Artist Exchange: A Chair for Whistler's Mother

In 1969, the great surrealist Salvador Dali published illustrations for Alice in Wonderland that were fantastic--if also slightly disturbing.

Advice from a Caterpillar

Seeing Dali's unique take on a beloved text makes you wonder: Which other classic artists would have be well-matched with books from the children's literature canon?

Here are three examples to start:

The Story of Ferdinand

Author: Munro Leaf

Illustrator: Francisco Goya

A Chair for My Mother

Author: Vera B. Willams

Illustrator: James M. Whistler

This Is Not My Hat

Author: Jon Klassen

Illustrator: Renee Magritte

Willems Shakespeare presents: Hamlet (starring the Pigeon)

Two of literature's most tortured characters, together at last.

WILLEMS SHAKESPEARE

presents:

HAMLET

(starring the Pigeon)

That cat really did love his hats.

From an interesting NYTimes article on a new exhibition about Dr. Seuss's love of hats:

As editor in chief of Beginner Books at Random House in the late 1960s, Michael Frith worked closely with Geisel, sometimes into the early hours of the morning. When they were stumped by a word choice, Mr. Frith said, Geisel would often bound to the closet and grab a hat for each of them — a sombrero, or perhaps a fez. There they would be, sitting on the floor, Mr. Frith remembered, “two grown men in stupid hats trying to come up with the right word for a book that had only 50 words in it at most.”

My favorite detail is that he apparently had a secret hat closet hidden behind a bookcase.  Imagine trying to pull a copy of "Oh the Places You'll Go" from the shelf only to have the bookcase open up, revealing a secret closet--and instead of finding some deep dark secret, you find a room filled with hundreds upon hundreds of goofy hats?

More post-caldecott discussion

Lolly Robinson over at The Horn Book put up a blogpost (Ethics, food chains, and stolen hats) to discuss my last post on "This is Not My Hat".  It's fun to see the pros weigh in. 

Also, for the record, my apparently jaded mind never even considered the fact that the little fish might have been spared--or as one of the commenters suggested, playing an elaborate game of hat-stealing tag.

'This is Not My Hat': Reading (a little) too much into the 2013 Caldecott winner

Posted today on Page Views:

This year’s Caldecott Medal, awarded to the most distinguished picture book of the year, went to Jon Klassen’s “This is Not My Hat.” Klassen’s irreverent tale of deception and revenge is the 75th recipient of the distinguished award. Looking back over the past 75 years is like opening up a series of time capsules, with each year’s award revealing something about the mindset of that era.  

For example, 2011’s winner, “A Sick Day for Amos McGee” by Phil and Erin Stead, is a gentle story about a man who falls ill and relies on the kindness of his animal friends to nurse him back to health — a timely topic given the raging national debate as the U.S. made a push toward universal healthcare.  (Perhaps it was a preexisting condition that prevented Amos from accessing comprehensive health coverage.)

In 2004, the award was given to “The Man Who Walked Between the Towers” by Mordicai Gerstein.  The book is about a daredevil who walks a tightrope between the two towers of the World Trade Center and aptly captured the lingering tensions that still held post-9/11 America in its grip.  

And who could forget Sorche Nic Leodhas and Nonny Hogrogian’s “Always Room for One More” which in 1966 so presciently described the population growth scare that would explode two years later with the bestselling “The Population Bomb”?

Of course I’m being a bit facetious (though I did stop short of drawing parallels between the decline of World War II and “Make Way for Ducklings”), but there is something to be said about the cultural significance of a book that captures a country’s imagination.

NPR on the Benefits of Reading

"The take-home lessons for parents are relatively modest: consider some Omega-3 supplements and sit down with your toddler and a good book for some interactive reading."

