Someone once said that a good writer, whether for children or adults, has one story, which s/he keeps telling in various disguised ways; the fantastic writer has two stories; and the genius has three. Shakespeare, for example, could write tragedies, comedies, and histories with equal brilliance. In the world of children’s books, you can count the geniuses on one hand. In the pieces in this section, we write about them all – the good writers, the terrific writers, and, yes, those geniuses.
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Barbaro-Americas-Horse.mp3 Author John Cech with Shelley Fraser Mickle Air Date 5/4/2007 Barbaro Transcript The Kentucky Derby will be run tomorrow, and that has many of us thinking of last year’s winner, Barbaro. This incredible thoroughbred is the subject of Barbaro: America’s Horse, a new book for young people that’s just been […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Kids-Can-Poetry.mp3 Author Lola Haskins Air Date 4/18/2007 Kids Can Press Poetry Transcript Over the past few years, a Canadian publishing house called Kids Can has brought out a series of books, each containing a single narrative poem. They’re all poems you will have heard of, if not at some point […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Anna-Sewell.mp3 Author Rita Smith Air Date 3/20/2007 Anna Sewell Transcript Anna Sewell wrote only one book in her lifetime, Black Beauty. Sewell was raised in a Quaker household by a mother who took very seriously the Quaker advice “to seek out and alleviate suffering.” She did her share of charity work […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Doctor-Seuss.mp3 Author John Cech Air Date 3/1/2007 Dr. Seuss Transcript Someone once said that a good writer, whether for children or adults, has one story, which he keeps retelling in various disguised ways; the fantastic writer has two stories; and the genius has three. Shakespeare, for example, could write tragedies, […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Oxford-and-Wonderland.mp3 Author Kevin Shortsleeve Air Date 2/27/2007 Oxford University Museum of Natural History Oxford and Wonderland Transcript When one thinks of the world of children’s literature, both in the fictive world and the real world, England often comes to mind. From Peter Pan’s statue in Kensington Gardens in London, to […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/First-Books-for-African-American-Children.mp3 Author Rita Smith Air Date 2/20/2007 First Books Transcript Before the 1950s, there was very little that an African American child could look at or read that reflected his experience, fostered a pride in his heritage, or inspired him in any way. As Barbara Bader notes in her book […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Edward-Lear-Book-of-Nonsense.mp3 Author Kevin Shortsleeve Air Date 2/8/2007 Book of Nonsense Transcript One hundred and fifty-five years ago today, in London, at 26 Haymarket, the publisher Thomas McLean released a curious little book. It was entitled, The Book of Nonsense and the author, according to the cover, was a certain Derry Down Derry. […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Talking-with-Robie-Harris.mp3 Author Susan Raab Air Date 1/30/2007 Robie Harris Transcript Recently, Susan Raab asked Robie Harris, the noted author for young people, about the many books she has written for children about their emotional lives and the questions they ask about the facts of their physical beings. She talked about […]
https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Dr-Martin-Luther-King-Jr-Day.mp3 Author John Cech Air Date 1/15/2007 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Transcript It’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and his life and legacy are central to the growing number of works for young people about him. Books like Diane McWhorter’s A Dream of Freedom, The Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968. This […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Our-Young-Folks-Our-First-Childrens-Magazine.mp3 Author Rita Smith Air Date 1/9/2007 Our Young Folks Transcript Our Young Folks is an illustrated magazine for children published monthly for nine years from January 1, 1865, through October, 1873, when it was absorbed into St. Nicholas Magazine. Written for children between the ages of 10 and 18, its editors […]