Betsy Bird's Blog, page 302

Review of the Day: Ghost Hawk by Susan Cooper

Ghost Hawk

By Susan Cooper

McElderry Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster)

$16.99

ISBN: 978-1-4424-8141-1

Ages 9-12

On shelves now

How do we best honor our literary heroes? Particularly those who not only live but continue to produce works of fiction within our lifetimes. Like whole swaths of women and men my age, I grew up on Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series when I was a child. And while I may not have understood everything the books were doing at the time, I liked them sincerely. Admittedly my maturity level made me a bigger sucker for her Boggart series, which was light and fluffy and lovely. When I grew up and became a children’s librarian I dutifully read books of hers like Victory which I enjoyed (and I reread those Dark Is Rising titles to actually get them this time around). All this is to say that I was always a fan. But as a fan, I don’t feel particularly inclined to coddle my heroes. The respect and, yes, awe that I feel for them should never blind me to the quality of their writings, even as they grow older. And while there is nothing about Ghost Hawk, the latest book by Ms. Cooper, that suggests that she is working in anything but her prime, I can say with certainty that if I had read it without knowing the author’s name I would have called you a dirty liar had you told me its true creator. A mismanaged, ultimately confusing work of historical fiction, this is a well-intentioned piece that suffers at the hands of an otherwise great author.

Little Hawk, member of the Pokanoket tribe of the Wampanoag Nation, is on the cusp of becoming a man. With only a bow and arrows and his own tomahawk, he sets out to survive the cold winter chill for three moons on his own. This he does after much trial and error, only to return to find his tribe felled by disease. After moving to a new tribe he experiences increased interactions with white settlers, and through them begins to befriend a boy by the name of John. When tragedy strikes, Little Hawk is there to guide John and help him learn unfamiliar ways.

Let me say right now that this is a spoilery review. A review so chock full of spoilers that should you wade in, even up to your ankles, you will soon find yourself facing huge discussions of the end of this book and the surprising plot points. I play fair. I warn you. But if you’re looking to read this book and you wish to remain shocked by its structural intricacies (such as they are) read no further.

To be clear, mine is not the first voice of dissent on this title. As it happens Ghost Hawk was a subject of much contention even before it was even published. Debbie Reese is tribally enrolled at Nambe Pueblo in northern New Mexico and currently works as an assistant professor in American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ms. Reese raised a great many concerns with the text, and her point of view has been examined and argued and contested ever since. Now I will confess to you that this is not my own area of expertise. The likelihood of one name being used over another, or the ways in which someone actually goes about creating a tomahawk are unknown to me. This may be a debate that rages for some time, and I’ve no doubt that it shall. That said, I had my very own personal problems with Cooper’s text. Problems that had less to do with customs like when one gives tobacco to another, and more with the broader scope of the book itself. Take, for example, the Pokanoket tribe of the Wampanoag Nation. I wouldn’t go so far as to call them humorless, but Cooper imbues them with a stately majesty best suited to totems or symbols rather than people. Where is their humor? Where is their humanity? They live and die as representations, not humans. When Little Hawk returns to his village, you feel mildly bad for him but hardly crushed. You didn’t know these people, not really. They didn’t feel enough like people to you. So where’s the outrage? Where’s the anger?

Then there’s the fact that in his ghost form (more on that in a second), Little Hawk is capable of seeing the past and the present but not the future. This awfully convenient narrative technique is unworthy of an author of Cooper’s skill. It is a clunky choice. A more elegant method of introducing information that Little Hawk would not otherwise have would have been welcome. As it is, we’re stuck with an amusingly semi-omnipotent narrator.

These have been my problems with the book, certainly. But if we take another step back and simply look at the plot of the book in its roughest form, problems are immediately apparent. Here, then, is the plot. A Wampanoag boy named Little Hawk grows up and undergoes a trial to prove that he is a man. When he returns he finds his village dead. He grows up. He is killed (thus ends the first part of this book). He then is seen in ghost form by a white child settler named John. John learns the Algonquin language and customs through his friendship with Little Hawk’s ghost. At this point the reader is going to start wondering how John will use this knowledge. Will he be a bridge between communities? Will he use his valuable skills to solve problems no one else can?

Nope. He’ll grow up and be killed by a different Native American. Good night, everybody!!

I don’t think I’m the only one who read that passage in the book where John dies and came to the unavoidable conclusion that this book didn’t have much in a way of a point. Under normal circumstances, when a character acquires knowledge after a long period of time (not to mention a deeper understanding of another culture) they use it later in the story to the benefit of others. One could argue that John does use the knowledge when he saves Metacom from certain death, but this is not the case. John grabs the child and then is able to communicate with the parents later, but no real outcome is derived from this. Well, then maybe Cooper’s point is that there is no point. Maybe history is just a series of unfortunate events without rhyme or reason. Could be. But why even bother to take the time to build this friendship between a boy and a ghost if you’re just going to throw it away later? I cannot for the life of me figure out what Cooper was doing with this story.

Which brings us to the very end of the book. The moment when Susan Cooper herself decides to walk onto the page. We know from her Author’s Note that Ms. Cooper “built a house on Little Hawk’s island” seven years ago or so. This act served as one of the impetuses for writing this book in the first place. Lots of authors have found similar fonts of inspiration in their adopted homes. What they do not usually do is put themselves into the books as the ultimate Deus Ex Machina. In the case of “Ghost Hawk”, Ms. Cooper introduces Little Hawk to Rachel. She is “a woman, in her middle years. She has dark eyes and hair, and her name is Rachel. She is a painter. She appears to live alone.” Rachel’s purpose in this story is to free Little Hawk from his imprisonment. It is she that figures out what John and Little Hawk himself could not. She solves the mystery of his existence, he goes free, and that’s the end of the book. Above and beyond whether or not it’s kosher to end a book with a white woman swooping in to save the day one has to assume it’s a bit odd when the author places such a clear cut stand-in for themselves on the page. Again, the appearance of Rachel is clunky. I keep using that word but no other fits quite as well. It disrupts the book without need or reason.

