August 25, 2008 @ 7:38 pm | Filed under:
Bloggity I’m still missing some three hundred subscribers…if you’re reading this on the blog and wondering why my recent posts haven’t popped up in your feed reader, it probably means you’re among the people who were suddenly unsubscribed by my Feedburner snafu last week.
And I’m still hearing from readers whose IP addresses have been blocked from loading the site, for reasons neither I nor my hardworking web person can fathom. If you are one of those people, send me your IP address and we’ll get you unblocked. (But how will you know to do this, if you can’t load the blog AND have been unsubbed? I wonder if there will be people out there who think I just stopped blogging one day?)
So I’ve got the SURPRISE! YOU’VE BEEN UNSUBSCRIBED problem. And the SURPRISE! YOUR IP ADDRESS HAS BEEN BLOCKED problem. And let us not forget the WHOOPSIE, YOUR BROWSER IS SHOWING YOU A CACHED VERSION OF THIS SITE WHICH MEANS YOU AREN’T SEEING THE MOST RECENT POSTS problem which has been plaguing some readers for a while. (At least we know a solution to that problem. Register for the site and as long as you’re logged in, you will always see the most recent posts. Only—for Pete’s sake don’t forget your password because if you try to log in with the wrong password, my hypervigilant spam filter will label you a Suspicious Character and block your IP address. See problem #2, subset A.)
Thanks, friends, for hanging in here with me while I continue to try to sort out these obnoxious problems. I’m sorry some of you are having to work so hard to make it past the goblins to new posts. And then I go and reward your trouble with a boring post like this?! Heck, the goblins are more interesting!
Is that not the best title ever? I originally posted this picture book review in February, 2005. I’m reposting it now because this book is no longer in print, and I want you to grab it if you ever spot it in a library sale. (I believe you can still get it through the author’s website, too, and there’s even a version on CD which includes other stories and music. Note to self: remember this at Christmastime.)
It’s Not My Turn to Look for Grandma by April Halprin Wayland, illustrated by George Booth. George Booth!
Dawn was just cracking over the hills. Ma was splitting kindling on the back porch.
“Woolie!” she called out. “Where in the hickory stick is Grandma?”
“Dunno,” said Woolie. “It’s not my turn to look for Grandma!”
I’ve been reading this book to my kids for eight or nine eleven or twelve years, and it still makes us all giggle. April Halprin Wayland (author of another of our family favorites, the quiet and lovely To Rabbittown), depicts this quirky backwoods family with wit and warmth, and George Booth’s illustrations are a hoot. Ma, a hardworking backwoods mother, needs Grandma’s help and keeps sending the kids to fetch her—but Grandma’s too busy sliding down the haystack with her dirty old dog, or doing something similarly outlandish. She’s never too busy, however, for a banjo band…
The rollicking text is a joy to read aloud. The writing is fresh and lively, and the characters are pure originals—especially that dirty old dog and a pair of disreputable porcupines. George Booth’s art, which would be hilarious even without the words, captures them perfectly. If I had to narrow down our picture book collection to ten titles (horrific thought!), this one would make the cut for its never-fail ability to invoke the belly-laughs I love.
