King Lear by William Shakespeare

Cordelia's Farewell by Edwin Austin Abbey (via Wikipedia Public Domain)

Shakespeare’s King Lear captures family relationships (father to daughter, father to son, brother to brother, sister to sister) in an undeniable tragedy. Lear is betrayed by his two eldest daughters and Gloucester is betrayed by his eldest (and illegitimate) son. But although there is broken trust and mourning, there are also tender expressions of true love from children to their parents. Cordelia and her father and Gloucester and Edgar give the play a gentleness that I did not at all expect in a high dramatic tragedy highly reminiscent of the Ancient Greek tragedies.

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Two Books on Literacy (Growing a Reader from Birth and The ABCs of Literacy)

My son is only 26 months old, but he’s beginning to learn at the speed of light (from my perspective). After twenty minutes of a Sesame Street “two” episode, for example, he knows he has two hands, two eyes, two feet, and that there are two apples, two spoons, and two bowls on the table. He learned circles just as fast and loves finding circles everywhere we go. “Look, Mommy! Circles!” is a frequent comment.

Because he’s so ready to learn, I’ve been pondering how to introduce him to the world of letters, the world of reading, and a pre-preschool world of him and me. I know he’s not ready to learn to read, but what can I do now to help him be ready in another year or two?

I decided to seek out some books that might help. While I checked out dozens of books, I only read two in the past few weeks. Growing a Reader from Birth by Diane McGuinness was fascinating, but I was disappointed that the majority of the book focused on baby language learning rather than learning to read (as the title would suggest). The ABCs of Literacy by Cynthia Dollins, on the other hand, was just what I was looking for, and I’ve even ordered my own copy I loved it so much. Both books were geared toward parents and childcare givers, and the second is one every parent of a toddler should read. Continue reading »

The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Treasury by Betty MacDonald

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is a magical friend to children, with her upside-down house and delicious cookies that are always waiting for you. She’s also a wonderful help to parents, who often don’t know how to solve the problems of parenthood.

When I was young I loved learning Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s “cures” for naughty children’s problems, such as not putting away toys, answering back, and refusing to take a bath. Her cures were ridiculous and magical, and they were funny.

However, as an adult, reading three volumes of such stories in The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Treasury by Betty MacDonald became tiring. In some respects, the sequels failed to live up to the original, and I was horribly disappointed. Continue reading »

Death in Children’s Literature: Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

In the picture book Love You Forever, Robert Munsch captures every mother’s feelings of unconditional love. I can’t read it without my eyes tearing, and I love the tender expressions of love. But I wonder if children like it. Continue reading »

Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn

While very few parents and parenting books still argue that corporal punishment will help turn out a well-balanced child, most do propose time-outs, bribes, and praise as successful disciplining techniques for raising well-behaved children.

In Unconditional Parenting, Alfie Kohn goes further. He argues that conventional techniques (such as time-outs, bribes, and even praise) may harm our children emotionally. Kohn argues that time-outs and bribes, for example, may get children to do just what they are told to do (“well-behaved”), but they fail to help a child learn for themselves and they fail to engage the child in life. Even praise stifles the child’s creativity rather than encouraging the child to evaluate their work for themselves. Rather than “doing things to” their children, parents should “work with” them at all times. “Doing to” techniques, Kohn argues, only represents love that is conditional on the child’s behavior. Parents should always show unconditional love for their children.

Kohn’s arguments are compelling and convincing, and I highly appreciate some of the advice he imparts. Unconditional Parenting is apparently well-researched, and the end notes provide lots of further information.

In the end, however, I dislike the authoritative tone Kohn imparts for his ideas; I found myself repeatedly wondering why he’s an “expert.” His oldest child is ten years old; how is he to say what will work for the long-run? He has yet to parent through the teenage years. Besides, I think any “successful” parenting requires more of a balance than he seems to propose. Continue reading »

Caldecott Corner: Mo Willems

While Mo Willems hasn’t been awarded the Caldecott Medal for his children’s picture books, he has been nominated a number of times. Do multiple Honors equal a Medal? I doubt he’d think so. Nevertheless, I think his simple illustrations are award-worthy and therefore worthy of my review.

Here’s a rundown of some of Willems’ books, along with my thoughts on his brilliant illustrations. Continue reading »

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls + Blog Action Day 2008

I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster.

Jeannette Walls lives comfortably. She’s a married woman, a successful gossip reporter, and a strong individual. She knows what she wants out of life. And yet she has a secret.

Her parents live on the street.

Thus begins her powerful memoir of a childhood: The Glass Castle. Jeannette’s childhood is full of pain, but also love. Jeannette and her siblings rise to success despite their environment. Her story shows that love is almost enough to get by. Continue reading »

Baby’s Sunday Salon, October 5

My baby turns one year old this week. I can’t believe he’s so old, and yet I can’t believe he’s only been in my life for one short year.

I’ve never really done Sunday Salon, but there are so many great books I’m finding at my local library for my son, I thought I’d share what I’m reading to him, with him, and about him these days. Continue reading »