If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be starting a blog devoted to healthy foods, healthy cooking and healthy eating, I would have said she was crazy. Sometimes I skip meals. Sometimes I stop at a drive-through for a burger. Sometimes I open a can for dinner and call it good. I have a weakness for pie and ice cream. Red wine. Dark chocolate. And I’ve never thought of vegetables as my closest friends.

So how do I explain Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli and Once Upon, a Parsnip, picture books that feature vegetables, of all things? I lost my father not so many years ago. Maybe my vegetable books grew out of thinking about him: remembering the hours he spent in his backyard garden, his respect for all growing things, the fresh produce he put on our table. Maybe it was the way he coaxed his children into eating the vegetables he grew: letting us play in the com rows while he gardened, helping him harvest the lettuce and carrots and green beans, watering and weeding our very own pumpkins. Pretending the broccoli on our plate wasn’t a vegetable at all!

Parsnip-Broccoli wasn’t my intention that Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli should encourage picky eaters to give broccoli a go. I didn’t plan for Once Upon a Parsnip to lead kids to give parsnips a chance. But both, I m told, are true. Honestly, Once Upon a Parsnip isn’t even about parsnips 一it’s just plain fun, a rhyming fairytale mash-up (混搭). The truth is, I’d never tried a parsnip myself before I wrote this book. I just liked the word. It’s fun!

And there’s the key: fun.

Artie Shaw was born in New York City in 1910. His parents were poor persons who had come to the United States from Eastern Europe. At the age of fourteen, he began to play the saxophone(萨克斯管) and then the clarinet(竖笛). From very young age, Artie Shaw wanted to play his clarinet better than anyone. He wanted his sound and music to be perfect, so he began working as a professional musician when he was fifteen, and he left home and began playing in bands across the United States.

In 1927, young Artie Shaw traveled to Chicago, Illinois to hear the great trumpet (小号) player, Louis Armstrong. He immediately understood that Armstrong’s great jazz sound was the beginning of something new and exciting. Artie left Chicago with a growing interest in jazz music. Soon after, he moved to New York City. He got work playing the clarinet for the Columbia Broadcast System radio network in1936. He was given chance to found his band and play at New York’s famous Imperial Theater on Broadway. His group was not the top band in the show. But the crowd loved his music. This proved to be a major step in his career.

In 1938, Artie Shaw and his band recorded what would be one of their most popular songs. It sold millions of records. It still sells several thousand each year. Shaw was surprised that it became so popular. The song is "Begin the Beguine" written by Cole Porter. However, the fame caused problems for Shaw. He could not go anywhere without being recognized. He no longer had a private life.

On Dec. 13th, 2004, Artie Shaw died after a long sickness. He was ninety-four years old. He was the last great musician and bandleader of what has been called the “Big Band Era”.

I was doing some Christmas shopping in a toy store and decided to look at Barbie dolls for my nieces. A nicely dressed little girl was excitedly looking through the Barbie dolls as well. As she was looking，a little boy came to the Pokemon toys. He was dressed neatly，but his clothes were obviously old. He was with his father as well，and kept picking up the Pokemon video toys. Each time he picked one up and looked at his father，his father shook his head and said，“No.”

The little girl had chosen her Barbie. However，she stopped and was watching them. Rather dejectedly，the boy had to give up the Pokemon toys and choose something else. The little girl put her Barbie back on the shelf，and ran over to the Pokemon toys. She excitedly picked up one and raced towards the checkout. I picked up my purchases and got in line behind them. Then，much to the little girl's delight，the little boy and his father got in line behind me. After the toy was paid for and bagged，the little girl handed it back to the cashier (收银员) and whispered something in her ear. The cashier smiled and put the package under the counter.

I paid for my purchases and was rearranging things when the little boy came up to the cashier. The cashier checked his purchases and said，“Congratulations，you are my hundredth customer today，and you win a prize！” With that，she handed the little boy the Pokemon toys，and he could only stare in surprise. It was exactly what he had wanted!

The little girl and her father had been standing at the doorway during all of this. Then they walked out. As I walked back to my car，I heard the father ask his daughter why she had done that. I'll never forget what she said to him. “Daddy，didn't Grandparents want me to buy something that would make me happy？” He said，“Of course they did，honey.” To which the little girl replied，“Well，I just did！”

I feel very shocked to have witnessed the true spirit of Christmas in that toy store，in the form of a little girl who understands more about the meaning of this festival than most adults I know.