Make Your Own Celebrations?
When my girls were young, I loved to read them the book I’m in Charge of Celebrations, by Byrd Baylor, illustrated by Peter Parnall.
Maybe it was that book, along with Castle, that encouraged my older daughter in the belief that line art can do more than sit in a sketchbook. It can entertain, encourage, inform, and inspire. My daughter reveled in line art then. And she does now. (Here’s her “studio,” where line art often rules >>>
Parnall’s line art has a hopeful, graceful line with an uplift that carries you with it. You just want to revel in the day and get caught up in Baylor’s idea that the most unusual things can be celebrated. Among Baylor’s unusual celebrations are…
• Green Cloud Day
• Dust Devil Day
• Coyote Day
• The Time of the Falling Stars
Celebrating is part of poetry’s heart. So, we’re in, Byrd Baylor.
Try It: I’m in Charge of Celebrations
Make an unusual or even a mundane experience into a celebration. Put it in a poem. Bonus if you add a little line art!
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Renee says
Love line art. Byrd Baylor books are wonderful! Yes we need more celebrations for all the wonder and awe our world shares.
L.L. Barkat says
Renee, do you have a favorite Byrd Baylor book? 🙂 (And what celebration might you make up today? 🙂 )
bethany says
The video is charming and adorable. And thank you for introducing me to this book. Wonder abounds
L.L. Barkat says
Isn’t it? 🙂
Yes, a wonderful book. I reread it to the girls after dinner the other night. (Because I was thinking… why should I have stopped reading this book to them just because they aren’t little anymore? 🙂 )
Sandra Heska King says
What a sweet video!
Also, I love this line:
“Celebrating is part of poetry’s heart.”
L.L. Barkat says
And you are right in the heart of poetry, Sandra. Yay! 🙂
I thought the video was so cute and fun. Glad you liked.