He wrote lots of other books as well, the Harold series just happens to be my favorite.
And after you've enjoyed the sheer genius of Crockett Johnson, you could have a slice of cake (with purple icing, of course) or better yet a piece of pie.
"There was nothing but pie. But there were all nine kinds of pie that Harold liked best.”
~ from Harold and the Purple Crayon
And if you can't do that maybe just draw something with a purple crayon.
When I was in high school, one of my English teachers served birthday cake every year on Shakespeare's birthday. It was then, after reading A Midsummer Night's Dream, that I first became enamored of the beautiful rhythm of iambic pentameter, Shakespeare's special treatment of the universal themes of good versus evil, unrequited love,uncontrollable jealously and, of course, his sense of humor (his comedies are my favorites). Even decades later, today is not a day that I can go without acknowledging.
So, Happy 447th Birthday Bill!
Later, having carried a hefty Norton Shakespeare around campus for at least one full year of college, I felt compelled to travel to Stratford Upon Avon when I visited England just after graduation.
I also sought out the original location of The Globe Theatre in London. At the time, it was more difficult to locate then you would have thought.
My sister and me at the original site of The Globe Theatre in 1986.
Twenty-four years later, I had my kids pose in the exact same spot for a photo.
It's deja-vu all over again!
Today, the plaque above is just a block or two away from this re-creation of The Globe:
and much easier to find. A sight totally worth visiting, even if you're not a "Shakespeareophile"like me. (I think I may have just invented a word, in which case Mr. Shakespeare would, no doubt, be proud.
Happy Birthday, Mrs. Cleary and thank you for the joy you brought me (in your 50s) and my children (in your 80s) and a lifetime of helping children love to read and laugh.
My favorite Beverly Cleary book (though not necessarily her most well-known) is Ellen Tebbits. Ellen's misadventures include having to wear long underwear under her ballet leotard and her inability to control a difficult horse (albeit not both at the same time). Trust me, it's funny. Ellen's nemesis Otis and his spurs are quite humorous, too.
Mrs. Cleary's other works include the Henry series and the Ramona books (made into a recent movie which my daughter and I disparage. After all, who could do justice to Mrs. Cleary's writing? Though, the handsome actor John Corbett was, no doubt, awesome casting.)
We listened to Mrs. Cleary's Ralph S. Mouse and The Mouse and the Motorcycle on audiotape during long car trips when my children were younger. We loved them both.
Enjoy your day, Mrs. Cleary. My daughter hopes you got the fan letter she wrote you when she was in third grade - if not, consider yourself appreciated by our family and countless others.
"When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does."
~ Kathleen Kelly's character in You've Got Mail
As long as I can remember I've loved books. In the third grade I read Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory eight times and a couple years in a row I won the grade school award for most books read.
So, instilling a love of reading in my children was/is important to me. When my children were younger, and especially in the summer, we made a weekly trip to our public library to browse and check out library books. Sadly, with an excess of online resources, Kindles and a Barnes and Noble on every corner, we're far less likely to visit the library these days.
But, we'll always have these special reminders of our weekly treks to the library:
I bought simple canvas bags at Michael's Arts and Craft and gave my children paint pens to decorate them. We took zip ties and a hole punch and attached their library cards to the bag handle. Their precious handwriting (on both the bags and library cards) is so special. We hung these on our coat rack where they couldn't be misplaced.
I'm happy to say that today both of my children are voracious readers and I know I have the public library (and I like to think, these little bags) to thank for that.
If he were alive, Theodor Seuss Geisel would be 107 years old today.
Did you know that on a bet from his publisher, Mr. Geisel wrote Green Eggs and Ham using just 50 different words? It almost makes the 223-word The Cat in the Hat seem verbose.
Seuss' weird, nonsensical words, silly rhymes and cartoon characters are so special and unique, there is no one else like him. It's no wonder his books are third and fourth on the list of all-time children favorites (series books take the number 1 and 2 spots).
A sampling from our collection of Dr. Seuss' books.
Geisl was a prolific writer, author of 44 children's books, and all of his works, including If I Ran the Zoo and, of course, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, are favorites at our house.
Here are some fun printables for a Dr. Seuss celebration, including this one:
There are lots of other great resources at the PBS website and at www.seussville.com.
But regardless of how (or if) you celebrate, when the day comes to a close, I hope you'll say
“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”
Today we celebrate the birth of our first President, George Washington (though his actual birthday is tomorrow). In fact, in Washington's home state (and mine, yay!) Virginia, this holiday is legally known as "George Washington Day."
This beautiful book was written by the wife of a former Vice President, Lynne Cheney. That's cool.
But in most places, it's Presidents' Day and we celebrate the 44 men who have served as the United States' Commander in Chief.
And they definitely deserve their own special day, because, let's face it: Presidents are important. Presidents are significant. Presidents are, well, Presidents.
And maybe because I spent almost a decade of my formative years living in or very near the nation's capital; or because I've attended a Rose Garden signing ceremony (not bragging, just explaining);
Ronald Reagan (Nancy, too) in the Rose Garden with the World Series winning Dodgers. I stood on my seat for this photo.
or, because I graduated from the university founded by Thomas Jefferson (still not bragging) or, most importantly, I've had the great privilege of meeting several Presidents, including Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton (okay, maybe bragging a little), I have an extra special place in my heart for this holiday.
I was standing below on the the train platform when I took this photo (bragging).
Even without these special connections, I can't help but want to celebrate today.
So I have lots of Presidential stuff:
I bought these guys at the Dollar Store and I love them. Don't they look imposing? They're just 5 1/2 inches tall.
