That mural was almost 30 years old, or absolutely ancient in Dallas terms. A city that never keeps anything.

I wrote this essay last fall for print only & I'm republishing it with their permission bc we're talking about didactism in kidlit right now and I have HAD thoughts about the connection between instructive lit and book banning. I'd be honored if you read it. www.prettyokmaggie.com/blog/2026/5/...

Check out this great new resource from @ideasonfirephd.bsky.social -- a guide to and searchable database of academic book awards. Academic writers and editors, please share with your networks!

Having all the cards is, famously, not the goal in Uno.

'Disappointed, "Surprised," 'Betrayed': 12 Toddlers on Where Did Mom Go Peekaboo Oh There She Is

Things that help calm the nervous system, quickly: - Box breathing (in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4, repeat) - Immerse your face in cold water (activates mammalian dive reflex) - Humming (stimulates vagus nerve) - Exercise (anything helps, outside even better) - Impeachment and removal

On this No Kings Day, I realized that my one Trumpy neighbor took down the Trump flag that has been flying since we moved here in 2023.

Teachers do so much for so little that it's more expensive to replace them with AI than to keep them.

1. Victorian novel 2. Children's and YA lit 3. Narrative theory Written and orals My dissertation included zero Victorian lit.

If you're at the airport and Kristi Noem is doing the ominous little message from the TSA screens, you no longer have to do anything she says. Leave your laptop in the case, whatever.

Rewatching the first two seasons of Veronica Mars and being reminded of all the things we already knew 20 years ago.

JD Vance personally invited Pope Leo to the U.S. 250th celebration on the 4th of July. Today the Vatican announced Leo will be spending the day with migrants instead.

It was an absolute privilege to work with these wonderful scholars. I hope that people enjoy this special issue on YA and series and romance!

I actually got a lot done today, but I'm gonna go ahead and consider this horsey doodle my biggest accomplishment.

ICE isn't law enforcement without training; ICE is white nationalism with guns.

Coming to terms with the fact that getting to enjoy being a teen in the '90s means I am doomed to perimenopause at a distinctly awful moment. Both the world and my head are on fire.

semi-regular reminder that ICE was only created in 2003 when you are asked to imagine a world without ICE, you're basically being asked to remember where you were when Lilo & Stitch came out

hey remember when a bunch of middle-aged drunk korean lawmakers climbed the locked gates to the national assembly to hold an emergency session after the president gave illegal orders to the military, all of which ended with said president being sentenced to prison

She is Gretchen Weiners watching Regina George eat too many Kalteen bars.

I love this song so much: 🎵 Now it's making sense to me. 🎵 An acapella duet called "Build A Ballroom" 👀 sung by Ken Sandberg & A Gift From Todd An extraordinarily creative way to say that Trump is building a 350 million bunker funded by his elite tech friends for when shit hits the fan.

It all started in 1955 with a misprint in a Colorado newspaper and a call to Col. Harry Shoup's secret military hotline. Shoup played along with the tiny voice who called, and a tradition was born. From the NPR archives.

Today's a great day in Colorado to very carefully not start fires.

Any product involving glitter should be required to announce that in bold all caps. Surprise glitter should not be an option.

Seriously considering a "When Harry Met Sally..."-themed NYE this year.

Every legal story now is either Ancient Circuit Judge Delivers Crystal Clear 100 Page Rebuke To Trumpist Overreach or In Unsigned Shadow Docket Decision, 6-3 Majority Declares Trump Can Hunt People For Sport

This may be my least favorite Wrinkle in Time cover art, but the story of tracking down its artist is fascinating. (The best cover is Ellen Raskin's original.)

If you're a professor at Texas A&M, you'll need to receive written authorization from the university president before discussing this incident on campus.

I love how Rep. Joe Neguse reframed this question.

heartbroken to learn the pope sympathizes with the poor. how can i continue to believe in god

We were talking about Dolly in front of our 10yo last night, and it was such a pleasure to get to explain a good celebrity to him for a change.

I did not know how much I needed Emma Thompson, ethic-of-care-informed action hero.

The charge falls now on the podcaster, the news anchor—every keeper of a microphone. Let liberal platforms prove their willingness to meet the demands of this moment. The task now is not to lower the temperature, but to raise the standard. trib.al/1yHlRb7

EVERYONE STOP EVERYTHING Mychal the Librarian is hosting the Reading Rainbow revival!!! reactormag.com/reading-rain...

They've lost the 9yos

When we think of sexism, it's easy to think of *active* efforts to discriminate against women. But sexism also operates *passively* - like through our inaction on issues like childcare and paid family leave. In that context, return-to-office policies are sexist in consequence, even if not in design.

Please share this upcoming webinar series with anyone you know who is working or will soon be working on their first academic book! ideasonfire.net/first-book-p...

Colorado's top health official has issued a public health order that expands access to COVID-19 vaccines "to reduce confusion and uncertainty."

Stole this but it’s mine now

If you say 'heteronormative' or 'unhoused person' or 'food insecurity' you're basically talking gibberish and nobody can understand you but if you say you can see inflammation in children at the airport and that vaccines lower IQ or that germs are a myth you get to fire all the scientists.

Been thinking a lot lately about how our cultural insistence on seeing children as saints or martyrs means that a lot of folks aren't seeing them as people, and maybe that's why so many of them can die without anything ever changing.

Oh, the 90s are back? Are they? You posers, I haven’t seen one of you wearing a long sleeved shirt under a short sleeved shirt OR chunky black buckle pilgrim shoes OR feeling good about the future so

There are a lot of reasons to love Aspen trees, but for me, the best thing about them is the way they look like they are sparkling when the wind blows through. (These sparkly Aspens are in Bryce Canyon.)

Our statement in response to the Supreme Court ruling in Mahmoud v Taylor. Image thread with alt text. 1/4

It is 2003. 28 Days Later and Freaky Friday are in theaters. Everyone's upset because we don't want to go to war in the middle east. it's 2025. 28 Years Later and Freakier Friday are in theaters. Everyone's upset because we don't want to go to war in the middle east.

“Some of y’all cant handle 2 high agency males going at it and it really shows”

I keep thinking we're in 1984, but then Snowpiercer makes a cameo.

Billionaire tax cuts are a policy choice. Cutting healthcare for millions is a policy choice. Cutting food assistance for children is a policy choice. Taking from the poor and giving to the rich is a policy choice. Make no mistake: Trump and the GOP are choosing to do this.

just so we’re all clear: the reason they keep using dolls as their example is because they’re trying to frame caring about material stuff as feminine and thus inherently shameful