Lauri Meyers .

We are talking subversive books this month, and today I want to cover the oh-so-shameful topic of nudity in picture books . GASP!   Since nudity has caused books to be banned , it's appropriate to consider in a subversive light.  I'm going to start with the blatant books which use NAKED right in the title.     "They brought Wilbur to a giant portrait of Grand-pah, the oldest, greatest, and most naked naked mole rat ever." ( Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed , by Mo Willems) Please use your best movie commercial voice for the following: " In a world where everyone is naked, one naked mole rat dares to wear clothes."   Mo turns the tables on us. He makes us feel uncomfortable not by the nudity, but by the un-nudity. And in doing so he weaves a lovely tale of being yourself. "and ONE naked baby goes back in the bath!"  ( One Naked Baby , by Maggie Smith) This book has been a staple in our house for six years, because it made my ...

I have a picture book idea which is a tad subversive - y'know, a little cannibalism, inappropriate toad jokes, poop-eating, etc. I really want to write this book. I'm positive I can decapitate a cute bunny rabbit is a very classy way. (I'm sure I've made this sound worse than it is...or perhaps not wicked enough.) But... Approaching the critique group with such a wild beast of a manuscript is a challenge. I'm guilty of critiquing out others subversive attempts too. "Your protagonist cannot eat the antagonist in a picture book." (It's happened) "Why was this child alone?" (PBs do it all the time.) "The deep dark woods seem a little scary for the 4-6 crowd." (Well... that's where the wild things are.) So I'm becoming a student of the subversive. Today I want to look at the class of books where the parents are missing, but really aren't "missed." A great picture book rule is to get rid of ...