Featuring Bryn McNerney

this podcast is very like pro alcohol? Um, we're not anyway. I mean it's not. It's it's the thing about you want to mention the alcohol right in the first five seconds of the podcast. Every time is it gives it much more importance than it has in our lives. And we don't have a problem. And we're because because we don't. We don't go out drinking. We don't drink that much. This is as much as I'll drink it at night

whenever we sit down. We've just relaxed at the end, and it's like the one time a week I'm thinking about the drink, the one time in the week. Um, I can finally give this drink the attention to deserve. So we had a week as a regular old fall week, getting cold, stocking up on hats um regular old fall week went hat harvest. You know how the weeks go and Halloween and thanks multiple holidays. Election day do you

call it a holiday? It should be a holiday. This is at something I'm slightly angry about in in terms of a social justice thing. The fact that the election is not a holiday is already problematic because if people want to vote, they need to they should not have to work. But specifically because in many places like our town, for some reason, it is a holiday for children to not go to school. So they've made it extra hard

for working parents to get to the polls. I mean, like we it was fine for us, but I just an issue. I think that idea are getting to the polls on election day, right, Like if it's for the teacher's sake, I mean, I'm not I don't want to discredit teachers who do really hard work and make a lot of prep, but they're they're going to be able to get there after three pm. They're fine, Like I mean, also in New York State, now, it was the first year of early voting and we could have just mosey

down over to the towns. I don't think get specifically impacted us. I just think in theory, this is an issue that is problematic. Um Anyway, today was Veterans Day and I was home with the kids in no school. And so here's what's been going on with me. I don't know if I talked about this last week, but um, I lost my mind a few times this week. I've been doing hour upon hour of essentially data transferring into a new system blah blah blah data entry for twelve

hours straight for like three days. And it's an exciting project that I built this thing, and so I'm really obsessive about it. But then I just realized at the end of the night, like I feel crazy. I can't go to sleep. And so here's what I've been doing. It's like eleven or twelve, you're asleep, and I'm like, now is the perfect time to finally start season one of The Walking Dead. Uh so this is a bad

choice on top of a bad choice. Yeah, and so I'm so frantic and like my brain is like, you have so many things to do, you have endless things to do. Now get obsessed with this zombie apocalypse that's truly terrifying and unsettling. And I had in two nights the two most genuinely terrifying nightmares of my entire adult life,

and I still did it again for a third night. Well, I'm glad your choices are affecting you and not just the rest of us, because regardless of the walking dead thing, I think you need to take breaks when you're doing these things where you decide to obsessively stare at your computer screen for twelve hours a day. Because the way I feel like a choice where I'm like, you know what I'm gonna do today, go crazy, there's a very

good reason I'm doing it. As an adult. It's your responsibility to try to self monitor and learn how to giving yourself slightly crazy to be around completely crazy. On Sunday, the thing that was so stressful, I then went and taught, and every conversation I had after it was over, I walked away and I went, that was so awkward. Right, this is what I'm saying. I like, I would actually

like to be working as much as you are. Like I have that drive to want to be like working all weekend, but I can feel myself being crazy with the children. I can feel diminishing returns in my work output. I just you need to take a breath and be present with the kids to be sane. We got into big fights tonight because exactly what we're talking about, and I agree a thousand percent. And you didn't get them outside until just before dinner time when they're at their

hungriest and angriest. It wasn't just before dinner. We started at like three getting dressed whenever. It took forever. We got outside and Brynes I was like, we're going to walk to to dinners. Okay, I just want to say, this is what you set me up for last weekend that I was pretty frustrated to come home to, which is kids in this state who were very frazzled. Well, I got it back. I got it, comes around, goes and comes in revolving door of karma. Okay, so you went.

