Children's Books

One of my favorite books of all time is Harold and the Purple Crayon.  I have to admit, though, that I had never heard of it until I saw The Story of Us starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Bruce Willis.  (And they say that you never learn anything from movies.)  In the movie, Pfeiffer's character describes the difference between her and her husband using the book; I related to the book on a different level.  I saw it as the story of how I had ended up back in Valdosta after teaching in Kissimmee, Douglas, and Fayetteville, GA.  So, when it was time for me to write my essay for admission to VSU's graduate school, I related my professional teaching career to HPC.  Sometimes I wonder what they thought of my essay.  Maybe they don't read them very carefully.  

When I was in Boston, I was exposed to Robert McCloskey's Make Way for the Ducklings, which has quickly made its way into my top ten.  MWD is the story of Mrs. Mallard who decides to raise her eight ducklings in a lagoon of Boston Public Garden.  As a result of this book, Boston Public Garden now has a statue of Mrs. Mallard and eight ducklings and every Mother's Day, little kids get dressed up as ducklings and come running down the hill.  (I walked all over Boston searching for Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings but had to settle for the picture of her in my hotel.)  It has also inspired "duck" races throughout the Boston-area.  It's a good thing that I'm not a diehard Yankee fan because I really love Boston.

I have to admit that one reason I love teaching middle school is because it gives me the excuse to buy new books.  I think that deep down, I'm a frustrated librarian minus the mousy hair and repressed wardrobe.  :)   (I had to throw in a stereotype for Heidi.)   Ironically, my maternal aunt was a librarian, and my maternal uncle and his wife both work with elementary children, he as an administrator and she as a chorus teacher.  What's funny is that I'm adopted.  As a child, I can remember my mother walking me and my brother to the library on Base and checking out as many books as I was allowed.   My love of books clearly came from the Trueblood side, and I like to think, that even though I am adopted, my grandpa Trueblood, who wrote for the local newspaper, lives on in me.      

Children's books . . . What other ones do I like?  No discussion of children's book is every complete without Dr. Seuss.  I just bought The Sleep Book for Kayse, one of my former cheerleaders who is having her first baby in August.  Actually, I bought baby Ari quite a few books to start his library and need to send them to his mother before he gets here.  I bought a box of Boynton, a collection of Curious George, MWD, HPC, and an Elmo bath book.  He has to have an Elmo book.  :)  

Since I can't think of any more children's books right now, I am going to write about the books that I want to read right now but do not have the time to do so.  Night is sitting on my bed stand on top of Darfur Diaries.  Then there's the last bit of How Starbucks Saved My Life that I started in San Antonio last year and The Art of Racing in the Rain.  A book a student's mother gave me- Kira-Kira- a book my friend Hannah gave me.  

Is there a job where I can get paid to read books?  Where do I sign up?