Tiny Treasury

You knew it had to happen… The Gossip Girls book series about growing up in a private school in Manhattan is going even more glam as a TV series. The series, penned by author Cecily von Ziegesar, will be debut on the fall schedule for the CW.

The show stars Penn Badgley, Ed Westwick, Taylor Momsen, Leighton Meester, Chace Crawford and Blake Lively (of Traveling Pants fame) as the heroine, Serena. For a sneak peek, click here.

Gossip Girls, CW, Cecily von Ziegesar, Penn Badgley, Ed Westwick, Taylor Momsen, Leighton Meester, Chace Crawford, Blake Lively

Just in time for Memorial Day, the Smithsonian Institute has published Sarah Thompson’s My Flag Book.

First, the positives:

- I love board books. My kids love board books. They are indestructible. So, thumbs up on the choice to go board book.

- The pricing. After shelling out far too much lately on new books, it was a pleasant surprise to see that the book sells for $5.99. Totally reasonable.

- It’s interactive. Each page asks a learning question - exactly the kind of thing that you’d expect from the Smithsonian Institute.

Now, the not so positives:

- The promotional materials claim that the book is for “up to age 5.” I don’t know many five year olds who would be captivated by the limited text. I think the book is really geared more for ages 1-3. My one year old liked flipping the pages and my three year old liked answering the questions. My five year old had zero interest.

- The book is a little on the, um, American pride side. Now, I mean no disrespect. I’m as patriotic as the next girl. But the “Do we love our flag?” bit at the end is really difficult to describe to a small child. It’s hard to explain why we *love* the flag to a toddler - and that being the “why?” stage, you can expect it to come up. I think, in the series of questions, it’s the most out of place.

I appreciate the difficulty in translating some material for the toddler crowd. And the book does a fairly decent job of getting there.

Memorial Day, patriotism, flag

It’s the Friday Fifteen!

Photo credit: (c) Danielle Levitt, New York magazine

Today’s guest is our first ever cover photographer. Meet Ali Smith, who has photographed covers for a number of teen books - as well as collections for her own books.

On a personal note, the first book cover that I saw that Ali had done was Sara Shepard’s Pretty Little Liars:

Now, onto the Fifteen!

1. Where are you now?
Same place I always seem to be…in front of my computer

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
I loved the Little House series and the Laura Ingalls Wilder biography where they showed photos of her and her family. It was mind blowing for me at the time that the person who’d written that series was an actual person who you could see in photographs. She seemed like an epic hero, not a young girl. Good lesson that the two things could be one in the same.

3. What are you reading now?
I’m reading lots of books related to motherhood. a) because I’m working on my next book of photography that centers around the subject and b) because I labor under the delusion that if I read enough, I will somehow be prepared for my own role as mother when the time comes.

4. Do you have kids?
For six years, I was a devoted stepmother. But the relationship with her father has ended and, sadly, it seems my relationship with her may have ended as a result. Atl east for now. I am planning on having a child soon.

5. What projects are you working on now?
Besides shooting book covers pretty consistently, which I love doing, I’m working on the aforementioned book of portraiture. My first book, “Laws of the Bandit Queens”, was portraits of and life laws from 35 amazing women like Alice Walker, Janeane Garofalo, Sandra Bernhard, Geraldine Ferraro… This one centers on what motherhood and family really are and how a woman can parent well and still maintain a sense of self. I guess I’ve always looked for role models and guidance through my photography.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
That I get to work in my pj’s. (I work from a home office) except for at the shoots, naturally. Although I have had to do an underwater shoot (for “MIX”) in a bathing suit. It’s fun that each day of work is going to be a bit different.

7. Coffee or tea?
Coffee! Although I’m really trying to switch to tea. If for no other reason, because my coffee habit is costing me a small fortune.

8. Name five artists on your ipod (or mp3 player).

Myself (My latest album came out about six months ago. It’s called “You Showed Me” and is under the artists’ names “Steve Almaas and Ali Smith”. Steve is my ex. The album came out right after the breakup. Fun fun fun.)

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I danced at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, with Rudolph Nuryev.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
NYU. Started out for Visual Arts in general but really found myself in photography. Big bonus was I went for free because my mom was a nurse at NYU!!

