Whatever We Talk About, We Talk About Books

On days when the children fight with each other, talk back, and generally misbehave (that is, every day), it is nice to get a reminder that at least I'm doing something right - I'm raising readers.  In the last few days, these reminders have come frequently, as my daughters have been using books as their reference point - to describe themselves, events, toys, and relationships.

My five-year-old and I were discussing Mrs. Mind-Your-Own-Business, a character in the Riverside Kids books, and I pointed out how she sees the negative in everything.  My daughter responded, "Like Eeyore." and then went on to say, "I'm the opposite of Eeyore.  I see the funny in everything."  (This is true!)

A few days later, as she and I worked on a project together (or rather, I did the project - an addition chart, and she acted as my gofer), she said, "Whenever I do art projects with H [her older sister], I'm Tib.  She always makes me do things for her [just as Betsy and Tacy make Tib do things for them]."  True again!

Another evening my 8-year-old was placing a disproportionately large doll into a small dollhouse.  "She's Alice in Wonderland!," my daughter exclaimed, referring to when Alice grew and was similarly disproportionate to her surroundings.

I have written before about our love of the book My Side of the Car and how we use it as an inside joke.   Well, the other day it actually rained on only one side of a train I was in.  My girls were delighted when I came home to report this and knew, without my mentioning it, that it was a reference to a book.

And how could I forget the North-going Zax and the South-going Zax, included here, neither of whom will budge an inch to the east or west so the other can pass?  My kids love to assert that they are Zax when they meet head-on in our hallway!

What about you and your kids?  Do you frequently use literary frames of reference?

Novel(la)-Length Fairy and Folk Tales

Recently, we have read several books which I would consider novel- or novella-length fairy tales.  One was Happily Ever After, which I gave to my daughter for her birthday.  Two others were Grace Lin's Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Starry River of the Sky, both of which fall into this category doubly, as not only are they fairy tales themselves (the protagonists go on a (physical) journey only to find that what they are seeking is really back where they started) but within each book are modern retellings of traditional Chinese folktales.

And then I read The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech.  Of course I had heard of the author, had read her award-winning Walk Two Moons (which underwhelmed me) and her picture book A Fine, Fine School, but I had never heard of this book.  Is it just because it was published in between when I was the target audience and when I started reading children's books again (2007)? Have you heard of it?  Read it?

If not, you should.  Written by Ms. Creech and "illuminated" by David Diaz, this novel takes us into a kingdom with spoiled royals and good, honest peasants, who are all seeking something.  The illustrations, the typeface, the illuminated letters that begin each chapter help transport us to this magical, timeless place, an alternate-universe Italy (all the characters have Italian names) without cellphones or chamber pots, with a castle that creaks and groans and is trying to tell its inhabitants something (reminiscent of the castle in Tuesdays at the Castle and Wednesdays in the Tower by Jessica Day George).  During the course of the novel, both we and the characters learn about the power of words and stories (just as we do in Grace Lin's works) and that material possessions cannot bring happiness (although without a full belly it is hard to be completely happy). In a somewhat comedic, modern touch, the king's (and later, queen's) personal "hermits" act as the royals' therapists.

I loved traveling to the kingdom of Corona and I think your middle-grader (and you!) will love it too.

Birthday Books and Inscriptions for a Special 8-Year-Old Girl

The pile of birthday books

My firstborn turned 8 yesterday.  8!  Of course, among her presents were many books, which I inscribed, some with admittedly more inspiration than others, as follows.

The Secret Garden: Since you loved Heidi and Mandy, I thought you would love this classic too.  May you always find friends who help you bloom and special places where you can do so.  May you always appreciate the world around you.  It has been amazing - and fun - watching you bloom and grow so far and we are looking forward to enjoying more of it.

Happily Ever After: This book is by one of my favorite writers but she usually writes for adults.  May you, like the heroine of this book, always be the kind of girl who can rescue herself... but know that your family is always here to help you.

Dear Mother, Dear Daughter: Poems for Young People: I'm sure you will find one or more poems in here that you feel you could have written!  Remember, you can tell me anything.. by talking to me or writing a note... or even a poem!

Ballet Shoes: This was one of my favorite books when I was your age.  I hope you love it as much as I do.

Molly's Pilgrim: I know you love this book.  It is worth owning.

Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook: I thought this was perfect for a girl who loves reading, cooking, eating and being Jewish!  Which recipe should we try first?

What books do you like to give as gifts?

Library Loot #22, Part 1

I haven't posted in a little while for two reasons.  One, I haven't been inspired.  We haven't read anything that has really grabbed me.  But the other reason is that, for the first time since I had kids (nearly 8 years ago!), I have been really reading adult books again.  Not just now and then but constantly.  And I am really enjoying them. Although, I must confess, this pile does include a few YA books, two of which are about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which my daughter is researching for school.

