The Artistic Spirit Is Willing But The Flesh Is Another Story

I had the best of intentions at the outset of summer vacation. The kids and I were going to get ourselves some culture. We were going to drink in art museums and classical music, maybe even some historical sights. Well, we have gone swimming frequently and eaten a lot of ice cream. Does that count as culture? Luckily, I found two great books at our library that don't quite serve as a substitute for a trip to an art museum but have engaged all three of my kids. Katy Friedland and Marla K. Shoemaker's A is for Art Museum is terrific. It is, as the title suggests, an alphabet book, and it presents dozens of pieces from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A question is posed of each piece as well, helping readers/viewers/art appreciators think about the art. For example Modigliani's Portrait of a Polish Woman faces a page that reads, "N is for neck. Here is a lady with a very long neck. Can you stretch your neck like this?" Van Gogh's Sunflowers is used for the letter S. "S is for sunflowers. Vincent van Gogh loved to paint sunflowers. Can you see where he signed his name?" In addition to the question given for each piece in the book, the authors give suggestions to enhance the readers' next museum visit. If we can organize ourselves to go this summer, I've got some great ideas to try with the kids.

My other fun art book discovery is the Touch the Art series of board books featuring famous works of art. We especially loved Pop Warhol's Top. My six year old son Ethan learned about Keith Haring in art class during the school year and made an exuberant picture inspired by his work so it is not surprising that he enjoyed the Keith Haring pages in this book. It makes 20th century art approachable with fuzzy pages and pop up book type action as well as a bit of background information on each piece. Other titles in the Touch the Art series are Brush Mona Lisa's Hair and Make Van Gogh's Bed.

Play Ball!

To celebrate Major League baseball's opening day, I've got a lineup of some of my favorite baseball books new and old. My most recent discovery is B is for Baseball: Running the Bases from A to Z. The text of this wonderful ABC book is written by Sara Gillingham. It is much better than your run of the mill alphabet book. B is for Baseball is an interesting primer on the game incorporating original artwork and archival photos to present rules, history, and trivia. I think it would appeal to a wide range of ages, from about four to nine or ten. So would Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man, a gorgeous and inspiring picture book written by David Adler and illustrated by Terry Widener. That duo has the Midas touch. Their books on Gertrude Ederle and Joe Louis are equally good at combining great stories with American history and fantastic artwork.

Another inspiring baseball book is We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball. Kadir Nelson's words and paintings have created a compelling experience in this book. I don't know what audience to say this book is for. Clearly it is a picture book, but I can't imagine an adult who wouldn't be riveted by the artwork and story. Kadir Nelson paints a picture of the dignity, heroism, and athleticism of the players of the league and presents the history of segregation for his readers. The title comes from a quote by Rube Foster, the founder of the National Negro League, "We are the ship; all else the sea."

Since we're on the topic of American history, I have to mention an old favorite of mine that I used when teaching high school students about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It is Baseball Saved Us written by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom Lee. It begins, "One day, my dad looked out at the endless desert and decided then and there to build a baseball field." It is a very different field of dreams; one of stolen dreams actually. This book always provided me a solid "in" to discussing the internment camps before we started reading heavier, more adult writing about it.

Last on deck is a new piece of baseball fiction, Six Innings, by James Preller, author of the beloved Jigsaw Jones books. Six Innings, a well written, character driven baseball story, is written for readers a bit older than Jigsaw Jones fans. I would say it is best for baseball fans between the ages of nine and thirteen. It tells the story of a championship game between two Little League teams and the backstory about the players as well.

It's officially baseball season and you should be out there watching a game, playing in one, or just having a catch outside, but if rain should cancel those activities, I recommend checking out any or all of these baseball books.

Alpha Bravo Charlie

If this is a common scene on your living room floor (don't ask me what the astronaut thinks he's doing on a battlefield),



this book might belong on your coffee table:

Chris L. Demarest's Alpha Bravo Charlie has been popular in my house for several years now. Actually, a number of Demarest's books have been read thin to and by my boys including his tremendous alphabet book, Firefighters A to Z. Alpha Bravo Charlie presents a different alphabet, the International Communications Alphabet, used in the military, law enforcement, and civil aviation to clarify communication. Each page presents one letter, its corresponding US Navy signal flag, a sentence using that letter, and a colorful, energetic accompanying photograph. For example, the F page tells us that F is for foxtrot and shows foot soldiers wearing bulletproof flak jackets. Yes, my boys have loved all the pictures of soldiers and fighter jets, submarines and paratroopers, but they love that the ICA can be used like a code as well. I treasure notes from my son Aaron where he signed his name as "Alpha Alpha Romeo Oscar November." Moreover, the book is a great teaching tool about the need for clear communication. It has inspired us to talk about why they see police on television shows call in license plate numbers using ICA. We imagine the consequences if an air traffic control tower confused an "m" for "n." That is a nice segue for a math lesson on military time and how its purpose, removing ambiguity, is similar. Although this book will definitely appeal most to the kid whose pockets are filled with toy army men, it has some great educational uses for all kids. If only it could teach those first kids to take the army men out of their pants pockets before tossing those pants in the laundry!

