Dreamworks' cave crew won't return for a sequel until 2018.
The post ‘Croods 2’ Release Delayed appeared first on Cartoon Brew.
Add a Comment
Dreamworks' cave crew won't return for a sequel until 2018.
The post ‘Croods 2’ Release Delayed appeared first on Cartoon Brew.
Add a Comment
Recently I hosted a Children’s Literary Salon on Jewish children’s literature, its past, present, and future. It was a really great talk and has inspired, I am happy to note, a blog post from one of the panelists. Marjorie Ingall of Tablet Magazine recently wrote the piece Enough With the Holocaust Books for Children!: Yes, we need to teach kids about our history. But our history constitutes a lot more than one tragic event. It quotes me anonymously at one point as well. See if you can find me! Hint: I’m the one who’s not Jewish.
This one’s going out to all my Miyazaki fans. In the event that you ever needed a new poster for your walls. The title is “And Made Her Princess of All Wild Things:
It is June, which means it’s Gay Pride Month, The French Open at Roland Garros and the beginning of my annual summer blog hiatus (to write a novel, just in case ya think it’s all about pina coladas, beaches and … Continue reading
Add a Comment
#17 The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, illustrated by Robert Lawson (1936)
73 points
I remember liking this as a child, but I love it even more as a parent, when my children love to listen to it. It’s a gentle story, and can sometimes be calming at bedtime, but they also love to run around the house yelling “Wow! Did it hurt!” regarding the bumblebee scene. - Libby Gorman
What a beautiful message about being true to who you are! The simple sketches by Robert Lawson are fantastic. – Alexandra Eichel
Because, with a mix of humor and gravity, it sustains many very different interpretations. - Philip Nel
I was the Ferdinand in my family of birth. - Laura Gallardo
True story. I walk into the local Aveda to get my hair styled and the fellow they’ve given me is a chatty sort. Wants to talk to me about my job, librarianship, that sort of thing. And in the midst of our conversation I somehow steer it over to the Top 100 Picture Books poll and the books that did particularly well. He doesn’t remember the names of children’s books, but he brings up (of all things), “That story about the bull with the flowers.” “Ferdinand?”, I ask. “That’s the one!” That leads into a conversation of the book, the fact that his roommate has that bull tattooed onto his back (this is true), and the controversy surrounding it . . . but I get ahead of myself. In any case, clearly this book is on the minds of the non-children’s picture book reading public at large as well as the fans of the field.
Children’s Literature described the plot as, “Set in Spain, it is about a young bull named Ferdinand. All bulls in Spain aspire to one day fight in the ring with a matador. But not Ferdinand. All day long the young bulls play at fighting in hopes that one day they will be strong enough to be chosen for the bullfights. But Ferdinand prefers to quietly sit in the pasture and enjoy his surroundings. When the bulls all mature, they long to be selected for the bullring…all but Ferdinand. As the other bulls prance and preen, hoping to be selected, Ferdinand ignores the commotion. Suddenly, Ferdinand is stung by a bumblebee. He bellows and dances around like crazy. The matadors are so impressed with his machismo they select him as the strongest bull. He is praised all around for his power, until the day of the bullfight. Poor Ferdinand just sits there. The matadors prod and coax with no luck. Ferdinand is not interested in fighting. Ferdinand is returned to his pasture to live out his life in solitude.”
In any case, this is a lovely banned book to place on the list. Banned by whom? Oh, nobody much. Just a fellow by the name of Adolf Hitler. You see it was published during the Spanish civil war, Franco banned it in Spain, and then Hitler goes and calls it “degenerate democratic propaganda.” 100 Best Books for Children does say that it had its admirers as well, though. “Thomas Mann, H.G. Wells, Gandhi, and Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.” So, to sum up. Hitler hated it and Gandhi loved it. That’s a fine pedigree for this list, I should think.
In Tales for Little Rebels, there’s quite the lovely section dedicated to the book. “When the book was published in the fall of 1936, critics accused Ferdinand of being communist, pacifist, and fascist, and of satirizing communism, pacifism, and fascism. . . .
