The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred

The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred
by Samantha R. Vamos,
illustrated by Rafael Lopez

Ages 4-8

Published by Charlesbridge (Feb 2011)


Sometimes, there is an inexplicable cosmic coincidence that brings things together in our lives, be it as profound as meeting our spouses, or as simple as finding a beautifully illustrated children's book.

I was at the post office a while back and noticed the new set of stamps released recently. Now, going to the P.O. has become a rarity in today's life. And, while there, browsing and finding stamps I want to buy is a luxury. I used to collect stamps and appropriated my dad's ancient collection when I was young, but, between college and moving across continents, all that is lost. I must admit I have a weakness for stamps still, and manage to get most of the commemorative ones for hoarding collecting...

So, it does seem like a mysterious concatenation of circumstances that made me notice the Latin Music Legends set of stamps. While all the names of the legends there were familiar, I was struck by the fact that we had just read about Celia Cruz - book + CD from the library, called Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa by Veronica Chambers.

But, most of all, Rafael Lopez, the designer of the stamps entered our little world and made it beautiful and bright.

And, that is how we came upon The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred, and got introduced to Samantha Vamos.

The bilingual book presents a cumulative story, much like This is the House that Jack Built, where we not only follow the progressive unfolding of events, but also learn a bit of Spanish. Each page introduces a new item in English, but on successive pages that item is referred to by the Spanish word, and it gets quite challenging (and fun) to keep up.

We start with the innocuous,
This is the pot that the farm maiden stirred.

Next, we read,
This is the butter that went into the cazuela that the farm maiden stirred..

Then,
This is the goat that churned the cream to make the mantequilla that went into the cazuela that the farm maiden stirred.

There is an underlying reason for everything that happens in this lively sequence: the making of Arroz con Leche, Rice Pudding.

The text flows easily, blending the two languages. The author shares, "As I incorporated Spanish words, the text flowed differently – the words sounded more intimate and tender. The English text with Spanish words woven in resonated because the bilingual manner of speaking reminded me of the way I had heard languages (in addition to English, my father fluently speaks four languages) expressed as a child."

Growing up with 3 different languages, besides English, and studying in English-medium school, I could identify with the author's note about having "bilingual on the brain" as shared in this article. To this day, I constantly "mix" Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam words into my thoughts and internal conversations as I primarily think in English.

The illustrations are breath-taking, vibrant and rather funny. From stark white background on the first 2 or 3 pages as we focus on the cazuela, mantaquilla and cabra, the images get rusty orange and colorful as the day progresses. The cabra with his toque, the gallina with her apron, the burro with his boots all add to the charm.

As artist Rafael Lopez shares in the post Stirring the Pot of Color, "For me color is an expression of my identity, my heritage and I believe it is the most direct route to the emotions of children and families who will turn the pages of my books". It is his bold colors, arresting images and textures that catch the eye, holding us ransom.

Little touches like the smiling sol looking in through the doorway, the gallina laying the eggs while grating the limon as the campesino tends to her... well, just about every single page is incredibly gorgeous, and complements the text well.

Back of the book has Arroz con Leche recipe and Glossary of Spanish Words.

[image source: author Samantha Vamos website]

Northern Flicker

For the third year in a row, a pair of northern flicker woodpeckers have taken up residence in the hole in the tree in our backyard. Out of the blue, like clockwork, they arrive towards the end of May and get busy making a home for summer breeding.

While part of my mind wonders how deep the hole in the tree is, the rest of the major portion of my mind is thrilled about this opportunity for the kids (and me) to observe and record something beautiful in nature.

Last year, we spent some time studying backyard birds, which led me to share the beautiful birds I saw in the Springwater Corridor nearby.

The female in the picture above is the first one we noticed moving in. She seems sleek and slim in the picture above. The female in the picture below seems to be puffier, as if it is a different bird altogether - probably the fledgling as it was taken days later than the above.



And, here are the male Northern flickers, clicked on day 1 and day 6 of my record-keeping. Am guessing there are atleast half a dozen babies in there, judging by the pictures taken at different times.



I remember last year when I desperately tried to get a picture of the eggs - they are certainly well-concealed and well-protected in that hole. I woke up at the crack of dawn hearing the incessant calls to watch if they came out to practise flying, or to catch the parent feeding the young.

