How to Appreciate Flannery O'Connor: 7 Tips for Catholic Readers

When I was a senior in high school, I opted out of taking AP English and instead took a course on short stories. I was assigned many stories to read during that semester, including "Good Country People" by Flannery O'Connor. My father had spoken to me of Flannery O'Connor many times during my teen years, citing her faithfulness as a Catholic and her talent as a writer as reasons I might admire her. When I read this story, though, the thing that struck me the most was how completely funny it was. In that story, O'Connor demonstrates a deep understanding of the annoying quirks of small-town people and the way in which sour know-it-alls can sometimes receive their comeuppance simply as a result of their own behavior. I was a cynical seventeen-year-old, and the surprise humor of the story's twist ending really resonated with me.

Four years later, I was a reluctant English major at the end of my college career seeking a thesis topic. I read a few articles suggesting that it was perfectly possible - and indeed, even preferable - to read Flannery O'Connor without any regard for her faith. I was so irritated by this argument that it became the focus of my thesis. I read one of O'Connor's novels, Wise Blood, as well as several O'Connor short stories, and analyzed them to prove how central the Catholic faith was to O'Connor's writing, and how foolish it would be to view her work through any other lens. I was a terrible English major, completely opposed to literary analysis of any kind and frequently annoyed by my inability to see symbolism and other literary devices where others found them quite easily. But because of my own Catholic beliefs, I was able to see things in O'Connor's work that I couldn't see in other works, and I wrote the only academic piece of my college career that I enjoyed writing and that I thought was any good.

There are still many Flannery O'Connor stories I have never read, and there is much about her life I don't know, so I'm far from an expert, but I am enough of a fan that I feel qualified to make a case for reading her work. I know a lot of people find her difficult to stomach, or to understand, but I hate to see potential readers give up on her without finding something to appreciate in her sense of humor, her worldview, and her staunch Catholic faith. So, in the interest of helping O'Connor to find more fans, here are my seven tips for appreciating her work.

Don't try too hard to understand everything. 

I think the biggest favor you can do for yourself when you first  start reading O'Connor is to not read too much into anything. Most Catholics know that O'Connor was a faithful Catholic and that her stories are meant to reflect this worldview, and I think some have a tendency to scour every story looking for a straightforward moral or lesson. O'Connor's writing, however, is more nuanced than that. Her stories have a definite worldview founded in her own morality, but it is often subtle, couched in an entertaining story about the flaws of human nature. If you try to make sense of every word and seek to find the symbolism behind every character, event, and bit of dialogue, you will make yourself crazy, and you will completely miss the forest for the trees.

Don't expect to find perfect allegories. 

It's also a mistake to expect a Flannery O'Connor story to be a perfect allegory of any Biblical event or Catholic tradition. There are allusions to the Bible in many of her stories, but none so elaborate that they consume the whole work. Her stories hint at Biblical truth, and they have a Catholic point of view, but often nothing in the story is explicitly Biblical or Catholic, and seeking that kind of one-to-one correlation where everything in the story represents something else is an exercise in futility.

Sympathize with O'Connor, not with her characters.

O'Connor's stories are unusual in that you're not really meant to get inside her characters' heads and get to know them. Rather, your sympathy is meant to lie with the author and her point of view, and observing her characters' behavior is how you gain insight into what that point of view is. Each story is a meditation on bad human behavior, often perpetrated by people you would never want to spend time with in real life. They are not likable, and you're not meant to like them. Instead, they are meant to illustrate for you what O'Connor recognizes as the non-Catholic world's ills and the consequences of those problems. In these stories, you are very much laughing at these characters, not with them.

Look for moments of grace. 

Flannery O'Connor once wrote, "All my stories are about the action of grace on a character who is not very willing to support it, but most people think of these stories as hard, hopeless and brutal." It is true that there are a lot of disturbing, violent, and unsettling moments in O'Connor's works, and without the proper context, they can seem gratuitous. But O'Connor points out: "I have found that violence is strangely capable of returning my characters to reality and preparing them to accept their moment of grace. Their heads are so hard that almost nothing else will work." These "moments of grace" that O'Connor gives to her characters are only as violent and disturbing as her characters are stubborn. And once you begin to look for the moment at which each of her characters loses everything and therefore must turn to the truth because it's all that's left, her work begins to make more sense. (Catholic Education Resource Center has a great piece about "mean" grace in O'Connor's work that is worth a read.)

Don't read one work in isolation.

O'Connor's work also makes more sense the more you read of it. One story on its own is only a small piece in the puzzle of the larger worldview O'Connor puts forth in her entire body of work. Read in collections, or even just in pairs, these stories begin to help each other make sense. If you've only read one Flannery O'Connor story and you didn't like it, it might be that you haven't had a sufficient taste of her writing to understand what it's all about. There are also some stories that are less straightforward than others and disliking one doesn't mean you will dislike them all. 

Consider O'Connor's intended audience. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that Flannery O'Connor was not really writing stories for the sole enjoyment of Catholics. Rather, she was primarily writing stories for an American South that she saw as enemy-occupied territory, filled with people who didn't really know Jesus Christ, and who often rejected the truths of Christianity for their own convenience. Her writing was an odd form of evangelization, filled with grotesque characters whose experiences were exaggerated in order to make unsympathetic readers understand the error of their ways. She used dark Southern gothic humor to tell her stories because she knew her audience would understand it, and that if she spoke to them in terms they understood, they might be more likely to listen to her message.

Read some of O'Connor's essays and letters.

