family stories

[bouncy review] Pass the Baby by Susanna Reich and Raúl Colón

~ jama ~ 15 Comments

Since I grew up with a large extended family, loud talky meals were par for the course. Along with lots of tasty food, my aunties served up a fair share of juicy gossip and heaps of hilarity whenever we got together.

My cousins and I knew the drill. If you were a baby or toddler, you could expect to be doted upon — hugged, held, kissed or tickled. An uncle might toss you up in the air, and if you weren’t careful, you could even get your cheeks pinched.

All part of happy family gatherings, where the youngest is usually the center of attention. And why not? Who doesn’t love a wriggly, giggly, drooly, pint-sized bundle of fun?

In Pass the Baby by Susanna Reich and Raúl Colón (Neal Porter Books, 2023), we’re invited to join a lively multiethnic blended family as they set the table, prepare the food, enjoy their meal, clean up the mess, and then collapse from exhaustion — all while playing with, feeding and entertaining the baby, as she’s passed from lap to lap.

Reich’s rollicking rhyming text pulls us right into the action from the get-go, filling us with excitement and anticipation as we sense Baby will be the star of the show.

Family dinner, set the table,
forks and spoons and napkins too.
Knives and plates and water glasses,
flowers, candles, bright and new.
Wait a minute, where's the baby?
Someone's playing peekaboo!

As the guests gather round and help with finishing touches, hungry Baby fusses a little. So begins her journey around the table, as she’s cuddled by different family members. An ebullient refrain underscores everyone’s uproarious delight:

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[chat + giveaway] Ashley Wolff on Only the Cat Saw

~ jama ~ 28 Comments

 

Miao! We are so pleased and honored to welcome award winning Vermont author, illustrator and teacher Ashley Wolff to Alphabet Soup today.

We’re big fans of her adorable Baby Bear books, classics such as Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for Earth (Mary McKenna Siddals), Baby Beluga (Raffi), and of course, the wildly popular Miss Bindergarten series, written by Joseph Slate.

In all, she’s published close to 70 titles (as either author/illustrator or illustrator), showcasing her lifelong love of nature and animals, and her mastery of a variety of styles and mediums, including acrylic gouache, linoleum block print + watercolor, and collage.

Her most recent self-illustrated picture book, Only the Cat Saw (Beach Lane Books, 2020), is a refreshed edition of a perennial favorite (first published by Dodd, Mead back in 1985) with all new art for a new generation. In this gentle, calming story, a multiracial family of four go about their daily routine from sunset to sunrise, while their marmalade tabby observes the wonders and beauty of the natural world.

 

 

As they’re busy with supper, only the cat notices the colorful sunset outside the window. During bath time, the cat has wandered out by the barn to play with fireflies, and while the older child, Tessa, reads with her flashlight under the covers, the cat witnesses the drama of an owl hunting a mouse. Oh, the wonderful things people miss when they’re preoccupied!

Spare text + single page spreads tracking the family’s indoor activities alternate with double page wordless spreads showing what the cat is up to. With each block of text, the repetitive tag line, “So only the cat saw . . . ” signals a suspenseful page turn that rewards the reader with beautiful scenes rendered in rich colors and lush textures, immersing him/her in the cat’s world of tall grasses, sleepy farm animals, lightning and rain, even a shooting star.

 

 

I love what Ashley has done with scale, perspective, and composition to play up the cat’s point of view, and her lighting effects, from gorgeous sunset and sunrise, to lamplight, flashlight, fireflies, moon and stars underscore the simple joys of life indoors and out. Such a lovely reminder to take time to appreciate what we too often take for granted.

In addition to being cozy and heartwarming, this story is  reassuringly relatable with its depiction of breast feeding, sitting on the potty, and having both parents share equally in household tasks. Kudos to Ashley for initially including these somewhat unusual details in the earlier book from 35 years ago, clear evidence of her feminist, forward thinking! 🙂

 

 

We thank Ashley for dropping by to tell us what it was like to re-illustrate one of her earliest picture books, and for sharing a favorite recipe and so many cool photos. Enjoy!

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a birthday song for my dad

~ jama ~ 89 Comments

James: fisherman, harmonica champion, Facebook fanatic, lemon meringue pie eater.

Not too long ago, when my father was a young whippersnapper in his late 80’s, we gave him an internet subscription for his birthday.

He was already on the computer playing video games, but had yet to venture onto the world wide web. He started out with a dial-up connection, quickly learned the ins and outs of sending emails, and before we knew it he was happily visiting news sites, participating in a chat forum, and placing dollar wagers on his favorite lottery sites.

 

Today, James turns 102. Willful and wireless, he’s burned through at least 3 desktops since his first foray online.

Every day he logs onto Facebook and shares clusters of updates with his friends. Ever the fastidious organizer, he opts for a recurring series of themed posts rather than mundane status reports: tree houses, bonsai plants, interesting facts, old Hawai’i, music fix of the day, joke of the day, and of course, FOOD. On Sundays he shares a hymn and a prayer.

Dad and me at Haleiwa Beach Park

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friday feast: Too Many Tomatoes by Eric Ode and Kent Culotta (+ a recipe!)

~ jama ~ 65 Comments

TOMATOES, TOMATOES, TOMATOES!

Sing a song of plump, juicy, vine-ripened tomatoes! Is there anything better than freshly picked homegrown beauties with their promise of mouthwatering soups, salads, sandwiches, salsa, and sauces? Or why not just eat them all by themselves? Hold the essence of summer in your hand, inhale the fragrance of lazy sunny days, then bite into that tempting globe of delight, letting the juice run down your chin. Mmmmmm!

Though it’s winter now in my part of the world, this brand new rhyming picture book by Eric Ode and Kent Culotta has me dreaming of dining al fresco with a cup of zesty gazpacho, a sassy tomato tart, bruschetta pomodoro, panzanella, caprese, veggie pizza and fresh pasta with arugula and parmesan. I could easily whip up all these dishes with the barrels and buckets and bushels of tomatoes described in Too Many Tomatoes (Kane Miller, 2016). 🙂

Art © 2016 Kent Culotta

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