I Heart NY

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is a love letter to New York. It tells the amazing story of a young French performer who, in 1974, walked between the Towers on a tightrope. Everytime I read this book to my son, I am overcome with emotion since it talks about a time when the Towers were there. He has lots of questions about how he did it and why he did it and why are the Towers are no longer there. And, I, of course, have no answers. I recommend this book for anyone who has a connection to New York. I also recommend the highly rated documentary of Petit's story, Man on Wire.

Max, Mickey and Rosie: A Tribute

This blog has been sitting dormant for over a year now. But if one man can inspire me to revive it, it is Maurice Sendak. Unfortunately, it was his death that inspired me to start writing again. I think he would be proud. As a child I was only midly acquainted with Where The Wild Things Are, probably his most famous piece of work, as I didn't own it but read it often from the library. It was one of the first books I bought for my newborn son and I read it to him night after night and almost every 3am feeding. It was more for me than for him. And, now that he is almost four, we read it at least once a week. But it is not only Max we become enamored with. Mickey from In The Night Kitchen is also a good friend.

And,Rosie from The Sign on Rosie's Door. And, all the rest. Sendak wrote over twenty books (who knew?) and each one is more unique and inspiring than the next. Mickey taught my son how to bake a cake and imagine planes could be sculpted from dough. And, Max taught him that love can exceed all. And, Rosie, well Rosie taught him to be feisty. And, Chicken Soup with Rice? That would be so nice.

The Sneetches & 23 Daves

May favorite book is the lesser known Dr. Suess "The Sneetches and Other Stories." Perhaps it was the way my fatehr would read it over and over to me but I loved it. The Sneetches is about those with stars upon their bellies and those without. At it's heart, it's a tale of tolerance and acceptance. As a child, I loved the characters especially SylvesterMcMonkey McBean. I can recite it verbatim now and I push it on my son all the time. He, of course, is annoyed by this. This is a collection 4 stories. My second favorite is the poem about Mrs. McCave. She had 23 sons and she named them all Dave. David was my brother's name and my father read this over and over to us. We would beg for more and howled each time he read it. To this day, we reference the name "Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face", thanks to Dr. Suess himself. The other two stories in this book scared the crap out of me. One was about two Zaxes who went different directions and the other was about a pair of empty pants that walked around the woods. Creepy. Stick to the Starbellied Sneetches and Mrs. McCave.

Welcome!

This blog has been a long time in the making. I have always been an avid reader. I grew up surrounded by books and I would read everything I could get my hands on. I would read everything from my grandmother's old issues of Town & Country and Cosmopolitan to her more "risque" novels like Kane & Abel (Jeffery Archer) and steamy Harold Robbins. I begged my parents to let me read just one more book before bed. Then would get busted sitting on the edge of the tub reading. I once read a book walking around the supermarket. When my son was born 2 years ago, I went on a mission to find him my favorite childhood books. And, once I started there I found a whole world of children's books opened for me. This blog is an effort on my part to bring you some childhood classics but lots of obscure, little known books. I'm lucky in that I have a passion for reading and lots of resources at my disposal. Enjoy the recommendations and happy reading.