“This is like Schrödinger’s ‘s Cat. The hole both is and is not there when the digging takes place.” Kate and I discuss that old Ruth Krauss chestnut and figure out if it has any pertinence for the 21st century child.
Live Oak, With Moss: Selznick and Whitman (and Sendak?) Together At Last
May 29, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Beautiful to its core. Today we examine the Whitman/Selznick collaboration that was sparked by Maurice Sendak and we think about why the adult publishing world is afraid of trying something new sometimes.
Unexpected Jolts of Children’s Literature
April 11, 2019 by
You know the drill. In my day job as a Collection Development Manager I spend my time looking at, and subsequently purchasing, books for adults. As a result, I come across books that have distinct children’s literature connections, but in unexpected ways. Today we’ll consider three books with odd ties to the field I know […]
Even Sendaks Make Mistakes: When Your Hero’s Book Just Doesn’t Work for You
October 10, 2018 by
Can you keep a secret? An awful, terrible secret that could get me officially disbarred from all future children’s literature events from now until the end of time? This is just between the two of us, right? No one else is listening in and you won’t tell a soul. Okay. Here goes. I don’t think […]
Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Pierre by Maurice Sendak
March 6, 2018 by
After delving so deeply into problematic picture books in February, Kate and I deserve a bit of a rest. And what, I ask, could be more restful than carnivorous animals devouring small boys? Particularly when said lions are the product of the inimitable and never imitated Maurice Sendak. This marks Sendak’s third appearance on the […]
Video Sunday: Butterfly in the sky / I can go twice as high (thanks in large part to physics)…
November 5, 2017 by
Happy news, neighborinos! Today I bring unto you a video from BookFest, a yearly celebration of children’s literature hosted (these days) by Bank Street College of Education. Kidlit TV recorded almost the entire thing live and then put it on air. This year I had the honor of moderating a panel discussion with funny folks […]
Spooky, October-Infused Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Outside Over There by Maurice Sendak
October 9, 2017 by
BOO! Happy October, everybody! In keeping with the season I’ve decided that this month of Fuse 8 n’ Kate we should go spooky. I’m talking Werewolf Bar Mitzvah spooky (Kate didn’t get the reference either, don’t worry). With that in mind I wanted to find a book that might not have been meant to be […]
New Fuse 8 n’ Kate Episode: In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
July 17, 2017 by
New episode, new episode, new episode, alert, alert! It’s been a little while but we’ve a new episode up and running. I’m so pleased to say that my podcast Fuse 8 n’ Kate which I do with my sister went in a distinctly Sendakian direction. We delve deep into the oddities of the book, some […]
Surprising Jolts of Children’s Literature: Spring 2017 Edition
April 20, 2017 by
Not a terribly long list today, I’ll confess, but want to know a little secret? Come close. I’m buying a house. Yep! After living in nothing but apartments (and currently renting a home that doubles as both a mystery house and a hospice for yellow jackets) I’m finally being a great big grown-up and owning […]
Fusenews: Debating Dapper Dandies
September 26, 2016 by
Happy Fusenews day to you, guv’nor. In today’s episode we tip our hat to a post last week that is probably my most popular of all time. Who knew knitting needles could be such lightning rods? In any case, on with the newz! How old is the picture book biography as we know it […]
Video Sunday: Have a think in your head
September 11, 2016 by
I do not know where Monica Edinger found our first video today. All I know is that she discovered a video that is absolutely the most interesting thing you’ll see all week. It’s a young Maurice Sendak. He’d recently won the Caldecott for Where the Wild Things Are. I’ve never seen anything like this before. […]
Fusenews: Chock full o’ NYPL
January 9, 2015 by
Some me stuff to start us off. NYPL turned its handy dandy little 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2014 list into an interactive bit of gorgeousness. So as to help it along, I wrote a blog post on the library’s website (I have two blogs, if you want to get technical about it, but […]
Fusenews: Coldplay, Sendak, and Golden Book Bodices
May 8, 2014 by
The biggest news of the day came in the form of a single headline in The New York Times yesterday: New York Library Drops Plan to Renovate Flagship. Whoa! So. That happened. Wowzah. This news comes to us less than a week after Coldplay (yes, that Coldplay) hid something in one of the books […]
Re-Sendakify Sendak Project: The Results
October 15, 2013 by
Previously on A Fuse #8 Production . . . In 2012 I came up with a crazy idea. We all love Dr. Seuss. We all know his work. So for fun I asked folks to illustrate a scene from their favorite Seuss book in the style of a different children’s author. The result: The Re-Seussification […]
Video Sunday: It was Officer Edgar Mallory that caught me most off-guard
July 21, 2013 by
Meet Isol. Incredibly badass Isol. The fact that you may not know her name instantly is a crime. We Americans are fairly . . . how to put this . . . screamingly awful about paying attention to authors and illustrators from other countries. Isol won the most recent Astrid Lindgren Award, but she’s hardly […]
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