Tom Angleberger is the author of "The Strange Case of Origami Yoda," coming Spring 2010 from Amulet.
Sam Riddleburger is the author of The Qwikpick Adventure Society and co-author of Stonewall Hinkleman & the Battle of Bull Run.
You can e-mail us at:
sam(at)riddleburger.com
or
tom(at)riddleburger.com
Cece Bell
Cece Bell, writer and illustrator of the Sock Monkey series, Bee-Wigged, Itty Bitty and much more, is frequently featured here. Sock Monkey himself appears from time to time, too.
Visit Cece's Website
Congratulations to Tyler Spencer of Staunton, Va., for being named a Rhodes Scholar! I haven’t been able to find out if he’s really from Staunton or if, like me, he tells people that because it’s the big nearby town.
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On Wednesday, my Guys Lit Wire post on the memoir “Dropping in With Andy Mac” will go up. http://www.guyslitwire.com
Book lovers will remember Andy Mac as the world-class pro skateboarder who gives his board away at the end of a competition to the first kid who can show him a library card.
The flurry of emails twixt here and New York has died down, so it appears that The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is complete at last.
It’s interesting how there’s no final gong, buzzer or even any way of knowing when it’s all done. One day they need you to draw a picture of Thomas Jefferson and the next day they don’t.
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We can’t find any peppermint bark this year! Why is it that the bst things in the world are never properly appreciated. By all that’s right, peppermint bark should be available on every street corner.
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I’ve got a new diabolo video online. It’s called Southern Fried Diaboo 2: Deep Fried Oreos.
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By the way, I switched to a new browser and everything about is wonderful — except it doesn’t let WordPress make proper links. Thus the pasted in URLs.
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I just learned that Kidz Bop covered Werewolves of London. You can hear it here, but don’t: http://www.kidzbop.com/music/kidz-bop-holidays/kidz-bop-halloween
That’s just a sample and I haven’t heard the whole thing. I’m sure Warren would have approved IF the little tykes had sung the full lyrics including: He’ll rip your lungs out, Jim.
Our last edition of Kidlit Trivia was a shocker! I thought the questions were too hard, but Wickle zoomed in and nailed all of them (minus the bonus questions) off the top of his head.
Let’s see how he — and the rest of you — fare with these Science Fiction Kidlit questions…
1) E.T.’s spaceship was inspired by the style of what kidlit illustrator?
2) Great Jumping Kadiddle Fish! The Mushroom Planet wasn’t really a planet! What was it?
3) In the graphic novels “Sardine in Outer Space,” what kind of creature is Sardine the Space Pirate?
4) Who is “Jasper Dash?”
5) And for you fantasy fans… Shoebag is a boy with a big secret. What is it?
And for 50 bonus points, why did I name the school in Origami Yoda “McQuarrie Middle School?”
Stephen King has a short story in the New Yorker this week called “Premium Harmony.” http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2009/11/09/091109fi_fiction_king
It features a store called the Quik-Pik. There’s even a drawing of the Quik-Pik in the magazine.
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You’ll note that King’s store is spelled differently than mine, but what’s a couple letters between friends?
While it’s rather unlikely that I inspired King, you may recall that HE inspired Lyle and his friends a bit. They mentioned “Stand By Me” in their Official Report.
In fact, you might easily see a number of similarities between The Qwikpick Adventure Society and Stand by Me/The Body. I imagine it did influence me as I wrote it, but also both stories are in the Pickwick mode of local adventuring. (I chose the name Qwikpick to play off of Pickwick, of coure.)
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Lastly, one more coincidence. Another major influence on me is the show The Adventures of Pete and Pete, which also featured the Pickwick Mode in a few episodes.
Yes, it had a Qwikpick, too — a drive-thru photo processor where Ellen had a summer job.
Cynsations has very kindly interviewed Sam and Michael: http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2009/11/co-authors-interview-michael-hemphill.html
By the way, if Sam appears to take credit for Origami Yoda in that interview … don’t listen to him. His brain’s gone soft from all that Qwikpick Poop Poetry.
I just had one of those only-in-the-Internet-age moments.
Note: the cropping job on this photo is not my doing, but fits the book pretty well.
For some reason I decided to look up “Gone to be Snakes Now.” The effect of reading this book could best be likened to hyperspace traveling in Hitchhikers, which was itself likened to being drunk. “What’s wrong with being drunk? Ask a glass of water.”
So I did some Googling and discovered that the author Neal Bell:
A) appears to be alive and well and living not that far from me in North Carolina.
B) also wrote for Knots Landing and All My Children.
That’s sort of like learning that Sun Ra wrote Boogie Oogie Oogie.
I also found Bell’s email address and office phone number. Should I call him up and ask him to explain page 83?
The above was my randomly generated picture book debut cover.: Judy, The Pychic Panda. Part of the Cover Week Fun over at ScopeNotes: http://100scopenotes.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/create-your-debut-picture-book-cover
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In the real book dept…
I raced right through “Stanford Wong” while propped up on the sofa. So many nice subtle touches in that book, but I guess I’ll comment here on the flatulence scene: it may actually out-gross Qwikpick’s poop fountain! Now that’s gross!
Then I burned through “Boots and the Seven-leaguers” by Jane Yolen. It’s about a troll teenager, a subject I have tried several times to write about — very unsuccesfully. One blurb on the jacket flap called it “tounge-in-cheek” but I don’t think so. I think it was a very sincere story in a somewhat silly setting.
I’m still listening to the Woman in White, but since I’m lying in bed rather than jogging/walking/mopping, I have a tendency to doze a bit. I’m going to have to rewind.
I’m also part-way through “Titus Groan.” I think this is my fourth reading. I’ve been intentionally not blogging about it, but I’ll probably have to write something at some point.
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There’s also been plenty of TV time as I lie about:
Since we recently finished up season 2 of The Mighty Boosh and didn’t have anything else new to watch, we ended up pulling out an old favorite. The BBC’s “Our Mutual Friend.” On videotape no less.
Ever notice that you can sit through a 2-hour movie and think it’s the longest thing in the world, but a six-hour BBC production can seem too short?
Exactly $20* Hand-woven scarf -- Sam is selling his White Pipe Looms scarves to benefit a very groovy local school. The full purchase price of $20 goes to the school.