Well, they've been here for well over a fortnight now - from the time I started recording them, that is - and we catch ourselves being drawn to them when we are in the house.

They seem to fly in and out of the hole, rat-a-tatting on the patio roof and making the kleer-kleer-kleer noise, as recorded in WhatBird.com.

The male has this bright red cheek marks - moustache - and black neckband - he looks rather grand, with reddish/orangish parts in the wings and black spots all over. The female doesn't have the bright red moustache, but looks every bit as gorgeous with grey-brown-beige coloring, black neckband and dark spots all over.



I am guessing the little ones are getting lessons in finding the juicy worms and bugs before they take off on their own. I see quite a few of them around these days. One or the other is cautiously peeping out from the hole, then mustering up courage, takes flight and then soon heads back in, possibly after getting a luscious snack from our garden.

Sometimes one is at the base of the tree while the other is looking down from the hole. Perhaps it has been long enough for the young to fly out with a parent to find food and get back in the hole safely.



And sometimes I see the birds together by the hole briefly, just for an instant, as if to exchange a hello before one of them takes off in a flash, too fast for me to get the camera and catch them together.

But, other times, one is resting further up in the tree while another pokes out from the hole.



Og and Ana took turns looking at the birds through our sturdy old binoculars. We looked over and over at the pictures we took to study the birds' features. We talked about the male and the female and what they might be doing in the hole: laying eggs, incubating, raising babies. We noticed that as soon as they arrived they got busy with nest excavation, hammering and chucking out the scraps. We read about their migration, flying south to stay warm as the winter approaches.


Then, Ana was ready to make a book about our very own backyard Northern Flickers.

Having spent way more time than I budgeted on observing them, it seems like I am getting too fond of them, almost too attached and reluctant to let them go. I can see there are at least 3 different-looking females, and 2 different-looking male birds flying in and out of that hole. Between 34x zoom and cropping, some pictures are not as sharp as when seen via the binoculars, but, it certainly captures each bird's personality, me thinks...

Soon, they will fly away. I hope they come back next year.

3-D ABC: A Sculptural Alphabet

3-D ABC: A Sculptural Alphabet
by Bob Raczka

Ages 4-8, All Ages

Publisher: Lerner Publishing (2007)


Despite the 'ABC' in the title, this is not an abecedary book in the ordinary sense. Bob Raczka has brought many great works of art to his readers via the Art Adventures series. In this book, he shows us specific much-recognized works while describing in few simple statements what a sculpture is. Tying it to a letter from the alphabet in each page is incidental, but, elegantly done.

Starting with 'A', we learn that, A sculpture is not always something you can recognize. This kind of sculpture is called abstract, with Obus by Alexander Calder as the accompanying art work.

Each page has a visually stimulating arrangement of art and text, with well-chosen words that helps us understand a little more about this art form.

On the page with Carved American Eagle by John Bellamy, we read the expected E is for Eagle, but also learn that it is a relief: This sculpture can be looked at from just one side. It's called a Relief.

The one that fascinated Og the most was Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, along with "upside down hanging piano" coming a close second - Concert For Anarchy by Rebecca Horn.

As Raczka notes, "A sculpture can mean different things to different people, or it can mean different things to the same person on different days, because the more you look at a sculpture, the more you see." Thus the author encourages the kids to view and appreciate sculpture without the pre-determined notion of what a sculpture should or does represent.

I learnt about not just sculptures, but also about forms of expression, and it inspired me to look up more about at least these 26 works of art that the author has presented in the book.

Aside: While I am not for age-banding, I do provide publisher's suggested age range for easy sorting/grouping/searching. This book is truly for all ages, especially if one is curious about contemporary art.

[image source: Lerner Books]

Two Blue Jays

Two Blue Jays
by Anne Rockwell
pictures by Megan Halsey

Ages 4-8

Two Blue Jays presents the blue jay life cycle as observed by children when two blue jays settle on a fir tree outside their classroom.

Simple pictures complement the short yet descriptive text. We learn that the male blue jay feeds the female blue jay before they build a nest together. Both take turns in feeding their babies. The father blue jay is fierce and protective and chases away a cat with its characteristic loud squawks when it comes sneaking to the tree. Eventually the baby birds get coaxed into flying out on their own, which they do. With no lesson from parents. Now the nest is just an empty clump of twigs.

