Bird and Little Bird

The Random Post (Part Two)

We had a pleasantly busy weekend, filled with all kinds of the good stuff: walks in the woods, a trip to the library, lunch out, the aquarium with friends.  And, perhaps most importantly, some solid pajama time at home.  I did get in some good crafty time as well, but didn't get anything finished in time to get decent day-lit photos. 

A few other things:

- I am loving the art from Amy Blackwell, most especially this.  I know that the "no more room for art" discussion is ongoing on this blog.  It is perhaps second in frequency only to "I eat too many cupcakes and like it a lot" as a favorite topic.  But... I just so happen to be hatching a plan to address this problem and thus be able to buy more art.  More on that later this week.  

- If you or yours are at all inclined towards the enjoyment of birds, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website is a virtual smorgasbord of birding fun.  We just so happened to have a strong need to know the approximate size of cardinal eggs around nine o' clock this morning and found that information and much, much more here.  An awesome resource for teachers as well as parents and of course, nerds like myself.  

- I keep stumbling upon the pattern for the Village Frock (from the talent behind Sugar City Journal) but it always seems to be sold out.  I checked again this evening and scored; in stock and now on it's way to me!  Of course, it only goes up to size six and since I normally avoid garment sewing like the plague, Mariam may well be six years old before I actually get the thing stitched up.  She's on the small side for her age though, so I think we'll be good...

Library Monday: Olivia.

Olivia, by Ian Falconer, is perhaps one of our oldest, most reliable favorites among picture books.  We have had this one long enough that our version of it is a board book (meaning that it must have originally come on the scene during the very early days of "literacy" when kids are more interested in eating their books than reading them).  Mariam loved this book at two and she loves it just as much now that she is five and learning to read on her own.  There are a number of Olivia sequels, and we have enjoyed all of those as well, but the original Olivia title is certainly the one that gets the most attention around here.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Olivia series, this first book is our introduction to Olivia the pig, a plucky little heroine of great spirit and no small amount of determination.  We also meet Olivia's family, including her oft harassed cat Edwin and little brother Ian.  I love the writing style in this book, particularly the way that the written story interacts with the story being told by the pictures.  However, my favorite part of this book is the way that Falconer pays homage to famous artists by including their work as a part of the story that he is telling.  It's great fun to come across familiar paintings and buildings (Jackson Pollack, The Empire State Building) in a book like this and it is also a perfect way to introduce some of these things and make connections for early experiences in museums or checking out architecture.  If you're into that sort of thing.  Which we kind of are.

Apparently there are many, many extensions of the Olivia phenomenon outside of just the literary.  I hear that there is an Olivia t.v. show, an Olivia board game and I myself have seen stacks of Olivia stationery at the local paper shop.  These things are all well and good, I suppose.  But I'd recommend visiting the original source if you want to experience the fun and humor of Olivia; just pick up the book and read.

Caught Up.

As of today, I am officially caught up on shop work.  I finished up this fox for a custom order over the weekend, using some scraps of Amy Butler fabric that I had left over from some projects I did a couple of years back.  I had forgotten about them completely but they were rediscovered during the process of digging through my fabric stash looking for something that might fit the color scheme of the nursery that this fox is going to live in.  

Now I just have to work on getting all these baby gifts finished.  So, tonight is all about camping out on the couch in my p.j.s and getting some serious slipstitching done.  Yeah, I might have to throw a bit of leftover Halloween candy into the mix too...

Making Lists.

My girl is turning into quite the list maker these days.  Grocery lists, wish lists, lists of good and bad ideas, lists of dinosaurs and how much they should probably cost to buy (if they weren't extinct, obviously).  You name it, she'll make a list out of it.  If you are willing to help a bit with the spelling, that is.  Apparently, we aren't quite comfortable with invented spelling just yet. 

I particularly enjoyed this grocery list from this last Sunday, not just because I think that all this list making is crazy cute, but also because of the items that made the list.  For those of you not fluently literate in little kid, the list reads as such: "sweet potato, sushi rice, avocado, jelly rabbits."  And yes, those are spots of syrup mixed in with the marker. 

Library Monday: One Small Place in a Tree.

In keeping with the fall friendly theme of trees, this week's Library Monday title is One Small Place in a Tree by Barbara Brenner (illustrated by Tom Leonard). Not so much a classic storybook as it is a scientific journey, One Small Place in a Tree uses colorful illustrations and flowing narrative to demonstrate the life cycle of a single tree in a forest ecosystem.  Beginning with an oak tree in a forest full of similar oak trees, the story delves into the way that a hole is formed in the tree and then becomes an important resource for a community of small animals in a patch of the forest, even after the tree is no longer alive. 

