Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I considered blogging about something controversial tonight; it’s possible I still might in the future, but I can’t bring myself to go there right now.  My baby girl is cutting her two bottom teeth while battling an unpleasant cold and sporting chapped, eczema-y cheeks that make me wince whenever I look at them, which adds up to still not very much sleep for me.  Controversy is best tackled when reasonably well-rested.

And that, my friends, is why I’m eschewing it tonight (thanks to Mr. Lenihan, may he rest in peace) in favor of grammar, which is what Cece Bell’s I Yam a Donkey is about (more or less).  This cautionary tale features a grammatically-challenged donkey and a pedantic yam, whose obsessive focus on correct grammar proves myopic in the end.  (Now I just can’t help it.  And really, the yam does serve as a bellwether of sorts…)  The first Amazon review listed accuses Bell of continuing the joke for too long; I can appreciate where the reviewer is coming from, but I think the twist at the end begs for a long lead-in.  I laughed out loud at the unexpectedness of it and my girlies enjoyed it as well–which is, of course, the consummation devoutly to be wished for by any children’s author worth his or her salt. (Kudos to Mrs. Mumford for that one–may she also ever rest in peace.)

Fellow grammar sticklers–you really ought to buy this one.