The Blah

I was given this book by my cousin when I was born in 1970. I have held on to the book for all these years. Now I have a son who is 20 months old. I have read him "The Blah" since he was a few months old. I took a picture my son and I reading the now tattered book and emailed it to my cousin, a tear jerker. I'm buying a newer copy of the book. Maybe someday he too will read it to his son.

Books were great friends for a young child growing up in Nairobi, Kenya. My mother and father took us to the library at the university every month and thats where I found this book. I loved it and I have told the story over and over to the countless children I have babysat and watched over the years. Now I have a child and i want to share the joy that this book brought to my life so that one day she can kiss me and make me "Queen of the Blahs" too! Great Book!

When I was growing up we spent every summer renting out my great aunt and uncles beach house in Maine. They had lots of books there but my brothers and my favorite was The Blah. Every summer we looked forward to hearing the story over and over again, it never got old, until one summer The Blah was gone. I guess someone loved it as much as we did and decided to take it home. I'm so happy to have found this book again!

This is a lovely and simple story that most of us will remember, the story of the Blah and the crayon stomping and the Mom who can be Queen of the Blahs. Jack Kent is the best. Why are his books so hard to find? There is so much garbage marketed for kids now, this is great stuff, with appealing illustrations.

My mother bought this book for me over twenty five years ago. I still own the original copy, though it is dog-eared, artistically marked with Crayolas, and gingerly held together by copious amounts of Scotch tape. I treasure this book because the message is universal and timeless: At times, we all feel unappreciated, overlooked, drab, blah-like. My mother, a single parent who worked her fingers to the bones, was often too tired to engage in the activities many stay-at-home Mom's engaged in with their children. I often felt overlooked in the hustle and bustle, daily scramble that was her life. She was aware of this and gave me THE BLAH By Jack Kent. The Blah tells the story of one little boy who feels terribly Blah like. His older brother, in a hurry and not paying attention, crushed his favorite crayon. His mother, distracted with her many motherly and domestic tasks, doesn't really listen to him. So, he draws pictures that tell the story of a group of beings called "Blah's". There is a King of The Blah's, an Awful Jostler who breaks crayons. It's a darling story and ends on a very loving and happy note. I know this book is hard to come by but it is a wonderful book for anyone child, especially those children who have single parents, super-mom's, or full-time working parents.