Finally, if nothing else, I  recommend reading O'Connor's other writings, published in The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor and Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose, as well as in her Collected Works. Even if you have read none of her fiction, the Catholic reader can still find much to latch onto in her writings about being a Catholic writer in the Protestant south. I also find that once you get to know O'Connor as a person in her essays, speeches, and letters, you are better prepared to make sense of her fiction. And even if you don't come to appreciate her fiction, you can still gain an understanding of why so many Catholics feel a kinship to her.

Are you a Flannery O'Connor fan? What advice do you have for readers who struggle with her work? 

I'm linking up today with Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum for Seven Quick Takes. 

Seven Quick Takes: Netflix's The Keepers

Back in May, Netflix released a new true crime series, The Keepers, which ostensibly focuses on an amateur investigation by former Catholic school students into the unsolved murder of a young nun, Sister Cathy Cesnik, who was their teacher at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore in the 1960s. Because of the connection to Maryland, where I live, and the connection to the Catholic faith, which I practice, I decided to watch the documentary when I first heard about it. Almost immediately after I started watching, however, I felt uncertain that I should continue. While the film does show the efforts made to solve Sister Cathy's murder, it also dwells quite a bit on a sex abuse scandal at Archbishop Keough High School that may or may not be connected to the murder itself. Because of the darkness of the content and my concerns over the treatment of the Church by the filmmakers , it took me nearly two months to finish the 7 episodes of the series. Now that I have seen the whole thing, I'm still not sure what I think, but I've compiled a list of my observations about the documentary, in the hopes that they might help others decide whether or not watch.

1. The Keepers inspires sympathy for sex abuse victims.

First, I'd like to say that I do think it is important for Catholics to understand the impact of the sex abuse scandal on the individuals, families, and communities who were victimized by clergy. The first-person accounts of what happened to these young girls at Keough are deeply disturbing to me, and though I was always disappointed in the Church for its poor handling of abusers, I have a new appreciation for how distressing it was for young women to be preyed upon by men who used their positions as priests in order to commit acts of great evil. It is, of course, true that priests are no more likely to abuse children than any other man in any other position, and it is important to me that Catholics continue to defend themselves against the idea that all priests are pedophiles. Still, sometimes I think we can become so defensive over our culture's hatred toward our Church that we turn a blind eye to the real pain of real people. In that respect, this film is eye-opening and powerful.

2. The Keepers spends a lot of time on the sex abuse scandal. 

Despite my feelings of sympathy for the victims, I did notice that this documentary dwells heavily on the abuse scandal, to the point that it feels a little like a bait and switch. For several episodes, the murder takes a backseat to the details of attacks on these young girls, and it begins to feel like one is watching an expose about the sex abuse scandal and not a murder investigation at all. Obviously, the women who are investigating Sister Cathy's murder have a theory of the crime in which Sister Cathy was killed because she knew about sex abuse taking place in the school, so it does make sense to explore all the evidence they can find. But I did question whether the filmmakers chose to include so much about it because they knew it would appeal to our culture's desire to condemn the Church. Obviously, these girls were really abused, and the Church is responsible for that, but there was so much detail about each attack that after a while I started to feel really uncomfortable.

3. The individuals who appear in The Keepers all seem to be former Catholics.

When I first became interested in watching this series, I think I expected more practicing Catholics to be involved in the investigation. Instead, it seems that every abuse victim, every priest, and every nun who was interviewed for the film has left the Church. I am not necessarily surprised that someone who was abused would have a hard time remaining Catholic after enduring such trauma, but the prevalence of ex-Catholics and the complete absence of any outwardly practicing Catholics gives the series a subtle bias that bothers me. I feel like it contributes to an idea in our culture that Catholicism is something one outgrows, or gets over. Certainly someone who hates the church prior to watching The Keepers would not be challenged in that position at all as the series progresses.

4. The Keepers routinely avoids calling clergy and religious by their titles.

I have always been kind of a stickler about capitalizing pronouns that refer to God and properly addressing nuns, priests, and bishops using their correct titles and greetings. So it bothered me when I realized that the filmmakers and investigators associated with The Keepers routinely refer to clergy and religious by just their first or last names without regard for their proper titles. In some instances, it makes sense, because the individuals in question are no longer sisters or priests, but there were other situations where it felt that their titles were being omitted to distance the individuals from the Church and to demonstrate an unwillingness on the part of the filmmakers to respect the priesthood or sisterhood. I readily admit that I was looking for red flags, and it is very possible I am reading too much into this particular observation, but it happened often enough that it felt intentional.

5. The Keepers speculates a lot of about Sister Cathy's commitment to her calling.

Initially, I thought that Sister Cathy was going to be the one Catholic in the film to represent what the Church actually teaches, and to fulfill her role as a nun without a hint of scandal. Sadly, there are large sections of certain episodes that pore over Sister Cathy's personal letters and quote sections where she expresses doubts about her final vows and a possible desire to  marry a man (a priest, actually) rather than go on living as a nun. I think these can be interpreted as the last-minute questions any young person asks herself before making a lifelong commitment, but the film avoids commenting to this effect, leaving the impression that Sister Cathy didn't take her calling to be a nun seriously, and further perpetuating the idea that the Church is an institution which one leaves when one eventually comes to one's senses. 

