The World As It Is...the World As I See It


The real travesty of the world today is that giant roadside clowns aren't peddling the best drug around-- the imagination.
Speaking of the circus and books, has anyone taken a look at Bruno Munari's The Circus in the Mist? Wow, what book design genius!

Book a Trip: La Tierra de la Culebra Art Park Is Where the Wild Things Art

Nestled in the hills of Highland Park in Northeast Los Angeles is the funky, bohemian La Tierra de la Culebra Art Park, otherwise known as the Land of the Serpent.

My son and I visited recently and realized a strange parallel between our experiences and Max's from Maurice Sendak's kidlit classic, Where the Wild Things Are. With sincere apologies to that book's creator, here's a super-abbreviated and paraphrased account of our day among serpents:

Max made mischief.

"I'LL EAT YOU UP!" he said.
That night a forest grew in Max's bedroom.



When Max got to the place of the wild things, they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth...


Max tamed the wild things with a magic trick of staring into their eyes...

Max, the king of all wild things, cried, "Let the wild rumpus start!"


Soon, Max grew lonely and wanted to be where he was loved best of all...



He traveled in and out of weeks and through a day...


And when he got home, his comfy chair was waiting for him, along with his supper-- and it was still hot.
Okay, so there was no comfy chair waiting for Max, but it's supposed to be symbolic of the comforts of a parent's love, blah, blah, blah. Also, I just thought the chair in the park was so cool that it had to be included.
If you "book" a trip to the Land of the Serpent, let us know which book you take along to read, or which book best reflects your experiences there.
"Booking" a trip elsewhere? Let us know about it.

Submit Photos of Your Child's Bookshelf to the PaperTigers Blog



I'm a sucker for fun-lovin' bookshelves. Remember my son's "On Beyond Zebra" bookshelf? I just sent a photo of it covered in books to a cool contest, "Around the World in a Hundred Bookshelves," being sponsored by the PaperTigers Blog.

Click here for more info about the contest and to see kids' bookshelves from around the world.

Hungering for more amazing bookshelves? Check out this blog, totally devoted to the art of the bookshelf. Some of the bookshelves here are so amazingly beautiful that it would be a shame to clutter them up with books.

Librarypalooza! Los Angeles Public Library: Cypress Park Branch

"Great Books Are the Golden Keys to the Palace of Wisdom" is the title of the mural that decorates the Children's Room at the Cypress Park Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.

Don't worry if the big apple falls on your head. It'll probably just lead to another revolution in physics. The mural also includes a vision chart in Hebrew and the entire alphabet of ASL hand signs.

The Cypress Park Branch contains a large number of books in Spanish. This ninja-in-training takes a break from La Historia de Spider-Man to search for ninja secrets in Owen's Marshmellow Chick by Kevin Henkes. You'd be surprised how many secrets are buried deep within the "Way of the Marshmellow."
The pride of the library's community room is a large mural that celebrates the adjacent L.A. River and honors the life work of César Chávez as a farm labor advocate. Why not plan a class field trip here to learn more about his life?
Currently, the Cypress Park Branch features pre-school storytime and LACMA art classes for kids. Check it out!

Celebrate Poetry Month with 30 Poets/30 Days


I'm sending you on a field trip to this place, otherwise known as the 30 Poets/30 Days Poetry Month blog event at the GottaBook blog. Unlike art at the museum, these poems you can touch. Have at it!