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Today is National D.E.A.R. day -- Drop Everything and Read. D.E.A.R. time was first enjoyed by Ramona in Ramona Quimby, Age 8.
It is also, not coincidentally, the 90th birthday of the amazing Beverly Cleary. Newsweek recently ran a profile of Ms. Cleary and today's Arizona Republic also features an article.
It's so nice, in an age of tabloids and starlets behaving badly, to see such a wonderful author still so beloved. And who HASN'T read the Ramona books? Even Science Boy confesses to having read them as a child.
So many images come to mind as I write this -- Ramona wearing pajamas to portray a sheep at the Nativity; Ramona cracking a raw egg on her head; writing her Qs as little cats; trying to write her name for a library card; envying Willa Jean's ability to pull all the Kleenex out of a box and still be thought of as cute; Beezus and Ramona being horrified when their parents cook tongue...
I LOVE Ramona. And Ellen Tebbits. And Henry Huggins. And Mitch and Amy. And Ralph. And EVERYONE who inhabits the pages of Beverly Cleary's books.
Thank you, Ms. Cleary, for writing so many books for children -- and their adults to read and cherish and read again. Happiest of birthdays to you. I love you.
NOTE: There are more tributes to Cleary at The Yakima-Herald (where she once worked), Oregon Public Broadcasting, The Washington Post, NPR, The Oregonian, and The Boston Globe. I'm sure there are more that I have missed, but I think I am gonna go read Beezus and Ramona instead of surfing the 'net anymore.
12 April 2006
21 March 2006
VOTE!
If you live in a place where there is an election today, please take a minute to go to your polling place and vote.
Science Boy and I went this morning. We walked in the freezing cold to the local grade school, cast our votes and trudged back home.
I am a woman. Science Boy is African-American. Even 100 years ago, we would have been denied any voice in an election. Women in this country didn't get the vote until 1920. African-Americans technically got the vote in 1870, but everyone knows that's not really what happened. It took the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to make the right of African-Americans to cast votes (in a country they helped build) a reality.
So, it's been only 86 years that women in the US have been allowed to vote. African-Americans have been allowed to cast a vote only in the past 41 years. Knowing how hard our forebears fought for this right, knowing that people spoke out and rallied and sometimes died for our right to vote... How can we dishonor their sacrifices by not voting? And how can this country claim to fight for democracy overseas when we do not honor the rights we have here?
Please, if you have an election in your city today, VOTE!
Science Boy and I went this morning. We walked in the freezing cold to the local grade school, cast our votes and trudged back home.
I am a woman. Science Boy is African-American. Even 100 years ago, we would have been denied any voice in an election. Women in this country didn't get the vote until 1920. African-Americans technically got the vote in 1870, but everyone knows that's not really what happened. It took the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to make the right of African-Americans to cast votes (in a country they helped build) a reality.
So, it's been only 86 years that women in the US have been allowed to vote. African-Americans have been allowed to cast a vote only in the past 41 years. Knowing how hard our forebears fought for this right, knowing that people spoke out and rallied and sometimes died for our right to vote... How can we dishonor their sacrifices by not voting? And how can this country claim to fight for democracy overseas when we do not honor the rights we have here?
Please, if you have an election in your city today, VOTE!
13 March 2006
Jealous much?
According to his blog, Scott Adams is not happy that Aaron McGruder is taking vacation.
According to one news story I read: Aaron McGruder, the cartoonist behind the strip syndicated in about 350 American newspapers, said Tuesday he would take about six months off beginning in March.
"‘Every well needs occasional refreshing," he wrote in a letter to be sent to editors of newspapers carrying the strip. "I hope that this fall you will agree that the time away from the demands of deadlines has served the strip, your readers and me."
Apparently Adams thinks that taking a vacation after doing the Boondocks strip for 6-7 years is not warranted. On his blog, he writes:
The creator, Aaron McGruder apparently doesn’t have enough time because he’s working on his animated TV show.
The interesting part is that he hasn’t drawn the strip himself for years. According to an interview I read, he considers himself more of a writer than an artist anyway.
I imagine Stephen King rolling over in his grave when he hears that McGruder doesn’t have time to write his four sentences per day for the strip. I realize Stephen King is still alive, but I assume he sleeps in a grave anyway.
Now, I don't know how y'all feel, but that just seems a little bitchy. From what i have read, McGruder didn't say he didn't have time to do both, but that he needs a vacation. That doesn't seem unreasonable to me. McGruder says he hopes the strip will be stronger when he comes back from vacation. Why doesn't he deserve a break if he wants one?
