Road-Mix

I made you all a music mix to keep you company on your travels. I started out with 36 songs, and narrowed it down to 12. There are a few songs I wish I could share with you but can't, due to the fact that iTunes doesn't have them. "Day Tripper," by the Beatles, is the most notable omission.

Here's the breakdown of your mix:

1) Car Wheels on a Gravel Road-- Lucinda Williams
This is the song that made me a Lucinda Williams fan. In my mind, I can see the little girl in the song, hear the gravel under the wheels, feel the momentary freedom of getting away:
Child in the backseat about four or five years
Lookin out the window
Little bit of dirt mixed with tears
Car wheels on a gravel road

2) Ride--G. Love
I stumbled across this "slacker hip-hop" song while looking for something else. I don't remember what that something else was, but I like the easy-going, loping-along sound of this album.

3) Fisherman's Blues--The Waterboys
"With a light in my head/and you in my arms..."

4) City of New Orleans--Arlo Guthrie
Train songs make for good road-trip mixes.

5) I Know My Love--The Chieftains and the Corrs
This song is in a 6/8 meter, has two chords, and is a lot of fun to play. Like so many folk-songs, it offers bad relationship advice.

6) Jaan Pahechan Ho--Mohd. Rafi, Manoj Kumar, Nanda
This Bollywood classic first appeared in the movie "Gumnaam" and then later in "Ghostworld." It's got a beat. You can dance to it.

7) The Beat Goes On--Firewater
Updated lyrics from the Sonny and Cher original and a wicked bass line-- how can you go wrong?

8) I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to Be Free--Nina Simone
This is a song of yearning and longing. It's perfect for the road.

9) On the Road Again--Canned Heat
I'll bet you didn't know Kermit the Frog was the lead singer for Canned Heat. Listen closely. There he is!

10) The Truck Song-- Lyle Lovett
Turn down that highway
Turn up that dirt road
It's over three days
Since I left Houston
Old Black's my truck's name
She's held together
By B.F. Goodtire
And bailing wire...

11) I'm on My Way--Proclaimers
For some "500 Miles" is the definitive Proclaimers song. For me, it's this one. "I'm on my way from misery to happiness" says it all.

12) Drive--Joe 90
I first heard this song as at the end of the road-trip episode of "Six Feet Under." There are some good lyrics in this song, including the refrain, "Time doesn't know what it's time for us all to know." Amen.

Blogger Conference in Chicago, Illinois

The First Annual Kidlitosphere Conference is going to be held on October 6, 2007, in Chicago, Illinois. For the record, it's not just for folks who write about children's literature in some capacity, but also for bloggers who are friends with bloggers who are... you get the picture. I'm hoping to make it going to make it to Chicago in early October. How about you? Consider this your official invitation.

My Blog Rating

The "G" rating doesn't mean much to me. As far as I'm concerned, 101 Dalmatians should've been rated PG-13. That movie gave me nightmares. And what about Rikki-Tikki Tavi? That was a children's movie made for television, ergo it was supposed to be for general audiences. It was terrifying.

Doesn't this blog make you quake in your boots sometimes? Admit it, when I mention that a song I'm playing on guitar has an F chord in it, you run shrieking for the relative safety of the autoharp.

Poetry Friday: the barking, barking dog

My neighborhood is noisy. We hear cars that speed down our street emitting music from super-enhanced speakers. We hear popping noises that could be cars backfiring (we hope). Sometimes, we hear the crash of cars in our intersection during the middle of the night, because someone thought it would be safe to run a red light. On weekends, we have various charities screeching, "Carwash! Carwash!" in the parking lot of the Grocery Outlet. In the moments between all of the human and machine-made din, the dogs bark. And bark. And bark. They're keeping the houses safe. I dedicate this poem to the barking dogs of my neighborhood:

Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House
by Billy Collins

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,

and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.

When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton

while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.

Today's Poetry Friday roundup is over at Shaken & Stirred.

Our Own Leonarda

Here's proof that my daughter picks up way too much of what Bede and I talk about.

Here's more proof.

Song of the Week: Sunny Side of the Street

If you've ever read The Sign on Rosie's Door, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, you'll remember that Rosie (masquerading as Alinda, the Lovely Lady Singer) attempts to sing to her friends "The Sunny Side of the Street." Her friends are not attentive listeners, and keep interrupting her. At the end of the chapter, Rosie is able to get through the entire song after her friends have left the scene.



"The Sunny Side of the Street," written by Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh, is the House of Glee's get-ready-to-go song:

Grab your coat and get your hat
Leave your worries on the doorstep
Life can be so sweet
On the sunny side of the street

Can't you hear the pitter-pat
And that happy tune is your step
Life can be complete
On the sunny side of the street

I used to walk in the shade with my blues on parade
But now I'm not afraid...this rover's crossed over

If I never had a cent
I'd be rich as Rockefeller
Gold dust at my feet
On the sunny side of the street.


