Erika Dreifus

After work yesterday I went over to babysit for/spend some time with my niece (age 4) and nephew (age 1). (Happily, they live about five minutes from my office, and I can do this fairly often.)

Once the baby fell asleep, and my niece was bathed and fed, she and I settled down to watch a little more TV than usual, a little later than usual. Thus we were introduced to the “Wishbone” series on PBS. Now, I consider myself a major influence on my niece’s library (and on her very gratifying interest in stories and poems). But even I was stunned, and then stuttering, as I tried to explain the narrative of A Tale of Two Cities–recast with a talking dog facing execution at the guillotine–to someone who hasn’t yet started kindergarten.

Apparently “Wishbone” was pretty popular in the mid-late 1990s (when I had no real reason to be watching children’s television). I can’t help thinking that creative as it may be, it just doesn’t compare to a PBS favorite from my childhood, which introduced me to work by Charles Dickens: “Once Upon a Classic.” Any fellow fans of that wonderful show out there?

Sorry, folks. I’m fighting a fever, sore throat, sore ears, and headache. Taking the day off from work (and from the blog) and trying to get to the doctor. Hope to be back with something more interesting (and useful to you) tomorrow.

Grace Paley has passed away.
In Memoriam.

Had a great time away, and picked up some news for those of you who may be visiting Nantucket, Massachusetts, later this month: “Bookmark on the Beach” is slated for Sunday, August 26, 2007. It will feature Debby Applegate, Christopher Hitchens, Robert Pinsky, and Josh Ritter, among others, and a special tribute to David Halberstam is planned. Details here.

(By the way, my little niece loves the book I brought her, and has even begun coming up with some “poetry” [rhymes] of her own.)

“Writers and Money.”

Caught your attention yet?

Victoria Strauss gives us a lot to consider on the subject in this meaty post. That’s the Friday find for you to chew on over the weekend.

And speaking of the weekend, I am going on vacation (a Friday morning to Monday evening vacation, but a vacation nonetheless). I am going to the beach! I am going to benefit from the generosity of my sister and brother-in-law (and their interest in having adoring Aunt Erika around to help care for the two little ones, ages 4 and 1) and share in their enviably longer stay in paradise.

As my “house gift,” I am bringing along a new book for my niece, a book I discovered via the Publishers Weekly “Children’s Bookshelf” newsletter: Karen Jo Shapiro’s I Must Go Down to the Beach Again and Other Poems. It’s a really cute little volume (take a look here) and I can’t wait to read it to my niece and her baby brother.

So I’ll see you back here Tuesday. Have a great few days!