Annie Cardi's Blog, page 111

A Terrific, Radiant Anniversary

This October, Charlotte's Web is turning 60. I'm guessing that kids reading it today are still charmed by Wilbur, Charlotte, Fern, and the rest of the cast. It has a wonderfully timeless feel, and this trailer to celebrate the upcoming anniversary got me teary:

Might have to reread this one before the anniversary! It's been a long time.

PS–I hate spiders. I can't even look at pictures of them. But Charlotte is okay by me.

The Perks of Being a Wallflowe-R

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a perennial YA favorite. As you've probably heard, it's going to be a movie, starring Harry Potter fav . I think this is a hard book to adapt, since so much of it is internal, but based on the casting I'm very hopeful. Another potentially good sign is that it's gotten an R rating.

Why should that make me hopeful? Isn't it bad for teens not to be able to actually see the movie? First of all, teens see R-rated movies all the time. It's not that hard to get into one or buy/stream it later. Second, it's not a fluffy book. It covers a lot of mature topics, from sex to drugs to drinking. That's not all the book is about, but I'm kind of glad to hear that things won't be watered down. It's all part of a very real teenage experience. (Okay, my teenage experience wasn't quite that rock-and-roll, but it exists.)

Are you looking forward to the Perks movie?

Links Galore

Lots of good links today!

Haikus and grammar? / Two of my favorite things! / Start writing, people.
Congratulations to all the fantastic Golden Kite Award winners!
If you are/want to be in Miami and have at least two YA books published, you could be the the 2012 Young Adult Writer-in-Residence in the Miami-Dade Public Library System.
Are children's books losing a connection with nature? Books like Grandpa Green make me think we'll be okay.
At Looks and Books, Jill styles Jordan Baker from The Great Gatsby. Wish I could pull of this look myself!
I love library sales, so a library bookstore sounds good to me.
People who love books love NPR.
Kim shares the secrets of getting a Fulbright.
How to be cool and make your own luck when using social media.

Colorful Book for a Rainy Day

I really need this book.

I would have loved examining all the colors when I was young, and even now I love the design of it. (via and photos: Design Mom)

Get Going, Take Notes

Check out this fun list of writing tips from Liz Kessler. One of them:

Tip 1: Get out from behind your desk

If all you have in front of you is a computer screen, you'll never find the inspiration you need. Get out in the world. Go for a walk in a wood, along a beach or even just round the block. If you keep your eyes open, you'll always see something interesting. And make sure you have a notebook with you. (Buying new notebooks is half the fun of being a writer.) Even the best idea in the world can be forgotten if you're not careful. Think of your notebook as a net to catch your ideas in, so there's no danger of them slipping away. I'm not suggesting you write an entire novel while you're sitting on a park bench – but if you jot down the essential ideas as they come to you, you'll have a starting point when you get home and get down to work.

I actually really like running without music because a lot of times I end up thinking about a story I'm working on. You never know what can come up if you're letting your mind wander without lots of other distractions.

Also, I used to be really good about keeping a notebook, but in the last few years I've let this lag. Liz has inspired me to get back on it. Who knows what I've lost by this point?!

Fifty First Lines, Part 2

I took part in the Accidental Novelist's 50 First Lines Challenge, which was really fun. (It's a great exercise on its own; seriously, try it!) Now it's onto Round 2–and you can participate! The very brief details:

"If you did NOT enter the first round, your job is to write 5 First Paragraphs using the WINNING First Lines above. ONLY SUBMIT YOUR TOP THREE."

For more on how and what to submit, check out the full post. At the very least, you get to do a fun writing exercise, and maybe you'll have internet bragging rights at the end of it. So get writing, everybody!

Sharing is Caring (and Blogging)

I stumbled across this old blog post at Kidlit.com about writers blogging. Mary's advice, in very short: don't feel like you have to blog. If it feels like a chore, don't do it. Another interesting point she makes:

"If there's one thing I've learned about the Internet from actually working for it for all those years, it's that users come to the Internet to see, "What's in it for me?" They want valuable content that speaks to them. They Google: "How do I get this stain out of my white carpet?" "Is it okay that my baby is turning sort of purple?" (It's probably not.) "How do I stop the hiccups?" "What's a great summer BBQ recipe?" Most writing blogs — and most blogs in general — are about the writer of the blog, not about the user."

Very true. I think this is also what stops people from actually blogging, too. I've seen friends start blogs with great enthusiasm and gradually blog less and less, and eventually their most recent post was from months ago. Part of it comes from lack of interest in the project, but I think part of it is also that people don't really want to craft a post about their thoughts or lives. It's hard work and doesn't necessarily add much to the internet.

For me, blogging is about sharing. I don't post a lot about what I'm working on or who I am. I blog because there are so many awesome things to share (here, mostly about writing and reading young adult/children's literature), and it's way easier to collect and share these things in one place. Hopefully that means something close to good content. If I can share these things with my friends, awesome. If I can also share them with people I don't know but who have similar interests, even more awesome.

Cool Graphics

I don't read a lot of graphic novels, but based on this list of suggestions it sounds like I should venture into those waters more often. One that looks especially cool:

For fans of young adult: 'Friends With Boys' by Faith Erin Hicks (writer/artist). First Second, 2012. Softcover. Black & White. 224 pages. $15.99

An energetic and thoroughly engaging story about a teenage girl headed to high school after being home schooled her whole life. Though her three older brothers are already installed safely at high school, Maggie faces her own challenges, especially as their mother has recently vanished, with no sign of returning. With incredibly expressive art and vivid character design, Hicks' story leaps off the page with its enthusiasm and sweetness, tinged (as all high school stories probably should be) with just enough darkness to keep things interesting. There's also a supernatural element to Friends With Boys, and the way it resolves is decidedly unexpected and strengthens the book's metaphors even more powerfully.

They know their target audience! Lots of other great suggestions, too.

What literary-leaning graphic novels would you suggest?

Animal Stories

Wouldn't this be the cutest picture to have in a children's bookstore or section of a library?

It's by WildLifePrints, which has tons of other adorable and funky animal scenes.

A History in Pictures

Writing and illustrating picture books is hard. To execute it well, you have to have the succinctness of a poet, an understanding about how children see and want to see the world, and an artistic vision. How do you guys do it?

To help me wrap my brain around it, the Atlantic has a very cool article about the history of picture books all over the world. The article is almost a review of Children's Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling, by Martin Salisbury and Morag Styles, which sounds fascinating. I especially liked this quote by Maurice Sendak about Randolph Caldecott, who basically invented the picture book as we know it:

"Caldecott's work heralds the beginning of the modern picture book. He devised an ingenious juxtaposition of picture and word, a counter pint that never happened before. Words are left out — but the picture says it. Pictures are left out — but the words say it. In short, it is the invention of the picture book."

Make sure to check out the whole article. Lots of great images as well!