James Patterson Donates $100,000 To Bookstores In Australia And New Zealand

JAMES PATTERSON DONATES $100,000 TO BOOKSTORES IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

In his first visit to Australia in 11 years, Patterson announced a $100,000 donation from which Australian and New Zealand book sellers with dedicated children’s sections could apply for cash grants of up to $5000. The donation was timed for Patterson’s arrival in Sydney for a series of Writers’ Festival events and promotion of Rafe’s Aussie Adventure, his Middle School pre-teens collaboration with writer-illustrator Martin Chatterton.

The greatest challenge facing society, warned Patterson, was getting bright children to read more broadly and at-risk kids reading competently. One in three Australian high school students could be considered functionally illiterate. Patterson’s hope was that Australia might follow Germany’s lead and set up a ministerial foundation to support and acknowledge the importance of independent booksellers as missionaries of children’s literacy. Were Amazon to locate its operations in Australia, Patterson predicts half the local bookstores would close.

Patterson has been one of the loudest voices in the book world warning about the pressure of online discounting and e-book retailing on the local bookstore. Retailers, who applauded Patterson’s assistance, have been lobbying for the imposition of GST for all online purchases and a review of international parcel delivery agreements.

Patterson holds the Guinness Book of Record for Number One New York Times bestsellers. Total worldwide sales exceed 300 million, of which he has sold 4.5 million copies in Australia.

A former copywriter, Patterson’s prodigious output includes one or two standalone thrillers each year in his name and seven or eight books which he commissions by way of detailed 50 to 80 page synopsis, edits and, if necessary, rewrites. To criticism of his methods, “my answer is Simon and Garfunkel, Lennon and McCartney, Stephen King and Peter Straub and the Coen brothers”.

As a commissioning editor and co-author, Patterson has branched into the genre of young-adult and children’s fiction, collaborating in six children’s book series. Chatterton describes his partnership as a “pain-free” experience, and Patterson as a precise and conscientious editor. “I strive for the highest common denominator,” Patterson says.

Patterson’s passion for child literacy began with his son’s reluctance to read. One summer he cancelled Jack’s chores and told him his only obligation was to read for one hour a day. “Give them stories that they’ll gobble up like chocolate pudding and ask for more,” says Patterson of the secret to enthusing reluctant readers. The only bad book was one that put a child off reading for life.

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Green Eggs And Ham Coming To Netflix

GREEN EGGS AND HAM COMING TO NETFLIX

Netflix is cooking up “Green Eggs and Ham” with help from the estate of Dr. Seuss, executive producer Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros. TV Group. A 13-episode animated TV series will be adapted from the classic 1960 children’s book, continuing the adventures of some of its characters.

Cindy Holland, Netflix’s VP of original content, channeled Dr. Seuss’ famous meter in announcing the deal:

“We think this will be a hit
Green Eggs and Ham is a perfect fit
for our growing slate of amazing stories
available exclusively in all Netflix territories.
You can stream it on a phone.
You can stream it on your own.
You can stream it on TV.
You can stream it globally.”

The Most Banned Books of 2014

THE MOST BANNED BOOKS OF 2014

A memoir by a sexual assault survivor, a science fiction comic book and a children’s book about gay penguins were among the 10 most frequently banned or challenged books in the United States last year, according to the American Library Association, the ALA.

The ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom recently released its annual “Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books,” based on over 300 reports of community members attempting to have literature removed from libraries and school curricula. The organization notes that “attempts to remove books by authors of color and books with themes about issues concerning communities of color are disproportionately challenged and banned.”

Four of the books on the list are by writers of color: “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison and “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. “Homosexuality” is listed as the reason two of the books were banned or challenged. Alexie, who is something of a veteran of book-banning attempts, took the No. 1 spot on the list this year. On his Twitter account, he indicated that his place on the list was a badge of honor: “I am the proud author of the most banned/challenged book of 2014!” he tweeted.

The top 10 most banned and challenged books of 2014:

1. “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie. Reasons: anti-family, cultural insensitivity, drugs/alcohol/smoking, gambling, offensive language, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group, violence. Additional reasons: “depictions of bullying.”
2. “Persepolis,” by Marjane Satrapi. Reasons: gambling, offensive language, political viewpoint. Additional reasons: “politically, racially, and socially offensive,” “graphic depictions.”
3. “And Tango Makes Three,” Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Reasons: Anti-family, homosexuality, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “promotes the homosexual agenda.”
4. “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison. Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “contains controversial issues.”
5. “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris. Reasons: Nudity, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group.
6. “Saga,” by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples. Reasons: Anti-family, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.
7. “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini. Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited to age group, violence.
8. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky. Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “date rape and masturbation.”
9. “A Stolen Life,” Jaycee Dugard. Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.
10. “Drama,” by Raina Telgemeier. Reasons: sexually explicit.

Listen to The Book Report at your convenience. Go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-book-report/id540205917?mt=2, or at bookreportradio.com, click on Archived Shows

New Dr Seuss Book Out Soon

NEW DR SEUSS BOOK OUT SOON

Random House Children’s Books has increased its first printing on What Pet Should I Get?, a just discovered new picture book by the late Dr. Seuss, from 500,000 to 1 million. The book, which goes on sale July 28, was first announced in February, after the unpublished manuscript was rediscovered in 2013 by Seuss’s (Ted Geisel), widow, Audrey Geisel, and his longtime secretary and friend, Claudia Prescott.

“We were absolutely overjoyed to see the response to What Pet Should I Get? from every corner of the book world,” said Barbara Marcus, president and publisher of RHCB. “A new book by a publishing legend like Dr. Seuss is an extraordinary event, and we are delighted to announce an increased first printing to 1 million copies, to match the incredible support and pre-orders we are seeing.

The book features the brother and sister characters from Seuss’s One Fish Two Fish Red Fish, who attempt to choose a pet.

Listen to The Book Report at your convenience. Go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-book-report/id540205917?mt=2, or at bookreportradio.com, click on Archived Shows

A Sendak Museum?

Three years after Maurice Sendak’s death, his western Connecticut hometown of Ridgefield is pursuing a museum honoring the author of “Where the Wild Things Are.” The town has its sights on a vacant modernist building in walking distance from the village center, a glass structure designed by acclaimed architect Philip Johnson as corporate offices for an oil exploration company that left in 2006.

A panel of local arts figures recently received endorsement from the town and Sendak’s foundation to explore the proposal. Members say they have found overwhelming support for the idea to honor a man whose influence went far beyond that of a children’s book author. “The fact is, he loved the community, and the legacy of supporting all the arts was and is important to him and all those around him,” said Lloyd Taft, a local architect.

Sendak, who died in May 2012 at the age of 83, was born in New York City but spent the last four decades of his life in rural Ridgefield. Best known for the tale of naughty Max in “Wild Things,” his work included other standard volumes in children’s bedrooms such as “Chicken Soup With Rice,” a book about the different months in a year, and “Brundibar,” a folk tale about two children who need to earn enough money to buy milk for their sick mother. He also illustrated his own work, created costumes for ballets and staged operas, including the Czech opera “Brundibar.”

His 18th-century farmhouse is being preserved as Sendak left it. “That is going to stay just the way it is and be a study center and a place for scholars, artists and others to see how Sendak worked during his lifetime,” said Donald Hamburg, a New York attorney who is a member of the Maurice Sendak Foundation’s board.

Listen to The Book Report at your convenience. Go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-book-report/id540205917?mt=2, or at bookreportradio.com, click on Archived Shows

England Votes On Best Opening Lines To A Book

Peter Pan is the book with England’s favorite opening line, according to a new poll.
‘All children, except one, grow up,’ wrote J M Barrie in his children’s classic which scooped 20% of the vote in a poll commissioned to mark World Book Day next month.

But it’s not just childhood fairy tales that adults have fond memories of, as the opening lines from classic 19th Century novel “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens scored second place, while George Orwell’s “1984” completed the top three.

One in five of those polled admitted they will put a book down if the first line isn’t engaging.
However, one in four said they will continue reading a novel to the end even if they don’t enjoy it and, with complete disregard for the opening line, 15% admit jumping to the last chapter first to find out a book’s ending.

Here are the top 10 selections:

1. ‘All children, except one, grow up.’ – Peter Pan

2. ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.’ – A Tale of Two Cities

3. ‘It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.’ – 1984

4. ‘When Mr Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.’ – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

5. ‘Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, “and what is the use of a book,” thought Alice “without pictures or conversation?”‘ – Alice in Wonderland

6. ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a wife.’ – Pride and Prejudice

7. ‘Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.’ – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

8. ‘Here is Edward Bear, coming down the stairs now, bump bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin.’ – Winnie-The-Pooh

9. ‘My father got the dog drunk on cherry brandy at the party last night.’ – Adrian Mole

10. ‘The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play, so we sat in the house all that cold, cold wet day.’ – The Cat in the Hat

Listen to The Book Report at your convenience. Go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-book-report/id540205917?mt=2, or at bookreportradio.com, click on Archived Shows

“I AM MALALA” WINS GRAMMY

Neela Vaswani, a professor of creative writing, literature and cultural studies, was stunned to learn she had been nominated for a Grammy.

When she heard the audio version of I Am Malala, the book by Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai–which Vaswani had narrated–had been nominated for Best Children’s Album, she shared, “I had no idea it was even possible for a children’s book to be nominated.”

