It's Complicated

My son checked a new picture book out of his school library last week, "The Cats in Kraskinski Square." He'd chosen it, he said, because it was sitting on top of the shelf and it was opened to a page with a picture of a giant steam engine. My son is a sucker for giant steam engines. He took the book back to his classroom and started reading. When he came home, he handed it to me and asked me to read the story. Because the book wasn't about trains at all, it turns out. It was about the Holocaust.

Until last week, my son knew nothing about World War II, and I would have waited even longer before trying to explain that particular chapter in world history. There are many chapters I haven't tried explaining yet. I'm fortunate. Because throughout the world we have 6-year-olds LIVING THROUGH the things we'd like to protect them from.

As books on this subject go, I'd easily recommend the one my son picked, which is written by Karen Hesse with illustrations by Wendy Watson. I just would have picked it three years from now.

The story is about a little girl who has escaped from the Warsaw ghetto and is trying to get food to the people inside. She keeps playing with these cats that roam around the town -- cats who no one owns anymore. When the Gestapo finds out that the people are trying to smuggle food into the ghetto, the girl and her sister round up the cats and put them in their baskets. The cats are released, the Gestapo's dogs chase the cats, and the food makes it to the hands of the starving people. My son got the nuances -- no one owns the cats because the owners are dead. The girl and her sister are all that's left of their own little family because their parents and brother are dead. There's no escaping that. But people are fighting back, and in this one instance, at least, they win at their task -- appreciated for this age group because I think one of the hardest things for a kid is the idea that he can't do anything about the horrible things that are happening in the world. (That's one of the hardest things for me, too!)

My son asked to read it again and again -- his way, I think, of trying to understand. Had he not already tried reading it in school by himself, I absolutely would have steered him away until he was older. I still haven't said anything to the librarian. I haven't quite figured out how to approach it, I guess. Just like I haven't quite figured out how to approach this post, so I'm ending it here...

September

chipmunk wars

I'm blaming the chipmunks. My mother-in-law says it could be birds and a friend says it could be squirrels, but I saw the hole coming up in the middle of the tomatoes and, after I stopped that one up, in the cucumbers. The chipmunks have been attacking my garden. Small veggies disappear, leaving behind a stubby stem. Big veggies have big bites chomped in the side (see above).
I shouldn't complain. We've had a great haul this year, the best ever thanks to my husband's reading up on sheet composting. We managed to avoid store-bought lettuce for two solid months. We've eaten more turnips that I've had in my entire life combined. We've gotten sick of yellow squash. But we've lost most of the cukes and now the chipmunks are getting into the tomatoes, just when they turn red. Wartime.
I've been scanning the net for battle plans and so far I've tried two.
1. Juicy fruit gum. The net says that the chipmunks hate the smell and this will scare them off. My neighbor, Dan, says that this is an urban myth put out by the Juicy-Fruit People. Dan's probably right and my attempts haven't worked so far, but I still have some extra packs. When I see a hole, the gum is going in.
2. Cayenne pepper. I've plugged up three sprayers trying to get my own mix on the garden so I finally resorted to a red pepper spray, purchased at Ayers, the greatest hardware store in Northern, Va. It hasn't worked so far. This morning we went out and found more tomatoes bitten than ever before. My son thinks the chipmunks are angry and looking for revenge. I'm angry, too, but not so angry that I'm ready to try the third battle plan I found on the internet, the so-called Bucket of Death.
They're too cute to kill. I may be ready for some humane traps, though. I think they need a nice little vacation several miles away...

Muppets

A couple of years or so we saw an ad for a Muppets Exhibit at the Smithsonian. We went and found a glass case containing some of our favorite Muppets but ... nothing more. Sure, the Swedish Chef was there, and that counts for a lot. But we left disappointed. We were NOT disappointed this weekend, though, when we journeyed over to the International Gallery, nextdoor to the Smithsonian's Castle, to see "Jim Henson's Fantastic World." Storyboards, early sketches, posters, drawings, and video footage of some of Henson's early commercials, including those for Wilkins Coffee and for the La Choy Dragon, running in an endless loop. Hard to see everything with little kids in tow, but just reading the timeline at the beginning of the exhibit is enough to make you realize you're in the presence of genius ... if you hadn't already realized it before. (We had.) In this exhibit you'll find Kermit and Ernie and Bert, along with Rowlf and the puppets from Mahna Mahna. Swedish Chef is sadly absent, as are many others. ("WHERE'S FLOYD PEPPER?" my daughter demanded, very loudly. If anyone knows, please post...) He was there in spirit, if not plushy flesh. And I definitely spotted the pen drawing of Dr. Teeth. The exhibit also has apuppet theater for the kids, a make-a-face station, and a little counter where the squeakers can work on their own storyboards while you check out everything that's hanging on the walls. That probably would have been easier for us if we'd gone on a weekday; we went on a Sunday and it was packed. We're planning on going back for a closer second look. The exhibit is in D.C. until the beginning of October, when it goes South to Florida, Kentucky and Georgia. If it goes near you it's definitely worth a look.

For more information visit jimhensonlegacy.org

gender differences

I've always been fascinated by gender differences between my kids -- and all kids. So just wanted to note the following observation:

Perfection to a 6-year-old girl:










Perfection to a 6-year-old boy:

summer reminders

Tomorrow is the first day of summer. Earlier today I posted a few pictures that I thought captured the essence around our house so far. Feel free to send a link to your own pics if you've got 'em.

Meanwhile, I wanted to remind those of you with kids to sign up for your local summer library reading program. Our library in Arlington has incentives for preschoolers through teen-agers.

My friend Leigh Anne turned me on to the Barnes and Noble reading program, too. They don't need the extra publicity, but YOU NEED FREE BOOKS so I want to take a minute to make sure you check out the program, too. It's a good deal: Your kids, grades 1 to 6, read eight books and say what they like best about each one. Turn it in and you get a coupon for a free book from a list of eligible titles. In normal something-for-nothing land, that would mean your kids would be bringing home How to File Your Fingernails with a Back Hoe or Gourmet Cooking with Sawdust. Only I checked out the titles in my son's age group and they included: Ramona Quimby, Age 8, the Tale of Despereux, and Clementine. Since the kids are going to be reading anyway, may as well fill out the paperwork!

summer

Photo titles:
Patient Father
Shy Bullfrog
Hakurei Turnips