FAN MAIL WEDNESDAY #328: Good News About “Exit 13”

April 14, 2023 / / No comments

 

I wonder: Is fan mail down in general? Are teachers encouraging students to write to authors — to send letters via snail mail — stamps & envelopes and all that jazz? I mean, clearly, it could be me. Still in a pandemic & post-pandemic lull. I imagine that it’s a combination of those two things. In so many ways, it’s just been a weird time in children’s books. The pandemic is over, but it’s still not over-over, and teachers certainly have their hands full.

The good news is that I’ve got at least four books on the way — some exciting things, too — and there will be a lot more than that before we’re through.

Not dead yet!

The stories we tell ourselves, our inner narratives, are so important (and coincidently play a key role in my current work-in-progress). The story I’ve embraced is that I’m a survivor. Published my first book in 1986 at age 25 and still publishing, still writing. More than half my life in children’s books, close to 2/3 of my entire life, actually, where I’ve been actively involved in books for young people. There are ebbs and flows, ups and downs. Times when I’ve felt embraced and times I’ve felt ignored by an indifferent world. I try to ride them like waves. Float on the surface. Keep swimming. 

Throughout everything, I still fall in love with the thing I’m doing right now, this minute. The latest idea, the current story. Not always literally glad to sit down at the writing desk, but also, in a more figurative way, always glad to sit down with the work before me. To wrestle and wrangle and dread and dream and avoid and write. It’s the best part, the part that endures. Making things. Being creative. Putting it out into the world.

Anyway, I’m grateful for the letters I do get and I thought I’d share this one, since it involves a bit of (good!) news.

This came via email from Gina & Sophia . . . 

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Hi

My daughter just finished Exit 13 tonight and was begging to know if there was another book after this one. Do you ever give fans advanced copies? I see you have one coming in August.

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I replied . . .

 

Gina & Sophia,

I love the enthusiasm and, I’ll admit it, the begging, too.

What writer doesn’t want readers begging for more books? I’m not above it, that’s for sure. 

At this date, there are no advance copies available — I don’t believe it’s even gone to the printer yet. 

However, here’s a glimpse from a page in the upcoming book, illustrated by the great Kevin Keele:

How is that for creepy? That art work — where the wolf seems to lead Ash to a shocking discovery — happens about midway through the book.
Here’s the cover . . . 
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I appreciate your interest and hope you like the next book. I think it’s even more exciting as Ash and Willow delve deeper into the mysteries of Exit 13. 
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I think I’ll probably post a sample chapter on my blog at some point soon. The book will be available on August 1st. Pre-orders are helpful and welcome!
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My best,
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James Preller
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Category: EXIT 13, Fan Mail / Tags: , , , ,

Children’s Literature Connection “Caldecott & Newbery Tea”: April 23rd, Guilderland Library

April 12, 2023 / / No comments

 

LOCAL LIBRARIANS, TEACHERS: The annual Caldecott & Newbery Tea, where local authors & librarians mingle, laugh, and listen to commentary on the award-winning titles (I’ll be speaking, briefly, on Newbery Honor Book Iveliz Explains It All).

Be brave and come help us build a better, stronger, bigger (and younger!) book community as we look back on the most acclaimed children’s books of 2022.

 

Category: Current Events, Happenings / Tags: , ,

Mets Reveal New Sponsorship Patch . . . and It’s Worse Than You Could Have Ever Imagined

April 7, 2023 / / No comments

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Take a gander at this:

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The New York Mets revealed the new sponsorship patch that will be added to their uniforms starting for today’s game against the Florida Marlins.

This is a thing now that MLB endorses; eight teams have done it so far and more will climb on board. Because these guys obviously need the money.

But why so big?

And why so ugly?

Is this possibly the lamest “design” — in quotes! — you’ve ever seen?

I actually wondered for a moment if this is a late April Fool’s joke.

The idea is horrible and crass. Somehow the execution is even worse.

Oh, Rob Manfred and MLB. I love the game. But do you have to make it hard?

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Category: New York Mets / Tags: , , , , ,

EXIT 13: The World Strangely Bends Toward This Book

March 23, 2023 / / No comments

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On a recent school visit, I parked in the lot and approached the main door from the side of the building. The first door I saw was this one — a promising & slightly spooky sign.
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To be clear (and one must be very clear these days), the school administration did not erect the door or the sign for my arrival. They had other exits, other numbers; this was simply the first door I encountered, seconds after stepping out of my car. EXIT 13.
Clearly the world wants you to read this book, to go on this strange little journey with Willow & Ash. Doors figure large in Book 2: The Spaces In Between (Summer, 2023)
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Thanks for checking it out, ages 8-12.
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Category: EXIT 13 / Tags: , , ,

Annals of Bad Ideas: Children’s Book Division!

March 19, 2023 / / No comments

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Two things upfront:

1) Jean Craighead George is an absolute legend in the field of children’s books, considered one of the all-time greats, deservedly so;

2) This book from 2003, however, was a bad idea.

Well, not the book, actually. Jean Craighead George is a brilliant writer and a keen, informed naturalist. A book about the language of cats makes a lot of sense. But somewhere along the line, somebody — an art director? — came up with a nutty idea.

And nutty is good, right? To be playful and silly and fun? Um, right?

Usually that’s okay. There’s always room for bad ideas. Because over time, they get weeded out. People come to their senses. Like this book cover, for example:

 

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I’m sorry, but that’s just wrong. 

Of course, we can understand how misguided ideas occur in the beginning. But you’d think that eventually, sooner or later . . . somebody would . . . 

Oh, nevermind.

Here’s Jean’s book, How To Talk To Your Cat. 

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I imagine the conversation went something like this . . .  

Art Director: “Hey, you know what would be soooooo cool? We could take photos of Jean interacting with cats and . . .”

Editor: “Wait, real cats?”

Art Director: “No! Illustrated cats!”

Editor: “So, like, photos of Jean Craighead George — sometimes on all fours — combined with illustrations of cats? Have I got that right?”

Art Director: “Yes, that’s it exactly!”

Editor: “Genius! But how do we talk Jean into this?”

Art Director: “Leave it to me.”

Editor: “Oh no, you’re going to give her cat nip, aren’t you?”

Art Director: “I’ll slip it in her tea.”

Editor: “Anything else?”

Art Director: “Make sure Jean wears a big bangly necklace.”

 

I don’t know. Maybe it’s me. This is a book with 70 reviews on Amazon, averaging 4 1/2 stars. People love it. After all, it’s Jean Craighead George! She’s awesome. There’s great information in it, an engaging text, well organized, on a topic that any cat lover would find interesting. 

And the special effects are amazing.

 

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Category: Around the Web, Readings / Tags: , , , ,
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