Pregnancy Pilgrimage

Grandmother-ing, Mother-ing, and Godmother-ing are among my favorite callings/journeys EVER.  Being pregnant and giving birth? Not so much.

Today's book recommendation FERTILE GROUND, A Pilgrimage through Pregnancy by Laura S. Jansson will calm any negative or fearful perceptions you may have about pregnancy and childbirth. But it's not a typical "What to Expect When You're Expecting" handbook.  Thank goodness.

Fertile Ground explores the theology and mystery of pregnancy and birth, along with practical, thoughtful discussion on subjects such as ultrasounds, the umbilical cord, naming your child, having a birth plan, childbirth fears, nursing, and becoming a parent.

IF I HAD READ THIS BOOK when my first pregnancy pilgrimage began 35 years ago, my attitude and whole experience would have been different!  My heart, mind, and body would have been so much better prepared not only for that 9-month journey, but also the birth itself.

  

As Laura Jansson notes in her chapter "Self-Denial": 

Parenthood is a voyage into the deep sea of self-offering, and pregnancy is God's way of easing us in at the edge.

If you are on the voyage of pregnancy and parenthood, or know someone who is, I hope you will get this book!  It's new from Ancient Faith Publishing. (I'll be passing my copy on to my daughter, who is expecting her fourth child in December!!!!)

*Note - There are several Orthodox "Prayers of a Woman with Child" at the beginning of the book, as well as a gentle, but frank and personal discussion about miscarriage at the end, titled "Losing a Baby". 

Book summary: Pregnancy is not just a trek from one medical appointment to another but a journey of the heart. Here at last is a guidebook through its sacred terrain. For each week, Orthodox doula Laura Jansson provides a new reflection on a theme specific to the ground covered at that stage. From one milestone to the next, she helps us unearth the spiritual treasures buried within the physical experiences of childbearing. These are gifts of love from a merciful God who reaches out to us, making a perilous expedition into a path of salvation. 

About the Author: Laura S. Jansson is an Orthodox Christian doula, childbirth educator, and mother living and writing at the intersection of birth and faith. She earned her Masters degree in Theology and Philosophy from the University of Oxford, UK, and has also resided in the USA, Serbia, Germany, and Fiji. Since 2005 she has guided scores of expectant mothers on the path to parenthood, witnessing with wonder as bellies and souls grow along the way.

The Truth About Hippos...

Roger Duvoisin's classic picture book, Veronica, may portray hippos as adorable, gentle giants, but don't be fooled! 



This fun, fictional story of how a hippopotamus travels to the big city sure makes for a cute story, but when hippos leave the water, watch out! They're hungry and are looking for food!

I recently returned from a wonderful trip with my husband to a South African game reserve. Our safari adventures were amazing - and we learned lots of facts we never knew, especially regarding hippos!  

For instance, if hippos open their mouths wide in what looks like a big smiling yawn, it does NOT mean they're content.  They feel threatened by you, and they are warning you to stay away!

Hippos, with their little wiggly ears, stubby legs, and comically rounded snouts, can be as deadly dangerous in the wild as a lion, crocodile, or rhino.  

We stayed in our touring jeeps (sitting) at all times.  

The hippopotamuses and other wildlife we saw were used to the vehicles, but they would definitely protect themselves by possibly attacking anything that approached them on only two legs!

We came across a young bull hippo who had been forced out of his herd and who was trying to join up with a Mama and baby rhino.  (The baby rhino would have none of it, but the mother rhino didn't seem to care less.)

I hope that hippo eventually finds a friend!

If you want a children's book that tells the truth about hippos, look no further than Hippos are Huge! by Jonathan London, with amazing illustrations by Matthew Trueman.

You can follow along with the Youtube video of the book below, or find the book at your local library or bookstore.  There are so many interesting facts about hippos.  And you don't even have to go on safari to find them!

Why We Need Frog, Toad, and Flannery O'Connor

Yes, you read that correctly!  So what on earth do Frog and Toad have in common with Flannery O'Connor?
  

Well, it all started with a trip to Savannah.  Then my friend sent me an insightful blog post about Frog and Toad.

First, Flannery. 

I recently returned from a trip to Savanah, Georgia, birthplace of Flannery O'Connor.  If you've been to Savanah, you know it is made up of all these shadowy, tree-filled town squares - 22 in all, each with it's own park (think Forest Gump, on a park bench in Savanah waiting for his bus).

Anyway, when we first arrived, we happened upon the CUTEST bookstore: E. Shaver Fine Books, right next to Madison Square.

