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Hokey dokey. Too much stuff here to cover very well, but try we shall. Hold on to your hats, folks! It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
First off, you know how I was talking the other day about constructing the ideal educator website of children’s literature resources? Well, this might have to be one of said resources I’d include. Called Uncover the Past, the site is dedicated to “helping library and education professionals teach history through children’s literature!” The booklists are particularly interesting.
Thanks to Rebecca Redinger for the link.
Next up, one for the “how cute is this?” files. I don’t know why the idea of Mary Blair tableware isn’t commonplace, but so far this is the first place I’ve seen it done properly. Blair, as you may recall, worked as a Disney animator for years before becoming a children’s book illustrator.Take the survey and you might win a set of your very own.
Mmm. Process. Sweet, delicious process. What’s better than watching an Art Director explain how they came up with a YA cover? Watching an Art Director explain how they came up with a YA cover after considering LOADS of alternatives. Chad Beckerman shows us how The Haters came to be. I don’t usually do YA, but in this special case I am making an exception. You bet I am.
Oo. Auction. Now normally one wouldn’t have the money for such a thing, but this one’s special. What we’re talking about here is a Refugee Benefit Auction, created by authors Shannon Hale and Mette Ivie Harrison. 100% of the proceeds go to Lifting Hands International, a charity that gets life-saving supplies directly to refugee camps. As for the things you could get, they’re pretty fantastic. My personal favorite? A pole dance (or fan dance, they’re easy) performed by Shannon Hale and Daniel Handler. “Negligible nudity assured”. Oddly, this item has yet to secure an initial bid. Would someone like to lend me $10,000?
I think I’m the last one to link to the Alexander London piece Our Stories Are As Unlimited As Our Selves or Why I Came Out as a Gay Children’s Book Author. A great piece and one that ties in nicely with the GLBTQ chapter of Wild Things. Should we ever update that book, this is going in.
Oo! Eisner Award nominees. Love that stuff, I do. And check it out! Not only is Nathan Hale nominated in the Best Publication for Kids category (for The Underground Abductor, naturally) but he’s also in the Best Writer / Artist category as well. He is the ONLY children’s book creator in that category, by the way. Regardless of whether or not he wins, that is significant.
Travis Jonker. He comes up with so many good ideas. Have you seen his Endangered Series, uh, series? Well, it’s a great idea. Series that once were strong but now are waning are given a close examination. Cam Jansen was the latest to fall under scrutiny. I suspect The Kids of the Polk Street School already hit the dust, but if not then this would be an ideal candidate for a future post.
Wow. Two thumbs up to the ALSC board for voting to cancel the National Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. American Libraries Magazinehas the scoop. Thanks to Jules Danielson for the link.
How on this good green earth did I miss Rick Riordan’s letter to kids who are faced with the dire prospect of being shown one of the Percy Jackson movies in school? I’ve seen authors dislike their books’ adaptations before, but nothing quite matches this. Thanks to Monica Edinger for the link.
“With such a huge international variety of books and illustrators on display in Bologna, are there differences in illustration styles among individual countries?” Yep. Moving on. Oh, wait . . . no, let’s dwell on this idea a bit longer. Four German children’s book publishers were asked this question and they gave their responses. The thing is, here in the States we’re seeing some remarkably high quality German children’s book fare on a regular basis and it’s GREAT! I’d love this question to be regularly posed with folks from other countries as well.
I almost never do images of books here for the Daily Image since it’s sort of a case of bringing coals to Newcastle. But then I saw that one of my greatest picture readalouds, one of my core books, a title I’ve loved for years, is getting a sequel. At long long last I have an answer for those kids who have been asking me, “Is there a sequel with the tractor?”
Yes, children. Yes there is. And life is good.
6 Comments on Fusenews: I wouldn’t waste my time riding a bike, last added: 4/28/2016
I wish every art design company released their drafts of book covers. I found the Jesse Andrews cover evolution endlessly fascinating!
Also, I’ve been working on a document for the social studies teachers in my school: historical fiction curricular tie-ins for each unit of study. Uncover the Past will help make the rest of the process go a little bit easier. Thanks for the link!
Rebecca Redinger said, on 4/27/2016 8:24:00 AM
Thanks for the shout out, Betsy!
Sondy said, on 4/27/2016 9:33:00 AM
That’s the auction item I want, too. Our Friends have been very generous in funding events. I’m thinking the community would respond well to a Pole Dance/Fan Dance by Shannon Hale and Daniel Handler. Right?
Elizabeth Bird said, on 4/27/2016 11:30:00 AM
Right now I’m having a hard time trying to think of anyone who wouldn’t want a Pole Dance/Fan Dance by that magnificent dancing team of Hale & Handler.