6. The Keepers does not allow the Archdiocese of Baltimore to defend itself adequately. 

As I watched each episode, and the evidence mounted against certain priests and against the Archdiocese as a whole, I kept waiting for the moment when the Archdiocese would have an opportunity to defend itself.  When this moment finally did come, however, it was a let-down. The Archdiocese was only willing to submit answers to questions in writing, rather than having a representative appear on camera. When the written answers are shared with various interview subjects, these subjects invariably accuse the Archdiocese of lying. Since we have only the responses to the select few questions Archdiocese representatives were asked, and no follow-up questions to clarify anything or refute the claims of the interviewees, the reader is left with the impression that the Archdiocese lied in the '60s and continues to lie to protect itself now. Maybe this is true - and if so, the Archdiocese should be taken to task for concealing the truth - but it seems to me that there is more to the story that was purposely left out because it might paint the Church in a positive light. At the very least, I think the filmmakers could have asked many more nuanced and probing questions than they did. In its own FAQ about the case, the Archdiocese states that "The Archdiocese offered on several occasions to answer any and all questions for the production and, in fact, provided written responses to questions from producers of the series. Unfortunately, the producers asked very few questions of the Archdiocese before releasing the series and did not respond to the Archdiocese’s request to receive an advanced copy of the series." It strikes me as irresponsibly one-sided to let the opinion of a small number of interview subjects be the final word about the Church's role (if it had one) in the death of Sister Cathy, especially when it seems the Archdiocese was open to answering more questions.

7. The research presented in The Keepers is impressive.

Even with all my quibbles about the treatment of the church, I think what kept me watching the series was the impressive amount of research Sister Cathy's former students have been able to accomplish. The Keough alumnae responsible for the grassroots effort to find Sister Cathy's killer have truly left no stone unturned, and seeing their organizational methods, the charts and stacks of paper, and their boldness in making phone calls and visits to strangers really appealed to the side of me that studied library science and enjoys Sue Grafton novels. Whatever the attitude of the filmmakers, I feel that these women were in every way dedicated to finding justice for their beloved teacher, and that their only bias is in favor of the truth, whatever that may turn out to be.

Seven Quick Takes is hosted weekly by This Ain't the Lyceum. 

7 Quick Takes: The Quotable Little Miss Muffet Volume 2

As we head into this holiday weekend, I thought it was a good time to share some more quotable quotes from Little Miss Muffet, who is about to be three-and-a-half.

Music Appreciation 

"Beethoven? I've never heard of him. I've only heard of Mozart."

My husband has always played classical music on the stereo for both girls, especially in the afternoons when they are restless. I'm sure Miss Muffet has heard Beethoven before, but Mozart apparently made the greater impression. Either way, her saying this made me think of Schroeder from Peanuts.

An Interesting Simile 

"That shoe looks like a baby's face." 

She said this out of the blue when we were getting to ready to go out one day. When asked why, she said, "Because it's smooshed a little." 

At least she's prepared for a smooshy-looking newborn. 

On Stay-at-Home Parenting

"Do you ever work, Mama?"

When I explained to her that my work involves doing all of her homeschooling and making her lunch and finding her playdates and reading to her, she seemed genuinely surprised. And then she wanted to know if the dining room table is my office. 

Librarians vs. Astronauts

Me: "Astronauts are people who know how to explore space."

Miss Muffet: "And librarians know how to discover books."

She is the child of two librarians, so it should not surprise me that she has such interest in the profession. But she probably needs to learn more about astronauts since she recently told an elderly gentleman in a bookstore that only boys can be astronauts. (She didn't learn that from me!)

A Disturbing Song

On our April road trip to NY, Miss Muffet spent a long stretch singing to her stuffed monkey. At one point, we heard her sing, "And everyone diiiies," followed a little later by "whooo will take care of youuuu when your parents gooo awaaaaay" and "when you parents go awaaaaaay it's an opportuuuunity to take care of yourseeelf!" 

I really have no idea where she gets these things.

Reflecting on Reflections

On Groundhog Day, we were out for a walk looking for shadows. She noticed her reflection in a store window, so I asked her, "What is a reflection?" Without hesitation, she said, "It’s when you see somebody, and it’s you!" I can't think of a better definition. 

Holy Parenting 

In character as the Virgin Mary during a make-believe game with her sister: "Don't bother me, Jesus. I'm in the middle of something."

As always, 7 Quick Takes is hosted by This Ain't the Lyceum. 

Seven Quick Takes: Things We Won't Do With Baby #3

Now that I'm in the second trimester, it's starting to sink in that in less than six months, we will be a family of five! As I start to get into baby prep mode all over again, I've started thinking about all the things we won't be doing with baby number three.

We won't find out the gender.

We have never found out the gender of our babies, and though it is driving some of our family members crazy, we won't be finding out this time either. A few people have told me that they think we should find out since we have 2 girls, and we don't have any boy stuff, but since we never find out, we have an entirely gender neutral newborn wardrobe. I know that finding out the gender is a surprise no matter when it happens, but I love that moment in the delivery room when the nurse tells me what we have. Even Miss Muffet has jumped on the bandwagon with us. I've asked her a couple of times what she thinks it is, and she just says, "I have to wait until the baby comes to find that out, Mama."

We (well, I) won't breastfeed.

It surprises people when they find out we exclusively formula feed our kids. This is probably because we homeschool and don't have a TV and make our own baby food and use cloth diapers. We sound like a family that would breastfeed. We just don't. This used to make me feel guilty, even though I know it's the right decision for our family, because there are lots of articles and blog posts out there that claim that not breastfeeding by choice is a sin - not to mention the ugly comments in every Internet post on the subject. But while the church teaches that you have to feed your baby (obviously!), it does not teach that you must do so using any particular method. So now I mostly don't think about it much, except when I see cool gadgets like this and when nosy old ladies question me about my parenting. (This is my third baby, little old ladies. Bring it on.)

We (hopefully) won't wait too long to go to the hospital.

