Children and Books

As I mentioned many posts back, I’ve had some stomach issues recently, and am currently on a doctor-ordered regimen of medication and ultra-bland diet.  I’ve had to give up coffee, tea, orange juice, tomatoes, soda, anything else acidic, rich food, spicy food, beer, raw fruit, and anything difficult to digest (this even includes whole wheat bread).  For the last several weeks, I’ve been enjoying lots and lots of tap water, rice, cooked broccoli, white bread, yogurt, and bland meat.

But after all these weeks of my boring and less-than-flavorful diet, I’m only missing a single food.  There’s only one thing that I find myself craving beyond all sense and reason:  chocolate.  It’s not like I normally eat that much chocolate, either; when all’s right with my stomach I allow myself three small pieces of dark chocolate a day - at most.  There are many days that I don’t go anywhere near chocolate.  But these days the chocolate cravings kick in frequently and without remorse.

Watching the Vikings-Saints game this evening, I suddenly NEEDED chocolate.  I tried to assuage that need with a bit of homemade banana bread, but no go.  The little chocolate monster inside of me kept calling…and calling…and calling.  I took a couple of swigs of water, but the chocolate monster still called.  “Chocolate…chocolate…chocolate…give me chocolate…I won’t let you rest until you give me chocolate…”

What is it about chocolate, anyway?  Why does it hold such power?  Why is it so darn good???  How can a little piece of chocolate make life feel so much better? 

Maybe chocolate is the secret to world peace.

Though I haven’t written much about books lately, I have been reading a lot.  Here are the books I’ve read most recently, with a star rating for each (if I get really inspired I might write reviews of a few of these in the coming days):

Where The Mountain Meets The Moon by Grace Lin - 5 VERY enthusiastic stars

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead - 4 1/2  stars

Erak’s Ransom by John Flanagan - 4 stars

The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo - 4 stars

The Word Snoop by Ursula Dubosarsky - 2 stars

Saffy’s Angel by Hilary McKay - 3 stars

And I’m currently reading:  The Lost Years of Merlin by T.A. Barron.  Still haven’t managed to crack open either of those pieces of adult fiction that I bought with Jim’s birthday gift certificate.  Hmmmm.  What does that say about me?

I haven’t been able to figure out two things this winter:  why the birds aren’t using the birdfeeder that they loved the most last winter, and why I found blood smeared all over another birdfeeder two weeks ago.

The birdfeeder that the birds loved last year, and the year before, and the year before that, is hung from an iron bracket that is screwed into one of the cornerboards of our house.  This feeder is in a very sheltered spot above our tiny four foot by five foot deck.  The deck is bordered on two sides by house walls - one wall is the kitchen sliding glass door (great for the cats to view the birdfeeding action), and the other wall is the non-windowed living room wall.  Not only have the birds loved this feeder, but the squirrels have loved to climb down the roof above, hang from the gutter, and jump onto the feeder.  And the feeder is sheltered by trees, too; there is a lovely old large apple tree just a few feet away that makes for a nice staging area for birds to wait their turn.  And there is also a large maple tree just three feet away from the deck’s edge which also provides cover.  A second feeder, also usually quite popular, hangs from a shepherd’s crook post stuck in the ground just by the maple tree’s trunk.

But this year both feeders have seen very little action.  I thought perhaps it was because I first mixed safflower seeds and black oil sunflower seeds, but we’re back to just black oil sunflower seeds, and still not much activity.  Maybe it was because we bought a new feeder for the spot over the deck?  Same style as the old one, but new?  Maybe it smells like people and thus repels the birds?  I haven’t lost a lot of sleep over this mystery, but I have been wondering.

And then today I was talking on the phone to my dad while standing in the kitchen and watching the birds at the feeders; today there were actually quite a few birds enjoying a post-snowstorm meal.  A peaceful, lovely scene: fresh snow, lots of pretty little songbirds eating, and even a couple of squirrels chowing down.  Then - Zoom!  Whish!  Bam!  - a Cooper’s Hawk brazenly flew in just inches from our sliding glass door and tried to pick off a goldfinch that was at the feeder over the deck.  I think the goldfinch escaped, and the other birds and the squirrels dissipated in panic.  The Cooper’s Hawk settled down on a branch of the maple tree, looking hungry and smug, until I scared it away by going up to the sliding glass door; it flew across our neighbor’s yard and settled into a large tree with a commanding view of our feeders.

