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A reader wrote to ask if I've seen Nathan Hale's Alamo All-Stars. New in 2016 from Amulet, it is book six in Hale's "Hazardous Tales" series of graphic novels. Here's the synopsis:

In the early 1800s, Texas was a wild and dangerous land fought over by the Mexican government, Native Americans, and settlers from the United States. Beginning with the expeditions of the so-called “Land Pirates,” through the doomed stand at the Alamo, and ending with the victory over Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto, the entire Texas saga is on display. Leading the charge to settle this new frontier is Stephen F. Austin, with a cast of dangerous and colorful characters, including Jim Bowie, William Travis, David Crockett, and others.

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?

The Fictional Book Characters Who Sparked Our Sexual Awakenings. Meh. None of these ranked in my book, but it’s interesting to see the fellers other gals were into.  And, happily, it reminded me of one of my favorite Toast pieces of all time: Things I’ve Learned About Heterosexual Female Desire From Decades Of Reading.

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 Magazine has 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.

The site Brightly has had a couple good articles up lately.  I liked 8 Surprising Facts About Your Local Librarian not the least because I knew the librarians quoted.  NYC pride!

Daily Image:

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.

Jarrett J. Krosoczka has unveiled the book trailer for Comics Squad: Lunch!. This book serves as a follow-up to the 2014 book, Comics Squad: Recess!.

The video embedded above features appearances from the contributors of this comics collection. This group includes Krosoczka, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Jeffrey Brown, Cece Bell, Nathan Hale, Jason Shiga, Cecil Castellucci, Sara Varon, and Peanuts.

Krosoczka and the Holm siblings served as the editors of this project. Random House Books for Young Readers has scheduled the release date for Jan. 26.

I like my comics like I like my men. Chock full of lunch and Pearl Harbor references.

Hm? That didn’t make sense? Maybe not, but if nonsense is pouring out of my mouth then I believe it may have something to do with the excitement I feel about today’s guest. If the term “Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales” means nothing to you then please be so good as to read this and this and then come back to me. As many of you know, he is the one-man genius factory behind some of the best history for kids out there today.

That’s in one corner.  In the other corner is the Comics Squad series put out by Penguin Random House.  The concept is simple.  The books are about the size of your average Babymouse or Lunch Lady comic book.  Inside, a bunch of different comic book creators riff on a theme.  Last time it was recess.  This time, lunch.  And our man, Nathan Hale, did a story for it involving . . . well . . .

So where did that come from?  He was kind enough to answer my questions on the subject.

Betsy Bird: I don’t know about anyone else, but I was pretty psyched when I saw The Hangman standing on the cover of the latest Comics Squad release.  I think the reviewers are already mentioning that yours is a bit more serious than the other fare (Babymouse, kid Lunch Lady, Snoopy, etc.).  How’d the editors approach you for the job?

Nathan Hale: Thanks! It is fun to see the Hangman on the cover. He must have looked a little too monochrome for the cover, because someone turned his gloves blue. He looks like he’s working with industrial chemicals or something.

You’re right about the tone. I hope the readers are cool with it. Reading the stories is like: silly story, funny story, goofy story, haha story, PEARL HARBOR!?! I figure readers will either love my story, or skip it completely.

Jennifer Holm approached me for a story. I loved COMICS SQUAD 1, and of course, I’ve always loved BABYMOUSE (fun fact: BABYMOUSE is the reason the Hazardous Tales books are colored in one color. I even got coloring tips from Matthew Holm early on.)

BB: The tale marks the first time WWII has been mentioned in the Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series.  Did you already know that lunch-related story, or did you have to hit the books to find it?

NH: I had to hit the books. I started researching for an essay about the different meals soldiers ate through history. While doing that, I stumbled across this WWII potato story, I knew I had to do it.

BB: Did you have a competing lunch story you thought about using, or was this always your #1 choice?

NH: My first idea was to skip the history, and just do a goofy story about some chips. When I was a kid I didn’t have a TV. And there was a very popular show at the time called C.H.I.P.S.–California Highway/Interstate Patrol Squad. I never saw the show, so I thought I was missing an amazing show about walking talking tortilla chips who fought crime and had adventures. I drew my own version of CHIPS in my childhood notebooks. I was going to reboot that old idea for COMICS SQUAD. I’m really happy with how the WWII story turned out. But don’t count the CHIPS out just yet. They are still in development.

BB: How about yourself?  Do you have a lunch story about yourself that you’d care to tell me?

