Dance break for your Friday, book-style. Title suggests NSFW but the song itself is pretty safe:
Usually I’m less than impressed with people who try to do hip-hop parodies, but these ladies have major skill.
Category: Video
The Furious Bird of the Calm Storm
What a beautiful animated interpretation of “The Me Bird” by Pablo Neruda:
I like that it’s a true inspiration piece, not a video with the poem appearing as text or read aloud. A great reminder, just before National Poetry Month, that poems can inspire all sorts of works of art.
(via NPR Fresh Air)
Links Galore
Lots of good links to get you through the middle of hte week:
- I’d like to add “nonplussed” to this list of words that don’t sound like what they mean.
- You can vote on the cover of Elizabeth Gilbert’s next book.
- The Princess Bride and Cyrano de Bergerac? Yeah, I totally read like a Hufflepuff.
- No surprise that librarians make excellent writers.
- I am really distraught that the Lizzie Bennet Diaries is almost over, but it’s not over until we celebrate on Thursday! And I am SO happy to know they’ll live on via Kickstarter.
- Not sure if Hemingway’s Instagram would be epic (bull fights! exotic locations!) or embarrassing (fishing? drunkface selfies?).
- I’m not sure whether I should be laughing or crying.
- Interesting (but, sadly, not entirely surprising) look at the correlation between heteronormativity and popularity in school.
- East Coast vs. West Coast hip-hop? I want to see Chicago Manual of Style vs. The Elements of Style rap battle.
- Need the coffee shop ambiance without having to fight for an outlet? Try Coffivity. (via the Official SCBWI Blog)
- Fellow 2014 debut author Natalie C. Parker talks about what kind of critiques there are and what makes a good critique partner (with Firefly gifs!!!)
- Usually I begrudge celebrity authors, but Sonia Manzano (aka Sesame Street’s Maria) has, you know, some experience with children’s education and development.
- The Horn Book looks at what makes a good YA coming-out novel. My favorite part: “Coming-out stories don’t unfold in a vacuum, and nor do teens’ own lives. The best books integrate queer teens’ coming-of-age stories into the rich and varied spectrum of human experience.”
It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
In honor of Mr. Rogers’ birthday today, YA author John Green shares a few cool facts about the man who helped make children’s public television a true force for learning and growth. There were lots of piece of trivia I didn’t know, so make sure to check out the video:
We should all endeavor to be as kind and thoughtful and curious as Mr. Rogers. Maybe instead of DFTBA we should say DFTBLF–Don’t Forget to Be Like Fred.
Happy birthday, Mr. Rogers!
PS–It’s also the birthday of one of my favorite children’s authors, Lois Lowry. Happy birthday, Lois! Thank you for bringing so many amazing books into the world.
Prom Night Is Dark and Full of Terrors
By now, you’re probably already obsessed with the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. (All. The. Feelings!) But we’re winding down in the P&P plotline–Lizzie and Darcy have come to feel more about each other; Jane and Bing have reconciled; and Lydia has overcome the potential scandal of the heinous Wickham. I was really sad to imagine an end in the near future.
Fortunately, it looks like we’ve got another modern literary web series to latch onto–starring a few favorites from LBD! Although A Game of Thrones might be set in a medieval-ish fantasy world, looks like things translate pretty well to a contemporary high school setting in School of Thrones. I especially like the retro-hipster Starks.
And it’s only just started! Check out the first episode here:
Is it weird that this might actually inspire me to read beyond the first book?
Ode to a Cumberbatch
High school students would pay way more attention in English class if Benedict Cumberbatch read all the Romantic poetry:
Anyone else want Benedict Cumberbatch to star in a John Keats biopic now?
If you want to read along, check out the text of “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats here.
(H/T Alexis Hauk)
DFTBA, America
Worlds collide when John Green was invited to appear in President Obama’s Google+ Hangout. See the results below:
Smooth move, Obama. I also love how this brings together the world of YA and the world of politics. When I was a teen, I wasn’t that involved in politics. I didn’t see it as something I could have any part in and, frankly, found it kind of boring. (Totally untrue on both counts, but there you have it.) But videos like this could make teens feel like politics is a approachable, which could lead them to finding ways to get involved and get their voices heard.
Also, I’m voting for Eleanor.
Becoming an Artist
A touching video in which children’s book author/illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka talks about how he became an artist.
“He liked making this book” might be the best line in any author bio I’ve ever seen. I also love how he talks about the support he got from his grandparents and his teachers. Even though writing/illustrating requires a lot of work and you have to power through a lot of challenges, as Krosoczka details, but having a wonderful support system can make all the difference. And I love that Krosoczka set up a scholarship in his grandparents’ honor. What a beautiful way to keep the support going.
(via SCBWI: The Blog)
The Sound of Silence
I have a very clear memory of learning about long vowels and the silent letters that often accompany them. I was in first grade, and writing in my class journal. I wanted to spell “made” and thought “Okay, I’ve got an M sound and an A sound and a D sound,” but when I tried to spell that out, it came out “mad,” which I knew wasn’t right. Fortunately, that was the day my teacher introduced long vowels. (Nice timing, Miss O’Neil!)
So I was really intrigued by this video, which demonstrates the part that silent letters play in languages like English, French, and Danish.
Language is so fascinating. As someone who has a hard time learning foreign languages, I was really interested to see their use of silent letters as well.
Click through for more information about the Silenc project.
(via The Dish)
This Is Not My Book Trailer
This Is Not My Hat by John Klassen won the 2013 Caldecott medal yesterday–woohoo! In case you haven’t seen the book yet, this trailer gives you the general vibe:
Make sure to check out the rest of Candlewick’s We Believe in Picture Books campaign, too. And congratulations to John Klassen!