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I’m working on a longer piece, so I want to bring you something lighter in the newsletter this week. I’ve been reading Arnold Lobel’s Owl at home I have recently had a 2-year-old child and I found myself thinking after sleeping for a long time.
Owl at home Not as famous as the frog and toad books, and Lobel’s most famous books have always been my favorite. This book tells five very short stories about owls, a frightening but ultimately loving bird with unusual views on the world.
Until recently, my 6-year-old asked to read a second story every night, “The Strange Bump”, in which the owl became so scared of his own feet’s sight under the blanket that he ruined the bed and ended up sleeping inside. Chair.
By comparison, my 2-year-old is a candid and weird story compared to “Tears”, where the owl makes himself cry into a teapot by thinking about the theme of “Sadness”, such as “The pencil is too short to use. ”
At the end of the story, the owl boils his tears and then takes a sip. “It tastes a little salty, but the tears are always very good,” he said. I like to think of it as an owl’s own little meditation exercise, in which he thinks all the sorrows of his life are allowed to pass through it. His body, then reabsorbs them into himself, now turned into a delicious (I think) drink.
This particular dark and threatening February is not the worst time to remind our kids or ourselves that we are all creative inside and there is nothing else that others can take away.
for Fans of frogs and toads,,,,, Owl at home – After the first two frog and toad books were published in 1975, it felt like turning left. The story of the Frog and the Toad is about the deep friendship and love between the two main characters. Lobel never said directly that he wanted to be a couple, but His daughter pointed out The two are “the same gender, they love each other” and say these stories are “his beginning” for the gay people.
But if the owl had a frog in his life, we would never see him–in fact, the owl would not interact with another active nature in the entire book. There is one School of idea That Owl at home It’s about loneliness, but the owl doesn’t seem to be frustrated by his life.
Instead, he formed all kinds of relationships, both friendly and controversial – his feet, the winter season (he eventually had to kick it out of his house), and in my favorite story, with the moon.
The last part of the book, “Owls and the Moon,” finds the owls staring into the sky: “If I look at you, the Moon, then you will definitely look back at me. We must be very good friends.”
Friendship hits some obstacles – the moon tries to follow the owl home, and the owl is worried that it won’t pass through his door – but in the end, everything is fine. As the moon looked out from outside, the owl lay on the bed, closing his eyes peacefully.
“The moon shines on the windows,” Lobel wrote. “The owl didn’t feel sad at all.”
For me, this story- indeed, all Owl at home – It’s about the joy of inner life, it’s OK Even if there is little input From outside. All the needs of the owl are moons, kettles, some weird ideas about tea and sadness, and a comfortable bed (he has to rebuild after “strange bumps”) and he can create an entire world.
Don’t get me wrong, I like people, and I don’t advocate retreating from society and living in a fantasy world, this fantasy world and seasonal and celestial objects (or, am I?). But this particular dark and threatening February is not the worst moment to remind children or ourselves, we are all creative inside and there is nothing else that others can take away.
read Today, I will meet you next week.
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also Owl at homeMy little kids and I have been reading In the past, nowa beautiful story by Daniel Salmieri, about growing up and connecting with the future and the past.
Last week I wrote about the rise General Preschool Policy All over the country. This week, in place of reader email, I will leave you Recent polls By the first five years of funding, it illustrates the bipartisan nature of the issue: 91% of Republicans (and 97% of Democrats) believe that the lack of affordable childcare is a problem, with 55% of Republican voters It said that increasing access to quality child care increased access to high-quality child care is just as important for families as border security.
As always, if you have a question, suggestion or a topic that you wish I would like to introduce in the future, please contact us at anna.north@vox.com.
