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2.14.26 - Part 1 · Children's Hour

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  Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to radioi's Children Story Hour. As a reminder,
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  RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
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  blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
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  read printed material. Today we will be reading from two
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  children's books. Your reader today is Patty and we're going
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  to read first a book called The House of Love.
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  This book was written by Adriana Trejohnny and was illustrated
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  by Amy June Bates. It was published by Viking, an
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  imprint of Penguin Random House in twenty twenty one. And
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  I'm going to read first from the inside cover. Mia
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  Valentina Amore loves Valentines. After all, her name means my Valentine.
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  When she wakes up on Valentine's Day, it looks like
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  just another morning in the rickety old Amore house in
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  the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia, But over the course
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  of the day her home is transformed into the House
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  of Love Mia Mia and her mama Festoune the Halls
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  build a gum drop tree, bake cupcakes, and most importantly,
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  make Valentines for all six of her siblings. But when
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  Mia doesn't receive her own Valentine, she wonders if mama
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  could have forgotten her New York Times best selling novelist
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  and filmmaker Adriana Trajohnny has crafted a tender mother daughter's
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  story that celebrates Valentine's Day or any day that brings
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  family together. An acclaimed illustrator, Amy June Bates, brings warmth
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  and coziness to a story that affirms it doesn't matter
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  where you come from, as long as that place is
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  full of love. And so now we're ready to read
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  The House of Love. There was an old house at
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  the top of a hill with many drafty rooms. Inside
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  there were doors that slammed and stairs that creaked, and
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  windows with holes in the glass where the wind whistled
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  through and sounded like music. A tall oak tree grew
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  in the front yard, and a sprawling holly tree in
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  the back had plenty of branches for sitting. A big
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  family lived inside. There were five girls, two boys, a mama,
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  a papa, and a rescue dog named Phyllis. When everyone
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  was home, the rooms exploded with conversation, laughter, and sometimes
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  even an argument. The illustration for this first page shows
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  a red brick house in the distance, some big trees
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  in the yard, and several children outside. Two of them
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  are shoveling the driveway, one is sitting up in the
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  top of a tree, one's in the swing, and two
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  are building a snowman. And there's a dog playing in
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  the snow. And then the front of the photograph is
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  a girl, a young girl dressed in a red coat
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  and hat. She has yellow boots on, and she's putting
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  a letter in the mailbox. I think this is probably
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  Mia Valentina, Continuing, Mia Valentine was the youngest. February fourteenth
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  was her favorite day of the year because it was
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  Valentine's Day and her name meant my Valentine. Do you
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  think the kids will be home in time for the party,
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  Mia asked her mother. Absolutely. Mama assured her, Ah, well,
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  what if Grace's game goes into overtime. What if there's
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  another blizzard and they can't get back over the mountain.
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  What if the car breaks down? Mia have maybe may
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  have been the youngest, but even she knew everything they
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  owned was old. There's no more snow in the forecast,
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  and the station wagon is in good shape. Mia was relieved.
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  No one in the Amora family will ever miss Valentine's Day.
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  I'll make sure of that and you can help, I can,
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  Mia was excited. Mama and Mia climbed the dusty stairs
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  to the attic. Mama found the bin marked Valentine's Day.
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  It was stuffed full with red decorations, long tensil garden garlands,
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  glitter hearts, cardboard cupids with velvet arrows, and lace doilies.
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  Mia helped Mama carry the box down to the kitchen.
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  They placed the bin on the antique washing machine. Before
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  we decorate, we must do our chores. Mama smiled, I
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  will help, Mia Valentina promised, and she did. The illustration
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  here shows the mom and Mia Valentina up in the
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  attic and they've got this big box and on the
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  back on the box, it's clearly marked Valentine's Day, and
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  there's the dog sitting there with them. The dog's name
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  was Phyllis. And the box is overflowing with pink and
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  red decorations, lots of hearts and garlands, and they're all
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  inside that box, and some of them have already spilled
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  out onto the floor. The dog, Phyllis has a big
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  red duck bow tied around her neck, and Mia Valentina
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  has put some of the garlands around her neck to
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  decorate herself like a Valentine. Continuing, Mia poured bubbly pine
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  soap into a bucket. She dusted the low places where
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  Mama couldn't reach, while Mama dusted the high places where
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  Mia couldn't reach. Mia brushed phyllis until her coat was shiny,
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  and then she tied a shiny red party bow around
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  the pup's neck. Again, watched as Mama washed the windows,
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  careful to clean around the buttons. Her daughters had glued
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  over the holes in the glass to keep out the cold.
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  Papa wants to get new windows someday, but I like
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  the polka dots myself. Mama stood back and grinned me too.
