Roundup: Girls, Boys, and Toys

Allow me to break your heart:

• “Smart like Daddy, Pretty like Mommy”
• “Too Pretty to Do Homework” (Now, if they’d called it “Too Busy With Other Things to Do Homework,” they would’ve had a point) — and follow-up: the bright pink “Allergic to Algebra”

…Now allow me to put it back together again:

• One girl’s rant
• And one teacher’s strategy

UPDATED: This Jimmy Kimmel clip is absolutely hilarious — especially the girl who gets the half-eaten sandwich! — but the family whose idea of “terrible presents” is to give their kids presents for the “wrong” gender makes me very sad.

Good thing a dog doesn’t get stuck in that tree.

I gave my five-year-old cousin Luke — yes, that Luke — STUCK by Oliver Jeffers a few hours ago, and so far he has asked us to read it to him three times. He laughs uproariously and shares his opinions about the protagonist’s errors each time, and pointed out an awesome joke in the artwork that I’d missed. I am declaring STUCK a big success.

Just now Luke and his older brother were watching a video that involved teasing a cartoon dog and Luke became extremely upset that someone was being “mean to a dog.” In the midst of his enraged stomping off, he yelled, “Dogs helped us stay alive!” (The New Yorker a few months back says Luke is right about that.) To avert the tears that were forming, his dad offered Luke the chance to pick the next video. Brightening immediately, he said, “Let’s watch cat teasers!”

I love that kid. Let’s hope tomorrow’s presents (for these kids) and the next day’s (for my niece) are as successful.

Wednesday Word – It’s good to have a skill

Aunt Emily had spent a lifetime interfering–days–weeks–years.  There was nothing she could do better, or that she enjoyed more.  To thrust her finger into somebody’s pie and wreck it–that was Aunt Emily for you.  Lucinda’s grandmother, having died when her mother was a very little girl, had left Aunt Emily the oldest of the family; and to her had descended that divine right of putting her finger into family pies.

–Ruth Sawyer, ROLLER SKATES

P.S. Just so there’s no confusion with regards to the name, I’d like to state for the record that the above quote is not about me.  You can tell because I have no siblings.