The link to the guitar chords are here. For recordings, you've got a host of musicians from which to choose: Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Dan Zanes, Judy Garland, John Lithgow, Willie Nelson... the list goes on. A link to a song sample by Ella Fitgerald is here (track 12). Just so you know, the Pogues song by the same name is not the song written by Fields and McHugh.

July 2007 Carnival of Children's Literature

"...the play's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."
--Hamlet, Act II, scene 2.

I'm generally not a fan of specific themes. Whenever I've used specific themes for my library storytimes, I inevitably padded out the selection of available books with stories I didn't particularly love. Besides, variety=spice of life. I wouldn't mind listening to a 1/2 hour of train-themed songs performed by someone live, but when I have to read or listen to a 1/2 hour of train-themed stories, my mind wanders. Your mind probably wanders, too, unless you're a rabid fan of a particular cheery-faced locomotive engine.

With that in mind, I humbly submit to you the theme for the sixteenth Carnival of Children's Literature, which I shall host: "The Play's the Thing." Interpret it as you will. Just don't play hard-to-get! The deadline for article submissions is Friday, July 20, 5 PM Pacific Standard Time. Come around to Saints and Spinners on Monday, July 23rd, and read at your leisure the goodies your neighbors in the blogosphere have to offer.

To submit articles for the July 2007 Carnival of Children's Literature, email me directly:alkelda [dot] the [dot] gleeful [at] gmail [dot] com, or place a link in the comments boxes. Please put "Carnival of Children's Literature" in the email subject field or above your link in the comments box. I'd originally had a link to the Carnival site, but I'm not sure the emails are forwarding correctly.



July 2007 Carnival submissions are now closed.

Spinners, Volume 1

Here is my first mix-tape for you as part of the "Bought Me a Goat" Project:

Songs for goats (and lonely goat-herds)

I'm thinking of doing the iTunes affilates program to earn revenue on the songs I recommend on this blog. What do you all think? Have any of you done this? My first instinct is to funnel all the money into a non-profit organization, but part of me thinks, "If I earned money from recommending the songs, then I could use the money to buy... more songs!"

Still, I've decided that any money this site make from iTunes affiliates goes toward the purchase of a goat. Since I can't keep a goat in my own backyard for various reasons,* I'm going to donate the goat to someone else via Heifer. According to Heifer's catalog, each goat costs 120.00 USD. Of course, I can buy shares of a goat, but who really wants pieces of goat when a whole one works so much better?



*If I get a goat, then I'll have to hire a goat-herd so I can go away on weekends. Then, the goat-herd will get lonely, and I'll have to find a companion for the goat-herd. Then, the goat-herd and his or her companion will complain that there aren't blackberry bushes in our yard, and we'll have to grow some so that the goat can give sweet milk. And I just know that once the goatherd and the companion get milk from the goat, everyone's going to want cookies to go with it...

News Headlines: Hurrah for the Carnival of Children's Literature

The June Carnival of Children's Literature, hosted by Mary Lee and Frankie of A Year of Reading, is up and running! Sit back, sip your coffee, tea, or other beverage of choice, and enjoy the wealth of offerings the kidlitosphere has to offer.

Next month's carnival is hosted by (rustle of papers, coughing, followed by stepping up to a microphone sending out a lot of squawky feedback) Saints and Spinners. The July theme will be "The Play's the Thing." More on that later. For now, just enjoy the June Carnival of Children's Literature.

Garden Statuary

I held off on the purchase of a St. Fiacre statue until I had some discretionary funds to purchase it. A month ago, I told stories for a group of librarians at an award ceremony, and used the cheque to order the garden statue of my choosing. It arrived today. My daughter and her friend had a great time stomping on the yards of bubble-wrap bundled around the statue.

Since I'm a fan of both saints and gardens, you can imagine how pleased I was to find a blog called St. Fiacre's Garden.

She Had Some Horses

Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at a wrung sponge.

Joy Harjo is a Creek (or Muskogee) Indian poet. I first learned about her in my first year of college, when I took a class called Women's Poetry and Performance. I read a lot of good poetry in that class. Harjo's poetry blew me away, and still does. I think of "She Had Some Horses" every time I drive past the Wild Horse Monument.

She Had Some Horses, by Joy Harjo

She had some horses.

She had horses who were bodies of sand.
She had horses who were maps drawn of blood.
She had horses who were skins of ocean water.
She had horses who were the blue air of sky.
She had horses who were fur and teeth.
She had horses who were clay and would break.
She had horses who were splintered red cliff.

She had some horses.

She had horses with full, brown thighs.
She had horses who laughed too much.
She had horses who threw rocks at glass houses.
She had horses who licked razor blades.

She had some horses.

Read the rest of the poem here.

Song of the Week: Hop Up Ladies

At the moment, I'm fresh out of ideas for Children's Books That Never Were. Horn Book might possibly be interested in one of my submissions for their Cadenza page, but it would have to be previously unpublished. I entreat you to send me ideas. I will write a heroic couplet for everyone who submits an idea that I actually use. I will give profuse thanks to those whose ideas I don't use, but who deserve gratitude for bothering to help me out. Please submit ideas in the comments section or email me directly.

