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/Jimmy-Carters-An-Hour-Before-Daylight-.mp3 Author John Cech Air Date 10/2/2001 Jimmy Carter’s “An Hour Before Daylight” Transcript It’s former president Jimmy Carter’s birthday this week, and he has given us the present this year with his new book, An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood. Mr. Carter grew up during the […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Kate-Douglas-Wiggin.mp3 Author Rita Smith Air Date 9/27/2001 Kate Douglas Wiggin Transcript Toward the end of her life, Kate Douglas Wiggin was named by the San Francisco Examiner as one of the six most distinguished women in the world. She had distinguished herself in two ways: first as a woman who […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Banned-Books-Week.mp3 Author John Cech Air Date 9/25/2001 Banned Books Week Transcript This week public libraries around the country are calling attention to the on-going national debate about censorship through their annual Banned Book Week displays of works that have come under attack for their depictions of some aspects of human […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/tolkien.mp3 Author Kevin Shortsleeve Air Date 9/18/2001 Tolkien Week Transcript One important function of some of the best literature for children is to offer its readers an escape into other worlds. Many children, especially adolescents confronted for the first time with mundane or cruel realities of the adult world enjoy […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Captain-Kidds-Treasure.mp3 Author Kevin Shortsleeve Air Date 9/4/2001 Captain Kidd’s Treasure Transcript What child playing in the sand has not fantasized about digging down with a spade and “thud” – encountering a sea chest containing a hoard of doubloons? Since the publications of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and Mark Twain’s […]
With the pressures of a new school year right around the corner, Rosie Russo has a review of some books that just might let off some of that steam.
Author Kenneth Kidd Air Date 8/2/2001 Winnie the Pooh Transcript Like many children, I fell in love with Winnie the Pooh. The only stuffed animal I ever owned was my beloved Pooh Bear, who wore a bright red vest and lots of abuse [does this work?]. I knew by heart the escapades of Pooh and […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Patsy-Aldana.mp3 Author Fiona Barnes Air Date 7/30/2001 Lemony Snicket Transcript In the opening pages of The Bad Beginning, the first book in a projected 13-volume series about the three Baudelaire children — Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are at Briny Beach, where their extremely wealthy and trusting parents have allowed […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Choosing-Adventures.mp3 Author Kenneth Kidd Air Date 7/18/2001 Choosing Adventures Transcript Imagine this: You”re kidnapped by pirates and taken out to sea. The waters are rough and full of dangerous creatures, but you must escape. Otherwise you’re toast. You could get into a raft, but it’s risky. On the other hand, […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Becoming-Victoria.mp3 Author John Cech (read by Fiona Barnes) Air Date 7/17/2001 Becoming Victoria Transcript As a young girl in England, steeped in British history and the necessary adulation of the Royal Family, I was never particularly fond of Queen Victoria. After all, in my young eyes, Queen Victoria seemed to […]