One-and-a-half man shows

For over a year now, D and I have watched "shows" presented by the kids till our eyes bubble.

Gone are the drop-everything-and-rush-over-to-be-a-good-audience encouragement and support days. After about the third call from one of the kids pleading, "Who wants to come and watch our show now? We are ready!", we shuffle over to watch the show. (Tut-tut, indeed, but, with a couple of shows every other week, it gets a little overwhelming.)

Of course, we do acknowledge their production efforts and presentation no doubt, letting them know what we liked and what we didn't get; but, the initial thrill and race-to-the-front-seat enthusiasm has waned a bit.

First few shows had Ana handing us a ticket and playing the usher as well, seating us graciously and heading 'backstage' to her room to get ready.

The stage is always the only spot available in the house - in the living room by one of walls - a couple of old crib mattresses, cushions, blankets, chairs etc, come in handy to set the stage, which the kids do by themselves.

Ana is the bossy-pants in these productions: director, narrator, star, props manager, costumer, playwright... Oggie is usually in some supporting role, with a possible free-form solo during props or costume change.

The stories are simple - One was titled The Apple Orchard where Og was the apple seed (he was directed to sit down crouched in his apple seed costume - brown pants and red shirt); then as Ana narrated and acted the parts of the wind and the sun making the tree grow, Og slowly would stand up as if growing, growing taller into an apple tree... and become an apple tree full of red juicy apples; finally, Ana would hold up a paper in which she has drawn a bunch of trees and apples which represent the apple orchard. And... Curtain!

Another was about two kids - a little brother and older sister - who lived in a tent because their mommy and daddy had to work always and could not play with them. Props: the kids' table surrounded by dining chairs, with 2 or 3 blankets on top made up the tent, with an opening in the front which led under the table where their sleeping bags were set up. It went on and on about what the kids did - went out and picked strawberries, made food for themselves to eat as their parents were working, and tucked themselves in bed at night. And... Curtain!

Sometimes, it is a well-known fairy tale - like Sleeping beauty or Goldilocks or Red-Riding Hood or Three Little Pigs - straight narration and unfolding of the story, no surprises except for Og's unintentional non-cooperation and possibly intentional deviation from the rehearsed role.

Sometimes - and these are my favorites - they are stories from picture books they've enjoyed. My favorite one of these was the enacting of The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear. Ana was the strawberry, Oggie was the Mouse. (The Big Hungry Bear appears only in spirit, not in person and that's the beauty of this book). They act out the whole book, even putting on the goofy glasses for disguise.

Over time, the production value has increased a bit and there seems to be a few rehearsal sessions and a full dress rehearsal, which is usually right before the presentation as Oggie can be a tough prima donna, even if in his minuscule supporting role, and can exasperate Ana without even intending to.

I do love their shows, no doubt about it! They are usually very short, not more than 8 minutes total. There are a few impromptu improvised shows they put on which are rather goofy, but, the rehearsed ones with Ana holding up a marquee of sorts with the Play's title and giving a welcome speech, "Welcome One, Welcome All, to the Grandest Show in this Hall..." are always a treat.

Considering how invisible Ana prefers to be in public, I like that she enjoys performing for a cozy , familiar audience. Even if she chooses not to go up on stage anywhere, I am happy that she exercises that side of herself at home. Oggie is a typical soon-to-be four year old - moody and wild - and is an extrovert. He might enjoy being on stage - but only because he chooses to, not because he has to.

An email exchange with a friend helped me realize I have not recorded these memories here... remedied now.

A Few Children's Books on Famous Artists

Three series of books have provided us with much information about famous artists and their art, and hours of exploration, in a fun and easy-to-read way:

Getting To Know The World's Greatest Artists series of books by Mike Venezia

Anholt's Artists set of books by Laurence Anholt that offer stories about famous artists

Come Look With Me series of interactive art books from Lickle Publishing

We've been reading these set of books for the last several months, just one at a time, spread out enough as we intersperse it with other picture books and chapter books.

I am taking a very casual approach, mostly to educate myself, and, in the process, spark some interest in Ana (and Og). No rush. We try to make it fun by doing an art project in the style of the artist. There are wonderful online resource that help with such art projects for kids.

Art world is indeed strange and I cannot hope to understand it all. But, I've always wondered about the term "world famous" - how come only some get to be known all over the world? Why isn't Raja Ravi Varma more widely recognized outside of India? Is he still considered 'world  famous'? His oil paintings are certainly gorgeous and he was quite an influential artist of his time.

The very first artist we 'studied' was Georgia O'Keeffe. And, Ana made a hand-written biography book about Georgia.

Picasso (Getting to know the world's greatest artists)
by Mike Venezia

I like Mike Venezia's books. They are direct in offering facts but not in a tedious way. They showcase the artist's famous painting with an anecdote or back-story about that painting. This alone might not have held the 6 yo's attention for long, but, the funny cartoonish interludes certainly do.

When describing Picasso's Blue Period, the cartoon shows people looking at a blue painting exclaiming, "Why is the guitar blue? Guitars aren't usually blue!", "Why is he blue? People aren't blue!" and so on, along with, "It's wonderful! no one has ever painted like this!", "It's the work of a genius", and "It's the work of a nut".

