theme day: home

Home: A Collaboration of Thirty Authors & Illustrators

1992 Reading Rainbow Books.

"Thirty authors and illustrators contribute original stories, poems, and artwork that explore and illuminate the theme of belonging, be it to a physical place or a family group. Thought-provoking and...first-rate. Their beautiful words and magnificent art affirm the importance--and joy--of having a place of one's own. "

Notable 1992 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)

A House is a House for Me

1978, Viking.

Verse by Mary Anne Hoberman
Illustrated by Betty Fraser.

In lilting, rhythmic verse, this modern classic describes all kinds of houses - some familiar, some surprising - but at the same time does much more. Filled with hundreds of meticulously drawn everyday objects presented in delightfully unexpected ways, the book itself is a house for the reader's imagination. Winner of a National Book Award, it was the first collaboration between Hoberman and Fraser.

"A brisk, even headlong rhyme plunges us into a swirling cluster of images… an overwhelming profusion of examples of houses. It is an astonishing book, one of the best of the year." The New York Times

"Here is a wonderfully rhythmic tale with repetitive lines that kids will be singing along with as the story goes on. The fun of the many hiding, snuggling, pretending places kids dream up is captured in this book." Best Books, Redbook Magazine

theme day: birthday

best birthday book ever! gary goldschneider, joost elffers' the secret language of birthdays.

each day of the year has two pages (and I'm talking big pages for it's a big book) devoted to the secrets that lie in store in understanding what it 'means' to be born on a certain day.

each day has it's own personal 'theme' for instance I was born on a day with the theme of 'the day of controlled movement,' the book also provides a list of famous (and infamous) people who were also born on your day - my birthday twins include the likes of: herber marcuse, etienne-marcel decroux, edgar degas, george mcgovern, lizzie borden, samuel colt, natalya bessmertnova, illie nastase, and evio!

there are special health considerations for people who are 'born on that day' - my health advice states that people born on my birthday "should take special care of their arms and legs...." kind of freaky considering the third paragraph of this.

there's also some very good advice. my special advice is: "Though you must bring your emotions under control, never lose your spontaneity and insist on freedom for yourself. Don't worry about appearing niave; be more forthright. Beware of putting others on a pedestal or investing them with your own emotions." wow, more freaky-ness!

but my favorite is my personal (well my and everyone that shares the day) meditation:

Most of what we need is quite close at hand.

I'll share this meditation with all of you, if you'd like!

theme day: shoes!

You know the old woman
who lived in a shoe?
And had so many children
she didn't know what to do?

I think if she lived
in a little shoe-house--
That little old woman
was surely a mouse!

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943)
from Apple Dapply's Nursery Rhymes

the theme for this week is shoes!

I recently ran across mention of an interesting sounding coffee table book entitled shoes: a history from sandals to sneakers the book was written by giorgio riello and was published in 2006.