Photo A Day: Chair

A number of weeks ago (possibly even before Christmas), my kids were playing in the nursery at church, and I discovered a trail of stuffing leading to a giant stuffed bear. His tail had come unstitched, and bits of stuffing were leaking out all over the place. I made a mental note to bring a needle and thread to church the following week so I could mend him, but week followed week and I kept forgetting. Finally, this morning, I grabbed him and brought him home, figuring he’d be harder to forget than a needle and thread had been. So even before I had lunch, I grabbed the bear and stitched him back together again. When I came back into the room a bit later, this is what I found.

Bear in a chair! It reminded me of how much my son loves to play the “Wocket in my Pocket” game. He invented this game immediately after we read Dr. Seuss’ book, “There’s a Wocket in my Pocket” for the first time. You play the game by finding something in the room and making up an imaginary creature that is hiding in, under, or around said object. For example, “There’s a Gamp by the lamp;” “There’s a Shrable under the table;” “There’s a Bliano on the piano.” Extra points are earned when you can come up with a non-imaginary rhyme, such as, “There’s a fox wearing my socks,” or “There’s a bear in that chair.”

I love how much my son delights in this game. His whole face lights up every time he thinks of a rhyme. I revel in how he loves to play with language, to make up words, to find words that sound like what they are (or what he imagines they would be). I love his playfulness and his creativity. I love that he even plays the game without speaking a word, simply by placing a bear in a chair.

Chair. 

Kids' Books: Then and Now

My mom began her career as a first-grade teacher and ended it as a children’s librarian, so it goes without saying that my entire life has been filled with wonderful classic and contemporary children’s books. I love it when my children fall in love with my childhood favorites, and I love it when they introduce me to new books that become as beloved to them as my old favorites were to me. And I find that there are a lot of interesting parallels between the books that I loved back in the day and the ones my kids love now.

The Truck Books

“Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel” was already a classic when I was a child. It shows that machines like construction trucks are more than just heartless automatons. I found myself cheering for Mary Anne the steam shovel as much as for Mike Mulligan, maybe even a little more.

One of my son’s favorites is “Are You My Mother,” which features a steam shovel that looks very similar to Mary Anne, and which (along with its invisible driver), carefully returns a fallen baby bird to its nest and its mother. You can’t help but have a soft spot in your heart for steam shovels after reading this book. And you’ll never hear the word “Snort!” the same way again.

Another, more contemporary book that my son loves and that brings personalities to trucks is “Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site.” It shows each different truck finishing its work for the day and tiredly tucking itself into bed. The picture of a huge crane truck gently cradling a teddy bear in its “arms” is guaranteed to soften even the hardest of hearts.

Repeated Refrains

Another favorite childhood book of mine was “The Story about Ping.” At the end of every day, Ping’s owner would call him back to the boat by chanting, “La la la LEEEIII.” I love the way my mother sang the lilting chant, and I loved chiming in with her on that refrain.

In a similar vein, my son loves “Chicka Chicka ABC” with its repeated refrains of, “…at the top of the coconut tree,” and “Chicka chicka BOOM BOOM! Will there be enough room?” And he loves to imitate the rhythm of my chanting. It’s like learning reading and music at the same time!

Richard Scarry

I had a giant treasury of Richard Scarry stories, and I loved many of them, but my favorite was always Pierre Bear. I loved how sweet Pierre was with his wife and his little boy. I loved that even though he was a bear, he was always gentle and mannerly.

My son, of course, prefers the Richard Scarry stories about cars and trucks, especially “Things That Go!” Louie’s Gooey Glue truck never fails to bring gales of laughter, as does Roger Rhino with his ill-fitting glasses.

The Hat Book

I loved pretty much every Dr. Seuss book ever written, but “The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins” sticks out in my mind as one of my favorites. Poor Bartholomew’s puzzled expression still makes me snort with laughter.

Both of my kids get their giggles from a completely different book about hats: “Blue Hat, Green Hat”. A silly turkey who tries wearing his shoes on his head and putting his coat on backwards is the main source of giggles in this delightful book with its refrain of, “Oops!”

Dr. Seuss

 

And of course, no children’s book collection would be complete without a set of Dr. Seuss books. My son can recite pretty much all of “Dr. Seuss’s ABC” plus quite a few passages from “Green Eggs and Ham” and “I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!” As could I, when I was his age.

I look forward to years from now when I can pass along my favorites and my kids’ favorites to my grandchildren. And maybe they’ll have some new classics to share with me! I just hope we’ll be turning the pages together and not just poking a touch screen. Because there’s nothing in the world that feels quite as wonderful as turning the magical pages of a beloved book.

Thing 1 and Thing 2

My husband is a huge fan of Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss. Geisel was a fellow Dartmouth alum and a member of my husband’s fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon. So when Geisel visited Dartmouth while my husband was a student, he made sure to introduce himself and even get a photograph, which his father later sent to Geisel to have it autographed.

Geisel’s inscription reads, “It’s very flattering to have my picture wanted…especially with my mouth stupidly open like that. – Ted Geisel”. It is one of my husband’s prize possessions. So naturally, the last time we were up at Dartmouth, he bought the kids bright red T-shirts reading “Thing 1” and “Thing 2”.

For those of you may not remember Thing 1 and Thing 2, they were the fluffy blue-haired cohorts of the Cat in the Hat, always making messes and getting into trouble. Other than the mops of blue hair, my children are very similar to the Things. They specialize in making messes and getting into trouble.

My daughter, at 9 months, is on the verge of walking, but even without that skill, she has become a master of climbing. A few days ago I left her in the playroom for literally 90 seconds while I used the bathroom. When I came out, she had climbed all the way upstairs into the kitchen and was happily opening and closing the cabinet doors. Another time, I left the room to answer the phone, and in the 30 seconds I was gone she had climbed up onto the seat of the couch, then pulled herself up onto the back of the couch, and was standing on the back of the couch, hanging onto the stair railing behind it and grinning at me. If there is a door within her reach, she will open it. If there is a button nearby, she will push it. If there is any kind of small object on the floor, she will pick it up and eat it. If there is any kind of large object on the floor, she will pick it up and bonk herself with it.

And speaking of bonking, her big brother, at age 2-1/2, can give Thing 1 and Thing 2 a run for their money in the world of bonking. Sometimes he bonks himself, sometimes his sister, sometimes another toy or the wall or the television set. But if he can lift it up, he needs to try bonking something with it.

He’s also at an age where he needs to test his will against his parents’ at every opportunity. If I tell him to put down something that he’s holding, he’ll look at me and hang onto it for a few moments, until I raise my voice or warn him about a spanking, before he puts it down. Or he stares at me blankly as I pry it from his hand. I’ll tell him to do something (sit in his chair, get into the car, take off his shoes) and he’ll calmly say, “No, thank you.” (At least he’s often polite about his defiance.) He is mischief personified.

Thing 1 and Thing 2, in the Cat in the Hat books, are often infuriating, and yet the reader is still always delighted when they make their appearance. Likewise, my children are often infuriating, and yet I am still always delighted with them. It is one of the mysteries of life that children can drive you absolutely bonkers but at the same time you’d still throw yourself in front of a bus for them.

It reminds me of a comment Jeff Foxworthy once made: He said he never understood God’s relationship with the human race until he had children. And then he understood how it’s possible for God to love us even when we drive Him absolutely crazy with our disobedience and our mischief.

Yes, I sure do love my Thing 1 and my Thing 2, even when they’re destroyed my house and getting on my nerves and just generally driving me nuts. Because they’re still MY Thing 1 and Thing 2.