Casual Friday: "Goosebumps" as Great Works of Literature
What qualities elevate a kid's book to Children's Literature? Can a Goosebumps novel be a children's classic? A case for the greatness of R.L. Stine's “The Haunted Mask” (1993).
Casual Friday: Trauma and Triumph in Katherine Paterson's "Jacob Have I Loved"
What is asked of a reader when they read a depressing story about an unhappy child?
Casual Friday: Lemony Snicket's "Austere Academy" Schooling on Trans Rights and BLM
What can Lemony Snicket tell us about appropriate responses to BLM and how to empathize with trans persons?
Casual Friday: Outbreak in "The Secret Garden"
A self-isolation themed video this week. The Secret Garden begins with a terrifying account of a pandemic allowed to spread in close quarters.
Casual Friday: "Peter Pan" and the Riddle of Childhood
It’s only in the 19th century, really, that childhood gets established as a period in life meant for fun, play, curiosity, fantasy and all the other things we associate with childhood.
Alexander is a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Kid
Man, that invisible castle thing? You got lazy and didn’t draw a picture, didn’t you, and now you’re upset ‘cause the teacher liked an actual picture better than your blank page? If you’re gonna be a jerk about drawing time, at least have the courage of your convictions to stand by your BS move and not act like you weren’t trying to be clever and lazy. And what have you got against sixteen, mister?