Friday, September 05, 2008

Go Kiss a Book Today!

Franklin While working in the Southside children’s room yesterday, I happened to disengage myself long enough to observe a small child clutching a book to her heart and then kissing it! I asked her to show me her treasure, and there it was- a modest little picture book whose cover sported a green turtle named Franklin.

Portrait of a LadyThis morning while ironing and thinking about the little girl, I thought back to my childhood and pondered what book made an impression on me. Well, there’s no mistaking it, posing coyly on the cover of a huge art book, the “Portrait of a Lady” c. 1455 by Rogier van der Weyden, this mysterious, vaguely Scarlett Johansson-looking creature has fascinated me all these years. I would spend hours taking a tour of the National Gallery of Art between the pages of that book and committing the images to memory like old friends.

So, go ahead, Kiss A Book Today!, even if the cover reminds you of Marge Simpson. No matter how old you are, we all know it's what's inside that counts.

by CD @ SS

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