I was in heaven, especially when I found a little corner dedicated to Flannery O'Connor!  I bought two books: A Literary Guide to Flannery O'Connor's Georgia and Flannery O'Connor: Spiritual Writings.

Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964) has always held a fascination for me.  Maybe because I'm from the South.  I was introduced to her not through her novels or short stories, but through her essays in Mystery and Manners and then her letters in The Habit of Being.  Full of quick wit, self deprecating humor, and wisdom, her thoughtful letters and essays brought me comfort and many "aha!" moments.  Then I read her short story Parker's Back! (More about her short stories in a minute.)

From the bookstore, we moved on to Lafayette Square. 

At one end is Mary Flannery O'Connor's birthplace and childhood home - now turned museum - dedicated to her.

Mary, as she was known until college, grew up on Lafayette Square during the depression and attended nearby Catholic schools.

At the other end of the square is the church Flannery attended, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist .  It's a truly gorgeous building, inside and out, and the oldest Catholic Church in Georgia.

So that brings me to Flannery O'Connor's faith and writings (and eventually to Frog and Toad - stick with me here!)

Not familiar with Flannery?  She is considered one of the great American storytellers. Before her tragic death which claimed her young life at the age of 39, she had written two novels and thirty-two short stories, as well as commentaries and reviews.  (She died from Lupus, as did her father, who died when she was just fourteen.)

Flannery O'Connor at her home in Milledgeville, Ga., 1962. [source] Credit

A devout Roman Catholic, O'Connor wrote from a foundation of a profound Christian faith and an experience of illness and suffering.  Her Southern characters battle between good and evil, sin and redemption. Her deep stories, though harsh and violent, often have another side: a humorous, yet grave commentary on the human race.

Why the dark stories? Flannery was always concerned with mystery and grace, and through her characters she felt she had to shock contemporary readers out of their complacency in order to consider life's biggest concern:  sin and salvation.

For the hard of hearing you shout, 

and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.

-Flannery O'Connor

Okay, crazy segue (not Segway, though we did see lots in Savannah), but we have finally arrived at what I have to share about Frog and Toad...  

Turns out that Arnold Lobel's short (very short) stories of Frog and Toad had a concern for sin and salvation as well!

In his blog post "Why We Need Frog and Toad More Then Ever", here, Joshua Gibbs, shares some wise insight about the moral universe of these two amphibious characters, as opposed to the lack of moral universe in many contemporary children's books that mainly focus on praise and celebration of the characters:

Like many children’s books from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, Frog and Toad stories involve the two titular characters overcoming common problems which arise from vice. “Cookies” is about gluttony, “The Lost Button” is about anger, “Tomorrow” is about sloth, and “A Swim” is about pride. In each story, the only way to beat vice is through some form of suffering. Good things do not happen in Frog and Toad stories apart from suffering, self-denial, or self-control.

Do you remember what Frog and Toad did in order to stop eating the cookies?  They tried to get will power.  After putting the cookies up in a box and tying it up with string, Frog and Toad realized they could simply climb a ladder, reach the box, and untie the string.  So they decided to feed the rest of the cookies to the birds.  Frog said they now had no cookies, but lots of will power.  But Toad announced he was going to go bake a cake!  (I wonder who he fed that to. Ah, temptation!)

Joshua goes on to note:
As opposed to teaching our children that their problems can be overcome, we have lately begun telling them, “You are good. Your problems are part of who you are. Your problems do not need to be overcome, because you do not actually have any problems. The problem is with the world. The world has not properly understood you or celebrated you.” In this, the secular world has largely followed the late Christian tendency to rob people of their right to struggle against sin. “Not perfect, just forgiven” and “God accepts me as I am” are nothing more than half-pious ways of saying, “I was born this way.” No wonder we are such a stressed-out people. We speak as though fighting sin were treason against the self. [source]

Do "good books" matter for young souls?  

Yes! Flannery would concur (and does):
...the greatest dramas naturally involve the salvation or loss of the soul. Where there is no belief in the soul, there is very little drama. The Christian novelist is distinguished from his pagan colleagues by recognizing sin as sin. According to his heritage he sees it not as sickness or an accident of environment, but as a responsible choice of offense against God which involves his eternal future. Either one is serious about salvation or one is not. And it is well to realize that the maximum amount of seriousness admits the maximum amount of comedy. Only if we are secure in our beliefs can we see the comical side of the universe. One reason a great deal of our contemporary fiction is humorless is because so many of these writers are relativists and have to be continually justifying the actions of their characters on a sliding scale of values. (From "Novelist and Believer", here)

Well, Frog and Toad are definitely comedic!  
So there you are.  
We need Frog and Toad (and Flannery O'Conner)!

