Morning Reads for Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week (February 10)
Yeah, I went with a week this time, but I’m a librarian – and it’s my birthday – so I get to bend the rules this morning, right?
In a normal year, well-known and upcoming folks involved in children’s literature make it a point to celebrate Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week by visiting schools and libraries to help their characters come off of the page, but it’s a bit of a subdued celebration on that front this year. But schools and libraries everywhere are still finding ways to celebrate! This, of course, begs the question: What is/was your favorite children’s book character? Growing up, I L-O-V-E-D the Berenstain Bears (and still do)! More recently, I’ve come to absolutely adore Pigeon, too.
After that sweet detour down memory lane, let’s get to the news, shall we?
Pat Conroy
- First, some horrible news: Shaq’s Krispy Kreme has burned down.
- House Speaker David Ralston wants to rename the the bridge on State Route 307 near the Georgia Ports Authority for former Senator Johnny Isakson. (Alternate link.)
- Yesterday, the state Senate approved a revised spending plan to increase public health money in the budget.
- The special election for House District 90 is headed to a runoff.
- An Elbert County medical practice claims that its punishment for vaccinating teachers is part of a double standard at the Department of Public Health.
- Bobby Christine, who replaced BJ Pak as the U.S. attorney for Northern Georgia in one of a series of questionable moves by the Trump Administration, has resigned as the U.S. attorney for Southern Georgia.
- The Georgia GOP has issued an “elections confidence report,” which wants to limit access to voting in multiple ways after 2020 losses for the party.
- With a switch to the Common Application, UGA has seen a 40% increase in applications for Fall 2021.
- Another Georgian has been arrested for taking part in the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. (Alternate link.)
Alice Walker
- Former President Trump’s second impeachment trial began yesterday, and the two things that really stuck out were the harrowing video of insurrectionists and the very strange strategy (I’m using that term loosely) of the president’s defense lawyers in their opening remarks.
- The Senate declared that the impeachment trial was constitutional with six Republicans joining all Democrats in proceeding. (Alternate link.)
- Merrick Garland will finally get a Senate hearing.
- COVID deaths are on a sustained decline in the United States.
- 66% of Americans are dissatisfied with the vaccine rollout.
- 24 million American families are currently food insecure.
- COVID restrictions are likely responsible for the lack of flu this winter.
- 10 pounds of plastic explosives are missing from a marine training installation in California.
- In the wake of the insurrection at the Capitol, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a military-wide, one-day training “stand down” to determine the extent of extremist behavior in the ranks.
- An analysis by the Washington Post has found that the majority of insurrectionists have a history of financial trouble. (Alternate link.)
- The Chicago Teachers Union has approved a school reopening plan. (Alternate link.)
- A study has found that 1 in 5 deaths worldwide is caused by fossil fuel air pollution.
- Aunt Jemima has a new name and logo.
- Facebook will be limiting political content on users’ timelines in Canada, Brazil, and Indonesia immediately, and this is expected to start in the United States soon.
- Protests continue in Myanmar.
- One of Hungary’s last independent radio stations has been ordered off the air.
- South Africa has switched to distributing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after a study found the AstraZeneca vaccine provided limited immunity against the South African variant.
- The WHO investigators are leaving Wuhan, saying that their visit was “inconclusive.” (Alternate link.)
Flannery O’Connor
- A skier has been successfully rescued in a remote area of Alaska after surviving a bear attack.
- A man bought a building in New York and got a surprise mini-gallery in its attic.
About Author
Holly Croft
Holly is an archivist at one of Georgia's institutions of higher learning. In a past life, she was a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill. She cares a lot about records management, open records laws, and privacy laws. Political persuasion? It's complicated. What's not complicated is that she's proudly equal parts Bulldog and Tar Heel.
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Freddy the Pig was a master of many professions–poet, pilot, detective, politician–and his world was “the moral center of my childhood universe”. Walter R. Brooks wrote up 28 of Freddy’s adventures and Kurt Weise provided line drawings. I believe the books are out of print but they live on in old copies and reprints. My niece and nephew were as entranced by them as I was.
https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/22/books/children-s-books-that-paragon-of-porkers-remembering-freddy-the-pig.html
Authors: Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, Roald Dahl, E.B. White
Illustrators: N.C. Wyeth, E.H. Shepard, Kate Greenaway
Both: Tasha Tudor, Maruice Sendak
Father, grandfather, and husband of an avid collector.
Thanks for the mention of Kate Greenaway. She was my favorite as a child and I had forgotten that until you jogged my memory.
To paraphrase a joke originally attributed to Harry Hershfield:
The food was awful, and there wasn’t enough of it!
https://www.ajc.com/politics/election-board-investigates-warnock-and-new-georgia-project/V4YRQNRIRVENTI4GVH2OY5SNQY/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_1989901
Pure politics. I can see the Republican ads now that will shown in 2022. How about investigating David Schafer head of the Georgia GOP? He was in a conspiracy to impede the certification of the votes.
It is fear and terror and they think that they can terrorize African Americans out of voting by doing this kind of thing.
I swear Georgia has gone backwards and we are being run by a bunch of 1965 segregationists it seems.
Pure racism. The GOP has become the party of “let’s go back to the 1940’s, life was much simpler then”.
On the voter registration investigation, it’ seems more than a little odd that Warnock is personally named. Not an expert in Elections Board procedure, but here, the investigation is about an organization’s work (New GA Project). OK- so is it then necessary to name an individual? Sometimes you do in lawsuits, if you have cause, or if you are suing government entities. Sometimes you name the most senior officer, but in this case there appeared to be an error in state filings and they used Warnock’s name who was registered as CEO (incorrectly, apparently). So, either they knew of the error and opted to name Warnock as Board chair, or they have cause to believe some sort of decision made by Warnock which is outside the scope of the organization’s decision process, or they just wanted to name him opportunistically, or named him as CEO even though that seems incompetent (because executive officers are not the responsible decision makers unless, again, they acted outside scope of organization’s Board decision process). Which option is it? The first option, which reflects a possible opportunistic choice with a potential side of competence, or perhaps the third- just straight opportunism? I suspect if there was cause to name him for cause of personal responsibility, such facts would have been disclosed or alleged somehow.
The Republican members of the Election Board are just making sure they have some more ammo for the PAC attack ads in ’22. They will need new material as they wore out Jeremiah Wright, God *!#@ America, etc. Given the undertones I’m surprised they didn’t just come out and say he is uppity.