L.A. Escapes — Ezra Jack Keats at the Skirball

From Ezra Jack Keats' "Whistle For Willie."

The iconic artwork of children's author/illustrator, Ezra Jack Keats is now on display at the Skirball Cultural Center, a fact that I'd nearly missed if not for an ad I flipped past in Los Angeles Magazine.

The Westside museum has more than 80 artworks, including original sketches, paintings and collages. Why I haven't spied pennants and billboards to this effect is a mystery to me. Keats' vibrant pinks, oranges and reds hanging from lampposts would easily cheer up commuters cursing cross-town gridlock.

I've loved his books since childhood and, as an adult, I was quick to cop a version of "The Snowy Day" the minute I knew I was having a child of my own. I even have a snapshot from "Whistle For Willie" as my phone's lock screen image (and have secretly harbored a longing to get an EJK-themed tattoo...shhh...don't tell).

"Goggles!", 1969.

For me, Keats' images evoke innocence, simplicity, urbanity and humanity, all while putting sweet little brown faces in the spotlight for a change. Looking through his pages, you can almost hear strains of be-bop, inner-city horns honking and kids laughing. (Growing up, I always just assumed Keats, himself, was a black illustrator. I later learned he was actually a Brooklyn-bred son of Jewish immigrants.)

This exhibit has me wanting to grab a knapsack and go full-on "Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler" (much like I wanted to during the museum's Gary Baseman exhibit).

Check it out before the September 7 close date. Admission is FREE on Thursdays.

Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. (***there once was a 405 exit that dropped you off right on the front steps, but you have to exit at Getty Center Dr. and back-track, the last time I checked.)
LA, CA 90049

Last Night Was All About A Mind-Reading Monkey

The family spent last night on the sofa giggling more than a little bit over our latest literary acquisition.

It's "The Purple Kangaroo," the latest book by comedian Michael Ian Black (who, at his best, made "The State" great and, at his less-than-great...well, you've seen all those VH-1 "I Love the...").

The book stars a very M.I.B.-esque monkey who boasts that he can read your thoughts. It was our second run-in with one of his kids' books. The first was "Chicken Cheeks," which we borrowed from the library a while back. It fell flat in our household, but if you have a kid who's fond of goofy gross-out humor who might find animal posteriors humorous, I say go for it.

The number one draw this new one had for me was its illustrator, Peter Brown. From "Flight of the Dodo" to "The Curious Garden," I can't say enough about how much I love this guy and endorse the purchase of his entire canon.

Here's me and my daughter meeting Brown at last year's LA Times Festival of Books.

Perhaps it was his punchy, modern sketches that elevated it, or maybe Black is just now hitting his stride as a writer. Either way, the book is a winner. It has sophisticated kid humor, but with silly tongue-twists that keep it light and fun. And, speaking practically, it's short enough that you won't immediately groan whenever your kid pulls it off the shelf. We actually had to fulfill an "Again, again!" request after the first read.

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I think I do a better job of reading it than the author himself (though, I did so without wearing a furry monkey costume).

And for your parental viewing pleasure, here's a satirical Rated-R making-of clip, wherein, Black asks a beleaguered Brown, "Did you actually paint this with your vomit, or did you vomit on it afterwards?"

The Making Of Michael Ian Black's The Purple Kangaroo - watch more funny videos

Caught That Pigeon

Yesterday, we got gussied up for a day at the theatre. The family took in "Pigeon Party," a kid-centric hour of well-meaning inanity at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. My daughter giggled, she cheered, she ultimately curled up in daddy's lap and looked kinda' worn out.

The "play" was a montage of three of Mo Willems' children's books starring a lovable crotchety pigeon and was the last U.S. 2010 tour stop for UK's Big Wooden Horse production company. (The center has hosted other book-to-stage performances in its '09/'10 season, including "Stellaluna" and "Strega Nona.")

Tony-worthy, it was not. Two Brits mincing about with threadbare, minimalist props, reciting the books' words and adding none-too-clever original songs. The gist of the popular books is that the pigeon wants to do stuff he's not allowed to do. This meant that, for the whoa!-whoa! price of $18 a ticket, you bought your pre-schooler the privilege of being able to shout "NOOO!" at the top of their lungs, over and over and over again...for an hour. What was I thinking? Once again, Willems is all up in my pockets and, this time, I paid for something I can get (in bulk) for free!

New On the Shelves

Check out these cool new additions (hopefully) to your kids' libraries.

