Last chance for Seuss

Yesterday I went to see "Doctor Seuss Goes to War... And More" at the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum.  It's the last chance to see the exhibit, as it ends today, August 31.

Before he was a children's illustrator and author, Theodore Geisel (later, better known under his pen name, Doctor Seuss) worked as a political cartoonist, and many of his cartoons criticized America's lack of involvement in the early days of World War II.

What an interesting display this was.  You could definitely see that Seuss had already developed his trademark style. Here's one of his political cartoons.  Pencilled in, too faint to see in this photo, is the caption, "Stop wringing the hands that should wring Hitler's neck!"

Here's another.  The caption for this one read, "...and the Wolf chewed up the children and spit out their bones... but those were Foreign Children and it really didn't matter."

Here's something you don't see often.  A young, unbearded Theodore Geisel!

There was a fantastic Seuss playground, featuring some of the characters from his books most famous for promoting social justice: Horton Hears a Who, The Sneetches, The Butter Battle Book and Yertle the Turtle. Fun stuff!  McBean's machine from The Sneetches was really something else... it has a flashing light and sound effects when you go through it.

Cool bookshelf

The David Garcia Studio has this piece displayed at the Royal Danish Art Academy. In part, they were inspired by the idea, "How can an individual travel with it’s own library, given that books are so heavy? This is something we can all relate to when moving house." Having moved recently, I can attest that books are frequently the heaviest things one owns. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise that most of my book collection was recently lost to a flood?

I've got quite a knack for walking and reading at the same time, if I do say so myself. Navigating with this rolling bookshelf seems like it would be quite a challenge, though! I much prefer a more relaxed take... check out this second picture.

Children's Literature Council Fall Gala 2009

The crowd at this year's Children's Literature Council Fall Gala seemed a little smaller than it has in years past, and just a little more casual too, which was nice.

I was pleased that the event was hosted at the Skirball Cultural Center this year. The Bowers museum, where it's been hosted in the past, was lovely but a verry long drive for me.

The keynote speaker was Jennifer Holm of Babymouse fame, and she was delightfully entertaining. She gave a wonderful talk about some of the things that inspired her. I was introduced to her, briefly, and when she heard my name is Madigan, she asked, "Oh, do you go by Maddy?" To which I replied, (perhaps a little too sternly?) "No, I prefer Madigan." She answered that by saying, "Oh my gosh! I was just asking!" She said it in such a chirpy and funny way for a brief moment it was almost like talking to Babymouse herself. How awesome!

Most exciting, was that my old friend Hope Anita Smith had won the Myra Cohn Livingston award for poetry for her book, Keeping the Night Watch. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but for just a teensy-tiny second, I was afraid that since I haven't seen her in a few years, and she's won so many awards, maybe there would be some distance between us? Happily, that wasn't the case. She asked me if I wouldn't mind taking her photograph when she got her award, even though there was already an official photographer set up. I guess, when she got her Coretta Scott King award, there was some kind of photo mishap, and she wanted to make certain to catch a photo of this one. So, I gladly obliged. That meant, of course, that I don't have any photos of the event, because I was using Hope's camera. I did snap this photo afterward, as the authors signed books in the courtyard. Jennifer Holm is sitting up front, looking a little weary (I'm not sure how many books she must have signed at this point, but I'm sure it was a lot) Hope is sitting just behind her, steadily signing away.

I wish I'd been able to stay a little longer... the Skirball gave everyone at the event free passes to see their Noah's Ark exhibit, but I had other plans for the afternoon. You can read other attendees accounts of the Gala here, and here.