Hobbit Day 2017

Wouldn't it be fun to do this 3D Middle Earth Map puzzle together?

Celebrate Bilbo's 174th birthday (and Frodo's 96th). Give gifts. Have a party. Eat a lot. Enjoy life because September 22 is officially Hobbit Day.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt compiled a Merry list of ideas for the occasion including a Dwarvish rune alphabet and an event hashtag.

Hobbits traditionally give gifts to others on their birthdays. Stock up on the One Ring from ThinkGeek, that is, if you have the willpower to give them away freely.

Kick back and reread your favorite Tolkien passages. Set the mood with soy candles from Frostbeard Studio in The Shire or Oxford Library scents. After all, Tolkien spent a lot of time in both places.

Check back Saturday for photos of our Tolkien marathon for which I've planned hobbit-themed food and games.

Tenna' san'

Aa' menealle nauva calen ar' malta*

*Thanks to the Grey Company

Happy Belated Birthday, Roald Dahl

"A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom."*
-Roald Dahl

*From Boy. Thanks to Jessica Warman and Tara Lazar.

Getting Simple

Happy Birthday, Tomie!

"Getting to simple is very hard to achieve."
-Tomie DePaola*

Bookplate by Tomie DePaola
Courtesy MyMaineVintage

*Reading Rockets interview

Children's Book Day

B is for Birthdays and Books*

The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Andersen,
Illustrated by Edmund Dulac

Happy Birthday, 

Hans Christian Andersen!

The picture at right is from The Snow Queen and other tales available from Project Gutenberg.

By Eva Moore and Trina Schart Hyman

The committee has announced the Hans Christian Andersen Award winners for 2014: 

 Roger Mello, illustrator and Nahoko Uehashi, author. 

*Follow the link to the A to Z Challenge.

Children's Book Day
Sponsored by IBBY

Sendak's Writing Advice

"You cannot write for children ... They're much too complicated. You can only write books that are of interest to them."
-Maurice Sendak

Maurice Sendak's bookplate

Don't miss today's excellent animated Google Doodle for Maurice Sendak's birthday.

Dracula and His Legacy

"We learn great things by little experiences."  

So wrote Bram Stoker in his book, The Jewel of the Seven Stars.  Today is the anniversary of the author's birth and I thought this quote apropos for encouraging us during a month of concentration on the picture book craft.  Whether you're participating in PiBoIdMo or SkADaMo or even NaNoWriMo, Dracula may provide a needed jump-start.

If you've never read the original Dracula, I highly recommend you pick up a copy, but you may need to sleep with the light on.  Take a break from today's cheap vampire imitations.  Sink your teeth into writing that transcends its era.  

In honor of PBM, you may want to peruse the lavishly illustrated Hildebrandt picture storybook or a graphic novel version, like the one from All-Action Classics. 

Art by Greg Hildebrandt

I also recommend Ben's drawing books.  

All-Action Classic #1
Ben Caldwell
Art by Bill Halliar

  His comic book meets animation drawing style keeps my tweens busy for hours.  Fantasy Cartooning is a fun reference for drawing all your monster ideas!

The Adventure of
the Sanguinary Count,
 or Sherlock Holmes
vs. Dracula

Just for Fun, why not try Loren Estleman's entertaining The Adventure of the Sanguinary Count, which pits Dracula against consulting detective Sherlock Holmes.

Fantasy cartooning
by Ben Caldwell

If you're interested in Bram Stoker and his writing, check out the Rosenbach Museum, featured last March on BookishAmbition.

Happy Birthday, Doug

Today is the birthday of illustrator / author, Doug Cushman.  Many happy returns of the day!

Recently, our 16-year-old pulled out his copy of The Mystery of King Karfu.  He decided it was time to introduce his little brother to Seymour Sleuth and friends.  We hadn't seen that book in years, but since last week it's been reread at least five times.

The reason for this is surely Doug Cushman's skill as both storyteller and illustrator.
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Happy Birthday, Ludwig

We interrupt this series for a special birthday bulletin.

Today is Ludwig Bemelmans's birthday!

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