Elizabeth Bird

Fusenews: Hubba Wha
March 24, 2008

• Can I get an amen?  Over at the Longstockings blog Lisa Graff wrote the following: "I've just read three alphabet books in a row, and here's a thought: If you can't think of something clever to do for X, don't write an alphabet book. Next time I see one of these suckers I'm skipping directly to the back to see right away if the author went the "x-ray" route. That should save me a lot of time, I think."  She is singing to the choir and the choir doesn't mind.

• Speaking of the Longstockings, Siobhan Vivian recently visited the offices of Chronicle Books and offers an inside tour of the premises.  Publishers of New York, the good people at Chronicle get free yoga and pilates classes.  Sorry guys.  Tis true.  Plus they get to live in San Francisco, but that's just a lovely thought that you should probably forget about right now when NYC is at its mid-March best.  Oh!  And Siobhan?  Me want a copy of that Vunce Upon a Time book of yours coming out in the Fall.  You plus J. Otto Siebold makes me happy.  Hint hint.

• And I thought about linking to this yesterday, but since it's more audio than visual, I guess I'll forget about it.  Sam Riddleberger recently unearthed an old radio show of Bob and Ray as they interview a faux children's book author. 

• People who determine their fashions via their passions/occupations will be intrigued by these two discoveries made in the realm of literary wear.  First of all, Newbery Award winner Linda Sue Park has found a cardigan covered in bookshelves. 

• Lest you should pooh-pooh, I should tell you that she got it at J. Crew (hey, that rhymes!).  But let's say instead that you're the kind of person who eschews any clothing that doesn't have a plot.  Observe then the Story Book Jeans. 

Allison over at ShelfTalker found them.  Oddly the description on the jeans' website does not say what the story is about.  Can't be saucy, I suppose.

• It sounds silly but when you work with someone you sometimes forget to read their blog.  Co-worker Warrent Truitt runs the eminently useful and hip Children's Music that Rocks blog, and recently he wrote the following: "The New Orleans Public Library System was pretty much wiped out when Hurricane Katrina hit in the summer of 2005. Now there's a massive rebuilding of the entire system including, check this out, a jazz-themed branch, a culinary branch, and an architecture branch."  Read the full story on Warren's blog (and see if you can guess which jazz trumpeter is chairman of the New Orleans Public Library System board).

• Good old Onion. 

Thanks to KT Literary for the link.

• I know that the idea of creating stuffed animals based on your children's drawings may sound a tad, how do we say?, horrific.  I remember some of the pictures from my youth and though I'm sure they were well-meaning, I don't know that I would have had the guts to play with them if they'd been 3-D objects before me.  Still, one Lizette Greco creates some pretty cute objects like the See-through Predator (now there's a picture book title!).  Thanks to Crooked House for the link.

• Susan at Chicken Spaghetti recently posted the 2007 top five books for children according to teachers via the NEA.  Four out of the five I can understand, but then The Giving Tree raises its ugly mug yet again.  Fortunately, the commenters to Susan's post are having none of it.  There is also a Top 100 list that is worth reading.  I'm a little frightening by the fact that I don't even recognize #17.  Mary Lee and I are in total agreement over the fact that Jan Brett shouldn't be allowed to have her own category in addition to individual books on the list.  And may I voice my concern over the sheer heights to which the china bunny has climbed? Oh me oh my.

• All this reminded me of this comic seen recently via Galley Cat:

Posted by Elizabeth Bird on March 24, 2008 | Comments (7)