Links
— One of my favorite things this week, the winners have been selected in Bookninja’s book re-branding competition. The first-place entry had me doubled over laughing.
— Also in humor, the New Yorker discusses literary Halloween costumes and invites readers to submit their own.
— On the bizarre side of things, Richard Dawkins makes cringe-inducing statements about children’s literature. There’s an opinion piece on this in the Guardian, as well, with lots heated of commentary.
— Audra of The Vespiary presents an excellent list of web resources for learning about book structure and care.
— Jeremy keeps us up-to-date on the bizarre Durham Folio case.
— William shows off a sweet thift-shop find: a copy of Treasure Island printed for the Taft Hotel in New York City. I had no idea that books like this even existed. Might be fertile ground if you need a dissertation topic!
— Another brilliant, retro book cover shared by Ministry of Type, Our Friend the Atom.
— Vintage Halloween ephemera on flickr, via Morbid Anatomy.
— Slate has a nice slideshow on Art Spiegelman.
— Also at the Guardian, London’s finest bookshops. If only I had time and money!
— This has nothing to do with book history, but it made me laugh, so enjoy.
Filed under Durham Folio, art spiegelman, book care, book preservation, children's literature, ephemera, hotels, humor, links, london, retro stuff, richard dawkins | Comment (0)Hollywood Wants to Teach Your Kid to Read
If you’ve ever played a videogame or read a novelization based on a recent blockbuster you will know exactly how much thought and creativity typically go into movie merchandise. So it’s not much of a shock that children’s books based on action flicks aren’t that great. Nevertheless, today’s Slate slideshow by Erica Perl does a good job presenting the history of beginning readers and explaining exactly what’s wrong with the sloppily-produced primers based on movies (other than the obvious creep factor of pushing adult-themed franchises onto preschoolers.) She also makes some good book recommendations for children learning to read; I remember being quite the fan of Frog and Toad back in the day.
Filed under children's books, children's literature, hollywood, learning to read, movies, reading | Comment (0)Rare Children’s Books at the Library of Congress
I love that the Library of Congress Rare Books and Special Collections Digital Materials website has an “other” collection. I ran across it yesterday while looking for something else, stumbling first on the Children’s Literature. I’ve posted a few of my favorites here, and clicking on an image will take you directly to the book at the LOC website, each digitized in full. Later this weekend I’ll post more images from other parts of the rare books collection.
The Rocket Book / By Peter Newell. New York: Harper & Brothers, c1912.
— What a great book! I’d never heard of it before, but it has whimsical illustrations and a modern, slightly subversive sensibility. The author and illustrator, Peter Newell, wrote a number of children’s books and also published a wonderfully bizarre comic strip called The Naps of Polly Sleepyhead in 1906 and 1907 (which you can view in large size via the preceding link to Barnacle Press.) Newell’s The Slant Book is also available at the LOC website
A Child’s Garden of Verses / By Robert Louis Stevenson; Illustrated by Charles Robinson. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1895.
— A favorite of mine from childhood.
The Grasshopper Stories / by Elizabeth Davis Leavitt; With Illustrations By Maude Dewey Doan. [S.l. : s.n.], c1912 (Jacksonville, Ill.: Henderson & DePew, printers).
— The inside of this one isn’t as interesting as the cover.
The Square Book of Animals / By William Nicholson; Rhymes By Arthur Waugh. New York: R. H. Russell, 1900, c1899.
— What could I possibly add to this? I’m not even going to say anything. Except that it should be submitted to Cute Overload.
London Town / Designed and Illustrated By Thos. Crane & Ellen Houghton. London; New York: Marcus Ward & Co., [1883]
Stories From Hans Andersen / With Illustrations By Edmund Dulac. London: Hodder & Stoughton, [c1911].
The Raven / By Edgar Allan Poe; Illustrated By Gustave Doré; With comment By Edmund C. Stedman. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1884.
— I’m a huge fan of the Dore Raven. Seeing this took me back to all the hours I spent copying the engravings into my sketchbook as a kid.
A Wonder Book For Girls & Boys/ By Nathaniel Hawthorne; with 60 designs By Walter Crane. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1893, c1892.
— Just gorgeous.
Filed under books, children's literature, digital materials, library of congress, rare books | Comments (3)Corded
Slate has an excellent slideshow presentation today, called Corded!, about the depiction of technology in children’s books and why it’s often so out of date. It also features examples of of recent books that use modern technology in unique and engaging ways. I’m going to have to look for a copy of Jellybeans, by Sylvia van Ommen, in which the characters plan an outing via text message and then one (a cat,) rides a bike and wears a messenger bag with a cellphone pocket on his way to the park.
Filed under children's literature, illustration, technology | Comment (0)Judging by the Cover
The literary world is abuzz this morning because British model and tabloid star Jordan has been nominated for a WH Smith Children’s Book Award for the very obviously ghostwritten Katie Price’s Perfect Ponies: The New Best Friend. At the Guardian, Guy Dammann argues that our definition of authorship is too restricted, and that, because multiple individuals contribute to all books, it’s not going out on a limb to award a prize for a ghostwritten piece. Plenty of other authors and commentors are weighing in on the ghostwriting issue. I’m going to go a step further and ask, “Why in the world was this book, ghostwritten or not, ever nominated for an award of any kind?”
This is the kind of book that I never would have touched as a child, much less read. Before I even reached it’s recommended age range (7-9) I would have known, based solely on the cover, that it contained absolutely nothing of substance. For one thing, the book just screams condescension. Ponies, pink stuff, friendship and hearts! That’s what little girls like. Or what marketers decide they like. These were the people who decided that what I thought was fun, like toy dinosaurs, science, and monsters were only for boys, and that baby dolls, princesses and tea sets were things that normal, good little girls liked. And girls certainly shouldn’t be reading anything serious or challenging, like a book that doesn’t revolve around the characters being “BFs 4-ever!!”.
As if the poorly drawn, pink-vomit covers of the story books weren’t bad enough, the Pony Care Book takes it a step further by displaying the hideous living Barbie doll, Katie Price herself. Should we really be legitimizing this woman as a good role model by giving her awards for crappy books she didn’t even write? If you’re wondering about the plots of these award-worthy books you can check out the Perfect Ponies website. (But watch out, no matter how many times you hit the back button you’ll never be allowed to run in the opposite direction.)
Amber and Jess have been best friends for ages, but their friendship is put to the test when Jess’s school friend, Lauren, joins the stables. Lauren is loud and bossy and taking Jess away from Amber. But why can’t Jess see that? There’s a sponsored ride going on and everybody is excited. But when Lauren says she’s coming, too there’s going to be trouble. Will all the girls get to take part? And will Amber and Jess ever make friends again?
This is the kind of plot that’s been rehased a million times on Saturday-morning cartoons. Actually, the whole series appears to be essentially a cartoon show in book form. The WH Smith award isn’t exactly the Booker, but surely they could find a book to include on the longlist that’s more deserving of an award than this tripe. Right?
Filed under awards, children's literature, reading | Comment (0)