Scenes by the wayside

I've been thinking about children's books lately, now that we've started including a bedtime story in our bedtime routine with Jacob. And I'm currently obsessed with Dr. Seuss. I remember liking Dr. Seuss as a child, though I don't particularly remember having a lot of Seuss books around the house, for some reason. Perhaps that's part of the reason I liked them so much, the rarity factor. The other reason I liked Dr. Seuss, of course, is the language play. I'm a language fan from way back, of course. I also remember that my mother's favorite was The Lorax, one of the best. As usual, she's got great taste!

Right now we have only one Dr. Seuss book, Fox in Socks, a tongue twister tale we read pretty much every night. The rhythm of the words seems to be very lulling for the baby, and the "story" is interesting enough (or challenging enough) that we don't get bored of it. So we need more! I've gotten some from Ebay already and have more in my Amazon shopping cart (ahh, the web) and will start trawling for more at the used book stores and thrift stores. No time like the present to increase the library. Jacob will certainly have an extensive library. He's my kid, after all!

True confessions, however: I am still creeped out by the Grinch, even as an adult. I think those little Whos in Whoville were sold a bill of goods by the green liar, and he was just waiting to pounce again. Why do you think there was never a part 2 to that tale, huh, huh? In fact, there are many creatures I was afraid of as a child that still bother me. That abominable snowman from the stop motion Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer? Still have to turn it off every year when they air that show. The monkeys and the wicked witches from the Wizard of Oz? Still terrifying, as are those wind-up/electric monkeys that bang cymbals together (a remnant of reading some Stephen King short stories when I was much, much too young). People in gorilla costumes? Haven't been able to handle them since a traumatizing encounter with a Nancy Drew mystery. It may be I have a too vivid imagination. It may also be that anthropomorphized creatures really are gosh darn creepy!