Where Children Sleep reflects their worlds

In discussing his photo essay, Where Children Sleep, photographer James Mollison says "I found myself thinking about my bedroom: how significant it was during my childhood, and how it reflected what I had and who I was. It occurred to me that a way to address some of the complex situations and social issues affecting children would be to look at the bedrooms of children in all kinds of different circumstances."

Mollison combined compelling portraits with bedroom photos and stark, matter-of-fact bios. The contrast is immense. This is serious social controversy that not only explores worldwide lifestyle divides but combines them with detailed graphics which are fascinating and haunting at the same time.

Preview portraits from the book. And, if it intrigues you, borrow the book from The Urbana Free Library and spend time exploring how differently children live around the world. Where Children Sleep is a book you won't forget.

Questions or need help placing your hold? Call us at Adult Services, 217-367-4405, or email.

Oh, Those Mommies!

Familiar with the local site ChambanaMoms?

Check out Babble.com's year-end list of "Top 50 Mommy Bloggers."

The compilation is divided into subcategories, including "most controversial," featuring women like FreeRangeKids' Lenore Skenazy (aka "America's Worst Mom") and Dooce.com's Heather Armstrong.

Pseudo-scientific trolling--er, polling--suggests that mommy blogs outnumber daddy blogs two to one. But "digital strategist" (i.e. bandwagoneer) Jessica Smith suggests that we'll see a shift in 2010, with more men posting:

As brands leverage social media more and more, the importance of not getting lost in the "noise" will be important if not totally necessary. While women tend to connect with each other emotionally and through story telling, men tend to be more direct and therefore provide instant gratification when providing their information.

(Uh, I think she's referring to the practice of corporations sending products to bloggers for potential review ... or whatever.)

If, like Seth Rogen, you could care less about children or their parents' multitudinous opinions, rest assured ... you are not alone.

Photo courtesy of rutlo.