You took them out into the streets at their hungriest and tirest and stir craziest. And then Bran ran away from me, and I called Brant because he was running the wrong way. He thought were going to the car. We were walking and bread and then I screamed, Britt and he kept running and the rage. There was a time if you listen to the podcast where I went through some rage issues, we all went through some rage issues,

and I got a bit of that tonight. It's been a while, and I think you know what it is now that I'm actually thinking about, Like the way that you're emotionally reacting this week because you're in such a key top state, is what brit is picking up on. And then because he's a constant mirror of everything, he's behaving in a similar way. And then he's also talking to me like he's like, you need to do this

and lectures you the way I lecture. Yeah, exactly. He repeats like everything he say and he keeps all week long. He's like, well then you're not going to get to watch cheesy all weekend and I'm like okay, fine, and he's like, well, how do you feel about? Like can we talk about the most Britin thing that's ever happened? You bought are No rather his and Ali bought him very funny Christmas sweater that says, you know there's sequence where if you rub it one way, there's an image

and if you rub it the other way. All the little discs flip and so he has that and if you push it one way it says nice, and you do it the other way it says naughty. But only Bryn would interpret it the way he did. Well, everyone who goes, oh, you're wearing a sweater, you're either nice or naughty while wearing it, and Britain goes, no, no, no no. When I flip it to naughty, it's about you, the person I'm talking to, because Daddy, if you're if you're mean, I'm gonna flip it and you're going to

be naughty. Then he's like a perfect example of why the like penal system does not work. Like he doesn't like he's just always trying to escape the specific technicality.

He's not testing the fence with every king. I was like, I remember we talked about this last year in retrospect, where it's just like the whole like threat of Santa not giving presents like doesn't really work and isn't like a great and so it came up like the other day again he was being like terrible, this is probably the day that you set them on fire and handed

them to me. But he uh, I thought it was a good idea at the time, he was being horrible and then they were like getting ready for bed, and I was at one point trying to explain, like, you know, Christmas is coming up, so we gotta start behaving because of Santa. And he was like, um, no, we don't, and and I was like yes, And I was like, do you remember the song he sees you when you're sleeping? Because he was asking he was like, how does Santa. No,

Santa can't know what I'm doing. And then I was like, well, he sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're a week And then he was like, no, he only cares if you're naughty on Christmas Day. The other days don't matter. Um. He was like just trying to find the loophole. Boy, this is the year where he's really going to apply logic to Christmas. Yeah. So, and and well he did say he said I always get presents. He literally said that, And I was like, good point.

Good point, data is in your favor. This is the logic of white men. They're like, but I keep getting rewarded, so I guess you're wrong. But I will say this story is not about how bad Britain was because it wasn't him. He and I finally I walked over him and it was more about that I was irrationally upset, but I went over and I kept it cool, and I was like, did you hear me say your name? Four times? When I scream your name? You just stopped and he goes, oh, sorry, and I was like, that

went well. Actually, That's why I did have some good moments with him on Sunday, because he had a play date with his best friend who has he doesn't see very often, and at least in a couple of hours leading up to the play date, I had some really amazing leverage where he was like, I was like, if you keep doing that to your sister, maybe we won't have this play date. And he was like, um okay, just like the only time. He's so much better at that. Yeah, And he was great over the plate ate it It's

just like he's climbing the walls over here. And I do think he needs to be like let out and run like a dog, like he needs to get outside. The other on on election Day, we went for a really long walk and we went out the door and he literally started running and I just ran with him. That's when I did that with him on Saturday, and I luckily had just gone for my first jog in like two months, and I was like loosened up and I was like, oh, we're sprinting. Cool, this is like

a good workout. Yeah, it was great. I was hoping to do that tonight. And then Maven takes off ill Maven, Maven, Maven, and she ignores me, and I'm doubly enraged because I've just gone through this, and so she runs and I just stand there waiting for her to realize that no one's following with her, and she get up like scared and come back. Of course she doesn't, so I have to go around the corner and Brind sees that I'm mad,

and he goes in. He can see that my rage is directed at Maven, and he goes full angel and he's just listening and he's great. And I go and Maven's at the end of the sidewalk by the street, and I'm like, oh, shout, I just let this three year old run towards the buggest business street. So I go over there and I'm like, give her. You can't push too hard with her because she doesn't. She doesn't tolerate that. So I'm like, did you hear me? When I say your name? Stopped like okay, and she doesn't

say anything. She just stares at you, and I say okay, and then bring goes may even just say okay. I keep doing this thing with them where I try to be really common, be like, hey, I can't have you going on the street because you could get hit by a car and you'd be very hurt. Do you understand? Like I just keep you like do you understand? And she's getting a little better. But then but then I was like, all right, we're fine, let's go this way.