The text explains, "Some people thought Picasso's blue paintings were great. Others (including Picasso's father) thought they were just too strange. This meant his paintings were controversial."

With a page like that, it is easy for the young reader to remember something about Picasso's Blue Period.

Venezia's books are a quick read, can be done in installments or in one go. And, can be re-read any number of times if handy on the bookshelf, thus sealing the knowledge.

Other Getting to know the World's Greatest Artists books by Venezia we've enjoyed so far:

Georges Seurat , Van Gogh, Georgia O'Keeffe, Paul Klee, Matisse.

Mike Venezia also has written a few other Getting To Know... series of books - Great Composers, U.S. Presidents, Scientists & Inventors.

[Getting to know Mike Venezia]

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Anholt's Artists are in picture book format with gorgeous illustrations and gentle narration. Each book is developed around a real event in the artist's life, wherein the artist is not necessarily the central character. Notes at the back of the book explain the context of the book.

For example in Cezanne and the Apple Boy, the story is about the artist Paul Cezanne's namesake son (who later became a successful art dealer) and we learn that the story takes place in 1886, when young Paul visited his artist father in Gardanne near Aix-en-Provence.

Each of the books we've read in this series so far offers a simple episodic story involving the artist, with art work in the style of the artist we are reading about: The Magical Garden of Claude Monet, Cezanne and the Apple Boy, Picasso and the girl with the Ponytail.

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Come Look With Me series of books present a full page copy of the art work on the left side, with the typical artist, title, medium, and such information. And on the right, it asks a few pointed questions that pertain to the picture, compelling us to take a closer look at the art work in order to answer the questions.

For example, in Come Look With Me: World of Play by Gladys S. Blizzard, as we look at Winslow Homer's Snap the Whip, we are asked, Which boy seems to be the leader? How did the artist show you that? What season does this painting show? What clues let you know that? and a few more. And below the questions, a few paragraphs about the artist and this particular piece helps us appreciate the work better.

In Come Look With Me: Latin American Art by Kimberley Lane, we look at Xul Solar's Drago and try to figure out What is happening in this scene? What kind of creature do you see in the painting? How many of the flags in the picture do you recognize?  Why are the sun and the moon out at the same time?

As readers, we don't always have to know the 'right' answer, and sometimes, there isn't a single right answer. It is all about what you see in the picture, what speaks to you, what stands out and gets your attention.

In Come Look With Me: American Indian Art by Stephanie Salomon, we see a pair of Hopi Kachina Dolls made of painted wood, cloth, feathers, string and yarn. Have you ever received a doll or figure as a gift? Talk about a toy or doll or figure that is special to you... And we learn that Kachina dancers would give Hopi children these dolls as blessings for a happy life.

Of the few that I've read with Ana, she seems to choose the same pictures to go back and stare at on her own, completely ignoring some others. Oggie flips through them until something engages him and asks me to read it to him.

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I am learning a lot in the process. I do not have any formal art education - a science major throughout - and no real sense of what constitutes art and why until well into adulthood. Art nurtures the soul, simply put, and hence the attraction to it and the drive to explore it with the kids.

I still remember the first time I read When Pigasso Met Mootisse by Nina Laden to Ana a few years ago. And having recently read it to Og for the first time a few weeks ago, I am fascinated to see the different ways in which the two kids have received this book, and notice what appealed to them and amused them. And, judging by how often Og has picked it out of the bookshelf at home to read at bedtime in the past few weeks, it looks like the book has made a favorable impression on him.

There is something magical about books. And there are many wonderful books out there to satisfy the curious mind. I hope I get to sample as many as I can with the children, learn in the process, and hopefully savor the experience.

[image sources:  http://www.mikevenezia.com, http://www.anholt.co.uk/, goodreads.com, paperbackswap.com, openlibrary.org]

Georgia's Life, A Brief Hand-written Biography

Georgia's Life
by Ana

Ages 3+


Highlighting a few facts about the artist Georgia O'Keeffe's life, the author has presented a wonderfully simplistic, easy to read and colorfully illustrated book.

The first page sparingly informs us the year Georgia was born and the year she died, with a colorful rainbow background, making it more of a celebration of Georgia's life.

Compared to some of her other works which were put together rather quickly and casually, this book by the young author clearly appears to have been a labor of love.

And, being privy to inside information, I know that the author-illustrator studied at least half a dozen picture books on Georgia, absorbing not just the facts, but the artwork in those books as well before she set out to write and illustrate this book.

The first few pages of illustrations are original and charming, complementing the text well.  The later pages certainly seem to have been strongly influenced by Georgia herself or other artists who had similar style, possibly in the books she read for research.

My favorite page? Well, hard to choose, but, possibly the page where Georgia declares she is going to be an artist. Something about the little girl holding a picture - a picture of a flower nonetheless, flower for which Georgia was famous - spoke to me.

And, the author's favorite page? The one where we read, "Georgia also painted shapes and colors from her mind." Why is it her favorite? Because the illustration just came to her in a flash of inspiration: use shapes (like squares and rectangles) to create a picture, but, not an abstract picture - but a definite dog.

I was a bit disappointed that this book was so short. I would have liked to see another half a dozen pages at least, in the same vein.

Anyway, without further ado, here are the pages from this short but wonderful book, starting with the cover, all the way down to bibliography.

