kids books and the dutch writers behind them

Growing up our favorite Bible stories were read to us from these small paper back books. Each little book told a Bible story with vibrant painted colors and large earthy figures. We loved them. The characters were very human and very alive. The text was simple, we had them in English and French as I remember. I think I even learned to read using some of these books. So, a few months I popped in to a Christian bookstore in town and immediately identified the same illustrations on a cover in the kid's section. On closer inspection I found the exact illustrations, this time bound in a larger volume of stories and it hit me, the author/illustrator is dutch! Kees de Kort. I promptly bought the book and have been enjoying reading them now in dutch. Check them out below:


jesus and his followers

road to emmaus

abraham and the promise

david and goliath

And then the other day I was in Ohio with a friend at a little girl's one year old birthday. We bought her Mo Willem's famous "Knuffle Bunny" books. The 3rd and last book is about the same little girl from the first two but this time she goes to Holland to visit her grandma and grandpa (opa and oma) and as I'm flipping through I realize.. this author has to be dutch! Why didn't I see it before. "Knuffel" in dutch means "hug" and it's pronounced not with a soft "k" but instead like "ka-nuf-al" and in English we say "nuffle". I flipped to the front just to be sure and yep, "Willems" is a hard core dutch name. I feel witty and smart when I discover things like this... so there I was in the middle of the party chuckling to myself like I just uncovered a little secret (which I'm sure most people realized before I did).



So to complete my random blog entry I would say that dutch children's writers/illustrators may have the corner on the kid's lit market. Hurrah for the lovely language of double "e" words.

There are a few things that I've heard this week which made me really happy... kind of like Syrian polos (a drink with tons of mint and lemon juice) make me happy. I know that sounds silly but you have no idea how amazing a polo is on a hot summer day. And yes, I'm also dreaming of hot summer days.


- "I really like your church, it's like going to my pilates class, I leave feeling so relaxed."

- "I feel so much love here and I want to respond and figure out where that love is coming from."

- "It's important to name things, my daughter was crying last week and I asked her, are you crying because you're sick or because mom's gone on a trip. She answered, because mom's gone. I have mommy cramps."

- Belly laughing with a friend while listening to David Sedaris.

- Me to a friend: "Do you want to come to church with me tomorrow? No pressure, but know that I will always keep asking because I think it's the greatest thing ever (said with a twinkle in my eye). "
Answer: "I know! I love that about you even though church is the last place I want to be. Keep asking."

- "When I think about dance school I don't want to dance but when I'm dancing I can't think of anything else I'd rather do."

- "Jesus didn't die for clean air, he died for people. The people are in the cities, so go to the cities!" -John Wimber

-"Jesus gave Peter a chance to recant, he wanted forgiveness to be the marker of His life, not failure. Jesus would always rather restore than remove and re-appoint." -Simon Ponsonby.

random knowledge

Here's an article I thought very fascinating about the Grant Tour which Chinese tourists like to take of Europe. It brought a toe step closer a culture which based on my West coast/middle America/North African upbringing has been entirely unknown. Here's a link if you're interested:

Chinese tourists

Oh! and one more random article just for fun... if you're like me and find random bits of knowledge incredibly delightful (it's also from The Economist):

An elegy on the British pub

Enjoy...
Brooke

home sick

I'm terrible at being sick. The low point to my madness was yesterday when I caught myself starting to clean the bathroom. It took me a minute to realize how insane that was before I hobbled back to bed. I have what my mom calls the "superhero syndrome," I love that she came up with that and it so perfectly describes me. It points to something that feels good a lot of the time when I'm feeling 'top' as they say in dutch or having a good day or feeling emotionally healthy but then out of the blue can be so very bad.

And I realize that it makes me a person who lives like I don't need grace. A dear pastor said to me a few weeks ago, 'Brooke, remember that in your weakness your Father is strong. That's just how it works.' And I would say to myself, 'Come on Brooke, just get used to it! He loves your weakness.'

Here's a lovely little Wendell Berry poem I'm been reading nearly daily:

The Wild Rose

Sometimes hidden from me
in daily custom and in trust,
so that I live by you unaware
as by the beating of my heart,

suddenly you flare in my sight,
a wild rose blooming at the edge
of thicket, grace and light
where yesterday was only shade

and once more I am blessed, choosing
again what i chose before.

I'm reading a lovely little book called, Proper Confidence; Faith, Doubt and Certainty in Christian Discipleship by Lesslie Newbigin these days. I'm trying to savor it so it's taking me quite a while despite it's size. Do you ever read a book that you wish deep in your gut could become a part of you, stick to you, with bits always floating around your earlobes, close enough to be caught on a whim and quoted? This is one of those books for me. Here's a little tidbit:

"... the gospel does not become public truth for a society by being propagated as a theory or as a worldview and certainly not a s a religion. It can become public truth only insofar as it is embodied in a society (the church) which is both "abiding in" Christ and engaging in the life of the world."

Good stuff. Okay, what else is going on?

It's been a restful week for me. I took a week off to visit my brother and sister in law in the lovely mountains of Switzerland. It's so good to have family an hour flight away. I feel very grateful. We skied some, though I remember myself being better than I actually am, and did our best to stay on the slopes! The narrow slopes in the Alps are very new to me, they're nothing like the wide Rocky mountains. We tried our hand at snowshoeing as well, ate lots and ate lots of cheese and chocolate.

Oud en Nieuw (New Years Eve) was spent with some of N&T's friends in a nearby small town. It was a fabulous mix matched group of internationals. We started off with a scavenger hunt in the town of Rolle (which brought us instantly closer!) running around looking for empty wine bottles with the city's name on them, the cheapest gas station, the name of the port master, and of course taking a required awkward group photo at each site. The night concluded with a fondue dinner and dancing... lots of dancing!

Going away from the "normal," may that be Amsterdam or Columbus, always gives me life and helps me find center, re-focus, and gain creative ideas. This week was no exception.

I hope you each had a great New Years as well! Here's to a 2011!

snow, neighbors, and baking

It snowed a lot here in Amsterdam on Friday and Saturday (it's still here!). It was so fabulous and for the most part people are jolly and in a good mood about it, except for those who fall while cycling, which has been a daily, hourly, minute by minute occurrence! Most people who are brave enough cycle, do so with one foot either on the ground or ready to plant in case of a slippery spot, even the little scooter dudes who whiz past you on the bike path, sometimes nicking your handlebars, are reduced to driving slowly with both feet gliding along the street. That made me very happy! But for the most part it's just too beautiful to be grumpy. Even though I'd love a white Christmas, I'm hoping I get to my brother and sister-in-love in Switzerland safe and sound before any more flights are canceled or airports shut down.

Here's a little photo story of what happens when it snows on a Saturday and you have super nice neighbors with kids the same age as your dear friends.

babe

Yay! There's a new little babe around town! Just in time for Christmas.
Grant Pershing Nash is a sweetheart. He's Amanda and John's second which means I get a lot more opportunity to hold him and as you can tell here, I'm thrilled about that.