A Blipperific Baba Day

When Bella entered my house today, her gaze immediately fell on the beautiful hand-knitted yarn fairy made by NannaK for her and delivered in person when NannaK came to Portland for our Big Blipmeet this past weekend. Bella named the fairy Kalina Pink Petals and declared she wanted to go out and collect fallen flower petals to make a proper fairy bed with two obsidian river stones as pillows. 

Once Kalina Pink Petals was fully ensconced on her bed of cherry blossoms, I read Bella two books by New Zealand's Margaret Mahy, recommended by SightSinging: The Tin Can Band & Other Poems, and The Horrendous Hullabaloo.  Mahy's writing bounces along with infectious rhythms and much delicious alliteration. Bella loved both books and asked me to read each one again and again. 

Here's her favorite: 

The witch my sister from over the sea
Wonderful presents has sent to me,
A whistle to blow and a bell to ring,
Silver ropes for a shining swing,
A golden lion that will play and purr,
Dancing slippers of silver fur,
And, sharp as a needle, bright as a pin,
A mouse that plays the violin.

I am enchanted by this one:

Goodness gracious, fiddle dee dee!
Somebody's grandmother out at sea! 
Just where the breakers begin to bound
Somebody's grandmother bobbing around.
Up on the shore the people shout,
"Give us a hand and we'll pull you out!"
"No!" says the granny, "I'm right as rain,
And I'm going to go on till I get to Spain."

Mahy's books feature aging grannies and aunties who wear patchwork, charm parrots, steal boats from pirates, and turn conventional granny stereotypes on their heads.