I was surprised by the little details Og liked in this book. He liked to state with certainty which of the six identical-looking similar-sized blue jays in the picture were the parents and which were the grown up baby blue jays.

The best part for him, as I gathered, was looking at the various eggs on the inside front cover - Cardinal, Robin, Mockingbird, Chickadee Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Downy Woodpecker, American Crow, House Sparrow, Northern (Baltimore) Oriole. And then matching them up with the birds on the inside back cover.

Ana found it strange that the baby birds had no feathers at birth and were "not as cute as baby chicks". Cuteness, of course is terribly subjective and totally relative as she usually qualifies her observations with "for me" - i.e., "it is not so cute for me, maybe it is for you".

It also inspires the young to go out and observe and make their own journal about wildlife around them. Now that for the fourth year in a row a pair of Red-shafted Northern Flicker have taken up residence in our backyard tree, the kids and I have been taking notes - how they both cling to the tree trunk and inspect the hole, how one of them goes into the hole and every few minutes peeps out to spit a beakfull of tree out, how one of them flies away and comes back with stuff in its mouth... Ana is planning to make a book out of it this summer.

[image source: artist Megan Halsey's website]

How Do You Count a Dozen Ducklings?

How Do You Count a Dozen Ducklings?
by In Seon Chae
illustrated by Seung Ha Rew

Ages 4-8

Published by Albert Whitman & Company(2006)

Mama duck lays twelve eggs, and they all hatch just fine to bring us a dozen adorable ducklings, each with their own unique features, expressions and personality. Mama notices there are just way too many for her to count, so, she decides to count them in different ways that doesn't involve going all the way to twelve, and yet can keep track of her dozen ducklings.

So, she sorts them in pairs, six rows of twos. Now she counts up to six and six times two makes twelve.

Then, thinking six is a bit much, she sorts them in threes, four rows of threes. So she just has to count up to four. Four times three is twelve.

Even that seems more than she wants to count up to, so she sorts them in sixes, two rows of sixes. Two times six is twelve.

As we can guess by now, this is quite instructive in grouping, skip counting, factoring, to figure out how many ways can we make twelve. Ana and I used to play something like this with marbles. Start with a small number, like 6 marbles, and see how many ways we can group them. Then move on to 8, then 12. It gets tricky with 3, 5 and 7. But we were just trying to understand the very basics. This exercise possibly also helps notice the Commutative laws of multiplication (and addition).

Anyway, in the story, a hungry wolf who cannot see well, hears Mama duck count to two and thinks, two is not much but is still enough for lunch and tries to catch them. But of course, he doesn't know Mama duck's trick of sorting by sixes and then counting to two. So he is fooled as the twelve ducklings attack him and chase him away, instead of the defenseless two that he was sure of eating.

Og doesn't get anything much about the skip counting, factors and additions yet, but, he liked looking at each of the twelve ducklings - they each have distinctive features like shape of head, hair, facial expression, a whole personality - trying to see who was the line-leader in one arrangement versus the next, who was angry and chasing who, who was up in the air upside down, and who wasn't facing the right way when lined up etc. The illustrations are lively and animated, making it quite entertaining for the little ones.

Originally published in Korea as A Dozen Ducklings Are Too Many in 1999, this book was quite a surprise favorite among our recent reads.

[image source: Albert Whitman Website]

Grandfather's Journey

Grandfather's Journey
by Allen Say

Caldecott Medal Book

Ages: 4-8

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (October 25, 1993)


Allen Say reveals the intense and poignant feelings of longing an immigrant heart brooks with its consuming affinity for the birthplace as well as the adopted homeland.

Chronicling his grandfather's journey from Japan to America at the turn of the century, with breathtaking watercolor illustrations, Allen Say shares a beautiful dilemma in an elegant, compact, and moving way.

Clothed in Western attire, a young Japanese man boards a steamship and sails across the Pacific. When he embarks in America, he continues his journey to explore the new land, learning as much as he can, experiencing the awe-inspiring majesty with the thirst of an explorer. Of all the places he visited, he liked California the best and so settles there. For a while. Soon, the immigrant soul longs for the birthplace.