NH: Once, when I was standing in the lunch line of my fifth grade school cafeteria, the cutest girl in the class, who was wearing a black turtle neck, sneezed and shot an unbelievable amount of snot all over herself. It was like she shot two barrels of silly string out of her nose. She was mortified, tried to wipe it all away, but, of course, she was in the black turtle neck, so it wasn’t going anywhere. She ended up just becoming entangled in it, like a Spiderman villain. The kids in line were so impressed by the biological display, that we didn’t even think about laughing until she had run from the cafeteria. It wasn’t “Ha-ha” it was “WOW!” As a kid, I thought, well, that must be a thing that happens to people. Yet, to this day, I’ve never seen it equalled.

Pretty gross. And, no, that was never a story I was tempted to do for COMICS SQUAD. Although, now that I think about it…

BB: Ew!  And . . . kinda awesome.  By the way, I don’t suppose you’d happen to be able to mention what the subject of the next Hazardous Tale will be, by any chance?

NH: Hazardous Tales #6 comes out in three months! It’s about the Alamo!

Right now I’m taking a one-book break from history comics to do a science fiction comic (not the CHIPS), then I’m going straight back into Hazardous Tales #7 and #8. I can hint that book #7 takes place in a VERY similar time to the COMICS SQUAD: LUNCH story.

BB: Fantastic.  Gonna go over to Abrams now and poke ’em, poke ’em, poke ’em until I get my hands on that Alamo comic.  Thanks go Nathan for chatting with me and to Cassie McGinty for setting the whole thing up.  The new Comics Squad issue comes out January 26th, so keep an eye peeled for that one as well.

Morning, folks.  What’s that?  Why, yes. Yes, I would like to watch this video about Nathan Hale’s newest GN The Underground Abductor. Thank you! Seems to me the man has lucked out in terms of timing too. With people rallying to put Ms. Tubman on the $20 bill, it is now vastly important to learn more about her. Plus, you cannot read this book and not become an instantaneous Tubman fan.

So here in NYC we’ve a little something called the NYC Neighborhood Library Awards. Patrons nominate their local branches and the finalists have these cool videos. The first branch I ever worked in was my beloved Jefferson Market. Look at this and tell me it’s not the most gorgeous place you’ve ever seen.

Jefferson Market Library from Well Exposed on Vimeo.

My castle.

Now lots of successful children’s authors use their money for good causes.  But really, opening an independent bookstore is just a great idea all around.  Jeff Kinney talks about his newly opened store here.  I love his reasoning behind not making it just a children’s store (though, frankly, that would have been a-okay with me too).

For you Betsy Bird completists out there (hi, mom), here’s a chance to see me talk twice about digital stuff. Once around 6:36 and once around 24:20. This livestream video was done in celebration of a Kickstarter Campaign called Time Traveler Tours & Tales which seeks to meld interactive history with honest-to-goodness books. I was asked to speak about story and electronic media and libraries, so I did just that:

Doggone it. The Scholastic preview just went up and the books look fantastic.  And me not going to ALA either.  Oh, Book Expo . . . .

And for our off-topic video today, this is sorta kinda on topic. If you want to stretch your definition of “children’s literature”.  Recently there’s been a lot of talk about what the 10 best pre-recorded sketches of Saturday Night Live this season were. My heart lies with The Middle Earth Office.  For fans of the British office, this is just gravy. Pure gravy.

Happy Easter, folks!  Tis a bonny Easter Video Sunday . . . . not really.  One of these videos does show a bunny at one point, though.  Can YOU find it?  The answer is at the end of this post.

First up, my co-writer Jules Danielson was in town recently and managed to get herself on national television while here.  I’ve been in New York for 11 years and haven’t managed such a thing once.  So well done to her!  She’s the second person in this video to stuff their mouth full o’ Peeps.  It’ll make sense when you see it:

Technically this next video is an ad but you have no sense of that until you reach the end anyway. Plus it’s cute:

Weapons of Mass Instruction: A 1979 Ford Falcon Converted in a Tank Armored with 900 Free Books from Colossal on Vimeo.

Of course, as a librarian I want to know how those books were chosen and what the titles are that he hands to the kids. Curation! Curation! Curation! Thanks to Mike Lewis for the link.

I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but Nathan Hale, of the Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series, has started his own YouTube series.  You may have seen his previous video about drawing war hats.  Well, video #2′s out and it’s about drawing everybody’s favorite character, The Hangman.  I love this format for doing videos.  Very nice for illustrators.  Take note, folks.

We’ve been saying for years that someone out there in network television land should interview the Newbery and Caldecott winners again. So PBS Newshour picked up the slack and did a great interview with Kwame Alexander. Of course, they make a rookie mistake right at the start by saying the Newbery is for “young adult literature” (does no one VET the news over there, PBS?) but I’m cutting them slack for doing this at all. Now about Mr. Santat . . .

