B.J. Novak's The Book With No Pictures

Have you heard of the new children's book,

The Book With No Pictures

, written by actor-comedian B.J. Novak (

The Office

)? I stumbled upon it online and immediately ordered a copy for A.'s nephews and my friend's 6-year-old daughter who we were going to see during this weekend's camping trip. The concept behind the book is that the adult reading it finds himself saying the most absurd things (to the child's absolute delight) and also fighting back against the silly words he's being forced to say. The book might not have any illustrations, but type and color are used in an artistic way and kids get to see the power behind words.

In a recent interview with

Vanity Fair

about his new book, Novak explained why he decided to do a children's picture book with just words.

"Well, I have two answers, and they're both true. The idealistic answer, and it's true, is that I thought, There's a really exciting way to show kids that the written word can be their ally and that it's possible to do something extremely powerful—which is overpower an adult and your experience with them, using only words. Words that can be on your side. And I thought there was a beautiful, exciting lesson in that, in making words something—which they are, rebellious and a form of freedom—that a kid can learn is on their side whenever they want it to be. And the simple answer is that I can't draw, and I wanted to do it all myself," he said.

When we read the book's title to our friend's daughter she seemed skeptical that this would be a fun story time.

"

The Book With No Pictures

? Aww, it's a chapter book," she groaned. But she settled in as A. started reading her the book.

Well let me tell you, that child went around the group and had that book read to her like eight times in 24 hours. She just could not get enough! And to her, every time was just as funny as the last.

In the book trailer below, Novak reads

The Book With No Pictures

to a group of kids and ends up sending them into a pile of giggles. In fact, the same part that our friend's daughter kept obsessing over and over also caused a bit of a commotion when he read it to these school children.

"At the school that the reading was at [in the trailer]—it's a very orderly school," Novak told Vanity Fair. "They had to calm the kids down after I read the line 'Boo Boo Butt.' We had to cut like 60 seconds out of the tape, because they're going crazy. They're practically running around. They had to do a whole ritual of '1, 2, 3, shhh' to quiet them back down. After it was all done, they had a very orderly way to get the kids out, in line, and back to their classrooms. But one tiny little five-year-old African American girl just bursts out and ran out of the line, hugged me and pointed at me and said 'You are hilarious.' And that's been the highlight so far."

We can't wait to read this to A.'s nephews!

Image:

youtube.com

How Hard Would You Try to Have a Child?

Because taking my breast cancer medication means I can't get pregnant for the next four years, I find myself thinking about children a lot. I wonder if I'll have a boy or a girl. I wonder what we'll end up naming them. Will I have one or try for two? Mostly I wonder if I'll have any issues trying to conceive at the age of 36.

When my oncologist said I could look into freezing my eggs to use after my treatment is complete, I knew that wasn't really an option for me. When you have student loans to pay off, medical bills stacking up, dreams and a savings account to fund, that leaves little money left for a gamble. It costs $10,000 to $15,000 to harvest and freeze a batch of eggs, $500 to keep storing them each year, and then another few thousand to undergo in vitro fertilization. Conception is not guaranteed. Adoption fees are also no small investment either so it brings up the question: how badly do I want a child?

It's a discussion that A. and I have had a few times. We both agree that we don't want to go broke in order to have a baby, but who knows how we'll feel years from now. If you ask any of the elders in my family, they'll say the same thing: your life isn't complete until you have a child. The mentality is frightening especially when you consider folks who've had kids when they could barely sustain their own lives or that welfare is their answer to my hesitance over the financial burden.

Whether it's money spent to conceive or money spent to raise a child, I don't want to go into debt for this, but I still dream of holding our child in my arms, teaching them all we know, and watching them grow and play in this world. Would I be okay if I discovered that I couldn't conceive? Probably. I'd be sad, but I also hope I could grow to accept that fact, consider alternatives that are within my means, and live on. A. keeps joking about the two of us becoming DINKs (dual income, no kids) to which I reply absolutely not. At least I'm not ready to throw in the towel before the races have even begun. We'll see how our story plays out down the line and hope that our toughest decision is simply agreeing on a baby name.

What about you? How hard would you try to have a child? Would you invest all you could into making your dream happen?

P.S. "Do you find you are not yet ready to obliterate any chance you have left to enjoy life to its fullest? Then try Not Having Kids!"

And have you met Theo and Beau? If not, here's their story (and how they're growing up so fast). Aren't they the cutest things ever?

Image: instagram.com

Griottes' French Storybook Recipes for Children

How sweet are these recipes that Emilie of French blog Griottes created for Doolittle magazine? Mind you this is a couple years old, but I just stumbled upon it on Pinterest and have been loving the styling that went into each page. It gives off a storybook feel and even though you might not understand the instructions, how lovely would it be to have an entire cookbook laid out like this?

"I tried to respect the taste but also the visual, to create a little childish and playful universe," Emilie said of her creations.

To follow her design and culinary adventures (and brush up on your French), visit griottes.fr.

Images: griottes.fr

Words for Dad

I've mentioned before how much I adore my father and all the love he showers upon his three children. I'm 31 years old and the man will still dote on me as if I were his little girl. He'll call to leave snippets of "our songs" on my voicemail, is always wanting to spend his time with us, and his words of wisdom either leave us in conniptions or thinking, "Damn, he's right."

Sometimes I act too cool for school when he wants me to return the kiss he just blew to me over the phone or feign annoyance when he playfully pats me over the head in public. But I'm grateful for him in spite of my stubbornness and fully believe that had he not been around to shine his light, love, and attention, I doubt I would have made it into adulthood alive. So today, when Dad hugged me goodbye after we left brunch, I wrapped my arms around him and let myself squeeze him extra tight because I know one day will come when I'm going to wish he were still calling me every day and serenading me in broken English. Here's to embracing all these years in between.

{Happy Friday}

Happy Friday, my little monkeybutts! What are you doing for the weekend? Today A. and I are heading up into the Catskill Mountains for a fall weekend getaway at a cute bed and breakfast. We've been talking about it for two years so I'm glad we're finally making it happen (the fact that I'm currently sick and it's raining won't dampen my spirits). I hope to sleep in, stroll into farmer's markets, and enjoy the changing season. We've started wearing our favorite jackets and cuddling under our duvet and last night, we enjoyed some homemade caramel sauce with apple slices and over vanilla ice cream so I think we got this whole autumn thing locked.

Hope you have a beautiful weekend. Here are a few links I loved this week:

Caramel apple coffee cake.
A simple and sweet costume based on The Red Balloon.
A modernist dollhouse.
Have you ever said these crazy things to your children?
DIY striped notebooks.
A tent for sale!
I want this lamp for myself (or this one that's a bit more mature).
Parcel inspired social icons.
Love letter napkins.
A free art sharing project in San Francisco.

Image: ucreative.com via Roni Dé on pinterest.com