Morning Notes: Sendak’s Back Edition

NPR GETS APP HAPPY

As I subscribe to both A Fuse #8 Production and Nine Kinds of Pie, I was pleased to see that the creators of both blogs, librarian Elizabeth Bird and professor Philip Nel, were interviewed by NPR for a piece on digital children’s books. Most interesting to me is when Nel explains why apps aren’t technically books. Click here to listen.

GOOGLE HITS ROADBLOCK IN DIGITIZING THE WORLD

Google is on a mission to scan just about any book it can get its hands on – to my eyes an admirable, if often legally dicey proposition. A judge recently shot down the proposed settlement between Google and written content creators, making it more difficult for Google to keep the scanners running footloose and fancy free. You best decide where you stand on this issue – it’s going to be around for a while. Click here to read.

(Thanks to Publishers Weekly for the link)

TAN WINS AGAIN

Fresh off his Oscar win for The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan has been announced as the winner of the Astrid Lindgren Award which, according to the Astrid Lindgren website, is the “biggest international children’s and young adult literature award in the world”. That deserves some congrats I’d say. Click here to read more.

(Thanks to Charlotte’s Library for the link)

BOOKFACE

I once tried to match up book covers to make a complete picture. It was a tricky endeavor. But how about matching up book covers with…yourself? Corpus Libris does just that. It’s like Sleevefacing, but with more books. Click here to check it out.

(Thanks to Omnivoracious and Abigail for the link)

BOOK SPINE FRIDAY

Friday is the first day of National Poetry Month, and we’re kicking things off with a gallery of book spine poems submitted by you. You want in on the action? Create a poem, photograph it, and send it my way at scopenotes at gmail dot com. Or post that sucker to your blog. Either way, you’ll see your work in these pages on Friday. Click here for more details.

Bumble-Ardy by Maurice Sendak. On shelves September 6, 2011.

Maurice Sendak is back with the first book he has written and illustrated in almost 30 years. And if you were worried that Sendak may have lost his edge, fear not – Bumble-Ardy’s parents are eaten in the prologue. Click here to read about  the book  in the Wall Street Journal.

(Thanks to Waking Brain Cells for the link)

When a publisher goes the extra mile in terms of design, it’s worth commending. Abrams Art Director (and former 100 Scope Notes interviewee) Chad W. Beckerman has a lovely post showing the jacket and case of some of their recent releases. I think N.E.R.D.S. is my favorite. Click the image above to see more.

Martin Scorsese’s film adaptation of Caldecott-winner The Invention of Hugo Cabret continues to make the slow march toward theaters on November 23. Author Jonathan Auxier (@JonathanAuxier) points the way to a post about creation of the automaton used in the film. In related news – a Johnny Depp cameo? Click the tweet above to read.

It’s a books on film double feature today, as two children’s lit titles will soon be in theaters – Judy Moody and Mr. Popper’s Penguins. On a related note, did you see that Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules was the #1 movie in the country last weekend?

(Thanks to Watch. Connect. Read. and EarlyWord for the links)

Filed under: Morning Notes, News