Growing Family Memories in a Story Book Garden

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, how does your garden grow?  With story books, and alphabets, and fairytales all in a row!

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My husband and I are finally tackling our backyard landscaping, and embarking on what I'm going to optimistically call "an adventure in gardening".  

There are so many options - should we do a raised bed, potager, vegetable, rose, herb, wild flower, fairy, storybook, or alphabet garden? Did I lose you with those last three?

I was on the internet this afternoon looking for design ideas, and I came across several "Theme Gardens" for kids.  Here are some of my favorites...

Alphabet Garden

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How about an Alice in Wonderland Garden???

This cute statuary is available from the Victorian Trading Company

Available in white or stone.

And you have to have a bird feeder made from a vintage tea cup!

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Peter Rabbit's Garden is totally doable -

There's even a little jacket and tam o'shanter!

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My garden will have to have a Cinderella pumpkin vine, like this beauty! [source]

I might even allocate a little corner of my yard for a miniature Fairy Garden,

like this one with succulents in a shallow pot (I took this photo at a local nursery)...

or this one, planted in a old metal tub...

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...or in a bird bath!

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Go here for more theme garden inspiration ideas.

And don't forget these fun garden-themed books like Mama, Is It Summer Yet? by Nikki McClure, from my past post.

  

Sigh. We hired a landscaper to help us, but we have so much to decide!  Stay tuned!  Any advice?

School May Be Out, But Reading is Not!!

Summer colds are the worst, and I've got a doozy!  So this will be a quick post.  I thought I'd share some of my past summer reading recommendations and also give you a quick photo update on my "Bookish" space at the Brick Basement...

Isn't this antique school desk charming???  It's the perfect place for my daughter and me to display some of our fun vintage children's books...

...and finds, like this "Daniel Tiger" hand puppet from the '60's (remember him from Mister Rogers?)...and these cute Ex Libris labels.

Say "good-bye" to school for the summer, but not to books!
Have you come up with any good summer reading strategies for your kids?  It's helpful if you can use resources like Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook and William Kilpatrick's Books That Build Character to plan fun, engaging book lists for your kids to choose from.

Or, for quick reference, click on the links below to check out a few of my past posts: 

"I'm Hooked" (Best Opening Lines from Kids' Books - Part II) and Part I

Make this the Summer You Read Aloud J. M. Barrie's PETER PAN

Dragon Tales

Take a Trip to the Beach in a Book!

Lessons Learned: Looking Back on Harry Potter

Books for Children About Friendship

Chapter Books My Daughter Loved

Good Books For Teen Girls

Chapter Books Even Busy Boys Will Come Inside For

Good Books For Pre-Teen Boys

Good Books For Teen Boys

Hugs and Kisses for Military Fathers

The two books I'll be highlighting today are perfect for Father's Day, but especially for military dads and families - to whom I dedicate this post.

As the daughter of a man who travelled a lot because of his tireless vocation in church ministry,  I can relate to children of military dads. Their fathers are missed terribly during prolonged and frequent absences, but are greeted with insurmountable joy at their homecomings!

My own son-in-law, having recently joined the Naval Reserves, was away from my daughter and grandson and his family for three months during Boot Camp.  Their happy reunion was full of tears and smiles, as well as relief and exhaustion, after an acknowledgement of hard work, sacrifice, and a job well done was showered upon the graduates at their Pass and Review ceremony when Boot Camp was finally over.

Any parent who travels for work, or reunites with their family at the end of a long workday, can relate to these emotions in microcosm - so I think all parents and young children will love these book recommendations!

The first book is The Fathers Are Coming Home, by Margaret Wise Brown.  She wrote it between 1942-43 for WWII soldiers, but it was only recently published (2010). The illustrations are by Steven Savage.  I blogged about this book in the past, here. (My little grandson actually gave this book to his Daddy after Boot Camp graduation, for an early Father's Day gift.)

I absolutely love Savage's linoleum block print illustrations in this story that begins with fathers coming home at nightfall - fish fathers, bug fathers, dog fathers, bird fathers, and snail fathers (my grandson's favorite), to name a few - and ends with a boy's father, who is a sailor, coming home from sea.

The second book I'm sharing with you today is Catching Kisses (2103) by Amy Gibson.  My daughter found this book recently at the library, and we both were reminded of The Father's Are Coming Home.  We fell in love with Maria Van Lieshout's wonderfully detailed silhouette illustrations.

