2008 was the year of great news, new friends, writing and ideas. 2009 looks set to be the same and more – with adventure thrown into the mix for good measure. To everyone who has logged on, doubled clicked, linked, spammed or just googled a certain monster and found your way here: Happy New Year.
I’m off to enjoy the last few remaining days of the holidays. Hope you are all doing something very similar.
Disappointed to read that Disney have decided against funding the next Narnia film – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It was scheduled to be out in 2010 and partnered with Walden Media – as the previous two movies. The second installment, of seven, was released in May but failed to reach the same box office success as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Hopefully it won’t be the end of the series. More over on the Guardian.co.uk
Oliver Jeffer’s brilliant Lost and Found has been adapted as a 30 minute short for television by Studio aka. So set your vision-boxes to Channel Four at half two this afternoon (or half twelve on Stephens’ Day) and enjoy the eye-candy.
More over on the studio aka site.
The Christmas cheer has been well and truly knocked out of me. I’ve been placed in quarantine by a team of quirky but brilliant Nasa bio-chemistry experts after finding myself down with an undisclosed illness. I’m still under house arrest – but luckily they haven’t removed the interweb connection. So, excuses out of the way, on with the catching up:
After less than a day of be-moaning the lack of regular children’s lit features in Irish media Robert Dunbar appears not once, but twice in the Irish Times.
Robert chooses his top 30 Children’s books of 2008 – one of the most comprehensive lists I’ve read this year.
And if that wasn’t enough – Robert appears again, this time reviewing Tales of Beedle the Bard:
A cynical response might see it as yet another marketing ploy, an act of opportunistic book-making, with an eye firmly on the need to provide a seasonal stocking filler. Such cynicism must, however, be tempered by the fact that all proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the Children’s High Level Group, CHLG. – Robert Dunbar.
Two brilliant exhibitions in Dublin this weekend:
Aebhric from Mondrian’s Room gallery mailed to let me know about the Original Disney Studio Drawings from 1937-67 exhibit. A rare opportunity to see some of the original drawings from some the most celebrated of Disney classics, including ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ (1937), ‘Pinocchio’ (1940), ‘Alice in Wonderland’ (1951) and ‘The Jungle Book’ (1967).
You can see all of the illustrations online but this is one I’d recommend going to see (Mondrian’s Room is on South Anne Street and open from 11am – 6.30pm)
The second exhibition, Inklings, features one of my favourite Irish artists – Alan Clarke. (Who else?!) Alan appears with Gaetan Billault, Vanessa Donoso-Lopez and Anthony Collins in the Back Loft on St. Augustine Street from 12 until 8pm.
Plenty of eye candy to warm ye up before Christmas.
Just spotted in the Irish Times that our own Celine Kiernan has signed a deal with Little Brown for UK and US rights to her Moorehawk trilogy. (The Australian, German, Russian and Spanish rights are already sold.)
The buzz surrounding the rights deals confirmed the excitement we felt at O’Brien from the moment we first read The Poison Throne. We can only compare it to when we first discovered Eoin Colfer [author of the Artemis Fowl series] – Michael O’Brien
This is a huge move for Celine and her Irish publisher, O’Brien Press – and one that I think might become more common. Irish publishers, most notably O’Brien’s children’s list, are making a name as a growing place of Irish writers.
More over at the Irish Times.
(Speaking of the Irish Times – Mary Leland has a feature on classic children’s stories, including Fiona’s favourite Tom’s Midnight Garden.)
The lovely (fabulously talented, etc. etc.) Lauren Child was named the Unesco Artist for Peace last weekend – and is embarking on a huge project as part of her role.
The result is My Life Is a Story, a project to document the lives of some of these children and to share their stories with others via a typically bright and cheerful website.
“What appeals to me on the level as a writer,” says Child of her travels, “is that you see the connections between children – the similarities as well as the differences. You realise that they have so much in common, and we’d really like to connect children with each other.”
Are the nominations for UK Children’s laureate still open?? More about the appointment at Michelle Pauli’s interview with Lauren over on the Guardian.
