Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that silhouetted book covers and evolution have been mad played out lately. Behold, this image I constructed with Microsoft Word and a screenshot program (Photoshop is beyond me) that I posted a few months ago to illustrate what many others already know:
Sidenote: I am introducing Half Brother author Kenneth Oppel (along with some other very talented authors like Richard Newsome and Richard Scrimger) at the Vancouver International Writers Festival next month. Lots of swooning to follow.
I snarikly tweeted some time ago that Lo Bosworth of The Hills has a book coming out that features some testicular-looking cherries on the front. But it seems she’s not alone! Alexandra Diaz’s Of All the Stupid Things also has the same testicular cherries, complete with matching heart stem!
Diaz’s cover was first, so Lo is officially getting sloppy seconds. If I find a third cover like this (three cherries – very Vegas slot machine), methinks it will officially be a trend.
Yesterday the Summer Reading Club chidlers got to pick a free book as props for cracking the covers all summer long. While herding the chidlers and handing out stamps and “Congratulations!” and “Awesome!” I noticed something truly horrifying in the selection of books:
OH, THE HUMANITY!
What the crap!?!
It seems that Brett Helquist is re-illustrating the three Scary Story collections compiled by Alvin Schwartz and originally (and brilliantly) illustrated by Stephen Gammell.
HarperCollins, I love you. Brett Helquist, I love you too. But there’s no excuse for this.
Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell are like peanut butter and chocolate. Or Jay-Z and Linkin Park. Or James Marshall and Harry Allard. Together, they are perfection.
I don’t know how on earth I missed this. It seems that More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was re-released at the end of August, right when I had a terrible case of food poisoning. In hindsight, my body was likely reacting subconsciously to this loathsome event. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was re-released at the end of July. I don’t know what I was doing then, but it must have been important. Scary Stories 3 will be re-released in January 2011. I’ll need to find a tree to chain myself to or something.
I’ve book talked the three Scary Story books more times than I can count – both to groups of kids and in the stacks. Gammell’s illustrations always sell it. The thing is, when you tell kids you’ve got something scary for them, they just don’t believe you. I think it’s because kids have come to learn that a trusted adult’s version of scary usually equals lameness.
But Gammell’s style perfectly straddles “safe scary” and “creepy scary.” Actually, cancel that. They’re just a bit too scary. But just the right amount of a bit. You can’t take your eyes off his work. Each drawing is like a perfectly disastrous car crash – you are physically unable to look away. And when you read one of Schwartz’s tales out loud to a group, and then reveal Gammell’s deliciously scary visual interpretation, the result is gold. We’re talking audible gasps, mouths agape, the whole nine.
From Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
I’m not saying that Helquist isn’t talented. He’s mad talented. But in my opinion there was no reason to mess with perfection – even if Stephen Gammell said, “You can’t use my pictures anymore. They are too awesome for you to use.” If that happened (and maybe it did – what do I know?), there should have been a worldwide moment of silence for these books before they went out of print.
I know there are probably people out there who are in support of this and think it’s good to give the ol’ books a facelift. I’m sorry, but I am too blinded by anger to hear you out right now. Maybe after I’ve mellowed out with several glasses of wine and some George and Martha, we can talk.
As most youth librarians will attest, a big part of the job is trying to lure the littlest chidlers off the computer in a seemingly casual, non-chalant way. “Oh, you’re playing some Arthur games! He’s great. You know, we have a whole bunch of books about Arthur. I bet we have almost a hundred! Would you like to see some?” If that fails, there is always the power of the digger stamp.
But sometimes kids, especially the three to sixers, just won’t budge. Not for a book, not for a stamp, not even to go to the bathroom. And when they’ve exhausted Arthur or Franklin or whatever other CD-ROMs we have they’ll give the plaintive mew, “Do you have any more games?” Parents will frequently ask the same question “Can you recommend any good computer games my daughter/son/monkey can play at home?”
There is tons out there of the Club Penguin variety, but finding free, high-quality computer games for the teeniest tots (that aren’t filled with blinking ads) can be challenging. And, yes, while I’m Team Book (as opposed to Team Computer), a request is a request.
That is where Ferry Halim comes in. He is the Patron Saint of Amazing Free Flash Games for kids. Race over to his site right now.
