ENG 372:
Origins of Modern Literature for Young People
Syllabus for ENG 372 Fall 2017
Caldecott Medal Winners list
- Click here to link to the American Library Association's list of Caldecott Medal Winners.
- Entertainment Weekly's Best YA Book of All Time Bracket Contest
Research links
Link to .pdf of Mark I. West's "Key Reference Works Related to Children's Literature" from Everyone's Guide to Children's Literature. Ft. Atkinson, WI: Highsmith Co., 1997.
Research & Writing Resources for Children's Literature. A list I've compiled to help you on your research papers. Includes links to online resources, journals and more, plus a list of books.
If you are struggling to write a literary analysis paper, read "How to Write a Research Paper in Literature" by Geoff Baker at Chico State University (.pdf format)
Check out the 60Second Recap video page on How to Write a Paper. Informative, lively points about writing academic papers. Can your paper pass all the tests?
Resources in children's literature research for college students, teachers, librarians & academics
- Link to .pdf of Mark I. West's "Key Reference Works Related to Children's Literature " from Everyone's Guide to Children's Literature.
- Guide to Research in Children's and Young Adult Literature at the University of Illinois. Many resources are also at Milner Library. Thorough, well annotated lists of books.
- Resources from universities: Children's Literature Pathfinder for Parents and Teachers at Univ. of South Florida. Humboldt State Univ. library's resources. Michigan State library's resources.
- Online Children's Literature Journals
- Journals that publish articles on children's literature research & criticism. Compiled by Wally Hastings & Michael Joseph
- Children's Literature Resources on the Internet from School Libraries Online.
- Children's literature book awards and Victorian Literature resources on this website.
MLA Guide, in .pdf format. How to write and format your papers. Important to look at before you hand in the final version of your research paper.
L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz: An American Fairytale, an online exhibit at the Library of Congress. Covers Baum's book in detail as well as stage and film adaptations.
International Wizard of Oz club for fans, scholars, book collectors and more. Publishes Baum Bugle. Literary Traveler article on L. Frank Baum
The Wonders of Oz. Documentary about the book and author on YouTube clip Episode 1 (good ideas but bad production values)
John Ritter as Baum in this segment from the Idea of the Wizard of Oz as he tries to figure out how to write the book. YT. 7:31
1893 World's Columbian Exposition
- Photographs from Shepp's World's Fair Photographed, Chicago (www.bc.edu)
- The Columbian Exposition Image Gallery (lots of photos) and Interactive map. General Information and links. Site created by University of Chicago
- Video simulation of 1893 World's Fair. cool. Link to complete Simulations of World's Fair (videos & stills) created by UCLA class.
Films by L. Frank Baum
- Patchwork Girl of Oz. 1914 film created by Baum. YouTube video. 1 hr. complete film. A 12 min segment of Patchwork Girl of Oz with music.
- Atomic Caravan blog post with stills and notes about the 1914 film
- His Majesty, the Scarecrow (1914). YouTube. 58 min
- The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914). 914 film adaptation of Baum's novel, Queen Zixi of Ix. Directed by J. Farrell MacDonald. Produced by Baum and composer Louis F. Gottschalk. YouTube 41 min
- Segments from 1914 The Magic Cloak of Oz remade into an amusing contemporary music video. YT. 3:46
- "I'm in such a hurry I wish I could fly." re-digized segment from The Magic Cloak of Oz. 1:28 min on YT. Nice and clear, not fuzzy.
Early Oz films
- Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910) probably directed by Otis Turner. First Film adapation. YouTube. 11:57
- 1910 silent film version (with piano accompaniment). YouTube 7 min.
- Stills, in film style, from 1903 production by Canton Comic Opera. YT 2.46 min.
- 1925 Oz silent film. YouTube. 1:33:00 min.
Warner Bros' 1939 Wizard of Oz
- Link to Warner Bros. 70th anniversary re-release of The Wizard of Oz film
- "71 Facts about the film's 71st anniversary" from The Guardian (Aug 2010)
- Tornado scene from 1939 film. YT 4:46 min
- Teach with Movies: sample study guide for The Wizard of Oz
- Did Pink Floyd intend Dark Side of the Moon to coincide with 1939 Wizard of Oz? YT 2 min.