D is for Dragon Dance on Foodie Friday

I am going to continue my celebration of the lunar new year by sharing a great little alphabet book, D is for Dragon Dance, written by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by Yongsheng Xuan. Some element of Chinese culture or the celebration of Chinese New Year is presented for each letter of the English alphabet, going from a for acrobats to z for zodiac. Most of them include a bit of explanation. For instance, it is explained that (R) red envelopes given to children contain good luck money. As with most cultural celebrations, food plays an important role in Chinese New Year. D is for Dragon Dance includes n for noodles, o for oranges, p for Peking duck, s for steamed dumplings, and two recipes at the end, one for dumplings and the other for soy garlic dipping sauce. This nicely illustrated and informative book would make an excellent addition to a preschool or kindergarten classroom where you often find collections of alphabet books.

Happy New Year!

I don't know if or how you celebrate the lunar New Year, but if you do, have a happy one! Here's hoping you get plenty of red envelopes and much happiness in the year of the ox! My kindergartner was told to wear red to school today, and I put fortune cookies in all three kids' lunch bags. We'll be ordering Chinese take out for dinner tonight and reading Paul Yee's Tales from Gold Mountain. It's not really about Chinese New Year, but it has amazing illustrations by Simon Ng and fascinating tales of Chinese people in the New World. We may also read D is for Dragon Dance by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by Yongsheng Xuan, but more about that book on Foodie Friday. Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Pop Go the Holidays

The ultimate Christmas book to me is a pop up book. We've all seen pop up versions of The Night Before Christmas and The Twelve Days of Christmas and the like. Pop up books make great gifts as well. Robert Sabuda is, of course, the master of the holiday pop up book. My daughter has his version of Alice in Wonderland, a gift from her aunt and uncle, that is a source of endless wonder and fascination to her. He has a great segment floating around the internet from Martha Stewart's show where he teaches Martha to make a pop up Christmas card. Although you kind of always get the sense that Martha is not being taught anything new by anyone and could have figured it out on her own. It was educational to me though. Anyway, since pop up books say Christmas to me and I love all of you for stopping by at this busy time of year, but I don't know where you all live to send you gifts, this video is my little Christmas present to you. I've picked up this book ABC3D at the bookstore and played with it. It's addictive, I warn you. Happy viewing!

This Hockey Mom's List of Hockey Books

The NHL season is on, college hockey starts soon, my nine year old son's squirt level hockey team has its first league game of the season this Saturday, and hockey moms are all over the news lately, hence this list. These are five hockey books we enjoy:

1. Z is for Zamboni: A Hockey Alphabet This is a wonderfully illustrated alphabet book with rhymes for each letter, such as "Puck begins with the letter P black rubber to the core. It's what the players try to shoot past the red goal line to score." For older readers there is much sidebar information on the history, rules, and culture of the game.

2. Hockey in Action by Niki Walker and Sarah Dann is part of the Sports in Action series which is an easy to follow primer on the sport of ice hockey, suitable for elementary school age readers.

3. Hockey for Dummies by John Davidson with John Steinbreder. You've seen the For Dummies series with their distinctive yellow and black covers. I have found this to be a very useful reference book on a sport that I had little experience with before my child began playing it. My children do wonder why someone would carry around a book that advertises its holder is a dummy.

4. and 5. Ice Magic and Wingman on Ice by Matt Christopher. These sports chapter books are great for second through fifth graders interested in sports in general or hockey in particular.

Happy Birthday, Aidan!

I have one nephew who is also my godson. He is funny, athletic, smart, kind, enthusiastic, sometimes silly, and always a joy to know. Today is his ninth birthday. I gave him a few books at his christening with a note saying that I planned to give him one hundred books by his tenth birthday. So far I've given him 87. (I have a list to keep track.) Here are a few of my favorite titles from the last nine years:

• Mr. Brown Can Moo
• Wrapping Paper Romp
• Z is for Zamboni
• Flat Stanley
• Toilets, Telephones, and Other Useful Inventions
• The Legend of Spud Murphy

I don't know for sure what books I'm going to include with his birthday gift this year. Luckily, I have a nine year old of my own to advise me as I shop. What I do know is that it's been awfully fun knowing this great kid for the last nine years!

A is for Annabelle

This week I bought a copy of Tasha Tudor's beautiful picture book A is for Annabelle for my friend Marjorie and the baby girl she is expecting. Although my daughter and I each have a copy at home, I got a little thrill just holding Marjorie's new copy. My grandmother gave me this book when I was a little girl (paperback cover price $1.50), and I adored the rhymes: "A is for Annabelle Grandmother's doll. B for her box on the chest in the hall." The delicate and deliciously girly illustrations of Annabelle and the girls who play with her captivated me as they still do my eight year old daughter Hayden. It is an alphabet book which catalogues many of Annabelle's possessions. N is for her nosegay and p is for her parasol, for example. I'm all for books about girl power and girl athletes and women politicians, but I will always keep the fondest place in my book loving heart for this old fashioned charmer. I hope Marjorie and her daughter will spend as many cozy times reading this book together as Hayden and I did.