Monica Edinger's Blog, page 68

Thoughts on Newbery: Ten Books I’d Like to See Recognized this Year

1. Steve Sheinkin’sBomb: The Race to Build–and Steal–the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon. Back in September I wrote in my review that

I was blown away by it. This is nonfiction thriller writing of the very, very best. Sheinkin weaves together the stories of the race to build the atom bomb, the developments in the war that made things more and more urgent, the efforts to steal it, and the efforts to stop others from creating their own.

Every kid I know who reads it adores it. Sheinkin is doing som...

NYPL’s Ethics on Nonfiction Panel

Susan Kuklin, one of the panelists at last weeks NYPL Literary Cafe has done a thorough write-up at I.N.K.: “Ethics in Nonfiction for Kids.“

Look What’s Coming Later This Month

Good ol’ BoB.

The Border Between Fact and Fiction

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking these days about the border between fiction and nonfiction. I don’t have time to write a proper well-composed post right now about this, but I did want to mention a few points related to it that have come up recently.

One of my favorite books of this year, Steve Sheinkin‘s Bomb , has been getting quite a bit of scrutiny as to how well the author explains and documents aspects of his writing, especially the bits that seem most fictional and whether he overplayed...

The Last Word on Blurbs

Blurbs, those glowing quotes from familiar names on the back of books. As a reader, do you pay attention to them? As a writer, do you feel put on the spot when asked to do one? Or, worse, feel awkward in asking someone to do one for you? While they are standard in all parts of publishing these days, some practitioners stand out more than others, One being the so-called “blurb whore” Gary Shteyngartwho is featured in the following very entertaining short documentary by Ed Champion.” (viaGwenda...

Is CHARLOTTE’S WEB a Literary Masterpiece?

The folk of @radical.media have an excellent series calledBOOKDon their ThinkRyoutube channel in which they consider “…game-changing books through the insights and opinions of engaging personalities.” Their latest segment features Charlotte’s Web and I am honored to be part of it.

New Year’s Resolutions and Announcements

My only resolution for 2013 is to make it a good year. Anything I can do to help with that I will do. That said, one way it should be a good year is that my book, Africa is My Home: A Child of the Amistad, illustrated by Robert Byrd will be out in the fall from Candlewick. My colleagues tease me because I cut out the pdf they sent of the cover design and made a mini book that I carry around for good luck. The art is gorgeous and the book is shaping up spectacularly. And working with the folks...

Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Gets an A+ Next To This One

My Not-So-Happy Response to The Hobbit Movie (You’ve been Warned)

Some of you may recall my earlier rant about the way the term “young adult” is more and more being used to describe books that are for children. Well, I think there is something of that same sensibility going on with the new Hobbit movie trilogy. The source material is a children’s book, The Hobbit, written long before The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and with the style and tone of a book for kids. There is a narrator that makes little comments now and then, a classical fairy tale bumbling hero...

Reading Aloud The Hobbit

For years one of my favorite books to read aloud to my 4th graders was The Hobbit. Tolkien’s narrative voice, the adventures, Bilbo, Smaug, the riddles, the wit, everything about it was just great fun. The last time I did so was when Jackson’s Lord of the Ring movies were starting to come out so it has been a while and I’d been debating to do so again.

Regarding that movie, having not seen it yet (though I will later today) I’ve been trying very, very, very hard not to be harsh about what Jack...