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The Hipster Family BookshelfBY TARA TAYLORCOPYRIGHT 2007 BY PARENTS' PRESS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.Urban Babies Wear Black, by Michelle Sinclair Colman, with illustrations by Nathalie Dion (Tricycle Press, 2005, $6.95) Sinclair Colman takes baby through a day of high culture and inner city living. With sleek illustrations by Nathalie Dion to match the urban setting, Urban Babies Wear Black takes your toddler through a day in the life of a hipster offspring: hanging with mom at the coffee shop, attending yoga classes, and eating the works of the next up-and-coming chef. This book is a must have for the hipster parent. Art, by Karen Salmansohn, with illustrations by Brian Stauffer (Tricycle Press, 2003, $ 6.95) Does your hipster baby know the difference between Dali and Degas, or can your child tell you what style of brush stroke was used by Picasso or Monet. Many kids who grow up with hipster parents are exposed to the fine arts at an early age. Between trips to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the de Young Museum, lifestyle coach Salmansohn's picture book will help your baby know who is who in the world of modern art. Fashion, by Karen Salmansohn, with illustrations by Brian Stauffer (Tricycle Press, 2005, $ 6.95) Hipster parents choose clothes wisely, for themselves and for their children. Cool threads by up-and-coming designers are a must have. Onesies with messages of rock and roll, and bibs handmade by a neighbor are staples of the hipster babe. So why not educate them in the world of high fashion? Fashion, appropriately titled, teaches children words of the fashion industry with a twist. A choo-choo train becomes a Jimmy Choo shoe train, a trunk show is full of elephants and swimming trunks in this picture book. Alternadad by Neal Pollock (Pantheon Books, 2007, pp. 288, $23.95) What happens when a hipster becomes a dad? He makes sure that his kid eats organic, is raised to be culturally well-rounded, and knows how to rock and roll. Pollock takes his readers into the world of the the Alternadad, a type of father who keeps his cool at all times, is ready to rock, and keeps the party going even if it is a 2-year-old's birthday. Though the book is dry at some points and takes off slowly, Pollock's honesty about becoming a new father while trying to keep up his hipster image is refreshing. "I silently pledged to myself that my son would not have a generic American childhood. My kid was going to be cool." The book taps into a new term, "Alternadad," but a very old scenario: Boy meets girl, boy marries girl, boy and girl start a family, boy realizes that his life will never be the same. Pollock takes his readers through life's difficult lessons and miracles. There are many books out there that deal with the shock of motherhood: the expectations and the harsh realities. Pollock's book provides a long overlooked viewpoint, that of the young father. Sure, there are books that explain how fatherhood holds many responsibilities, but when are you going to get a father to go into graphic detail about how "awesome" is son's puke was, or how he must attend an all-day outdoor concert, even if his wife warned against it, to teach his son how to rock. Much of the book is broken up into sections of Pollock's life and his adjustment to becoming a dad. Though the book doesn't gain speed until his son Elijah is in the picture, the autobiography is full of funny stories that any parent can relate to, male or female. There is no hipster requirement, but unless you know what the North by Northwest music festival is or who the Killers are, some of the cultural references might fly past you. Through the humor there is still the general message of surviving fatherhood. Pollock deals with his son's first illness, a biting problem, and attending baby gym (even though he thinks it is a waste of time and he can't stand the instructor). Tara Taylor is the calendar and special sections editor of Parents' Press.
The Sippy Cups The Time Outs
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