At best he's a charlatan.

childrensbookroom.com/2025/06/19/q... A response to the speech for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration.

I'm listening to Alfred Brendel. Instead of bemoaning the fall of humanity and civilization, listen and think about what humans have accomplished in this world that is good. Then go do more of that in new and beautiful ways: music, literature, art, dance.

Alfred Brendel, le pianiste qui tutoyait Beethoven et Schubert, est mort

I’ve worked with Bridget. She was an excellent Ambassador. She served in the toughest assignment the U.S. Government had, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine during the war. She’s served America for decades and fought Trump’s absurd pro-Russian, anti-Ukraine actions. She will make a terrific Representative!

Weirdly, gallows started out as a Middle English plural a half millennium or so ago and then became its own singular. So sort of the opposite (or thereabouts) of pease being erroneously viewed as a plural and thus we got, via back-formation, pea. If you follow me. (I'm not sure I follow me.)

I bet that a lot of people are irked at not being able to play GALLOW. 🐝

Make a little fort inside your mind. Give no one the secret passcode. Read by flashlight. Pack a brown bag lunch. Maybe bring a piece of hard candy, for later.

A post about Shirley Hughes, lost stuffies, and real books instead of realism. Link: childrensbookroom.com/2025/05/19/d...

The contempt that these folks have for the poor and under-privileged is galling. Yes, it is ethical to buy used books. Yes, it is ethical to borrow books from the library. Not everyone can afford to shop at Barnes & Noble, but everyone deserves the joy of reading.

I have spots open in my editing calendar. I do primarily developmental edits on novels and novellas, and work with multiple genres. More info and answers to FAQs here: www.kathowardbooks.com/editing

hey fellow immigrants, what incalculable damage have YOU done to the UK? Personally I took an eligible bachelor off the marriage mart and then got a corgi

instead of faking intelligence by submitting machine-generated essays, I recommend faking intelligence the old-fashioned way: by showing a lively curiosity towards the world and improving your mind by extensive reading.

If you don't want to write, don't write. It's not like there isn't enough perfectly dreadful, pointless writing written by people who are doing it all by themselves. (And I don't necessarily mean Ross Douthat, though of course I don't not mean him either.)

There is no law against a lot of what’s happening because it never occurred to anyone that someone might want to do it.

Barbara McClintock was given the not at all easy task of illustrating the final complete manuscript left by Tomie dePaola-- dealing with the death of his beloved dog, Brontë. The real point is that you need this book and it's coming out soon. childrensbookroom.com/2025/04/28/w...

By the age of thirty you should have an all-consuming obsession with one era of history. If you haven’t yet developed a fixation on an historical era, one will be assigned to you shortly.

Russia is conducting attacks in conjunction with U.S. pressure on Ukraine. It’s a coordinated effort. Trump’s accommodation drives Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian cities to compel Ukraine to capitulate. Trump may not realize… doesn’t care, but his embrace of Putin/Russia is fueling Russian attacks.

While I can't see either Abrams Books or Elisha Cooper here to tag them, this book is very very good and you should order it. childrensbookroom.com/2025/04/16/h...

sometimes when the world sucks, it can help to get out and *do* something

“Just calm down and let people enjoy chatgpt.” Sorry, no. I find it creepy that folks are treating a machine that mimics human speech as their friend / therapist. It is feeding you lies. It is destroying your thinking abilities. Shut it off. Talk to other humans. Go outside.

I would simply like to alert @bcdreyer.social that the Wang Theatre in Boston is managed by the Boch Center which results in emails that you've received tickets to "Boch Center -Wang Theatre," a bit of style mixing that makes me blink.

Leslie Howard, Actor, Director, Producer, #BornOnThisDay in 1893, in Forest Hill, London 📸 Clarence Sinclair Bull (1931)

And whilst we are in the realm of soft leather (now then!!) how about these not so often seen R. S. Stevenson titles with the Rene Mackintosh inspired flower designs in gilt and blindstamped onto the covers.

This fine book is out today, and there's an event coming up at @booksofwonder.bsky.social ! I bet you can get a signed copy. childrensbookroom.com/2025/03/31/r... Note: it is really, really spectacular and you need this book. You just do. Trust me.

Thinking about fascism and totalitarianism through picture books, notably "The Wall," by Peter Sís , published by @fsgbooks.bsky.social . childrensbookroom.com/2025/03/25/b...

Enjoyed the linked essay/preface a lot, and was saddened by it, too.

Ida wrote to Lucy about things being complicated sometimes. twentytwocupsoftea.wordpress.com/2025/03/20/i...

This is a good book you should all get: childrensbookroom.wordpress.com/2025/03/11/l...

Reading about the insane numbers of books that ordinary working people used to read a hundred years ago feels like seeing pictures of the Pacific Ocean back when it teemed with whales. Hard to comprehend what we’ve lost.

It's entirely possible I got a wee bit ticked off: childrensbookroom.wordpress.com/2025/03/07/a... But, to be fair, Canadian books and Canadian book shops are always good. Pop along and get yourself some books. It's good for you.

Happy Maurice Ravel's 150th birthday! To celebrate, I'm listening to "Pavane pour une infante défunte" played by the Basque National Orchestra, the music played at Proust's funeral, because how else do you celebrate someone's birthday?

Uri Shulevitz was one of the greats, and he created art for the last and the least. childrensbookroom.wordpress.com/2025/02/27/u...

Obviously I would prefer Ogles's, but I really must insist on George Santos–like, with an en dash.

Kazuo Iwamura died in December and the world is worse off without him, but, thankfully, still the richer for all the books he left behind. He was a creator with deep respect for the children he created books for. : childrensbookroom.wordpress.com/2025/02/24/k... @northsouthbooks.bsky.social

Absolutely delightful. This is wonderful.

One foot in front of the other! I can't stress this enough. Hopping everywhere causes stress fractures in the earth's flaky crust.

Elbow grease and duct tape, friends. Heaven on earth won't magically build itself.

good advice, IISSM, and you'll be in and out in two minutes

I am once again looking for That Book I Put There A Minute Ago.

The young men cheering on fascism seem not to know that young men are fascism’s favorite food. It may save its favorite longer than the rest of the meal. But only to relish it more.

Shall we talk about the Civil Rights Act? Because that was 1964. The current President turned 18 in 1964. We talk about people being alive now who lived through Jim Crow. The people who LOVED Jim Crow, or just grew up thinking it normal, are also still alive.

Happy birthday to the great Patricia Routledge!

For the late afternoon/evening/overnight crowd, a little meditation on...italics.

When a felon's not engaged in his employment, (his employment) Or maturing his felonious little plans, (little plans)... -- currently humming.

So someone asked me to retell the story of the old lady that told me about killing her husband. Are we ready for a trip back in time to 1999? Some of you already know this story, but if you don't it is a wild ride. Apply all appropriate trigger warnings!

Not quite as much fun, but one of Ollie's grandfathers was Herbert Beerbohm Tree, and boy oh boy can you see it in this photo.

Did you know you need this book? You need this book. I heroically gave up one of my copies the other day in a donation to some underserved school libraries in NY. My sweet boy is currently deeply passionate about the Firebird, and I can confirm that this book is a fabulous read-aloud to 4-year-olds.

Yup. All the same person and that person was Lorenzo da Ponte, Mozart's greatest librettist.