As a child I always asked for books at Christmas time. For some reason they rarely materialized. One year I was given two beautiful hardback books with colored plates: Little Women and Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates. Both are proud members of my book collection to this day.

My own children have a whole basket of holiday reading, from the mundane to the transcendent. This week I’m offering three charming tales sure to be Christmas classic. (Next week: beautifully illustrated nativity tales.)

Little Tree
e.e. cummings
Deborah Kogan Ray, illustrator

“little tree, little silent Christmas tree you are so little, you are more like a flower…”

My husband is a fan of e.e. cummings, and I gave him this beautiful watercolor of a book one Christmas when we were dating. Now we read the gentle story of Little Tree to our own children on quiet nights beside our Christmas tree. It’s out of print now, but you can still find a few gently used copies here. Today’s Flavor: Rhythmic and lovely.

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree Gloria Houston, author
Barbara Cooney, illustrator

An Appalachian mother and daugther are determiend to retireve the mountain top Christmas tree Papa had earmarked before he left for the war. The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree is a simple, lovely tale about making do and making merry where a wedding dress becomes angel garb, and a clever mother finds a way to make her daughter’s Christmas wish come true. Well researched to capture the reality of Appalachian life and beautifully illustrated by Barbara Cooney, this can quickly become a Christmas classic in your home. Today’s Flavor: Nostalgic and hopeful.

P.s. Ms. Houston also wrote the fantastic My Great-Aunt Arizona and Ms. Cooney illustrated the wonderful Miss Rumphius.

Red Ranger Came Calling
Berkeley Breathed

Ohmylord, there cannot possibly be a more hilarious and charming tale than Red Ranger Came Calling, the story of a sour little boy and a disinhearted old … Saunder Clos? Berkely Breathed famed creator of Bloom County, Outland, and Opus, travels back to his childhood haunts on Vashon Island to illustrate a cheeky tale that’s sure to delight. Santa is down in the dumps and “visitors not recieved with zesty jolliness at the moment.” But by-gum, the Red Ranger of Mars is going up to his house to find out what happened to his “Official Buck Tweed Two-Speed Crime-Stopper Star-Hoper Bicycle.” What he finds there…well, I don’t want to give it all away. Suffice it to say that this comically illustrated book is a sure fire hit in our high-drama household. Today’s Flavor: Firey and fun.

Click on the links in this post to order these items, or any items at Magpie Suggests, and your purchases will help fund this site. Thank you for your support!

Wednesday Reviews: Thanksgiving Stories

I know it’s cutting it close, but on this day before Thanksgiving, I’d like to review some books for the diners who are sitting at the kids table.

The first is The Night Before Thanksgiving“>. Like the characters in this book, my children and their cousins giggle about the same things I snickered over with my cousins — goofing off at the kid’s table, putting olives on our fingers, and eating leftover turkey sandwiches. Nostalgic and fun.

The second is a more artful story The Very First Thanksgiving Day, which touches on the fact that we Western Europeans owe our very survival on this continent to the Native Americans who shared their skills and bounty with our ancestors so many years ago. Beautiful illustrations and a repetitive rhythm children love. Artful and insightful.

My seven year old daughter fell in love with this book, which she read to her two year old cousin last week. It’s not about our Fall holiday, but it does a lovely job of encouraging gratitude. Give Me Grace is short enough to memorize in a couple of readings, and the alluring illustrations feed the eye as well as the soul. Bright and meaningful.

Finally, I’d like to recommend this pretty, classic story. Ox-Cart Man is not directly about Thanksgiving, but it’s cyclical story of growing-and-harvesting captures the turning of the seasons, while it’s spare bounty quietly instills a since of gratitude amongst our overly-modern children. Classic and grateful.

Click on the links in this post to order these items, or any items at Magpie Suggests, and your purchases will help fund this site. Thank you for your support!

When I was a child, I found this book on my great grandmother’s shelf. The author wrote it for her goddaughter in 1924, and it is full of the games she and her 13 neighboring cousins played. I only had two cousins nearby, but we spent many a rainy day flipping back and forth through the book, scheming about what we would play when the clouds finally cleared.

The Daring Book for Girls is just such a book, updated for the modern girl. Filled with stories, facts, games, and activities, nearly any girl can find something to catch her fancy. The mechanical gal among us might use it to build a scooter. Someone on their way to camp might take it in the car to read up on female explorers, and then turn the page to figure out how to paddle the camp canoe. And just about any girl would want to know how to levitate a pal at a slumber party!

But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what a real, live girl has to say:

“This is the kind of book that you read while you are trying to do something new. I like the cool science experiments like the lemon-powered clock. My sister and I liked the jump rope songs and we learned new hand-clapping games. I also learned how to tie a bandana, how to run a lemonade stand, and how to make a sit-upon when we go camping.” (Eden, age nine)

Unlike reprinted ‘remember when’ books, author Miriam Peskowitz keeps things current by including items no vintage writer would have even considered for girls: science facts, sports how to’s, financial information, and things involving tools and pocketknives are peppered throughout the guide. The author also includes stories about women of color—like the espionage adventures of singer Josephine Baker, or the surprise discovery of Sara Culberson, a modern-day tribal princess of Sierra Leone. Other multi-cultural nods include the stories of ancient queens from around the world, how to tie a sari, and illustrations which include children of various skin colors. And The Daring Book for Girls sounds even better in Spanish: El Libro Aventurado para las Chicas!

