Three

I forgot to add these winners:

We frequent the public library probably twice a week. I try to bring home a good sized armful of children’s books for Snowden to enjoy each week, exposing her to different types of illustrations, new vocabulary, a range of stories that spark her imagination and enhance her understanding of the world.

Her appetite for being read to and perusing books on her own is astounding. I have to consciously plan other enticing activities to draw her away from the stack that she would gladly spend all day looking through. When she gets upset by injury or insult her tearful wail is “reeeaaad a booook!” (that is, after “get the doggieeee-oh!”). We read books in the bathroom by the dozen, books before bed, she takes books with her in the car to show other people. All this has made a good children’s book, one that she wants to read again and again, one that Sean or I get to know intimately with repetition, all the more valuable.

We now have a growing list of library favorites and at first I thought I would buy these books but I’ve come to enjoy going to the library and pulling one of the old friends from the stack time after time. Finding the favorites makes the library itself a more friendly place, a place where the stories we love live. I don’t have any special go-to place to find authors, my approach so far has just been to browse the stacks. Here’s our short list of good reads that should be readily available from the public library, that is, if we haven’t checked them out once again!

We’ve come to seek out any and all books by Gloria Rand, illustrated by her husband Ted Rand. This local couple wrote and illustrated many children’s books that have a great sense of place and drama based on real life events. I’ve been worried upon reading almost all of Gloria’s books that 1) the narrative is too long for Snowden (23 mo. now, but she first met “Salty” last summer at 18 mo.) and 2) far too scary or dramatic. She takes both length and drama in stride and we try to read the scary parts with a bit of matter-of-factness while still providing her with a delicious gasp or the whispered “oh no!” she seems to thrive on. Examples of drama: sail boat sinking, abandoned dog’s near death from starvation and rescue, child falling off a sleigh in the arctic to be pulled to safety at the last minute. So yes, not for the faint of heart, but because Gloria writes the books based on true events, the tales don’t seem artificially inflated. Then, the end of each book often has a historical note, newspaper photograph or personal explanation. Look at this biography for the complete list of Rand books. (Note: many of these treasures are out of print so we do snatch them up when we find them in used book stores.)

Now, a list of books, without the fanfare of the Rand introduction, but no less good to read:

My Father’s Boat –Sherry Garland (makes me cry!)

Loon Lake — Jonathon London (lovely father/daughter camping/canoe story; we’ve enjoyed other books by London too.)

Bear on the Train – Julie Lawson (wonderful repeating refrain, good fall book)

The Paper Boy –Dav Pilkey (If you ever had to work a job that starts at 5am, you’ll love this book)

Dig! — Andrea Zimmerman (Girls and boys love tractors and this is fun to read out loud)

Chicky Chicky Chook Chook — Cathy MacLennan (Great for practicing letter sounds, seeing words printed big and little, fun to read, great art)

Wild Birds — Joanne Ryder (Nice winter book, beautifully colored illustrations, this is from our most recent library trip)

Apples to Oregon — Deborah Hopkins (Histroric tall tale of westward expansion, animated pictures, long but never boring. I was going to buy this book in the fall and decided it was too long of narrative; checked it out of the library and it was an instant favorite of Snowden’s. Lesson learned: don’t underestimate the power of a well told story.)

The Raft – Jim Lamarche (Definitely a summer book but one I don’t want to forget to list, brings tears to my eyes: a grandmother, a boy, sweet sensitivity to animals.)

In the spirit of the holidays and in celebration of the dramatic winter weather, I made snow flake sugar cookies with royal frosting. Last year I bought a combination spriz maker/decorating set. I only cared about having the right tool to make what I consider the classic Baughn family Christmas cookie, the spritz. This week though I’ve been itching to use the decorating tips and turn out beautiful cookies. I used the sugar cookie recipe from Alton Brown and Nigella Lawson’s frosting.

Recommendations: use a Silpat or parchment paper on the cookie sheets, the cookie is very delicate; add a flavoring to the frosting so you don’t get that weird powder sugar aftertaste; the frosting works best, as in dries hard quickly, the second day so pop it in the refrigerator overnight then beat it with a hand mixer for a minute or two when ready to use.

I’m pretty sure I’m done decorating cookies for the season! Back to the sewing machine now to wrap up my gift making.