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  Mia agreed the parlor was the saddest room in the house.
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  Sweeping and polishing and buffing would not help it one bit.
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  I really have to do something with this room, Mama said.
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  Dull strips of faded brown wallpaper clung to the walls.
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  May I finally rip it down? Mia Valentina asked, yes,
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  but be careful. You never know when you will find
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  a treasure in an old house, Mama said, before she
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  went upstairs to straighten up the bedrooms. Mia stretched and
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  reached and pulled and peeled the old brown wallpaper off
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  the walls. When she was done, she rolled a shard
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  of the brown paper into a tube, turned it into
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  a telescope, and spied through the hole like a pirate.
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  A hoy there, Mia, Mama said from the doorway. As
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  she looked around the parlor. Mia appeared at her mother
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  through the paper telescope. Mama looked like she was waving
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  at her through the porthole of a ship. I knew
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  you'd find a treasure, Mama beamed. A pretty wallpaper with
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  hundreds of roses blooming inside. A white trellis had been
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  hidden under that dull brown wallpaper all along. It's an
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  inside garden. Mia marveled, you made it one. Now, this
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  room looks like our Appalachian mountains in springtime, Mama said,
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  as she went to the foyer and lifted her garden
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  chairs out of the basket on the shelf. On the illustration,
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  here we see Mia, who's standing on a stool, and
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  she's looking through that rolled up piece of old brown
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  wallpaper like she's on using it as a telescope. And
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  the mother and the dog Phyllis have come into the
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  beautiful parlor and are admiring the roses on the wall.
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  That was the new wallpaper that was underneath the old
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  brown wallpaper, and they're looking at it and smiling very
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  very happy about it. Continuing, Mia watched through a polka
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  dot window as Mama stood on her tipto and snipped
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  a perfect bare limb with many small branches from the
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  oak tree. She waved it Mia with the branch as
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  she trudged across the yard. Mama shoved the bare branch
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  into the cracked pickle. Croc good one, she said. Mama
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  stood on her tiptoes again. This time she pulled old
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  bag of gum drops from the shelf. She strung the red, orange, lavender,
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  and green gum drops with a sewing needle threaded with gold.
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  She made a knot in the thread, which became a loop.
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  Mama handed a gum drop to Mia, who hung it
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  on the tree. One by one, Mama made them and
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  Mia hung them. Soon the candy tree shimmered with sparkling
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  gum drops. Now it's perfect, said, I have four extra
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  gum drops. Mama placed them in MIA's hand. Mia savored
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  the orange gum drop, gave the green one to Phyllis
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  put the other two in her pocket for later. Happy
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  with their tree, Mia and Mama got to work and
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  festooned the old house with the decorations from the bin
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  top to bottom. They went up the stairs, through the rooms,
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  and down the banister. Every room was bedazzled. Every corner
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  had a cupid, every door a garland. Mama opened her
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  purse and pulled out a handful of lollipops. She put
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  them in an empty flower vase, just like real roses.
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  Then Mama tied a red ribbt red velvet ribbon around
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  the firewood in the kitchen. Mother daughter unfurled a garland
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  down the hallway on the way to the parlor. Hmm,
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  Mamma said as she stood in the parlor, this room
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  is missing something. Mamma cut picture frames out of construction
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  paper and hung them on the rose covered walls. What
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  do you think, me and Valentina, the frames are empty.
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  What should we do? Let's fill them with valentines. Mia
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  suggested one for each of my brothers and sisters. They
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  would like that. Mamma agreed. After all, a more a
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  means love in Italian. So Mamma sat down on the
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  floor next to Mia, Mamma made hearts while Mia made art.
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  Mia drew a basketball for Grace because she loved to play.
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  She drew a rocket ship for Helen because she loved science.
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  Massimo loved trucks, so Mia drew one. Olivia wanted a kitten,
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  so Mia drew one with whiskers and eyes. Bob slept
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  with his baseball glove, so Mia drew a ball to
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  go with it. And Elsa, who spent every spare moment
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  climbing the holly tree, got a squirrel. Mamma hung valentines
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  inside the frames. They're funny, Mia Valentina giggled. Mamma checked
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  the clock. Oh no, we have to bake before everyone
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  gets home, she cried. Don't worry, mamma, I'll help. Mia
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  followed her mother into the kitchen. The illustration here shows
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  all the valentines that Mia and her mother made, one
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  with a basketball and one with a truck, a rocket ship,
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  a squirrel, a baseball, and a kitten, all beautiful home
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  made valentines. Mia helped her mother measure the flour and
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  sugar to sift into a mixing bowl. They mashed butter,
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  cracked eggs, and poured milk into the bowl, Mia whipped
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  the mixture. Mia helped pour the batter into the cupcake tin.
