About Us (Aug. 2020 Update)

August 2020 Update
For the past few months we've been drifting a bit. Review something here. Review nothing for a long stretch. Go through a bunch of books at once. Read some picture books. Read some chapter books. That is to say, I haven't been very organized and deliberate in my publishing schedule. Now, I'm refocusing.

We will continue to review the books that we encounter serendipitously and want to share with you. We will continue moving into chapter books that interest T. I will, however, be more deliberate about seeking out books on topics I want to explore with T. Primarily, world literature (including the classics), natural history, and faith traditions. 

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Mom
Retired teacher, reader, mom. Loves cozy mysteries, memoirs, and fantasy series (please don't take away the characters after just one book!). Favorite authors: Charles Dickens, Jasper Fforde, Tomie dePaola, and Maurice Sendak

Son
Loves LEGO, monsters, spooky stories, The Hobbit, and Robin Hood. We are currently reading The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. Favorite author: Tomie dePaola

Why "Glass of Wine, Glass of Milk"?
At dinner one evening, T's dad and I were each drinking a glass of wine. T asked what we had, and we told him it was wine. When he asked if he could have some, we explained that it is only for grown-ups and that it would hurt his growing body and brain. He responded that kids can drink water or milk. That evening, and all the following week, he kept chanting, "glass of wine, glass of milk." And the phrase felt right as a title for our shared book blog.

Why write this blog at all?

I did a whole post on this a while back. And since that was a while ago, I'm including it below.

Why am I writing this?

We read a lot. We have a lot of books. But for a while, my husband and I were not making conscious choices about what we read to T: there were books from when I was a kid, books we received as baby gifts, and books we picked more or less randomly from the library. Nine times out of ten, the criterion for T's choice of book is staggeringly arbitrary: he pulls the book whose spine protrudes farthest on the library shelf! To be sure, we have found some good fits this way. Among them were the Duck & Goose series and my National Geographic pop-up books from the 1980s. But at times we have driven ourselves crazy with books' bad rhymes, factually inaccurate texts, and vapid stories.

T's dad and I have had several conversations about how we would want to guide T's reading and how we select what books to read to him. We want T to maintain his independence but also have a bit more guidance. We still encourage him to select books at the library. And he still pulls many books at random (sometimes, too, he has specific requests for the librarians). Our selections for him, however, come with a bit more forethought now. So what am I looking for? Value. More specifically, that means books that:

- are enjoyable to read
- teach about the world (people, places, things, activities, etc.)
- set an example of how to deal with different situations
- promote healthy emotions
- have art we like
- elicit further questions/reading
- prompt conversation

Since making more conscious reading choices, I've noticed several changes. I enjoy our story times more consistently. T and I talk more about the texts. He relates books to his life and to other books. And, he almost always loves the books that I pick out. There is additionally a change in how I spend my free time; I am now writing this blog. The reasons are three: I want to share our worthwhile reads with anyone who might also be looking for some recommendations, I want to hold myself accountable to you, not just T, and I love children's literature and have fun writing about it. I hope that you've found some of our reading diet appetizing and that you'll enjoy future selections as well.

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