This afternoon I viewed a new documentary entitled "Library of the Early Mind" and was privileged to discuss the film on a panel with director Ted Delaney and authors John Coy, David LaRochelle, and Catherine Thimmesh at the Minneapolis Central Library.I feel strongly that young people deserve and benefit from daily interaction with books, and this film reinforced many of my ideas about literacy and the importance of time spent with picture books. The film is being screened in several locations around the United States. My hope is that it reaches more than the library community!
Some favorite thoughts...
- Books provide the wallpaper and window for the rest of children's lives - Gregory Maguire
- Drawing is the physical form of empathy - Mo Willems
- R.L. Stine only learned to type with his left pointer finger and has used it to type 300 books!
- Reading allows us to rehearse what we might decide to do in a circumstance - Lois Lowry
- "To children, a year is a long time ago." - Mary Downing Hahn
- Prolific is a bad word for Jane Yolen. She prefers versatile instead and wonders why others are not writing more different things.
- David Small's voicelessness (read Stitches for the full story) made him into an artist because tit was impossible to participate socially.
the back story of creators is often as fascinating as the back story of their characters.
ReplyDeleteIt was an honor to be on this panel with you.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I don't remember who voiced it, another of my favorite thoughts was "No one suspects the children's author" - referring to the huge impact and influence possessed by those that create books for young people.
And it's true; the books I read as child had a huge impact on my life and the person I became.
So sorry I missed this screening. Someday I hope to see the film.
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