- Link to Warner Bros. 70th anniversary re-release of The Wizard of Oz film
- Detailed fan website about The Wizard of Oz film and book, Answers to questions about the curious 'hanging scene' in the 1939 film
Contemporary Oz adapations
- The Mousketeers put on The Wizard of Oz with Walt Disney's approval (Sept. 11, 1957)
- Journey Back to Oz, animated feature from 1973. This clip features Liza Minnelli singing.
- YT 2 min.
- Short Segment from the Muppets. Wizard of Oz and Ashanti singing theme song from Muppets' Oz
- The Wonders of Oz, episode 5. YouTube clip
- Modern dance interpretation of The Patchwork Girl of Oz. Louise Reichlen & Dancers at Lincoln Center Feb. 2013. YouTube. 8 min
Oz, The Great and Powerful (2013)
- Trailer (2:31 YouTube)
- Speech #2
- China Girl joins the trip
Andrew Lang's The Blue Fairy Book (1889)
Here is a link to the text of The Blue Fairy Book along with images on The Baldwin Project
German Fairy Tales not in Lang's Blue Fairy Book
German Folk Tales "Little Red-Cap" and "Snow White" in .pdf format
The Real Winnie: website at Ryerson University
Christopher Robin Milne in CNN Ashdown Forest segment. video
Disney's Winnie-the-Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966). YouTube video of the opening. begins at 3 min.
A. A. Milne's poem "Teddy Bear"
A.A. Milne reading from Winnie-the-Pooh in 1929. YouTube. reading begins at about :58
Winnie-the-Pooh read aloud by a British cast including Stephen Frye as Pooh and Judi Dench as Kanga. Chapter 2. Illustrated video on YouTube. 8:14 min.
Link to Just-Pooh site, with info and links
From the 1968 Disney film Winnie-the-Pooh and the Blustery Day
Celebrating 75 years of Pooh in 2001 from Penguin. Classroom activities for teaching Pooh from Penguin
Christina Lindsey's photos from Hundred Acre Wood in Sussex, England
Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Little House on the Prairie
Site about Wilder and links to Helen Sewell's cover illustrations
Link to site of Laura Ingalls Wilder home in Mansfield, Missouri. Good information
Publisher HarperCollins' very contemporary official series site to Little House series books
Children's Literature Book Prizes
Kenneth Kidd "Prizing Children's Literature: the Case for the Newbery Gold" Children's Literature 35 (2007) 166-190. (link to article)
Marc Aronson’s “Slippery Slopes and Proliferating Prizes” Horn Book 1 May 2001. (.pdf)
Monica Edinger’s “Top Ten Things You May Not Know About the Newbery Award.” from The Nerdy Book Club (.pdf)
Virginia Lee Burton's Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and The Little House
"Making Picture Books" Burton's talk in .pdf format
Houghton Mifflin's office Mike Mulligan site
The Little House, a Walt Disney short film from 1952. YouTube (8:19 min)
Opening to HBO series Weeds with "Little Boxes" YouTube (5:58 min)
"Little Boxes" in animated clay video with Malvina Reynolds version.
Podcast of interview of director and producer of documentary on Virginia Lee Burton (22 min)
Documentary about Virginia Lee Burton, A Sense of Place (2008)
Virginia Lee Burton exhibit at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (.pdf format)
Vogue article about Virginia Lee Burton from May 2008.(.pdf)
Librarian Elizabeth Bird's blog about Virginia Lee Burton's The Little House. includes the Disney animated video (8 min) based on the book. Bird, writing on Publisher's Weekly site, is also fond of Mike Mulligan.
Virginia Lee Burton in her studio in Cape Ann, Massachusetts
Margaret Wise Brown's Good Night Moon
Margaret Wise Brown information
HarperCollin's 60th anniversary site for Good Night Moon
Link to every MW Brown book with illustrations & bibliographic info
YouTube related videos
- Good Night Moon animated video with Susan Sarandon reading.
- Goodnight iPad by Ann Droyd.
- Samuel L. Jackson reading Go the F to Sleep. One minute introduction, then he begins with illustrations.
A few books by Margaret Wise Brown
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
"The Lion and the Mouse: The battle that reshaped children's literature." essay in The New Yorker by Jill Lepore (July 21, 2008). Sources Lepore used for this essay, in pdf format.
"Children's Books" an essay by E. B. White in collection of essays One Man's Meat in pdf format
New York Times collection of info on E.B. White. Includes links to recordings of White reading from Charlotte's Web. (requires free registration with NY Times)
Quotations by E.B. White at goodreads.com. Quiz on quotations in Charlotte's Web.
