Links for a Wednesday

A few links and the potential for discussion they inspire, to inspire your Wednesday and lead you into the rest of the week...

1. The place and future of the children's book app for e-readers has been debated and questioned for a long time now. Recently, it has popped up in discussion at the Festival of Australian Children's Literature, touching such topics as extended play as a health concern and the "slush pile" that is the iTunes children's book store. This debate will only continue as scholars, authors, and doctors of all fields consider how to even define or categorize e-books and whether children "just to do visuals and play, rather than think about words and constructing meaning."


2. At the Miami Book Fair International, Sherman Alexie shared his thoughts about the role of book fairs specifically in this age of e-readers. Alexie notes that books are individual experiences, but book fairs capture a much older tradition of storytelling in a group, something that can't yet be replicated by the "cruddy" experience of e-books. He also talks about the value he finds when a book is banned, understanding that, "I wrote the book that needs to be read. Percival Everett, the writer, always says that if you’re getting banned, then you’re offending the right monsters."


3. Apparently Donald Sutherland wants the new Hunger Games film, Catching Fire, to stir a revolution. Whether this is just a marketing ploy or a sincere call to the youth, Sutherland has chosen to focus on one of the more valuable aspects of the series -- its political critique and the effects that may have on its readership and viewership. That the text can be read in numerous ways and applied to many larger and smaller political arenas (global conflicts to students' rights, for example) is what Sutherland harnesses in having this discussion. Unfortunately, I don't see this film franchise as the transformative experience he claims it to be, but I could be wrong.


4. Eric Carle's newest book, Friends, has just been published, and the site Brain Pickings gives it and the acclaimed author-illustrator a very well-deserved and vivid spotlight.


5. Lastly, an infographic travel guide to Middle Earth, since there's always room for a fantastical adventure in our very real lives.

Links to Start Your Week Off

A bit of book news for you...

The Michigan School System was presented a proposal last week from a mother seeking to ban Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl from the curriculum due to one passage she found distasteful and overly sexual. The review committee has decided not to ban it however, citing that 'situational censorship' would be in play if they did. I wonder how the Chicago Board of Education justified supporting the classroom ban of Persepolis. It certainly helped book sales but was viewed as detrimental to kids as well.

independent publisher Pushkin Press has established a new imprint, Pushkin Children's Books,aimed at translating children's books from around the globe into English. This has been something of great import on my mind as well; consider the wealth of storytelling cultural awareness, and overall knowledge that children (and adults) are missing out on by not having access to stories everywhere. There is the Marsh Award for Children's Lit in Translation, which implies its importance, but still the movement has been relatively slow. Nevertheless, Pushkin is pushing the movement forward.

Pakistan will be holding their 6th Children's Literature Festival at the end of May, the first to be held in the capital city of Islamabad. I'll be writing some more on this really soon (let the final papers be done!), but in the mean time you can read up on the organization, making groundbreaking strides with each event.

And because it's Monday and we all deserve a tasty treat to set the week right (It's Children's Book Week by the way!), here are some delectable sights to behold: edible books and more edible books.

Links for a Friday morning

I've been hoarding some particularly interesting links to share here. Read on for news about celebrity authors, 19th-century comics, gay characters in YA, and more.

Just because they can, does that mean they should? Apparently Jason Segel ("How I Met Your Mother," "Freaks and Geeks", various Judd Apatow films) has written a series of three YA novels that are "about kids facing their biggest fears." I dunno. I generally feel skeptical about literature written by actors.

The last decade has seen a surge in children's books about "non-traditional" families. This article from Jezebel takes a look at some of the most significant.

This website houses a digital collection of British comics from 1873-1939. I'm especially fascinated by the Tramps & Oddballs category.

The Atlantic Wire has a wonderful piece exploring queerness in YA literature. The article, "A New Way for Gay Characters in YA," briefly traces the history of gay characters in YA and asks for recommendations in the comments for books they may have missed.

And speaking of authors featured in the aforementioned Atlantic Wire piece, David Levithan wrote a thoughtful essay reflecting on writing Boy Meets Boy in the early aughts.

This is an interesting slideshow of famous authors as teenagers. Almost all of them look preternaturally mature to me. Is that a trick of vintage photography or old souls shining through?

I am really bummed about this tepid review of Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson. It's a retelling of Bluebeard, and y'all know how I love my fairy tale retellings. But this reviewer found it lacking, and considering that I generally agree with Leila's reviews, I am now less excited to read this. Hmmm...

Okay, this one isn't really child lit related, but you have to take a look at this "where are they now?" slideshow of 31 child stars. Atreyu and Sebastian are on here!

Links to Ponder

Some links to get you pondering as we descend into the rest of the week:

1. The world of Oz is catching imaginations again, with the new movie Oz the Great and Powerful coming out and now a new collection of stories about Oz written by a variety of fantasy authors. The collection, Oz Reimagined: New Tales from the Emerald City and Beyond, features an introduction by Gregory Maguire:

... Oz lives contiguously with us. The Yellow Brick Road and the Emerald City and the great Witch’s castle to the west; these haunts are more than tourist traps and hamburger stands. They are this century’s Pilgrim’s Progress and Via Dolorosa and Valhalla. Oz is myriad as the Mediterranean with its spotted Homeric islands; Oz is vast as Middle-Earth and moral as Camelot. This is to say, of course, that Oz is a mirror. Turn it about and, in the mirror, OZ nearly says ZOE, the Greek word for life. ...

You can read a larger excerpt of his essay here.

