In Defense of Junie B. Jones

Dear Junie B. Jones

I know there are parents who don't like you, Junie B. Parents who don't care for your grammar, your spelling, or your antics.

I am not one of those parents. Junie, Thank you for bringing me laughter. I'm talking about I can't read, I can't breathe laughter. I'm talking my daughter sternly telling me "stop laughing and READ the book!" laughter. I laugh harder when I remember by son telling me the same thing four years ago. As my husband sometimes points out, I'm kind of high strung, not to mention overly serious-- and this type of let it all hang out, uncontrolled laughter doesn't come frequently. It's such a wonderful, free feeling, and I thank you for allowing me to experience it with my kids.

Pitter Patter

What's making my heart swoon right now?

This:













I have loved the Oxford English Dictionary since I first laid eyes upon it in college. I was recently telling someone about the OED, someone who'd never heard of it (gasp!) and I got giddy talking about the word origins, the long list of definitions, and the examples of each usage from literature.

Today's mail brought a bookseller's catalog, and on the first inside page this condensed version of the OED. Honestly, my heart skipped a beat. It is being offered at a great price, albeit a price generally outside of my book buying budget. My birthday is long past.

I don't really need this, but, oh, my heart.

We love stories

I went to Sam's class in December to read a few Chanukah books. After I read to the kids, I gave out some chocolate gelt and some dreidels. I got a little excited talking to this group of kids; third grade really seems like an age when you can start engaging them in some higher order thinking. For most of these kids, Sam is the first Jewish person they've ever met. They've maybe, vaguely heard of Chanukah, and the idea that some people in the world don't celebrate Christmas is fairly foreign to them.

So after I read the books I shared a little bit about how old Judaism is. How Judaism has been around since before the Greek and Roman empires. Sam wrote the Hebrew characters from the dreidel on the board, so they'd know how to play. And then my mouth was going faster than my brain. I rhapsodized that human beings have always wanted to share stories. Before the first alphabet, we told stories orally, or drew our stories on cave walls. My Classics major self wanted in on the action, and I drew some ancient Greek letters on the board, getting them to guess which letters in our alphabet they matched. Sam and I told them what the first few letters of the Hebrew alphabet are, and hey, check that out, they sound just like the first two letters of ours (not to mention that Greek alphabet I'd just shown them). I was fairly exhilarated at this point, none of this was in my plan for the afternoon. I gushed a wee bit longer, about how I hoped that each of them would one day stumble upon the subject matter that just absolutely light their souls on fire.

To be human is to have a story, and to want to share that story with others. The stories we tell now are in homage to the original story tellers. I get giddy when I think of how we are linked to the people of long ago.

Because I believe that sharing stories is an essential part of being a homo sapiens, I'm always surprised to read articles in which the author claims not to understand blogging. Blogging gives people the chance to share their story. Stories are how we connect, and it is no surprise to me, that in an era where so many of us live far from our families or our childhood hometowns, that we would use new technology to help us tell our stories, and connect with others.

****

These posts, (Jen Lemen, Bipolarlawyercook, and another one from Bipolarlawyercook)
by two of my favorite blogging ladies, have been in the back of my mind for ages now, and I think, in some small way I've touched on the pieces of these posts that I really connected with.

Mo Knows Pigeon!

If you are a kid, have a kid, know a kid, or ever were a kid, you should know Mo Willems. Mo is the author of some of our favorite books: Knuffle Bunny, Leonardo the Terrible Monster, and our hands down favorite, the Pigeon Books. We fell in love with the Pigeon in Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, and we squeal whenever a new Pigeon book comes out (I may bust by the time he reveals the title of the one due out in April). My personal favorite is Don't Let the Pigeon Stay up Late.

Now, the only person who could possibly compete for our love of Mo and the Pigeon is our local children's librarian. Her name is Carrie, and we adore her. Carrie had a baby this year. Since Carrie loves Mo and the Pigeon as much as we do, we thought the perfect baby gift would include the Pigeon. Mo has an awesome tutorial for drawing the Pigeon, so Sam set about making a suitable drawing. I turned the drawing into an iron on for a onesie, and voila! Perfect Pigeon loving baby gift!





I made this one for the baby as well


Carrie loved them, especially the Pigeon one, and even sent us a photo of Isabel modeling it. I'm sure she's a big fan of the Pigeon already.

Best Gift I purchased for Myself this Chanukah

The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story by Lemony Snickett

It's just perfect. I can't explain it without reading it to you, and that's kind of impossible. If you see it in a bookstore, stop and read. It's only about 35 pages. It is just brilliant.

Days of Awe

The Jewish High Holy Days are also known as the Days of Awe. Last night as I read to Sam before bed, I thought it was also an apt description of those delicious moments of parenthood, when you just can't believe what you're witnessing in the growth of another human being.