I was off being festive and finding my Christmas spirit and such over the weekend – so I managed to miss a few bits in the resulting unwellness on Sunday. Thanks to the Very Hungry Caterpillar and Sarah for pointing out two extras:
The Independent on Sunday featured a young reviewers round up:
This is a moving book which has sad bits and funny bits, especially when Johnny’s friend Elizabeth Stanton (whose mother eventually adopts him) calls him “Johnny Rot”. My dad says this is a joke about punk rock. – Leo Taylor (aged 8 ) reviewing Michael Morpurgo’s Kaspar Prince of Cats.
And the other is, of course, Sarah Webb’s Christmas round-up in the Irish Independent last Saturday.
There’s an embarrassment of riches for readers of 9+ who like their fiction fast, furious and above all, fun. Action-fest masters Eoin Colfer, Derek Landy and Michael Scott hit bullseye yet again. Landy’s skeleton detective, Skulduggery Pleasant is back in Playing with Fire (HarperCollins, £6.99) and Colfer’s urbane young hero returns in Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox (Puffin £12.99). The Magician by Michael Scott (Doubleday, £10.99) is another cracking action-adventure tale. – Sarah Webb.
Right, back to the parties and homemade cures for self inflicted festive cheer.
Plenty of links to catch up on after a festive and fun-filled weekend – thanks to the Bookish Brunette and friends.
From the papers last weekend:
Geraldine Brennan rounds up her teenage reads in the Guardian – featuring Malorie Blackman, Anna Godbersen and Jean-Claude Mourlevat.
John Mullan, sticking with the Guardian, reviews JK Rowling’s Tales of Beedle the Bard:
Throats are cut and hearts removed from bodies in Rowling’s tales, but they manage nothing as blithely cruel as the best fairy tales.
Frances Wilson gives Beedle a similar run down in the Sunday Times:
It is hard to imagine how readers who do not know the Harry Potter books would respond to the clubbish feel of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, but Potter fans will not be disappointed. The book is refreshingly original, given how derivative Rowling can be, and surprisingly satisfying
Donald Clarke in the Irish Times has a chat with Robert Pattinson – famous for his role as Cederic Diggory in Harry Potter and known to teenage girls everywhere as Edward Cullen, teenage vampire.
The Sunday Business Post has another round-up of what to read – with the critics choice at the bottom, including Diana Wynne Jones, Astrid Lindgren, LM Montgomery and more Astrid Lindgren.
Nicola Smyth in the Independent on Sunday (UK) has a run down of picture books – wishing you a hairy Christmas.
On the Guardian blogs: Julia Eccleshare lists her choice of gift books this year – including Kate Thompson’s Highway Robbery – and Henry Porter bemoans the changes made to the new Oxford Junior Dictionary.
And to finish up – Nicholas Barber reviews InkHeart in the Independent (UK)
The tangled story boils down to Fraser and co running around a crumbling Italian mountain village, being captured and escaping at regular intervals. But as an energetic family adventure, replete with monsters, magic and dotty grown-ups – chiefly Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent – Inkheart beats both The Golden Compass and Prince Narnia. Children peeved by the postponement of the next Harry Potter film could do a lot worse.
I couldn’t make it to the CBI Christmas Party – but Sarah Webb made did, she gets to everything! Sarah has a quick round up of the night where she names and shames some of the gang that were there.
Sorry I missed it!
If, like most of the world, you’re a fan of Patrick Ness and the The Knife of Never Letting Go then this next piece of news will make your day. (And give you something to look forward to for the next six months)
Mr Ness will be in Dublin come next May. Those clever marketing people (namely Cormac) have managed a short tour to coincide with the release of the second part of Chaos Walking; The Ask And The Answer. Patrick will be talking at the CBI Summer School – but I’m going to missing it (more on why later).
For now – WOO! Patrick Ness is coming to town… (You know the tune)
Good afternoon shoppers.
With all the madness of Christmas shopping and as bookstores try to stimulate sales by offering you their soul if you buy three books or more – it makes sense that publishing houses would try getting in on the act…
Walker Books are offering a not-to-be-sneezed-at 40% off everything (yup, everything) from now until 22 December. That’s a whopping 40% off some of the best books out there. You can’t ask for fairer than that, can you?
Two links of note this morning from the US – first from the School Library Journal – where Gail Giles gives her opinion on why boys read, or don’t read, as the case may be.
