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Been a while, hasn’t it?  Well, better late than never.  And you probably get a better level of quality videos if there’s a month’s gap, eh?

Today we begin with the video of the week.  The Wall Street Journal released this article about Brian Selznick’s puppeteering work on his own book trailer.  For me, it’s the waves that are the most impressive.

When I was sent a copy of Diva and Flea, written by Mo Willems and illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi, I almost immediately found myself reading it to my kiddo.  For me, child of the 80s, it had a bit of an Aristocats vibe to it.  For my daughter, it highlighted Paris (a city she already knew through her Madeline and other kidlit texts) and was an interesting tale of miscommunications (her interpretation).  Consequently, Disney upped the ante with its video for the book.  Here’s Mo sporting some Raschka locks in a kind of Dinner with Andre for children’s literary fans.  Be sure you stay for the drawn image at the end.  I think Tony’s version of Mo is the best thing ever.

Did I ever tell you about that time I went to a Scholastic event and there were a bunch of authors standing about talking, and I got into a discussion with Barbara McClintock and this guy who was all in black?  Yeah, we had a good talk and the guy (who was NOT wearing a nametag) wanders off and I turn to Barbara and say, “Who was that?”  And she says, “Jeff Smith”.  Yeah.  So basically I met the guy and wasn’t able to say anything pertinent to him at all.  I’m pretty sure we discussed skunks.  I don’t know why.  That’s just how it came out (which, technically, is right up there with the only conversation I ever had in person with Judy Blume and it was about black and white cookies).  Anywho, I missed this video when it came out in May, but I assure you that the folks in it are just as cute now as they were then.

My beautiful beautiful first library.  Is it not gorgeous?  Wouldn’t you love to go there?  Do.  Plus the video shows a mysterious glass box in a tower that I’ve never seen before.  I would love a closer look!

Thanks to Marci Morimoto for the link

Here’s how long it’s been since I last did a Video Sunday.  I never posted this faux teaser trailer for the Series of Unfortunate Events video series.  Crazy, right?  It’s so beautifully done, particularly the choice of Amanda Palmer song (and she is a friend of Daniel Handler’s in turn . . .).

Do I really have to mention that Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club for Kids video isn’t, ah, appropriate for kids?  I don’t do I?  I mean, it’s Chuck Palahniuk, for crying out loud.

One video I’d love to show you and that I just don’t have on hand comes from a recent Children’s Literary Salon at NYPL that I help set-up but could never see.  There is footage out there, and I have seen it, of Rita Williams-Garcia, Jeanne Birdsall, and my former co-worker Christopher Lassen dancing like The Jackson 5.  I am not making this up.  I thought I might have a Facebook link but no go.  So if I find it, I will post it, but in the meantime please believe me that you live in a world where such things really do happen.

And for our off-topic video of the day, it’s a little old but there’s no reason not to do the Johnny Depp dressed as Jack Sparrow visiting sick kids in Australia video, right?  I do wonder . . . what did he smell like?  And do authors ever get asked to do this, visit sick kids?  Or write to kids as their own characters?

Morning, folks.  What’s that?  Why, yes. Yes, I would like to watch this video about Nathan Hale’s newest GN The Underground Abductor. Thank you! Seems to me the man has lucked out in terms of timing too. With people rallying to put Ms. Tubman on the $20 bill, it is now vastly important to learn more about her. Plus, you cannot read this book and not become an instantaneous Tubman fan.

So here in NYC we’ve a little something called the NYC Neighborhood Library Awards. Patrons nominate their local branches and the finalists have these cool videos. The first branch I ever worked in was my beloved Jefferson Market. Look at this and tell me it’s not the most gorgeous place you’ve ever seen.

Jefferson Market Library from Well Exposed on Vimeo.

My castle.

Now lots of successful children’s authors use their money for good causes.  But really, opening an independent bookstore is just a great idea all around.  Jeff Kinney talks about his newly opened store here.  I love his reasoning behind not making it just a children’s store (though, frankly, that would have been a-okay with me too).

For you Betsy Bird completists out there (hi, mom), here’s a chance to see me talk twice about digital stuff. Once around 6:36 and once around 24:20. This livestream video was done in celebration of a Kickstarter Campaign called Time Traveler Tours & Tales which seeks to meld interactive history with honest-to-goodness books. I was asked to speak about story and electronic media and libraries, so I did just that:

Doggone it. The Scholastic preview just went up and the books look fantastic.  And me not going to ALA either.  Oh, Book Expo . . . .

And for our off-topic video today, this is sorta kinda on topic. If you want to stretch your definition of “children’s literature”.  Recently there’s been a lot of talk about what the 10 best pre-recorded sketches of Saturday Night Live this season were. My heart lies with The Middle Earth Office.  For fans of the British office, this is just gravy. Pure gravy.

