as much as i love the library, taking the kids there has become quite repetitive. they make a beeline to the children's section and navigate their way to their favorite areas: liam, things with wheels; susanna, dora the explorer. i'm constantly urging them to explore new library territory, pointing out all the areas they're missing by being so myopic. but my encouragement always falls on deaf ears, as i watch our basket being loaded up with more volumes on bulldozers, racecars, and our favorite little hispanic girl on yet another wild and crazy adventure.
our most recent visit was no different. although i had managed to sneak in a few new storybooks that i thought might interest them, their same-old-same-old selections outnumbered mine by a ratio of 10 to 1. but as we were walking to the checkout counter, two titles, side by side, caught my eye. i snatched them up, marveling in my good luck.
as soon as liam saw them, he couldn't wait to show them to my parents. he knew that my mom (or "nana", to him) would be so excited to read nana upstairs & nana downstairs. and fred stays with me!, he realized, would be perfect for his "pops" (since he knows that my dad's name is fred.) what a great mother i was, to have come across these treasures!
my mom read nana upstairs & nana downstairs to the kids later that day, and it was such a picture-perfect moment that i just wanted to grab my camera. there she was, flanked on either side by her two enraptured grandchildren, bringing this story to life as their little eyes soaked it all in. i was so impressed that i failed to actually listen. after she finished the last page and they scampered off, mom informed me that the story was all about two old women named nana ( one who lives upstairs and one who lives downstairs, fittingly) who kick the bucket.
wondering how we fared with the second selection? the "fred" in fred stays with me! is the loyal dog who accompanies a little girl, providing comfort and stability, as she bounces from house to house after her parents divorce.
if i had just been a tad more observant, i would have realized that both books were directly under the "helping children cope with grief and loss" sign. i guess that on future library trips, it would actually help if i were to, well, read.
2 comments:
Maybe Chris and Nana should be worried? Are you (subconsciously) preparing Liam and Susanna to cope with the impending loss?
Love, L
ps. I think the title should be "Nana Goes WAY Upstairs" and "Don't Cut Fred in Half." That way, unsuspecting parents aren't led astray.
leslie - since you mentioned it, i feel compelled to share the last page of the book:
a long time later, when tommy had grown up, Nana Downstairs was old and in bed just like Nana Upstairs. then she died too. and one night, when he looked out his bedroom window, tommy saw another star fall gently through the sky. now you are both Nana Upstairs, he thought.
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