Now here’s the kicker. For all that I moan and groan and rend my garments, you never once forget that Cooper is a great author. She knows how to construct a tale. Maybe a bit of judicious editing would not have been out of place (clocking in at 336 pages the removal of 50 or so could only have been to the good) but you’re never in doubt of the fact that the woman knows how to write. Amusingly, I’ve just gone back to my own dog-eared copy to find that I even highlighted some passages. One was a rather interesting description of how the wars with Spain ate up all the trees in England thanks to the efforts of the shipyards. It’s a fun moment, but then it’s a moment when we’ve returned to Cooper’s native land. Moreover, as I read through the book I noticed that the audience it really seems to be aimed towards is adults. Our hero Little Hawk spends very little time young. John himself grows with prodigious speed and then is a grown man seeking his way in the world. Are there many enticements for kids in this story? I think not.

There will be, I just know, a child out there assigned this book to read for school. The teacher will gaze with respect upon the author’s name and the words “Newbery Award-Winning Author of the Dark Is Rising” embedded on the book’s front cover. They may even seek out the reviews that praise it highly. PW called it “well-researched and elegant”, while Booklist gave it a star and said, “this is simply an unforgettable reading experience.” No argument there, but I think we differ slightly on what we deem “unforgettable”. Even Horn Book itself praised it to the skies with the words “powerful” and “memorable”. And so they shall assign this book to their fourth or fifth or sixth graders and it will become a book of required reading for many summers to come. The kids could read instead the expertly penned The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich. They could delve into Helen Frost’s Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War or Tim Tingle’s How I Became A Ghost or Rosanne Parry’s Written in Stone. But no. They will be assigned this and they will reach the ending saying precisely what I myself said: What precisely is the point? The point, it would seem, is that even a strong and talented writer who knows how to make a truly beautiful sentence does, occasionally, fall flat. This is not Cooper’s best effort. It is not even in her top ten. It is, however, historical American history. We’ll just have to agree to disagree on whether or not that trumps its other problems.

Other Reviews:

Heavy Medal

Other Critiques:

American Indians in Children’s Literature (Part One)
American Indians in Children’s Literature (Part Two)

Press Release Fun: Past, Present, and Future

Children’s Literature Shines in Port Washington Public Library Programs

The Port Washington Public Library presents Past, Present and Future: Insiders Look at Children’s Literature in the 21st Century and the Children’s Illustrator Exhibition featuring prestigious authors, artists, and experts involved in publishing and library service to children.

 

Past, Present and Future: Insiders Look at Children’s Literature in the 21st Century, a panel discussion on Sunday, November 10 at 1:30 p.m., will be led by author and artist Jane Breskin Zalben. This all-star panel will present an overview of the industry, examining important questions about the evolution and future of children’s literature. 

·        What is the influence of multimedia and electronic publishing?

·        Where is the book in all of this?

·        What is the best way to market children’s books in these rapidly changing times? 

·        And how will professionals provide children with literature that inspires a lifelong love of reading?

Panelists are Rita Auerbach (librarian and former Caldecott Chair), Elizabeth Harding (vice president of Curtis Brown, Ltd.), Sandra Jordan (author and former editorial director of Farrar, Straus & Giroux and Orchard Books), Renee McGrath (librarian, Director of Youth Services, Nassau Library System), Neal Porter (editorial director of Neal Porter Books/Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan), Laura Vaccaro Seeger (artist and author), Caroline Ward (librarian and former Newbery Chair) and moderator Jane Breskin Zalben (artist, picture book and young adult fiction author, and former chair of the Society of Illustrators’ Original Art Exhibition).

 

The Children’s Illustrator Exhibition will hang in the Library’s Main Gallery from November 1 to December 1, featuring original art by renowned children’s book illustrators Brian Floca, Roxie Munro, Jerry Pinkney, Sergio Ruzzier, Amy Schwartz, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Paulis Waber, Jane Breskin Zalben and the late Bernard Waber.

 

A reception and book signing from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 10, follows the panel discussion. The exhibition is sponsored by Astoria Federal Savings, The Port Washington Branch. Gallery hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.

“You can’t go broke overestimating the intelligence of children” – Chris Van Allsburg and the Eric Carle Honors of 2013

Photo by Johnny Wolf

There comes a time in every woman’s life when she is asked to interview a childhood idol.

Put another way . . .

There comes a time in my life, say every half a year or so, when I am asked to interview one of my own childhood idols.  Most recently, that someone was Carle Honors honoree Chris Van Allsburg.  You may know Mr. Allsburg from such books as Jumanji, Polar Express, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, etc.  For me, my favorite Van Allsburg’s include The Stranger (a perfect book for this time of year, don’t you think?), Bad Day at Riverbend, and most recently Queen of the Falls.  The prospect of interviewing him at the Honors was daunting, to say the least, but I have a marvelous ability to turn off the muscle inhibiting awe-factor in my brain, so I was confident that I could do this thing.  Semi-confident at the very least.

Photo by Johnny Wolf

The Carle Honors, just to clarify, are a yearly fundraiser for The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.  Now in their Eighth year, the honorees for 2013 included such luminaries as the aforementioned Mr. Van Allsburg (Artist), Lynda Johnson Robb and Carol H. Rasco of Reading is Fundamental (Angel), Phyllis Fogelman Baker (Mentor), and Barbara Bader (Bridge).  If you able to go you are privy to a wonderful array of tiny food, magnificent company, and lots of lovely pieces of art that you could bid on if you happened to have a spare $2000 or so burning a hole in your pocket.  My fantasy art piece that I would bid on if I suddenly won the lottery was a Jon Klassen piece featuring a sheep.  It was a very Klassen-esque sheep.  A dry, witty baa baa that would have made an excellent gift for my mother.  Ah well.  Next time.

Mr. Van Allsburg was not around when I arrived so I busied myself with small talk and some very successful attempts to cram large quantities of tiny food into my gaping maw.  This plan, naturally, had to reach a conclusion when Mr. Van Allsburg entered the room.  I was a bit too intimidated to accost.  Fortunately someone else was perfectly happy to accost at will, and before we knew it we were seated at a small table with my audio recorder sitting between us.  Here is what transpired.  I will take pains to cut out all the times I had to politely refuse the tiny food offered to me by passing waiters.  Apparently I’d set a precedent for myself that evening.  They weren’t about to leave me alone without a fight.