Why Scott Adams even cares whether or not Aaron McGruder takes vacation is another question entirely.
Look. I know Scott Adams has had a strip *and* a tv show at the same time in the past, but... I dunno. Yay for him. Hooray for Scott Adam's intricate, painstaking, finely nuanced drawings each day. He's a harder worker than Aaron McGruder. He is superior because being snarky about his fellow comic strip creator makes him so.
Whatever.
I have never heard Aaron McGruder being anything but honest about having an artist draw the strips. If he has gotten to the point in his career where he can afford to hire someone to do the drawing while he outlines storylines (because many of his strips are part of a larger arch, not just one-offs) and writes for the show, good for him. Nothing wrong with considering yourself a writer when what you actually do is, um, WRITE.
For a writer, four sentences could take *way* longer than four pages might because you must distill the language and have every word just so. Unless, of course, you are so amazingly, unrelentingly talented that you scribble your strip in seconds each morning, effortlessly, as Mr. Adams would appear to.
I actually feel kinda sad now because I used to like Scott Adams. I still like his work and find his blog entertaining from time to time. But somehow, seeing that he needs to be nasty about his fellow comic strip creators just because they take vacation in order to feel better about himself has made me lose any respect I had for the man.
According to one news story I read: Aaron McGruder, the cartoonist behind the strip syndicated in about 350 American newspapers, said Tuesday he would take about six months off beginning in March.
"‘Every well needs occasional refreshing," he wrote in a letter to be sent to editors of newspapers carrying the strip. "I hope that this fall you will agree that the time away from the demands of deadlines has served the strip, your readers and me."
Apparently Adams thinks that taking a vacation after doing the Boondocks strip for 6-7 years is not warranted. On his blog, he writes:
The creator, Aaron McGruder apparently doesn’t have enough time because he’s working on his animated TV show.
The interesting part is that he hasn’t drawn the strip himself for years. According to an interview I read, he considers himself more of a writer than an artist anyway.
I imagine Stephen King rolling over in his grave when he hears that McGruder doesn’t have time to write his four sentences per day for the strip. I realize Stephen King is still alive, but I assume he sleeps in a grave anyway.
Now, I don't know how y'all feel, but that just seems a little bitchy. From what i have read, McGruder didn't say he didn't have time to do both, but that he needs a vacation. That doesn't seem unreasonable to me. McGruder says he hopes the strip will be stronger when he comes back from vacation. Why doesn't he deserve a break if he wants one?
Why Scott Adams even cares whether or not Aaron McGruder takes vacation is another question entirely.
Look. I know Scott Adams has had a strip *and* a tv show at the same time in the past, but... I dunno. Yay for him. Hooray for Scott Adam's intricate, painstaking, finely nuanced drawings each day. He's a harder worker than Aaron McGruder. He is superior because being snarky about his fellow comic strip creator makes him so.
Whatever.
I have never heard Aaron McGruder being anything but honest about having an artist draw the strips. If he has gotten to the point in his career where he can afford to hire someone to do the drawing while he outlines storylines (because many of his strips are part of a larger arch, not just one-offs) and writes for the show, good for him. Nothing wrong with considering yourself a writer when what you actually do is, um, WRITE.
For a writer, four sentences could take *way* longer than four pages might because you must distill the language and have every word just so. Unless, of course, you are so amazingly, unrelentingly talented that you scribble your strip in seconds each morning, effortlessly, as Mr. Adams would appear to.
I actually feel kinda sad now because I used to like Scott Adams. I still like his work and find his blog entertaining from time to time. But somehow, seeing that he needs to be nasty about his fellow comic strip creators just because they take vacation in order to feel better about himself has made me lose any respect I had for the man.
Librarians Defeat Nuns!
Who would have thought that people as far away as Toronto would be interested in a spelling bee in Northern Kentucky?
That's what happens when three undefeated nuns takes on a trio of unbeaten librarians.
So begins the story in the Cincinnati Post last Friday.
A tough match-up, but the librarians prevailed:
The sisters bowed out when they couldn't spell "chimopelagic," a word that describes organisms that live deep in the sea and come up once in a while for light.
The Boone County librarians spelled that word correctly, then spelled one more word correctly for the win - "trinitrotoluene" - otherwise known as TNT.
Read the whole story.
That's what happens when three undefeated nuns takes on a trio of unbeaten librarians.
So begins the story in the Cincinnati Post last Friday.
A tough match-up, but the librarians prevailed:
The sisters bowed out when they couldn't spell "chimopelagic," a word that describes organisms that live deep in the sea and come up once in a while for light.