[20 minutes later – because you will have likely spent at least that much time playing around]
As you will know by now, Halim’s site offers over 50 beautifully designed, achingly simple games. I have never seen such an attractive, effective, wordless “Table of Contents:”
Clicking on one of the thumbnails takes you directly to the game (they load really quickly – even on an old clunker) and little ones can start playing immediately. This completely visual way of navigating a site is brilliant – very International Children’s Digital Library-esque.
The games are so, so, so(!) wonderfully and cozily designed. Plus, many of them have lovely classical music in the background. I have many favourites, but have been playing “Hungry Spiders” to try and work on my arachnophobia.
Click the picture to test your spidey sense...
I still can’t play without letting out some little yelps every now and then. Baby steps.
I also love “A Dog For All Seasons,” one of the simplest games on the site. Move the mouse and click on the ball. That’s it, y’all.
Click the picture to woof it up...
The best part about the games is that they really don’t require any reading. I’m sure some would argue this is actually a bad thing, but the absence of print means many things:
little ones have to intuitively figure out how a games works (there are brief instructions at the beginning that can help if needed)
the emphasis is on hand-eye coordination and using the mouse, not “Can you read this next set of instructions?”
the games can be played by children (and adults) of all ages, regardless of their comfort with English
School Library Journalfeatured one of the games “Winter Bells,” in their Extra Helping newsletter, but I think the uses of this site go beyond the seasonal. From little ones looking for entertainment to seniors learning the ropes of the mouse, these games are straight up great.
The mondo-est of thanks to Saara, my co-worker, for showing this to me. Saara went to library school in Montreal, which is the cool capital of Canada, so she knows many cool things.
Who knew that being in love with a Minnesotan would bring such children’s literature bounty!?
I spent last week in Minneapolis with Dan’s (or, in internet speak, @danhooker’s) family. We spent most of the time in the house thanks to a horrifying case of food poisoning. While couple’s food poisoning led to many prostrate hours watching Deadliest Catch on TiVo, it also allowed for much unexpected fun that is actually relevant to this blog.
First things first. Dan’s ma and pa were kind enough to let me ship my eBay win to them to save on shipping. Behold, my much-anticipated Sweet Valley High board game (from a pet-free, smoke-free home, natch):
The best $17.99 USD I've ever spent!
We put it into action the first night (pre-food poisoning).
Dan (as Jessica) won. Hussy.
I was over the moon when I realized that Dan looks exactly like Winston Egbert!
Dan’s dad always finds me awesome stuff at Half Price Books when we visit and this trip was no exception. Look – a first edition Hoot!
Even cooler, check out this self-proclaimed “Jack-in-the-Book,” Betty Plays Lady (Samuel Lowe Company, 1953):
I love pop-up/pop-out/toy books though I don’t know much about them. Betty is especially cool because it is a kind of paper doll, pop-out hybrid that allows you to change Betty’s outfit each time you turn the page. As you see, Betty starts off kind of smushed:
But once you unfold her legs and head, she’s ready to play some serious lady:
This outfit is one that I would actually wear:
A nod to the Dutch:
Betty finds some kinda trampy clothes in Grandma’s attic:
The fashion fun continues on the back cover:
I just love this book and anticipate the day when I will have to keep it on a high shelf to keep my own little ones from dismembering Betty.
While waiting for the food bacteria to leave my body, I also stumbled across a German version of Winnie-the-Pooh on one of the family’s many bookshelves. Dan’s family is not German, making this find all the more delightful and random. Note: if you are lucky enough to find someone in this life who has parents that own a German version of Pooh, don’t let him/her out of your sight. Whatta find.
This may be the most violent novel to ever have a baby blue cover. Love it!
Oh yes, I also read Mockingjay. I don’t have anything particularly enlightening to say and I’m not going to be a spoilin’ Susie (if you’re looking for some stimulating yet spoiler-y discussion, you’ll find it here). I have to say that I was kind of bored for the first 250 pages, but the last 130 pages were freakin’ awesome. I was also happy with the ending. But, as with the other books, I wanted more kissin’ (although I know Collins isn’t really the kissin’ type and that there is not much time for kissin’ whilst fighting for one’s life). Bottom line: I’m glad I hung on to my Chapters gift certificate for months and spent it on Katniss and the gang.
And, finally, although this is not related to children’s literature, I am happy to report that I got to meet one of my childhood idols, Smokey the Bear. We dragged our sick selves to the Minnesota State Fair (and lasted about an hour) but it was worth it to see/meet Smokey. He is a bear of few words (and no shirt).
Shannon Ozirny 