Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Eastery Things...

I love Easter colors. I love eggs, chicks and bunnies.
I love spring flowers. I painted this box in 2004. I gave one like it to Alexandra Stoddard to celebrate what was then her new book, Things I Want My Daughters to Know, which is still a favorite. It has yellow daffodils on the cover.
I made these eggs last spring and Emily reminded me of them in this post.
Little c's candy from Nammy.
I like this cute bucket and bunny that I picked up yesterday at Sur La Table.

Island of the Blue Dolphins...

Cousin Blake recently recommended this book on his blog and C also mentioned that it had been one he liked as a kid, so I got it from the library on tape for little c to listen to.

Classics are usually classic for a reason and this book is no exception. I really enjoyed reading it because I just finished reading Robinson Crusoe several weeks ago and it was fun to compare the two. Little c loves historys and historical fiction and so it was a big hit. She insisted on listening to the entire book in one sitting.

My good friend Michelle first encouraged me to check out books on tape, a practice that has changed my life. I love to be able to paint, do laundry or whatever and still be reading. Some of the tapes that I have checked out from the library have had such excellent readers that it gives the book a whole new dimension. A Tale of Two Cities has long been a favorite book, but listening to it on tape last summer was an expansive experience almost like the difference between reading a Shakespeare play and seeing one performed on the stage. The actor did such an excellent job making each character a unique voice. However, the most impressive thing about listening to books on tape is the added amount of concentration and increased vocabulary that it gives to a child.

The Miraculous Journey...

I got this book at the library, but If we hadn't just finished it, and if I had known how good it would be, I would have picked one up for the Easter basket. This book is the story of Edward Tulane, a proud and spoiled, china rabbit who goes on a miraculous journey to find that love is the most important possession in life and that to learn to love others is what life is about. Kate DiCamillo's writing is very fine indeed and adults will enjoy The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane every bit as much as their children.