Dads Read Too

JER: “ Very Little Red Riding Hood ” by Teresa Heapy and Sue Heap transforms the scared, helpless, and victimized “Little Red Riding Hood” into a smaller, more empowered “Very Little Red Riding Hood” who is entirely capable of making her own way to “see Gramma with cakes”. She doesn’t get very far before she meets a Wolf she calls “Foxie”, who she gives a big hug, and convinces to chase her.  All of the original scary scenes of Little Red Riding Hood as the victim are recast as activities she consents to and enjoys.  It is a refreshing look at an old, problematic story.  The authors also, clearly have children of their own, as they smartly weave in common toddler outbursts like: “I NOT scared”, “Go ‘WAY”, and “LELLO (for yellow)”.

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” – Ray Bradbury I have a hard time letting go of books.  They become my friends with every turn of the page.  I look at them, and remember the journey they took me on, and I don’t want to forget where I’ve come from.

JER: “ Professor Astro Cat’s ATOMIC ADVENTURE ” by author Dr. Dominic Walliman and illustrator Ben Newman is another great edition to their series (almost ten books now) on different scientific concepts. This one focuses on basic principles of Physics (a topic very near to my heart, since it is what I studied in college). The books sets about answering some of the most basic questions: “Where does electricity come from?  How does a boat float?  Why is the sky blue?  How do we see colors?” and many mores.

JER: “ Here We Are ” by Oliver Jeffers - subtitled: “notes for living on planet earth” is a beautiful exploration of perspective.  Everything gradually gets classified down and defined.  Where do we live?  We live in a solar system that is only one of TRILLIONS in the Universe.  It is remarkable to think we are one solar system out of trillions, that we live on one planet out of eight in our solar system, and we can further classify that down to one part of the earth (i.e. LAND for most of us), to one person out of BILLIONS, and even though we can define ourselves as one of many different shapes, sizes, and colors, we are all still PEOPLE. Most of all, this book left me in awe of the miraculous fact that we EXIST AT ALL.  If you zoom out far enough, you realize we are more similar than we are different.  The books sentiments remind me strongly of Stoicism .  We need to rely on one another when we enter this world, before we leave it, and ...

JER: “ We Don’t Eat Our Classmates ” by Ryan T. Higgins was a really great recommendation from our friend Alice.  It details Penelope’s inner struggle to avoid eating her classmates, even though they are SOOOO DELICIOUS!  Her parents help her see that “children are the same as us [T-Rexes] on the inside.  Just tastier.” Once the tables were turned on her, and she learned what it felt like to “be someone’s snack, she lost her appetite for children (Even when Cece Woodman spilled BBQ sauce all over herself)”. It is a really great book for discussing empathy, and learning how to treat others how you want to be treated.

JER: “ Color Farm ” by Lois Ehlert magically blends colors, shapes, and cut-outs to overlay different animal shapes.

DADS LISTEN: “ Reframing Anger ” on NPR’s TED Radiohour with host Guy Raz.  This is a synopsis from the website: “Anger is universal and complex: it can be quiet, festering, justified, vengeful, and destructive. This hour, TED speakers explore the many sides of anger, why we need it, and who's allowed to feel it.” I especially enjoyed this, entirely relatable, experience from host Guy Raz and the resulting dialogue with clinical psychologist Russell Kolts about how we can use compassion to manage our anger.  Dr. Kolts goes on to explain that anger can be useful in “activating us to act now”, but it is a vulnerability that needs to be addressed.  One way to manage anger, is to take steps to interrupt the momentum of anger to create some space for whatever comes next.  If you try to visualize yourself in a past experience where you were angry, and think of what encouragement you might have given yourself at that moment to “be at your best in that moment.” ...