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Here’s what I have to say (on Slate.com) about recent criticisms of the Newbery Medal, the prestigious children’s books award.
Just to be clear, I *heart* Dav Pilkey.
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‘Tis the season for “best of 2008″ holiday book lists. Everybody’s doing it - perhaps except me (okay, I did do it on MommyCast, but other than that…) because I’m a Cybils judge this year so I’m trying not to get all judicial until I get my robe. That said, there’s a very nice and well-rounded Holiday Gift Ideas list over at School Library Journal, so I encourage you to look there if you’re trying to get some bookish ideas for the kids on your list.
Some of my 2008 faves (Mini Grey’s new Traction Man, Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury’s Ten Little Fingers, Sara Pennypacker’s new installation re: Clementine, and E. Lockhart’s National Book Award nominee, Frankie Landau-Banks) are on it as are others I’ve heard are swell. Check ‘em out… you won’t regret it.
Let me know YOUR favorite kids’ books of 2008. What books were the biggest hits at your house this year?
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I recently did a bunch of segments with MommyCast, the parenting podcast. Here’s the first episode, devoted to Holiday Books:
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As I mentioned right here on Pajamazon a looooooong time ago, I wrote a book called CHICKEN BUTT! (not to be confused with my other chicken book, CHICKEN BEDTIME IS REALLY EARLY, which is butt-free, linguistically speaking) and the good folks at Abrams worked their tails off to publish it in style.
Well, you know what? CHICKEN BUTT! is NOW available for pre-order on Amazon! Henry Cole’s illustrations are a huge treat. Here’s a sneak peek at the cover:
Meanwhile, if your appetite for chicken-themed children’s books has been whetted, have I got a book for you.
It is TILLIE LAYS AN EGG, by Terry Golson (photography by Ben Fink) and it is brand new from Scholastic Press. It just got a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly, which means that it really doesn’t need my help, but I’m going to offer it anyway.
Read the rest of this entry »
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Yes, it’s true: my five year old not only voted, she voted twice.
Before you call up the Board of Elections, let me assure you that only one time “counted” (although, since we live in DC, our votes count less than any other Americans). That time, we were voting on a real ballot. I let her connect the arrow for Obama, checking several times that in her enthusiasm she had not voted for other candidates as well. The other time she “voted” was a few weeks earlier, at a book event for PRESIDENT PENNYBAKER, my pal Kate Feiffer’s new book. Read the rest of this entry »
In it, a boy runs for president with his dog as veep. We really love this book, and Diane Goode’s illustrations are a perfect match for Kate’s funny text about Luke Pennybaker’s appealing platform (and rude awakening once in office). I hope this book is a hit for at least four years.
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From a slideshow I did on Great Kids’ Books About Financial Ruin (aka “Mom, What’s a Credit Default Swap?”) for Slate:
The first time I heard the word recession, I was 10 years old. It was 1978, and my parents, like everyone we knew, were cranky and stressed out about gas shortages and rising food prices. One of the ways I coped was by burying my nose in books and discovering kids who had it worse than I did. Like Ramona Quimby, whose dad got fired and took up residence on the couch. And Laura Ingalls, whose dad kept hitching up the wagon to drag his bonneted brood to the middle of nowhere. Many of the books I discovered during the late ’70s featured themes of economic hardship that made my circumstances seem manageable by comparison—a happy coincidence, I thought at the time. Looking back, I’m not so sure this was an accident. A review of popular American children’s books of the past century reveals a recurring theme in the children’s publishing industry: When times are tough, cue the stories about times that were even tougher.
Click here for a slide show on great children’s books for tough economic times.
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In an attempt to conquer my misanthropic streak I read a self-help book called How to Be a People Magnet : Finding Friends-and Lovers-and Keeping Them for Life. The theory of the book is to make every single person you meet like you and to become your friend, both as a way of networking (you know the type of thing: the man handing you your McDonald’s Burger could in ten years be the head of a Hollywood study theory of networking). But apparently above and beyond making tons of friends, being liked will make you feel very good about yourself. Also you will be making the world a better place by making eye contact with everyone you meet. The author, Leil Lowndes, also encourages brushing your arm against a store clerk or street sweeper, to signal that you think they are your equal and that they are not just an automaton who takes your cash or cleans your car. “This will create a deep personal bond between you and will make the other person’s day.” (not a direct quote but you get the gist)
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This week, I find that, once again, I’ve been overlooked by the MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” people. So what, Chimamanda Adichie, if you’re “a young writer who illuminates the complexities of human experience in works inspired by events” in your native Nigeria. BFD. Have you ever done a standing-up diaper change on a moving M5 bus in New York? Ever drawn a triceratops from memory on demand? How long did it take you to figure out sing-alongs suck? Huh?
What did the MacArthur Foundation overlook in you?
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Ace and Deuce love recorded books in the car, and if I’m smart, I’ll load all the discs in numerical order before I start the ignition so I don’t have to fumble for successive ones at red lights. I loved Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle as a kid, and was excited to find it in a three-disc set. I put the whole thing in the CD player at the beginning of a 5-hour drive to Grandma Carol’s house last month, and Ace and Deuce loved it. I, on the other hand, was appalled.
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Yes, Sarah Palin has published her first children’s book.
It is called “POLAR BEAR, POLAR BEAR, WHAT DO YOU TASTE LIKE?” Republican women are overjoyed. Eric Carle is considering pursuing legal action.
Okay - kidding! Though it isn’t so preposterous, actually. Laura Bush has done it (and Palin would be hard pressed to write a worse picture book than Bush and daughter’s “READ ALL ABOUT IT”). So has John McCain’s daughter. So why NOT Sarah “The Little Baracuda That Could” Palin? Although to the best of my knowledge, she prefers to try to prevent kids from reading books (including Maurice Sendak’s IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN, of all things, according to one list I read), so perhaps we’re safe from this one.
Sorry, but I have to joke because this situation is so INSANE. Yes, I know that here on Offsprung we are most if not all in the choir on this one, but please let’s make our voices heard beyond the overeducated sarcastic media-saturated bubble.
Okay, now, please join me in the comment section for some snarky riffing on other children’s books that could be penned by Palin and company!
A children's book writer chats about reading and writing children's books (try saying that ten times fast!).
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