Day 15 SoL Story Challenge: Teddy Bear Tea Party

First thing this morning, when L woke up, she shouted from her bedroom, "Mommy, today is the Teddy Bear Tea Party!" 

"Ugh." All I wanted to do was sleep. 

But I didn't. I got up and, realizing that I really didn't have much time, I began to rush. I raced through breakfast for L, fed the baby, jumped in the shower, fed myself, got L dressed, got Baby J dressed, car seats....and finally we were on our way, with me already exhausted and feeling a headache coming on.

"This is going to be the best day of my life!" L shouted to no one in particular.

As we walked into the greenhouse, we could smell flowers and plants and earth. Although it was freezing cold and grey outside, the sunlight was amplified by the greenhouse windows and we felt like we had stepped right into spring.

Little L hugged her teddy bear and her stuffed poodle tight as we made our way to the tables, all set up for kids. We found an empty seat and got settled.

The greenhouse at Gardeners Supply was decked out for a tea party, with tables covered in white linens, and each place set with a plate, a plastic teacup and stickers to decorate it, a string of beads, and a tiny plastic teddy bear.

"Mommy, look," L exclaimed as she climbed into her chair, "They brought animals too!" She pointed to the stuffed animals that the other children at her table had brought with them. Her eyes were glowing with excitement.

As L got down to the business of decorating her plastic teacup, I thought to myself, Someday when she's all grown up, she'll remember this as the time we went to the Teddy Bear Tea Party... I watched her carefully, trying to soak up this moment, trying to slow it down, so that I would remember it too.

Day 1 SoL Story Challenge: The Day the Baby Came Home

Baby J. was born at 11:11 pm on December 20, 2013. Hooray! 

Little L., who should maybe be called Big Sister L. from now on, tells a little slice of the story from her own point of view here:

The day Baby J. was born, we had a huge ice storm here in Vermont. Everything was covered in about an inch of ice; two or three inches in some places. (No kidding! It was crazy!) Because of the ice storm, we didn't ask anybody to come to visit in the hospital, but my husband drove home to visit Little L. and Grandma at our house the morning after the baby was born. That's why L. says "Daddy came home a few days."

The day I finally did come home from the hospital, I gave L. two gifts. One was a charm that said "Big Sister" to add to her charm bracelet. The other was a Fisher Price camera for kids that she absolutely loves. Someone had given us the idea of getting Big Sister gifts for L. to help ease the transition, and a camera seemed like a great way to make her feel like a big kid.

While L. was opening her camera, my husband and his parents were busy getting to know the baby, but L. didn't even notice all the attention the baby was getting because I was able to snuggle one-one with her and teach her how to take pictures all by herself. She immediately started taking pictures of everything, just like she said in her story: plants, her toys, the baby, everything and everybody. Within minutes she went from simply aiming the camera in a general direction, to setting up her photos with better light, and shifting the angle of her camera in interesting ways.

It turns out, that L. is quite a photographer! The camera has been one of those rare toys that she actually has played with often over time. Sometimes she'll stop in the middle of something she's doing and say, "Oh, wait. Gotta take a picture of THIS!"

And her baby brother is one of her favorite subjects.

All photos by Little L. from the day J. came home. There he is in his Santa hat!

This Is Just To Say: A Story Told Through A Poem by Indigo, the Dog

Each Tuesday my colleagues and I at the blog Two Writing Teachers host a Slice of Life Story event. Teachers, students, and writers from all over the world share a short, focused story from a small moment in their own lives. See more Slices by clicking here.

Little L. and I read this book over and over again.

She decorated this gingerbread house all by herself.

"Nobody is allowed to touch this. Not even you, mommy."

This is Just to Say
a poem by Indigo, the dog

I have eaten
the gumdrops
that were decorating
the gingerbread house

and which
you were probably
so proud of
having done it all by yourself

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so delicate

Guilty doggy!

Nerdlutions

In case you didn't know, there is this thing going on on twitter, where people are making New Year's Resolutions now. Friends and followers of the Nerdy Book Club are posting their #nerdlutions (everything to do with the Nerdy Book Club has the word nerd in it), and are cheering each other on.

