Earthquake

We just had an earthquake. I’m quite sure of it. Anyone else? Where was the epicentre?

Update: Yes, indeed. Epicentre 45 km NE of Ottawa, 4.0 on the Richter scale, according to the Edinburgh Earth Observatory, and 4.5 according to the Geological Survey of Canada here in Ottawa.

(A three-times-a-day event for you Californians, I know, but a little more noteworthy in these parts.)

Great Book!

George brought this book today, and one read was all it took to convince me I must get this book! I must also check out any other children’s book written by this man.

The story is basic: a little girl loses her bear, and her family expects her to find it herself!!! She employs a few entertaining strategies, but come bedtime, though she’s found any number of other lost items, the bear is still missing!

A true crisis, as I’m sure you can appreciate.

A few pictures to give you the flavour of the artistry:

Here, small girl searches fruitlessly in The Great Blue Void that is her home.

And here she approaches her older sister with all the tact and grace necessary to elicit the support of one’s sibling:

The pictures are terrific, the tale is lively, true-to-life and not at all patronizing. The kids loved the story, and I had my laugh-out-loud moments – though not in the exact same spots the kids were having their giggles. I can see myself happily reading this one over and over again. (Isn’t it nice when you want to read the book again as much as your child does? How often does that happen??)

I was so impressed, I had to find out more about the author. Turns out that Jules Feiffer is a Pulitzer-prize winning editorial cartoonist, playwrite, screenplay writer, as well as author of books. In addition to the Pulitzer, an Academy Award (for animated short), and a few more I don’t recognize. Not, I’m sure, because they’re obscure, but only because I’m not in the business.

And he writes great kids’ books, too.