From the Library

Sometimes this journal is for me, to record the books and food that make their way through my family's life. Sometimes this journal is for my girls, so they will have touchpoints, memory sparks. So, that's why today I'm writing about the minutia of our life, a visit to the library.

My three-year old is crazy about Maisy and we're working our way through Rosemary Wells' backlist. Two of our all-time favorites, "Shy Charles" and "Peabody" were returned today, so we picked out "Timothy Goes to School" to fill in. Charlotte Zolotow is the mother of one of the best cookbook authors ever, Crescent Dragonwagon, and I have a couple books of her verses. Zolotow is a prolific author, so I have a future with her books. And every child should read "Harry the Dirty Dog." Here's the list (due back two weeks from today!):

1. Maisy Makes Gingerbread by Lucy Cousins
2. I Spy School Days
3. Max Cleans Up
4. Maisy Goes to the Museum
5. Maisy Goes to the Library
6. Maisy, Charley, and the Wobbly Tooth
7. Harry, the Dirty Dog
8. Say It! by Charlotte Zolotow
9. Harry By the Sea
10. No Roses for Harry
11. Timothy Goes to School by Rosemary Wells
12. Yoko Writes Her Name by Wells
13. Hazel's Amazing Mother by Wells

Not that I needed more cookbooks, but a couple titles did call my name from the stacks:

1. The Only Bake Sale Cookbook You'll Ever Need by Wolf and Abrams. I'm not called on for bake sale goods very often, but I'm the queen of sending baked goods to school for the kids, the teachers, and anyone else standing near the Tupperware. I'm in need of inspiration.

2. The Cracker Kitchen by Janis Owens. I've picked this up at Borders and I'm going to really dive into it. The blurb on the cover says it all: "A cookbook in celebration of cornbread-fed, down-home family stories and cuisine." Plus an introduction by Pat Conroy. What could be better?