I first noticed the #nerdlution hashtag as I was organizing clothes in our soon-to-be son's future nursery. First my friend Chris was in on it, then my friend Kristi made a graphic for it, then I saw more friends--Jen, Kate and Maggie, and more... Before I knew it, #nerdlution was all over my twitter feed. I couldn't look at twitter without seeing a host of friends and colleagues committing to all kinds of resolutions--running, yoga, reading, writing--all things that I would like to commit to as well.

However, my due date is December 21 (we're expecting a baby boy). I have a four year old daughter. The holiday season has just begun. I've been sick. I have all kinds of excuses.

Can I really make a #nerdlution and stick to it for FIFTY days?

Let's find out.

So here are my #nerdlutions, and nerdy they are!

1. Keep blogging even after the baby comes.
2. Read every night before bed.
3. Drink more water and get more sleep (I know these are boring, but necessary. I am constantly dehydrated and I'm suffering from pregnancy-induced insomnia. It's really bad.)
4. Do Lumosity every day. My brain needs a workout.

Here's to the new year! Happy #nerdlutions everybody!

The Nutcracker

Each Tuesday my colleagues and I at the blog Two Writing Teachers host a Slice of Life Story event. Teachers, students, and writers from all over the world share a short, focused story from a small moment in their own lives--a Slice of Life Story. See more Slices by clicking here.

When I was a little girl, my Grandma Beazie (my great-grandmother), used to take me to see The Nutcracker every year at our local theater, the Flynn Theater in Burlington, VT. We would walk down Church Street, where all the shops had their holiday window displays set up, stop for hot chocolate, and go see our show together. Some years, I would spend the night at her house afterward. If I close my eyes, I can still picture her living room with the pull out couch, with my playbill and souvenirs spread out on top of the blankets.

This Saturday, I'm taking Little L. to see The Nutcracker for her first time. She's only four years old, so I'm not sure if she'll last through the entire performance…we'll see. I have a feeling she'll love the dancing. Despite my own reservations about princesses and ballerinas, L. has been really into these two books lately:

How to be a Ballerina by Harriet Castor and illustrated Holley Clifton-Brown is filled with flaps and moveable, interactive parts that kids love to play with, and the illustrations are filled with tiny little details. It's the kind of book where you notice something new in the pictures every time you read it.  My First Ballet Class by Alyssa Satin Capucilli (author of Biscuit, My First Soccer Game and other faves) and illustrated by Leyah Jensen is a really a well written, step by step, how-to book. L. likes to act out the ballet steps along with the book because the directions are so clear and engaging.

I wanted to help L. understand the story, so she wouldn't be totally confused by the ballet, so two nights ago, we read a picture book version of The Nutcracker at bedtime. There are about a zillion different versions of The Nutcracker, I learned. This one is a very simple version, with just a few lines per page but still beautiful.

Little L.'s eyes were wide as we read the part about the Mouse King, with his seven heads. She clung to my arm tightly all through the battle scene, where the Nutcracker and the Soldiers fought bravely against the Mouse King and his army of mice, and she gasped when the Nutcracker fell.

"What's going to happen?" she asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, let's keep reading and find out." 

As we read the next part, where Maria (in this version, the main character is named Maria instead of Clara) takes off one of her slippers and tosses it at the Mouse King. He hisses and falls into a limp pile, destroyed by Maria's slipper. Little L. excitedly started to chatter. "She…she… she SAVED him!" L. shouted triumphantly.

"She sure did. She's brave," I said.  I read on, trying to emphasize how brave Maria is. For the rest of the book, I sort of glossed over the parts where she and the prince get engaged and then married and the typical, fairy-tale sort of ending that reinforces the expectation that women need to be married in order to be happy (my thoughts on princess-culture and fairytales can be saved for another post).

"What do you think, are you ready to see the dancers bring this story to life on a stage?" I asked L.