Betsy: Well, first of all thank you so much for meeting with me.  I’m a huge huge fan.  I love The Stranger.  If anybody has a one Chris Van Allsburg book that they choose, The Stranger would actually be mine. Particularly at this time of year it’s my favorite book.

Chris Van Allsburg: Where did you grow up?

BB: I grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

CVA: Oh.  Not far from where I grew up.

BB: Where’d you grow up?

CVA: Grand Rapids.

BB: Oh!  Yeah, just around the corner.

CVA: That book usually finds more interest with those who grew up in the northern latitudes.  Because down south the myth of Jack Frost doesn’t exist.  They don’t know who he is.  Never heard of him.

BB: If you’re going to have that picture of him clasping his hand to his head holding a leaf they’re going to say, “And that means what exactly?”

Now these days it looks like they’re rereleasing your books.  I just got in The Wreck of the Zephyr.

CVA: Well they aren’t rereleasing them because fortunately I have not had a single title go OP [out-of-print].

BB: You’ve never had a single title?  Really?

Photo by Johnny Wolf

CVA: No, they’ve all just chugged along, year after year.  So the new edition is not bringing it back into print.  It’s a digital reproduction.  So the quality of the pictures is much better because when it was first reproduced it was old analog stuff and it never looked that good to me. The color fidelity is better and it’s sharper.  And there’s just things you can go in and do to fix it that you can’t do the old way.

BB: Now the covers, are they original covers that you’ve made or have they been taken from the book in some way?

CVA: In the case of Jumanji, that originally had a jacket that was an interior image, and so is the new one.  It’s just a different image and it’s bled, which is kind of a less traditional way to jacket a book.  I always had very old-fashioned ideas about taking a picture, putting a little white line around it and then putting a colored frame around it.

BB: The Polar Express . . .

CVA: Oh no, almost all my books were like that.  The Widow’s Broom is actually different.  But, for the most part, the jacket was laid out a lot like the inside with the addition of a little color.  But these new jackets that they’ve placed on The Polar Express. . . . well that didn’t go bleed but Jumanji looks a little more modern and same with The Wreck of the Zephyr.

BB: Are there plans to do it for other titles in the series?

CVA: Well, I don’t know. It is hard to justify because there is some expense going back and doing all the production.  And the rational, or at least, the sort of excuse for doing it. . . these last two books, Jumanji and The Wreck and the Zephyr, it’s because of their longevity.  They’ve been in print that long and so they had birthdays.

BB:  Now are they making a new Jumanji movie?  There was a rumor about that at one point.

CVA: Well, they actually did make what I thought of as a new Jumanji movie.  It’s called Zathura.

BB:  *laughs* Well, yes.

CVA: Sony actually commissioned some market research to see what the kind of residual interest in Jumanji might be and, of course, years ago the residual interest in a 20-year-old film would be really tiny.  But because of the way people consume entertainment now you can actually have a strong fan base for films that are long gone and that’s what they discovered.  That there’s a lot of people out there who would be willing to buy a ticket to a new Jumanji.

BB:  I would.  It’s absolutely true.

CVA: It can be so many different things.  It can be a remake, it can be a sequel, it can be a prequel.  So Sony still plays around with that idea but they haven’t committed themselves to anything.

BB:  One of my favorite recent books you’ve done was Queen of the Falls.  Are you going to be doing any more nonfiction in the future or was that sort of a one-off?

CVA: Well, I’d actually set on the idea of doing nonfiction before I set on the idea of Annie Taylor.  Just as a way to create new challenges and do something different.  So I decided the specific kind of nonfiction book I wanted to do was inspired by the old biographies I read when I was a child.  The biography of Babe Ruth, etc. So I was casting around for what I thought was a worthy subject.  You know, someone’s whose life would be filled with events that would be interesting to children.  There are a lot of, I suppose, characters that might apply.  Lion tamers and things like that.  Magicians.  But I read about Annie Taylor and I didn’t remember her name, but I read about her probably in the early 70s. I can remember, I worked in a little factory and they had a lunchroom where there were stacks of old Sports Illustrateds and I would read them at lunch.  And I remember one lunch hour reading this piece called “Daredevils of Niagara Falls”, and I read about a number of characters but when I read about her I was amazed because she was the first person to go over the falls . . . and she was a she!

Photo by Johnny Wolf

BB:  And she wasn’t young!

CVA: And she was over 60. So I thought, that’s such a peculiar thing.  Such a peculiar event in American history.  I mean it’s not an epic event that changed the course of the world but it’s still so strange to me.  I thought it was odd that it wasn’t more widely known.  Because if you asked people no one could have named her.

BB:  No.  No one can name the first person to go over Niagara Falls, which seems a little strange!

CVA:  So I was bewildered right from the beginning because I could remember reading about this character but I couldn’t remember anything else about it besides from that. And I thought that was such an obscure piece of knowledge, not having heard about it for 30 or 40 years, I thought it was still buried somewhere and I would have to do some really deep research.  I’d really have to work hard.  And I thought maybe I would even have to, y’know, contact Time-Life and ask if I could go into their archive.

BB:  Had an adult biography ever been made of her?

CVA: Nothing. I didn’t even know her name so I didn’t even know exactly how to search. But I was contemplating maybe, as I say, calling Time-Life and asking if there was a microfilm library of old Sports Illustrateds and I’d find it out that way.  But then it occurred to me, because this was only a few years ago, I could just go Google “woman”, “Niagara Falls”, “barrel”.  Which is all I had to do.  So I went in and there was a fair amount of information about her but I was pleased to discover that no one had written a picture book biography and the closest thing to a biography was actually a monograph.  It was a very kind of limited publication available only in a handful of libraries.  There was a long lyrical poem about her.

BB: Well I don’t want to keep you too long.  I know you’re the star of the evening here.

