READ FROM PICTURE BOOKS AND THINK
Moonbow is a newsletter about children’s literature.
Children’s Literature Essays, Author/Illustrator Interviews, Book Reviews, and Events
Welcome to Moonbow, a bimonthly arts and culture publication about children’s literature for adults.
Moonbow explores children’s literature as an art form and discusses why adults should take it seriously (because many don’t). It aims to broaden and provide context to the texts, encouraging adults to think deeply about children’s books and see them anew. Children’s books—especially picture books—are a versatile form, collecting and remixing genres and ideas from other art forms like poetry, music, theater, dance, cinema, and other books. Still, they should have one main goal: to be enjoyed by children.
Of course adults can enjoy them too (I’m one of those adults), but the priority should be making, recommending, and reading books to children that they want to read, not books with adult agendas or a sentimental, wistful affection for childhood.
Finding good books isn’t easy. There is a lot of bad art made for children (the same as for adults), and that’s fine, but the more we, the adults, discover, learn, and engage with the form, the better we will be at getting good, sometimes great—books into the hands of children.
“Nobody can make connections between books — across formats and genres and age groups — like Taylor. She intrigues, then surprises, then inspires. And with every one of her posts, I feel more engaged with life.
The thing about Taylor is she does have the ability to deeply analyze a text in interesting ways, BUT she takes that even further by creating conversations between books and people that make you think. It is so enjoyable that whenever I see a Moonbow post, I run to read it.
When I catch glimpses of her previous jobs and the way her life has unfolded, I see someone who forges her own path with courage. Someone who isn’t afraid to grapple with gray areas. Someone who has managed to hold onto her curiosity and infuse everything she does with its magic.”
—Rachel Wilson, children’s author and illustrator