So he returns to Japan. He gets married, brings his new bride to San Francisco Bay that he calls home. They have a baby girl. But, the dormant longing for the childhood friends and places resurface. He grows restless till he can take it no longer. Then, he packs his family and heads back to his homeland. Once there, surrounded by his old friends and familiar childhood places, his heart seems to fill up with joy.

The baby girl is all grown up now and is married to the man she fell in love with, and soon, the author Allen Say is born. The author grows up with stories of California from his grandfather's journey. A war intervenes when grandfather plans a trip back to California, and somehow circumstances arrange themselves so that grandfather could never make that one last trip to the second home he loved so much.

When the author finally makes his journey to California as an adult, he understands his grandfather's emotions as he undergoes similar emotions himself.

The watercolor illustrations are photoreal, to borrow the only word that comes close to describing them. The faces rarely betray any emotion, mostly appearing sombre and tranquil. Each page has a large portrait with only a crisp sentence or two with carefully controlled words.

Significant events like marriage, new baby are presented incidentally, keeping the focus on this overarching ache for being in two places at once.

Being an immigrant myself, and of the view that geographical boundaries need not be divisive thus fostering exclusivity, I completely identified with, "The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other". Home is where the heart is. And for some of us, the heart refuses to be contained within one arbitrary man-made geographical unit of land.

Tea with Milk is another book by this author that struck a distinct chord in me. Multicultural themes naturally have a special appeal for us at home. Raising bi-cultural children as an immigrant mother, it has been a struggle for me to balance the exposure to the culture I grew up with. While When in Rome be a Roman has been my philosophy, I also feel I owe it to my children to educate them on my side of their origin... but, that train of thought has to wait for another day to gain voice here in my little corner.

We had borrowed the copy that comes with an audio CD of the story. It was quite an experience to read the book a few times first, poring over the images, and then turning out the lights at bed time and listening to the subtly powerful words.

I doubt if my six year old got as much out of it as I did. It seems to me that many of the books that win the Caldecott medal seem to appeal more to the adult mind than the child.

[image source: Houghton Mifflin Books]

Happy Mother's Day!

The typical soggy Spring dawn seemed like any other when I woke up. Privy to the fact that something was in the works, I lingered in bed.

Our first spring daffodils have wilted in the garden, the tulips have already grown pale with dry brown edges and losing petals, the rose bushes are just waking up for the season, so no fresh flowers I supposed. But, knowing how cheerful flowers can be, a bunch of peach-colored roses and big hugs with "Happy Mother's Day, Mama!" greeted me.

A little box of soap roses and "Momu is Speshel" card - an independent venture Ana had secretly completed by scrounging some papers/cardboard from the recycle bin.



A couple of natural soaps from D, whose hand-made paper packages are embedded with seeds for planting (totally recycle-able, like the seed paper we make on and off) reminded me that spring planting season is well-past and am way behind. No matter.



I thought the day couldn't get any better.

But, it held one more surprise: a hike in LaTourell falls.



Fighting the rising guilt, I managed to tell myself that for 364½ days a year I give my attention and care freely and happily to the kids, sometimes not so patiently or gracefully, but usually sincerely and unconditionally. So it must be okay to walk alone, one with nature, about 10 feet ahead on the trail without worrying, just quietly entrusting the kids to their dad.

The slushy, slimy, puddle-ridden steep trail was quite tricky to navigate, but, it is an easy 2 mile hike that the kids can manage, and the view is breath-taking, not to mention the abundant wild flowers and the noisy yet well-camouflaged birds that make the heart leap with joy.



The highlight along the trail, besides the waterfall of course, was this "Snail Tree" - an oddly shaped tree that looks uncannily like a giant snail.



A quiet meal of Tomato Florentine soup, with Adai Dosai (weird combination, but the dosai served as a wonderful bread for dipping in the soup) followed by the usual bath-and-reading bedtime ritual rounded out the day.

I was grateful that I got to chat with my mom. The usual. Easily regressing to the little girl who kicked up a fuss about her two braids not being even and matching each other because Amma did not do it right, forgetting for those few minutes how Ana kicks up a fuss about not getting her hair-clips just so...