Giles’ premise runs that, above a certain age boys become more influenced by male role models. Follow the hypothesis through and Giles suggests that the number of men working in teaching and in libraries needs to increased in order to encourage young male readers. Not a bad idea and it could work… but…
Somewhere in the middle, Giles slips into a strange Utopian fantasy with this ditty:
Whenever a male enters your home, before you offer him a cup of coffee, make him read to your son. If there’s a live-in male at hand, make sure your son sees him reading books on a regular basis. If you can swing it, get some of the neighborhood men to start a book club. And if you really want to please the reading gods, persuade the local guys to launch a father-and-son book club. – Gail Giles, School Library Journal.
Elsewhere, namely USA Today, Sharon Jayson has an interesting feature on how US teenagers use their mobile phone. A report, commissioned by CosmoGirl.com and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, has some interesting statistics – though much of it has already been established as a reality in Ireland and the UK (the heaviest mobile telecoms users in the world).
The statistic that 93% of 18-24 year old US teens use mobile phones there is an easily targeted market for books. With the advent of larger screens that are easier to read and more adaptable to personal preferences – publishers could easily develop campaigns to publish or promote books through the devices. An MMS animation or short YouTube video distributed through a mobile could generate some incredible hype.
Remember Nokia’s The Game campaign about 6 years ago? A brilliant interactive online/mobile phone puzzle game that led users to virtual clues and eventually to a prize. That could be adapted easy enough – for the right book that is.
I’m stealing this post direct from Stony River Farm – Susan writes:
If you need $30 and like to write about aliens, there’s good news: From the Asylum Books has re-opened submission to their Things Aren’t What They Seem anthology.
In other book news – Homepages is out. And there seem to be some sore heads as a result. 50 bloggers over 162 pages for €14 – with all the proceeds going to Focus Ireland. Who could say no?! And if all that wasn’t enough – it features words from the bauld Twenty, Colm O’Brien, Darren Byrne, Pauline McLynn, Annie Rhiannon, Grandad, Yvonne O’Reilly, Darragh Doyle and so many more (including me).
The project was pulled together by Catherine and is something that should fill more than a few stockings this year! In the words of someone else:
Ah go on. Go on, go on. GO ON!
The 12 year old plastic pre-decorated tree has been assembled, dragged into the living room and the lights flicked on. The mulled wine and mince pies are popping up at every book launch/reading and PR event. The carolers are out in force across Dublin and the charity begging letters are coming in thick and fast.
It must be getting near Christmas. In honour of the season – let’s have some virtual snow.
Irish kids are ranked fifth in reading literacy among 29 countries according to The State of the Nation’s Children Report 2008. The report, that investigates 50 different aspects of kids lives, was published today:
In 2006, girls in Ireland performed better in reading literacy than boys, achieving a mean score of 534.0 compared to 500.2. Reading achievement was related to social class in 2003 and in 2006. In 2006, the mean score of children from the highest social class category was much higher (551.2) than the mean score of children in the lowest social class category (490.2).
More on the Irish Times and the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.
Melvin Burgess’ new book Sara’s Face has gotten the interweb treatment. He has adapted it into a series of 2 minute vlogs (video blogs), just as Sara does in the book. I’ve harped on enough about the great ways writers can deliver their work to fans online – and Penguin seem to betrying anything and everything at the minute.
It’s been a fascinating project, though, and I’m very happy with the results. I see fictional vlogs as a fantastic way for people to create new characters, develop acts and tell stories. I’ll be interested to see how well they catch on the future. – Melvin Burgess
Burgess questions some of the marketing decisions that Penguin advised him on – specifically on the length of the clips – but if this campaign is a success I’d hope that both Burgess and Penguin will continue to learn what users enjoyed and develop it further. More over on Spinebreakers.co.uk.
Vlogging has a nice ring to it. I’m off to figure how to turn on my camera…
Not too long ago I let slip that Patrick Ness was running a competition on through the Guardian. He set the task of writing a story that began:
A bell rang and I opened my eyes. I thought, ‘Oh, no, not him, anyone but him’.
and ended with:
Then she let go of my hand, and I fell and kept falling.
The competition was open to anyone under 16 and living in the UK (that exludes me anyway…) but some smart who-be-wots-its did enter and managed to win a prize or two.
16 year old Lauren Stokeld managed to win the overall prize (a whopping £50 book token, a signed copy of Ness’ The Knife of Never Letting Go and a set of 10 children’s fiction books from Walker) The winning story is up over on The Comic page along with the two runner-up stories, by Megan Humphrey and Callum Puttock. Congrats!
