I love the soft rocking chair rhythms of Blue Bowl Down: An Appalachian Rhyme by C.M. Millen, illustrated by Holly Meade. Tender are the collage illustrations and mothering-sweet are the words. Mother and child prepare bread as a bedtime ritual, just as Millen's family did generations ago, leaving it on top of the wood stove to rise while the family sleeps.
My son loves this book so much that he asks me to read it five or six times in a row. I think the rhythms are soothing to him. He has also taken an interest in making bread, by hand, rather than our usual bread machine treats, which is okay by me. Cooking with him is a creative way to connect and engage with him. It is also a good exercise in going with the flow for me; sometimes I just have to breathe and remind myself that, "It is just a mess, I can clean it up."
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