This story is about kisses and their journey all across America - your children are bound to recognize a few of the places that the kisses land in!  "At any given moment, someone, somewhere is blowing a kiss.  And somewhere, someone is catching it..."

Hints are given in the lyrical text (but there's also a map with locations on the back end page): "Some are velvet as peach fuzz. Some tickle like whiskers. Everyday, everywhere, kisses are flying..."

Kisses are meant to be caught and when you catch them, they stay with you always!
So whether you're a father at home, or afar, "Happy Father's Day!"

Vintage Collectible Art in Books - Part 2

Are you ready for Richard Scarry's drawings of OZ, and some wonderfully whimsical art from Maurice Sendak?  Both of these illustrators shared June birthdays (Scarry's was on the 5th, and Maurice Sendak's was the 6th), and I just had to share a few more lovely illustrations (mentioned here in my past post) from The Best In Children's Books - a vintage 42-volume set published between 1957 and 1961.

Richard Scarry's cover illustration of Baum's With Dorothy in Oz (Volume 40) brought memories of childhood read aloud time with my mom flooding back!

The pages of these treasured volumes hold wonderful story collections and original artwork that (in some cases) can only be found between the covers of these books!

Such is the case for the amazing original illustrations I've posted today, starting with Richard Scarry's vision of OZ...

From Maurice Sendak, I'd like to share these gems found in Volume 31. Sendak's illustrations accompanied "Windy Wash Day and Other Poems" by Dorothy Aldis...

"...perhaps the most intriguing part of the series is the illustrators. Their names are not given on the table of contents page, but are found only on the title page of the individual story. Because of this lack of credit, most of the illustrations done in this series are not mentioned in bibliographies of the artists' work. Thanks to the efforts of art director Diana Klemin, many now-famous illustrators did some of their earliest work in this series, including Maurice Sendak, Ezra Jack Keats, Peter Spier, Barbara Cooney, Feodor Rojankovsky, Richard Scarry, and even Andy Warhol...." [source: de Grummond Children's Literature Collection - read more here]

Happy Birthday to Richard Scarry, Along With a Poem For June!

June 5, 1919 - April 30, 1994

The Richard Scarry illustration and "June" poem are from "Merry Months of the Year" by Scarry's wife, Patricia.  Formerly Patricia Murphy, she was a writer of children's textbooks who met Richard Scarry during a collaboration when he was a textbook illustrator.  They married in 1948.

I came across the poem in a large format book of collected works by Richard Scarry that I couldn't resist picking up from our local library bookstore yesterday for my grandson. Richard Scarry's Things to Know is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

This book has all my grandson's favorites, including Chipmunk's ABC, Colors, The Polite Elephant, I Am A Bunny, and lots more! It's so nice to post about it here today on my blog in honor of the anniversary of this very BUSY man's birthday!

Vintage Collectible Art - in Books!

The "hunt" is the best part of the BOOKISH business I share with my daughter at The Brick Basement in Fullerton, CA.  (Hopefully I'll be able to sell some of our finds online - more on that in the near future).

I'm especially excited about some books I found recently from the set  BEST IN CHILDREN'S BOOKS, because they are from my own childhood - my mom read aloud to us from the books in the set we had growing up.  Our volumes didn't have the book covers, so it's doubly fun to see the books with their original covers intact!

The 42 volume set, published between 1957 and 1961 by Nelson Doubleday.  Each volume highlighted a mix of classics, original new stories, poetry, and non-fiction from many notable authors.  They also showcased art from some of the better know illustrators and artists of that time.

Here are a few favorite illustrations from the books I have:

Hans Christian Andersen's The Steadfast Tin Soldier
illustrated by Idellete Bordigoni (from volume #37)

Margery Williams' The Velveteen Rabbit
illustrated by Maruice Sendak (from volume #35)

Volume #33 (1960) was full of vintage treasures:

Favorite Mother Goose Rhymes
illustrated by Adrienne Adams

Sophocles the Hyena by Jim Moran
illustrated by Andy Warhol (yes, you read that correctly)

A Dime's Worth for Free by Marion Holland
illustrated by Richard Scarry

Volume #31 (1960) is especially poignant, because of some very collectible art by the late Maurice Sendak that I'll show you in my next post;  but I'll end today's with these illustrations by the Petershams...

