But no, she appears to be from the U.S. Which explains her mis-use of ’spiffy.’ Here is her website – she’s been editor for years at the Horne Book, a venerable publication of juvenile literature, much depended on by schools and libraries. She’s been an editor at major trades, etc. All her working life has been in the field, one way and another.

Love, C.

Of course, we Brits have our own disasters when trying to portray American slang (or accents), so it works both ways.

I would hazard a guess that what Anita Silvey meant about the slush pile was that if these manuscripts came in to the slush from an unknown author, they would have been junked. In other words, they are only selling because of the celebrity name.

That this is happening in the field of children’s books is hardly surprising, given the multitude of other fields that celebrities are using in their quest to brand themselves for maximum exposure before the Next Big Star comes along.

I did go and read the original article, but it seemed to mix damning with faint praise with praising with faint damn. Jamie Lee Curtis got high marks–and she’s been doing this for years–and Julie Andrews likewise got high marks (and she’s likewise been doing this for years). About the only author who got roundly panned is Gloria Estefan. Even Madonna got a thumbs up from the child who was asked about her book (but had less enthusiasm for Madonna’s dancing), and the prose criticism of Madonna for using the word “spiffy”? Is this a British thing, one of those horrid Americanisms that simply shan’t be said in polite company? I certainly won’t turn handsprings over the sample sentence from Madonna, but we’ve certainly all read far worse, and in published books too–and I’m not talking about Gloria Estafan’s either. If this is the worst example the critic can find, Madonna must be doing pretty well.

I’m also thinking that the singer/songwriter/actor/playwright celebrity children’s books probably stack up pretty well when compared to the vaguely touched on subject of royalty celebrity kids books (thank you, Fergie) and the untouched subject of first lady kiddie books. I remember my mother going on about the huge advance Barbara Bush got for her “Millie the Dog” book. Anyone ever cracked that? And even then…it’s a fact that Lynne Cheney was a published novelist before she ever became a vice first lady. I don’t think it outside the realm of possibility that her kids books are in fact readable.

Of course her first novel was about lesbians of the purple sage. I’d love to see that as a kids book, especially in the style of Sarah, Plain and Tall.

Celebrity names sell good.

I mean that in the best way, of course.

Love, C.

Editor: Oh, how cute! I’ve never actually done kiddie books, but how hard can it be? Your idea is darling, and it teaches a very good lesson. Your name should guarantee millions of sales–do you need a ghost writer? How is a quarter million advance? Sorry it can’t be more–publishing is a very small business compared to film and TV.

*Segue a year*

*Remainder tables full of copies of the latest little animal who learns to solve its problem…*

Love, C.

Because, previous to Harry Potter, the juvie lines were persistent in trade publishing, but they did nowhere the business they do now that the boomers made their children their primary lifestyle projects, starting at the end of the 80’s and the early 90’s. (I was working in publishing at one of the few still standing trade houses during that era and saw the transistion happen, btw.)

In the earlier decades, kids’ and ya literature was a mainstay, of course, but the business basically stayed flat, going neither up nor down much, depending mostly on the star-studded back list of ‘classics,’ with the largest purchasers being schools and libraries. This is why there were no best seller lists published and tracked in places like the NY Times, because, until then, the numbers just weren’t there.

In a lot of circles it’s become the thing: upper lifestyle woman gets tired of the grind of balancing parenting with her highpowered job, leaves to be full-time mom, but keeps her intellectual cred by her ambition to write and / or illustrate children’s books. I’m just sayin’, yanno — reporting, not judging.

In the meantime, speaking of authentic and wonderful classic kids’ literature, the new movie of Charlotte’s Web is going to be released at Christmas this year. It looks wonderful. Dakota Fanning, who is currently filming the role of Lyra for the His Dark Materials / Golden Compass project, plays the little girl.

You can see trailers and photos here; an article about the making of the film can be found here.

So, even without a Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter movie this holiday season, we do have something wonderful and magical to look forward to!

Love, C.