Dads Read Too

  JER: My favorite children’s books I read in 2020: 1. “ Leave Me Alone ” (3/28/2020) 2. “ Very Little Red Riding Hood ” (2/29/20) 3. “ Triangle ” (8/15/20) 4. “ You Will Be My Friend ” (8/22/20) 5. “ Here We Are ” (2/1/20) Honorable mentions: “ Horrible Bear ” (3/21/20), “ Me . . . Jane ” (6/24/20), & “ We Don’t Eat Our Classmates ” (1/25/20) #bestoflist

JER: “ The Vanishing Lake ” by Paddy Donnelly revolves around a mystery with, potentially fantastical, explanations.  Meara’s grandfather lives near Lake Loughareema, which vacillates between a small mountain lake one day and dry lakebed the next day.  Meara wants to get to the bottom of the mystery, but her grandfather’s ideas seem a bit too far fetched.  I mean, how would sheep wool completely soak up all the water or how many narwhal horn holes would it take to drain the lake, ReAlLy?!?!? It reminds me of my one of my favorite “ This American Life ” podcast episodes - “Lights, Camera, Christmas!” (episode 728 - 25 DEC 2020) - the Mutchlers have “a family mythology of Santas that had its own logic, with many Santas and a family elf named Jeko”.  I love magical realities, and I love creating games with my kids, such as: “Monster Lollipop” where I wait at the bottom of playground slides and entice my girls down the slide with promises of different flavors of lollipo...

  JER: “Extra Yarn” by author Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen begins with Annabelle finding a “box filled with yarn of every color”, and no matter how many sweaters she knits there is always “extra yarn”.     Everyone seems happier in their new sweaters, especially “little Louis”.     I’d like to think I would prefer a hat like Mr. Crabtree “who never wore sweaters or even long pants, and who would stand in his shorts with snow up to his knees”. Setting the magical reality of children's books aside, there is good reason to believe that it might not be the "yarn" that is in endless supply, since it is a physical material.  The law of conservation of mass states that mass in an isolated system is neither "created nor destroyed by chemical reactions or physical transformations" ( Antoine Lavoisier ) and "total mass and energy in a system remain constant" ( Albert Einstein ).  Yarn wouldn't endlessly originate from a box without violating the c...

JER: My favorite children’s books I read in 2019: 1. “ Bear Came Along ” (10/26/19) 2. “ When Sadness Is At Your Door ” (10/4/19) 3. “ Julian Is A Mermaid ” (1/19/19) 4. “ There Is A Tribe of Kids ” (1/26/19) 5. “ Knuffle Bunny ” (3/18/19) Honorable Mentions: " Dear Girl ” (1/1/19); “ Hilda & The Troll ” (5/21/19); “ A Hungry Lion ” (11/29/19) & “ Hoot Owl ” (2/1/19) #bestoflist 

JER: “The President of the Jungle” by André Rodrigues, Larissa Ribeiro, Paula Desgualdo, & Pedro Markun is a very fun introduction into politics that kids will understand.  An out-of-touch ruler, Lion, diverts a community resource for their own personal use.  The River once enjoyed by all of the Jungle has disappeared to fill the Lion’s personal pool.  The scandal encourages the People to take matters in their own hands . . . to hold an ELECTION for PRESIDENT!  There are many animals with different platforms that appeal to authority/tradition (Lion), for social welfare (Monkey), for community activism (Snake), and for a little of everything (Sloth). Pick this book up to see if the rules are followed (election fraud) and who wins.  

JER: My Favorite Children’s Books From 2018:  1. “ They All Saw A Cat ” (12/10/18)  2. “ Bad Seed ” (12/9/18)  3. “ Hug Time ” (12/7/18) 4. “ Lucia & the Light ” (12/15/18) 5. “ Quit Calling Me A Monster (my name is Floyd Peterson)” (12/19/18)   

 JER: “ Drawn Together ” by author Minh Lê and illustrator Dan Santat is a visually stunning book that subtly demonstrates the fear of the unknown.  Strange words, strange food, strange looks, etcetera can divide people but by finding a shared interest or passion, bridges are quickly built.