Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. I know there are people who don't like it, but they're getting a (handmade) valentine from me anyway. A lot of people do, just like in grade school: I don't think of Valentine's Day as only a romantic holiday. As Clyde Bulla writes in The Story of Valentine's Day (newly illustrated by Susan Estelle Kwas; HarperCollins, 1999), "It is a day to give small gifts of love and friendship to someone special." This small book would make a perfect valentine (hint)--there's even a heart-shaped bookplate inside. Also a brief and very readable history of Valentine's Day, beginning with the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia; and of valentines themselves. Back matter includes instructions for making old-fashioned "pinprick" valentines, examples of acrostic valentines, and a recipe for Valentine Cookies. I really like the new illustrations by Susan Estelle Kwas, too (especially the Cupid on the cover). Leo and Milly really liked the idea of celebrating Lupercalia, but I think we'll stick to making valentines over here! Maybe we'll have to make one for Lupercus.
Poetry Friday: If You'll Be My Valentine
I think the best Valentine is a poem. Preferably one written just for you. The little boy in this book by Cynthia Rylant (illustrated by Fumi Kosaka; HarperCollins, 2005) writes a simple Valentine poem for everyone in his family, plus the cat, the dog, his teddy bear, and the bird that sings outside his window. Each of the poems (there are ten of them) has the same format: they all begin with "If you'll be my valentine" and go on to say, in four short lines, what the little boy will do with or for the recipient in return. The one he writes to his mother is (not surprisingly) my favorite:
If you'll be my valentine
I'll pour our tea at three.
Spicy cookies
and an orange
just for you and me.
Okay, it's a simple poem (a little boy is supposed to have written it, after all). But I love the specificity of it: tea is at three (the illustration of the boy and his mother having tea shows the clock in the background); the cookies are spicy. Also that the boy is doing something with his mom that she would particularly like, although he is certainly enjoying it, too. This is true of all the poems: in another, the boy promises to pull his little sister in the wagon so "we can sing and talk." Milly, a little sister herself, likes that one best.
I had planned to write an acrostic poem for each of the kids and my husband this Valentine's Day. I still might (even though my husband's name has an X in it, and it's hard to work an x-ray or a xylophone into a Valentine). Or maybe I'll write these instead: 5 lines, first line "If you'll be my valentine," last four lines ABCA and a promise to do something special together.
Congratulations and good fortune!
Leo's second-grade class started their unit on Imperial China with a parade through the halls of their school this afternoon. It was terrific (and terrifically loud): drums beating, accordion-pleated paper dragons waving, kids shouting "Gung Hay Fat Choy!" They'll be studying China for the next six weeks (so you can expect some Chinese content here at books together).
At home, we had dumplings for dinner and read Long-Long's New Year: A Story about the Chinese Spring Festival by Catherine Gower; illustrated by He Zhihong (Tuttle, 2005). I like that this book is set in (rural, contemporary) China; it's a nice complement to the many books about Lunar New Year celebrations that focus on Asian-American families and communities. Author Catherine Gower lived and worked in China for two years; and illustrator He Zhihong was born in China and studied traditional Chinese painting there. Both story and art are authentic in their cultural--and emotional--details.
The story: Long-Long and his grandfather set off on a bicycle cart loaded with cabbages to sell at the town market. We see Long-Long helping out at the bicycle repair shop; meeting the cook at a street restaurant; and, after all the cabbage is sold (some to the cook), buying gifts for his family at the Hundred Goods Store. All around him people are making ready for the New Year celebration. At the end of the story, Long-Long sees a parade; eats a tang-hu-lu (a stick of toffee fruit); and goes home to his village with the things he and his grandfather have bought for their own family's New Year celebration. The art: A beautiful series of detailed double-page spreads.
At the back of the book, the author provides a note on "The Very First Chinese Spring Festival" and a glossary of Chinese words in the story (including the Chinese characters; this came in very handy when we wanted to make a Fu sign for our front door). Sometimes I think I should have named this blog At the Back of the Book; I love back matter and think it's an important but often overlooked part of the package for many of my favorite kinds of books. Like this one. Highly recommended.
And it's not too late: Spring Festival (the celebration that begins on the first day of the Lunar New Year) lasts fifteen days!
Three Kings Day: Federico and the Magi's Gift
Today (January 6) is Three Kings Day. In keeping with Spanish and Latin American tradition, we always celebrate this day with a visit from los reyes magos. The kids leave their shoes by their beds (along with a small box of sweet grass or hay for the camels), and the three kings leave them a small and special gift. Which is as it should be: after all, it's the kings who bring the gifts in the Christmas story, too.
There are not many picture books that tell about this tradition. One very beautiful one that does is Federico and the Magi's Gift, a Latin American Christmas story by Argentine author and illustrator Beatriz Vidal (Knopf, 2004). The story itself is sweetly simple: Federico is worried that the three kings won't leave him any gifts. Vidal's exquisite watercolor and gouache illustrations (painted using a magnifying glass and very, very small brushes) are anything but. They're magical. I also love the tropical setting: a nice contrast to all those wintry Christmas books. And not to worry, the Magi leave the coveted toy horse for Federico.
Perhaps they've left something for you? Feliz Dia de los Reyes!