E.B. White ~ Letter About Libraries

Via @JohnFugelsang on Twitter. I wonder what Mr. White would make of the internet, or ebooks? And hey kids, in case you think this letter looks strange, it was done on an old-fashioned typewriter.

Remembering E. L. Konigsburg

“The adventure is over. Everything gets over, and nothing is ever enough. Except the part you carry with you. It's the same as going on a vacation. Some people spend all their time on a vacation taking pictures so that when they get home they can show their friends evidence that they had a good time. They don't pause to let the vacation enter inside of them and take that home.”
― E.L. Konigsburg, From The Mixed Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

My husband's favorite childhood book is From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. He says the story made him want to run away and live in a museum. I had a different favorite - a book that my younger sister and I read over and over called Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth, the story of two very different girls, one of whom purports to be a witch, and who is a really good friend. E. L. Konigsburg was that rare writer whose books defied categorization by gender or age group, and that explains their long-running mass appeal. She went on to write The View from Saturday about a school Academic Bowl which was on all the gifted book lists when my children were in grade school in the 1990s - such a long career for a truly talented writer!


From NYICD Blog

Konigsburg was the only person to ever win two Newbery awards in the same year, recieving the Newbery honor (honorable mention) for her first manuscript, Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth, and the Newbery Medal for her second, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

She was perhaps best known for the latter work, in which a brother and sister run away from their suburban home and take up residence in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) in New York City. It is told from the point of view of the 82-year-old wealthy and eccentric Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, who is dictating the story to her attorney.

The story inspired a scene in the wonderful Wes Anderson film The Royal Tenenbaums during which siblings Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Richie Tanenbaum (Luke Wilson) also run away to live in the Met. In 1997, 29 years after her initial award, Konigsburg would again win the Newbery Medal for her story The View from Saturday. After winning the award, marking the longest gap between wins for any author, she told The Associated Press in an interview: "The award represents a kind of validation that I find most gratifying."

From the Detroit News

Konigsburg, better known to millions of young readers as E.L. Konigsburg, died April 19 in Falls Church, Va., after suffering a stroke. She was 83. In "Author Talk," a book edited by Leonard Marcus, Konigsburg said her books were based on what she perceived as a missing type of children's literature.
As a girl, she said, "I never found any characters in books whose lives resembled those of my classmates, my family and me. Years later, this made me want to write for children about things as they are — about people and places that my own children would recognize as real." In "Mixed-up Files," Konigsburg tells what happens when Claudia and Jamie decide to run away from their suburban Connecticut home and hide out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Once there, the children make themselves at home — even sleeping on a historic bed — solve an art mystery, but most importantly discover truths about themselves.

Seventy Years of The Little Prince

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has created several new editions of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's classic The Little Prince to celebrate 70 years of publishing the book in the United States.

From Publisher's Weekly

Born in Lyons, France, Saint-Exupéry wrote The Little Prince while living in the U.S. during a two-year, self-imposed exile from the Nazi occupation of his home country. A year after the book’s publication, the author disappeared over the Mediterranean while flying a reconnaissance mission for his French air squadron. He left behind a legacy that included eight additional books, among them Southern Mail, Night Flight, and Wind, Sand, and Stars.


. . . Released March 5, The Little Prince 70th Anniversary Gift Set packages a hardcover with a CD featuring actor Viggo Mortensen reading the unabridged text of Richard Howard’s 2000 translation from the French. A code included on the CD case enables visitors to the book’s Web site to download the narration onto computers and MP3 players. Other features of the site include a widget containing quotes from the classic and a clip of Mortensen’s recording.

. . . The Little Prince Paperback, also published on March 5, includes Saint-Exupéry’s original full-color art, a foreword by Wicked author Gregory Maguire, a reader’s guide, and a Common Core exemplar guide. This edition targets the book to the YA audience for the first time...

. . . Due out on April 16, The Little Prince Graphic Novel
is a new edition of Sfar’s adaptation, which has sold more than 500,000 copies since its 2010 publication in a jacketed hardcover format. “Joann Sfar is an incredibly talented artist and storyteller,” says (Editor Cynthia) Platt. “Though his original graphic novel found a large readership, with this more affordable paper-over-board edition, we hope to deepen its audience.”

Les Miserables Movie Release Christmas Day

The film "Les Miserables" based on the novels of Victor Hugo will be released in the U.S. on Christmas Day.

Cast List and More on IMDB

Original Text by Hugo on Project Gutenberg

The movie is already earning kudos and award nominations:

Contact Music

Les Miserables has become the favourite to win Best Picture at the Oscars after being nominated for four prizes at the Golden Globes - a key barometer for the Academy Awards. Lead stars Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway received acting nods, Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil are shortlisted for their song 'Suddenly', while the movie itself is shortlisted for Best Motion Picture (Comedy and Musical).

