Inspiration Posts by Sarah

[nomoxian]

I remember really liking the Bernstein Bears (or Bernstain, depending on what universe you come from :p)

I've only read the bits that are on Tumblr, but Rejected Princesses seems like it would be a good series that can grow with a child.

[Four is Enough]

One of our family favorites was found by accident at a Scholastic book fair.I forget the author, but it's called "The Relatives Came".. if you have family that visits, I think this will ring true.. it talks about all the breathing and stuff that happens when relatives visit... it's a cute story for small kids and ours really responded to it.

[PennySycamore]

@Four is Enough,  The Relatives Came was on my suggested books email from Amazon yesterday!  I'd bought a copy of Cat Heaven by Cynthia Rylant for my daughter'd family when their cat, William, went to the Rainbow Bridge.  Obviously, Amazon thinks I might be interested in other works by Miss Rylant.  The Relatives Came is a great suggestion!

[dripcurl]

Sometimes I like to see what the Maxwells were doing this time however-many-years ago, and jusr 5 years ago they were still doing matching outfits. Thankfully they were not jumpers, BUT STILL. 

 

Sarah was 31 here I suppose. Travelling around, wearing the same exact outfits as her mom and sisters. I know it's very common for women/femme folk in families to coordinate style for special events, but this is just too far.

 

 

 

[dawbs]

5 hours ago, nomoxian said:

I remember really liking the Bernstein Bears (or Bernstain, depending on what universe you come from :p)

I've only read the bits that are on Tumblr, but Rejected Princesses seems like it would be a good series that can grow with a child.

Just as a forewarning, one of Stan and Jan Bernstain's kids turned kinda fundie and the've "re-done" the series so the new books are explicitly christian.  I get kinda pissy when people sneak prostelization into my kid's shit under my nose (I actually don't stop blatant proselytization--I just discuss it with her.  It's the sneaky shit that makes me livid as fuck) , so I've made it my mission to tell everyone so they don't get blindsided.
Article, because, it exists:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/magazine/how-the-berenstain-bears-found-salvation.html

[Black Aliss]

18 hours ago, dawbs said:

Just as a forewarning, one of Stan and Jan Bernstain's kids turned kinda fundie and the've "re-done" the series so the new books are explicitly christian.  I get kinda pissy when people sneak prostelization into my kid's shit under my nose (I actually don't stop blatant proselytization--I just discuss it with her.  It's the sneaky shit that makes me livid as fuck) , so I've made it my mission to tell everyone so they don't get blindsided.
Article, because, it exists:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/magazine/how-the-berenstain-bears-found-salvation.html

I always thought the Berenstain Bears books were as good an excuse for a bonfire as any. What I objected to, though, was the portrayal of Papa as, at best, a wimp but more often a bumbling idiot, constantly sabotaging Mama's work, including her parenting. Nevertheless, he was the acknowledged Head of the Family. I guess their fundy was showing even back then.

[PennySycamore]

@Black Aliss, I'll be with tossing the Berenstain Bears on the bonfire!   I thought they were badly written, terribly illustrated and awful to read aloud to my girls.  Yecch!

[nomoxian]

That's an interesting analysis of Papa vs Mama Bear. When I looked back at the series with adult eyes, I thought it was a way of making men look not perfect and showing that women can be smart as well, especially since the books were written in the time that 2nd wave feminism was happening.

[Black Aliss]

On 5/9/2018 at 8:21 AM, nomoxian said:

That's an interesting analysis of Papa vs Mama Bear. When I looked back at the series with adult eyes, I thought it was a way of making men look not perfect and showing that women can be smart as well, especially since the books were written in the time that 2nd wave feminism was happening.

