In journalism, the phrase “bury the lead” captures the idea that you’ve inadvertently underplayed your most important story. I don’t want to do that here, so let me jump right in and recommend Tali Rosenblatt-Cohen’s interview with Paul Tough, the author of a new book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, And The Hidden Power Of Character. A distinguished journalist and a New York City parent (my two favorite qualities in a person), Tough has reported on the day-to-day realities and larger policy debates in education as closely as anyone. His new book explores some powerful ideas about the nature of success in school and in life—and what a parent’s got to do with it. Or at least those are the things we focused on in Tali’s wonderful interview, which ranges from the character-building dividends of chess to the need to give older kids the room to fail. (Not on my watch! Just kidding.)
August is typically one of our smallest issues of the year (before we roar back in September!) but it’s also one of my favorites. I love its mix of back-to-school stories with a little heft (like our interview with Tough), alongside lighter stories meant to squeeze every last bit of fun out of summer, like the two delicious stories on food trucks and grilling.
This issue is also sweetened by our cover interview with Mia and Jason Bauer, who one day opened a mom-and-pop cupcake shop on the Upper West Side called CRUMBS and, not too long after, transformed it into the retail juggernaut we know and love. I have a predisposition to liking anyone who puts cream cheese on or in anything (as the queen and king of cupcakes do in their cupcakes), but the Bauers’ smarts and affability would have won me over anyway—as it will you.
Having grown up a block from the beach in Brighton, come summer I always feel an outsized yearning to get back to my breeding ground—or at least to be close to a large body of water as often as I can. And I’m not even that much of a swimmer—I just love the mix of sand, water, and sun, especially in the late afternoon. Even when I’m working, I like to think of the month of August as one big, long, late afternoon, and hopefully this issue will add some joy and inspiration to yours.
Happy August,
Eric Messinger
Editor, New York Family