Abigail Sawyer regularly reviews books for us here at PaperTigers, and she’s also, in her own words, “a lifelong library lover and an advocate for access to books for all”, so who better to write an article for us about “unconventional libraries” and the children’s books they have inspired. Abigail lives in San Francisco, California, USA, where her two children attend a language-immersion elementary school and are becoming bilingual in English and Mandarin: an experience that has informed her work on the blog for the film Speaking in Tongues. I know you’ll enjoy reading this as much as I have.
On Traveling Libraries and Heroic ‘Book People’: Inspiring children’s books about getting books to people in remote places and difficult circumstances
My sons and I paid our first-ever visit to a bookmobile over the summer. For us it was a novelty. We have shelves of books at home and live just 3 blocks from our local branch library, but the brightly colored bus had pulled up right near the playground we were visiting in another San Francisco neighborhood (whose branch library was under renovation), and it was simply too irresistible. Inside, this library on wheels was cozy, comfortable, and loaded with more books than I would have thought possible. I urged my boys to practice restraint and choose only one book each rather than compete to reach the limit of how many books one can take out of the San Francisco Public Library system (the answer is 50; we’ve done it at least once).
The bookmobiles provide a great service even in our densely populated city where branch libraries abound. There are other mobile libraries, however, that take books to children who may live miles from even the nearest modern road; to children who live on remote islands, in the sparsely populated and frigid north, in temporary settlements in vast deserts, and in refugee camps. The heroic individuals who manage these libraries on boats, burros, vans, and camels provide children and the others they serve with a window on the world and a path into their own imaginations that would otherwise be impossible.
Shortly after my own bookmobile experience, Jeanette Winter‘s Biblioburro (Beach Lane Books, 2010), a tribute to Colombian schoolteacher Luis Soriano, who delivers books to remote hillside villages across rural Colombia, arrived in my mailbox to be reviewed for Paper Tigers. I loved this book, as I do most of Winter’s work, for its bright pictures and simple, straightforward storytelling. Another picture book, Waiting for the Bibiloburro by Monica Brown (Tricycle Press, 2011), tells the story of Soriano’s famous project from the perspective of one of the children it
So I’m reading through my weekly edition of AL Direct and I notice that no matter what worldwide occurrence takes place, librarians are always there. Whether it’s damage to two libraries in Egypt, stories from the librarians in Christchurch, New Zealand, or how the Wisconsin Library Association delayed Library Legislative Day due to the protests, the profession is there. That last story was of particular interest to me, since I had wondered whether any school librarians were amongst the protesters in Wisconsin lately. According to the article, they most certainly are. You go, guys!! Seriously, I want to hear more about it. If any of you know any school librarians marching in WI, send them my way. I’d love to do a full post on them.
As I explained to Jarrett: It Is Not A Blog. Not Even Close.
Betsy, how often does a person get linked with Beverly Cleary and J. Edgar Hoover? The mind boggles.
Betsy, I went to the National Math Festival on Saturday and met the Mathical Award winners! I was just writing a review of “Really Big Numbers” and looked up the award — and saw you were on the selection committee. *Great* job!
And I’m just saying — but if they ask you for the name of a librarian who would *love love love* to be on future selection panels — please think of me? There can’t be *too* many children’s librarians out there who also have a Master’s in Math, can there?
I had an awesome time at the Festival, and was thrilled to also get to attend a book signing. Of course, I was already a huge fan of Richard Evan Schwartz (for You Can Count on Monsters — awesome book).
Me and J. Eddie H. We’re besties.
You’re so cute. It’s totally a blog. Which is to say, anytime you write is a time to celebrate. Blog, I declare! Blog!
You have a Master’s in Math? Consider yourself on my list, missy. You are a rare bird and I shall make use of you when the time is right.
Thanks! Yes, my Bachelor’s was also in Math, and Math was my first Master’s — I taught college math for 10 years. Just between you and me, I *love* the career change to Librarian, and haven’t looked back — but I also really love doing Math-related library programs. (Did you know that Bedtime Math has a prepackaged Math Club they offer for free to libraries? It’s awesome!) And the Mathical Award? Call me totally jazzed.
Betsy, I can’t get over how “packed with good stuff” this post is! Yay for you and Bustle! Talk about a thumbs up! And you look great in that picture, btw And Jeanne—it sure looks like a blog
I am so happy to read that Jeanne Birdsall has a blog. I’ve been PENDERWICKS obsessed for years and years! Now stalking is made easy!