When I was expecting Miss Muffet my grandmother told me the story of when she almost didn't make it the hospital to have her second child (my aunt). Miss Muffet's labor was 18 hours so I thought I'd have some leeway with Bo Peep, but that did not turn out to be the case. By the time contractions were in a regular pattern of any kind, they were only about 2 minutes apart. This time, I keep joking that I'm going to camp out in the hospital parking lot. It's only 5 minutes from home, but I want to be there in plenty of time in case #3 is even quicker than his/her big sister.

We (again, mostly I) won't plan on an epidural.

I have always planned to have an epidural and have yet to have one that worked. With Miss Muffet, the epidural failed and I felt everything anyway. With Bo Peep, the anesthesiologist was on his way, but by the time he would have gotten there, she had already been born. Having done it naturally twice now, and with the second labor being so short, I've decided to just go in with the assumption that there will be no pain relief. This does not mean I won't ask for it if the opportunity arises, but I'm done trying to make it happen.

We won't worry about what to do with our big kids.

When Bo Peep was born, I was completely stressed out about what to do with Miss Muffet, and we didn't have a clear plan until 37 weeks. This time, I'm planning to line up a couple of family members to come and stay with us - one before the due date, and one after, if the first person needs to be relieved before the baby comes, and I also have a couple of friends who have said they would help us if we need it.

We won't buy newborn clothes.

I think Miss Muffet wore more newborn clothes than Bo Peep did, but they both mostly skipped right onto 3 months pretty quickly. I think what we have is still in pretty good shape, and no matter how cute the clothes are, there is no sense in buying an outfit that a child can only wear for a week. I think we'll save our budget for a new swing (our Mamaroo died when Bo Peep was still an infant) and boy clothes if it turns out we need them.

We won't bring a lot of stuff to the hospital.

When Miss Muffet was born, I brought a ton of stuff with me, and used absolutely none of it. Last time, I was a lot better about only bringing what we'd use, but I feel like I could go even more minimalist. I looked at this list the other day and laughed a little bit because at this point, I really think I could walk in there with my insurance card, my toothbrush, and my phone and be set until it's time to go home.

7 Quick Takes: Advent Reading Round-Up Week Four

We have had a lot of repeat readings of Maple and Willow's Christmas Tree and Who is Coming to Our House? which I have mentioned in past round-ups, but this week, in the home stretch of our Christmas countdown, we also added a few more new-to-Miss-Muffet titles. Here are this week's highlights:

The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet by Deborah Hautzig and Diane Goode 

I had this book as a child, back when my elementary school chorus did a singable production of the Nutcracker, but had not thought of it at all in over 20 years until I saw a post about it on Instagram. Because Miss Muffet has been very interested in the story of The Nutcracker this year, and because of my own nostalgia, I put it on hold at the library right away. I've read it with Miss Muffet a couple of times, but she has also enjoyed listening to the ballet and looking through the book on her own. Its text and illustrations are both very preschool-friendly and much more cheerful than a lot of other adaptations.

Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert E. Barry 

I find the rhyme in this book tedious to read aloud, but Miss Muffet has been requesting multiple readings, so I've had to deal with it. In the story, Mr. Willowby orders a Christmas tree which is too tall for his parlor. When he cuts off the top of the tree, it is given to his maid. This smaller portion of the tree is also too tall for the place she has prepared for it, so she cuts off the top, too, and someone else picks it up, setting into a motion a long chain of treetops being removed and recycled. At the end of the book, when the chain finally comes to a happy conclusion, I asked Miss Muffet, who sighed contentedly, what she liked about the book. She said, "They finally stopped cutting off the top!" Evidently, she found this troubling.

Christmas in Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren , illustrated by Ilon Wikland

This is not a chapter book like others in the series, but a little slice of life picture book about how the families of Noisy Village get ready for Christmas.We read it at bedtime, and Miss Muffet was completely silent the entire time, which is usually a sign of a good story. She wanted to look at the book again the next morning, and asked me if I could name all the kids in the first illustration. Then she wanted me to find the baby, Kerstin, on every page on which she appeared. I am starting to put some of the books away at this point, but I think we'll keep this one around until the end of the twelve days of Christmas.

Babar and Father Christmas by Jean de Brunhoff

My husband has a stuffed animal of Arthur, Babar's cousin, that has been around since he was a kid. Arthur has sort of become a mascot of our family, and we all enjoy looking for him in the Babar books. In this story, Arthur, Pom, Flora, and Alexander are dismayed that Father Christmas never visits the world of elephants, so they send him a letter asking him to come. When they don't get a response, Babar sets out on a quest to find him and discuss the situation face-to-face. This book is really, really long but Miss Muffet's familiarity with the characters and fascination with Santa Claus seemed to help keep her focused.

A Little Child by Jessie Orton Jones and Elizabeth Orton Jones 

When we brought out our creche, I also brought out this book which tells the story of Jesus's birth and childhood using various Bible passages. The illustrations portray a group of children acting out a play based on the text. It does include the Protestant version of the Our Father, which I read as it was printed, and Miss Muffet seemed a little puzzled by the debts and debtors, but otherwise, there was nothing in it that doesn't match the Catholic teachings about Christmas. The only real drawback is that the book is so old, I can't allow Miss Muffet to touch it because it would most likely disintegrate in her hands.

The Christmas Day Kitten by James Herriot, illustrated by Ruth Brown

I remember reading this book as a child after I already knew how to read independently. I suspected Miss Muffet was a bit young to get the full impact of the story, but I tried it anyway, and it went okay. She missed the fact that there were two cats - the mother, and the kitten - which distracted her from the overall significance of the story, but she listened attentively and seemed interested. I think she will get more out of it as we read it each year.

