Sorry, internets, but as the proud poppa of a four-year-old Princess, you’re just going to have to deal with the occasional cutesy, kid-oriented post. This is one of them.
Wasn’t going to start out that way. I planned on writing another “Things That Make Me Want to Puke on Kittens” post. In fact, today’s was going to be the first in a series of them filling out the rest of the week. Been in a foul mood since the belated birthday dinner with extended family Saturday night, compounded by the long day-trip to Seattle for Ani’s post-op follow-up on Monday*. By the time I got to the office this morning, I was ready to spread the hate.
Problem was that, while I had the meaty parts all planned out, I just couldn’t figure out how to start. I tried like 15 different intros, the last of which went something like this:
All work and no play makes Justin a dull boy
All work and no play makes Justin a dull boy
All work and no play makes Justin a dull boy
All work and no play makes Justin a dull boy
Blablablal;kahasfdjhsadfkjsadfasdyuasfdiediediedie…
So I sat here, cranky, and getting more irritable with every passing second of blockage.
Then that last line of gibberish in my unsuccessful intro reminded me of the line of gibberish in this post’s title, the one that’s straight outta the absofuckinglutely fantastic Mo Willems book, Knuffle Bunny
Remember when I mentioned Dan Zanes a while back and told you all that you’re horrible people if you don’t buy his CDs for every parent you know?** That he makes music that could easily sell to adults, but that just happens to appeal to kids, too? Well, Mo Willems is That Guy for books.
Like most great things, Knuffle Bunny is surprisingly straightforward: a toddler girl loses her favorite bunny and her daddy helps her find it. It’s simple, sure, but also elegant and heartwarming. And the art, the writing… it’s all wonderful. And it’s a Caldecott Honor Book.
And Willems isn’t just a one-hit-wonder, either. No, sir. The sequel, Knuffle Bunny, Too
And his Pigeon books
And did I mention that one of the Pigeon books (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
Oh, and if that’s not enough to convince you, how about his mad street cred? Mad Sesame Street cred, that is. As in, Mo-Willems-won-six-Emmys-as-a-writer-and-animator-on-Sesame-Street.
Mo Willems is the current generation’s Dr. Seuss. In twenty years, young adults are going to remember growing up with their parents reading his books to them and they’ll be better people for it. Go forth and buy lots and lots of his books. Make the world a better place.
*Not that the trip itself was all that horrible. Was just a long day. We didn’t get home until 10:30ish, and I had to work the next morning.
Appointment was fine. Doctors said her cheek’s healing nicely, that the slight pulling of her facial features will continue to lessen as the skin stretches (it’s hardly noticeable as it is), and, most importantly, the pathology report showed no signs of cancer in the tissue they removed.
Oh, and I have the sweetest daughter ever. Even though she was still up three hours after her normal bedtime after a long day of driving, she was sugary-sweet on the way home. She spent most of the three hour return trip making up songs in the backseat and serenading us. Cute as hell.
and here:
http://www.neverbeencool.com/2008/04/26/holy-shit-a-g-rated-post/
and here:
http://www.neverbeencool.com/2008/05/02/flibbertigibbet/
and here:
http://www.neverbeencool.com/2008/05/14/never-been-cool-but/
