Poems for the Very Young Child: Thanksgiving

This year I have been sharing from Poems for the Very Young Child compiled by Dolores Knippel and illustrated by Mary Ellsworth and published by Whitman Publishing Co, 1932.

Here are Thanksgiving poems from the book.

Poems for the Very Young Child: Summer

Today I am sharing summer poems from Poems for the Very Young Child, compiled by Dolores Knippel and illustrated by Mary Ellsworth, Whitman Publishing Co., 1932

The Turned-Intos by Elizabeth Gordon: The Garden Folk

The Turned-Intos by Elizabeth Gordon and illustrated by Janet Laura Scott was first published in 1920 in Great Britain. I have a 1935 edition published by Wies-Parslow Company, New York.

The book was written to teach children about the fauna of the garden. In each chapter, Jane Elizabeth meets something new: a Swallow Tail butterfly and Humming-bird moths, frogs and toads, bumble-bees and honeybees, even hornets and spiders.

The chapter begins with a poem about the creature which is followed with a story in which Jane Elizabeth encounters it. Prince Tiger Swallow Tail butterfly introduces himself and his sister as Turned-Intos-- "when you start out in life one sort of thing and after a while, you turn into something very different and scarcely to be believed."

"Although Jane Elizabeth had a new book and very much wished to read it, having brought it into the garden with her, she had not been able to read much. The young robins had been so very funny, half flying and half flopping about, and Mother Robin had been so very anxious for them to do every little movement of the wings just right, and had made so much noise telling them how to fly, that it was much more interesting than a book, no matter how new it was."

Jane learns that all these creatures have a life cycle involving a physical change.

The lesson guide for the chapter on the Humming-Bird Moth begins, "Did you know that the government at Washington is helping farmers all over the country to fight insect pests? Some moths, such as the peach moth and the gypsy moth do great damage to trees. It may be that you have heard of the boll weevil and the Japanese beetle. Both of these insects caused a great deal of trouble for the farmers by destroying their crops. Uncle Sam had to fight these insect enemies for a good many years before he got them under control. Our government needs men and women to help in this insect war. Would you like to be one of the helpers? Choose one of the four pests you have just read about and write a fifty word composition on it."

The lesson plan calls Ladybugs the 'police force of the plant world' because it eats insect pests. "Immigrants coming to our shores must be carefully inspected. try to find out about some of our laws which require the inspection of fruits and vegetable and plants imported from other countries, or shipped from one state to another."

I love these illustrations!

Birthday, Buying Spree & News

For my birthday our son filled dad's jukebox with 45s that I had owned when I was a teen. The jukebox is in the basement and too heavy to remove so we are going to embrace it. Our son had read my blog post about The Music I Grew Up With as a guide to what records to buy.

My dad bought this 1970s Seeburg Firestar from a local biker bar

Our son also made me dinner and gave me a collection of loose teas. So far they are very good!

My brother gave me a gift certificate to Monk's Bread and I got this great box of bread, biscotti, and preserves. They are made by Trappist Monks in Genesee, NY.

We can add more records to the jukebox so on Sunday after visiting the Clawson farmer's market I ran down to the Royal Oak flea market where I found hundreds of 45 records to choose from! I came home with:
Chicago-Does Anyone Really Know What Time It s
Dionne Warwick-PIromises, Promises and also Say a Little Prayer
Frank & Nancy Sinatra-Something Stupid
Barry McGuire-Eve of Destruction.
Marvin Gaye -Mercy, Mercy and also Ain't no Mountain High Enough
Bob Dylan-Spanish is the Loving Tongue
The Association-Windy

And I picked up other treasures.

My husband always talked about Rootie Kazootie and the Pineapple Pies which he loved as a boy in the 1950s. He asked for a pineapple pie, and his mom made him one. For over forty years he has asked me to make a pineapple pie. I think I did--once--perhaps it is time to make another. After revisiting this book, I am sure he will be dreaming of them again.

I had not read Robert Pinksky so picked up this 2011 volume of his poetry. A quilting friend was a relative and had met him at family gatherings when she was young.

I added a few pieces to my huge sheet music collection. I couldn't resist My Wife's Gone to the Country Hurrah! Hurrah! with Irving Berlin as one of the writers.

And I picked up some old pops songs and this adorable cover of Polly Wolly Doodle, a song our infant son loved me to sing to him.

The farm market is filled with goodies this time of year. Wonderful local corn, green and wax beans, sweet peppers, and beets came home with us. Also peaches and nectarines and heirloom tomatoes.

My husband baked bread yesterday, his favorite oatmeal. I made bread with apples from our apple trees!

I placed my first order to Penzy's Spices, lured by the excellent freebies. I bought a four-jar set of spices to make salad dressings and also lemon pepper (without salt) that uses real lemon peel. I got free shallots and cinnamon sugar, and some sample bay leaves, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks were thrown in too!

I  entered a coloring contest for National Coloringbook Day sponsored by Dover Publications. I won these coloring books!

Last week I took this quilt to show and tell in my weekly group. Remembrance of Things Past was made for a quilt guild challenge at Capital City Quilt Guild in Lansing, Michigan many years ago. The center is appliqued with colored pencil details. The fabrics, image scans, and embellishments all have some memories or ambiance of memories.

Remembrance of Things Past by Nancy A. Bekofske

detail of Remembrance of Things Past by Nancy A. Bekofske

In the photo below you can see the patch for Lawrence Tech where my grandfather Lynne O. Ramer taught mathematics; my brother later graduated from Lawrence Tech. Also, the SSX-1 submarine patch from my uncle Dave Ramer who worked on the sub in the 1960s.

detail of Remembrance of Things Past by Nancy A. Bekofske

My uncle Dave Ramer

my grandmother Evelyn Greenwood Ramer on the SSX-1

my grandfather Lynne O. Ramer on the SSX-1

I have pinback buttons on the quilt including Give Earth a Chance from the first Earth Day and an ERA button; also a scanned photo of our dog Kili (photo above) and a childhood hair ribbon, a mushroom pin I gave Mom. Note the scanned photo of Niagara Falls.

I am working on many projects, as usual: hand quilting my Peter Pan Story Book quilt, finishing my challenge quilt, and working on making hexies.

 It is hard to believe that September is quickly coming! Where did the summer go?