I Want to Be a Witch by Ian Cunliffe

When and where I grew up, we learned that witches were wise and powerful women who were persecuted for it. We sang this song:

So, imagine my delight when we pulled this book off the shelf. It's about a little girl who wants to be a good witch. My kid and I both highly recommend it.

Princess Grace by Mary Hoffman

Is your daughter horrifying you with her obsession with pink floaty princesses? If yes, then this might be just the book your family needs. The main character, Grace, is like your daughter (and mine): she loves princesses. But because of an upcoming parade, conscientious caregivers, and a teacher who is paying attention, she learns a more inclusive, multicultural, and adventurous perspective on what a princess can be.

Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads by Bob Shea

A small western town has the usual problems with local outlaws. But in this case, the new sheriff comes with an expertise in dinosaurs. This story is clever and laugh out loud funny. The artwork is also particularly wonderful.

Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz

This book tells the classic three little pigs story, but in this case they defend themselves with martial arts. Unlike the original, where using good building materials is critical, this tale rewards training and hard work.

Princess Cupcake Jones and the Missing Tutu by Ylleya Fields

A royal princes loses her favorite tutu the morning of her family's formal portrait painting. It's a crisis! The Queen reminds her daughter that cleaning up may help find her tutu. First, cupcake finds many favorite toys that she thought had been lost. ...Do I give away the end? I bet you can guess how it ends.

The About the Author indicates that Fields writes children's books in response to the lack of titles featuring African American characters. Our library is good about carrying books with an assortment of character types. Cupcake is a special favorite because she is a princess, because the books are pink, and, while this is the only in the series we have read, because it has a message parents want conveyed to their kids (clean your room!).

Unofficial Sunnyside Bicycle (and Pedestrian) Plan (a work in progress)

I've been biking, walking, driving my car and riding Muni around the Sunnyside neighborhood for about four years now. I've noticed some limitations -- some of which could be easily fixed with some paint. Others are a little more complicated. But before I get bogged down in implementation, here's what they are:

Monterey Boulevard needs "sharrows". In the bike network, Hearst is supposed to be the bike route here, but Hearst is significantly hillier. No sane bicyclist would ride Hearst instead of Monterey unless they're going short distances. The cars are pretty clueless, many just having come off the freeway and still driving in their own bubble. I have to remind myself that safety requires I take the lane. Sharrows would provide a gentle reminder to both bicyclists and automobiles that bikes are allowed full use of the lane and that safety requires they take it here.

Intersection Stop modifications
Some bicyclist may still use Hearst for shorter distance trips. The intersections at Hearst and Congo, and Hearst and Baden are two way stops so that folks using the bikeway have to stop. These connecting roads (Congo and Baden) are steep and sometimes hard to see fast-driving through traffic. Both of these intersections should be either 4-way stops or 2-way stops where the bikeway does not stop.

Contraflow Lanes
The neighborhood has a couple one-way streets that prevent bicyclists from using the least hilly route or accessing critical infrastructure. Edna between Monterey and Hearst allows folks going towards City College to avoid the hill towards Monterey and Foerster, but it's one-way the wrong way. It needs a contraflow bike lane. Similarly, Edna between Judson and Havelock (2 blocks crossing Marston) is direct access to the pedestrian (and bicycle) overpass over 280 to Balboa Park and the BART station, but it's also one-way and needs a contraflow lane for bicycle access.

Intersection Redesign
I noticed that the intersection of Judson and Edna was tricky before a woman was hit and killed there a few years ago. It's a 4-way stop with ladder-painted crosswalks, but somehow the hills still make it hard for folks to see each other. People want to blame that fatality on distracted driving, but I believe you can design you way to safety. I recommend a raised, textured intersection. But the specific design treatment could depend on what is decided regarding the next paragraph.

Judson between Edna and Foerster, after City College, is ridiculously wide. This is a stupid waste of space. Let's put a park on some of this roadway!

There's a beautiful piece of open space on City College property south of Judson at Foerster. I love walking through it towards BART. But City College should allow access through it's campus here rather than the fence they currently have erected which prevents pedestrians from accessing the roadway around the soccer field this way.

That's it for now. This list is a work in progress.

Family Representation

I recently submitted the following letter for consideration to some decision makers:

“What does a San Franciscan get for his fifth birthday?

“A new home in the suburbs.”

You’ve heard the joke. Everyone has. It could be depressing. I feel a little depressed thinking about it as my child just started kindergarten and many of her friends’ families prepare for The Move. Maybe I’m an idealist, but I don’t think it has to be like this. San Francisco has world class public transit, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, many excellent schools, museums and cultural institutions on par with the world’s best. Shouldn’t it be easier for families with children to stay?