At a loss about why so many people love Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series? Sarah Haskins reveals the truth behind why Edward Cullen and Jacob Black have won the hearts of screaming teenage fans everywhere:
Laughing through the rain.
Horrid Henry is just like Marmite apparently?! You either love or hate him… The Times UK investigates why:
To put it simply, Horrid Henry splits parents between those who love the books, and those who hate them. Some think that Henry is a bad influence, and that he causes children to behave like him. Others hate the fact that the stories don’t have a moral: Henry doesn’t always get his comeuppance or realise the consequences of his behaviour. One recent thread on mumsnet included the comment, “We do NOT do Horrid Henry, nor will we,” while another parent bemoaned how her son’s behaviour “plummets” when he reads them.
If Henry, Horrid or otherwise, can get reluctant readers reading (it sounds like a line from the 12 days of Christmas) then he works – I’m sure there are thousands of parents/teachers and librarians that would agree. (And it is always a sign of success if you manage to rile someone enough to lobby against your book. Right?)
What Henry gets up to in the books is most of the appeal to kids – would anyone want to read about Perfect Peter instead? (Maybe, but only a fraction of those who read the current incumbent)
I have received letters that are tear-stained with gratitude because parents are so thrilled that their children are reading. That makes me flushed with pleasure….
…He does nothing that every child hasn’t done,” she claims, adding that when people say their child’s behaviour has been affected by the stories, she takes it with a pinch of salt. “Kids have always fought – it goes back to Cain and Abel. Yes, Henry calls his brother names and fights, but he also reflects something very truthful about children’s lives. That’s the humour of family life, which is full of disasters. – Francesca Simon.
For the record I hate Marmite.
Bah! I’m not sure how I managed to miss Robert Dunbar’s picture book review in yesterdays Irish Times – featuring PJ Lynch, Max Eilenberg, Niamh Sharkey, Ralph Steadman, Paul Rogers,Graham Rawle and Oliver Jeffers. Plenty of stocking suggestions – and a brilliantly thought out review to boot.
Sticking with reviews; Celia Keenan has a massively comprehensive list of what-to-reads for 11-17 year old readers in the Sunday Independent - covering the best of Irish and UK books released this year.
It is fascinating to see the extent to which books on the topic of death and books with overt references to violence and the weapons of violence dominate this year’s early teen and young adult lists. Has death become a fashionable replacement for sex and drugs? At least three titles have the word ‘knife’ or ‘blade’ in them, and several show graphic images of knives. – Celia Keenan, Irish Independent
The reviews are popping up elsewhere on the interwebs too – the Well Read Child Blog looks at Cornelia Funke’s Inkdeath:
The book’s breathtaking climax includes a twist. A wide-open door for more of Funke’s Inkworld. A different world perhaps, with different characters. But hope, however faint, exists for a continuation of her timeless classic. Billed for 9 to 12 year olds (I’d lean to the higher end) Inkdeath is a fantastic read. And I’m not talking fantastic for kids. This book is fantastic—period. Highly recommended. – Cheri Williams, Well Read Child
And stolen borrowed from Declan – a review of Cora Harrison’s Michaelmas Tribute on Monster and Critics blog:
A fascinating mix of good storytelling with informative historical background. Mara is a believable character, she really becomes alive as you read the book. Her own internal conflicts and problems add an extra flavour to the story. This is the second in what is set to be a brilliant new series of history mysteries. If future volumes live up to the reputation set in this one – then we are in for a real feast.
Plenty more to come – but for now, xie xie.
What would Christmas be without Harry Potter? Like the coca-cola Santa tune and the Pennys/Primark radio ad, Harry Potter has become synonymous with Christmas in our house. The movie release has been put on the long finger this year so The Tales of Beedle the Bard is the festive choice.
I haven’t landed my hands on a copy, yet, but reviews started to appear in newspapers on Thursday:
The pared-down language is tinged with antiquity but never patronises. Her gift for finding the perfect name, and the unexpected twist is undimmed. –
Features in the Guardian and Independent UK have a look at the launches up and down the UK while Nicolette Jones over at Book Brunch bemoans the decision by booksellers not to sell the book at cover price:
I wish the book trade would – belatedly, and for once – sell this volume at the cover price of £6.99. It is £3.49 at Tescos, Waterstone’s, on Amazon, and at W H Smith, though from 3-8 December it is only 99p at Smiths IF you spend another £15 (including on stationery or gifts). At Borders it is £5.29 online, though on launch night it was £4.99 and while stocks lasted came with two free books, Jonathan Stroud’s The Amulet of Samarkand and Justin Somper’s Demons of the Ocean – each the first in a series, and thereby properly encouraging future sales. On the whole, though, such an opportunity has been thrown away over the years by the discounting of the Harry Potter books.
