David Maybury | Blog

This half-post has been rattling around my head for the last few months – jotted on paper and in half finished emails… bear with me as I figure it out:

There is always talk of who/what the next BIG THING in kids books will be. RL Stine. JK Rowling. Stephanie Meyer. There have been plenty – and that search continues (the buzz of Bologna – the ‘book of the fair’ and BEA included).

The Asian Festival of Children’s Content in Singapore last month saw the same idea being passed around – could the next BIG THING come from Asia? Why not? Half the world lives there, the literacy rate and wealth is growing exponentially and there is a dearth of storytelling that has yet to be (really) adapted to mass market fiction. (Neil Gaiman is already working on a book based around Monkey)

Some of the largest brands in television/gaming/toys – a majority share originated in Asia (Pokémon, Mario Bros, Hello Kitty) With even a small shift in co-operation between publishers, agents, translations/rights sales and marketing (and of course authors/illustrators) Asia could become one of the largest creators of story and mass fiction.

While the hunt for global fiction domination is interesting… Asian publishers (due to funding stipulations) have usually focussed on heritage and retelling classics stories, using traditional storytelling. If Asia is to become a world publishing competitor it will need to focus on fiction about life in modern Asia. And that shift has started as Sex, drugs, rock and roll begin to, slowly, appear in fiction. All the things some Asian governments shy away from… but teenagers don’t.

There is plenty of English titles migrating into Asian markets – but very few translations are making it out into English. A change in this would be another factor that could speed the level of competition. Things aren’t looking great for graphic translations either – manga has been a consistent output in translation and art from Asia, unfortunately the appetite in the US has slowed – 20% drop in manga sales last year alongside DC Comics’ closure of Minx and CMX (manga imprints).

I prefaced the post with the warning – its not a fully formed thought/opinion – just something that is niggling at the back of my head. Any thoughts?

According to the National Literacy Trust (UK) children are more likely to have a mobikle phone than have books at home.

Our research illustrates the clear link with literacy resources at home and a child’s reading ability, as well the vital importance of family encouragement. By ensuring children have access to reading materials in the home and by encouraging children to love reading, families can help them to do well at school and to enjoy opportunities throughout their life. – Jonathan Douglas, National Literacy Trust

Click to read more about the report – and the Tell Me a Story campiagn.

A few bits that I’ve been reading today (and yesterday)

I reread Michael Grant’s GONE after a friend ranted about how great it was recently. It really is that good.

Patrick Ness’ new book Monsters of Men is good. Very good. In fact it is VERY very good. (And it comes complete with a nailbiting ending to boot!)

And I’ve just discovered Gecko Press – and their incredibly brilliant books – (thanks to @Kimharte) – including Ole Könnecke’s Anton can do magic.

Today I’m loving – Andreas Steinhöfel and his brilliant The Pasta Detectives, Sarah Rees Brennan’s Demon’s Covenant and Stephen-Emond’s Happyface.

Some happy reading!

I know there are some (*ahem*) who will appreciate what comes next:

Alienation. Fear of abandonment. The existential agony of being alone in the universe. These are the heavy literary themes that fill the pages of I Am Going, Mo Willems’ latest masterpiece in his epic Elephant & Piggie series of story books.

Read more Willems appreciation over at Entertainment Weekly’s Shelflife.

Plenty to catch up on: starting in the opinion desk at the Irish Times: The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go. — Dr Seuss, from I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

Ryan Tubridy says the same thing – only different – while calling for an end to tampering with classic children’s books (Enid Blyton) to make them politically correct.

And speaking of tampering and things not sounding quite right. Evan Maloney demands protagonists stop being phony – asking do narrators get lost in translation?

Waterstones lost their way after recommending Sawbones for readers 8+ – the bookseller has been getiting a lashing for the misguided age recommendation.

Elsewhere – Eric Carle’s Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See sees the wrong side of a book ban from the Texas state board of education (who removed it from a list of approved books for schools after confusing the author Bill Martin Jnr with a different Bill Martin).

On the topic of learned folk – do you fancy studying comics? Maybe blogs? The University of Cambridge opened their Centre for Children’s Literature last week.

From the world of reviews – Joanna Carey meets Inga Moore – and talks illustration, life and the Wind in the Willows.

Patrick Ness reads some of Paul Murray’s Skippy Dies and Amanda Craig digs around in the Percy Jackson sand pit – but doesn’t sound too convinced:

By narrating his story in the first person, the engaging 12-year-old Percy limits his potential audience to present-day children and teenagers. Rowling was always careful to show us only what Harry saw and felt, but the flatness of her prose allowed adults, and children, to put themselves in his place.

Percy’s increasingly dangerous quests and puzzles, though satisfying to children, lacked the plotting genius that Rowling brought — and the intellectual rigour of Philip Pullman. – Amanda Craig

Publishers Weekly review listing – including a review of Stephen Emond Little’s Happyface.

