I don’t like children. Too judgmental.
The Missing Piece Meets The Big O
Shel Silverstein
I always imagined Shel Silverstein as a grey-haired San Francisco hippie in corduroy bell-bottoms, a joint between his lips, chilling with Richard Brautigan or something. Way off base. Did you know he wrote Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue”?
The man was ahead of his time. And my guess was that he was constantly getting hit on, too. How else would anyone come up with this stuff:
“You can not roll with me,”
Said the Big O,
“but perhaps you can
roll by yourself.”
Seriously, next time someone gives you a lame one-liner, you go with this. Am I right? No? Okay.
A Wrinkle In Time
Madeleine L’Engle
I pretended like I was doing research when I picked this up last week, but I actually just wanted to read it. Apparently, I was the last person on the planet, but if there’s anyone else out there who hasn’t read checked it out, I recommend doing so. And not because I think L’Engle is necessarily a master of fine prose. But the worlds she creates, with just the right amount of information - not too much, not too little, like Ms. Margaret Atwood - are pretty cool. It’s about a couple of kids who go off on an interplanetary search for their father, and finally find him on an evil planet run by Scientologists. Ooops, no. It’s an evil planet run by a thing called “IT” which has sucked the will from its inhabitants.
Also, it’s the only book I’ve ever read that begins with the line, “It was a dark and stormy night.”
I always thought that was just a joke.
Olivia
Ian Falconer
Darling, just fucking darling. Olivia is a pig. Olivia goes to the beach, Olivia sun tans (Mmmm, bacon) Olivia gets tired, Olivia has a nap. When I first picked this up my first thought was something along the lines of: Who gets to do this? Who is lucky enough to get to write lines like “Olivia is good at a lot of things” and actually get paid for it? But of course what I was forgetting was that Falconer illustrates all the Olivia books, and he’s also done covers for The New Yorker, and he’s designed sets and costumes for the New York City ballet and The San Francisco Opera and The Royal Opera House and etcetera. So that answered my question. And the Olivia books are incredibly well-designed, and the writing is pretty charming (all one hundred and five words of it). So fuck me - I’m just jealous.
The English Roses
MADONNA
Madonna-is-such-a-transformative-genius-and-I-really-think-she-is-a-completely-changed-person-after-marrying-whatshisface-and-she-obviously- has-a-knack-for-writing-as-evidenced-by-her-first-book-SEX-but-I-totally-think she-also-has-a-gift-for-writing-to-children-because-she-knows-how-to-impart her-Kabbalah-inspired-wisdom-unto-the-little-people-by-having-characters who-only-care-about-what-they-wear-and-the-flavor-of-their-lip-gloss-which-is very-important-so-thank-you-Madonna-for-putting-more-stellar-art-out-there-into-the-world.
Dont Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!
Mo Willems
Mo Willems is one funny dude. I could read this book for hours and hours.
Here’s what happens: at the beginning of the book, this bus driver in a nightcap asks us, the reader, not to let the pigeon stay up late. So then the dude in the nightcap takes off, leaving us in charge of the pigeon. And the pigeon is not tired. He’s all, “First of all, I’m not even tired. In fact, I’m in the mood for a hot dog party.”
If I sound glib, it’s only because I have no self control, because I really do mean it when I say that this book is awesome. Also, Mo Willems posts hilarious fan mail from the kiddies on his blog. Go to the funny here:
http://mowillemsdoodles.blogspot.com/search/label/Fan%20Mail
NEXT TIME: ROCKSTARS STAB (AT) LITERATURE, NAMEDROP STABS (AT) THEM
I namedrop Shel Silverstein pretty regularly.
In fact once, infamously I used his “we’re all going to hell at rock’n'roll hotel” poem as a narrative for a photo spread.
copyrights?
who cares about copyrights.
I also feel something, anything involving Peanuts should be on the list.
January 25, 2008 at 2:12 pmFour Words:
The Story Of Ferdinand (many know it as Ferdinand The Bull)
And, quite possibly the most unknown and under-appreciated children’s stories ever written, and written by the master of wit, Oscar Wilde:
You can read them all here: http://wilde.artpassions.net/ Now you have something to do for the rest of the afternoon.
The Nightingale and the Rose will make Svetlana cry in public.
January 25, 2008 at 2:18 pmI actually read that when I was 10 in Serbian, and just thinking of it right now makes me tear up.
also, I just remembered (sorry Sarah, your’s just like Cesar’s column totally provokes list outbursts from me):
ALICE IN WONDERLAND.
I just re-read it and “Through the Looking Glass” too and I feel that and Wizard of Oz (the whole book series with Ozma and the hall of heads and….) deserve the “Psychedelic Namedrop” column in their own right.
January 25, 2008 at 2:28 pmOlivia is just a gorgeous and amusing book. Same goes for Pigeon. Toot and Puddle is a great rumination on friendship and Dumb Bunnies has porridge being poured down one’s pants for two modern joys and some funny quotes.
I wish there was a P.D. Eastman book on here. My fave illustrator.
January 25, 2008 at 2:28 pm
um… apples don’t poop.
January 25, 2008 at 2:45 pmThe Phantom Tollbooth.
January 25, 2008 at 3:15 pmRichard McGuire is a good children’s book author to namedrop if you wanna sound snobby. He was in Liquid Liquid and wrote (and played) the bassline for “Cavern” which was famously sampled by Grandmaster Flash on “White Lines.” McGuire also did a lot of animation for PBS Kids.
January 25, 2008 at 4:22 pmIncidentally, what happened to Tripp Bannister and Marty Royle? I miss those guys.
January 25, 2008 at 4:28 pmmy faves:
THE PEOPLE OF PINEAPPLE PLACE (set in georgetown for chrissakes!)
ALICE IN WONDERLAND (madcap genius duh)
THE BROTHERS GRIMM fairy tales (deceptive)
EDWARD GOREY (wickedly beautiful)
ROALD DAHL (even the dirty)
Escapism rules.
January 25, 2008 at 4:33 pmany and all john bellairs! but only the copies with the edward gorey illustrations
January 25, 2008 at 5:23 pmThis one by Crosby [Newell] Bonsall features a boy named Homer, plenty of animals, and a sweet message for children. It was one of my favorites…
And there’s something to be said for the vivid adventure of in Richard Scarry books, especially Cars and Trucks and Things That Go
January 25, 2008 at 5:47 pm(It would help if I told you the book, my bad), I could get the image to work
Who’s A Pest?
How could you overlook The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles?!
its a classic, plus it was written by mary poppins, which increases its quality x a million
January 25, 2008 at 8:18 pmUm, ‘From the Mixed Up Files of Ms. Basil E. Frankweiler’ anybody? That or any of the Ramona books.
January 25, 2008 at 10:14 pmDon’t forget Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
January 25, 2008 at 10:22 pmEverything by Christian Morgenstern and Hans Christian Andersen.
January 25, 2008 at 10:24 pmRamona the Pest.
January 26, 2008 at 9:16 am‘From the Mixed Up Files of Ms. Basil E. Frankweiler’ -fuck yes!
and as far as Shel goes, how about Lafcadio - the Lion that Shot Back.
or The Westing Game?
January 26, 2008 at 2:08 pmThe! Bible!
Yay!
i shall return earl, more offensive than ever. you can sleep easy on that one.
January 30, 2008 at 12:53 pm
What about the Little Prince? BEST childrens book to name drop, imo!
“… I have had, in the course of my life, lots of encounters and lots of serious people. I have spent lots of time with grown-ups. I have seen them at close range… which haven’t much improved my opinion of them. ”
January 25, 2008 at 2:06 pm-anointe de saint exupery