There’s so many different topics that I’m eager to tackle — bullying, books for boys, slow reading, and many more — but right now I’m just going to show some brag photos.
Note: Did you like that use of the word “brag?” Stole it from Feed by M.T. Anderson. Good book, vibrant, creative, smart, perhaps a little too message-driven (mindless consumerism = bad), and part of my ongoing education in Speculative Fiction, where everything seems possible — and pitfalls abound.
Anyway, some shots:
Maggie, age 9 . . .
Gavin, age 11 . . .
Nick, age 17 . . .
Me, age 49, after pitching batting practice on a hot day. Sorry, no photos of the Good Wife this time around — I haven’t yet obtained written permission.
* I have to say it: Maggie with her summer freckles is a hoot in her new hat.
* Maria is a teacher I met on a school visit to Ohio. With more than 20 years of teaching as her guide, she recently took the plunge and started a new blog, Teaching in the 21st Century. Be sure to bookmark it. She’s everything a veteran teacher should be — still learning, still open, still eager to meet new challenges.
* Speaking of fathers and their children, congratulations to Kurtis Scaletta, proud papa. This is a writer who should be on everybody’s radar. The author of Mudville and Mamba Point, he’s just beginning to let his freak flag fly. I can’t wait for what’s next.
* For my money, Arcade Fire’s new disk, “The Suburbs,” sounds like the best of 2010. Check out this innovative, interactive new video, where you need to “enter the address of the home where you grew up” for full effect. Mind-blowing.
* A short discussion guide for Bystander is now available as a FREE PDF DOWNLOAD. Scroll down and you’ll find it.
* Can’t explain exactly why, but I got choked up by this “Pink Glove Dance” video — a joyful dance to promote breast cancer awareness. Seriously, just tears rolling down my face. I think maybe it’s accumulation — all those talented, caring people dedicated to saving lives, making a difference, showing such zest for life, for making the broken whole again.
You should know that children’s book impresarios Susan Brandes and Beth Vetare-Civitello have put together another spectacular lineup of authors and illustrators for this year’s (13th annual?) Children’s Book Festival.
With more than 50 authors/illustrators on hand, the list is too excruciatingly long to include everyone. So I’ll only name my favorites:
JAMES PRELLER!
Well, it looks like we’ve run out of time. Sunnyside is a gorgeous location, with historic buildings nestled in beside the mighty Hudson . . .
What’s that? Hold on. I just got a text . . .
Tony Abbott: WTF??!!
Anyway, as I was saying . . .
Eric Velasquez: Punk!
Charise Mericle Harper: When I see you there, I will throw a CUPCAKE in your face!
Jean Craighead George: Die, die, die!
Rebecca Stead: How would you like to have a Newbery Medal shoved up your . . .
Whoa, whoa, people, CALM DOWN! Obviously, some of these “artists” — and I’m using the term loosely — have ego issues. Touchy, touchy. Seriously, I don’t even know these people. And I don’t want to know them! But, okay, here’s a few other names before I get into any more trouble (but believe me, I’m pretty confident I can handle Jean Craighead George in a tussle, if it’s a fair fight and she doesn’t carry a crude knife fashioned out of tree bark and a plastic spork; and as far as Ms. Stead’s “offer,” that may be as close as I’ll ever get):
Nora Raleigh Baskin * Judy Blundell * Katie Davis * Jules Feiffer * Susan Jeffers * Peter Lerangis * Gail Carson Levine * Wendy Mass * Wendell Minor * Jerry Pinkney * Peter Sis * Hudson Talbott * Ed Young * James Howe * Michael Rex * Nick Bruel * Bruce Degan * Diane Goode * and many, many more, including JAMES FREAKING PRELLER!
I’m also glad to see that my friend, Matthew McElligott, will be attending this year. His new book, Even Monsters Need Haircuts, looks pretty great.
Maybe I’ll offer him a ride . . . if he pays for gas.
And tolls.
Show time: 12:00 – 4:30.
Oh, yeah, one more thing. I’ll do something that these other children’s authors and illustrators are afraid to do. That’s right: I am personally guaranteeing a beautiful day. Blue skies, warm sun, good times. Trust me on this, people. It’s my personal promise to you.
This year, I mean it.
So come on out and bring lots of money bring the kids!
I returned from a wonderful camping trip at Forked Lake — four families, three campsites, seventeen folks in all — and found this great review for A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade in The Wall Street Journal.
This book has been on an amazing ride, so well received in many different places. I’m grateful. But I have to say, because the WSJ is just one of those hallowed papers, it’s especially nice to be in there, legitimized. It would have turned my father’s head, the type of random thing he might have clipped out of the paper and mailed to me. Remember when people used to do that?
Remember Dad with the scissors in his hand, slurping coffee at the kitchen counter, pulling open drawers, searching for stamps? Not long ago, but a world and a lifetime away.
Thank you, Meghan Cox Gurdon, for the kind review. The opening quote:
Young children who love pirates—and parents who might relish reading aloud with swashbuckling gusto—are going to find “A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade” just their cup of grog.
“Something told me it was over
When I saw you and her talkin'” — Ellington Jordan & Billy Foster
I was happy to discover this new cover of the classic tune, “I’d Rather Go Blind,” by pop-noir songstress, Gemma Ray. In terms of vocal performance, I don’t think Ray’s plaintive version touches the original by Etta James, but Ray’s take cooly updates the song for contemporary audiences. It also served to remind me of why it’s one of the greatest songs ever written.
For my money, those first two lines are as perfect as you can get. I’ve been working on a (still untitled!) Young Adult novel, and there’s a scene where I can hear this song, and Ray’s specific version, playing in the background (again, we’re in the land of “book-as-movie-in-the-head”).
According to the account in her biography, Rageto Survive: The Etta James Story, Etta James first heard the melody for “I’d Rather Go Blind” when she visited Ellington Jordan in prison. Reportedly she helped finish the song with Jordan, but for tax purposes gave the co-writing credit to Billy Foster, her partner at the time.
I’D RATHER GO BLIND
Something told me it was over
When I saw you and her talkin’
Something deep down in my soul said, ‘Cry, girl’
When I saw you and that girl walkin’ around
Whoo, I would rather, I would rather go blind, boy
Then to see you walk away from me, child, no
Whoo, so you see, I love you so much
That I don’t wanna watch you leave me, baby
Most of all, I just don’t, I just don’t wanna be free, no
Whoo, whoo, I was just, I was just, I was just
Sittin here thinkin’, of your kiss and your warm embrace, yeah
When the reflection in the glass that I held to my lips now, baby
Revealed the tears that was on my face, yeah
Whoo and baby, baby, I’d rather, I’d rather be blind, boy
Then to see you walk away, see you walk away from me, yeah
Whoo, baby, baby, baby, I’d rather be blind…
currently There’s a scene in my new book
Here’s Etta’s original and still definitive version:
As a huge fan of The Faces, and early Rod Stewart (emphasis on “early”), I first came to the tune as a young teenager through his version, which I still love:
Beyonce played Etta James in the film, “Cadillac Records.” I really enjoyed the movie, which recounts the story of Chess Records and, in doing so, the history of Chicago Blues (Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Little Milton, Willie Dixon, etc). The movie plays loose with some facts, but I recommend it to music lovers. Here’s Beyonce’s version of the song:
Lastly, while researching the tune, I came across an old band named Chicken Shack. You might recognize the lead singer for this 60’s British blues band. Her name is Christine Perfect. Later she married a bass guitarist named McVie and joined his band, Fleetwood Mac. Chicken Shack scored a #14 hit with their 1969 performance of the song:
