If you missed the recent 100 Scope Notes post I Will Not Retreat to a Book Cave to Eat Taco Bell then you are in for a treat. I agree with everything he has to say about this weirdly out-of-touch librarian, but one part of the Taco Bell commercial in which she appears struck me […]
Video Sunday: “It has to be perfect”
April 2, 2017 by
This past Monday I had the honor of being Illinois State University’s 2017 Lois Lenski Lecturer, following in the footsteps of such luminaries as Leonard Marcus, Phil Nel, and many others. Intimidating, to say the least. The campus news team was on hand to film it. Sometimes when I am filmed, I like to watch […]
The Role of Children’s Literature in Contemporary Cinema
January 26, 2015 by
I was watching Gone Girl for the first time with friends the other day because occasionally I like to remember that there are literary adaptations out there of books for people above the legal drinking age. Mind you, when you’ve a one track mind like my own, every mega-adult hit has a children’s literature connection. […]
Video Sunday: Trolls, clowns, Harry Potter and drones
November 24, 2013 by
Happy Video Sunday to you! I’m pleased to report that I had so many delightful videos today that I had to save some for an upcoming weekend. Woo-hoo! So I’ve been pretty unaware of this Movies in Real Life series the improv folks started. More fool I since they created a pretty realistic Harry Potter […]
The Watsons Go to Birmingham: The Movie
July 22, 2013 by
There are videos that go into Video Sunday and then there are videos that deseve their very own posts. This is one such video. In the wake of the Trayvon Martin court decision it seems to me that we need something good for once. And I admit it. I wouldn’t have pegged the Hallmark Channel […]
Fusenews: “There are no good books which are only for children” – W.H. Auden
June 6, 2013 by
Morning, fellow plebes! And isn’t the weather just fine and dandy these last few days? It has been in New York anyway. Which is to say, it feels like we briefly stole San Francisco’s temperatures for our own use this week. Giving it back is going to be awful. To take my mind off that, […]
The Hunger Games Film: For Your Consideration
April 9, 2012 by
So last week my husband and I got around to finally seeing The Hunger Games like the rest of the country. We hadn’t seen a children’s book adaptation since Hugo, a movie we were both fairly meh about. Hunger Games was a far cry from the realm of Selznick, though. Where Hugo appeared to be […]
Fusenews: When “going green” is a bad thing
January 5, 2012 by
The last time I did a Fusenews was more than a week ago. As such my links all seem a bit out of date. Ah well. Let’s have fun with a partially abbreviated Fusenews today then. However, to begin . . . Sometimes it feels like we always lose some of the best ones at […]
Fusenews: A Very Young Blogger
November 23, 2011 by
Anne McCaffrey passed away yesterday at the age of 85. I have linked to the io9 obituary because the title mentions her book The Ship Who Sang which was a great favorite of my mother’s back in the day. I was more of a Dragonriders of Pern fan myself. I have a very clear memory […]
It’s Only a Matter of Time: Licensed Properties That Haven’t Made the Leap to Film
November 21, 2011 by
I can’t pinpoint what it was that made me think of this. In this day and age with children’s picture book characters appearing as television and movie characters every other minute, to say nothing of the new deals being made with the names of classics we all grew up with, it’s a lot easier to […]
Video Sunday: Giant monsters and tiny ladies
September 25, 2011 by
Thanks to @doseofsnark for the link. Ah, Banned Books Week. It only comes but once a year (as opposed to banning books which appears to be a year long occupation). For the one stop shopping round-up everyone needs, bookshelves of doom has compiled just a top notch collection of links for the occasion. One of […]
Fusenews: Words, words, wonderful words
August 15, 2011 by
Though I mentioned it yesterday, I was pleased as punch to discover the recent winners of the Society of Illustrator’s Original Art. The Gold? It went to a plucky (and very good) little nonfiction title by the name of Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem, both written and illustrated by Rosalyn Schanzer. […]
Fusenews: Juggling pocket kittens
July 19, 2011 by
Full credit to my co-writer Jules at Seven Impossible Things for bringing my attention to this rather awesome new site. Uncovered Cover Art calls itself a sketchbook of “reimagined children’s books”. What that means is that artists are encouraged to submit their own interpretations of children’s book jackets. The hope is that industry insiders would […]
Fusenews: Tomie/Tomi, Tomi/Tomie
June 30, 2011 by
Things that I love: Blogging. My baby girl. Seattle. Two of those three things will be coming together on September 16th and 17th. That’s when the 5th (five already?) annual Kidlitcon will occur! It’s looking like a remarkable line-up as well with special keynote speaker YA author Scott Westerfeld and great presentations, as per usual. […]
Mentors Are Overrated: A How to Train Your Dragon Analysis
June 21, 2011 by
Matt continues his husbandly duties, helping me out by blogging on topics that pertain to my world. Last week, if you’ll recall, he meddled with Harry Potter IV, V, VI, and VII. This week? A consideration of How to Train Your Dragon, both the book and the film, and how changes to the novel ended […]
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