The Best Kind of Card

After we finished our second reading of Go Dog Go for the night, I had to crack the cover open yet one last time. On the inside of the dust jacket lay a scrapbook paper cutout of a dog with a handwritten message inside:

We hope you enjoy this book as much as we do! We can’t wait to meet you, Little One. Love, Randy, Pattie, & family.

Five and a half years ago this was one of many books I received at a baby shower for my firstborn, who was due to come one month later. I have a whole new respect for the hostess, a dear friend who at the time was a busy young mom of three children four and under and an elementary teacher. This friend pulled out all the creative stops back in those pre-Pinterest days where you had to actually come up with ideas from magazines, Google searches, or your own imagination. The handmade frog-face cupcakes were darling and the green lily pond slushie drink adorable, but my eyes quickly diverted from the buffet to a table next to it, laden in books that were beautifully displayed in color coordinated rows. I quickly found out that the frog theme spawned from the Jonathan London’s Froggy book collection, which she had so generously gifted me. But what were all the other books doing there? Come to find out, the hostess had requested that all guests attending bring along a book in place of a card to go with their gift. The book could either be new (as long as its cost was comparable to a standard greeting card) or the guests could choose to bring a beloved children’s book of their own to pass along to my little one. Most everyone in attendance inscribed a sweet note for my little bambino along with their name and the date. Over time, these books have become family favorites that get read over and over. Pages are dog-eared and some of the board books have indentations on the corners from babies who have used them for teething relief. Within the past year, my five year old- the baby to whom these books originally were gifted- has now begun reading these books to his little brothers. The handwritten notes on the inside covers have become more meaningful over time, as some of their authors have moved away or even passed away. And now every time we crack open one of these beloved books, I’m as eager to read the notes written within them as I am the story within the binding.