Read more at NPR

Nerds and neanderthals, playoff edition: A literary guide to the 2012-13 NFL postseason

Orginally posted at Page Views:


In the preseason, we brought books into the locker room by identifying literary parallels for the 2012 NFL season. As the weeks rolled by, each unforeseen twist revealed a new storyline and unexpected characters emerged from the sidelines to assume pivotal roles in this final chapter of the season. With the regular season in the books and the playoffs about to start, now is the perfect time to reevaluate. So, as these modern-day gladiators take to the field (and the rest of us plop down on our couches), here is another literary guide to help prepare you for playoff action.

AFC Playoff Teams (in order of seeding):

1. Denver: The Peyton Manning gambit has worked out better than anyone could have expected. However, some wonder if the Broncos' success is largely illusory and mostly the result of a weak schedule. Are the Broncos capable of closing the deal on this miracle season or are they really just chasing a mirage through a desert of mediocrity?
Literary Equivalent: "A Hologram for the King" (Dave Eggers)

2. New England: It used to be assumed that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick could do no wrong come playoff time. While their powers remain strong, the veneer of invincibility has slowly worn off. As year after year they fall short of a championship, even the most diehard fans have been forced to accept their heroes’ flawed humanity.
Literary Equivalent: “Twilight of the Superheroes” (Deborah Eisenberg)

A Man of Many Designs: The Illustrated Odyssey

Reimagining a classic is always a dangerous proposition.Author Gillian Cross and illustrator Neil Packer recently took on the Olympian task of packaging "The Odyssey" for a younger audience, presumably to serve as a placeholder until they encounter Homer in sophomore year of high school. To be clear, no one, including Cross and Packer, intends this to serve as a replacement for the original.However, this version does succeed as an appealing introduction for the uninitiated – and for the rest of us, it provides a welcome opportunity to view an old friend in a new light. (Click here to read the rest of the review at Page Views)

Be Still My Nerdy Heart

A beautiful infographic by Jan Avendano capturing all the relationships in the Phantom Tollbooth.

Books about books: 'Mr. Morris Lessmore' and the enduring importance of print

Having been perched atop the bestseller lists, "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" is William Joyce's love note to books and tugs at the heartstrings of bibilophiles everywhere.  Which is ironic because "Morris Lessmore" is actually based on an Oscar-winning computer-animated film that was then converted into an iPad app before finally making its way to the printed page.

Despite its origins in modern technology, "Morris Lessmore" is a welcome addition to an increasing number of books about the importance of books. As the picture book world evolves and adapts to new technologies (most prominent picture books have YouTube trailers and tie-in apps these days), authors are taking the time to remind us that despite the sparkle and swipe of the newest app, there will always be a need for the unique pleasures of print.  (Read the rest at PageViews)

Nerds and Neanderthals

America makes a clear distinction between bookish types and football types. The Nerd vs. Neanderthal dichotomy is a cornerstone of American culture (at least in American culture as presented in high school TV shows).  

But the truth is that football and literature do not occupy separate realms. As any fan knows, football is driven by drama of the game. Each week’s contests are served up with a mythological importance: Epic battles between the forces of good and evil; tales of impossible redemption colliding with heartbreaking falls from grace; traitors conspiring in the shadows of egomaniacal tyrants. And all of that is just on the New York Jets. 

So to help you make sense of this upcoming season, here is a literary guide to the 2012 NFL season, wherein we identify some of the most compelling storylines and narratives from each team and its literary equivalent.  While only one team’s season will have a truly happy ending  —every team will emerge with a few good stories to tell.  (Read more here at Page Views)

The True Value of the Little Prince Discovery

“Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” –“The Little Prince”

Today (May 16), the Paris auction house Artcurial will auction off two recently discovered pages of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved classic “Le Petit Prince.”

The auction house estimated the worth of this literary find between 40,000€ to 50,000€ (app. $52,000 to $65,000). This may seem like a high price tag for two thin pages of nearly illegible writing, but it would not be surprising to see it fetch an even greater sum.

After all, “The Little Prince” has sold 140 million copies worldwide and is the world’s second most translated book behind the Bible.