CVA: No, I’m not.  There’s other people here.  Jon Scieszka’s here.

BB: *laughs – sorry Jon*  Can you say what you’re working on next?

CVA: Sure!

BB: What are you working on next?

CVA: Well, sort of in the spirit of trying to work outside of what I think of as my strike zone, which is fantasy, I’ve written a book which does have some improbable action in it but not fantastic.  It is inspired by events in my own family’s life.  It’s the moment in time almost all parents face when their children beg and plead to bring into the home a small furry creature which lives in a cage and which they will shower with affection and attention.  And so we did that, but the outcome wasn’t what they promised. Even though, I think in my family, we actually sort of emphasized the need to live up to that idea of nurturing this little creature, it didn’t work out that way and the creature had various places it went to after it left our home. So I’ve written a story about the misadventures of a small furry creature who lives in a cage and has a succession of owners.

BB:  Picture book?

CVA: Oh yes.

Photo by Johnny Wolf

BB:  I wasn’t sure.  Maybe you’re suddenly doing chapter books.

CVA: Well it’s interesting.  When I sort of figured out that was what I wanted to work on, it occurred to me that usually when you write a book for kids that has a tiny animal in it, the tiny animal is a surrogate for a child. Is a proxy for a child because, children (small, powerless, not masters of their destiny) when they see little animals that are vulnerable like that, they always identify with the animal.  I’m the animal.  I’m Peter Rabbit.  But the interesting thing about this is that there is a little animal and it has the kinds of misfortunes that a child would be inclined to identify with but the characters who are visiting some of those misfortunes are children, which is another character in the book we don’t usually identify with: the children. So I’ve kind of cast the children, not as villains, but I suppose to a degree as a kind of antagonists.

BB:  Yes.  I remember in Queen of the Falls that it was straight up nonfiction but people still said, “Oh there’s a mysterious shot of the barrel in the water.”  They really wanted that mystery.

CVA: Well there was a postscript in there where I mention the fact that for most of my career as a writer I’ve been attracted to fantasy and thought I’d do something different but as I learned more about Annie and learned more about the Falls which I visited a few times I really discovered that there’s truly kind of fantastic and surreal about things like that when human beings want to seize the golden ring, when they’re sort of untethered from reason and logic and do something big.

BB:  It’s a truly American book.  No one else would think, “I know how I can make money!  I’ll throw my body over the waterfall.”

CVA: She would be an early example of too of somebody.  There wasn’t a media that would make that happen.  But there were enough newspapers that she believed that she could make it big.

BB:  And then the manager hired another woman, was it, to pretend to be her?

CVA: That was her second manager.  Because the problem was, as revealed in the book, people had fixed in their mind what a woman daredevil would look like . . .

BB: . . . and it wouldn’t look like their grandmother.  Did they ever find the original barrel?  I know that the original barrel just got taken and they never found it?  That’s a pity. For all you know there’d be Annie Taylor Societies around.

CVA: Well when I went on my tour that’s who they set me up with. I spoke in the library on the Canadian side and then an auditorium space on the American side and there was a woman who evidently works the close precincts of the falls dressed as Annie Taylor.

BB:  Really!

CVA:  And she came to lunch.

BB:  Well, I think that’s pretty much all I had.  Oh.  Just one last question I suppose.  Is there any one of your books that you feel should get more attention?  It’s one of your favorites and you’ve always really loved it and it’s never been one of the ones that people constantly talk about.  Is there any one of your books that’s closer to your heart than any other?  I know, it’s like choosing amongst your children.  Which one do you love best?

CVA: You know, it’s always the same answer from me.  It’s posed differently as “What’s your favorite book.”  And I’ll say it’s the one I’m working on.  For an artist you’re almost required to feel that way because if you thought it wasn’t quite as good as the one you did years ago, you wouldn’t keep working on it.

BB:  Or they’ll say their first book because it was their first.

CVA:  No, I don’t feel that way.  But you asked  . . .

BB:  Which one do you feel just doesn’t get enough attention?

CVA: I suppose if I could take all attention I’ve gotten a redistribute it amongst my books I might take a little attention from The Polar Express and sprinkle a little of that on A Bad Day at Riverbend.

BB:  I love A Bad Day at Riverbend!  All right.  Well so much for meeting with me!

So that was that.  Fun stuff.  After that it was back to the tiny food (round two) as well as the actual dinner.  I found myself at a truly lovely table with Ted and Betsy Lewin alongside Jennifer and Richard Michelson. Here are some photos taken of the event that might amuse.

Roger Sutton, Jon Scieszka, and Alix Kennedy just playing it cool. Photo by Johnny Wolf.

Jon Scieszka and Carol Rasco. Photo by Johnny Wolf.

Proof positive that Eric Carle himself was actually there. And bidding at that! You’d have to be a pretty cold fish to bid against him. Photo by Johnny Wolf.

The host-ests with the most-ests – Tony and Angela DiTerlizzi with some bloke between them. Photo by Johnny Wolf.

I won’t go into how easy it would have been to lift this little sculpture and place it in my bad. It comes with its own built-in handle, for crying out loud! Photo by Johnny Wolf.

Got to the event and then realized I’d forgotten all my make-up. True story. Seen here with Vicki Cobb. Photo by Johnny Wolf.

Aww. Barbara Bader and Roger Sutton. Photo by Johnny Wolf.

Then the bells rang and we were shuffled upstairs to the actual awarding of the awards.  Since Jennifer had to leave before the speeches, Rich was nice enough to let me borrow her seat upstairs!  Awfully nice of him.

Our hosts for the evening were Angela and Tony DiTerlizzi.

Photo by Johnny Wolf.

And we were off!  Barbara Bader, if you do not know, was a longtime contributor to the Horn Book and wrote the seminal scholarly book, American Picturebooks from Noah’s Ark to The Beast Within.  She was quick and to the point.  Usually folks at these awards are.

Photo by Johnny Wolf.

