The Lion and the Mouse

     I just read a fascinating article in The New Yorker called "The Lion and the Mouse: The battle that reshaped children's literature," written by Jill Lepore. In it is a brief history of children's literature and children's libraries, but it primarily discusses the battle between Anne Carroll Moore, attributed as practically inventing the children's book library as we know it, and E.B. White, author of Charlotte's Web and the apparently incendiary Stuart Little.
     Who knew?
     I, like so many children, loved Stuart Little. Turns out Ms. Moore did not. And with the power she wielded at the time, she was able to make or break careers based on her opinions - but not Mr. White's (or his editor's, Ursula Nordstrom) career. A interesting power play overtook the New York publishing industry all because of this one little mouse. Wow.
     Anyhow, I recommend the article highly.