Monica Edinger's Blog, page 129

A Few Moments at ALA Midwinter

After a relaxing journey on the train to Boston I dolled myself up and went off to a very special dinner with the one and only Megan Whalen Turner (who is as witty in person as in print).  My great thanks to HarperCollins for inviting me.

And then came Saturday, a day I spent eating, gathering ARCs, talking, and walking, and having a wonderful time.  Some highlights.

A breakfast that included my fellow sisters of Candlewick and Foundry: Betsy Bird and Laura Amy Schlitz (with the urn). Thank...

Rita Williams-Garcia's One Crazy Summer

My New York Times review of Rita Williams-Garcia's excellent One Crazy Summer is here!  Please check it out and then the book itself pronto.

The House on the Rock, American Gods, and Halloween 2010

I've wanted to go to the House on the Rock ever since first encountering it in Neil Gaiman's American Gods.  It seemed to be one of those crazy places individuals with wild imaginations, time, and sometimes lots of money created. (Others that come to mine are this one, this one, and this one.)  So now I've got an even greater wish to go.  Evidently plans are afoot for an American Gods Halloween event at the very site.  And they may even let people ride the carousel!

Historical Fiction, Fantasy, and Fable

J. L. Bell has questions about whether this year's Scott O'Dell winner is historical fiction.  While I've yet to be convinced by his arguments, they are definitely food for thought.  Check out this series of posts (and join in the commenting — I seem the only one doing any).

Fantasy and the Bounds of Historical Fiction

Half Magic and History

The Storm in the Barn as Fable

A Different Standard for the Dust Bowl?

History and Art

Ann of bookwitch is struggling with a very difficult problem, a variation of one I've grappled with many times over the years — the historical fiction conundrum.  In a book about a time in history Ann knows well the author has changed things so that  "… what the adults did in the real event, has now been done exclusively by the children in the book."    Is that okay?  Or is it not?  I'm going to be following the comments on this post closely.

Thoughts on Newbery: Seven Distinquished Books

Since the Newbery Committee members had to come up with seven nominations, I've decided to go with seven too.  Seven potential winners among the many other titles I admire from this year. Seven that may or may not be recognized by this year's committee.  Seven distinguished books.

Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me

Here's the first paragraph from my New York Times review.

In this era of supersize children's books, Rebecca Stead's "When You Reach Me" looks positively svelte. But don't be...

One Lovely Blog Award

I was blithely reading through bookwitch's list of ten favourite blogs, intrigued that I didn't seem to know any of them, when — bam— I came upon mine!  So first of all, thanks so much, Ann! Now it is my turn.  I'm going to avoid my usual well-known and beloved suspects (as they already get plenty of love in our world) and highlight some other blogs I also like very much.

Heavy Medal Nina Lindsay has been doing an online Mock Newbery blog for a number of  years now, for the last couple of...

The Exquisite Corpse Adventure: Episode Eight Now Available!

Natalie Babbitt takes a turn with The Exquisite Corpse Adventure and daffodils are involved.

Is this Year's Scott O'Dell Winner Historical Fiction?

I was delighted to see Matt Phelan's The Storm in the Barn win this year's Scott O'Dell Award for historical fiction. Since historical fiction is of particular interest to me and since I  was wowed by the book from the get go, I found  J. Bell's argument that it is not historical fiction most interesting.  He concludes:

I see The Storm in the Barn as a fable that's set in the Dust Bowl, just as Edward Eager's Half Magic is a fantasy set in the 1920s. Both books are informed by their...

Mrs P W's Sunset Years

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle needs to pick herself up, give herself a first name (Peter suggests Peggy) , dig up the pirate loot in her backyard, buy a condo in Boca (I mean, how many years can you live in an upside down house?), and enjoy the good life.

Thanks to Betsy for pointing me to Laurel's wonderful short story.