Singing the Dogstar Blues (1998) marked the debut of a writer to watch, as the awards it garnered testified. Set in the near future, with more than a dash of humour, those of us who enjoyed that book have waited a long time for more. It took until 2008 for Alison Goodman to publish again – first an adult crime title, Killing the Rabbit, followed soon after by The Two Pearls of Wisdom. This latter book has other titles depending where you live, but more of that later. It’s been worth the wait.
YouTube interview after French launch (20 question format; questions in French with subtitles, responses en anglais)
The text
Published in Australia as The Two Pearls of Wisdom, this title has been released in the UK as Eon: Rise of the Dragoneye and in the USA Eon: Dragoneye Reborn. Don’t be fooled, they are exactly the same book, despite cover and name change, but the dedicated websites are certainly worth a visit.
The sequel, Necklace of the Gods, is due to be published in 2010. While you are waiting, there is more Eastern fantasy to be had from another Australian author - Lian Hearn’s Tales of the Otori series - or you can bone up on the history of Feng Shui.
A review of Richard Flanagan’s latest, Wanting, from the Guardian. Winner of the Queensland Premier’s Award for Fiction, this is a slice of Tasmanian history with a rich cast of characters
This is a little off topic, but the thread on Terrible Books on the yalsa listserv is taking on a life of its own. It’s worth sharing, just to remind us to weed regularly.
The blog of two Michigan public librarians, Awful Library Books, brings the old, the ugly, the politically incorrect into the spotlight. All are real examples of books found in today’s collections. They are both cringeworthy and hilarous.
The yalsa people are talking about their own ‘treasures’ on list. One gem: I’m glad I’m a boy! I’m glad I’m a girl! a 1970 number by Whitney Darrow. Embarrassed to find it on her shelves, the librarian concerned was even more astonished to learn that it was exactly what the patron was seeking for their child.
Turns out this was published as a satire – a detail that has been lost over the decades. Salutory. Off to your collections and see what you find. And let us know.
The recent SBS three-part documentary Fairytales Exposed: Facts Behind the Fiction (the link on SBS has gone but the series is available for sale from Enhance TV) took an appropriately Germanic view of the origins of many fairytales such as Snow White, The Pied Piper and the notion of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. True crime, true people, true events – passed down from generation to generation to become the stories we know today.
A new book from US academic Ruth Bottigheimer, Fairy Tales: A New History sort of agrees and disputes the long-held oral history theory, claiming ‘folk invention and transmission of fairy tales has no basis in verifiable fact…’
Bottigeimer is particularly interested in the rags-to-riches tradition, exemplified by Cinderella, which she calls the ‘rise’ tale, tracing this type of story back to mid-16th century Venice.
That the fairytale remains such a powerful force in literary tradition is a fascinating concept to explore and as this article in the Guardian concludes:
George Macdonald, author of At the Back of the North Wind and The Princess and the Goblin, perhaps still puts it best, over 100 years on. “Were I asked, what is a fairytale? I should reply, Read Undine: that is a fairytale; then read this and that as well, and you will see what is a fairytale. Were I further begged to describe the fairytale, or define what it is, I would make answer, that I should as soon think of describing the abstract human face, or stating what must go to constitute a human being. A fairytale is just a fairytale, as a face is just a face; and of all fairytales I know, I think Undine the most beautiful.”
Image of The Brothers Grimm courtesy of The British Library
The Papertigers blog is just about the best thing around for keeping us informed about what is happening with books and reading for young people in Asia.
Anyone heading to Korea shortly should make a point of attending the Voyage to the World of Illustration exhibition being held at the Seoul Arts Center until 23 June. Here’s the Papertigers report. Additional photos and links to English titles about Korea and the Korean diaspora are worth following up.
In a devastatingly difficult decision, the organisers of the CBCA’s 2010 Brisbane conference, Across the Story Bridge, have decided to cancel the event.
Rather than plunge the Children’s Book Council of Australia into debt, the decision has been made sooner rather than later.
CBCA Conferences are much-anticipated events for authors, illustrators and participants and the decision to cancel must have been an extremely painful one for people who have already expended many hours of personal time on planning.
We look forward to another major celebration of children’s literature when economic times are brighter.
The estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has authorised a series of books detailing the life of the teenage Sherlock Holmes, which will see the budding detective falling in love for the first time, learning the deductive skills that serve him so well in his adult life, and making the acquaintance of a certain Dr Watson.
The Fiction Focus Blog is published by Curriculum Materials Information Services (CMIS), Department of Education and Training, Western Australia. It is designed to provide news about current events, resources and research to assist teachers and teacher librarians engage teenagers with books and reading.
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Posted by judij
Singing the Dogstar Blues
What are some of the things we have tweeted (or retweeted) about recently? If you don’t follow us, you might not have heard about:
