Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith are the writer/illustrator duo who brought you The Stinky Cheese Man. [I say you because Cheese Man? we don't have no Stinky Cheese Man. Sometimes I crack myself up, but most of the time I think I need a tough-nosed editor.]
Anyway, these people have a new book, Seen Art?, which is set in the newly expanded Museum of Modern Art. The story's thin and beside the point: some kid asks around the museum for his friend, "Have you seen Art?" and gets increasingly long-winded responses--and, of course, a tour of the Modern's collection.
The real purpose for Seen Art? is to prep you child for preschool. Every work in the book will now be fair game for the preschool admissions interview, so if you think knowing Olivia and her Pollock will suffice, well, there's always public school, chum...p.
Sciesczka and Smith are having a cram session (aka, a reading and booksigning) tomorrow morning, 5/21 at 11:30 AM at MoMA's Titus Theater. The entrance is on 53rd St, the one with the swoopy steel awning. I'm sure you can show up at 11:29. That joint's never crowded, especially on a Saturday. [via urbanbaby]
Buy Seen Art? now via amazon and start cramming [amazon.com]
Or ruin your kid for fairy tales with The Stinky Cheese Man.
The Stinky Cheese Man is actually best for kids around six or seven, who know the fairy tales well by that time and think it's funny to mess with them. Younger kids get all earnest and say, "That's not how it goes!" Six and seven year olds are ready to embrace the anarchy of changing the story.