I occasionally joke that if a person reads enough, she will discover that all stories are the same story. She will be able to predict narrative beats, the presence of particular characters, and how the story will end. Of course all stories aren’t really the same. Human beings may repeatedly explore certain themes, but prose,… Continue reading Every Story Is The Same Story (Or At Least Is On This List)
In honor of the recent release of Disney’s live action Beauty and the Beast, I want to highlight a few of the children’s books based on that fairy tale. Though dozens of interpretations of the story exist, these are a few of my favorites. They feature amazing artwork and manage to capture the spirit of the… Continue reading 5 Beautiful Versions of ‘Beauty and the Beast’
Though writers paint pictures with words, actual images can enhance books in surprising and poignant ways. As a collector of children’s books and as someone who is very ready for the US election to be over, I thought it would be a good time to enjoy some beautiful things. With that in mind, here are… Continue reading Illustrations for Book Lovers
Fairy tales have carved their way into the contemporary zeitgeist. Even if people don’t remember all of the plot points in “Thumbelina”, “The Princess and the Pea”, or “The Little Mermaid”, they recognize the names and themes from them. But fairy tales have a long history. They developed long before the Disney Renaissance of 1989-1999 and… Continue reading Free Online Course on Fairy Tales
Many of us find books magical, but artist Su Blackwell has discovered a way to bring that enchantment to life. Blackwell is a UK based artist who creates landscapes, scenes, and sculptures from second hand books. (Though she does promise that she always reads the books before using them to make her creations!) Many of the… Continue reading Making Fairytales from Books
Kristen Twardowski 