In his note to the reader, Fancher (The Range Eternal, p. 1222, etc.) writes, "I’ve shortened the text to allow more room for the artwork," as an explanation for this abbreviated version of the beloved classic. Shortened indeed: Williams’s poetic passage introducing the Skin Horse has been reduced to: "The Skin Horse was old and wise, and he knew all about being Real." The rest is pared down to match, leaving a tale that does still—faintly—echo the original’s lyricism, but is less likely to lose the attention of, as Fancher puts it, "a wiggly two-year-old" being forced to listen to it. The art is, as promised, all full-paged and space-filling: quiet compositions in which the Velveteen Rabbit, the Boy, and other figures are large, soft-surfaced forms, viewed close-up, and from a child’s-eye level to enhance the feeling of intimacy. The tale’s more philosophical aspects will still elude most of the nursery school set, but sharing this summary may make some listeners more receptive to the Real story, when they’re old enough to appreciate it. On the other hand, perhaps they’ll think they’ve read it already. Why not just wait? (Picture book. 3-5)
Christmas is coming, and an advent calendar is a fun way to build anticipation. It’s like watching the ball drop in Times Square, but in December! There are about 1,390,689 ways to make an advent calendar, but if you love books as much as we do, there’s only one way to count down the days: with […]
In this screen-dominated world, it can be hard to get even bookish kids reading. Not to mention, so many kids’ publications—from the classic to the commercial—have been made into hard-to-resist, CGI-animated blockbusters. How can we get our children lost and found in the world of literature? While it may be tempting to recommend reading the […]
School is back in session—snack time, recess, and naptime are all in vogue once again. Bedtime has rolled back a couple hours too, so you need to bring your A Game to storytime—are you ready? If it’s taking you a moment to switch out of summer vacation mode, we are here to help—with a diverse […]
There aren’t too many shows I can watch over and over when my 2-year-old has the remote, but Doc McStuffins is a rare exception. The Disney Junior cartoon features a family of five—a mom who is a doctor, a stay-at-home dad, a little brother, an adopted baby sister, and Doc McStuffins, an ambitious little African American girl who […]
Are you done with your holiday shopping? If your answer is yes, I’m just going to assume you’re some sort of Stepford person. If your answer is no, I high five you, and if your answer is, “Holiday shopping? I haven’t even started! Can you give a sandwich as a present?” then I salute you and offer you a […]