Blogs for Kids!
This collection is dedicated to members of our families who have influenced our writings and stories. Great-Grandmother Lotta Carswell Hume, who wrote down the Children’s Stories of China and Tibet which has benefited generations of peacemakers across the greatest seas. Her daughter, my Great-Aunt Joy Hume Falk, was also a great story teller. When we were little boys my, brother Noah and I received books from Aunt Joy, special books which she wrote just for us. Our father also was a storyteller, he would share long stories with us some make-believe some family lore. Brittany also has many storytellers in her family. Her Aunt Bridget illustrates children’s books, and creates amazing animal characters that have experiences just like children do! And, when Brittany was born, her Aunt Tamar was in Paris, France and could not get home to see her new baby niece, so she made a book that told the story of a special ribbon.
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INDIA
All the Animals of India
march 22, 2010
There are many animals in India. Many of them you have never even imagined lived here!
Lions and Tigers and Bears!! Oh my!
Lions, tigers, bears all living together in deep, wet, green jungles with elephants and lots of snakes!
Leopards wearing polka-dots and quiet striped deer hide from each other among the forest trees, under the ever-watchful eyes of giant snakes.
Really cool insects live here: bright salamanders and beautiful moths flit around the forest.
Crocodiles swim in dark channels with hippopotamus. Really big-mouthed fish swim past them in the murky waters.
Great-billed cranes and eagles fish in plain sight of foxes, while, high above, hawks and vultures fly on the thermal currents of air puffed out from great mountains - the Himalayas.
And monkeys!! Big monkeys, baby monkeys, white and black and golden monkeys. Sweet monkeys and slightly scary monkeys too. It seems monkeys are everywhere in India!Life is different when you are an animal in India.
Animals in India can be sacred. “Sacred” is not the same as “scared,“ even though the two words are spelled very much the same. When you are a sacred animal, it means that you will never be injured or hunted.
Cows and rats and snakes and monkeys are some examples of sacred animals in India.
The Indians believe that many animals are related to a god or are gods themselves.
India is also a country of mostly vegetarians. Most Indians think eating meat is weird.
“Why would people eat meat if it was really an animal you cared about?” some people think.
“Why would people eat meat from an animal that had special powers?” think others.
“Why would you eat meat if it would make the gods very angry with you?” Now that is really scary. When gods are angry, people listen, don‘t they?.
Most Indians are not only vegetarians because they are scared of eating gods. They are vegetarians also because they believe that all life is sacred; because they believe in reincarnation, past and future lives.
You wouldn’t eat a cow if it was god, would you? Now you REALLY wouldn’t eat a cow if you thought it was a god that might be your relative reincarnated and come back to life to help you? Now would you?
A Lion, A River, and A Guru
march 24, 2010
Our friend the Guru, whose name is Guriji, was walking on the other side of the wide Ganges River from his town of Rishikesh.
Guruji loves to boat. This morning he rowed his small raft across the river and went for a walk in the forest.
When he returned to the river later in the day, he saw that a pride of lions had come from the forest to drink from the Ganges River. They crouched at the waters edge, right next to a family that had come to bathe in the river.
The family shivered in fear, but Guruji had no fear of the lions. “These lions are part of the universe just like you and me,” he told the family, “I will show you these lions.”
The family stood motionless by the waters edge; they were all very scared of the lions. The mother and father watched the family while the children held silently onto their parents. The oldest girl, who was eleven, hid behind her father. The middle boy, who was eight, was not too scared to hold his father’s hand. The youngest boy, age four, clung to his mother and hid his face in her orange saree. All of the family watched the lions with one eye and Guruji with the other.
Guruji walked towards the lions. The pride watched him silently. The male lion was closest to the river and lapped up the Ganges with a humongous tongue. Two female lionesses also drank from the river, while three small lion cubs romped underfoot.
Guruji loves to boat. This morning he rowed his small raft across the river and went for a walk in the forest.
When he returned to the river later in the day, he saw that a pride of lions had come from the forest to drink from the Ganges River. They crouched at the waters edge, right next to a family that had come to bathe in the river.
