MOONBOW IS THREE!
Does critical reaction encourage superior books?
Hip, hip, hooray! It’s a special day for Moonbow! Three years ago, I sent out Moonbow’s first official newsletter! It’s hard to believe that much time has passed. It still feels like I’m just getting started; there are so many things I’ve yet to explore and still hope to create. From the beginning, Moonbow has been much more than just a newsletter. It’s an experimental space that encourages curiosity and discovery and fosters a connection between books and ideas, but, more importantly, between readers.
When I had the idea to create a literary publication about children’s books for adults, it was met with skepticism. But I felt passionately that children’s books, especially picture books, were not getting the attention they deserved from most adults. At the time, I was reading more picture books to my kids than ever. It was March of 2022, exactly two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, and I had just closed my decade-old business. Those two years at home with my kids (who were 6 and 3) were hard and long. Reading helped pass the time and gave us something to look forward to. The outside world was scary and unsafe, but we could freely travel inside the world of picture books; we could experience a vibrant life through words and images. Those deep explorations unearthed a hidden truth about these books that I had previously been blind to (or had forgotten since childhood). They were beautiful, strange, and mysterious. Talking about these revelations with my children made them even more meaningful. They taught me how to read with an open mind and heart.
I couldn’t keep this exhilarating feeling to myself; I had to share it. But how? I’m not an author, illustrator, historian, or any kind of publishing expert; I’m just a reader. Then I realized that kind of thinking is partly why so many adults undervalue picture books. Most of their peers aren’t talking about how these books work (and why they often don’t); they aren’t championing them as sophisticated works of art. At the same time, I knew that to earn this position, I would have to do more than give ecstatic reviews or tell people what they should see. I would have to provide a framework that sets them up to look on their own, not by following rules or teaching techniques but by making compelling connections and offering ideas. This approach is not always easy to follow (even if I get lost sometimes), but I hope my passion comes across and inspires you to pay closer attention to this challenging and worthwhile art form.
When I doubt the process, I turn to Maurice Sendak’s Caldecott & Co.: Notes on Books & Pictures (1988)—one of the best books on children’s literature I’ve ever read. Sendak was not only a genius children’s author and illustrator, he was also an avid reader and astute critic. The collection includes his illuminating essays on Randolph Caldecott, Beatrix Potter, Walt Disney, Tomi Ungerer, and others. There are also a few of his speeches and interviews, which have become guideposts for how I think and write about picture books.
Since the book is not easy to find (I don’t think it’s in print anymore), I thought I would share a section from Sendak’s 1977 interview with Walter Lorraine, where he shares his philosophy on making and evaluating picture books.