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That author/illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka.  He’s a good egg.  It’s not everyone who founds their own youth scholarship, y’know.   For the second time Jarrett will be hosting the 2nd annual auction for the Joseph and Shirley Krosoczka Memorial Youth Scholarships. The auction is already live as of this past Monday morning and it’s benefiting a great cause.  You see, Jarrett named it after the grandparents that raised him and with it the Worcester Art Museum provides tuition to underprivileged children who are in unique familial situations.  As for the auction itself there are all sort of great things up for grabs, including original art (I sure hope someone buys the Lunch Lady art and gives it to an actual lunch lady) and lunch with Jarrett in his studio.  Yet to my mind nothing but nuthin’ beats the idea of having Jarrett design your school’s mascot.  I suggest that even if your school doesn’t have a mascot you make one up just so that Jarrett can illustrate it.  You could be the Fightin’ Banana Slugs (after all, we know he has experience in that area) or the Seething Dust Bunnies.  The possibilities are endless.  And as of right now the bidding is a mere $51.  Y’all better snap that up or I’ll do so myself and just find a school interested.

• All hail our new fearless leader!  Y’all might have heard that our beloved SLJ editor Brian Kenney upped and left us for the library world (doggone worthy that).  So, in essence, I was floating about without a commander-in-chief.  Who knows what kind of mischief I could have gotten myself into!  Thank goodness Rebecca T. Miller is on hand to whip me into shape.  Things to know about this new editor: “With a background in journalism that began at the Utne Reader . . .”  Sorry, sorry, I’d say more but I’m sort of hung up on how fabulous that sentence looks.  Wow.  The Utne Reader.  Love it.  Welcome, Rebecca.

• The holidays are almost upon us and I know exactly what you’re wondering.  You’re wracking your brain trying to figure out what to get the children’s literary enthusiast who already has everything (even the newly annotated Phantom Tollbooth).  I have the solution.  Why not give them me?  Or rather, why not give them 25 seconds worth of me.  Some of you might recall the documentary Library of the Early Mind: A grown-up look at children’s literature that played in select libraries and library conferences around the country.  I bet a bunch of you missed it and wished you could see it.  Well happy days are here again because the producer of the film is selling both a
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I really want to see this. :o)

This film is being played around the country.  Some places charge to attend, but you can see this for free on  Wednesday, April 13, at 7 p.m. in the Community Room of Princeton Public Library. 

This free public event is co-sponsored by the Cotsen Children’s Library at Princeton University.

The filmmakers will speak with the audience after the screening.

March 12 in Philadelphia, PA.

Click Here to see if there is a showing in your area. 

See Trailer below:

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Last week, I was in Putnam, Connecticut at the Getrude Chandler Warner Museum for the interviews that Open Road Media will be including in the upcoming enhanced eBook editions of The Boxcar Children books. More on that trip next week…

While I was driving through the blinding rain to Putnam, I passed a few signs that seemed to indicate I was not very far from Willimantic. As I was drying off at the hotel and checking emails, I decided to send Susannah Richards from Eastern Connecticut State University an email. “I’m in Putnam. How far is that from you? Are you free for dinner?”

Happily, Susannah was around — although she had a conflict. They were showing Library of the Early Mind in the student center. Did I want to come? Sure!

And am I glad I went. “Library of the Early Mind,” which debuted in October, is a great documentary featuring many children’s book creators and children’s literature specialists. Basically, it’s part history, part literary analysis, part bio, part art theory — all featuring some of th best known and most influential children’s book people in the country. Some of the luminaries included are Chris Van Allsburg, Lois Lowry, Jane Yolen, David Small, R.L. Stine, Nancy Garden, Leonard Marcus, and Anita Silvey.

The film’s creators, Edward Delaney and Steven Withrow, were there for the screening, and with the weather, we were a small group. This made for a fabulous discussion afterwards. We were one publisher (that’s me), one published author, two professors, and three students (all member of the campus SCBWI chapter).

We discussed the overrepresentation of men in the film and whether the film was for children’s book insiders or for newbies or for the general public. The director (Edward Delaney) assured us that his most favorable comments came from outsiders. Since they know very little about children’s books, the film is a revelation to them. For insiders like us, while we really like the film, we know what was left out — and usually mention it.

It would take at least a 10-part miniseries to really cover the entirety of the children’s literature world. This approximately 90-minute snapshot reflects the location, budget, connections, and interests of the producers. At the beginning of the process, they focused on authors and illustrators who were close by (you’ll note a distinctly New England flair at times). Later, they began to ask who else could bring them further along their path, who was available in the time frame, and who could they see while on other business trips to keep expenses down.

There are more screenings scheduled and I highly recommend the movie. You’ll get a great up close and personal look at many of this country’s finest writers and illustrators — 40 authors visits in 90 minutes.  Not a bad deal at all!

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