That said, I'm going to try out a new blog feature: song of the week. I'll present a simple song with lyrics, a sound-sample when possible, guitar chords, and ideas for how you can use the song in your storytimes.

This week's song is one that Lucia was singing repeatly after listening to The Nields' album All Together Singing in the Kitchen. It's an American folk song from Virginia called "Hop Up Ladies." Lucia calls it "Uncle Joe, Uncle Joe."



The lyrics:

Did you ever go to meeting, Uncle Joe, Uncle Joe
Did you ever go to meeting, Uncle Joe?
Did you ever go to meeting Uncle Joe, Uncle Joe?
Don't mind the weather when the wind don't blow!

Chorus

Hop up, my ladies, three in a row
Hop up, my ladies, three in a row
Hop up, my ladies, three in a row
Don't mind the weather when the wind don't blow!

Will your horse carry double …

Is your horse a single footer…

Would you rather own a pacer…

Say don't you want to gallop…

There are specific directions for dancing to this song in the Wee Sing Fun 'n' Folk booklet, but I plan to keep it simple. For storytimes in which grownups participate, I'll have everyone join hands to step into a circle and out with each line, then have them jump up during the chorus. If the audience is in a space where a circle game is not appropriate, I'll direct them to sit down and clap during the verses, then "hop up" during the chorus. For toddlers, caregivers can have their children on their laps and bounce along as if the children were riding horses, with special emphasis on "hop up" of course. I wonder if this is a good way to determine who will actually enjoy roller coaster rides later on.

10/10/07 Update: These days, I have the children sit down and pat their hands on their thighs to imitate rhythmic clip-clopping sounds, then have them jump up for the "hop up" parts. They're perfectly happy just to bop up and down for the choruses, then sit down for the verses.

Guitar chords link (Ignore the B7 if you feel like it. It sounds fine.)

Song sample (from House Party Time! by Dan Zanes)

Storytime at Bootyland: Wrap-Up

Explaining about the Terrible Animale-Podale (Father of the Trahira Fish) in "Little Crab and His Magic Eyes"

This morning, I performed songs and stories at the Bootyland consignment shop in Seattle, Washington. While I waited for the doors to open, I was gratified to see caregivers with their children coming specifically for the storytime. I had prepared enough songs and stories for 3 storytimes, so my Almira puppet got some exposure with my finger-puppets for the "Jack and the Robbers" story, but "Lazy Jack" and "Why the Tides Ebb and Flow" didn't make the cut this time. This was my first time using puppets for the story that's evocative of "The Bremen Town Musicians," and I'm thinking about changing it to a flannel-board story so that I can stack the animals more efficiently.



"If you won't wear red, Jenny Jenkins, then what will you wear?"

Here is the list of what I told and sang:

"(Almira) and the Robbers" (story)
"Little Crab and His Magic Eyes" (story)
"Little Monkey Face" (sketchbook story)
"Joseph the Tailor" (story)
"Jenny Jenkins" (song with flannel-board)
"Going to Boston" (dance song)
"I'm a Little Scallop in a Shell" (Nancy Stewart's song to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot," accompanied by a scallop puppet)

Here's what I liked about the storytime:

1) All of the people who came to hear stories
2) The audience's willingness to participate in the stories and songs
3) Despite the array of distractions like toys and other interesting things, my stories held the attention of the majority of the audience.

Here's what I would like to have done differently:

1) I debated back and forth about bringing my small sound system. I ended up leaving it at home. However...
2) My voice wasn't in the best shape, and it creaked a bit during the songs. While I think my vocal volume was decent, my voice definitely showed strain by the end of the storytime.
3) Even if my guitar was in tune before I arrived, I still should have tuned it right before the storytime. Since the store didn't open unti 10:30, I was working to get everything set up and ready to go as quickly as possible, and I cut corners. Tuning was one of those "corners."


My next planned public performance will be a pajama storytime at Island Books on Thursday, July 12, at 7 pm.

Patron Saints of Potty-Training

The results of the patron saint of potty-training poll resulted in a tie between Dymphna of Gheel and Zeno of Verona. Therefore, I think that they should both be patrons of potty-training: as someone suggested in the comments, Zeno can be for the children and Dymphna can be for the parents. If anyone out there is willing to draw a picture in the likeness of an icon, please let me know. I can't pay you money, but I can write heroic couplets in your honor.

Lissy's Friends (and mine too)

Lissy has an origami turtle on her lap

I'm gearing up for my second public storytelling performance with a guitar. Tomorrow, at 10:30 am PST, I'll be at Bootyland. That's why I've been so quiet on the blog front. Still, how could I help but shout for joy when I received my special prize from Grace Lin as part of MotherReader's 48 Hour Book Challenge? On Saturday, I received a copy of Lissy's Friends with an accompanying dolly. The story is about a little girl named Lissy who experiences isolation at school until she starts to make origami friends. The ending is a happy one (it involves human friends too!), and the last page demonstrates how to fold a paper-crane.