Mystery solved.  If I were a bird, I wouldn’t eat at our feeders, either.  And now I think I have a pretty good idea of where all that blood came from on the one feeder.  Yikes.  A bit gruesome, but I have to admit that it was pretty spectacular to see that hawk in action.

I’d love to hear if anyone has any good ideas of how to feed the songbirds while repelling the hawk from the area of the feeders.  Or perhaps we’ll have to just give up and stop putting seed into those feeders…

It’s time I went public with this:  I totally do NOT “get” Facebook.  In fact, despite having giving Facebook plenty of chances, I find it to be the most boring, tedious, horrendous time waster that I’ve ever encountered.

(Right about here I duck under a table to avoid the flying objects -virtual flying objects, of course - hurled by all of you who love Facebook.)

I joined Facebook a few months back because of the library.  The library has a Facebook page to announce teen events, so I figured it would behoove me to at least put in an appearance as a “fan” of the library.  And I’ve become a fan of my favorite tea company, my favorite online clothing store, and Mother Goose on the Loose.  I’ve even gained a few friends - a very few friends.  And most recently, I’ve joined the alumni group for my college class, since there is a class reunion coming up this spring.   But I’m still bored.

Here’s what I dislike about Facebook (prepare to be pissed off, you Facebook lovers): 

It minimizes human contact, so that people are communicating via little badly written blurbs and comments.  I like talking to people, face-to-face and on the phone.  I don’t like trying to sound clever and cute in a one sentence update on my life.

It brings people back into your life who have long since moved on, and who have moved on for good reason.  Many friendships have a shelf life, and once the friendship has expired, it’s in everyone’s best interest to let things go.  I probably don’t have much in common now with the friends I had in my late twenties.  But I have new friends now with whom I share quite a bit.

It encourages a highschool popularity mentality, even when you’re resisting that trap.  I’m way past highschool, and would like to think that I’m mature, but when I see that both of my siblings have over a hundred friends each, and I only have five friends, I start to feel my ego shrink and my posture change and I feel again like the braces-ridden runty highschool freshman that I once was.  No thanks.  I don’t need that.

It’s an absolute time suck.  If I were to become a Facebook junkie, I would lose valuable time that I could spend reading, creating, socializing, blogging (yes, I know, I need to be more consistent with that), or taking an afternoon nap on a weekend.  Or cooking or cleaning or volunteering or planting a garden or getting in shape.

But I don’t want anyone to think that I’m a techno-dud.  I have a favorite Facebook alternative:  Goodreads.  Goodreads allows me to see what some of my favorite authors are reading (Gabrielle Zevin, Neil Gaiman), and what those authors think of the books they’ve just read.  Gabrielle Zevin gave 5 stars to that book, and says it’s the best thing she’s read in years?  I think I’ll go find a copy and read it, too.  Goodreads also keeps me in touch with my friends who are voracious readers, and I can read their ratings and reviews on books they’ve read.  Peggy slammed that book, giving it only 2 stars?  I trust Peggy’s judgement, so I think I’ll skip reading that book.  And, Goodreads keeps me accountable for what I read.  I find that I forgo television or watching a DVD more often now so that I can settle down and read a book and then post my review on Goodreads.  I don’t want to look like a literary slacker, after all.  And guess what?  I have more friends on Goodreads that I do on Facebook.

So now I’ve got two questions: How long can something as inane as Facebook survive?  And how many of you are mad at me right now?

You read it here first - it’s official:  T.A. Barron will be visiting the library in which I work in April!!

