Since the first incarnation of the Virtual History Exhibit in 1999, many people have contributed their time and expertise. Rather than separate out the three versions of this exhibit, they are all listed together below. Concept & Design Lolly Robinson Elissa Gershowitz Katie Bircher Charlotte Reber Eva Anner Copy Kitty...
Click on a gallery to begin your exploration of the Virtual History Exhibit Our Roots | Controversies & Kerfuffles | Horn Book Magazine | Listen In | Horn Book Guide | Authors & Illustrators Acknowledgements ...
It's Siân's last week at Horn Book! ????Roger and Siân mainly ramble in this episode. There was no plan. You can tell. :) They talk about Siân's new gig with Shelf Awareness, electronic books, the future of publishing, and they display an amazing lack of knowledge on how to protect...
Siân chats with LeUyen Pham about illustrating (and also authoring) 90 books, a history of animation, and getting lost in the jungle.People we talk aboutDan SantatMolly IdleMarla FrazeeKevin LewisMo WillemsBooks we talk aboutCan You Do This, Old Badger? by Eve BuntingVampirina at the Beach by Anne Marie Pace The Princess...
Siân chats with artist and illustrator Ekua Holmes about sparc! The Artmobile, art in the community, and her newly illustrated work, Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley, and Marjory Wentworth.Other books we talk aboutVoice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole...
Something a little different today! Creative Director Lolly Robinson chats with Maung Nyeu about his project, Our Golden Hour, and picture books in translation.Links!https://ourgoldenhour.org/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2016/0121/Maung-Nyeu-is-helping-his-people-put-their-language-and-stories-on-recordhttp://southasiainstitute.harvard.edu/2015/06/saving-a-culture-book-by-book/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130628-endangered-languages-scripts-bangladesh-indigenous-cultures-world/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03ttrpbSave...
Siân chats with Adam Gidwitz who displays his Scottish accent, talks about his work and Mac Barnett in a bunny outfit, and *tries* to tell the listeners a Big Secret.People we talk aboutAlex BrackenTom AnglebergerLinksAt BookCon 2015Star Wars CelebrationPodcast with Alex BrackenWhy We Get Religious About Star WarsNot a reputable source!...
Siân and Roger chat about one headmaster's desire to keep "literary fast food" out of classroom libraries. And skipping pages. They also talk a lot about skipping pages.Books we talk aboutCHERUB series by Robert MuchamoreArtemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer"The Sound of Thunder" by Ray BradburyKushiel's Dart by Jacqueline CareyLord...
Siân chats with author/illustrator Jon Klassen and author Mac Barnett during a Triangle tour stop at the Brookline Booksmith.LinksMac’s TED talkSteven MalkRoger and Gene Luen Yang discuss lots of things, including the author/illustrator split during the picture book production processThe YarnRelevant pictures SaveSave...
Siân chats with Jamie Tan, Candlewick publicist, about trade shows, the life of a publicist, and finding your people.Jamie TanCandlewickBooks we talk aboutThe Princess in Black - Shannon and Dean HaleSnow White - Matt PhelanCaraval - Stephanie GarberCarve the Mark - Veronica RothRace to the Bottom of the Sea -...
Baby sis has begun her annual Battle of the Books, with Duncan Tonatiuh comparing the merits of Freedom in Congo Square and Freedom Over Me.Also, the Horn Book Podcast is back up and running. Last week Sian talked to author and agent Rebecca Podos and today we talk about politics...
In episode two of the new season, Siân and Roger discuss politics, "rock star" librarians, and wanting fries with that.People we talk aboutK-Fai SteeleAdam Rex (thread)Dan SantatLinksDiana Gabaldon (“Recent statistics from the New York Federal Reserve detailing employment outcomes by college major shows that English students have a 7.5 percent unemployment...
Episode one of season two! Siân talks with author and literary agent Rebecca Podos about her upcoming book, RuPaul's Drag Race, and advice pregnant women receive.Books we talk aboutThe Mystery of Hollow Places, Rebecca PodosLike Water, Rebecca PodosThe Red Tent, Anita DiamantBad Mother, Ayelet WaldmanA Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and...
Hey, look! Here's a podcast!Siân chats with author Alexandra Bracken about living in Arizona, her new book (Wayfarer), Mo Willems's man bun, and Star Wars. We chatted in a hotel lobby so there's a few background noises. Only a few of said noises are very noisy.Alex's links:WebsiteTwitterInstagramRecapAuthors we talk about:Melissa de...