And in movies – The Irish Independent reviews Where the Wild Things Are | Wendy Ide reviews Astro Boy | Paul McKenzie reviews The Princess and the Frog

UPDATE:

A few I forgot to include – including Eoin Purcell’s Sunday Times column on books, going digital and how many books Eoin actually read in 2009.

The New York Times Children’s Books List – check out Mary Pope Osborne and Sal Murdocca’s Magic Tree House – on the list for 216 weeks!

David Drummond defends Google – We at Google could make that wealth of knowledge available at a click. And authors would earn too

Bob Dylan inspires a children’s book – Man Gave Names to All the Animals – illustrated by Jim Arnosky.

Some sad news to kick off the paper review – French comic master Jacques Martin – and the man behind Alix – has died. Martin worked for years with Tintin creator Hergé before Alix moved out on his own.

Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time is enjoying some great press in the wake of Rebecca Stead’s Newbury Medal win for  When You Reach Me. (A sixth-grade New Yorker is reading L’Engle’s Wrinkle in Time, and begins to receive notes that she believes are from the future and which could help prevent a tragic death.) New York Times and The Guardian.

Bloomsbury are in hot water again over their US covers – the second ‘white washing’ of a cover in 6 months.

P. J. Lynch’s The Snow Queen (Hans Christian Andersen) Kazuno Kohara’s Jack Frost are reviewed by Amanda Craig.

Lynch’s pictures of the Queen beckoning Kay from out of a swarm of snowflakes, and sitting in frozen majesty on her throne on a lake of ice, are haunting but brave.

The Bookseller has the news that Alligator Books is to rejuvenate Hanna-Barbera’s characters with a host of new titles – expect to see The Jetsons, Dastardly and Muttley, Penelope Pitstop, Top Cat and Yogi Bear hitting shelves soon!

Publishers Weekly covers a heap of reviews – including Cat the Cat, Who Is That? from Mo Willems.

Bookbag reviews Emily Gravett’s Blue Chameleon: “Emily Gravett’s illustrations are as wonderful as ever” and Write Away reviews Joyce Dunbar and Jimmy Liao’s The Monster Who Ate Darkness: “Jimmy Liao does a fantastic job”

Kathryn Hughes reads Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why:

It is not a moral polemic but a clever sleight of hand. What it manages to do very effectively is ask its teen readers to think carefully about how being part of a herd can mean trampling weaker, peripheral members.

Those nice folks at School Library Journal have a list of the latest Comic and Manga releases this week.

New Research from the UK indicates that reading age develop a month earlier for every extra £100 a month in family income.

And further afield – The Writers Guild of America is slowly releasing their nominations – this time its for the 2010 WGA Videogame Writing Award.

I managed to nab myself a Nintendo DSi over the holidays – and I’ve been tinkering with the new FLIPS books ever since. Forget Sony eReaders. Forget Amazon’s Kindle. Even the iPhone comes in a close second.

Though the range is limited – Percy Jackson has just joined the ranks alongside Cathy Cassidy, Enid Blyton, Too Ghoul for School and Artemis Fowl – there is a lot to be said for carrying an entire series of books in one game card.

The text on the Nintendo is identical to the original books – but comes with the promise of interactive features, bonus reads, touch links and the ability to share favourite chapters wirelessly. (Everything that a 10 year bibliophile could ever ask for!)

For anyone new coming to a series the character information at-the-touch-of-a-button can be very helpful. But for a re-reader there is little new content – and little to entice you to the new platform. Other than the very handy trick of having all the books in one place that is…

In Artemis, the hidden gnomish codes are appealing – and makes each book a goal driven exercise where the reader has to find all the codes to unlock a hidden feature (perfect for my not-so-secret competitive nature).

Plans to release Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series are a nice touch (ahead of the movie release) and it comes complete with a link to The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology for more detailed monster research.

If you get tired of brain training – give yourself a real challenge and read a book!

The mandatory round-up from last week – and starting at home with some festive lists from some prestigious voices:

Robert Dunbar has his Christmas wishlist in the Irish Times. Celia Keenan has the YA market sewn up with a long list of great books while Sarah Webb hits the headlines elsewhere in the Irish Independent – with books kids will love this Christmas.

Nicholas Tucker in the Independent UK has his own list of Best Books this Christmas. Johnathon Hunt has his YA books of the year on NPR. And Julia Eccleshare has her own list of children’s and illustrated books in the guardian.