T.A. Barron is the author of children’s and young adult books, including The Lost Years of Merlin epic and The Great Tree of Avalon trilogy.  He also lived in the town in which I work up through the fifth grade, before moving to Colorado, which will make his visit to the library that much more exciting!  Mr. Barron will be talking about the influence that the town had upon him as a writer, so the program should be particularly fascinating for all town residents.  If you live in town, keep an eye out for the date and time of the program, which will be posted very soon in the children’s room.

So, after my lengthy blog silence, you might expect that I’d write my first post of the new year about something very intelligent - very profound - very deep.  You’d be wrong.

Our toilet seat died on Saturday.  It was the cheapest possible white plastic seat, so we weren’t at all surprised when it broke (but I do feel bad that it decided to break for a visitor at our house…).  Jim and I went to KMart on Sunday to find a replacement, and for some reason we didn’t choose a white plastic seat.  Oh no.  We both got totally enamored of a clear plastic resin seat with shells and dolphins embedded in the resin.  “Should we???” asked Jim.  “What the heck!!” I replied, “Let’s do it!!  Hee hee hee.”

And we did.  It is the most hideous abomination of a toilet seat that I’ve ever seen (”Never seen ANYTHING like it,” said Jim), but it does make me giggle every time I use the bathroom.  Which is actually a very good way to begin a new year, in my opinion.

Drumroll, please - here are photos of this awesomely awful new throne (click on photos to enlarge):

We had such a good time reading Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen in yesterday’s preschool storytime.  There was a small crowd (no doubt due to parental Christmas shopping and frigid weather), but the four children - two sets of siblings - who attended absolutely loved the story.  The youngest of the four did ask a lot of “Why?” questions:  “Why did the lion leave the library?”  “Why doesn’t Mr. McBee like the lion?”  “Why did Mr. McBee go find the lion?”, but we were able to answer the why questions and keep the story moving.

Another highlight of yesterday’s storytime was the appearance of the owl puppet to assist with the telling of Wow!  Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood.  Though the story doesn’t really lend itself to telling with a puppet, it gave me an opportunity to use my favorite puppet.  Owl, who once had a name but I’ve forgotten it, blinks his eyes and turns his head and is so realistic that I have actually fooled kids into thinking there’s a real owl in the library.  Owl also serves as my familiar when I dress up as a witch for Halloween.

Most of all, though, yesterday’s storytime was great because it was small and I could interact with each child in a meaningful way, answering their questions about the stories and even introducing the two sets of siblings to each other.  It was a lovely last storytime of 2009 - no storytimes for the next two weeks! - and we all left the story room happy.

Ok, so I’m not Oprah.  But here are some of my favorite things, things that make me happy:

M.T.W. Formosa Keemun Tea ~ It’s my favorite of the Mark T. Wendell teas, though running close behind are their Indonesian, Russian Caravan, Darjeeling, and Cheericup Ceylon.  Try it, you’ll like it!

Sweaters from Garnet Hill ~ I love love love Garnet Hill sweaters.  Yes, they’re pricey, but keep an eye on their Sale of the Day for some great deals.  And you’ll have the sweater forever.

Edward Gorey wall calendar ~ Jim and I have a tradition of buying these, beginning with the one we bought on our honeymoon.  We have yet to find one for 2010, though…

The Cat Empire ~ My favorite band.  They’re wicked talented and innovative in the way they mix and match musical styles, and they just plain make me happy.  If you haven’t heard of them, you really need to listen to a song or two.  And then buy their albums.

Fa liquid shower soap ~ Mieke introduced me to Fa back when we were in college, and I was psyched to find Fa products at my local independent drugstore.  My favorite is Energizing Kiwi Mix. 

Nashoba Brook Bakery ~ They made our wedding cake, which was awesome, but more importantly they make my favorite breads.  I love the Raisin bread for breakfast, the Sourdough bread in a sandwich, and the Olive bread as a special treat.

And that’s my top six list.  What’s yours?