Now, THIS Is What I Call A Princess Book!

Brand new from Potamitis Publishing...
Your daughter needs this book, and so do you!  It is sure to become a family treasure.

Egle-Ekaterine Potamitis' gorgeous jewel-tone illustrations accompany the fascinating stories of twelve brave, royal women saints in My Holy Queens and Princesses.

This lavishly illustrated, large format hardcover book by Dionysios and Egle-Ekaterine Potamitis is 100+ pages and includes audio CD. 

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS BOOK:
- It's about queen and princess saints.

- The illustrations are beautiful (did I mention that already?)  

- The introduction pages for each woman saint look like illuminated manuscripts.

- The stories are thoughtfully told and presented within a historical context.

- Boys will like this book too - there are lots of kings and princes in the stories!

- Each story concludes with a short summary of the saint's life and her feastday date.

-The audio CD included with the book is an added bonus.

*There are twelve saints stories in all - including some of our personal family favorites: Alexandra (Queen who followed the God of George), Esther (Old Testament Queen of Persia), Olga (Queen of the North and Grandmother of Prince Vladimir), and Ludmila (The Queen of the Czechs and Grandmother of King Wenceslas).

Potamitis Publishing is a family publishing ministry that is known for producing dogmatically correct, beautiful, and intriguing books for Orthodox children. As of October 2018, they have published more than 160 books in English, as well as in Greek, Romanian, Russian, and fourteen other languages.

PASCHA WISHES and GIVEAWAY RESULTS

Thanks to all who participated in my Three-Book
 -Pascha-Giveaway!  I truly appreciate your taking the time to comment, as well as your pursuit of good books! 

Robyn, Christy, and Amy were the giveaway winners. 

Keep reading!  And have a Blessed Pascha!

This beautiful image is from a card from St. Vladimir's Seminary.

Psst...Pascha Giveaways

Giveaway #1 - A Child's Guide to Confession.  This wonderful book (companion to A Child's Guide to the Divine Liturgy) is a great little volume to tuck inside a child's Easter basket! Perfect size for young hands, with lovely and colorful illustrations.

From Ancient Faith Publishing: 

This 100-page, easy-to-use aid will help a child understand and prepare for confession. Designed for both younger and older children, this book assists the child with brief, inspirational thoughts followed by prayers and an age-appropriate self-examination based on 1 Corinthians 13 (the "love chapter").  Available from AFP, here. 
Leave a comment (by 4/23/19) at the end of my post telling me you'd like a chance to win this book - be sure to leave your email so I can contact you!

Giveaway #2 - Spyridon's Shoes by Christine Rogers. Your kids (especially boys!) are in for a treat with this chapter book.  Spyridon's Shoes is a fun read, and Christine Rogers has done an amazing job in introducing young readers to the special-ness of having a relationship with the saints gone on before.

From Ancient Faith Publishing:
Young Spyros spends his days fishing, octopus hunting, and dreaming of attending school like his best friend, Niko. When he encounters an elderly man on the beach after an accident, his whole life begins to shift and change. But who is this mysterious, saintly man, and why is his friendship so important? Take a short trip back in time to the Greek island of Corfu and discover the real reason for the mystery surrounding Spyridon's shoes.  Available from AFP, here.
Leave a comment (by 4/23/19) at the end of my post telling me you'd like a chance to win this book - be sure to leave your email so I can contact you!

Before seeing "The Durrells in Corfu" series on PBS, I had never heard of the Greek Island on which St. Spyridon lived. Both the television series and Gerald Durrell's entertaining account of life on Corfu, My Family and Other Animals, mention a comedic, rather than mystical, encounter with St. Spryridon's relics. I highly recommend the book (which by the way, is child friendly, whereas the TV series is not) as a read aloud to kids who love animals and nature. (Not part of my giveaway.)

The youngest of the family’s four children, Gerald, whose love of animals drove him to become a famous zoologist, wrote in his 1956 book how the family stayed for five years in this Mediterranean paradise until the onset of World War II. ‘Living in Corfu,’ he concluded of the hilarious adventures he recounted, ‘was rather like living in one of the more flamboyant and slapstick comic operas.’ [source]

Giveaway #3 - The Resurrection of Christ, translated by Fr. John Hogg from the Russian, by Elena Trostnikova with colorful iconographic illustrations by Olga Podivilova.  

