Coraline Official Movie Website

The Coraline Website is very cool.  I’m quite the fan of the book and fussy, but so far this is shaping up to look terrific. (I must also say I’m quite the fan of Coraline director Selick’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and can see some similarities in look here.) The beginning on the website is terrific and very much in keeping with the book. It is still a work-in-progress, but enough is there to get a great idea of the coming film.

Don Wood’s Into the Volcano Web Page

I fell hard for Don Wood’s remarkable graphic novel, Into the Volcano, back in June. (Here’s that review.)  I was so happy subsequently that others felt the same way.  Now I see that Don has a website featuring a comic detailing his research for the book. It is almost as amazing and dramatic as the book itself!

Books for Tough Times

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.

At Slate Erica S. Perl comes up with a very thoughtful set of books.

“My friends, you got trouble right here in River City!”

Lately, having someone address his or her audience as “my friends” has been bugging me.  I mean, who are they to call me a friend?  They don’t even know me!  Silly, I know. Language changes and I’ve got to go with it.  (I’m still trying to come to terms with “yummy,” a word I associate with mummy at age three.)  Still, I was interested to read Paul Collins’ Slate piece, “Why McCain can’t stop saying ‘my friends.’”

What happened to change the phrase’s status in our language after Eisenhower’s 1956 speech? I have my own unprovable pet theory: It’s because the following year saw The Music Man debut on Broadway. Ever since, the phrase has been irrevocably associated with old-timey con men in straw boaters: “My friends, you got trouble right here in River City!”

When McCain invokes “my friends,” he’s making an appeal to the old days—the really old days.

I don’t necessarily think everyone who uses the phrase is doing this  (evoking the really old days, that is), but it is an interesting theory, you’ve got to admit.

Thoughts on Newbery: Taste

Learning how to set aside my personal reading prejudices and taste may have been one of the most important critical reading skills I developed while on the Newbery Committee and while serving on the NCTE Notable Books in the Language Arts Committee.  Sharon McKellar thoughtfully considers this issue in  “Just Not My Thing.” She writes:

I’m thinking about this especially in light of all the conversation surrounding the Anita Silvey article.  It has made me think about my own bias in reading, but also the ways in which I put those biases aside when it comes to reviewing a book and especially in terms of considering a book for a Mock Newbery short list or in a Mock Newbery discussion.  I can tell excellence outside of my own personal preferences.  And even beyond that, when I finally get to the end of a book that has been a challenging read to me (either because it’s a challenging book or because it is outside of the realm of what I usually gobble down) it’s a pretty instantaneous sense of, “Wow.  That was an excellent book!”.  And on top of that, I most certainly think about its audience - children - and how it would work for them.  Not ALL of them.  But any of them.

In a way, I think a book like that, for me, gets almost a more fair shot because it breaks through my preconceived notions and touches me anyhow.  And this makes me start to think about how and why it was distinguished.  A book that I know I’m going to love, I can read through so quickly I have to really remember to pause and look for its nuances.

I definitely found myself admiring books that I did not naturally gravitate to as I considered them within the context of the two committees’ criteria.  I may even have ended up nominating them!  The only Mock Newbery I’ve done was last year at my school when I was ON the actual committee so I can’t say I’ve had the experiences Sharon has had.  But now, post-Newbery, I am reading very differently than I did before.  I suspect that may be true for others on such a committee.

One of my biggest worries as a member of the Newbery Committee was that I might have to support winning books that I disliked. I’m happy to say that did not happen!  Were there other eligible books that I also loved?  Yes.  Were there certain eligible books that spoke to me more than others because of personal taste?  Absolutely.  Am I going any further with this line of thought?  No.

