In Search Of The Not so mushy, gushy, Valentine's Day

If it's corny, mushy than it's made for Saint Valentine's Day, right?    It's all about the cute little cupids,  the frilly hearts that say I luv you and every nauseating thing that comes to mind.   Today is not the day to quibble over little things such as defining love or was there really a Saint Valentine?  Nope, the is not the purpose of this day.   The whole idea of this holiday is to receive or send a note as  an expression of one's love for another.  Is it true love?  Is it the eternal love that never ends?  Sometimes, but it doesn't have to be.  Besides, those notes of undying love are tales for another time and other books.  

This holiday can be fun for the young not so serious or ready for lovey, mushy stuff. it can be a holiday that is the exact opposite of serious love.  What would that be?  The funny, punny silly kind of love.  The type that two friends share and giggle over the same jokes because they see eye to eye on everything.  Well, almost everything.    There will always be a time and place for the serious love books like Guess How Much I Love You that reassures little ones of the unconditional love of a parent.   Make room for the silly titles that will make everyone smile brighter.

The perfect, silly, and wonderful anti-Valentine's book   A Crankenstein Valentine by  Samantha Berger and illustrated by Dan Santat is highly recommended for children of all ages.    This book is cute, without being nauseating.  The tale is about Crankenstein who says YECH to everything from roses to the Valentine's Day Play, which no one asked if he wanted to be in it.  If he had his choice, the play would  go on but without HIM!   The only thing that could possibly make this day "okay" is finding  a friend who feels the exact same way that he does about this nauseating, PU holiday.  Just for added clarification,  add an EWWWWW to that and it would complete how utterly awful this day is to Crankenstein.  Fortunately for him  the next Valentine's day  is only 364 days away.

The author illustrated match up here is perfect.  It should be a sure hit with cranky little cupids who hate February 14th.  This tale leads perfectly to writing creative little anti-Valentine's that are not too mean but let's off a bit of steam.  Make heart shape valentines with construction paper color of one's choice, even black if that is so desired.  Then  pen a little poem like ...

Rose are Red,
this is true
But Violets are a hue
of purple not blue
This may  sound unkind,
me thinks you are color blind

Roses Are Red,
My socks are blue
they really are stinky
would you like to smell them too?

The possibilities are endless and the funny bone should be tickled at least once or twice during while creating the perfect "letting off steam" Valentine.   There are other titles that can make the anti-Valentine's day special such as  The Man who Stretched Valentine's Day by Watler Hoffman or This Is Not A Valentine by Carter Higgins.  Perhaps, going old school is the best place to start.  This may be the very first children's valentine book (at least it was my first as a kid)  Charles Schulz classic It's Valentine's Day Charlie Brown.   Although it has a happy ending,  everyone can relate to hoping for that one Valentine's day card from that special person.   It just may be that Crankenstein was looking for that perfect Valentine from the one who understood him best! Lucky for him, he got a cranky Valentine too!  Here's hoping that a cranky valentine finds a way into your holiday and brightens the day!

Passionate For the Stories

This is the first major sports week of 2018.   The combination of the Super Bowl and the  Winter Olympics must  seems like a heaven for sports fanatics.  Mixed in with a little basketball and NHL hockey, there will be something to watch every night for at least the next couple of weeks.    Sports utopia?  In a way it is but these sporting events are not just for the enthusiast.  Even those who don’t follow sports that closely will turn in from time to time.  Why?  As all librarians know, everyone loves a good story.  Sports has it all.   The action.  The drama.  The excitement.  The crushing defeats and rise to victory.   Who needs reality Television shows when sports was the original in bringing real life, unscripted  action to audiences around the world.   It’s all good.  

