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MelissaClaire
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thank you!
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Melissa
Mom to a dd ('02), ds ('03), ds ('05), dd ('07) and baby due 9/01/09
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Lissa
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| Posted: May 16 2008 at 9:30am | IP Logged
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BTW, on a related topic, some VERY happy news about Betsy-Tacy. Yesterday I received a package from my former editor containing a beautiful new edition of Betsy-Tacy, NOT abridged (whew), with the usual art, lovely cover, and all kinds of great biographical material about Lovelace in the back.
This is a larger trim size, a little bigger than the standard size for a *hardcover* book, but this is paperback.
I've written to ask if they are reissuing the whole series this way. I'm thinking the large trim size is aimed at younger readers, so they may only be planning to reprint the first 4 B-T books this way. And it's possible they are testing the waters with this first book, in which case it's a good idea to spread the word. We want to give publishers every incentive to keep books like that in print.
I'll let you know when I hear back from her about plans for the whole B-T series.
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Lissa
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Jen L.
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Can't wait for Betsy and Tacy (I really dislike the non-Lenski covers)
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Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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CandaceC
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Thank you for posting the links! I just ordered 2 of Melissa's books from bookcloseout.
Are there any other links with the original versions still available?
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Candace - wife to David since 2000...mommy to Hannah (Feb. 2002), Emily (April 2003) and Caleb (March 2005)
His Mercy Is New
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teachingmom
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Thanks for the Betsy-Tacy info, Lissa. I'm really hoping they bring back the entire set. I'm missing one - and refuse to spend so much money on it at this point!
Maybe I'll get my girls to go on another letter writing crusade to the folks at HarperCollins . . . .
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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Lissa
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| Posted: May 26 2008 at 11:26am | IP Logged
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Jen L. wrote:
Can't wait for Betsy and Tacy (I really dislike the non-Lenski covers)
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You may not like the new cover, then...it's the same art from the most recent editions, which had cutout windows on the cover showing just the girls' faces from a full page color painting on the first page. In this new edition, they've moved the whole painting to the cover. I think it's a very sweet picture, quite nice.
Or you might be thinking of the Diane Goode covers from the mid-90s reissue. Those were, I think, the first ones not to use the Lenski cover art, and Goode's style is very cartoony. I wasn't crazy about those myself! 
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Lissa
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guitarnan
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What happy news! I'm glad to hear that B-T will still be available.
I am not surprised that the abridged LH books bombed, but I am sad that so many of the series are going out of print. I am thankful that I bought them when I did.
Perhaps all of us who frequent book sales  can look for copies of Lissa's books and make them available to other 4Realers? (I've done that once or twice - seen a book I owned and offered it for my cost plus postage here - just to see that the book ends up in good hands.)
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Lissa
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A follow up on both the Betsy-Tacy and Little House questions:
I've heard from Harper that LH is being reissued in two box sets, a 5-book set and a 9-book set, with the black-and-white Garth Williams art restored, and the Garth covers in color-corrected versions w/o the gingham borders. Very good news indeed. They got the message: don't mess with our Garth art!
Not such happy news for Betsy-Tacy, though. Apparently this new edition hasn't sold all that well, and it was being used to gauge the level of interest in reprints. So the rest of the series may not (probably will not) be reissued. Which means the books will be gradually going out of print. And that is very sad news, indeed.
It's the same old conundrum. People aren't buying the classics, so they get axed from the backlist. Meanwhile Hannah Montana books are flying off the shelves. Sigh.
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Lissa
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Rebecca
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| Posted: May 28 2008 at 10:59pm | IP Logged
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Lissa wrote:
| Meanwhile Hannah Montana books are flying off the shelves. Sigh. |
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Blech. 
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MaryM
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| Posted: May 28 2008 at 11:02pm | IP Logged
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Lissa wrote:
| It's the same old conundrum. People aren't buying the classics, so they get axed from the backlist. Meanwhile Hannah Montana books are flying off the shelves. Sigh. |
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 -now there's some high quality literature, for sure!
