Rambling--Cause that's really all it is!
Clearly I have fabricated the hostage situation that I am imagined myself to have heard on the radio this morning. I've looked on-line (cause if it's not on the internet, it never happened, right?), and there's nothing on the local news or radio websites. I checked the VDT too, but I'm not sure that what is or isn't in our paper is always a true representation of what has or hasn't happened. Sorry if your family works there, just my opinion.
I've noticed lately that the radio talk shows in the morning pull their news from the internet--not a problem, but they seem to use old links. My granny is notorious for thinking multiple banks in town have been robbed, when in reality, the same story has been reported for three weeks because people don't update their websites or the local radio stations are reading VDT links and not looking at the date.
But to the topic. I spent far too much time at Books-A-Million earlier this week in the clearance section. I rarely visit the rest of the store unless I am looking for something in particular because there's more than enough for me to spend my money on that's already on sale. Wow, lot of prepositions in that last sentence. Anyway, I always wonder when I look at the children's books, "How do you go about having a children's book published?" Anna loves to "read," and she'll sit on the floor with her babies and animals around her and tell them stories while she turns the pages. I love it! But, when I'm looking for books for her, I'm always amazed at some of the junk that makes it to publication. It seems you can take a terrible story, add some beautiful illustrations and call it a book, but if you take a well-written story and add poor illustrations, you can call it a flop. I understand tha the visual appeal is often what draws young children into the text, but I wonder who decides who illustrates a text? Seems like maybe I need to do a little research.
Anna's favorite book is one called "I Love You Little One." It's a collection of stories, each one only three of four short pages, about baby animals learning how to be big animals. Her favorite one is about Bekah Bear and her Mama teaching her what bears do that other animals can't. At the end of every story, the mama or daddy tucks the baby in bed, and in every one they say, "I Love You Little One." Every time we read the story, Anna says Aww-Aww at the end of it and rocks back and forth. Cracks me up, but it's pretty sweet too.
I don't remember my mom reading that many different books to me when I was little. There was a Bible story book that we read over and over, and I loved the illustrations in it because everything was so detailed, but I don't remember any other specific books. When I was old enough to read on my own, I read Nancy Drew and Bobbsey Twin books. I remember taking them to school in second grade and getting in trouble because I was reading in class, or getting in trouble at home for trying to read under the dinner table. I saw a little girl begging for a book in BAM the other day, and her Mama was telling her she already had too many books. What a thing to say to a child-too many books. I know it makes more sense to check out books at the library than to buy children's books, and I don't think that kids should just get everything they ask for, but her mom was buying plenty of "stuff" (not books), for herself, and it was a BOOK, not an activity book or a sticker book, it was an actual, has a plot line and everything book. I know she may have had a perfectly logical reason for not buying the book, and it's none of my business, but I think I could tell Anna no to just about any purchase, but if she wants a new book...
Sorry, that was very much a soapbox, but the title just warn you that this post would be nothing more than rambling.
Then there are the books that Anna has that I can't read to her. I'm getting better, but when she was brand new and I was still all hormones, there were a few books that I couldn't make it through without bawling. Love You Forever, Someday, You're Special-those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. There are others, but since I rarely read them, I don't remember the titles. When Anna was just a few months old, Ben's aunt had a box of books she was going to throw away that she asked if I wanted to go through. You read right, throw away. I can throw out a lot of junk, but I can not put a book in the trash can. Why would you, there are enough places like Good Will or Salvation Army that would be happy to have them. So, instead of going through them I just told her I'd take the whole box. Some of them were in really bad shape, so I did get rid of them-pages missing, holes torn in them, but most of them we kept and the others we donated. Again, a soapbox.
Who'd have thought a topic as fluffy as children's books would take me to such an issue filled place?
I've noticed lately that the radio talk shows in the morning pull their news from the internet--not a problem, but they seem to use old links. My granny is notorious for thinking multiple banks in town have been robbed, when in reality, the same story has been reported for three weeks because people don't update their websites or the local radio stations are reading VDT links and not looking at the date.
But to the topic. I spent far too much time at Books-A-Million earlier this week in the clearance section. I rarely visit the rest of the store unless I am looking for something in particular because there's more than enough for me to spend my money on that's already on sale. Wow, lot of prepositions in that last sentence. Anyway, I always wonder when I look at the children's books, "How do you go about having a children's book published?" Anna loves to "read," and she'll sit on the floor with her babies and animals around her and tell them stories while she turns the pages. I love it! But, when I'm looking for books for her, I'm always amazed at some of the junk that makes it to publication. It seems you can take a terrible story, add some beautiful illustrations and call it a book, but if you take a well-written story and add poor illustrations, you can call it a flop. I understand tha the visual appeal is often what draws young children into the text, but I wonder who decides who illustrates a text? Seems like maybe I need to do a little research.
Anna's favorite book is one called "I Love You Little One." It's a collection of stories, each one only three of four short pages, about baby animals learning how to be big animals. Her favorite one is about Bekah Bear and her Mama teaching her what bears do that other animals can't. At the end of every story, the mama or daddy tucks the baby in bed, and in every one they say, "I Love You Little One." Every time we read the story, Anna says Aww-Aww at the end of it and rocks back and forth. Cracks me up, but it's pretty sweet too.
I don't remember my mom reading that many different books to me when I was little. There was a Bible story book that we read over and over, and I loved the illustrations in it because everything was so detailed, but I don't remember any other specific books. When I was old enough to read on my own, I read Nancy Drew and Bobbsey Twin books. I remember taking them to school in second grade and getting in trouble because I was reading in class, or getting in trouble at home for trying to read under the dinner table. I saw a little girl begging for a book in BAM the other day, and her Mama was telling her she already had too many books. What a thing to say to a child-too many books. I know it makes more sense to check out books at the library than to buy children's books, and I don't think that kids should just get everything they ask for, but her mom was buying plenty of "stuff" (not books), for herself, and it was a BOOK, not an activity book or a sticker book, it was an actual, has a plot line and everything book. I know she may have had a perfectly logical reason for not buying the book, and it's none of my business, but I think I could tell Anna no to just about any purchase, but if she wants a new book...
Sorry, that was very much a soapbox, but the title just warn you that this post would be nothing more than rambling.
Then there are the books that Anna has that I can't read to her. I'm getting better, but when she was brand new and I was still all hormones, there were a few books that I couldn't make it through without bawling. Love You Forever, Someday, You're Special-those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. There are others, but since I rarely read them, I don't remember the titles. When Anna was just a few months old, Ben's aunt had a box of books she was going to throw away that she asked if I wanted to go through. You read right, throw away. I can throw out a lot of junk, but I can not put a book in the trash can. Why would you, there are enough places like Good Will or Salvation Army that would be happy to have them. So, instead of going through them I just told her I'd take the whole box. Some of them were in really bad shape, so I did get rid of them-pages missing, holes torn in them, but most of them we kept and the others we donated. Again, a soapbox.
Who'd have thought a topic as fluffy as children's books would take me to such an issue filled place?
posted by blindsi at
8:33 AM
2 Comments:
I totally agree with you about the "thrown away" book issue. I've actually made some money and done some trading with books on Paperbackswap.com. It's a great site where you can trade old books for ones you want. Also, there is a system to publishing picture books. I actually am the dork who looked into it. It all depends on who your agent is. The illustrator may be famous, so the book is published with a crappy story, or vice versa. Just FYI =)
By
Mrs. Dyess, at 9:11 AM
Thanks for the info! You're not a dork, I've been wanting to look into it too!
By
blindsi, at 9:19 AM
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