Next up, Voldemort.  Because what is Easter without something that has NOTHING to do with Easter?

There’s an app out for the amazing book Lindbergh by Torben Kuhlmann.  And, as you might expect, it looks gorgeous.  Torben will be in town while I am in Austin so I am drowning my sorrows in this app.  *sigh*

And for our off-topic video, something appropriately Easterish:

So which video had the bunny?  If you said it was the Nathan Hale post, you’re correct!  Go eat yourself a chocolate.

• Here in New York we’re getting very excited.  The 90-Second Film Festival is coming!!  And soon too!  Here’s a PW interview with James Kennedy about the festival and for those of you in the NYC area you can see it at NYPL on Saturday, March 7^th at 3:00 p.m. In fact, now that I think about it, you could begin your day at NYPL at 2:00 p.m. at my Children’s Literary Salon Blurred Lines?: Accuracy and Illustration in Nonfiction.  We’ll be hosting Mara Rockliff (author), Brian Floca (author/illustrator), Nicole Raymond (editor), and Sophie Blackall (illustrator/author) as they discuss the responsibility of an illustrator when working on a piece of historical nonfiction for kids and whether or not words garner closer scrutiny than pictures.  Should be a fabulous day.

• We all know on some level that when a book is adapted into a movie the likelihood of the strong female characters staying strong is negligible.  There are always exceptions to the rule, but by and large it’s depressing not to be more shocked by the recent Cracked piece 6 Insulting Movie Adaptations of Strong Female Characters.  I was very pleased to see the inclusion of Violet from A Series of Unfortunate Events too.  Folks tend to forget about her.

• At the beginning of February I had the infinite pleasure of hosting a Children’s Literary Salon at NYPL on Collaborating Couples.  I invited in Ted & Betsy Lewin, Andrea and Brian Pinkney, and Sean Qualls and Selina Alko.  You can read the PW round-up of the talk here, but before we hit the stage I had to ask Sean about this incident that occurred involving his book with Selina, The Case for Loving and W. Kamau Bell’s treatment at Berkeley’s Elmwood Café.  We didn’t touch on it during our talk since it wasn’t pertinent to this particular discussion, but if you haven’t read the article I suggest you give it a look.

• If I’m going to be honest about it, this perfectly encapsulates what I’ve always personally felt about the Elephant and Piggie books.  This is because growing up I was the child that wanted everyone and everything in the universe to pair up.  Sesame Street fed this desire to a certain degree but the only time Mr. Rogers got close was during the opera episodes.  And don’t even get me STARTED on Reading Rainbow (no sexual tension = no interest for 4-year-old Betsy).  Hence my perverse desire to see Gerald and Piggie become a couple.  I know, I know.  Clearly I need help.

• Moomins!  Ballet!  Moomins in ballet!  Sorry, do you need more than that?  Thanks to Marci for the link.

• It’s fun to read this look at the Mary Poppins Hidden Relationships Fan Theory, but I’ve a bone to pick with it.  Correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t the book of Mary Poppins make it very clear that yes indeed Mary Poppins WAS Bert’s nanny back in the day?  Or am I just making stuff up?  I thought this was cannon.  That other stuff about Bert’s relationships is particularly peculiar as well.

Perhaps you feel, as I do, that you’ve read every possible Harry Potter related list out there devised by the human brain.  Still and all, while I had seen a bunch of these, there are still some lovely surprises in the BuzzFeed list 21 Times “Harry Potter” Was the Cleverest Book Series Ever.

Speaking of Harry Potter and BuzzFeed, new term alert: Racebent.  Didn’t know it, but this piece has actually convinced me that it is entirely possible that Hermione Granger isn’t the white-skinned schoolgirl she’s often considered to be.  Recall if you will that it was only ever made explicit that Dean Thomas had dark skin when the Harry Potter books were brought over to America (a fact that is not usually mentioned in these stories).

• Oh, what the heck.  May as well get as Harry Potterish as possible today.  Look!  Cover animations!

• For years I’ve yearned to go to TLA (the meeting of the Texas Library Association).  State library meetings are always fun, but Texas takes their own to another level.  So far I haven’t had an excuse, but I was reminded of this desire recently when I read the rather delightful piece on how an abandoned Texan Walmart got turned into the ultimate public library.  McAllen?  You’re good people.

• Let It Be Known: That every author and illustrator out there that makes school visits on a regular basis should take a very close look at Nathan Hale’s School Visit Instructions and replicate PRECISELY what he has done on their own websites.  Obviously you cannot all draw so in terms of visuals he has you beat.  However, this information is perfect and you could certainly write it down in some form yourself.  Let it also be known that his upcoming book about Harriet Tubman, The Underground Abductor, is AMAZING.  Here’s the cover:

• David Wiesner created an app?  Yep, pretty much.  It’s called Spot and it is now on my To Buy list.

