A fact I learned today

Folks with Type 1 diabetes spend 1.5 hours each day in the management of their disease in addition to everything else they have to do. Interesting that studies have been done to quantify this, I know that somedays it takes even more time.

Author: Shel Silverstein

NPR had a nice interview with Mitch Myers, Shel Silverstein's nephew, about the new book Runny Babbit and The Best of Shel Silverstein, a CD of poems. Myers helped with the book and did the liner notes for the CD.

It is fun to hear selections from Silverstein's songs “Cover of the Rolling Stone,” “A Boy Named Sue,” and “The Unicorn Song” woven into the interview. As usual NPR has a nice selection of links about Shel Silverstein too.

Melissa Block asked Myers about Silverstein's publishing preferences for his books:

Block: You know I've read that Shel Silverstein, your uncle, with his books was so particular that he would have strong feelings about the type face and the kind of paper it would be on -- never, I believe let any of his books get printed in soft cover...

Myers: ...All the ones with Harper Collins and all the children's books per se are in hardcover and will remain so and that was his wish.

...He likes things to be classy and forever and I think the hard cover really kind of symbolized that whole situation.

Check out the condition of Shel's books in any school library. They are the ones with the worn bindings and well thumbed pages, that is, if you can find them on the shelf at all. They are usually always checked out.

Going on a wander

We are going to meander through the Texas Hill Country for a few days. Should be fun to see some elevation!

Boarding Schools

One of the pleasures of traveling overseas was finding a copy of The International Herald Tribune every day.

Megan Riley McGilchrist has written an article about the tradition of British boarding schools in light of the Harry Potter phenom.

Britain is one of the few nations to send children away from home at an early age to be educated. In the days of the Empire, boarding schools were a kind of necessity, with children sent home away from unhealthy climates and in the belief that a true British education was better than anything available abroad.

Boarding school stories: Tom Brown's School Days, The Little Princess, Bloomability...
I know there are lots more.

Neil Gaiman is smart

Once again I find myself nodding my head in agreement as I read Gaiman's journal. He is commenting on Terry Pratchett's response to JKRowling for her comments about fantasy in the Time magazine piece.

Personally, the whole Time article had a disjointed feel to me. It makes me think (hope?) that large bits of the piece were left "on the cutting room floor" so to speak.

Gaiman says:

The version of the history of "fantasy" that the article's writer paints is utter bollocks, and I assume Terry decided that needed to be said. I didn't see it as a swipe at Ms Rowling, though, but as a swipe against lazy journalists -- but "Pratchett Anger At Shoddy Journalism" is a much less exciting headline than the one the BBC came up with.

As the parent of a new member of the Fourth Estate I know that the reporter/journalist is often very surprised when their story appears in print. They are told how long the piece should be only to have their story cut to fit the space. Their editor can also decide what perspective needs to be represented so sometimes the reporter is under orders to craft their words with a certain... um..."point of view." As Gaiman points out, the person writing the headline can also pitch the story in another direction.

The reporter is seemingly very ignorant but I am betting the editors at Time made a hash of it too.

2005 National Book Festival

The Library of Congress has announced the line up for the 2005 National Book Festival.

Participants include novelists John Irving, Tom Wolfe, E.L. Doctorow and Sue Monk Kidd; mystery and thriller writers Tony Hillerman, Sandra Brown and Jeffery Deaver; nonfiction writers David McCullough, Robert L. Carter and Thomas Friedman; journalists Andrea Mitchell and Robert MacNeil; children's author Pat Mora, astronaut and children's author Buzz Aldrin; teen authors Meg Cabot and R.L. Stine; science fiction writer Neil Gaiman; and poet Dana Gioia.

I will have to get online to enjoy this:

The Library will present same-day webcasts of selected authors' presentations from the "Teens & Children," "Mysteries & Thrillers" and "Fiction & Fantasy" pavilions, available on the Library's Web site at http://www.loc.gov.

Author: Ann Brashares

Ann Brashares, author of (correction + headslap to self)The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books has a very intelligent and reasoned take on The Rainbow Party controversy.

She contrasts the history of YA fiction with the publishing industry's current practices.

Young adult books are developed by children's book departments, offered in children's catalogs, bought by children's buyers, sold in the children's area and tallied on children's best-seller lists. It's a strange custom when you think about it. (Imagine, for a moment, that music for teenagers were released by children's divisions - the same producers, marketers and publicists who brought out "Baby Beluga" and "Rubber Duckie" also brought out "Pimpin' All Over the World." It's a ludicrous concept, and not only because the teenage music industry virtually is the music industry.)

Based on the reviews I have read of The Rainbow Party there is not much to recommend the book, beyond the shock value of the book's premise. The reviewers were not kind. To be fair though, I have NOT read it.

In the hands of a gifted author controversial books become great conversation starters. Chris Crutcher shares a story that involves his book Chinese Handcuffs. His novel gave a young girl who was being abused, a way to ask for help. Whale Talk is one of the best books I have ever read.

Brashares shares my personal take reading.

Reading is possibly the safest and best way for young adults to explore challenging, complicated subjects, including sex. Readers take in books at their own pace. They can read one word a minute or one thousand and stuff it under the pillow if it gets too much. They supply the pictures in their own minds; no one else's are forced upon them. Probably most of us agree we'd like to expand their reading, not restrict it.

Reading vacation

(Steven Guarnaccia)

Steven Guarnaccia must have spotted my family on vacation. We have been know to drive miles out of our way to visit bookstores. (Lemuria in Jackson, MS -- Tattered Cover in Denver, CO) We have been looking at new cars recently. They come with every entertainment bell and whistle known to man. My daughters said, "we don't need a DVD player, we read!" Luckily, no one in my family gets sick reading in the car.

The cartoon is from a Washington Post review of audiobooks.

Thanks to Chicken Spaghetti for the tip.

Google images

This is a very hard game. You look at a grid of images and figure out what word was googled to generate them. There is a time constraint so you have to type quickly and accurately.

This would be an interesting exercise when teaching searching skills to students.

Good luck.

Author: Mo Willems

Here is another great article about genius Mo Willems. He talks about his daughter, his work and his hopes for his writing.

He's got a lot more control over his books, the newest being "Leonardo the Terrible Monster," which will be published in September. He's author, illustrator and everything else. Willems says he'd like to pattern his career after "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz, who worked in all media, but on his own terms.

To enjoy similar success -- and power -- to Schulz, Willems, 37, knows he has to earn it. He's trying to endear himself to parents and young children alike by putting "as little as possible" into his books.

"I want readers to bring their own lives to a book. A book is a dialogue. Readers have to invest in a story, a kid has to put effort into a book. Then it's more satisfying to them."