Neverland

This morning we awoke refreshed after another magnificent trip to Neverland. But it is easy to go back, thanks to Mommy - and thanks to our latest selection in Madison's Book Club.

MADISON'S BOOK CLUB

Above you can see a picture of Neverland, one that can be found in a recent release, "Peter Pan." This is a special little book. It is a shortened version of the classic story by J.M. Barrie, this time written by Peter Pan experts Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Those of you unfamiliar with these guys should get to know them now, especially if you are fans of Peter Pan. These are the two that have written the most excellent series starting with "Peter and the Starcatchers." These are four books that are insanely hard to put down. Madison is much too young for them now, but Daddy can't wait to share them with her when she's older.

In the meantime, this book will do very nicely. It is simple, and tells a story of Peter Pan, and does so with the original artwork of Mary Blair, one of Daddy's favorite artists. Her style can be seen in the original cartoons "Alice in Wonderland," "Cinderella" and "Peter Pan," and you can see her influence at Disney World with the artwork inside "It's a Small World" and the huge mural inside the Contemporary Resort.

So it goes without saying that the artwork inside this book is fantastic. The telling of the story is done rather well too, as Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have a quirky way of describing things from time to time, which is usually pleasantly amusing. Of course, the story is told quite simply - the real value of the book is found in each page's artwork. We've read this book before, but this week after the play we will be reading it again. Daddy got this book for his birthday, but it is one that we both share: Madison enjoys going back to Neverland as Daddy reads her this story, and whenever I open this book, I don't mind spending some time there myself.

Mommy kept the Neverland theme going today when she printed out several coloring sheets from "Peter Pan" today, and Madison spent some of her time coloring them in. She got Tinkerbell's dress right - and maybe her wings. The rest of the coloring might be a bit avant-guard. But if it worked for Jackson Pollock, it might work here. You could look to see this and some more of Madison's masterworks hanging at the High Museum in Atlanta some day. Until then, all of her colorings have found a happy home on our refrigerator, one above the other like some sort of colorful Neverland wallpaper. I love having a scanner: it gives us the ability to show off Madison's handiwork whenever we can. Also, we can preserve her artwork to share, although museum aficionados would probably rather see her creations in person - in order to see the bold textures of those audacious strokes. Such emotion with every thrust of the crayon! It should be added that the internal dynamic of the purity of line verges on codifying the inherent overspecificity. Simply put, although I am not a painter, I think that the subaqueous qualities of the purity of line makes resonant the distinctive formal juxtapositions. Don't you agree?

Mommy found some other crafts to do with Madison as well, and the two spent some quality time together making a pinwheel, and a stand-up Tinkerbell as well. Daddy noted it appears as if we've gone from Wonderland to Neverland. Madison was still quite happy about last night's adventure: we were looking through the program book this morning, reliving certain moments and laughing.

"One time I went to a museum where all the work in the museum had been done by children. They had all the paintings up on refrigerators."

-Steven Wright