The Witches

Mice may be small in stature, but they figure mightily in our collective imaginations. Take a few moments to recall your favorite mice in literature, and you’ll be amazed to discover how many pink-eared, sharp-eyed, whiskered little creatures hold starring roles in some of our most beloved books. Kind of gives you the warm and […]

Anne Shirley once said that she was glad to live in a world where there are Octobers, and you know what? I couldn’t agree more. Octobers mean crisp winds, crunchy leaves, and pumpkins, and the first full month of fall also means creepy stories and our favorite ghoulish characters. My favorites? Witches. There’s something incredibly fascinating […]

Roald Dahl knew how to capture the imaginations of children, and he always respected them as readers. His books often take extreme plot twists, conveying how dramatic ordinary events can appear to a kid, and how capricious, mysterious, and unfair adults can seem. In painting with broad strokes, Dahl makes life feel true to kids, who […]

This month, a very big kidlit-to-film adaptation came galloping into theaters: Steven Spielberg’s long-awaited take on Roald Dahl’s classic, The BFG. And thanks to a loyal script and Spielberg’s willingness to leave the signature darkness of Dahl’s stories pretty much intact, the big-screen version of The BFG is, by all accounts, a whizz-popping good time. […]