Saturday, November 6, 2010

what the green pumpkin brought

Each year The Green Pumpkin carries away the excess candy on Halloween night and leaves books in its place. Here is what he brought the boys this year:

For Dieter:
:: Christopher's Harvest Time. We love the Elsa Beskow books--the illustrations are beautiful and the stories so fanciful. Since we received this, Dieter has asked me to read it to him several times. It takes a bit of getting used to, because there are several fall garden "songs" in it and you have to make up your own tune. But now that I'm starting to get used to that part it's quite fun. The story is about a boy who walks through his garden on a September afternoon and all the fruits and flowers come to life.

::Traction Man is Here. This book has a totally different aesthetic than the above, but it is also wonderful in its own way and we are so engaged by it. It's about a action hero who is received by a little boy as a gift on Christmas day. Traction Man gets into all sorts of adventures as the little boys plays with him, but it's told very cleverly from the action figure's perspective. I chose this one because I wanted a more "boyish" book for Dieter and I love how it subtly encourages imagination. There is a wonderful scene where the family travels to the grandmother's house on Christmas afternoon and everyone receives hand knits, including Traction Man.

For Rainer: Alfie Gets in First, Alfie Lends a Hand, and An Evening at Alfie's. I love these books. They are realistically drawn with many details of domestic life and very down to earth characters and situations. They have a very mellow feel to them and I adore all the tea drinking that is depicted.

9 comments:

Sarah said...

I loved reading my girls Shirley Hughes books. They were some of my favorites.

Hoosier at Heart said...

YOU GO GREEN PUMPKIN!!! What a great idea

Anonymous said...

For Hallowe'en, my daughter (who is allergic to cane sugar) collects food for the local food bank! We have a great neighbourhood!

Nicole Vangen said...

Shirley Hughes books are among my favorite picture books.

Horray for the green pumpkin!

Namaste, Nicole

Fiona said...

The Alfie books are wonderful. I remember poring over the pictures as a child, eager to get inside. I even have a picture of me reading one when I was 6 :)

Jessica said...

I love the idea of The Green Pumpkin!!!

Robin said...

What a wonderful idea! I will have to use this next year.

Anonymous said...

I love Shirley Hughes too! So sweet.

Janelle said...

what a wonderful idea! these sound great.