The family shivered in fear, but Guruji had no fear of the lions. “These lions are part of the universe just like you and me,” he told the family, “I will show you these lions.”
The family stood motionless by the waters edge; they were all very scared of the lions. The mother and father watched the family while the children held silently onto their parents. The oldest girl, who was eleven, hid behind her father. The middle boy, who was eight, was not too scared to hold his father’s hand. The youngest boy, age four, clung to his mother and hid his face in her orange saree. All of the family watched the lions with one eye and Guruji with the other.
Guruji walked towards the lions. The pride watched him silently. The male lion was closest to the river and lapped up the Ganges with a humongous tongue. Two female lionesses also drank from the river, while three small lion cubs romped underfoot.
Guruji continued to walk closer. The adult lions turned and faced Guruji, while the little lion cubs hid behind there parents, just like the human children. Guruji walked slowly to the lions and stood before them. He reached out his hand to the family. “Come,” he beckoned, “I will show you these lions.”
The children stared at the pride of lions with large eyes. The father and mother stood frozen.
Guriji and the lions stood thirty meters apart. Guruji stood facing the pride, his hands closed in front of his chest.
The afternoon was still, not a sound could be heard. The lions looked at Guruji, and Guruji looked at the lions. Then the pride began to move slowly back into their forest home. Before they disappeared, the big male lion took another look at the family. He seemed to smile, green eyes flashing with a lion-laugh. Then they went back the way they came, into the bright green forest.
Animals Working in India
march 28, 2010
Animals do work in India, also. I mean, animals that don’t still live in the forest or jungle.
Cows and horses work in India. Elephants and camels work sometimes building houses or bridges and moving very heavy stuff.
Donkeys, and even goats carry loads of milk and pull carts down streets, through alleys, up mountains, and across streams and rivers.
Snakes work. Snakes, like cobras, sometimes live with holy men in baskets and dance for crowds to the music of a flute. Some snakes are collected by forest tribes and produce medicines.The job that is most common for animals that live with Indians in cities and towns is to clean up trash. Cows and monkeys and dogs scavenge for food.
Cows and goats eat grasses and flowers along roadsides and paths that cross the city so that the roads are clear for cars and buses. These animals know how to listen for a horns and bells from trucks, rickshaws, and bicycles. They get out of the way!
Mongoose live in the towns Their job is to hunt the venomous snakes.
The best place to see animals in India is outside of temples. All the animals get special treats! Some very famous gods were related to all these animals. Elephants and Cows and Monkeys are some of the very special animals always given very special animal treatment. People pray to them. Even the rat is very, very special. So people at temples give them special treats!
Bapu Builds a Hospital
march 28, 2010
Bapu’s friend Shri got very sick. He came to see Bapu. Bapu had also gotten very sick.
Bapu caught a cough when he was walking very far. He had only a sheet to cover him from cold.
Bapu had given his clothes to a woman by a river so she wouldn‘t get sick.
Bapu and his friend rested in a house in Sevagram, India. They had friends and family take care of them.
Bapu’s friend Shri was a famous Sanskrit scholar. He translated many ancient Indian texts.
Bapu’s friend’s sickness was called leprosy. There was no cure for leprosy, but if he was taken care of properly the sickness would not get worse. So, Bapu wanted to build a hospital.
Bapu wanted his friend to get better. He called all his other friends and told them what he wanted to do. He wanted to build a hospital. All of Bapu’s friends worked very hard to save a little money to help Bapu build the hospital.
Bapu’s friend Shri Parchure Shastra lived 12 more years and was very happy.
That is why today there is the Parchure Hospital at Bapu Kuti ashram in Sevagram, India.
Bapu Creates a National Prayer
march 28, 2010
Bapu loved children. He wanted to create a national prayer for all Indians.
Bapu once said , “There should be a National Prayer that every child could recite.”
He explained, “Though there are a number of religions and sectoral prayers we use; but they create a chasm [between the children].”
