Children's books, Fiction, Lit, Poetry

Review: Mother Goose for English Majors, The Lamb Cycle: What the Great English Poets Would Have Written about Mary and Her Lamb, by David R. Ewbank, with illustrations by Kate Feiffer

If Shakespeare, instead of Mother Goose, had written “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” perhaps he would have penned a sonnet to take the young girl to task for abandoning “Thy […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Architecture, Beyond, Chicago history, Chicago history, Children's books, Comics and Graphic Novels, Fiction, Lit, Nonfiction, Poetry

Essay: In Defense of “Unregulated” Little Free Libraries

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) thinks the little free libraries along many Chicago sidewalks are bad—very bad. They are “unregulated”! And they’re “popular”! And many of them are planted in city soil! (Collective […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Chicago history, Chicago history, Children's books, Essays, Event, Lit, Live lit events, Nonfiction, Poetry

Printers Row on Saturday: A Celebration of Community

Near the end of Saturday at this year’s Printers Row Lit Fest, an 80-year-old Italian painter from the North Shore told me she’s going to have a huge party if […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Children's books, Fiction, Lit

Review: Wonder and Joy and Questions, The Happy Prince & Other Tales, by Oscar Wilde

It’s something of a surprise to be reminded that Oscar Wilde—the author of The Picture of Dorian Gray and the subject of a scandalous 1895 trial over consensual homosexual acts—wrote […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Chicago history, Children's books, Essays, Fiction, Lists, Lit, Nonfiction, Reviews

2022 in Review: A Lit Retrospective

What was 2022 like in the world of Chicago, Illinois, and Midwest letters? I’ve asked the Lit section writers to share their favorite reviews and stories of the past year. […]

Dan Kelly /
Children's books, Fiction, Lit, Reviews

Review: A Spooky Morality Play—The Merchant’s Curse, by Antony Barone Kolenc

Antony Barone Kolenc’s The Merchant’s Curse is a historical mystery with a strong supernatural element, set in 12th-century England and written for children and young teens. Even more, it’s a […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Chicago history, Children's books, Interviews, Lit, Nonfiction

Interview: Hearts Beat Still—Maggie Schmieder, Author of Hopeful Hearts in Highland Park

Hopeful Hearts in Highland Park is author Maggie Duplace Schmieder’s attempt to make sense out of something senseless. She and her family attended the Highland Park Independence Day parade this […]

Dan Kelly /
Children's books, Dialogs, Fiction, Film & TV, Lit, Live lit events

Kids Can Learn Sign Language, Storytelling and Teamwork with Sweet Animated Video Calvin Can’t Fly

Jennifer Berne wrote the storybook Calvin Can’t Fly: The Story of a Bookworm Birdie in 2010, and her second cousin Sarah Michaelson directed and produced a video version last year. […]

Karin McKie /
Children's books, Lit

Feature: Local Author Taps into Her Childhood with Two New Children’s Books

It’s not often that Third Coast Review has an opportunity to review children’s books. Fortunately, Chicagoland author J.B. Frank has given us a fantastic reason to do so. Somewhere in […]

Cynthia Kallile /
Children's books, Comics and Graphic Novels, Fiction, Lit, Reviews

Review: Re-Animaniac: Dr. Herbert West & Astounding Tales of Medical Malpractice

Dr. Herbert West & Astounding Tales of Medical Malpractice By Bruce Brown and Thomas Boatwright Arcana Comics Howard Phillips Lovecraft was once a rare beast. Following a personal literary philosophy […]

Dan Kelly /
Children's books, Lit

Review: The Skin You Live In Is a Kids’ Book for Today by Two Chicagoans

The Skin You Live In By Michael Tyler Illustrations by David Lee Csicsko Chicago Children’s Museum The Skin You Live In, a book targeted to 4- to 8-year olds, can […]

Nancy S Bishop /