Maya's learning to read. It's a mind blowing thing to see. She's so eager, and her face positively glows when she reads us a book that's at just the right level for her. The whole world is opening up--Mama, what does this spell? Mama, how do you spell that? So many questions. I love it. It's just magical when they go from not-reading to reading. I have so many doubts and worries as a parent, yet knowing that I'm raising two children who love to read goes a long way in soothing my worries.

A few weeks ago I saw this book at the library: Tour America: A Journey Through Poems and Art. I decided not to borrow it, as I already had my arms full of books. When we went to the library on Wednesday, I was thrilled that Sam chose it from the new book shelf. I was reading the poems to Sam last night; we were just having a great time looking at the wonderful illustrations, paintings, and collages which accompany the poetry. He was getting so tired, yet he really wanted me to keep reading. I turned out the light and we talked for a few minutes in the dark. He was so interested in the places the poems described, the art in the book, in figuring out what the poems meant.

These are my days of awe.

Seeds of inspiration

About a month ago, Susan at West Coast Crafty posted about a book that inspired her in childhood. I too had a set of Childcraft's How and Why Library, and like Susan, the Make and Do volume stole my heart. After Susan posted about it I looked on ebay for a copy, but abstained from purchasing because I couldn't find the Make and Do volume for sale on it's own in the edition that I had as a child. I didn't buy one in April, but knew I'd keep looking.

On Friday I had a few minutes before I needed to pick up the children from school. I went to the local Salvation Army thrift shop. I'm always envious of folks who seem to find the most amazing things when they go thrifting. I've never been so lucky, until last week. I slowly made my way around the store. When I got to the book corner I looked down into a box...which held the Childcraft How and Why Library! It wasn't the edition I had as a kid, but I didn't care. I eagerly snatched up the Make and Do volume. Reader, I paid 50 cents for it! I took it home and looked through it- despite being about ten years younger than the one I had as a kid it is exactly the same.

My heart stopped a second when I got to this page



I stared at this photo for hours as a kid. My mother was not crafty--oh how I yearned to sew this outfit for my dolls! When I told my mother and sister about my book find and my reaction to this page, they both said the same thing "now you can!" And I will ; )

When I was a little girl I always had my nose in a book. Make and Do was one I looked at for hours on end. Another was Betty Crocker's New Boys and Girls Cook Book. Just this afternoon I was reflecting on the impact that these two books had on my childhood and my life. I love cooking, baking, and crafting. And I love doing those things with my children. These two late 1960s books were hand-me-downs from my dad's cousin. I wonder if I would be a different person if these books were not given to me? Who knows. Right now I'm just enjoying my books, and loving sharing these books with my kids.

Book Swap

I got a wonderful package from Laura on Saturday. The book Laura chose for me was The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. I love what she wrote about the book in her note to me. She said that when she read this the first time she was awed by the women's relationships to each other and to their bodies. (I'm paraphrasing Laura, hope that is ok!)

I read this book when my first child was about 1.5. It was the first work of fiction I read since he was born. I was so thrilled to get lost in a book again, and I couldn't believe I'd gone so long without reading for pleasure.

I cannot wait to re-read this book! Although my kids are 7.5 and 5 now, I'm back in a bit of a non-fiction rut. I read so many parenting books it will be great to sit down and read The Red Tent. Thank you Laura!

Wendy hasn't gotten my package yet, so I will wait to share about my book choice until she gets it! I will say that I had several books in mind and had a terrible time finally deciding!

Charlotte's Web

I finally finished reading Charlotte's Web to my kids tonight. I had to hand the book to my 7yo to read the final paragraph. I was crying too hard. He sort of chuckled at me, but his 4.5 yo sister was asking "what happened, what's wrong" since I was crying.

I told her that I wasn't crying because someone hurt my feelings. I was crying because Wilbur loved Charlotte so much, she was his best friend, and he would always miss her. I was crying because it is sad, and I was about to tell her it was a joyful type of sad, because their friendship was a wonderful thing, when she exclaimed "Then don't read it!"

The Carnival of Children's Literature

Anne-Marie at Readable Feast is hosting A Carnival of Children's Literature. The theme is "what are you thankful for in children's literature."

• I'm thankful for the copy of Harriet the Spy my grandfather gave me in a small brown paper bag.
• I'm thankful for Mo Willems, the Pigeon, Knuffle Bunny, and the Bus Driver.
• I'm thankful for Olivia, Lily, and all of the other spunky little girls in picture books.
• I'm thankful for Charlotte's Web, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, A Wrinkle in Time, and Harry Potter.

Most of all though, I'm thankful that, no matter what parenting mistakes I've made, my children love to read and to be read to. They love books, they love the library, and sharing books with them makes my heart swell to bursting.