This is authentic - "

A book and a barrette

borrowers by mary norton

My aunt, who has rescued countless books from her local public schools’ discard bin, gave us this book several years ago and it’s been in regular rotation ever since.

Just a quick post to give a shout out to two items that are getting quite a bit of air time in our universe these days. Either one would make a good kids gift, what with Hanukkah bearing down on us and Christmas hot on its heels. My “official” (whatever that means) gift guide posts aren’t starting till next week, but I figured I may as well toss a coupe of things into the fray early.

First up, The Borrowers, the classic novel by Mary Norton chronicling the story of a family of tiny people who live under the floorboards of a big old house in the English countryside. We are currently reading this for the third time. The idea that there might be little people nicking our safety pins is almost too exciting for my daughter to bear, and I can’t imagine that she’s alone here.

I especially love our 1953 edition, because the line drawings (by Beth and Joe Krush) are so compelling. Plus I’m a big fan of buying books second hand whenever you can, and this one isn’t particularly rare or expensive.

Oh and then, once you’ve read the original version, check out The Secret World of Arrietty, a beautiful film from Studio Gibli (the folks who gave us Ponyo and Spirited Away) that takes the story and twists and expands it in a way that is entirely satisfying, true to the original spirit and lovely to watch. It was a children’s movie that I was actually excited to go see in the theater. And how often does that happen?

isabel et toi hair bow

Nothing puts a smile on a girly girl’s face like a big bow.

My daughter has pretty wide ranging taste… she loves scooters, star wars and digging for worms in the garden… but all activities must be done with as girly a dress as she can possibly get her hands on. Which can be hard for her mom who, while known to love a skirt and heels for herself, is not so into sparkles, lace and bows.

But they say you have to let them be their own people.

And I respect that. I swear. But if she’s going to wear big old bows in her hair, at least let them look like this one (by Isabel et Toi) that we found during a recent visit to our all time favorite kids store, Sweet William. You can order them online too, if you don’t happen to live in Williamsburg or lower Manhattan.

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