It’s been a while since I’ve posted one of these, so let’s have a little refresher.
When my niece was born, I decided that I wanted to do something original, creative, and personal for her each year for Christmas. Since she was living overseas, and I knew I might only get to see her (and therefore to share a book with her) a few times a year at best, I struck on the idea of doing an audio CD of me reading some of my favorite children’s stories to her. Thus: Storytime.
In 2006, for my third CD, I had a couple realizations—first, that there are only so many kids books I consider “favorites”, and second, that my niece, being a girl, would be more interested in “girl” stories than the “boy” stories I used to read. So, I would have to branch out into unfamiliar, and at times, uncomfortable territory. Case in point, our first track from 2006.
I picked Christmas is Here!
In this story, a diminutive, passive-aggressive redhead with a speech impediment is making plans for a big Christmas party. It seems, however, that all her friends are “too busy” to arrive in time to help with the last of the setup, so Shortcake heads out to visit each of them with a giant guilt trip. Finally, by the time she gets home, all her friends have arrived for the party, but since she’s been out wandering the streets instead of getting ready, her friends have to help her finish up anyway.
Ah, and one other thing about the 2006 CD—I realized that with my niece turning 3 years old, it was time for me to stop reading to her, and start reading with her. This resulted in me choosing books that she might be able to follow along in as I read, or to read on her own. Most of the other stories on this CD fit this criteria as well, though most are also better than this one.
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