My Spring Break (Belated Post)

I just had the honor and the pleasure to visit the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art , and I have to say, if you're ever in Amherst, Massachusetts you should stop by. It is, as it says, dedicated to Eric Carle's work (author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, if you're not immediately familiar) and there is also a rotating exhibit on other artists or publishers. We just missed the Golden Books exhibit (dang!), but stumbled into a gallery full of Antonio Frasconi's beautiful woodcuts. I now have to hunt down all of his out-of-print picture books, because his work was amazing. Anyway, I just wanted to give a shout out to a lovely museum dedicated to a medium I find really spectacular. I only wish they had an even larger collection. I'd like to see the original Curious George pages (he was first called Fifi, since the Reys were living in France when they created it), and some unpublished Seuss sketches, and whatever else the world of picture books has to show off. Thanks, Carle Museum. You're adorable.

Oh, and I also stopped by Louisa May Alcott's house in Concord. We got to ogle the Alcott sisters' dress up box, complete with the boots Louisa wore to play Rodrigo, the desk where she wrote Little Women (so tiny! so ambidextrous!), and a house full of bookshelves and art. I might have to go reread Little Women.