New Kids' Program at the Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival

I just heard that the Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival in Idaho is including a children's program for the first time this September 18th & 19th. Films include Lost and Found, above, (a great film I saw at the last NYICFF), the much lauded The Secret of Kells, and others; check out the whole program on the festival website.

Kids' Lit for Haiti

I've been able to post a few times about children's media and the Haitian reconstruction effort, so I was pleased to see this Publishers Weekly article linked in a recent KidScreen email. By Rachel Steinberg, it's about two new children's books about the earthquake that will also give financially to recovery efforts: Hope for Haiti by Jesse Joshua Watson and Eight Days: A Story of Haiti by Edwidge Danticat. If anyone knows of other children's books, films, etc. contributing to relief, please let us know!

Planet Preschool on the current kids' TV industry

I re-read that Peppa Pig story after posting it yesterday and noticed how quickly it glossed over some of the problems and setbacks the creators had in getting that show up on the air. They certainly had them, though, and the truth is that the trials and setbacks are part and parcel of kids' television production--often more prevalent than the successes and accolades. So it was really engaging for me to read Josh Selig's Planet Preschool post from Tuesday, about the sobering realities of the children's television industry post-Internet/recession. It's a great post full of camaraderie for those of us who have had trouble finding paid work over the past couple years. And it puts the troubles in perspective--there's still a great community out there ready to help anyone who needs it. I'm just a little fish in the big ocean, but if there's anything I can do to help with your work please let me know!

The Inspiring History of Peppa Pig

I've loved Peppa Pig for quite some time (and we've got some merchandise in our house!). Today the Financial Times wrote a really in-depth history of the show and its creators Phil Davies, Neville Astley, and Mark Baker. The odds are still stiff for the rest of us aspiring creators, but it's great to read a success story like this every once in a while. And parents should check out their new show Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom as well.

Super Yoda

Around a year and a half ago or so I hit upon the brilliant idea of doing a little Frank Oz mash-up by putting the voice of Super Grover on top of footage of Yoda. So I did a YouTube search and found I'd been beaten to the punch. I'd wanted to post it here ever since: Sesame Street and Star Wars fans should all laugh equally.