He explained, “Though there are a number of religions and sectoral prayers we use; but they create a chasm [between the children].”
“What we need,” he insisted, “is a national prayer that acts as a bridge between all [the children], creates unison, so that every individual feels that he or she is contributing to the nation.”
This very simple concept led to the development of the spinning wheel. Spinning [cotton] is a light and simple exercise.
Bapu thought, “The beauty of a spinning wheel is that it can convert even the weakest person into a productive citizen.”
Bapu Walked to the Sea
march 28, 2010
Bapu walked to the sea.
He did this to make certain people had salt.
On the way to the sea, many people followed Bapu.
So, every time he got to a new city or town, he made quite the scene.
All the town noticed Bapu because of the people who were following him.
“Bapu! Bapu!” children would yell as he passed. Or, they would run out to the road and walk a while with him.
Bapu got the salt.
Bapu Writes
march 28, 2010
Bapu loved to read and write.
One time, Bapu read a story that changed his life.
He read this story on a long train across South Africa.
The story was called “Unto the Last.” It was about healing the world.
Every morning and every evening Bapu liked to read and write.
Because he was very disciplined he wrote many books.
He also wrote many letters to friends in India and across the world.
Bapu’s letters and books could change the world.
Bapu encouraged everyone to learn and love reading.
“Reading books,” Bapu used to say, “is like soap to the mind.
Kasturba Ghandi
march 28, 2010
Ba was married when she was thirteen. Her proper name is Kasturba Ghandi.
They were married 50 years.
Everyone who knew Kasturba called her Ba.
The first person to call her Ba was her husband Ghandi.
Ba had a name for Ghandi too. She called him Bapu.
Ba believed that women belonged strongly in the headquarters of Bapu’s organizations and ashrams.
Bapu Walked to the Sea
march 28, 2010
Bapu walked to the sea. He did this to make certain people had salt.
On the way to the sea, many people followed Bapu.
So, every time he got to a new city or town, he made quite the scene.
All the town noticed Bapu because of the people who were following him.
“Bapu! Bapu!” children would yell as he passed. Or, they would run out to the road and walk a while with him.
Bapu got the salt.
Bapu Writes
march 28, 2010
Bapu loved to read and write.
One time, Bapu read a story that changed his life.
He read this story on a long train across South Africa.
The story was called “Unto the Last.” It was about healing the world.
Because he was very disciplined he wrote many books.
He also wrote many letters to friends in India and across the world.
Bapu’s letters and books could change the world.
Bapu encouraged everyone to learn and love reading.
“Reading books,” Bapu used to say, “is like soap to the mind.
Kasturba Ghandi
march 28, 2010
Ba was married when she was thirteen. Her proper name is Kasturba Ghandi.
They were married 50 years.
Everyone who knew Kasturba called her Ba.
The first person to call her Ba was her husband Ghandi.
Ba had a name for Ghandi too. She called him Bapu.
Ba believed that women belonged strongly in the headquarters of Bapu’s organizations and ashrams.
They worked together, ’teaching constructive programs and showing the way to universal equality.’
Like Bapu, Ba loved to make cloth.
She would weave it into fabrics and clothes for all her friends and people she had met.
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AFRICA
April 10, 2010
Camels roam the lands and desert from the borders of Europe and the foothills of the Himalayas, to the far African plains, always accompanied by humans. They can be seen resting on shady coves and beside watering holes. Most people mistakenly think that camels are not smart. I think this comes from the way they chew. Camels chew slowly. And, like Goats, cows, and sheep. They grind their food against their upper jaw because, of course, they have no teeth their. For this reason, all the animals who eat like this remind us of old people who have lost their teeth and must mash their food and gum it.
Camels chew slowly, one might say deliberately, but a closer look seems to prove this false. because of this we call them lazy. They have straw hanging out of their mouth most of the day.
