Our Favorite Books

we're big into books, and baby van has tons of cool ones. in fact, when my friends threw me a baby shower last year around this time guests were asked to bring books instead of traditional baby gifts. we ended up with a unique collection of some hand me down books, picture books, poetry books and classics.

here are some of our favorites.

i think my personal favs are The Country Western Alphabet and Nevermind Your Ps and Qs: Here's the Punk Alphabet. i picked up these two in portland last summer. the art is hilarious and i love the adult references. plus, it's important our kids know these things, ya?

"W is for Willie, can you see him through the smoke? He's got to hit the road again to save the farming folk."

punk /new wave rock influences, Elvis and Elvis. 

the jolly postman is another gem. we received this from van's auntie kristel and real life postman uncle josh! you get to peek in to envelopes and read the letters that all the classic fairytale characters write to each other. too cute.

vanny is a 4th generation californian, so this one was a natural choice. i love simple counting books, especially when they are cardboard and rep california. we're proud californians here.

and this one! oh, how i love this one. it's indestructible. literally. like, it's made to never rip or tear. i've tried! and i think van loves it because when he's eating it and crumpling it with his chubby baby hands he thinks he's doing something bad. i'd love to collect others. the old mcddonald one is super cute - it's set in south america and the illustrations are very fun.

van and i love to read good night, galaxy which is from the same series as good night, california mentioned above. i love nerdy science shit and van loves to go look at the moon and stars with tony while i make his bottle each night so this book was an obvious choice. good intro to the vastness of the universe for a little one..."good night nebula, good night black hole..."

we close out most nights with whoever you are by mem fox. it is freaking adorable. it's a little baby sized cardboard book that teaches that we are all more the same than we are different. and the illustrations are amazing - how cute are these two?!

"Smiles are the same and love is the same."



i seriously love children's books. probably more than regular books. your little ones reading anything good lately? i'm always looking for more to add to the collection.

Catcalling Douchebags

in browsing www.hellogiggles.com this morning i came across this article on street harassment. it perfectly illustrates why cat calling (street harassment) is the most gross, obnoxious and inappropriate thing ever. it discusses the different ways in which these harassers operate and talks about the slippery slope of street harassment- how hissing and whistling can turn to stalking or even rape.

street harassment is one of those experiences that seems to unite women in disgust. it doesn't matter what you're wearing, what you're doing or even how old you are...there will always be trashball guys that get off on making women feel threatened and uncomfortable.

while i was reading i recalled a scene at the beginning of six feet under years and years ago. if you aren't familiar with the show, each episode is introduced with a death. one of the deaths that always stayed with me was of a young woman who was struck and killed by a vehicle while running from a group of men who were whistling and propositioning her while as she left a party. a split second before she is hit by the car, she turns around to notice that the men harassing her were actually her friends thinking they were being funny. that scene is so poignant because it calls such attention to the disconnect between the men's actions and the woman's perceptions of those actions.  what men sometimes see as playful or funny (why, i'll never know. because they are jackasses, i guess), women perceive as a safety threat. i know when i hear a man yelling at me and making inappropriate comments on my appearance, my heart begins to race. i'm not looking to decipher who the man is or what his intentions are. he could very well be a "harmless" college aged guy looking to impress his douchebag friends, but my conditioned mind fears some psycho serial rapist.

anyways, read the article. and props to the writer, and all the women like her, who aren't afraid to look like stick in the mud "feminazis" to a bunch of ignorant and insensitive men and speak out against shit like this for the sake of women and girls everywhere. high five!

*p.s. march 18-24th is anti-street harassment week.