Hail Britannia

     There are things not to like about Great Britain.  There are things not to like about many countries, including my own.  But there's one thing you have to admit about the British people: they truly cherish their kidlit.  You saw the Olympics opening ceremony, right?  Or were you one of the nine people on the planet who missed it?  The country that gave us Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins and Harry Potter was absolutely CROWING about their wondrous children's book authors!  In a forum promoting the ultimate in national self-congratulation, they gave those books pride of place right up there next to Shakespeare's plays.  YEAH, they said to every other country represented there; these are OUR children's book writers.  Everyone else: eat your heart out.

     I never saw any Dr. Seuss characters pop up at the Salt Lake City Olympics, did you?  Let's face facts, fellow kidlit authors: in this respect, the Brits have taken the gold.