Clara's Books

Clara has more books than any baby I know.  This is due to several factors.  Her parents and grandparents on both sides are avid readers; both her grandmothers are educators with a high degree of knowledge about literacy in particular; and Grammie Shifrin, Simon's mom, kept pretty much every book from his childhood to pass on to Clara.

Her Grandpa Hooley, my dad, is especially good at buying books for her.  Three of her favorite books came from him.  One is a big board book about dogs, with tabs you can pull to make the dogs' tails wag, or make their wet heads shake, or make their legs lift to go pee against a tree.  Another book is called "Moonlight Animals."  Each page has a different scene in the dark, with an illuminating strip, a "flashlight," that you can maneuver around to see nighttime animals.  There are foxes on the prowl, owls looking for a mouse snack, and foraging deer.

Grandpa Hooley also gave her "Goodnight Goon," a Halloween parody of "Goodnight Moon."  Clara is too young to get the satirical aspect of the book.  She loves the monsters, and the page with "Three little mummies rubbing their tummies." I think she gets, "mummies" confused with, "mommies."

But Clara's favorite book right now, by far, is called, "Baby Dear."  It's about a little girl whose dad brings her a doll because her mom has a new baby.  The little girl gives the doll a bath while her mom is giving the new baby a bath.  She puts the doll in a little cradle while her mom puts the new baby in her basinet.  They take their babies on walks together.  The little girl's doll's name is, "Baby Dear."

I'm guessing "Baby Dear" was written in the fifties.  The mommy in the book could easily be an extra on the set of Mad Men.  Around the house, she wears heels and dresses that accentuate her small waist (unless she's in her starched nightgown or Chenille bathrobe with matching slippers). Her legs and feet are always gracefully posed, like she went to a finishing school.  Her head, with its tasteful upsweep, is always tilted just so, to show adoration or gentle surprise.

I can see why Clara loves "Baby Dear."  The illustrations are wonderful. The new baby's round cheeks and fists are sweet enough to kiss on the page (which Clara does, repeatedly).  We get to see all sorts of details about Baby Boomer babyhood, too.  There are old-fashioned looking bottles and bottle holders, glass jars of cotton balls, containers of baby powder, strange-looking rattles and round, tin baby bathtubs.

Today Simon read "Baby Dear" to Clara four times.