Building Self-Esteem: The Chocolate Rabbit

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Today is Perfect Picture Book Friday where I link up with Susanna Leonard Hill’s fantastic group of writers who contribute a picture book review and related resources. 

I’m always looking for books with characters who are engaged in self-esteem building.  Not only is this the case with my selection today, but the book is also a perfect choice for the upcoming holiday of Easter.  I know that parents and teachers will enjoy the simple eco-friendly craft project at the end of my review.

Do you know where the first chocolate Easter bunnies were made?  Here is the scoop, according to picture book author and illustrator, Maria Claret.

 

  

The Chocolate Rabbit

Written and illustrated by Maria Claret

Translated by Jane O’Sullivan

Publishers: Barons Juvenile (originally published in Spain)

Ages: 2 – 8

Themes: Mastering tasks and skills, Easter, crafting, dealing with disappointment, family togetherness

Opening: “Not so very long ago, the Rabbit family lived in a little town not far from here.”

Synopsis:  Bertie Rabbit and his sisters want to help their artistic father who paints beautiful Easter eggs, but they are too young.   Bertie decides he is old enough to help his father and buys eggs with his own money, intending to decorate them and surprise his father.  The little bunny is sadly disappointed when he trips and the basket tips over, breaking all of the eggs.  Bertie’s mother makes a pot of chocolate to lift her son’s spirits…but when Bertie climbs up for a taste, disaster strikes and Bertie is covered in lukewarm chocolate.  Bertie’s father looks at his son and has an ingenious idea…chocolate bunnies! 

Why do I like this book: 

Success often comes on the heels of failure!  I love books that encourage children to keep on trying as they learn to master tasks and skills.  Self-esteem is not built with empty praise…it is developed and strengthened as young children learn to do things for themselves.  A child’s sense of self-worth increases as he takes these important steps…and learning to deal with disappointment is one of those steps.  This is a sweet story about working together as a family…relevant with the busy hectic pace many families experience today…each family will find their own unique ways of spending quality time together.

The illustrations are charming…they remind me of Beatrix Potter’s work.

Related Activities:

Child Care Lounge has quite a few lovely Easter crafts as well as bunny poems here

Angel Fire has an Easter/Spring Unit with many book and craft and cooking ideas here.

Mama-Knows (colored egg picture below) has lots of recipes for coloring Easter eggs here.

Children love arts and crafts!  Here is an activity that will please every eco-minded parent.

PAINTING EASTER EGGS WITH NATURAL DYES

 

You will need: Hard-boiled white eggs (cooled), Q-tips, one or more of the following depending on how many colors you want: ¼ cup blueberries (blue), ¼ cup cranberries (red), 1 tsp tumeric (yellow), markers, a small bowl for each color, cover-ups, two small pots and water to boil.

1.      Cover the work surface and workers to protect from staining (wear disposable plastic gloves if desired).

2.      Boil ½ cup water, add crushed blueberries, simmer for 5 minutes and then pour into small bowl and let cool for a few minutes.  Do the same for the cranberries.

3.      Pour 1 tsp tumeric and ½ cup hot water in a small bowl, stir and let cool.

4.      Put an egg into each bowl and let sit for 5-10 minutes, turning several times with a spoon.  Then lift each egg out and let dry.

5.      Use markers to add designs.

6.      Tip: while waiting for the eggs to absorb the color, go on a color-naming hunt throughout your house…how many red, blue and yellow items can your child find? 

 

This post is part of a series for parents and teachers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays hosted by Susanna Leonard Hill.  Click on her link and find lots of other picture book suggestions with summaries and activities.

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Reflections: Speak To Us Of Children…

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Today I’m “pressing” a post of one of my favorite bloggers…Elizabeth of Mirth and Motivation.   It’s all about children…one of my most favorite topics in the world!

But first I’d like to pass along a couple of awards that came my way this past week.

Uplifting children and helping them develop a positive self-image is one of my missions in life.  I try to provide parents and teachers with resources and activities and encouragement, because the task of raising and educating young children is a difficult one and it is crucial that adults feel good about themselves as well.

But bloggers also need encouragement to continue to carve out those precious moments to write…from a day that may be filled with other responsiblities and obligations.

