Children's lit crit and eureka moments

If you're like me, the New Yorkers stack up week after week, a silent reminder of how fast the cultural waters rush past when you have kids. But I did get a chance to comb through a few of them last week. That happily led me to Jill Lepore's July 21st article about Stuart Little and the history of children's book reviewing, which didn't even exist until after the turn of the 20th century. It's an interesting comment on how our society has sharpened its vision of what entertains young children and what is "good for them" at the same time.

Also worth a read: Jonah Lehrer's piece about how and why those eureka moments come when you're most relaxed. (I've got his Proust book by my bedside, and I'm looking forward to cracking it open after 1) finishing Great Expectations for book club and 2) clearing my plate of The Omnivore's Dilemma.)

Speaking of ideas and our constant talk of them (or should I call it our constant hand-wringing about not having enough time to really make use of them), don't miss this cartoon by Barbara Smaller, either. It's just so U.S. of A.