One more added bonus…you can pick up a beautiful hard-bound copy for under twenty bucks!

This is just the kind of book a favored aunt would give her spunky niece. And aren’t you lucky—it’s here just in time to give a girl you love the gift of adventure this holiday season! (Click here to buy in English or in Spanish.)

This review is sponsored by MotherTalk. The reviewer did not recieve compensation for this review. Find my other weekly reviews at Magpie Suggests.

Re-posted from my site the parenting advice-o-pedia, Minti.

So this morning I was going to write some advice down about dealing with the morning get-to-school rush, when my own cleverly orchestrated morning came crashing to a complete stop. Cate wanted to wear a dress that was slit up to her waist (the slit had torn to immodest proportions.) When I said she had to pick something else, it turned into a full blown tempter tantrum complete with “I wish you were not my mother!!!” and “I wish I’d never been born.” This was followed by her older sister waking up and immediately crying because, “There is no peace in this house and I need a peaceful morning to get centered!!!”

Needless to say, my girls are emotional.

Because I’m the proud mother of a couple of psychic-sponges, I’ve amassed a lovely collection of picture books that help children deal with emotions. In fact, I quoted from the first one to help Cate when I dropped her off at school. “Today was a hard day. Tomorrow will be better.”

Hope these books make your today, and your tomorrows, better! Read the rest of this entry »

I wish I was one of those people who can leap out of bed, wash their face, a sweep their hair back into a ponytail and look fantastic — like Gwyneth Paltrow going for a run, or Jennifer Gardner, yeah, like Jennifer Gardner!

Sadly this is not the case. My skin after all is nearly 40 years old and my weight is …well…let’s just say since I’ve had kids, it’s probably more than either of those pretty skinny things weighed while they were pregnant. Nevertheless, this is what I am going to do today or I’ll never ever even get out of the house.

Sometimes, I am just so lazy.

Thankfully, Samson needs more dog food and he only eats this special food which is – I kid you not – is subtitled “for fussy eaters with special digestive needs.” It must be bought at a special dog food boutique which is half way across town and at which the staff lectures you on giving your dog a tiny piece of bagel because “wheat is not good for them.” Thankfully, I have a fistful of five-dollar-off-coupons from my earth-friendly coupon book, and I plan on talking them into letting me buy a bunch of bags at once. I’m gonna lay on the “be environmentally friendly by not making me drive out here more than once” lecture. Here’s hoping!

I’m not sure how I became this urban mama, with two kids in public school, the kind of dog you can put in a satchel, a knitting addiction, and a studio –but I sure do like it!

Speaking of being an urban mom, here’s something from Eden this week:

“Momma! Our dolls are eating sushi and then we are going to take our stuffed animals to the dry cleaners!”

Yes, my children do actually have a plastic sushi set. They’re such urban babies!

Speaking of urban babies, here’s a book recommendation for the still-in-the-board-book-stage set. I think its tres adorable!

Urban Babies Wear Black

In order to stave off the midwinter duldrums, my urban babies are going to the indoor public pool this weekend. Here’s hoping your weekend is super fun too!

Yesterday Paul, Rebbecca, the kids and I drove an hour to the Tacoma Art Musuem to see a special exhibit of collages by Eric Carle, children’s illustrator and author. Carle’s most well known book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, came out the year I was born. I remember being exceedingly charmed by the different sized, layered pages and by the tiny worm hole that the caterpillar “chewed” through each consequtive page. (Concieved of by Carle when he was mucking about punching holes out of some paper.)

Carle, now 78 years old, comes across as being the Mr. Rodgers of the world of children’s illustrations. His gentle manner of speaking and streamlined, basic explainations of his artistic process belies many years of paitently interacting with children. Though he could easily have walked a filmaker through his cabniet of awards, a video at the exhibits shows Carle holding up page after page of paintings done by the pre-K to K set of child artist. At one point he says, “Oh! Look at this one! This one really taught me something!”

I took a lot way from the simple, colorful images and the kind words of their creators. In honor of the Creator of the Caterpillar, here’s my list of

Everything I Need to Know About Art I Learned From Eric Carle

Simple materials and techniques can go a long way. Cut, Color, and paste. It’s so easy Carle can explain the whole process with a few powerpoint-style slides. Paul encouraged me greatly when he walked me across the gallery to show me a few line drawings Carle had used as the template for one of his newest books, 10 Little Rubber Ducks. They were no more accomplished than my own new attempts at drawing, yet they were the first step for some lovely art.

Gimmicks can be wonder-full. Many of Carle’s books have a gimmick — the hole in Caterpillar, flashing lights in The Very Lonely Firefly, the creeking sound of The Very Clumsy Click Beetle. As Carle recounts the hisotry of his works, he blantanly and joyfully talks about searching for the next gimmick. He asserts that often there is nothing wrong with being gimmicky, provided that the gimmick is not a selling ‘hook’ but a means of inducing wonder.

Share your techniques. Carle gives his ‘trade secrets’ away gleefully, in You Can Make a Collage“>collage kit for kids, in his inclusive The Art of Eric Carle“>catalog of works, and through videos.

Follow your Bliss. Carle was a trained fine artist from the prestigous Akademie der bildenden Künste, in Stuttgartthe but what really “made” his career was his love of paste and colors.

Ideas may take a long time to come together. Carle once had an idea that he chewed on for 15 years before it made it into a book. (I think it was for Draw Me a Star.) Be Patient.