Category: Living

Artistic Books for Kids

My friend Laura has a son a little younger than Hank and a gift for choosing children’s books with sweet messages and lovely illustrations. So with this new baby in the mix, I asked for her list of books for our home library. Every one I’ve bought has been amazing, so I asked her to share her list with you here. Thanks, Laura!

I’ve been meaning to put this list together for way too long. Here is the abridged version. I left out the more obvious choices – like Richard Scarry, Dr. Seuss, and all the mythology/fairy tale books. Those are all necessary and lovely, but those just show up.

I think I have a kid’s book addiction, I love them so much.

Must
Pemba Sherpa by Olga Cossi, Gary Bernard
Shadow by Suzy Lee
Who Will Comfort Toffle?: A Tale of Moomin Valley by Tove Jansson
In the Night Kitchen (Caldecott Collection) by Maurice Sendak
Flotsam (Caldecott Medal Book) by David Wiesner
The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by Dubose Heyward
In the Town All Year ‘Round by Rotraut Susanne Berner
A Giraffe and a Half by Shel Silverstein
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

Littles
Little Pea, Little Hoot, Little Oink by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
My Friends by Taro Gomi
Gossie by Olivier Dunrea
Alphablock by Christopher Franceschelli
Hippopposites by Janik Coat
Wave by Suzy Lee
Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees

Toddler
Adèle & Simon by Barbara McClintock
A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na (Author)
Otis by Loren Long (Author, Illustrator)
You Are Stardust by Elin Kelsey (Author), Soyeon Kim (Illustrator)
A Balloon for Blunderbuss by Alistair Reid (Author), Bob Gill (Illustrator)
The Girl Who Loved the Wind by Jane Yolen (Author), Ed Young (Illustrator)
The Water Dragon: A Chinese Legend – English and Chinese bilingual text by Li Jian
Animus by Seonna Hong and Shenne Hahn
Around the World with Mouk by Marc Boutavant
Ballad by Blexbolex
Mr. Wuffles! by David Wiesner
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett
I Know a Lot of Things by Ann Rand (Author), Paul Rand (Author, Illustrator)
House Held Up by Trees by Ted Kooser (Author), Jon Klassen (Illustrator)
The Funny Little Woman by Arlene Mosel (Author), Blair Lent (Author)
The Poems and Drawings of Shel Silverstein Box Set
The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

Bigs
The Red Balloon by Albert Lamorisse
The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman (Author), Bagram Ibatoulline (Illustrator)
Drawing from the City by Teju Behan
Ramayana: Divine Loophole by Sanjay Patel
A Street Through Time by Anne Millard and Steve Noon
Chi’s Sweet Home (11 Book Series) by Konami Kanata

Thanks again, Laura!

Kid Gift Idea: Trading Coins for Games

coinsforgames

Last year, I made Hank this fancy box with ten chocolate coins inside, and told him he could trade each one for a new iPad game (under $5, but he only ended up choosing free ones). When he traded it in, he also got to eat the chocolate. The gift lasted for six months, because he kept forgetting he had the coins and then remembering in a fit of ecstatic glory.

cointrade

This year, I got one of these <a href="http://Super Mario Bros. chocolate coin tins, because hilarious, and I’ll adjust the coins inside. If you have a tablet-obsessed kid, try it.

Gift Guide: Classic Gifts for Men

Beard oil, $50 boxers, a wooden carrier for a six pack — most men’s gift guides know as much about how men think as a Cosmo quiz.

These are the gifts I return to when I care about someone and I want to treat him well. Many of them indulge vices. Gifts should tell the people in your life that you like them how they are.

notstupidgiftsformen

Bacon of the Month Club, $145 for three months
Your dad does not care that bacon is a carcinogen. That man is out back sneaking a smoke as you read this. And if you’re not feeling this flush, get him an Adam’s Meat Rub, $6.

stanleyclassicflask

Stanley Classic Flask, $17
The flask that says, “I like whiskey, and I know how to pitch a tent.” That’s a perfect weekend right there.

thefold

The Fold Wallet by Leffot, $100 for the small, $125 for the large
He’s a simple guy with expensive taste.

round-ice-ball-maker

Tovolo Sphere Ice Molds – Set of 2, $9
Ice balls melt more slowly and look satisfying in the glass. Speaking of which.

galaxyrocks1

Badash Galaxy Rocks Glasses 4 pc Set, $40
Crystal glasses that feel heavy in hand. They aren’t cheap, but one of these plus a bottle of whatever he’s drinking makes a nice progressive gift. Make it a habit, and soon enough he’ll have a set.

bourbon
Booze
If the man in question drinks, investing in his bar is always a sound choice. Call first to ask whether he drinks, and then what he drinks, so you can surprise him with something interesting in that category.