Why Charlotte's Web is still a great book 50 years after publication. by Stephen Amidon in The Guardian
E.B. White essay in The Atlantic "The Death of a Pig" January 1948.
Interview by NPR's Melissa Block of E.B. White's relatives and author of annotated Charlotte Web about White's creation of the novel. (8-4-2008)
Link to "Natural History," an E.B. White poem about spiders from 1929
E.B. White in The New Yorker, May 23, 1953: "Walden is the only book I own, although there are some others unclaimed on my shelves. Every man, I think, reads one book in his life, and this one is mine. It is not the best book I ever encountered, perhaps, but it is for me the handiest, and I keep it about me in much the same way one carries a handkerchief - for relief in moments of defluxion or despair."
S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders
"That Was Then: This is Now: S.E. Hinton in the Twitter Age" by Jon Michaud in The New Yorker 11/9/2103
YouTube videos
- S. E. Hinton on location in Tulsa (7 min)
- from The Outsiders (1983) film "Nothing Gold Can Stay" (1:17 min)
- from The Outsiders film "Stay Gold" (4:33)
- from The Outsiders film. Original ending, without soundtrack.
- West Side Story. Tony's Death. Final Scene (in English with Polish or Czech subtitles) 6:19 min
S.E. Hinton's website
The Outsiders, official website for film and book
"Outsiders Forty Years Later" by Dale Peck in The New York Times. Sept. 2007.
"S.E. Hinton reflects on The Outsiders" in Book Rag website
Blog quiz. Which "Greaser" are you most like (from The Outsiders)? with comments.
David Macaulay's City
Roman City: PBS show on YouTube (55 min)
"Building a Roman City" animated section from "Roman City" by Macaulay on YouTube (6:49 min). The first part of Roman City starts here on YouTube.
Section of video that is part of an exhibit on David Macaulay, especially his childhood. Second section of the video, which was initially prepared by Norman Rockwell Museum on Macaulay. Essay about this exhibit, with a few good illustrations by Macaulay.
David Macaulay discusess his work at a TED conference. 21 minute talk about his creative process and focusing on his book about Rome.
The Great Pyramid of Giza documentary
David Macaulay's website. Click on "watch video" for several short videos on how he works.
PBS series "Buiding Big" focuses on explaining architecture through Macaulay's work. This page features a transcript of an interview with him.
Educational ideas for using Pyramid in class, with many good links about Pyramids and Ancient Egypt
David Macaulay speaks at MIT about creating his books. 1hour talk.
Discovering more about Ancient Egypt
Tacoma Art Museum's exhibit on David Macaulay in 2009
David Macaulay receives the Eric Carle Honor Award in 2010. Article in Publisher's Weekly. Nov. 18, 2010
Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day
Caldecott Acceptance speech by Keats in 1963 (.pdf)
Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. Official website.
Ezra Jacket Keats virtual exhibit, from the deGrummond collection
Art Exhibition: The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats at The Jewish Museum in New York.
- An article about the exhibit in The New York Times "Homage to a Picture Book Rebel" (12/8/11)
- Overview video of the exhibit by The Jewish Museum. YouTube 4:28 min
Nancy Larrick's essay "The All White World of Children's Books." This is a pdf document that links to a copy of Larrick's essay originally published in The Saturday Review, September 11, 1965.
Here is a recent re-examining of children's books in light of Larrick's essay by Laura Atkins.
The Brownies' Book published by W.E.B. DuBois. A link to information as well as links to pdfs of original copies of this series for African-American children published during the Harlem Renaissaince
The Snowy Day read aloud on YouTube
Biographical video on Keats on YT (3:36)
Ezra Jacket Keats virtual exhibit, from the deGrummond collection
The Snowy Day read aloud on YouTube
Walt Disney and children's culture
- 50 Years of Disneyland. Short video on history of Disneyland
- Disneyland Opening Day, Part 1. Short video
- "The Mickey Mouse Club March" Short video
- Disney and Fairy Tales. short essays about history of fairy tales and interpretation by Disney
- Disney's "Three Little Pigs" from Silly Symphony series (1933) YT
- "Snow White" on Disney wikia
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: The Creation of Classics exhibit at the Walt Disney Family Museum. Additional information on the Snow White exhibit
- The Walt Disney Story YouTube
- Little Mermaid "Kiss the Girl" with words
- Snow White. Scene where Snow White finds the dwarf house
- Snow White. Scene where Snow White cleans the house.
