CHANNELING: Dr. Ellie Sattler

 

Laura Dern makes paleobotany look good.

Button-up.  Shirt.  Shorts.  Boots.  Socks.  Shades.

WINNER: Caldecott Metal

It's like the Nobel Prize of children's illustration.  The ALA announces the new winner today.  

Remember these favorites?

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (1964)

The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (2010)

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (2008)

The Little Island, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard (1947)

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (1986)

Smoky Night, illustrated by David Diaz (1995)

Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg (1982)

The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble (1979)

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey (1942)

Madeline's Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans (1954)

Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully (1993)

Fables by Arnold Lobel (1981)

ROYAL STYLE: Winter Coats

The Duke and Duchess of Kent.
High fashion in high winter.
Check out that croc bag!

POET: Richard Blanco

Although Tía Miriam boasted she discovered

at least half a dozen uses for peanut butter—

topping for guava shells in syrup,

butter substitute for Cuban toast,

hair conditioner and relaxer—

Mamá never knew what to make

of the monthly five-pound jars

handed out by the immigration department

until my friend, Jeff, mentioned jelly.

From América by inaugural poet Richard Blanco

line drawing by JOHN BAILLY

HOUSE: Karen Blixen

The above image is Karen Blixen's actual house (now museum)

at the foot of Ngong Hills in Kenya. The following is the house 

used in the film Out of Africa.  They did a helluva job replicating it.

I wish I had a farm in Africa.

SONG: Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

Bob Dylan

Johnny Cash

Waylon Jennings

 Peter, Paul, and Mary

Joan Baez

Odetta

Elvis
Who sings your favorite version?

BROWSE: The Life of a Bowerbird

What is a bowerbird you ask? 

A bowerbird is an australian native bird that builds a reedy nest 

and goes to extraordinary lengths to decorate it
with "stolen" goods and found objects.

The book, The Life of a Bowerbird, is a beautiful collection of...collections.

Author Sibella Court, says "A collection doesn't need to be justified beyond the desire to have it and keep it. Collections are simply an attraction (over and over again) to the same object, or shape, or color, or texture.  A collection is a memento of people, places, past times, and experiences-made up of memories of characters you've encountered, meals, globetrotting adventures, explorations, and travels, the details of daily life, time spent with friends, and a million other things. All objects, once held, have a memory or story of where, when, and who you were with when you found them."

So go on then, start collecting things that make you happy.

These are the things that make a home interesting.

HISTOIRE: Babar

Everyone's favorite urbane, sports car-driving, spats-wearing Elephant
Listen to the story in it's native French:

EQUIPMENT: Dansk

Cool Scandinavian design brought to the USA in the mid-1950s.

This is what mid-Century modern is all about.

Sure, they do plates and silverware and stuff, but the enamel cookware is the star of the show.

STYLE: Elbow Patches

Stylish and practical, they'll save your favorite sweaters from an elbow blow-out and relegation to the scrap bin.