And a note for the more charitable of ye – the net proceeds from the sale of the book will go to charity , The Children’s High Level Group (CHLG), which campaigns for the rights of eastern European children.
I hope that The Tales of Beedle the Bard will not only be a welcome Christmas present to Harry Potter fans, but an opportunity to give these abandoned children a voice – JK Rowling.
The Sunday Times ‘Best of 2008′ list is online – a good day in advance. The Great Nursery Rhyme Disaster and Andy Stanton and David Tazzyman’s Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear.
Malorie Blackman’s Double Cross is reviewed by Diane Samuels in the Guardian:
Double Cross certainly stands up on its own. For a newcomer to the series it does take a bit of effort to piece the people and past events together, but it’s all worth it. Blackman “gets” people, especially young adults, in all their tentativeness, determination and energy. She “gets” humanity as a whole, too. Most of all, she writes a stonking good story. And this is what takes the book beyond the moment, giving it a timeless value. The combination packs a punch yet keeps a tender heart.
Happy reading.
Fanfiction has been a stalwart of the interweb almost since its inception so this is no surprise to some – but the Spinebreakers Artemis Fowl fan-fic throws up some very interesting insights. Two diary entries – one from Artemis and the other from Holly – they make for two very different readings and allow a brief look at what readers take from the books. There is certainly plenty of room for publishers to encourage readers to engage with books by posting their own sequels/prequels or alternative endings online – and for an author to know their audience by discussing the changes…
A general overview of the fanfiction genre featured in the Autumn issue of Inis – including the little fact that in the 17th century, fans of Cervantes wrote their own sequels to Don Quixote. More over here.
(Update: Say hi to the Spinebreaker folks – they’re reading too)
Ailin Quinlan in the The Irish Examiner this morning has a two-page feature on books to buy for kids this Christmas – including a competition to win a library of children’s books. (Apologies for link – I couldn’t find the feature on the Examiner site)
Ailin has a few paragraphs with statistics from CBI alongside quotes from the VHC and Amanda Piesse (Children’s Literature lecturer in Trinity College). The recommendations are missing Irish authors which is disappointing -though Oliver Jeffers is in there. Most of the new book titles are international bestsellers but it’s the varied classic book recommendations that are pretty much on the money and make it worth reading.
Now down to business – the chance to win a mini-library of children’s books. To win answer the question below and text library and your answer to 57000:
Complete the title of the following classic children’s book; “The Very Hungry ……..?”
a: Mouse b: Worm c: Caterpillar (Click here for a clue)
Competition terms and conditions are in todays Irish Examiner and is run in association with Easons.
Here’s an early morning quick link from the interweb reading pile. A series of educational books for children published in early 1940’s Pennsylvania:
via Room 26.
6am and all is well, more in an hour or two.
The Well-Read Child Blog has a guest post from Maxwell Eaton – the man behind The Adventures of Max and Pinky series (I haven’t read them yet but W-RC reckons they are the “perfect books to attract reluctant readers”)
Eaton’s guest spot has a series of 10 cartoon guides for parents – 10 tips for the parents of Ricky, The Reluctant Reader. (Reminds me of the If Kids Made the Reading Rules poster)
Around town on Thursday (Dec 4)? Why not boost your self esteem and go see Alleviate Self Doubt, a mini-exhibition of 11 artists on show at VERSUS? in Temple Bar, Dublin, in conjunction with Candy Collective. Escape the Paranoia with your very own set of How to Cope Postcards – from households names as Aidan Kelly, Alan Clarke, Bennie Reilly, Chris Judge, Cliona O’Flaherty, Gaetan Billault, J P Keating, Keith Walsh, Laurie Legrand, Rich Gilligan and Synth Eastwood.
There will be mulled wine and mince pies to entice you as well as the limited edition postcards, on sale for €15. (via Scamp.ie)
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