Where the Wild Things Are

[image error] no spoilers, I promise...

A lifetime ago, when I lived in Manhattan, I worked for a literary agent who specialized in children's book writers and illustrators; his clients' books now fill my kids' shelves. Initially, I was hired to read manuscripts that came in from potential clients, and to help the subsidiary rights agent handle the contracts for foreign publication of our clients' books.

But the job I aspired to, and the job I eventually earned, was handling permissions. Anyone who wanted to...