Kids Art: Net-Painted Pond Fish Cut Paper Collage

On and off we love to make textured papers in various colors - a great way to use up paints doled out for that session, as well as to explore various materials to create textures.

Once the painted textured papers are dry, they get sorted by color and put into the "Specialty Papers" cubby.

Many fun projects have come out of sifting through the specialty papers we've collected over time and finding new ways to use them. Most often they end up as cut-paper collages or Valentine hearts or greeting cards, something special.

One of the techniques we learnt from Irene Luxbacher's Jumbo Book of Art is to do "Net Painting" to create the scaled texture of fish.

Items Used:
A net bag such as the ones onions or fruits come in
acrylic paints (or tempera)
rag cloth pieces
cardstock (or other heavyweight) paper
rubberband or string or yarn to tie the net bag

1. Stuff a few pieces of rag cloth in the net bag and tie it closed.
2. Dole out some acrylic paints on a plate, dip the net bag filled with cloth, dab onto the cardstock paper.
3. Experiment first with how much pressure to apply, and how much paint to pick up to create the desired texture; try a combination of colors; add acrylic medium if the paints are too thick, or dilute a bit with water.
4. Allow to dry and cut out fish shape for the collage

Textured Papers Used for this Net-Painted Pond Fish Collage:

1. Background is Watercolor Plastic Wrap paper
2. Pond vegetation is Salt Sprinkled paper and Watercolor Plastic wrap paper
3. Fish is from Net-Painted paper

Oggie helped make the background and pond vegetation papers.

Ana helped with net painting and cutting out the pond plants and fish.

I added the details to the fish using chalk pastels and composed the collage.

Both the kids helped "glue" the pieces with the double-sided tape for added dimension.

Picasso Cats and A Parchment of Code

Gooney Bird and Ms. Lowry did manage to teach me something, didn't they: Think up an intriguing title for an absolutely true story.

Well, that's how far the learning went. The story itself isn't anywhere as fancy.

The vigorous scratching sounds - as of a pencil on paper - was incessantly hitting my ears. Tuning out the familiar sound, I went about my business of making the night's meal reassured by the fact that Og was building his toboggan in the nook where I can keep an eye on the proceedings.

"Dinner's ready", I called out aloud, hoping to save a few steps to each room in order to rope them all in one by one.

"Not yet, Mama, I am still working. Maybe in five minutes?", Ana responded.

Saving the mostly-done toboggan for later, Og enthusiastically shouted, "I'm coming!" and set out the place-mats and went over to bring Papa to the table.

A few minutes later, Ana was standing next to me holding up a parchment-looking thing and a white piece of paper.

A cursory look showed the white paper as having some cat drawings on it; the parchment-looking thing turned out to be a piece of paper with torn edges (and a few cuts), colored golden yellow with a golden yellow color pencil (the vigorous scratchings made a connection now), with some sort of symbols on it like hieroglyphs.

"Tell me about it, Ana", I asked automatically while dishing up the food.

"See, Mama? This code is from the Jewel Fish of Karnak. I wanted the paper to look old, just like in the book, but it doesn't look as old. How can I make it look really old, Mama?"

"Hmmm... I usually apply some used coffee grounds to get a sort of burnt edge and maybe stain with some tea or coffee... do you want me to help you with that?"

"Maybe later. And I want to do it myself. Look at the code, Mama! I made it easy for you to read. Read it, read it!"

And I did.

"My mom died when I was born" ?!

No idea as to who wanted this message encoded in the first place, and am hoping optimistically that it isn't her subconscious spilling its (or is it my?) guts out.


"Oh, and, these are just Picasso cats, Mama, they are not supposed to be cute, but they think they are."

There you have it! Two unrelated things, connected only by the wildest stretch of the imagination.

Gooney Bird Greene

Gooney Bird Green
by Lois Lowry
illustrated by Middy Thomas

Gooney Bird Greene arrives from China and starts attending Watertower Elementary School, a month into the school year.

"I like to be right smack in the middle of everything", she declares. And she seems to get her way.

Gooney Bird is set up to appear interesting because she is different in some way - by the clothes she wears or how she does her red hair, and by how she carries herself with confidence and poise.

What interested me in this book is how Ms. Lowry educates us on the various aspects of story-telling through Gooney Bird's spunky and imaginative narration of episodes from her own life. Chapters 2 through 6 relate the various stories that the class shares, peppered with tidbits about story-telling.

Gooney Bird's amazing ability to spin a yarn, which turns out to be a true story ("I only tell absolutely true stores,"), provides valuable kid-size introduction to story-telling. Like How Gooney Bird Came From China On A Flying Carpet. The title suggests it to be a wild, made-up story, but, turns out Gooney Bird went flying out of the back of her car (by accident, of course) while rolled up in a carpet when her family was moving from China.

"Listen for the word suddenly," Gooney Bird advised."I put one in the story already, but I like to sprinkle in several. Some other suddenlys will be coming soon."

"Working title", "authorial intrusion", "dialogue", "characters"... lots to learn about when telling a story, and this book taught Ana quite a few techniques in a writer's arsenal.

Gooney Bird appears precocious yet polite, seeking the limelight most of the time, even if not with a heightened sense of self-importance, in this book. She is outgoing and self-confident which I have never been and for this I admire her.

