for my favorite Anglophiles

With the London Olympics about to begin soon and my brother- and sister-in-law (the ones who lived in London for a while) about to arrive for a highly-anticipated visit, today I offer a selection of favorite children's books from across the pond.

Each one of M. Sasek's This Is... set of travel books for children is a trip of its own.  The books were written in the '60s, but some of them have been reprinted recently with necessary updates given in a list at the end of each book.  The fun watercolor illustrations and whimsical prose make these books great read-alouds to the younger ones, even if some of the references to historical events and people are obscure to the wee ones.  I find these books so charming and have been known to give them as gifts to adults (specifically This Is Edinburgh to my father, whose father -- my Papa Jack -- emigrated from Scotland with his family at the age of seven -- my elder lad's present age.) -- they're that fun.  With books on major cities of the world -- and Texas, oddly enough -- this series would be a fun collection to have if one had the shelf space.

My brother-in-law the Londoner once brought the elder lad (when the latter was an only lad) a stuffed Paddigton Bear and cup with super fun straw.  Thus began a long friendship with the bear from "Darkest Peru."  We've read most of Michael Bond's original story collections, listened to some of them on audiobooks, and pored over the picture books "for younger readers".  Suffice it to say, we are big fans of Paddington.

Dodsworth in London by Tim Egan. It's about a critter named Dodsworth who goes to London with his loquacious duck. They get separated when the duck gets on a double-decker bus without Dodsworth, who thinks the duck with the fascinator (who is the Royal Duck, pet of the queen) is his duck being silly. The pair end up lodging at Buckingham Palace at the queen's invitation.

What discussion of British children's books would be complete without mentioning Beatrix Potter?  Grandmare lent us her big book of Miss Potter's stories a while back, and we have yet to return it. 

As exciting as the Olympics are to witness, the best part for me will be the time spent with family in town for a too-short visit.  As with Britain's royal wedding a year and a half ago, the sporting events themselves don't affect me personally.  The connection to loved ones and opportunities to pore over good books with my bambini are golden.

animal house

Monday morning, the PJ-clad elder lad (in observance of PJ Day at school) declared, "I really mean this, Mom.  I want a dog." 

As in, "I know I've made this crystal clear on many occasions before.  Why has nothing been done about this?"

As if we need a dog.

So we get our dog fix via books, of course. 

 In his Meet the Dogs of Bedlam Farm, we meet Jon Katz's four funny dogs who live and work with him on his farm.  Each dog has his or her own job to do, from herding animals and guarding the farm to visiting the sick to one whose job isn't readily obvious until the end (spoiler alert: this dog sees to it that the other dogs do not want for company). 

The penguin exhibit is one of our favorite spots at the zoo (but you won't find me at the zoo on spring break *ever* again, just sayin'), so Jean Marzollo's Pierre the Penguin was an instant hit here.  It's the true story of a penguin living at the California Academy of Sciences (a favorite place of my mother's, just sayin') in the San Francisco Bay area who had the unfortunate fate of inexplicably losing his feathers -- and his penguin friends in the process.  His handler tries a few different things to help him, and finally finds the solution in a penguin-sized wet suit she designs and makes herself.  Laura Regan's illustrations bring Pierre, his handler Pam, and the other penguins to life most endearingly.  What would you do if you saw a penguin in a wet suit?

When I was a single gal I had a huge orangy Persian cat named (sir) Baldwin, who had shown up on my parents' driveway bald and starving.  They nursed him back to health such that soon he was neither bald (quite the opposite, actually, being a Persian in all his fluffy glory) nor starving -- though he did suffer from allergies -- eventually resembling in both appearance and demeanor the aloof cartoon feline Garfield.  Friends thought he was named Baldwin because of the piano reference, but no, the veterinarian with whom my parents collaborated to bring the poor thing back from the brink came up with the name (because the cat was bald!). 

The title character in Tumford the Terrible by Nancy Tillman reminds me of Baldwin in many ways, except Tumford is black and white.  Tumford tends to make messes and otherwise goof up, but he cannot bring himself to apologize for his mistakes.  He would rather hide.  Once he finally makes amends for a most embarrassing gaffe, he finds that his people still love him and that life goes on.  As difficult as it can be for any of us to admit wrongdoing and ask for forgiveness, this sweet story helps reinforce the need for doing so and the positive consequences that result from having accepted responsibility for one's actions and showing contrition. 

In a similar vein, David Mellina's Don't Worry, Douglas! focuses on the importance of truthfulness -- even when it's difficult to get the words out. Young Douglas receives a knitted hat from his father, who tells Douglas to take good care of it.  In a moment of exuberance, Douglas snags his hat on a tree branch, and the hat begins to unravel.  Once it becomes clear that Douglas won't be able to fix the hat, he begins to worry about how his father will react to what has become of the hat in light of the admonition the father had given.   In the end, Douglas's father shows him compassion and mercy.

As we work to cultivate virtue within ourselves and our bambini, these last two books help convey the important messages of honesty, accountability, contrition, forgiveness, mercy, and hope.  It isn't always easy to do the right thing.  That doesn't mean it isn't worth doing.

So in spite the elder lad's deep dissatisfaction, we may not have any furry friends (who breathe on their own, that is), happily we can read about the funny antics animals display and draw from them some very important life lessons.