Hope Crandall said, on 4/27/2016 9:44:00 PM
Duck on a Bike, the very best read-aloud. A sequel, hurray!
Patricia Connor said, on 4/28/2016 8:59:00 AM
I may have screamed with joy at my desk when I saw an announcement for Duck on a Tractor! I LOVE Duck on a Bike and can’t wait.
It seems so funny to me that for all that our culture loves and adores fairytales, scant attention is paid to the ones that can rightfully be called both awesome and obscure. There is a perception out there that there are only so many fairytales out there that people really need to know. But for every Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty you run into, there’s a Tatterhood or Riquet with the Tuft lurking on the sidelines. Thirty or forty years ago you’d sometimes see these books given a life of their own front and center with imaginative picture book retellings. No longer. Folktales and fairytales are widely viewed by book publishers as a dying breed. A great gaping hole exists, and into it the smaller publishers of the world have sought to fulfill this need. Generally speaking they do a very good job of bringing world folktales to the American marketplace. Obscure European fairytales, however, are rare beasts. How thrilled I was then to discover the republication of Wilhelm Hauff and Lisbeth Zwerger’s Dwarf Nose. Originally released in America in 1995 by North-South books, the book has long been out-of-print. Now the publisher minedition has brought it back and what a beauty it is. Strange and sad and oddly uplifting, this tale has all the trappings of the fairytales you know and love, but somehow remains entirely unexpected just the same.
For there once was a boy who lived with his two adoring parents. His father was a cobbler and his mother sold vegetables and herbs in the market. One day the boy was assisting his mother when a very strange old woman came to them and starting digging her dirty old hands through their wares. Incensed, the boy insulted the old woman, which as you may imagine didn’t go down very well. When the boy is made to help carry the woman’s purchases back to her home he is turned almost immediately into a squirrel and made to work for seven years in her kitchen. After that time he awakes, as if in a dream, only to find seven years have passed and his body has been transformed. Now he has no neck to speak of, a short frame, a hunched back, and a extraordinarily long nose. Sad that his parents refuse to acknowledge him as their son, he sets forth to become the king’s cook. And all would have gone without incident had he not picked up that enchanted goose in the market one day. Written in 1827 this tale is famous in Germany but remains relatively obscure in the United States today.
I go back and forth when I consider why this fairytale isn’t all that famous to Americans. There are a variety of reasons. There are some depressing elements to it (kid is unrecognizable to parents, loses seven years of his life, etc.) sure. There aren’t any beautiful princesses (except possibly the goose). The bad guy doesn’t even appear in the second act. Still, it’s the peculiarities that give it its flavor. We’ve heard of plenty of stories where the heroes are transformed by the villains, but how many villains give those same heroes a useful occupation in the process? It’s Dwarf Nose’s practicalities that are so interesting, as are the nitty gritty elements of the tale. I love the use of herbs particularly. Whether the story is talking about Sneezewell or Bellyheal, you get the distinct feeling that you’re listening to someone who knows what they’re talking about. Plus there are tiny rodent servants. That’s a plus.
We like it when our fairytales give us nice clear-cut morals. Be clever, be kind, be good. This may be another reason why Dwarf Nose never really took off in the States. At first glance one would assume that the moral would be about not judging by appearances. Dwarf Nose’s parents cannot comprehend that their beautiful boy is now ugly, and so they throw him out. He gets a job as a chef but does not search out a remedy until the goose he rescues gives him some hope. I was fully prepared for him to remain under his spell for the rest of his life without regrets, but of course that doesn’t happen. He’s restored to his previous beauty, he returns to his parents who welcome him with open arms, and he doesn’t even marry the goose girl. Hauff ends with a brief mention of a silly war that occurred thanks to Dwarf Nose’s disappearance ending with the sentence, “Small causes, as we see, often have great consequences, and this is the story of Dwarf Nose.” That right there would be your moral then. Not an admonishment to avoid judging the outward appearance of a thing (though Dwarf Nose’s talents drill that one home pretty clearly) but instead that a little thing can lead to a great big thing.
