Book Sharing / Shelf Sharing. - Brigid's Day

 

An unexpected bonus of sharing pictures of our bookshelves as well as book, is that ou come across forgotten gems - like this one - Celtic Wonder Tales by Ella Young.  Based on the Celtic creation myths it contains exciting sagas of good overcoming evil and is full of celtic wisdom. 

 

For Brigid's Day, I will share this excerpt from the creation tale, The Earth Shapers.  In Tir-na-Moe, the land of the Living Heart, Brigit was singing.

Brigit sang:

Now comes the hour foretold, a god-gift bringing

A wonder-sight

Is it a star new-born and splendid up springing

Out of the night?

Is it a wave from the fountain of Beauty upflinging

Foam of delight?

Is it a glorious immortal bird that is winging

Hither its flight?

It is a wave, high-crested , melodious, triumphant

Breaking in light

It is a star, rose-hearted and joyous, a splendour

Risen from night

It is a flame from the world of the gods, and love

runs before it,

A quenchless delight

Let the wave break, let the star rise, let the flame leap

Ours, if our hearts are wise,

To take and keep.

Alex hosts Book Sharing Monday at her blog, Canadian Home Learning.  Drop in and see who else is sharing.

Meanwhile, to continue my bookshelf sharing, here are the two bookshleves in my bedroom.

These shelves are a mix of parening, health, lifestyley type things, books I find particularly inspiring and ones that mean a lot to me.

 

Anyway, we are off to the far North for a few days.  Have a good week. 

Book Sharing Monday 2010 - Snow, thaw and shelves

An appropriate choice for today, I thought, is Ollie's Ski Trip by Elsa Bescow.  Another of these gentle little stories, this tells how Ollie gets a new pair of skis for his birthday, but doesn't get to use them for ages, as the snow keeps falling and then thawing right away.  Then at last it snows for 3 days and he gets his chance.  Out he goes, revelling in the beauty of the winter landscape, and he meets Jack Frost !  Jack Frost is very impressed with Ollie and asks him if he would like to visit King Winter in his ice palace.  Well - who wouldn't?  On their way, however, the meet an old woman with a broom, who is making the ice and snow melt - Mrs Thaw!

 

Jack Frost chases her off in quite a rude fashion, but when Ollie challenges him, he says that Mrs Thaw is always trying to come too soon - she should not be here until the spring.  Anyway, Ollie has a most wonderful time at King Winter's court, playing, sledging and skating.  Then he returns home and he and his little brother enjoy the rest of the winter, playing in the snow.  Mrs Thaw stays away for a long time, but then at the end of winter, she comes back.

 

She didn't stop until there wasn't a speck of snow left

Rain poured down in torrents and last year's withered 

leaves were sent whilring away with her broom. And every-

one seemed to get a cold.  Ollie was really angry with Mrs Thaw.

 

But one lovely spring day, Spring came driving up in

her airy carriage drawn by white butterflies.  Then Ollie

saw Mrs Thaw, as she stood by the side of the ditch wearing

a brand new apron. She curtsied to Spring, beaming with 

delight For the first time, Ollie really liked Mrs Thaw 

and knew that she wasn't so bad after all.  But he did 

wish she would learn to come at the proper time.

Is this the proper time?  Or will King Winter and Jack Frost return?  Watch out for  the next couple of months to find out!

There are lots more books being shared at Serendipity every week on Book Sharing Monday.

Now I am going to add another dimesnion to my Book Sharing Monday posts.  I was very taken with this post on When I get the time.  Pippa mentions how people's kitchens and bookshelves can say a lot about them.  I have been thinking about this, and looking at our bookshelves.  Just glancing at the one to my right as I type has The Golfer's Companion sandwiched between The Complete New Herbal, and Solar Ethics.  Hmmm.  Well I am going to be brave and start sharing some of my bookshelves.  I have 2 small(quite chipped now that I notice) shelves in the kitchen which hold some of my cookery books, so we will start there.

I love looking at other people's book collections.  Dare to share?

Winter table.

Now that Christmas has been cleared away, the seasonal display looks a little bit empty. That is just as it should be though, as outside is stark and bare. A simple soft snowy white cloth, some beeswax candles to represent the light and warmth that we crave right now, and an old, much thumbed Ladybird book about winter.  In the centre is a white cyclamen - a plant that blooms in Wintertime and, for me, is symbolic of light and growth in the darkness.