peppersauce

Palo Alto Firefighters Pepper Sauce, $6 for 8 oz, $28 for a jug
Cowboy syrup. Palo Alto Firefighter Lee Taylor has been growing peppers in the fire station backyard since 1994. Savory with a bit of kick, really so damn good, and all the proceeds go to charity. Plus, where did you find this? You’re a genius.

pennybottleopener

Jack Dawes Custom Penny Bottle Opener, $50
I know this seems like a crazy price for a bottle opener, but it is one of the most perfect objects I own. The penny opens your bottle, and you can specify which year you want to commemorate a birthday or anniversary. It feels silky in your hands, and the hardwood has a magnet inside. So you can keep it on the fridge when you’re not using it, and it holds onto the bottle cap when you pop it off. Totemic.

imcolighter

Imco Windproof Petrol Lighter – Junior / Single Packing, $100
Windproof lighter, goes great with the flask. A cigar lighter is also a great gift for someone about to have a baby, eh? If you’re game for a slightly less James Bond choice, the Lotus 47 Intrepid Red Cigar Lighter L4730 is only $49.

frenchoven

Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 5-1/2-Quart Round French (Dutch) Oven, Cherry, $300
He likes to cook, and he especially likes to cook meat. This heirloom quality French Oven will remind the kids of his Sunday dinners when it’s their turn to cook with it.

nytimes

Sunday New York Times Subscription, $6/wk.
Once a week, a real, live newspaper. One that smells like the morning air and protects the dining room table from damage when he’s gluing something back together. If you know where he gets his coffee, pick some up to package with a paper. Nice gesture.

As always, let us know in comments if you have a go-to guy gift.

I’m updating a bunch of my gift guides, with fresh links and product replacements for things that have disappeared. This originally appeared as My Favorite Classic Gifts for Men.

Dying Alone

Did you read The Lonely Death of George Bell in the NYT? This quote from a guy who cleans out the apartments of people who die alone stuck with me:

This job teaches you a lot. You learn whatever material stuff you have you should use it and share it. Share yourself. People die with nobody to talk to. They die and relatives come out of the woodwork. ‘He was my uncle. He was my cousin. Give me what he had.’ Gimme, gimme. Yet when he was alive they never visited, never knew the person. From working in this office, my life changed.

Feed Yourself

10mindinner

I never learned cooking basics, so I’ve relied on recipes for most of my life. You want a grilled cheese sandwich? Let me pull my recipe card. Crap. We don’t have any basil.

Anyway, I finally figured out how to make simple, healthy dinners with prep time under 10 minutes. The below links aren’t recipes so much as skills I failed to acquire from my mom. Apologies if this is derp to you, but I keep coming back to these links, so I’m just putting them all here.

There are a LOT of words on those pages, so my cliff notes versions are below the links. For all of these, line your baking pan with aluminum foil so you can just throw the mess in the garbage and you don’t have to scrub the pan.

How to Bake Salmon from Better Homes and Gardens
Preheat your oven to 450. Salt and pepper the fish on both sides. Bake 8-15 minutes. It’s done when it’s “flaky and opaque,” i.e. you can flake bits off with a fork, and it doesn’t look raw inside. There’s probably a YouTube video somewhere if you feel hesitant.

Baked Chicken Breasts from Gimme Some Oven
I skip the brining, but you do you. Preheat to 450. Rub oil on the chicken, wash hands. Season both sides with salt, pepper, and maybe one other spice (parika, rosemary, thyme are good). Wash your hands again, raw chicken is like slimy poison. Wonder why we eat this. Bake 15 minutes.

Perfect Pork Tenderloin from Food.com
Preheat to 500. Before you throw it out, check the meat wrapper to see how much your tenderloin weighs. Season tenderloin with salt and pepper, maybe some mustard if you’re into that. Bake exactly 5.5 minutes per pound.

While the meat is baking, I steam a veggie, and dress some mixed greens. Bam! Food.

If you have ten-minute prep meals, please tell us. All of us are hungry.

Advent Grab Bags Are Pretty Fun

** SOLD OUT ** See you next year!

mightygirladvent

Making happy things! For happy fun times!

Advent Grab Bags are ready to order. The kit is a tiny Santa bag with a blindfold included. Every night, you or your kiddo can reach in for something that will make you nostalgic for your childhood.

Parents, this means you will not have to drive to three different stores to find toys that don’t have licensed cartoon characters on them. Big kids, you will not have to buy a dozen wishing fish just to get one for your significant other. Merry Christmas.

This year 20 percent of proceeds go to IntraHealth International. We hope to donate enough for a one-year training scholarship for two nurses. Those nurses go to a community that doesn’t have enough access to health workers, and then people can get better when they get sick. Ideal.

We only made 100, and unless demand is unexpectedly intense from the get-go, that’s all we’ll have time to make. So if you think you want one, get one! They are super fun.

Order Your Advent Grab Bag
Ages 4 and up
$35, plus shipping
20% of profits support IntraHealth (Hooray!)