We made it to London!
It's all Harry all the time here--with posters on buses, in the bookstores, in the airports, on walls, etc.
Speaking of Harry (and it's the last time, I promise, until I read the darn thing)...bets are being placed on the death promised in Book Six. I had been ignoring said deaths until I read this article in The Guardian. I'm not sure I'm ready for it.
In other news, there's a new site up devoted to Soviet children's literature. (Great research and design by Irena Murray, Tatiana Bedjanian, Vlad Nabok, and David McKnight.) While the message in some of these books (especially the ones devoted to women and "agit-prop") can be disturbing, the art is universally stunning and worth a look.
Finally, I'd like to mention that Ramona the Pest is just as engrossing to a four-year-old boy as it was to his sister. In my opinion, this is one of the markers of a great book and a great writer. Elizabeth Kennedy has an interesting overview of Cleary's career and approach to children's lit this month on her About.com column.