And so various blogging awards are “born” and one blogger confers them on another to recognize and celebrate a job well done.

This past week, Clar at clarbojahn gave me two lovely ones: The Kreativ Blogger Award and The Sunshine Award.

Clar is a dedicated writer (of children’s picture books and other genres) and human being extraordinaire and I am honored to know her.  I hope you will take the time to go and meet her.

The rules of these awards: List some things of interest about yourself and then pass the awards along to other deserving bloggers.

1. If I love a book, I can reread it dozens of times.  Favorite book: Little Women.  When I was 10, I went shopping with my mom and sister for her junior high school graduation dress.  We lived in NYC at the time and went to a store (Abraham and Strauss) that has eight floors of merchandise.  Instead of dragging me around while she and my sister shopped, my mom brought me to the book department, which encompassed the entire 8th floor of the building.  Leaving me there to enjoy browsing through the books (yes, I know, this is something we would NEVER do these days…but times were different over a half a century ago) she and my sister went shopping for the dress.  I picked a stack of Louisa May Alcott books and sat down on the floor and happily spent the next several hours, reading about the adventures of the March family.

2. If I love a movie, I never get tired of watching it.  Favorite movie: Gone With the Wind.  How many times have I seen it?  Probably 10.

3. My favorite color is yellow…as a child, I shared a room with my older sister.  I was 19 when she got married…the day after the wedding, I painted MY room a bright sunshiny yellow!

I hope you will have the time to visit with the following people whose hard work and wonderful writing motivate me to keep on blogging.  Of course there are dozens and dozens more…but I only get to list 10. 🙂

1. Elizabeth of Mirth and Motivation

2. Nancy at Spirit Lights the Way

3. AngelaMarie at One In Creation

4. Pat at Children’s Books Heal

5. Erik at This Kid Reviews Books

6. Judy at Jay Jays Favorites

7. Kirsten at Creating Curious Kids

8. Marcy at Orples

9. Margaret at Pen to Print

10. SP at Spanish Pinay

And now, here is Elizabeth’s post that touched a chord in my heart and soul.  I share this with all of my readers in hopes it will speak to you as well.

Thank you, Elizabeth, for holding children so dear!

Reflections: Speak To Us Of Children….

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Parenting by Design: Sunday Post

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Design, according to the dictionary, is to plan and make something in a skillful or artistic way.

Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…this week’s theme is DESIGN.

The above photo was taken by my son and daughter-in-law on a recent trip to Europe.  As they strolled down a street in Milan, they passed a building where the contractor had skillfully hidden the scaffolding and on-going construction with a façade that mirrored the neighboring architecture.   How lovely that someone took the time and expended money and effort to create a pleasing view for passers-by!

Another dictionary definition for design is to make a detailed plan of the form or structure of something.

Do you have a design for your day?

Setting up daily routines can make the difficult job of parenting quite a bit easier. 

  •         Allow time for morning routines. 
  •         If you have children in school, help them lay out their clothes the night before. 
  •         Have lunches in the refrigerator, ready to go. 
  •         If you will be home with a preschooler or it is a day off from school, plan some activities that you and the children will enjoy.  Choose a picture book story, craft project and cooking activity and build self-esteem and reading readiness while everyone has a great time.  Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking provides quick and easy activities and great storybook suggestions.  During the month of March, we are offering free shipping on my website (an additional $5 off the price of the book for participants in the PPP Reading Challenge) or you can purchase the book on Amazon.

 

I also wanted to share a link with you to Mile High Mamas, a Denver-based blog.  I will be contributing to Mile High Mamas every second Saturday with Building Literacy and Self-Esteem One Picture Book at a Time.

 

 If you’d like more information about Jake’s Sunday Post:

 http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/ 

Here are some other entries in Jake’s Sunday Post on Design:

1.     http://orples.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/sunday-photo-challenge-design/

2.     http://postadaychallenge2011.com/2012/03/10/sunday-post-design-theme/

3.     http://northernnarratives.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/sunday-post-design/

4.     http://wp.me/p296YA-41

5.     http://jayjaysfavorites.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/water-dragon-weekly-sunday-post-design/

6.    http://truthaboveallreligions.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/sunday-post-design/