If you’ve played the Rovio game Angry Birds for any length of time, you’ll know Ari Pulkkinen‘s catchy theme. Indeed, the music is almost as addictive as the game –Â as some of these cover versions indicate. The Genevieve Trio‘s performance brings out a certain olde-worlde-folk-music quality that I really like. Accordion, upright bass (not pictured),
What does this 4-minute video tell you about this child’s experience of children’s books?  She offers an inventive retelling of A. A. Milne‘s The House at Pooh Corner, starring Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger, and… baby monkeys.  I posed this question to all three of my classes as the first electronic message board post of the term.  Here’s my
Yes, it might have made more sense to post this query prior to the new semester, rather than just after the term has begun. But my tendency to work close to deadlines means that the syllabus is never finished until just before the term starts. In any case, I’ll be teaching Literature for Children again,
Academically adrift? Nonsense. The real story is that humanities majors learn more.
In my decade of teaching Children’s Literature at the university level, I’ve learned a lot. But I never feel that I’ve learned quite enough to teach the grad class Critical Approaches to Children’s Literature. I’m grateful that I’m teaching it now and not ten years ago, but it’s one of those courses that makes me
With a hectic new semester about to begin (or, for many of us, already begun) and our new governor’s proposed assault on some of Kansas’ most vulnerable citizens, let us seek solace – and inspiration – in the verse of our greatest living YouTube poet, Parry Gripp. Â As he counsels, when The world has gone
The sequel (or prequel?) to “How to Publish Your Book,” here’s something else they don’t always teach you in graduate school. As in that earlier post, this is what has worked for me. Results may vary. Please note: the advice below derives from my experience as an English professor who specializes in children’s literature.  This
When I began this blog, I thought I would post more of the many mixes I make. I haven’t. But here’s the first uptempo mix of 2011 – a happy way to begin the year, and (for those educators and students out there) the new semester. 1)   William Tell Overture Sixth Wave (2004)     1:07 The first
A number of folks at MLA 2011 were kind enough to mention that they’ve found my “advice” postings useful. Â In the hopes of continuing to help, here’s one more before I veer back to other blog topics (children’s literature, comics, biography, music, etc.). Â Today’s topic is: how do you develop a robust CV quickly? As
Yes, you’ve all heard about NewSouth Press publishing Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer without the “n” word. But a couple of important points are getting lost in all the uproar. As Natalia Cecire points out on her blog, the “political correctness” circus-goers are missing the point. I find it more noteworthy that such Bowdlerization is