Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Seven deer in the moonlight...

It's sounds like a children's book title, and children's books are what we'll look at today. BUT, let me tell you first about the seven deer who visited us last night. It was a gorgeously clear night, very crispy cold, with almost-full-moon brightness. At first I only noticed one doe under the apple trees, and then another doe, and then...

We have a handful of semi-dwarf apple trees in our side yard with a granite bench under the branches of one tree for summer sitting. Although we don't feed the deer supplemental grains and such, we do leave apple peelings, the winter-stored squash with a soft spot, maybe even a few celery tops on the stone bench.

We ended up watching the three does and four young ones for close to 45 minutes. Sometimes the kids were just playing, nudging and nipping at each other with youthful silliness. The whole group wandered across the back of the house, not 20 feet from our watching window, and ended up under the birdfeeders, scratching in the snow for any spilled seed. It was truly magical...

Ahhhh, children's books, one of my greatest loves in this whole world. First let me recommmend a website, www.kidsneedbooks.com Started by a children's literature professor here in Maine, it's a useful site for book recommendations and more, a good place to start if you've been away from kids' books for a while.

Although we'll come back to this subject many times I'm sure, I do want to share a particular idea for this gift-giving season. Especially if you have a brother/sister combination on your list. For the sister, The Brothers Grimm, that beloved book of wonderfully traditional fairy tales. And for her brother, The Sisters Grimm, two books of detective stories based on the Brothers Grimm tales! Lots of fun...

And so, I think I'd best go start my day... Hope yours is a good one! Mary