Pat the Christmas Bunny by Edith Kunhardt 

A conversation with my mom the other night revealed that she had sent this book to us and we had never opened it. So we opened it last night and both girls took an immediate linking to it. Bo Peep is a little bit confused by the difference between touch-and-feel books and scratch-and-sniff books, so she kept trying to sniff the bunny and the wool stocking and pat the candy cane. Miss Muffet became immediately interested in pretending to write her letter to Santa and pulling the toboggan down the hill. This is one of the few books we've read that I think they have both enjoyed equally.

7 Quick Takes is hosted every week by This Ain't the Lyceum.

7 Quick Takes: Advent Reading Round-Up Week 3

At Mass last Sunday, Miss Muffet was really excited about the pink candle being lit, so when it burned out inexplicably almost right away, she was really disappointed. And this burned out candle turned out to be a perfect metaphor for our week of reading. We fell four days behind on our Jesse tree, failed to read books I had specifically set aside for the feasts of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Lucia, and on one day, we didn't read any Christmas books at all. But we made up for it as the week went on, and we did read quite a few titles. Here are the highlights.

Once in Royal David's City by Kathleen Lines and Harold Jones 

Last weekend, we took the girls to a Living Nativity. Before we left the house, we read this book so that Miss Muffet would have some context for what she was about to see. It wound up being the perfect choice, as the language in the book was identical in many places to what was read at the Living Nativity. We will read this book again during the twelve days of Christmas.

The First Noel by Alice and Martin Provensen

The day after the Living Nativity, we used flannel board pieces and stickers to retell the nativity story. To help Miss Muffet remember the story, we read this shorter version taken verbatim from the Bible. 

The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola 

I had never read this story before, so I didn't realize the connection to Our Lady of Guadalupe until I saw a post about it on Instagram after the children had gone to sleep for the night on Monday. We read it the next day instead. I wasn't sure Miss Muffet would follow the story, but it was told in such a straightforward and clear style that she did actually seem to absorb most of it, and she reacted with appropriate surprise to the miraculous ending.

Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear! by Audrey and Don Wood

I checked this book out of the library because I had never seen it before, but I don't think we will ever borrow it again. The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear is such a great book precisely because the reader is not 100 percent certain there actually is a Big Hungry Bear. To have this sequel all but show us the bear just cheapens the entire concept. (The Woods should just not do sequels. Full Moon at the Napping House was also a big flop.) Unfortunately, Miss Muffet likes it and I have been asked to read it several times.

Christmas Farm by Mary Lyn Ray and Barry Root

I borrowed this as a potential story time title, but found that it was too wordy for my audience, so we just wound up reading it at home. It follows the story of Wilma, a farmer, and her neighbor, a boy named Parker, who works for five years toward the goal of selling Christmas trees. As Parker grows from five to ten years old, so do the trees, and the reader is able to understand in a child's terms just how much work and patience are required to make it possible for people to go out and cut down trees at Christmastime. I loved the story, and the pictures, and Miss Muffet was mesmerized by the entire book. I might actually like to own this one.

Hanna's Christmas by Melissa Peterson 

Though I knew Tuesday was St. Lucia Day, I forgot we owned this book and didn't get to read it until this morning. Miss Muffet seemed a little worried about the tomten ("Why isn't he happy?") but she was interested in the idea of wearing a crown. She also has a friend named Lucia, so she liked making that real-life connection. 

The Story of Las Posadas by Tomie dePaola 

Thanks again to Instagram, I learned that Las Posadas starts today, and I read this story to Miss Muffet this morning as well. I'm a little uncomfortable with the fact that this is a fabricated miracle involving Mary and Joseph, as I'm not sure how much fictionalizing we should do of saints who do occasionally appear to people, but the ending did strike a very nice emotional chord for me. Miss Muffet also understood right away what had happened, which was a nice surprise.

7 Quick Takes is hosted every week by This Ain't the Lyceum. 

7 Quick Takes: Advent 2016 Reading Round-Up Week 2

During the second week of Advent, we have continued with our Jesse tree (though we missed Wednesday, and had to double up yesterday), and we're still reading through The Animals' Merry Christmas. Here's what else we've been reading.

Snow in the City by Berta and Elmer Hader

I took out the box of winter books because I needed a book for story time, and I wound up discovering this vintage book about snowstorms in New York City that I'd forgotten we owned. The book begins on Thanksgiving, and follows a family right through the Christmas season and into the new year. There's not much of a story, but it does give a good idea of what it is like to experience snow in an urban area. It also provides interesting contrast to another book by the Haders: The Big Snow, all about the impact of snow on woodland animals.

That's Not My Snowman

Little Bo Peep is really into touch-and-feel books right now, so I pulled this one out of the winter box for her. She especially liked the page about the fuzzy mittens and once we reached that point, she didn't want to read any further because she was too busy feeling the mittens again and again.

The ABCs of Christmas by Jill Howarth

Grandma sent this book for the girls, and we read it a couple of times. The vintage-style illustrations are really eye-catching, and both Miss Muffet and Bo Peep seem to enjoying flipping through it.

Santa Claus Books

On Tuesday, Saint Nicholas Day, I took out all of our Santa Claus books. One was a nice big book (from Grandma again) called Santa Claus (by Rod Green, Carol Wright, Simon Danaher, and Jon Lucas), which has a lot of little pockets and flaps inside it for Miss Muffet to explore. There is way too much text to read aloud in one sitting, but it's something I think she can enjoy when she gets a little older. Our other Santa books were:

• Alphaprints: Ho, Ho, Ho!
• Clackers: Santa
• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
• Jolly Old Santa Claus by Alice Leedy Mason
• One Thousand Christmas Beards by Roger Duvoisin
• Santa's Time Off by Bill Maynard

I loved reading The Polar Express aloud, though I think Miss Muffet will appreciate it more in a couple of years. One Thousand Christmas Beards was probably my favorite, followed by Jolly Old Santa Claus, which was also a favorite when I was a kid. Bo Peep, of course, loved stroking Santa's bear in the Alphaprints board book. 

