December 2000

• Thurs., Jan. 11, 2001 ACL Meeting. Oakland Public Libr. 9 a.m.
• Jan. 12-16, 2001 ALA Midwinter. Washington, DC
• Thurs, Feb. 8, 2001 ACL Meeting. Oakland Public Libr. 9 a.m.
• Sun., Feb. 11, 2001 Distinguished Books. Penny Peck’s house Noon-4 p.m.
• Sat., Feb. 24, 2001 Performers Showcase. San Leandro PL 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Jon Scieszka, Smartypants: In December, author Jon Scieszka (Stinky Cheese Man, "Time Warp Trio" series) appeared on a special episode of the television game show, "Win Ben Stein’s Money," on the Comedy Central Cable Channel. It was a special episode featuring authors who were earning money for charity. Malachy McCourt ( A Monk Swimming) and Oprah’s favorite Wally Lamb (She’s Come Undone) also played, but Scieszka beat Lamb at the last question to make it to the finals. As usual, Ben Stein (the host, who was a speechwriter for President Nixon) beat Scieszka in the finals, but Jon was able to earn $950 for the Brooklyn Public Library’s children’s room.

Carolyn Edwards, author: One of ACL’s reviewers Carolyn Edwards, is an author, too, with a new book out: Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice. Published by Marlowe and Company, 2000, it is a collection of folktales available at bookstores or e-tailers for $12.95, ISBN 1-56924-617-3.

Panajachel Library Destroyed in Fire: Many librarians are aware of the small library in Panajachel, Guatemala, which was started by author Ann Cameron. All the books, computers, furniture, and other items were destroyed in a recent fire, which was likely due to a short circuit in the building’s wiring. Tax deductable monetary donations are needed, and can be sent to Teresa Cameron, Lake Atitlan Libraries, Inc., 449 Overlook Pass, Hudson, WI, 54016. Make checks payable to "Lake Atitlan Libraries Inc."

Pooh and company need a shrink: An article in the Christmas issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal states that A.A. Milne’s famous characters are psychological messes. Pooh is obsessive-compulsive and suffers from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; Eeyore is chronically depressed, Piglet needs anti-panic drugs, and Christopher Robin is haunted by unresolved gender issues. Wonder what they would think of Charlie Brown, Linus, and Lucy?

Member News: Starr Latronica, a longtime ACL member and librarian at the Berkeley Public Library who now lives in New York, is a candidate for Chair of the 2003 Newbery Committee. Look for her name on the ALA/ALSC ballot this spring. Also look for Patty Wong, from the Oakland Public Library, who is a candidate for the 2003 Caldecott Committee.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks died on December 3, 2000, at age 83. Her poetry was considered unique for delving into poverty, racism, and drugs among the African-American community. Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize in 1949 for her second book of poetry, Annie Allen. She has also written numerous books for children, including Bronzeville Boys and Girls.

Brooks succeeded Carl Sandburg as Poet Laureate of Illinois in 1968, and received a lifetime achievement award in 1989 from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Eloise Jarvis McGraw, author of 19 books for children, died at age 84 on November 30, 2000 in Portland, Oregon. Three of her novels were named Newbery Honor books: The Moorchild (1997), The Golden Goblet (1962), and Moccasin Trail (1953). She wrote the 40th book in the "Wizard of Oz" series, entitled Merry Go Round In Oz. Her husband William Corbin McGraw was also an author for children; he died last year at age 83.

Caldecott Medalist Allen Say is having his first museum exhibit of his work at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, now through February 11, 2001. Say was recently profiled in the New York Times, (Nov. 22, 2000) in conjunction with the exhibit.

The exhibit, entitled "Allen Say’s Journey: The Art and Words of a Children’s Book Author," features Say’s watercolor paintings. The 55 paintings show both the American world and Japanese world in which Say was raised, and reveal the influence of his favorite painter, Edward Hopper.

If you read the entertainment section of the newspaper, or watched any television commercials in December, you know Dr. Seuss’s "The Grinch" is the hit movie of the season. You may not know it was the hit movie of the year - it made more money (over $200 million) in the year 2000 than any other film, even though it opened in late November. But Seuss has also had an impact on another entertainment medium: the Broadway musical.

"The Seussical," a new Broadway musical that opened last month in New York, is not an out-and-out hit, but is doing respectable business. It received mixed reviews, from a pan in the New York Times to a grade of B- in Entertainment Weekly Magazine, but the family appeal has helped to sell tickets. It opened out of town to more negative reviews, but the sets and costumes, as well as the director, were all changed before the New York opening. With music by Lynn Ahrens and Stehpen Flaherty, the team behind "Ragtime," the show takes several of Seuss storybooks and loosely connects them in a musical revue.