Next up, the daughter of Lyndon Johnson.  I honestly had no idea that Lynda Johnson Robb, Reading Is Fundamental’s Founding Board Member and Chairman Emeritus, held that distinction.  She was introduced by Paul O. Zelinsky and then proceeded to inform me of a variety of facts, none of which I had known.

Photo by Johnny Wolf.

Carol Rasco, President and CEO of Reading Is Fundamental, is someone I knew far better.  Check out that awesome necklace while you’re at it.  Good stuff!

Photo by Johnny Wolf.

Next up, Rosemary Wells.  *check program*  Rosemary Wells?  Well, yes.  She was introducing Phyllis Fogelman Baker, editor and publisher, and someone who apparently had a thing for high high heels.

Photo by Johnny Wolf

Unfortunately, Ms. Baker couldn’t make it.  Fortunately, it was decided that Julius Lester would do the honors.  Unfortunately (this is turning into a Remy Charlip book here) he couldn’t make it either.  Fortunately, Jerry Pinkney was on hand to read Mr. Lester’s own tribute to Ms. Baker.  And I must say, he did it like a pro.  Yes, the words “pubic hair” did consist of part of the speech, but Pinkney read on like it didn’t even matter.

Photo by Johnny Wolf

Fun Fact: Do not read the words “pubic hair” aloud if your next presenter is Jon Scieszka because by GUM he’s going to find a way to incorporate it into his introduction.  Indeed, Scieszka was there to introduce Van Allsburg.  His decision then was to construct a false narrative of Mr. Van Allsburg’s past (in keeping with the tone of his books), incorporating all the various oddities folks had mentioned about the previous honorees.  It was mildly brilliant.

Photo by Johnny Wolf

You will notice that I have a penchant for picking the photos where folks spread their hands.  I cannot lie.  I really prefer them.  Here is Mr. Van Allsburg doing the deed.  By the way, doesn’t he look EXACTLY the way you’d expect Chris Van Allsburg to look?  I don’t know why but somehow, this is perfect.  And in the course of his speech he included the line I’ve made the title of today’s post.  I’m still turning it over in my mind.

Photo by Johnny Wolf

Ah, but the night was not done!  A final award was to be bestowed by our hosts and it was none other than the golden bow tie award.  These went, I believe, to Roger Sutton and Mr. Van Allsburg (one must assume in lieu of Timothy Travaglini, who was not present at the time).

Photo by Johnny Wolf

Then on to desserts . . .

Photo by Johnny Wolf

. . . and goodie bags . . .

Photo by Johnny Wolf

And the night was done.  For the record, that little Stinky Cheese Man puppet is a blast.  When you stick your fingers down his legs to make him run, his head bobs in all possible directions like crazy.  It’s incredibly amusing.  As for the bow tie, I know a nice pit bull who appreciated it.  This is true.

Many thanks to the folks at the Carle who made all of this possible.  I believe they wanted me to mention on their behalf, “We thank everyone who came out to support The Carle in its 10th anniversary year!”  And for my part, thanks too to Alexandra Pearson for setting up the Van Allsburg interview.

For more info on the 2013 Honors be sure to check out this website as well.

Video Sunday: Robot, heck. You should see my krumping.

All right.  Me stuff off the bat.  I was recently asked to moderate a panel of authors for the Children’s Media Association.  The panel consisted of Ame Dyckman, Joanne Levy, Katherine Longshore, Elisa Ludwig, Lynda Mullaly Hunt, and Sarvenaz Tash.  During the course of the evening it was suggested that we perform a Giant Dance party.  Joanne was kind enough to edit the footage and the results . . . well, here you go.  I’m the one in the middle, for the record.

Goof-tastic!

In other news, NYPL recently turned my Children’s Literary Salon that featured Leonard Marcus talking about the current NYPL exhibit The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter as interviewed by Jenny Brown into a Google+ Hangout.  Here is the gist of it.  You’ll probably want to start watching after the 5 minute mark.  Unless you like watching empty chairs.  In which case, go crazy.

It’s worth it for the info on the ivory umbrella handle info alone.

And since I’m on a roll with the NYPL events, any interest in hearing Leonard Marcus interview Judy Blume and Eric Carle at the same time?  Hit the 9:50 mark on this l’il ole video and it’s all yours.

Okay.  Now it’s time to acknowledge that Halloween is nigh.  Scaredy Squirrel created a PSA / book trailer.  Pretty good, though I’m amused that Scaredy is still drilling home the fear of apples.  In the history of man I’m pretty darn sure no one ever actually put a razorblade in a fruit.  That was a myth.  Ah well.  Scaredy wouldn’t care.  It’s still a potential threat.

In other book trailer news, this one’s pretty cute.  Let’s hear it for effective Flash animation paired with music that bloody gets caught in your brain.

And speaking of earworm music . . .

Everything Goes: By Sea (animated trailer) from Brian Biggs on Vimeo.

And for our off-topic video of the day, technically this is a GIF and not a video but I figure if it moves and slows down my computer’s operating system, that’s close enough for me.  Et voila:

 

Press Release Fun: A Leonard Marcus Walking Tour

Hello Children’s Book Enthusiasts,



You are invited to attend a Neighborhood Walking Tour led by Leonard S. Marcus, the acclaimed historian and curator of the current New York Public Library exhibit, The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter.




Marcus will lead a tour from the steps of the NYPL’s Schwarzman Building (on Fifth Avenue between 41st and 42nd Streets) to Eloise’s Plaza Hotel.  Along the way, he will share intriguing anecdotes about places, publishers, editors, authors, books and characters.





Sunday, October 20, 11 a.m., we’ll meet at the steps between the library lions. The fee is $20.00.  Bring cash, or check made out to Leonard S. Marcus, on the day of the tour.




Rain date is Sunday, October 27. In case of inclement weather, you will be notified by e-mail, or phone the day before, or at at the latest, by 8 a.m. on October 20.



















Space is limited, so please respond to caronleecohen@nyct.net without delay and be sure to provide a phone number where you can be reached.

Re-Sendakify Sendak Project: The Results

Previously on A Fuse #8 Production . . .