MotherReader and Tadmack (the 48 Hour Book Challenge winner for most hours spent reading), how did you know this book was the perfect gift for me? I have been interested in origami for much of my life, but didn't seriously attempt it until my first professional library job, when I decided that I needed to learn a craft I actually enjoyed for those wretched "bunny-cutting" craft programs.* A friend of mine taught me how to make a paper crane, and and then I taught myself how to make a lily. I became obsessed. Then, I started sharing my obsession with others. Every time I had to lead a craft program, I taught origami. During the short time I ran my own children's room, I'd sometimes hand out origami paper and books** to restless children. Inevitably, they got so caught up in making paper animals that they had to convert their lined notebook paper into squares so that I'd have enough origami paper for craft programs.

The origami obsession ebbed a bit after I gave birth to Lucia. Still, I have all my origami books and am planning to teach her simple folding techniques in a year or two. In the meantime, we have Yoko's Paper Cranes and now Lissy's Friends.

Inside my copy of Lissy's Friends, Grace Lin inscribed, "To my friend Farida *aka Alkelda* In recognition of the "challenge" of the 48 Hour Book Challenge! Best wishes, Grace." Thank you, thank you, Grace Lin. (Expect a note from me soon.) And thank you, MotherReader and TadMack, for thinking of me.



*I appreciate craft programs when someone skilled in a particular area shares his or her expertise. Otherwise, I'd far rather hand children some crayons and paper rather than have them glue pre-cut shapes. I won't even go into all of the hours of your tax dollars wasted on my having to cut out laminated name-tags for 6 storytime sessions every six weeks.

**Recommended books:
Origami, by Hideaki Sakata (my gold standard of beginning origami books)
Paper Creations: Easy to Make Paper-Folding Projects, by Gay Merrill Gross
The Buck Book: All Sorts of Things to do with a Dollar Bill-Besides Spend It, by Anne Akers Johnson

For storytelling with origami, check out Just Enough to Make a Story: A Sourcebook for Storytelling, by Nancy Schimmel. And that reminds me that maybe it's time for me to bring back "The Rainhat" for my storytelling programs... maybe even for tomorrow's gig.

The Family that Clicks Together Sticks Together

Lucia as a several-week old baby in 2003

Just because the House of Glee has no tv doesn't mean we're immune to the lure of screen-media. Bede and I both use computers extensively for work, research and writing. Lucia's wooden dollhouse came with a variety of items including a television. When Lucia saw it, she said, "Computer." When Lucia comes up to us and says, "Close the computer!" we know we've spent too much time staring at screens.

Two More Days to Vote

Dear Spinnerets,

You have two more days to vote for the patron saint of potty-training. Currently, Zeno is in the lead. LoneStarMa, I was unable to vote for Dymphna for you because the site refused to let me vote twice. If someone reading this doesn't care about voting (though I can't imagine why!), please cast a vote for Dymphna and leave a note in the comments that you were LSM's proxy voter.

Cool Tunes for Kids

Over at Cool Tunes for Kids, musician Eric Herman has posted a write-up of Johnny Bregar's two cds. Herman wrote the review with one hand, too, as he recently broke his arm by missing the landing when exiting the back of a pickup truck while trying to help a neighbor move a new grill. (Sometimes it does seem as if "no good deed goes unpunished.") Cool Tunes for Kids is a good website. I'm probably going to link it under my "Song and Dance" heading.

Storytime Gig in Seattle

On Wednesday, June 20th, at 10:30 in the morning, I will present a preschool storytime at Bootyland, an independent alternative children's clothing and toy-store. This program is free and open to the public, so if you locals are interested in seeing a little bit of what I do, please come to the show.

I don't have a particular theme planned, but I'll definitely perform some of my "clothes horse" songs and stories as well as tell some of my perennial favorites like "Lazy Jack" and "Why the Tides Ebb and Flow."

Poetry Friday: Snow White (2 poems)

Illustration by the late Trina Schart Hyman (Article linked especially for Cloudscome)

Snow White Turns 39, by Anne Sheldon (my grad school storytelling professor)

"I'm planning how to break a talking mirror..."

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, by Anne Sexton

"Beauty is a simple passion,
but, oh my friends, in the end
you will dance the fire dance in iron shoes."

Today's Poetry Friday roundup is at The Simple and the Ordinary. Here is a link to the history of Poetry Friday, written by Susan Thomsen of Chicken Spaghetti.

Harry Potter and the Excess of Adverbs

Bede has some theories on what's going to happen in the last Harry Potter book. I'm glad he recently reread them all. I appreciate what J.K. Rowling has done in terms of getting children to read other 300+ page books while waiting for the next HP installment, but I find Rowling's writing style a little hard to take. Among other things, I get a little winded by the glut of adverbs. It was when Draco Malfoy's flunkies "guffawed sycophantically" that I had to put down the HP book in question and gasp for air.

