the ones we miss

Rarely a week goes by without me checking out the Missed Connection section on Craigslist. Once even there was one about me, which was almost titillating, sort of like the lame modern equivalent of getting a note from a secret admirer.

So imagine my excitement when I found that one my favorite children’s book illustrators, Sophie Blackall  has a blog where she hand picks Missed Connections to illustrate.

 To see more: http://missedconnectionsny.blogspot.com/

p.s. Sorry I haven’t written lately, being pregnant messes with the old mind.

Lots of kittens but not quite Koko

Times are hard, so has been finding cute new picture books. The library’s budget for ordering isn’t what it used to be, so we’ve been receiving fewer and fewer new titles. Not to fear! Regardless of the sinking economy, I have managed to track down a couple of books to make you say, “Awwww!”

First up is for the cat people. Written by Linda Newbery and illustrated by Catherine Rayner, Posy documents the deeds of a playful kitten. It’s short on plot but heavy on the illustrations. Will definitely make you squeal with delight,  “KITTENS!” Much like the little girl who stars in the video, “Kittens, Inspired by Kittens” which is totally off the subject but really funny.

Next up is a picture book that reeks of the amazing, Koko’s Kitten by Dr. Penny Patterson. If you’ve never read this to yourself, make it a priority to pick it up on your next trip to the library. If interspecies love gets your flies a flutterin, then you will go gaga over the TRUE story of a sign-language using gorilla who really, really, really wants a kitten. And when Koko finally coerces her handler to get one, it’s a sweet little tailless thing. I won’t tell you anymore about this emotional rollercoaster of a picture book so you can experience it with unopened eyes.

Now on to the book that shamelessly rips off Koko’s story, but that’s so endearing and well illustrated that I’m willing to overlook it. Anthony Browne starts his story, Little Beauty out much like Dr. Patterson’s telling, but gives it a silly little twist at the end.

Is it July yet?

I can’t wait for sliced and salted homegrown tomatoes.

biographies that are anything but boring

I randomly snagged a couple of picture book biographies recently, and was  totally floored by how amazing the lives of these women were. I’d never heard of Mary Kingsley or Patience Wright, but if you’re looking for some new female role models, here they are.

Here’s the need to know about Patience Wright
- She called the King and Queen of England by their first names (and Michelle just hugged the Queen)
- She was pacifist spy during the American Revolution
- Almost got arrested for having Benjamin Franklin’s head (a statue)
- She made sculptures BETWEEN HER LEGS
- She was a lapsed vegetarian
- First female international artist/entrepreneur
- She sculpted with whale blubber (okay that’s gross)

Patience Wright: America’s First Sculptor and Revolutionary Spy by Pegi Shea

Totally different story, no less cool.

Until her parents death, Mary Kingsley lived in the service of her family. Cooking, cleaning, nursing, plumbing. She basically spent the first thirty years of her life stuck playing Cinderella in her gloomy house.
One perk was a large collection of books to keep her company. Her father was a traveler and writer, and although rarely present, stocked a great library.
After all those solitary years years went by, Mary had a great longing for adventure. So in 1893, still in Victorian garb she left home with the destination of West Africa. There she met murky swamps, enormous beetles, treacherous waters, and unfriendly crocodiles. And guess what? She loved it!

What your dog should expect when you’re expecting

This book has been passed around among the Children’s Librarians here for awhile and when it finally got to me,  I found out I really needed it.

Pushkin Meets the Bundle by Harriet Ziefert

It begins with Pushkin a happy dog who loves the man and woman he lives with. Everyday his owners go to work, but in the evenings they listen to music together, go on walks, learn tricks. All is well until one day they don’t return home.  When they do return they bring with them a bundle and everything changes for Pushkin.

Kate stays home. She pats the baby, but she doesn’t pat me. She plays with the baby, but she doesn’t play with me.            She kisses the baby but doesn’t kiss me.

My Schnauzer Sam(sara) is such a loving dog, but he’s also jealous. I’m going to have to read him this every night until I bring home my own bundle. (Or perhaps birth my own bundle at home).

raccoon vs. fearless treeclimber

My friend Todd Smith is nearing completion of a two year project spent climbing trees and documenting the adventure. One of his craziest experiences happened in my backyard and involved his will against a very large and stubborn raccoon.

