Natalie Merchant and Children's Literature

"There was an old man with a nose, who said, 'If you choose to suppose that my nose is too long, you are certainly wrong!' That remarkable man with a nose."
-Edward Lear's Nonsense Omnibus

This year's annual American Library Association was absolutely wonderful. My committee's programs went really well and I got to meet lots of great authors, illustrators, publishers, and librarians. Plus, I got to catch a free Natalie Merchant show!

Natalie Merchant's latest album, Leave Your Sleep, is a collection of old children's poems which she set to music. In between songs, Natalie showed slides of antique children's book illustrations and discussed the history of each work. I was especially impressed when she thanked individual libraries for helping with her research.

Merchant, Natalie. Leave Your Sleep. New York: Nonesuch, 2010. Sound recording.

To learn more, check out this link to the New York Times article, From Natalie Merchant, a Literary Tour: nytimes.com.

Isn't she lovely?