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
Photography is my dream job. If I couldn’t shoot kids’ books, as long as I was shooting, I’d still be in my dream job.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
Hmmm… That really depends. Am I trying to turn my brain off, or really enjoy what I’m watching. I don’t watch much at all anymore because it’s usually awful.
Channels 1 through 36 may as well not exist. To turn my brain off, I love to veg to Bravo’s intensely ridiculous lineup of Project Runway, Shear Genius, Top Chef, etc. But the shows i really love are “Campus Ladies” on Oxygen and “The Sarah Silverman Show”. I wish wish wish they’d put “Little Britain” on the air here!

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
Years ago, an amazing woman named Alison Donalty, Art Director extraordinaire at HarperCollins Children’s Books, asked me to fill in for her when she went on maternity leave. I didn’t have any experience in publishing, just as a music and editorial photographer who sometimes did random advertising work. Her faith in me, that I could handle it, was so touching and opened the door to this whole world of photography for publishing which I just love! Sometimes you really need just one person to have faith in you and give you a break. Then when my agent, Shannon Associates, showed faith in me, it really all came together!

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
I’ve honestly met all the ones I’ve wanted to. Which is good because it calms you down about that stuff and makes everything seem more attainable to you when you see everyone’s just a person doing their best.

15. Who is the best book character ever?
Wow! That’s just impossible for me to answer. I tend to associate myself with some of the darker characters… Not anyone in fun teen novels. I got a lot from characters like the main character in Camus’ “The Stranger”, for instance, but he’s not the best character ever. I swing towards brooders. Sorry. That was a lame way to end the interview. i guess i could just say “the pig from Charlotte’s Web” and be done with it.

I would like to add something else since you’ve been talking about “MIX”. This mix program within the Aladdin imprint at Simon & Schuster has been a really great experience. There’s an amazing creative team headed up by art director Karin Paprocki and involving designer Jessica Sonkin, who I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with on a few covers. It’s exciting to be involved in the development of something like this. It’s pure fun!

I’ve also had the chance to shoot several covers for the Simon Pulse (teen pb books) imprint headed by Russell Gordon.

-

Here are some more cool covers from Ali’s portfolio (click on the thumbnail to expand):

You can check out some more of Ali’s work on her web site. Ali’s agents can be found at Shannon Associates - you can visit the kids’ book section here.

Thanks, Ali, for sharing!

Last night, as I was watching American Idol, I thought to myself, “Jordin Sparks, you’re no Kelly Clarkson.” And then it hit me. I don’t like change. I like for things to stay the same. And that’s not possible.

It feels like life should be as it is in books. Books are, after all, static. Once they’re printed, they are what they are. There’s no flux. No matter how many times I read Gone With the Wind, Bonnie is always going to die, Daisy will always be reckless in The Great Gatsby and Isabel’s marriage will always end badly in The Portrait of a Lady.

I guess this is why I have been so viscerally opposed to the upcoming Nancy Drew movie. It was too different. There was too much change. Nancy Drew - updated - in Hollywood? Say it isn’t so.

But as Jordin belted out her final song last night, I realized that she, like those that followed her, will do just fine. Carrie Underwood did just walk away with a number of CMAs in her pocket. And I have a couple of her songs on my iPod. Sometimes, change isn’t bad. Sometimes, it’s just change.

So, I’ve decided to embrace the new Nancy Drew books and movie. After all, it has the potential to convert thousands of little girls into magnifying glass carrying, book reading, clue sniffing detectives - who absolutely love to read.

And as a result, somewhere, there will be some little girl curled up in her bed pretending to be sleeping reading Nancy Drew by flashlight while her mom admonishes her to go to sleep. Only she won’t because she’s dying to know what happens next. Because some things never change.

Nancy Drew

Okay, you already know that I’m not all that excited about the new Nancy Drew movie (She goes to Hollywood? Horrors!) but interest in the film is really heating up. You can check out the Simon & Schuster site for a quiz, downloadable activities and posters for your Nancy Drew event.

*Props to the wildly talented Deirdre Flint for the lyrics in her song, “Ballad of River Heights”, available on CD (title is “Then Again”). You can have a listen here - it’s at the bottom.

