I have two favorite kinds of picture books: those that I’ve read so many times that I’ve memorized them, and those that, on the first reading, I know are destined to become the first kind. The Wolf, The Duck, and the Mouse by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press, October, 2017) is now well on its way to becoming the first kind. The first time I picked it up, I read it three times, and I didn’t even have a child nearby to encourage me. Since then, I’ve lost count of how many more time I’ve read it, and a number of other people have read it, too. It would have been easy enough to hide it under other books on my desk, but I’ve been enjoying this one’s (more…)
Month: October 2017
#VegasStrong and Even Stronger
“I can’t imagine.”
It’s a well-worn comment most of us have fallen back on when we hear about an awful event.
She lost her baby.
His wife was killed.
The whole family died.
“I simply can’t imagine what that would be like/what I’d do/how I’d feel.”
In the wake of the events in Las Vegas last Sunday, I’m sure the phrase was oft repeated.
But not by me. Because I can imagine. If I let my mind travel to the country music festival last weekend, I can easily picture the happy throngs in cowboy (more…)
Used Cars, Lost Dogs, and Naked Ladies
Right after Hugh Hefner’s death was revealed the other day, posts began appearing in my Facebook feed. They came in a variety of flavors, but the most oft-repeated went something like this:
“Everybody claimed they read Playboy for the articles, but I really did.”
I won’t call these nostalgic Playboy readers liars. There’s no question that Hefner published good writing and paid his authors well. He paid his naked ladies (more…)