Don't miss Chris Van Allsburg's website

Chris Van Allsburg has his own website. They have taken a page from JKRowling.com. The site looks wonderful. There is a scavenger hunt, wallpaper, screensavers, a timeline of his career, printable bookmarks, coloring pages (from Bad Day at Riverbend) biographical information, writing submissions... lots of stuff to look at. This would be a wonderful extension to an author study.

Yet another good news story about the author by Samantha Critchell, Associated Press Writer

`The Polar Express,' I believe, was a story that came to me fairly quickly. It was more like a recovery of a memory than cooking up a story," he explains.

"It started out in my imagination as a story about a train — the idea of a train standing still in the forest of the winter. I imagined myself as a child approaching the train and that I could ask the train to take me anywhere ... and then I thought to myself, 'It's winter and I'd be able to go anywhere, and at 8 or 9 years old, where would I want to go?' Then I asked, `Where would I want to go on Christmas Eve?' Then it occurred to me, where else would I want to be on Christmas Eve other than the North Pole?"

USA Today story, Monday Nov. 8

Puppy named for dinosaur in children's book

Tip from ACHOCKABLOG:

The president is giving first lady Laura Bush a puppy for her birthday. The Scottish terrier pup is related to Barney, the current first pooch, and will be named Miss Beazley after a dinosaur in the children's book The Enormous Egg.

from: OTHER NEWS (washingtonpost.com)

Black lights and Eric Carle

What a wonderful idea for a library lesson using puppets...

For those who envisage a Carle classic coming to life, Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia -- ranked among North America's most exciting troupes for the young -- brings Carle's enchanting stories to the stage tomorrow at the Center for Performing Arts at Governors State University. The "Very Eric Carle" show opens the Center's 2004-05 "Especially for Kids" series.

Mermaid Theatre draws upon the magic of black light and fluorescent puppet creations to capture the essence of A Little Cloud, The Mixed-Up Chameleon, and The Very Busy Spider.

About his next book:

... Ten Little Rubber Ducks will be released this spring. It is based on the true story of a freighter in the Pacific that lost a box of rubber ducks that drifted to different shores.

"The story is sheer fantasy, my interpretation," Carle said.

Coolest feedback from a reader:

When asked what has made the deepest impression on him as a children's writer, Carle said, "The highest compliment I've ever received is when a child reads my book, studies the art, and says, 'Hey, I can do that too.' Then I know I've made the connection."

Author: Chris Van Allsburg

Articles and interviews with Chris Van Allsburg abound with the release of The Polar Express Movie. This one by Johnette Rodriguez in the Providence Phoenix has some interesting biographical information as well as Van Allsburg's feelings about the upcoming movie. He describes his conversations with Tom Hanks about the story:

He [Hanks} said, furthermore, it’s not the kind of story that should be awash in the kind of irony and pop culture that you see in kid’s films, and I agreed with him. Because the story couldn’t accommodate that; trying to do that with this particular story would have made — not necessarily a bad film — but it wouldn’t have been this book. Because the book’s pretty earnest, and Tom thought that’s the way the film should be too.

About the movie he says:

It really is kind of unusual to see a film, with its intended audience as younger kids, and there are no jokes about flatulence, no kids on skateboards. You look at the film and even though the technology clearly puts it absolutely contemporary, there’s nothing about the quality of the narrative or the story values that tells you whether it was written in 1950 or 1940 or 1980. It’s devoid of time reference. It’s actually one of the nicest parts of the film.

Other Van Allsburg articles:
An AP story
Grand Rapids Press story
Movie Premier story in Detroit News
How they made the movie in the NY Daily News

The Royal Mail has selected illustrator Raymond Briggs to design their Christmas stamps this season. You can see the stamps and read their description here. Briggs has created Father Christmas cartoons for the stamps along with other illustrations for the First Day Cover Envelope, Filler Card, Airletter and Presentation Pack.

The 2004 stamps show our hero braving every conceivable type of winter weather during his arduous Christmas Eve night shift. But as you can see on the 1st Class stamp, all the hard work’s been worthwhile as he salutes dawn breaking on Christmas Day.

Each design is especially made to fit perfectly on a stamp. The piece begins with dozens of pencil sketches, which are then coloured using crayons and watercolour. This attention to detail is obvious in these delightful pieces that literally glow with colour.

The website describes the stamps but I cannot find a "magnify" image which is a shame. I would like to see the details.

Snow
The second class stamp design features Father Christmas struggling up a snow covered rooftop towards a high chimney steep. Surely those footsteps will arouse some suspicion?

Rain
In true British style, the weather has changed suddenly to rainfall as Father Christmas makes his way back to his loyal reindeer. Featured on one of the European airmail stamps it could be perfect for showing friends abroad what they are missing out on!

