Bears, Jo, Teen Boys, Old Age, Henry Moore

A few items of interest for some coffee-break clicking this afternoon:

Over at NPR, Daniel Pinkwater recommended A Visitor for Bear on Saturday's "Weekend Edition" program, and he and host Scott Simon read the picture book aloud. (I reviewed the book here.)

Also, NPR arts correspondent Lynn Neary considered "Jo March, Everyone's Favorite Little Woman," on "Morning Edition" today.

Say welcome to a new blog in town: Guys Lit Wire, book reviews and literary news for teenage boys.

My reading recommendation (for grown-ups) today: A Place Called Canterbury, by Dudley Clendinen. Lovely nonfiction about a retirement home in Tampa, where Clendinen's mother lived for nine years. A heartfelt, generous, and sometimes quite funny look at "the new old age" in our country.

"Moore in America," sculptures of Henry Moore in an outdoor setting, has landed at the New York Botanical Garden (through November 2nd). A New York Times slide show is here. It looks so cool; I can't wait to go! For children (aged 9 and up), the NYBG gift shop touts (and sells) the biography Henry Moore, by Sally O'Reilly (from the series Artists in Their Time, Franklin Watts/Scholastic, 2003). Plus, there's Hands On! Creative Projects. ("The 12 innovative projects within this book encourage people of all ages to create their own imaginative works using Henry Moore’s methods and a variety of tools and materials.)

Comments

[adrienne]

How fun! I love A Visitor for Bear!

[Jules]

Thanks for the Visitor for Bear link, which Adrienne pointed out to me before I made it over here. That book is such great fun. I'm going to listen to them read it now; I've been waiting for a quiet moment!

[Susan T.]

Adrienne and Jules, I enjoyed that segment, especially hearing Scott Simon's enthusiasm for the book. What a great book, too!

[Jules]

Scott Simon's mouse voice was perfect.