poems sung

I believe it was MacDonald who said that poems should be sung. I am coming to realize this point. My 2nd youngest daughter (or 4th born if you will) was not entirely ready to go to sleep tonight. I was priveledged to hold her in my arms as I rocked her to sleepiness (I can rarely last long enough for her to go to sleep).

I sang to her. I couldn't even tell you what I sang. I know it was about her prettiness in comparison to the moon. It was beautiful in the moment, and inspired by MacDonald. See I had just finished reading The Princess and Curdie to the other kids. The moment was absolutely wonderful. I sat there rocking like that of a metronome. She lay in my arms not as a child, but as an infant. There are few things as precious as holding an infant. They have no choice but to relax and just lay in your arms. I miss that as my children grow older. This was one of those moments though. She lay in my arms. She was basking in the seranade of the moon. She lay in my arms as an infant. Limp and warm. My heart sank as it filled with affection for the precious moment.

songs

I started reading Lewis to my children some time ago. I have been reading MacDonald to them for less than a year. Growing up, I despised reading, and probably read only 4-5 books total. It wasn't until I started reading to my children that I found I love to read. I am taking the same journey through literature that my children are taking. Obviously my mind is more capable of understanding abstract thought, but I have found that children understand more than we give them credit.

Lewis wrote in his preface to George MacDonald: An Anthology, "I have never concealed the fact that I regarded him as my master; indeed I fancy I have never written a book in which I did not quote from him."

As I read MacDonald to my children, I see Lewis in most ever word I read. More correctly stated, I see MacDonald in my every memory of The Chronicles of Narnia.

The second book I read by MacDonald was At the Back of North Wind. I learned what a great writed MacDonald was from this book. He gives great depth into who God is in the simplest description. I really did not put two and two together until I read The Princess and the Goblin.

MacDonald speaks of songs in a beautiful manner. He provides the most beautiful circumstance with the most majestic song. Only later the song is forgotten. From that time forward various events occur that shed a memory of the song, but the words are always out of reach. This provides the elation of the original circumstance.

As I was saying... the non-traditionalist's open with The Magician's Nephew, and so will I (not because I am a non-traditionalist, but because it serves my point). What is the very first thing we find in Narnia? (insert jeopardy think music) That's right... a song. I now understand that this song was inspired by MacDonald. I enjoyed Aslan's song heard by Polly, but it does not compare to the songs heard by Diamond or Curdie. Lewis never returns to the comfort Polly has from the song. Perhaps this is because this was one of the last stories written.

return of the squib

Well.... It's about time. I've really wanted to do this, but just have not had the discipline. I have recently been inspired by Dr. Van Neste. His blog The Children's Hour is dedicated to books for children. As I love to read to my children as well as tell stories, I am going to co-mingle these subjects.

I have recently been read my children George MacDonald. I have come to love MacDonald like Lewis, Tolkein, Chesterton and others. So far, the most beautiful words I have ever read were in The Princess and the Goblins. We are currently reading The Princess and Curdie. I started reading At the Back of Northwind to the children, but I got more interested in the book than I had time to read to them. We will be going back to that soon.

Either way, I am back, and I will be reviewing books. I will most likely be reviewing MacDonald by significant statements (and there are tons of them). You will see me quote him often.

Joi - Sorry it took so long to publish this babe.

Opening Remarks

Well, my beautiful wife Joi has been doing one of these blog things for some time... I have wanted to do one, but found no reason to do one for myself. I have little to say that is important to anyone that I did not hear someone else say or read from someone else's hand.

The other day, I took my family to the International Goat Days Festival in Millington, TN. I was telling a story of a prior year when my daughters and I rode the stage coach with some other children. I am a fairly animated character, and I love to play with my children. One of the things I do fairly well is get the kids into stories. This particular time, the other children on the stage coach were full of realism, and couldn't imagine us going to Silver City (where my children and I were going). Along the way, we passed through injun country. This was the campground where the boyscouts were spending the night. By the time we made it to Silver City, the rest of the children were on board with the story. As I was retelling the story, I realized parents might need something to jump start their story telling.

This blog is my contribution to you parents telling stories to your children. Reading is great, but we need to do more. Read books with excitement and character voices. Pick a book and just go through it making up a story based on the pictures and without reading a word. Tell stories and have the kids fill in the blanks. Dress up as characters, and act out a story. There are a lot of techniques to telling stories, and most of them are great. If you wouldn't feel embarassed in front of your friends telling one of your stories, then they could probably be a lot better.

My stories come from real life experience and other peoples imaginations (mainly from books we have read, movies, and just about anything else). Whatever you do, don't just read my stories to your children. Animate it, but don't just read it.

My children beg for us to tell my little pony and jimmy joe bob stories all the time. We have other stories, but these are our main story lines. If you come back, you will learn more about these stories and others. I will be contributing the techniques we use to intrigue our children so that you can make your children salivate for more.

Lastly, this is something that passes along. I can testify to this in the short term. My oldest is only 6 right now, but she has already developed a Sissy and Sassy storyline for my mother and sisters dogs.