We started walking, and then she refused to walk, and I go, okay, if you don't walk, we're going to go back inside. We're not going to go to dinner. And then she gives me her squints her eyes at me a death stare, and I go, okay, let's go a we start walking. She won't go, and I go, this is your last chance, and Brin's like, no, we

need to go to dinner. I'm like, it's up to maven one two, And I did all these ultimatums and I go one to three and she didn't move, so I was like, now I have to follow through on the threat. So I pick her up, and then she starts kicking me, and then I get really angry and I go and I go upstairs and I go, you're going in the room. You're staying here until dinner is ready. And then she Brin will stay in there if you

say that to him. She comes running out and I have to pick her up and I put her in her bed and I go, you do not leave here until dinner is ready. And then I keep coming. She keeps coming back out, and I put her down and I go close the door, and then she starts kicking the door, and it took me back to this time that Brent would do that when I was three. And I go in and I go, if you keep kicking the door, I'm gonna have to hold you. And she's like you wouldn't dare In her eyes, she's like, I

dare you? And I go back out, and she kicked the door so hard, and I go in the air and I sit on the bed and I just I just give like a real giant, gentle bear hug and she I've never done this to her, and she did not like it, and she started screaming, and I was like, all right, I'm letting you go. I'm letting you go. Don't open the door. Then she opened the door one more time and then I held her again and I took her back and then finally she got it and she was in there just going so mad at me,

but she didn't come out. And then she started going, mommy, Mobby, she did this, and she they both had a huge tantrum. I guess last night last night when they were like they're both getting hungry at dinner time and I was picking Brenn up from a play to date and like they brand did a huge tantrum about a bunch of stuff and then and just like would not stop trying to be bad and Maven once he was like, would

finally calm down. Mayven had just like picked up on all the energy of it, and she was like trying to be about Like she was like, it's my turn

to be bad now. It was so sweet while this was happening, but like she that's the problem is, like we know the tricks at this point of like a three and a half year old, so she's kind of screwed and like she tantramed out in the kitchen for a minute, and then she just started crying and then needed to hug for me, like she like, because like we're just I'm just not, unfortunately for her, not as easily manipulated by a three and a half year old who can't get up on the counters by themselves, and

I don't have to physically restrain her as well. The thing that I found always found hard with Brin that I'm like, oh, yeah, I've nailed this, is it the end of these real intense things. The key is to have avoid trying to do the hey do we feel better? Hey? You know what this and then give him a big hug and in the end you've rewarded them for that whole process. So I don't stay stern or anything. But when it was time, I just went in there and I go, do you want to stay in here till dinner?

Or do you want to help me set the table? If you want to set the table, And then we just moved on. And now she's had no fun doing that, and she maybe won't do it next time, But I was gonna say, she is like really learning how to be really vindictive and mean and you know how we're talking last week about how they watched Charlie Brown and they started saying you blockhead and I'm going to pound you. Um. They've like tried to increase the threats, but they only

know so many words. But this week I heard Maybn talking to brand and they are arguing back and forth and she goes, I'm going to kill you. Your friend said he was going to like, don't do that. We've gone there now, this is where they're at. They've reached killing. I'm going to kill you and Tricker treat smell my feet, give me something sweet to eat. If you don't, I don't care, I'll pulled out your underwear. And I immediately

I'm like, pulling down underwear is not funny. And then I heard myself say that and I'm like, are you kidding me? Well, you're really becoming the PC police. Afterwards, I was like, who fucking care? Why did I say that? You know it pulled down some underwearwear and actually, actually don't, you'll get kicked out of school. But thing so, we hadn't a fight because I told him when I was little, it was give me something good to eat, and he goes, no, daddy,

it's give me something sweet to eat. And I was like, do I get into it? And this has been our WEE can review as an attack and now it's time for you knows what he said, what he's saying. This is where we talked to our children. So last week on election day, Brinn and I were home alone and for the first time he endured me interviewing him. Um. So this is a conversation with Brinn. He is on his own microphone but constantly getting up and moving all the furniture and running out of the room. So I

apologize for the less than pristine recording quality. Did you edit it down at all? No, d you wanna listen to it? It's great. Here's a chat bridge. Oh yeah, can you tell sit in that chair and tell me about it? No, Hi, Daddy, Hi Brinnie like to do today? Um? I want to hear that joke you just told me because I didn't hear it very well from the kitchen. Can you tell it again? I forgot something about ants and uncles. Do you want to eat dinosaurs? Um? Are