When this version of Dwarf Nose was originally released in the States in 1994 the reviews were puzzled by its length. Booklist said it was “somewhat verbose to modern listeners” and School Library Journal noted the “grotesque tenor of the book”. Fascinatingly this is not the only incarnation of this tale you might find in America. In 1960 Doris Orgel translated a version of “Dwarf Long-Nose” which was subsequently illustrated by Maurice Sendak. The School Library Journal review of Zwerger’s version in 1994 suggested that the Sendak book was infinitely more kid-friendly than hers. I think that’s true to a certain extent. You get a lot more pictures with the Sendak and the book itself is a much smaller format. While Zwerger excels in infinitely beautiful watercolors, Sendak’s pen and inks with just the slightest hint of orange for color are almost cartoonish in comparison. What I would argue then is that the intended age of the audience is different. Sure the text is remarkably similar, but in Zwerger’s hands this becomes a fairytale for kids comfortable with Narnia and Hogwarts. I remember as a tween sitting down with my family’s copy of World Tales by Idries Shah as well as other collected fairytales. Whether a readaloud for a fourth grade class, an individual tale for the kid obsessed with the fantastical, or bedtime reading for older ages, Dwarf Nose doesn’t go for the easy audience, but it does go for an existing one.
Lisbeth Zwerger is a fascinating illustrator with worldwide acclaim everywhere except, perhaps, America. It’s not that her art feels too “foreign” for U.S. palates, necessarily. I suspect that as with the concerns with the length of Dwarf Nose, Zwerger’s art is usually seen as too interstitial for this amount of text. We want more art! More Zwerger! I’ve read a fair number of her books over the years, so I was unprepared for some of the more surreal elements of this one. In one example the witch Herbwise is described as tottering in a peculiar fashion. “…it was as if she had wheels on her legs, and might tumble over any moment and fall flat on her face on the paving stones.” For this, Zwerger takes Hauff literally. Her witch is more puppet than woman, with legs like bicycle wheels and a face like a Venetian plague doctor. We have the slightly unnerving sensation that the book we are reading is, in fact, a performance put on for our enjoyment. That’s not a bad thing, but it is unexpected.
When Zwerger’s Dwarf Nose came out in 1994 it was entering a market where folktales were on the outs. Still, libraries bought it widely. A search on WorldCat reveals that more than 500 libraries currently house in on their shelves after all these years. And while folktale sections of children’s rooms do have a tendency to fall into disuse, it is possible that the book has been reaching its audience consistently over the years. It may even be time for an upgrade. Though it won’t slot neatly into our general understanding of what a fairytale consists of, Dwarf Nose will find its home with like-minded fellows. Oddly touching.
On shelves April 1st.
Source: Galley sent from publisher for review.
Misc: Check out this fantastic review of the same book by 32 pages.
1 Comments on Review of the Day: Dwarf Nose by Wilhelm Hauff, last added: 3/11/2016
There is a perception here in America about the Germans. It is a firm belief that, as a nation, they are devoid of a sense of humor. Americans love to bring this up. I’m not sure what they’re trying to prove necessarily when they say it, but the idea has been repeated so often that few would bother to contest it. Can you name any German stand-up comics? How about funny imported German films? What about funny German picture books? AH HA! There I’ve got you. Because while I cannot pull out of a hat any comics or movies, what I can do is show you without a sliver of a doubt that thanks to picture books like those of Sebastian Meschenmoser, we have absolute proof that Germans have a distinct and ribald sense of humor. With the release of his latest book in the States, Gordon and Tapir, Meschenmoser plumbs the Odd Couple concept with some distinctive twists of his very own. This is some primo German goofball stuff.
The book opens wordlessly. A penguin goes to his restroom with a newspaper. He reaches for the toilet paper. But what is this? Someone’s used it all up. And not just anyone. The penguin, who goes by the name of Gordon, stamps down the hall to his roommate Tapir’s room. Inside he finds the animal reclining in a toilet paper constructed hammock, an elaborate fruit cup in hand and a headdress that would wow Carmen Miranda on his noggin. Immediately Gordon launches into a litany of transgressions Tapir has engaged in. The floor’s sticky with fruit, the dishes are never done, and why exactly has there been a hippo living in the bathtub for the past few days? Tapir isn’t taking this lying down. He has his own complaints, like why does EVERYTHING have to be so neat and tidy? Why does the garbage have to stink of fish all the time? And why can’t Tapir join Gordon’s all-penguin club? Eventually, Gordon moves out and once Tapir discovers this he gives the bird a call. Turns out, it is a fantastic solution. Now Tapir can be dirty, Gordon can be neat, but they can visit each other and be friends again far better than if they lived together. Happy endings for all.
I’ve always carried the torch for Meschenmoser’s art. From his sleepless animals in Waiting for Winter to his previous penguin dip into surrealism in Learning to Fly the man has a strange kinship with the furry and feathery. So much of the character development in these tales comes from their body language. For example, there’s a spread in this book where Gordon lies in bed on his back staring at the ceiling at 3 a.m. while Tapir does much the same thing, albeit blearily, in his own room. This is followed by a silent film of sorts where Gordon finds a new place to stay in the paper and takes off as Tapir hears the door open and looks up with just the saddest expression in his eyes. Any picture book that dares to go silent for an extended amount of time in the center of the story is being gutsy. It’s not easy to pull off, and Meschenmoser ups the ante (as it were) by rendering everything during those wee hours of the morning in black and white graphite sketches.
