Hidden treasure!

Most people who’ve moved back to India after living in the US will vouch for the fact that the American public library system is unparalleled in the East. I wish the public libraries in India were as efficient and resourceful as their US counterparts. I have been a regular at the local library for the past two years -  whether as a patron checking out and borrowing books for the whole family, or as a volunteer working couple of hours a week, or as an enthusiastic mom attending family story time with Abhay and finally as an avid children’s book blogger spending hours at the youth section of the library – the Hillsboro public library has been an indispensable part of my weekly routine. As today was the last day of my volunteer work at the “Friends of the Hillsboro library” division of the library, saying goodbye to the people I worked with was harder than I thought! Thanks Barbara, Linda and Fay, it truly was an enriching experience working with all of you! 

Anyway, Abhay and I spend Tuesday evenings at the library attending family story time and today was no different. I'm not sure if Abhay will come to miss the library story times, but Abhay’s mommy most definitely will!! Today’s theme at the library was Pirates and as a co-incidence, the book I’d planned on reading at night made a perfect finale! “Pirates don’t take bath” by John Segal is a great book to get your little pirate to the bath tub. As you may have guessed, the little pig does not plan to take a bath, as a matter of fact, never ever plans to bathe because he declares that he is a pirate and of all the adventures pirates embark on; taking a bath is just not one of them! But his mother doesn’t buy this and points out that pirates don’t get sea sick whereas the little pig does; As his pirate excuse doesn’t seem to work, the little pig pretends to be a cow boy, then an Eskimo and then an astronaut, all of who’s top priorities are definitely not taking a bath. But his mom, no less persistent than her son, is quick to find a loophole in each of his flight plans – a cowboy sleeps on cold hard ground or that an Eskimo’s staple diet is a whale blubber and walrus liver and the difficulty for an astronaut to pee in space – all of which being impossible for the little pig to get used to!  Finally, as the little pig pretends to be a treasure hunter looking for treasure, his mom directs him to a place that has a buried treasure – the bath tub and the treasure hunter is more than happy to jump in!  So, if your little cowboy, Eskimo, astronaut or pirate has doubts about taking a bath, this book is a hidden treasure!!! :-)