 But more interesting than the monetary value is this question: Why was this passage left out of the final manuscript? While we’ll probably never know the answer for sure, the omission of this particular passage sheds some light on the book’s breathtaking success. Read more at Page Views

Beyond the cliché: Ten picture book gifts for graduates

Graduation season is fast upon us. It's likely that your local bookstore (if you’re lucky enough to still have a local bookstore), has already dusted off its “Gifts for the Graduate” display.

These will always feature picture books because, with their uplifting messages and a small word count, they make great gifts for the pomp and circumstance crowd.

However, it is important to choose carefully. Give the right picture book and you arm your graduate with precious wisdom for the road ahead. Choose poorly and you just dropped good money on a long-form greeting card.

Bookstores will inevitably suggest the classic (Dr. Seuss’s “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”) and the cloying (Sandra Boynton’s “Yay You! Moving Out, Moving Up, Moving On”), but if you want to reach beyond the cliché, here are 10 alternative gift ideas: Read more at Page Views

Some thoughts on Sendak

Some thoughts on Maurice Sendak in the NYDailyNews:

Sendak, who died on Tuesday at 83, knew that he was a writer unlike any other. “I think what I offered was different,” he once said in an interview, “but not because I drew better than anybody or wrote better than anybody, but because I was more honest than anybody.” Read more at the NYDailyNews

The Pulitzer Board's Word Problem

Since the Pulitzer Board won't tell you what you should read, here are some suggestions: The Pulitzer Board's Word Problem

The Pulitzer committee caused quite a stir this week by deciding not to award a proize for fiction in 2012. But if you look closely at the three finalists (Denis Johnson's "Train Dreams," Karen Russell's "Swamplandia!" and David Foster Wallace's "The Pale King"), you'll see that they all have one thing in common that virtually disqualified them from winning anything this year: Too many words.

Moving, kinda.

Moving to the more elegant web address: www.bottomshelfbooks.net.

(Note: Also, switched to a new template which may mess up the formatting for old posts.)

Back in the saddle again?

It's been almost 2 years, but I've started writing again. I still have a lot of rust to knock off, but so far I've contributed 2 short pieces to Page Views, the new NY Daily News book blog:

• From Dr. Seuss to Dostoevsky: A literary guide for the new parent

"To help new parents get started in the brave new world of children’s literature, here are some complementary book pairings: a “grown-up” book and its picture book counterpart. These pairings offer a bridge between reading worlds by featuring recognizable characters, similar styles, and parallel themes. And most importantly, none of these pairs feature any (overt) messages about the joys of pooping."

• Dr. Seuss earns his title: A reading list for the Geisel School of Medicine

"Dartmouth College announced this morning that its medical school will be named after Audrey and Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss, who graduated from there in 1925).

Since it does not inspire confidence to have a doctor who refers to body parts as "Thing 1" and "Thing 2", we thought it would be useful to prepare a new recommended reading list for incoming medical students."

I've missed writing, so hopefully this will help me get back on track. If not, I'll be sure to post again in another 2 years.

BSB Flashback: Hop on Pop

9 April 2007

Author/Illustrator: Dr. Seuss

Many point to Bruno Bettelheim's award winning book, The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales, as the moment that Freudian psychoanalysis officially came in contact with the realm of children's literature. While it is true that Bettleheim may have been one of the first academics to tackle the subject, it was the seminal work of Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) that introduced children to Freud for the first time. Case in point: his playful exploration of the Oedipal complex: Hop on Pop.

Hop on Pop was published in 1963, a full 13 years before Bettelheim's Enchantment, and decades before Freud was widely dismissed by the psychological community as a coked-up sex fiend. Pop can be read as a thinly veiled introduction to the disturbing psychosexual theory that the father is the enemy who is preventing us from realizing some deeply ingrained sexual need for our mothers. Gross! Luckily, Seuss didn't get too caught up in the raging Sigmundsteria of the times, otherwise he may have been tempted to go all-out Oedipal and written his book as Hop on Pop then Marry Mommy, which probably would have tarnished his otherwise untouchable legacy.

