Latest news with #Dr.Suess
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Woodburn: Oh brother(s), a couple book tales!
In honor of National Reading Month, which was designated in honor of Theodor Seuss Geisel, more famously known as Dr. Suess, who was born on March 2 in 1904, let me share a couple of personal book tales. The other day, in a major bookstore on a prime shelf and displayed front-facing like a bestseller, I spotted my debut novel 'The Butterfly Tree.' 'And what happened, then?' you might ask, reciting from a Dr. Suess book which continued: 'Well, in Whoville they say that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day' — similarly, I confess, did my head grow-grow-grow. Shortly thereafter, however, a sharp needle popped my overinflated ego when I came upon another book of mine — my memoir 'Wooden & Me' about my longtime friendship with Coach John Wooden — in a secondhand bookshop, in the rear of the labyrinth of stacks on a high shelf, only its spine visible sandwiched between two other orphaned books. Out of curiously I looked inside to see how much it was selling for and despite being 'signed by the author,' as noted in light pencil in the top right corner of the title page, it was marked at less than half the cover price new. Adding a bruise, the author — me — had personalized the inscription 'For Lorraine' and suddenly I did not like her even though I have no idea who she is. It was all a good reminder of this cautionary maxim from Coach Wooden: 'Talent is God given, be humble; fame is man-given, be thankful; conceit is self-given, be careful.' Frankly, the surest anecdote for conceit is to grow up with two older brothers, or so I believe from boyhood experience. If I had a great youth basketball game and bragged about how many points I scored, Jimmy and Doug, five and three years my elders, would see to it I did not score a single basket the next time we played hoops in the driveway. Similarly, when I won a tennis tournament and proudly put my first-ever trophy on display on the fireplace mantle in the family room, by day's end it had it magically moved into my bedroom. When I later repeated the transgression, my brothers put much bigger football trophies on either side of my suddenly puny-looking one. Lesson learned. A number of years ago, when I was writing sports for a newspaper in Torrance, the advertising department ran a billboard campaign with me juggling a variety of balls, two golf clubs, a tennis racket and hockey stick, with the proclamation: 'Columnist Woody Woodburn: He Writes. He Scores. South Bay's Best.' Because I was commuting from Ventura, no one in my family saw the billboards. Until, that is, the managing editor mailed me a framed photo of one. My wife and two kids were mildly upset I had not told them about the ads. 'You never asked me if I was on a billboard,' I joked in reply. In truth, the thought of coming home and announcing, 'Guess what? I'm on a couple of giant billboards!' never crossed my mind. Oh brother(s), no! That impulse was wrested from me at age ten. Had these billboards been in Ventura, Jim and Doug, to make sure my head in real life did not grow three sizes, would have been tempted to climb up in the dark of night and paint a mustache on me or change 'He Scores' to 'He Stinks!' And so, instead of being hurt by faceless Lorraine, I am just happy the signed book hadn't originally belonged to Jimmy or Doug. Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@ His books are available at This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Woodburn: Oh brother(s), a couple book tales!
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Centenary's Magale Fest: free, art, music, book swap and more
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS)—Centenary College's second 'Magale Fest' celebrates libraries as hubs of lifelong learning, featuring an all-genre book swap, live music, food trucks, sing-alongs, and much more. Magale Fest theme 'growing together' at Centenary College of Louisiana will be free and open to the community on March 29th from 1 to 3 p.m. It will feature interactive exhibits from the Walter B. Jacobs Wildlife Refuge with live animals, storytelling by Robert Trudeau, and offerings from the Shreve Memorial Library. Several community partners, along with academic departments and student groups from Centenary, will also be involved. Centenary details Hurley School of Music's instrument petting zoo, where visitors can try out a variety of musical instruments. The student-led readings corner will feature a variety of multicultural children's picture books and selections from Dr. Suess, Shell Silverstein, Ezra Jack Keats, Tommy dePaola, Laura Jorge Numeroff, and other well-known children's literature authors. Exclusive deals for 318 Restaurant Week According to Centenary College, Magale Fest food trucks include: Ragin Cajun, Roadrunner Foods, Boba Express, Heaven Repicci's Italian Ice, Down South Dawgs, and Pearlz BBQ! 'Walter B. Jacobs nature preserve will be on site, bringing at least one owl and who knows what else,' and throughout the day in Magale's front gallery, see DNA-inspired student art installation from the Biology program. Located at the Centenary College of Louisiana at 2911 Centenary Blvd, Shreveport. For more information and/or to participate, contact Magale Library Director, Patrick Morgan at 318.869.5171 or at pmorgan@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
