Friday at last. And would you believe I have a birthday coming up this weekend? Oy vey. I wish I could have you all over to the house for barbecue and agua fresca on Sunday, but perhaps we can celebrate (or mourn) over here with a little game of awesomeness called, The Picture Book Medium. Now. If you're anything like me, every geek-synapse in your brain begins to fire simultaneously when anyone even mentions the words 'book' and 'game' in the same sentence. In fact, when training a new employee, one of the first questions I ask is whether or not they know what their Newbery or Caldecott Award winners are. It's something of a kid's book litmus test, and Betsy Bird of Fuse #8 has created a fantastic (and truly hysterical) game from that premise.
The directions are fairly simple. Choose three picture books published in the year of your birth (you can search Good Reads by publishing date, which is handy), including the Caldecott Award winner. (Don't forget that medals are given the year AFTER a book has been published! So if you were born in 1978, you'll be looking at 1979.) You can find a list of winners/honors here. Create a personal prediction from their contents. Remember to be ridiculous. You can read my response over there, but I'd love to hear your own predictions, or just your books, if you're feeling shy. My titles are The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle***(see edit), Outside Over There, by Maurice Sendak, and Jumanji, by Chris Van Allsburg. Apparently, creepy picture books were all the rage that year. My husband requested the honor of writing my fake-literary-horoscope and results have had me laughing all day:
As a child, you will be abducted by goblins due to a negligent seafaring family. This will wreak havoc on your emotional and psychological health and could result in a terrible eating disorder. Don't fear, all is not lost! Remember that some locks are best left unopened. Hold fast to your friends and you will pupate, emerging like a beautiful butterfly. You will be admired by many, including a kleptomaniac pelican with a penchant for board games and, oddly enough, Robin Williams.
Care to play along?
***Edited to add. Holy internet misinformation! The Very Hungry Caterpillar was, in fact, RE-published in the year of my birth, but is actually much, much older. Alas. The prediction is just too hilarious to change though. I'm lettin' it slide.
SO Funny!! I'm going to try mine, and let you know =^_^=
Posted by: Marcella | 07/16/2010 at 02:33 PM
happy early birthday! May there be some yummy cake in your near future!
Posted by: Belinda | 07/16/2010 at 03:08 PM
Happy Birthday! I hope you have had a great b-day weekend. And tell him that I love the horoscope. :)
Posted by: Chelsea | 07/18/2010 at 12:43 PM
hey andrea! happy happy birthday! i just found your blog and love it! its funny you mention Outside Over There - i bought that book after watching the Sendak documentary and LOVED it...but will probably not read it to my kids until...they are old enough to not have nightmares about goblins taking them...but then again Labyrinth is a favorite movie around these parts...but still - that book is CREEPY! wonderfully creepy...hope you are well! big hugs to you and your hubby from me to!
Posted by: Carlee | 07/19/2010 at 04:46 PM
haha!
Posted by: ugg | 09/08/2010 at 08:44 PM