Disclaimer: I'm not a member of the grammar police. I will never get into online debates along the lines of "You corrected my grammar but you made a grammatical error in your own correction, nyah, nyah." (If I find an embarrassing typo in your post, I'll email you privately. Please do the same for me.) Also, I don't want to ruin your enjoyment of the books to which you kvell. However, it is hard for me to read books when I can't lose myself in them because I keep tripping over stylistic quirks in the stories. That's all.

Another disclaimer: For some reason, Joss Whedon's penchant of transforming nouns into adjectives is charming. Color me inconsistent.

Galadriel (fuchsia)

Yesterday, I bought a Galadriel Fuchsia plant for the back yard. With a name like that, how could I not? It's a good thing the nursery didn't carry Lyra Belacqua Peonies or Hermione Anemones.

Follow the link to see what Galadriel Fuchsias really look like.

The Potty Train

My dear Spinnerets,

(May I call you "The Spinnerets?" Yes, a spinneret is what a spider uses to produce silk, and yes, it comes out of the spider's posterior, but I use it in the sense to mean that you are fellow readers and lovers of stories. If I ever form a goth band, I'm calling it The Spinnerets. As I was saying...)

Whether or not you believe in the intercessions of the saints, I think a breakthrough happened yesterday, and your good thoughts and wishes had something to do with it. Last night, Lucia hopped out of bed and said, "Want to use the potty." I walked her to the bathroom, and she used the potty. Then, she went back to bed.

That's a miracle.

Someone in Monday's comments suggested a triumvirate of potty-training saints. There are still five days more to vote for the Patron Saint of Potty-Training, but between you and me, I suspect that Dymphna, Vincent Ferrer and Zeno are all involved in the project. The project is two-fold: (1) Help Lucia make the transition from diapers to using the potty (2) Help Bede and Alkelda hold onto their sanity. Personally, this potty-training ordeal is the most challenging part of parenthood so far. In fact, I've written a little song about it. It's a fast, blues-country inspired piece (think of Rosanne Cash's My Baby Thinks He's a Train). My song is called "The Potty Train," and it goes something like this:



The Potty Train

There’s a train my baby doesn’t want to ride
When it sounds her name, she tries to hide
Although she’s got first class and the passage is free
My baby claims, “This trip’s not for me.”

Chorus:
“All aboard, get on the potty train,
All aboard, leave your diapers at the door,
All aboard!” the conductor says,
“Bring a book or game,
but leave your diapers at the door.”

Will my baby listen? “Oh, no!” she chants,
(Though everyone else is wearing underpants).
“It’s a train I won’t ride, and I do not take bribes,
This potty train can leave me behind.”

Chorus

Needed: third verse that has some sort of resolution


P.S. Bless you, MotherReader and TadMack. I appreciate getting a special prize for participating in the 48 Hour Challenge even though my feet skidded out from under me in the first inning.

P.P.S. HipWriterMama has these lyrics to add:

But...maybe I'll think about it when I'm good and ready.
Dymphna of Gheel is looking out for me mommy and daddy!
Smile and laugh as I throw away those diapers.
I don't need them no more. No more! I don't need them no more.

I'm tired of my tushy getting all wet and gooey.
So here's my great surprise!
It's time, it's time to hop aboard the potty train!
This time I am ready!
--HWM

P.P.P.S. 08/15/07 I do finally have the last sets of lyrics to the song. I'll publish them at a future date.

Clown vs. Storyteller

In the Powells interview with Sherman Alexie, Alexie revealed that he often made T-shirts with reviewers' negative comments about himself. Alexie said, "I play basketball in them. Time magazine, for Indian Killer, wrote that I was 'septic with my own unappeasable fury.' I had that T-shirt for a while."

I am reminded of something my storytelling teacher told me about an exchange she had at a birthday party where she performed. After the storytelling gig, she thanked the parents for asking her to do the party. They replied, "Well, you were cheaper than the clown."

I want that on a tee-shirt someday.

Poll: Patron Saint of Potty-Training

As of now, there is no official patron saint of potty-training. However, if a particular saint intercedes on behalf of harried parents everywhere, s/he could potentially have the honor of that particular patronage. With that in mind, I have narrowed the options down to three candidates: Zeno of Verona (patron of children learning to walk and speak), Vincent Ferrer (patron of plumbers), and Dymphna of Gheel (in addition to being the patron saint of people suffering from mental illness, she is also the patron saint of family harmony). Think it over, then cast your vote... but hurry! I need all the help I can get. The poll will be here in this post and also on the side-bar (right under the Carnival of Children's Literature section) until next Monday.

Little Monkey Face

This story is based on Bread and Honey, by Frank Asch. I learned it from Bill Mayhew, a master storyteller from Maryland. Because of its novelty, "Little Monkey Face" is good story to tell at the beginning of a storytime. It's also a good story to tell at the end of a storytime because of the light-hearted tone and general silliness. It won't tax a potentially tired audience. There's not too much in the way of depth or meaning, though one could argue about Little Monkey's motives: is he a people-pleaser or is he having a joke at our expense? You decide, but don't ruin the fun for your young audience!


