>Snake Tale

by Roger Sutton
Feb 01, 2006 | Filed in Articles & Opinion
>Hey all, home with a cold here but had a bit I wanted to say re the Harriet Ziefert scandal. When I was walking around the ALA exhibits in San Antonio, I saw Harriet at the Blue Apple/Handprint booth, where she pointed out A Snake Is Totally Tail to me as something she was sure the Horn Book would like. While not as on-the-spot as the sharp (and fellow Lucinda Williams fan) Karen Breen of Kirkus, I knew the title, at least, was not new, and I asked Harriet if it was a reissue, but her attention had already gone on to someone else.

I do not think this is a case of knowing plagiarism--no one could be that venal and stupid. As I see it, the problem is one of the dangers of boutique publishing--Blue Apple, editorially speaking, is essentially a one-woman show, and while Harriet had clearly forgotten she knew the book, there was not the series of filters, nor sets of eyes, that the book would have been subjected to at a larger house. (Although, as KT Horning pointed out on child_lit, a similar boo-boo was made when a large publisher--Dell?--did not recognize a manuscript found in Louise Fitzhugh's papers as the published work of Charlotte Zolotow, and republished it as being by Fitzhugh.)

Deborah Stevenson of The Bulletin sent me a note about the story, signing it "Helen 'Frost King' Keller" and I believe Ziefert made much the same kind of mistake as the precocious--and impressionable Helen!
Roger Sutton
Roger Sutton

Editor Emeritus Roger Sutton was editor in chief of The Horn Book, Inc., from 1996-2021. He was previously editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and a children's and young adult librarian. He received his MA in library science from the University of Chicago in 1982 and a BA from Pitzer College in 1978.

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Meg Seaver

>Cou cou cou we need help--any chance thru University of Chicago?????? message below forwarded by Meg Seaver, Librarian , American School of Paris Dear SCBWI,
Some of you will know the great, international children's library in Clamart run by La Joie par les Livres and Genevive Patte.See her letter below . She is currently occupying the library to prevent it closing after state funding was withdrawn without warning. There have been articles in the press. The full history of this library, and what has been going on, is at the end of this email in blue.
As lovers of children's books, please think about signing the online petition.
Merci d’avance!
Bridget
Nous occupons la bibliothque jour et nuit. Nous avons dj vit le
transfert des livres et des meubles qui devait commencer aujourd'hui mme et
se faire en douce. (La responsable de la JPL ayant donn la consigne toute
l'quipe de ne pas me prvenir de cette fermeture anticipe. Consigne
adopte...) La presse nous soutient et le collectif clamartois : Pour que
vivent nos cits est trs actif. Mais nous avons besoin de votre soutien.
Signez et faites suivre autour de vous.
Des films sont tourns actuellement sur place. Marc Riboud va faire un
reportage photographique. Jack Lang, Robert Delpire, Sarah Moon crivent des
textes destins tre publis. Chre association Laissez-les lire, ne nous
oubliez pas. Le jeu en vaut la chandelle.
Amitis.
Genevive Patte

Posted : Feb 12, 2006 12:05

KT Horning

>It's sad that Judi Barrett has been missing from the children's book scene. Her books had a very original brand of humor, almost Scieszkaesque. I do wonder what she's up to these days.

I met her husband (ex-husband?), Ron Barrett (illustrator of many of her books) at a children's literature conference years ago. He was on the staff of MAD magazine and was hilarious, both as a speaker and in casual conversation.

As for the book in question: many authors have been repeating themselves for years. It was only a matter of time before they began to repeat each other.

Posted : Feb 07, 2006 07:59

the kid

>Having endured the misery of working with Harriet, I believe she thinks she did nothing wrong. Because in Harriet's world, she never does anything wrong. Hopefully this will be a lesson learned, though I doubt it.

Posted : Feb 04, 2006 03:50

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