Kate Kellaway reviews some of the latest picture book releases – Daddy Lost His Head (Quentin Blake and André Bouchard), Who Wants to Be a Poodle? I Don’t (Lauren Child), Red Ted and the Lost Things (Michael Rosen and Joel Stewart), The Lion, the Unicorn and Me: the Donkey’s Christmas Story (Jeanette Winterson), Jack Frost (Kazuno Kohara) and Fairie-Ality Style: A Sourcebook of Inspirations from Nature (David Ellwand)

This year’s fiction for the 11-18 age group is striking for three things. The first is the degree to which modern stories and contemporary young adult concerns and anxieties are filtered through or reflected in older forms of story-telling such as folk and fairytales, sometimes to terrifying effect.

The second and one to be warmly welcomed is the increasing availability of really good visual material in terms of graphic novels, illustrated books or even picturebooks for this broad age group.

The third, also to be welcomed, is the increasingly frank embodiment of political ideas and concerns in much of this work. It is important that young people be offered something more than the narcissistic concerns with appearance and surface that much of popular culture seems to assume they want. There’s a lot out there besides handsome vampires! – Celia Keenan, Irish Independent.

Geraldine Bedell looks at the latest books lost in the shadow of Meyer – Fallen (Lauren Kate), Hush, Hush (Becca Fitzpatrick), Shiver (Maggie Stiefvater), A Trick of the Dark (BR Collins) and The True Deceiver (Tove Jansson)

Vampires? Werewolves? Pffft! They’re all past it – and far too soppy. Imogen Russell Williams knows that Dragons are where the fun really is.

What was the best theatre of the decade? Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse according to the Times UK. Best films of 2009? Coraline steals the ‘best charmer of the year’.

This adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s children’s book was the theatrical event of the decade, starring a life-size puppet of a horse. The story was sublimely simple: a farm horse, Joey, is drafted to the western front, and Albert, the boy who loved him, goes off to France to rescue him. The effect was beautiful and devastating.

Philip Pullman is going the way of the Beedle Bard – creating a limited edition charity book.

And is Harry Potter competing with the Twilight shirtless bonanza? It seems so – Daniel Radcliffe is taking his shirt off. (/swoon)

Lyn Gardner gives Room on the Broom the thumbs up while Laura Barnett just can’t hate Gossip Girl.

According to Australia’s HeraldSun – and research from Canada -  Thomas the Tank Engine is too conservative and under-representative of women.

Viv Groskop looks for the young readers guide to feminism – as we all know… Girls are boring.

Adidas are tipping their toe in the world of comics… | Popeye and EC Segar get a nod from Google | Pied Piper of Hamelin is getting the Hollywood treatment | A classic comic collection goes under the hammer – and could raise some eyebrows.

I’m having a love affair with library websites and web-services at the minute. (I’m still trawling through sites – so if I’ve missed anything interesting let me know!!)

southdublininnovates.ie is an interesting idea – and their sister site in Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown has some great interviews, including chats with John Boyne, Carlo Gébler, Brian Keenan, Pauline McLynn and plenty more. They’ve got themselves a pretty impressive book review blog to boot.

And there’s more!

I’ve gotten hooked on the LS for YP (aka – Library Services for Young People) How great does Coolock’s Games Night sound?! And the ‘What Kids Want’ from Cork‘?

But if yer looking for something a little less tech… then what about making snowflakes with an artist? Dublin’s Central Library reckons that they can teach anyone how to ‘transform a humble newsprint into a beautiful snowflake’ – and of course the more glitter the better!

Saturday saw the coming and going of the Irish Children’s Literature and Culture Symposium in UCD. And what a day!? There were interesting panels, lectures and speakers up the ying-yang!

If you haven’t already read lady-schrapnell’s comprehensive notes from the day – then get to it! They are faaaar more composed than my ramblings.

I was completely blown away by some of the presentations – particularly Valerie Coughlan and Ciara Ní Bhroin’s sessions on the Liminality of the bog and Modern Retellings of Irish Myths. Both were well researched, informative – and entertaining. (And there are plenty of ‘bog’ jokes still left to be made!)

The best was kept till last though – with a round-up by Mary Shine Thompson and panel discussion featuring Celia Keenan, Patricia Kennon and Éilís Ní Dhuibhne. This was the most passionate – and engaging – part of the symposium as theories, questions, jokes, anecdotes, questions and hypotheses were thrown around the room at lightening speed. (Jacqueline Rose has me quaking and my head-hurting)

The panel touched on reviewing children’s books in Ireland – which was both terrifying and refreshing. There is a lot of work to do in reviews of Irish books!

All that is left to say are the thanks: To the entertaining gang from Froebel who kept me on my toes at tea break! (Apple and cheese snadwiches!!) To the interesting speakers for their presentations. And to Susan Cahill for organising the day – and making the great point (in relation to bringing Oisín McGann, a group of kids and L.T. Meade together): Why not?

Not that I’m looking for validation… but the National Literacy Trust (UK) have released interesting figures from research into the use of new technologies in the classroom.

