There are no guilty pleasures in childhood. It is only as an adult that I feel a certain sheepishness when recalling one of my favorite picture books, "Ann Likes Red," by Dorothy Z. Seymour, which was originally published in 1965. Wedged between the vaunted volumes of Gorey and Scarry, "Ann Likes Red" stuck out both literally, for its squat stature, and literarily, for its hazy lesson in self-assertion.
To mark 70 years since Kay Thompson's beloved children's character first took up residence in the "room on the tippy-top floor," the Plaza Hotel is hosting a free, two-day celebration packed with sugary treats, scavenger hunts and serious nostalgia.
Every year on World Book Day, Irish mothers find themselves caught off guard, often scrambling for last-minute costume solutions for their kids, mainly thanks to authors like Julia Donaldson.