PARTY!

One of Clara's favorite books right now is Go, Dog. Go! In the weeks just before Clara was born, Joe requested this book nearly every night.* Julie likes to imagine that Clara heard it from the inside, and when she first heard it on the outside thought, "Finally!"

The last few pages of Go, Dog. Go! find the dogs, having motored caravan-style in their cars to the big tree, climbing a tall ladder to its top. The text reads: "Up the tree! Up the tree! Up they go to the top of the tree. Why? Will they work there? Will they play there? What is up there on top of that tree?" Reader, it's "A dog party! A big dog party!" You learn this when you turn the page. (Oh, P.D. Eastman knows how to build suspense, make no mistake.) The best thing about reading Go, Dog. Go! with Clara right now, is that Clara crows out "PARTY!" when the page is turned. There isn't anything about this that isn't completely fabulous.

Julie hopes every night that Clara will pick Go, Dog. Go!

*In this picture, it's on the shelf, bottom, second book in from the left. Apparently, the night this picture was taken (in April, perhaps two weeks before Clara was born), it was a Green Eggs and Ham night.