To be fair, they aren't anywhere near as bad (and perhaps serve as a counter to) Richard Scarry's seminal work, What do People do all Day, which quickly became a huge favorite with my kids only because I had to annotate it with generous amounts of sarcasm when reading it aloud to them. There's one chapter that shows how Father works hard and gets paid for his work, and then what he does with his money: when the necessities are covered there's enough left over for him to surprise mother by bringing her a new dress that he picked out, of course! Oh, and one chapter where Mother spaces out (watching her soaps?) and her abandoned clothes iron starts a fire. The firemen arrive and extinguish the fire just as Father arrives home. Tension builds as we worry that Father will be angry with Mother for torching their house, but whew! he's not mad at all.

So you may be correct. Maybe Stan and Jan wrote their stories as a counterpoint to Richard Scarry's.

[CyborgKin]

On 17/05/2018 at 7:45 AM, Black Aliss said:

To be fair, they aren't anywhere near as bad (and perhaps serve as a counter to) Richard Scarry's seminal work, What do People do all Day, which quickly became a huge favorite with my kids only because I had to annotate it with generous amounts of sarcasm when reading it aloud to them. There's one chapter that shows how Father works hard and gets paid for his work, and then what he does with his money: when the necessities are covered there's enough left over for him to surprise mother by bringing her a new dress that he picked out, of course! Oh, and one chapter where Mother spaces out (watching her soaps?) and her abandoned clothes iron starts a fire. The firemen arrive and extinguish the fire just as Father arrives home. Tension builds as we worry that Father will be angry with Mother for torching their house, but whew! he's not mad at all.

So you may be correct. Maybe Stan and Jan wrote their stories as a counterpoint to Richard Scarry's.

I see an opportunity for What do Maxwells do all Day

[Eternalbluepearl]

5 minutes ago, CyborgKin said:

I see an opportunity for What do Maxwells do all Day

It'd be a short book. 

[scoutsadie]

On 5/16/2018 at 5:45 PM, Black Aliss said:

So you may be correct. Maybe Stan and Jan wrote their stories as a counterpoint to Richard Scarry's.

Nooooooo... I love Richard Scarry's big book (I forget the exact name) - have never heard of this other one.  I guess it was a product of its time.  His illustrations and characters in the big book are some of my favorites from childhood, though.

[PennySycamore]

@scoutsadie,  I got the big Richard Scarry book (The Big Book of Words?) for my granddaughter when she came here from China at the age of 3.  I thought the pictures might help her learn English.  She already knew Mandarin.

[CyborgKin]

Richard Scarry books are a fond childhood memory for me.  And the TV show...

It took me a while to stop associating the Paramount logo with a giant flying apple-copter

 

 

[bertnee]

Wow I forgot that show even existed but I definitely knew the words when the YouTube link started playing! Blast from the past!

[anniebgood]

On 5/6/2018 at 9:10 AM, nomoxian said:

I remember really liking the Bernstein Bears (or Bernstain, depending on what universe you come from :p)

I've only read the bits that are on Tumblr, but Rejected Princesses seems like it would be a good series that can grow with a child.

We liked the original ones but when the kids took over the business it got way too religious for us. 

[MamaJunebug]

The Junior JBs aged out of the books by the early 1990s but when someone mentioned how difficult they were to read aloud, oh yes! I remember it like it was yesterday. 

Even then, Papa Bear had his own, home-based business....

[OhNoNike]

On 5/19/2018 at 9:35 PM, Eternalbluepearl said:

It'd be a short book. 

Correction: It SHOULD be a short book. But there would be lots of words. English words. You get to the end and could summarize in three sentences or less.   

On 5/6/2018 at 6:00 PM, dawbs said:

Just as a forewarning, one of Stan and Jan Bernstain's kids turned kinda fundie and the've "re-done" the series so the new books are explicitly christian.  I get kinda pissy when people sneak prostelization into my kid's shit under my nose (I actually don't stop blatant proselytization--I just discuss it with her.  It's the sneaky shit that makes me livid as fuck) , so I've made it my mission to tell everyone so they don't get blindsided.
Article, because, it exists:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/magazine/how-the-berenstain-bears-found-salvation.html

I wondered wtf happened to the books.  I have some of the religious ones and I agreed with what the author said.  I still read them but blaze by the really religious parts.  My kid doesn’t pay attention anyway.