Upon closer inspection, Freud and other psychological influences can be found sprinkled throughout Seuss's work. The Cat in the Hat is nothing more than a hyperkinetic romp through the subconscious with the Id, Ego, and Superego. The entire plot of Green Eggs and Ham is driven by Freud's theories of the repression and sublimation of base impulses. (What else could "Sam I Am" be, other than an anal-retentive individual's guilt-ridden projection of the repressed self and its latent desires?) And Horton Hears a Who? Horton hears a psychiatrist diagnosing him with schizophrenia, that's who he hears. In fact, if you read too closely, Seussville runs the risk of becoming an inescapable labyrinth of Freudian slips and slides... so maybe we're better off reading with eyes wide shut.

White House Reading

Last week, President Obama was spotted at Prairie Lights bookstore in Iowa City, where he picked up a few books for Sasha and Malia. The two books he chose (based on recommendations) were “Journey to the River Sea” by Eva Ibbotson and “The Secret of Zoom” by Lynn Dornell. While I haven't read the books (too many words, not enough pictures), a quick look reveals a rather thoughtful selection.

From Amazon's Journey to the River Sea Review:

Sent in 1910 to live with distant relatives who own a rubber plantation along the Amazon River, English orphan Maia is excited. She believes she is in for brightly colored macaws, enormous butterflies, and "curtains of sweetly scented orchids trailing from the trees." Her British classmates warn her of man-eating alligators and wild, murderous Indians. Unfortunately, no one cautions Maia about her nasty, xenophobic cousins, who douse the house in bug spray and forbid her from venturing beyond their coiffed compound.

From The Secret of Zoom website:

Christina lives in a stone mansion on the edge of a forest surrounded by barbed wire, an electrified fence, and signs that read TRESPASSERS WILL BE BOILED. Deep within the forest is the laboratory where her mother was blown to bits when Christina was just a baby. Christina’s father, the head scientist at Loompski Labs, knows how dangerous the world can be. So he keeps his daughter safe at home and forbids her to talk to the very interesting orphans down the road.

Both books feature a young girl who finds herself in unfamiliar surroundings and who must deal with a restriction on her freedom... which must resonate with the Obama girls as they cope with their new home in the Washington DC fishbowl and deal with living under the constant surveillance of the Secret Service.

The Obamas seem to have done a pretty good job of shielding their children from the intense scrutiny of the press (man-eating alligators?) and other intrusive forces, but I'm sure they are still concerned about their daughters' adjustment to life in the White House. Perhaps the Obamas have decided to turn to the world of children's literature for additional perspective. And even if the books weren't chosen for that reason, it was a fortuitous selection that should make for some interesting reading in the Obama household.

Note: I'll have to read the books to provide any more insight or parallels, but I'm willing to bet that the brightly colored macaw is a stand-in for John Boehner.

Fun For Its Own Sake

My good friend Alexander Nazaryan just posted an interview with Donald Pease, the author of a new Seuss biography. My favorite revelation:

After World War II, Hollywood wanted Geisel. He was hired to write a script for Rebel Without A Cause. But in 1953, his wife Helen began to develop a debilitating disease, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and the helplessness he experienced led to another deep reevaluation of what he was doing. He wanted to enter into an art form in which unconditioned laughter emerges out of the sheer fun of making fun, and he associates this form with children’s books. In creating propaganda, he was creating enemies. Now he wanted to get the war mentality out of his psyche and out of America’s consciousness by creating children’s books.

First of all, interesting to see the reasoning behind Geisel's decision to go into children' books... second of all, Rebel Without a Cause?!

I'd love to see the Seussian treatment of Rebel... though I guess if there was ever a rebel without a cause, it was the Cat in the Hat.

White Noise

Author/Illustrator: David A. Carter

While none of the publishers seem to acknowledge the connection, it can’t be a coincidence that White Noise, David A. Carter’s brilliant new pop-up book, just happened to be published on the 25th anniversary of Don DeLillo’s postmodern classic by the same name. (Okay, it's probably a coincidence, but I’m plowing ahead anyways.)



