Morning Notes: An Exercise in Book Banning Edition

MARC SIMONT (1915-2013)

Sad news to start things off. Legendary children’s book creator Marc Simont has passed away. School Library Journal reflects on the Caldecott winner’s life and work.

WHY I BANNED A BOOK

Real headline alert! Mansfield University library banned a book by a local author (and Mansfield employee) Dennis Miller as an experiment in censorship. Click here to read.

THE OSCARS OF COMICS ANNOUNCED!

Last night the Eisner Awards were handed out and there are some familiar faces among the winners. Babymouse took home the Best Publication for Early Readers award, while Hope Larson’s A Wrinkle in Time adaptation won for Best Publication for Teens. As for Best Publication for Kids? Let’s just say I was pulling for Hilda and the Midnight Giant and ended up a little let down. Click here for all the winners. And, if you’re interested, click here for all the nominees.

I AM NOT ROBERT GALBRAITH. JK!

In “you heard it here sixth” news, is was revealed that JK Rowling released an adult detective novel in April and managed to keep it under wraps for months. Click here to read more. Click below to watch the story on NBC Nightly News:

CCBlogC

There’s a new blog on the block, CCBlogC, written by the infinitely knowledgeable K T Horning. It’s starting off with a bang too, with a discussion about diversity in children’s lit – a topic that seems to be receiving much deserved attention these days. Click here to read.

SCANIMATION: NOT JUST FOR BOOKS ANYMORE

Among the odd things that occasionally leads people to this blog is a Google search for “Scanimation”. I wrote about this rudimentary form of animation back when Gallop! came out. I reviewed that book and linked to a site where you could try scanimation yourself. Cut to 2013, where last week I received an email explaining that Scanimation has come to … the world of carpet. Click below to watch.

THE RE-SEUSSIFICATION CONTINUES

If there’s one thing people love, it’s mashing up Seuss. Comic Book Resources challenged readers to mix Seuss with superheroes. Here’s a taste…

Click here to see more.

Further Oddities

A couple weeks ago I did a post on what, to my eyes, were the most unusual children’s books of 2013. Since I’m interested in the topic, it was fun to see Jill Rothstein’s post at the New York Public Library blog, In Praise of Odd Children’s Books. Tune in for the Vladimir Radunsky book alone. Click here to read.

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