the nicholas club

I know I've mentioned before just how hilariously fantastic I think the recently-translated-to-English editions of the adventures of the French schoolboy, Nicholas, are. But my love of these stories went up a notch a few days ago. Let me tell you why.

First of all, I don't know if you've noticed, but there seems to be more good quality, classic books, especially those in a series, out there for young girls than there are for young boys. Maybe it seems this way to me because I AM a girl and read books which appealed to little girls when I was younger. But after having a conversation with a friend of mine about a year ago, I realized that I wasn't the only who thinks and is a bit troubled by this. So when I discovered that the Nicholas stories, which I'd originally been introduced to in my French classes, are in the process of being translated to English, I jumped all over them. Currently we have in our possession all four English translations, which are gut-bustingly funny and so, SO fun to read:

Nicholas,
Nicholas Again,
Nicholas and the Gang, and
Nicholas on Vacation.

Tucked away inside one of the books was a postcard-sized registration form for the newly created Nicholas Club. How fun, we thought. It was totally free, and so, even though he was only a few months old, we signed Garrett up. Because, after all, as a potentially rambunctious little boy who will no doubt spend many hours listening to me read Nicholas's adventures out loud to him, he's bound to grow up loving these stories.

A few days ago, a package arrived in the mail, addressed to Garrett, from the Phaidon Press sponsored Nicholas Club. Not expecting anything more than an occasional e-newsletter from the club, I opened the envelope and was more than pleasantly surprised to find this:

A pencil case, inside of which were a pencil, an eraser, a wooden ruler, a rubber stamp with an image of Nicholas, and a metal pin depicting Nicholas doing a back flip, as well as a handwritten membership certificate. I don't know if at this point I need to tell you how awesome this stuff is, but I will anyway: It is WAY awesome. I wish I'd signed myself up, too! (Heck, maybe I will...I'm not sure yet if there is a one-per-household rule or not.)

So anyway, here's my plug for the Nicholas books and the corresponding club. Go sign your kids up! But don't forget to read the books, too; they're so funny, they're more than worth the time it takes to read them, and I imagine, too, that the club will be a bit more meaningful if you do.