Danielle Davis Reads and Writes

"I’m very lucky to write for children, because I don’t have to deal with popular culture. I can just..."

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:15:31 -0400

“I’m very lucky to write for children, because I don’t have to deal with popular culture. I can just deal with core fundamental issues: jealousy, love, hatred, sadness, joy, wanting to drive a bus. The fundamental core emotional things. And just asking questions like, ‘How do you know when you’re in control? What is a friend? What are relationships between people?’ These are all things that I haven’t figured out yet. I’m very lucky in that I don’t understand the world yet. If I understood the world, it would be harder for me to write these books.”

- Mo Willems, “Jealousy, joy and driving a bus: The secrets to writing a hit children’s book” (via CNN)

"Sometimes a child just needs a picture book reading session. And the presence of the books on the..."

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:14:07 -0400

““Sometimes a child just needs a picture book reading session. And the presence of the books on the shelves offers that connection for children who are changing fast: just a few years ago, hearing “Little Pea” read aloud could rescue a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, and now — well, really, it still can. And maybe the sight of it will bring a smile to a sulky teenage face at some point.””

- KJ Dell’Antonia in this NYTimes parenting blog.

"’This is old-fashioned stuff, but it is not just nostalgic,’” Hutton said. “’For a..."

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:25:18 -0400

““’This is old-fashioned stuff, but it is not just nostalgic,’” Hutton said. “’For a small child, any interaction with a person reading a book is so good for a child’s cognitive, language, fine motor skills and emotional well-being.’””

- Dr. John Hutton, doctor turned bookseller, in this article by John Faherty at Cinncinnati.com.

"…If you think of your favourite story as a child, it is likely to be something that you still..."

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:22:52 -0400

““…If you think of your favourite story as a child, it is likely to be something that you still admire as an adult. Good kids’ stories somehow transcend across ages””

- James Baker, artistic director of the theater production of The Incredible Book Eating Boy, from this article.

"A lot of the business people and creative people that I’m fascinated by all have something in..."

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:26:29 -0400

““A lot of the business people and creative people that I’m fascinated by all have something in common, which is a lot of failure—a lot of dramatic failure—and a lot of rejection. All of us face conflict in our life and obviously no one just gives you anything—that might create its own problems. I don’t know about that. But you get to a point where you’re like, okay, I can be bitter and just stop or I can keep going because I really don’t have a choice. The key thing in all of that is that most of us have people in our lives who keep us afloat. Part of what kept me determined was not some amazing agent who said ‘you can do that’—because I really didn’t have that—but a family and a creative community of six or seven people who had read the pilot of Mad Men. My wife, in particular, was like, ‘This is good. You know it’s good. Don’t give up on it.’ “Or,” he continues, “‘You’re good but people haven’t found out yet.’ There is a string of failures that typify success. The weirdest thing is it’s kind of shameful to be rejected a lot, and a lot of people become dominated by that. It’s so embarrassing. You feel delusional.””

- Matthew Weiner, Mad Men creator, in this Fast Company article.

"Everything you look at can become a fairy tale and you can get a story from everything you touch."

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:32:45 -0400

““Everything you look at can become a fairy tale and you can get a story from everything you touch.””

- Hans Christian Andersen (via chelseyphilpot)

"Incomplete understanding may be useful as the unknown, the puzzling, and the mysterious stir the..."

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:24:57 -0400

““Incomplete understanding may be useful as the unknown, the puzzling, and the mysterious stir the imagination and inspire exploration.””

- On picture books read to toddlers, in this article by Krystine I. Batcho from Psychology Today.

Adore the person and the sentiment: Miranda July photographed by...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 23:36:39 -0400

Adore the person and the sentiment: Miranda July photographed by Boudist, found here.

"Sometimes not having any idea where we’re going works out better than we could possibly have..."

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 17:15:17 -0500

“Sometimes not having any idea where we’re going works out better than we could possibly have imagined.”