LITTLE MONKEY FACE

Once upon a time, there was a little monkey named Little Monkey. He loved to draw. One day in art class, the teacher said, "Draw a picture of the most beautiful thing in the world." Little Monkey drew a picture of his mother:


Little Monkey liked his picture, and he couldn't wait to show his mother. As he was walking home from school, picture in hand, he saw his friend, Ms. Giraffe. "What have you got there, Little Monkey?" Ms. Giraffe asked.

Little Monkey showed her and said, "It's a picture of my mother."

"That's a pretty picture, Little Monkey, but everyone knows that beautiful people have nice long necks."

"Oh," said Little Monkey. "Okay!" Little Monkey got out his crayons and drew a long neck.


As Little Monkey continued to walk home, he bumped into his friend, Mr. Hippopotamus. He showed the picture to his friend, and Mr. Hippo said, "Heyyyyy, Little Monkey, that's a good-looking picture there... but everyone knows that beautiful people have big round bodies."

"Um, okay," Little Monkey said, and he took out his crayons again to add a big round body to the picture.


Little Monkey contined to walk home, holding the picture of his mother. Along the way, he met his friend, Miss Spider. She hopped onto Little Monkey's picture, she said, "Oh, Little Monkey, that's a nice picture... but everyone knows beautiful people have eight long legs."

"Okay," said Little Monkey, and he added eight legs to the picture.


Little Monkey continued to walk home. He really wanted to show his picture to his mother. As he turned a corner, he saw his friend, Mr. Squirrel. "What have you got there, Little Monkey?" Mr. Squirrel asked.

"A picture of my mother," Little Monkey replied.

"Well, it's a spiffy picture," Mr. Squirrel said. "However... I don't know how to tell you this but... everyone knows beautiful people have bushy tails."

"Okay," Little Monkey said. He added a bushy tail to his drawing.


Little Monkey was glad to see his friends, but he really wanted to get home to show his mother the picture he had made for her. However, who should he bump into but his friend, Mrs. Ladybug. She said, "Nice picture, Little Monkey! Nice picture. But you do know, as everyone else does, that beautiful people are red with black spots."

"Okay," Little Monkey said. He took out his crayons once again and added red with black spots to the picture.


Little Monkey continued to walk home. (By now, he was wishing he had taken the short-cut.) As he waited at the crosswalk, who should he see but Mr. Lion, the crossing-guard. Mr. Lion said, "Little Monkey, I see you've got a picture there! It's looking good. Still, everyone knows that beautiful people have tawny manes of hair."

"Okay," Little Monkey said. He got out his crayons, added the mane, and crossed the street.


Little Monkey was almost home. He could even see his house three doors down. But just then, he saw his friend, Ms. Elephant, playing hopscotch. Ms. Elephant said, "Hey, Little Monkey! I'm glad to see you."

"I'm glad to see you too, Ms. Elephant," Little Monkey said. "But I really can't wait to get home to my mother. You see, I've got--"

"Whoah! What's that?" Ms. Elephant asked.

"It's a picture of my mother," Little Monkey said.

"Well, it's really quite good," Ms. Elephant said. "It's got passion, depth, color... the only thing is..."

"Yes?" said Little Monkey.

"The only thing is that everyone knows beautiful people have long noses."

"Okay," Little Monkey said. He got out his crayons and drew a long nose.


Finally, Little Monkey reached his house. Inside, Mother Monkey was fixing Little Monkey's snack. "Hello, Little Monkey!" she said.

"I made a picture for you," Little Monkey said. He showed his mother the picture.

"Why, that's... lovely, Little Monkey," Mother Monkey said. "But what it is it?"

"It's you, Mom!" Little Monkey said.

"Thank you," Mother Monkey said. She took the picture and hung it on the refrigerator. Then, she gathered Little Monkey into her arms and gave him a BIG monkey hug.

THE END

The Beginning and the End of my 48 Hour Book Challenge

7:20 am—Began Fragile Things (355 pages plus 20 pages of introduction=375 pages).

11 am—Finally decided to take a break because of the constant interruptions. Wednesday marked the beginning of Lucia’s hard-core potty-training with NO DIAPERS DURING THE DAY. Bede is doing the best he can to support the 48 Hour Reading Challenge, but life does go on, what with cleaning up accidents. So far, my favorite stories are “A Study in Emerald,” which Gaiman wrote as a Sherlock Holmes story in an H.P. Lovecraft universe, and “Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire” which I didn’t think I’d like until I realized that the main character was trying to write a realistic, contemporary story—in a gothic universe.

12:30 pm: Returned from my walk, dug up the dead red raspberry and blueberry roots, planted the new blueberry bush I’d bought from the nursery, and resumed reading.

1:00—1:30 pm: Found I was rereading the same paragraph amidst many interruptions for demands to go inside, go outside, get snacks, etc. I finally brought the girlie inside. She was mad, but then she settled down beside me to look at Flat Stanley while I read Fragile Things.

1:30—3 pm: I’m a little over ½ way through Fragile Things.

