Monica Edinger's Blog, page 23

J. K. Rowling’s Unfortunate Attempts at Globalization

I remember many years ago seeing a 60 Minutes interview with J. K. Rowling where she showed “Box 1” full of her notes for the Harry Potter books. Now I wonder how many boxes there are and if some of them are full of notes for the international wizarding schools that have recently been announced on the Pottermore site. (Rowling’s introduction to the schools is here.)

Being American,I’ve particularly been attending to those who are expressing dismay, disappointment, and great disturbancewhen it...

The Rhetoric of Greatness

‘You ought to be ashamed of yourself,’ said Alice, ‘a great girl like you,’ (she might well say this), ‘to go on crying in this way! Stop this moment, I tell you!’ But she went on all the same, shedding gallons of tears, until there was a large pool all round her, about four inches deep and reaching half down the hall.

That’s Alice using “great” as the British do to mean “big.” An American child would say she was too big to be crying so much. It has absolutely nothing to do with Alice bein...

Coming Soon: The BFG Movie

This past week, through the kindness of Walden Pond Press, I was able to attend a screening of theSteven Spielberg adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The BFG. I went into it knowing little, as itis one of the few Dahl titles I have not read, attributableto myworking full time, doing a part-time graduate degree, running competitively (did my second NYC marathon that year), and slowly giving up on my dream of becoming a children’s book illustrator the year it came out. When I heard about the movie last...

Orlando Now

On Thursday I will head off to Orlando for ALA’s Annual Convention. And I will, like the other attendees, be thinking about those who lost their lives a week ago in that vibrant city. I am heartsick for them and for all those who knew them, for their communities, for everyone impacted by this dreadful loss. I am furious that yet again lives were cut short. Enraged thatit happens over and over and overin this country. Disgusted thatitseems never ending. Sickened thatwe have to prepare ourselve...

In the Classroom: The Alice in Wonderland Radio Play

One of my favorite books is Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Every year I read aloud the book with my 4th graders reading along from my large collection of illustrated editions. Along the way the children join the chorus of the songs, participate in a caucus race, and play a spot of croquet. Most years we end with a project and this year it was a radio play. My initial thought was to do a sort of audio book, but when I mentioned it to a colleague she said, “a radio play, of c...

In the Classroom: The Problem with Reading Logs and What I Did About It

Long ago I was delighted when there was a strong movement to have students select and read their own books rather than teachers using those tomes known as basal readers. I happily jumped onto this band wagon. Wanting to be sure that all appreciated that reading at home was as important as the other homework my 4th grade students were expected to do, I had them, yes, log their nightly reading. I tried to keep it as simple as possible — they were to write down the title in their plan book once...

Diversity Window, Mirror, or Neither?

Recently someone told me they didn’t like the lack of mention of Africa in Double Trouble for Anna Hibiscus! by Atinuke, illustrated by Lauren Tobia. Since thecontinent is mentioned in the opening (“Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa. Amazing Africa.”), my guess is the complaint was really about the lack of specification of a country. Yet, this is how (to the best of my knowledge) all of Atinuke’s Anna Hibiscus books begin. It is a storyteller’s trope, a purposeful and lyrical story introduction....

Go On, Celeb — Write a Children’s Book!

Is there a celebrity (past or present) left who hasn’t or isn’t writing a children’s book because, as the latest (Simon Cowell) evidently feels, “…all children’s books are boring – at least the ones that he’s reading to his two-year-old.”? I vaguely recall Madonna making a similarclaim a few years ago. Doing a bit of internet research I came across this entertaining quiz from, what else?, Entertainment Weekly. Here’s another list.

I’m trying to think of my favorites in this oeuvre, either the...

The Ongoing German Fascination with American Indians

Yesterday Debbie Reese and I hadan interesting twitter conversation about the odd American Indian obsession that so many German-speakers still seem to have. Debbie has now followed up with the blog post, “Stereotypes of native peoples, in children’s books, in Switzerland” and here is mine.

It fascinates me thatthe German writerKarl Mayand his legacy still have such a hold inGerman-speaking countries. While unfamiliar in theUS, thisprolific 19th century German writerwrote a series of adventure...

National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Gene Luen Yang’s Challenge

I really like Gene Luen Yang‘s new book challenge. He asksreaders to step out of their comfort zones. It is about no-walls rather than walls-so-high-we-can’t-see-over-them. It is about opening and expanding world views rather than limiting oneself to one’s own. My students’ school year is now an intense dash-to-the-last-day, but I want to figure out a way to get them to do this. If not now, next fall for sure.

Gene asks on his blog that:

When you finish, take a photo of you and the book (or...