Leather Chair Reading

Leather Chair Reading!  International Children’s Book Day!

It’s been quite a while since I’ve done a Leather Chair Reading journal entry, so I thought International Children’s Book Day seemed the perfect time to do one.

International Children’s Book Day is a yearly event held on April 2, to celebrate the birthday of Hans Christian Andersen, the renown author of many timeless children’s books and fairy tales like, The Ugly Duckling, Peter Rabbit and The Princess and the Pea, just to name a few.

A personal favorite fairy tale classic of mine from Hans Christian Andersen was Thumbelina.  I even had a Thumbelina doll!  

Statue of Hans Christian Andersen in New York’s Central Park

It is ironic that oftentimes many children’s authors have such sad upbringings themselves.  Hans Christian Andersen grew up in abject poverty, his mother was an alcoholic and his father was a poor shoemaker who died when he was a young boy; he never married or had children of his own.   Maybe these childhoods were the inspiration for their stories!

The International Children’s Book Day is sponsored by the International Board on Books for Young People.  This committee was founded in 1967 and was developed to help inspire children all over the world to read!  There are several special events held each year, including storytelling, writing competitions, and talks from prominent authors and well-known illustrators.

One of the things my own children seemed to love the very most when they were growing up was going to the library or browsing a book store.  Now my two sweet granddaughters are proud holders of their very own library cards!

Here’s a short list of a few of my favorite children’s books and one I recently purchased to celebrate the Easter season.

“Friends” by Helme Heine

This darling book is about Charlie Rooster, Johnny Mouse and Percy the Pig, who are the best of friends, who do everything together and stick by each other during good times and bad–but when night falls and they try to sleep together, they soon realize that even best friends have to be apart sometimes.

My copy of this book is well loved, it was a favorite of my children and now my two granddaughters adore it too.  The story is clever and the illustrations of these three friends on their ventures are extraordinary!  (I love this book and have even given it as a gift, on occasion, to some of my adult friends!)

“Madeline” by Ludwig Bemelmans

The original “Madeline” book was first published in 1939 and won the Caldecott Award for most distinguished children’s picture book the following year.  The beloved Madeline books come in a five book series about twelve girls who attend boarding school in Paris and are under the watchful eye of Miss Clavel.  Madeline is the smallest girl, but also the most fierce!  My grandma first read the Madeline books to me, and I just gave my oldest granddaughter two of them for Christmas.  As it states on the jacket cover, “…there is a certain magic about Madeline that cannot be explained!”      

“Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters” by John Steptoe

My granddaughters and I happened upon this delightful book on a recent jaunt to get frozen yogurt, but since there was a bookstore right next door to the yogurt shop, we couldn’t possibly resist taking a few minutes to look around!  “Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters” is sort of an African variation of Cinderella.  Mufaro’s two daughters, much like Cinderella, are presented to the king as possible choices for marriage.  The king secretly observes Manyara and Nyasha and soon discovers that the beauty of one is only skin deep!  It was fun to discover this enchanting tale that inspires a fascination with Africa and the people and traditions there!

“Ollie’s Easter Eggs”  by Olivier Dunrea

Since it is the Easter season, I picked up this funny book from the best-selling creator of the Gossie and friends books.  I love the whimsical pictures and the funny strategies carried on between the characters in this book, and it’s an easy read, so my oldest granddaughter can read it out loud to me!

I hope on this International Children’s Book Day you’ll be able to find time to snuggle up with a few of your favorite little people to read some good books together, because after all…

“Every man’s life is a fairy tale written by God’s finger!” 

Hans Christian Andersen 

Who doesn’t just love a great children’s book, what are a couple of your favorite ones?

–Mary

Leather Chair Reading!  Seedfolks!

This special summer edition of Leather Chair Reading might more appropriately be referred to as Wicker Chair Reading, since I usually go out on my patio to read in the evenings after work when it’s cooled off a bit.

I know that most everyone is off celebrating their last “hoorah” so to speak, on this long Labor Day weekend, marking the official end of summer–and my guess is that reading a book isn’t on the list of activities you have planned…but if you do find yourself needing a little breather to just kick back and relax and maybe pick up a good, quick read, I would highly recommend this little gem of a book!

“A young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard soil to plant her precious bean seeds.  Suddenly, the soil and the people around her hold promise.”

Seedfolks book sleeve overview

At the very least, Seedfolks timely message just might help restore your faith in the hope that as human beings we can learn to celebrate our differences and work together to help make this crazy, eclectic world we live in a better place!  Surely, that’s not asking too much, is it…?!!

If you recall, I mentioned in this previous journal entry, that I’d recently joined a neighborhood book club.  This month it was my turn to choose what we read, and Seedfolks is one of my very favorite books.  I felt that the story and theme of this insightful book was a perfect pick for the end of summer.

It’s always fascinating for me to learn about the author of a good book and how the storylines come about.

This intriguing quote is highlighted on Seedfolks author, Paul Fleischman’s website as he describes his years growing up with a Newberry Award winning father, Sid Fleischman, who often read his books aloud to his family, chapter by chapter, as they were written.  Mr. Fleischman shares that while he may have learned to write from his father, he was no less a product of his mother, who took her gardening skills into the community where she volunteered at a therapeutic garden in an old veteran’s hospital, showing men who’d returned from war how to raise vegetables and flowers, helping them to heal damaged psyches in the process.  His mother arranged book giveaways in cash-poor school districts, as well.  Such a unique background obviously helped provide the foundation for this incredible book.

Thirteen voices of varying ages and from all walks of life tell this amazing story about a garden that eventually transforms the neighborhood…from Kim, the little Korean girl, who first enters the vacant, garbage-filled lot to plant her beans as a way to feel closer to a father she never knew, to Sam, a retired social worker who still felt it was his job to bring people together.

“I start conversations in long lines, on buses and with grocery cashiers.  People see that I am friendly…if I’m lucky, I get them talking to each other.   Sewing up the rips in the neighborhood.”  

Sam in Seedfolks  

Discussing all the characters at our book club, and what happened in their lives that eventually led to them each crossing paths and working together, left you wondering about them after that initial first year in the neighborhood garden.  That’s the powerful impact of a well written book!

It’s always fun to see evidence of community gardens when I visit my daughter and son-in-law in New York City.  You can see the plots to the right of this picture–this was taken in the fall when I went to see Mandi run in the NYC Marathon, so the gardens had already been harvested.  My friends tell me there are a few around here where I live too.

It seemed an obvious choice to serve a fresh salad with some produce from my garden at our book club.

Being able to hear another’s viewpoint on various books is always the neat advantage of having a book club–that, and enjoying time well spent with good friends and neighbors.

It’s always fun to have a small reminder of the neat books we read and the great times we enjoy together at our book club.  

Some more ideas for gifts from the garden coming up soon in my next Garden Therapy journal entry.

Any good books you’ve loved reading this summer?

I’m hoping these Leather Chair Reading journal entries inspire you to pick up a good book, share it with friends and family, then get together and have a lively discussion about it afterward–it sure beats debating politics!

Happy Reading!

–Mary