Who Is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate and Ashley Bryan

 

We have many religious Christmas books, and a lot of them are stories of the birth of Jesus, which I like to save for the twelve days of Christmas. But because this book is about the animals preparing for Jesus's arrival - and because we're going to a Living Nativity this weekend - I decided to read this one. Miss Muffet likes that it has so many different animals. I don't think Bo Peep was really listening.

Maple and Willow's Christmas Tree

I had forgotten that I received a review copy of this book, and when I found it in a stack of books in the living room, I shared it with Miss Muffet right away. It's the story of two sisters who are excited to have their first real Christmas tree, but then discover that one of the girls is allergic to pine. When the real true is moved outside, they improvise to make a new indoor tree out of a ladder. I have liked the other books of this series very much, as they are emotional without being sentimental, and this book, though not quite as strong as the others, is a solid holiday story. Depending on how things shape up, I may include it in my Christmas story time this coming week.

Christmas Tree Memories by Aliki 

We put the tree up yesterday, and we'll be adding ornaments over the weekend. I was saving this book for when the tree was up, so I finally pulled it out this morning. I like the concept of the book better than its actual execution. Miss Muffet seemed to understand it better this year than last, and she actually requested to have the book to look at on her own. Interestingly, I keep thinking the illustrator of this book is Anita Lobel. The people look a lot like Lobel's characters, and somehow the art in Aliki's other books seems a lot different from this one.

Seven Quick Takes is hosted weekly by This Ain't the Lyceum.

7 Quick Takes: Advent Reading Round-Up Week 1

Last year, during Advent, I had an elaborate schedule for reading both secular and religious Christmas books, listening to hymns, and reading the Bible stories for the Jesse Tree. I didn't follow it that closely, and halfway through the season, I ended up abandoning most of my plans. This year, I decided to make things more manageable by scheduling only the Jesse tree readings. (I also switched from this set of ornaments, to this one.) Beyond that, all I have done is pull a stack of Christmas and winter-themed books that suit my girls' current ages, from which we are reading one or two per day.

So, in addition to The Catholic Children's Bible, My Baptism Bible Catholic Edition, and Celebrating Advent with the Jesse Tree, which are our sources for Jesse tree readings, we have also read these books this week:

A New Coat for Anna

This story about a little girl who has to wait an entire year for a new winter coat is a good start to Advent, because it establishes that sense of anticipation, and it also shows how the kindness of a series of strangers contributes to Anna's eventual happiness when she receives her coat. In the end, Anna hosts a Christmas party for everyone who helped her mother to make the coat, and she even goes to thank the sheep who provided the wool. Miss Muffet was not old enough to appreciate this book last year, but she did seem to follow the story more closely this year.

Baby's First Christmas

It is not Little Bo Peep's first Christmas, but she loves photographs of everyday objects, so I brought this book out for her anyway. She wouldn't let me tell her the names of most of the objects, as she really just likes to turn pages. Later, when she was not being carefully supervised, she tore into the spine of the book with her teeth and ate some of it. So... the most I can say about this book is that it looked delicious to her.

The Christmas ABC

We have this as an oversized board book, and both Miss Muffet and Bo Peep love it. I would probably call it the favorite of this week. The rhyming text doesn't do a whole lot for me, as it's an alphabet book and there is no cohesive arc, but Eloise Wilkin has been a family favorite since I was a kid, and I do enjoy the illustrations. Bo Peep spent a good part of the week meowing at the book, which I don't fully understand, since there were no cats on the page that prompted her to do that, but she also seemed appropriately interested in Baby Jesus, so that's something.

Deck the Halls

Last year, I tried to have a strict moratorium on Christmas songs and music until Christmas Day, and wound up barely singing or listening to any Christmas music at all.  This year, I have decided to sing more of the traditional songs around the house so the girls have a better chance of learning them. I know it is in the spirit of Advent to build up anticipation, not to celebrate Christmas for a month before the day arrives, but for me, that anticipation is actually strengthened by the music. We played Christmas music all during December when I was a kid, and it just made me want Christmas to come that much more. So... I took out this singable book and taught the girls to sing "Fa la la la la." Even Bo Peep chimed in!

If It's Snowy and You Know It, Clap Your Paws! 

I took this out because I think I may use it for a story time about winter in January, and then decided to just sing it to the girls. Bo Peep like it, Miss Muffet was in the throes of a tantrum and chose to scream rather than listen. I have the book out for them to peruse on their own time, however, and both girls have spent time flipping through it. It's not my favorite, but it is a solid story time book, and it's a board book, so it's (relatively) safe for Bo Peep to handle.

Waiting

When this book first came out, my mom thought it might be about waiting for Santa Claus to come. It's not, but it is a book about anticipation, so of course it's a good Advent read! My mom gave me a copy of my own for last year, and I usually keep it in a cabinet where little hands can't rip the jacket and stain the pages, but for the sake of Advent, I pulled it out and we'll be reading it sometime today.

The Animals' Merry Christmas

Lastly, we are slowly reading our way through this collection, one story at a time. I counted last night and found out there are actually 18 total stories and poems in here, so we may need to step it up a little, since there are other collections I also want us to get to,  but it's been nice to have a short two- or three-page story to read each night.