Some of the informants in the Silvey article and others who have weighed in on it since have suggested that personal taste played a role in recent unpopular Newbery decisions. Based on my own experience on the committee I would say that it is highly unlikely.  If Sharon who hasn’t yet served on the Committee is able to set aside her personal biases when considering excellence believe me, the Committee members can do so too.  In fact, I’d suspect anyone on such a committee can do so. I know it was true as I considered books for the NCTE committee as well as when I did so for Newbery.  Serving on such a committee is such an honor; you want to justify those who put you there.  You want to justify those who think these awards mean something.  You want to do it for the industry, for the writers, the editors, the readers (young and old), and for everyone who cares about books for children. You want to do your best to find the arguably best of the year.  Given the many hundreds of people on book award committees, I would be naive if I didn’t think it was conceivable that there has been the occasional person who put personal tastes and agendas first (as some of the stories about awards suggest); however,  I am optimistic enough to think that a rarity.

Alice in Burtonland

Yesterday Betsy Bird pointed out that some of the recent casting news for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland involved characters from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass.   I’ve been following this for a while, being both a fan of Carroll’s work (educating alice, remember?) and Burton’s, and I’d say that combining the two works (as was done with the older Disney animated film) is the least of it.  Above is a shot from the set of Alice herself (looking much older than Carroll’s eight year-old) and from what I can tell from this Tim Burton fan site, a whole lot of adapting is going on.

I’m Sorry For That

The False Apology Syndrome flourishes wherever there has been a shift in the traditional locus of moral concern. At one time, a man probably felt most morally responsible for his own actions. He was adjudged (and judged himself) good or bad by how he conducted himself toward those in his immediate circle. From its center rippled circles of ever-decreasing moral concern, of which he was also increasingly ignorant. Now, however, it is the other way round. Under the influence of the media of mass communication and the spread of sociological ways of thinking, a man is most likely to judge himself and others by the opinions he and they hold on political, social, and economic questions that are far distant from his immediate circle. A man may be an irresponsible father, but that is more than compensated for by his deep concern about global warming, or foreign policy, or the food situation in Africa.

A false apology is usually accompanied by bogus or insincere guilt, which is often confused with appropriate shame. The German chancellor, Mrs Merkel, spoke in the Knesset recently of her shame at what Germany had done: this was the correct word to use, and precisely the right sentiment for a German who shared no part of the responsibility for what had happened. Pride in the German musical tradition; shame for what Germans had done in the 1930s and ’40s.

From Theodore Dalrymple’s “False Apology Syndrome – I’m sorry for your sins.”

Heavy Messages

The Duke researchers asked obese females ages 9 to 13 who were already in a comprehensive weight loss program to read an age-appropriate novel called Lake Rescue (Beacon Street Press). It was carefully crafted with the help of pediatric experts to include specific healthy lifestyle and weight management guidance, as well as positive messages and strong role models.

Reading Novel Can Help Obese Kids Lose Weight, Study Shows

Suffice it to say I’m NOT a fan of “carefully” crafting novels this way.  In fact I’m skittish about bibliotheraphy in general.  It is great when a book helps someone deal with something like a weight problem, but to target a piece of writing (start to finish) this way?  I’m not enthused.

Tomi Ungerer

Last July I was so pleased to read The New York Times profile of Tomi Ungerer and learned that his books were being brought back into print in this country by Phaidon.  For those unfamiliar with his art, check out this gallery of images.  There is also this PW article on the relaunching.  But I want to also draw attention to his wonderful memoir, Tomi: A Childhood Under the Nazis.  Ungerer was eight when the Nazis occupied his home in Alsace in 1940 and his family seems to have saved everything. The result is a fascinating and gorgeous book. Ungerer tells his story straightforwardly and fleshes it out with copious primary sources.  Covers and interiors of his schoolbooks (full of Nazi imagery), drawings, stamps from the period, photogeaphs, and much more fill every page.

To end, here is an animated version of  The Three Robbers (evidently only available in German and French right now):

Live webcast with David Macaulay at my School

That’s right!  Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 7th at 10:00 AM EST,  to be precise.  David will be chatting with our 7th graders about his career and his new book, The Way We Work.

Click here to register.