And I have fun stuff too, like this:
Because while these guys were Presidents, they were also human and they made mistakes.
We also have these cool placemats which are used not just today but often.
We love the facts and biographical information on the reverse sides. When we had a French foreign exchange student living with us two summers ago, she enjoyed reading the information on them and quizzing us. (I'm fairly certain there are no placemats in France with Sarkozy, and definitely not Mitterrand, on them, so she was impressed or at least as impressed as any French person can be).
Finally, if you haven't yet seen the HBO series on John Adams. as fast as your fingers can, navigate away from this silly blog, go to your Netflix account (if you have one) and add it to your queue. It is a must see.
For more immediate gratification and something in more recent history, watch this and of course, have a great Presidents' Day!
I don't know why she's not smiling. After all, she brought so much joy to her readers, including me.
Today is the birthday of one of my childhood heroes - Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House series.
When I was 10, 11 and 12, I soaked in the words of her nine-book series, over and over again. I imagined myself in the big snows of Minnesota and longed to ride in a covered wagon. I wish we'd had family friends like Mr. Edwards, I was intrigued by names like Almanzo and Royal and I knew people like Nellie Oleson.
That Mrs. Wilder didn't even begin to write down her stories until she was in her 60s makes her even more remarkable.
Original cover of the book
So thanks so much Laura Ingalls Wilder, for your vivid stories of life on the plains which still seem so real more than 130 years later.
Alan Alexander Milne was born in London on January 18, 1882. He is perhaps the best known author of childrens' books, which include Winnie the Pooh and House at Pooh Corner. He created endearing and enduring characters.
Until I started researching it, I had no idea that Milne's son's name was Christopher Robin (though the book's character's last name is Robbin). His son's stuffed bear, Winnie the Pooh, was named after a bear, albeit at a black one, at the London Zoo.
Who doesn't love Tigger, Piglet, Kanga and Roo and, of course, Pooh and his relentless quest for Hunny? Perhaps because I'm cynical and sometimes called a pessimist, I'm drawn to lovable Eeyore.
When my daughter was about 4 or 5, we would sometimes read a Pooh story at night. One evening, I read a sentence that ended "Eeyore said glumly. " Confused by the placement of the adverb, she began to call the character, "Glumly" - and we still do to this day.
At Epcot in 1991, I took this photo of my husband, decidedly not a pessimist, with Eeyore (later aka Glumly).
So, Happy Birthday, Mr. Milne and thank you for your wonderful perspective on how children see the world and thanks for Glumly, too!
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. This year Dr. King’s birthday will be observed on Monday, January 17th.
I was living in Washington, D.C. in 1986 when President Reagan signed into law the bill that created the federal observance and I have been to MLK’s birthplace in Atlanta many times in the 20 years since I moved here.
The home Martin Luther King grew up in on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta.
I have taken my children, other family members and out of town visitors to walk the streets where he grew up, to sit in the pew of the church where he preached (and where his mother was killed) and to stand at the fountain that marks his tomb.
Our kids on the first of several trips to the King Memorial.
I am always awed by the experience.
And, I love children’s books and own quite a few. So it is not lightly that I say the book(cover above), Martin’s Big Words: The life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is amazing, with lot of illustrations, like this:
It is not surprising that this book won the New York Times Book Review for Best Illustrated Book in 2001. It was also a Caldecott Honor Book. It’s author Doreen Rappaport and illustrator Bryan Collier have both done spectacular jobs.
So, today I will reread this beautiful book, and probably again on Monday too, and reflect on the man who changed so many lives for the better.
I love The Nutcracker. There, I’ve said it. A woman in her 40s with an unconstrained passion for a children's book.
E.T.A. Hoffman’s, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, written almost 200 years ago, is a wonder. It has fantasy and horror. It has villains and heroes. It is both scary and a love story. It has all the elements of a good read.
I have a collection of these children’s books as well as themed ornaments (remember my post about not being a collector? Yeah, cancel that). I now have an entire tree that is just The Nutcracker.
I try to add one or two ornaments each year. Here are some of my favorites:
(l to r) Nutcracker book, a Christopher Radko Nutcracker and godfather, toymaker, inventor Drosselmeir.
This ornament has a battery-powered rotating mechanism that makes it turn. Marya (sometimes called Marie or Clara) on the left, Mouse King on the right.
Now I know some people love the Nutcracker but, to my mind, there is an overabundance of nutcrackers out there. Perhaps it's because I’m partial to the Mouse King and his antics.
My lime green Mouse King tree-topper. Even though (spoiler alert) he is not victorious in the end, I love seeing him looking down on his tree kingdom
I want all the story’s characters represented on my tree, even the seemingly minor ones. That's why I bought this ornament, and several others like it, on eBay.
The Mother Ginger and her Polichinelles (little puppets)
If you haven't read The Nutcracker and the Mouse King to your children, you should. And don't be surprised if, like me, they love the Mouse King the most.
I love holidays and celebrations. I love anticipating them, learning about them, and most of all observing them. The nice thing is, any day can be a special occasion, if you want it to be. You can create your own traditions and rituals, embrace those of long-ago or those of other cultures. You can be creative, extravagant or just sentimental. The best thing is knowing that you can give special significance to any day of the year - past, present or future.
For example, at our house the week of February 11th through the 17th is a 7-day celebration - kicked-off by the anniversary of the day my husband and I met (February 11th), marked halfway by the all important St. Valentine’s Day and culminating with the anniversary of our engagement (one year later - on February 17th). We decided that some things, like L-O-V-E, deserve not just a day, but a whole week of celebrating.
I hope you’ll enjoy reading what it is I love about holidays and special days - all year long.
