Remember when my child dressed herself up in onion goggles and announced that she was a Popsicornian? Hold onto that thought.
A couple of weeks ago, she and I were in the public library, picking up a DVD that we'd reserved. [I love my public library. I love that I can put things on hold via the internet from my bed. I love that they send an email when things are ready for pick-up. I love that they remind me by email when things are due back. I wish they had something like a Netflix queue for books I want to read, but I digress.] While there, we wandered into the children's room where she spotted a large blue and yellow striped papier-mâché dragon up atop the stacks. "Oh", said she, "it's my father's dragon". It turned out that her first grade teacher had read the whole series of Gannett's books to the class, but the girl wanted me to read it to her, so we tracked down the librarian, who led us to the right shelf and we borrowed a copy of My Father's Dragon.
I read it to her and I'm astonished that I'd never read it before, even though we had a copy on her bookshelf which I'd picked up on the recommendation of a friend but had completely forgotten about because apparently I have a mind like a sieve. Anyway, it's entirely charming with lovely illustrations and a vaguely subversive undercurrent, and if you don't know it you need to remedy that right now. We finished the first book and took it back and got the other two. Towards the end of Elmer and the Dragon, the dragon is flying Elmer home over the sea and says "I think I see land ahead!", to which Elmer replies "So do I, and I think it's the coast of Popsicornia!"
POPSICORNIA.
I was dumbfounded. Not only had she not disclosed the origins of Popsicornia, she hadn't even reported that her teacher was reading chapter books about blue and yellow dragons. What's she not going to tell me next?
(Illustration from The Dragons of Blueland)
21 comments:
Oh, yeah, tip of the iceberg, I'm afraid. I have My Father's Dragon that a friend gave me because she loves the series and have I read it? No. Will I also remedy that soon? Yes, I will.
I bet she took the Popsicornian secrecy oath.
I've never heard of that series. Will most definitely check it out!
LOL...just wait...
I just requested these at my library. They look like a lot of fun.
What's she not going to tell you next?
I'm going to have to go with beer bongs and second base.
I know. So not cool on a mommy blog, but I am who I am.
Hmm. Check your web page - there is a check box on ours that puts the book on a "list." It doesn't DO anything except keep track of books you want to keep track of, but it's a bit better than putting a hold on everything and ending up with too many books to read at once.
I did put "My Father's Dragon" on hold, though.
I KNOW! It's like they have this whole other life!
The text of this book & some pictures are available online: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/gannett/dragon/dragon.html
I hadn't heard of it before. I think we need our own copy.
They are rapidly leaving our tight fists of control, aren't they?
I am off to the library in the morning! With my delightful girl, who is doubtless full of secrets I'll never know.
I fear it may involve a boy--but not for many years.
My son told me a detailed, delightful story; and I'd like to write it down and turn it into a real book. But I'm afraid he based it on some book he heard, and then I'll be a plagiarist! I can't figure out if he really made it up or not.
my kids loved that series.
Hey, they're only supposed to know things we tell them!
I feel just the same. Somehow the little dude spouts off facts or stories and I try to trace where they come from. School? A book? A video? "From my mind," he tells me. Hmmmm.
It is interesting to see what they keep to themselves and what they share. BubTar already has the mindset of a teenager, I try to talk to him in the drive home from schhol and he says, "Moooom, I just need some peace and quiet now!" LOL.
And I missed it. And I recommend those books as read alouds on a regular basis.
I hang my head in shame. Though I have to say my own girls never read these and it's been many,many years since I read them myself!
Hah. That's great. She's living her own life. They all are! We're just getting the little bits and pieces.
My kid comes with all sorts of stories of what happens at school which I hope are not true. Kids getting their eyes poked out by other kids, I don't even want to talk about it. But I'll never know for sure I'll guess.
I just realized I hid 'Elmer and the Dragon' because when we read 'My Father's Dragon' she pestered me and pestered me to finish the whole thing. And it takes a lot of time. We couldn't read it at bedtime.
I have to find where I put it! I just was like 'if she sees this, then I'm stuck reading this for a couple hours at least' and I had all this stuff to do.
We have a little stuffed dragon from the book that we bought at some bookstore somewhere.
I have an affinity for The Frutorians.
yep, only the beginning. Next you will suddenly find out that she likes yogurt with strawberries, then a guy named Bob and then....
I can't even go there. Oh wait, is this my nightmare?
Oh man, it is all downhill from here!
i just went online and reserved it at our library.
and a netflix like queue is BRILLIANT. t hat would keep me from having too many books to read coming in all at once and collecting dust on my nightstand. like right now)
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