• Oh!  I don’t know if any of you folks actually know about this.  Were you aware that there is a major children’s book award out there for math-related titles?  Yep, there is.  It’s called the Mathical Award and it’s a project that has come out of a collaboration between The Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) and the Children’s Book Council (CBC).  Those of you producing such books should look into it.  Could be very very useful to you.

• Daily Image:

I’ve been meaning to get back to work on updating my post of the Complete Listing of All Children’s Literature Statues in the United States for a while here.  There are definitely some sections that need work.  However, one image I will not be adding is this statue of what might be the world’s creepiest Cat in the Hat.  Not because I don’t like him (oh, I do, I do) but because it’s on school rather than public property.  That doesn’t mean I can’t share him with you anyway, though.

Many thanks to Paula Wiley for bringing him to my attention.  Wowzah.

Here are our five favorite books to read this November — a bilingual special edition and one part of a witty and well-illustrated history series are just two of this month’s favorites!

PreK-K (Ages 2-5):

Goodnight Moon (Bilingual Board Book Special Edition) written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd

Children have been drifting off to sleep to the soothing sounds of Goodnight Moon for over 65 years. And now, we are beyond delighted to offer this classic bedtime story for the first time as a Spanish-English bilingual board book. More kids than ever before will be able to experience the tender warmth of the great green room and say good night to balloons and moons, kittens and mittens, bears and chairs.

Grades 1-2 (Ages 6-8):

I Am Jazz written by Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jennings; illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas

“I am Jazz!” This is the proud, bold, and life-affirming statement that begins and ends the story of now thirteen-year-old Jazz Jennings, who explains in simple terms that she was born with a girl’s brain and a boy’s body. Jazz’s story grabbed our attention immediately with its ability to give young students a clear and accurate window into the life and experiences of a transgender child. By acknowledging the realistic lack of understanding from some peers and balancing it alongside the overwhelming acceptance of family and close friends, this warmly illustrated picture book is an ideal way to begin conversations with young readers about accepting differences.

Grades 3-4 (Ages 8-10):

Lulu and the Duck in the Park written by Hilary McKay

In this early chapter book, Lulu rescues a duck egg from disaster by tucking into her pocket, unbeknownst to her teacher!  Her plan to keep the egg safe begins to crack when the duckling decides it’s hatching time. This is the first of several books starring Lulu, each depicting lively adventures and animal friends. While Lulu is best known for her devotion to animals, she is also an adventurous, kindhearted friend, which makes her the perfect companion for any student who’s ready to transition from beginning readers to longer stories.

Grades 5-6 (Ages 10-12):

Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy written and illustrated by Nathan Hale

After being swallowed whole by a humongous magical history book moments before he is hanged as a Revolutionary War spy, Nathan Hale delays his executioners by telling them everything he has learned about the future of the new nation. With unmatched wit and engaging illustrations, Nathan Hale (the graphic novelist, no relation to the spy) brings the American Revolution, the Civil War, an unappetizing dinner party at the Donner Pass, and World War I to life. And stay tuned – there’s plenty more history to illustrate!

Grades 5+ (Ages 10+):

El Deafo written and illustrated by Cece Bell

Inspired by the author’s own childhood, this hilarious graphic novel is a warm, sincere invitation into the life of a young bunny who feels isolated by her hearing loss and the humongous Phonic Ear she wears daily to boost her hearing. It is impossible not to root for Cece as she searches for true friendship, and turns often to her super hero alter ego, El Deafo, for confidence while coping with real-life issues like bossy friends and cute boys.  The underlying message here is that we should each embrace what makes us different and understand that the power to define who we are ultimately rests in our own hands (or paws).

The post Five First Book Favorites: November appeared first on First Book Blog.

• First up, my little sister.  My daughter recently had her third birthday so my sis came up with a craft involving what she calls Do It Yourself Cupcakes. Each cupcake sported a teeny tiny cover of one of my child’s favorite books.  Then we took them to her daycare where she delightedly set about pointing out all the books she knew.  I have zero crafting skills but if you do then you might want to try this sometime.  It was kind of friggin’ amazing.

• Now in praise of Kevin King.  The Kalamazoo Public librarian has long been hailed as one of the best in the country.  Fact.  Children’s authors and illustrators everywhere know his name.  Fact.  But when a man attended a summer reading kickoff  for Kalamazoo Public Library with a gun, who confronted the fellow and asked him to please leave?  Kevin King.  So basically, he’s an amazing librarian AND he has the guts to talk to someone packing heat around children.  Kevin King, today we salute you.  I don’t know that many of us would have the courage to do what you did.

