Love Your Library

Our local library is less than a ten minute walk from home and somewhat underused by my family. The children adore books and B and I are both readers, but he is a Kindle man and I like to buy my books either new or used. I like to have the freedom of spills, tears and tears (you heard me), especially with Boy and Girl around. To be honest, I haven't finished a book of my choice since Girl was 3 months old, and that was a book of very short stories by Gina Ochsner.

Boy likes the library, but tends to take up all my attention when we are there, especially if it is Storytime, which takes place every Friday. Boy has yet to sit through a whole page of whatever story the patient -if somewhat dry- librarian is reading aloud. Nevertheless he likes the buzz of the other children and enjoys the crayons and fetching me books to read to him (always the Gruffalo, then The Gruffalo's Child, no matter how many times I explain that we already have these at home).

However today I had Girl all to myself and thought I would take her on a rare visit to the library without Boy, so that for once she wouldn't be left in the buggy chewing on a manky old board book while I chase Boy around the bookcases begging him to sit and enjoy any book that doesn't feature the Little Brown/Big Bad Mouse.

She really did enjoy having a story read just to her - I picked Wilde's The Selfish Giant, more out of fond nostalgia than age appropriateness. It did have lovely watercolour illustrations and Girl sat and poking and pulling gently at the pictures while I read her the story. We even made it as far as the Giant's heart melting for the little boy too short to climb a tree before she lost interest. We then looked at a couple of touchy feely books, although they didn't have any from our favourite series, Watt & Wells' "That's not my...".

Eventually Girl's happy noises started to get slightly fractious and I got ready to leave. But we didn't walk out of the door before I renewed my library membership and picked myself up a little treat. Once Girl fell asleep I strolled to the nearest cafe where I sat with cup of tea and lemon and devoured Sanctuary a Galway murder mystery by Ken Bruen - thanks to AnnieJMac for the impassioned recommendation.

Later this evening B gave an astounding rendition of The Gruffalo's Child to the delight of Boy and Girl. I've no idea how he keeps the enthusiasm in his voice even 274 recitations later. I'm frequently tempted to video him and post it on youtube for quick access during those times when I just can't read it again.

I feel I've already got my €2 worth from rejoining the library and may even get another book finished before the end of 2012. One that isn't by Julia Donaldson that is. Happy reading!

The Pancake and the Pig

Stop! You look like a delicious pancake. Please let me eat you.

My impromptu pancake art for the parent and toddler group this morning consisted of colouring/drawing a face on a circle of paper and sticking on a couple of lollypop sticks for arms (and legs, and hair, in the case of one wee girl who really got into it). And calling it a pancake man helped too.

But the real fun came from the retelling of The Big Pancake, a classic fairy story which happens to be part of the Ladybird 606D "Well-Loved Tales" series of the 1970s. Sadly I own very few of these books for my children to enjoy, and although I wish they could see the wonderful artwork by Robert Lumley and Eric Winter, the stories themselves are fondly emblazoned onto my memory from my own childhood.

The Big Pancake is a tale of a pancake cooked up for seven hungry little boys who end up chasing it down the street. In a similar fashion to The Gingerbread Boy the pancake is chased by various people and animals who want to eat it up but it rolls on down the street refusing to stop until a savvy pig offers to accompany the pancake into a forest. The pancake accepts a ride across the river on the pig's snout, and snap, the pig gobbles him up. If only he'd read The Gingerbread Boy he would have surely seen this coming (though the cunning beneficiary was a fox in that story, I think). As with so many of these stories, the greatest enjoyment comes from the repetition and simplicity that makes children feel like the story is an old favourite from just a few pages in.

If you do look for a copy of this story I would strongly recommend picking up an earlier Ladybird edition as the publishers replaced the vastly superior Lumley illustrations in later editions for some unfathomable reason. Or maybe that's the nostalgia speaking.

In case you were wondering, we did eat pancakes today too. Our lovely neighbour threw a little pancake party, though Girl was only interested in chewing a magazine and Boy spent the entire evening demanding chocolate cake - he'd seen me bring over the remaining cookie cups we made yesterday. I got mine though...and it was a delicious pancake!