Seven Quick Takes is hosted every week by This Ain't the Lyceum.

7 Quick Takes: How We Halloween

At just a few weeks shy of turning three, Miss Muffet is at an age now where she will start to remember from year to year how we celebrate certain holidays and occasions. Therefore, this is the first year where we have had any sort of intentional Halloween celebration in our house. Though we decided not to venture out for trick-or-treat (nor did we bother with any of the many local trunk-or-treats), Miss Muffet and Little Bo Peep both had their fill of Halloween fun, as well as opportunities to celebrate All Saints Day and All Souls Day.

Books

Our go-to method for celebrating any holiday is always to read about it, and we have been reading Halloween-themed books for weeks. We checked out some nonfiction from the library, delved into my own childhood stash, and even listened to the audiobook of Big Pumpkin on YouTube. Reading about Halloween really helped Miss Muffet develop the vocabulary needed to talk about things like costumes, decorations, masks, and being scared, and she really didn't express much anxiety about Halloween at all. She's a little creeped out by skeletons, and did not want to watch the Silly Symphony Skeleton Dance, but overall I think the books helped make her comfortable with the idea that Halloween is mostly just pretend. We also received a small coloring book from her grandmother that came with stickers, which was a big hit.

Attire

Grandma sent outfits for both girls which had black cats on them. They wore them during the day, and then at night, we dressed Miss Muffet up in a costume made entirely from things we had around the house. She wanted to be a pirate, so we dressed her all in black, then tied and draped play silks of various colors over her shoulders, around her waist, and around her head. Then we put some beads on her neck and wrist. My husband made an eye patch from felt and twine, and gave her some sort of tool to hold that vaguely resembled a sword. She didn't wear it for long, but we did take photos for posterity, and I was pretty impressed with the end result.

Scavenger Hunt

During the day, while Daddy was at work, I took the girls outside in the stroller and had Miss Muffet do a scavenger hunt for various Halloween decorations. Our scavenger hunts tend to be pretty basic. I draw poorly planned pictures of the objects we're looking for, hand her a crayon, and she checks them off when we see them. On our list for our Halloween hunt were: a small pumpkin, a big pumpkin, a witch, a skeleton, a ghost, a jack-o-lantern, a spiderweb and a bat. We didn't find any bat decorations, but everything else got a check mark.

Cookie Decorating

Instead of trick-or-treating, which I think is pretty much pointless given that we have a revolving door of new neighbors and never get too know any of them, we baked sugar cookies in Halloween shapes and decorated them with frosting and sprinkles. Miss Muffet, who is a cookie fiend, was thrilled with this project and she helped decorate most of them. 

Ghost Candles

I went to a Party Lite party something like ten years ago and bought a set of ghost candle holders. I pulled those out and we stuck some new tea lights inside and lit them for atmosphere while we ate our cookies. Shortly after, we put out the candles and put Miss Muffet to bed. As I said goodnight to her, she said, "Mama, that was such a great Halloween." Mission accomplished.

One Hundred Saints

On Tuesday morning, in celebration of All Saints Day, I brought out our copy of One Hundred Saints, and just paged through it with Miss Muffet. (Bo Peep looked on from the playpen. She is not allowed near books we want to keep intact.) She was fascinated by St. Denis and wanted to know what happened to his head (I forgot he was in there) and she asked a lot of questions about St. George's horse in the image where he is shown slaying the dragon. ("Is his horse okay? Are you sure?") We made it about three-quarters of the way through the book, which was pretty impressive.

All Souls Family Tree

Finally, for All Souls Day, we talked about Miss Muffet's deceased grandfather, great-grandparents, and great-great grandparents (all of whom died before she was born) and made a little family tree showing their connections to Miss Muffet. Then I said the Prayer for the Poor Souls in Purgatory, and prompted Miss Muffet to say Amen. This was a pretty last-minute activity, but I think I want to repeat it in future years.

As always, 7 Quick Takes is hosted by This Ain't the Lyceum.

7 Quick Takes: The Quotable Little Miss Muffet

Little Miss Muffet, who is almost three, has a sassy personality and precocious vocabulary to match. I share a lot of her profound, bizarre, or just plain funny statements on Facebook, and I also save them all in a Google Document. Here are some of the highlights from the past month or so.

On Her Behavior

Sometimes I make a special day a long day by being naughty.

This kind of serious self-reflection is unusual for her, but no one can argue that she isn't right. We've had some very long days lately.

On How Babies Are Made

Get a baby, mush her up, and put her in a mama.

This was after I explained how apple seeds grow more apples and pumpkin seeds grow more pumpkins. She is very concerned lately about babies growing inside of mommies, despite the fact that we are not currently growing a baby. The other day, she shoved a baby doll up her shirt, then pulled it out and said, "He's being born head first." 

On Her Baby Sister

I love you, little sister, my dear little blue eyes.

She is generally sweet to Little Bo Peep, and I think "my dear little blue eyes" is an adorable nickname. 

Upon Hearing the Bells Ring During the Consecration at Mass

Time to get up!

This was, of course, the Mass in the extraordinary form, and she was the only person making any noise at all at this moment. Later, Bo Peep, also made an impression when she saw another blonde-haired blue-eyed baby and suddenly flung herself across my lap screaming, "Babyyyyyyyy!" I think she thought it was her reflection. 

On Being Left Home While I Teach CCD

When I grow up to be a Mama, I will teach the big kids. At night. And I will leave my baby alone.

She doesn't actually seem to mind when I leave to teach on Monday nights, nor is she left anything even close to alone, but I can see she has big plans for her future. She often talks about what she will do when she is a Mama, and it typically involves typing on computers and writing with pens.