• Look, we all talk about how we don’t have enough of one kind of book or not enough of another.  But what do we actually DO about it?  Credit to Pat Cummings.  She doesn’t take these things lying down.  Check out the Hero’s Art Journey Scholarship then.  As the website says, “The Children’s Book Academy is proud and excited to offer merit scholarships for writers and illustrators of color, identifying as LBGQTI, or having a disability, who are currently underrepresented in the children’s publishing industry. In addition, we are offering scholarships for low income folks who might not be able to take this course otherwise as well as to SCBWI Regional Advisers and Illustrator Coordinators who do so much unpaid work to help our field.”  The first and only scholarship of its kind that I’ve certainly seen.

• Sometimes it’s just nice to find out about a new blog (even if by “new” you mean it’s been around since 2012).  With that in mind, I’d like to give a hat tip and New Blog Alert to The Show Me Librarian.  I believe it was Travis Jonker who led me to St. Charles City-County Library District librarian Amy Koester’s site.  It doesn’t have a gimmick.  It’s just an honestly good children’s librarian blog with great posts like this one on Reader’s Advisory and this one on picture book readalouds.  Them’s good reading.

• Jules would never alert you to this herself, but don’t miss this interview with the woman behind the Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog as conducted by Phil and Erin E. Stead.  Even if you know Jules you’ll learn something new.  For example, I had no idea she enjoyed Marc Maron’s podcast too.

• Speaking of Jules, who is the most tattooed children’s author/illustrator (since we already know the most tattooed bookseller)?  The answer may surprise you.

• “There’s not just one way of believing in things but a whole spectrum.”  That would be Philip Pullman talking on the subject of fairy tales and why Richard Dawkins got it wrong.

• I’m sorry.  I apparently buried the lede today.  Else I would have begun with the startling, shocking, brilliant news that they’re bringing back Danger Mouse.  Where my DM peoples at?  Can I get a, “Crumbs!”?  That’s right.

• I don’t read much YA.  Usually I’ll pick out the big YA book of a given year and read it so that I don’t fall completely behind, but that’s as far as I’ll go (right now deciding between We Were Liars and Grasshopper Jungle).  But I make exceptions and Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles fall into that gap.  Now I hear that Meyer wrote a prequel called Fairest giving her villain some much needed background.  That’s cool enough, but the cover?  You only WISH you could see more jackets like this:

• Speaking of YA, and since, by law, nothing can happen at this moment on the internet without some mention of The Fault in Our Stars at least once, I was rather charmed by Flavorwire’s round-up of some of the odd TFIOS merchandise out there.  Favorite phrase: “for the saddest party ever.”

• It’s important to remember that school library cuts aren’t an American invention.  They’re a worldwide problem, a fact drilled home recently by the most recent post on Playing By the Book.  If you’re unaware of the blog it’s run by the wonderful Zoe Toft and is, to my mind, Britain’s best children’s literature blog, bar none.  Now Zoe’s facing something familiar to too many school librarians and it’s awful.  Does anyone know of a British children’s literary magazine along the lines of a School Library Journal or Horn Book?  The fact that her blog hasn’t been picked up by such an outlet is a crime.

• “I should think there would be more chance of your child choking to death on a chocolate bar than of becoming seriously ill from a measles immunisation.”  As a woman with a child too young at the moment to be vaccinated against diseases like measles, every parent that refuses to get their own children vaccinated is a threat to mine.  So I read with great interest what Roald Dahl felt about vaccinating your kids.  It ran on BoingBoing back in 2009 but this kind of thing never dies.

• Father’s Day has come and gone but it’s never too late to look at a bunch of adorable pictures of dads reading to their kids.  Particularly when one of the dads is married to yours truly.  See if you can spot him.

• And the award for Best Summer Reading List of All Time goes to . . . Mike Lewis!  His Spirit of Summer Reading list for reluctant readers can only be described in a single word: Beautiful.  Designed flawlessly with books that I adore, this is the list I’d be handing to each and every parent who walks in my library door, were I still working a reference desk somewhere.  Wowzah.

• A whole exhibit on Appalachian children’s literature?  See, this is why I need my own private jet.  Why has no one ever given me a private jet? Note to Self: Acquire private jet, because it’s exhibits like this one that make me wish I was more mobile.  You lucky denizens of Knoxville, TN will be able to attend this exhibit between now and September 14th.  Wow.  Thanks to Jenny Schwartzberg for the link.