It’s my day off , and I thought I’d get all inspired and do all sorts of cool things today.  But when I woke up this morning I was very grumpy and very blue…both of which, I realized, are tied to the upcoming holiday.  I’m not quite sure when Christmas turned into a holiday that depresses me, since it used to be my favorite time of year, but it’s happened.  Maybe it’s due to lack of money to spend on gifts, maybe to my siblings living so very far away that we won’t see each other at the holiday, or maybe it’s because other women my age are busy making Christmas fun for their kids, an accoutrement that I don’t have.  Whatever the cause, if these holiday blues continue past today, it’s not going to be much of a Christmas.

And then, just as I write these words, my little psychic kitty Ophy has jumped into my lap and is purring and kneading my left arm with great enthusiasm and love.  (My sister insists that only dogs care about you when you’re sick or down, but I’d like to present Ophy as Exhibit A in the case for caring cats.)  So maybe life ain’t that dreadful, after all.

Anyone who knows my family knows that we have an odd affinity with puppets, and anyone who knows that wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to learn that I accumulated dozens of Folkmanis puppets in my tenure as manager of the Toy Shop.  (I even got to meet one of the Folkmanis puppet designers one day when he came to shop in the store, and I got all googily-eyed and star-struck and almost got up the guts to ask him to sign a couple of puppets for me.  Almost.  I still regret not asking him.)

But there’s a distance to travel from loving puppets to successfully integrating puppets into storytimes.  I’ve been working hard at using puppets in my storytimes, and have learned that I have to forget that I’m a self-conscious semi-middle-aged woman who has her hand up the hiney of a stuffed animal* in front of a crowd of adults and children.  The magic is hopelessly lost the minute I start thinking, “Geez, these parents must think I’m some kind of whacko.”  Conversely, the magic is created when I kick aside my pride and have fun with the puppet.  I’ve even seen some adults get sucked into the moment, giggling along with their kids when the monkey puppets clap enthusiastically for the crowd at the conclusion of “Two Little Monkeys” in the infant storytime.  And I’ve seen grown-ups react like their children when the cat puppet purrs or the dog puppet barks and pants or the lion puppet roars.

Once I figured out how to use puppets in an adjunct way at storytimes - to introduce the theme of the week, or to supplement a finger play or song - then I started to tackle the issue of how to tell a memorized story with the help of puppets to preschoolers.  I began by using Margaret Read MacDonald’s Twenty Tellable Tales as my primary resource.  MacDonald has a lot of great stories here, and I’ve sucessfully told many of them, but I also struggle with combining the memorization with the puppet presentation.  Some weeks I’ve allowed myself to get nervous about getting the words exactly right, and then the whole story falls completely flat.  And then there are weeks when I just don’t have the time available to memorize a story, and I try to tell it from photocopied sheets laid on the table next to me.  Once again, hard to integrate the puppet presentation with reading my cheat sheet; at times the kids have become distracted by my reading and the magic, of course, is lost.

So I’ve tried something different the last two times I’ve done puppet stories at the preschool storytime: I’ve chosen simple picture books that feature animal characters for which I have matching puppets.  I don’t try to memorize the story, but rather I lay the picturebook flat on my lap (if the story can be told completely with the puppets) or I hold the picturebook up with my left hand and use my right hand for puppeteering (if the story needs the pictures and the puppets to be told).  This approach has worked better for me, and gotten a much better response from the audience.  The reason it works better?  I think it has to do with the stories, since I usually choose newer picturebooks that feature stories that are contemporary, not traditional.  Much as I love MacDonald’s book, some of her stories have that traditional folkloric edge that doesn’t sit well with today’s parents.  Today’s parents don’t like the scary or faintly macabre, and I know that, and get nervous when I use a tale that has those elements.  And today’s kids aren’t used to that type of story, and don’t respond as well to the traditional structure as they do to a newly published picturebook that is written in the style with which they are most familiar.

I’m still working out how best to use puppets in my storytimes, and how often to use them.  I’d love to hear from any of you who do use puppets - what works, what doesn’t, what’s awesome, what’s terrible.  Please share!!

*One of my best friends in college, Collin, used to make fun of my puppet usage by saying, “Ewwww!  That’s gross!!!!  You have your hand up the bear’s butt!!!!!  EWWWWWW!!!”  Collin’s words tend to echo in my head at storytime if I don’t block them out…