Book Review: Meow: Cat Stories from Around the World

Our mini-course in animal folk tales continued this week with Jane Yolen’s Meow: Cat Stories from Around the World. Yolen’s collection mixes familiar nursery rhymes and Aesop fables with lesser known stories from India, Burma, Oman, and Thailand. Within its pages, you and your child will discover why tiger is angry at cat, why cat always lands on her feet, why having one very good trick is better than having dozens of poor ones, and most importantly, why cats and mice don’t always get along.

“How do they make hollow chocolate bunnies?”

Last week, while shopping for staples in our local grocery store, we passed the unavoidable Easter candy aisle. The Four-Year-Old immediately snagged a huge chocolate bunny wrapped in gold foil. After gnawing her way through the wonderfully solid chocolate ears, The Four-Year-Old exclaimed in some surprise: “Mommyo! The head’s hollow! How do they do that?”

“When cats eat mice, do they eat the bones?”

Our cat Mulberry was an exceptional mouser. As far as I know, though, she never actually ate any of the mice she ate. But on learning that owls eat the bones along with the rest of the mice, my daughter naturally wondered if cats ate mouse bones too.

In which The Four-Year-Old tells it like it is

The loss of a pet is tremendously sad. But even in the most heart-breaking moments, life with The Four-Year-Old forces you to make room for laughter.…

Mulberry wearing the orange glasses my daughter put on her.

R.I.P. Mulberry the Cat, January 1995 – March 2012

R.I.P. Mulberry the Cat, January 1995 – March 2012. A very fine cat, indeed. We miss you every day.

Book Review: How the Guinea Fowl Got Her Spots

As you may remember, after last week’s unfortunate fairy tale incident, we decided to give folk tales a try. How the Guinea Fowl Got Her Spots was an excellent and encouraging first pick for this new strategy.

In which The Four-Year-Old Invents a New Yoga Pose

The Four-Year-Old: “Mommyo, did you know I have a helicopter pose?” Mommyo: “You do? Can I see it?” The Four-Year-Old, jumping up and down: “All you…

The Plausible Cheering Squad

For various reasons my attention lately has not been directed toward housekeeping, and my house shows it. I’m not a perfectly neat person in normal times,…

“How do you know what Sparky says?”

Early Friday morning, well before sunrise, The Four-Year-Old clambered onto the couch next to me, her sleeping friend Sparky in hand. In what I thought was…

I can’t believe I just said that

Overheard in the Caterpickles Transport Pod (while parked in a parking lot)… Mommyo: “The Four-Year-Old, don’t eat the whole bag of M&Ms or you won’t have…