children's books

Stories 61 - 80 | << Prev   Next >>

Thomas the Tank Engine Is Sexist: Prof
Thomas the Tank Engine
Is Sexist: Prof
WHO KNEW?
Dec 16, 2009 1:45 PM CST

Thomas the Tank Engine Is Sexist: Prof

Show OK for kids to watch, just tell them about Orwellian overtones

(Newser) - Not that you shouldn’t let your kids watch Thomas the Tank Engine or anything, but the show exhibits a “conservative political ideology” that “sidelines” female characters and discourages individuality. At least that’s the opinion of a Canadian political scientist who undertook a study of the classic...

Kid Lit Goes Political
 Kid Lit Goes Political 
analysis
Nov 26, 2009 4:33 AM CST

Kid Lit Goes Political

Children's books get hyper-partisan

(Newser) - Hyper-partisan children’s books are on the rise, bringing the culture wars to an age group typically sheltered from political extremes. Katharine DeBrecht's new Help! Mom! Radicals are Ruining My Country!—which lampoons liberals—is but the latest example. While political books for kids are nothing new, “the...

Conservative Kids' Book Vilifies Pelosi

She's a tiara-wearing opponent of free enterprise

(Newser) - Help! Mom! The Radicals Are Ruining My Country! sounds like what it is: A picture book aimed at conservative children—or maybe the children of conservative parents. In any case, a tiara-wearing Nancy Pelosi features prominently, and she ain’t a Santa Claus figure, notes Boing Boing . The book,...

Wild Things Runs Rampant

 Wild Things 
 Runs Rampant 
box office roundup
Oct 18, 2009 1:48 PM CDT

Wild Things Runs Rampant

Law Abiding Citizen also enjoys strong opening weekend

(Newser) - Where the Wild Things Are ran wild at the weekend box office, exceeding expectations by doing $32.5 million worth of business. Spike Jonze's first foray into children's cinema earned the director his strongest opening weekend ever. "I can't imagine too many people who could do what Spike did,...

Seuss' Lorax Slated to Be 3D Movie

(Newser) - Dr Suess' green-themed story The Lorax is becoming the first of his works to get the 3D treatment, Variety reports. Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment plan to release the animated picture in 2012, on what would have been the author's 108th birthday. His 1971 book told the story of a...

Lame Dads Rule in Kids Books
 Lame Dads Rule in Kids Books 
OPINION
May 26, 2009 4:09 AM CDT

Lame Dads Rule in Kids Books

Old dad, poor dad as out of it as ever in kid lit

(Newser) - Despite major upheavals in gender roles, clueless dads unable to parent or set a table still rule in children's books—if they exist at all—laments one stay-at-home father. "I’m aware that there is plenty of good-natured humor to be had from lampooning fathers," writes columnist Damon...

Puppy Love Fuels Twilight Author
 Puppy Love 
 Fuels Twilight Author 
GLOSSIES
Feb 25, 2009 6:51 PM CST

Puppy Love Fuels Twilight Author

(Newser) - Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight books, is not a shadowy vampire, Vogue reports. In fact, she is a shy, retiring Mormon mother of 3 living in a Phoenix suburb. Sure, the characters for the hit books came from a dream, but the substance is straight puppy love. “...

Inkheart Better on the Page
 Inkheart Better on the Page 
MOVIE REVIEW
Jan 23, 2009 10:33 AM CST

Inkheart Better on the Page

Kids' movie about bringing books to life struggles to bring book to life

(Newser) - When it comes to the kids-lit adaptation Inkheart, fans are probably better off sticking to the book, say critics. Brendan Fraser stars as a father with the power to bring characters off the page to life, but the special-effects-driven movie fails to capture the "dark whimsy" of the...

Publisher Yanks Kid Spinoff of Holocaust Fake

Refunds offered for picture book based on hoax love story

(Newser) - Publishers are now pulling a picture book inspired by a Holocaust love story revealed to be a fake, Publishers Weekly reports. Lerner Publishing has announced it will cancel reprints of Angel Girl and offer refunds for returned copies. Herman Rosenblat's memoir Angel on the Fence was canceled by another publisher...

Lewis Carroll Letter Points to Pedophile Leanings

Writes real Alice of his fondness for children

(Newser) - Alice in Wonderland's author is sending a message from the grave to the literary experts who have long wondered whether he was a pedophile. A privately held letter has emerged in which Lewis Carroll tells real-life Alice—a child friend 18 years his junior—about his fondness for kids and...

