Frame of Reference

Annette Goldsmith, editor

At long last, The Looking Glass is back! What kept us, you ask? Where to begin... Along with technical problems (mostly due to the switch to a new server), we have collectively dealt with moves, new jobs, no jobs, operations and various illnesses. The result has been a distinct lack of time in which to produce an online quarterly comme il faut. We have therefore decided to publish three times a year: April 2, August 2 and December 2. This issue marks International Children's Book Day, the 194th anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen's birthday, and, of course, our own second birthday. Join us in a slice of delicious tarte à la flamme from the Cook's Pig and Pepper hommage to Alsatian food, inspired by Tomi Ungerer and Zeralda's Ogre. For dessert, try the Anniversary Cake we posted last April.

We do enjoy good food and drink, but not all of our treats are culinary. The eagerly-awaited Looking Glass Acrostic from puzzle-maker Joanne Schott is now posted. Don't miss Canadian author and illustrator Ian Wallace's article on the creative process in Illuminating Texts: you're sure to enjoy the mystical purple-tinged palette and serene style of his paintings for Sarah and the People of Sand River. And what better evokes the mystical than the image of the golem being brought to life by Rabbi Loew? In Alice's Academy, our scholarly section, Shandel Gamer evaluates David Wisniewski's Caldecott Award-winning Golem in the context of earlier tales.

In Caucus-Race, the Dodo takes us on a delightful tour of online book exhibits and special collections. And thanks to new column editor Mary Nix, My Own Invention is back, featuring Susanne Wilhere's engaging account of community reading projects at her rural school library. (We still need an editor for ykcowrebbaJ, the translation column. All applicants welcome!)

Along with the eight updated columns, we offer six favourites from the last issue. The Mad Hatter is recovering from all those parties a gossip columnist is obliged to attend, so we've reprinted Spyglass. We are also pleased to keep available Michael Solomon's Picture Window essay on alphabet books; Beth Graham's In the Twinkling of an Eye article on her four-year-old's reading tastes; Doug Crane's ykcowrebbaJ piece on filking (with the addition of a Letter to the Editor); Kathleen Bailey's surprising foray into the pond in Mirrors and Windows; and Mary Beaty's roundup of New York stories in The Monitor.

Remember, we love to hear from you. If you have comments, suggestions -- or gossip for Spyglass -- please contact us. Talk to you soon!

Annette Goldsmith is a Canadian children's librarian, reviewer, and storyteller living in Miami and cyberspace.

Volume 3, Issue 1, The Looking Glass, 1999

Site design and content, except where noted, © The Looking Glass, 1998. Send all mail regarding The Looking Glass c/o The Toronto Centre for the Study of Children's Literature. Images © Bernard Kelly, 1997. (Tenniel images in the public domain.) "Editorial" © Annette Goldsmith, 1999. Last update February 1, 2013.