- Ann Patchett on writing and life (via explore-blog)

" I think that whenever you can add a music element or a film element, or an interactive game, or..."

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 17:06:20 -0500

“” I think that whenever you can add a music element or a film element, or an interactive game, or audience participation, that’s always a lot of fun. I think that it’s nice when there’s a social element, so that people aren’t just there to hear from you, they’re also there to hear from each other, so it’s not just like they can be home watching you on Livestream. They’re in a community with like-minded people, and that’s a really valuable thing that you’re offering as well as your own work.””

- Rachel Fershleiser on book events, talking to Togather.

teachingliteracy: art is a way project by elsa mora.

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 23:43:55 -0500

teachingliteracy:

art is a way project by elsa mora.

"Fresh ideas come when your brain is relaxed and engaged in something other than the particular..."

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 23:37:25 -0500

““Fresh ideas come when your brain is relaxed and engaged in something other than the particular problem you’re embroiled in.””

- Debra Kaye’s article, “Why Innovation Brainstorming Doesn’t Work” in Fast Company.

Etsy video profile of Sophie Blackall, whose work I adore and...

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:34:00 -0500

Etsy video profile of Sophie Blackall, whose work I adore and admire.

(Via @brainpickings.)

explore-blog: Illustrator Sophie Blackall on the origin of her...

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:28:13 -0500

explore-blog:

Illustrator Sophie Blackall on the origin of her lovely Missed Connections project.

theimpossibletrees: The Tallest Man On Earth & Idiot Wind -...

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:24:18 -0500

theimpossibletrees:

The Tallest Man On Earth & Idiot Wind - Working Titles (by ilcorvojo4)

kewaskum: The Bird King: An Artist’s Notebook Shaun Tan Shaun...

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:17:51 -0500

kewaskum:

The Bird King: An Artist’s Notebook

Shaun Tan

Shaun Tan has made some very strange books. “The Arrival” was his ode to the immigrant experience; a giant, wordless comic strip that told the story of someone trying to fit in to a new place. “The Bird King” shows Tan’s rough-drafts, sketches, and storyboards for all kinds of new ideas.

millionsmillions: Sometimes, Virginia Woolf took a break from...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:13:00 -0500

millionsmillions:

Sometimes, Virginia Woolf took a break from her busy schedule of constant brilliance in order to write children’s stories for her nephews’ newspaper, The Charleston Bulletin. A taste: “When in a good and merry mood Trisy would seize a dozen eggs, and a bucket of flour, coerce a cow to milk itself, and then mixing the ingredients toss them 20 times high up over the skyline, and catch them as they fell in dozens and dozens and dozens of pancakes.”

[Image via The Guardian.]

"To me the process is the interesting part. The finished product is more like when you’ve finished a..."

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:12:25 -0500

““To me the process is the interesting part. The finished product is more like when you’ve finished a jigsaw puzzle. It’s become something else. It’s sorting through all the possibilities that’s the fun part. And the painful part!””

- Shaun Tan, in this Q & A over at Publishers Weekly.

"Since I began making picture books I have come to realise over time that I call them just that...."

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:11:00 -0500

““Since I began making picture books I have come to realise over time that I call them just that. Picture books. Not children’s books. The reason for this is twofold; firstly I don’t believe they are just for children. I have met countless adults that collect picture books for themselves, and they are growing in confidence about openly admitting this in a book-signing queue. It’s not for my daughter, or a friend’s nephew. It’s for me. Often these individuals are teachers, librarians, publishing employees, art college students / aspiring picture-book makers themselves. But increasingly, they are doctors, civil servants, bus drivers … just people who have discovered the joy of a story unfolding visually over a few dozen pages.””

- Oliver Jeffers, in this article from The Guardian, “Maurice Sendak’s Jumper and Me.”

Huzzah! Picture books for all!

zacharysmithh: There’s no better time than now. Quit waiting.

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 22:07:35 -0500

zacharysmithh:

There’s no better time than now. Quit waiting.