The Collection Obsession

I believe in collecting things. Most are pretty useless and just take up space. If you read my earlier post, you know that my daughter took a lot of things to the junkyard and DI last fall. Many of these things were collections: my collection of houseplan books (Let's face it, I'll live in this cottage the rest of my life), a whole slew of frames, my hope chest of fabric (I can't even find my sewing machine, what do I need fabric that I bought in the early 80's for) my shelf of old VHS movies and part of my book library. So far, I have not replaced the junked houseplan books or the VHS movies and I'm not even tempted to buy fabric; but you also know from my earlier post, that I am quickly buying up new frames. Luckily, these seem to match and have a definite purpose in mind. The others had a purpose at the time, I just don't remember what was supposed to go in them. Apparently I can get rid of pictures and crafty displays easier than the frame. I also have a stamp collection that I haven't looked at in years and lots of coins collecting in the vault at the bank. Unfortunately, I'm not doing so well in collecting the green stuff in my savings account. Because it all goes into collecting more and more and more, mostly in filling up the empty spaces left when I so generously donated books to DI. Those were mostly how-to's and self-improvement books so I haven't missed them at all. But my latest collecting obsession centers on children's books. I have to be prepared for the day when my children finally present me with a grandchild. Besides, these books are so funny, beautiful, wise, or entertaining and, especially, very easy to read. Let me tell you about my latest acquisition:

Agatha's Feather Bed, Not Just Another Wild Goose Story

by Carmen Agra Deedy, pictures by Laura L. Seeley

"Agatha, the plucky weaver, orders a new feather bed from her B B Lean catalog, and soon six shivering geese pay her a visit . . .demanding theirs feathers back. But Agatha's goose is not cooked." As you can see just from the inside leaf, the writing of this book is filled with puns and word play. I had so much fun reading it. Kids may not get the word play but might if you put a lot of feeling into the reading. A few of my favorites are: ' "I have to tell you we mean business, Agatha," said Sidney. "I wouldn't mess with a gaggle of angry, naked geese. We're

not just a bunch of quacks." ' or ' "We had a great time with that credit card. They kept wanting to give us a bill, but we just said, 'No, thanks, the last thing we need is another bill,'. . ." What a great book that starts off with the lesson that kids should ask more questions, and we need to take the time to answer them. The question in this book is where do things come from. The illustrations are gorgeous and the whole book is enchanting. All ages will love this it.