Largely shot at Pinewood studios, Tom Hooper's Les Miserables cost around £38 million and featured the actors singing every song live on set. Speaking to the BBC after the Golden Globe nominations were announced, The Kings Speech director said, "I'm just pleased for the whole team who made Les Miserables. Making a musical is an intensively collaborative type of film-making, because it requires such an army of people. An army who aren't there on a conventional movie. The singing teachers who helped the cast, through to the onset pianists who played in the live duets with the singers."
Though musicals and comedies are often ignored by the Academy, Les Miserables has been installed as the 9/4 favourite to snatch the Best Picture Oscar away from the hands of Ben Affleck and Steven Spielberg in February. Hugh Jackman is now the third favourite to win Best Actor, though it would a huge shock should Daniel Day-Lewis not win the award for his turn as Abraham Lincoln. Anne Hathaway is favoured for an Oscar nomination, though the bookmakers still firmly believe Jennifer Lawrence will win Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook.
Les Miserables hits theaters in the U.S on Christmas Day, with a UK release following on January 11, 2013.

About the original musical on the Les Mis Official Website

Les Misérables is now the longest running musical in the world and, in October 2010, celebrated its 25th anniversary with a theatrical first – three different productions of the same musical staged at the same time in one city – the star-studded concerts at The O2, the acclaimed new 25th Anniversary Production (which completed its sell-out UK Tour at London’s Barbican Theatre) and the original production, which continues its record breaking run at the Queen’s Theatre, London.

From Wikipedia:

It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, original French lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, with an English-language libretto by Herbert Kretzmer. Set in early 19th-century France, it is the story of Jean Valjean, a burly French peasant of abnormal strength and potentially violent nature, and his never ending quest for redemption after serving 19 years in jail for having stolen a loaf of bread for starving relatives. Valjean decides to break his parole and start his life anew after a kindly Bishop inspires him to, but he is relentlessly tracked down by a police inspector named Javert. Along the way, Valjean and a slew of characters he becomes entangled with get swept into a revolutionary period in France, where a group of young idealists make their last stand at a street barricade.

The musical adaptation was originally conceived and produced in France, before its English language adaptation, which opened at the Barbican Centre in London, England, on 8 October 1985, where the production overcame bad notices through word of mouth, launching the beginning of what has turned out to be a global sensation.

. . . At the opening of the London production, critical reviews were negative, and literary scholars condemned the project for converting classic literature into a musical. Public opinion differed, the box office received record orders. The three-month engagement sold out, and reviews improved. The London production, as of late 2012, has run continuously since October 1985: the second longest-running musical in the world after The Fantasticks, the second longest-running West End show after The Mousetrap. It is the longest-running musical in the West End followed by The Phantom of the Opera.

Ten Great Christmas Books for Children

1.
Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree
A perennial favorite at my house as Mr. Willowby's giant tree that "came by special delivery" keeps gets a trim at the top so that every creature around gets to share in the Christmas joy. Written in rhyme with cute illustrations.





2.
Best Christmas Pageant Ever
This is a tale of the horrible Herdman family, a rowdy bunch of neglected children who get tired of juvenile delinquency and decide to participate in the local Christmas Pageant. Told from another child's judgmental point of view, the narrator and the reader move from impatience to pity to awe as the Herdman family gives their own spin on the Biblical story. Boys and girls alike will get the message - Baby Jesus was an outcast, too.




3.
I Spy Christmas: A Book of Picture Riddles
With fantasic illustrations of snowy nights and heaps of toys, this is the book equivalent of having your nose pressed against a winter window. Fun for the whole family, and one you will turn to year after year.






4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas: A 50th Anniversary Retrospective
Except for the music, this is the exact same story as the famous television special, so parents often learn to recite it from memory. And like most Dr. Seuss classics, it never gets old and always seems fresh.






5.
The Polar Express
A gorgeous picture book, this is a truly unique spin on what happens at the North Pole on Christmas Eve. More text than a usual picture book, but quite fascinating.





6.
This Is the Stable
A simple rhyming tale of the animals in the stable where Jesus was born with realistic illustrations. Sweet and easy for small children.







7.
The Night Before Christmas
The classic Clement C. Moore poem without the edits that some modern readers prefer - yes, Santa smokes a pipe in this one.






8.
Morris' Disappearing Bag
Rosemary Wells is known for her "Max and Ruby" series, and while this book predates those by almost 20 years, the magic is the same. Morris is the youngest of four bunnies and jealous as his siblings play with their fantastic gifts. Then he crawls inside a "disappearing bag" under the Christmas tree and becomes special in his own way. 




9.
The Story of Holly and Ivy
An old-fashioned sweet story of a doll who needs a home and a lonely girl who needs a doll, written by the great Rumer Godden ("The Doll's House")  and illustrated by Barbara Cooney ("Roxaboxen). A good book to read aloud to a class or over several nights at home. Also great for middle readers - girls mainly.





10.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) (Little Golden Book)
This book really needs no introduction. Rudolph is the misfit from the old song, but his unfortunate nose turns out to be the gift that Santa needs. Nice illustrations based on the Hanna-Barbera