 

The pine cones from the seasonal table have been used to make suet and seed feeders for the birds.  Our garden robin was an early visitor.

So, not much can be done in this freezing cold weather except stay by the fire and work our way through some of our Christmas books.

 

Luckily on my last charity shopping trip I managed to pick up a couple of old fashioned thick woollen blankets, along with some linen napkins (my current obsession).  So, for the time being we can snuggle up cosily, and I can read my elder son's Christmas gift to me and dream of what I can do with all those vintage textiles. 

Book Sharing Monday (xvii)

Since we came back from our trip to Wigtown, I have been slightly obsessed with vintage children's books. I use the word 'vintage' with some caution here, because in fact I seem to be trying to recreate my childhood library, so maybe classic in the never outdated sense is a better sentiment.  Anyway, I have been stalking vintage classic ladybird books on ebay and won a job lot of 95 for £35.  So many wonderful books arrived, but slightly disappointed that the 1960s Cinderella was not in the pile. If, however, you scroll down to my birthday post you will see that my daughter is totally in tune with her mama and was straight on to that same auction site where she came up with the most thoughful of presents. 

So, this week we are sharing a charming rhyming story - Bunny's First Birthday - story and illustrations by Mrs Angusine .J Macgregor with verses by W Perring. First published in 1950 it is a simple and lovely tale of the birthday party given for baby bunny's first birthday.  All the farmyard babies are invited and excited preparations begin.  They arrive at the Bunnies' house where a magnificent feast awaits them.

When the babies saw the banquet

And the cake, they were amazed.

Stood enchanted in the doorway

Open mouthed and gazed and gazed.

A charming gentle story to end the day with. Find out about more tales at Book Sharing Monday.

James is 3!!

James was 3 years old Tuesday.  We had a really lovely day.  He loved his new red tricycle with pedals!

A whole book about trucks and cars and things that go - this is his favourite page right now.

Gran and Papa gave him this wonderful digger - definitely the present of the year.

A very happy boy on his birthday.

Big sister Kristine gave him lots of crafty things and they spent a fun afternoon painting and glueing - each other as well as the paper.  Not sure really who this present was for:)

Birthday boy - still sporting his green smiley face "tattoo" gets ready for blowing out his candles.  He's waited a whole year to do that.

A wild game of jumping on the bed with Finlay was a fine end to the day.

Book Sharing Monday (xvii)

I posted the other day about our trip to Wigtown - Scotland's Book Town. Thirteen book shops in one street, and other booky things around the village. What a paradise!! Anyway - we returned from our holiday with a hefty stash each. This little lot belongs to James. He would have had much more - I found him sitting in front of a shelf in the Old Bank Bookshop with a large stack of Haynes car repair manuals beside him. "I'll just take these Mum" he said. Well, I managed to tempt him away to another shelf where he decided on the Great Little Railways instead. I wouldn't have minded, but his Father does have quite a few Haynes manuals already, going back several cars :) He does rather like the Picture Penguin - About a Motor Car. So do I - I think I may actually understand what some of those bits in a car engine are!

This week I am sharing a short poem from When We Were Very Young by A.A Milne, called Politeness. I thought about it today when we were out for lunch and the cashier kept trying to talk to James and he didn't want to talk to her. "Oh - are you shy? - Oh he's shy - Isn't he shy?" Well - he's not actually shy - he just doesn't happen to think he should perform to random strangers - grrrr.

If people ask me
I always tell them
"Quite well, thank you, I'm very glad to say"
If people ask me
I always answer
"Quite well, how are you today?"
I always answer,
I always tell them,
If they ask me
Politely....
BUT SOMETIMES

I wish

That they wouldn't.

Well - ok, James didn't exactly see this book and say "Can I have that one Mum?" We just happen to have the 3 other books in the same binding. It was a bit ironic that I found it in the Reading Lassies bookshop (currently for sale) ,which specialises in feminist and radical writing. Well - it gives us plenty of discussion material, about class discrimination, chauvinism and authoritative and remote parenting ;)

Share more books at Alex's blog -Canadian Home Learning

Book Sharing Monday (xvi)

A seasonal tale this week for our first visit to Book Sharing Monday for a few weeks. Ferdie and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke.
Ferdie the fox has a favourite tree which he visits every day. As the world changes, becomes a bit colder and has different colours, Ferdie is getting worried about his tree. His mother tries to reassure him, but when the leaves start to fall, Ferdie is very upset.