you serving dinosaurs? I try some dinosaur if you have Okay, well I'm coming up one dinosaur coming right up. Okay, make sure you're crashed into everything while you're doing. Okay, now, before I eat this, sit down in the chair and tell me how you've prepared this torontosaurus rex. I'm good. How did you make it happens? Well, you're really crashing into a lot of stuff. Oh you turned into a t rex. A I thought I was supposed to eat

the t rex. Not the t rex eat me. I know which everyone I sat up to you, I do that dinosaur. Oh wow, well, don't serve me anyven more more dinosaurs. We'll talk into the microphone and tell me. Chicken coming up. One live chicken coming up, and that's the live chicken. Stop picking me, chicken, stop picking me. Oh, I hate this restaurant. I'm getting attacked by everything. How about soup? Oh sure, I'll have some soup. I assume that it's normal slop. You're gonna serve me slop. That

was a big left turn from soup. I mean, linquistically. You just poured slop all over me. I'm covered in slop. I would like to complain to Oh, you just slipped on the carpet. Serves you well for attacking me. All right, get back on the mic, because I have a question for you. Friend. Okay, today's election day? Did you know can you explain to people what election day is? They're going to be the mayor. I'm voting for you. I'm going to be the mayor. Did you vote for me today? No? Yeah? Yeah,

I really did vote? So what is voting like? How does voting work? How did you do it? I just voted? Oh? Where did you go to vote? I do not know. Oh? How did you when you got there? How did you vote? I just vote it. Did you write it on a piece of paper or did you say it to somebody? How did you vote? I just did it? Oh? Did you say I vote for daddy? Yes? I did. Did they say who's your daddy? I don't know. I just

told them that your name? Okay, that's good. Peter, So you said I'm voting for Peter, my daddy for mayor. Do you think I'm gonna win? Brit yep? Do you think I will get the most votes? Um? Of course? Of course? Who else is going to vote for me? Do you think talking to the mic? Um? Sam raised? Okay, actually, mommy, yeah, okay, that's four votes, Naven, it's five votes, even though two of you are too young to vote. But yeah, me, that was already counting you. Okay, great, that's five votes.

Do you think no one else in the town is going to get more than five votes? Yep, more than five vote. No one will get more than five votes one vote except you. Everyone will get one vote. Everyone in the town's gonna get one vote, and I will get five votes. Yep, So you'll be the mayor. Wow, this is quite do um, Brian. If I'm the mayor, how do you think our lives will change? It will be different after no one to be the mayor? Oh so, no one's How does that work? Somebody has to be there.

It's because everyone has one vote, because everyone ties, no one's winds. Yeah, well you think maybe if everyone ties, then everyone becomes the mayor. Everyone does and you do. Actually, you've come to my microphone. If I was the mayor, Brandon, what do you think would be different? How would our lives change? I don't know. Do you think I would have to go to them to work at at a city hall? Just work and do the story for his book?

That dog? No one's going to be the mayor. They all got a tie, so I should keep my job as a story pirate. Do you know what my job is? What do you know? If somebody were to ask you, Britan, what does your daddy do for work? What would he saying? I don't know. I don't know the answer of that question. Not at all at all. You know some things that I do right when I go to work? What do I do? You podcast? I do do the Story Parts

podcast and we does. Yeah. Lee is also on the Story Parts podcast, but he's the mayor of the story Part of Yeah. Um cool, it's do you think I've got a cool job? Of course awesome? What does mommy do? Um? Work? Yeah? What's mommy's work? What kind of job does she have? Um? I don't know. You know she's a writer? Oh? Writing writing more? Yes, y writing work. When you grow up? What kind of job do you think you would want to have? I would want to be a police You

want to be a police officer? Why do you want to be a police officer? So I can blue back guys in jail? So it's just to punish people. No, Um, if if bad guys were prisoning, I would I would I would I would keep them in jail forever. Um, Well, it's not exactly how it works. But it was just a regular prison prisoning, I would make it ninety years. Oh so you're doing sentencing. Interesting. Uh, you wouldn't want to be a police officer to help people? Yeah, you do?