In that alternate universe where I am independently wealthy and spend all my days reporting on children’s literature (isn’t that what you would do if you were independently wealthy?) I spend certain days of the year traveling to different children’s rooms in libraries throughout the country to check out their original art by fantastic children’s illustrators.  Murals, paintings, stained glass windows, the works.  As of right now I think the only time I’ve ever actually reported on this blog on the art in a children’s room was when I went to the Kalamazoo Public Library’s back in 2009 (note how this was written before my blog was switched to its new format and thus *sob* I lost ALL the images).

Here at New York Public Library you might think that the branches are filled to brimming with the art of local authors and illustrators.  While it may be true that we have some lovely pieces by Ezra Jack Keats and Faith Ringgold here and there, it doesn’t come up all that often.  So I need not tell you how excited I was when I heard that Elisha Cooper had volunteered out of the goodness of his golden glorious heart to paint art for the children’s room in Greenwich Village’s Jefferson Market Branch.

A little background.  When I first got my bright and shiny library degree and moved to New York City I was under the distinct impression that the only available positions with NYPL were on Staten Island.  As I came in for my final interview, however, the nice recruiter who changed my life offered me the chance to be in Greenwich Village instead.  Hence I came to the most gorgeous branch in the system. Built in the 1860s with a clocktower that holds a giant spider puppet year round (this is true), converted jail cells in the basement, and more stained glass than many a church, it’s a beauty.  It had a huge children’s room on the first floor with these massive white blank walls.  And there was nothing on a single one of those walls either, long after I left.  Not for years and years and years.

Enter Elisha Cooper.  You may know him best from his numerous amazing picture books.  My personal favorite is Farm followed by Beach, but I understand the love many hold for Magic Thinks Big or Beaver Is Lost or even this year’s Homer.  Long story short, the man has this beautiful, distinctive style that somehow turns the merest of outlines into works of beauty.  He’s also a Greenwich Village resident and he saw the great gaping walls of the Jefferson Market children’s room and thought he should do something about it.

What did he do?  Ladies and gentlemen he brought, from his own home, six empty white canvasses into the branch.  Then he got permission to paint on them in the programming room next to the children’s room.  His process looked something like this:

Those images were taken by Christopher “Flash” Smith.  That is why they were good.  These next images are from my camera phone.  That is why they are less good.  Each canvass, as you can see, contains a variety of different animals.  Elisha did think to possibly make each one represent a different continent, but I’m not sure whether or not he proceeded with that plan until the end.

(I love that he worked in that honey badger)

I’m sorry I don’t have a close-up shot of these three canvasses since those are the ones that contain the most children’s literature homages.  You can find the ducklings from Make Way for Ducklings (apropos since that book was created in a tiny Greenwich Village apartment), Kitten from Kitten’s First Full Moon, Ferdinand, and a bunch of other folks in these paintings.

Big thanks to Elisha for showing me his art and for passing along some of these photos.  So for any of you passing through Greenwich Village, be sure to stop by the Jefferson Market Library at 6th Avenue and 10th Street and admire what’s on display.

When I first started to work for New York Public Library I was placed at an amazing near 150-year-old part of the system called the Jefferson Market Branch in Greenwich Village.  My husband once shot a fantastic short film there in the clocktower, and I believe a Law & Order episode took place there once involving a man and a sword.  This little PSA is also set there and takes advantage not only of the architecture (gorgeous, right?) but also my former boss Frank who takes great glee in his role as Library Ghoul.  Love you, Frank!

I’m not entirely certain the universe is big enough for me to imagine Weird Al and Shel Silverstein having a conversation with one another.  But huge thanks to Mr. Schu for this amazing piece of info.

I would have watched Uncle Shelby’s Corner.  Absolutely, you bet!

Recently I was asked to blurb a new edition of Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant.  Now normally I’d think twice about that kind of request because, let’s face it, Oscar Wilde was one weird children’s author.  We sometimes think of Hans Christian Andersen as an odd duck (Red Shoes, anyone?) but I doubt he ever created much of anything to compare to The Happy Prince and its ilk.  The Selfish Giant has always been way too didactic for my tastes (too much of an allegory) but there is a way to make it palatable.  First off, you give the book great art.  Then, if possible, you hire an orchestra and turn the book into a kind of Peter and the Wolf type gig.  Here’s a taste.

Cool, eh?

I wouldn’t call this next video of a jazzed up version of The Three Bears any real threat to Hey There, Little Red Riding Hood, but it’s still interesting.

Thanks to BoingBoing for the link!

This week I was pleased to be asked to come up with a list of great Black History Month titles for our local channel NY1’s coverage of what to read with your kids.  Fellow librarian Robyn Mutnick did a top notch job of presenting the books themselves.

I should note that there was one change made to the books I recommended

CBIG DRAGONS & MAGIC Exhibit
Art inspired by the books THE RELUCTANT DRAGON and THE MAGIC CITY
At the Jefferson Market Library, 425 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan.

DATE: Sept. 7- Oct. 29, 2010




This is the process I used for the painting I am showing at the NYC Public Library at the Jefferson Market Library.
If you have never seen this building I urge you to take a look at images or if you are in the area to visit.  The exhibit will be available on the dates above and is being done with a storytime for children.  Most or all of the paintings may be for sale after the exhibit.


I started with a sketch ...