The Picnic Basket by Margery Clark
illustrated by Maud and Miska Petersham

Not to be missed:  Volumes 1 and 18, with artwork by the D'Aulaires; Volume 20, with Jean de Brunhoff's Babar; Volume 40 has Dorothy and Oz by L. Frank Baum, with illustrations by Richard Scarry; and other volumes throughout the series that include art by Leonard Weisgard, Don Freeman, Paul Galdone, Barbara Cooney, and Peter Spier, to name a few.
Go here for a complete list of the 42 volumes and their author/illustrators.

Is "Present Absence" Becoming the Accepted Norm?

Look at the scenario below - do you recognize yourself in this state of "present absence" with a child or grandchild (or spouse)?

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...when parents focus on their digital world first — ahead of their children — there can be deep emotional consequences for the child, Steiner-Adair says. "We are behaving in ways that certainly tell children they don't matter, they're not interesting to us, they're not as compelling as anybody, anything, any ping that may interrupt our time with them," she says. Read more here.

We're all guilty of it: being distracted, not living in the moment. And with the emergence of smartphones, we've got more distractions than ever - right in our pockets - making it harder than ever to pay attention to the people right in front of us and our important communal relationships!

"Ignoring family and friends who are in the room, while text messaging someone far away, is counterproductive to solid, healthy, relationships...The age of technological advancement has it's advantages, but it also has a dark side. When we spend the majority of our waking hours text messaging, talking on mobile phones, or becoming lost in cyberspace, we've become self-destructive, having succumbed to an addictive behavior that blocks true spiritual, social, and mental growth. Technology has it's place, but we must not allow it to become a god unto itself." -Abbot Tryphon (from his blog, The Morning Offering - here.)

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As our society delves deeper and deeper into technology and social networking, I've been seeing lots of articles on how they're affecting our families, friendships, and attention spans.

I mean - my goodness! - even the smallest child can hold a computer right in his little baby hands.  Have a look at this recent (and rather alarming) article, "Infants unable to use toy building blocks due to iPad addiction" - here.

With the onset of smartphones, it seems that mobile cellular devices are invading our homes, classrooms, restaurants and theaters, as well as our offices and streets (even churches and campsites - is no space sacred enough for silence anymore?).

But in reality, the problem isn't the devices; it's us.  Because as with any kind of media - and especially "mobile media" - lack of control stems from addiction - and bad habits are hard to break.

Teens especially are struggling with this addiction to "instant connectivity and always-on devices" - as noted in this important article.

Stop the madness!
Name it...
Having trouble putting down the device?  A good place to start is by naming and recognizing the root of your addiction problem:  are you suffering from loneliness, boredom, laziness, procrastination, depression, anxiety...?  Guess what?  Compulsively checking your social media sites on your smartphone will only make it worse!

Be Mindful...
Don't think you can survive without having your phone on 24/7? We have to re-learn mindfulness.

The goal of mindfulness is to be in the moment, when you're doing something. Instead of letting your mind ruminate or compulsively checking your cell phone, work on training your focus onto what you're doing -- if you're eating just eat, try to taste everything...From "Your Cell Phone is Not Part of Your Body - You Can Let it Go!" - read more here.

Institute "Smart" Phone Boundaries...
All those mini-moments of disconnect add up!  Do you have any tips that help limit your computer/smart phone/iPad use?  Here are mine:
1 - Just like with computers and television, no smartphones or iPads at the table during mealtimes.
2 - No smartphones during time with friends and family - strive to be in the moment.  Return calls/texts later.
3 - Consider not even uploading social network apps for sites like facebook, instagram, etc. on your phone, if they pose a distraction for you.  Be with your real community, not just your "virtual" one.
4 - Check your devices only occasionally for new emails, texts, or missed calls - not out of boredom.
5 - Don't substitute kids' apps for read aloud time and playtime with your child.  Remember "face-to-face" interactions are the primary way children learn! Read more here.
6 - Turn off your smartphone when you are in a worship service at church.  Whatever it is, can wait.  (This boundary should apply to theaters and libraries too.)

If These quotes Don't Motivate You to Put Down Your Smartphone, I Don't Know What Will...

 "We are always getting ready to live but never living." 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Forever is composed of nows." 
-Emily Dickinson

"Reading forces you to be quiet in a world that no longer makes a place for that." 
-John Green

"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.” 
-Benjamin Franklin

"The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time." 
-Abraham Lincoln