And after a good foot scrub, my tired feet were soaking in Epsom Salt bath (with peppermint oil) while my mind focused on the guided meditation (audio), trying not to think about those heavier thoughts that only a daughter-who-is-also-a-mother can knot herself up with.

Into the A, B, Sea: An Ocean Alphabet

Into the A, B, Sea: An Ocean Alphabet
by Deborah Lee Rose
illustrations by Steve Jenkins

Ages 0-4

Scholastic Press; 1st edition (September 1, 2000)

There are quite a few abecedary books featuring animals. Our all time favorite is Alphabeasts by master artist Wallace Edwards.

Steve Jenkins is no stranger in our house. His cut-paper collage work has inspired me enough to try a few with my kids. So, it was only a matter of time before I got down to sharing A, B, Sea here.

Swim the ocean waves with me
and dive into the A, B, Sea

Thus starts this oceanic adventure showcasing exquisite sea creatures using simple rhyming sentences. Not just large or cute creatures. There is the much-ignored Barnacles for B and the typically forgotten Zooplankton for Z, making this a useful book for discussing food chain and ecosystems of the sea.

Brief notes at the back of the book add some information about each of the animals.

There is always this irrepressible curiosity in me, even today, to see what is presented for some of my favorite letters - viz., Q, U, X and Z - especially X, in the alphabet books. I'll just have to leave it to you to find out what A, B, Sea offers. Suffice it to say I was eXpecting Xanthareel or even the ubiquitous X-ray fish and found something different.

One of the aspects that attracts me to animal books is the suggestion of movement, of dynamic activity and flux, without clobbering. A, B, Sea offers crisp and beautiful verbs for the animals: Manatees lumber, Rays swoop low, Dolphins spin. The spin part particularly caught our attention since we recently learnt about Spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) from A Whale of a Tale!(Cat in the Hat's Learning Library).

The illustrations are breathtaking as we've come to expect from Steve Jenkins' books.

All in all a visually stimulating, informative, delightful book that has scored repeat reads from the pre-schooler every night for over a week now, and has inspired the kindergartner to explore further.

[image source: paperbackswap.com]

Karnavedham

Back in 2007, I had shared my then-current feelings on the subject of Karnavedham: Ear Piercing.

Finally, a recently-turned-six Ana smiles from ear-to-ear when trying on my assorted (huge) collection of ear rings!

From about 5½ or so, she started seriously asking for her ears to be pierced. No push from me at all - except the strategic display of (and unrestricted access to) all my fine ear adornments which I never wear anyway, having opted for the minimalistic look I've always preferred.

D considered it. He was happy to hear her ask for it. He let her talk to him about why she wants it and what she hopes to do once she gets her ears pierced. He sat with me and Ana when I shared my personal experiences with ear piercings. He waited till she pretty much pestered daily with, "When can I get my ears pierced?", "Can I get my ears pierced today?", "I wish I had my ears pierced already!"...

So, we decided it would be a present for her sixth birthday. She was aching for it so much, there was no doubt. Now, of course, not everything she aches for and nags about will get approval, but, this was something I had wanted for her a long time ago, so, I was more than ready. I was just waiting for D and Ana to be ready as well.

She was more than ready, of course. And terribly brave. Sat there still as a rock, hugging a softie for comfort while I was watching with clenched fists stuffed in my mouth.

So, that's finally done. Of course, it takes a while to care for it and make sure it heals and stays healthy and such. Plus, there is always the fear that some dangling earrings might get caught on something or get pulled inadvertently during horseplay... but, I grew up with it and my mom somehow didn't make a big deal about it other than to caution me. What more can a parent do? Well, other than not get the ears pierced at all, I mean...

Read To Me Picture Book Challenge

Hurray for Books!

That's what came to Ana's mind when thinking about the message she wanted to put on one of her (many) hand-made bookmarks.

And, since we read a ton of books anyway, it seems like a fun thing to participate in the Read To Me: Picture Book Challenge hosted by There's A Book

We read quite a few books on a fairly regular basis -i.e., daily, sometimes reaching for old favorites, sometimes must-take-home new ones from the library. Well, "new" is a relative term.

So, I was leaning towards the challenge level: "Harvesting": 200 picture books with a child in a year.