L. stared back at me blankly. "Huh? This is REAL?"

"It's a pretend story, but on Saturday we're going to the theater to see dancers act out all the parts of the story on a stage."

I could tell she was still confused.

So, tonight we watched a few scenes from the 1986 movie version of The Nutcracker, the one that Maurice Sendak helped to write and design.

To be perfectly honest, I found it a little creepy, but Little L. LOVED it. We only watched the first ten minutes of it, but she was on the edge of her seat the entire time. 

"Now, are you ready to go see the dancers in real life on Saturday?" I asked her.

"Can we go now?!" was her answer.

"Pretty soon, L. Pretty soon."

Sing Your Thanks: Songs and Verses for Thanksgiving

When visiting my daughter's preschool for their Thanksgiving celebration, I was inspired to round up some songs for the season. Enjoy!

Giving Thanks

First we give thanks for the food that we've been given (hold one hand like a bowl and the other like a spoon; pretend to eat)

Then we give thanks for the houses that we live in. (Put hands, fingertips together, over head to represent a house)

And we give thanks for the sun that shines above (Point with finger to sky and look up)

But mostly we give thanks for the people that we love. (Cross hands on chest and rock back and forth slightly as if you are giving/receiving a hug.)

* Sung to the tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider)

The Earth Is Good To Me

Oh, the earth is good to me,
And so I thank the Earth,
For giving me the things I need
Like the sun and the rain and the apple seed,
The Earth is good to me.

For every seed I sow,
Their grows another tree,
And soon there’ll be apples there
For everyone in the world to share
The Earth is good to me

Earth who gives to us this food
Sun that makes it ripe and good
Dear Earth, Dear Sun, by you we live
To you our loving thanks we give.

For the food before us,
For the friends beside us,
For the love that surrounds us,
We are truly grateful.

This food is a gift from the earth, the sun, the rain, the
whole universe
It comes to us through the hard work of many people
May we live in such a way as to be worthy of it
May it give us energy to do the work of love

From you I receive, to you I give
Together we share, and from this we live

Nature's Thanks

The eagle give thanks for the mountains

The fish give thanks for the sea.

We give thanks for the goodness

And for what we're about to receive.

(arms like wings, then become mountain peaks)

(hands together like swimming fish, then wave motion)

(arms raised in front like receiving something being passed down from a height)

(arms lowering, hands like they are holding something)

* spoken

Things I'm Thankful For

There are many things I am thankful for
I can find them near and far
There are many things I am thankful for
Let me tell you what they are

I'm thankful for the earth
I'm thankful for the sea
I'm thankful for my friends
And I'm thankful to be me.

There are many things I am thankful for
I can find them near and far
There are many things I am thankful for
Let me tell you what they are

I'm thankful for the sun
I'm thankful for each tree
I'm thankful for my home
And I'm thankful to be me

There are many things I am thankful for
I can find them near and far
There are many things I am thankful for
Let me tell you what they are

I'm thankful for my food
I'm thankful to be free
I'm thankful for the stars
And I'm thankful to be me
* Song by Hap Palmer, from the album Holiday Magic

Slice of Life Story Challenge

Little L.'s preschool class was sitting in a circle on the rug in the center of their cheerful classroom. A special candle had been placed at the center. Ms. C. introduced me, saying, "Everybody, this is L.'s mom, she's come to visit for L.'s birthday."

After some ooh's and ah's, and after a few kids called out, "I know her!" things settled down, and Ms. C. handed Little L. a small round globe. "L., will you hold on the to world, and walk carefully in a circle around the candle, the sun, while we sing the special birthday song?" Little L. stood up, holding the world in her hands and stood near the "sun" and waited.

To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell," the class sang.

The Earth goes round the sun,

The Earth goes round the sun,

The Earth goes round the sun,

The Earth goes round the sun.


While they sang. L. walked slowly, slowly, around the "sun," holding the Earth in her hands. I watched her, proud of how careful and sweet she was. (She would have NEVER followed directions so well at home.)