• So pleased to see this interview with Nathan Hale on the Comics Alternative podcast.  Love that guy’s books, I do.  Great listening.

• New York certainly does have a lot of nice things.  Big green statues in the harbors.  Buildings in the shape of irons.  Parks that one could call “central”.  But one thing we do not have, really, is an annual children’s book trivia event for folks of every stripe (librarians, editors, authors, booksellers, teachers, etc.).  You know who does?  Boston.  Doggone Boston.  The Children’s Book Boston trivia event happened the other day and The Horn Book reported the results.  One could point out that I could stop my caterwauling and throw such an event myself.  Hmm… could work. We could do it at Sharlene’s in Brooklyn… it’s a thought…

• C.S. Lewis on the Three Ways of Writing for Children and the Key to Authenticity in All Writing.  Need I say more than that?

• Daily Image:

There are bookshelves that seem kooky or cool and then there are bookshelves that could serve a VERY useful purpose, if you owned them.  Boy howdy, do I wish I owned this because useful is what it is.  It’s a “Has Been Read” and “Will Be Read” shelf.

Thanks to Aunt Judy for the link.

Well, the Bird family had a lovely Christmas down in old Atlanta, GA.  We didn’t lose any offspring either going there or back again, so I consider that a win.  And the presents!  Whether it was the Matilda soundtrack (yes, I’m a million years old and still request CDs as presents) or the collected Pogo comics (Vol. 2!) or a new laptop, this was a good little year.

What I did not know when I flew back at 6:15 a.m. yesterday was that I was rapidly winging my way home to an unexpected gift like no other.  A gift that can only be described as one-of-a-kind.  Indeed, unless more than one was produced this season, I may have the only one quite like this.

You will all recall Alison Morris.  Dubbed “The Mayor of Children’s Books” by T.A. Barron she is one of the smartest, wittiest people I know.  She is also now currently living in Washington D.C. which is a crime against man (or at least, against the convenience of seeing her as often as I’d like).

Over the years it was Alison who has inspired some of the greatest children’s literature crafts I’ve ever seen.  That Shrinky Dink necklace of Newbery and Caldecott winners?  Inspired by Alison and our Shrinky Dink Christmas ornament year.  The birdhouses made out of F&Gs?  All Alison.

So I open a present in the mail from her and this is inside:

Yes.  Your eyes do not deceive you.  In her infinite awesomeness, Alison created (and I do not know how) a Donner Dinner Party snowglobe.

Best. Gift. Ever.

Thank you, Alison.

Well sir, it’s a heckuva week.  Book stuff is happening out the wazoo, but for a moment I’d like to concentrate on what else is going on in the wider children’s literary world.  What say we Fusenews it up a bit, eh?

• Of course there’s no way to begin today without a hat tip to the late, great E.L. Konigsburg.  The only person, I believe, to win both a Newbery Award and a Newbery Honor in their debut year.  Top THAT one, folks!  The New York Times pays tribute to one of our luminaries.  We had managed to do pretty well in 2013 without losing one of our lights.  Couldn’t last forever.  Godspeed, Elaine.

• Speaking of deaths, I missed mentioning my sadness upon hearing of Roger Ebert’s passing. Jezebel put out a rather nice compilation of Roger Ebert’s Twenty Best Reviews.  I wonder if folks ever do that for children’s book critics.  Hm.  In any case, amongst the reviews was this one for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  It’s rather brilliant.  See for yourself.

• New Blog Alert: Now I would like to brag about my system’s children’s librarians.  They are uniquely talented individuals.  Smart as all get out.  One that I’ve always been particularly impressed with is Stephanie Whelan, a woman I trust more than anyone else when it comes to finding the best in children’s (not YA) science fiction and fantasy fare.  Now Stephanie has conjured up one doozy of a blog on that very topic.  It’s called Views From the Tesseract (nice, right?) and it looks at a lot of science fiction and fantasy specifically with side views of topics in the field.  You’ll find posts with subjects like A Matter of Taste: Preferring One Genre Over Another, Five Fantasy Pet Peeves, and the fascinating delve into the world of Tom Swift in The Swift Proposal.  Stephanie also has access to galleys so be sure to check out her early reviews for books like William Alexander’s Ghoulish Song and Sidekicked by John David Anderson (which I’m reading right now on her recommendation).

• Turns out that the Mental Floss piece 11 Book Sequels You Probably Didn’t Know Existed spends an inordinate amount of time looking at children’s books.  Check it out for mentions of the 101 Dalmatians sequel (missed that one), the E.T. sequel The Book of the Green Planet (which, if memory serves, was illustrated long ago by David Wiesner and is the only book he no longer owns the art of), and more.