This book is a delight for any number of reasons, but I especially love the way that it makes the process of understanding a natural life cycle accessible to even young children.  The clear text and detailed illustrations do an excellent job of demonstrating an important scientfic idea while also telling an interesting story that keeps young readers engaged.  Mariam enjoys having this book read to her, but she also enjoys spending time looking through the pictures on her own and noticing the changes in the tree from page to page.  

One Small Place in a Tree would be a great read at any time of the year, but it is especially good for the current shift of the seasons happening in our part of the world.  We are watching fall quickly turn to (very cold!) winter and books like this one are a perfect way to better understand the connections between these changes in our own backyard and the bigger cycles of life. 

Natural History.

Mariam and I are on a (very) miniature vacation for the next couple of days.  We're taking advantage of a long weekend, provided to us by the Vermont State Educator's Convention (schools are closed today and tomorrow).  So, we are in New York City visiting my little sister, who lives here.  First up on our to-do list today was the Museum of Natural History. 

It would seem as though I was too riveted by the vast array of fabulous taxidermied animal specimens to remember to take photos.  I did get a nice picture of this T-Rex, however.  Apparently, the T-Rex is among the most well known of dinosaurs despite the fact that there have actually been very few specimens ever discovered.  Just a little trivia for you.  So don't go telling anyone that this blog is anything other than informative. 

Foxes for Girls.

I received a custom order recently for a fox that would be suitable for a baby girl recently born into a family full of boys.  You know, something with a bit of girly-style pink.  I gave this just a moment's thought and decided that Mr. Fox is absolutely comfortable with his stylish masculinity and that he is probably also totally on board with the fashion industry's push to bring back pink for guys.  So, here you have it: Semi-Fantastic Mr. Fox in pink and purple, with a bit of the customary blues. 

Library Monday: A Tree is Nice.

We just recently came upon this book; A Tree is Nice, by Janice May Udry with illustrations by Marc Simont.  Such a find!  This book is beautifully done in every way.  The pictures are simple but expressive and the prose reads almost like an extended haiku (well, except for the counting syllables business, that is).  The tone of the book overall is a bit understated (many of us might say that a tree is more than just "nice") but this is a part of its charm.  This book is a delightfully pleasant read and a lovely reminder of all the little ways that we as people interact with the trees around us.  This book has been an especially timely read for our family since this is Mariam's first fall living in a place with deciduous trees.  A leaf pile? This is an idea that my girl certainly recognizes as genius, but it is also something new. 

This book is not so much about story or plot, but it has a brightness to it that makes it a joy to read just the same and which gives it a meaning beyond the short descriptive passages on each page.  It could also be a wonderful book for connecting readers of different ages.  A very young child might just enjoy listening and looking at the pictures, an older child can enjoy these things as well, but can also work on making connections between the book and their own experiences of trees and how people live with trees.  I love the idea of reading this book with elementary aged children (maybe from kinder up through third grade or so) and then having them write one of their own books about why trees are nice, using a simple bookmaking activity (like this one).  

Every so often a book comes along that is so very sweet and hopeful and shares something of the world in such a generous and thoughtful way, that I just feel amazingly fortunate to have a little person to read it to.  If she enjoys it as much as I do- added bonus.  This is one of those books.  A tree is nice, yes.  But so is this book. 

Blue Yonder Bookmarks.

In the event that you haven't yet seen, downloaded and printed these, Stephanie from Blue Yonder (home of the parenting miracle that is the Book of Days) has these fun bookmarks available for free on the Crafty Crow.  I'm planning to print a bunch on cardstock, laminate them and add them to my "prize box" at school.  That is what we call the box of random trinkets which I use to bribe small children into doing things like following directions and not eating their pencils.  Very handy.  

Shortening My List.

Another custom order for the shop, stitched up, photographed and ready for boxing and shipping (this time to Australia).  Last week was a big shop week and I have definitely been very busy sewing in order to meet deadlines for custom orders as they've been coming in.  Not that you will ever hear me complain about this kind of busy.  No way.  Because it's awesome. 

Dan says that this Ms. Rabbit "looks Australian" and I do not know what this means.  I do know that it is a compliment, however, so I'll take it.