Despite the fact that my own dog went on a tear through the garbage this morning that I must now clean up, today’s War of Words Wednesday is all about Heartwarming Animal Stories (inspired by my review of Bad Dog, Marley!):

Which is the bigger tug at your heartstrings: Sounder or Old Yeller?

Old Yeller, Sounder

In the interest of fair disclosure, I expected to like this book. For the last thirteen years, I have made my home in the great city of Philadelphia. And for a number of those years, I followed a columnist in the Philadelphia Inquirer - that columnist, John Grogan, went on to write a book called Marley and Me, which my husband read and loved. So, when I found out that John Grogan had written a kids’ version of his book about his dog, Marley, I figured that it had to be good. I was right.

The story of Bad Dog, Marley! is simple: family gets dog, dog drives family crazy, family decides to part with dog, family decides that dog is really part of the family. In fact, it’s pretty much a universal story, isn’t it? Not only is Clifford the Big Red Dog playing in the background as I write this (”Clifford always makes a mess”), but my own goofy black labrador was just chased out of the family room after knocking down a Legos statue that had taken quite a bit of time to put together…

You see, dogs, especially big family dogs are absolutely trouble. They will, like Marley, make messes and bark too loudly and chew on things. But, like Marley, my dog is inextricably a part of the family. And while I yell at him from time to time for tromping through my flower beds and drinking out of the toilet, at the end of the day, he is like one of my children. He would do anything for the children.

And so, as I read Bad Dog, Marley! to my children, they pointed at the illustrations (beautifully drawn by Richard Cowdrey). Charlie giggled and Amy solemnly explained what Marley was doing wrong (a lot!). But Amy also found a connection between Marley and Lyle (our dog) which was fun to talk about. She knows that Lyle, not unlike a certain little girl, gets into a lot of trouble even when he doesn’t mean to, but we love him anyway.

Mr. Grogan successfully transitioned an adult book (Marley and Me) into a children’s book (Bad Dog, Marley!) that’s bound to be a classic. The book reminds all of us that nobody is perfect (!) and that love is universal - even for our four-legged family members. I highly recommend picking up a copy for your family today.

John Grogan, Marley and Me, Bad Dog Marley, Richard Cowdry, dogs, children

The first 50 educators to email kids.marketing@simonandschuster.com will receive a FREE Summer Reading Prize Pack, complete with galleys and promo! Please remember to include your name and mailing address in the body of the e-mail and “SUMMER!” in the subject line.

Note that S&S cannot ship to P.O. or APO Boxes.

Lloyd Alexander, a prolific writer of children’s books including the five-book series “The Chronicles of Prydain,” died this week of cancer at the age of 83. Sadly, his wife died just two weeks before.

Alexander knew that he wanted to be a writer from age 15. His parents could not afford to send him to college so he took a number of jobs before joining the US Army. He ended up in Paris while in the Army. There, he met the woman he would eventually marry. Alexander and his wife returned to the Philadelphia suburbs, where they would live the rest of their days.

After a number of years of rejection, Alexander was finally published as a children’s author. The first book of his Prydain series was published in 1964. The last book of the series, The High King, won the Newbery Medal in 1969. Another book in the series, The Black Cauldron, was named a runner-up for the medal in 1966, a status now known as a Newbery Honor Book.

Lloyd Alexander, Prydain, The Black Cauldron, The High King

It’s the Friday Fifteen!

Today’s guest is author Tricia Rayburn. Let’s get to the Fifteen…

1. Where are you now?
Near the beach on the South Fork of Long Island.

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
Anything with two covers and lots of pages in-between! I especially loved The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and was seriously addicted to the Baby-Sitters Club, Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High series.

3. What are you reading now?
King Dork by Frank Portman

4. Do you have kids?
Not yet! But I do have one very mischievous shih tzu.

5. What projects are you working on now?
The sequel to The Melting of Maggie Bean, which should be out next spring.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
The big, beautiful desk I bought when my book deal was official!

7. Coffee or tea?
Coffee. Lots of it, preferably iced.

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
Counting Crows, U2, Dixie Chicks, Pete Yorn, Gwen Stefani

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I was the worst skipper in my childhood Polish dancing group.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
Middlebury College in Vermont, majored in American Literature.

