momku

"It was 1963, and I was working at Cleveland Public Library when Where the Wild Things arrived on the..."

Tue, 08 May 2012 13:43:00 -0400

“

It was 1963, and I was working at Cleveland Public Library when Where the Wild Things arrived on the desk of my supervisor, Dorothy Johnson.
She handed it to me and said, “This is probably one of the most imaginative, original picture books I’ve ever seen. Watch this man. He’s a genius. And so we did, enjoying his mastery of narrative and artistic form, his complete understanding of children’s sensibilities, and his sly humor.

How many times we’ve captured young audiences with that concluding line from Pierre: “And so the lion ate Pierre.” And that classic line from Wild Things, recognizable to millions of children and adults everywhere: “And it was still hot.”

He was a true master, entertaining preschoolers, encouraging older children to think with his more serious, philosophical picture books. His passing is a tremendous loss, but his impact on the children’s book industry, and on children themselves, will live on and on.
—Trev Jones, book review editor, School Library Journal

”

- (via schoollibraryjournal)

legoexpress: iTool by ansik on Flickr.

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:18:55 -0400

legoexpress:

iTool by ansik on Flickr.

fixed-j: The drive from Beacon to Colorado took us from Sunday...

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 23:23:15 -0400

fixed-j:

The drive from Beacon to Colorado took us from Sunday evening to Tuesday evening. Things started out well, with the trip broken up into various activities like “listening time,” in which the kids listen to a story on tape or I read aloud, or “quiet time,” in which the children entertain themselves sans electronics, or “watching time,” in which I put on the longest movie I can find. It ended at a skanky Super 8 off the highway. We got the last room, the “jacuzzi” room, which was a tiny room with a king sized bed, and a giant bathtub right next to the bed. I couldn’t help but imagine what had gone on in that tub and who had done the going on, so we skipped trying it out.

Corn.

We made a stop in Springfield to stay with Steve’s very nice aunt and uncle and hit the Abraham Lincoln Museum and Presidential Library while we were there. These folks in Springfield LOVE their Abe Lincoln. This museum was pretty amazing, actually, and I’d highly recommend if you are ever passing through. All sorts of life sized, creepily realistic scenes, including a slave auction block that made me cry it was so intense. They did a nice job of giving a complex perspective on Lincoln and of the times he was governing. Lots of flashy lights and movies helped, too.

Corn.

On Tuesday we were re-routed far north of our intended route west by the crazy overflowing Missouri River. After an hour in country road blackness we emerged outside of Omaha in what appeared to be Las Vegas at about 12:30 a.m. My poor, wrecked children, who had not had a good nights sleep in about 6 days and got only about 6 hours that night, woke in the morning for a dip in the jacuzzi and as much sweet, free breakfast as they could cram in their bellies.

More corn.

The push to Colorado on Wednesday was, well, it was not pretty. It was an orgy of sleep-deprivation, car-weariness, depressing food, marital strife and bad parenting. It ended with me covered in Esme’s pee as we rolled up to my in-law’s place with my pantsless daughter dashing past everyone to get to the bathroom.

Xanax.

True Story

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:17:22 -0500

At roller skating
party for 6-year-olds. Two
words: comedy gold

sesamestreet: Happy birthday, Elmo! Aw. Happy Birthday, Elmo!...

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 12:31:18 -0500

sesamestreet:

Happy birthday, Elmo!

Aw. Happy Birthday, Elmo! It’s my birthday too.

visualarmory: - For real. Thanks Linsey for the link, and Ben...

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 12:28:47 -0500

visualarmory:

-

For real. Thanks Linsey for the link, and Ben for the wonderful work!

Adore this. Want it tattooed on my forehead. In reverse, so I can read it in the mirror.

Happy New Year

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 13:37:21 -0500

Am worst mom ever
Kids haven’t had a bath since
last year. Ba-dum-bump

Kickstarter - 1000 Haiku, 1000 Strangers

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:10:46 -0500

Kickstarter - 1000 Haiku, 1000 Strangers:

I love this idea. For obvious reasons.

Son’s blood work is back Doctors confirm that boy is 90% cheese stick

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 07:19:24 -0500

Son’s blood work is back
Doctors confirm that boy is
90% cheese stick

Did you know I had a crafty side? Well, I do. Created these handmade holiday stamps with the kids...

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:40:21 -0500

Did you know I had a crafty side?

Well, I do. Created these handmade holiday stamps with the kids the other day and it was really fun. I wrote up a tutorial over at Alpha Mom that has all the details if you’re interested. And I know you are! You little closet crafters.

"Three-year old walks in to Thanksgiving kitchen and asks “What’s for dinner?"

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 22:17:08 -0500

“Three-year old walks in
to Thanksgiving kitchen and
asks “What’s for dinner?””

"There’s no use crying over spilt milk. Unless that shit is organic"

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:48:02 -0400

“There’s no use crying
over spilt milk. Unless that
shit is organic”

"Son tells me his Bear is nineteen. Thinking Bear should find new place to sleep"

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:53:29 -0400

“Son tells me his Bear
is nineteen. Thinking Bear should
find new place to sleep”

"Whoever came up with “like a day at the beach” did not bring toddlers"

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:27:41 -0400

“Whoever came up
with “like a day at the beach”
did not bring toddlers”

"Kids gave puppet show Using just one word: “poop.” Watch Out, Ionesco"

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:12:16 -0400

“Kids gave puppet show
Using just one word: “poop.” Watch
Out, Ionesco”

- So far only one star on this haiku. From a linguist, natch. But dammit, some days I have to indulge my pretentious side.

"And on the eight day God woke up and created One last thing: day camp"

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:16:54 -0400

“And on the eight day
God woke up and created
One last thing: day camp”

harpyphoto: “Sometimes technology outpaces humanity’s ability to process it. You know, I think...

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 01:02:25 -0400

harpyphoto:

“Sometimes technology outpaces humanity’s ability to process it. You know, I think that’s where we are right now. There’s so many packets of information coming at me, especially in a city like New York, which is so dense with information no matter where you go. I mean, even our cabs have television screens and info centers built into the backseat. How is literature supposed to survive when our brain has been pummeled with information all day long at work, if we’re white-collar workers? We go home. Are we really going to open a thick text with 350 pages and try to waddle through it, or are we just going to turn on “Mad Men,” which is a wonderful show, for example.

GROSS: It’s a great show.

Mr. SHTEYNGART: It’s a great show, but, see, what “Mad Men” does, which is so wonderful about it, is it takes a lot of the things that make novels great. It takes so much of that novelistic precision and, also, it takes time to explain its characters, to develop its characters and also to try to get into the mind of its characters, as far as film will allow. So it satisfies all our narrative impulses. That’s what we want. But we don’t have to open a book to get it. We just watch it on the screen. “The Sopranos,” “The Wire,” “Mad Men,” all these shows very cleverly are indebted to novels, and all the creators of these shows frequently talk about how they’re indebted to novels. I just don’t want novels to die because that’s what I do.”

—

Gary Shteyngart on Fresh Air

This is my new anthem. (Via Laughing Squid)

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:02:07 -0400

This is my new anthem. (Via Laughing Squid)

Somebody get Hasbro on the horn and have these put into...

Wed, 19 May 2010 12:34:17 -0400

Somebody get Hasbro on the horn and have these put into production stat. MUST HAVE.

Brontë Sisters Power Dolls (via craft)

For me: necklace ofThe finest macaroniHappy Mother’s Day

Mon, 17 May 2010 15:12:19 -0400

For me: necklace of
The finest macaroni
Happy Mother’s Day