Wind
Father Christmas battles through wind so intense it knocks his hat off. Determined, he struggles on. A bit of bloomin’ wind won’t stop him getting his job done.

Hail
As hailstones the size of pebbles descend, Father Christmas takes cover under an icicled chimney steep. Could it get any worse?

Fog
Daylight approaches and a heavy fog settles. Poor old Father Christmas is close to falling off the roof as he searches for his reindeer. But it’s clear to see that this Airmail stamp design is flawless.

Sun
Finally morning comes and Father Christmas, in a rare display of joy, throws his arms up to the sunrise. The night is over, all the presents have been delivered, and he can go home, have a bath and put his feet up. A triumphant design for our first class stamp.

Briggs is in the news lately for his EBay auctions for charity of snowmen items that have been sent to him over the years. 

Author: Mary Pope Osborne

Pat Conway interviews Mary Pope Osborne in the Litchfield County Times. The article is full of interesting facts about Osborne's life, travels and writing. She is well known for her "Magic Tree House Series."

Each book in the fiction series usually takes six months to write on her laptop, but also includes many revisions. "Every time I get stuck, I take a break. When I come back," she said, "I've broken through."
Taking a break might mean walking in the woods near her country home in Goshen. Or it just might be relaxing in the sunroom and gazing out on the Marshepaug River that gently flows through the backyard-or playing with Joey, her friendly 5-month-old terrier, or having a cup of tea on the back deck of her home and watching a family of turkeys in the yard.

The article is full of information to share with students and fans of her books. Her next Treehouse books will be #33 and "will be out in the spring [March 8, 2005.] It is entitled Carnival at Candlelight, and it has the two young heroines, Jack and Annie, saving Venice from a flood."


One of my favorite Osborne books is New York's Bravest, her retelling of the American tall tale of Mose the New York City firefighter from the 19th century. The book was her way of dealing with the events of 9-11. She writes that Mose is with every firefighter today that climbs a ladder "toward a blazing sky." I choke up everytime I read it.

City of Ember: the movie

Filmmakers are trolling the children's section of the library for movie ideas. Tom Hanks fresh from his outing with The Polar Express is looking at my favorite summer read, The City of Ember for a future project. SciFi.com reports:

Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman have bought Jeanne DuPrau's young adult SF best-seller The City of Ember to adapt into a movie, Variety reported. The partners are in talks with Edward Scissorhands screenwriter Caroline Thompson to adapt it and Gil Kenan (Monster House) to make his live-action directorial debut. Walden Media is coming aboard as co-producer and financier, the trade paper reported.

The SF fantasy adventure is set in a future when Earth's citizens have moved underground to escape the planet's toxic atmosphere and deals with two teens: one who longs to be a messenger to venture above ground, and another who dreams of working underground to repair a generator whose failure will doom the city's power supply..."

Candy Cookbook

Election stress drives some people to exercise, drink and worry. Some people (me) run to the kitchen. Jill Wendholt Silva of Knight Ridder Newspapers has an article with some suggestions for using your left over Halloween candy. Snickers, Junior Mints, Tootsie Rolls, Milky Ways, Bit-o-Honey, M&M's, and Dots can all be used in inventive ways. Hershey Kisses in Rice Krispy Treats, Bit-O-Honey Pumpkin Cake, Snickers chunks in a salad with apples chunks, Cool Whip, sour cream and peanuts? Woah!

Alison Inches and pastry chef Ric McKown have written The Candy Bar Cookbook which might raise your BGL by just reading the recipes. Sounds like a great addition to a school library cookbook collection.

This is a fun article with recipes included.

Author: James Howe

"25 Years Later, Bunnicula Hops Again" is the title of the interview with James Howe by NPR's Jennifer Ludden.

He describes how his vampire rabbit, Bunnicula came to be. He is proud his series has turned many kids on to reading.

Author: Raymond Briggs

Raymond Briggs, author of The Snowman, is selling his bounty of snowman gifts for charity. David Smith in The Guardian reports that Briggs has been receiving snowmen since his book was published in 1978 and made into an animated film in 1982

'I get stuff sent from all over the world, especially Japan,' he said. 'It's good quality, a lot of it, but there is too much and I just don't have room. I've filled up the attic and getting a big cardboard box up there is now very difficult, in fact it's a nightmare.'

Briggs hope to sell the items, which he will sign, on EBay.

'We're starting with one item to see if it will work: a Snowman toy holding a tiny teddy bear, which I've signed. It's very well made, like Steiff teddy bears, and I can't remember if we've said £50 or £150. There are mad collectors out there who will buy anything with signatures. If it works, we hope to put more on and raise money for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.'