, they decided to play for keeps.  On October 23, 2014 some amazingly lucky children’s or YA author will win a $50,000 (you read that number right) prize for their book.  All it needs to have done is receive a star from Kirkus to be eligible.  The initial announcement in The Washington Post made the big time mistake of saying that the youth award would only go to YA.  Happily, the subsequent Kirkus announcement clarified that this was not the case.  Man.  I really really want to be on that jury someday.  The power!

• Just a reminder that the Kids Author Carnival will be up and running here in NYC today (Saturday).  Got no plans at 6 tonight?  Now you do.

• Aw, what the heck.  Need a new poster for your library?  How bout this?

You can download the PDF here if you so desire.

• Sure, the blog post Trigger Warnings for Classic Kids Books is amusing, but I would bet you dollars to donuts that at least half of these “objections” have been used in legitimate attempts to ban or remove from shelves these books somewhere, sometime.

• I did not know that Sun Ra and Prince were both influences on Daniel Handler but when said, it makes a certain amount of sense. PEN America’s biweekly interview series The Pen Ten recently interviewed the man and justified my belief that the most interesting authors are the ones that don’t give the same rote answers in every single interview they do.  Of course good questions help as well.

• In L.A.?  Wish you were in New York attending BookExpo?  Wish you had something in your neck of the woods to crow about?  Well, good news.  If you haven’t heard already, the Skirball Cultural Center is featuring the show The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats from now until September.  Lucky ducks.

• Speaking of BookExpo (and is there anything else TO speak of this week?) I was much obliged to the folks at Shelf Awareness for their #BEA14: Pictures from an Exhibition post.  From that amazing diversity panel at SLJ’s Day of Dialog to singing sensation Michael Buckley and the Amazing Juggling Authors to James Patterson’s $1 million given out to bookstores (way to go, Watchung Booksellers!) it’s a great post.

• There’s a 2014 Children’s Book Week Bookstore Display Contest?  Oo. Good luck choosing amongst them, guys.

• Adult authors that write books for children are hardly new.  They’re also rarely any good.  Sorry, but it is the rare adult author that finds that they’re a natural in the children’s book realm as well.  There are always exceptions (heck, Neil Gaiman won himself a Newbery so howzabout THEM apples, eh?) and one of them might be Jo Nesbø.  Over at The Guardian, Nesbø discusses how he decides in the morning whether or not to write his gritty adult crime thrillers . . . or the fart books for kids.  Frankly, I’ll always be grateful to Nesbø because of the day I was sitting at the reference desk in the Children’s Center at 42nd Street and a group of young female Norwegians came in asking for Norwegian children’s authors.  Thank goodness for Nesbø and Peter Christen Abjorsen.

• Somewhat along the same lines, this has very little to do with anything (to the best of my knowledge the only children’s book she ever penned was The Shoe Bird) but if you have not already read Eudora Welty’s New Yorker application letter, you’re welcome.  Suddenly I want to see the biopic of her life with the character of Eudora played by Kristen Schall.  Am I crazy?

• It took them a bloody long time but at long last the Bologna Children’s Book Fair has announced when the 2015 dates will be.  So . . . if anyone feels like sponsoring me to go I wouldn’t, ah, object or anything.  *bats eyelashes charmingly*

• A library can lend books.  It can lend tablets.  It can lend laptops even.  But lending the internet itself?  NYPL is currently doing just that (or is about to). In this article you can see that, “The goal of this project is to expand the reach and benefits of free access to the Internet provided by The New York Public Library (NYPL) to underserved youth and communities by allowing them to borrow portable WiFi Hotspot devices from their local libraries for a sustained period of time.”  We’ll just have to see how it works out, but I’m intrigued.

• Tell me this isn’t awesome:

As you can see, this is a selection of animal sounds found in the Orbis Sensualium Pictus (or The World of Things Obvious to the Senses drawn in Pictures), also known as the world’s oldest children’s picture book.  And if you can read through it and not suddenly find the song “What Does the Fox Say?” caught in your head then you’re a better man than I.  Thanks to AL Direct for the link.

• When I read the i09 piece 10 Great Authors Who Disowned Their Own Books I naturally started thinking of the children’s and YA equivalents.  So far I can think of at least one author and one illustrator off the top of my head.  The author would be Kay Thompson of Eloise.  The illustrator I’ll keep to myself since he’s still alive and kicking.  Any you can think of?

• “In France, I can publish a funny picturebook one month and a YA novel about revenge porn the next.” Maybe the best thing I read all day.  Phil Nel directed me to this absolutely fascinating piece by Clementine Beauvais called Publishing Children’s Books in the UK vs. in France.  Just substitute “UK” for “US” (which isn’t that hard) you’ll understand why this is amazing reading.  Obviously there are some difference between the UK and US models, but they share more common qualities than differences.  Thanks to Phil Nel for the link!