When the song came to a stop, Ms. C. said to the class, "Now L. is one year old. What was L. like when she was just one year old, mom?" That was my cue to share one of the photos I had been asked to bring. "Here she is!" I said,  "This is when we still lived in Brooklyn, before we lived in Vermont." The picture was very cute. She was such a cute baby, really. Some giggles from the kids... and then we sang again.

The Earth goes round the sun,
The Earth goes round the sun,

The Earth goes round the sun,

The Earth goes round the sun.

After a brief moment of thoughtful silence, Ms. C. said, "The Earth has gone all the way around the sun twice now. Now L. is two years old! Mom, can you tell us what L. was like when she was two?" I held up the photo of L. with the NewYork City skyline in the background. "This was the last summer we spent in Brooklyn, right before we moved here. L. was still just two when she started at your school last year. This picture was right before school started!" I thought to myself, I cannot believe it has already been a year since we moved. I can't believe how tiny she was when she first started school!

The Earth goes round the sun,
The Earth goes round the sun,

The Earth goes round the sun,

The Earth goes round the sun.

L.'s teacher now said, "The Earth has made the long trip all the way around the sun three whole times since L. was born. Now she is three years old. What was L. like when she was three?"

I paused for a moment. My little girl isn't three anymore. It was as if it were really sinking in.  Finally I said, "Well, in this photo, here she is learning to ski. Do you think we're still in New York City?"

"Nooo!" shouted the class.

"You are right!" I said brightly, shaking off a little bit of nostalgia. "When L. was three we lived in Vermont."

Phew. I made it through the tough part. No tears.

The Earth goes round the sun,
The Earth goes round the sun,

The Earth goes round the sun,

The Earth goes round the sun.

The children stopped singing, and L.'s teacher said, "Now the Earth has traveled all the way around the sun four times since L. was born. L. is four years old now! What a big kid! Mom, do you want to share anything about L. now that she is four?"

And then, what do you know? All of a sudden I was holding back, fighting tears! I couldn't believe my baby girl was already not just three, but four years old! I coughed, pretended like my throat was just dry. After an  uncomfortable pause I finally held up the fourth photo. It made me smile. My little girl in her dragon costume that she had chosen for Halloween. "Here she is!" I held it up and the kids gave me the reaction I knew I would get. "Wow! Cool! I love dragons! Is that her Halloween costume?" I smiled. "Yup, L. is four now and just the other day we tried on Halloween costumes. She tried on a fairy, a princess, and a dragon. And what do you think she chose?"

"Dragon!" the kiddos shouted. L. smiled a big huge smile, and hugged the Earth she was holding in her hands. "I love dragons," she chimed in.

The rest of the afternoon in Little L.'s classroom passed in a blur. I was still thinking about how quickly four years had gone by and how L. had grown from a tiny little thing--to this bold, strong little person. A kid who goes to school, and has her own friends, and is getting bigger and smarter and more and more herself everyday. And yes, a kid who chooses to be a dragon for Halloween.

Easter Egg Hunt=Grammar Lesson?

Baby L, Daddy B, and I went to our first Easter Egg Hunt this weekend at McCarren Park! It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and Baby L filled a shopping bag full of eggs. We put lots of them back for other kids to find, and still had a ton to take home.

Later that night, after Baby L went to bed, I emptied out all the eggs and cleaned them up so L could play with them in her play kitchen. As I popped open each egg and removed whatever candy or toys were inside it dawned on me that we could hide the eggs all over again in the house--why wait until Easter? What a fun game to play!

So that night I filled the eggs back up with stickers and hid them all over the house. Since L is only 1.5 years old, I hid them in plain sight. I didn't want her to lose interest after finding the first egg.

The next morning, Baby L found the first few "hidden" eggs immediately. It's easy to see why:









After she found the eggs on the stools, we started giving her clues to find the rest. "Look under the baby doll.... next to the wagon... on top of the coffee table..."

L totally understood that we were telling her generally where to look, but the prepositions-- under, over, in, on... those were tricky for her. We coached her with gestures, we pointed, we restated, we repeated and emphasized certain words. What great practice with grammar! said the teacher-voice inside my head. Oh just have fun...don't ruin it with grammar! said the non-teacher voice inside my head...as usual.