You would have thought that adapting Don DeLillo's anxiety ridden novel for a picture book audience would be an impossible task... but if you’re familiar with Carter’s work, you’ll know that he eats impossible for breakfast. And once again, Carter delivers the impossible.

Carter has established himself as the grandmaster of the medium and his latest offering is a breathtakingly whimsical feat of the imagination, each page bursting with visual and sonic surprises (yes, I said sonic. The pages are cleverly constructed in a way so that they snap, crackle, and pop). Once again, Carter has pushed the boundaries of the pop-up book, elevating it from novelty act to work of art… and in this case, a metaphysical statement that effectively captures the nuanced anxiety of DeLillo's masterwork.

There are many themes running through DeLillo's novel, the most pervasive of which is the fear of death. All the characters in the novel are obsessed (if not consumed) with the unavoidable fact of their mortality. With this sense of impending doom invading even the most mundane activities, the characters are left with the lingering sense that the daily tedium of their lives (especially the solipsistic posturing of academia) is nothing more than a pleasant diversion from the gradual deterioration of our physical selves.

This concept brilliantly is captured in Carter’s book because (as all librarians know) the pop-up book is an essentially tragic instrument. The minute you open the book, you have begun to destroy it. With each pull and tug of the intricately constructed pages, the book inches closer and closer to its ultimate demise.

And yet, its very existence is an act of defiance. Knowing full well that it is not long for this world, the pop-up book is a bold statement that even if life is short, it is more than just an exercise in futility. Life may be just "a tangle of bits and pieces and tinkling white noise", but it can be darned beautiful while it lasts.

Whether it's 25 years... or 25 minutes.

EEEEEEE!!! Books!!!

An interesting article about some of the backroom brawling over e-books, by my good buddy David Gelles who writes for the Financial Times:

It was the day after Apple unveiled its iPad and Macmillan’s John Sargent was heading for the Amazon.com headquarters in Seattle on a hastily arranged visit. The chief executive of the venerable publisher arrived with an ultimatum for the world’s largest bookseller – either let Macmillan charge more for its electronic books or wait a painful six months after it made new titles available through other outlets, including on the iPad.

Amazon balked. By the time Mr Sargent returned to New York that evening, it had begun removing all Macmillan titles – both e-books and physical books – from its website. If Macmillan wanted to play hardball, it seemed Amazon was game.

Jazz ABZ: An Education (C for Coltrane)

Here is the next stop on our alphabetical journey through our Jazz ABZs*: C for Coltrane.



This is the first track that made me really appreciate jazz... and to this day, it's my standby when I feel the need to chill out and write.

Track 3: I'm Old Fashioned**



*a personal project to go through Marsalis's Jazz ABZs and find a representative song (or just a song that I like) performed by each artist, with the goal of creating a decent playlist to accompany the book... and to flesh out my knowledge of jazz. It's also just another opportunity to admire the art of Paul Rogers, which is always a good thing.
**written by Jerome Kerns

Waiting for Winter

Author/Illustrator: Sebastian Meschenmoser

There's not much to be said about this beautiful book that isn't already covered by Elizabeth Bird (as is usually the case), so make sure to read her review. The story is a simple one about forest friends who put off hibernation to stay up and wait for their first snowfall. While waiting, they hypothesize about the nature of snow based on the limited information at their disposal. It's a cute story to be sure and it captures the essential wonder that can come with discovery of the world around us.

I would go into more detail, but the interplay between the illustrations and the pacing of the text is so pitch perfect, it'd be hard to do it justice without spoiling the book. I've only seen two books from him, but Meschenmoser is already one of my favorite illustrators, so if you haven't seen any of his stuff yet, get thee to a library/bookstore! (and check out 7-Imp's feature on him to see some more of his amazing artwork).

