A sense of balance

Don't put your finger up your nose, iconic children's author and musician Barry Louis Polisar sang at Sterling's public library last week:

Cause your nose knows it's not the place it goes.

You can sniffle

You can sneeze

But I'm asking you please

Don't put your finger up your nose.

Polisar's unique blend of silly rhymes and catchy tunes, which he brought on a tour of Loudoun County libraries, inspire children to read and love language. But his songs also have messages inspired by his Jewish faith, which gives him "a sense of balance."

"All this is fleeting. I want to make the world a better place," he said.

Polisar is a five-time Parent's Choice Award winner, his songs have appeared on Sesame Street and the Weekly Reader, and he has performed at the White House, Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Polisar has been a children's musician since 1975. At the public library in Sterling, he read his books and performed his songs to a smiling and enthusiastic audience who knew many of his songs by heart. At every stop he met parents who told him they remembered him coming to their school when they were young.

While Polisar has grown older, he hasn't grown up.

He has a knack for writing about things that are important to kids. His books of silly stories and others find ways to creatively encourage good manners. He draws from memories of his own childhood and the experiences of his kids and doesn't talk down to kids.

"I try not to be preachy," he said. "As any satirist, I like to hold up a mirror."

One of his songs, entitled "Tomorrow," is about a boy who puts everything off until the next day. If his mom asks him to clean his room or take a bath, he agrees to do it . . . tomorrow. The song ends with his grandma asking him if he wants chocolate cake, a suggestion to which he eagerly agrees, only to be told he can have the cake . . . tomorrow.

He also sang a song he wrote about diaper rash, which was inspired by changing the diapers of his young son. "I was pretty sure nobody had written a song about diaper rash before," he said, laughing.

But his songs can also touch on the serious and the eternal. The opening credits of the pro-life movie Juno roll to Polisar's quirky song "All I Want Is You":

If I was a flower growing wild and free

All I'd want is you to be my sweet honey bee.

And if I was a tree growing tall and green

All I'd want is you to shade me and be my leaves

His children's books include one on the story of Passover. He is currently working on a book called Retelling Genesis. Using the Bible as his only source, he retells some of the most loved stories in Genesis through the perspective of minor characters. Noah's Ark is told through the eyes of Noah's wife. He is not sure what the market will be for the book, but he's not worried. He just focuses on writing what he loves, no matter how popular it is.

Share your thoughts and follow us on Facebook and Twitter today!