Podcast the 38th in which Siân and Roger chat with special guest Malinda Lo.*We're going on vacation for the holidays! We'll miss you but we'll see you in 2017 (good riddance, 2016)!*(nsfw)Malinda infoTwittertumblrBooks we talk aboutKody Keplinger, RunSarah Waters, Tipping the VelvetAll Out from Harlequin TeenPeople we talk aboutSaundra MitchellCindy...
Podcast the 37th in which Roger and Siân talk about the recent election and women in publishing.LinksRoger’s morning afterLee and Low Diversity baseline surveyPublishing industry is overwhelmingly white and female, US study findsAre Book Publishers To Blame For Gender Discrimination?Why Men Don’t Read: How Publishing is Alienating Half the PopulationGender...
Podcast the 36th in which Roger and Siân talk about a lot of things before eventually getting to the topic of authorial intent.People we talk aboutMelissa de la CruzLaura KoenigPhilip PullmanMalinda LoBooks we talk aboutThe Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (Google says “People also ask” “Is The Handmaid’s Tale a true story?”...
Podcast the 35th in which Siân travels to BPL Copley to chat with children's librarian (and generally awesome human being) Laura Koenig. Entrance to the Children's Library The outside brought in Laura KoenigBPL interviewSimmons interview Light up lion cub from the front Light up lion cub from the sideBoston Public...
Hbook podcast the 34th in which Siân chats with author and fellow Disney-lover Melissa de la Cruz.Melissa's books we talk aboutSomething in Between Fresh Off the Boat Double EclipsePeople we talk aboutChina Anne McClainKara SaunLinksWhy Melissa de la Cruz’s immigration story matters nowThe Dream ActDisney DescendantsSiân's little sister GETTING PROPOSED...
Podcast the 33rd in which Siân and Roger chat with Last Stop on Market Street illustrator (and generally awesome human being), Christian Robinson.Books we talk about illustrated by Christian RobinsonSchool’s First Day of School, Adam RexLast Stop on Market Street, Matt de la PeñaLeo: A Ghost Story, Mac BarnettLittle Penguins, Cynthia...
Siân was lucky enough to have a quick chat with author Brittany Cavallaro at NYCC16. Beware: lots of background noise. :)http://www.brittanycavallaro.com/https://twitter.com/skippingstones...
Podcast the 32nd in which Siân chats with blogger and librarian Betsy Bird about religion in books and publishing.Books we talk aboutJazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph by Roxane Orgill and Francis VallejoHarry Potter, obviMiracle Man by John HendrixThe Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz and Hatem AlyRebel Genius by...
Podcast the 31st in which Siân and Roger talk about, well, the title: library censorship, intellectual freedom, and VOYA. Also Christian romances.Books we talk aboutKody Keplinger, RunSelene Castrovilla, MeltStephanie Kuehn, The Smaller EvilSimon Mason, Running GirlRuth Alexander, Changing Bodies, Changing LivesKate Breslin, For Such a TimeNathan Aldyne, SlateSweet Valley High...
Podcast the 30th in which Siân talks with author and literary agent Lana Popović.Books and movies we talk aboutErin Morgenstern, The Night CircusChocolatPeople we talk aboutTaylor HaggertyRebecca PodosMelissa MillerClaudia GabelLinksThe Swanky SeventeensZachary Shuster Harmsworth...
Podcast the 29th in which Roger and Siân chat with social work librarian and Horn Book reviewer Anastasia Collins about cultural (mis?)appropriation and bagels.Books we talk aboutStephenie Meyer’s Twilight seriesGhosts by Raina TelgemeierPeople we talk aboutLionel ShriverToni MorrisonLinksSimmonsLionel Shriver’s speechNew York Times articleInappropriate AppropriationThe Reluctant Memoirist, Suki KimRukhasana Khan's blog...
Podcast the 28th in which Roger and Siân chat with Julie Danielson, blogger extraordinaire, about being critics, champions, and reviewers.Books we talk aboutWild Things! Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature by Betsy Bird, Julie Danielson, and Peter D. SierutaPeople we talk aboutBetsy BirdPeter SierutaPhilip NelSergio RuzzierKadir NelsonTrina Schart HymanRobie HarrisTravis Jonker...
