Children's Book Monday!

This book was a surprise for me. The cover looked adorable so I picked it up and threw it on my library stack. That night Elyssa handed it to my best friend to read to her. So we all cuddled up on the couch for a "cute" story; me, my friend, and our daughters. She finished the book and glanced my direction, both our eyes held the sparkle of a captive tear. The girls, two and six, were ecstatic, "read it again!". Of course as mothers the idea of someday is a little double-sided. We obviously want the best for our children but at the same time why is so hard to see them grow up?

"One day I counted your fingers and kissed each one..." Oh the memories of her birth..., "Then you were my baby, and now you are my child." Is she really almost three?, "Sometimes, when you sleep, I watch you dream, and I dream too..." What will her future hold?

In Someday, Alison McGhee leads us through a young mother's hopes and dreams for her child. From, "Someday you will swing high - so high, higher than you ever dared to swing." to "Someday you will hear something so sad that you will fold up with sorrow.". She helps her daughter look forward to what fearful yet exciting adventures lie ahead.

This beautifully illustrated book is so simple and yet so profound. I almost didn't write a review on it because, after all, why would I tell anyone else to go get a book that would inevitably make them weep?! Well, as it lived in our home for the weeks that followed, Elyssa continually requested it. Slowly it occurred to me how excited I was as a child to dream about my future, and as a young adult to begin to see some of those dreams come to fruition. Although this seems obvious, it occurred to me that I could also be excited for her dreams! Meanwhile my own dreams for her future can become these simple prayers; that when she swings high, she will feel no fear, when she hears something sad, she will know an Ultimate Comfort, and when she is feeling a "small weight against her strong back", she will have built a foundation of hopes and dreams for her own children in the one that sustains her.

Children's Book Monday

"Cackle, cackle, Mother Goose,
Have you any feathers loose?
Truly have I, pretty fellow,
Half enough to fill a pillow.
Here are quills, take one or two
And down to make a bed for you."

We have discovered a new favorite in our house; the illustrator Clare Beaton. I haven't seen very many illustrators who embroider their illustrations but it is genius! On our next trip to the library we will be searching for more of her exceptional artwork.

Check out the publisher too: Barefoot Books, they have some pretty cool philosophies.

Right now we are thoroughly enjoying Clare's "Mother Goose Remembers", (another "accidental" find). Every page is a hand stitched masterpiece. She creates scenes that draw you deep into the realm of "silver bells and cockleshells". I mean, how can you go wrong with those beloved rhymes? I was pondering the reason we adore our Mother Goose stories so much, and what I came up with was the fact that they invoke our own childhood memories. I've found myself ruffling through the pages of this book all by myself, feeling like a little girl again!

(Of course since I've had teacher training I have to quickly mention the importance of rhyme and rhythm to our little ones as well...)

Happy Reading...

Children's Book Review

Okay, thanks to my sweet friend's gentle insistence, I am writing my first children's book review. Before I do that, though, I must tell you of our decision to attend the weekly story times for toddlers at our local library. It is called "Wiggle Worms" and at the utterance of those two words, my two squiggly toddlers fly to the door with enough speed to send the dust flying! The promise of that precious 20 minutes can calm the worst tantrums and motivate the most sluggish tasks to completion. After they sing, dance, and thoroughly "shake their sillies out"; we grab some books, a couple of videos, and head for home. It is when we started making these sessions a priority every week that the real joy of library books came to reside with us. Each week we leave with our arms overflowing and Elyssa can't get enough! Her favorite thing in the world is to cuddle up with one of her favorite people and READ. She will take her turn and read to us as well. (Coincidently, I've noticed her imagination soaring!) We'll keep our favorites till they won't let us renew them anymore and keep the new ones coming. I've started going in online and reserving any books I know I want ahead of time due to recommendations or favorite authors. That makes the trip MUCH easier with the two little giggle worms I attempt to herd through the laden shelves and tables. I can't tell you enough how valuable this is to us. If any of you are not currently taking advantage of your libraries, I implore you to start!

Now for the promised review... Last week as I was sweeping through the shelves looking for books we haven't seen yet, I came across a treasure!

The Story Blanket by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz

This beautiful story will fill your hearts as soon as you see the cover. After all, who wouldn't want to be one of those adorable eager children awaiting a story on that vividly colorful blanket?! See how the shoes hang in the tree above them and tiny feet curl in expectation below them? Once I opened it and began to read, I fell in love!
In a small secluded mountain village, Babba Zarrah captivates the children with stories while they sit on her brightly patterned woolen blanket. As tender hearted Babba Zarrah fills the imaginations of the wide eyed boys and girls, she notices a hole in one of the little boy's shoes. She knows he will need new warm socks but the village is SO secluded that although they are out of wool, no one is able to get through the snow to deliver more. "Every question has an answer", Babba Zarrah says to herself, as she considers a solution. Her solution is to unravel a little of her story blanket to knit the socks. But wait, day by day the children begin to feel as though the blanket is shrinking while other villagers discover much-needed anonymous gifts such as baby blankets, shawls, mittens, and aprons. (not to mention a brilliantly illustrated cat-coat!) Who can solve the mystery? It only takes one look at the familiar vivid pattern for the children to "unravel" the storyteller's secret. Those clever villagers don't just thank their anonymous benefactor, they secretly unravel a little wool from each and every blanket to heap on her doorstep! The last page alludes to the village's cycle of generosity and selfless friendship as Babba Zarrah sits knitting a new sweater for Alexandra with a curling string pulled from the NEW story blanket.