Home Again

There are so many things I love about home, both the home we have created for our children and the home my parents created for us. Walking through the backyard gate this afternoon at my parents' home, I was met by the familiar things that bring comfort: the clothesline with whites blowing in the breeze, the creak of the backdoor, the Thanksgiving scents of the kitchen, the bench in the foyer, the artwork we love, and most important, my steady parents. Oh, and the doggie mug from which I love drinking tea!

Home for Sugar Mae in Joan Bauer's latest book ALMOST HOME is not so certain. Her father has never been reliable, preferring to gamble instead of caring for his family. Her mother, Reba, faithfully awaits his return and help, and she never trusts in the right things. Sugar tries to understand the actions of those who are supposed to be adults, but she is sorely disappointed each time. When their house is taken by the bank, Sugar and Reba move to Chicago in hopes of more fortunate circumstances.

Sugar copes unbelievably well with her lot in life, ever wishing for home, always hoping there will be a permanent circumstance for her. She is supported by caring adults who want her to remember how strong she is and how she needs to keep herself positive about how important she is. Writing poems helps her uncover her fears and feelings, and sharing them with others, including the best teacher she could have ever had, Mr. B.

Give thanks for your home and all those who support you in life today!

Mice!

When I got out the jalapeño/cheddar bread and cutting board, I noticed two small chunks missing from the top. Neither my husband or son confessed to picking off some of the baked cheddar, so it could only mean one thing: mice! Ugh. I detest mice. I have no idea how they get in the house and clean furiously after we find evidence of them (and capture them). Peanut butter does the trick within minutes of turning out the lights at night.

Lois Ehlert's artwork in Rose Fyleman's book Mice is so crafty that I know she has experienced mice in her home. The craftily constructed mice with their crimped tails and string appendages hang in plants, stand on things like paint tubes and glue bottles, use tools to make their own cut-paper art, groom themselves, "run about the house at night", and, of course, nibble things (like the incredibly real-looking saltine crackers and look-alike Cheerios). When they nibble cupcakes, the textured paper of their pointy noses is white with frosting and confetti sprinkles!

The jacket flap provides this information about the poet:

"Rose Fyleman's (1877-1957) was a prolific English writer of fiction, poetry, and plays for children, as well as a singer, singing instructor, and schoolteacher. She began writing in earnest when she was unable to find enough engaging new poems to share with her students, and she was first published in 1917 after a fellow teacher encouraged her to submit her work to PUNCH, a prominent English magazine."

She must have known mice well, too. And cats, perhaps. The last line, interpreted by Ms. Ehlert, features a smiling cat: "But I think mice are nice."

Historic Horse

My fourth grade teacher read aloud Misty of Chincoteague, and I have loved the story since that experience. I read all of Marguerite Henry's other books (some not until I read them to my sons) and love reading them to children as a librarian. Fourth graders are listening to the 1949 Newbery Medal book King of the Wind. They listen carefully to the story of Man o' War's race against Sir Barton, but they especially like the journey back in time to the story of Agba, the stable boy who faithfully attends the bay mare who gives birth to Sham, the Godolphin Arabian.

Some listeners understand the fasting of Ramadan and feel Agba's frustration with Signor Achmet's enforcement of the Sultan's rule that the horses must also obey the fast from dawn to dusk. In each class (there are 7 sections of fourth graders), one person has come to the realization that fasting applies to the students' daily lives. The students nod when they, too, understand that the word breakfast is the breaking of the fast from dinner until the morning meal. Etymology is such an interesting thing, and I love it when the students are interested in a word origin and want to follow up with research. Breakfast is from a Latin verb meaning "to bite into" and has come to mean "an early bit" in the German word Fruhstuck.

Birds for Kids

Family Reading Night was released to the birds last night as Adele Porter visited to share her talents and interests with school families. Everyone learned that birds need food, water, shelter, and a place to best and raise their young. Ooohs and Aaahs of recognition echoed in the room as Adele showed photographs from her books Birds in Our Backyard and Wild About Minnesota Birds. But it was Cooking for the Birds that flew away with top honors. Attendees made a suetsicle pop, a thistle seed feeder, and a bird muffin (topped with yummy things like dried meal worms and various seeds) to attract birds in their backyards. Adele's informative website is birdsforkids.com.

Memories With Mem

Many years ago when I began realizing my passion for children's literature, my mom bought me the first picture book I received as an adult: Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox, with soft illustrations that add so wonderfully to the story's appeal by Julie Vivas. It is about a boy with four names who was familiar with the old people who lived in the home next door. Each of his friends has a distinguishing characteristic or passion, like Mrs. Jordan's organ-playing. His favorite, though, was a lovely lady named Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper, and after her overheard his parents talking about how Miss Nancy had lost her memory, Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge asks his other friends to define memories. I have read it so many times - and shared it with so many classes - the text is ingrained in my memory.

Tonight Mem Fox signed that book that was given to me so many years ago. Along with talented Lauren Stringer (who illustrated Mem's latest book Tell Me About Your Day Today and recently was named a McKnight Fellow), Mem was honored at a gathering of dozens of Minnesota authors and illustrators. Tomorrow night she will deliver the Book Week lecture at the University of Minnesota.

Birthday Call

A dear friend, Gloria Rand, celebrated her birthday this week. We met in person - after many phone calls - in May of 2005 when we celebrated the life and work of her husband Ted, winner of the 2005 Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota. After a fabulous speech about Ted's career by his editor Laura Godwin, Gloria, my mom, and I headed out to do some sight-seeing in St. Paul before her flight home. It was a swell day, Gloria still reminisces.

I love Gloria's stories, especially Baby in a Basket and The Cabin Key, both illustrated by Ted. During our conversation, I heard so many good stories about the people in her life and people we both know. She said our conversation was the best part of her day. I think it was the best part of mine, too.

Listening Dogs

Children at the book festival on Thursday afternoon took advantage of the opportunity to read Micki and Morgan, two dogs trained as therapy dogs. The dogs and their kind and patient owners routinely listen to readers at our local library, and they have thoughtfully participate in our book festivals twice now! Readers chose dog-themed books from a basket and settled down on the carpet - amidst all the bustle of sales and searching - to share stories. Each reader was intent on showing the pictures, and the dogs were perfect listeners. Not surprisingly at a school where author/illustrator David LaRochelle has visited for 14 straight years, his book The Best Pet of All was read several times!