Prosciutto e uova verdi: Green Eggs and Ham in Italian

DR. SEUSS' BIRTHDAY

March 2 is also Texas Independence Day (as I discovered when I attempted to return books to the closed public library) but nothing in schools, not Valentine's Day nor Christmas nor the last day of school, nothing beats out the week of Dr. Seuss' Birthday for pulling out all the stops in schools. At our school, teachers read a Dr. Seuss book each day to their classes. There were dress-up days each day ("Wear a Hat Day" for The Cat in the Hat and "Wear Green" for Green Eggs and Ham, and more). Green eggs and ham was served in the cafeteria on Friday. Celebrity readers came to the school (think: city officials, school district staff, firefighters, high school cheerleaders and football players, and more) for Friday's Read Across America Day.

I spent the week reading some Lesser-Known Seusses. I read Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now as well as Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo (this one, along with The Cat in the Hat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Green Eggs and Ham, made the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read). I paid particular attention this week to the expressions on children's faces as I read. They could not help themselves; they were rapt, they were smiling, All-Eyes-on-the-Speaker without a single reminder. That's the magic of Seuss. It was a fabulous week of reading.

Of course I'm all up for All Things Italian right now, with our May 24th departure to Italy date edging closer and closer:

I love Huevos verdes con jamón (Spanish) so I was pretty sure (I was right) I'd love this jewel in Italian, too. The reader seems to be my Italian counterpart.

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS WEEK

I'm still reading Italian Folktales and Italian Days. They are both wonderful books. They are both huge books. I love wonderful books. Huge books? If they are wonderful and huge, yes. I'm in the last two hundred pages of both, so maybe I'll make a big push and finish them both this weekend.

WHAT ARRIVED THIS WEEK

It's not every week that I get in books that are perfectly suited to my quirky tastes as a reader, but this week I did. 

Board book Up, Down & Other Opposites with its typical board-book-bland-ish cover will be a book you will overlook if you miss the line underneath the title: With Ellsworth Kelly. This is another in the series of board books from Phaidon called First Concepts with Fine Artists. It's a simple intro to opposites using art from one of the world's most respected abstract artists, and it's perfect for young children as both an introduction to opposites and an introduction to art. I love this book, and I will seek out more of this series.

Zen Camera is a book I want to linger over, so I will not say too much about it (as is only right with a book that includes the powerful and amazing word "Zen" in its title). I will tell you that the subtitle is Creative Awakening with a Daily Practice in Photography. Isn't that lovely? The title and subtitle alone make me want to turn off my computer and head out in the world with this book and my camera today, and that's not something I easily do. I think I will, though. See you on down the road. Look for a New Person here soon, a Person Who Has Been Creatively Awakened. 

What are you reading today?

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 

 It is now being hosted here.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is now being hosted at The Book Date.