Either way, L loves our new game!

Note:
Teachers are constantly asking me for ideas for how to teach grammar. A really great resource for teachers of older children is The Power of Grammar, by Mary Ehrenworth and Vicki Vinton. You'll find lots of smart ways to teach grammar in a way that calls upon children's abilities to think creatively and meaningfully, rather than memorizing a bunch of grammar rules for a test, or filling out worksheets.

It's Time for Holi! Author Interview

Amita Roy Shah is the author of It’s Time for Holi! Amita is also a consultant for several educational publishing companies, a researcher studying South Asian American women who become teachers, and is the mother of one super-smart kid!

Luckily for me, she was willing to take time out of her hectic schedule to answer some questions about her new book:

Tiny Reader: It’s Time for Holi! is your first children’s book. What inspired you to write a book about Holi?

Amita: The idea of Holi came to me when I was designing a Pre-K curriculum and realized that many Pre-K themes have to do with colors, seasons, and multicultural celebrations. Holi is the Indian festival of colors! People celebrate spring by throwing colors on one another…so I thought to myself, what child wouldn’t want to celebrate spring by throwing colors on their family and friends?!?

Tiny Reader: What’s a common question that children have for you about Indian culture, and how do you address it?

Amita: It’s not really a question but I think children are sometimes confused about the term “Indian." And in the United States the term is used to talk about Native American Indians the most. I think this term causes a lot of confusion, so I always make it a point to say that Holi is a celebration that started in the country of India but is now celebrated everywhere. I think it is also important for children to say “India” out loud and I hope the images from my book will help them develop a better understanding of Indians who are from the country of India.

Tiny Reader: What is your writing process?

Amita: My writing process has always been to write down whatever I am thinking at the moment and develop the structure, format, and language later! This has definitely worked for me. The first couple drafts of this book don’t really have a rhyme or rhythm and are just some ideas about roses, butterflies, birds, colors, and spring. It is funny to look back and see it all now.

Tiny Reader: What do you hope children will learn from reading your book?

Amita: I hope that all children get more exposure to the Indian culture. Throughout the book you will notice subtle images of the culture--such as the jewelry, the dress, the wall hangings, the containers with the colored powders, names of characters, etc. I also hope that children get really excited about spring and celebrating Holi at school or at home. Holi is about getting messy with colors so children can really do any activity that allows for them to make a mess with colors. I am going to have my son make colorful handprints or footprints with paint and throw some colored confetti on us at home. He will also go to a couple Holi celebrations that are taking place in the bay area. The other thing I hope for is that it helps validate the experiences of Indian children living in the United States. I think it is really important for children to see people like them and their families in books.

Tiny Reader: What does your son think about all this?

Amita: This is a great question! So let me give you a little more background. I needed the illustrations to look as realistic as possible--so my illustrator referenced our online family albums to create the characters. The boy in the book looks exactly like my son! So my son is absolutely ecstatic when he sees the book. He says, “Look! It’s the Deven book!” every time he sees it!

Tiny Reader: You are a busy lady—a researcher, a consultant, a mom, a children’s book author. What other projects do you have going on right now?

Amita: I think I thrive on multiple projects, so it’s actually a good thing that I have a lot going on. But I am also fortunate enough to have a flexible schedule that allows for me to prioritize projects so that my son always comes first. So with that, I do what I can when I can. Many people have already expressed an interest in a Diwali book... and I do have some ideas for that, so that might be next! I am also talking to a university about teaching part-time. But again, it all depends on time and scheduling!

Tiny Reader: What are your plans for the book now that it is published?

Amita: I have created a Facebook page, “It’s Time for Holi,” to write about all the latest happenings. But just to give you a couple highlights, I plan to do read-alouds at schools or community centers to get the word out. I just did a reading for children at Teachers College and will be at the Indian Community Center (ICC) this week. In the future, I hope to make a more interactive website for children to play virtual Holi game so children can virtually throw colors and get points! I also want to host a coloring contest during Holi and have children color some of the pages from my book. Those are just some ideas in the works to get children more involved in Holi activities 

New Year's Reading Resolutions!