You want to help people? Well, how what are other ways do you think a police officer could help people besides putting people in jail, calling rather police calling for backup? Yeah? Yeah, maybe you know what one time I called the police.

I called the police one time when when you were little, because I brought Maven was a little baby, and I had her in the carrying in her car seat, and I carried her up the stairs with you, and you were just about two years old, and you both came into the apartment, and then I took off my jacket and then I ran downstairs to get the stroller. And

while I was downstairs, you know what you did? You closed the door, And so I came upstairs and the door was locked, and I didn't have my keys because they were inside with you and Maven, and you were too little to open the door, and so I was trying to talk to you through the door. I said, can you open the door? Brand and you couldn't and you started crying, and then Daddy got real scared, going,

how do I get in? I don't have any keys, And then you just I needed to go into into the neighbors were from the firescape, and then was getting a jet and then you saw me getting a jug of milk. Yeah, you never heard this story before. You're right. Well, First, the first thing I did, Britton is I called I called the police because I didn't know how to get in the apartment, so I needed help. So I called the police and I said, my little kids are trapped inside.

Can you come help me unlock my door? And then before they arrived, then I called mommy, and Mommy said, go through the fire escape, you ninny, and I go, oh, yeah. So I went through the neighbor's apartment, climbed across the fire escape, and came inside. And yes, you're right there. You were sitting next to Maven, hugging a full gallon of milk. And you know what you said to me. You said, hi, Daddy, and did the jug of mink. I saw the jug of milk, and I said, oh,

you're thirsty, and you said yeah. And then everything was okay, and I stopped being scared and then I broke the white the white part. Oh yeah, I did that with day. You broke the white part of what Really? I put it off of the milk, No, of that white part o the door knob. We used to have a child safety thing on the doorknob, but now you're a big kid, and we took it off. I feel I could open it. Do you feel like you're a big kid? Brand? Yeah? What what makes what's the difference between a big kid

and a little kid? Big kids are heavier to pick up, that is true. The little kids are easier to pick up. That's definitely true. But you can do things now that you're big that you couldn't when you were little. Right, Yeah, what do you know now that you didn't know when you were little? You eat turkey on Thanksgiving? You didn't know that before. Yeah, and on Christmas you get present. Okay, since we're talking about holidays today, you have no school,

which is why we're having this conversation. And it's a holiday election day. Yep. Oh, let me drink the calendar for a second. Oh, okay, you're leaving the room, You're going into the kitchen. You're going to check the calendar. How's it going so far? All right, what does the calendar say? It says nothing. Yeah. Oh, so what Brent just said is I guess it's not election day, so he should go to school. I don't think anyone's at school. Well, I think the doors might be locked if you go

to school by yourself. I want to hear about school. Can you jump on the mic? And I wanted to hear how school is going very bad and a little bit good, very bad, and a little bit good very bad. Okay, let's start with a little bit good part. What part of school is a little bit good? People will were giving me space? People gave you space? What does that mean?

That means I have space? We're people being too close to you and you said give me some space please, um because their chairs were too close aloser and I was like, please scout your chairs for off plog and space. They really did? You said thank you? Yep. I was like m hm. As a what what kind of character is that? Bob? Bob, I'm bab No, not the bobbing in a story, just the bobbing. And like remember when he said truth the cat cat? Yeah, oh Bob from

the dust Money's book. Yeah, that's a funny voice. Can you tell me what do you have for breakfast? In that voice? Um? Let me get that? Wait? Where are you going? Why? What is happening? Did you not have breakfast? Oh? I forgot to feed my child? Well, to be fair, Beth and I both did because oh well, well, this has been a conversation with Bran on a day with no school. This next segment is called listeners want to know. This is where we take questions and comments from you guys.

Are listeners? H We certainly do so. Last week we talked very briefly about book recommendations. We had a whole long list of recommendations and we got through one email. Um, So I lined them all up and we're gonna do it. We two episodes ago, a listener asked about books that sort of flip gender norms on their heads, and they're asking for recommendations about girls who basically misbehaved boys who take on emotional labor. And we got a lot of a lot of a lot of rex. So I'm gonna

try to fire through a bunch of these. Um, and I will say it's more about poorly behaved girls than sweet boys. I'll take it, honestly. I mean the sweet boys would be nice boy, but I guess. I guess culturally we're more accustomed to bad girls than we are sweetboys. It's also easier storytelling, so it's a more dangerous, exciting thing for people to act out right, to have a sweet boy unflawed protagonists exactly. So, Hi, guys, I enjoy listening to your show and recommend it to my friends.