• How many illustrators sneak pictures of their previous books into other books?  Travis Jonker accounts for some of the titles doing this in 2014.  Along the same lines, how many authors put in in-jokes?  It was my husband who pointed out that Jonathan Auxier put a sneaky reference to his blog The Scop into The Night Gardener this year.  Clever man.

• Daily Image:

I have good news.  You can order this as a poster, should you so desire.

Thanks to Lori for the link!

Happy Tuesday to you, one and all!  Hope your weather isn’t as bitingly cold as ours has been.  Time to warm up with some fresh and festive children’s literature tidbits.  Personally, I’m trying to figure out why I wrote today’s headline a couple days ago.  I’m sure there was a reason for it.  Hmmm.

• The recent NPR piece on Gertrude Stein’s children’s book reminds me that it would be great if someone wrote a fun article for The Horn Book that consisted of a systematic accounting of cases where adult authors wrote children’s books and failed miserably in the attempt (with the occasional success stories, i.e. Sylvia Plath, along the way).  The article could take into account similarities between such books, or trends in more recent examples (today we have Salman Rushdie, Michael Crichton, etc. and back then we had Gertrude Stein, Donald Barthelme, etc.).  So somebody go do that thing.  I’d love to read it.

• Best book lists are popping up hither and thither and yon.  We recently saw the release of the rather massive Kirkus Best Books List for Children as well as this one from Publishers Weekly.  Always interesting to see which non-starred books made the cut.  Now SLJ announces that they’ll reveal their 2013 Best Books on Twitter. The big reveal is Thursday, November 21, 8 pm EST.

• Allie Bruce has two fantastic blog posts up on the Lee & Low site these days discussing conversations she’s had with the kids in her school about race (amongst other issues) and book jackets.  Part one is here and part two is here.  This would be your required reading of the day.  It’s fun and makes for a great conversation.  Plus, I love how these conversations help to make kids into savvier consumers.

• Speaking of book jackets, there is nothing I do not love about the recent ShelfTalker blog post Please, Will Somebody Re-Design These Covers?  Amen, and also thank you.

• Oh!  And while we’re over at ShelfTalker, they’ve updated The Stars Thus Far.  Look at Locomotive!  Doesn’t that do your heart good?  I completely missed that it was the only children’s book this year to get six out of six.  Wow!

• Things You Might Have Missed Because I Sure As Heck Did: James Howe guest blogged over at TeachingBooks.net and his post is just the smartest thing.  From personal history to a sneak peek into his upcoming 2014 title, this is just fantastic stuff.  I tell you, man.  Guest blogging is where it’s at.

• This next one is just so cool.  I’ve been hearing from various folks the ways in which they’ve been having Giant Dance Parties as inspired by my book.  But NONE of them quite compare to this party that took place at the Cotsen Children’s Library at Princeton University.  The accompanying craft is just brilliant!  They even made little roses.  Awwww.  Still not convinced?  Then let this adorable child be the ultimate lure:

Resist if you can.  You can’t!  Thank you Dana Sheridan for the link!

• If you’re anything like me you scanned through this admittedly very cool Most Popular Books of All Time piece and looked to see how the children’s materials panned out.  Very well, it seems!  And the top of the pops?  Mr. Hans Christian Andersen himself.  Now and forever, baby.  Thanks to Aunt Judy for the link.

• My workplace is so weird.  Ask me sometime about the day Bjork came to visit Winnie-the-Pooh.

• Stockholm’s Tio Tretto Library is so cool.  If the kitchen didn’t clinch it then the sewing area would.  Stockholm tweens are clearly the luckiest in the world.

• Derek Jeter has his own publishing imprint now?  Hm.  Okay.  I’ll be fine with this, just so long as at least ONE of these books is set in Kalamazoo, our hometown.  C’mon, Jeter!  Hometown pride!  Thanks to PW Children’s Bookshelf for the link.

Oh, you think the award season is done, old bean?  Why we have only but BEGUN to hand out the 2011 awards!  The Newberys, Caldecotts, and other ALA Media Awards are just the tip of the old iceberg.  There are so many others to explore.  For example, did you get a chance to really examine the 2012 Notable Children’s Books list from ALSC that was recently released?  Absolutely fascinating stuff.  Some books delight, some baffle, and some I’ve not even heard of.  To the library!  Don’t forget that the Sydney Taylor Awards were given out recently too.  Offered to books that “authentically portray the Jewish experience” there were twenty-eight for 2011 alone.  Woot!  The Scott O’Dell Award went to a book that’s a bit better known since this past Monday.  Fun Fact: That award hasn’t gone to a Newbery Award winner since 1998’s Out of the Dust.  Then on the mystery side of the things the Edgar Award nominations were released.  I adore that they distinguish between “Juvenile” and “Young Adult” books.  Icefall is a particularly clever inclusion (I hadn’t categorized it as a “mystery” but I suppose that it is in the old-fashioned sense of the term).  Heck, I’m surprised they didn’t include Dead End in Norvelt as well.  And if I’m not mistaken, at some point here the American Indian Youth Literature Awards for 2012 should be released.  Anyone know roundabout when that might be?