The research, focusing on how tech can help reduce the gap between young people’s reading and writing skills, has reported that of those taking part 56% said that they use social media and 24% of those had blogs. The report found that those with a blog were…

were more prolific writers than their counterparts, held more positive attitudes towards writing and computer use and viewed writers more favourably.

In short, blogging is good for you! The Bookseller has more -

People tend to view young people’s online activities as a waste of time but the research suggests that we need to validate different ways of writing, just as we needed to validate different forms of reading. Writing skills and experience should not be confined to report or essay writing. – Dr Christina Clark, NLT Head of Research

Trying out a new layout for the Monday paper roundups. Still picking up the best of children’s books news from the papers – with a few categories… this time it’s publishing.

in publishing:

The biggest story in all of the papers was the collapse of Borders in the UK. (Borders in Ireland closed their doors last year) Rachel Cooke looks at the future of bookselling – while booksellers are optimistic about Christmas sales.

Can Amazon, however cheap and efficient, pull off the same trick: help turn bored and unhappy children into literate and fulfilled ones? I don’t think it can, and if that makes me spoilt, I can’t say I give two hoots. I would rather pay a fair price for paperbacks than I would fund any number of loony government “initiatives”.
- Rachel Cooke

Shel Dorf – the man behind comic-con – passes away at 76.

Hachette Ireland announce that they’ve picked up Irish rights to Stephen Gateley’s The Tree of Seasons. Hodder & Stoughton have UK and Commonwealth rights – and will be available in hardback in April 2010.

Random House Children’s Books have revealed plans for a new series, The Wyrmeweald trilogy, from awesome duo Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell.

Fancy owning Alice’s own copy of Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There? A first edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz or Beatrix Potter’s personal copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit? The LA Times can tell ye how.

Fintan O’Toole points out the difference between UK and Irish book buying:

Of the top 20 bestselling books in the UK that week, just one – The Guinness Book of Records – was non-fiction. Meanwhile, of the top 20 bestselling books in Ireland, 10 were non-fiction.

Wayne Gooderham looks at making a good book cover better and ScrollMotion (iPhone fame) are making a move into Children’s books with 30 books ready to launch.

And there was the Costa Award shortlists… Irish Times, Guardian, Times UK (talking up Anna Perera’s Guantanamo Boy) and in the Independent UK.

Trying out a new layout for the Monday paper roundups. Still picking up the best of children’s books news from the papers – with a few categories… Book reviews, news and anything else I can find is up first.

The week… in books:

Katherine Farmar, puritybrown, reviews Posy Simmonds and Paul Buhle’s latest graphic novels in the Irish Times.

In the Guardian, SF Said reviews John Harris Dunning’s graphic novel from Walker Books Salem Brownstone: All Along the Watchtowers (Said calls it Walker’s first – what about Skim?)

This energetic mix of contemporary fun with old-fashioned arcana is mirrored in Nikhil Singh’s artwork, which deploys a variety of styles. At times, it recalls Aubrey Beardsley or Arthur Rackham; at others, Robert Crumb. It sometimes feels uneven: while some pages have a clear, cool power, others seem a little cramped and over-worked. But there’s no denying that this is a beautifully produced book, and at its best – as in the lavish purple and black fabric cover – it’s a tactile as well as a visual joy; an artefact that makes you happy just to hold it in your hands.
- SF Said, Guardian.

Anna Perera, author of the brilliant Guantanamo Boy, has her week in the Times UK and Stephanie Meyer gets profiled. (Speaking of vampires – the Independent UK reviews the rise and rise of the undead)

Amanda Craig roundsup the Times Children’s Fiction Christmas list – including the excellent Dear Hound and Hunger Games and Harriet Alexander gives Twilight an A-Z.

Julia Donaldson talks to Nick Duerden about the Gruffalo:

The fame, if you want to call it that, is nice,” Donaldson admits, “but it has made me feel I need to be on my best behaviour at all times, just in case. It wouldn’t do to have a row in a supermarket, would it? People may recognise me.

Lisa Tuttle lists the top Sci-Fi and Fantasy for the year and I’ve mentioned Carl Brady’s Christmas list last week – but still… what a list!

Terry Pratchett’s Nation makes it to the stage – and Kate Bassett isn’t a fan: the anthropologically bogus society created on stage is sometimes cringe-making. The fusion of half-baked tribal dancing with sentimental European ditties, such as “Happy Birthday”, is especially cheesy.

And last – but certainly not least – Lucy Mangan delivers the final roundup for her, now infamous, Book Corner – including a complete list of the 50 choices.

A note from CBI ahead of the Digital Developments on Saturday.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Vanessa Robertson of Fidra Books will not to able to attend the seminar. CBI regrets any inconvenience this may cause to attendees.

Hopefully all is well in Scotland and the birthday celebrations are on-going!