I say that listening to your podcast is like having a couple come over to hang out. I feel like you two are drinking tea splash soda at my kitchen table and telling me stories and bickering with each other like real people. It's not tea more soda, but we've been over. That makes me feel less bored and lonely while I wash my dishes and stay at home mom. So some days I don't really react with other grown people. It's nice to have you guys to hang out with,

even though our relationship is one sided. I love listening to your stories, even though you guys never listened to my stories. We are right now, Sorry, we are right now. We're doing it. But here the recommendations The Worst Princess and the paper Bag Princess. Did you ever read The paper Bag Princess. We talked about that. I loved it. I can't remember what it's about, but it's like a princess who's like fed up with this. Her dress gets burned up by a dragon and she wears a paper bag,

and she like goes and saves the night. I think in the end she's like, I don't need this night. She's real nasty and she yells at the dragon. It's great and the worst princess. I don't know. UM, love Stacy and her gorgeous family. That's a great way to sign it, loves Stacy and her gorgeous family, because like three years old, then three months old, I would start signing all my work emails of Beth and her gorgeous family.

Why does your family on this work email? Because I have a family to feed and pay the invoice, UM, please follow the pay the following invoice. Oh my gorge I am see seeing my lawyer who would like to see my gorgeous family fed his average looking families doing just fine. Hi, Beth and Peter just got dozen done listening to your episode The Blaze, and Beth mentioned not knowing a good witch book or movie to introduce Naven

to Witches. Room on the Room by Julia Donaldson is a great book about a friendly witch that was turned into a special for Halloween on Amazon Video. I definitely recommend checking it out. I love the podcast and cerely lindsay, you know, it's funny. We do have that um which counting book that it involves, which is fitting on a broom. But it's not that book. No, it's not that not as good as this book. I mean, this book sounds incredible and I gotta get it. Um So here's another one.

I wanted to recommend some awesome books that I have at the preschool I work in. Okay, this is somebody who's in the thick of it. Okay, we're listening, Okay. I usually stay in the two year old rooms. Um So, maybe these will be a bit young for Britain and Maven, but I still think they are so cool and fun. I hate to pick on you, uh Sarah, but I'm gonna do a little brand in Maven spelling tutorial because it's understandable. Almost nobody gets them. No one has ever

gotten them right. Bryn is b r y n only one end, and Maven is m A V e n She can't spell it either, so fine, she can sometimes she's nailed the first four letters pretty much. She thinks she's probably there now. Um one, if you want to charm a Llama, this book is pretty short, but it talks about making friends or expressing love without gifts or elaborate gestures like that, there is a monster in your book. Not the awesome Sesame Street one with Grover losing his ship.

This one isn't isn't woke, but it's cute. We'll forgive it for that. Wait, are these in response to the gender role question? Um or is this a separate email? I think you're just book recommendations. That's fine, that's great, that's fine. Yeah, I just want to number three. These are she as she said, these are younger preschoolers, but we got listeners. Are all kinds three, dream, big, little one. Okay.

So this is my So this is my favorite. It is all about women of color and the awesome stuff they have done and encouraging kids to reach for the stars. And finally, dragons love Tacos because it is a classic. Thanks for the podcast, Keep it up, Sarah. Dragons love Tacos. I've heard of that. I think I have read that. I don't remember. I feel like we bought it as a gift for someone and then very quickly did not have it in our possession anymore. Yeah, I think one

of our nephew nieces has that. Great. All right, we gotta make a list and we gotta post it on a thing. If we don't do that, we apologize it's because we went to sleep at um just rewind rewind the podcast kind kind or or we could create some social content and make a list. We're going to do it someday. I mean, you're living in the future now, listeners, you'll know right now. You'll know if we succeeded, But us idiots in the past, we don't know. I think

this episode goes out in like twelve hours. It's not like we have a lot of lead time. Yeah, we gotta records mad and then hug. That's how as soon as you hit the stop on the record, Beth and I just silently hug for they're a little ritual. I think it was okay, We're going to be fine. See you next week. Hey, Beth and Peter. As an elementary school teacher, I delight in hearing you talk about children's literature.

