Pullman on Censorship
How I do adore and respect our man, Philip: Philip Pullman, addressing an audience at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, was asked about whether his latest book, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, was offensive. Here’s his reply: “It was a shocking thing to say and I knew it was a shocking thing to say. But no one has the right to live without being shocked. No one has the right to spend their life without being offended. Nobody has to read this book. Nobody has to pick it up. Nobody has to open it. And if you open it and read it, you don’t have to like it. And if...
Read MoreSudipta Bardhan, Ringmaster
Had a grand old time working with author, Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen to create an event kit for her greatest-show-on-earth of a picture book, Tightrope Poppy: The High-Wire Pig (Sterling Publishing). The event kit allows a children’s programmer to add Big Top elements to a story hour using Sudipta’s picture book (illustrated by Sarah Dillard). We extracted the ringmaster character, Zig E. Zailey from the book and use him as the host of the event. Through simple face painting, costume making, and a (very low) high-wire act, Zig E. Zailey invites young readers (aka story hour...
Read MoreIndia’s Ink
Working with a character who is such a marvel with the declarative sentence led us to create a character blog for The Accidental Adventures of India McAllister by Charlotte Agell. “I’m suspicious of people who don’t like to read, although Colby is one of them, and I like him fine. He’s just wrong about reading.” –India McAllister Using WordPress we were able to categorize each entry creating special pages to send to our target audiences. Any guesses who we might be talking to? Beyond grand to have both Charlotte’s words and artwork to work with! Share...
Read MoreMeteor Shower
Amongst the meteorological and astronomical events of February, ones birthday usually goes unreported. Upon turning 40 this past week, I was caught unaware by a surprise meteor shower of creativity. I was both illustrated and feted in ways I can hardly fathom. I am astronomically beyond lucky to work beside you children’s book creators, friends, and propagators of curiosity. More from the chronicles of the brillaint Jamie Hogan and Cathryn Falwell (and photos from the asteroid belt.) Share...
Read MoreBelated Valentine from Portland Phoenix
Some sweet folks nominated Curious City for one of Portland’s Most Influential People for “getting creators, readers, and fans of children’s books on the same page.” Well, thanks and gosh, Portland Phoenix and mysterious somebodies. Share...
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