In 2012 I came up with a crazy idea.  We all love Dr. Seuss.  We all know his work.  So for fun I asked folks to illustrate a scene from their favorite Seuss book in the style of a different children’s author.  The result: The Re-Seussification Project.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, was going to be the end of that.

Then Phil Nel had a notion.

What if The Niblings (Travis from 100 Scope Notes, Phil from Nine Kinds of Pie, Jules from Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, and myself) were to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication date of Where the Wild Things Are?  Truthfully, we didn’t know the precise date that it hit bookstore and library shelves nationwide.  What we did know was that it was in the fall, possibly October.  So October 15th just seemed a good stand-in date to celebrate.  Today you will find that each one of us has come up with an interesting and original way of celebrating the man and his legend.  In my particular case, I do it by exploiting the talents of others.  I feel no shame.

Back in April, you see, I put out the call.  Folks were to redo a scene from a Sendak illustration in the style of another artist in the field.  It could be something he illustrated, something he wrote, anything.  I wondered if folks would all do the same books and illustrators or if they’d shake it up a bit.  I never expected what I received.  You’re in for a treat.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for . . . the results!

Where the Wild Things Are in the style of Saul Bass

Art by Jim Averbeck

 

Alligators All Around in the style of Tomie de Paola

Art by Bernie Mount

 

Where the Wild Things Are in the style of Jules Feiffer

Art by Nick Bruel

Where the Wild Things Are in the style of Oliver Jeffers

Art by Ken Min

 

In the Night Kitchen in the style of Kevin Henkes

Art by Susanne Lamb

Where the Wild Things Are in the style of Clement Hurd

Art by Airlie Anderson

 

Where the Wild Things Are in the style of Crockett Johnson

Art by Minh Le

 

Really Rosie in the style of Ezra Jack Keats

Art by Cecilia Cackley

 

Where the Wild Things Are in the style of Robert Lawson

Art by Mike Boldt

 

Chicken Soup With Rice in the style of Laura Numeroff

Art by Deirdre Jones

 

Where the Wild Things Are in the style of Miroslav Sasek

Art by Nancy Vo

 

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Farm in the style of Miroslav Sasek

(For those of you unfamiliar with the original, Mr. Burks was kind enough to pass along the original Sendak image, seen here:)

Art by James Burks

 

Bumble-Ardy in the style of Richard Scarry

Art by K-Fai Steele

 

Pierre in the style of Chris Van Allsburg

Art by Nathan Hale

And that might have been the end, had I not received the following email from Bernie Mount, a librarian at the St. Rita Catholic School:

“So, I had my 7th grade students try their hand at the Re-Sendakify project.  It’s funny to see them try to think outside the box and really grasp the concept . . . They had a good time and I was happy to introduce them to Maurice Sendak.  It was amazing how many of them only knew “Where the Wild Things Are” and some only the movie version.”

Well, with an intro like that I couldn’t help but wonder what the kids had come up with.  I’m grateful to anyone that turns one of my pet projects into a school assignment.  What’s also very interesting to me here is that at least two of the kids’ images think along the same lines as the artists above.  It makes you wonder what it is about certain illustrators that you would naturally equate Pierre with Van Allsburg or Harold with Max.  Here, in any case, is the work of some truly talented kids:

A Hole is to Dig in the style of Kevin Henkes

Analee A., Savana S., and Gabby S.

 

Where the Wild Things Are in the style of Crockett Johnson

Quinn B., Kevin P., & Matthew W.

 

Little Bear’s Visit in the style of Jon Klassen

Carson W., Nicholas J., & John Alfred Z.

 

Where the Wild Things Are in the style of Ian Falconer

Helen H. & Maggie K.

 

One Was Johnny in the style of James Dean

Maddy M., Paige M., Molly F.

 

Pierre in the style of Chris Van Allsburg

Lauryn S.

 

Where the Wild Things Are in the style of Melanie Watt

Christopher R., Barrett L., & Luke H.

Thanks one and all to the talented artists that spend untold gobs of time to put these together.  One could not hope for a better celebration of the man and his works than this.  And be sure to see posts from Travis from 100 Scope Notes, Phil from Nine Kinds of Pie, and Jules from Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast for more 50th anniversary high hilarity.

Fusenews: That’s what I get for ignoring copyright

Happy Columbus Day to you!  I’ve not particularly insightful encapsulations of the day to offer you, though if you’d like to read some preview posts I’ve done on the day (completely with book recommendations) feel free to go here.

I will start today with this rather interesting post about a recent brouhaha that arose when a Macalester College student created a spoken word piece called “To JK Rowling, From Cho Chang”.  The internet being what it is you could certainly predict the nasty flaming war that would occur in the wake of her talk, particularly when the video went viral.  What makes the whole incident singular, to my mind, is the student’s response.  She sat down and calmly discussed the top five point folks made about her piece.  She admitted mistakes, reinforced certain points, and basically acted like a civilized grown-up.  The internet is shockingly devoid of civilized grown-ups these days, so in some small part of my brain I wish that high schools around the country could show kids this piece and teach them about internet etiquette in the 21st century.  Own up and also stand up for your beliefs.  It’s a hard lesson and this woman did it with class.  Bravo.


Now even before I read Travis Jonker’s fun post, I was aware that the Fuse channel had created something called Fuse News.  I can’t blame them.  It’s a catchy phrase.  Travis’s post is notable, by the way, because it manages to incorporate the phrase “Way to ruin my joke, Weird Al” completely within context.  And just so long as they don’t sue me for the term, we should be fine.  A Google search of the term “Fusenews” yields only them anyway.


Flowcharts.  We’re crazy about them.  After my little Noodle flowchart got such nice press I heard from a lot of librarians the cry, “Why can’t we do that?”  Turns out, you can.  I was alerted not so long ago to this cool Which YA Novel Is Right for You?  Feel free to fill in the blanks and come up with your very own personalized flowchart.  Fun for patrons and librarians alike.


I’m sure you already saw it at PW Children’s Bookshelf, but how clever were they to interview Elisha Cooper about his contemporary picture book Train alongside Brian Floca and his nonfiction picture book Locomotive .  Someone asked me the other day if Floca might be in the running for a Newbery.  It hadn’t occurred to me before but now . . . oh boy, I hope so.


Got the following note the other day and it’s a fun idea for small pubs.  A bit too small for its own press release, I’ll just post it here.

Beginning on Thursday, 10/10/13, at 10AM EST an original apple will be revealed every day until 11/10/13.  Readers, librarians, booksellers, and educators who follow Blue Apple Books on Facebook or Twitter are invited to guess the name of the artist who created the apple.  Whoever is first to guess correctly on either social network will receive a Blue Apple book illustrated by that artist.

Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/blue-apple-books/310881431090

Twitter page:
https://twitter.com/blueapplebooks

‬


Looks like we’re trendsetters.  First over at NYPL I help make the 100 Great Children’s Books list of the last 100 years. Note, we do not call it the “Best”.  However, Booktrust, a UK reading charity, had no such qualms about the word, coming up with their own 100 Best Books for Children.  Then I hear about the Grolier Club and their December 2014 exhibit on One Hundred Famous Children’s Books (which, to be fair, they’ve been working on since 2010). And then here in the States I couldn’t help but notice the eyebrow-raising title 100 best books for kids: NYPL vs P&C.  Come again?  Far less inflammatory than the title suggests, the post does a nice job of crediting both lists and what they do.  Of course, they do say at one point “Parent & Child‘s list was carefully curated by editors who know well many beloved children’s books from reading them to their own kids (and growing up on them!). The New York Public Library’s list was informed by top books of the past 100 years.”  Um.  Well, yes.  But we ALSO have kids that we’ve read these to.  Nothing got on the NYPL that isn’t actually being read to kids and that they’re actively asking for.  But then the piece notes the books we included that they didn’t, and that’s a pretty gutsy move.  Well played, P&C.


Hard to resist the headline: 8-year-old flags ‘sexist’ children’s books; bookstore takes notice.  The bookstore was right to move rather than remove the books, but the kid was also correct in pointing out how painfully sexist those books are.  I remember when they came out a year or a two ago, and I was shocked.  The only saving grace (and I mean only) is that the girl book isn’t hot pink.  Thanks to PW Children’s Bookshelf for the link.


So Comic Con has ended here in NYC.  For those of you went and attended on the professional development day, you might have seen my co-worker Amie Wright.  She was presenting on “Comics & the Common Core: The Case to Include Comics in the Curriculum”.  And though it isn’t the same as seeing her live and in person, you can dip through her PowerPoint and see the titles and tips she’s included.


Daily Image:

With the backlog of images at my disposal I shouldn’t fall down on the job and cave to this.  But what can I say?  My will is weak.

Yes. It’s from a site called Brides Throwing Cats where bridal bouquets have been Photoshopped out and cats have been Photoshopped in.  You’re welcome.

Video Sunday: World premiere of The Making of “Journey”

It is my supreme pleasure and honor today to present to you a little video that you shan’t find much of anywhere else. Many of you are aware that Aaron Becker’s debut picture book Journey is getting a lot of critical acclaim and book buzz. What you may not know is that back in 2011 he contacted a friend of his to film the book’s progress. The result is today’s video. Ladies and gentlemen I give you The Making of “Journey”.

The Making of “Journey” from Aaron Becker on Vimeo.

Thanks that I cannot repay to Aaron Becker for passing this along to me.

Press Release Fun: The James River Writers Conference

PROMINENT AUTHORS AND AGENTS READY TO CONVERGE IN VIRGINIA FOR 11TH JAMES RIVER WRITERS CONFERENCE

Two-day event features workshops, inspiration for up and coming writers

RICHMOND, Va. – Writers, mark your calendars. The James River Writers Conferenceis celebrating its 11th year as one of the most prestigious gatherings of published authors, literary agents and editors in the country with a two-day event that will inspire and educate writers on the rise.

 

The James River Writers Conference returns to Richmond on October 19 and 20 with an impressive lineup of literary professionals, writing workshops and opportunities for aspiring writers to pitch their book ideas, hone their skills and connect with nationally recognized authors and publishers.

 

This year’s conference features an extensive list of esteemed guests and speakers includingaward-winning book designer and writer Chip Kidd, National Book Award-winner Kathryn Erskine and best-selling, award-winning author Christopher McDougall. Also making appearances at the conference are award-winning authors Cece Bell, Lydia Netzer,Megan Mayhew Bergman and Philippa Ballantine. Book Doctors and Pitchapalooza founders Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry will be on hand, and don’t forget to make time for agents including April Eberhardt, Deborah Grosvenor, Victoria Skurnickand Paige Wheeler.

 

Year after year, the conference is lauded for its remarkable programs and its noteworthy influence on the writing community. It’s no wonder why hundreds of people have been flocking to central Virginia each fall since 2003.

 

“The James River Writers Conference [is] one of the best writers’ conferences in America,” says David Henry Sterry, of The Book Doctors. “If you’re a writer, do yourself a favor, get yourself to Richmond, Va., and go to this conference. It’s filled with warm, generous, talented writers, editors and agents.”

 

Registration for the annual conference is open, and writing sessions are already filling up. Find more details and a full list of programs at JamesRiverWriters.org.

 

 

The 2013 conference is supported by BrownGreer, VCU Libraries, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Fraga Studios, CultureWorks, Dominion, Hunton & Williams, Art Works, and the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

Review of the Day: Knock Knock by Daniel Beaty

Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me

By Daniel Beaty

Illustrated by Bryan Collier

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

$18.00

ISBN: 978-0316209175

Ages 4-8

On shelves December 17th

There is a perception out there amongst certain types of parents that the only picture books worthy of their little geniuses are those that reflect their own lives perfectly. I’ve complained more than once about this before, but there is nothing more disturbing to me than when a children’s librarian shows a parent a perfectly lovely book only to be asked, “Do you have anything a little less . . . urban?” And this in the heart of New York City no less. Of course we all know what “urban” is code for. Black, obviously (if I’m feeling snarky I’ll then follow up their request with Precious and the Boo Hag or something equally black AND rural). The ideal use of picture books, on some level, is to provide windows and mirrors for the kiddos. Mirrors that reflect their own worlds. Windows where they can see how other children live. So while Daniel Beaty’s Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me is ostensibly about a child with an incarcerated father, to my mind this is a book that has far reaching applications. It can be used with any child missing a parent, for whatever reason. It’s one of the very few picture books to talk about the process of growing into adulthood. And the art? Stellar stuff. So though I’m sure kids that find themselves exactly in the protagonist’s shoes will get something out of this book, they are not the only ones. Not by half.