Something I will say about the book is that it does a great job of allowing the child to play the role of, for lack of a better phrase, the arbiter of reason. As the furry friends throw out one misguided theory after another, the young reader is pushed from amusement into bemusement, which is a more complex form of humor. They'll be able to shake their heads and, with a wry smile, think something along the lines of "Silly animals, one day they'll realize how wrong they were... when they're older and wiser like me."

This is a rare space for a child to occupy because for the majority of their day they are the inexperienced ones fumbling to make sense of the world. It's a subtle form of role playing which is key for socioemotional development. (Just watch a kid parenting a doll or playing house and you'll see that pretending to be an adult is more than just putting on oversized clothes, they're trying on oversized emotions and roles that preview and help prepare them for the world that awaits.) Waiting for Winter gives the child this kind of temporary "promotion" in the hierarchy of reason... which is quite an achievement for a picture book that is also darned funny.


And speaking of winter, DC is about to get hit by another record snow today. Woohoo!

Note: An always welcome shoutout from the illustrious Fuse #8 at the School Library Journal:

If I have any objection to lodge against Minh of the blog Bottom Shelf Books it is that he appears to have a life of some sort. How else to explain why he chooses to post only once in a while about the picture book genre. Had I my way he would have a miserable existence where only constant blog postings provided him enough comfort and relief to get through a day. Then I could get daily posts out of the man. Ha ha! Instead, I will have to content myself with pieces like this truly lovely take on Sebastian Meschenmoser's Waiting for Winter. I reviewed it myself last year after finding it to be just the greatest little book in creation. Even if you don't believe either of us, believe The New York Times. Minh makes some excellent points about it that completely escaped my notice.

Jazz ABZ: An Education (B for Basie)

Here is the next stop on our alphabetical journey through our Jazz ABZs*: B for Basie.



Track 2: One O'Clock Jump



Bonus Track: How Long Blues**



*a personal project to go through Marsalis's Jazz ABZs and find a representative song (or just a song that I like) performed by each artist, with the goal of creating a decent playlist to accompany the book... and to flesh out my knowledge of jazz. It's also just another opportunity to admire the art of Paul Rogers, which is always a good thing.
**written by Leroy Carr

Jazz ABZ Playlist so far:

1. West End Blues (Louis Armstrong)
2. One O'Clock Jump (Count Basie)

Jazz ABZ: An Education (A for Armstrong)

When I first saw Jazz ABZ by Wynton Marsalis (with contributions from Phil Schaap and amazing artwork from Paul Rogers), I thought it would have been great to have an accompanying cd or playlist to go with it, to give the reader a sample of each artist's music.

Well, it's been almost three years now and no one has provided me with that playlist yet (How rude!). I guess I'm going to do it myself. The timing is right because I'm trying to expand my minimal knowledge of jazz. So, as a personal exercise, I'm going to start posting a song (either a signature song or one that I just happen to like) performed by each of the artists in the book until I work my way all the way through. (Along the way, if anyone has other songs to recommend, feel free to pass it along.)

I guess the beginning is as good a place to start as any:



Track 1: West End Blues*



Bonus: Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans**



*written by King Oliver
**written by Eddie DeLange and Louis Alter

Color Me Impressed

A friend recently pointed me to this NPR link on colors and this amazing graphic showing how our choices of crayon colors has increased exponentially in the last century:

Crayola options from 1903 to 2010. (Courtesy of Stephen Von Worley)

With these technological advances in color identification now enabling us to break down the spectrum of possible colors down to such discrete variations, I think it's time the children's book community caught up and utilized Crayola's full compliment of colors. So look for new editions of your favorite childhood classics to be released in the near future. Now you and your children will be able to fully enjoy revitalized classics such as:

Harold and the Jazzberry Jam Crayon (Crockett Johnson)

Alien Armpit Eggs and Ham (Dr. Seuss)

Go Away Big Mountain Meadow Monster! (Ed Emberley)

Lilly's Cyber Grape Plastic Purse (Kevin Henkes)

Little Cornflower and Little Laser Lemon (Leo Lionni)

Cosmic Cobalt Berries for Sal (Robert McKloskey)

Goodnight Moon (Margaret Wise Big Foot Feet and Clement Hurd)

and my new personal favorite:

The Bittersweet Shimmer Balloon (A. LaMorisse)

By taking advantage of our technicolor age, your reading experience is no longer confined to the clumsy brushstrokes of an antiquated rainbow... finally, you can enjoy the surreal beauty of the full color spectrum and all its bizarre glory!