I figured reading 200 picture books must be a cakewalk considering we've been doing close to that (possibly more) each year.

However, the fact is, out of every dozen books we read, only one or two resonate with the kids enough to urge me to share here in my blog.

Then, I got to thinking. Realistically, writing reviews for 200 picture books is not going to work out so well with the eternal rush this life has turned into, at least, not if I plan to stay sane.

And, if I don't write a review per book diligently, it is hard to keep track of the books we read and how it affected us for this Read To Me: Picture Book Challenge. (No cluster posts or listings for this challenge as far as I understand).

Also, since I subscribe to the If you have nothing nice to say, then don't say anything at all school of thought, I seldom share books that I didn't like. What's the point, right?

Plus, now that we are more into fantastic chapter books, reading picture books with Ana is getting fewer and far between... Og pretty much overcompensates with his obsession for books.

Therefore, a conservative challenge of "Watering": 36 picture books with a child from now till Dec 31, 2011, is the level I am settling on for now.

I can always change my mind, I am sure :)

The Greedy Sparrow: An Armenian Tale

The Greedy Sparrow: An Armenian Tale

retold by Lucine Kasbarian
illustrated by Maria Zaikina

Ages 4-8

Marshall Cavendish Children, April 2011

Folktales and fables from around the world have striking similarities in that they convey universal truth and wisdom, typically via animal protagonists, generously laced with humor. And yet, they differ in the presentation, drawing from cultural traditions of the people orally handing down these tales.

One of the Armenian folktales passed down through generations in the author's family orally is The Greedy Sparrow. The book dedication reads, To my forbears, great-grandmother, and father, all of whom preserved the sparrow fable through the ages. The great-grandmother mentioned is a celebrated storyteller from the Old Country.

I was delighted to get in touch with author/journalist Lucine Kasbarian a few weeks ago. As her website notes, the author is passionate about her ethnic Armenian heritage and enthusiastically shares it with the world.

The Greedy Sparrow is the first time English retelling of this tale in the children's picture book format. It starts with Once there was and was not a sparrow, which suggests that the tale may be real or imagined, we may never know.

A sparrow gets a thorn in his foot. He flies around and finds a kindly baker who removes the thorn and tosses it into her oven. The wily sparrow, instead of thanking her and moving on, comes back a while later and demands that he get his thorn back. Needless to say, the baker cannot give it back. Either you give me my thorn or you give me some bread demands the sparrow. And the baker has no choice but to give some bread.

The sparrow is not content. He goes about tricking and bartering item after item, including a new bride in the bargain, until he meets a minstrel with a lute. When the confounded minstrel has no choice but to hand over his lute, the sparrow seems contented. He starts singing the story, In place of a thorn, I got a bread. In place of a bread, I got a sheep... and so on till, ...I got a lute. And now I am a minstrel!

In all the gloating, he loses footing and ends up with a broken lute and a thorn in his foot. Back at Square One.

Trickery is not rewarded, especially when it takes advantage of the good nature of people who willingly help others. That message got cleverly (and clearly) conveyed to my six year old who pored over the illustrations with fascination, while reading the simple narration. She particularly like the speech bubbles, with red text reserved for the sparrow, which automatically made her change her voice and accent as she read aloud the sparrow's part in the narration.

Illustrator Maria Zaikina was approached to illustrate The Greedy Sparrow when the author and publisher viewed her Armenian folk animations on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ5NAXT9pLs

The bold, vibrant folk-style illustrations complemented the story well, transporting us to a time and place that evokes nothing but simple unadulterated joy, and possibly nostalgia for a bygone era.

Ms.Zaikina's illustrations reminded me of my childhood favorite Ladushki, Ladushki - Russian Folk Rhymes and Tales For Little Ones illustrated by Yuri Vasnetsov and retold in English by Irina Zheleznova, a book vibrant with color and imagination, which to this day stirs warm memories when I share it with my children.

References to places in Armenia, the map and activities on author's website and the traditional attire shown in the illustrations gave us a jump start to explore the geography and culture further.

Here is an interview with the author, conducted by Tom Vartabedian, at Asbarez.com.

[Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author.]

[image source: Lucine Kasbarian's website]

[This post written for Saffron Tree]