Happy New Year!

It's the time of year when we all think ahead to the coming year and make big plans and big promises for ourselves. We think back on what we were able to do (and not do) last year and we think about how things can be better in the year ahead.

I've been thinking a lot on how much Baby L has grown since last year and my head just spins! Last year she was just a tiny newborn. She'd sit in my lap and listen intently as I read book after book after book. Her fingers would "skritchy-skratch" across the pictures and she'd pull books into her mouth to suck on them. I remember how proud I was when around this time of year last year she started turning pages!

Now, one year later, Baby L has favorite books of her own. She picks them out of her stacks of books that we have all over the house and she "reads" them to herself, opening and closing them (not quite turning one page at a time on her own yet), pointing and talking. For the book Baby Talk she always says "Mama!" because she loves the page that says "Mama." For Jamberry she says "Boom boom!" because she loves the page that says "Moonberry, zoomberry, rockets shoot by!" As far as I'm concerned -- she's reading!!!!!

(Sidenote - Lately, she's actually been getting very upset when the Jamberry ends and always wants to read it again... and again... and again... sometimes grabbing the book in frustration because she wants to skip right to the good part with the "boom." What a passionate reader!)

This year Baby L and I have a few things we definitely plan to do as readers together. Here are our New Year's Reading Resolutions:

1) Go to the library every week (and maybe even return all of our books on time!).

2) Read a few books each night at bedtime, and every day at naptime.

3) Keep books all around the house, and bring books with us when we go on trips in the car or when we ride on the subway.

4) Make sure Baby L sees Mommy and Daddy reading.

What are your New Year's Reading Resolutions? Post a comment and share!

What We're Singing Right Now

Let it Snow!

Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

It doesn't show signs of stopping
And I've bought some corn for popping
The lights are turned way down low
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

When we finally kiss good night
How I'll hate going out in the storm!
But if you'll really hold me tight
All the way home I'll be warm

The fire is slowly dying
And, my dear, we're still goodbying
But as long as you love me so
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

What songs are you singing right now? Post a comment and let us know!

Where Is Baby's Pumpkin?

October is almost over--can you believe it?!

For Halloween this year, Baby L is going as the baby from her favorite author's book, Where Is Baby's Pumpkin?

The book:

The costume:

The pumpkin:

L. is participating in a family tradition of dressing as favorite characters, including the time I dressed as Harry Potter when I was teaching fifth grade, and when I dressed as Mrs. Wishy-Washy when I was teaching first grade, and the time I dressed in all orange, along with my whole fifth grade class so that we could all be the entire cast of Louis Sachar's Holes. There was one year when I dressed as the M, from MSV-- but that's another story (and only reading teachers will understand it!).

Are you dressing as a character from a book this Halloween? Post a comment and share your costume ideas!

Birthday Books!

It's hard to believe Baby L's first birthday is just a few days away! People always say ,"Seems like it was just yesterday..." but it REALLY seems like it was just yesterday that she was born.

As you can imagine, Baby L is definitely getting a couple books for her birthday. Daddy B and I are thinking of making it a tradition to get her some birthday books each year. We'll write a little note in each one so that as she gets older she'll have a birthday book collection. Here's this year's birthday book list:

Where's Baby's Pumpkin by Karen Katz

As you already know from previous posts, Karen Katz is L's favorite author, and has been since L was just a few weeks old! So it only makes sense that Where's Baby's Pumpkin is on our list. L already owns Where's Baby's Birthday Present, or that one would be on the list too! (Side note: L is going to dress up as the baby from WBP? for Halloween-- how cute is that!?)

Birthday Monsters by Sandra Boynton

Baby L also goes by the nickname L-Monster so it was perfect that we found Birthday Monsters for our own little monster!