The news just got even better: the audio version of I Am Malala won the Grammy. The Grammy represents the latest in a slew of honors the teenaged Malala has earned since surviving an attack in which she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman for standing up for her belief that all children should have access to an education. She earned rave reviews for a keynote address at the Forbes Under 30 Summit this fall, explaining her journey and what she’s now doing to spread her message all while attending school in the United Kingdom. “She’s very busy going to school and saving the children of the world,” said Vaswani. “I hope Malala is happy,” said Vaswani. “I’m thrilled to be a part of spreading her message further.”

Listen to The Book Report at your convenience. Go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-book-report/id540205917?mt=2, or at bookreportradio.com, click on Archived Shows

Elaine Meets Alexander McCall Smith At Miami Book Fair International

Alexander McCall Smith has written more than 100 books, including academic titles, short story collections, and immensely popular children’s books. But he is best known for his acclaimed No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. Perhaps you’ve seen the delightful HBO series, which aired in 2009. McCall Smith is the author of several other series… including one featuring female sleuth named Isabel Dalhousie. Look for the tenth mystery in that series, The Strange Habits of Happiness, in Spring 2015. McCall Smith’s newest series for kids is based on the adventures of the beloved Precious Ramotswe as a little girl.

McCall Smith was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and was educated there and in Scotland. He became a law professor in Scotland, and returned to Africa to work in Botswana, where he helped establish a law school at the University of Botswana. For many years, he was Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh, and a visiting professor at numerous other universities. In addition to his university work, McCall Smith has been the vice-chairman of the Human Genetics Commission of the UK, the chairman of the British Medical Journal Ethics Committee, and a member of the International Bioethics Commission of UNESCO.

McCall Smith currently lives in Edinburgh. His hobbies include playing wind instruments. In fact, he is the co-founder of an amateur orchestra called “The Really Terrible Orchestra.” He has also written several librettos, including one for The Okavango Macbeth, set among a troop of baboons in the Okavango Delta, which has been staged in Africa and in the UK.

Listen to the upcoming shows for Elaine’s interview of Alexander McCall Smith.

Listen to The Book Report at your convenience. Go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-book-report/id540205917?mt=2, or at bookreportradio.com, click on Archived Shows

Elaine At The Miami Book Fair International 2014

This week Elaine Charles is camping out at the Miami Book Fair International 2014.

It is the largest literary event in the country. This year the many features include daily live-streaming by PBS; a section dedicated to local literary and artistic talent; an international children’s theatre festival; an expanded array of independent publishers; and new partnerships with the National Book Foundation and the Poetry Foundation.

Elaine will be treating herself to lectures, author presentations, and panels ranging from publishing to literary culture, comics to a writers’ institute. And she will be interviewing authors for her radio show, The Book Report. The next few posts will introduce those authors.

Was The Story For “FROZEN” Plagiarized?

WAS THE STORY FOR “FROZEN” PLAGIARIZED?
A Peruvian author is claiming Disney plagiarized the story for “Frozen” from her work. She claims the tale was not taken from a Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, but from her book entitled, “Yearnings of the Heart.”
Isabella Tanikumi, whose birth name is Amy Gonzalez, has filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement worth $250 million against Disney. The little-known author claims Disney copied the story, characters and plots of her 2010 novel and turned it into “Frozen” — the studio’s highest grossing animated movie of all time.
According to Amazon’s synopsis of the autobiography, it is a “compelling, introspective account of the life of Isabella Tanikumi, who takes her readers on a journey through her remarkable life – from her family’s survival during the devastating earthquake of 1970 in Peru, to the trials of facing the tragic and untimely death of her beloved older sister Laura.”
In the lawsuit, filed recently in New Jersey, Isabella claims Disney plagiarized her own life story in 18 different ways. “I recently purchased and viewed your movie ‘Frozen’ with my daughter and was appalled at what I observed,” Isabella wrote. Her published and copyrighted work, deals with “the story of two sisters who have tragedies, romances, conflicts, isolation and loneliness and there are significant similarities with your movie.”
A critical part of “Frozen’s” movie plot is when Elsa accidently hurts Anna with her wintry magic. According to Isabella, that is not an original Disney idea. Isabella claims her sister has no memory of an accident she caused that did severe damage to Isabella’s face.
Disney’s “Frozen” has grossed an astronomical $1.2 billion at the global box office, and its lead song “Let It Go,” performed by Idina Menzel, gave songwriter Robert Lopez the coveted EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) wins. But that hit soundtrack, Isabella claims, is also plagiarized from portions of her stories.

Listen to The Book Report at your convenience. Go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-book-report/id540205917?mt=2, or at bookreportradio.com, click on Archived Shows