Then there are the little visual details and gags. The humor is sublime here. Meschenmoser is just as comfortable with silent gags (remember, this is coming from the man who made Charlie Chaplin references in the images of Mr. Squirrel and the Moon) as he is with words. Some of the jokes are there for the parents doing the reading. Did you notice the tapir in a bathing suit that bedecks the inside bathroom door? Or the fact that when Gordon stomps from the bathroom to Tapir’s room the wallpaper goes from a pristine fish pattern to paper that’s torn and peeling in large chunks? Did you see that the little cactus that Tapir gives to Gordon as a housewarming present is sitting on his dresser earlier in the book? And did you know that every single one of Gordon’s penguin friends is based on a famous author? I’ve good money riding on the fact that one of them resembles Sigmund Freud. I loved that Gordon has a goldfish swimming in his party drink (a tasty treat for later?). And so tiny you’d probably miss them but worth it every time I notice them is this: mongooses in teeny tiny colorful party hats. Life is sweeter because they are there.
But for all that, the real reason I loved this book as much as I did was that the lesson I took away from it wasn’t American in the slightest. Imagine if a Yank tried writing the same book. Gordon and Tapir would have their differences. They’d have their fight. They’d both spend a sleepless night. Then the next morning Gordon would make a concession, Tapir would make a concession, and they’d work out their differences. And there is nothing wrong with a book about meeting someone halfway. Yet what I loved so much about this book was the fact that it eschewed every rote picture book plot I’d come to expect and went in an entirely new direction. Because honestly, let’s face it, sometimes friends are NOT meant to live together. Couples grow apart, people change, and there are times when you are much closer to someone if they don’t share the same space that you do 24/7. Meschenmoser makes it crystal clear that Gordon and Tapir’s friendship is stronger when Gordon leaves. Now I’m sure some folks will read this as a “stick with your own kind” narrative (after all, tapirs and penguins don’t even occupy the same temperate zones) but I’d argue that their friendship belies that. It isn’t that they don’t vastly enjoy each other’s company. They just need their own personal space at the end of the day, and that is absolutely 100% a-okay.
As crazy as it sounds, this actually wouldn’t be the worst picture book to hand to a small child with parents going through a divorce. I think it’s pretty clear from the book that sometimes you have nothing in common with the person you’re living with and that it’s best for all parties if a split is made. I don’t think the book was written with that intention in mind, and that is probably why it would work particularly well. There isn’t any didacticism to plow through. Just good storytelling
There’s a long history of funny German children’s literature that leads directly to Mr. Meschenmoser. Remember that this is the country where Der Struwwelpeter came to light (though its humor is a bit of an acquired taste). And alongside fellow contemporary funny German picture book artists like Torben Kuhlmann and Ole Konnecke he’s in good standing. With any luck we’ll be seeing more of their books coming to U.S. shores in the coming years. So who knows? Maybe if we get enough Gordon and Tapir types of books the humorless perception of the German people will undergo a change. At the very least, we’ll get some magnificent stories out of the deal. This one’s a keeper.
I’ve often thought that living separately would SAVE a lot of marriages.
Annina Luck Wildermuth said, on 1/11/2016 11:29:00 AM
Enjoyed reading your review and wanted to add on to your list of funny Germans in children’s literature: Wilhelm Busch, who created Max and Moritz among other great characters.
Time to brush up on your high school German meine damen und herren. Yes The Strange Case of Origami Yoda got its own pretty impressive fan trailer straight outta Germany the other day. It’s interesting, but I was even more taken with the German name of the book. Yoda, I Am! Everything, I Know! As overseas titles go, that’s gotta be one of my favorites. I also like the description of the book that accompanies the video: “Eigentlich ist Dwight ein totaler Loser.” No matter where you go in this world, “total loser” is a universal.
I swear I didn’t mean for this to happen, but by complete coincidence the Germans have the floor today. This next one is actually a small filmed version of a picture book called Vom Kleinen Maulwurf, der Wissen Wollte Wer Ihm Auf den Kopf Gemacht Hatte by Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Eribruch. You can debate what the best possible translation of this might be, but I think my favorite has to be Wikipedia’s The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business. See it and you’ll comprehend why.