- Snow White "Whistle While You Work"
- Aladdin "Friend Like Me"
Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me Margaret
Disney's "The Story of Menstruation" sponsored by Kotex. on YouTube. (10:16 min)
Cynthia Leitch Smith interviews Judy Blume.
Interview with Judy Blume (YT 4min)
Clever book promo created by students for book (YT 1:14)
Just for fun, Will Arnett reading a paragraph from Margaret on the Jimmy Fallon show. Hulu clip (1:37)
Are You There Vodka, It's Me Chelsea preview for TV show about the book with interview of Chelsea Handler (YT 1:37)
Blog posts about adults remembering reading Margaret:
- Liz Shannon Miller, including notes about how the book was updated
- Third Coast Digest on how she was the only girl in fifth grade to receive the book from her mother
- Jezebel magazine has Lizzie Skurnick tackle the classic test with people writing comments as well.
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
- Trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Also a brief highlight film shown to fans at Universal in January 2016.
- Video by fan of Harry Potter world and Escape from Gringott's ride at Universal Orlando (5 min)
- Trailer for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone from Warner Bros. YouTube
- The Harry Potter Lexicon website. Keeps track of spells, characters, etc. Recommended by Rowling.
- Rowling's official website
- The Boy Who Lived, a U.K. fan website with lots of details
- The Scholastic website for Harry Potter.
- BBC biographical information about Rowling
- An interview and profile of Rowling from Oct. 2000
- A negative review of the first film in The New York Times by Elvis Mitchel
- A unit on the different covers for The Sorcerer's Stone book.
- from The New Republic online, a 1999 essay analyzing the Harry Potter the first books, making links to other children's texts. by "Harry Potter and the Spirt of the Age" Lee Siegel
Jon Scieszka
- Jon Scieszka's website: Facing tomorrow's challenges today
- Guys Read. Scieszka's website encouraging boys to read. Started from his book Guys Read.
- Walt Disney presenting "The Three Little Pigs" YouTube video
- Disney's 1933 "Three Little Pigs" from Silly Symphonies. 7:58 min. YouTube video
- Green Jello's "Little Pig, Little Pig" YouTube video. 5:49 min
- Green Jello's "Three Little Pigs (Swine Flu Survival Guide). YouTibe video. 4:22 min.
- "Agony" reprise, male duet of princeses in Into the Woods. Here performed by Brandon Albright and Steve Huntsman. YouTube. 3:02 min.
- "Agony" Greenville Little Theatre, Oct. 2006. Will Ragland and Peter Simms. Dialogue & song. Humorous with audience along laughing. YouTube video. 3:14 min
- Reading Rockets page including good video interview of Scieszka talking about his life, teaching, etc., biographical material, and links
- NPR interview with Scieszka. Also includes excerpt from Knuckelhead.
- Baloney Henry P. Website of Scieszka and Lane Smith. Animated with games.
- Washington Post interview with Scieszka "Author Works to Prevent Reading's 'Death Spiral'." March 24, 2008. by Valeria Strauss
“Someday I might write for adults, but I think kids are the greatest audience for a writer. No one can believe a story or love one as much as a kid does.” – Jon Scieszka
Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith's The Stinky Cheeseman
Leonard Marcus "Give 'Em Helvetica: Picture Book Type"
Reading Rockets (WETA) interviews of: Lane Smith interviewed
Interview with Jon Scieszka, from Library Sparks, about The Stinky Cheeseman (in .pdf form)
Video Interview with Lane Smith and Molly Leach (2008) 5:08 min
Reading Rock Stars of Reading by Mark Levis interviews Lane Smith and Molly Leach
- Part 2. Lane Smith's studios
- Part 3. Lane Smith's studios
- Part 4. Final segment on Lane Smith's studios
- Part 1: Beginning of road trip, ends with meeting Lane Smith
Lane Smith's official website
Jon Scieszka, with design by Molly Leach, in The Hornbook on "Design Matters" in Stinky Cheeseman and other books. (March/April 1998)
YouTube video of interview with Jon Scieszka from Barnes & Noble
Great video of Stinky Cheeseman by John Gillam. good animation of images with nice voices. YouTube 4:52
NCTE Lesson Plans (on ReadWriteThink) ideas for books by Lane Smith
Russell Freedman's Lincoln: A Photobiography
- Teacher's Guide to using the Lincoln book in class. Includes many good links to Civil War sites on web.