Some of the most powerful and inspirational stories of facing adversity and winning against all odds come out of the Olympics.   It seems that at every Olympic there has been  at least one story of the underdog seizing the gold medal.  This is the one place where  the “amateurs “ get to play and showcase their talents before a world wide audience.     What is an amateur really?  These athletes by every other definition would be considered professionals.  They train everyday.  They abide by strict daily regiments to improve their skills.    They abide by rules and regulations set forth by the Olympic organization.   They represent the country as being the best of the best in their chosen sport.   To be an Olympian is to join an elite club of athletes.  Only a few are chosen to compete in the Olympics but many have the dream to achieve that level only to have failed in making the grade. It  is an honor and a privilege that belongs to a few chosen.  So how is it that we still look upon them as “amateurs”?  Technically that is what they are suppose to be but in reality, their names should be changed to achievers.

The “stories”  of the athletes that captures the attention and it is a single common thread that  every athlete shares, whether they are amateurs or professionals.  What is that thread that binds them together and makes each of their story compelling?  Simply put, it is a courageous passion.  These athletes found something that drives them, that consumes their every moment and every step forward brings them closer to their dreams of gold or championship rings.     It is in essence their passion.  When they win the medals or rings what the audience sees is that one moment when everything comes together.  What the athletes and their coaches see were the many practices, trials and tribulations that brought them to where they are now.  Great stories of passion rarely take a day in the making.  It is more likely that it was days, weeks if not years before the athletes see the fruits of their labors.  That takes faith.  That takes perseverance.   The agony of defeat is not a pretty sight for anyone.  When athletes  lose, the blows are felt by the audiences as well.  Hopes and dreams are shattered but not for long.  Not for the true competitor.  For their passion won’t let them rest until they have that medal around their neck or the ring on their finger.   Athlete or not, most are familiar with  what it is like to work hard,  devote time and energy to one cause, come so far and walk away empty handed.  It is not a good feeling.  The inspiring stories rise for the losses as well as the wins.  There is something to be learned from both situations.

Books about sports capture the good, the bad and the so-so moments that make an athlete a legend.  A moment in time has been captured and if the story is told well, the reader can hear the roar of the crowd, the swish of the snow, or the puck clinking against the goal posts.  These stories bring the book nerd and jocks together as much as watching the game together does.  They teach the readers what it means to follow a passion no matter how impossible it may seem.  Sports stories, particularly ones that showcase an underdog, are great reminders that settling for average is not acceptable when there’s a possibilities that gold is just at the end of the rainbow.  

Libraries are the sports arena of the mind. Books are the exercise machines that help stretch the mind.  It may sound a bit dramatic or over the top  to say this, but it is absolutely true. One of the best place to begin searching and cultivating a passion is at the library.  The books and information are in abundance whether looking up sports, fiction or non-fiction.  Dreams are made of ideas that have turned into something tangible.   It’s true that not every person will pick up a book about ice skating and then become the best in the world just by reading the book.  It does help with the motivation to get started on working towards a dream.  On a side note,  there are athletes who use  novels as away to escape the everyday pressures of professional sports.  Don’t think this is true?  Ask LaBron James of the Miami Heat basketball team.  Sounds like he has something in common with book nerds.  Might be the only thing in common but it’s better than nothing.

Passions are very hard to explain.  Once something gets under the skin and into the heart it is hard to shake it off.  Everyone should be bitten at least once in their life by a passion that drives them.  For some it is soaring down an icy slope head first, face inches away from danger and the thrill of crossing the finish line in record time.   For others, it’s catching a ball and running to the end zone to make the touchdown of a lifetime.  Still for regular folks, who aren’t not amateur or professional athletes, their passion lies in what some might call everyday ordinary stuff.  Like working  daily advocating for libraries, large and small.  This is a vastly different  arena than what athletes perform in each day.  In this particular arena, the crowd doesn’t go wild unless it’s Terrific Thursday Story Hour.  There are no gold medals to collect or Super Bowl rings to win but there is the satisfaction knowing that on some days the gold medal moment is when a life has been touched by a book that was shared.

Enjoy this week in sports.  We can’t wait to hear what great stories com