Rosie O’Donnell liked the show so much that she is taking over the role of The Cat In The Hat, so the original actor David Shiner can take a one month vacation in January. One musical number that has been featured on several television talk shows and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade starred Horton, of "Horton Hears A Who." The actor wore gray clothing but was not dressed as an elephant. The birds looked more like Vegas showgirls, with feathers but not in "bird" suits. Most of the reviews say "Seussical" is much closer to the heart of Dr. Seuss’s work than the new "Grinch" film.

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas," directed by Ron Howard, is darker in both tone and in sets and costumes than the book. Comic actor Jim Carrey, considered the current version of Jerry Lewis, is in full Grinch green fur, but still manages to exhibit his own personality behind the mask. I enjoyed the film’s twisted humor, but some parents found it too frightening for younger children. I’m not sure what Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) would think. Don’t forget, Geisel helped Warner Brothers win three Academy Awards in his lifetime, two for documentaries made during World War II, and one for the cartoon "Gerald McBoing Boing."

This Seuss revival has helped promote several websites dedicated to Dr. Seuss, from the overly commercial film website to several creative fan-based sites (for more information, see Entertainment Weekly Magazine, Dec. 8, 2000, page 105). Check out Nerd’s Cormer at www.ultranet.com/-brons/NerdCorner/nerd.html to find out that the first recorded usage of the word Nerd is in Dr. Seuss’s If I Ran the Zoo, 1950. It is the name of the yellow, hairy creature from Ka-Troo. Other interesting trivia can be found at An Index to Dr. Seuss at www.primate.wisc.edu/people/hamel/seuss.html. This site catalogs every character and creature from Dr. Seuss’s 48 books, and is maintained by Ray Hamel. For everything Seuss, try www.seuss.org, the website for the Center for Seussian Studies. It may sound official, but it is actually a website maintained by an Amazon.com associate, David Bedno.

Penny Peck,
San Leandro Public Library

Ultimately, this new translation (by Richard Howard) of this classic allegorical novel just is not as good as the original, which was translated by Katherine Woods and first published in 1943.

It is not any of the changes in book design, which are relatively slight, but the choice of words in the translation, and the fact this seems shorter than the original English edition that is at fault. It is not billed as "abridged," but the original is 94 pages and the new is 86, with no additional illustrations. But the slight reduction in page number seems even more questionable, when you see the larger typeface in the new. The original typeface is relatively small, helping to indicate that The Little Prince is for the independent reader; younger readers won’t understand the subtleties. The new edition has a typeface, that combined with the illustrations, seems to invite the moving up reader, who will find the story confusing.

But the best way to see the "slimming down" is to match a passage word for word. Here’s just one example:
   "The Second Planet was inhabited by a very vain man.
   "Ah! A visit from an admirer!’ he exclaimed when he caught sight of the little prince, still at some distance. To vain men, other people are admirers." From the new, p. 33.
   "The second planet was inhabited by a conceited man.
   "Ah! Ah! I am about to receive a visit from an admirer!’ he exclaimed from afar, when he first saw the little prince coming.
   For, to conceited men, all other men are admirers." From the old, p. 40-41.

The phrasing and word choice in the original has an Old World quality, as if the speaker had a formal education. The new is spoken in a kind of "average American" speech pattern which is incongruous with the fact that the Little Prince is not of this earth.

The jacket art is the major change in illustration - the background is a bright, deep blue, to show the Little Prince on his small planet out in space; the original has a white background. Saint-Exupery’s original illustrations are all here, some lightly colored with faint watercolors. So, aside from the blue jacket, the larger typeface is the most noticable change in the book design.

Many libraries have the Woods translation, and should try to find reprints when replacing lost or damaged copies. It is still in print, so there is no need to get the new version. Reading it again as an adult, I found new insights and a refreshing sweetness that I didn’t recall. I would certainly recommended it to that quiet, bookloving middle schooler many of us know as a patron.

Penny Peck,
San Leandro Public Library

Joy Shioshita is the new webkeeper for ACL. She will be responsible for updating the website as needed and coding each new issue of BayNews to format it for the web. If you haven’t checked the ACL website recently (http://www.bayviews.org), this is a good chance to check it out. New in recent months is a revised set of links to useful Internet resources, a collection of ACL reviewers tools, and the newly revised list of ACL officers and other contacts. Joy is already planning more changes, including a separate listing of the BayNews preschool storytime ideas. She welcomes your suggestions and comments; you may reach Joy at shiosjk@oaklandlibrary.org.

Too late for Christmas but perfect as a birthday gift for any booklover, men included, is this humorous but thoughtful salute to "authoresses." Saluting over 100 female writers, each with just a two or three page profile, this offers tons of trivia on female writers through the centuries. Spanning time from Enheduanna from Sumeria, the first recorded writer of either gender, to current literary lionesses like Toni Morrison, J.K. Rowling, and Anne Rice, this is the kind of book you can read anywhere. Because each profile is just a few pages in length, you can read one during a television commercial, or several while waiting in line at the bank, or the whole book during a plane trip to Los Angeles.

Penny Peck,
San Leandro Public Library