Podcast the 27th in which Siân and Roger talk about (and engage in) "spoiling."BGHB AwardsHorn Book at Simmons ColloquiumBooks we talk aboutLaura Amy Schlitz, Hired GirlJ. K. Rowling's Harry Potter seriesJennifer Mathieu, AfterwardLaurie Halse Anderson, SpeakE. Lockhart, We Were LiarsAnne Nesbet, Cloud and WallfishLouisa May Alcott, Little WomenPeople we talk...
Podcast the 26th in which Siân and Roger talk about Stranger Things (and crossover books and other TV shows and The Eighties).People we talk aboutGraceAnne DecandidoSteven SpielbergZena SutherlandJules DanielsonBooks we talk aboutStephen King’s Dark Tower seriesBefore the Fall by Noah HawleyThe Three Investigators seriesJ. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter seriesWrinkle in...
Podcast the 25th in which Roger chats with Debbie Reese about her childhood, what brought her to books, and two decades of friendship.Debbie’s websiteBooks we talk aboutLittle Owl Indian by Hetty Burlingame BeattyLittle Runner of the Longhouse by Betty Baker and Arnold LobelCaptain Underpants by Dav PilkeyLinksThe All White World...
Podcast the 24th in which Siân chats with Charlesbridge Publishing editor Karen Boss about acquisitions, books, and (not a little bit of) travel.Books we talk aboutKate Messner's The Seventh WishRoald Dahl and Quentin Blake's BFGPatrick Ness's A Monster CallsRoger Priddy's First 100 WordsMargaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd's Goodnight MoonEric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What...
Podcast the 23rd in which Roger and Siân revisit Farah Mendlesohn’s 2009 article, The Campaign for Shiny Futures, and ramble about young adult sci-fi.Note from Siân: there are a few crackles on this recording (I still have no idea why that happens) and I did not delete/fix them because...well...I went away...
Podcast the 22nd in which Siân and Roger talk about Jason Bourne, Bruce Willis, and "stupid."Stupid: lacking intelligence or common senseBooks we talk aboutHarry G. Allard and James Marshall, Stupids seriesDorothy Kunhardt, Pat the BunnyMaurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things AreAudrey Wood and Don Wood, The Little Mouse, The Red...
Podcast the 21st in which Roger and Siân talk about Lane Smith's There Is a Tribe of Kids, Siân actually considers the idea of a library not carrying the Harry Potter books, and Roger expresses a strong opinion about vampirism.Books we talk aboutLane Smith, There Is a Tribe of Kids and It's a...
Podcast the twentieth in which Siân and Roger chat about self-published books and reviewing (and conversation may or may not briefly derail into talk about Independence Day and the Bourne movies).Books we talk aboutAnne Lamott, Bird by BirdCarl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin, The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall AsleepStephenie Meyer, Twilight (y’all heard me...
Podcast the nineteenth in which Siân and Roger talk about The Crucible, Richard Peck, and young adult literature.Books we talk aboutCynthia Voigt, OrfeArthur Miller, The CrucibleBy Richard Peck: Are You in the House Alone, Blossom Culp series, Father Figure, Remembering the Good Times, Dreamland Lake, A Year Down Yonder (Newbery Award...
Siân talks to all the peopleEverything listed below in order of when it appears on the podcastVictoria Stapleton, Director of School and Library Marketing, Little BrownSo You Want to Read YA?Podcast with Sherri WinstonSherri WinstonDanielle YadaoAwards!Ilyasah Al ShabazzKekla MagoonDina Sherman, School and Library Marketing Director, Disney-Hyperion BooksMarcus SedgwickVicky Smith, Children’s and Teen...
Podcast the eighteenth in which Roger and Siân talk ALA, Harry Potter, and committees.Book(s) we talk aboutJ. K. Rowling, Harry Potter books (audio by Jim Dale)People we talk aboutMarcus SedgwickVicky SmithVictoria Stapleton, Director of School and Library Marketing, Little BrownMartha ParravanoFrances HardingeDavid GreenoughDan SantatDina Sherman, School and Library Marketing Director, Disney-Hyperion...
Hbook podcast the seventeenth with guest librarian (and killer storyteller) Julie Roach. **There are a few spots where the sound drops out a bit (we're sorry) but the stories Roger and Julie tell are so awesome, they're worth a little bit of ear straining. Promise.**Julie Roach on what makes a good...
