To my fellow Louise Fitzhugh fans–

You may already know this, as it’s been on Boing Boing, Fuse #8, Bookshelves of Doom, and so on, but…

You can view Suzuki Beane for free (or download it for five bucks or the hassle of a free trial) at Scribd!

Suzuki Beane was illustrated by Fitzhugh, written by Sandra Scoppettone. It’s a hepcat response to Eloise and awesome in its own right. Here’s a page:

I especially liked this Amazon review from Arella in my hometown, Fort Collins, Colorado (LJH is probably Lesher Junior High):

My name is Arella, my mom’s name is Gelly, and we LOVE Suzuki Beane. My mom’s name has been Gelly Beane since she was a kid, because she loved this book so much. Recently, while I was on the ‘net researching a project on the 50’s and 60’s for Ms. Marsh, (@ LJH) I came across a site that mentioned Bleeker Street and had some photos of it. My mom got this weird, delighted look on her face and brought out a falling-apart (of course) copy of the book. I can’t find the words to describe it. READ THIS BOOK. Okay, there’s my story. ^_^

Represent!

p.s. oh, and this just in from Fuse #8: Pinkwater’s Lizard Music is being published in a new edition with a cover similar to the hardback original. It’s almost enough to erase the trauma of that awful, awful paperback cover I had to make do with for years! Look how pretty: