Field Trip!

If you're here for ALA next week and are looking for something to do on the 17th while awaiting the News on Monday morning, I highly recommend this field trip to the Carle Museum in Amherst.

Don't miss Lolly!

A reminder--Lolly's thing is tomorrow at 1:00PM at the Eric Carle Museum, a beautiful space in the beautiful town of Amherst, MA. I hope to see some of you there.

Framed

I hope some of you can join me at the Eric Carle Museum to hear the Horn Book's own Lolly Robinson talk about what happens to picture book pictures when you hang them on a wall someplace and maybe somebody buys them and then maybe somebody buys them again or maybe nobody buys them and they just sit up in some loft somewhere (okay, I'll refund the price of the Carle admission to the first person who can identify that particular '70s flashback).

Lolly's talk is on Saturday, February 28, at 1:00PM. Come on down!

Come See Lolly!

Horn Book designer and production manager Lolly Robinson will be at the Eric Carle Museum on November 16th at 1:00P.M., moderating a conversation about picture books with Kinuko Craft, Jerry Pinkney, Rosemary Wells, and Paul O. Zelinsky.

Free with admission to the Museum, the program stems from an exhibition Lolly has curated from the collection of Zora Charles. That exhibition opened this past spring at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, from whence Lolly filed a report.

Art on the wall

This is Lolly Robinson, Horn Book designer, posting at Roger's invitation. (Thanks, Rog.)

First a confession: My attention has been divided lately and I might have left my heart in Santa Barbara. Not romantically like Judy G., but I've been moonlighting on an exhibition that turned into one of those magical collaborative work experiences in which each person involved has improved the final results. Of course, I am also in love with the weather, the smell of the air, the plants, and the pace.

The exhibition in question, "Over Rainbows and Down Rabbit Holes: The Art of Children's Books" represents a sampling of Zora Charles's art collection. She and her husband Les are former teachers and perpetual book lovers, and the exhibit (at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art until June 15; moving to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art on November 11) spans 100 years of illustration but concentrates on picture book art of the past 50 years.

In my catalog essay, I got to hold forth on the problems of taking picture book art out of context, offering my PB101 mini-course about art and text working together, page design, sequence, pacing, and bookmaking. Of course, everyone won't actually BUY the catalog, or even read the essay if they do... For myself, I have come around to believing that showing this kind of art in a museum is not a sacrilege against picture books but can in fact open people's eyes to the quality and complexity of a seemingly-simple, well-crafted picture book. What do you think? Have I gone over to the dark side?

Rather than going on and on about the exhibition itself, I will leave you with a few photos.

Librarians and booksellers were out in force during the posh Saturday night opening.

The installation design by Scott Flax includes a circular reading area made of 6-foot hedge benches. The Seussian flower arrangements were just there for the opening.

Left to right: Les, Zora, Lolly, and Bruce Robertson (my partner in curatorial crime). The masks were made by SBMA's wonderful education department to instigate a hunt for animals found in the art.

Top photo: Lolly Robinson. Other photos courtesy of Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

Why Can't a Woman?

On Saturday March 1st at 1:00PM, I'll be at the Eric Carle Museum, moderating a panel discussion inspired by our earlier conversation about why women don't win the Caldecott Medal as often as they might. The panelists for "Read Roger Live" will include illustrator Jane Dyer, children's-books sexpert Robie Harris, Viking publisher Regina Hayes, and critic Leonard Marcus. I know the discussion will be lively, and the museum is beautiful, so come on over.

Then He Can Paint My Bathroom Blue

I'm told that Eric Carle provides the inspiration for this Sunday's edition of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC at 8:00PM EST. I do like his colors.

Now may we please see Babymouse as the guest judge on Project Runway?