Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Frogs in clogs on logs...

Juli and I are writing a "book" together.  No, not a book that anyone besides the two of us would want to read... except possibly her grandparents – got to love grandparents!  They’re always interested in what we are doing!  But this is a book that Juli can read and, well, was GOING to be illustrated by me, although I’m a terrible artist.  I’ve been fired as an illustrator, though.  Evidently, my talents lie elsewhere.  So my ORIGINAL idea was that I would write a few lines each school day and Juli would read them to me… and I would draw what Juli read.  
Not too complicated – today’s page had four sentences: “The cat sat on the mat.  The rat sat on the cat.  The bat sat on the rat.  The dog sat on the log.  The frog sat on the dog.”  Not great literature, to be sure, but since the main attraction for Juli is that she can read it and sound it out by herself, I didn’t dare get too fancy.  (And I wanted something that wasn’t too hard to draw, either.)  So as Juli read me the words, I drew the story.  We had fun with it.  But then we got to the frog.  Frogs are hard to draw!  And I, showing a remarkable lack of foresight, was drawing these little doodles in ink! 
“What do you think, Juli,” I asked, “Does that look like a frog to you?” 
Juli looked at it critically, “Not so much, Mama,” said my honest little girl.  “It doesn’t look so good.  But I’m sure you did your best.” 
<Sigh>  So we’ve decided that I will write the story and do my best to draw it as she reads, but she will read it again to Daddy tonight so he can make the actual picture to go in our "book."  I’d be insulted… but I’m really not.  Or, as Juli says, "Not so much." 
And tomorrow, perhaps I’ll write something about the frog we found living in my clog (which really did happen – now my clogs have been appropriated by Juli and put in the garden to make winter frog clog homes).  And maybe… that frog will go for a jog… in a bog!  (I think I’ll have more fun NOT having to illustrate this!)  Have fun drawing frogs in clogs, Neil!  :-) 

2 comments:

  1. Bethi---stickers are a wonderful way to illustrate these exciting books....Hallmark draws great frogs (and Diegos, and Doras and Pablos and Teddy bears and Baseball players and Dinosaurs...need I go on) I am also not blessed with artistic talent....and critical children!!!

    Christine

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  2. I thought that he was a rather cute little frog - um, or whatever he was.

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