Now where did I put my copy of Fuzzy Gargoyle Gas Ducklings?

Here's looking at you, kid.

another painting:

Dusting off the paintbrushes...

Trying to rediscover my painting chops, which I've neglected for the past 10 years or so... and what better way jumpstart the process than with portraits of orangutans?

Fly By

Aaron Reynolds and Neil Numberman are stopping by today for a visit to promote their clever new book, Joey Fly Private Eye. (Da-da-DAA!)



They've prepared a really cool packet of stuff to go with it... but my slow internet connection wouldn't let me load all of it (it's a conspiracy, a cover up, I tell ya!). But for now we've got a cool video...



and cutout paper dolls...



Until next time...

Taste the Rainbow

A little treat for all you Rainbow Fish haters out there:



Rainbow Fish Roll
Try the most beautiful tasting fish on the menu. We've removed the famous scales, but the taste is as unique and vibrant as ever...$10.99

Kidlitosphere Conference 2009

Went to the Kidlitosphere Conference on Saturday, which was luckily in my backyard this year. It was great to be surrounded by so many people who are so dedicated and passionate about children's literature... and to finally meet some of you all in person for the first time!

Big props to MotherReader for organizing the day... and for squeezing me in at the last minute!

BSB Flashback: Hippo! No Rhino!

7 January 2008



The Construction of Meaning and the Self De(con)struction of Identity: A Hippo-Critical Analysis of Jeff Newman's Hippo! No, Rhino!
Rosco P. Hargrove (Class of 2010)
English 421: Re-Introduction to Literary Criticism
Professor F. R. Zismer
Final Paper
Submitted on: December 22, 2007

Plot Summary

A mischievous zookeeper decides to have some fun and puts a sign that reads "Hippo" in front of the Rhino pen. This seemingly harmless bit of mischief wreaks havoc on the rhino's psyche as passersby continually refer to the rhino as "hippo". The rhino desperately tries to correct them, but to no avail. It isn't until a little boy comes along that things change. The child sees what's going on and changes the sign back to rhino. The book ends with the zookeeper continuing his mischievous ways by putting up a new sign that reads, "Porcupin-o".

Part I: Hippo! No, Rhino! Structuralism! No, Poststructuralism!

Newman's sparse use of language is deceptive. While he uses few words in his narrative, he manages to reveal deeper linguistic issues by drawing together some of the fundamental issues and conflicts in literary criticism.

As a starting point, the basic conflict in Hippo! No, Rhino! is clearly a re-creation of the tension between the structuralist and post-structuralist schools of thought. Newman's Hippo! No, Rhino! situation is an intriguing thought exercise which forces us to reconsider a fundamental question: Where does meaning come from?

Is it from the zookeeper (filling the archetypal role of trickster-god) who creates meaning by labeling the rhino as "hippo"? Or is his semantic subversion just a silly prank?

Is it the people reading the sign who give birth to meaning by creating the link between the sign ("hippo") to the signified (the rhino)? Or are they merely dimwitted automatons who will believe anything they read?

Is there even any meaning to begin with? Who are we (or the rhino) to say that "rhino" is the correct label? Isn't the polyphonic spree of letters and sounds that make up r-h-i-n-o ultimately as arbitrary as h-i-p-p-o?

Part II: Pedagogy of the Zoopressed

If we continue to peel away layers of this onion, we eventually find ourselves alone with the tear-jerkingly tragic figure of the "rhino".

