Therein Illustrated & The Honour Of It

We came across this article about the decline in artwork used in children's books. For an example the author cites John's novels and the differences in artwork between those published in the 1970s and those released during the 80s. We thought we'd re-publish it here to gain some more insights:

Comments of Praise, Richly Compiled

Catherine Dalek commented on some of her summer reading list, including few Bellairs titles:

Obviously I’m not the target audience. however, I’m not sure how well novels written in the 1980s but set in the 1950s resonate with today’s ten year olds.

What say you, readers of today?  Do you enjoy reading of the world 50+ years ago or is too strange a time and place to bother with?  We wonder how John would have been affected by - or would have affected - children’s literature trends were he still around.

More About Widow's Walk Lake

Filmmaker and Bellairs-fan James Strayer got in touch with us earlier this year about his latest work, Widow's Walk Lake, a film inspired partly by some of Bellairs’ spooky stories. The story is set in the 1930s and follows a young man as he goes off to war leaving his wife behind.

Enquirer: Marshall Historic District Possible

Darby Prater reports in the Battle Creek Enquirer:

In a town known as "Historic Marshall," it might seem appropriate that downtown buildings be required to maintain an historic appearance. But, while preservation of traditional architecture is encouraged, Main Street Manager Diane Larkin said without establishing a local historic district, the city has no legal control over it. Representatives and volunteers from 17 Michigan communities convened Tuesday [December 9] at Schuler's Restaurant to discuss the role of design in historic preservation. Marshall is one of four cities nominated for the master level of the Michigan Main Street Program, which will help Marshall attract tourism and industry, Larkin said.

Book Alert: Magic Mirrors

There is news this holiday season of what appears to be a new John Bellairs anthology on the horizon. This one is a collection of his non-YA books entitled (appropriately enough) Magic Mirrors. The anthology looks to include:

Something About a Magician Disillusioned

If there's one thing we learned from The Specter of the Magician's Museum it's the men and women who practiced stage magic came up with some interesting stage names. Much of Specter has its roots in the American Museum of Magic in Marshall as well as Colon, the magic capital of Michigan. There are more names buried out in Colon's Lakeside Cemetery, too. The Magnificent Fraud. The Amazing Conklins. The Conjuring Humorist.  America's Greatest Pickpocket. You get the idea.

Ion Zwitter shares the story of one such magician, The Great Lumache:

The Grave of the Unknown Stranger

I found the vignettes in this article interesting – and in one case, a bit Bellairsian. Even the title of this post strikes me as a potential book title.

Whirl Along with Us in the Globe

How many glass orbs can you think of from the Bellairs and Strickland novels?

• The green glass paperweight-thing of Prospero's (The Face in the Frost)
• The snow globe Johnny sees first hand (The Hand of the Necromancer)
• Does that crystal orb atop Mrs. Zimmermann’s staff count?

Elisabeth linked to images of snow globes created by Walter Martin and Pamela Munoz and rightly says they remind her of Bellairs's books and Gorey's illustrations.  Yes, indeed they do - and we'd love to see a series of globes with one representing each book.

Something About Rob Zombie

A little bit more about one-time Haverhill resident Rob Zombie from leftfair.com:

John Bellairs Juvenilia

by S. Future (July 27, 2008)
(originally published at fictioncircus.com)

Review: Vengeance "A Very Fast Read...Deliciously Spooky"

Book review: The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder

Time Capsule: October 31, 1948

October 31, 1948: It may be hard to believe but it was sixty years ago tonight that ten-year-old Lewis Barnavelt dared himself to meet Tarby Corrigan in Oakridge Cemetery and...well...you know the rest.

The Alternate Ending to Mummy

Kaythryne penned for her Access Granted blog an alternate ending The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt:

Review: House "Decidedly Creepy, But Also Whimsical And Endearing"

Book review: The House with a Clock in its Walls

Such Virtue Hath My Pen

Color us impressed: John Joy has created a mock book cover design for John Bellairs’ The Figure in the Shadows.  Very impressive - to the point we'd like to see the whole series by Mr. Joy. Anyone at Dial paying attention?