10.30.2012

Lately at the Library ~ Owl Babies, Brontorina, and Enemy Pie


   Story time at the library sounds like a good idea, right?  It's free, educational, and fun...right?  Well, it should be.  My four-and-a-half year old, Little Girl is finally at an age where she's interested enough to sit still (pictured below right), listen, and even engage in the songs and stories.  At two-and-a-half, however, Baby Girl will not.  She will not sit still (pictured below left), she will not listen, and she will only engage in the songs if she hears a really catchy one as she's slipping out the exit or throwing a tantrum in the corner.   She then resumes her antics when the song ends.





   Needless to say, we don't make it to story time on a regular basis.  But as I was leaving the gym a few weeks ago, I heard one of the other moms asking her kids if they'd like to go to the library for story time.  Usually I end up sweating more by chasing them around the library than I do at the gym.  Luckily, we went anyway and I was pleasantly surprised with our morning, thanks to one special book, Owl Babies.

10.26.2012

Room on the Broom


  Though I love picture books, they're not designed for our bouncing babies or our terrible terribly terrific toddlers.  After trying to find two of our favorite Halloween books (one being Over in the Hollow) in the seasonal section at Barnes & Noble the other day, we left disappointed and empty-handed.  Mind you, I've been scouring the shelves of Half Price Books all summer trying to find the same titles.  I know I should've given up months ago and ordered them online, but there's something so satisfying to me about shopping for tangible books at an actual bookstore- the same something that drives me across town to rent movies at Blockbuster still.  Alas, I was forced to shop online.  In perusing the web I learned The New York Times' bestselling Room on the Broom is now a board book!


10.16.2012

Over in the Hollow

   Every year when summer ends, school starts, and football season begins, I get a little sad and very nostalgic.  As I pull the swimsuits out of the wash and smooth the ruffles one last time, I always shed a tear or two that they won't be this size next year.  With a stiff upper lip, I drag the fall clothes out of storage and...start to smile.  The cooler nights, the walks to the park, a visit to the pumpkin patch, and brainstorming about Halloween costumes all characterize autumn in our home.  But this year, thanks to a visit to the library and a sub sequential online purchase, we have added a new tradition to our fall lineup- the mildly spooky and wildly entertaining Over in the Hollow, written by Rebecca Dickinson and illustrated by S.britt.
  

 

10.11.2012

Charlotte Jane Battles Bedtime


   Debut author, Myra Wolfe, and Spanish illustrator, Maria Monescillo, shivered me timbers an cajoled me with their pirate patter and seawater brushings into shelling out a few doubloons for our very own copy of Charlotte Jane Battles Bedtime.  After swiping it off the shelf and clutching it to my heart, I felt like I had just defeated a gang of lily-livered hornswagglers and beat them to the booty.



10.09.2012

My Galapagos. The Hotel Bar.


  
   I normally don't "get" neo-noir films like Mulholland Dr.  When I do find the time to watch a movie, I want instant gratification.  But Lost in Translation really struck a chord with me- travelers lonely and lost.  "Sometimes you have to go halfway around the world to come full circle."
 
*******
 
   If you stay too long in a foreign land, you may slip into a no-man's land, the purgatory of paradise, the hotel bar. That is never the intention.  
 
   You get an idea, plan a trip, anticipate and plan your little heart away.  Then you set off on a journey.  The moment the door opens and you take your first step into a postcard, all your expectations and excitement erupt and permeate the ground beneath you.  Only minutes after your arrival, you have already completely detached from your humdrum familiarities.  Your eyes are shut, you pull in a deep breath, and dive in.  The exotic flavors, bizarre foliage, and native tongue are intoxicating.  You drink it all in...and want more.  You don't want to go back.  In a trance, you drift into the nearest real estate office and hatch your nest egg.  The risks and the possibilies are brilliantly frightening, yet divine.  There's no turning back.