30 November 2011

Benjamin & Tulip (Rosemary Wells, 1973)




Logline:

Constantly bullied by Tulip, Benjamin comes to grips with his tormentor in an incident involving a watermelon.

London:

I like when Benjamin goes to the store and the grocer asks him if he wants any soap. (Pause for Ben to explain that gag to London. London laughs because "Now I get it!")

Ben:

This was a childhood favorite of mine. I used to get it out of the library almost every week. As a small child myself, the story spoke to me. I had many Tulips over the years. What I really needed, apparently, was a watermelon and a broken tree branch. (Side-note: My old babysitter rescued the very copy I used to get out of the library - were they going out of business? - and it is the copy London and I have been sharing ever since.)

What it would be like to be in this book:

Instead of hurting people, like Benjamin, London posits that she "would sleep". I would probably follow a similarly passive aggressive course of action as the title character with whom I share a name. But the coveralls would be the real prize.

29 November 2011

I've Seen Santa (David Bedford, 2005)



Logline:

Little Bear keeps thinking he sees Santa, only to find out that his parents want to see Santa just as badly as he does.

London:

London notes that there is a mouse on every page. (And then proceeds to play "Where's Waldo?" with the rest of the book.)

Ben:

I like Big Bear a whole lot because he reminds me of Homer Simpson. Little Bear is deeply inquisitive and the book clearly acts as a mirror to the experience of a young person in the throes of Santa fever.

What it would be like to be in this book:

London says that if "[I] was baby bear, I would talk even more. I wouldn't stay up to see Santa, I would probably just [makes sleeping noises]". Ben thinks he would probably fixate on the wee blueberry pies and would definitely be asleep before London.

28 November 2011

Nobody Listens to Andrew (Elizabeth Guilfoile, 1964)



Logline:

Nobody Listens to Andrew! (Repeatedly.)

London:

There's a bear in Andrew's bed but nobody listens to Andrew. If I had to pick out of all of them, I think I would pick Ruthy as my favorite. Or Andrew.

Ben:

Always spirited when I read the book, but its hackneyed to the last (I mean, a black bear doesn't, you know, eat all of them?) Also, I picture Andrew betraying the goodwill he earned by having been wronged a la the changeover at the end: "Next Time We Will Listen to Andrew..." I picture him being even more encourageable than he already is. This book is, after all, "The Boy Who Who Cried Wolf" without *seeing* the previous crying. It's merely implied that everyone regards him as a pest.

What it would be like to be in this book:

If I was Andrew, London says, I would have been more annoying, perhaps even hurting everybody to get their attention. Ben would likely have been the bumbling zookeeper, tasked with herding a bear out of a two-story house and to the local zoo using only a tiny net and an awkward, seemingly useless cage. And I would have been eaten as soon as everybody turned their heads and the book had ended.

27 November 2011

Favorite Pages - Ben (week of Nov. 20, 2011)



The perspective of the rubber duck on the cresting wave gives the bathtub its own independent space, while George's small, one-cannon boat transcends being a toy and becomes a indispensable vessel of high seas adventure. Like most of his "shrunk" scenes, there is a heightened sense of drama that mixes with a grounded aplomb. *We* know he's dreaming, but there's just the slightest hint of doubt that *he* knows it.



I mean, it's cute and everything that Humphrey's mom ties his jim-jam pants' pullstring with her trunk, but the thing that makes me smile great and large is the term "jim-jams" itself: We adopted it immediately and it stuck with mad staying power.



When we would come to this page during the nightly heyday of "Go, Dog. Go!", London would always stop me (even if I were in a rhythm and had moved on to the next page) and ask me, pointedly - like it was the first time every time - what the dog with the hat was. She just couldn't figure out why he was there, why he had a hat on and who knows what else. She was comprehending things brilliantly, but this was like a tear in the fabric of logic: She. Just. Had. To. Know. Every time.

26 November 2011

Favorite Pages - London (week of Nov. 20, 2011)



The hippopotamus looks funny. My dad and I always do this part together.



It looks like a jungle. The water coming down from the hose looks like a waterfall. It's so pretty!



The toy that he decides to buy looks exactly like him. Like a mini him. Just with no tail.

25 November 2011

Just Like Jasper (Nick Butterworth, Mick Inkpen, 1989)



Logline:

A cat named Jasper takes his birthday money to a toy store and looks at lots of toys.

