Update on the Nest

Yet another mama bird just moved into the nest outside my kitchen window. Or is it the same mama bird who keeps coming back? If so, she's one prolific mama. If not, this is the fourth tenant since the spring. 

One of the offspring from the last tenant took a break from flying practice to pose for a while.  

More inspiration for my picture book idea, The Nest.

The Wind in the Willows Redux

Like all literature, children's literature is about entering other worlds. If you were lucky enough to be read to as a child, you probably have fond memories of an adult leading you into these worlds. My father usually read to me at bedtime, and I remember enjoying the charming antics of the characters that inhabited Kenneth Grahame's, The Wind in the Willows. A good reader, my dad, he obviously imparted Grahame's wit in a way I understood, because I remember it was funny.

Originally published in 1908, this classic has been reissued in two new large format annotated editions - one edited by Annie Gauger, published by Norton, the other edited by Seth Lerer and published by Belknap, an imprint of Harvard University Press. 

I think I'll set out to rediscover that world. It won't be the same reading it to myself. I'll report back.

What's up with Up?

This is not about kid's lit - but a kid's film - still, it's all about story. Granted, it's belated, but after finally seeing the new Disney/Pixar movie, Up, I feel like the boy in The Emperor's New Clothes who points out what everyone has chosen to overlook: The emperor is starkers. Why is everyone delusional about this film? 

I was relieved we hadn't brought a kid along. It's a film for children - so why does the narrative have to hinge on a tragic premise - death and sorrow. Sure, it's an effective plot device - but one that manipulates the audience - needlessly playing on its tender heartstrings. The preface about the unfulfilled dreams of the Fredrickson marriage could have been backstory. Then there's the heavy handed fortuitous meeting of the boy who needs a father and the grumpy childless widower. If Mr. Fredrickson whipped out his wife's sappy scrapbook one more time I would have thrown tomato avatars at the screen. 

It's only fair to mention, by comparison, I loved Wall-E. Sure it was sentimental, but the love story was not a gratuitous tear-jerker - it was woven seamlessly into the plot. Wall-E learned about love from watching videos of old romantic movies. More important, he was a charming character.

The maudlin story line of Up notwithstanding, the characters weren't that appealing. I didn't really care about Mr. Fredrickson or Russell. Was Kevin, the bird, really that endearing? And the talking dogs, except for Dug, seemed unnecessarily menacing. I wasn't even captivated by the animation. 

That's why I'm not down with Up. 

Back to the Obama girls' summer reading lists soon.