I’ve been drafted in to talk (I begged!) and now I’m pulling notes together ahead of the seminar… And there are some really interesting things happening in the last month or three.

Tech companies have pushed eReaders and Christmas this year has been swamped with new and affordable devices. It’s inevitable that publishing is going to change as consumer demand for new titles and innovation increases (like Sony’s move to integrate Google’s book platform).

A little less speculative with a quick look at web usage in the last month: iPhone has sliced through the UK – making up a whopping 74% of smartphone web traffic. (Android has picked up a huge 10% in only a few months – well ahead of Blackberry with only 4%)

At best guess those figures are going to jump exponentially – even Tesco will be offering the iPhone next month.

And one last statistic dump (I swear): Unique traffic to Twitter was down 27.8% between September and October (Nielson) – as more people move onto 3rd party applications the likelihood that dedicated eReaders will stand out over multi-tool devices (iPhone/Android/Symbian) is looking doubtful.

The rumoured iTablet has already got companies planning – part phone, laptop, browser, iPod, book and newspaper.

As mentioned at Cybercoms 10th Birthday last month – anyone turning 18 in just over two years has never lived in a world without the web. 2012, not just the apocalypse, will see a new consumer come to the fore and communication (books and publishing included) is going to have to adapt.

Right, back to note gathering…

The World Book Day (March 4, 2010) titles have been announced – with 6 books being put on the shelves in March (including one story in Irish, An Buachaill Bó by Gillian Perdue – paired with Marian Broderick’s The Witch Apprentice)

Following the success of last years two-books-are-better-than-one flip books – the folks behind WBD have gone all out for 2010 with Kitten Chaos (Anna Wilson) and Magic Ballerina: The Magic Dance (Darcey Bussell), The Charlie Small Journals: Valley of Terrors and Dinosaur Cove: Battle of the Giants (Rex Stone).

Philip ‘Beardy’ Ardagh appears with a Grubtown Tales caper The Great Pasta Disaster and is twinned with Pongwiffy and the Important Announcement (Kaye Umansky, illus Nick Price)

But wait – there’s plenty more – with samurai (ala Chris Bradford), super-powers (Sophie McKenzie) and some Chris Higgins and Dan Freedman all thrown in the mix for good measure.

Roll on March 2010!

This is a big ‘un folks. So let’s get the big stories out of the way:

NEW MOON took a whopping $258.8 million in it’s first weekend! (See the Irish Independent,) and of course – the JK Rowling comparisons have begun. Oprah is taking her day-time talk show off the air (No more Oprah book club?)

Right, now that is out of the way…

(more…)

You know you’ve made it when… you get parodied. And, as if he needed it, Jeff Kinney can rest assured now that papercutz have released Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid (Tales from the Crypt).

Yup, everyone’s favourite mischievous mid-grader has been turned into a zombie. Gregg Heffley has gone the way of Left 4 Dead and Jane Austen, to walk the earth as living dead. Boldly hunting brains, stinking the place out and having rows with his best mate, Crowley. (Sounds suspiciously like the real Greg really!)

If you have a few minutes I’d recommend checking out what the folks over at Children’s Books Ireland have been up to with their  Write Stuff project. The residencies are finished, the work has been produced – and all that’s left is for it to find an audience!

So have at it folks – if ye have a spare 5 minutes, or you just fancy reading some good writing, then have a click to see what the gang from Monaghan and Clones got up to with Celine Kiernan.

Or what David Donohue discovered about with the (backward) messers in Sligo. And while you’re there – have a read of the poems from the gang in Longford, who worked great with Mary Melvin Geoghan.

G’wan. Have a click!

Great to see Robert Dunbar back in the Irish Times – this time he’s talking picture books, including some favourites: Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick, Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman, Gordon Snell and Axel Scheffler.

OF THE IRISH picture-book writers and illustrators who have come to the fore in recent years Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick has emerged as one of the most accomplished and most versatile. – Robert Dunbar

Sadly – Louise Cooper passed away aged 57 last week – the Guardian has an obituary from her former editor Emily Thomas.

It always struck me that Louise was gloriously content, that she relished, savoured life. She was a wonderfully warm person, kind and interested.

Patricia Cornwell talks to Hilary Fannin in the wake of publishing her 17th novel while Philip Ardagh is celebrated for his win at the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in the Independent UK. (Who knew he was 17ft tall and looks like ZZ Top?)

The Evening Echo features our own Olive O’Brien – solicitor turned children’s writer and in the Guardian Shirley Dent talks book choices – from fact to fiction.

In the Guardian – Linda Buckly-Archer reviews Mary Hoffman’s Troubador and Comica Comiket hits the shelves – a UK alternative to McSweeney’s?

Hoffman has written an enthralling and well-paced tale whose conclusion is at once unexpected, poignant and satisfying. Troubadour is not a joyous story but it is a compelling one. – Linda Buckly-Archer on Troubador.