3:05 pm: Whoops, Lucia just peed on the floor.

3:12: pm. Resumed reading Fragile Things.

3:45 pm: Whoops, Lucia just pooped on the floor. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that there was product coming until too late. My mother called during the clean-up process, and against my better judgement, I attempted to talk to her via speaker-phone while cleaning up. I was so desperate for the voice of an adult colleague (she's a former children's librarian and current kindergarten teacher as well as my mommy).

4:00 pm: Dear Lord, some days I feel I am not cut out for parenthood.

4:11 pm: I definitely know I’m not cut out for the 48 Hour Book Challenge this year. Now, I’m going to the Farmer’s Market to buy my weekly supply of rhubarb. This time, I’m going to make “blue-barb,” which is a compote of blueberries and rhubarb. Tonight, I’m going to my guitar clinic. I’ll still read what I can, but as of now, I am out of the 48 Hour Book Challenge. Please have one next year, MotherReader!

Addition
9:00 pm: Dear bloggers, you need to come over to my house for strawberry-rhubarb compote, strawberry crisp, and blue-barb compote. I went produce-crazy and bought a 1/2 flat of strawberries, a bag of bing cherries, and 5 lbs of rhubarb. Then, I cooked and baked. My freezer and fridge can't fit everything.

The 48 Hour Book Challenge Begins

It's 7:20 am, and I'm ready to read. I'll catch up on blog-reading and commenting after the 48 hour challenge. In the meantime, I'll be reading the books I've bought but never read because I had to make the library books a priority, plus those library books that went back barely-read after 3 weeks.

My first book is Fragile Things, by Neil Gaiman. Ready, set... GO!

Poetry Friday: Issa

One of the first gifts Bede ever gave me was a book of haiku called The Four Seasons. Prior to the gift, I wasn't all that fond of haiku. I'd not read much haiku beyond that which my fellow students and I had to compose in creative writing classes because hey, it was best to start with something short and simple, and what was more accessible than the 5-7-5 syllable meter? Hah! Good haiku is one of the hardest kinds of poetry to write.

So far, my favorite haiku poet is Issa. Issa's poems have tinges of sly, gleeful humor. Here are some of Issa's poems I like in particular (especially the last one):

Elegant singer
Would you further favor us
with a dance... O frog?

*

Now take this flea:
He simply cannot jump...and
I love him for it.

*

Congratulations
Issa!... You have survived to feed
This year's mosquitoes.

*

Rainy afternoon...
Little daughter you will never
Teach that cat to dance.

*

Edit via cloudscome:

Don't worry spiders.
I keep house
casually.

Freedom to read, baby

Admit it. You want to be part of the 48 Hour Book Challenge. Give into temptation and sign up by following the link. You've got nothing to lose, and much to look forward to with all those good books you've been aching to read.

Nine Kinds of Pie?

"There was nothing but pie. But there were all nine kinds of pie that Harold liked best."--Crockett Johnson, Harold and the Purple Crayon.

This is the song going through my head right now:

Rhubarb Pie
Rhubarb Pie
It might rain tomorrow
Better get some before I die

Save your lemons
Get 'em up in the tree
Save your peaches
They really don't get to me
Talk about somethin' sure gonna
make me shout
Go on get some rhubarb pie
That's what it's all about...
--John Fogerty

The other songs about pie I know are:
Blackberry Pie--Johnny Bregar
Blueberry Pie--Bette Midler
Rhubarb Pie (Hot Commodity)--Laurie Berkner

What else have we got? I'd like songs that are about actual pie, and not endearments or euphemisms like "Honey Pie" by the Beatles, "Custard Pie" like Led Zeppelin or "Cherry Pie" by Warrant. Aligator Pie would be fine, but we need songs, please. We've got to have nine kinds of pie!

"Covet Thy Neighbors' Possessions" Board Books

The following book was one that Garrulous MacKenzie, junior editor of Children's Books That Never Were, actually wanted to publish. However, MacKenzie's vision severely clashed with the marketing division:


The manuscript:

That’s not my automobile…
Its paint is too shiny.

That’s not my automobile…
Its gas mileage is too efficient.

That’s not my automobile…
Its motor runs too smoothly.

That’s my automobile…
Its bird poop stains are just right!
(For easy identification, that is.)


Other proposed titles for the series:

That’s Not My House… its porch is too tidy.
That’s Not My Lawn… its weeds are too small.
That’s Not my MP3 Player…its hard-drive is too big.

Here is MacKenzie's reluctant rejection letter to the author:

Dear Fiona Watt,
Your proposed board-book series is the sort of submission of which every editor dreams. It’s funny, it’s cynical, and it’s thoroughly modern. However, the marketing division here at A Star Is Born Books thinks otherwise. “We need something less hard-boiled and something more touchy-feely in our line of board books,” they told me. “However, we do like the line of reasoning Fiona Watt takes as a matter of course. Ask her to write a series involving cuddly animals and we’ll insert some sandpaper, corrugated cardboard and sparkly foil into the pictures. But hey, she could even include a dinosaur or a loch ness monster as long as the animal in question happend to be cute. It’s more about the glitzy presentation than it is about the story.”

