Where's Goldbug?

Raise your hand if you've ever read Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go.

Yeah. It's a classic.

For our dear Little P, it provides hours of entertainment on multiple levels.  There's the very improbable storyline. (Ma and Pa Pig take the family out for a picnic at the seaside and encounter all kinds of weird happenings on the road.)

There are all the busy illustrations. You can peer at a spread all evening and find some new detail.

There's Goldbug. He's the precursor to Waldo, I believe. Where's Goldbug? Riding in the back of a truck with a goat statue of liberty. On a bus. Driving his own gold bulldozer. That Goldbug, he's a sneaky guy.

Goldbug used to be my favorite. Now I quite like all the random vehicles that appear on the road. My conversations with Little P go something like this:

Mama:  Look at the pencil car! How silly. Who ever heard of a pencil car?!

LP:  Ack! How silly!  I've never seen a pencil car!

Turn the page.

LP: Mama, that's so silly! A toothpaste car! Who could ever brush their teef with a toothpaste car!

Mama: How silly!!!

Turn the page.

Mama:  Ha!  A pickle car! No way. How silly to drive a pickle car!

LP: Ha, ha, ho, ho! How silly!

Turn the page.

LP: Look!  That guy is driving a banana! Who ever heard of driving a banana?!

And so on.

We have our routines around here, even when it comes to humor.

If you have a little boy in your life, The P-Pod highly recommends ensuring that this book becomes part of his library.

What We Do With Books

Our recent big trip to the library yielded a few cute books...at least Mama liked them. See, there has been this idea knocking around in Mama's head, this idea to start using books as a basis for activities. Teachers do it in school, why not start this cross curriculum thing at home?

Our first attempt involved the monsters. A month or so ago, Mama brought home a one-dollar cardboard monster. He had a blank face and body so that a child could design his appearance with stickers. Little P liked this for about three minutes. With such a cute book on hand, as well as the need to start truly pottying on the toilet, Mama thought it would be fun to revive the monster and try to potty train him.

Little P was NOT into this book. Granted, as cute as it was, it really seemed laid out for a much older child. It has talking and thought bubbles, text scattered around the page...stuff that is tied in graphically, but does not make a lot of sense to a toddler.

Attempt #1: Not very good.



So here is Mama's next attempt. Baghead. A story about a little boy who decides to wear a bag on his head all day. No one knows why until the end of the day when he reveals that he had cut a chunk of his hair and was embarrassed.



Mama thought it would be terribly fun to make our own bagheads.



Little P did NOT concur. These shots document the one and only time he even tried to put the bag on his head. He got it on and then freaked out. No way. He was not having it.



As it turns out, Little P is a big fan of the familiar. He likes to read books he has seen hanging out on his shelf. He is not interested in finding a new book at the library, and he seems to have this same aversion to library books brought home. Perhaps a phase?

Attempt #2: Even worse.

We'll try again next month.

Books and Art

June marked the month when Little P got his first library card. Our library likes for kids to have their own cards, so voila! He got one.



One of the neat things about Escondido's attempts to beautify its public buildings is that children's art has been incorporated around town. These tiles were painted by students in the various schools.



Look closely and you'll notice the impact the San Diego County fires have had on our children. Surely some of the teachers suggested honoring the firefighters who are real heroes in our area. Still, some of the depictions are pretty touching.



The tiles line the walls of the staircase leading to the children's section.



What is up with the expression on his face here?! He looks like trouble, but I've never noticed this look before. I'll have to keep an eye out for it.



Please pardon the blurriness of this photo. I almost missed him running in altogether; he's so fast these days.



The children's section has this beautiful African savannah theme.



Of course I love it.



Little P always spends some of his time there playing with other kids. The Jeep is his favorite thing.



Fearsome and beautiful, no?







Little P is learning to check out his own books. He carries them in a bag given to us by a friend in Albany - a special bag to be used for library trips, she said.



More blurry shots - sorry! Ready to go home!