Laurel Graeber

Contributing Writer and Editor at The New York Times

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Articles

2025 New York International Children's Film Festival

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Laurel Graeber

A teenager rescues and defends an infant creature whose species the surrounding adults have condemned as vicious and predatory. Another adolescent battles injury and other hurdles in a quest for basketball stardom. A small child in Mexico contracts polio but finds solace in the world of art. And an 11-year-old Kurdish immigrant arrives in Berlin, ultimately relying on soccer talent to feel at home again.
La casa de Ana Frank llega a Nueva York

Jan 23, 2025 | nytimes.com | Laurel Graeber

Los niños parecen los típicos alumnos de un jardín de infancia: algunos sonríen a la cámara; otros miran tímidamente a un lado; otros parecen ensimismados. Una niña delgada y de cabello oscuro con un vestido claro luce precozmente seria.
Bringing Anne Frank's Secret Annex to New York, and the World

Jan 22, 2025 | nytimes.com | Laurel Graeber

The children seem like typical kindergartners: Some beam at the camera; some glance coyly aside; others appear lost in reverie. One slim, dark-haired girl in a pale dress looks precociously serious.
'Carl the Collector' Puts an Autistic Child (Well, Raccoon) in the Lead

Nov 22, 2024 | nytimes.com | Laurel Graeber

Carl isn't unlike many small children you may know. He balks when his mother suggests he get rid of some of his many stuffed animals. If his friends want to play a game that isn't his favorite, he feels frustrated. And when he realizes he has left one of his prized toy collections away from home, he needs help falling asleep. But Carl also differs from most of his peers, and not just because he is a fuzzy little raccoon.
Cooper Hewitt's Triennial Explores the Idea of Home

Oct 22, 2024 | nytimes.com | Laurel Graeber |Jeenah Moon

This article is part of the Fine Arts & Exhibits special section on the art world stretching boundaries with new artists, new audiences and new technology.
Elephants Arrive, So Humans Don't Forget

Sep 6, 2024 | nytimes.com | Laurel Graeber

More than a century ago, New York City's Meatpacking District teemed with large animals, most of them bound for a bloody end. Now, herds of huge creatures are once again gathered on this downtown Manhattan neighborhood's cobblestone streets, but these are taking part in a new and joyful journey.
┬íV├ímonos! Dora Is Back for a New Round of Exploring

Apr 9, 2024 | nytimes.com | Laurel Graeber

Boots, Map, Swiper and Backpack all return too, in a new "Dora" that includes a lot more Latin music and Spanish language. Barbie isn't the only childhood heroine experiencing a renaissance. Yet unlike the doll of last year's blockbuster movie, the next pop-culture star who's about to re-emerge isn't a statuesque blonde in stiletto heels. She's a pint-size Latina with sturdy sneakers and a trusty backpack. Welcome back, Dora.
Paper Bag Players Celebrate 65 Years of Making Magic Out of the Ordinary

Mar 6, 2024 | nytimes.com | Laurel Graeber

The children's theater company will bring its latest production, "It's a Marvelous Paper Bag World!," to stages in New York this spring. What fun can you have with plain brown grocery sacks and empty cardboard cartons? Preschoolers know how to derive joy from these objects (as does any curious cat). But perhaps the best way to appreciate their magical potential is to watch the Paper Bag Players, a New York City children's theater company that thrives on turning the ordinary into the unexpected.
Children's Film Festival Has Robots, Chickens, Authors and More

Feb 28, 2024 | nytimes.com | Laurel Graeber

A range of films, many of them animated, some hilarious, some serious, bubble up at this year's festival in New York, where kids can vote for awards. One of the cinematic highlights of the 2024 New York International Children's Film Festival could be described, at least partly, as a wild-goose chase. Or, more precisely, a domestic-hen chase. That animated feature, " Chicken for Linda!," follows a guilt-stricken single mother trying to buy the main ingredient of her daughter's favorite dish.
LeVar Burton’s New ‘Sound Detectives’ Podcast Urges Children to Listen

Nov 2, 2023 | nytimes.com | Laurel Graeber

LeVar Burton has spent much of his career encouraging children to read. Now he is urging them to listen — really listen. They can develop that skill, along with an ear for mysteries, in “Sound Detectives,” a new podcast for audiences of elementary-school age that is part whodunit, part science exploration and part comic adventure.