Ana did not identify much with Gooney Bird, being the please-let-me-be-invisible type. She liked the dynamics of the classroom, but, noticed how other kids seem to be playing second fiddle to Gooney Bird.

She wondered why Gooney Bird seems to co-teach the class with Mrs. Pidgeon, and why she gets to act so bossy and why Gooney Bird's authoritative story-telling should be more interesting than what others have to say, like the quiet Felicia Ann's for example or, the hand-waving question-machine Barry's.

Not sure if we'll be reading more Gooney Bird Greene soon, but, certainly glad we got to read this one as it is a treat. And it appears Ms. Lowry planned it that way, making each Gooney Bird book a teaching device covering a whole school year. [as related here]

[image source: barnesandnoble.com]

Wolf! Wolf!

Wolf! Wolf!
by John Rocco

Aesop's fables have the necessary timelessness, charm, and appeal, as evidenced by their popularity even today.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf, one of the tales attributed to Aesop, takes a sharp turn from the classic in this imaginative take by John Rocco.

An old and partially deaf wolf is tending to his wild vegetable patch, infuriated by the weeds he is unable to keep in check.

He hears a boy cry "Wolf! Wolf!" and lumbers over to the source believing he is being summoned for some odd reason.

He sees seething villagers respond to the same call, armed and ready to thrash the savage beast.

He hides and watches the juicy goats he cannot have.

He hobbles back to his home, hungry and tired.

How the boy manages to not get eaten, comes to willingly give one of his goats to the wolf, and what happens to the goat and the boy subsequently has to be read first-hand to be enjoyed.

The illustrations are what attracted me to the book at first glance at the library. And now that I've read it a few dozen times to the resident 3 yo, the illustrations and the cleverness of the story has left me dumbfounded! [ View sample pages]

Folktales and fables blur the line between humans and animals, infusing each with characteristics of the other. Rocco's Wolf lives in a cherry blossom filled Chinese countryside, wears a traditional shirt with the symbol of longevity on it, and carries a parasol. He seems determined to be a vegetarian, tired of the daily struggle to stalk and catch his meal.

As far as the villagers go, the story is much the same classic one where they turn up to find the boy making a fool of them. However, the clever narration comes from the perspective of the wolf - information we are not privy to in the traditional telling of the tale.

Did I mention the illustrations blew me away? The warm dusty tones of timelessness, the expressions on the villagers's faces, the relative sidelining of the boy's prominence (the central character of the original story), the various close-ups and angles of perspective of the scenes depicted, the refreshing setting... each page is a work of art, as John Rocco describes in the making of Wolf! Wolf! I was particularly fascinated by this fact:


Once I got all the details right, I made a tonal pencil drawing on Strathmore bristol paper. Once the drawing was complete I scanned it into my computer and digitally painted the colors using Adobe Photoshop.

Of course, there's  The True Story Of Three Little Pigs that exonerates the Big Bad Wolf, The True Story Of Goldilocks And The Three Bears which reveals the crafty side of Goldilocks, and The True Story Of Little Red Riding Hood  wherein we catch the green-eyed monster rearing inside Red Riding Hood after she helps Wolf 's total transformation...

Looks like Fresh Perspectives are becoming the norm in the retelling of classics these days.

[image courtesy of: Eric Carle Museum Shop]

American Girl Historical Characters Books

Quite by accident I found Meet Felicity, An American Girl, Book 1 for 99c at a used book store sometime last Autumn. I wasn't expecting Ana to jump right into it. So, I left it around strategically, no pressure. She has to be in the mood to pick it up, check it out, and hopefully enjoy reading it. And then I conveniently forgot about it.

About a month ago, Ana started telling me about Kirsten and how her friend Marta dies of cholera on a boat in this book she was reading at school. Turns out she was reading Meet Kirsten, An American Girl, Book 1. Last week she declared she finished reading 5 Kirsten books and loved them all and wanted more!

Those familiar with these classic American Girl books of Historical Characters can possibly understand how compelling, engaging, unique, and enriching they can be, especially for a modern six year old whose day-to-day life and struggles are completely different from her counterparts in the books.

Kirsten Larson's story impressed Ana immensely. A Pioneer Girl of Strength and Spirit. Ana has no idea about the American Girl dolls or movies or the whole commercial franchised aspects of it.

I think she enjoys "period pieces", getting to know a slice of American history at a time through the young girls. Especially now that she has been doing her American Presidents Research, terribly curious about why they let George Washington bleed to death in the name of curing him, and totally fascinated by how people loved him so much that they wanted him to be their new king (which he refused , of course) and tidbits like that.

She is fascinated by the clothing - she has already made several requests for sewing some old-fashioned clothing for her.

Anyway, finally, after waiting around to be noticed, Felicity beeped in her radar, thanks to D fishing it out and placing it right under her nose.

Felicity Merriman, A Spunky, Sprightly Colonial Girl, is soon becoming something of an inspiration, what with her wanting to ride horses and standing up against animal cruelty and such.

American Girl has kept up with the times, of course, and there are contemporary books and magazines featuring today's young girl, but, the ones I have sampled somehow seem rather hollow, farcical, and unappealing, lacking the wholesomeness of the historical characters. That's just the parental point of view, naturally, which is typically nostalgic for "the good old times".

Possibly after she reads a few more books, I might let Ana visit the American Girl Historical Characters online for fun.