So here's what I've been reading (or planning to read):

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James was thoroughly enjoyable.  I liked The Mothers by Jennifer Gilmore but predicted the plot point involving the protagonist's sister.

Not pictured: The Good House by Ann Leary, which was very, very good, and two books in addition to the one on the stack by Lucinda Rosenfeld, I'm So Happy for You: A Novel About Best Friends and Why She Went Home, the former of which was better than the latter, but neither of which I loved (out of all three, The Pretty One: A Novel About Sisters was my favorite, but I thought the plot twist at the end was a little ridiculous.

Have you read any of these?  What's on your "to read" list?

Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover

I was volunteering in my daughter's school library the other day and some other volunteers were (once again) weeding the fiction section and I joined in.  They were being merciless and, for the most part, rightfully so.  Anything that hadn't been circulating, that we hadn't heard of, that we thought was too hard, or that had a dated cover was going to be made available to the teachers for their classroom libraries and the rejects would be donated or recycled.  We wanted to make room both for new books and for shelf space to display what we have facing outward, to entice students.

Some of Johanna Hurwitz' books about Cricket Kaufman

I largely agreed with their decisions and their criteria.  Except for one: the dated covers.  On the one hand, great covers do draw readers in, particularly reluctant readers.  On the other hand, following this rule almost led to the disposal of Molly's Pilgrim (which I just wrote about here), Johanna Hurwitz's books about Cricket Kaufman and her classmates, and and the Anastasia books by Lois Lowry.  So I testified on their behalf and they were given amnesty and restored to the shelves!  Some of these books are out of print, so if we didn't keep them, there's no way to get new copies.

Johanna Hurwitz's books about the Sossi Family

While these books might not appeal to reluctant readers, what about enthusiastic readers?  My daughter loves Molly's Pilgrim and anything by Johanna Hurwitz, and when the time comes, I suspect she'll love Anastasia books too.  She knows to look for a book not just by title but by author and she has specific favorite authors.  When reading aloud to my girls I always name the author (and illustrator, if applicable).  In fact, they each went through a phase in which they would pretend to read and make up titles by authors they were familiar with, e.g. The Nice Flower by Kevin Henkes, or Popcorn by Beverly Cleary.  Sadly, very few students at the school library ask for a specific author.  Instead, they know the names of certain series, like the Wimpy Kid books, but most of them couldn't tell you who wrote them.

Would you have kept the books I put back on the shelves or not?

A Hairy Situation

Betsy, Tacy, and Tib's Lopsided Haircuts

The other morning, as I was cutting my daughter's hair to remove it from a comb she had tangled it in in a misguided attempt to curl her straight hair, I started thinking about children, real and fictional, and hair.  Almost every kid has cut her own hair, or cut a sibling's or a doll's hair, or had her hair cut by a sibling.  Not to mention the chewing-gum-in-the-hair-type incidents.

Ella and Her Hair

In the delightful, rhyming Ella Kazoo Will Not Brush Her Hair, Ella lets her hair reach extreme proportions before succumbing to a haircut.

Betsy, Tacy, and Tib, in the second book in the series go overboard when they cut their hair to put in lockets to remember each other by (in case they die) and end up with very lopsided 'dos (see photo above).

In Russell and Elisa, the children take their pretend game of haircut to a new level when they actually cut first Elisa's doll Airmail's hair and then Elisa's friend's hair.

Ramona and Her Crown of Burrs

And of course, in Ramona and Her Father, Ramona makes herself a crown out of burrs, which, predictably to us, but apparently surprisingly to Ramona, gets stuck in her hair, forcing her father to cut it.  This is the scene to which my mind immediately flashed as I dealt with my own daughter's hairtastrophe (yes, I just made that word up) that morning.

Can you think of other fictional characters who get themselves into such hairy situations or do you have a story about yourself or your own child's hairtastrpohe?

A 3-D Look At the Human Body

When I first started searching for a book about the human body for my 5-year-old, I looked online.  I came across one called Uncover the Human Body, which has a 3-D model inside.  But I couldn't tell from an online photo how useful such a book would be or how detailed the model was.  My fabulous local bookstore didn't have the book in stock but said they could order it for me and, since they carry it anyway, I wouldn't be obliged to purchase it.  It came in the other day and my husband convinced me it was worth the $18.95.  He was right!   The model is small but not tiny and is fascinating.  Photographs don't do it justice.  The only thing missing, which my daughter noticed immediately, is the reproductive system.  Nonetheless, it is another worthwhile book for any budding doctor.