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
Professional singer, ballroom dancer or surfer. Not that I’m qualified — at all — for any of those positions.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
It WAS Gilmore Girls, but now it’s Planet Earth, Grey’s Anatomy and LOST.

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
The Melting of Maggie Bean was my MFA thesis, and I sent her into the publishing world as an afterthought, and with no expectations. She’s an actual book now thanks to my amazing agent, Rebecca Sherman of Writers House, and my incredible editor, Jen Klonsky at Simon & Schuster.

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
Is it wrong to say Oprah? Cause I really would, even without the whole book club thing. If it IS wrong to say Oprah, then Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon or Adam Brody.

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
I’ve started to answer this question ten times, only to delete each attempt. Any character that a reader relates to, cares for and is inspired by, is a character worth knowing.

–

Thanks, Tricia! Tricia’s new book, The Melting of Maggie Bean,is in stores now. And for more info, you can check out her MySpace profile.

Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing has developed a new line for tweens with the first branded tween imprint: Aladdin MIX.

Aladdin MIX, with Ellen Krieger at the helm, debuts this week with six titles: The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney by Lauren Barnholdt, The Melting of Maggie Bean by Tricia Rayburn, In the Cards: Love by Mariah Frederick, Totally Joe by James Howe, There’s a Girl in My Hammerlock by Jerry Spinelli, and Just Another Day in My Insanely Real Life by Barbara Dee.

The stories are geared for the so-called tweens market, those between childhood and teen-age years. Traditionally, the ages for tweens are nine to thirteen. There are about 30 million kids who fall into this category.

Of course, we’re all familiar with tweens as made famous by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen who were some of the first (or their “people”, depending on what you believe) to recognize the potential for the market.

Meg Cabot’s new book, Pants on Fire, is helping HarperTeen blaze its way to summer. To celebrate, you can enter on HarperTeen to win a signed copy of Meg Cabot’s Pants on Fire and a $100 gift certificate to Sephora for you and a friend.

Meg Cabot, Pants on Fire, HarperTeen

Okay, my disclaimer: you know that I haven’t read any Harry Potter. But I have followed it in the media. And I know that in the Deathly Hallows version that someone dies. So, today’s War of Words Wednesday question is:

Who do you think dies in Deathly Hallows: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger or somebody else?

And yes, this is all just speculation for fun. It’s what we do on War of Words Wednesday. Nobody knows anything, right? No spoilers. Play nice.

Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Deathly Hallows

A reader asks:

Last month, you were talking about Cinderella, which I always assumed was a book written for Disney. But now I hear it’s based on a German fairytale. What’s the real story?

My answer:

Cinderella is one of those stories that has been around for so long, and in so many versions, that it’s hard to tell for sure. There are stories similar to Cinderella in Chinese manuscripts from as early as 850AD, as well as Greco-Roman versions.

However, French Author Charles Perrault (1628-1703) is widely credited as the author of the story as we know it today, having penned a version called Cendrillon in 1697. He is also reported to have written Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, and Bluebeard.

The German version that you’re referring to is Aschenputtel (literally “Cinder Slut”) and was memorialized by the famous Brothers Grimm in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm were widely known for their collections of what we now call “fairy tales.”

As for the Disney version? It didn’t come along until 1950.

Got a question for me for Tell Me True? Post in the comments below or email me and I’ll do my very best to find your answer.

Cinderella, Disney, Charles Perrault, Brothers Grimm

As a parent and a blogger for kids’ books, it’s easy for me to fall into the trap of thinking that every child has access to reading. That’s not true and I know it’s not true but it feels like it should be so, like many Americans, I act like it is. And especially in the United States where we have a significant amount of resources available, it’s really not acceptable.

I received an email today from First Book, a charity that puts books into low income communities, who reminded me that not all children have the luxury of books in their homes. How disparate are lower income communities from my own middle class community? Here are some sobering statistics from firstbook.org:

So, how can you help? If you want to join in the effort, you can make a donation by visiting this page - as little as $5 can provide two books for preschoolers. You can also check out the First Book blog here for news and announcements.

literacy, First Book, firstbook.org, reading, children