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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saminier
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I just learned about the little house prequels and was interested in reading them-- I'm sad to hear they're going out of print. I'll be on the look out to pick up copies when I can find them.
I spent a large part of my childhood in South Dakota and read and re-read the little house books and look forward to enjoying them again with my children. Even my husband read and loved them when he was a boy.
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saminier
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Oops, I meant to ask if anyone had read the Rose or Caroline years? Are they worth reading or anywhere near as good as I hear Lissa's Martha and Charlotte books are?
I'm so glad my mom saved my old books for me, so I have my little house books untouched to enjoy. :)
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CrunchyMom
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Is there any chance a smaller publisher who typically does smaller runs could pick up some of the titles that are going out of print just to keep them available? Would Harper be likely to go for that or would they make it cost prohibitive do you think?
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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guitarnan
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Don't forget to check all these wonderful books out at your library every year - every book - even if you own them. Otherwise the library will discard them. They only keep books that people check out.
(I know, it's a self-defeating system. But that's how it works.)
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Jen L.
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| Posted: May 29 2008 at 9:12am | IP Logged
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Lissa wrote:
Or you might be thinking of the Diane Goode covers from the mid-90s reissue. Those were, I think, the first ones not to use the Lenski cover art, and Goode's style is very cartoony. I wasn't crazy about those myself! |
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I was thinking of the cartoony pictures : not my cup of tea. I looked up the new one and I like it (but don't love it :)
Sorry to hear about it not having success and even sorrier to hear about the success of Hannah Montana twaddle!
Thanks for keeping us up-to-date!
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Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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CrunchyMom
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It is so sad--especially since most children would actually enjoy the classics if given the op. I read twaddle voraciously as a tween and teen, and I know that I would have loved so many of the series recommended on this board that seem to be falling out of print. I read the classics readily available to me that I stumbled upon on my own, but I didn't have anyone to guide me. 
Anyway, it seems overwhelming to discover so many series that I missed, are impractical for me to invest in at present, and I may not be able to find them when my children are finally ready for them.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Jen L.
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A little tangent - has anyone read any of Maud Hart Lovelace's other books like..
Early Candlelight?
My library only carries the Betsy-Tacy series and I was just wondering...
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Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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MaryM
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Jen L. wrote:
A little tangent - has anyone read any of Maud Hart Lovelace's other books like..
Early Candlelight? |
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Just The Trees Kneel at Christmas is the only other one I've read. It's wonderful.
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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Lissa
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| Is there any chance a smaller publisher who typically does smaller runs could pick up some of the titles that are going out of print just to keep them available? Would Harper be likely to go for that or would they make it cost prohibitive do you think? |
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I know this isn't an option for anything Little House. Harper and the LIW estate wouldn't be open to it. And as you said, it would be very hard for a small press to recoup printing expenses. They would have to pay Harper for subsidiary rights.
Re Betsy Tacy, if I'm not mistaken, the B-T Society has lobbied for YEARS to be able to publish editions of those books. It was their persistence that spurred a Harper editor (and fan) to bring the books back into print in the 90s. Every now and then another editor will pick up the cause, but if the books don't sell, that's that.
I can see it being more possible that a small press could acquire subrights to publish those books, but again it would probably be hard to recoup costs. The sad reality is that if a major power like HarperCollins can't move the books, the market isn't strong enough. As much as we love them and feel strongly that this kind of literature should be in print, publishers will only print what they can sell. Booksellers (at the major chains) aren't interested in B-T and LH anymore. What sells is Hannah Montana and High School Musical. (I was at a public elementary school the other day and passed a poster for the Scholastic book fair. The only three books featured on the poster were Pokemon tie-in, Hannah Montana tie-in, High School musical novelization.)
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Lissa
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Lissa
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guitarnan wrote:
Don't forget to check all these wonderful books out at your library every year - every book - even if you own them. Otherwise the library will discard them. They only keep books that people check out.
(I know, it's a self-defeating system. But that's how it works.) |
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Excellent advice, Nancy!
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Lissa
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Little House books being changed????
