Authors

Children’s and YA Book News

| Tasha

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A fall harvest of recent children’s book news that caught my eye today:

The New York Times takes a look at The Children’s Authors Who Broke the Rules and became the people behind the classics.  The authors include Maurice Sendak, Dr. Seuss, and Shel Silverstein.  So thank goodness they broke the rules!

Maurice Sendak takes on children’s books today in an article in The Guardian:

"There’s a certain passivity, a going back to childhood innocence that I never quite believed in. We remembered childhood as a very passionate, upsetting, silly, comic business." Max, the wolf-suited star of Where the Wild Things Are, "was a little beast, and we’re all little beasts", Sendak said.

NPR celebrates a new book of Shel Silverstain’s poetry that had never been published before.  I can’t wait to get my hands on this one!

USA Today shares some YA book news with a list of well-known authors of adult books who will be releasing teen novels soon.  They include Philippa Gregory, Jodi Picoult, Richard Paul Evans, among others.

And to finish up, you can read Katherine Paterson’s take on paper books and young adult literature.

Photo by samiams46.

New Peter Rabbit Book

| Tasha

Emma Thompson has been asked to pen a new Peter Rabbit story to mark the 110th anniversary of the original story.  The book is due out in 2012. 

So what do you think?  My view is that this is yet another way to mess with classic stories that don’t need new books at all.  But perhaps I’m just being cynical.

Via BBC News

William Sleator Dies

| Tasha

School Library Journal has the news of William Sleator’s death in Thailand at age 66.  He was the prolific author of over 30 books for all ages. 

I have two favorite Sleator books.  As different as can be.

  

Interstellar Pig is one of those books that you can hand to reluctant readers who enjoy science fiction.  It also book talks beautifully thanks to its great premise of a board game that is actually a battle for the survival of the human race. 

Oddballs is a short story collection.  But what stories!  Weird, funny and completely great.

Charlotte’s Web on NPR

| Tasha

Don’t miss the very charming piece on Charlotte’s Web that NPR did a few days ago!  Author Michael Sims has written a book about the creation of this classic: The Story of Charlotte’s Web. 

Here’s my favorite line from Maureen Corrigan’s piece:

If you love Charlotte’s Web — and, please, if you don’t, just get help now! — Sims’ lively and detailed excursion into the mystery of how White’s classic came to be is a perfect read for this season: full of grass and insects, pigs and summer rain.

NPR has an excerpt from Sims’ book on their website too.

Chris Colfer Gets Children’s Book Deal

| Tasha

Chris Colfer, star of Glee, has signed a two-book deal with Little Brown.  The first book, The Land of Stories, will be released in the summer of 2012.  Colfer does have writing experience.  Right now he is writing scripts for a Disney Channel pilot and for a feature film.

It will be interesting to see if he can rise above the usual star author fare with his books.  What do you think?  Are you excited to read his books?

New British Children’s Laureate Announced

| Tasha

 

Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo, has been appointed as the new children’s laureate, following the term of Anthony Browne.  Donaldson is the first Scottish-based laureate.  She has been a children’s book author for over 20 years and is best known for her picture books. 

Librarians will be happy to hear of her plans for her tenure:

"Maybe I’ll be able to talk to the minister of culture and persuade the government to have some kind of overall plan because at the moment I feel all the library cuts and closures are very piecemeal, so I’ll do what I can," she added.

Candace Bushnell Signs for Two More Teen Novels

| Tasha

 

HarperCollins has signed Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and the City, for two more novels for teens.  Bushnell had good success with her first teen novel, The Carrie Diaries, that focused on a teenaged Carrie Bradshaw.  Her sequel to that novel, Summer and the City, will be released on April 26th.

It is not yet known if the next two books Bushnell has signed for will continue Carrie’s story or if they will introduce new characters. 

Via EW’s Shelf Life

Live Webcast with Gary D. Schmidt

| Tasha

Join Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and author Gary D. Schmidt for a live webcast on Monday, May 9, 2011 at 1:00 pm EST.  Schmidt will be discussing his writing and his books, The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now.

You can sign up for the webcast here.

The Hobbit Illustrated by Maurice Sendak

| Tasha

When I was a kid, my mother read us The Hobbit at breakfast to keep my brothers and me from fighting while waiting for the bus.  It wasn’t the only book read, Watership Down was also enjoyed.  But I think it was the book we read most often.

Now the LA Times has the news that there was a potential for Maurice Sendak to have illustrated The Hobbit in the 1960s. 

As I look at the incredible image above, I think about what a missed opportunity this partnership of two greats was.  I only wish I could have seen more of the illustrations, because we all would have immediately switched our mental images of Bilbo and friends to Sendak’s.