A Very Little Bookstore

Why are all the streets in Summerville named after trees? You know there's something not-user-friendly about your town layout when you pull into the Taco Bell of the Lost Souls and see four other cars pull into the parking lot, with the occupants scrolling madly on their smart phones trying to figure out where they're going. But it was my fault for taking the back roads I suppose.

Anyhow, the journey was worth it to find a little gem in historic downtown Summerville, SC: A Very Little Bookstore.

 I like businesses that tell you exactly what they are in the title. While the shop is indeed small, approximately 400 square feet, every inch is maximized to display the most marvelous selection of children's books. A Very Little Bookstore deals primarily in picture books, and books for young readers, but they stock classic YA novels like the Harry Potter series and a small number of graphic novels as well.

Having been in many an independent bookstore that was cluttered and claustrophobic, this shop's stock perfectly matches the space it has, creating a totally charming shopping experience. An experience warmed by the friendly and personal service of the shop proprietor, Natalie Sober, who is probably one of the most welcoming and pleasant people I've met recently.

It's worth a trip with the kids to this shop made especially for them. Especially on November 30th at 10:30, when I will be in A Very Little Bookstore doing a reading of Frank the Gentle Viking during downtown Summerville's Small Business Saturday. So come on down and enjoy a day of stories, friends, and all the charms autumn on South Main Street has to offer.

Self Portrait Day

Reminding all artists that Nov. 1st is Self Portrait Day. Unless you're on Facebook where every day is self portrait day.

Throwback Thursday: "The Gashlycrumb Tinies" or 26 Ways to Die

"A is for Amy who fell down the stairs."

So begins Edward Gorey's tragic tale of how 26 children meet untimely demises in alphabetical order. AND IT'S AWESOME!

Here again, I find myself reviewing a favorite children's book that I didn't actually read as a child. My mother didn't believe in gruesome deaths and other such unpleasantness. But kids eat this stuff up! One of my favorite games as a child was playing "The Dying Informant", which simply consisted of running into a room, flinging yourself to the floor and pretending to die in the most soap-opera-y, over-the-top, drawn out way you could describe. This book gave me so many methods to add to my repertoire.

It's not just the variety of the scenarios that is interesting, it's the language that Gorey wields so deftly. Each page has no more than eight words, yet every page has a different verb, with pages rhyming in softly rocking couplets like a demented Mother Goose rhyme. It's clear that this isn't a book about children being murdered left and right, it's more a list of tragic and unlikely accidents being divulged in an understated mock-reverent tone. The shortness of the widely kerned sentences forces you to read it slowly and lugubriously, like an undertaker delivering bad news.

For example:

Not "killed", not "strangled", not "murdered". The charmingly dated colloquial "done in by". Tragic, yet tidy. The words may be dire, but Gorey, despite his name, tends to eschew truly violent images, focusing on the moment just before the terrible incident takes place. It creates a giddy tension because the reader knows what is obviously about to happen, yet the children in question seem either totally oblivious, or are only expressing the mildest concern, which is what makes it funny. 

My favorite is:

Not "eaten". Not "mauled". "Assaulted." Like they only meant to take his wallet. Classic.

The book hangs together so nicely because Gorey's illustrative style is as spare as his writing. Bleak high contrast and ambiguously abstracted space creates a vague discomfort and sense of abandonment and insecurity. You laugh, but at the same time, there's a part of you that relates to these helpless children. 

So in the spirit of Halloween, pick up a copy of this cult classic for some ghoulish good fun, and don't let your children get assaulted by bears when they go Trick-or-Treating tonight. Have a safe and Happy Halloween everybody! 

Pirates

It's true.

Warm/Cool color study

New SCBWI Website: The place to be, and where I am

Gah! I'm totally geeking out over the new renovations to the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators website! So much more user friendly, so handy for learning the ropes of promoting yourself and connecting with the community! If you haven't checked it out, do!

I'm so glad I finally joined. Even though I haven't yet been able to connect with many members, it's an incredible feeling to put my art next to theirs on the same site and be able to step back and realize "I belong here." I have miles and miles to go in my pursuit of mastery in both my drawing and my writing craft. But the community I have reached out to has been so warm and welcoming. Even if I haven't been published just yet, I feel inspired. I feel like I've really found my calling and my career path. Which is really heartening since I rounded out this week with yet another Dayjob person telling me "Yeah....you're not what we're looking for."

Nut's to them. I know what I'm good at. And I know what I love. I know where I'm going, and I know how far I've come. Even a snail can be proud of how far it's come, even if it's only a few inches in the grand scheme. Sometimes it's just that feeling of not being in last place anymore that's just what you need to keep plugging away at the next mile. Right now I feel like the proudest snail. Which is a big deal for me.

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