Horn Book Podcast the sixteenth in which Siân and Roger talk about booze, drugs, and young adult lit.Books we talk aboutJohn Montroll and Min Sung Ku, Wonder Woman Origami: Amazing Folding Projects Featuring the Warrior Princess (DC Origami)Justine Larbalestier, My Sister RosaMaggie Stiefvater, Raven Boys seriesAnonymous, Go Ask AliceApril Genevieve...
Podcast the fifteenth in which Siân and Roger talk about the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winners (woot!).Do You Know??Tweet your answer for Roger's Extra Special Trivia Questions to Siân: What two books have won the Newbery Medal, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, and the National Book Award? What two authors have won the BGHB...
Note! Roger and Siân will be at the Horn Book booth at the Hubbub Festival on Saturday, June 4th from 9 am to 11 am. Come visit us!And now, your regularly scheduled programming...Podcast the fourteenth in which Siân and Roger talk with author, professor, mother, and generally awesome woman Megan...
Podcast the thirteenth in which Siân and Roger chat with Vicky Smith, Children's and Teen Editor at Kirkus Reviews, about Unmaking the White Default, ALA awards, and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.Books we talk aboutKenneth Oppel and Jon Klassen, The NestJohn Bellairs, The House with the Clock in Its...
Are you a teacher or librarian? We want to hear from you!What fabulous books do you use in the classroom or during story time? Why?Send a 30 second audio clip to podcast@hbook.com telling us what books you love, what books you find useful, or what books you've discovered recently and we'll play...
Podcast the sixth in which Siân and early education teacher Meg Lederhos (who also happens to be Siân's coworker at The Bar) talk about content, curriculum, and diversity (or lack thereof) in books for the classroom.Books we talk aboutRobert McCloskey, Make Way for DucklingsAaron Becker, JourneyShana Corey, The Secret SubwayHervé Tullet,...
Podcast the eleventh in which Siân and Roger talk about editing already published works, exercising, and the upcoming special awards issue of the Horn Book Magazine.Books we talk aboutLittle Red Riding HoodHugh Lofting, The Voyages of Doctor DolittleP. L. Travers, Mary PoppinsMary Hoffman and Caroline Binch, Amazing GraceJudy Blume, ForeverRoald...
Podcast the tenth in which Roger and Siân discuss violence in children's literature, Roger shares a (disgusting) story from his bachelor life, and the two can’t figure out how anniversaries work.Books we talk aboutKass Morgan, The 100Betsy Byars, Summer of the SwansCynthia Voigt, HomecomingStephen King, The Dark Tower seriesHeinrich Hoffmann, StruwwelpeterKevin...
Podcast the ninth in which Siân and Roger talk about Jane Eyre, music and making out, and North Carolina (Siân also says Amazon fought with Macmillan but really it was Hachette).Books we talk aboutJane Austen, Pride and PrejudiceCharlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (audio by Juliet Stevenson)Richard Peck, The Best ManPeople we talk...
In this week's Horn Book Podcast, Siân talks with Mackenzi Lee (This Monstrous Thing) about how they found kindred spirithood via The Raven Boys; and about fandom, fan fiction, and 'shipping (there totally should be an apostrophe so shut up). I admire the impulse and envy the enthusiasm but so not my...
Podcast the eighth in which Siân and guest author Mackenzi Lee talk about her book, This Monstrous Thing, being a fan girl, and whether the author is dead. Siân also gets yet another Harry Potter fact wrong (first book came out in 1998).Books we talk aboutMackenzi Lee, This Monstrous Thing (and her...
We have a new podcast out today (with Horn Book reviewer Hannah Gómez as guest), mostly talking about Kirkus' children's editor Vicky Smith's new policy of labelling, where possible, the race of all mentioned characters in reviews of children's/YA fiction. When we recorded the podcast I hadn't yet seen Kirkus operating...
Podcast the seventh, in which Siân and Roger talk with Hannah Gómez--Horn Book reviewer, member of the WNDB staff, and all around awesome person--about racial coding in books and identifying race in book reviews. Also, cats. We also talk about cats.And dogs. Those too.Books we talk aboutJoshua Khan, Shadow MagicVirginia Euwer Wolff, Make LemonadeToni Morrison,...
Podcast the sixth, in which Siân and Roger discuss Roger's vacation, the copying game, routines, and reviewing. Books we talk aboutMina Javaherbin and Eugene Yelchin, Elephant in the DarkMaurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things AreKelley Puckett and Jon J. Muth, Batman’s Dark SecretAndrea Pippins, I Love My HairJohn Scalzi, Lock InNeil...
