Trendspotting: Snoopy has entered the zeitgeist

Did he ever leave, though?

Recently I had the thought “I should change careers and become a children’s book librarian” — an idea so out of left field I knew it had been planted there by an algorithm.

Maybe this is the reason I don’t find social media as stressful as a lot of people do: pictures from children’s books appear on my feed constantly; nostalgic scans of Strega Nona and Lowly Worm tucked between luxury vacations I’ll never be able to take and bitter debates about politics and side parts. As I considered whether I actually want to be a children’s librarian, I thought about the wildly popular Richard Scarry meme pages Instagram keeps insisting I’ll like. The vintage picture book account with 100k+ followers. I thought about the Miffy lamp in the impeccably stylish house we rented in London a few years ago. I thought about how 99% of my friends have a “Where the Wild Things Are” tattoo¹ and the ads I keep seeing for brand collaborations with children’s book characters (Rowing Blazers x Babar! Uniqlo x Snoopy!) I thought about how Taylor Sterling (former editor of The Glitter Guide) has pivoted to children’s literature (her Substack

MOONBOW

is so good). And last week I started reading the latest Emily Henry romcom and lo and behold, her main character is a children’s book librarian.

I am once again left wondering: do I actually like this? Or are my proverbial antennae picking up on the fact that (listens in on earpiece, nods) Snoopy has entered the zeitgeist?

I knew I was holding on to this 90s Snoopy toy for a reason.

Look, the answer here is probably yes, I do like these things. I obviously love books. I love reading to my daughter. Richard Scarry’s Busy Town breakfast has been ruining all other breakfasts for me since circa 1989.² I keep buying Illustoria magazine even though the person I think it’s intended for (my daughter) isn’t interested. The item of clothing I wear the most is probably this oversize sweatshirt from my local children’s bookstore.

But to consider a career change to the LIBRARY SCIENCES? I took a required library sciences class in college. I hated it. To entertain the idea of going back to school and taking more of those classes? On purpose? That is not an idea I would have had in a vacuum.

So, why picture books? Why now? Is it nostalgia? Are we seeking comfort as the world burns? Or is this — the need to do something with all of those picture books I’ve memorized; the innate desire to lead a story time — a rite of passage that happens to every parent after they’ve completed the “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” to “Judy Blume novel that mentions periods” spectrum of reading aloud to their kids?

One of our generation’s great thinkers

Kate Kennedy

wrote about our tendency to think that the trend we’re currently in the middle of will be timeless. Along those lines, every time I find myself tempted by the vintage kidlit trend (like buying a Babar suit or a $230 Snoopy hoodie or a masters degree in library sciences) I think about 1996-1997, when I was in middle school and Garfield, Tweety Bird, and Winnie the Pooh were the vibe for both hip tweens like myself and adults. The women buying these (ugly, I’m sorry!!) denim embroidered Winnie the Pooh dresses surely thought they were timeless (and maybe they were, considering how many I found on depop and tiktok during this Research³.)

top row: me, a hip tween, in Garfield couture (and converse knockoffs?) in 1996; bottom row: two modern women selling vintage 90s winnie the pooh denim for one hundred US dollars.

Anyway. If you see me wearing a $115 Miffy hat anytime soon, pretend you never read this 🫡⁴

1. i’m exaggerating, but what if this were true??

2. MY KINGDOM FOR THAT STACK OF PANCAKES

3. i trust you know that when i capitalized the word “research” i mean the 4 minutes I spent searching

4. it’s cheaper than going to library school.