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  Soon the entire house smelled like vanilla. It was time
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  to make the frosting. Mama whisked the soft butter, sugar
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  and cream, and together they frosted and frosted and frosted
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  until every cupcake had a smooth white cap. They sprinkled
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  and sprinkled and sprinkled the frosting with pink sugar until
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  every cupcake glittered wump. The kitchen door flew open one
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  by one. MIA's brothers and sisters, Grace, Helen, Mossy, mo, Olivia, Bob,
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  and Elsa poured into the house, followed by Papa, who
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  was so tall and big he brought the chill of
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  the winter inside. Phyllis began to bark and run around
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  the children as they peeled off their mittens and hung
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  up their hats, scarves and coats and Bob's baseball glove.
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  How did it go, Mama asked, we won, Grace, the
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  eldest and tallest basketball player on her team, said proudly.
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  Happy Valentine's Day, Papa exclaimed, for you. Papa gave Mama
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  a gold box of chocolate. Covered cherries along with a kiss.
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  The illustration here shows all of the children sitting on
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  a bench as they take off their boots and coats
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  and gloves and hat and hang them on pegs behind
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  the bench. And there's Papa standing at the end of
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  the bench and he's given Mom the gold covered box
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  of chocolate covered chair. Continuing time to decorate the kitchen door.
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  Mama opened the junk drawer. Helen grabbed one wheel of
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  Scotch tape, Bob another, and Olivia another. Massimo gathered the
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  loose paper valentines Mama had saved in the bottom of
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  the bin. Careful, Mama said, in a loud voice. These
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  old valentines are family heirlooms. The Amore children formed a
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  shaky pyramid, with Mia crawling to the top. The kitchen
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  door was soon covered with old valentine. Hey, kids, be careful,
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  Papa chided them. We aren't a circus act since when
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  Mamma winked. As the pyramid collapsed, the pile of Amore
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  children laughed. Mia showed the kids what Mia, show the
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  kids what you made in the parlor. Mamma suggested. The
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  children ran to the parlor at once, causing a traffic jam,
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  look roses everywhere. Elsa twirled and valentines Mia pointed. The
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  children laughed at their funny Valentines, but no one noticed
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  that one was missing. No one had made Mia Valentina
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  a Valentine. She pretended not to be sad, but she was.
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  The day with Mama had been so special. But could
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  Mama really have forgotten about her time to set the table?
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  Paula hollered. The children made a stampede and ran back
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  to the kitchen. Mama sat in the kitchen with her
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  feet up and sampled a chocolate covered cherry as Papa
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  made the tomato sauce for the macaroni. Soon, the polka
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  dot windows were fogged with steam as the posta boiled
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  on the stove. The children set the table. Papa placed
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  the macaroni, salad, and bread on the table. Mama lit
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  the candles. The family sat down to dinner as the
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  gum drop tree twinkled in the window and the stack
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  of cupcakes shimmered on the counter. Even though February fourteen
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  was MIA's favorite day, the Valentine party just wasn't the same.
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  Phyllis nudged Mia from her place under the table as
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  if she understood. After dinner and games, the seven of
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  more children took turns and stood at the bathroom mirror
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  in their pajamas and scrubbed, brushed, and rinsed until they glistened.
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  They hung their wash claws to dry on the antique
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  tub with the lion's feet. The illustration here shows the
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  family sitting at the dinner table. All seven children, the mama,
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  and the papa are all sitting there and it is
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  loaded with food, salad red and the macaroni. And in
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  the background you can see the beautiful gum drop tree
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  that Mia and her mother made earlier in the day.
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  And there's Phyllis the dogs right there next to Mia hoping,
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  I'm sure to get a few scraps of food. Continuing,
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  Mia Valentina climbed into bed. She sunk into the soft
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  mattress like a spoon in vanilla cake batter. When she
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  heard a crinkle, she shot up and lifted the blanket,
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  but there was nothing under it. She lifted the sheet,
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  there was nothing there either. She lifted her pillow and
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  there it was, of Valentine, just for her. Mia had
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  not been forgotten after all. Tomorrow she'd ask Mama to
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  make a frame and she would hang it in the
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  parlor of Roses with the others. Phyllis jumped up onto
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  MIA's bed. Mia grabbed the last two gum drops and
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  gave Phyllis the lavender one. She saved the red one
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  for another day. Mia fell asleep with a smile on
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  her face and her very own valentine in her hand.