The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli

Baby L and her nanny checked this book out at the library, and the more times we read it, the more L enjoys it. BUT... L really loves it because the baby in the book is wearing a party hat. She points to the pointy little hat and says "Doo doo..." (which is her "word" for "look, look" or "this...this...") Ever since L's neighborhood birthday party a few weeks ago, she had been obsessed with party hats. Funny, right? What a crazy thing to be obsessed with, but it's true. When she sees the party hat in the book, I say, "L, where are your party hats?" And she crawls over to her toy box and brings one back! (FYI: Where's Baby's Birthday Cake also has party hats).

Do you have some favorite birthday books? What are your birthday traditions? Post a comment and share!

Addendum:

Here are some of the other books Baby L got for her birthday:

On The Day You Were Born, by Debra Frasier, Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin, by Brooklyn Local Tad Hills, and My First Halloween Book published by my fave nonfiction publisher, DK.

Biscuit and the Baby

Okay, so I have had a crush on Biscuit for a long time now. Not only is he a cute little puppy, but he's also a character that first graders can follow across a nice easy series of books. As a teacher, the Biscuit books are my favorite series of books to help kids move on up into what we call the "watershed levels" of reading. If you're a little kid, and you're reading books at level F/G/H, there just aren't that many series books to choose from. Thank goodness for Biscuit!

Now I have a whole new reason to crush on Biscuit. Baby L. loves the Biscuit books! It's the repetition. Not only is there a pattern to the text (Not yet Biscuit! Silly puppy...), but I read the books over and over so often that L. lights up when she sees a Biscuit book now. Lily loves familiar books and songs. Whichever books I read the most-- those are her favorites.

The best part is that my dog, Indie, loves the Biscuit books too. Whenever I'm reading to Baby L., his ears perk up when I read "Woof! Woof!" He watches us reading Biscuit, with his head cocked to one side, wondering why I'm barking (especially since I tell him not to). Between Baby L. lighting up, and Indie's quizzical expressions, the whole scene is just adorable.

For Mother's Day, I'm hoping somebody gives me Biscuit Loves Mother's Day. The perfect combo for Baby L.: Biscuit the puppy, AND flaps to lift up, all in one book.

A Poem For Earth Day

Dear New York,

If it isn't too much trouble,

would you please

put your litter in the trash cans?

Also, it would be much appreciated

if you recycled a bit more.

And while you are thinking of it,

would you mind taking the subway

instead of driving?

Or at least carpooling?

It would also be nice

if you could bring

your own bags to the grocery store.

And could you please

bring a reusable mug to Starbucks?

And maybe, just maybe,

stop buying bottled water.

Sincerely,

The Earth

* Day 22 of the KidLitosphere Poem-A-Day Challenge for National Poetry Month.

Baby's Favorite Author

At the beginning of December I pulled out all my favorite wintry-themed books, like any good teacher would. I stacked up The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg, and of course several Jan Brett texts including The Mitten, The Hat, and Gingerbread Baby. I chose books for their gorgeous art, and rich literary language – and of course their ability to set the mood for the holidays. Of all the book in our house, Baby L.'s favorite was... drum roll please….a simple board book called Where Is Baby’s Christmas Present? by Karen Katz that we had received as an unmarked present in the mail – something must have gone wrong when somebody ordered us a gift online. Either that, or it was a present from Santa.

L. loved looking at the pictures in all her books, but with this particular book she would squeal with delight after we read each page – which of course delighted us too!

Over the next several weeks, Brinton and I read Where Is Baby’s Christmas Present? about a thousand times. When we took Baby L. to Vermont to visit her grandparents and aunts and uncles, they all heard W.I.B.C.P? a few thousand times as well.

By the time New Year’s came around, it was time for a new book. So, when I was at the bookstore, I stocked up on Karen Katz books, figuring if L. liked W.I.B.C.P, then she would love Where’s Baby’s Birthday Cake? and Counting Kisses, and Mommy Hugs.

Sure enough. All these books were a hit. Baby’s first favorite author.

Thanks Karen Katz, wherever you are! (And thanks Santa for introducing us to her!)