2. Jill left an insightful comment on the earlier post about cover reveals about the YA novel becoming the new teen girl's magazine. Building off of that, an essay in New Statesmen discusses the anti-feminist traits within young adult literature and the romances that ensue.

3. And a bit of thoughtful fun: Maria Tatar asks what books with magical properties can you think of that crop up in our favorite children's stories. Aside from the texts she mentions in Harry Potter I can't help but think of Tom Riddle's Diary. Have a suggestion? Join the comment thread here.

Links for a Tuesday

Here are a few fascinating reads regarding the world of children's literature and culture...

Girls Gone Missing: Reel Girl takes a look at the movie posters for 2013 and calls out the insidious dearth of representation of female characters, even if the film has a female protagonist. What's up with that? Jezebel.com also featured Reel Girl's piece and posited a few theories.

Top 10 Bizarre Fairy Tale Adaptations: Flavorwire's list includes fantastic short story collections like Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and Kate Bernheimer's My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me as well as cheeky retellings like Six Gun Snow White and a profound examination of Hansel & Gretel's hunger set during the Holocaust.

SDSU Professor Emeritus Jerry Griswold's latest review for the New York Times examines two middle-grade books set during World War II.


Kansas State Professor (and SDSU friend!) Phil Nel has a rundown and critique of a ridiculous lawsuit occurring in the academic publishing industry.

Is reading a good way for children to learn grammar? (That would be a resounding yes.) The Guardian explores how children's fiction might be a better grammar resource than a textbook.

You need to read this article about Theodor Geisel's relationship with hats. And definitely take note of the picture of Dr. Seuss in the San Diego State band hat.

This Tumblr of gifs of one librarian's response to common library occurrences is hilarious. Hilarious, I tell you!

Links for a Friday

Here's what I've been enjoying on the ol' internet lately...

Three YA series that should not be made into films: Pajiba.com has posted an article explaining why Veronica Roth's Divergent, Laini Taylor's The Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book might be better off remaining in book form only. I enjoy the content of this piece, but I've gotta say, the best part is the Twilight gif.

And speaking of books-to-film, here is a list of Publisher's Weekly's 10 Most Anticipated Literary Film Adaptations: Ender's Game! Gah! (And if you're wondering where Gatsby is, see the note at the top of the page.)

A chastisement of the guy who created highly sexualized female versions of your favorite Avengers dudes: Also on Pajiba.com, the writer takes to task JoshWMC, the artist behind "Lady Avengers" fan art. While I appreicate the graphic skills it took to create such characters, I too am disappointed by the standard sexy representation. Even Black Widow didn't bare her midriff.

The Cairo International Book Fair: What's the trajectory for this long-running book fair in the wake of Arab Spring?

A Literary Tour of Historical YA: Check out The Atlantic Wire's handy list of YA books set in historical eras.

Architectural art made out of books: Amazing, if you can get past the pain of seeing books sliced apart.

Conspiracy theories about classic literary characters: This is fun. What do you think? I'm going to pretend I didn't see the Harry Potter one.

Children are awesome: Just to make you smile.

Fun Little Links

It's been a few weeks since I last posted a round up of interesting children's literature links, and since we've got a short holiday week, now seems like a good time for some diversion. Happy Thanksgiving to our readers!

Would The Hunger Games be picked up if it were submitted to a publisher today? While it's kind of a silly question to ask of a book that is only four years old, this blog entry on i09 examines the responses from publishing insiders. (But it really boils down to is a chicken-or-the-egg question. Yes, the market is saturated with dystopias. But didn't The Hunger Games encourage that publishing trend?)

This 6-year-old child in Great Britain took Hasbro to task for gender inequality in their game "Guess Who?" In response to her honest question about why there are only 5 girls compared to 19 boys in the classic board game, Hasbro spouted some mumbo-jumbo about statistics. The following response by the little girl's mother is pretty classic. I hope that her question - why is female gender considered a "characteristic" while male gender is not? - will have the gamemakers furrowing their brows in thoughtful reconsideration. Check it out!

And speaking of gender, this thoughtful blog entry on The Horn Book's website looks at gender-neutral books for children.

Oh man, you guys, this is the best site about fairy tales EVER.

Page To Screen: What popular YA books are next in line for Hollywood? I haven't read Warm Bodies, but the trailer for the movie looks very charming.

Anyone out there have a first edition copy of Anne of Green Gables? You could make yourself a cool $10,000 if you were willing to part with it. Read here.

Until next time!

Links for a Tuesday

Here are a few items worthy of your interest!

This is a fantastic piece about Grimm's fairy tales and why they should be widely read. "In fairy tales, as in dreams, we are every character."

Check out Philip Nel's blog for a wonderful and informative recap of the Children's Literature and the European Avant-Garde conference our own Joseph Thomas attended a few weeks ago. Scroll to the bottom to see a group picture; can you find ol' JT?

"What Hath Fan Fiction Wrought on the YA Industry?" In an era where Twilight fan fiction can top the NYT bestseller list, what are we to make of this phenomenon? Jezebel takes a gander.

Popular Children's Books of the 80s and 90s. Several of the books on this list were published well before the 80s, so really this list could be called, simply, "popular children's books." But a few of these fall under that category of "long-forgotten but now jogging my memory and making me kind of misty-eyed." If you were a child in the 80s or early 90s, I expect many of these books were on your bookshelf.

Books for Halloween Chills. PhD student and blogger Liz has compiled a nice little reference list for books to get your spine a-tinglin'.

And speaking of creepy, Ransom Riggs, author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, has a new book of found photographs out today called Talking Pictures. It strays from Miss Peregrine territory, but it still contains the kinds of evocative pictures that beg for a backstory.