{"id":748,"date":"2024-02-06T16:40:51","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T00:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/?p=748"},"modified":"2024-02-06T16:40:51","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T00:40:51","slug":"joy-to-the-poem-kickoff-the-new-baby-calf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/2024\/02\/06\/joy-to-the-poem-kickoff-the-new-baby-calf\/","title":{"rendered":"“Joy to the Poem” kickoff–The New Baby Calf"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nobody will be surprised to learn that the poem I\u2019d nominate as winner of the \u201cMost Joyful Poem\u201d contest is \u201cThe New Baby Calf\u201d<\/a>, by Edith Newlin Chase. But it\u2019s not for the reasons you\u2019re thinking\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Yes, I\u2019m a children\u2019s literature specialist, so the first picture book Barbara Reid<\/a> created in her signature style of Plasticine art is obviously going to hold a special place in my heart.<\/p>\n

Yes, I\u2019m a specialist in agricultural narrative, with a focus on picture books about agriculture, so a picture book about a lil bovine dude\u2019s first year is a obvious choice for a frontrunner.<\/p>\n

And yes, I\u2019m a sucker for a literary synchronicity tale, so the lore of Barbara Reid\u2019s discovery of this poem\u2014an obscure little ditty published fifty years before she immortalized it into the 1984 picture book that\u2019s never been out of print, is sure to warm the cockles of my heart\u2026 especially on a cold January day!<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not why I love it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not even because this book\u2014poem and illustrations alike\u2014portrays the ultimate fulfillment of children\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s because of the surprise ending.<\/p>\n

Throughout the poem, a repeating refrain<\/a> assures readers\/listeners that the \u201cnew baby calf\u201d is receiving nurture of an appropriate, satisfying, and validating kind by confirming after each verse that, \u201cthe little baby calf liked that\u201d. This pattern continues from the calf\u2019s birth in the late winter\/early spring through his coming of age in the late fall.<\/p>\n

Then, at the end of the poem, at the end of the book, at the end of the last verse, readers\/listeners are told that, thanks to all this good care, \u201cthe little baby calf grew fat!\u201d<\/p>\n

This delightful twist ending is all the more satisfying given its overt body positivity.<\/p>\n

A rollicking, sing-song celebration of new life, good parenting, and fulfilled potential? Yes, please! That sounds like a joyful noise to me\u2026<\/p>\n

Check it out\u2014and remember to let me know what your joyful poem sounds like!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nobody will be surprised to learn that the poem I\u2019d nominate as winner of the \u201cMost Joyful Poem\u201d contest is \u201cThe New Baby Calf\u201d, by Edith Newlin Chase. But it\u2019s not for the reasons you\u2019re thinking\u2026 Yes, I\u2019m a children\u2019s literature specialist, so the first picture book Barbara Reid created in her signature style of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=748"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":750,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748\/revisions\/750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}