as his current read of choice. There are a couple other books that he enjoys but this one is special because it is about the littlest member of the family and how his faith and perseverance is rewarded.
I bought this book when Ky was a baby. The vintage colours and illustration style called to me from the cramped book shelves of Value Village. It is copyrighted 1945 and the illustrations were done by Krauss' husband Crockett Johnson. A quick internet search didn't reveal a ton of information about Ruth although she is regarded as a star of child literature (not that uncommon for many women artists unfortunately). I saw on Amazon that someone has written a biography about the couple that will be released this fall. What I admire about the story is that it is simple and has a wonderful message.
The little boy plants a seed and the rest of the family says it won't come up. When it gets to the page with the big brother piping in Kyan will run over and recite his line: "It won't come up." And then...
The whole family is in one illustration together and Kyan will point to each character and name us as the family. I mean we look like them, don't you think? Oh, right my hair is never that coiffed, but Dave has always harbored a secret desire to take up pipe smoking (really!) And if the suit was replaced by a hoodie and jeans we'd be in business.
All kidding aside, what makes my heart sing about this story is that while it must be hard to be the littlest brother and try something on your own when everyone tells you it won't work, if you believe in yourself you can make your goals happen. I love the message that Elliott and Kyan get each time we read this to them. Granted at 15 months Elliott may not get the deeper meaning but something about this book compels him to want to see it again and again. That's a great start.
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