The Boone County librarians spelled that word correctly, then spelled one more word correctly for the win - "trinitrotoluene" - otherwise known as TNT.
Read the whole story.
03 March 2006
Springsteen does Seeger
Bruce Springsteen will release an album of cover songs for the first time in his career. The artist he is covering? PETE SEEGER.
Yup, you read that right> The Boss will cover songs by Pete Seeger, who I believe is one of our great national treasures. I hope the album does well, and maybe brings more people to Pete's music.
Thanks, Amy, for the heads-up! ;-)
Yup, you read that right> The Boss will cover songs by Pete Seeger, who I believe is one of our great national treasures. I hope the album does well, and maybe brings more people to Pete's music.
Thanks, Amy, for the heads-up! ;-)
09 February 2006
Librarians are so fair
The headline in the Baltimore Sun reads,
Library patron 'borrows' way into prison
Record of 402 overdue items leads to Randallstown man's theft conviction, 3-year term
The article begins, If you're two weeks late in returning a book to the Baltimore County library, you're likely to get a phone call. If your book is four weeks overdue, you'll receive a notice in the mail.
And if you're Philip Akbar Shabazz, you're sent a letter that begins: "You currently have 402 items overdue from the Baltimore County Public Library. Fees and charges for these items amount to over $8,400."
Despite this guy using multiple (stolen?) cards to get hundreds of books (which it is believed he sold), the article ends in the best way possible:
Still, library officials said that if Shabazz were to square his account, he would no longer be barred from library branches.
"He would be welcomed back," Wheeler said.
I *love* librarians!
Read the whole article here.
Library patron 'borrows' way into prison
Record of 402 overdue items leads to Randallstown man's theft conviction, 3-year term
The article begins, If you're two weeks late in returning a book to the Baltimore County library, you're likely to get a phone call. If your book is four weeks overdue, you'll receive a notice in the mail.
And if you're Philip Akbar Shabazz, you're sent a letter that begins: "You currently have 402 items overdue from the Baltimore County Public Library. Fees and charges for these items amount to over $8,400."
Despite this guy using multiple (stolen?) cards to get hundreds of books (which it is believed he sold), the article ends in the best way possible:
Still, library officials said that if Shabazz were to square his account, he would no longer be barred from library branches.
"He would be welcomed back," Wheeler said.
I *love* librarians!
Read the whole article here.
Libraries ROCK!
"Imagine a collection of music, movies, and books you can access for free with the help of the Internet. What if you could share it all with your friends and neighbors? No, I’m not referring to BitTorrent or Napster; I’m talking about your local library."
Thus begins a fabulous new article on Lifehacker. It mentions many of my favorite things about libraries including, "Chances are that your library doesn’t stock every book you might ever want to read. Just because they don’t own it, doesn’t mean they can’t get it." Yeah! I *love* that part!
Be sure to read the whole article here.
Thus begins a fabulous new article on Lifehacker. It mentions many of my favorite things about libraries including, "Chances are that your library doesn’t stock every book you might ever want to read. Just because they don’t own it, doesn’t mean they can’t get it." Yeah! I *love* that part!
Be sure to read the whole article here.
08 February 2006
Gak
The headline in the Miami Herald reads:
Collaborator on 'Curious George' books, films found dead, covered with garbage bags, in Boynton driveway
From the article, it seems this man co-edited, rather than wrote, some of the George books. However he was involved with the naughty little monkey, this is a ghastly story...
Read the whole story here.
Collaborator on 'Curious George' books, films found dead, covered with garbage bags, in Boynton driveway
From the article, it seems this man co-edited, rather than wrote, some of the George books. However he was involved with the naughty little monkey, this is a ghastly story...
Read the whole story here.
03 February 2006
A good little monkey
Curious George opens next weekend and reuters has an article about the corporate adventures of this mischievous little monkey. Read it here.Not to ruin it for anyone, but I love the last line: "Having escaped corporate duties, Curious George is once again free to play with the kids."
Thank goodness!
02 February 2006
In Memoriam
According to Publisher's Weekly, two of Children's Lit's mainstays have died.
Tana Hoban
Photographer, designer and author Tana Hoban died on January 27 in Paris, at the age of 88. Hoban began her artistic career as a photographer of children, with exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art as well as shows in Philadelphia, Paris and Berlin. She turned her eye to making photography for children in 1970 with the publication of the concept book Shapes and Things (Macmillan). Hoban published more than 50 books for children and won numerous awards, including a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor and the George C. Stone Recognition of Merit Award for her entire body of work.