On Belief...

Mama! All Saints Day is coming!

This is only funny because she shouted it out while we were walking with the stroller after several moments of silence. Later the same day, she also randomly called out, "John the 23rd! John Paul the 2nd!" while eating her lunch.

...And Unbelief

Santa Claus is not real, Mama.

I had to be told at age 10 that Santa does not exist, so naturally I have no idea how she arrived at this conclusion. When I expressed my unwavering belief in Santa, however, she just looked at me like I was a complete idiot. I predicted she would be hard to sell on this idea. I just hope she doesn't ruin it for her sister as the years go by.

For more Quick Takes, check out the link-up at This Ain't the Lyceum.

7 Quick Takes About The Highlights Magazine Controversy

I have been aware of 7 Quick Takes, the weekly Catholic blogging meme, for years now, but it was only when I started this blog that I realized I could probably actually start to participate. Today I want to jump in with a post about a topic that I know will resonate in the Catholic world much better than it would in the book blogging or children's librarian world. It is the issue of Highlights for Children being bullied into including same-sex parents in their children's magazines.

This controversy erupted on Facebook early this week, after a same-sex couple contacted Highlights to ask why their family is not represented in any of the stories in any of the magazines Highlights publishes. Highlights then made a statement to its page, which appears to have been deleted, but screenshots of which are available in abundance online. In the statement Highlights tries to defend itself, saying: "For much of our readership, the topic of same-sex marriage is still new, and parents are still learning how to approach the subject with their children, even the very little ones. We believe that parents know best when their family is ready to open conversation around the topic of same-sex families." When this statement did not meet the standards of those commenting to the Highlights Facebook page, a second one was published to the Highlights website. The final sentences of the second statement read as follows: "This conversation has helped us see that we can be more reflective of all kinds of families in our publications. We are committed to doing so as we plan future issues." The conversation has continued on Twitter, and it appears that Highlights will now be actively seeking submissions that represent same-sex parents. As a Catholic mom whose preschooler is obsessed with Highlights High Five, I have a lot of thoughts on this topic:  

1. The initial statement from Highlights about its readership's inability to discuss same-sex marriage with their children was an absolute cop-out that threw many of their loyal subscribers right under the bus. That second sentence, about parents knowing best, is completely negated by the first sentence, which essentially paints conservative parents as behind-the-times bigots. Thanks to the Church, I know exactly what I want to say to my children about same-sex marriage when I decide it is time for them to learn about it, and until this week, Highlights was a publication that could support that discussion. Now, not so much. It would be nice if Highlights could have responded to their critics without perpetuating the stereotype that people who hold these beliefs are just stupid. It just adds fuel to an ever-growing fire. 
2. Privately owned companies should not make major business decisions based on comments from Facebook bullies. I don't respect people who post nasty family-unfriendly comments to a family-friendly Facebook page in order to shame an organization into complying with its demands. I also don't respect businesses who allow themselves to be shamed into changing their entire approach overnight by a handful of disgruntled Facebook users, many of whom are not even paying customers. Highlights would have done itself a lot of favors if it had just not responded to the drama at all. 
3. I don't believe that all people must be represented in all things. There are many publications and other materials for children that do not represent my family's values. I don't go looking to pick fights with those publications, I simply spend my energy and money elsewhere. I would love to see a family praying in church in a mainstream children's magazine, but I don't take to social media to shame magazines into giving that to me. If I really need it, I'll find a Catholic magazine that can provide it. 
4. I am really tired of conservative families being called bigots. When Scary Mommy picked up this story, it immediately jumped on the bigot bandwagon, saying, "If people boycott your brand because they’re bigots, that is a sword you have to fall on, as far as the rest of the population of decent, inclusive humans is concerned." Contrary to this statement, which will undoubtedly be embraced by many of Scary Mommy's readers, I am quite a decent person. I can be decent, and still want my children to be protected from messages that contradict their faith when their faith is still in the early stages of its formation. I don't treat people poorly when they're in same-sex relationships, but I also don't think the Church would teach what it does about marriage if it wasn't important for me to believe it and pass it on. 
5. I am saddened over the loss of materials for children that promote traditional family values. If Highlights caves to their Facebook commenters, my Catholic family will no longer subscribe to High Five, and I imagine many other Christian families will cancel their subscriptions as well. Once Highlights caves, it will be just a matter of time before the pressure is on other publishers, and soon, there won't be any mainstream magazines I can share with my children. Magazines are not the most major thing in the world, but it troubles me that, while America is meant to be a free country, my freedom to raise my children according to my religious beliefs is becoming increasingly relegated to my living room and my parish. 
6. As a Catholic mom, I will be carefully monitoring all Highlights publications that come to my mailbox over the next 15 months before my subscription runs out. If objectionable content appears during that time, the magazines will be recycled and my children will never see them. After that, we will no longer subscribe to any Highlights publication. It's a shame that Highlights couldn't be left alone to conduct business according to its own moral compass, but it's a bigger shame that it couldn't stand its ground as Hobby Lobby and Chick-Fil-A have done in the past. 
7. Sharing about this controversy on my personal Facebook afforded me a wonderful opportunity to chat privately with a friend about my beliefs. Though we did not come to agree, it was a lovely conversation and I felt truly respected and listened to, and she also said she enjoyed the discussion. I imagine that some people who have only known me casually, or in a professional context, might be shocked to discover that I am "that sort of Catholic" (the Wrong Sort, as described by And Sometimes Tea), but I hope that this realization will prompt less vitriol and more friendly, well-intentioned conversation. 

Had you heard about this controversy yet? How will your family respond? I'd love to hear what others think!