One of my favorite fictional mothers is Ramona's mother, Mrs. Quimby. She exudes a realistic mix of patience and exasperation. The parents in the Frances books are maybe a little too wise but parents can still appreciate them. Topaz, the st…
Thank you Peter, of all the tributes, yours is the best. What a gem that book is. And what a tribute. Thanks. Great post. I will link to it in my next Eulogizer blog update about Sendak. What he must have been thinking as he did this - in t…
I can understand taking out William McKinley, but removing "Elizabeth" after "me," alters the rhythm entirely!I have a couple of 1964 quickie Beatle books, non-fiction. They seem pretty well-thumbed. The Russian title for Mixed-Up Files mad…
My question to you is this: If you work in a library or bookstore, do you notice that holiday books only circulate/sell during a very small window of time surrounding that particular day?Halloween books are extremely popular year-round at m…
Old Mother Goose's clothes was the traditional costume of old ladies in England and Wales once upon a time; the fact that witches and Mother Goose are often shown in this type of clothing is simply because they are imagined as elderly women…
I've often wondered about the dead-parent things, particularly in modern settings. Kids today are far more likely to have a divorced parent than a dead one, and yet divorce is relatively uncommon, especially in middle-grade books. Of course…
Janet Reid had the brilliant suggestion that we all support Lauren Myracle by buying "Shine." I did and I'm looking forward to reading it! I feel so badly for Lauren Myracle. What a position to be in! Shine really is a very good book, too,
Hi Peter! (Long time reader/subscriber, first time commenting.) I don't often bump into the age problem so much...as you say, if the author is doing a good job, I'm whatever age the viewpoint is. But sometimes I do feel jarred when the cult…
I didn't know Whitman was even still in business! Yes, they were cheap books, but that enabled a kid like me, with only one parent working, and in a factory, to have her own books to read. I had a bunch of the TV tie-ins (Lassie especially)…
When I got my first library card, you had to be able to write your name. Even then (1965) that was archaic, as we did not literally "sign out" our books but had library card numbers. Mine was 136, as in 135 people had gotten library cards b…
Peter, So far I would recommend Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt. He never disappoints.Mary Petersen I'm a fan of OKAY FOR NOW too, Mary.Peter And then there's this: The Blueberry Awards.Go figure.... I've got my money on Anne Ursu's BREADCR…
Happy April Fool's Day to you, as well!! XXO- Well done, Peter, you had me going for a few sentences. Happy April Fool's Day to you, too. OMG...you got me good. I was all irate and ready to rant. Busted! Boy, our Charlie is a busy boy! http…