đ Go Down The Rabbit hOle With Me...
into an interactive kid's museum in Kansas City that celebrates picture books!
Last Friday (and by happy happenstance!) I visited a fabulous new interactive childrenâs playnasium/museum, focused exclusively on forging stronger connections between kids and the world of childrenâs picture books, called âThe Rabbit hOle.â I was so excited to explore the space, which soft launched in just mid-March, after keeping tabs on it through social media over the last few months.
And, of course, after I returned home to Seattle, I had only begun to cobble together my thoughts when I was beaten to the reportage punch by some no-account upstarts called NPR and The New York Times. đ
SoâI guess the good news is that I am no longer on the hook for doing a ârealâ write up, and can instead focus solely on what I noticed/enjoyed about it. :)
Want me to draw you a map? WellâŚluckily, someone else did.
Armed with this, our journey began!
Bonus: because no one actually asked, I get to use the format of an imaginary Q&A!
Elayne! How big was this thingâand what was the vibe (and attendance)?
Well, I'm so glad you asked, because I happen to know they converted a 150,000 square-foot former warehouse to make the space! The vibe was definitely "Look here! No, wait, look here!" but in a cool, absorbable way. The vibe was also (which is a good thing) "kids! My godâso many kidsâŚeverywhere!" In fact, that's why I didn't get nearly as many photos as I wanted to. (I'm one of those who feels weirded out when I see people taking photos in areas my kids are in, so I don't take photos when others' kids are around.) Alas, for my photos (but great for the space!!), kids were around nearly all. the. time!
What exhibits are we talking about? Were the books highlighted just the usual suspects?
Nope! What I particularly loved about it was how deep and broad in taste the curatorsâ literary tastes went! The books that were featured at the time I visited included (just including titles to keep this list manageable): A Chair for My Mother; Amelia Bedelia; Anatole; Art Dog; Babar the King; Blueberries for Sal; Bread and Jam for Frances; Caps for Sale; Captain Underpants; Come Follow Me; Crow Boy; Everybody Needs a Rock; Find the Constellations; The Fire Cat; Flat Stanley; Flower, Moon, Snow; Fortunately; Frederick; Frog and Toad Are Friends; The Funny Thing; Gladiola Garden; Good Dog Carl; Goodnight Moon; The Happy Day; Harry the Dirty Dog; I am a Bunny; I Want My Hat Back; Katy No-Pocket; Little Toot; Madeline; May I Bring a Friend?; Meanwhile; My Fatherâs Dragon; No, David!; Perez and Martina; Petunia; Rober the Rose Horse; The Runaway Bunny; Sam and the Tigers; See and Say; Song of the Swallows; Strega Nona; Tawny Scrawny Lion; The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig; Tooth-Gnasher Superflash; Uptown; When Will the World Be Mine?; Where the Sidewalk Ends; and The Zabajaba Jungle.â
Pssssst. Want some good intel? A little rabbit told me what exhibits are next on the docket for 2024, and they were: Curious George; Last Stop on Market Street; Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel; Mufaroâs Beautiful Daughters; My Garden; NiĂąo Wrestles the World; and Zen Shorts.
So what if I have already seen the (great!) exhibits. What else can one do/enjoy?
Okayâthis is eerie. It's like we are mind-melding now. YES! There was an AMAZING kids bookshop! Not only that, but they are open and already doing some author talks and book launches (including one for Jon Scieszka, a bookseller told me)! As Stefon would say, "Kansas City's hottest (book) club is The Lucky Rabbit." Future additions are expected to include a craft/maker's room for kiddos, a resource library for educatorsâand even some sort of residency program for writers and illustrators??
Because I was under some pretty tight suitcase space restrictions (due to me bringing several suitcases of books back to Seattle BEFORE we even visited here), I managed to just buy two books THIS time. (But I'll be back. Oh, I'LL BE BACK.) And great newsâthere is an online shop, tooâitâs got just a few things now, but will have more as time clicks on!
While Iâm in Kansas City to check this outâŚwhat else might you recommend, you gal-about-town, you?
<Blushes> WellâŚsince you askedâŚ
It was a fabulous visit, and I simply canât wait to go back. :) Maybe there will be a SCBWI conference sometime there in the future??
Your âback above ground, for nowâ friend,
Elayne
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