UkeLit: Rockabilly Goats Gruff
One never knows what will happen in a kidlit-way when you find yourself at The Writing Barn in Austin, Texas. Curious City recently found ourselves sitting across from a ukulele-playing troll. That troll was the uber-talented Jeff Crosby in toothy disguise. Jeff is the creator of many picture books including the rockin’ Rockabilly Goats Gruff (Holiday House). Jeff illustrated a ukulele with his band, Rockabilly Goat’s Gruff for the UkeLit project. UkeLit’s mission is to 1) introduce music literacy to school and library settings by providing a ukulele (the user-friendly,...
Read MoreAnnouncing UkeLit
The Ukulele Lending Library (Got Uke?) has become UkeLit! MISSION To introduce music literacy to school and library settings by providing a ukulele, the user-friendly, starter instrument, for circulation and to represent the benefits of creating music through the inclusion of a children’s book featuring musical characters and plotlines within the ukulele case. See the creation of the UkeLit: Rockabilly Goats Gruff! BACKGROUND Piloted at the Portland Public Library in Maine in Spring ’13, the four ukulele’s have maintained a 96% circulation rate. The only barrier to an increased circulation...
Read MoreKidLit Left Out in the Elements
It was dark and stormy night… —A Wrinkle in Time Preschoolers must learn their seasons, but as they grow they will find storms and changes in the weather an ever increasing metaphor for change in their lives and the outside world. From Madeleine L’Engle’s famous and cliché opening to A Wrinkle in Time, we remember the great storm of adolescence. If you are a fan of said metaphors, here is handy list of weather metaphors! Listen to the podcast chatter about atmospheric kidlit on Green Mountain Morning! The Carnival at Bray By Jessie Ann Foley Publisher: Elephant...
Read MorePrincess Smack-Down in Vegas
A bookish discussion in the middle of the bombast of Las Vegas? Could that happen? Why, yes. Through the magic of the The Vegas Valley Book Festival (and the grand leadership of Brian Kendall), twelve Curious City and Erin Murphy Literary Agency clients met with 30 classrooms of readers and participated in 8 panels discussions about story and KidLit. Curious City moderated a panel with children’s authors Ammi-Joan Paquette, Susan Lynn Meyer and Jennifer Ziegler. Together we discussed “Princesses in Another Guise” or the new mighty girls of middle grade. We defined...
Read MoreFractured Fairy Tales, Shattered Slippers
Children’s literature has been feverishly fracturing fairy tales since Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith released the The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales in 1992. Do the princess fairy tales featuring girls only made powerful by their beauty (and sometimes kindness) need to be especially fractured? Do we need to smash the glass slippers for girls and women to smash the glass ceiling? Is it time to encourage your child to leave behind the Disney Princess Halloween costume? Look to A Mighty Girl for a “Girl Empowerment Costume Guide.” Curious City joined Chris...
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