Podcast the fifth, in which Siân and Roger talk about "boy books," physical therapy, and Tibetan Eye Charts (and Siân misremembers The Case of the Sad Puppies)Books we talk aboutJesse Andrews, The HatersLindsay Ribar, Rocks Fall Everyone DiesJ. K. Rowling, Harry Potter seriesR. L. Stine, Goosebumps seriesSonali Dev, The Bollywood...
Some special material (original cast here) with author/illustrator David Hyde Costello in which Siân and David worry over spoilers, talk about Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, and want to be hobbits....
Podcast the fourth in which Siân makes guest author/illustrator David Hyde Costello take the Sorting Hat test, meets a hobgoblin, and manages to forget how many books are in the Harry Potter series (SEVEN books, Siân. Not eight!)LinksDavid’s websiteEzra Jack Keats New Writer honorBank Street Center for Children’s Literature (under...
Podcast the third (recorded on 2.19.16) in which Roger and Siân talk about Harper Lee, YA readers, and opera. (Yet another warning, Siân had not yet banned cell phones from the "recording studio" so there are a few crackles after the 20 minute mark.)Roger's YA postBooks we talk about:Harper Lee,...
Be still my heartI am off next week for California; visiting children and grandchildren; seeing friends including Mina, Eugene, and Andy; and attending the tennis tournament at Indian Wells, tickets for which Richard kindly surprised me with on Valentine's Day. But I will be in virtual attendance at JLG's free...
Podcast the second in which Roger and Siân talk about Harry Potter, jury duty, and Hufflepuff Pride.Warning: there are a few mildly annoying but not terrible crackles after the 18 minute mark (because someone—Siân—just HAD to sort Roger on her phone)Books we talk about:J. K. Rowling, The Cursed Child and...
Podcast the First in which Roger and Siân talk about the Twitters, the recalling of A Birthday Cake for George Washington, and Roger's gourmet Chex mix.Links:Scholastic's recall announcementAndrea Davis Pinkney's statementRamin Ganeshram's statementVicky Smith's opinion pieceOpinion piece links:Roger SuttonLinks from Debbie ReesePage by page breakdown from Freeman NgMitali PerkinsEdi CampbeleEbony...
Welcome to the Horn Book Podcast!As a lover of both children’s literature and podcasts, I am super excited to be bringing a Horn Book Podcast into the world. With Roger as my co-host (and special guests along the way), this space is for conversation about children’s literature through the lenses...
Starting today, the Horn Book’s new podcast with editor in chief Roger Sutton and Guide editorial assistant Siân Gaetano is live! Released once a week, this podcast will be for casual conversation about children’s literature from the perspectives of publishers, librarians, teachers, and fans. Roger brings his years of experience,...
Here is a selection of articles from our archives1990sBarbara Bader examines six milestones in the Horn Book's first seventy-five years: Treasure Island by the Roadside (January/February 1999)Selling children's books off the back of a truck. Peter Says Please (March/April 1999)Beatrix Potter befriends the Horn Book. Politi for Christmas (May/June 1999)An...
by Elizabeth Orton JonesTchrr-r-r-r! The phone would ring. I’d answer, and after a considerable while I’d hear a faint little quavery voice, as if someone were calling me from beyond the Pleiades…“E-li-i-izabeth?”It would be my dear friend Bertha Mahony Miller, calling from Ashburnham, Massachusetts, about seventeen miles from Mason, New...
Recommended by Roger Sutton and Martha Parravano in the Horn Book podcast.FictionBasketball Bats and Goof-Off Goaliewritten by Betty Hicks, illustrated by Adam McCauley (Roaring Brook)Grade level: 1–3Airman by Eoin Colfer (Hyperion)Grade level: 4–8The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd (Fickling)Grade level: 4–8Go Big or Go Home by Will Hobbs (HarperCollins)Grade...
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[embed]https://s3.amazonaws.com/WebVault/HB/audio/podcast_pullman.mp3[/embed]Roger Sutton: I have to confess I have never met a writer who felt truly happy with any film adaptation of their work. How about it?Philip Pullman: Well, yes. To be truly happy with it you have to be the director as well as the scriptwriter and the star and the composer...
This list accompanies the podcast by Terri Schmitz,owner of The Children’s Bookshop, Brookline, MAPicture BooksEdwardo: The Horriblest Boy in the Whole Wide Worldwritten and illustrated by John Burningham (Knopf).Grade level: K–3.On Angel Wings written by Michael Morpurgo,illustrated by Quentin Blake (Candlewick).Grade level: 2–6.Star Wars: A Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxytext and paper...
