4 days… 3 days… 2 days until launch… crossing the Rubi-Con.

Sometimes, no matter how much you want to, you can’t unsee what you’ve seen. No matter how much you drink, or how much bleach you pour into your brain. Pick you cliche of choice: unring a bell or put the genie back in the bottle.

Whatever your cliche of choice – it all boils down to we have a book, and we let it out in public. And it’s a real thing now…

Saturday, Kevin and I invited the whole world to come to AnachroCon’s hotel lobby and listen to our little story. That was scary – MOSTLY because the grownups outnumbered the kids 15 to 1 (-ish).

The Junior Aeronaughts (better known as my fellow Airship Brownies) turned up to help me welcome the crowd – we did our Jr.A. song to warm up the crowd. The song goes, “Hat, goggles, vest and boots, vest and boots. Hat, goggles, vest and boots, vest and boots. Flying  Junior Aeronaughts are WE. Hat, goggles, vest and boots, vest and boots. ” I’m sure you know the melody.

I started the reading – and as it rolled along, more folks came over to hear the tale. I was pleased that no one ran off screaming. Kevin stayed off to the side, taking it all in. He said something about watching the reading making it all become more real.

And he was right. We’ve crossed the Rubicon – at AnachroCon. The Explorer’s first con. I think it went well.

Wombat's photo of Emilie P. Bush at Anachrocon 2012

11 days to launch – The books of my childhood AND YOURS!

Yesterday, in the day 12 countdown post, I commented about how I loved looking for The Gold Bug in Richard Scarry books. That got me to thinking about a questions I was asked this week in an interview:

What would you have loved about Her Majesty’s Explorer:  a Steampunk bedtime story if it had been given to you as a child?

Here’s what I said:

My first blush answer to this question was a glib, “My parents reading it to me.” That’s what kids love – their parent’s Big. Fat. Quantity time. But it’s more true than that. Kids love to have a part of what their parents do. I see a lot of people at conventions who HAVE kids, but leave them at home for any number of reasons (sometimes mommies need to get away, wear a corset and get their drink on, ya know? No mommy wants their kid to see THAT.) Like I said, there are some aspects of Steampunk that very small kids just won’t understand. BUT, there is a theory of development out there that says it is VITAL for kids to go play in their parents closets in order to become adults. They need to dress up in the hats and scarves, and in our case, goggles and boots, in order to LEARN to become adults. They play at being like their parents. That being said – I think the parents get as much out of sharing a Steampunk picture book with their kids as the children do. I’ve gotten several comments from reviewers who have said they shared it with a child (ones of their own, a niece / nephew, or the kids of friends) and were thrilled to finally be able to share this aspect of their lives in a way that the child could understand and get excited about. The kids REALLY feel that joy of connection coming from the grown up, and that makes them want to do more. My daughter wants to dress up as an airship pirate, because *I* dig the scene. She bops with Captain Robert and Abney Park because I play it on my laptop. Now, she has her OWN book – and it connects her to mommy.

I have a feeling that this story will be what some adult Steampunks show their own parents to show the gentle side of the movement… or to their “other” friends…. or their co-workers.  (The WHOLE interview will be on M.K. Hobson’s blog on the 28th – and I will get a link up about that in time, but let me plug her right-here-right-now! Read her novel The Native Star. It is one of the BEST Steampunk books I’ve ever read – a very American tale as well. Go on; I’ll wait…)

This Q&A got me thinking about my favorite children’s books:

• Like I said, anything by Richard Scarry
• Who’s Mouse Are You? (Wacky / creepy book in shades of orange)
• How High is UP? (A quite book in shades of blue – but some of my FAVORITE images – ever)
• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
• All the Dr. Seuss EXCEPT Cat in the Hat
• The Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
• The Snowman by Raymond Briggs (It has no words – only pictures!)

Alternatively, books I hated, and still do:

• The Bernstein Bears (It’ s the primer for gender roles)
• The Cat in the Hat
• Curious George (He always get’s rewarded for doing the wrong thing.)

I’m glad my list of likes is twice the length of hates. So, what’s on your list?