Twenty-Five Things That Make Me Happy

A Wrung Sponge asked readers to write down twenty-five things that made them happy. Sure thing! I’ll list my items in groups of 5.

Five children’s books:

1) Constance—Patricia Clapp
2) The School for Cats—Esther Averill
3) Daughter of the Moon—Gregory Maguire
4) Dinner at Alberta’s—Russell Hoban (illustrated by James Marshall)
5) Henrietta’s House (UK)/Blue Hills (USA)—Elizabeth Goudge

Five folktales:

1) Why the Tides Ebb and Flow— retold by Joan Chase Bowden
2) The Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle— retold by Margaret Read MacDonald
3) Two Of Everything— retold by Lily Toy Hong
4) Lazy Jack— retold by Joseph Jacobs
5) “Talk” (i.e. "the talking yam story")—from The Cow-Tail Switch, retold by Harold Courlander

Five finger puppets:

Five camp skits:

1) JC Penny (In my outdoor education class, I saw this skit as "Thom McCann.")
2) Good news and bad news
3) The Man and the Coffin
4) The Most Horrible Thing in the World
5) Moon Trip

Five songs to play on the guitar in the key of G:

1) City of New Orleans
2) Orphan Girl
3) Lavender’s Blue
4) Can’t Let Go
5) On the Sunny Side of the Street