Emma Cook talks to Sophie Smallwood – the granddaughter of Enid Blyton on writing in Blyton’s shadow (for the 60th anniversary of Noddy) and Mathew Dennison talks Richmal Crompton, Miss Swinton and William in the Times UK.

The folks at Little, Brown and Egmont have nabbed Daniel Handler (Mr Lemony Snicket and bassist for the dulcet Magnetic Fields) for a new 4 book series in 2012. And Salman Rushdie is writing a sequel to Haroun and the Sea of Stories called Luka and the Fire of Life – expect to see it hit the shelves late next year.

And Alison Flood breaks the news that Andy Warhol’s illustrated interpretation of Little Red Hen goes on sale in December. And in the Independent UK lists it’s first 50 best winter reads – with Joe Craigs on the panel!

Amazon are publishing 3 self-published books early next year – including Zetta Elliott’s A Wish After Midnight and Rob Fahey defends video game violence – (Call of Duty) Modern Warfare 2 ‘aint for kids.

In movies:

Does anyone get Astro Boy? ‘Astro Boy is a Japanese superhero whose backside fires bullets. How cool is that?’ – maybe Sam Leith does.

With the impending release of New Moon next week – Stephanie Meyer picks up a billion odd headinlines – including the news (via Oprah) that she is tired of vampires.

Fantastic Mr Fox hit the shores of the US last weekend, Disney is laughing all the way to bank – with a climb of 18% in profits, despite poor movie revenues. And finally – Christmas blockbusters made easy with Peter Bradshaw.

With Offset acting as a distraction the paper review is a little late today. Plenty to tell though so take a deep breath and scroll on down. Enjoy!

Ed Power in the Irish Independent investigates the allure of the vampire (a nice dig at geeks with too much time on their hands), while Robert Pattinson enters the twilight zone.

Vampires go in waves… And it kind of feels like we’re now finishing a vampire wave, because we’re at the point where they’re everywhere, it’s probably time to go back underground for another 20 or 25 years. – Neil Gaiman, Irish Independent

And where ever Gaiman is, Dave McKean is none too far away – Mr McKean’s new work features in the Independent UK, the Guardian. Had the privelege of getting a sneak peek over the weekend and it looks great!

GP Taylor made the headlines for a different reasoin in the Sunday Tribune and Guardian. Disney’s new Christmas Carol ‘beats the dickens outof the box office’ according to the Independent UK and Margo Lanagan’s Tender Morsels wins joint 1st World Fantasy award for best novel.

As Byatt reviews Maria Tatar’s Enchanted Hunters: The Power of Stories in Childhood and Alison Flood creates a great headline – Favourite children’s books we should never have loved.

Hoshino Yukinobo is showing in London. (!!!!!) While elsewhere Justin Quirk and Mick Hume talk Viz and Ben Child begs for Josh Whedon to take on Terminator. Publishers Weekly chooses the best Children’s Books of 2009 and reviews new books this week. (Alex Milway has his own favourite books this year)

Jeanette Winterson talks depression, writing and new hope in children’s books in the Independent UK and Linda Newbury reviews Michael Morpurgo’s Running Wild in the Guardian. State schools in the UK are bringing Latin back according to the Independent UK. The Times UK reviews Jennifer’s Body and Richard Lea reviews Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children.

With its emphasis on animal instincts and social behaviour, Running Wild, part epic adventure, part plea for threatened habitats, will surely rank alongside his best-loved books. – Linda Newbury on Michael Morpurgo.

And finally – some other links of interest:

A little Alan Bennet. Just because I can | The future of game narrative | Talking Disney’s ambient music | Sesame Street’s legacy | Pantos, nativity and more – what looks good? | Owen Wilson is to star in the adaptation of Great Dane Marmaduke | The Times UK tries their hand at telling the future – the top 50 films of 2010.

***STOP PRESSES*** Some news updates from this mornin’

Storyteller Taffy Thomas has been named the UK’s first laureate for storytelling. Taffy’s tenure will kick off in January 2010 (National Storytelling Week) for 2 years no less!Alison Flood in the Guardian has more.

Sebastian Barry, Deirdre Madden, David Parks and Joseph O’Neill are all named on the 2009 International Impac Dublin Literary Award longlist. One of the judges this year is Anne Fine (of Carnegie, Whitbread, Guardian Children’s Prize and Smartie award fame) Click for more.

CBBC’s Blue Peter Book Awards 2010 have announced their shortlist – Frank Cottrell Boyce, Harriet Goodwin , Ali Sparkes, Daren King, Emily Gravett and Guy Bass are all featured. Fun!

There was a sore head, some groggy phone calls and more than a few silents nods in the wake of the bank holiday. But it didn’t stop the final week of Bookfest. Asterix turning 50, Marvel Comics turning 70 or the loss of DEAF, the first casualty of looming budget cuts.

