Video Sunday: “And barbarian lords with feathered hair . . . from Delaware!”

Ah.  Sweet screen capture.  Only you could give me the chance to get just the right angle on this video of M.T. Anderson singing (YES, singing!) his Delaware song.  And truth be told, the man does a lovely acapella rendition of the ode.  The only thing that could make it even more complete would be to hear Hank Green set it to music.  Of course, Hank is more of a tenor and could not do justice to Anderson’s lilting baritone.

*blog posting is briefly put on hiatus as I rewatch Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone From Your Pants for the umpteenth time*

Ahem.  Very well.  In lieu of a Hank adaptation, let’s just watch Anderson sing this again.  Only instead of being at SCBWI in LA, it’s an even more recent video taken by Kathi Appelt at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Throws himself into it a bit more, does he not?  I think he’s loosening up as he goes.  By October I will insist upon the addition of props.  Or at least a monk or two for back-up.  Thanks to Kathi for the link!

My problem with this next video is not the content.  I welcome the sexy librarian stereotype.  Heck, I’m a fan.  No, what shames me about this next clip is that I had no idea there was a Britcom out there called The Old Guys.  What kind of a Britcom fanatic am I if I do not keep up with the times?  There’s more out there than just The Good Neighbors (slash The Good Life) after all.  Here then is a clip in a library.

Thanks to AL Direct for the link.

Someone once asked me whether or not there is a single repository for all the videos out there of children’s authors and children’s illustrators talking about their life and art.  There isn’t as far as I can tell, but that doesn’t mean we can’t just start collecting now.  Here then is illustrator Oliver Jeffers giving a talk about his own art.  I can understand the Ungerer and the Sendak influence, but I have to admit that The Giving Tree baffles me.  Such a divisive book.

Oliver Jeffers – OFFSET 2009 from OFFSET on Vimeo.

Thanks to Swiss Miss for the link!

Speaking of interviews, if you haven’t had a chance to check out the videos that Jim Averbeck and Kristin Clark Venuti put together for you over at On the Red Carpet, you must do so!  In this one, they play the $20,000 Pyramid (in honor of When You Reach Me) with some of the hot names in children’s literature.  And a one-legged librarian.

Remember to vote on your fashion favorite on the blog as well!

I suppose this one should be my off-topic video, but I think it has practical storytime applications.  I mean, let’s say you’re doing a preschool program on dragons.  And let’s say your children’s room has a lot of liquid nitrogen sitting around.  Why not then freeze some whipped cream in the liquid nitrogen and then have the kids eat it so that they can all look like dragons?

I can’t think of a single thing that might go wrong with this plan.  Not one. Thanks to Davin for the link.

Today’s actual off-topic video comes direct from Radiolab and NPR.  That’s right.  We’re classing up the joint.  It bears watching twice.  The first time to enjoy the images before you realize what’s at work.  The second time to just take it all in.  Enjoy.

Filed under: Videos