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  The illustration here shows the special valentine that Mama had
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  made for Mia. It's a big red heart and it
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  says to Mia, my number one helper, Love you, Mama,
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  And on the last page the word say. The House
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  on the Hill didn't have the best heat, or the
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  newest wallpaper or windows with smooth glass, but it did
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  have a candy tree, seven children full of macaroni and cupcakes,
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  and enough valentines to wallpaper the world. It only took
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  one special holiday to make a house with stairs that creaked,
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  doors that slammed, windows that whistled in a parlor of
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  roses become the House of Love. And it turned out
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  there was so much love inside that there weren't enough
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  rooms in the old house to hold it. And that's
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  the end of this book called the House of Love.
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  And now I'd like to share another book with you.
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  This one's a little different because it's a book of
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  poetry and it's very silly poems. The book is called
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  It's Valentine's Day, written by Jack Perleutski, and the pictures
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  are by Yosi Ablana. I need to recorrect that last name,
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  Abolafia Abilafia. That's the illustrator. On the outside cover of
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  the book, it says this, this book of February fund
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  is filled with love for everyone, for here are Valentines
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  to share with everybody everywhere. Here's the first poem. It's
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  called It's Valentine's Day. It's Valentine's Day And in the
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  street there's freezing rain and slush and sleep. The wind
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  is fierce, the sky are gray. I don't think i'll
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  go out today. But here inside, the weather's warm, there
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  is no trace of wind or storm. And you just
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  made the morning shine. You said you'd be my Valentine.
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  The illustration here shows a street, a city street, with
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  lots of people outside, and it's raining, and you can
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  tell that the wind is blowing because the people who
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  have umbrellas are having a hard time keeping those umbrellas upright.
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  One person's umbrella has already blown inside out. One man
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  is holding his hat on his head to keep it
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  from blowing away. Now here's another poem called a Valentine
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  for my teacher. My teacher's very special, so in making
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  her a heart a valentine that's sure to be a
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  proper work of art. I've worked on it all morning,
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  so it should be ready soon. I'd like to slip
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  it on her desk before this afternoon. I've colored in
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  with crayons and it's trimmed with paper lace. It has flowers, hearts,
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  and cupid. I can't wait to see her face on
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  the illustration. Here there's a young boy who is all
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  crouched down, and he's sneaking up to the teacher's desk
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  to place the special valentine on her desk, and she
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  doesn't see it because she has her back turned to
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  her own desk. All right, here's another poem called a
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  Valentine for my best friend. You are rotten. You are crummy, nasty, smelly,
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  and a dummy. You are absolutely awful, and your breath
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  should be unl awful. You are ugly, you are simple,
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  and your brain is like a pimple. You should soak
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  your head and brine. Won't you be my Valentine? Now
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  that's really a silly poem, and it shows a young
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  boy holding a Valentine and then he goes up to
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  a girl and hands it to her. Another poem is
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  called our classroom has a mailbox. Our classroom has a
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  mailbox that we painted red and gold. We stuffed it
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  with more Valentines than it was made to hold. When
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  we opened it this morning, I was nervous as could be.
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  I wondered if a single one had been addressed to me.
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  But when they'd been delivered, I felt twenty stories tall.
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  I got so many Valentines I couldn't hold them all.
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  This illustration shows a picture of a young girl holding
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  a whole bunch of Valentines in her arms, and she's
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  got a big smile on her face. All right, here's
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  another poem called I made my dog a Valentine. I
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  made my dog a Valentine. She sniffed it very hard,
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  then chewed on it a little while and left it
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  in the yard. I made one for my parakeets, a
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  pretty paper heart. They pulled it with their claws and
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  beaks until it ripped apart. I made one for my turtle.
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  All he did was get it wet. I wonder if
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  a Valentine is wasted on a pet. This shows an
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  illustration of a young boy mopping up a puddle of
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  water off the floor, and there on the table is
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  the parakeet, and the turtle is walking on the floor,
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  and the dog with his muddy footprint is walking by him.
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  I think he was right. I think that Valentine was
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  wasted on the pets. Next poem is called I made
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  a giant Valentine. I made a giant Valentine to mail
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  a special friend. I'm sorry that I made it for
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  it's one i'll never send. This morning at the playground,
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  he was mean and made me sore, and now I
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  think I'm certain I don't like him anymore. He pelted
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  me with snowballs seven hit me in the head. I'm
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  taking home that Valentine to give my cat instead. Here's
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  a valet. Here's a poem called oh no, oh no,
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  she kissed me on the cheek. I'm so mad it's
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  hard to speak. That's a kiss. I must erase goodbye.
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  I'm off to wash my face. This has been a
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  special book of poems, and I hope you enjoyed them.
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  This is all the time we have for today. This
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  concludes the Children's Story Hour. Your reader has been Patty,
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  and we hope you'll join us next time as we
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  read more stories, fables or fairy tales. Thank you for listening,
• 28:28
  and please stay tuned for continued programming on Radio I