- Russell Freedman about the Library of Congress' 2001 Book Fest. A video of him reading from Lincoln book
- Blog notes about audiobook of Freedman's book.
- Detailed biographical info about Freedman and his works More biographical info with reviews of books
Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends
Here's a .pdf of the 30th anniversary edition of Where the Sidewalk Ends
Official Shel Silverstein website. High bandwidth version is all in Flash. Low bandwidth less flashier, maybe easier.
Shel Silverstein performs his poems, accompanied by animated illustrations, on YouTube
The Actual '73 Giving Tree Movie Spoken by Shel Silverstein (youtube)
A teacher's guide on poetry and Silverstein, from the official SS website, in .pdf format
Anna Holmes and Rivka Galchen’s “The Giving Tree: Tender Story of Unconditional Love or Disturbing Tale of Selfishness?” (.pdf)
Shel Silverstein wikipedia entry. Includes quotes from his few interviews and material about his many passions.
Kidsread.com site about Shel Silverstein for kids
Silverstein's bio on Legacy Recordings
Silverstein performing on "The Johnny Cash" TV show. He sings "A Boy Named Sue" with Cash and then sings "Daddy, What Would Happen" by himself. YouTube. 5:40 min.
Overview essay about Silverstein from Poetry Foundation about Shel Silverstein. By Jesse Nathan
Shel Silverstein material on the My Hero website. Features kids' thoughts on their Poet Hero.
Mahalo.com's website collection of Shel Silverstein material
"Shel Silverstein's Unlikely Rise to Kid Lit Superstardom" by Mark Peters from Mental Floss. Aug 8, 2009.
Jan Susina reading some of Silverstein's problematic poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends at the 2009 Banned Book Reading sponsored by ISU's Milner Library. YouTube video
Beverly Cleary's Ramona the Brave
The Ramona page, on a Beverly Cleary site.
Biographical information on Cleary at Scholastic site.
Children's Author Beverly Cleary on Turning 100 on Today Show. March 25, 2016
BookPage interview of Beverly Cleary
An NPR interview with Cleary on her 90th birthday, April 2006. An earlier interview with Cleary from Aug. 16, 1999.
Teaching Ramona, a detailed .pdf document on teaching ideas with Ramona
from the Canadian Ramona TV show: The Great Hair Argument. YouTube. 9 min.
Walking tour of Portland, home of Cleary and Ramona. brief article
Interview with Beverly Cleary in 2006. Set up as video, but only audio of Cleary. 18 min. She answers 13 questions from students on "Stop Everything and Read Day!"
Radio essay on Ramona, from Recess! radio show at University of Florida (6/30/2005)
Fourth graders present a "commercial" for Ramona, the Pest. YouTube. 1.22 min. cute
Selena Gomez has filmed Ramona and Beezus, to be released March 2010
Ramona the Pest is a band from Oakland, Calif.
Virginia Hamilton's The House of Dies Drear
Home page of Virginia Hamilton. She writes about what inspires her to write and the importance of libraries.
Short section of 1988 film based on book. YouTube. 2 min.
Glencoe Literature Library .pdf study guide (22 pages) for book along with connections to Frederick Douglass, Levi Coffin, Follow the Drinking Gourd folk song, and Charles Dickens.
Comprehensive site about folklore in Virginia Hamilton's works.
Three articles from HornBook about Virginia Hamilton
Ohio author biography of Virginia Hamilton
Avalon Projects on historic documents at Yale Law School. Documents on Slavery
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio
National Geographic's interactive site about the underground railroad
Follow the Drinking Gourd, a cultural website
Map of underground railroad paths
Friends of the Underground Railroad website
Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Film adaptations of the book
- Willy Wonka (1971) film starring Gene Wilder. Oompa Loompa song. IMDB.com link for film
- Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (2005) starring Johnny Depp. Oompa Loompa song for Veruca Salt and Oompa Loompa song for Augustus Gloop. IMDB. com link for film.
Roald Dahl fans website, rather comprehensive
Roald Dahl day in September, encouraged by British publisher Penguin Books
Roald Dahl Museum in Buckinghamshire, U.K. Informative and includes photos to his writing hut.
University of Missouri's College of Education site on ideas for teaching Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are
Getting to Know Maurice Sendak: 1985 interview on video.
Maurice Sendak, In His Own Words: Where The Wild Things Are. Video.
