Why So Many Wolves?

Our Christmas tradition has been to buy each boy an new ornament, item of clothing, toy, and a book. They open one each night leading up to our grand trip North to Grammy and Poppy's Winter Wonderland! But this year I think I will just buy one really good book for all the boys to share!

Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales by Lucy Cousins! What a hit! The inside jacket describes my feeling towards the book exactly:



With bold language and vibrant pictures, beloved author-illustrator Lucy Cousins retells eight of her favorite fairy tales. She brings the famous characters and their adventures to life with all the humor, drama, and joy of the originals while also imbuing them with a modern magic, assuring that her fresh look at these classic tales will be shared again and again.

Since checking this book out, our entire family has had fun reading it each evening. We sit on the red couch, all equally engaged. My husband does the voices while I read the narration. AND, Ms. Cousins not only picked her favorites, but ours also. In fact, my favorite, The Musicians of Bremen, is on page 106!

She also puts just the right amount of grit and gore into these tales. Yep, the Wolf really eats two of the three pigs, the Woodsman really chops off the Wolf's head, and the Big Billy Goat exuberantly bashes and splashes the Troll off and into the water below.

Boys love a little violence. So do most men, as seen in the popularity of action movies. A friend of mine reminded me that this is a core part of who boys are, and if they are always told that it is bad, then they feel ashamed. Now, before you all think I'm promoting violence, there is nothing violent and bloody in these stories. They are classic tales, just like Loony Tunes is classic and engaging each time the Road Runner blows up the Coyote.

I'm just living into being a mom of three little boys...and loving it!

I'm buying this book for sure for Christmas. It is a classic, one that later in life will conjure up good feelings of childhood.

Another book that seems to have captivated my boys lately is An I Can Read Book called, Kick, Pass, and Run by Leonard Kessler. It is all about football. I actually do not enjoy reading this one. But the boys love it. Not because I don't like football, but because it is an easy reader and the words and not fun for someone who already knows how to read. :) It is perfect for this season of fall. Bonus: afterward I find myself at the bottom of a tackle. It actually promotes activity as the boys search for something they can pretend is a football. OOOPS on us! We have plenty of soccer gear around, but no footballs. So, that is another thing they are getting this year for Christmas...a football.