It appears that Ramona The Brave (third in the series, starting with Beezus and Ramona a few weeks ago) and Meet Felicity are neck-to-neck now, with Ana's head practically oscillating between the books held in each hand, unknowingly calculating the optimal frequency which amplifies and maximizes the reading experience.

"There are so many books, Mama, I wish I could stay home and read all day!"


Indeed, little girl! I wish I could do the same as well. Sigh.

[image courtesy: americangirlpublishing.com]

Kids Crafts: Painted Textured Paper Hearts

Whereas it appears that we have been doing a lot of arts and crafts with planned precision and focused execution, unfortunately it is not so... things just sort of happen and we go with the flow. It's mostly organic...

Every once in a while, I do like to try something new with the kids; so I try to gauge their interest and look for that window of opportunity to do it with them. Sometimes it turns out extremely satisfying, at other times it becomes a valuable learning experience.

I know I mention this often: Usborne Book of Art Ideas is one of my favorites for inspirational ideas to try with the kids on and off. Of course, I am always scouting for ideas, scouring the web, silently thanking the wonderful people who freely share their talents thereby allowing me to get away with minimal effort.

Handy as it is on the kids' bookshelf, many a weekend afternoon or weekday evening, left to her own devices, I've noticed Ana reaching for this book (among others) and flipping through the pages lazily until the amorphous idea in her head solidifies and spurs her into action.

One of the favorites from Usborne Books of Art Ideas is to make Textured (Painted) Paper, which we then use for collages and such. There are a few suggested techniques and plenty of room left open to come up with our own.

A couple of years ago, we used quite a few of the gorgeous papers from various art sessions for heart cards. Ana was inspired to do the same this year, digging through the cubby where we save the works we liked. She chose papers that were made with 6 different techniques.

1. Natural Sea Sponge and Tempera Paints: Simply dab the paper with the sponge and let it create the patterns and textures on the paper

2. Scouring Sponge and Tempera Paints: Drop small dollops of paint of different colors across the top of the paper and drag the scouring sponge down or across or in any direction, lifting and continuing till the paper is covered with paint. Coarse nylon scouring pads work well, makes strong lines like large brush strokes.

3. "Rain Painting" with Watercolor crayons or Watercolor pencils:  On heavyweight watercolor paper, just scratch on some colors using watercolor crayons or watercolor pencils; then leave the paper out in the rain. Let the rain drops wash the paper with interesting patterns. If left out in heavy rains, the paper will get soggy and fall apart, so, watch closely; use a brush and smear the water a bit to spread out the colors, if preferred. Allow to dry.

4. Salt-sprinkled Painting: As shared here

5. Watercolor Plastic Wrap: As done before Rather than the dark blues and greens that Oggie chose for his work, Ana chose to mix a pleasant lilac and powder blue.

6. Oil Pastel Resist: As in this post

Punch a hole; add a flower or a goody; write a message on the back; and a thoughtful, hand-made token of friendship is ready to give out to friends.

Oggie chose to give melted recycled crayon for his friends, along with the Watercolor Plastic Wrap cards he made for them. Same procedure as I've done before with Ana, except this time we used snowman moulds. Wrap one up in a piece of tissue paper, attach a heart card, and a special memento is ready for a friend. Who can refuse crayons? Especially multicolored ones?

Unlikely Friendships, a Valentine's Day celebration

What does friendship mean to you, Oggie?
Hug my Mommy!

Periodically, I ask my kids, "What does friendship mean to you?", "How can you be a friend?", "What do  friends do?", "Who is your friend?"

I get different answers each time, factoring in their age/development.

I ask myself the same questions and have found my answers evolving over time.

As Fred Rogers of Mr.Rogers' Neighborhood said, "When people like each other and like to do things together, they're friends." Of course, friends don't have to do things together all the time, and they don't have to like the same things. "Good friends can make each other laugh or smile; and try to make each other feel better."

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I asked our Saffron Tree family to share their favorite books on friends and friendship and their picks were unique and diverse.

While on the subject, unlikely friendships appeal to me. 'Unlikely' is rather relative and quite subjective. In the most positive and generic sense of the word, when two polar opposite personalities come together and manage to establish a bond that stands the test of time, it is indeed heart-warming and reassuring.

Toot & Puddle books
by Holly Hobbie

Ages 3+

Holly Hobbie has created two endearing pigs in Toot & Puddle.

Puddle is a homebody who enjoys cooking and gardening. Toot loves the outdoors and seeks out new adventures.

Opal, their cousin, is a lovely little pig who makes an appearance on and off in the stories, plus takes center-stage in The One and Only, Charming Opal, The New Friend.

There are many Toot and Puddle books and quite a number of them have managed to amuse and entertain  the kids in residence. (And hopefully illustrate the finer points of friendship.) I still remember the first one that Nana gave us for Ana's first Christmas: I'll be Home for Christmas.

As an adult reading the books, I liked the way their personalities show through Hobbie's elegant characterization. The first few books made me ponder on the sort of relationship Toot and Puddle have, the easy comfort with which they are present in each others' lives, the unspoken commitment they have to each other, the care and respect they show for each other, the support and encouragement they provide for each others' pursuits... my conditioned adult mind could not help wonder if they are a couple... no matter.