The Move happens for lots of reasons. The costs of housing and childcare are often mentioned, but another huge one is that the transportation system (and the associated democratic process for planning it) could do a better job of meeting the needs of children, people traveling with children, and pregnant women.

San Francisco can be a family-friendly city, and you have the power to make it so. Last year, a group of us gave a talk at SPUR “Can Families Get Around in San Francisco?” (Tuesday, May 26, 2015). After which, the Transit Riders Union had the foresight to create the Families Working Group. But we’re not sure it’s the right mechanism to have the most opportunity to improve the City’s transportation system for children. So, I’m writing to you now to ask you to help us. How do you think families with children can have a stronger voice in the democratic process? Here are a few ideas we came up with:

• All public meetings should take place between 5 and 7 pm, with a defined end time, and provide childcare on site (like PTA meetings currently do).
• Survey responses and thoughtful letters should have a larger impact on public decision making. (Sidenote: I can’t tell you have many times I have written a long thoughtful letter only to receive a response that I should attend a meeting which I cannot attend because I have a young child.)
•  All CACs should include member representatives who are parents with children of a variety of ages.
• SFMTA (and BART) could create a Families CAC along the lines of the Multimodal Accessibility Advisory Committee (MAAC). We have a draft proposal for this available upon request.
• The Department of Children, Youth and Their Families could create a Task Force with the SFMTA.

What ideas do you have? We look forward to discussing the possibilities with you. Thank you for your thoughtful attention to this critically important issue.

I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed by Lauren Child

This is another super creative one, and it has great collage artwork. My daughter loves it. Our bedtime rituals don't involve quite as many wild animals as this book, but otherwise the resemblance is remarkable.

One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck

A little girl wants a giraffe for her birthday. Her family members belong to various professions, and she tries the methods of those professions to request the giraffe. The books includes some fun vocabulary. But ultimately, all she had to say was "please". So, it's totally unrealistic.

I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont

The title of this one is pretty self-explanatory. The book continues to outline everything the little girl likes about herself, and in my opinion, that's always a place for that sort of thing. I also like that she has crazy hair.

Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman

This books is a celebration of how families come in all forms. The cover of the copy we got from the library calls it a "Modern Classic", and I see it first came out in 1989. I guess I just sort of wish there were also books called "Heather has a mom and a dad" or "Heather has a grandma" -- but that's just the contrarian in me. I like the honesty in this book -- one kid has a dad, a step father, and shared custody, another has two dads. What matters in a family is that people love each other.

Little Night by Yuyi Morales

You know how you wish you could write a book that was just simply beautiful? Well,  Yuyi Morales wrote that book! It's a simple bedtime ritual with a touch of magic between the mom and her girl.

Little Owl's Night by Divya Srinivasan

Children's book about the love of night time, as, sadly, many of our children do. Little owl visits some friends and tries to visit others, and then finally falls asleep just before dawn with his mom.

I Love Mommy by Lizi Boyd

Cute book about a nice day with a child and mom. The drawings are so sweet, and my daughter seems so compelled that she wants to read the words.

Benny's Brigade by Arthur Bradford

This magical story tells about the adventures of two little girls, their classmates, a very small walrus who got stuck in a nut, and three slugs. It captures to essence of childhood.

Elephantantrum by Gillian Shields

A spoiled little girls learns a lesson when her dad gives her the elephant she demands. The elephant is very special and teaches her to say "please" and "thank you" and to share her toys... and her elephant. I also like that this child appears to have just the one parent.

Little Tree by Loren Long

Little tree is reluctant to give up his leaves and doesn't grow as a result. All the other trees grow up and shadow him out until he comes willing to drop his leaves one fall. My daughter loves this tale, but the allegory is lost on her. This is a good one if you're working on giving up a pacifier or similar.

Once a Mouse by Marcia Brown

This Indian fable is retold in beautiful woodcuts. A magic hermit transforms a mouse to keep him safe, and then transforms him back to teach the mouse a lesson about humility. We are all large and small depending on your perspective.

The Princess and the Giant by Caryl Hart and Sarah Warburton

This is another one about kindness. The Princess can't sleep because a giant up a beanstalk is making too much noise. The towns people want to fight with him. She finds a way to sooth him.  It's cool in some other ways (mom, the queen, chops wood, for example). I'm not crazy about it bring written in verse, but others probably love that.

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown

Cool artwork illustrates a familiar story (to many of us) of a tiger who feels like himself being wild in the wilderness but at home with his friends in the city. Fortunately in the story and real life, the city develops a balance between people expressing their true selves and conforming to social norms.