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The other day I asked my husband, “Am I a Millennial?”  “No,” he said.  “You’re right between the Millennials and the Generation Xers.  You don’t really belong to either.”  That’s about right.  Millennials always feel too young to me (I can’t discuss Boy Meets World with them at all) and Generation Xers are great but tend to enjoy The West Wing more than I ever could (how’s THAT for generalizing?).  So if I identify as anything it’s that sterling, if slightly off-putting, moniker “Child of the 80s”.  I can talk Punky Brewster, Thundercats, Popples, you name it.  That’s my generation.  And now, with my generation have kids, I’m seeing it catered to in children’s literature.  And it’s weird.

My first indication that things were getting a little out of the ordinary was with the publication of the Puffin Pixels series.  If you haven’t seen them yet, these are children’s book classics in the public domain that contain covers and some interior art (though mostly just a map in the front) akin to video games like Legend of Zelda and the like.  For those of us who still dream Lode Runner dreams at night (to say nothing of Pitfall) these books feel oddly familiar and strange all at the same time.  My favorite so far is Swiss Family Robinson, if only because it looks like a version of Below the Root (based on the children’s book by Zilpha Keatley Snyder!).

But pixels aren’t relegating themselves solely to Puffin.  Robot SMASH! by Stephen W. Martin, illustrated by Juan Carlos Solon is actually a Canadian creation (coming, as it is, from Owl Kids) and there’s something comforting in its blocky look.  Comforting and, yet, odd.  It’s clearly a love story like no other.

Insofar as I can tell, the justification for all these pixels may lie in the popularity of Minecraft.  Since Minecraft is pixeled without shame, publishers are able to simultaneously tap into children’s love of the game and their parents’ nostalgia.  I’ll be interested in watching to see if pixels proliferate in the future as well.

Let’s face facts.  When doing a trendwatch piece, it’s almost impossible to top Travis Jonker’s 2014 bit of brilliance 2014: The Year of the Whale. Prior to that piece I had done The Year of the Chloe, The Year of the Jackalope, and The Year of the Raven.  And now, in 2015, I’m calling it early.  And rather than limit it to a single creepy crawly, I am opening my heart to those eternal enemies, the spiders and the flies.  They seem unexpectedly prevalent and it’s only February!  How can I be so sure that they’re the insects and arachnids to watch in 2015?  Consider the evidence:

The Year of the Fly

I, Fly: The Buzz About Flies and How Awesome They Are by Bridget Heos. Illustrated by Jennifer Plecas

It’s little wonder that nonfiction flystuffs should abound.  Last year Elise Gravel’s The Fly was the one to watch.  This year, Heos and Plecas give us a bit of sympathy for those members of the family Muscidae.

Fly! by Karl Newsom Edwards

Stand aside, Fly Guy.  There’s a new crop of characters in town and they are sometimes awfully cute.  Truth be told you won’t find a more adorable little cutie than this fellow.  Told in very simple text, it’s one of those books about finding out where your talents lie, yet it manages the moral without moralizing (no small feat).  Plus how do you resist that face?  Awwwww.

Astrid the Fly by Maria Jonsson

Astrid’s a Swedish import, and you wouldn’t really know it from the text.  She too is rather adorable, though you cannot help but shudder in horror when you see how many brothers and sisters she has.  Extra points for making her such a fan of Danish salami.

The Fly by Petr Horacek

You heard it here first folks – This is the best readaloud picture book of 2015.  I kid you not, it’s brilliant.  Reminding me not a little of Jim Aylesworth’s classic Old Black Fly, Horacek uses his trademark thick flaps to give a not AT ALL cute fly (it’s all in the eyes, man) a distinct point of view.  Anyone performing a storytime is going to get a huge kick out of the final THWAP as you close the book on the flying pest.

Super Fly: The World’s Smallest Superhero! by Todd H. Doodler

A show of hands.  Who here does NOT hear that classic 1972 Curtis Mayfield song whenever you read this title?  Because if not, I envy you.  Doodler abandons bears and their undergarments for the Kirkus starred early chapter book.  I like that it clarifies the true enemy of the fly: the cockroach.  And I think if it came down to the two of them, give me a housefly any day of the week.

The Year of the Spider

Just Itzy by Lana Krumwiede. Illustrated by Greg Pizzoli.

That’s one thing the flies never had going for them: catchy nursery rhymes (notable exception: “Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me”). Last year the old Itsy Bitsy Spider song inspired Dosh Archer’s Urgency Emergency: Itsy Bitsy Spider.  This year it, alongside 2-3 other spider related nursery rhymes (there’s an abundance of them), has inspired Just Itzy.  Itzy is sick to death of his nickname (he could do without the “Bitzy”). He then proceeds to change his fate and his name.  Pizzoli is in his element.