The stories are endearing and sweet, some offering kid-centric situations without patronizing. The settings are idyllic yet feel quite real.

The illustrations are charming and humorous. The gorgeous watercolors are priceless. The half a dozen Toot & Puddle (& Opal) books on our bookshelf has given me many hours of joy just gazing at the exquisite and lively illustrations by a master at her craft. And many wonderful read-alouds with the kids.

Other such "unlikely" friendships that the kids have enjoyed at home, shared here earlier:

Pete & Pickles by Berkeley Breathed

Ivy+Bean by Annie Barrows

[image source: goodreads.com]

Kids Art: Watercolors Valentine Hearts

Watercolor Cling wrap is a favorite project in our house - Ana and I do it on and off, for fun. Oggie is just now getting into it.

Rubber Cement masking is another fun project we enjoy.

Here, we combined rubber cement masking and waterclor cling/plastic wrap ideas to make sheets of colorful paper which we then cut into heart shape valentine cards.

The hardest part of this project is the wait: waiting for the rubber cement to dry and waiting for the watercolor to dry so the plastic sheet can be peeled off. We did these steps at night so we can set it for drying overnight which worked out well.

And we did the project about a fortnight ago - started out as just another Weekend Art Morning with Mama and then ended up as a Valentine Heart Cards Project.

Oggie enthusiastically did all the steps right from mixing the colors, to testing if it is finally dry so as to cut out the hearts.

If an eyebrow inadvertently raises on the heavy use of blues and greens rather than pinks and purples in this project, it is by Oggie's design, uninfluenced. No, no, nothing about 'boy' colors or 'girl' colors, no such stereotypes is encouraged... just that ever since he could communicate in his own way, he has been strongly attracted to blue, despite being offered other color choices.

And as of yesterday's tally, Og's first favorite color is blue, second is red, third is green, fourth is yellow... eightieth is grey, ..., hundredth favorite color is pink.

Heavyweight paper works best as it doesn't buckle much and holds paints well. Since cling wrap is tricky for small hands, I use just a regular plastic grocery bag. Save and reuse the plastic bag for art work of course, especially (and thankfully) since local grocery stores are not allowed to use plastic bags to bag the purchases for the customers.

I am digressing... back to the project.

Items Used:

• heavyweight paper - I use the 9"x12" watercolor paper (90 lb) or acrylic paper (110 lb)
• diluted tempera paint in various colors, or watercolors 
• large paint brushes (preferably one for each color to keep the colors from getting muddy)
• a plastic grocery bag cut open to form a flat-ish sheet large enough to cover the 9"x12" paper
• optional: heart-shaped cookie cutter, pencil, scissors

Note: If using rubber cement masking, allow plenty of time for drying. Apply the rubber cement, allow to dry completely. Don't peel off  the rubber cement. Use this paper with the dry rubber cement on for the watercolor cling/plastic wrap project as below.

1. Get the paints ready: mix the colors as needed, dilute with water to a buttermilk-like consistency; preferably use a separate brush for each color; I limit the colors to 3 or 4 at a time for the 3 year old so as not to get it all muddy
   
   
   
   
   
2.  Pick up one color at a time and make blobs/blotches on the paper;  Cut the 9"x12" paper to any size, if preferred; for the first trial with Og, I cut a 6"x6" square so a large canvas does not overwhelm him; try not to mix the colors on the paper, keep the color blobs separate
3. Lay the plastic sheet on the still-wet paint and scrunch it up with the hands while pushing down on the heavyweight paper; the idea is to get the plastic bag to stick on, spread the paint blobs a bit, and also form patterns that will look stunning when dry :)
   
   
   
   
   
4. Allow to dry undisturbed; we usually set it by the heating vent in winters and within an hour it is dry
5. Peel off the plastic sheet when dry; test a corner first to see if it is ready to peel.  then, remove the dry rubber cement mask to reveal the preserved whites (or layered colors) of the paper. Et violà!
   
   
   

Runny Babbit

Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook
by Shel Silverstein

Poems have been the rage for the six year old for the good part of last year. Especially silly poems. Poems that tickle the funny bone, poems that make her repeat the words to me and ask triumphantly, "Get it, Mama? It's funny!"

So when Nana gave her the book Runny Babbit for Xmas, it was delved into immediately. The book came with an audio CD of select poems read aloud.

As the title might suggest, we had a larrel of baughs reading this book. For a wew feeks we were salking tilly - especially Ana - learning about Spoonerism.

So if you say, "Let's bead a rook
That's billy as can se,"
You're talkin' Runny Babbit talk,
Just like mim and he.


And, the book is not all about silly. It is clever and witty and heart-warming, with Silverstein's signature illustrations, making it otterly uriginal and armingly chamusing.

Published posthumously, the book certainly has a strong kid appeal, and the jaded adult in me found it challenging to read aloud without the brain auto-correcting the words in real-time.

The book had the kids exercising themselves a bit, got them saying everyday things in the Runny Babbit way that made me stop and think for a second.

Where the Sidewalk Ends was Ana's favorite Silverstein  (the only one on our bookshelf, although not the only one we've read so far) reaching for it from our bookshelf on and off. Oggie has a few favorites in that book as well these days- mainly attracted by the drawings - especially the head rolling one, The Loser.

Runny Babbit is soon becoming a top favorite to reach for and curl up with on a lazy afternoon.


