Good Kids / Good Books

After taking a multicultural children's literature class, I feel like I am better at analyzing and picking children's books that stretch Xavier's intellectual and cultural boundaries as well as my own. Does that sentence sound like I've been studying educational theories all morning? I have! Anyway, I am always on the lookout for interesting reads and I even think Joe might have been influenced by my class since he picked out some really great children's books from the library for bedtime. Some of recent favorites are:

*Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Palestinian folktale about a little pot who gets what she deserves for stealing, even if she was doing it for her mama. I still have no idea how to pronounce the title correctly, which is supposed to mimic the sound of a rolling pot. Xavier loved this story and laughed and laughed at the "reward" the pot gets for stealing. (I'm not going to tell you, you'll just have to read it!) After a few reads, he would read it to himself or to me in his own words. So cute. I love this age!

*Hansel and Diesel & The Ugly Truckling by David Gordon--Two books that Xavier loved because they had to do with cars and trucks and I thought they were amusing versions of the original fairytales. Warning: Parents may get disturbed by these books and wonder about the meaning of the original stories. For example, I was shocked when the "wicked winch" in Hansel and Diesel tried to grind up the little trucks while they were sleeping. I mean, I guess the witch in the gingerbread house was going to cook and eat Hansel and Gretel but this seemed awful! Then again, Xavier thought the story was hilarious and wanted me to read it again and again.

And how does the Ugly Duckling story go again? How did a swan get born to a duck? Or, in the case of the The Ugly Truckling, how did a truck get born to a plane? Does that point to the indiscretion of Mama Duckling? It really had me thinking for a while there. And what mama wouldn't love her child even if he is different or would allow her other children to make fun of him? Or let her child go off with another family just because he looks more like them than the members of your own family? That's crazy! Obviously, the author doesn't understand the bonds between parents and their children. Still, I had fun reading them and there is at least one more twisted fairytale book out there by Gordon that I haven't read yet...

*What Mama Needs--This is a feel-good book about how a mom works with her child's imaginative play and dress-up fun, such as asking the "genie" for three wishes, including cleaning up her room. I think I like it better than Xavier but he does like all the fun costumes and he reads the ending with me and then always gives me a hug--just what this mama needs!


If you've been missing Xavi's pictures (or blogging) like I have, here are a few things to recap the time since I started my last semester in grad school:

Loving his cousin

Practicing the art of picture-taking

He likes to do close-ups of prints and patterns, including the piano bench here.

What great shots of unique perspectives!
This photographer is going places!

Imagination at work:
X & Z driving "cars" made of couch pillows and toilet paper roll wheels.

Easter egg hunt--this orange egg was one step into the dirt
and he didn't want to get dirty, so he's looking at me for help.

New outfit for Easter Sunday

And the aftermath of the run-in with the car door
on the way to church a few minutes later. Ouch!!!!
Okay, break time is up. Back to studying. I will hopefully surface from the books again soon. Love you all!