In 2007 and 2008 the Horn Book had a (more-or-less) monthly podcast. We are happy to make these episodes available once again here. Our podcasts featured conversations with writers, illustrators, and editors, chats about current trends, and insider takes on reviewing and publishing. Beach Bag BooksRoger Sutton and Martha Parravano talk...
Beatrix Potter’s resistance to critics and fans writing about her books is well documented. In 1939 Margaret Lane, who would later become Potter’s first biographer, received a classic brush-off:So I wrote to Beatrix Potter, as politely and respectfully as I knew how, telling her of my lifelong pleasure in her...
On an evening in November 1930, during Children’s Book Week, Bertha Mahony arranged a festive Mexican Dinner in honor of the authors and illustrators of the season’s bumper crop of books on a Mexican theme. The most imposing, surely, was René d’Harnoncourt, illustrator of The Painted Pig, who was not...
by Elizabeth Orton JonesTchrr-r-r-r! The phone would ring. I’d answer, and after a considerable while I’d hear a faint little quavery voice, as if someone were calling me from beyond the Pleiades…“E-li-i-izabeth?”It would be my dear friend Bertha Mahony Miller, calling from Ashburnham, Massachusetts, about seventeen miles from Mason, New...
By Lee KingmanMy earliest memory of Bertha Mahony, before she added Miller to her name, begins with her feet. Small feet, proportioned to her small frame. As I was a lanky nine-year-old, I was almost as tall as she was. Her lack of size, however, had nothing to do with...
Bertha Mahony Miller in 1929.The Bookshop for Boys and Girls was born, in a twelvemonth, with a pedigree and a distinguished list of patrons. Its role was largely determined from the outset.But life, real life, is also a string of accidents. Bertha Mahony was thirty-three and restless after ten years...
From Isabel WilnerMy acquaintance with the Horn Book began when I entered Carnegie Library School in Pittsburgh in September 1944. Our classrooms were located in the library itself, and it was there that I discovered bound volumes of the Horn Book, which I enjoyed reading for my personal pleasure whenever...
From Jill Paton Walsh and John Rowe TownsendPaul Heins was a Bostonian born and bred: a perfect Bostonian gentleman. (He was not a Boston Brahmin, but then, you do not have to be a Brahmin to be a gentleman.) Ethel was a New Englander by adoption. Together they seemed to...
From Jane ManthorneMy association with The Horn Book Magazine and children’s books goes back more than fifty years. Recollections abound of encounters with the unexpected, the ridiculous, the bizarre, and — most often — thoughtful meetings with staff, authors, and books.My predilection in life and libraries and literature has always...
“The Horn Book League . . . , like the St. Nicholas League after which it was modeled and whose motto it bore, . . . was made up of artwork, poems, and essays sent in by boys and girls. The first column appeared in the March-April 1949 Horn Book under a headpiece designed...
From Lillian N. GerhardtThe Horn Book was just ending the celebration of its first forty years of publication when I went to work for the advance review agency Kirkus Review Service.Its founder, Virginia Kirkus, was seventy years old and still an active presence on the staff. Unlike most who reach that age,...
By Nancy SheridanIt was December of 1979, and Susan Cooper, Margaret Hodges, David McCord, Erik Haugaard, Jill Paton Walsh, and Norma Farber were contributors to the Horn Book. Not a bad line-up. And I was continuing an editorial internship that would eventually lead to the job of editorial assistant and,...
By Karen KlocknerI recently discovered a paper I wrote in fourth grade about the history of the alphabet. I loved the letter forms, the symbols, the idea of historical change reflected in the characters. So it amused me to think that years later, as a graduate student in Boston, the...
By Karen Jameyson“Hello, is that the horny book?” the husky voice inquired.“Umm . . . well . . . ” Not that I knew of, but then I’d only been working at the Horn Book, Inc., for a couple of days when I answered that phone call from someone looking for a porn magazine. Maybe those tidy rows...
By Elizabeth Dyer HalbrooksOne day back in 1963 I bumped into Ruth Hill Viguers, then editor of The Horn Book Magazine, at the Star Market. After a short chat, she said, “Are you still looking for a job? We have a wonderful opening at the Horn Book. The business manager...