Rosenbach Collection. Museum in Philadelphia
- There's a Mystery There: Sendak on Sendak exhibition.
- Link to three videos of Sendak talking about his work
Animated videos of Sendak's work
- "In the Night Kitchen." YouTube video of 1970 book. by Weston Woods (updated 3/2016)
- "Where the Wild Things Are." Youtube video of the popular book. Stop action video from Weston Woods.
Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia, which has the best collection of Sendak materials.
Rosenbach Museum's DVD segment on Sendak on his work, childhood, inspiration. YouTube. 10 min. Sendak on what being an illustrator means. YouTube. 3 min. Sendak on his childhood and movies. YouTube. 1 min. Sendak on Images and Words. You Tube 2:25 min
Original Wild Things animated short. YouTube video 6:50 min.
Read Dave Egger's story Max At Sea, which appeared in The New Yorker, Aug. 24, 2009. Click on this link to open a .pdf document of the Max At Sea story. OR Click on this link to go to Max At Sea story by Dave Eggers on The New Yorker's website
Articles and promotions related to the 2009 film Where The Wild Things Are
- Featurette on making of Where The Wild Things Are, on imdb (mostly an interview with Sendak)
- Newsweek article "A Talk with the 'Wild Things' Creators" (Oct. 9, 2009)
- "Maurice Sendak and the Legacy of their 1963 rumpus." LA Times by Scott Timberg (Oct. 11, 2009). "Maurice Sendak Rewrote the Rules with Wild Things" also on LA Times site by Scott Timberg (Oct. 11, 2009)
- "Where the Wild Things Weren't" by Bruce Handy in The New York Times. (Oct. 8, 2009)
- Synopsis of HBO Documentary Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak by Spike Jonze (first showing Wed., Oct 14, at 6 p.m. Central Standard Time)
"A Conversation with Maurice Sendak" by Jennifer Ludden on NPR, June 4, 2005, with additional links
Terrible Yellow Eyes, website devoted to other artists' renditions of Wild Things
MercuryNews article about Sendak exhibit at Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco (Sept. 3, 2009)
President Obama reading Wild Things at the 2009 Easter egg roll
Horn Book interview with Sendak. Nov./Dec. 2003 by Roger Sutton
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Purple Socks, an unofficial Louise Fitzhugh tribute site. Good collection of information.
"Unapologetically Harriet, the Misfit Spy" an NPR story by Neva Grant on March 3, 2008.
A Walking Tour of Harriet's neighborhood in New York with maps, photos & descriptions. This Flickr site also has recent photos of Harriet's New York neighborhood.
Wake County, North Carolina, Library .pdf 7 page document for kids reading and thinking about Harriet the Spy, includes questions and list of similar books. Fans may like Harriet Spies Again, a 2002 continuation published by Random House.
Harriet the Spy -- 1996 movie, by Nickelodeon, featuring Rosie O'Donnell and Michelle Trachtenberg. Link to imdb page.
2009 review of Harriet in Scholastic's website Ink Splot 26
"I can see why this book is a classic, though. It is honest, frank, and kept me turning the pages. But I don't know many kids who would actually write such mean things down. Maybe it was a product of how she was raised . . . Hmm." -- from review on Ink Splot 26 by Ratha, STACKS reviewer
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Bio of Ted Giesel on website about Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Gardens in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Advertising art work of Ted Giesel in the Univ. of California-San Diego library. Many images.
Official Random House site for Dr. Seuss
A.O. Scott's essay in The New York Times magazine "Sense and Nonsense" (Nov. 26, 20000) about Dr. Seuss and children's literature
10 Facts about Dr. Seuss on the BBC's website on his 100th birthday.
PBS Independent Lens documentary on the political cartoons of Dr. Seuss. Scroll down for clip on connection between Cat in the Hat and subversiveness.
NPR's very informative page on "Fifty Years of 'The Cat in the Hat' " including article by Lynn Neary as well as images and links (March 1, 2007)
NCTE/IRA's suggested lesson plans for grades 9-12 to use The Cat in the Hat to write an essay using a psychoanalysis perspective. whew! Includes chart for psychoanalysis id, ego, and superego characters in the book.
New Yorker essay "Cat People" by Louis Menard (Dec. 23, 2002) on the creation of The Cat in the Hat, Sputnik, The Lorax, and with which character children identify.
Betsy-Tacy series
by Maud Hart Lovelace. Illustrated by Lois Lenski
Betsy-Tacy Society site, filled with information