Seaver the Weaver by Paul Czajak. Illustrated by The Brothers Hilts

Ever heard of the publisher Mighty Media Kids?  Well, if this book is any indication they might be one to watch.  The Brothers Hilts did that lovely little book The Insomniacs a couple years ago and then were never heard from again.  This book, about a spider that thinks outside the web, makes good use of their skills. Particularly the parts where Seaver must attend to this “guest”.

I’m Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton

I collect funny women and Bethany Barton has recently shot up to the top of my list.  Known best at this point for her Monster books (This Monster Needs a Haircut & This Monster Cannot Wait), this latest title pairs nicely with the Petr Horacek fly title since there are a LOT of smushed up spiders between the pages.

Now lest you think such trends are restricted solely to the realm of the picture book, you are sadly mistaken.  At least in the case of spiders, the middle grade fiction titles are active and aware:

The Spider Ring by Andrew Harwell

There’s a bit of wish fulfillment at work in this one.  I mean, what bullied kid could receive a ring that helps them control spiders and NOT sick ‘em on the classmate that makes their life a misery?  Creepy and crawly all at once.

Ferals by Jacob Grey

I mentioned this one in a recent Harper Collins preview.  The villain of this piece is named The Spinning Man.  If you suffer from arachnophobia, I’d steer clear of this one for a time.

Any others you’ve seen?  They have to be pubbed in 2015.  I’d say we’re off to a good start thus far too.

My buddy and fellow blogger Travis Jonker sent me the following images recently:

What are you looking at?  Just a couple shots from the book Oddfellow’s Orphanage by Emily Winfield Martin.  The book is yet another entry into this year’s Oddest Children’s Literary Trend. One of two, as it happens.  I like keeping track of weirdo trends in books for kids.  Last year it was ravens.  This year there are two trends that by some strike of fate’s fancy have all come out in the same publishing year.

Trend #1: Jackalopes

I think I’ve mentioned this in passing but now I’m serious.  Jackalopes are cropping up in books hither and yon this year and it’s time to track ‘em down.  Other serious offenders, aside from the aforementioned book by  include:

Dragonbreath: Revenge of the Horned Bunnies by Ursula Vernon

I love those Danny books, and this one had the decency to put the jackalope front and center on the jacket.  Another book that did the same was . . .

Project Jackalope by Emily Ecton

They had a much cuter cover originally and then switched it out for this one in the hopes of appealing to boys a bit more.  I like that the new jacket references Duck! Rabbit! none too obliquely.

Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown

In the course of this road trip novel a brother and sister head off to find a jackalope of some sort.  No word on whether or not they find it.

But that’s not all.  Another trend is out there, itching to be noticed as well.

Trend #2: Chloe

Specifically, “Chloe” as the name of a character in a picture book.  And if her name happens to get into the title, bonus.  These include:

Crafty Chloe by

Quoth the raven: What the heck?

At this point I’m getting a little suspicious.  You see, every year I like to keep track of “trends” in the world of children’s literature.  For example, back in 2006 there were at least two novels (Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett and Here Be Monsters by Alan Snow) that contained sentient cheese.  I found this funny and mentioned it in my yearly Golden Fuse round-up.  Since that time I have taken care to note any trends I see in the world of children’s literature.  [Note: Google "sentient cheese" sometime to get a wide and weird array of hits]

This year I saw the usual smattering of trends.  In one case, Tillie the Terrible Swede, Around the World, and Wheels of Change all discuss the rise of the bicycle in America.  Fun!  Trends like this usually don’t involve more than three or four books.  Then I noticed something.  There is one trend that has gotten, quite frankly, out of hand.

Ravens.

Ravens show up periodically in children’s books anyway.  Last year Adam Gidwitz made lovely use of them in A Tale Dark and Grimm.  However, this year it began to get ridiculous.  I’ve been faithfully reading all forms of fiction and I have encountered time and time and time again a veritable unkindness of ravens.  Consider the following:

• Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier – A whole SLEW of ravens in this one.  Warrior ravens at that.

• Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby – Features one raven named Muninn, named after one of Odin’s ravens (Huginn and Muninn).

• Juniper Berry by M.P. Kozlowsky – Contains a raven named Juniper who, according to Mr. Kozlowsky, also can be traced back to Odin’s ravens.

• The Wizard of Dark Street by Shawn Thomas Odyssey – The heroine has an enchanted talking raven by the name of Deacon.

• 6 Comments on 2011: The Year of the Raven, last added: 7/28/2011