Fr. John has recently started a publishing company, Exaltation Press, so that he can begin publishing good quality Orthodox books in English that he's translating from other languages as he works with Orthodox publishers from other countries.

This is the Paschal book from the series “Scriptures and Feasts for Children” (books are all pictured at the top of this post). This book goes through the events of Holy Week — the Entrance into Jerusalem, the Mystical Supper, the betrayal, crucifixion, Death, burial, and Resurrection of Christ.  Each scriptural evenT is explained in a clear and simple way that is suitable for the very youngest children.

The illustrations are gorgeous!  Look at the end covers...

At the end of the book is a glossary and "How to Tell Children about the Resurrection" section that goes into a more detailed explanation of the events for parents.  (One thing to note is that since the books are translated from Russian, some of the traditions mentioned in celebrating Pascha - "kulich", cheese Pascha, and pussywillows (for Palm Sunday) - may or may not be unfamiliar to readers from Antiochian or Greek Orthodox traditions.)

Fr. John has done a series of three books, "Scripture and Feasts for Children". All these beautiful books are available from Exaltation Press, here.
Leave a comment (by 4/23/19) at the end of my post telling me you'd like a chance to win this book - be sure to leave your email so I can contact you!

PASCHA 2019 GIVEAWAY RULES:
1 - Leave a comment telling me which book (or books) you'd like a chance to win for your children (or grandchildren, godchildren, nieces, or nephews!) 
2 - There will be three winners, with one book per winner.
3 - Be sure to include your email so I can get in touch with you.  If you are uncomfortable leaving it in the comment section, just send an email to me:wendyb1963@sbcglobal.net.
4 - You must leave a comment by midnight on Tuesday April 23, 2019.  Closed for comments after that time.

A Palestinian Girl's Easter Traditions...

Today I'm reviewing a new book, Easter in Ramallah, written by Wafa Shami, with illustrations by Shaima Farouki.

This book focuses on the springtime Lent and Easter traditions of the author's remembered childhood in Ramallah. The Orthodox Church serves as backdrop of the story, without explanation given as to the spiritual meaning behind the somber and celebratory services and traditions that are the focus of the story.  Depending on the reader, this omission may or may not feel like there is something lacking in the message of the book. 

The story centers on a Christian Palestinian girl named Noor.  Her best friend Laila lives next door, and the two eight year olds are enjoying a spring day during Lent. 

They share a sweet and honest friendship and are comparing their families' fasting practices. Laila, a Muslim, thinks Noor's fasting tradition sounds more difficult than hers. And Noor thinks the same about Laila's!

Noor's family has another Lenten tradition besides fasting - they attend church services during Holy Week.  The beautiful Good Friday Mass is Noor's favorite.

Saturday arrives with its Light Parade.  People line the street, lighting their candles from the Clergymen who have come with long candles lit in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.*  There are marching bands of girl and boy scouts.

After the parade, Noor returns home for another tradition - one that is familiar to Americans: coloring Easter eggs.  But Noor and her mother use boiled vegetables to make the colors to dye their eggs!  Earlier in the week they also baked special Easter treats - Ka'ek and ma'moul cookies.

Easter Sunday arrives and Noor goes off to church in her beautiful dress, carrying her Easter basket.  Afterward, her whole neighborhood celebrates... 

 "The neighborhood was just filled with joy, neighbors going from door to door offering their holiday greetings. The kids' excitement with eating Easter chocolate and cookies and smashing the colorful Easter eggs filled the place with laughter, love and the holiday spirit."

Laila joins in the neighborhood fun later in the day and Noor shares some of her Easter Eggs.  Leila is excited to share her Eid El Fitr celebration with Noor at the end of Ramadan.

I think this story is a lovely look at the Easter traditions of another culture, as well as an example of the harmonious relationship that is possible in the innocent friendship of children from two different religious cultures.  May we all aspire to that!

Easter in Ramallah is available on AMAZON.  You can also find Wafa Shami online - at her website, "Palestine in a Dish", here.

*For 1,200 years, every Great and Holy Saturday, the Greek Patriarch has awaited the light in a small dark chamber of the church. After a time he emerges with a lit candle and reassures the gathered throngs that the miracle has occurred again. That flame is used to light many candles, which are then transported to Christian towns throughout Palestine and placed in churches. Some people take the light home and try to keep it flickering throughout the year.