Martha Alexander
Author and illustrator Martha Alexander died on January 31 from complications from a stroke. She was 85. Alexander illustrated her first book, Come and See Me by Mary Kennedy (Harper & Row) in 1966 and went on to publish nearly 50 children's books, many of which she was both the author and illustrator. Charlesbridge is reissuing three of Alexander's picture books this year, When the New Baby Comes, I'm Moving Out and Nobody Asked ME if I Wanted a Baby Sister, in February, and I'll Protect You from the Jungle Beasts, in July.
Tana Hoban
Photographer, designer and author Tana Hoban died on January 27 in Paris, at the age of 88. Hoban began her artistic career as a photographer of children, with exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art as well as shows in Philadelphia, Paris and Berlin. She turned her eye to making photography for children in 1970 with the publication of the concept book Shapes and Things (Macmillan). Hoban published more than 50 books for children and won numerous awards, including a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor and the George C. Stone Recognition of Merit Award for her entire body of work.
Martha Alexander
Author and illustrator Martha Alexander died on January 31 from complications from a stroke. She was 85. Alexander illustrated her first book, Come and See Me by Mary Kennedy (Harper & Row) in 1966 and went on to publish nearly 50 children's books, many of which she was both the author and illustrator. Charlesbridge is reissuing three of Alexander's picture books this year, When the New Baby Comes, I'm Moving Out and Nobody Asked ME if I Wanted a Baby Sister, in February, and I'll Protect You from the Jungle Beasts, in July.
Hey. You. GUYS!!!
Woo-hoo! I cannot wait for next Tuesday!
Why, you ask?
Because -- FINALLY -- The Electric Company will be available on dvd.
I don't know whether to be at the store when it opens or to pre-order now...
Why, you ask?
Because -- FINALLY -- The Electric Company will be available on dvd.
I don't know whether to be at the store when it opens or to pre-order now...
huh?!
From Yahoo:
Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson will play Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll in a movie that also marks his writing and directing debut.
This frightens me. I mean, I will absolutely rent it on dvd, but it frightens me all the same.
Read the whole story here.
Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson will play Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll in a movie that also marks his writing and directing debut.
This frightens me. I mean, I will absolutely rent it on dvd, but it frightens me all the same.
Read the whole story here.
23 January 2006
Caldecott Medal
Winner
The Hello Goodbye Window illustrated by Chris Raschka and written by Norton Juster
(I *knew* it! I *love* this book and have had an argument or two with colleagues about it's gloriousness. I feel happy and somewhat vindicated! If I had a webcam, you'd all get to see me doing a somewhat mortifying Happy Dance. Woo-hoo!)
Honors
Rosa illustrated by Bryan Collier and written by Nikki Giovanni
Zen Shorts written and illistrated by Jon J. Muth
Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride written and illustrated by Marjorie Priceman
Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems illustrated by Beckie Prange and written by Joyce Sidman
Pura Belpre Author Awards
Winner
The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales
Honors
Cesar: Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! illustrated by David Diaz, written by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
Dona Flor: A Tall Tale about a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart illustrated by Raul Colon, written by Pat Mora
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pat Munoz Ryan
The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales
Honors
Cesar: Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! illustrated by David Diaz, written by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
Dona Flor: A Tall Tale about a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart illustrated by Raul Colon, written by Pat Mora
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pat Munoz Ryan
Pura Belpre Illustrator Award
Winner
Dona Flor: A Tall Tale about a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart illustrated by Raul Colon, written by Pat Mora
Honors
Arrorro, Mi Nino: Latino Lullabies and Gentle Games selected and illustrated by Lulu Delacre
Cesar: Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! illustrated by David Diaz, written by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
My Name Is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/ Me llamo Celia: La vida de Celia Cruz illustrated by Rafael Lopez, written by Monica Brown
Dona Flor: A Tall Tale about a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart illustrated by Raul Colon, written by Pat Mora
Honors
Arrorro, Mi Nino: Latino Lullabies and Gentle Games selected and illustrated by Lulu Delacre
Cesar: Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! illustrated by David Diaz, written by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
My Name Is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/ Me llamo Celia: La vida de Celia Cruz illustrated by Rafael Lopez, written by Monica Brown
Batchelder Award
Winner
An Innocent Soldier by Josef Holub
Honor books
Nicholas by Rene Goscinnyand Jean-Jacques Sempe
When I Was a Soldier by Valerie Zenatti
An Innocent Soldier by Josef Holub
Honor books
Nicholas by Rene Goscinnyand Jean-Jacques Sempe
When I Was a Soldier by Valerie Zenatti
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