Widow Opens Up About 'Ratty' Dahl

On eve of Roald Dahl Funny Prize, Felicity Dahl grants an exclusive interview

(Newser) - Tears reach Felicity Dahl's eyes as she walks to the work hut of her famous ex-husband, Roald. She's not alone, either: Director Tim Burton burst out crying when he saw it. "People have strong reactions to this house," said the widow of the acerbic scribe who...

Dawkins to Battle the Harry Potter 'Delusion'

Atheist author will write children's book to wean kids from magic

(Newser) - Evengelical atheist Richard Dawkins will take on Harry Potter in his next book, the Daily Telegraph reports. The God Delusion author is working on a book aimed at teaching children not to put their faith in "anti-scientific" fairytales. The professor plans to examine what effect raising children on stories...

City of Ember Smolders
 City of Ember Smolders
Movie Review
Oct 10, 2008 4:19 PM CDT

City of Ember Smolders

Kids will enjoy nonsensical movie

(Newser) - Kids should enjoy the “rousing and action-packed and short” City of Ember, so long as they "haven't already been hopelessly corrupted by high-powered sci-fi on TV and video,” Roger Ebert writes for the Chicago Sun-Times. But for adults the movie may prove too nonsensical, and, for other...

Death of Reading Greatly Exaggerated
 Death of Reading 
 Greatly Exaggerated 
Glossies
Sep 29, 2008 4:39 PM CDT

Death of Reading Greatly Exaggerated

Author Eggers pooh-poohs skeptical pundits, says it's 'as alive as ever'

(Newser) - Our bleak outlook on the future of reading owes itself to a doomsday reflex, the pervasive belief that things are bound to get worse, author Dave Eggers writes in Esquire. "It must be true, we think—just yesterday I saw some kid on the bus, and he wasn't reading...

Oh Bother: Pooh Bear Arrested
 Oh Bother: Pooh Bear Arrested
Aug 12, 2008 12:52 PM CDT

Oh Bother: Pooh Bear Arrested

Held for robbery, assault

(Newser) - Japanese police arrested a man today for attacking and robbing two people who looked askance at his Winnie the Pooh costume. It was after midnight when the 20-year-old, accompanied by friends dressed as a mouse and panther, approached two unlucky onlookers in Tokyo. “What are you staring at?” the...

To Turn Boys Into Readers, Gross Them Out

Publishers embrace books about farts, boogers, blood

(Newser) - Young boys, who trail far behind their female peers as readers, are reversing that trend with help from publishers who seek to exploit their love for everything gross. The Wall Street Journal examines the wave of children's’ titles rife with farts, boogers, blood, and flesh-eating bacteria—and talks with some...

Artist Tasha Tudor Dead at 92
Artist Tasha Tudor Dead at 92
Jun 21, 2008 4:31 PM CDT

Artist Tasha Tudor Dead at 92

Children's illustrator claimed to be reincarnation of 19th-century wife

(Newser) - Tasha Tudor, the children’s illustrator known for her bucolic watercolors and old-fashioned lifestyle, died Wednesday at her Vermont home. Called a 19th-century Martha Stewart, Tudor's art appeared in nearly 100 books and countless greeting cards, plates, dolls, and quilts. The New York Times once applauded her for capturing “...

Kit Kittredge is Sweet, Simple
 Kit Kittredge is Sweet, Simple 
movie review
Jun 20, 2008 4:00 PM CDT

Kit Kittredge is Sweet, Simple

Well-made movie will entertain kids, critics agree

(Newser) - The young girls who love the “American Girl” series are pretty much guaranteed to love Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, critics agree. Rex Reed of the New York Observer calls it “a brisk, beautifully conceived period piece that spells entertainment with a capital E,” though he admits...

Punditry for the Playgroup Set
 Punditry for the Playgroup Set 
Jun 16, 2008 4:15 PM CDT

Punditry for the Playgroup Set

Goodnight Bush parody 'brilliant,' though copyright might be an issue

(Newser) - The cover is a dead ringer for the bedtime classic, and the point of Goodnight Bush is equally recognizable. In authors' Erich Origen and Gan Golan’s re-purposing of Goodnight Moon, Dubya snuggles into bed wearing a “Mission Accomplished” flight suit, in the company of “war profiteers giving...

Paddington, at 50, Gets a Very 2008 Makeover

Immigration becomes bear necessity in forthcoming update

(Newser) - Paddington Bear is celebrating his 50th birthday with a comeback, the Daily Telegraph reports, as the first new book in 30 years arrives soon. Though the marmalade-loving furball will be charming as ever, Paddington Here and Now might raise controversy: It’s about immigration.

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