HRH William Shatner, famous Canadian

Happy CANADA Day! As befits such a celebratory occasion, the Duke and Duchess of something or other are visiting our lovely country for the first time, or at least the first official time. Welcome HRH William and HRH Kate. Next time, come to Edmonton, eh?

And now, in true Canadian fashion, a little self-deprecation:

Hilarious and local. The Daily Show does some business in Canada, specifically Alberta. Thank you Oil Sands for your comic possibilities.

L O V E this! Darryl Cunningham Investigates-Evolution. It’s in comic book style so maybe the Creationists will finally get it. Maybe. Nah…

Q & A with Tomi Ungerer ” The most important things I own are books. I love them: I love the page, even the smell of the book, the sensuousness of them.” Agreed. Although now that I’m packing up my little babies for a move, I feel slightly less charitable.

Sherman Alexie‘s eloquent MUST-READ rebuke to the WSJ’s condescending critique of non-dumbed-down YA literature. Wonderful essay, and wonderful author.

AV Club-Great interview with Phantom Tollbooth author Norton Juster: “I inhabited a world which I invented, and in many ways, it was a fortress.” Uh huh, know all about that.

LOVE this post from Playing By the Book: Animations from the 30s and 40s of storybook characters coming to life. Rather racist in places, unfortunately, but very interesting. And funny. And completely whacked.

Illustrator Shaun Tan draws conclusions: see his wordless interview with Der Spiegel. This guy makes me sick. Talk about a creativity hoarder. Is there nothing this Tan person does that isn’t brilliant? Geez…

And speaking of brilliance, or lack thereof, from the BBC News – Keanu Reeves ‘Grown up Children’s Book’. Dear Keanu…you make me want to take a sorrow bath too.

Back to brilliance. From Anita Silvey’s Children’s Book-a-Day-Almanac, the elevator operator who inspired one of the most beloved characters of all time, the Cat in the Hat. Another fab post-David Wiesner’s inventive June 29th. Lastly, a celebration of Edward Lear and his poetry. For more Boshblobberbosh from Mr Lear, see my review from last year.

Outgoing children’s laureate (and consummate apeologist) Anthony Browne wants kids to keep hold of their creativity.

A rare peek inside the notebooks of great creators – designers, scientists, street artists, via Brainpickings.

The book vs the kindle with an audience of 2 yr olds. Best argument yet, I’d say.

Kids’ authors and illustrators join together for a new It Gets Better video. Kinda made me tear up. Quite lovely.

Finalists for the 2011 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards announced! Another useful list for summer reading.

Don Calame’s top 10 funny teen boy books, in the Guardian. Great list, especially Hitchhiker’s Guide, but what about Bert Fegg’s Nasty Book for Boys and Girls? Very hard to find, very much worth the effort.

From the Atlantic Monthly, who invented the Oreo? The murky history behind a unique cookie design. In some ways, who cares? Just eat it. On other hand (the one without the Oreo), it’s fascinating to know the history behind ordinary things.

Next post: the history of a not so ordinary thing~Dr Seuss