well-covered

still thinking about book covers

from the nyt, earlier: here

Abe

maira + abe

4ever

Tomi Ungerer Returns (thank goodness): “I think children have to be respected...there should not be a limit of vocabulary."

“No one, I dare say, no one was as original,” Mr. Sendak said of him. “Tomi influenced everybody.”

Burton Pike, a professor emeritus of comparative literature who became friends with Mr. Ungerer in the 1950s, said: “He’s never lost the feeling of how a child sees the world. And a child’s view is not really sentimental.”

There's a wonderful article and slide show on Tomi Ungerer and his work in the New York Times this weekend. "The Three Robbers" is now an animated film. 

And if Mr. Sendak has the above to say about Tomi, isn't it a good idea to find out a bit more? 

More on Tomi from the New York Times, here.

J.K. knows from Copyright Hobgoblins

Comprehensive NYT article on the great new win for J.K. Rowling: nice that she gets to keep her own work, eh?

Thanks to Read Roger for the heads up...his is a blog eminently worth the a.m. peek. That said, don't forget to sign up for the gold standard: Horn Book. Roger works on that, too...a bit. Where does he find the time? (Thank God he does.)

Scrapbooks of Lewis Carroll + Peter Sis Says

The Lewis Carroll Scrapbook Collection. 'Nuf said.

From the Library of Congress. Click Here.

Straight from Crooked House, via Maud.

Both completely wonderful.

Have Fun.

Also: there will be more good words from Peter Sis later on this month.

Lots more good words.

And please, 'tho you may have seen it a few posts ago...

if you haven't...take a look, on Crooked House,

at the wonderful "political" drawing Peter Sis did for the New York Times.

"Sorry, but reading is not dying." Posted by Hudson, August 16th on Paper Cuts

Hiphiphooray for Hudson, who submitted the above quote in the comments section of the NYT's bookblog, Paper Cuts (which is worth spending more than a few minutes on, if you haven't already).

The whole enchilada is good skimming ("The Art of Reading"), but my cheer goes out to Hudson's clear words:

Reading has taken an oral swerve in contemporary culture that the literary set hasn't quite found the answer to, from books-on-tape, to YouTube, to open mic. All of which, I am happy to say, fits within the larger context of the solitary reader and the text, whether on screen or printed page. And, no, the ink does not smear.

Go Hudson! Thanks for putting it out there. Couldn't have said it better myself, 'tho I've tried to, numerous times, in this here little blog.

New York Times "Quote of the Day," Condolleeza Rice: If you want to know more, read "The Wall"

"This is not 1968, and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, where Russia can invade its neighbor, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it," she said. "Things have changed."

Seriously, Please. Authors of Children's Books are Serious Authors.

"As soon as someone tells a story about a character...narrative seems to want to bend itself around that character, wants to merge with that character, to take on his or her way of thinking or speaking...

There is  technical connection, for instance between 'Make Way for Ducklings' and James's novel 'What Maisie Knew.' "

This is fascinating stuff from "How Fiction Works," by James Woods...as quoted, today, in 'Paper Cuts' by Steve Coates.

Free 'Indirect' Ducklings. Nice. 

Only thing is, I am wondering exactly what is meant by "a more serious writer." Yes, of course, Henry James was terribly serious. But I worry about the myopia of, perhaps, automatically thinking (which, I admit, may be taken out of context since we have only seen a bit of the book quoted) that grown-up book writers (a.k.a. authors) are "more serious" than children's book writers (a.k.a. authors). 

What could be more serious than communicating, well, with children? Wasn't Robert McCloskey a master of this? Certainly, more people have been seriously influenced by "Make Way for Ducklings" than "What Maisie Knew." 

Well, lots more people have finished the former, surely? And how serious is it that most of those many children and adults who were able to finish "...Ducklings" were able to "inhabit Mr. Mallard's confusion" (which sounds a lot, to me, like empathizing with Mr. Mallard).

To empathize, to learn to empathize, to inhabit the confused feelings of another...these are serious things, yes? This is part of teaching critical thinking, isn't it? Mr. McCloskey has helped teach these things to how many millions of people?

Teaching children: I think this is serious stuff. And I think "Make Way for Ducklings" has had a long enough career at the top of the charts to indicate that it's done of good job of it. 

Cheers to Mr. McCloskey and Mr. James for being straight-up (as my kids say) serious masters of their art. And cheers to Mr. Woods and Mr. Coates for at least bringing children's literature to the table for any part of the discussion, no matter where it leads. For too long now, I think, it has not quite been welcome enough: it is time to rectify this. Good children's literature changes lives. That is serious stuff. 

Truly great children's literature is 

simply 

truly great literature. 

Does great literature, in any form, need to be quantified?

Photo by Julia Cameron

Yes, again. (Or: "What's a Parent to Do? Ferris Bueller, McGoogle, Digg & Twitter 101")

More. Here. Now.

READ ROGER and the NYT and the plight of the parent who didn't grow up with twitter, texting, the internet, comcast, podcasts, you tube, myspacefaceyearbook, digg, twitter, mcgoogle....oh, the list does go on, don't it? Gosh, we didn't even grow up with cellphones. So, here's the thing:

The list will get longer. R U reading? They are. They're just reading differently, mom and dad...and it's still the written word. How do we just add a little (or a lot of) good art and literature? We can do it, we can do it, we can do it if we try...

Where is Matthew Broderick when you need him? Speaking of Matthew...

Ferris Bueller knew a thing or two about getting around and thinking different: he saw the world in his own zany/polka/arty way (am I pushing it here? I don't think so). Mr. Whole New Mind himself, do you suppose? I bet Ferris would be a lawyer now, with graying temples and a good sense of humor and a couple of kids who are driving him utterly crazy and keeping him up at night. All those kids of his would be fast texters, surely. All capable of going to law school and reading lots of long and weighty tomes, just like their dad. All good. 

We can do it if we try. The art and literature are out there; we just need to make sure it's coming through, in print and on screen and otherwise. They'll get it. I know they will. It's already started, and it's just going to get better.

Maira Kalman, Maira Kalman, Maira Kalman

Just too wonderful, 

too wonderful 

for words.

Here is the TED version of Maira.

Here is Maira at 

the New York 

Public Library, 

via the 

New York Times.

Here is Maira courtesy of 

the Julie Saul Gallery.  Please be sure to look at the exhibits.

If I am in New York, and I am walking down the street, 

and I wear a nice hat, do you think that I might bump into Maira?

 

It would be like bumping into a dream.  

Pretty Pictures and Dream Whip.

  

Maira Kalman, Maira Kalman, Maira Kalman.

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor and Choices

Although I mentioned this a few days ago in the other blog, I actually got to watch the full TED talk this morning.

This is a remarkable woman, who has been through a somewhat unimaginable challenge, and emerged as an advocate for making--every day--personal choices that are worth making. (This short paragraph will be clearer, methinks, once you watch her presentation.)

An added plus: for a moment, in the presentation, you get to see a real live brain (but not in, any longer, a real live person). I think this is mammothly cool, but, if you get queasy about such stuff, just close your eyes and listen. It will be worth your time.

Remember, as you watch, that she is a brilliant physician that has been through a near-death experience that few of us (I hope) will ever have, and that she was able to categorize and catalog (to an extent) the brain's information as she went through the stroke. She has emerged, 8 years later, a changed person. She actually has, as they say, seen the light.

Also, here, a wonderful article about Dr. Taylor in the New York Times. So...what does all of this have to do with kids and books? It has to do with the choices we all make, the choices we teach our children to make, and the way we live our lives. That counts, right?