It was the same every morning. The boy would pretend to be sleeping when his father went “Knock Knock” on the door. Then he’d “surprise” his father by leaping into his arms once he came in the room. That is, until the day his father didn’t knock anymore. The man is simply gone, poof! Like he was never there at all. Bewildered and lost, the boy writes his father a letter and leaves it on his desk in the desperate hope that maybe his dad’s in the apartment when the boy’s not home. He tells his dad that he was hoping that when he got older he’d teach him how to dribble a ball or shave or drive or fix a car even. Then, one day, there’s a letter from his father sitting on the desk. “I am sorry I will not be coming home,” it begins. It then proceeds to encourage the boy to seek his own path and grow to manhood without him. “Knock Knock with the knowledge that you are my son and you have a bright, beautiful future.” Years later when the boy has grown, his father returns to him. In his Author’s Note, Daniel Beaty discusses the effect his own father’s incarceration had on him when he was only three. As he puts it, “This experience prompted me to tell the story of this loss from a child’s perspective and also to offer hope that every fatherless child can still create the most beautiful life possible.”

As you might imagine, I vetted this one with some of my fellow children’s librarians and one concern that arose stemmed from the fact that the boy isn’t told what happened to his father. One day he’s there and the next he’s gone. Shouldn’t a kid be told? To this I have a couple answers. First and foremost, remember that you are getting this tale through the eyes of a child. For that very reason, you have reason to question the narrative. It is all too easy to believe that the kid has been told where his father is and he simply cannot process the information. This might be one of those rare picture book unreliable narrators we come across from time to time. Second, if the kid isn’t willfully ignoring the evidence at hand, it’s just as possible that his mother isn’t telling him. Whether it’s for what she believes to be his own good or because she can’t bring herself to explain, there’s a reality at work here.

But the explanation that rings truest to me is this; If the boy doesn’t know then it opens wide the possible applications of this book. The key to Knock Knock lies in the fact that Beaty’s tale is about an absent parent and not necessarily an incarcerated one. Lots of kids have one parent or another disappear on them. What Knock Knock is telling us is that even if they’re not there, you can grow up and become the man or woman you were meant to be. Now, obviously the book is primarily about incarcerated parents. The ending shows the boy, now grown into a man, hugging his father for the first time in years. Unless we’re going full on metaphorical here, that image is pretty clear. Nonetheless, I like to think that the book has a broader appeal than that. It’s not as if the word “jail” or “arrested” are ever in the text, and the images never follow the father but keep the focus squarely on the kid. As is right.

The art is the real kicker, of course. Not since Uptown has Collier lavished this much time and attention on the appearance and feel of Harlem. I should know. I live in it. From the Duke Ellington statue on the corner of 5th Avenue and 110th Street to brownstones and housing projects, Collier knows of which he speaks. Then there’s how he chose to bring Beaty’s words to life. According to Collier, he took a real interest in this text when he saw Beaty perform it in a monologue. In this book he then tries to capture the spirit of the performance. For example, he explains in his Illustrator’s Note at the end of the book that the watercolor and collage art affects the boy’s surroundings. “The sky in the art is not so blue”, a fact I’d completely missed. It’s true, though. You wouldn’t necessarily notice at first, but the dulled blue contrasts sharply with the vivid aquamarine on the last page.

To my mind, the eeriest image in the book is a two-page spread that shows the boy seemingly flying on the paper airplane message he’s trying to send to his dad. As his father’s oversized hat flies from his head you see below the fading faces of other children on the tarred roofs below. Their images are sometimes clear, sometimes eerily faint, like they’re memories being erased by time. There are also a fair number of elephants. The elephants are an interesting touch. I’m not entirely certain what to make of them. They trundle along the boy’s bedroom walls, then occasionally break free and appear in his memories, walking across the brownstones, partially obscuring a man’s face hidden behind the windows.

Impressive though the art may be, there are moments in the book that seemed better than others. Faces and features vary, sometimes striking the reader as affecting while at other times they take you out of the book entirely. The aforementioned shot of the boy flying in a paper airplane while his father’s hat drifts towards the faces of other children on the roofs below is a bit unnerving if only because the roof faces are so much more affecting than the boy himself. When done straight on, as on the page that reads, “I am sorry I will not be coming home” the results are much stronger. And that’s even before you notice that the boy has draped his father’s ties around his neck (and did you notice that as a man the boy continues to wear those ties?).

Here’s what might be my favorite line in the book: “Papa, come home, ‘cause I want to be just like you, but I’m forgetting who you are.” Kids everywhere grow up without fathers and a single book isn’t going to necessarily change their lives. But maybe, just maybe, it really will touch somebody in the right way. When Bryan Collier writes in his Note that “This book is not just about loss, but about hope, making healthy choices, and not letting our past define our future,” he’s talking to kids everywhere that are dealing with a deck that’s stacked against them. They don’t get enough books, those kids, about lives like their own. Fortunately, once in a great while, a book comes along that fulfills that gaping need. This year, it’s this book. Next year? Who knows? But as long as there are children struggling along without their parents, Knock Knock is going to have a job to do.

On shelves December 17th.

Source: Final copy sent from publisher for review.

List This? Then Try:

Visiting Day by Jacqueline Woodson


When Dad Was Away by Liz Weir


A Visit to the Big House by Oliver Butterworth

Interviews: Collier talks a bit about his work on this book with SLJ.  Turns out he was the one who had the idea of turning Beaty’s poem into a book!

Videos:

Want to see Beaty perform it for yourself?  Then it’s your lucky day: