Monica Edinger's Blog, page 18

Back from the Farthest Reaches of the Globe (More or Less)

I am just just back from a fabulous journey to the south, far, far, far south. Patagonia and the Atacama desert, that is. It was an extraordinary trip that I’ve documented on facebook so friend me there if you want to see the photos. Now, I’m still getting resettled back home in NYC.

I was mostly focused on the mind-blowing nature, but I did stop into a couple of bookstores very briefly.

In Buenos Aires I had time to browse and bought two Alices:

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(This is a smaller paperback version of a lar...

The Remarkable, Unique, and Beautiful Ashley Bryan: An Appreciation

Many of us in this small world of US children’s literature have been fortunate enough to have encountered Ashley Bryan (who, a few weeks ago, at age 93, received a long-over-due Newbery, an honor for Freedom Over Me).  And none of us who have will ever forget this intelligent, courtly, warm, and creative man. But as for the rest of the world?  Those outside are regularly surprised by this incredible man. Case in point: at the 2009 Newbery-Caldecott-Wilder Banquet where Neil Gaiman, a rock sta...

Yesssss…Kinderguides hit a serious road block

When I first read of the Kinderguides I couldn’t believe they were real, but they were (just like that45th guy in DC is, sigh, real). In addition to finding the premise ludicrous I wondered how they could get away with what they were doing legally. Well, seems they can’t.Writes Alexandra Alter at the New York Times (who also wrote the earlier Kinderguides article in which I was quoted) in “Author Who Turns Classics Into Children’s Books is Sued:”

The estates of Arthur C. Clarke, Jack Kerouac,...

Thoughts on Newbery: This Year’s Awards (and not just Newbery)

Yesterday was a terrific day for me for a number of reasons.

First of all, I’m on the 2018 Arbuthnot Committeewhich means we:

… choose annually an individual of distinction who shall prepare and present a paper which shall be a significant contribution to the field of children’s literature; to select a host institution and make appropriate arrangements for the presentation of the lecture; to arrange for publication of lecture in children and libraries.

It is a virtual committee so we made our...

SLJs Battle of the Kids’ Books, 2017 Edition — Contenders Announced!

I am so pleased to be going into the ninth year with SLJ’s Battle of the Kids’ Books. If you don’t know, it is a fun tournament-style competition involving 16 of the best of 2017’s children and young adult literature battling it out for the winning spot. Each bout is judged by a distinguished children’s and/or young adult creator. You can learn more about it here. And today (just now, in fact) we are revealing the contenders. You can find them here. Hope you are as excited as I am!

In Honor of Yesterday’s Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reposting this from last year and the year before:

Born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1922, my fatherLewis J. Edinger, who passed away in 2008,fled with his mother to America at the age of fourteen; his father chose to stay, hoping to ride things out, but was deported and killed. Years later, as a newly minted PhD, my father took whatever jobs he could find; one of those was in Montgomery, Alabama at the time of the bus boycott where, among other things, he met Martin Luther King, Jr. Hereare some...

Thoughts on Newbery: My Hopes for this Year

There are many worthy possibilities this year. Here are some I’d be happy to see recognized:

First and foremost there is Jason Reynolds’ Ghost. I came across the ARC in early July and read it knowing nothing about it. I fell in love then, wrote this rave review, and am still in love. It is tight, fast paced, with beautifully developed characters, wonderful description and writing. My heart is on my sleeve with this one.

Of course, there are many, many other wonderful books this year. Among th...

A Bit of Sun During a Dark Time: Daveed Diggs’ Rubber Duckie

Boycotting Jason Reynolds’ S & S books is not the answer

My top Newbery hope for this year is Jason Reynolds’ Ghost, published by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, part of the huge publishing conglomerate that is Simon & Schuster. The Wikipedia page on that massive corporation indicates that they publish an enormous range of writers, have imprints that feature a variety of opinions, and are huge, huge, huge. I have been repulsed in the past by some of their publications, am currently repulsed by their latest decision, and expect to be repulsed again....

Ending a Crummy Year With Something Fun