"Oh tree, I am so sorry" gulped Ferdie
"All your leaves have gone"
But then he saw, high in the branches
one small leaf still holding on.

"I wont let the wind steal that one"
said Ferdie, and he began to climb
He wriggled along
to the last leaf and held
it firmly onto its branch.

All day long the wind
blew, the branch bounced
and Ferdie held tight.
"I'll stay with you leaf" he gasped.

Of course, no matter how hard he tries to save the leaf, nature's forces are more powerful. Sometimes, though, there are compensations - and there is always hope. When he goes to see the tree the next morning he finds a glittering sight.

The tree was hung with a thousand icicles, shining silver in the early light.

"You are more beautiful than ever" whispered Ferdie

Visit Alex's blog for lots more beautiful book sharing.

Book Sharing Monday (xvi)

This week's book choice is a Charlie and Lola story - Look after your Planet, by Lauren Child. After a sneaky look into friend Marv and Morten's big brother's bedroom (which looks like every big brother's bedroom) Lola decides to declutter her room.

Charlie suggests that she recycle some of her things, instead of throwing them away, and explains how recycling works. (He is such a great big brother - I wish he was mine). This starts Lola off on a quest and soon she has her whole school involved in a recycling competition to win a tree.

On the last day, it looks as if they have not filled up their tree counter:

When everything is recycled
Lola says,
"Oh no. We have NOT
filled up the
whole tree...
so we will not be
getting our
own real tree"

But then Morten
comes along.

Lotta says,
Look at
what he's
GOT!"

And so they get their tree. And Morten has to hide from his big brother for a while, after "decluttering" his room!

We love Charlie and Lola. We love Book Sharing Mondays too - visit CanadianHome Learning to share more.

Book Sharing Monday (xv)

In honour of last week's glorious August moon, we have chosen Papa, please get the moon for me, by Eric Carle. A beautifully illustrated book with some fold out pages. Monica loves to look at the moon, and asks her Dad to get it for her. Well of course, Dad does his best and manages to find a very long ladder, which he takes to the top of a very high mountain and climbs and climbs.

Finally Papa got to the moon
"My daughter, Monica, would like to play with you,"
said Papa, "but you are much too big"

"Every night I get a little smaller" said the moon
"When I am just the right size, you can take me with you"

So, Monica got to play with the moon when it was smaller, but it grew smaller and smaller and then disappeared.

But of course, as women know, the cycle begins again.

Visit Serendipity for more Book Sharing Monday ideas.

Book Sharing Monday (xv)

Apologies for the blurry pictures today. We had a really busy day and I almost forgot to post a book. Well - the Granny in this story/rhyme had a busy day too. In My Granny Went to Market, by Stella Blackstone and Christopher Corr, Granny goes shopping all around the world.
She starts off by buying her very ecological mode of transport for this shopping spree.

My Granny went to market
to buy a flying carpet
She bought the flying carpet from a man in Istanbul
It was trimmed with yellow tassels,
and made of knotted wool.

A lovely colourful book - far more exciting than out shopping trip to Livingston today.
I have always wanted a flying carpet, ever since I was a child. Visit Serendipity and be transported to the Magical World of Book Sharing Monday - the www is almost a fast as a flying carpet ;)

Season Table and toys

This is our Summer seasonal table - still has that big old sun there and a couple of gorgeous fans I found in the fair trade shop in Linlithgow for £2 each! They have been used quite a bit already, as the conservatory gets really warm during the day. Wooden bowl full of shells, flower heads, seed pods etc, a couple of bug and butterfly spotter guides for easy access, James's gardening gloves and his watering can which he allowed me to use as a vase - containing some roses, hydrangea and lavender from the garden. Hanging above is a bee mobile with willow hives and paper flowers. The bees are made from pine cones with yellow wool wrapped around them and greaseproof paper wings. I first saw this idea on Mama4's blog - A Smile a Day. Mama's were much better than these, because she had used alder cones, which are more bee-like. Mine are far more blowsy.

