Today, the Free For All celebrates the birthday of the Shakespeare of Russian Literature, would-be revolutionary, and all-round romantic, Alexander Pushkin! Pushkin was born on this day in Moscow, 1799. His parents were part of the extensive Russian nobility, but his great-grandfather was Abram Gannibal, a slave who had been brought to Russia from what … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Pushkin!
Today, the Free For All is positively gleeful to be celebrating the birthday of children’s author, cartoonist, and guy-who-has-all-the-jobs-I-ever-wanted, Mo Willems! Mo Willems was born today near Chicago, and began drawing when still a toddler. However, as he noted, even at the age of four, he was monumentally annoyed by grown-ups who pretended to appreciate … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Mo Willems!
So apparently the Library doesn’t have a “celebratory fireworks” line item in its budget, so we’ll have to make do with these as I announce, with enormous pride and delight, that it is the Free For All’s first birthday! That’s right, beloved patrons, today is the first anniversary of our first post. Since then, we’ve … Continue reading Happy Birthday to Us!
“It is time to effect a revolution in female manners…and make them, as a part of the human species…For man and woman, truth, if I understand the meaning of the word, must be the same… Women, I allow, may have different duties to fulfil; but they are human duties, and the principles that should regulate … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Mary Wollstonecraft!
Everyday is a party here at the Free For All, but today is one of those days where we pull out the extra-sparkly confetti and the really fancy party hats…because it’s the 100th birthday of beloved children’s author, librarian, and literacy advocate Beverly Cleary! Beverly Cleary was born Beverly Atlee Bunn in McMinnville, Oregon on this … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Beverly Cleary!
“The longer and more carefully we look at a funny story, the sadder it becomes.” So wrote Nikolai Gogol in his novel Dead Souls, and I can think of no fitter tribute to him that his own observation. Gogol, born on this day in 1809, is considered one of the pioneers of Russian letters, who … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Gogol!
Harry Houdini was born Erik Weisz on this day in 1874 in Budapest, then part of Austria-Hungary, to Rabbi Mayer Sámuel Weisz and Cecília Weisz (née Steiner). He was one of seven children, and in 1878, he, four of his brothers, and his pregnant mother sailed to the United States (the rest of the family would follow within … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Houdini!