Needless to say, this book has yet to be published in America. Not even the Plop-Up version. Jules brought to to my attention after her fantastic post on Maurizio Quarello’s take on Bluebeard led to a fascinating discussion in the comments of what Yanks do and do not find squeamish. Thanks for the link, Jules!
Ruh-roh. I heard that someone wanted to do an “updated” musical take on Alice in Wonderland for Broadway. Of course, that brings to mind another musical as well: The Wiz. Updating classics isn’t as easy as all that (though I’ll forgive many things for “Ease on Down the Road”). Here’s an interview with the woman playing Alice. Join me as I wonder if it’s possible that the music was written in 1982. Hoo boy.
This one’s interesting, and related to children’s literature in that much of my own childhood was spent reading New Yorker cartoons. Cartoonist Liza Donnelly and I have something in common. We both attended Earlham College (fight fight inner light, kill, Quakers, kill!!). We also both have an interest in humor and women.
11 Comments on Video Sunday: Blogging, I Am. Everything, I Post., last added: 2/6/2011
Oh German Day, is it? First of all to be high school teacher pedantic, it is “Damen und Herren” as Germans capitalize nouns. Secondly, yay for der Kleinen Maulwurf! I came across that book years and years ago in Germany and recall some fun child_lit conversations about the fact that it exists in translations all over the world, but not here.
Monica Edinger said, on 2/6/2011 1:57:00 AM
Oh….and notice my silence about your next item. Black hole silence.
lisainberlin said, on 2/6/2011 4:11:00 AM
Hooray for German day! Still waiting for the scratch and sniff version of “Der Kleine Maulwurf” to arrive.:)
Tom Angleberger said, on 2/6/2011 5:59:00 AM
Danke for posting the Origami Yoda video!! I know not a thing about it and was totally surprised to run across it. I think it was actually made by the German publisher of OY.
DaNae said, on 2/6/2011 6:36:00 AM
Hey, wait a minute. I’ve had that mole book in my library for 4 years. The US title is THE STORY OF THE MOLE WHO WENT IN SEARCH OF WHODUNIT. And yes, it makes a great read-aloud.
Elizabeth Bird said, on 2/6/2011 6:37:00 AM
Silence noted and agreed upon. Capitalization invoked (if Cabaret taught me anything it should have taught me that). Mind you, I took French in school so I’m playing the ignorance card on this one.
lizadonnelly said, on 2/6/2011 6:42:00 AM
Hi Elizabeth, Thanks for posting my TED talk! btw, I also wrote a bunch of children’s books for Scholastic about dinosaurs. When were you at Earlham? cheers, Liza
Elizabeth Bird said, on 2/6/2011 6:43:00 AM
A-ha! DaNae I’m pleased to hear this. You are absolutely correct. Abrams published it in 2007 and it looks as though it’s still in print. So if anyone here today wants to get their own copy . . . .
Elizabeth Bird said, on 2/6/2011 6:53:00 AM
Hi Liza! Ah, I was the class of 2000 so we probably lack much in the way of overlap (except we may have both have had Lincoln Blake or Tony Bing for English, eh?). But I didn’t know about the dinosaur book! I believe I shall email you sometime. Your video has fit in beautifully with a personal project I’ve been ruminating over lately.
Monica Edinger said, on 2/6/2011 7:34:00 AM
Seems like fodder for your book:)
Monica Edinger said, on 2/6/2011 7:34:00 AM
Hurray for Abrams! I just looked back in the child_lit archives and see that our discussion of this book was in 1999. I mentioned it in a larger thread about cultural comfort levels. And I totally forgot that Nina Lindsay wrote that there was a US edition titled “The Story of the Little Mole who Went in Search of Whodunit”, published by Stewart Tabori and Chang. We then went on to discuss the relative degree of coyness in the different translations.
I wish every art design company released their drafts of book covers. I found the Jesse Andrews cover evolution endlessly fascinating!
Also, I’ve been working on a document for the social studies teachers in my school: historical fiction curricular tie-ins for each unit of study. Uncover the Past will help make the rest of the process go a little bit easier. Thanks for the link!
Thanks for the shout out, Betsy!
That’s the auction item I want, too. Our Friends have been very generous in funding events. I’m thinking the community would respond well to a Pole Dance/Fan Dance by Shannon Hale and Daniel Handler. Right?
Right now I’m having a hard time trying to think of anyone who wouldn’t want a Pole Dance/Fan Dance by that magnificent dancing team of Hale & Handler.
Duck on a Bike, the very best read-aloud. A sequel, hurray!
I may have screamed with joy at my desk when I saw an announcement for Duck on a Tractor! I LOVE Duck on a Bike and can’t wait.