I have a few recommendations based on the request for books for kids under five that show girls being jerks in the way boys often get to be show boys doing emotional labor. Um. There's nice section headings in this email from Eliana our friend. Um boys were books where girls are flawed and sometimes jerks. Fanny kay Stein by Jim Benton is great. It's a good read, allowed option for kids four through six, and a good independent book for kids six through eight. She's a mad scientist who

has flaws and goals. Don't we all darling a mad scientist perfectly described by last flaws and goals. When Sophie gets angry by Molly Bang, she's angry, she's flawed, and she learns coping strategies that have nothing to do with her gender. I like that, also the author's name. Molly Bang. My Best Friend by E. B. Lewis is a tale of navigating friendship when girls are being jerked to other girls. There's also girl friendships featured here in a positive and

satisfying way. Did you find girl friendships were complicated? Oh? Yeah, because it's uh friendships between very smart people. All right, let's say overly sensitive people. All my friendships were very simple. I know I have some dramatic ones. Okay, no, not directly related. I recommend books by Moll Williams, like Nuffle Bunny and the Elephant and Piggy series. They feature relatable flood characters who are also girls, Elephant and Piggy all

over this house. Brn, just read an entire You're not making it clear when you're reading other people's words, and when you're speaking as you yourself a podcast, you're just rambling. Brent and I read an Elephant Piggy book tonight. He read it to my mom via FaceTime, and he read every single word and I was really impressed. Yeah, well, Mayven starting to do that too. She's starting to memorize pages of books. Yeah, well you can actually read who's

texting you like crazy. Over there, my friends, we have a lot of cool chats going on, like complicated girls friendship. Yeah, it's complicated. You wouldn't understand. I don't get at all. Um. I'm sorry. Did I just make my dumb character southern for no reason? I apologize for that. That's about I just wanted to point out that's about. That's that's that's biased. I should have made my dumb character my Midwest turn, whilst they now making them fun of them in West.

But I can do that. I'm one of them books in which boys do emotional labor. Hair Love by Matthew A Cherry, A black father learns how to put in the labor of styling his daughter's hair while mom is on a trip. It's very sweet and represents natural black hair in a positive, loving way. I feel like I've seen that. Um, great, do you speak Fish? By DJ courten courtin uh Corkin A Male Tree, A male tree does?

I'm gonna read that A male tree does the emotional labor of teaching a boy that he must learn to speak other languages. A male tree? What it says? A male tree does the emotional labor of teaching a boy that he must learn to speak other languages. He learns he must stop expecting everyone else to speak boy and actually put in some labor. I'm so confused. I get it.

I like this. He has to speak tree. Um, He's this little boy that insists that everything around him speaks boy, and so a tree teaches him to speak other languages like speak trees? How do you? How do you speak fish. It's so hard to judge this out of context without reading the book. The book that I've written in my head from this description is excellent. Pete the Cat less familiar with this series, but I get the sense that the um the people are grumpy around Pete, and Pete

chills everyone out. It keeps it positive. Pete is really lazy, like typical dude. He like rolls in and he's like, we haven't done a sore party? Like He's sort of like it is a hard vibe the Cat books. Sometimes Pete the Cat is like, should I put on all my clothes? Like he doesn't. There's no like moral arc to Pete the Cat. He go have a ton of drive. He builds a robot to do all this stuff for him, and then it's he's like this sucks. I don't know

if I learned anything. Yeah, Or he's like, I'm going to convince the elementary school principle to give me the budget for the school playground and tell him that I know how to build a playground even though I don't, and then I'm gonna throw a bunch of playground equipment together. He gets a crew together to do it. Okay, Well, his playground design falls apart because he doesn't know what he's doing, because he's a child cat. I just don't

I don't know. I mean, I don't know if Pete the Cat is a feminist role model we're looking for, is all I'm saying. Continue. He sidesteps a lot of toxic masculinity tropes. Oh does he some? He's not aggressive, he doesn't need to be the leader. He does need to be the leader. He took over the playground design projects, he suggested it. Oh my god, he really failed up? He did? He failed up? Mediocre black cats, um um great all right um. Stories with cool witches for small children, bes.