• Nice blogger mentions this week.  Thanks to Sara O’Leary for mentioning my new website and to Jen Robinson’s for the nice review of Giant Dance Party.  I appreciate it, guys!  Plus Jen is the first review I’ve read that draws a connection between my book and the Hunger Games series.  Few can say so much.

Speaking of reviews, I owe Travis Jonker a debt of gratitude for reviewing Marguerite Abouet’s Akissi.  I read that book in the original French a year or two ago and was completely uncertain if it would ever see the light of day here in the States due to a final story that, quite frankly, DEFIES anything I’ve seen in children’s literature before.  The kind of thing that makes Captain Underpants look tame.  You have been warned.  Great book, by the way.  Let’s not lose sight of that.

• Not too long ago I spoke to a group of 6th graders at Bank Street College’s school about contemporary book jackets and how they’re marketed to kids.  Only a portion of my talk was dedicated to race or gender.  Fortunately, the kids have been thinking long and hard about it.  Allie Bruce has posted twice about a covers project the kids have participated in.  Be sure to check out race and then gender when you have a chance.  Food for thought.

• For a certain kind of person, the title of this website alone will cause a flutter and palpitation of the heart: The Last Unicorn Screening Tour (featuring Peter S. Beagle and fans everywhere).  You know who you are.  Big time thanks to Marci for the link.

• Newsflash: Americans Still Love Libraries.  Comes with its own infographic, so you know it’s true.  Thanks to Lese Dunton for the link.

• What do Pinkalicious, A Ball for Daisy, and Square Cat all have in common?  Read ‘em to your kids and you’ll be teaching them that consumerism is king.  So sayeth a 196-page thesis called “Cultivating Little Consumers: How Picture Books Influence Materialism in Children”, as reported by The Guardian.  And they might have gotten away with the premise to if they just hadn’t brought up I Want My Hat Back.  Dude.  Back away from the Klassen.  Thanks to Zoe Toft (Playing By the Book) for the link.

• You may have heard that Simon & Schuster finally announced that it will start making e-books available to all three New York City public library systems.  The press certainly picked up on the story and many articles have been generated.  Curious?  Then read these pieces in Mashable, The NY Daily News, MediaBistro (Galleycat and Fishbowl NYC), Publishers Weekly, Fast Company and The Associated Press.

• Okay.  I’m just gonna go out on a limb here and say it.  Marjorie Ingall has created, without a doubt the most impressive children’s book footwear post of all time.  Honest-to-god, if you don’t bow down before her for that English Roses shoe, you have no soul.

• Required Reading of the Day: There are few authorial blogs out there even half as interesting as Nathan Hale’s.  And when the guy gets a fact wrong in one of his books, he’ll do anything to set it right.  Even if it means going to Kansas.  Here’s how he put it:

We made a HUGE historical error, and we are going to fix it! We are going to learn why Kansas wasn’t a Confederate state–why it was a “Free State,” and how it happened. We are also going to visit Kansas on an official apology and correction trip. When we are finished, all Hazardous Tales readers will know how to correct their own copy of Big Bad Ironclad! Stay tuned!

You can see the official ceremony here, but be sure to read all the blog posts he drew to explain precisely why Kansas was a free state anyway. You can see Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, and Part Six.

• Daily Image:

It’s not the holiday gift giving season, but if you know a librarian in need of a unique gift, I have your number.

Awesomesauce.  Thanks to Marchek for the link.

Link: Nate's blog

New York, she is so snowy these days!  I’ve lived in this pleasant burg roundabout six years, by my count, but this is the first winter where the weather decided to bring back memories of my Michiganian (Michigander? Michiganolian?) youth.  Well, a good Fusenews is the perfect solution for any snowy day.  On to the top stories!

• Some of us know Shaun Tan best because of his remarkable book The Arrival.  Others first became aware of him through his Tales from Outer Suburbia.  Now expect a whole new crew of folks to be introduced to him thanks to . . . his recent Academy Award nomination.  Yup.  I kid you not.  Check out the nominees for Short Film (Animated) and there he is alongside one Andrew Ruhemann for an animated adaptation of The Lost Thing.  It’s based on his picture book of the same name.  Haven’t read it?  Well, you lucky bum, you’re in for a treat.  Perhaps anticipating this Arthur A. Levine is releasing a collection of three Tan picture books in one volume called Lost & Found.  It’s due out on shelves this coming April.  If you can wait that long, of course.  In the meantime you can watch the trailer for the film here.  Thanks to Marjorie Ingall for bringing the nomination to my attention!