I think the way we think of camels as dumb, shiftless and lazy comes from the way we have been taught to view people. When we are growing up, we are raised with images that small children with long grasses dangling from their lips in countryside are lazy, maybe shiftless. Or old men, who chew and spit loudly, “Tang!” into deep metal spittons, like my grandfather Norman did after he moved West to California, acting determined to waste time (and health) with nothing more than machismo fraternity, act lazy.
I must debate these old ideas. People need breaks, camels needs break. We all need to rest. And, if a child chewing straw is their way of signifying to themselves or to others - rest, retreat, solace - then it is as it should be. Have you ever seen a camel work? They carry enormous loads. And if you take a good look at a camel, look at its knees and stringy long legs. Carrying a hump or two of water would be hard enough, carrying the rest of their body would be extremely difficult. Carrying anything extra, humans, loads of wood, goods to market, would be awfully tiring. So camels must rest. And that is the funniest thing you have ever seen, camels at rest. All of that weight, and funny neck, and lankiness somehow shrinks down onto the bony fragile knees of this great beast; and, somehow, it manages to tuck or splay all those legs out and beneath it.
Kids Dream of Riding Camels
May 25, 2010
When was the last time you saw a real Egyptian camel close-up?
I think that every kid who knows about deserts and Africa must dream of riding a camel. Camels are funny looking, but really cool. They can walk for days across deserts without needing water.
Camels have hoofs for feet that are really wide. These big hoofs help them cross the really tall sand dunes of the Sahara and other deserts.
We saw camels at pyramids. We were surprised by how tall they are. I was only standing up to the middle of a camel’s belly. Some of my nephews and nieces would only reach their knees. They are so tall!
Then we saw a camel right in the middle of Cairo. He was eating trash and scratching his neck on the corner of an old building. He was so big he took up a whole parking spot!
We were kind of worried about this camel though. We had learned one reason plastic bags were being banned in Mussoorie, India was because cows (sacred animals of India) were eating so many bags that their stomachs filled up with them.
I hope camels don’t eat plastic bags in Egypt. If they do, they might get sick like the cows do in India.
Pinky, Big, and the three other toes
Pinky and Big live with three other toes. They are all good friends.
They have always lived together and they love going places.
They have never been apart, though nobody knows what to call the three other toes.
Everybody thinks that Big is an adventurer. He is bigger. He always takes the lead. But, Pinky, Big, and the three other toes are all really big adventurers.
They will walk through mud and water, in rain and cold. They will walk in the ocean - going far under the sea - and they are not afraid when fish and crabs and eels look at them like they might be dinner. (OK - maybe Big is a little afraid of crabs - but that is because he got pinched by one).
Pinky and the Big Bandage
One time, Pinky got sick. He had been working too hard; then, he got really red.
Strange though it sounds, he blew up on one side like a balloon. He got really hot inside his balloon and hurt.
So, the doctor (mommy) put a bandage all over Pinky. He had to wear his bandage a long, long time.
But, when the Bandage came off he felt better.
Pinky and Big try to find the three other toes names
One day, it seemed funny to Pinky, Big, and the three other toes that Pinky and Big had names, they always had, but the three other toes did not. ‘What can we do?’ asked Big. ‘We need to find your names,’ said Pinky.
The five friends asked their good friends the Fingers the next time they saw them. ’Pinky and Big have names. They always have,’ they told their friend the fingers, ’but we don’t have names . Can you help us find our names?’
The Fingers said they would try and help the three other toes find their names.
We all have names, said the Fingers.
‘They call me Thumb,’ said the short and chubby one. Thumb seemed to miss the middle part like a toe and always stood off to the side.
“I am Pinky, just like you.” said the other shorter finger way at the other end.
‘And, I am Ring, because I wear this big gold ring,’ said the finger next to Pinky Finger.
‘They call me Middle’ said the next, ‘or sometimes Bird.’
‘And, I am Index,‘ said the last finger, ‘but I like Pointer.’
The three other toes conferred with Pinky and Big. They did not wear rings or point. And, ‘Middle’ just did not seem like much of a name.
So it was decided, they did not need other names. They would just be friends the way they were.
Read more...