What with "Race You to Bed" joining his previous title, "Monster vs. Bedtime," Bob Shea must be vying for a monopoly on the 6-and-under set's nightly reading roster. Like your kids, this adorable bunny is way too riled up to settle down for sleep, preferring to climb, leap and dive its way into slumber. But after 40 pages of hyper-activity, the bunny finally gives in (hopefully, like your kids). The rhymes are cleverly written and each page has more visual pop than the last. Resulting dreams will surely be cute.

We have a copy of Tao Nyeu's serene, wordless "Wonder Bear." Her new one "Bunny Days," contains mini stories featuring a handful of bunnies who are up to shenanigans and a clever bear who keeps them in check. I peg this as a cross between Margaret Wise Brown and James Kochalka. I'm not really the type to buy kids Easter gifts, but this would be a good pick for just such an occasion.

Mo Willems' Elephant & Piggie series has pretty much launched my daughter into full-fledged literacy. His new "Cat the Cat" books (man, this guy is prolific!) are too simplistic for kids who can sound out words on their own. But for three- and four-year-olds just getting started with reading, the word repetition in these books is a plus.

In Mark Rogalski's picture book, each letter of the alphabet is represented by its own circus bill-style illustration. To be clear, the book is more form than function.

"Belly Flops! Karate Chops! Weasels Pop! The Hippo Hop!"

Yeah...nobody's going to learn anything about the letter H from that right there. This basically strikes me as a travel book — something to hand the kids when you set off on a plane or rode trip to keep them engaged while you take deep breaths.

The Promise of a Dora-Free Existence...

If you love the little kids in your life and you want them to be awesome, then these books need to be in your story-time rotation. If not, you are half-steppin'. That is all.

Wait. That's not all, actually.

I am giddy to report that these Listiak Family favorites are being transformed into TV shows. That does not let you off the hook from reading the actual books. It does, however, add a delightful new dimension to the little worlds these authors have created.

Around the World with Mouk, by Parisian author and illustrator Marc Boutavant, is like your kid's own addition to the coffee table book collection. It's educational eye-candy. Mouk is a cute little bear version of Rick Steves, biking, boating and flying all over the world to try new foods, learn new languages and customs and meet new creatures. He dons a dashiki in Burkina Faso, says "yassou" to an octopus in Hydra and dances with lemurs in Madagascar.

My daughter got this book as a Christmas gift and it eclipsed most every other present. There's so much vibrant color on every inch of the page, dialogue bubbles that appeal to her burgeoning comic book fandom and stickers...glossy, high-quality ones, at that. It takes forever and a day to read it aloud to her, but it's worth it.

Now, Mouk is reportedly being made into several 11-minute mini-episodes to be aired on France Televisions Jeunesse (and, eventually, online). ETA is still tentative, but here's the trailer from the production company, Millimages. Why is it in English — and seemingly featuring the voice of Jane Horrocks, aka, Bubble from AbFab — rather than in French? Who knows? I only know we'll be watching.

Meanwhile, in the UK, Chorion is turning The Octonauts into an animated series. Over the span of four books, these aquatic do-gooders — a polar bear, cat, penguin, dog, bunny, otter and two odd little whatsits — have helped a lonely orphaned sea monster, a dying coral reef, an unswervingly surly fish and their own disgruntled shadows. Meomi, the design duo behind the books (not to mention, the 2010 Winter Olympics mascots!) fill every installment with charming hidden jokes and end-to-end Japanese-inspired cuteness.

The show is supposed to launch in Europe and Australia in 2010, but there's no official word on when we can tune in here in the States. I'm a little worried that the overtly computerized look of the CGI animation format will rob the deep-sea adventurers of their unbelievable kawai-ness. But, my kid's eyes are already so used to watching the likes of Olivia and The Backyardigans, so she'll surely be hooked.

Update: Just came across this! http://www.flickr.com/photos/meomi/4328117731/

I just read about Picture Book Report on one of my new favorite blogs, Drawn!.

PBR is a collaboration of 15 artists who will post monthly interpretations of scenes from their favorite books. So far, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and The Hobbit have been announced as subjects. Participants include cool artists I recognize — S. Britt and Lizzy Stewart — as well as, new-to-me folks who I'm excited to learn about.

The concept immediately captured my interest because it ties in two of my loves: children's literature and illustration. (Um...there's no time like the present to mention that I'm working on a picture book of my own!)

The project is just getting started, so I'm stoked to get in on the ground floor observing this effort. I think this will be just the kind of inspiration I need to work on my very own project.