(Note: Though it is awkward, I will refer to the rhino using the pronoun "it" because Newman's text does not indicate whether the rhino is male or female.)

(Full disclosure: Upon first reading, I subconsciously assumed that the rhino was a male, which tipped my hand as an unwitting co-conspirator in the phallocentricity embedded in our male-dominated society. I would like to assure you, professor, that based on last semester's readings on feminist theory and gynocritic analysis, I am sufficiently ashamed.)

Why is the rhino a tragic figure? Not only because it is helplessly tormented by the powerful zookeeper... that is but a minor offense. The true tragedy reveals itself with further examination of the sociolinguistic context of the rhino's self-identification.

The word "rhino," being of English (Anglo-Saxon) origin is obviously not the rhino's native tongue. Yet the rhino has come to identify itself as a "rhino," as evidenced by the psychological distress caused by the hippo sign. This self-identification through the language of his oppressor (and yes, he is oppressed... he is, after all, held captive and put on display) is one of major symptoms of oppression that is revealed by postcolonial theory.

The fact that the rhino clings so passionately and desperately to the name bestowed upon him by his captors, demonstrates the powerful role that language plays in perpetuating the inequalities of established social hierarchy. Not only does he accept his given name, he challenges anyone who dare disrupt the sanctity of his moniker. How can the rhino truly free itself from oppression if it lives, breathes, and thinks in the language of its oppressor?

This also sheds new light on the character of the child. As I mentioned in the plot summary, toward the end of the book a young child comes to the rescue, changing the hippo sign back to rhino.

Upon first reading, the child appears as a saviour figure who sympathetically changes the sign to ease the "rhino's" mind. The child's innocence allows him to see beyond the ridiculous sign and recognize the psychological harm being done to the rhino. And yet...

...and yet, perhaps it is not that simple. By reverting the sign (the linguistic tool of oppression), isn't the child merely reinforcing the domination of the status quo and strengthening the establishment's vice-like grip on society? The child may have acted to ease the rhino's mind but (despite the child's benelovent intentions), in actuality he played an active role in relegating the beast to an eternity of tranquil captivity. He did not rescue the rhino, he merely made his cage stronger.

Part III: Freedom Isn't Free or All Signs Point to "No"

Newman's stimulating text leaves the reader (at least this reader) with a final burning question... Who holds the key to the rhino's freedom?

The optimist's answer would be that the key to freedom lies with the rhino itself. Unfortunately, to quote Karl Marx, "Religion is the opium of the masses and optimism is the ecstasy tablet of the self-delusional." So no, the rhino does not hold the key to his own freedom.

The real answer is much simpler and much more sobering. The key to freedom lies with: the zookeeper. (Seriously, it's on the big key ring that's clipped to his belt buckle.)

This does not bode well for the rhino. At the end of the book, the zookeeper puts up a new sign next to the rhino that reads, "Porcupin-o". In doing so, this sadistic trickster god is assuring us that the rhino's nightmare is not over... and that no amount of lit crit is going to save him from an eternity in this semiotic purgatory. The helpless rhino (like the rest of us) is forever caught in that desolate place between meaning and just plain mean.

Very Grouchy Daddy

Provocative (at least in the children's lit circle) article in Slate by Daniel B. Smith railing against Eric Carle.

There comes a time in the life of a writer when he has to straighten his spine, gird his loins, and—facing the certain opprobrium of his peers and the
disdain of his friends and family—proclaim an ignored, essential verity.

Eric Carle, the most successful children's book author
of our time, sucks.

And Smith raises two classic children's book questions:

1. To what extent should the author take his adult audience into account?
2. Carle or Sendak? (A Kidslit version of Beatles or Rolling Stones)

Update: The children's literature gods have heard Smith's call and rewarded him with this: On October 8th, Jumpstart used the Very Hungry Caterpillar as it's Read for the Record book this year. The numbers are still being tallied, but there's a chance that Smith's nemesis will be enshrined in the Guinness Book of World Records...