Category: Children

Normally I’m not a fan of any children’s illustrated book that has lots of white space on its pages. I feel that it’s a cop out and that they’re leaving me out of some of the show. For the record, I’m also not a fan of the sound of crinkling potato chip bags and drinking orange juice after I brush my teeth. Every once in a while a children’s book will come around and utterly demolish my silly pet peeve. Rosie and Rasmus is the latest Trojan Horse to charm me, and other kids, who discover this lovely illustrated book for ages 4-8.

From the first four pages it’s obvious what the Achilles Heel is and that is its artwork. We meet Rosie, who’s a shy young girl who lives in a picturesque, coastal town. She sees all of the kids playing, laughing or having fun and simply wants someone to see her. The next page starts out just like the first two pages, except this time we see Rasmus, a dinosaur who lives in a big tree that overlooks the town where Rosie lives.

One day Rosie goes for a walk, where she’s given a flower by Rasmus. The two become friends, despite their obvious differences, but what Rasmus really wants to do is fly.   Rosie plants and schemes, like only a 6 year-old can, in order to help her much larger friend with thagomizers* down his back and tail.

Soul is a characteristic that few children’s illustrated books have. Most of them are entertaining and enjoyed by children, but very few of them have soul. I don’t mean the get-up-and-dance James Brown kind of soul. I mean, at some instance in reading the book, or looking at the art, the book pierces your soul, stays there for a moment and asks you to remember when you felt how the characters in the book feel. Rosie and Rasmus has that kind of soul.

Ironically, it’s the combination of the pages that are not fully colored, the economy of words and the illustrations that make the book remind parents of childhood. Rosie and Rasmus will resonate as much with children. Sometimes kids want to play by themselves. However, some kids are shy and want other kids to say hello first. This book is great for either camp of kids.  It’s written and illustrated by Serena Geddes and it’s the illustrations that will make you feel like this book is written just for you. Moreover, Rosie and Rasmus deals with the difficult subject of good-byes, but it does it with a smile and the promise that even though things change, they can also get better.

Plum is the back story behind the Sugar Plum Fairy. How did she get her wings? What’s up with that green outfit? Is Captain Planet her father? What are her super powers? All of these things, and more are questions that I’ve never entertained. Actually, truth be told I did see Nutcracker and the Four Realms and saw lots of a ‘Plum’ type character in that film. Thankfully that film has been purged from my short term memory and now the only notion of her is when she’s dancing in my head whilst I read The Night Before Christmas.

Continue reading Plum, neither a lump of coal nor that pony that you wanted

I completely blame (or credit) Born to Dance for planting songs in my head. Ever since I received our copy of the book that fabulous (or horrible) song by Patrick Hernandez, Born to Be Alive, pops in my head. That song stays there until I’m able to clean the slate, then it’s immediately replaced by Maniac by Michael Sembello. That song is there for a moment and then it’s replaced by the current favorite, Carpenter Brut version of the song. I state all of this to say that I don’t really dance. The last time I danced was at my wedding just over a decade age-which I did because my bride was dancing and my sometimes friend Al Chol was there. Wait, I did dance last week in the house, but it was in a mocking sense that even led my still bride to ask to promptly stop.

Continue reading Born to Dance, for the dance (and photo) enthusiasts