Where Do Ideas Come From?

Sometimes that question seems almost as hard to answer as the dreaded “where do babies come from?” This is especially true when you’re searching for inspiration and it just isn’t appearing. Those of us who are participating in Picture Book Idea Month right now may sometimes ask the question in despair, wondering if we’ll be…

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Looking Ahead to Opening Night (Looking Today at Winners!)

As you know, throughout October I ran posts about the upcoming production of the new musical The Great American Mousical at the Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Connecticut. I talked about many children’s books that have become successful stage (and screen) musicals on October 3, I talked about a quote from Katherine Anne Porter and…

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PiBoIdMo 2012

November is often seen as a rather gloomy month, as autumn gives way to winter in what can be a series of dull, grey days. My mother used to quote the poem by Thomas Hood that begins “No sun — no moon — no morn — no noon” … and ends “November.” Evocative and well-written…

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A Costume Post for Halloween

How do you dress a mouse? Well, if the mouse isn’t a real one, that’s actually not difficult. Personally, I wouldn’t want to try dressing a real one. What is a trickier question is how do you dress a person to look like a mouse? Tony Walton faces just such a challenge in doing the…

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No One But You — Perfect Picture Book Friday

I am concluding my month-long celebration of nature and of looking closely at the natural world around us with a book that explores the way each of us sees things differently. We are both the same and unique at once, and that itself is something to celebrate! Title: No One But You Author: Douglas Wood…

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A Mousical Master Class in Theatre Basics

I’m continuing my series about the upcoming stage musical The Great American Mousical today with a look at the book the musical is based on, and how much one can learn about theatre simply by reading (and re-reading!) the book by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton, also entitled The Great American Mousical. As Julie…

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