Children’s authors read reviews of their own books
A bad review can equal a good laugh.
Therefore, please enjoy episodes 1-3 of “Children’s Authors Read Online Reviews of Their Own Books.” (Disclaimer: We lurve kids, of course, but this is for teens and adults only.)
Why three instead of a single episode? Not because binge-viewing is the new normal but rather because I received more submissions than I could’ve hoped for: 53. (This includes not one, not two, but five kidlit couples, two of whom appear together on camera.) While I’m not proficient enough to know if formatting at a resolution of 720p (HD) is ideal, I do know that I should not post a 15-minute video.
The cast (not in order of appearance):
Tony Abbott Katherine Marsh Paul Acampora Wendy Mass Selina Alko Meghan McCarthy Tom Angleberger Richard Michelson Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen Marc Tyler Nobleman Mac Barnett Erica Perl Chris Barton Susanna Reich Cece Bell Adam Rex Samantha Berger John Rocco David Biedrzycki Dave Roman Lisa Brown Adam Rubin Peter Brown Steve Sheinkin Nick Bruel Mark Shulman Matthew Cordell Lemony Snicket Bruce Coville Michael P. Spradlin Sarah Darer Littman Tanya Lee Stone Drew Daywalt Don Tate Julia DeVillers Matt Tavares Marla Frazee Chris Tebbetts Gary Golio Raina Telgemeier Tad Hills Terry Trueman Daniel Kirk Audrey Vernick Jo Knowles Melissa Walker Michelle Knudsen Hans Wilhelm Gordon Korman Lisa Yee Jeff Mack Jennifer Ziegler Scott Magoon
The complete series:
episode 1
episode 2
episode 3
The backstory:
At a kidlit festival in September 2013, while a group of authors/illustrators talked shop after hours, an idea came to me: a variation on a poetry slam at which kidlit/YA authors read aloud their most critical or absurd user reviews (from Amazon or Good Reads) for comic relief/catharsis.
Then I discovered something similar: a recurring segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in which celebs read a mean tweet about themselves.
I find this entertaining and endearing.
The last two times I rounded up authors for non-regularly scheduled programming, the results were, respectively, hilarious and humbling.
This time, I put out a call for short videos of authors embracing the reality that not everyone likes every book.
This was not about reciprocating with mean-spiritedness. It’s simply a self-deprecating nod to a universal author experience that is already public anyway.
(I would love to get the band back together at BEA or ALA to “perform” this for a live audience, maybe as some kind of fundraiser.)
As Rosey Grier sang, it’s all right to cry. But, as my kind compatriots have demonstrated, it’s sure fun to laugh afterward.
Therefore, please enjoy episodes 1-3 of “Children’s Authors Read Online Reviews of Their Own Books.” (Disclaimer: We lurve kids, of course, but this is for teens and adults only.)
Why three instead of a single episode? Not because binge-viewing is the new normal but rather because I received more submissions than I could’ve hoped for: 53. (This includes not one, not two, but five kidlit couples, two of whom appear together on camera.) While I’m not proficient enough to know if formatting at a resolution of 720p (HD) is ideal, I do know that I should not post a 15-minute video.
The cast (not in order of appearance):
Tony Abbott Katherine Marsh Paul Acampora Wendy Mass Selina Alko Meghan McCarthy Tom Angleberger Richard Michelson Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen Marc Tyler Nobleman Mac Barnett Erica Perl Chris Barton Susanna Reich Cece Bell Adam Rex Samantha Berger John Rocco David Biedrzycki Dave Roman Lisa Brown Adam Rubin Peter Brown Steve Sheinkin Nick Bruel Mark Shulman Matthew Cordell Lemony Snicket Bruce Coville Michael P. Spradlin Sarah Darer Littman Tanya Lee Stone Drew Daywalt Don Tate Julia DeVillers Matt Tavares Marla Frazee Chris Tebbetts Gary Golio Raina Telgemeier Tad Hills Terry Trueman Daniel Kirk Audrey Vernick Jo Knowles Melissa Walker Michelle Knudsen Hans Wilhelm Gordon Korman Lisa Yee Jeff Mack Jennifer Ziegler Scott Magoon
The complete series:
episode 1
episode 2
episode 3
The backstory:
At a kidlit festival in September 2013, while a group of authors/illustrators talked shop after hours, an idea came to me: a variation on a poetry slam at which kidlit/YA authors read aloud their most critical or absurd user reviews (from Amazon or Good Reads) for comic relief/catharsis.
Then I discovered something similar: a recurring segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in which celebs read a mean tweet about themselves.
I find this entertaining and endearing.
The last two times I rounded up authors for non-regularly scheduled programming, the results were, respectively, hilarious and humbling.
This time, I put out a call for short videos of authors embracing the reality that not everyone likes every book.
This was not about reciprocating with mean-spiritedness. It’s simply a self-deprecating nod to a universal author experience that is already public anyway.
(I would love to get the band back together at BEA or ALA to “perform” this for a live audience, maybe as some kind of fundraiser.)
As Rosey Grier sang, it’s all right to cry. But, as my kind compatriots have demonstrated, it’s sure fun to laugh afterward.
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