Headline jokes - leftovers from the SCBWI Conference

At the last minute, I registered for just one day of the SCBWI summer conference - Saturday - to see the Portfolio Showcase (inspiring), hear Melinda Long, Eve Bunting, Kadir Nelson and Arthur Levine on creating an extraordinary picture book (illuminating), the agents panel with Brenda Bowen (whose session last year was a highlight for me), Sarah Davies, Stephen Fraser, Don Lazar, Kelly Sonnack and Marietta Zacker (informative) and of course, to network at the Blue Moon Ball. There were many other highlights, like Wendy Loggia's presentation on 7 reasons for rejecting a manuscript (Note to bloggers: consider what you write in your blog. Editors do!)

Then there's the joke challenge - a fun diversion in the few down minutes between running back and forth from the Los Angeles Ballroom to the California Showcase. Last year I won a joke draw, which motivated me further. The challenge this time - to write a headline showing how characters from children's literature are adjusting to the recession. I submitted four jokes this year, and none of them were drawn. I don't want to waste them, so here are my leftovers:

* Rapunzel sells hair - Prince climbs tower with grappling hook

* Pinocchio forced to cut off extra nose for kindling

* Emperor shops for new clothes at Goodwill

* Alice subdivides Wonderland

One more thing - the kid's pov - an interview with children on what books they're reading and why  (see my last post) will now be a regular feature of this blog. Look for upcoming interviews with young readers here soon!

Two Teens on Reading - An Interview

What are teenagers reading and what makes a good book? I talked to my niece and her best friend, two sophisticated 13 year-olds, about what they've read recently. It turns out they have fascinating insights on YA fiction. I started with Nicole:

What were your three favorite books this year? 

Nicole: "Gossip Girl," (by Cecily Von Ziegesar) and... what was that book with the yellow cover I read?

Rachel: She only reads books with yellow covers...

Nicole: Did any Harry Potter books come out this year? (laughter) I know - "The View from Saturday," (E.L. Konigsburg), and "The Mediator Series," by Meg Cabot. It's about a ghost busting person. 

Which of those stands out?

Nicole: I think "Gossip Girl" stands out.

Why?

Nicole: It's really chick litty and light and easy. They just have good characters.

Rachel: They're intriguing plots - scandalous - and the characters are very good, well-written.

Nicole: The characters relate well to teens.

Rachel: Except they're not relatable. We don't live in New York and meander around in parties and (do the things they do).

What kind of books do you like most, Nicole?

Nicole: I like sad books where people die - with yellow covers - I do judge by the cover - because in happy books they always have everything and you're all bummed out 'cause they're happier than you are.

That's very interesting. How do you judge a book by its cover?

Nicole: If a book is one solid cover I don't like that. If they have really annoying shiny covers that change in the light, I don't like that. I don't like hardcover books at all - they're too heavy - they don't bend... and I don't like really cartoony (covers). 

(Then,  Nicole remembered another book she read recently) "Before I Die," (by Jenny Downham) - not a kid's book though, but the character is 16. It's sad, but it's got short chapters. I like short chapters because you feel like you accomplished something.

Tell me more about why Gossip Girl is your favorite recent book, Rachel? 

Rachel: The plot is very intriguing, and the end of each chapter makes you want to read the next chapter. You don't stop reading... I also love the covers of these books, 'cause you can't see the characters' eyes. So you want to read the book and imagine what they look like.

What other books have you read recently? 

Rachel: "Forever Rose," (Hilary McCay), "Once Upon a Marigold," (Jean Ferris), and "Mrs. Piggle Wiggle," (Betty MacDonald).

Tell me about "Mrs. Piggle Wiggle." 

Rachel: It was one of my mom's books (first published in 1947). Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's funny, it's so drole.

Why funny?

Rachel: (quoting a passage from the text) Because, "She said, she fell off the banister and hit her head, and they thought she said, she fell in the toaster and burned up dead."

Nicole: It's not what you see in kid's books anymore. It's an old book. It's morbid.