• Say, this is fairly big news that’s making the rounds relatively slowly.  Are you aware that they have hired a new New York Times Book Review editor of children’s books?  Yes, they’ve been a little low-key in the announcement but thanks to this podcast from the National Book Critics Circle we have learned that Pamela Paul has garnered the choice position.  PW confirmed the choice here.  Ms. Paul has a blog of her own, which will give you a better sense of who she is and what she has done.

• History Question: Has a paperback edition of a work of children’s fiction ever incorporated the awards it won into the design of its new cover?  If you answered, “No, and I doubt it ever will be,” think again.

• One of my favorite little ole imprints is one that dedicates its time and attention to bringing out some of the strongest graphic novels for kids you will ever lay hands upon.  I hope you will all help me raise a glass and offer many congrats to First Second for celebrating their 5th Anniversary this year.  I’ve read a bit of that Zita the Spacegirl GN due out February 1st and it’s a fine example of what First Second does best.  Cheers to all!

• Hrm.  The Scribd site is fast becoming the most dangerous one on the web.  I say this because I pretty much could read
  11 Comments on Fusenews: I’m lovin’ it, last added: 1/26/2011
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  Storied Cities (Erica) said, on 1/26/2011 2:03:00 AM
  

  A prequel to the Wizard of Oz? I think MY head just popped off. I’m glad you are keeping on top of things for me.

  rams said, on 1/26/2011 6:23:00 AM
  

  Let’s see. The kids in Edward Eager books several times say nice things about E. Nesbitt books (go ahead, force me to be specific, MAKE me go reread Half Magic and The Time Garden.)

  Doret said, on 1/26/2011 6:36:00 AM
  

  I am so happy to see Griff Carver: Hallway Patrol and The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman are Edgar Award finalist. And I want to read The Haunting of Charles Dickens

  Caleb said, on 1/26/2011 6:39:00 AM
  

  I love Even in Australia!

  Cecilia said, on 1/26/2011 7:30:00 AM
  

  I was born in Ann Arbor and my parents always told me to say I was a Michigander. No major snow yet here in D.C. but maybe this afternoon!

  Book characters have given me many book recommendations–I had never read any of E. Nesbit’s books about the Bastable children before reading references to them in Missing Melinda by Jacqueline Jackson and Friendly Gables by Hilda Van Stockum. Memoirs of a Bookbat by Kathryn Lasky also has references to Judy Blume and Magic by the Book by Nina Bernstein has the characters magically transported into Robin Hood and Tolstoy.

  Jean Reagan said, on 1/26/2011 8:50:00 AM
  

  Betsy,

  I clicked on the Picture Book Marathon link on your newsy bits, and it’s not connecting. Here’s the link again. http://www.picturebookmarathon.org.

  Thanks.

  Jean Reagan

  Arthur Levine said, on 1/26/2011 9:05:00 AM
  

  Thanks for the mention of LOST & FOUND, Elizabeth. We’ve actually moved the pub date UP a month, so that folks who are intrigued at the Oscars (or who just can’t WAIT) will be able to get it in their hands in just a few weeks!

  Julie said, on 1/26/2011 10:24:00 AM
  

  I vote for Michigander. At least that’s what we say in Ann Arbor.

  Kathryn said, on 1/26/2011 10:27:00 AM
  

  Edward Eager’s kids also read Masefield–Laura is reading “A Box of Delights” in the train on the way to their new home in Connecticut at the beginning of “Magic or Not.” And of course, the central plot device in”Seven-Day Magic” is a book that takes you into OTHER books.

  The Melendys read a lot; in “Then There Were Five” there is an absolutely glorious description of Mark’s initiation into the pleasures of reading for pleasure.

  And the Swallows and Amazons–particularly Titty & Dorothea–read, although theirs is mostly books originally aimed at adults (all the North Pole explorers in “Winter Holiday”; and at the beginning of “Pigeon Post” Dorothea is reading Rafael Sabatini on the train. . .hm, reading on the train is a definite theme.)

  Maria T. Middleton said, on 1/26/2011 12:24:00 PM
  

  Thanks so much for the blog mention! There are indeed some Middletons who dream of thrones (eh-hem, Kate…), but this Middleton only dreams of great design. And everything I know about designing children’s books, I’ve learned from working with Chad Beckerman. I’d be completely remiss (and a little fearful of flying pie) if I didn’t add my thanks to him for the inspiration.

  Dhonielle Clayton said, on 1/26/2011 1:57:00 PM
  

  Hi Betsy,

  I’ll be there to summarize ! I loved the event and I’m sad I didn’t know about the Literary Salon sooner as I am a recent NYC transplant via the Washington, DC area.

  Thanks for the shout-out…See you at the next event on Feb. 5th!
  Dhonielle Clayton
  teenwritersbloc.com

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