Letter 18: Small poems, hamsters, and pumpkin season.
November 2023
Notes from Me
Reading: Poet Valerie Worth wrote many poems for children. My sons and husband and I have read her book All the Small Poems and Fourteen More over the last several months. Nothing is too ordinary to be the subject of her poems (she writes about sparrows, raw carrots, coins, paper clips, etc). Her work is simple and often humorous. Natalie Babbitt’s sketches are a beautiful complement as well. Here is one poem that made me smile:
Coat Hangers by Valerie Worth
Open the closet
And there they
Wait, in a
Trim obedient row;
Stirred by the
Air, they only
Touch wires with
A vacant jangle;
But try to
Remove just one,
And they suddenly
Clash and cling,
And fling them-
Selves to the
Floor in an
Inextricable tangle.
Subscribing: I subscribe to a several newsletters, but after reading Ruth Gaskovski’s School of the Unconformed for several months, I decided to become a paying subscriber. Her essays and resources are thoughtful, hopeful, and wise. I commend her work to you!
With the Boys
Reading: My four-year-old son has asked me to read 10 Minutes Till Bedtime nearly every day for the last two weeks. Some picture books grow more interesting as you pore over them; this is one of those books. There are very few words, but here we have a gathering of hamsters to rival Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busy Town in a simple counting book. There are lots of little stories happening on every page, and there is also a simple plot line to follow. We love Peggy Rathmann’s other books, Goodnight Zoo and Officer Buckle and Gloria. We spotted nods to both of those books in this one as well. Highly recommend!
Listening: On commutes in the car, the boys and I been enjoying CityAlight’s 6-song EP Simple Songs for Young and Old. Each track is beautiful, singable, and theologically rich. You can listen to the album here.
In the Kitchen
Eating: Part of the way I inhabit Autumn where I live is by making something in the kitchen with warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. At some point between September and December, Ben or I will make spiced apple cider, a pumpkin pie, and these pumpkin muffins. Deb Perelman’s pumpkin bread recipe (it yields 18 muffins) has made it into the go-to binder on our kitchen shelf. It pairs well with Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White.
Small Joy
My newly minted six-year-old,
Pinching a flowering weed between his pointer and thumb,
Bursting into my bedroom,
Offering his gift,
Dashing away with a giggle.
Until next time,
Susie
P.S.
I feel seen + properly scolded. I, too, have a freezer “where good intentions go to die.”