[image source: amazon.com]

Making Books with the 3 Year Old

Sometimes, Oggie has something specific he wants to do but is not sure how to do it by himself - like write a book, or, do a project using hole punches...

Writing books is definitely something that Ana inspired him to do. Seeing all the books she makes at home, he wanted to make his own as well.

As he is still working on his 3-fingered grip to make controlled fine motions, I put on my Scribe Hat and my Illustrator Hat to help him bring his ideas for the book(s) to fruition.

He is a taskmaster and a rather stern author, so, no Editor Hat for me.

He states precisely what the book is going to be about.

We assemble the papers, pencils, colors, hole punch, paper fasteners, any stickers or stamps if he wants to use them.

He dictates the text for the book. Usually extempore. Has me repeat the words exactly and catches me if I even inadvertently make a mistake in repeating.

He watches closely as I write it down on paper (not that he can verify my spelling or anything, of course).

He prefers to micro-manage, telling me what goes on each page, leaving no room for collaboration.

He also describes the illustration that needs to go along with his text. He seems pretty expressive about visualizing the illustration for that page, which makes it difficult for me to execute.

The end product, the book itself, then takes its special place on our bookshelf and gets chosen as a bed time read many nights.

The fun part for me is to follow his thought process and observe how he expresses himself. He even includes a joke or so in a couple of books on purpose, asking me to write "Tee-hee" or "Haha". He knows some of the punctuation marks - especially exclamation point and question mark - and insists on using them in exactly the spots he wants. And somehow, they work.

I wanted to demystify books for him, considering how enamored he is with them. What better way than to "write" a few himself.

The books themselves are not mind-blowing in the conventional sense. They are rather simplistic. But then, coming entirely from a 3 year old, they seem pretty darn amazing to me. I hope he keeps up this enthusiasm and makes more books that he can write and illustrate himself in a year or two.

Enough rambling. Here are some books we've made so far since December 2011, with me being just the scribe.

1. One Cat, Two Cats
(Inspired by Dr.Seuss's One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.)

First thing one morning last week, Og came to me with this idea and would not take "later" for an answer. So, we sat down and started the book.

Nana's orange cat "Red" and our outside grey cat "Greykkidee" are a couple of the inspirations, along with our own striped tabby and black cat.

A few pages in, he was satisfied with the progress and agreed to continue after he comes back from school.

On the second page,
Black cat
White cat
Old cat
New cat

I left the White cat drawing white, but, Og colored it in orange and said, "Write 'Ha! Ha!' Mama, it's a joke, see?! It's supposed to be a white cat, only it is orange; there is no white cat in this page; so it is funny!"

My favorite page? Some are mean, Some are clean, Some are shaped like a bean. Thank you, Dr. Seuss!

This is the latest book, most recently made. And already I can see some refinement in his thought process and instructions for the book.

2. Machines Are Fun!

"It is going to be a music book, Mama, with music in it and you have to read the book like a song and sing it."

Og got a few machine stickers in his stocking for Xmas - machines of all sorts seems to be his favorite thing, next to dinosaurs. He wanted to use them for this book. And it was to be a song book.

He chose a sticker for each page and dictated the words to go along with it on each page, said it in a sort of sing-song. So I asked him if it was going to be a rhyming book and he said, "No, songs don't have to rhyme, Mama, this song book is not going to be a rhyming book."

On a particular page, it was supposed to be musical interlude, no words. So he had me draw some musical notes, as if the machines were performing.

He stuck on a cement mixer sticker on one of the pages and said, "Now write 'I am a dump truck' Mama". So I did mechanically. And then he said, "See?! it's a joke! That's not a dump truck. That's a cement mixer and it's tricking you". (Tee-hee)

3. Scary Stuff (with Papa)

This is the 3rd book Og "wrote". And this was done with Papa. There was a reason for this: as Og is becoming more aware, he is beginning to find some things scary. So, he set out to write about some of the scary stuff.

Papa illustrates very differently from me, so, Og had fun making it a bit more complex than when working with me and my limitations. Also, Papa does not use colors much.

"I am not sure I know how to draw that, Og" is something he hears a lot from me, which helps him refine the instructions and tailor it to my abilities :)

4. World of Animals

This book was supposed to be wordless book as he conceived it first. Then, he added sparse text that seem rather random but somehow tie in together.

He dictated, "What can I do? I just want an animal." Then, said the picture has to have lots of houses with outside cats wanting to go into the houses and play with the kids inside the house.

This is Og's second book and it had grand visions for illustrations. It had to be colorful, it had to have lots of different animals and it has to further the 'story' as he narrated it.

Of course, he had to be satisfied with what Mama can produce.

5. Letters Penguin

This was the first book we made. The back-story: Og was arranging the letters and numbers magnets on the fridge and ended up lumping them to form a generic rotund penguin shape.

The fact that every page stayed on the topic "Penguin" was interesting for me. I enjoyed illustrating for this as Og was very specific despite my attempts to ask 'silly' questions.

I want a penguin diving into the sea, with sea grass floating on top of the sea"


I am not sure I've seen grass on the sea, Og, is it green?


Silly, Mama! It is sea grass, and is just like other grass, only it is on the sea. It is green. Draw green sea grass floating on top, Mama.