London:

This cat looks a lot like my aunt and uncle's cat and his name is Jasper, too. He is the softest kitty on earth.

Ben:

This was one of the last books of the bedtime era, purchased just a few years ago by my mother, probably very much in honor of my brother's cat, Jasper, who - inexplicably - looks just like the title character. (Or, I guess, the other way around.)

[12/12/11: "As I bit of clarification, I loved Jasper long before Matt had his Jasper. It was a big book that I used with the last reading series I taught; I loved those two Brits (Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen...only Brits have those names!) and their illustrations. The books are so simple, but the kids really loved Jasper. - Susan Trout"]

What it would be like to be in this book:

If I had birthday money to blow and I was a cat, I'd probably just buy a whole mess of cat treats. (Although, if I were me, Ben, I'd want to look at the toy store's selection of Star Wars figures first.) If London were a cat (Jasper), "I would take all the birthday money and buy a bunch of pet mice. But, if I were me - London - I would probably just go look at all the candy."

24 November 2011

Humphrey's Bedtime (Sally Hunter, 2001)



Logline:

Mama puts Humphrey to bed while Lottie does the same thing with her babies.

London:

This was one of my dad's absolute favorites. I like when Bear gets lost because my nickname is bear.

Ben:

"Jim-Jams on" helped us originate that term around the house. The nuance of language and insight into familial dynamics is really keen; This was a hot book for us to read around the time things were really stressful at ITT, and I can remember really taking solace in the warmth of Sally Hunter's World of Humphrey (both in this book and the other one we have). And we read it nearly every night.


What it would be like to be in this book:

The pleasure of childhood activities - the joy of simple things like baths and stories - would really appeal to Ben. (Being a child again, by the way, would also really appeal to Ben. Even if he had to be an elephant.) London would also really love to be an elephant because it appears - based on the logic of the book - that she would only drink warm milk and eat buttery toast for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

23 November 2011

Go, Dog. Go! (P.D. Eastman, 1961)



Logline:

Extremely active dogs participate in opposite-driven actions including playing, running, jumping, driving and, of course, partying.

London:

Every night when I was one through five my dad used to read this book to me. In the party part, my eyes used to get really big.

Ben:

(And don't forget, London, about the dog with a hat that you always used to ask "What is that?!" Like it was the first time I was ever telling someone about a dog with a hat: "A dog with a hat," I'd say.) I all but had this one memorized at one point in time. We read it - literally - every night. I can't express the joy and fondness I recall in having the opportunity to read this to such a delighted little audience.

What it would be like to be in this book:

London said she would drive faster than all of the other cars. Ben wouldn't get up when the lead dog said "Time to get up!" (He'd slink under the bed and continue to snooze.)

22 November 2011

George Shrinks (William Joyce, 1985)




Logline:

George imagines himself shrunk down to action-figure size while doing some chores.

London:

I like when he goes in to water the plants because it looks like a jungle.

Ben:

Simple is the game here: The story is concise, a fool's paradise of miniature riffs (all of them clever, particularly the naval battle in the bathtub). This book started with London - I had never read it prior to that, despite it being a bestseller the year my younger brother was born - and made an easy choice most nights: It was short, and she was dazzled by the pictures. (Come to think of it: This will make "Pages of the Week" a difficult choice for both of us.)

What it would be like to be in this Book:

London is still dreaming of watering the plants so she can prance among their massive stems. This book was made to ponder "what-if" scenarios. In fact, the whole thing has that Is-it-a-dream? quality. I'd read a whole book of his interactions with the pets.

21 November 2011

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? (Dr. Seuss, 1970)



Logline:

Mr. Brown makes a number of noises while rhyming.

London:

When I was little and my Dad used to read it, we would do the "Grum, Grum, Grum, Grum, Grum, Grum" part together.

Ben:

Actually, I feel like we got to the point where were both doing the noises - which I think is the point. I remember Victoria, similarly, getting swept up in the fun of reciting these wonderful rhyming clicks and pops. (I also believe this copy of the book is Victoria's as she has scrawled her name in the front.)

What It Would Be Like to Be In This Book:

London says she wouldn't do any of the noises correctly and Ben is a little concerned about the lightning part. Mr. Brown just strikes me as careless. All that lollygagging and what not.