Deep breath folks – this a biggie:

To start out – John Connolly (fast becoming my hero /gush/) talks scary stories, Stephen King and terrifying the toddlers. Charlie Higson reads a menacing, zombie-filled, extract from The Enemy on the Guardian Book Podcast, Meg Rosoff reads from The Brides Farewell and Malorie Blackman has a short story in the Times UK.

Topping the ‘oddly unexplainable category’ – artist Nikhil Singh, illustrator of Walker Books’ Salem Brownstone: All Along the Watchtowers, has been stranded in South Africa for five months, unable to return to the UK (and missing launch of the book).

In the papers at home Terry Pratchett’s Unseen Academicals gets the once over – a new Discworld novel by Sir Terry, huzzah! (Sir Terry will be in Cavan next weekend for the first Pratchett Symposium – go see!)

Edgar Allen Poe and Lewis Carroll both get a revisit – all in the name of Hallowe’en – and the Irish Independent has a deserving pop at Mary O’Donnell and defends book clubs across the country.

Further afield – Asterix turned 50. And the ancient Gaul got everyone’s attention again. Enid Blyton’s granddaughter brings Noddy back to the shelves with an all-new story.

Marvel Comics turns 70 this year – now doesn’t that make ye feel old? The Times UK features ‘70 things you didn’t know about Marvel‘ (such as Martin Goodman tellin Stan Lee that Spider-man was a rotten idea for a superhero. Or Michael Jackson once trying to buy the company) Owen Vaughan talks to X-Men writing legend Chris Claremont and Spider-Man artist John Romita Jr.

Other reviews in the UK papers – Nicholas Tucker reads Unseen Academicals, Terry Pratchett’s new discworld novel. Patrick Ness reads Dave Eggers’ The Wild Things (an adult adaptation of Sendak’s book). (The Independent UK has some footage on the making of the movie to boot)

Nicolette Jones reads Jeanette Winterson’s The Battle of the Sun and and Amanda Craig has a look at Jacqueline Wilson’s Hetty Feather and Geraldine McCaughrean’s The Death-defying Pepper Roux

Alison Flood checks out Stephen King’s first forray into comic books and the Observer announces this years winner of the Observer/Cape Graphic Short Story competition. Michael Rosen reads New and Collected Poems for Children by Carol Ann Duffy.

Scholastic come under fire over censorship in Lauren Myracle’s new book Luv Ya Bunches – after they reportedly asked her to rewrite the book and remove ‘”offensive” language and a same-sex couple if she wanted it to be included in the company’s school book fairs.’

Amelia Hill celebrates the rise and rise of chick-lit in the US and Michael Morpurgo talks about his hero, Ted Hughes.

Publishers Weekly announces the top titles of 2009 (apologies to any books that have yet to be released!)

Andrew Pulver reviews The Butterfly Tattoo – adaptation of Philip Pullman’s Romeo and Juliet – and is unconvinced.

Caitlin Davies talks to Marc Ellis (of Disney Fame) about a career in animation.

The Twilight film sequel has started to generate some headlines – with Forks, Washington coming under the spotlight. CGI and the impending werewolves debut aren’t saved from going under the knife.

In other movie news – James Carmeron’s Avatar has a new trailer and Adam Sandler is going to play both Jack and Jill in the nursery rhyme adaptation. Diablo Cody (the lady behind Juno) is a busy, her new movie has failed to wow anyone but the building rumours of a Sweet Valley High movie is what has most us talking…

And finally – some more links, just because:

The New Yorker cover looks very goooood | Mark Lawson talks to Stephen King about everything | Eoin Colfer hits the headlines in the Salt Lake Tribune | Some Twitter-folk worth reading | 50 things on the web

The bank holiday weekend is in full swing – complete with mandatory rice krispie cakes, jelly tots and colourful sprinkles. I’m knee deep in the Cathy’s trilogy today – Cathy’s Book, Cathy’s Key and Cathy’s Ring – in the wake of reading The Amanda Project a few weeks ago. (I’m getting very comfortable with the pink covers these days!)

I can’t decide if interactive books with online storylines are exceptional or if they are modern versions of the role play Dungeons and Dragons books from the 80’s… So far it is a little of both.

Back tomorrow with a paper review and newsie bits.

It’s Monday again (already!?) The weekend papers at home were packed with best-sellers and heart throbs… Darren Shan got up close and spooktacular with Brian O’Connell while John Connolly has praise heaped upon him in the Irish Independent. On the topic of Irish papers and heart throbs… Fiona McCann talks longingly to Aidan Turner and ‘his Heathcliff hair and eyes the colour of mahogany.’