Yep, his description for pictures in his book sometimes are as specific as that.

Kids Crafts: Six Crafts from the Six Year Old

I have an idea, Mama! I can use this flower as a skirt for the fairy and make her with a Popsicle stick... I am going to glue yarn for hair... hmmm what can I do for her tops, Mama? She needs to have pretty tops that matches her flower skirt...

On an average day, there are about half a dozen project ideas Ana throws out into the aether.

I am going to make a collage, Mama, with ocean scene; ocean background is with watercolor plastic thingy, with cool colors, mostly blue and purple, maybe some green; then I am going to sponge-paint warm colors on another paper and cut out fish from it; maybe I'll cut out some sea creatures from white paper and then do salt-sprinkled painting on them...

Of course, some of these ideas just float away into deep outer space. But, some others just pop up and get done right away.

Anyway, I was sorting through my photos wondering which ones to back up and such when I noticed a bunch of Ana's works I had clicked - things that absolutely blew me away, not because of the end result, but because of how it made her feel, having created them on her own, and thereby how it etched itself in my memory.

The projects themselves may not look spectacular in an objective sense, but, to me they are absolutely special as it came from within her - from concept to choosing materials to execution it was all done with joy and focus entirely on her own.

Pom-Pom Chicken

Items Used: Large pom-pom, Pipe Cleaner (Chenille Stem), Popsicle stick ends (for wings), googly-eyes, string, white glue.

After getting the head-and-body done, and the legs done, she tossed around ideas to attach the legs to the body. Gluing didn't work and she got a bit frustrated. Then, she decided to tie it with a string and it held. She said she was going to try sewing it on next time.

The interesting part for me was her choice of material for wings - ends of a Popsicle stick I had discarded from another project.

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Paper Weaving Easter Basket

Items Used: Colored construction paper, scissors, tape, paper fasteners, hole punch

Mama, I am frustrated! One evening, I heard her fuming a bit in her room, as she expressed her frustration. I went in to investigate.

She had done some paper-weaving , rolled it around and taped it to make a short cylinder, and was in the process of attaching a bottom to complete a basket. The bottom circular paper she had cut, of course, was proving to be tricky to tape on.

I casually mentioned that when I was little my mom suggested to cut some notches or slits along the edges and fold the edges up a small portion at a time and tape each part on going around slowly. Which turned out helpful apparently, as she shooed me away to finish her basket.

The best part of this project is that she said she made it for me - my very own Easter basket!

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Folded Paper Emperor Penguin

Items Used: Paper, markers

On the ride from school one evening, she held something up from the back seat and excitedly squealed, "Mama! Look!" So, I tilted the rear view mirror and peered in. It was this colorful folded paper penguin.

She held up the book Emperor Penguins and her folded paper penguin side by side and beamed proudly, "See! I just thought of it, and I made it, just now!" I cannot forget that moment. Agreed it is not fancy origami, but, the joy and triumph she felt then is quite something.

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Pattern Design Drawing Coloring

Items Used: Shapes/Pattern Puzzle pieces, paper, markers

One afternoon, Og was done playing with this Pattern Puzzle when Ana's interest in it was rekindled. This was, after all, her toy when she was little and she was sure she outgrew it and never thought twice about letting Og use it until then.

What I liked was not just that she made up that lovely pattern on her own but that she didn't stop there. She brought out a piece of paper, slid it under the puzzle, traced the outline; then, pulled out one piece at a time to trace the insides. Finally, she colored it in with markers.

For the good part of an afternoon this project was self-motivated, self-initiated, and self-completed, in a matter-of-fact way. No gushing, no fussing at the end, except an awkward, "I goofed up a bit, Mama, if you look closely you'll see. But that's okay. It was fun to do this."

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Cookie-Cutter Gingerbread Cookie Man Card

Items Used: Cookie cutter, colored construction paper, decorative edge scissors, crayons, pencil, cardstock paper for the greeting card

"I am going to make a card for Nana, Mama", she declared sometime early last December. And that is precisely what she did.

I liked that she cut out the cookie shape from the white paper, then added a brown paper at the back, rather than cutting the shape on the brown paper, or coloring the white paper in with brown. It is quite tricky to cut out a shape with so many curves.

I also liked that she layered the work, mounting it on green paper, and then gluing it on to the red card front adding dimension, choosing the popular colors of the season, so the final card is not flat.

And, she repeated the cookie man theme and traced one inside the card as well. And, wrote Feliz Navidad, which took me by surprise.

Anyway, the card itself is not stunning per se, but when she showed it to me saying, "Do you want to know how I made it?", I could see her insides bursting to share. So, even though I could very well guess how it was made, I listened attentively and asked her to give me a lesson on it someday.

What did Nana think when she got it? She loved it, of course!

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Pine Needles Pine Tree, with Snowman

Items Used: Pine needles, color pencils, paper, tape

This project stuck in my head because it was a Saturday night, a "camp-out" night with Mama. She usually chooses a movie and we watch it together. But, that night she just wanted to do this project. No movie.

As usual, her pockets were bulging with collection from the nature walk around the neighborhood that evening. We pressed some of the flowers and leaves, but she placed the pine needles on the table and insisted she has an idea that she must do now or she'll forget.

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She has taken to fancy lettering - experimenting with writing her name in various styles. I remember loving this activity when I was young.