Max the Dog

I have to share another one of Mia's birthday gifts. We are all huge fans of Maira Kalman. She is not only one of my favorite artists, her children's books also hold a special place in my heart. Maira Kalman first won Dave and I over with her picture book, Next Stop Grand Central. We were completing our education degrees when we were introduced to her through an early education art class. After reading one, we proceeded to collect the rest. The collection is a treasure that I am thrilled to share with Mia. Mia absolutely adores every single story. Her favorite happens to be Ooh la la Max in Love.

Since Mia has grown to love Maira Kalman and her Max stories, I thought that I might bring the books to life by purchasing a Max doll. I remembered spotting one on ebay a while back and thought that it would be a great gift. Well, I didn't realize that the dolls were from 1995 and must have been a special promotion of some sort. Needless to say, no Max the Dog to be found. I couldn't give up! I really wanted to find one of these little fellas. I went on the hunt and after hours of crazy google searches, I found an unopened one on half.com for $1.00!!! Yep, you read correctly, $1.00! The shipping was more than that coming in at a whopping $3.00! I was stunned to say the least! I snatched it up and couldn't wait to give it to Mia. Max was a fast favorite and I have discovered that I want one for myself :)

If you are not familiar with Maira Kalman, visit her website here.  I would also recommend checking out her book,The Principles of Uncertainty. I actually blogged about that one too.  Feel free to read that post.