If you’ve never heard me whine about raccoons before, here’s why I often do. For the past two years, my attic is the hippest joint in the neighborhood for raccoons to hang out. They get in through my shed and into the attached carport and raise the roof. They fight, they make love, they make babies. They make loud noises. I have tried many things to get them to leave. I have poured ammonia, stacked up large extremely heavy piles of creek rock over the door, my dad nailed chickenwire over their entry(which they just ripped off), I’ve even trapped two and relocated them to greener pastures.  Nothing has stopped them.

I finally got earplugs. That seems to do the trick.

BUT THEY KEEP COMING BACK.

Here’s one of the SOB’s who’s lazy nap up in a tree was disrupted by my tree climbing obsessed friend. I felt pretty happy that the tables were turned for once.  The raccoon was sleeping right where Todd needed to get the marker he had placed. I warned him of rabies, but he went  up anyways, for the sake of art. Check out the whole story over at The Daily Climb.

baby sushi

Every kid needs a wooden sushi set, right? Admit it, this is pretty awesome… and under $20!

Our new wooden sushi slicing set in a beautifully painted bento box is just too cool! Three types of sushi rice (nigiri, oshi, and maki) pieces come with shrimp, tuna, salmon roe, and egg pieces. Ginger, wasabi, and a dish of shoyu (soy sauce) are included, along with chopsticks, a play cleaver, and a menu.

And the most fun, is that when you slice use your sushi rolls, the velcro keeping them together makes a realistic “chopping sound”.

Available at http://www.oliebollen.com

pretty as a picture book

Komako Sakai has cute down pat. That sort of ovary crushing pain inducing cute that you want to sleep under your pillow at night. That makes you want to have babies or go get a puppy.

First there was Emily’s Balloon, in which a small girl has a  fleeting relationship with a yellow balloon. Her mom gets the idea to tie the string to a spoon so it can follow her along throughout her day. Everything’s dandy, until it gets caught in a breeze and stuck in a tree. This is where things get really painful for the sensitive reader. Emily wishes the balloon was still there with her as she has dinner, and we see as she imagines the balloon with a place at the table. As she gets ready for sleep, Emily still longs for her new friend and we see the happy balloon in a sleeping cap snuggled next to her in bed.

If that doesn’t get you, then get a peek at The Snow Day. This is probably the only instance of me thinking a bunny with red eyes is cute. Ever. Bunnies with red eyes are scary, but somehow Sakai makes them endearing. The book is slightly dark with lots of muted shades of grey and charcoal lines that capture the anxiousness that accompanies childhood.  Many of the pages are wordless, letting the mood of being snowed in seep out to you.

crusin’ for bunnies on a sunday afternoon

I’ve been wanting to find a friend for Gingerbunny for awhile now and well, Meet Smokey Robinson. She/he is my second Lionhead bunny and hopefully partner in crime for my other dwarf rabbit who is kind of a loner, okay she’s kind of a bitch. Check my flickr for more pictures in the coming week. Smokey is painfully cute and loves being held, and is really sweet. Yay bunnies!

the frog prince

Bento Box Frog By Kitsa Sakurako

Last night I dreamed that I gave birth to a frog, the night before that I dreamed I bought a new mattress.

But back to the frog baby… whaaaat is up with that!  Any interpretations?

by Anna the Red

I’ve been seeing more and more bento box art lately, so if you dug the frog, I highly recommend checking out this blog:

Anna the Red’s Bento Factory

There’s Japanese culture inspired edible art as well as tips for cooking. I mean how freakin’ awesome/adorable is that Katamari Damacy sushi ball?

If you want a cool children’s book along the same lines look for one by Joost Elffers. It might not make your kid eat their vegetables, but they will surely want to play with them.’

by Joost Elffers

How Are You Peeling?, Play Food, Dog Food, and Baby Food are among some of his older titles, and I’m still waiting to get my paws on his latest, Do You Love Me?