My latest book, Hell’s Heroes , has been my strongest in the UK and Ireland for 10 years, so I am still picking up steam here. It’s a word of mouth process,” he says, “Certain things break the mould suddenly, like Harry Potter, but for the rest of us it is a longer process. I mean it took Roald Dahl 10 or 15 years to get established. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was released in the US almost 10 years before it was published in the UK. – Darren Shan, Irish Times

Lucy Mangan reads Judy Blume’s Are you there God and likens it to the Gossip Girl of her generation. Josh Lacey gives Carl Hiaasen’s Scat the once over while Amanda Craig tackles two younger readers -  Lucy Cousins’ Yummy and Judith Kerr’s One Night in the Zoo. Will Self talks Roald Dahl, Wolverine gets dark  and Asterix turns fifty! In the New Yorker, Daniel Zalewski collides the world of picturebooks and parenting and Alison Flood investigates why parents are reading less and less to children.

Like the novel or the sitcom, the picture book records shifts in domestic life: newspaper-burrowing fathers have been replaced by eager, if bumbling, diaper-changers – Daniel Zalewski, New Yorker.

There were some large PR stories this week too – Eoin Colfer’s And Another Thing has been released into the wild (reviews in the Guardian, Times UK) And then there are the impending film adaptations of The Fantastic Mr Fox (Gdn, Times), Cirque Du Freak and Where the Wild Things Are – Gdn,  Times UK, Independent and the guardian again).

Colfer has achieved a perfectly calculated adaptation: a novel which serves as a fitting memorial but also has a life of its own. – Mark Lawson, Guardian.

Now… deep breath for the finish line:

Enid Blython writers from the grave, Toy Story 3 goes on the chopping block, Logicomix gets the third degree, Super Thursday fails to get up upand away, book awards have the curtains pulled open, New York Review of Books gets blogging, Chinese comics see sales surge – just no sex or separatism thanks, life is a fairytale – and who could forget the Cheltenham Festival?!

Here’s a sneaky look inside Istvan Banyai’s Zoom – from all the way back in 1998. A great take on perspective…that gets from a rooster all the way to space without an ounce of text.

Enjoy! (And of course ye can pick the book up on amazon)

Today sees the start of the 2009 MS Readathon – a sponsored month-long read to raise money for MS  Ireland that features thousands of readers from all over the place. From today until 16 November teachers, libraries and parents will be encouraging, sponsoring, suggestingand even buying books for everyone taking part.

And if reading wasn’t a decent enough incentive – check out the thank-you-gifts that MS Ireland have for everyone raising funds for ‘em… (hint: if you raise more than €1000 you get a Wii and a touch screen MP4)

Best of luck to everyone getting involved!

Twitter gets mentioned around these parts quite often. And along the way I’ve mentioned the great twittertales that Melvin Burgess has been writing these days. (You really should have a read of those shorts at melvinburgess.net)

And not ones to be outdone, the BBC and Neil Gaiman have come up with #bbcawdio. Where the clever boffins of BBC Audiobooks America want twitter to write a real, coherrent,  narrative that will be scripted and produced as a free audiobook. The story started with:

Sam was brushing her hair when the girl in the mirror put down the hairbrush, smiled & said, “We don’t love you anymore.

So if you think you know where this could go – check out the twitter stream and join in. I’m looking forward to hearing the end result – this could be great!

The Guardian are running a competition, all based around Terry Pratchett’s tome Nation. They want YOU, yes you sitting at the back scratching your name into the desk. They want you to make a video inspired by the book… and here they are to tell ye about it.

But wait! There’s more. Mark Ravenhill spills more about the bits and pieces of the competition here. So if you know your ‘wherefore art thous’ from your ‘alas poors’ then this might be for you. Or, like me, you’re more of a Goonies, Rambo and Ironman fan this could be your chance to shine… Philip Pullman and Michael Morpurgo both have some sage words for any budding script writers.

Finally – it’s here. October the 13th! I’ve been counting the days until I can let the cat (dog?) out of the bag on the new adventures of Greg Heffley, the Wimpy Kid himself.

The fourth of the Wimpy Kid series, for those who want to know such things, sees Greg get a pet, in fact he gets 2 (the clue is in the title). Dog Days is as funny as its predecessors with Greg spending his holiday living it up. Then down. Before coming out in one piece sort of…

There are embarrassing Mom moments and arguments with Dad. A more sedate Rodrick and Manny – and the unfortunate Rowley and the rest of the Jeffersons who all get get caught in the crossfire of Greg’s scheming.

The emphasis is far more on family this time around, as the Heffley’s try to spend some quality holiday time together. And of course – in the manner of this particular household – things don’t quite go to plan.

If all of that wasn’t enough… I’ve just spotted that Easons are offering 3 for 2 on all of the series! You can pick up the entire series for far less than the cost of family therapy – just live all of the hilarity through Greg!!