#01 field notes: picture books in the mail, Goodnight Moon gives me the creeps, grade 1 reading anxiety, and Oliver Jeffers playing cards
This is my very first field notes post. Field notes will be my book related chit chat and general musings. Though, I’m sure this will evolve overtime.
I’ve been obsessed with ordering library books lately. We live in a community that is apart of the Marigold Library System which is a satellite network of rural libraries. Our books arrive in a kiosk at the community centre in a nifty brown bag. It’s an exciting time visiting the kiosk (yes, I said exciting times visiting the kiosk!) and waiting for a locker to pop open with our latest book haul. And then, once we’re home, to see if mom (that’s me) picked a bunch of duds or if there are some good re-readable picture books. Sometimes I’ve ordered books so quickly on the app that I didn’t read the fine print and they were actually CDs. I’m impressed that the library still has CDs. Who is ordering these CD audio books?!
It’s a pretty incredible service having unlimited free books mailed right to us in the little hamlet of Bragg Creek. This was our latest book haul, and I’d say I have about a 20% success rate when it comes to which ones are re-readable. Can you guess which of these is a future RoR pick?
I’m solely ordering based on the cover art or title, and rarely miscellaneous reviews online. What I’ve learned is that sometimes a New York Times best selling picture book is not for the palette of young kids, but rather the MFA holders who appreciate the books with zero text, or disjointed sentence structure that is only for the abstract mind. Wait what? Exactly. Which makes me think of the classic picture book Goodnight Moon.
Here’s an unpopular opinion: Goodnight Moon creeps me out. I know it’s on many parents top re-read lists and often stuffed in baby blue gift bags at baby showers. But I don’t get it. The colours seem reminiscent of The Shining. My toddler does not believe that the bowl of mush is mush and always sternly corrects me that it’s oatmeal. The whole thing could have easily been written while high on mushrooms. It’s strange and weird. There was a visual/video/immersive exhibit at the Telus Science Centre a year or so ago which was an ode to Goodnight Moon. I didn’t get a chance to go, but honestly I think I would have felt like I was in an episode of the Goosebumps. Dun dun dun dun. So although Goodnight Moon is an American classic (right?) and has a lot of the repetition that young kids benefit from, it isn’t a re-reader at our house. All that to say, even the most notable books aren’t necessarily making our picture book reading on repeat list. But that’s just us!
Picture book reading is now a form of bedtime procrastination in our house. I’ve been putting our 7 month old to bed while my husband does the book negotiations in the room next door. It can sometimes be a thirty minute to an hour process. But honestly, where do we need to rush off to? Our phones? The dishes? Exactly - nowhere.
In my latest RoR post I recommend a Bill Peet book that my husband read as a kid with his mom - Kermit the Hermit. He’s probably read this book hundreds of times. It got me thinking… What books did I read over and over as a kid? There are more chapter books than picture books that I actually remember loving. Blown away by magical stories like The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe or The Secret Garden. I do vividly remember the thick white book Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein with the sketch illustrations and poems. I did go through a very obsessive phase of the Mr. Happy book by Roger Hargreaves. I loved collecting these witty, charming little reads. I also loved Mr. Messy, Mr. Grumpy, and Little Miss Sunshine. Which is probably the way my parents described me. My mom got Mr. Happy for my son when he was born, to pass on the reading tradition. I recently came across the entire collection, which seems like a fun, retro gift idea that will sit in my Amazon cart for several wonderful weeks while never being purchased.
Not all my book memories are so fond though. It is possible to have a BAD book memory. Yes, it’s true. I remember the traumatizing experience of having to read out loud in my grade one class in the fine community of Estevan, Saskatchewan. We had an unforgettable two year stint in the community, which was marked by a EF4 tornado that tore up our weeping willow tree, an amazing two storey club house where we exchanged penny candies with neighbourhood kids, and massive truck tires in the school playground that smelled like piss but we still played in them. I also remember that we got our school vaccines in the little library that was attached to the one hallway school. I hated that they combined the dreadful experience of routine vaccines with the only decent room in the building. ANYWAY. Back to my grade one reading experience. As a class we were reading the Mr. Mugs chapter books. Anyone else have to read these? From the start of grade one we were expected to read chapter books. New to Estevan, my parents couldn’t believe that this school had such high literary standards. And I didn’t know a sheepdog could cause so much anxiety. I was absolutely petrified of my turn to read out loud - trying to guess which sentence I would land on so that I could mentally rehearse it ahead of time. Sometimes I was spot on, sometimes I was not. Either way, it brought tears to my eyes after school as I explained to my mom that I needed to be able to read this chapter book about a sheepdog named Mr. Mugs, or else! The teacher quickly flagged me as “behind” in my reading ability and sounded the illiterate alarm with my parents. I hated the innocent Mr. Mugs series. A year later, we were out of there. My next teacher said I could read just fine. Still, mentioning Mr. Mugs or even the sight of a large sheepdog makes my stomach flip.
And finally, on a better note, I want to share these cute Go-Fish 3-1 cards with Oliver Jeffers illustrations. Because every parent I know loves Oliver Jeffers books. We usually play the matching game, because memory or Go-Fish is too advanced for my toddler at this point.
I discovered this deck of cards in my Nana’s den in Prince Edward Island. The den is a separate room where the T.V. lives. It would never be out in the main living room - that was for tea and entertaining. Not for a tacky television. The den usually had a floral couch, knitted blanket, pick-up sticks, and toys. Eventually a laptop sat in the corner. Nana has had a den for as long as I can remember, and a den always felt both cozy and classic, practical and lavish. I don’t know anyone else with a den, but I’ve always wanted one. Anyway, now in her late eighties and in an apartment, her den has downsized and so has the odds and ends that go in it. She has a bucket of cars (or dinkies as she calls them) and this beautiful deck of cards by Oliver Jeffers. We’ve since purchased our own deck, and often gift it to our little friends. Enjoy.
- the end.
Allie