I went to the bookstore, as I always do, looking to see what shiny new cover might catch my eye. It turns out the one book I couldn’t manage to leave on its shelf was illustrator Maira Kalman’s sketchbook-memoir, The Principles of Uncertainty. The only reason I’ve managed to not to buy it before now is that I hadn’t come face to face with it. I admit I rolled my eyes a little when I first heard of its existence. Then, last fall, I watched the video of her NYPL appearance and suspected I’d have to have it. Partly because I could tell, just seeing her with it, that it was somehow the perfect size and heft for a book to be. (Though the cover price kept me from seeking it out.) But as soon as I pulled it from the shelf and saw the bright green United Pickle ticket on the back cover, the “index” on the flaps, I was a goner. I think it’s time for me to accept that any “mixed feelings” I have about her are actually just garden-variety jealousy. She got a lot of grief, early on, for riding her husband‘s coattails, but wouldn’t you, given that chance? And it’s not as if she’s talentless. I don’t know what it is exactly about her work but it’s charming. It just is. I keep a short shelf of kids’ books in my living room for small visitors and they’re pretty much all Maira Kalman’s. I always relish a chance to pull them out and read them to someone, and I’m not sure why I don’t just keep them on the coffee table and flip through them whenever I want. That’s certainly where you’ll find this one if you ever drop by.