Matthew Reinhart's Blog, page 28
March 3, 2011
Vintage Movable Review: Magic Wand Book
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Simple Simon's Mother Goose Magical Picture Book is a curious and coveted book. The cover boasts that it includes a "magic wand that brings characters and verses to life in realistic action". Is there any kid (or adult, for that matter) that would not want a magic wand to control characters in their favorite nursery rhymes? In this case, the wand is a red wooden dowel, it's magic comes when the tip ratchets a fixed wheel in the center of the page. It is a clever spin on the traditional movable wheel and the uncredited paper engineer did not stick with one template and varies the movement and utilizes both sides of the page as the reader takes a journey with Johnny and Mary to Mother Goose Land.
There is little information about the title. We know the book was published by the Dyco Publishing Company out of Philadelphia, yet the author remains anonymous. The last page mentions a copyright in 1946 by B.B. Corp. with a patent attributed to inventor, Frederick Voges at Advertising Ingenuities, Inc. in Chicago.
Our omnipresent guide, Simon Simple may look angry throughout the entire ordeal but you sure won't be if you ever get a chance to visit Mother Goose Land yourself. Until then enjoy some photos.
~Kyle
Word of the Day: Philter
1. A magic potion for any purpose.
2. A potion, charm, or drug supposed to cause the person taking it to fall in love, usually with some specific person.
Origin: Philter originates from the Greek philtron "love potion" which itself derives from the Greek philos "love of".
History Lesson: Dr. Seuss is Born
Geisel's first children's book "And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street" was rejected by over two dozen publishers before being printed in 1937. His first bestseller, "Cat in the Hat" was published in 1957. Other classics include "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish", "Yertle the Turtle", "Fox in Socks", and "If I ran the Circus". Though he also published books with more serious themes like the environment ("The Lorax") and the nuclear war threat during the Reagan presidency ("The Butter Battle Book").
Geisel lived and worked in an old observatory in California where he passed at the age of 87.
March 2, 2011
Word of the Day: Upbraid
1. To scold or criticize harshly.
Origin: Upbraid is from Middle English upbreiden, from Old English upbregdan, " to twist up, hence to reproach," from up- "up" + bregdan, "to move back and forth; to weave."
March 1, 2011
Artist Watch: James Gulliver Hancock
http://allthebuildingsinnewyork.blogspot.com/
http://www.jamesgulliverhancock.com/index_illustration.html
Word of the Day: Scrabble
1. To scrape or scratch with the hands or feet.
2. To struggle by or as if by scraping or scratching.
3. To proceed by clawing with the hands and feet; to scramble.
4. To make irregular, crooked, or unmeaning marks; to scribble; to scrawl.
Origin: Scrabble derives from Dutch schrabbelen, from Middle Dutch, frequentative of schrabben, "to scrape; to scratch".
February 28, 2011
Whats Popped Up: Childrens Literary Salon
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I love going to the library and peruse shelf after shelf of treasured (and sometimes forgotten) books. And few libraries are as impressive as the main branch of the New York Public Library. In this increasingly digital age, I am pleased to see that the library can continue to be a focal point for research and community involvement.
To that end, I am pleased to participate in this month's Children's Literature Salon at Children's Center in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at 42nd Street. The Children's Literary Salon is a monthly gathering of adults who are fans of children's literature. Professionals, librarians, authors, illustrators, publishers, booksellers, teachers, and anyone else interested in the field are welcome to attend our meetings. The Literary Salon provides a rotating series of talks with professionals in the field, and great conversation. This program is for adults only and is a first come, first seated event.
The clever paper engineer, Sam Ita will be sharing the microphone with me as we discuss all things pop-up. Elizabeth Bird will make sure we don't stray too far off topic and moderate the informal hour-long. So, if you are in Manhattan this Saturday, March 5th, please join us in room 84. The event will begin at 2 pm and you can find directions to the event here.
~Kyle
Whats Popped Up: Childrens Literary Salo
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I love going to the library and peruse shelf after shelf of treasured (and sometimes forgotten) books. And few libraries are as impressive as the main branch of the New York Public Library. In this increasingly digital age, I am pleased to see that the library can continue to be a focal point for research and community involvement.
To that end, I am pleased to participate in this month's Children's Literature Salon at Children's Center in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at 42nd Street. The Children's Literary Salon is a monthly gathering of adults who are fans of children's literature. Professionals, librarians, authors, illustrators, publishers, booksellers, teachers, and anyone else interested in the field are welcome to attend our meetings. The Literary Salon provides a rotating series of talks with professionals in the field, and great conversation. This program is for adults only and is a first come, first seated event.
The clever paper engineer, Sam Ita will be sharing the microphone with me as we discuss all things pop-up. Elizabeth Bird will make sure we don't stray too far off topic and moderate the informal hour-long. So, if you are in Manhattan this Saturday, March 5th, please join us in room 84. The event will begin at 2 pm and you can find directions to the event here.
~Kyle
Word of the Day: Sylvan
1. Of or pertaining to woods or forest regions.
2. Living or located in a wood or forest.
3. Abounding in forests or trees; wooded.
Origin:
Sylvan derives from Latin silva, sylva, "a wood or grove".
February 24, 2011
Vintage Movable Review: Space Shuttle Action Book
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Vic Duppa-Whyte was out of this world. He was a gifted paper engineer in England that created some of the most inventive pop-up designs in the 1980's. In fact, David Carter and other folks that worked with him through Intervisual Books noted that Vic's creations were so advanced at the time that they could not be produced. Luckily, there is a half dozen titles were released that bare his name. All of them are amazing. Today we check out the The Space Shuttle Action Book from 1983. Published by Random House and produced by Carvajal in Columbia, this introduction to the space shuttle houses many inventive pop-ups.
The NASA space shuttle program had just begun when the book came out and Vic does a great job right out of the gate with creating the excitement of exploration of space. As we open the first page, one pulls a tab and the anticipation builds with a four second countdown before the rockets fire and the pop-up shuttle lifting off the page. Another clever construction is a pop-up cockpit complete with functional joystick that changes the forward view as the shuttle tilts left or right with the aid of a single black thread.
The space shuttle program may be ending this year, due to soaring costs and privatized ventures, but this book will continue to send me to the moon for years to come.
~Kyle
