TitleTales

Trivia, Books on Books & Generalities: by Kim Stack

Adult Special Topics—03/05/10
The description for Chambers Mini Book of Facts says that it’s 432 pages. I ask you, how mini can this book be? Still, it claims it’s perfect for the information junkie. I swear to you, I didn’t intend to grow up as an information junkie or a trivia buff or a geek, a nerd, or a compulsive collector of lists. Personally, I am inclined to blame Melville Dewey.

What I am, unabashedly, is a lover of books, and do you know where public libraries which use the Dewey classification system actually shelve books about books? In the first century: the 000s, where library science, rare manuscripts, and all those lovely trivia-packed books known as generalities are organized. Including: The Book of Percentages which tells me that 95% of shoplifters are female; The Book of Celebrity Useless Information which tells me Johnny Depp is afraid of clowns and The Infinity of Lists in which an inspired Umberto Eco tells us in his forward that this mixture of essay, anthology and illustrated catalog can only “end with an etcetera.” For browsers like me, this can only be good, as I’m absolutely hooked on this type of book.

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Happy Birthday to Seuss: by Deanna Spears

Juvenile & YA Special Topics—03/05/10
Theodor Seuss Geisel, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and Rosetta Stone, was born on March 2, 1904, over seventy years before I made my own entrance into the world. Despite our generation gap and over 2,000 miles between my old Kentucky home and his residence in California, Geisel impacted my life immeasurably. He gave me the power of imagination and persistence when I dived into McElligot’s Pool. Horton Hears a Who! and The Sneetches inspired me to always be tolerant of others, no matter how small or different they seemed. My tolerance was enhanced by open-mindedness when I opened the pages of Green Eggs and Ham. Yertle the Turtle’s great burp taught me to appreciate democracy, and the plight of The Lorax tempered my appreciation of freedom with responsibility toward people and Earth. I also learned that “Things“ aren’t always under my control in The Cat in the Hat, so sometimes responsibility simply means stepping outside “The Waiting Place” featured in Oh! The Places You’ll Go.

The best gift he gave me was an unending desire for truth and progress: Although his short, rhyming syllables and visual clues helped me understand the concepts of reading, his morals inspired me to always, always read toward the concept of better understanding. In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, I recall a quote from the Birthday Bird in Happy Birthday to You!: “A present! A-ha! Now what kind shall I give…? Why, the kind you’ll remember as long as you live!“

Dr. Seuss passed on in September 1991, but his legacy lives on in many languages, formats and fans. So on that note, I want to wish a very happy birthday to my beloved Birthday Bird, Dr. Seuss. May children the world over continue to feel your presents.

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Interview: Pam Muñoz Ryan

Pam Muñoz Ryan, has written more than 25 books for young people including the novel, Esperanza Rising, winner of the Pura Belpre Medal, the Jane Addams Peace Award, an ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults selection, and the Americas Award Honor Book. Riding Freedom has garnered many awards including the national Willa Cather Award, and the California Young Reader Medal. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees at San Diego State University and lives in north San Diego County with her husband and four children.

Francisco works as an attorney for an affordable-housing agency in Massachusetts. He lives near Boston with his wife.

• Browse our list of featured titles by Pam Muñoz Ryan

BWI: You had a great story to tell for the idea behind Becoming Naomi León, and how the book and/or character was inspired by your 1997 trip to Oaxaca. Can you tell us more details of the story of the hole in the fence that first gave you the idea for The Dreamer?

PMR: In 2005, shortly after my return from a trip to Chile, I was at a conference with author and illustrator Jon Muth. During a conversation, I mentioned my travels and the subject of Neruda came up. Jon told me a story about the young Neruda passing a gift to an unknown child through a hole in the fence. I was intrigued and after the conference I found the essay Neruda wrote about the incident. That was all it took for an idea to plant itself in my mind and relentlessly hold on. A few weeks later, I received a beautiful book in the mail from a friend in Chile who knew of my affection for Neruda. The book was, in essence, children’s answers to selected questions from Neruda’s The Book of Questions. I began thinking about a book inspired by The Book of Questions. One thing led to another and I wrote a manuscript intended for a picture book for older readers. But when it was done, Scholastic creative director David Saylor asked me to consider making it into a novel. The day before the request, I had just returned thirty-two books on Neruda to the library! If I agreed, it meant going back to square one, not only in rewriting the text, but emotionally going back to a book I had “put to bed.” And back to all of the research. So, I will admit, I had to be convinced, and I shed a few frustrating tears. But I was convinced, and after I immersed myself in his life again and approached it with a novel in mind, I became enchanted with the format and the possibilities it presented.

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