• Meanwhile, other blogs have been doing their post-ALA Award round-ups as well.  There are many to pick and choose from, but I think I’ll highlight the Seven Impossible Things post that shows some prototypes from A Ball for Daisy and Travis at 100 Scope Notes who gives everything a once over.

• Who told me about this on Twitter?  Was it you, Rocco?  Or you, Mr. Schu?  Whoever it was I’m still puzzling it over.  Basically it boils down to five words: Sweet. Valley. High. Television. Musical. Throw in Diablo Cody and the guys behind Next to Normal and . . . words, for once, fail me.

• Now here’s a post that would catch anyone’s eye: AICL Coverage of Arizona Law that resulted in shut down of Mexican American Studies Program and Banning of Books.  Debbie Reese of American Indians in Children’s Literature has an in-depth and
  4 Comments on Fusenews: Goodbye Goodbye, Columbus, last added: 1/27/2012
  Display Comments
  Margot Magowan said, on 1/26/2012 7:44:00 AM
  

  Hi,

  I discovered your blog because you did a link to mine (Reel Girl) about a post on Lego for girls and the letter from the 14 yr old girl to Lego. I am so happy to discover it your blog! I love it. Can you recommend great blogs that focus on MG books, especially ones centered on girls? I’ve written quite about about politics and culture, but recently published short fiction for adults and am currently writing an MG book. On Reel Girl, I review and rate kids media and products for girl empowerment. I have three daughters ages 2 – 8.

  Thanks so much,
  Margot

  Elizabeth Bird said, on 1/26/2012 4:24:00 PM
  

  Thanks for the kind words, Margot. As for blogs that focus on MG novels for girls, none come immediately to mind though many (including myself) will cover such things. But if anyone else knows of any, just mention it here.

  Laurie Schneider said, on 1/26/2012 4:43:00 PM
  

  We don’t focus exclusively on girls, Margot, but I invite you to visit http://www.fromthemixedupfiles.com. We cover all things middle grade.

  Great post, as usual, Ms. Bird!

  Margot Magowan said, on 1/27/2012 1:13:00 PM
  

  Thank you! I linked both of your blogs to Reel Girl. Will be following your posts.

  MM

  Add a Comment

SLJ represent!  Though I could not attend this year’s KidLitCon (the annual conference of children’s and YA bloggers) many others did and they have all posted links to their recaps of the event here.  So while I could not be present, fellow SLJ blogger Liz Burns of Tea Cozy showed up and has a fabulous encapsulation of that which went on.  Lest you label me a lazy lou, I did at least participate in a presentation on apps.  Yes, doing my best Max Headroom imitation (ask you parents, kids) I joined Mary Ann Scheuer and pink haired Paula Wiley.  It went, oddly enough, off without a hitch.  Attendees may have noticed my gigantic floating head (we Skyped) would occasionally dip down so that I seemed to be doing my best Kilroy imitation.  This was because the talk happened during my lunch and I wanted to nosh on some surreptitious grapes as it occurred.  You may read Mary Ann’s recap here and Paula’s here, lest you fail to believe a single word I say.

• In other news, a list of baby names inspired by works of children’s literature.  I was particularly impressed by the Penderwick mentions.  Thanks to Jarrett Krosoczka for the link!

• Speaking of Penderwicks, the discussions fly fast and fierce over at Heavy Medal.  To my infinite delight, both Jonathan AND Nina are Penderwick fans.  Wow!  For the record, I agree with their thoughts on Amelia Lost as well.  That book has a better chance at something Newberyish than any other nonfiction this year.  This could well be The Year of Amelias (Jenni Holm has an Amelia book of her own, after all).

• Heads up, America!  According to an article in The Guardian, “The debt-laden businesses behind some of the biggest names in childrens’ TV and books are selling off some of the nation’s best-loved characters.”  Personally, I figure the Brits can keep their Peppa Pig.  It’s Bagpuss I want.  Or The Clangers.  I grew up watching Pinwheel on Nickelodeon so I’ve an affection for these.  Any word on the current state of King Rollo?

• Aw yeah.  Authors talking smack about authors.  Granted it’s living authors talking about dead authors (dead authors talking about living authors is a different ballgame entirely) but it’ll stand.  Two dude who write for kids break down J.M. Barrie, The Yearling, etc. and then end with unanimous praise for what I may consider the world’s most perfect children’s book.  Go check ‘em out.

• Is Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick 8 Comments on Fusenews: “Peppa Pig is likely to fall into American hands”, last added: 9/28/2011