Dear friends:

What I’m late with this week are my Christmas book reviews, destined for our annual “Holiday High Notes” list to be published in the November/December issue of the Magazine. I believe it was a Winnie Winkle comic that taught me that some industries — fashion, publishing — live in a different timeline from regular people, and little me thought that was so glamorous. But big me only thinks, “It’s the week after Labor Day and I’m reading a board book about Santa pooping. For this we rush the season?” Lest you think we are less than ecumenical, Holiday High Notes also includes one Thanksgiving book and some five Hanukkah titles and we have a great essay from Marjorie Ingall on “What Makes a Good Hanukkah Book?” from which I will share just one pro-tip here: “Please do not rhyme Torah and menorah, poets.”

Calling Caldecott has released its first list of contenders. Here are my initial reactions in no particular order: oh, that one could totally win; I hadn’t thought of that; oh, Lord, spare us; there’s my favorite; NFW.” Please head over there if you’d like to see what I might be talking about. And take a look at our Family Reading blog, which has been bustling recently with thoughts about sharing books amidst the pandemic. Want to go a little deeper into that? Read Emma Otheguy’s meditation on the effects of COVID-19 on the reading lives of children in New York City, but applicable everywhere: “The COVID-19 crisis has curtailed many kids’ access to books, and now, as New York prepares for its next comeback — the comeback of this century — I hope we will envision a society where children will have the books they need to learn and grow.”

Put that in your prayers, everybody, and I’ll see you next week.

Love,

Roger