When is a whitewashed cover not a whitewashed cover? When a publisher gives itself a reason to pretend that it isn't whitewashed. This article infuriated me, especially the quote, "When Cindy Pon was first trying to find a home for Silver Phoenix, she was told by an editor that 'Asian fantasy doesn't sell.' I'm sure people will look at the sales figures of Silver Phoenix and draw that same conclusion." WHATEVER. Kids LOVE being able to see themselves as the hero to a story and Asian kids read fantasy just as much as anybody else. I wish I had more in my RA head. (Do you know any more? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave them in the comments. My patrons are obsessed and I need more ideas!) (found via Notemily.)
My friend Nerdgasms linked to this interesting article about the possibilities that ebooks bring in terms of multimedia in ways that couldn't be done before.
I agree that the possibilities for the future of books are endless, but don't discount the old fashioned print version of the book as being incabable of multimedia! There are multimedia books out there. From the basic such as Stephanie Meyer posting track lists of what she thinks of as the soundtrack to her books. There are multiple poetry anthologies for kids that come with CDs of the authors (or other if the author isn’t available) reading the poems aloud. When I was a teen librarian I remember a mystery book with clues in the books as well as on webpages referenced in the book that really existed on the web. The Septimus Heap hardcover books all come with a CD-ROM that I haven’t checked out but I know kids get disappointed if the only book on shelf is the one with the missing CD-ROM.
Heck, Eric Carle. The Very Lonely Firefly. At the end, all the fireflies light up! The Very Quiet Cricket! When you turn the last page after (spoiler alert) the cricket learns to chirp, THE BOOK CHIRPS AT YOU!
So yes, I'm excited for what's coming, but I love what's here.
3 comments:
Oooh, what about Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman? I loooved that one (and keep anxiously waiting for the sequel... *twiddles thumbs*).
Um, also... The Sign of the Qin by L.G. Bass
And... Archer's Quest by Linda Sue Park.
PS: I'm outraged that they're replacing that beautiful cover with whitewashing. Thanks for giving me a head's up.
check out the Gal Novelty blog and maybe email the blogger (Ah Yuan) for Asian fantasy recommednations. She's fantastic. http://galnovelty.blogspot.com/
i don't read much fantasy but I thought Gateway by Sharon Shinn was OK. I've also had Little Sister recommended to me as well as Book of a Thousand Days. Both books that I will read because they sound great. Ash was a lovely read (do fairytale retellings count as fantasy?). I just heard about a book caled Takeshita Demons by Cindy Burne, coming out in the U.S. in October. In August a book called Samurai Kids: White Crane by Sadndy Fussell is coming out. It's about samurais but there may be some fantasy elements in there. Hmm that's all I can think of. For now.
Thank you for your suggestion about ordering POC books! (I replied to your comment back at my blog)
ASIAN kids need more Asian fantasy? This Caucasian grownup has been hankering after Asian fantasy for YEARS. When I was doing a collection development project on fantasy for library school I was SHOCKED at how little fantasy with Asian roots was in print. What a rich mythology to explore through fantasy fiction! Even if you restricted it to dragon lore, the possibilities are bottomless.
And as to Asian fantasy not selling... have these publishers never encountered MANGA FANATICS before?
Post a Comment