The small, compact figure on the cover, with a book by her side, is and is not a picture of Ethel Heins. It’s unmistakably the work of M. B. Goffstein, from her late period of pastel life-studies, and it comes from a scrapbook of tributes to Heins on her retirement from...
On her first visit to California in January 1947, Bertha Mahony Miller spent a productive evening with the rising illustrator Leo Politi. From the evidence, it was a thoroughly congenial evening too.Bertha Miller was rounding out thirty busy years as editor of the Horn Book and director of its progenitor,...
In August 1927 the Horn Book carried an appeal for help in preserving the Lake District countryside in the names of two eminent English countryfolk, Peter Rabbit and Beatrix Potter. In the illustrated letter, Peter pleads mutely, like a dog begging for a bone. But they do not come empty-handed,...
Since the first incarnation of of the Virtual History Exhibit in 1999, many people have contributed their time and expertise. Rather than separate out the three versions of this exhibit, they are all listed together below.Concept & DesignLolly RobinsonElissa GershowitzKatie BircherCharlotte ReberEva AnnerCopyKitty FlynnAnne QuirkLolly RobinsonContent & ResearchRoger SuttonKaren WalshMartha...
Please sign our guestbook by submitting a comment below. Traditionally, museum gallery guest books include date, name, where you are from, and a comment. This website will automatically include your name and date, but please do give a location and — if you are so moved — tell us what...
More about the authors and artists featured in our Virtual History Exhibit, including Roald Dahl, James Marshall, Beatrix Potter, Rosemary Wells, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.Lloyd Alexander(1924–2007)Considered one of the world’s master storytellers, Lloyd Alexander has written both picture books and novels, including the Newbery Medal recipient The High King. Writing...
This drawing by L. Leslie Brook was given to Horn Book founder Bertha Mahony Miller in 1936....
Beatrix Potter (Mrs. William Heelis) sent this drawing and verse to Horn Book's founding editor, Bertha Mahony Miller. Read more about Beatrix and Bertha and their friendship....
During the Book Caravan's second summer of traveling around New England, operators Ruth Drake and Pauline Langley, two young Bookshop employees, kept a diary of their experiences. While Bertha Mahony's venture failed to make a profit, it succeeded in spreading the word about great books for children and adults.Friday, 29...
[portfolio_slideshow]For more about the Book Caravan, read Barbara Bader's Horn Book Magazine article, "Treasure Island by the Roadside." We also offer a slideshow of photos of the Caravan and transcriptions of selected pages from the caravan diary.For full-size images of these clippings, go to this page.Apparently, all the major newsreel...
The Caravan was outfitted to Bertha's specifications by Charles Hodgkins. This painting is probably his work.In the summers of 1920 and 1921, Bertha Mahony had a truck outfitted to sell books and trained two booksellers from her Bookshop for Boys and Girls to drive and maintain it. Though the Book...
On a July morning in 1920, a strange, hybrid vehicle headed north out of Boston for a summer’s tour of New England towns and villages, for all the world like a traveling circus or a band of puppeteers. Aboard were a pair of young women with a working knowledge, between...
Here are just a few of the guest book entries from the first version of the exhibit spanning 1999 to 2005. We'd love to hear from you on our current guest book.7/14/99Gayle BaarThis is a wonderful addition to your website. I am planning to come back to see the new...
The children’s book business, only in its infancy when the Horn Book Magazine debuted in the 1920s, came of age in the 1980s as baby boomers stocked their children’s bookshelves and a new breed of teachers replaced their one-size-fits-all textbooks with classrooms libraries. Publishers responded to the growing market by...
The first few issues of the Guide featured editorials by founding editor, Ann A. Flowers, who commented on the state of the field from her unique vantage point of having seen an entire publishing season's worth of books. Here are three samples from 1990 and 1991.A New and Original Venture...
Scroll down for transcriptions and more information[portfolio_slideshow]Transcriptions: Auden house to let | Anonymous request | Eleanor Roosevelt | Future librarian? | Beatrix Potter | McCloskey’s mistakeJanuary 1937 Hunt BreakfastTo Let—A Poet’s House in the English Lakes. Perhaps some one who plans to spend next summer in England will be interested to rent a delightful house near Keswick...
This promotional pamphlet was written by Karen Jameyson in the 1980s and later updated by the Horn Book.BeginningsBack in the early 1920s, before the ink of the first Horn Book Magazine was even dry on the page, the Boston YMCA announced a course in automobiles and engines. At a time when cars...
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