Happy Father’s Day!

We are about to roll out the first book of the Ozzy Ox series and that, alone, is worthy as the subject of this entire post on Party on Paper.  But, this is also Father’s Day week, and I can’t let that go by without acknowledging the role my children’s father played at story time in our house as they grew up.  Not to brag, but our three kids had exemplary academic experiences both in public school and college.   I accredit that to story time. 

But before I pat myself on the back for establishing from early on a bedtime routine that involved books from Berenstain Bears to Little House on the Prairie, I can’t discount what our kids most likely value the most to this day:  Hubert and Pubert.

No, these weren’t characters from Harper Collins.  These were characters who, in Oren’s zany, nightly stores, magically mirrored exactly what our kids experienced.   If Jerrad went to the spelling bee that day, Hubert at bedtime also had to share HIS spelling bee experience.  If Amber went to horse camp, Pubert, ironically, just came home from horse camp.  If Kelsey went fishing with Grandpa, Hubert, at the evening’s end, would recount that he went fishing, too.

The “Bert” duo wasn’t very mannerly.  These were dudes who were often politically incorrect and mostly struggling to learn life’s everyday lessons.  Somewhere in the calamity of their everyday hysterics, though, there was an ever so subtle snippet of enlightenment. A gentle nudge that quietly suggested to the listener that there is an underlying moral value free for the taking. 

Not everyone is as crafty as Oren when it comes to storytelling.  Never fear.  Reading to children is the more conventional way to bond together for story time.  Either way, this is the week to pay tribute to every father and grandfather who put a child on his lap for the most important 15 minutes of each day. 

Happy Father's Day to all the daddies and granddaddies out there!