Camels chew slowly, one might say deliberately, but a closer look seems to prove this false. because of this we call them lazy. They have straw hanging out of their mouth most of the day.
I think the way we think of camels as dumb, shiftless and lazy comes from the way we have been taught to view people. When we are growing up, we are raised with images that small children with long grasses dangling from their lips in countryside are lazy, maybe shiftless. Or old men, who chew and spit loudly, “Tang!” into deep metal spittons, like my grandfather Norman did after he moved West to California, acting determined to waste time (and health) with nothing more than machismo fraternity, act lazy.
I must debate these old ideas. People need breaks, camels needs break. We all need to rest. And, if a child chewing straw is their way of signifying to themselves or to others - rest, retreat, solace - then it is as it should be. Have you ever seen a camel work? They carry enormous loads. And if you take a good look at a camel, look at its knees and stringy long legs. Carrying a hump or two of water would be hard enough, carrying the rest of their body would be extremely difficult. Carrying anything extra, humans, loads of wood, goods to market, would be awfully tiring. So camels must rest. And that is the funniest thing you have ever seen, camels at rest. All of that weight, and funny neck, and lankiness somehow shrinks down onto the bony fragile knees of this great beast; and, somehow, it manages to tuck or splay all those legs out and beneath it.
Kids Dream of Riding Camels
May 25, 2010
I think that every kid who knows about deserts and Africa must dream of riding a camel. Camels are funny looking, but really cool. They can walk for days across deserts without needing water.
Camels have hoofs for feet that are really wide. These big hoofs help them cross the really tall sand dunes of the Sahara and other deserts.
We saw camels at pyramids. We were surprised by how tall they are. I was only standing up to the middle of a camel’s belly. Some of my nephews and nieces would only reach their knees. They are so tall!
Then we saw a camel right in the middle of Cairo. He was eating trash and scratching his neck on the corner of an old building. He was so big he took up a whole parking spot!
I hope camels don’t eat plastic bags in Egypt. If they do, they might get sick like the cows do in India.
Pinky, Big, and the three other toes
Pinky and Big live with three other toes. They are all good friends.
They have always lived together and they love going places.
They have never been apart, though nobody knows what to call the three other toes.
Everybody thinks that Big is an adventurer. He is bigger. He always takes the lead. But, Pinky, Big, and the three other toes are all really big adventurers.
They will walk through mud and water, in rain and cold. They will walk in the ocean - going far under the sea - and they are not afraid when fish and crabs and eels look at them like they might be dinner. (OK - maybe Big is a little afraid of crabs - but that is because he got pinched by one).
Pinky and the Big Bandage
One time, Pinky got sick. He had been working too hard; then, he got really red.
Strange though it sounds, he blew up on one side like a balloon. He got really hot inside his balloon and hurt.
So, the doctor (mommy) put a bandage all over Pinky. He had to wear his bandage a long, long time.
But, when the Bandage came off he felt better.
Pinky and Big try to find the three other toes names
One day, it seemed funny to Pinky, Big, and the three other toes that Pinky and Big had names, they always had, but the three other toes did not. ‘What can we do?’ asked Big. ‘We need to find your names,’ said Pinky.
The five friends asked their good friends the Fingers the next time they saw them. ’Pinky and Big have names. They always have,’ they told their friend the fingers, ’but we don’t have names . Can you help us find our names?’The Fingers said they would try and help the three other toes find their names.
We all have names, said the Fingers.
‘They call me Thumb,’ said the short and chubby one. Thumb seemed to miss the middle part like a toe and always stood off to the side.
“I am Pinky, just like you.” said the other shorter finger way at the other end.
‘And, I am Ring, because I wear this big gold ring,’ said the finger next to Pinky Finger.
‘They call me Middle’ said the next, ‘or sometimes Bird.’
‘And, I am Index,‘ said the last finger, ‘but I like Pointer.’
The three other toes conferred with Pinky and Big. They did not wear rings or point. And, ‘Middle’ just did not seem like much of a name.
So it was decided, they did not need other names. They would just be friends the way they were.
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