Wednesday, January 20, 2010

rabenmutter

my new favorite german word, which i discovered in this article about working moms in germany. it means "raven mother," as in "big mean bird that pushes her babies out of the nest." isn't that great?!

7 comments:

Melissa Crowe said...

AWESOME. You won't be offended if this becomes the title of one of my poems, right? (IF? I guess I mean WHEN.)

Liz Woodbury said...

of course not -- i can't wait to read it!

Julie Falatko said...

I just love this so much. Besides the fact that ravens are my favorite bird. Whenever we go to the Maine Wildlife Park I just want to spend all day with the raven, having tea and crumpets or something (until he meanly pushes me out of the nest). Did you ever read "Arabel's Raven"? One of our faves -- kid chapter book about a girl who finds a raven, names him Mortimer, and pushes him around in a stroller while he says nothing but "Nevermore!" and basically destroys the house.

Liz Woodbury said...

no, i never read that one, but it sounds right up my alley -- crows and ravens are also my favorites! i'm going to find that book and save it for my niece stella...

Julie Falatko said...

It's by Joan Aiken who also wrote "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase" which wasn't quite as amusing as Arabel, but was incredibly riveting, plus included liberal use of words such as portmanteau and chemise, which you might appreciate. Also featured three 12-year-olds on a secretive three-month walk to London with a gaggle of geese, which I think the kids viewed as harrowing but I thought sounded dreamy.

Liz Woodbury said...

oh, i see it's a series! i'm adding them all to my wish list right now.

Julie Falatko said...

I am actually afraid to read the Wolves of Willoughby Chase followups because I worry that I won't lurve them like I did the first. But considering the dearth of good chapter books, I know I'll get them eventually.