How Tolkien Envisioned ‘The Hobbit’ And ‘Lord Of The Rings’
In the fall of 1936, as the first edition of “The Hobbit” was in production, its author, J.R.R. Tolkien, gave his publisher a series of maps that he’d drawn to…Continue Reading →
‘Johnny Boo Is King!’ In New Kids Graphic Novel From (Former) Vermont Cartoonist Laureate James Kochalka
“Johnny Boo Is King!,” the new graphic novel for kids from James Kockalka, the former Cartoonist Laureate of Vermont, begins with the ghost Johnny Boo discovered hiding in a bush…Continue Reading →
Interview: Guy Gavriel Kay On His New Novel ‘A Brightness Long Ago,’ Tolkien, Reimagining History
In Guy Gavriel Kay’s latest novel “A Brightness Long Ago” (due out from Viking May 14), Count Uberto, dubbed “The Beast,” has his men scour his kingdom for young women…Continue Reading →
Historian Robert Caro’s ‘Working’ Methods: Dig Through Archives, Wear Ties, Silence
When Robert Caro, the legendary political journalist-historian, was a young investigative reporter at the crusading, liberal New York newspaper Newsday, a top editor gave him advice on how to dig…Continue Reading →
How ‘Pigeon’ And ‘Elephant & Piggie’ Author Mo Willems Protested In 2018
Mo Willems has won Caldecott Honors three times for his picture books for children—beginning with 2003’s “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!”—and Emmys six times for his previous work…Continue Reading →
Tomi Ungerer’s 1960 Octopus Adventure ‘Emile’ Is Finally Back In Print
Tomi Ungerer, who died in February, was one of the great fabulists and weirdoes of children’s book illustration. And his razor sharp drawn line punctuated by patches of rich black…Continue Reading →
Can Sex Cure Bourgeois Boredom? Leila Slimani’s ‘Adele’ Tries To Find Out
“Adele,” the 2014 novel by French-Moroccan writer Leila Slimani, finally arrives in translation for the United States. Adele is bored by her job as a globetrotting reporter, bored with her…Continue Reading →
In Karen Thompson Walker’s Novel “The Dreamers,” People Just Stop Waking Up
After a night of partying, a college student doesn’t wake up the next morning, or the next. She just sleeps and sleeps. In Karen Thompson Walker’s novel “The Dreamers” (Random House),…Continue Reading →
With ‘Stuff Of Stars,’ Ekua Holmes Wins Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, Again
This week the American Library Association announced that Boston artist Ekua Holmes had again won its Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, honoring African American authors and illustrators of outstanding books…Continue Reading →
Ed Emberley’s Classic How-To-Draw Books Inspire Cambridge Library Mural By Caleb Neelon
In 1970, “Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Animals” was published, the first in a long line of how-to draw books by the Ipswich author that have gone on to inspire…Continue Reading →