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Which Firefly character are you?

You are Captain Malcolm Reynolds, aka. Mal or Captain Tightpants. You saw most of your men die in a war you lost and now you seek solitude with a small crew that you are fiercely devoted to. You have no problems being naked.
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Okay - I do seek solitude with a small crew and have no problems being naked.

Christmas Awesomeness

The blogger at "One Good Thing" really knows how to put the fun back into gift-giving--not to mention the caring and thoughtfulness as well. How do I sign up to be Mrs. Claus?

review: Merry Christmas, Cheeps!

Merry Christmas, Cheeps! by Julie Stiegmeyer. Illustrated by Carol Baicker-McKee. Bloomsbury, 2007 (9781-599990-064-3) $9.95

I feel a touch ambivalent about this book, not because it's not likable--it is--but because it's come so very far from the world of the first book in the series, Cheep! Cheep! (Review included below.) The family of chicks no longer sleep on a barnyard perch, but have easy chairs, Christmas trees and fireplaces, and their story is not told in a few carefully chosen words but in fairly ordinary rhyme. "Catch a snowflake from the sky... sparkle sparkle wish/Spread our snowy angel wings... flutter flutter swish." There is no real connection to the original book, and no longer anything inspired to make this title stand out amongst other likable Christmas books. Still, the almost-touchable collage illustrations, featuring terry-cloth chicks, continue to have strong visual appeal--and you have to love the chicks in knitted caps and scarves, catching snowflakes, shaking jingle bells and making snow angels. (1-3)




Cheep! Cheep! by Julie Stiegemeyer. Illustrated by Carol Baicker-McKee. Bloomsbury, 2006 (1-58234-682-8) $9.95

Three little chicks sleep sleep sleep sleep, while underneath their perch an egg lying on a nest cracks and goes "cheep." "Peep?" says one chick, opening an eye... was that a "cheep?" Time to carefully "creep" off the perch... but "eep!" Not too far! Handcrafted chicks, made of cuddly-looking terrycloth and colorful top feathers, are both expressive and adorable as they act out a funny little story, told with only seven rhyming words. All ends happily with more sleep sleep sleep sleep. Plain, colored backgrounds keep the illustrations easy on the eye with some colorful frames on alternate pages adding a little extra visual appeal. Although made of sturdy paper rather than board, this is an ideal book to share with young child, especially since adults will enjoy reading it too. (1-3)

mmmm... delicious baby

Number one on the list of things that made me go ewwwwwww! today--but of course, it's only 10 a.m.

With a product like this, who needs bath books?

review: Bath Time by Sandra Boynton

Bath Time written and illustrated by Sandra Boynton. Workman, 2007 (978-0-7611-4708-4) $7.95

It's always a pleasure to see a well-loved illustrator take on a bath book, a children's literature sub-genre which doesn't get much respect, or usually deserve it. This is hardly Boynton's most significant work, but it still squeezes some of her goofy grace into its few pages, with a short but merry text--"Gently scrub from top to toes. Now I kiss you on the nose"--and a lovably messy pig in the starring role. Initially dismayed to find himself covered in blobs of paint, the pig becomes relaxed and happy in the tub, finishing up with a jazzy dance as he dries his bottom off with a towel labeled "THE END." The book is reported to float (I haven't tried it out,) and includes a squeaker in the pig's nose--which based on previous experience with these things, will probably last through about two baths, which may be one bath more than you really wanted. No matter--it'll be a treat to have a book to share that doesn't make you feel like eight pages is seven pages too many. (6 months-3)