I completely relate to the desire of cool witch stories for little one, Which is why, which is why I've gotten my daughter hooked on the following witchy movies slash books. Room on the Room, second, Room on the Room. I'm going to order a room on the both film on Netflix and book. It's not revolutionary other listeners at Amazon, so we're gonna have to figure out where to come on. Where do we find room in the broom? Cancel the

someone else? Right? Where is the room? It's not revolutionary in terms of gender, but The Witch is cool and my daughter loves it. The animation is great and the cast is impressive. Okay, kikiS delivery service. I realized that the target audience for this might not be tiny ones, but my daughter has loved this movie since she was a year and a half. It's a sweet, studio ghibli movie about a thirteen year old which finding her way in the world. It's certainly not scary or inappropriate. It's

visually lovely. If you're an NYC check out Books of Wonder. They really have created a top notch collection. The story only features books for kids and young adult a book culture also has a solid, well curated kids section. I will say I've been of a just Wondered many times, and I have performed in Books of Wonder many times,

and I love that place. It is has a very good reputation for a bookstore, considering all bookstores have died out in the city of New York and the main contact there that I've met, his name is Peter, so

it's got to be good. I mean, if they're hiding Peters over the lastly, check out Books for Littles ah, that's Books for Littles dot Com for resources and recommendation for children's books that addresses all manners of topics, particularly relating to folks with marginalized identities in thoughtful, positive ways. Thanks for your wonderful podcast, Elana, longtime listener, many time writer. UM, thank you for that very thorough list. Yeah, thank you,

Thank you to everyone. We're not done. That's what we're gonna plot through. Hi, I recommend Judy B. Jones books, but says may, I recommend Judy B. Jones books by Barbara Park. You may more of a read aloud book for younger kids, not as many pictures. But she is a great character. Silly, sassy, grouchy, talks to about kids she doesn't like, gets in trouble at school, being loud, not following instructions all the time. A four year old boy loves them. The books are laugh out loud, funny

at times, and it's a whole series. I wouldn't necessarily call her an asshole, as she is six, but she isn't always well behaved. Love the show, Marjorie. All right? Two more right? This Um, this comes from our our friend Megan. Check out The Humble Witch or a witchy book that's great for very little kids. Also which adjacent and certainly a woman active nasty. Check out the Swamp books, for example, Miss Nelson is missing. I'm guessing you already

know about those absolute classics, Megan. I do know about those, and they are Did you ever read those that did? Not? Cough? Get it out? There's the last one. I'm not equipped for this climate. Go ahead, hit Peter and Beth. Pippy long Stocking is definitely the unconventional little girl that gets herself in trouble. And the neighbors, especially little Boy, if I remember correctly, are the more quiet, well mannered, responsible kids. All right, best leaving, but I'm gonna keep going to

be fair. I didn't read the books, but as a child I was a big fan of the Swedish TV series, very popular in Italy in the nineties. You guys are right when you say that every little kid dreams of two things, no adult supervision and animal best friends. Peppy long Stocking has both no mother, no father, no mother father lost at sea, and a horse and a monkey as best friends. Check and check. Disclaimer. It's been twenty plus years since last time I watched Peppy mong Stocking.

I don't really know if it aged well. Or not. I'm going to guess not somehow, but I don't really remember the plot of Fippilong Stocking at all. I just wanted listeners to know that our apartment has gotten very dry all of a sudden because we didn't realize that our heat. We kind of knew that our heat should have been turned on, but we thought it was like negligence on the part of our building and not the fact that all of our heaters needed to be bled. So now we finally got our heat on and it's

very dry in here, and I'm coughing a lot. Are you happy about those humidifiers? Yeah, well, I'm really happy our heats on, but now we need to turn it down a little bit, the heat or the communifier the heat. Okay, that makes sense? All right, Well, guys, this was fun. Thanks for tell alreating me reading so many words in around us, were tolerating my coughing, And thank you for sending so many thoughtful recommendations. Yes, I appreciate that. I

am definitely gonna check out room on a broom. We got a lot of great email, were hopefully gonna get to it in the next few weeks. So if you've written any we haven't reply or read your stuff. Just now we read it and we love you. This has

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us about social media? I can't remember which part we hadn't talked about the You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter at we knows Pod, Rate and review this podcast wherever you get your podcasts and babies will see you next time. Sp