A Must-Read Article in the New Yorker

I just finished reading "The Lion and the Mouse: The battle that reshaped children’s literature" by Jill Lepore, from the July 21 issue of The New Yorker. I heartily recommend it to anyone who loves children's books.

Lepore's account of the appalling history of early children's services alone makes the article worth reading, but from there it goes on to report on the conflict between Anne Campbell Moore, NYPL's influential children's librarian and the author E.B. White. When you evaluate a new children's book, are you a Miss Moore, or an Ursula Nordstrom?

The article make me wonder: When did I form my ideas about what makes a good children's book, and how to recommend them to others? Was it when I was in the 5th grade and learned that my grandmother (a former teacher who graduated c. 1914) had thrown out all 44 copies of the Nancy Drew series that I had devoured the previous summer? Was it when I was in the 6th grade and listened in frustration to a salesperson at the old El Con Bookstore flounder about when asked for a good book for a 12-year-old? (It was my first reference question, and I talked him into The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.)

At any rate, I really enjoyed this article because it made me think about and remember why we do what we do.

I need to read Stuart Little again.

Blog of book marvels, a digital curiosity cabinet

No, that's not a colossus from Burning Man.

Someone identified only as "peacay" (PK?) is posting digital images of 15th - 19th-century book illustrations on his blog, BiblioOdyssey. The range of images is part of the fun: Spanish zodiacs, 17thC caricatures (see left), Norse Eddas, fashion lampoons, emblemata, theater sets, and on and on.

Give your eyes and imagination a joyride; this is an exceptional collection of historical book art.

Delightful new photo in family gallery

My aunt Margie sent me a delightful photo of my great-grandfather that I had never seen before. He is dressed up and equipped just as he was in 1879 for his prospecting surveys across Arizona! His comments, written to my uncle on the back, are quite droll:
"Three old prospectors in the Tombstone celebration of October 1929.

At left, Mr. Reeves, Center your grandfather, whiskers and all.

The burros are packed just as he traveled on a four hundred (400) mile trip fifty years ago. The rifle he carries is a Sharps 45-70" purchased in 1879 and a splendid shooter yet it has been used on nearly everything that walks in Arizona except human beings. Come out sometime and try it."

If you want to view the photo in more detail it is on my flickr account. Click on "all sizes."

Cochise County weekend

We just got back from a long weekend in Cochise County. Sunday we made sort of a pilgrimage to places my grandmother's family frequented when they lived in the Stronghold and Tombstone: Cochise Hotel, NY Ranch, and Dragoon. We also visited great grandpa's grave in Willcox. We stayed at the Triangle T Guest Ranch, a mixed success because the new owners are still ironing the bugs out.

The Cochise Hotel was a lovely surprise because it is in such good shape. They still take guests and serve dinner. Their website shows the interiors and we have vowed to stay there. I was impressed that unlike other "frontier" hotels there doesn't seem to be a speck of pretension or polyester lace.

Then today we decided to see someplace new so we went to the Muleshoe Wilderness area in the Galiuros (north of Willcox). It was beautiful place with strong contrasts: moonscapes with just volcanic rocks and yucca to the lush, verdant canyon floor. In a few minutes we went from bosque was so thick you couldn't see into it in places -- to endless grasslands. Six springs run year-round at the Muleshoe so it is a miracle of a microclimate in the middle of the desert. We saw whitetail and mule deer and countless birds. The caretaker at the Nature Conservancy center told me that there were no non-native animals: 4 types of unique fish, leopard frogs, bear, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, coatimundi, foxes, and birds, birds, birds.

Trip photos!

Jackpot

Well, we found a typewritten manuscript today for Log of an Arizona Trail Blazer with John Rockfellow's own editing marks on it, so we're in business! We also found a map that he made marking all the places that were important to him, and folder after folder of typewritten anecdotes. Most of them are in the book, but some are new! I will start scanning and indexing the book tonight.

And I found a small quail nest with 5 eggs this morning in one of my rose pots. Keep them safe, Mrs. Quail!

"Brainstorm Trust"

I uploaded a lot more family photos and ephemera today, including some political doggerel (c. 1934) I found when we were going through papers at my grandparents' house in 1976. Grandpa was a staunch Republican so most of it is devoted to skewering F.D.R. There are also some really sweet pictures of my dad as a kid.

Log of an Arizona Trailblazer

I have my great grandfather's book, Log of an Arizona Trailblazer, on my mind a lot lately. A year ago we discovered that the original homestead for his NY Ranch was still standing.

We recently got permission from the land owners to try to protect the building, so now the fundraising starts.

This week Jonetta and I will start our research for a critical edition of the book. We plan to meet at the Arizona Historical Society's library to see if we can find the original manuscript. Its a treasure hunt with white gloves on!

Website for the Rockfellow family and the NY Ranch