Morning Notes: Elephants vs Ravens Edition
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THE MOST IMPRACTICAL BOOKSHELF
For those who really (really really) like things in their place:
NOW THIS IS HOW IT’S DONE
If you’re a school librarian (as I am), chances are you’re gearing up for another year. Be sure to check out this image-heavy post by school librarian John Schumacher, documenting his library prep. Inspiring stuff. Click here to read.
AN ACTUAL COVER CONTROVERSY
I like to write about similar covers on occasion, but rarely do I detect any funny business behind the scenes. The cover of the upcoming book Bewitching, however, is setting off some funny business alarms. Click here to read.
(Thanks to Boing Boing for the link)
ANOTHER CONTROVERSY (NON COVER RELATED)
Tell you what – you really want to get people talking (see also: arguing online)? Write a picture book with the word “diet” in the title. Such is the Case with the soon to be released Maggie Goes on a Diet. Let the backlash and the backlash-backlash commence. Is it “disturbing”? Or is it “sensible”?
Bink and Gollie: Two for One by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, illus. by Tony Fucile. In stores Spring 2012.
Seeing as how I can’t even find a cover for the second installment of the Geisel-winning series, consider this some pre-buzz. This time out, the duo “navigate the wonders of the state fair”. I’m in.
2011 may well go down as the year that the elephants fought the ravens. At least I hope it does. While A Fuse #8 Production recently noted the abundance of Ravens in the current children’s lit crop, Lynn and Cindy at Bookends point out that we are also in the midst of elephant mania. Which animal will take the 2011 crown?
Barnes & Noble: gettin’ cheeky! A while back I did a Cover Controversy post on hands holding stuff, and, thanks to @RachelleGardner and @molly_oneill I see the holding stuff gang continues to grow.
I’m going to go ahead and allow myself one crude Books on Film entry this year. What do you do after adapting Where the Wild Things Are for the silver screen? For Spike Jones, it’s Everyone Poops, the movie.
Filed under: Morning Notes, News
About Travis Jonker
Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.
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That B&N endcap doesn’t surprise me. When I worked at Borders we noticed all kinds of crazy stuff and would make endcaps to highlight them. My favorite was a tall one that used books that had a body part in the title to make a whole endcap body. Books like “Audry Hepburn’s Neck,” “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter,and “Toesucker”
I love some good ol’ endcap creativity.
I have a hard time getting freaked out over Maggie Goes on a Diet. It’s self-published with obviously mediocre production quality. I don’t see libraries and bookstores carrying it unless the author approaches them directly — and maybe not even then. Pretty amazing that it’s getting the hype (both for and against) it’s getting. There are plenty of mainstream books that handle issues of weight, nutrition, and exercise with varying politics and degrees of success. Why focus on this one?
I like your non-freakout stance, and I agree with you on your comments. I think half the hype is people expressing their opinions and the other half (which I’m certainly contributing to here) is “hey, look at this thing that’s getting people riled up”.
Ha – I saw that same endcap at a BN in Iowa a couple of weeks ago. I took a picture of it, too!
Bwah hah hah! My dad actually read me Everyone Poops when I was a little kid.