I am going to be changing the location of our table soon, as this space is right by the side door - the family and friends door. As a consequence, my seasonal display often feature items such as car keys, the dog's lead, handbags, soft drink cans, and once (shock) a fag packet :0. Just to make the point - here is a picture I took yesterday just after the organic box was delivered. James immediately made for the punnet of raspberries, and i couldn't resist snapping the moment. Later on when I downloaded the days shots I noticed my 'seasonal display' lol. I have a space in mind, but it needs a lot of decluttering and some shelf building.

Now shelf building is not a problem for my clever husband. He has just constructed this masterpiece to hold James's toys and books. These were previously stored in various boxes and in different places around the house. This did not work as chucking everything into one box means that the toys at the bottom are rarely played with,and play can be limited. I felt it was important that his toys were in the family living space, as that is where we spend our time. I don't like the idea of him having to go to his room to play - he doesn't have a room anyway as we co-sleep and his older brother and sister have the other bedrooms. This is a really small house - a bit like the Tardis in reverse, it looks like a sizeable bungalow from the outside, but inside it is a typical 1930s design. Of course we didn't really expect to have such a wonderful addition to our family when we first moved here!

Anyway, I am really pleased - no - thrilled with how this has turned out. All the toys are now accessible and together; cars in one basket, blocks in another, dressing up clothes - you get the idea. James has already played such imaginative games with toys he had forgotten about, and his creativity seems to have taken a huge leap. Happy, happy happy me!

Shopping

This afternoon John wanted to go into town for a haircut, so James and I decided we would go along for the ride. James was hoping to buy another boat from one of the charity shops, so I suggested that he donate an old toy that he didn't play with anymore. He was quite amenable to this idea and selected a Postman Pat figure complete with mail trolley, that he had inherited from one of my step-grandsons. He was very excited about this and wanted to put it in his own bag to give to the lady himself. We took a couple of bags of books with us too.
Well, he didn't get his boat, but he did find a yellow digger and a wooden tractor instead. The lady in Barnardo's was very pleased to take his donation and made a wee fuss of him, which he always enjoys. Then we found a bag of large lego type pieces in the Capability shop for 50p and the lady there gave him a little Eskimo figure she had sitting on the counter.
We met up with Dad, who was sitting reading on a bench outside the barbers. James stayed with him while I investigated the British Heart Foundation shop. When I returned, (with a skirt, a top and a couple of good children's books) he had built a large tower, helped by Dad and an older man who had been sitting on the bench too. They were totally engrossed in their construction project and the man was genuinely sorry when we left for home.
On the way, we passed another 2 charity shops - Help the Aged and Sense (more books, a jumper, shirt and wellies for James). In each place and along the way, people smiled, chatted and generally took an interest in him. All the shop volunteers made a fuss of him; an elder from the Islamic community centre, who was browsing in the Sense shop came up and shook his hand; and, as a group of teenage boys passed by, one of them said to the others "Awww,did you see that cute wee boy?", and they all turned round a smiled at him
I was struck by the way these folk, strangers to us, all immediately resonated with James's natural innocence. There is something so touching about a child's wonder at the world; and the world responds back. I hope James will never lose that sense of wonder and innocence.

Book sharing Monday (xiv)

This week we are reading Dinosaurs and all that rubbish by Michael Foreman, which we bought in a very cosy 2nd hand bookshop opposite The Meadows in Edinburgh.



In this fable, Man has stopped at nothing in his bid to reach the stars. He cuts down all the trees, burns whatever he can in his attempt to build a rocket. Smoke and fumes poured out and the Earth was soon covered in waste and rubbish. When all the damage was done, Man finally set off in his rocket to the stars.

The heat of all that rubbish woke the dinosaurs who had lain asleep underground for thousands of years. This is James's favourite page.

A dinosaur held his nose
as he looked around.
"POOH!" he said.
There is nothing on this planet but mess.
If we are going to live here
we'll have to get busy"

So they clean up the Earth, and forests and flowers grow again - the world becomes a beautiful paradise once again. Meanwhile, Man has reached his star and found that there was nothing to see. He sees a beautiful blue star in the sky and sets off for it. Once he arrives he doesn't recognise the planet that he had trashed before, and thinks he can take over. The dinosaurs have other ideas, and soon put him right, reminding him that the Earth belongs to everyone and they must all play their part in enjoying and caring for it.

A very relevant read in the current environment. Interesting that it was first published in 1972! I wonder if the planet would be in better shape if the dinosaurs had woken up then.
Share lots more books at Canadian Home Learning.