Dads Read Too

JER: "Fred Gets Dressed” by Peter Brown reminds me of the poem “On Children” by Khalil Gibran: > ”Your children are not your children.  > They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. >They come through you but not from you, >And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.” The biggest lesson I have learned about parenting is that “my children are not my own”, they are beautiful manifestations of LIFE, and I just happen to have arrived a short time before them. As much as I may have tried, I cannot force or compel my children to turn into something that is not authentic to themselves. I can model good behavior and be there for them when they make discoveries. I only hope I will be as supportive and kind as “Fred’s Parents”.  

  JER: “TAKE A BREATH” by Sujean Rim is about managing emotions and anxiety. It is extremely common for people, children, and in this case: Bob, a bird, to experience strong emotions, fear, anxiety, and disappointment around seeing differences in abilities and experiences, i.e a bird who can’t fly, yet. What is less common is the ability to process emotions and find enough confidence and calm to meet those challenges. Despite lots of time, practice, and effort; Flight alludes Bob. “Bob starts to get nervous. He starts to worry and begins to doubt. Bob, in fact, is really freaking out.” Luckily Crow helps Bob learn how to breath, and it makes all the difference. I love reading this at bedtime, because the breathing exercises and visuals are very calming. Well done  @sujeanstudio

JER: “Maybe . . .” by Chris Haughton demonstrates the bargaining process we can all find ourselves engaging in. We all have our own proverbial Mango Tree. Lake said her favorite part of the book was the “maybe”, 😂

JER: “The Whisper” by Pamela Zagarenski pays homage to the Aesop Fable - “The Fox and the Grapes” by demonstrating ways to imagine the story differently. The little girl loved stories, and was excited to borrow her teacher’s magic book of stories. As she ran home, the words drifted out . . . she was despondent when she sat down to read the book that night and discover it was now a book “without any words”. Luckily a fox caught the words and whispered encouragement through the window: “You can imagine the words. You can imagine the stories. Start with a few simple words and imagine from there. Remember: beginnings, middles, and ends of stories can always be changed and imagined differently. There are never any rules, rights, or wrongs in imagining - imagining just is.”

JER: “TOP 5 - 2022 BOOKS” JER's TOP 5 - 2020 BOOKS 1. “ Seahorses Are Sold Out ” by author Constanze Spengler & Illustrator Katja Gehrmann (05MAR22) 2. “ The Whisper ” by Pamela Zagarenski (16DEC22) 3. “ Maybe . . . ” by Chris Haughton (30APR22) 4. “ Fred Gets Dressed ” by Peter Brown (14MAY22) 5. “ Take a Breath ” by Sujean Rim (09SEPT22) Honorable Mention: “Mole in a Black & White Hole” by Tereza Sediva (14SEPT22) •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Just in time for a last minute Christmas Gift: “Seahorses Are Sold Out” is my favorite book I reviewed in 2022. It’s silly, fun, and unexpected. I also love how it models positive parenting. Sometimes you need to get work done, sometimes you need kids to entertain themselves, and it is best to accept and roll with the madness that might result from instructions like: “buy whatever you need, just let me work” . . . even if it means buying a little penguin to teach your mouse to swim.  

JER: “Seahorses Are Sold Out” by author Constanze Spengler and illustrator Katja Gehrmann reminds me of “If You Give A Pig A Pancake” with semi-logical, yet unexpected reactions.  Mika’s Dad needs to finish up an important project, and isn’t available to go to the Lake as planned.  Several interruptions later, and the Dad asks “would you play with [a new pet] very quietly and not bother me until I finish my work?” Mika makes it to the pet store and his Dad tells the owner “sell the kid whatever, and now please let me get on with my work!”  A mouse is a great pet, but it is too good at hiding.  So the man at the pet store “says dogs have such sensitive noses they can sniff out anything”. The dog found the mouse immediately, but the puppy didn’t understand Mika’s directions on how to use the toilet, and ended up leaving a puddle next to the toilet.  Mika comes up a creative solution, he “saw a seal in the pet shop . . . She can live in the bathroom and make sure e...

JER: “Nightlights” by Lorena Alvarez is a weird and wonderful mix of beautiful, existential, and a little scary.  Sandy catches the “nightlights” which turn into anything she can imagine, and then she draws them “so they stay with me!” But after she meets a new girl, Morfie, that no one else seems to be able to see, Sandy develops a semi-toxic but beneficial relationship with Morfie: Morfie demands more art and eats it with gluttonous desire.  Sandy agrees to stay with Morfie if she helps do her tedious work, like writing out the numbers in pi (3.14159263589793238 . . .). I don’t know how to feel about the story, whether Morfie is the vanity and praise that turns art into work, if it is the deal we make with our brains to compartmentalize tedium from passion, or what it means, but I know I like it, and I like that it makes me intrigued and slightly uncomfortable.