So landis mom, of the super duper blog Bumblee Sweet Potato, recently returned from my favorite place in the world – Provence, France. Upon her return she launched a neat little contest asking fellow bloggers to write about “a kid-type thing that you enjoy more than your kids–or enjoy more than most adults do, because of your kids.”
This one was kinda hard for me, although I’m not sure why. I think I was overthinking…or underthinking…or something. Anyway, what I love more than my girl are fine, well-written, skillfully illustrated hardback children’s books (and that is saying something, considering how much she loves ’em) – you know the kind with flowery language, striking images and the like. I would never have read a single one of these books if not for my kids.
I am talking about books like Adele and Simon, and specifically, for the purposes of this contest, a lovely edition titled Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.
Owl Moon is a gorgeous book about a young girl and her father walking into the woods at night. They are going owling and it is the youngster’s first time. The text is dripping with subtle beauty and the idea behind the story, at least for me, is superb – a dad sharing a middle of the night outdoorsy tradition with his little lady. There is a line in the book, towards the end, where the girl is describing the feeling of hot cloth fabric covering her mouth as a way to protect from the cold night air and the silence that is required for owling when she says “our mouths filled with the heat of words not spoken”.
Simply amazing sentence. Amazing book.