So, that’s the message. I heartily recommend that you resubmit your story ideas as board-books for grownups a la Lisa Brown’s Baby Mix Me a Drink.

Sincerely,
Garrulous MacKenzie
Junior Editor of the Children’s Division
A Star is Born Books

Four New Times Two

Here's a new meme from cloudscome via HipWriterMama: Four (4) New Times (X) Two (2). First, you share four things you learned or experienced or explored for the first time in the past four years. Then you have to say four things you want to try new in the next four years. I'm not tagging anyone for this meme, but if you'd like to write your 4+4 new things in the comments section, I'd enjoy reading them. If you want to be tagged, then you're tagged. If you don't, you're not. I'm too tired to chase anyone, virtually or in Real Time.

For me, the four things I tried for the first time in the past four years were:
1)Having a baby
2)Learning to sew
3)Learning guitar
4)Painting the interior of the house

The four new things I want to learn over the next four years are:
1) Sing (with professional lessons)
2) Play ukulele
3) Play harmonica
4) Make pierogi

Hootenanny with Johnny Bregar

Johnny Bregar performing at The Land of Nod

This afternoon, the House of Glee is attending a small concert by local musician Johnny Bregar. I meant to write reviews of Bregar's albums (and secretly hoping that Warren Truitt would do it first so that I could simply link to his reviews). Bregar has two albums out: Hootenanny and Stomp Yer Feet! The songs are a combination of folk, blues, and rockabilly. Links to song clips are here. The comparisons to Dan Zanes are inevitable. However, that's a good thing.

I'd like to propose an exchange-musician program by which we encourage local musicians to make it to other parts of the country. For example, New York needs Johnny Bregar and Seattle needs Elizabeth Mitchell. Fuse, I'm sure we could work something out. We'll need OPM (Other People's Money) though.

Photo shots of garden spots

Usually, when I post photos of my emerging gardens, I reveal only the pretty pictures. Today, I thought it would be appropriate to start with a pile of weeds:



What you can't see is the Yard Waste bin filled to overflowing, plus three more bags of weeds. The pile of weeds here are from only two portions of the back yard. I'm weeding bit by bit, because any other way is overwhelming and almost impossible.

This next photo shows a recently weeded portion of the back yard:


Yesterday, this portion of land was choking with dandelions, tall grass and dead pine-needles. After I cleared it, I was amused to find out that the portion of land I cleared was flatter than I thought.

The third photo is going to require some imagination:

The largest portion of land holds carrot seeds, chard seeds, and potato plants. The wee plot in the middle holds pumpkin seeds (Lucia picked them out). The plot to the far right has newly planted rhubarb roots. I'm glad I ordered a whole bunch of rhubarb roots on sale-- when I dug up the original ones in the front yard, I found that they had all rotted because I hadn't planted them correctly. Go here for what appears to be good rhubarb-growing advice.

Now for the pretty pictures....

Ever since I placed copper tape around the base of the callalily plant in the front yard, the blooms have flourished. (I said "NO!" to slugs.)


I have several different kinds of trillium on the West side of my house. This is my favorite one:

Thank you, cloudscome, for giving me good photo-taking advice.

Yesterday morning, I was so pleased to see new bleeding hearts after I thought the blooming season was over:

Alas, by the end of the day, they had all fallen off. I thought maybe Lucia had picked them off, but it would have been more like her to bring them over to show me. Lucia is remarkably lacking in guile, which I appreciate. (Yes, I'm knocking on wood as I type this.)

P.M. Update: I just finished making a "fairy garden" for Lucia:

Lucia had gone to bed by the time I completed the entrance to the garden. I've secured it as best I could, but strong winds or vigorous play will probably dislodge it. No matter. If that happens, we'll make another one.

Poetry Friday: "Caedmon"

Click on the button for more Poetry Friday poems.

Here is a poem by Denise Levertov about one of my favorite saints, Caedmon of Whitby. Had my daughter been a boy, my son's name would have been Caedmon (probably).

Caedmon

All others talked as if
talk were a dance.
Clodhopper I, with clumsy feet
would break the gliding ring.
Early I learned to
hunch myself
close by the door:
then when the talk began
I’d wipe my
mouth and wend
unnoticed back to the barn
to be with the warm beasts,
dumb among body sounds
of the simple ones.
I’d see by a twist
of lit rush the motes
of gold moving
from shadow to shadow
slow in the wake
of deep untroubled sighs.
The cows
munched or stirred or were still. I
was at home and lonely,
both in good measure. Until
the sudden angel affrighted me—light effacing
my feeble beam,
a forest of torches, feathers of flame, sparks upflying:
but the cows as before
were calm, and nothing was burning,
nothing but I, as that hand of fire
touched my lips and scorched my tongue
and pulled my voice
into the ring of the dance.

--from Breathing the Water. Copyright 1987 by Denise Levertov.